Author Archives: ACBC Communications

Bishops outline dangers in proposed discrimination reforms

Archbishops Peter A Comensoli and Anthony Fisher OP

Senior bishops have warned law changes proposed by the Australian Law Reform Commission would prevent Church schools from being authentically Catholic, arguing they would discount the rights of people with a religious faith.

The fears were raised in the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference’s submission to the Law Reform Commission’s Inquiry into Religious Educational Institutions and Anti-Discrimination Laws.

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Lenten prayer resources published for Synod of Bishops

People following global progress towards the two assemblies of the Synod of Bishops for a Synodal Church are being invited to participate in Lenten prayers to support the ongoing journey.

The Synod’s General Secretariat has published Lenten resources in multiple languages for use around the world as the continental stage of the Synod continues.

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Conference explores shared mission for clergy, laity

Archbishop Prowse, Ms Geoghegan and Mr Hart met the prefect of the Dicastery for Clergy, Cardinal Lazzaro You Heung-sik, while in Rome

Archbishop Christopher Prowse says a gathering at the Vatican this week will help clergy and lay people alike better understand how they can work together to carry out God’s mission.

Archbishop Prowse, chair of the Bishops Commission for Evangelisation, Laity and Ministry, is attending the conference, which has the theme “Pastors and Lay Faithful Called to Walk Together”.

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Oceania bishops send prayers, condolences to Syria, Turkey

Archbishop Peter Loy Chong signed a letter from members of the FCBCO sending prayers and condolences to civic and Church leaders in Turkey and Syria.

The Catholic bishops of Oceania have sent a message of prayerful condolence and solidarity to Church and civic leaders in Turkey and Syria as the countries suffer the effects of devastating earthquakes.

Meeting for their quadrennial assembly of the Federation of Catholic Bishops Conferences of Oceania in Fiji, the bishops expressed deep sadness at the loss of life and the damage from which it will take years to recover.

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Bishops hear call for a ‘theology of the Pacific’

The bishops of Oceania spent much of Wednesday in dialogue and discernment on the assembly’s three key themes.

Oceania’s Catholic bishops have been invited to imagine a “theology of the Pacific”, that would allow the Church in the region to speak with a voice and a faith that is “distinctive”.

The fourth day of the Federation of Catholic Bishops Conferences of Oceania gathering saw the bishops continue their shared discernment on the assembly’s three key themes.

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Synodality, mission lead Oceania bishops’ Tuesday agenda

Sr Nathalie Becquart addresses the Federation of Catholic Bishops Conferences of Oceania assembly in Fiji

The bishops of Oceania were challenged to take up the path of synodality and to be prepared to confront a “silent earthquake” in the Church on the third day of their quadrennial assembly in Fiji.

Synodality and formation for mission are two of the three major themes for the Federation of Catholic Bishops Conferences of Oceania assembly, along with the effects of a changing climate on the oceans.

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Care for creation a focus for Oceania bishops’ assembly

FCBCO assembly delegates visit an extraction mine and hear about the impacts on the river and its ecosystem

The bishops of Oceania encountered the scriptural and practical realities of God’s creation on Monday, hearing the Creation story at morning Mass and later seeing the effects of climate change in Fiji.

On the second day of the Federation of Catholic Bishops Conferences of Oceania assembly, Australian Catholic Bishops Conference president Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB celebrated Mass, at which the first reading included the first four days of the Creation story in Genesis.

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New resource brings evangelisation into the digital world

The Bishops Commission for Evangelisation, Laity and Ministry (BCELM) has launched a new online resource designed to enable more people to easily access formational Australian Catholic video content.

Evangelise Plus is a video resource library that will host a range of audiovisual content from various Catholic events and initiatives, bringing the material to a wider audience in an effort to inspire, form and encourage viewers in their faith life.

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Opening Mass celebrated for Oceania bishops’ assembly

The offertory is brought forward for the opening Mass of the FCBCO assembly

A Mass steeped in Fijian spirituality and tradition has opened the Federation of Catholic Bishops Conferences of Oceania assembly – a gathering its president hopes will turn “a new page” in the bishops’ shared mission.

Sacred Heart Cathedral in Suva was overflowing on Sunday morning with hundreds of local worshippers, along with dozens of bishops and other assembly participants.

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Bishop Kennedy appointed Bishop of Maitland-Newcastle

Pope Francis has appointed Bishop Michael Kennedy, who has led the Diocese of Armidale in regional New South Wales since 2012, the new Bishop of Maitland-Newcastle.

The Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle has been without a bishop since the death of Bishop Bill Wright in November 2021, with Fr Greg Barker serving as diocesan administrator in the intervening period.

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