Author Archives: Mark Wei

JOB ADVERTISEMENT, DIRECTOR, OPW

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Director, Office for the Participation of Women Secretariat for Church Ministry Australian Catholic Bishops Conference
The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference (ACBC) is the permanent assembly of the bishops of Australia, exercising together certain pastoral offices. A vacancy exists in its Secretariat for Church Ministry, based in Canberra, for the position of Director, Office for the Participation of Women.

Reporting to the Chairman of the Bishops Commission for Church Ministry, you will lead a small team to provide executive support to the Bishops Commission for Church Ministry, the Australian Catholic Council for Lay Pastoral Ministry and the Council for Australian Catholic Women. You will be responsible for the management and delivery of projects as required by the Bishops Commission for Church Ministry and for ensuring that the Office for the Participation of Women meets the operational expectations of the Mandate. Continue reading →

Australian Catholic Youth Ministry Convention – Claim the date!

Australian Catholic Youth Ministry Convention 2012

After the highly successful Australian Catholic Youth Ministry Convention (ACYMC) in Melbourne 2010 which hosted over 400 youth ministers from parishes, diocese, schools and communities around Australia, the BCPL is preparing to host another in 2012.
Continue reading →

Catholic Youth Ministry scholarship to be offered by BBI and BCPL

Media Release November 3, 2011

The Bishop Commission for Pastoral Life (BCPL) in partnership with The Broken Bay Institute (BBI) is offering a number of scholarships to the value of $10,000 for study in Catholic Youth and Campus Ministry in 2012-2013.

Over the past decade Australia has experienced a significant increase in the standard and professionalism of Catholic youth ministry. From local parish initiatives, school formation programs and World Youth Days (WYD), the requirements and expectations of youth ministers have been ever increasing. Continue reading →

Help Boat People by Increasing Settlement Places

Media Release
2 November 2011

The Australian Catholic Migrant and Refugee Office offers condolences to the victims of the
terrible tragedy of those who lost their lives off the coast of Indonesia yesterday.

Director of ACMRO, Fr Pettená said “This tragedy heightens the need to provide legal pathways
and more space within our humanitarian program. Australia has been content to resettle around
13,500 refugees per a year for over a decade, while this is generous in comparison to many
countries; it is simply not enough”. Continue reading →

Assisi event on Australian shores

By Kimberly Davis, Director of the Office for the Participation of Women (OPW).

This year marks the 25th anniversary of Pope John Paul II’s first invitation to leaders of the world’s religions to gather in Assisi, Italy. Assisi was originally chosen because of St Francis’ deep connection with people of other faiths even in his time. It was this invitation by John Paul II which first saw a deep sharing between people of different faiths and a celebration of people of good will in a traditional Catholic heartland. Continue reading →

Help carry one another’s burdens

By Fr Maurizio Pettená – Director of the Australian Catholic Migrant and Refugee Office

The Australian Catholic Migrant and Refugee Office of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference is part of the community delegation supporting the Federal Government’s positive pathway towards community-based alternatives to immigration detention.

This community delegation is meeting with ministers at Parliament House today and includes: Paul Power, Refugee Council of Australia; Rev. Elenie Poulos, Uniting Church in Australia Assembly; Phil Glendenning, Edmund Rice Centre; Cassandra Goldie, Australian Council of Social Service; Brad Chilcott, Welcome to Australia; Rev. Tara Curlewis, National Council of Churches; Joe Moloney, Australian Catholic Bishops Conference; Alex Pagliaro and Tamara Lions, Amnesty International; Asmi Wood, Australian Federation of Islamic Councils; Kate Gauthier, ChilOut (Children Out of Detention); Jeremy Spinak, Executive Council of Australian Jewry; Padma Menon, Federation of Ethnic Communities Council of Australia.

The following statement was developed by Fr Maurizio and Joe Moloney and outlines the Catholic Church’s position on issues of migration. Continue reading →

ACMRO offers sympathy on death of Sri Lankan refugee;

Media Release,
28 October 2011

For more information go to www.acmro.catholic.org.au

The Australian Catholic Migrant and Refugee Office offer our condolence to the family of the Sri Lankan refugee who passed away on Wednesday, 26 October. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and to the Sri Lankan community. Continue reading →

Communicating timeless messages using new media

www.cievents.com.au/events/ACMC2012

Recently, a friend sent through a message to me on Facebook with the picture just below, which shows Jesus talking to a young man. Indeed, Jesus is asking us to follow him, and although we all misread the signs at times – Christ desires all of us to be with him. So, we have a 2,000 year old message which is timeless, it doesn’t age, although perhaps the mediums we use to communicate the message could do with a little work. This message of course is that of love, hope, mercy, faith and salvation. These are not easy messages to put into one line “tweet” or a pithy “facebook” status. We don’t exactly update our relationship status to “In a relationship with Jesus Christ” and consider ourselves “Facebook official” the moment we realise how much we have been gifted by God in our lives.. The hope of Christ in the world gives life to all, and yet so many haven’t been touched in this way.

Next year, the second Australian Catholic Media Congress will be held at the Menzies Hotel in Sydney with the theme “Communicating the Word: Timeless messages, new media.” Our international guest for this Congress is Monsignor Paul Tighe, Secretary to the Pontifical Council for Social Communications.

The Congress is open to anyone who wishes to attend, particularly those with an interest in Church media. The congress aims to address some of the challenges of spreading a message in a sometimes hostile world; it aims to show new ways of engaging with technology to more effectively proclaim those messages. Over three days, from the 30th of April to the 2nd of May, the bishops have invited you, the people of Australia to attend the Australian Catholic Media Congress and discuss your hopes and vision for Church media.

So we hope that you will join us. www.cievents.com.au/events/ACMC2012

The Blessing of the Altar; Domus Australia Rome; By + Cardinal George Pell

Archbishop of Sydney
17 October 2011
This evening we conclude the retreat day of the Ad Limina visit with both Mass in this renovated chapel of St. Peter Chanel and the consecration of its new altar.
I am not sure whether the chapel was ever consecrated previously by the Marist Fathers. But we can be sure that this place of worship has been made holy by the prayers and lives of all the Marist priests and seminarians who lived here during more than one hundred years.
As Jesus pointed out to the Samaritan woman, his followers, the true worshippers to which we belong, worship the Father in spirit and truth. It is the same Eucharist, the same seven sacraments that will continue to be celebrated here as in the Marist times, when we worship the Father through his only Son. Continue reading →