Author Archives: ACBC Communications

Australian Bishops head to World Youth Day

Nineteen Australian bishops will pack their bags for World Youth Day next month, proving age is no barrier to participation in the World’s largest youth event.

The faith filled festival will take place in Krakow, Poland from 25 – 31 July, with more than 2,500 Aussie pilgrims attending including teachers, chaplains, youth leaders and those who may be unsure about their faith.

Half of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference will participate in World Youth Day celebrating St John Paul’s vision for young people, renewed again with the presence of Pope Francis.

President of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, Archbishop Denis Hart, said, ‘World Youth Day is a unique opportunity for young people to deepen their faith and unity with the Pope and with each other. It is often a life-changing experience’.

‘During the five World Youth Days that I have attended, I have found my faith encouraged by the joy and deepening faith of beautiful young people,’ Archbishop Hart added. Continue reading →

Women as Witnesses to the Joy of the Gospel

2016-PSU-CACW-colloquium_poster_thumbHow do we make more space for women in decision-making, leadership and lay pastoral ministry in our Church?

If this is a question that interests you, why not consider attending the Council for Australian Catholic Women’s Colloquium from 17 to 18 September at Mary Mackillop Place, North Sydney.

The Colloquium theme, Women as Witnesses to the Joy of the Gospel will set the scene for theological and pastoral reflection on Pope Francis’ call to “create still broader opportunities for a more incisive female presence in the Church” (Evangelii Gaudium 103).

The keynote addresses and workshops will examine this theme, Dr Maria Harries, Adjunct Professor at Curtin University will lead a keynote address considering the issues facing ‘Women in the Family’. Dr Michele Connolly, RSJ, Lecturer of New Testament Studies at the Catholic Institute of Sydney, will explore the issues facing ‘Women in the Church’. Dr Megan Brock RSJ, member of Catholic Religious Australia and a psychologist working in private practice, will deliver the final keynote address on ‘Women in Society’.  Continue reading →

Tree of Life resource celebrates Laudato Si’ anniversary

Tree of Life image for a Laudato Si' ResourceCatholic Earthcare Australia’s 2016 resource has been launched on World Environment Day to encourage the community to celebrate the first Anniversary of the papal encyclical Laudato Si’ by coming together to experience dialogue and stimulate action on caring for our common home.

Catholics are being invited to write down their actions about caring for creation and bring them together in the form of a new ‘Tree of Life’ resource. “The ‘Tree of Life’ is a wonderful opportunity to share the message of the Pope’s encyclical, Laudato Si’ and to enable dialogue and action within local Catholic communities,” says Jacqui Remond, Director of Catholic Earthcare Australia, the ecological agency of the Catholic Church in Australia. Continue reading →

Redress for abuse victims will stay in the bottom drawer this election

With less than four weeks until polling day the heavy slumber of the electorate is showing signs of lifting.

Opinion polls continue to signal a close result. Nothing new there really. The polls always tighten as election dates close in.

Hip pocket issues begin to surface and politicians expend enormous emotional energy attempting to convince us that they are engaged, down to earth and responsive. Again, nothing new there.

And that’s the point. Disengagement is the problem. People stop listening because they are not listened to. The current craft of narrative manipulation that besets political strategists has become self-defeating. Continue reading →

Bishops Establish New National Centre for Evangelisation

National Centre for EvangelisationA new National Centre for Evangelisation (NCE) is being established by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference.  It will bring together the work of the Catholic Enquiry Centre and the National Office for Evangelisation.

The Bishops Commission for Evangelisation made the announcement on Thursday 2 June 2016.

Launching the new Centre, Archbishop Mark Coleridge, Chair of the Bishops Commission for Evangelisation, said that ‘we’re trying to bring the old and the new together in a fresh configuration’.

The priorities of the new National Centre for Evangelisation (NCE) include further developing the work carried out by the Catholic Enquiry Centre and the National Office for Evangelisation.

The Catholic Enquiry Centre (CEC) was founded in 1959 to offer an invitation to all who are not Catholic to learn about and understand the Catholic faith through the promotion of courses and activities that seek to evangelise unbelievers. It will continue to operate within the new National Centre for Evangelisation. Continue reading →

Liturgy of Lament and Hope

D8E_9384_ThumbOn Friday 3 June, the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart, a Liturgy of Lament and Hope to acknowledge publicly the pain and suffering of those who have been wounded by abuse in the Catholic Church, was held in the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Rosary, Waitara.

Bishop Peter Comensoli, Bishop of Broken Bay, called upon his brother priests and the Diocesan faith community to join him for this sacred event, with more than 200 braving the wild Sydney weather to come together in prayer.

Opportunities for expressing lament such as this are important – a time at which people can give voice and shape to shared feelings of sadness, regret, and solidarity for what has occurred in our communities, and a time for the Diocese as a family to pray for those who have been wounded and turn towards the Lord with hope for healing. Continue reading →

Australian Prayer for World Youth Day 2016

wyd logo

Leader:

As Australian pilgrims we travel as one people to celebrate
God’s love and mercy at World Youth Day in Krakow.
We pray for our own personal transformation:

All:

God of mercy, transform me,
that my eyes may be merciful,
that I may marvel at the beauty of my neighbour’s heart.

Transform me, O God,
that my ears may be merciful,
that I may be attentive to those in need.

Transform me, O God,
that my tongue may be merciful,
that all I proclaim is in love and peace. Continue reading →

The Amazing Race, World Youth Day Preparations

The Victorian World Youth Day Pilgrimage gathered together in Melbourne on Saturday, May 23 to prepare for the pilgrimage to World Youth Day (WYD) in Krakow, Poland in July 2016.

Around three hundred pilgrims gathered for a day of getting to know each other, formation and prayer as well as the challenge of an Amazing Race! The day began with a Leaders’ Preparation and Formation session, then at 11am all the pilgrims gathered together for the first time. Continue reading →

Amoris Laetitia – An Invitation to Engage

Fr Sean Hall

Fr Sean Hall

“Pope confuses faithful with mixed messages on family life”.

“Conservatives will tut. Liberals will be equally disappointed. The rest of us will wonder why we are still worrying about such nonsense. “Individual conscience”? Yes, mine is telling right now that we don’t need to be listening to old men in fancy robes pontificating any longer.”

These are two quotes from the “I” newspaper. The first was the title given to a brief description of Amoris laetitia the day after its publication (10th April). The second is the closing section of an op-ed piece on the following Monday (12th April) by Stefano Hatfield who identifies himself as an atheist, having been brought up a catholic. The “I” prides itself on being a quality newspaper which gives brief, balanced accounts of news items. So much for the coverage of a “balanced”, “quality” newspaper! The fact that the papal letter was published in the same week as the “Panama Papers” almost certainly meant that it received less coverage than might have been the case in the secular press, but it is also an indication of the lack of wider interest of a church document in this age. Continue reading →

Revamped website for Migrant & Refugee Office

acmro-website[2]The Australian Catholic Migrant and Refugee Office (ACMRO) launched its revamped website this week. 

The website includes a section on asylum seeker policy, a media section and a resources centre. Interested viewers can sign up to receive the ACMRO eNewsletter through the website at www.acmro.catholic.org.au

The upgraded website features a combination of neutral and bright colours with an uncluttered look and feel. If you would like to send the ACMRO feedback about the revamped website, please email: info@acmro.catholic.org.au

It was upgraded to improve the accessibility and responsiveness of the site for users. The new website is faster and easy to navigate. Staff at the ACMRO will update the site on a regular basis with news regarding issues concerning migrants and refugees.

Resources for schools and parishes are readily available on the ACMRO website.

On 28 August 2016, the Church in Australia will celebrate Migrant and Refugee Sunday. A parish kit including a message from Bishop Vincent Long, Delegate for Migrants and Refugees, will be available to download from the ACMRO website.