Author Archives: Mark Wei

Address by President of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference to the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI

Most Holy Father,

From the Antipodes, from Terra Australis de Spiritu Sancto, we come as pilgrims ad limina apostolorum, to the Tombs of the Apostles. The old map on the third loggia of this Apostolic Palace has Australia marked simply as Terra Incognita. But our land is no longer unknown to you, and its “joys and hopes, griefs and anxieties” (Lumen Gentium, 1) are intimately known to us as Pastors. All of these we bring to you now, confident that you have come to know not only our land but also its people in all their diversity. The land may be distant, but we know the people are close to your heart. Continue reading →

HOMILY OF MOST REV BARRY JAMES HICKEY ON THE FEAST OF ST JOHN THE BAPTIST 20 OCTOBER 2011

AT THE BASILICA OF ST JOHN LATERAN

In the history of salvation God called extraordinary people to proclaim his revelation to the world. Patriarchs and prophets prepared the Chosen People, the Israelites, to grasp the reality of the one true God and to shape their lives according to his Will.

On the Feast of St John the Baptist we see in him the fulfilment of the centuries of preparation and the validation of all that had gone before. We hear in him the combined voices of all the prophets as he cried out “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight His paths”. Continue reading →

Toward a theology of disability

By Patricia Mowbray

The Disability Projects Office of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference is a much more all-encompassing ministry than one might imagine. It involves encouraging and promoting the full participation of people with disability, their families and friends in the faith life of our Church in Australia.

It’s all about taking our rightful place in the Body of Christ. Continue reading →

Deadly floods strike Central America

CARITAS AUSTRALIA MEDIA RELEASE

For immediate release: October 19, 2011

Torrential rains have hit Central America hard, causing deadly floods in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, Caritas Australia reports.

Caritas Australia Latin America Program Coordinator, Margaret Fyfe, said 12 out of 14 regions have been severely affected by the downpour, with over 13,000 people forced to flee the rising waters.
Continue reading →

Aged Poor Mustn’t Be Forgotten by Hung Parliament

Media Release from Catholic Health Australia, 19/10/11

By Martin Laverty and Gavin Abraham

Bipartisan support is emerging to improve access to aged care for older Australians living in poverty, according to the nation’s largest network of residential and community aged care providers.

As Anti-Poverty Week is marked across Australia, Catholic Health Australia (CHA) chief executive Martin Laverty said people often have an image of what poverty looks like. That image is rarely of people in retirement, but there are tens of thousands of older Australians who are struggling financially. Continue reading →

The Australian Catholic Bishops welcome on-shore processing of asylum seekers

Media Release
14 October, 2011

The Catholic Church welcomes the decision taken yesterday by the Government to process
the claims of vulnerable asylum seekers onshore.
Yesterday, the Prime Minister, decided to delay the Migration Bill accepting that onshore
processing had to be adopted. This came after the High Court found that the Government
did not have the power to swap asylum seekers with Malaysia due to in adequate protection
safeguards. Continue reading →

HOMILY FOR THE MASS AT ST MARY MAJOR’S BASILICA, ROME AD LIMINA 2011 – 13 OCTOBER 2011

By Archbishop John Bathersby, Archbishop of Brisbane

My brothers and sisters it is a tremendous privilege to be present in this marvellous Basilica of St Mary Major. It brings us together, and brings together also Jesus, Son of God and Saviour, and His mother Mary, Our Lady, and mother of the Church. Mary has already played significant roles in all of our lives. I grew up in Stanthorpe in the 1940s, taught by the Sisters of Mercy who constantly encouraged me to pray for a vocation to priesthood. I tried to do so, but changed my mind when I thought the Air Force was a more interesting career, only to realise that the Sisters had kept on praying for me through the power of Mary, mother of Jesus. For me Mary seemed like a furnace of prayer and I turned to her whenever I needed support for myself, or needed support assist others who asked for my prayers. Continue reading →

Homily by ARCHBISHOP DENIS HART at the BASILICA OF SAINT PAUL OUTSIDE THE WALLS, ROME. 12 October, 2011

MASS CELEBRATED BY ARCHBISHOP DENIS HART
AT THE BASILICA OF SAINT PAUL OUTSIDE THE WALLS, ROME,
ON WEDNESDAY, 12TH OCTOBER 2011 AT 4.00 P.M.

DEAR BROTHERS AND SISTERS,

THANK YOU FOR JOINING THE AUSTRALIAN BISHOPS ON OUR PILGRIMAGE TO THIS HOLY PLACE DEDICATED TO SAINT PAUL THE APOSTLE OF THE GENTILES, WHOSE DYNAMIC MISSIONARY ENTHUSIASM INSPIRES OUR EFFORTS TO BRING OUR PEOPLE TO A DEEPER KNOWLEDGE AND LOVE OF JESUS CHRIST. Continue reading →

SOUTH-EAST ASIA TYPHOON TRAGIC – WORST MAY YET BE TO COME

Over a million people have been left dead, homeless or in danger since Typhoon Nesat tore through the South-East Asian nations of Cambodia and the Philippines.

Floodwaters continue to overwhelm cities, towns and villages including Cambodia’s capital Phnom Penh, and Luzon in the Philippines. Continue reading →

Hearing God’s call – resource for prisoners

Two years ago I was researching material for a new book. The book Call and Response is the resource that the Catholic Enquiry Centre supplies to those who enquire seeking information about the Catholic faith. In the midst of research and writing three significant things happened. The first was we received an enquiry from a priest asking if we had any catechetical resources that might be suitable for a person with impaired vision. Continue reading →