Parish profiles to help Catholics better serve their local communities

PROFILES of 1230 Catholic parishes across Australia have been published, offering a wealth of insight they can use to better serve the needs of their local communities.

The parish “social profiles” draw on data captured in the 2021 Australian Census and examine the Catholic and local population within parish boundaries. Continue reading

Document helps those accompanying Catholics considering euthanasia

Australia’s Catholic bishops have released a new document to guide priests, chaplains and pastoral workers who are asked to provide pastoral support to Catholics who are considering euthanasia.

The publication of the document, To Witness and to Accompany with Christian Hope, follows the legalisation of euthanasia in all Australian states.

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Church in Australia carrying forward its pursuit of synodality

One “particular grace” of the Fifth Plenary Council of Australia has been its encouragement of many initiatives in the Church across the country, according to a letter to the People of God prepared for the Solemnity of Christ the King.

As the Church marks the end of the liturgical year this weekend, the letter provides an update on work carrying forward the Plenary Council’s outcomes while awaiting the Holy See’s formal recognitio of the Council’s decrees.

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Church called to be welcoming, healing and hopeful

Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB, Archbishop Paul Gallagher, Archbishop Charles Balvo and Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP

A senior Vatican official who served as Apostolic Nuncio to Australia has told the country’s bishops that the Church is being called to be welcoming, healing and hopeful in a world challenged by war and unrest.

Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Vatican’s Secretary for Relations with States and International Organisations, is on a six-day visit to Australia to mark the 50th anniversary of Australia-Holy See diplomatic relations.

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Prayer, planning underpin national Stella Maris gathering

Port chaplains, managers, volunteers and members of the Stella Maris national committee gathered in Sydney last week for the first national conference of its type in several years for those ministering to seafarers.

Eighteen people attended the event at Mary MacKillop Place, with the theme “Together: United in Caring for Seafarers”.

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Plenary Council a positive and transformative experience: Bishop Mackinlay

Bishop Shane Mackinlay addresses the Plenary Council in Sydney, July 2022 (CNS/The Catholic Weekly/Giovanni Portelli)

Australia’s Plenary Council provided a “positive and transformative experience of discernment and synodality”, Sandhurst Bishop Shane Mackinlay told the Synod of Synodality on Wednesday.

Bishop Mackinlay, who served as vice-president of the Fifth Plenary Council of Australia that ran from 2018 until 2022, was invited to offer a reflection on that journey during the current Synod’s 12th general congregation.

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Catholic Church says referendum result should usher in new era

Despite the referendum to establish an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice in the Constitution not succeeding, Australia needs to find a way to address the inequalities many First Nations people face, Bishop Charles Gauci has said.

Bishop Gauci, chair of the Bishops Commission for Relations with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, has issued a statement following yesterday’s poll. He said although the idea of the Indigenous Voice to Parliament was not supported by a majority of Australians, “that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do something”.

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