Author Archives: Mark Wei

President of Bishops’ Conference expresses delight at appointment of new Perth Archbishop

Media Release
20 February, 2012

President of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference Archbishop Philip Wilson has expressed his delight at the appointment by the Holy Father of Bishop Timothy Costelloe as Archbishop of Perth.

Bishop Timothy replaces Archbishop Barry Hickey who has led the faithful of the Diocese since 1991.

Archbishop Philip Wilson said today that this was good news not only for the people of Perth, but for the Church in Australia.

“Bishop Timothy Costelloe is a gifted, highly intelligent pastor who has shown consistent leadership in Melbourne where he has been an Auxiliary Bishop over the past five years”, he said

. Continue reading →

Families must come first in new school funding model – NCEC responds to Gonski report

Media Release, 20 February, 2012

Commenting at the release today of the much anticipated Gonski Report on Funding for Schooling, the Chair of the National Catholic Education Commission (NCEC), Mrs Therese Temby, said that this was just the start of the process, and much work remains to be done.

“This is a major piece of work and a roadmap for a way forward,” Mrs Temby said.

Continue reading →

A mercy sister, a school girl and Kevin Rudd – our three faces to fight poverty

PROJECT COMPASSION 2012 – BRISBANE LAUNCH

AN AUSTRALIAN Sister of Mercy based in Peru, a Brisbane schoolgirl hit by floods and Foreign Affairs Minister Kevin Rudd make up the three faces of Australia’s fight against poverty at this morning’s launch of Caritas Australia’s Project Compassion one of Australia’s largest humanitarian fundraisers. Continue reading →

Asylum seeker community support more than reasonable says Catholic Church

Pic: Kym Smith Source: The Daily Telegraph

Media Release
February 17, 2012

The Australian Catholic Migrant and Refugee Office (ACMRO) supports the Government’s efforts to reduce the human cost of prolonged and indefinite detention.

Media reports which criticise the Government for providing asylum seekers released into community detention with up to $10,000 of home furnishings, electrical goods and other financial support has been called misleading and provocative by the ACMRO. Continue reading →

Australian Catholic Film Office welcomes R18+ legislation.

Media Release
16 February, 2012

The Australian Catholic Office for Film (ACOFB) and Broadcasting has cautiously welcomed the introduction of legislation which looks to create an R18+ classification for computer games.

Director of the ACOFB, Jesuit priest Fr Richard Leonard said that the submission from the Bishops was very clear that they do not condone the material contained in such games, and that their support would be qualified. Continue reading →

Pilgrims not tourists, Harvest prepares for World Youth Day Brazil.

By Beth Doherty

Brazil’s most well-known tourist attraction is the huge Christ the Redeemer Statue in Rio de Janeiro on top of Mount Corcovado. A striking symbol of the world’s most populous Catholic country, its situation and placement has a message to convey.

Mount Corcovado where the statue is placed is characterised by a rich side with mansions and palm trees, and a poor side which is a hill-side slum, heavily populated by Brazil’s poorest living in dilapidated houses.

In the 1990s, photojournalist Mev Puleo attributed traveling on an air-conditioned tour bus to see the statue as a catalyst for her conversion. She peered out the window and was suddenly starkly aware of the sheer inequality she saw before her. As a committed Catholic, she couldn’t reconcile this inequality with her faith. Continue reading →

Live the Faith, Receive the Grace – Bishop Peter Ingham’s Lenten Pastoral Message 2012

Live the Faith, Receive the Grace – Bishop Peter Ingham’s Lenten Pastoral Message 2012 from Daniel Hopper on Vimeo.

Bishop Peter Ingham breaks open the Gospel for Sunday 19 February 2012 (Mark 2:1-12) where four people carrying a paralysed person, creatively and with determination, removed the roof and lowered their friend inside a house overcrowded with people who were listening to Jesus preach.

Like the stretcher bearers in the Gospel, Bishop Peter challenges us this Lent to live our Faith and receive the Grace that comes from God.

AUSLAN and subtitles included.

Demography can so easily become destiny

By Bishop Greg O’Kelly SJ,


Bishop of Port Pirie and Chairman of the Australian Catholic Bishops Commission for Catholic Education

The report of the Gonski Funding Review will soon be made public, and there has been a lot of commentary in the media about the new funding “model”. These commentaries typically focus on the benefits this model will deliver for the future schooling of our young people. Continue reading →

True message of Valentine’s Day to be celebrated in parishes

To download the Valentine’s Day Kit 2012, click here!St Valentine Resource 2012

Heart shaped chocolates and teddy bears have become a symbol of February in the commercial world, and, for the lucky ones who have someone to share February 14th with, this is another chance to celebrate. Yet it is not an unreasonable question to ask why the Catholic Bishops’ Conference would put out a kit for St Valentine’s Day each year.

In 2010, the Bishops’ Commission for Pastoral Life through the Australian Catholic Marriage and Family Council developed a kit devoted to the celebration of St Valentine’s Day for use in parishes. Continue reading →