Author Archives: Mark Wei

Archbishop Giuseppe Lazzarotto appointed nuncio to Israel

Photo by Beth Doherty

Archbishop Giuseppe Lazzarotto presents at "Share the Dream" 2011

 

The Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI has appointed 70-year-old Archbishop Giuseppe Lazzarotto as apostolic delegate to Jerusalem and Palestine and nuncio to Israel.

His Excellency has been nuncio to Australia since 2007 (December) and will leave in mid-September for the Holy Land.

Archbishop Lazzarotto, told Vatican Radio on Saturday that he will do his best “in the cause of dialogue and peace” and said that there are “many men and women of good will who live in the Holy Land”.

A well-loved nuncio known for his personal warmth, Archbishop Lazzarotto will be sadly missed by the bishops and people of Australia.

Archbishop Lazzarotto served as nuncio to Jordan and Iraq from 1994 – 2000. He has also served in Ireland, and during his early career in Cuba.

 

About the West Africa food crisis

TO DONATE TO THE WEST AFRICA FOOD CRISIS VIA CARITAS AUSTRALIA, CLICK HERE
In the midst of the lean season, millions of people across the Sahel, West Africa are now living through what is known as “the hunger period”. More than 18 million peopleare affected by the devastating food and nutrition crisis.

1 million children under five are at risk of dying from severe acute malnutrition and require immediate relief. An additional 3 million children are at risk of moderate acute malnutrition.

Poor water resources, rising food prices and empty food stores mean many are eating just one meal a day. According to forecasts, the crisis will be acute until September 2012 in Burkina Faso, Gambia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Chad, northern Nigeria and northern Cameroon. But, there is no certainty how long this will last! Stories from the ground show the difficult circumstances leading many to rely on humanitarian aid.

To watch a video of the West Africa food crisis, click here

 

Stronger, higher, faster path to Sainthood

Martha Fernandez-Sardina

By Beth Doherty

“You are what you eat”, said evangelist Martha Fernandez-Sardina as she addressed the 400-strong crowd at PROCLAIM 2012: the first national conference on the “New Evangelisation” held from 9-11 August at The Concourse in Chatswood.

The American keynote speaker wasn’t giving diet tips or fitness advice; rather, she was exhorting the crowd gathered to understand the power in frequent reception of the Eucharist.

“If you receive Christ frequently, you slowly become transformed. It changes you. You become the bread come down from heaven. You become Holy as the Lord your God is Holy”, she said. Continue reading →

Statement from Bishop Greg O’Kelly SJ on same-sex marriage

Bishop Greg O'Kelly SJ, Bishop of Port Pirie

Statement from Bishop Greg O’Kelly SJ on same sex marriage, in response to comments from the Premier of South Australia, Jay Weatherill.

“What the Premier has described as marriage equality is not the equal to marriage as all cultures and faiths have understood it throughout the centuries.

Marriage demands a man and a woman in a vowed permanent union that is open to life.

If people are to be entitled, as the premier says, to express their identity in any way they wish, and that is all that constitutes marriage, then the gates are open to all sorts of arrangements like polygamy and polyandry, and the weakening of the family as the basis of society.”

-Bishop Greg O’Kelly SJ, Bishop of Port Pirie Diocese.

Continue reading →

PROCLAIM 2012 – Official pictures

PROCLAIM 2012 greeted with acclaim

Archbishop Rino Fisichella presenting at PROCLAIM 2012

Media Release, 11 August 2012

The first ever national conference for Catholics, focusing specifically on the “new evangelisation”, has been hailed as a “Spirit-filled success”.

Organisers predicted PROCLAIM 2012 – which wrapped up in Chatswood, on Sydney’s north today (Saturday, August 11) – would come to be recognised as a “watershed” moment in the life of the Australian Catholic Church.

Director for the National Office for Evangelisation, Marita Winters said feedback, both formal and anecdotal, proved that the event had “ticked a lot of boxes”.

“It attracted those who were interested in learning more about their faith and how to share it with others, and we covered topics as diverse as engaging with people with disabilities, attracting young people back to the church and equipping people in parishes to more effectively outreach to those disconnected from the institutional church.”

Continue reading →

From Beswick – Bolivia; World’s Indigenous Peoples Forum in Sydney

IN a bid to bring vital attention to the plight of the world’s Indigenous Peoples, Caritas Australia is preparing to launch its 2012/13 advocacy campaign – Walk As One: Connecting with the World’s Indigenous Peoples. Connecting Australians with the stories of Indigenous Peoples from Australia and all over the world, Caritas will hold valuable sessions on the big issues at St Aloysius College, Milsons Point in Sydney on the weekend of August 25 and 26:

Here participants will have the chance to take part in a series of workshops and learn about traditional culture from artists and performers including weavers, traditional healers and contemporary dancers. Continue reading →

Welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you

Holy Family, entry into Egypt

By Fr Maurizio Pettena CS

August 1, 1952 marks the 60th anniversary of the Apostolic Constitution Exul Familia Nazarethana on the Pastoral Care of People on the Move by Pope Pius XII.

May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Welcome one another, therefore, as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. (Rom 15:1-7)

Chapter 15 of the Epistle to the Romans gives Christians the unnegotiable reason and the modalities of why and how to welcome others. The welcome must be Christian, in the sense that it must reflect the same welcoming one has received from Christ; (“Welcome one another, therefore, as Christ has welcomed you”); thus: Christ is the reason, Christ is the model and Christ sets the modalities such “ as Christ has welcomed you”. All of this is to be done “for the glory of God”. God is made manifest and given glory through the duty of welcoming which becomes, therefore, at the core of the Church’s ministry of evangelisation. Continue reading →

Fr Paul Bird CSsr, Provincial of the Redemptorists, is appointed Bishop of Ballarat

Fr Paul Bird CSsr - Bishop-Elect of Ballarat

The following media statements contain information about the appointment on 1 August by the Holy Father of Fr Paul Bird CSsr as Bishop of Ballarat. The retiring Bishop Peter Connors and the Bishop-Elect Paul Bird are assured of our prayers over the coming months.

Fr Paul Bird CSsr will be ordained Bishop on 16 October, 2012.

Statement from Archbishop Denis Hart, President of the ACBC

On behalf of the Australian Bishops and for the bishops, priests and people of the Province of Melbourne, I warmly welcome the announcement of the appointment of Father Paul Bird CSsR as Bishop-elect of Ballarat.

Father Bird has given distinguished service to the Redemptorist Order as Provincial and as retreat-giver, liturgist and teacher.  For twenty years from 1987 he was Superior of the Redemptorists in Melbourne and editor of Majellan Publications.  After fifteen years as a member of the Provincial Council, he has served as Provincial since 2008.

We welcome Bishop-elect Paul and know that his exceptional gifts will bring rich blessings to the people of the Diocese of Ballarat, whom he will serve with faith, generosity and love.  He is a gifted leader and will be welcomed warmly by the people of Ballarat Diocese and beyond. Continue reading →

Final days to register for Proclaim 2012 – www.proclaimconference.com.au

Fr Chris Ryan MGL will preach at the Youth Rally during PROCLAIM 2012

Parishes, youth leaders, Church employees, priests, religious, volunteers, and musicians are all among those who have signed on for what promises to be one of the signature events of the Year of Grace, the PROCLAIM 2012 Conference on the New Evangelisation.

PROCLAIM 2012, to be held from August 9-11 at the Concourse in Chatswood, Sydney is the first ever national conference on the New Evangelisation and is open to everyone who is interested in learning more about their faith and how to share it with others. It is being organised by the Office for Evangelisation and Catholic Mission on behalf of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference (ACBC). Continue reading →