Bishop Comensoli

The Most Reverend Peter A Comensoli became the third Bishop of Broken Bay during a Solemn Mass of Installation at Our Lady of the Rosary Cathedral, Waitara on 12 December 2014.

“On this feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, for who I have had a special devotion, I entrust my ministry and our diocese to the loving protection of St Mary, Star of the Sea, our sure light leading us to Christ,” Bishop Comensoli said.

“What exciting times lie before us as we together proclaim Christ crucified to the people of the Central Coast, the northern Peninsula and the North Shore,” he added.

Dean of the Cathedral, the Very Reverend Robert Borg and the Cathedral Clergy welcomed Bishop Comensoli. Indigenous Elder Uncle Neil Evers said the Welcome to Country and Director of Music, Noel Debien, led the Cathedral choir. Continue reading →

Luke Mowbray teaches his nephew Noah to use an iPad

The Catholic Church in Australia is celebrating International Day of People with Disability this week with a focus on the promise of technology for people with disability.

The 2014 theme is Sustainable Development: The Promise of Technology. It focuses on the role of technology as a way to break down barriers for people with disability, particularly as devices are becoming faster, cheaper and more accessible.

Member of the Australian Catholic Bishops Commission for Pastoral Life and Bishops’ Delegate for Disability Issues, Bishop Terry Brady said, “It is appropriate that we observe and celebrate the International Day of People with Disability as we prepare during the Advent season for the coming of our Lord, Jesus Christ.”

“Rapidly developing technology has changed the way people with disability can communicate and access catechesis, entertainment, faith formation, work, and information in general,” Bishop Brady added. Continue reading →

Media release during Australian Catholic Bishops plenary meeting | 28 November 2014

The Australian Catholic Bishops express their deep concern for Aboriginal peoples threatened with the closure of their remote homeland villages in Western Australia.

This is a time for Federal and State Governments to pursue meaningful consultation with those affected.

Our governments need to exercise restraint and compassion for the first peoples of this country who enjoy a spiritual affinity with their traditional lands.

For media queries, please contact Aoife Connors on 0450 348 597 | media@catholic.org.au

Chair of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference Commission for Relations with Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders and Bishop of Broome Christopher Saunders is available as a spokesman on this issue.

Media statement during Australian Catholic Bishops plenary meeting | 27 November 2014

The Australian Catholic Bishops, gathered at the tomb of Mary MacKillop for their biannual plenary meeting in Sydney, are deeply saddened by the tragic death of Phillip Hughes.

We have prayed for the young Australian cricketer and for the extended Hughes family, cricket colleagues and friends.

Our thoughts also go out to NSW paceman Sean Abbott. We are aware of his trauma and assure him of our prayerful support and that of the Catholic community.

The death of Phillip Hughes, a talented 25-year-old cricketer, reminds us that life is at once precious and fragile.

Media release during Australian Catholic Bishops plenary meeting | 27 November 2014

Sunday 7 December 2014 has been designated a Day of Solidarity with the Christians of the Middle East by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference.

The Australian Bishops received a letter of request from the Conference of Bishops and Representatives of the Middle Eastern Apostolic Churches in Australia and New Zealand seeking the support of the Australian Catholics.

The Conference unanimously supported the request that 7 December 2014 be a Day of Solidarity, involving prayer and a financial offering to help alleviate the suffering of Christians, especially the many Iraqi refugees.

The request comes as we approach the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ at Christmas. We are aware that the situation for Christians and other minorities in the Middle East is deteriorating by the day, especially as the northern winter will set in soon. Continue reading →

Media release from the Australian Catholic University | 24 November 2014

The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference joined with the Australian Catholic University (ACU) on Monday 24 November to celebrate the conferring of a ‘Doctor of the University’ (honoris causa), on Archbishop Mamberti. 

The gathering also marked the Centenary of Papal Representation in Australia. The Vatican’s foreign minister Archbishop Dominique Mamberti and the Apostolic Nuncio to Australia Archbishop Paul Gallagher, former Canadian Ambassador to the Holy See Anne Leahy, and Archbishop Denis Hart, Archbishop of Melbourne and President of the Australian Catholic Bishop’s Conference, were among the dignitaries commemorating the event with ACU Chancellor John Fahey, Vice-Chancellor Professor Greg Craven, and members of the ACU Senate, Chapter and staff, as well as representatives of Catholic health, education and social services groups.

ACU Chancellor John Fahey confers Doctor of the University (honoris causa) on Archbishop Mamberti.

Address by Archbishop Mamberti (PDF 2MB)

To mark the occasion events are taking place in Sydney and Canberra from 22-28 November.  Continue reading →

Celebrating International Day of People with Disability, this article was first published in December edition of Aurora, a Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle publication 

By Trish Mowbray, ACBC Disability Projects Officer

Trish Mowbray, ACBC Disability Projects Officer

Over the last couple of years, I have had the pleasure of meeting people with disability and their families through various forms of information and communications technology.

Sheira May, who lives in a developing country, contacted me via my work Facebook page when her son with Down syndrome was diagnosed with heart problems.

Fr Simon, from Pakistan, contacted me in the same way. Fr Simon runs a school for children and young adults with disability. Both Sheira and Fr Simon were reaching out for relationship and support. Continue reading →

20 November 2014 | Statement by the Australian Catholic Bishops

Jesus treated women with openness, respect, acceptance and tenderness.

In advance of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on Tuesday 25 November 2014, the Australian Catholic Bishops ask all to focus on the message of Jesus Christ and his relationship with women, always one of dignity and respect.

Referring to the ‘Woman and Man: One in Christ Jesus Report’ (1999) on the Participation of Women in the Catholic Church in Australia, the Australian Catholic Bishops quote Pope St John Paul II who wrote: “Transcending the established norms of this own culture, Jesus treated women with openness, respect, acceptance and tenderness.”

Violence against women has no place in our society, the Australian Catholic Bishops stress.

“Our belief in the sanctity of human life and the inherent dignity of the human person is the foundation of all the principles of our social teaching.”

The United Nations’ Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women defines violence against women as any act of “gender-based violence” that results in “harm to women”.

According to the UN, globally, up to 70 per cent of women experience violence in their lifetime.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (2006) reports that in a 12-month period, between five and ten per cent of Australian women experienced at least one incident of abusive violence.

The reasons for violence are complex and we all have a part to play in reducing violence against women. Some practical ways that you can show your support for this issue include:

• Listening to women and learning from women
• Learning about the issue of domestic violence
• Challenging language that degrades women
• Learning to identify and oppose gender harassment and violence in your community
• Supporting local women’s programs
• Examining how your own attitudes and behaviour might contribute to the problem

As Pope Francis notes and the Australian Catholic Bishops reiterate: “Doubly poor are those women who endure situations of exclusion, mistreatment and violence, since they are frequently less able to defend their rights. Even so, we constantly witness among them impressive examples of daily heroism in defending and protecting their vulnerable families.” (Evangelii Gaudium, 212)

For media queries, please contact Aoife Connors on 0450 348 597 | media@catholic.org.au

Resources:

United Nations’ International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women 25 November https://www.un.org/en/events/endviolenceday/

White Ribbon Day:  http://www.whiteribbon.org.au/

Social Justice Statement 2010 – Violence in Australia: A Message of Peace

http://www.catholic.org.au/acbc-media/media-centre/social-networking-protocol/publications-1/1024-2010-social-justice-sunday-statement-1/file

Social Justice Statement 2000 – Woman and Man: The Bishops Respond

http://www.socialjustice.catholic.org.au/files/SJSandresources/2000-SJSS-Statement.pdf

Woman and Man: One in Christ Jesus: A Report on the Participation of Women in the Catholic Church in Australia (1999) http://opw.catholic.org.au/woman-and-man/woman-and-man-resources.html

Catholic Social Services Submission to the Second Action Plan under the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2010-2022

http://www.cssa.org.au/storage/CSSA%20Submission%202nd%20Action%20Plan%20-%20Final.pdf

His Holiness Pope Francis has appointed the Most Reverend Peter Andrew Comensoli as the third Bishop of Broken Bay on 20 November 2014.

Bishop Peter Comensoli appointed third Bishop of Broken Bay

Over the past nine months, Bishop Comensoli served as the Apostolic Administrator of the Archdiocese of Sydney while the position of Archbishop was vacant from 27 February until 12 November 2014.

Currently, Bishop Comensoli is a member of the Bishops Commission for Church Ministry and Bishops Commission for Evangelisation.

Continue reading →