A connection between Gospel values and the core tenets of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander life – family, spirituality and culture – is attracting more of Australia’s First Peoples to the Catholic faith.
Australia’s First Peoples now constitute more than 130,000 of all Catholics in Australia and the numbers are increasing, according to the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Council (NATSICC), a peak advisory body to Australia’s bishops. Continue reading
Bishop Mark Edwards
Ten years since the first national gathering of youth ministers soon after World Youth Day in Sydney, delegates will meet in Parramatta in September to identify areas for future growth and to contribute to Plenary Council 2020 discussions.
More than 300 delegates who work with young people in parishes, schools, communities, universities and vocations are expected to attend the Australian Catholic Youth Ministry Convention (ACYMC). Continue reading
Catholics in the Western Australian diocese of Geraldton have provided a strong rural voice during the preparation phase of the three-year Plenary Council 2020 process.
The Geraldton Diocesan Conference 2018, drawing on Psalm 118, adopted the theme of “Lamp for the Steps and Light for the Way: Listen to God and each other as we light the way forward.” Continue reading
Peak Catholic groups are concerned the Modern Slavery Bill 2018, currently before federal Parliament, could become a “toothless tiger” if their recommendations to the inquiry are not adopted.
Australian Catholic Religious Against Trafficking in Humans (ACRATH) and other Church groups have made submissions strongly supporting the legislation, but have urged politicians to make changes to protect the vulnerable. Continue reading
Bathurst Bishop Michael McKenna
Australian Catholic social services, individual parishes and dioceses have swung into action to assist regional and rural communities suffering hardship due to prolonged drought.
In light of the current crippling eastern seaboard drought affecting rural and regional communities from northern Victoria to Queensland, the Catholic Social Services Australia network has again called for a reinstatement of Federal-government support for its rural assistance and counselling programs. Continue reading
Catholic News Service editor-in-chief Greg Erlandson, a keynote speaker at the Australian Catholic Communications Congress
Restoring hope and trust in the world, the Church and the media will be the focus of a gathering of Australian Catholic communicators in Brisbane in September.
The Australian Catholic Communications Congress, an initiative of the Australian Catholic Media Council, will draw delegates from across the Church – communications professionals, journalists, priests and parish pastoral workers, but also members of the lay faithful. Continue reading
Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP, the Bishops’ Delegate for Youth, says the largest survey of young Catholics ever conducted will further shape the Church’s engagement with young people and help the bishops tackle some of the many challenges young people face in contemporary society.
The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference last year initiated a survey of people aged 16 to 29 as part of international preparations for the Synod of Bishops on Young People, the Faith and Vocational Discernment, which will be held in October this year. Continue reading
Thousands of people from across Australia have taken time in the two months since the Plenary Council 2020 officially launched at Pentecost to consider the future of the Catholic Church.
In May, the Listening and Dialogue phase of the Plenary Council began, with resources created to help people across the country participate in a prayerful conversation to consider the question: “What do you think God is asking of us in Australia at this time?” Continue reading
Pope Paul VI’s encyclical Humanae Vitae was published 50 years ago this month.
by Steven Buhagiar
In Amoris Laetitia, Pope Francis reminds us that “we need to return to the message of the encyclical Humanae Vitae”. (82)
How are we to understand this call? I think the key is to be found in the Pope’s recent statement to doctors that “the Church is for life!” It always has been. As the Scriptures say: “I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.” Continue reading
Hundreds of people gathered in Brisbane for the 2018 PROCLAIM Conference yesterday witnessed the first screening of a new music video for the Plenary Council 2020.
PROCLAIM, the biennial national evangelisation conference, this year has a particular focus on the Plenary Council process and how it can help renew the Catholic Church in Australia. Continue reading