Category Archives: Bishops

Church calls for action to stem the rising tide of homelessness

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The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference has used its 2018-19 Social Justice Statement to express deep concern about Australia’s alarming growth in homelessness and insecure housing.

In A Place to Call Home: Making a home for everyone in our land, released this morning, the bishops have called on Australians to look beyond the immediate challenges of the average household budget and to consider those who are homeless or facing housing stress because of skyrocketing rents and property prices. Continue reading →

Geraldton Diocese gives strong country voice towards Plenary Council Plenary Council 2020

Catholics in the Western Australian diocese of Geraldton have provided a strong rural voice during the preparation phase of the three-year Plenary Council 2020 process.

The Geraldton Diocesan Conference 2018, drawing on Psalm 118, adopted the theme of “Lamp for the Steps and Light for the Way: Listen to God and each other as we light the way forward.” Continue reading →

Adelaide priest Fr Charles Gauci named Bishop of Darwin

Darwin Bishop-elect Charles Gauci

Pope Francis has this evening appointed Fr Charles Gauci, currently administrator of St Francis Xavier’s Cathedral in Adelaide, the seventh Bishop of Darwin.

Australian Catholic Bishops Conference president Archbishop Mark Coleridge welcomed the appointment of a man who is known for his deep spirituality and real commitment to evangelisation. Continue reading →

Dozens gather in Cairns for Plenary Council conversation Plenary Council 2020

More than 70 people from across Far North Queensland came together in Cairns last week in the latest of regular diocesan gatherings that are helping local communities commence the three-year Plenary Council process.

Plenary Council facilitator Lana Turvey-Collins, who has attended many such gatherings across the country, introduced the Cairns locals to the listening and dialogue process that will help groups — large and small — participate in the preparation phase of the Plenary Council. People’s dialogue sessions, which can inform submissions to the Plenary Council, will help shape the agenda for the Council sessions in 2020 and 2021. Continue reading →

Archbishop Coleridge elected president of Australian Catholic Bishops Conference

Archbishop Coleridge. Images by Giovanni Portelli Photography © 2016

The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference has today elected Archbishop Mark Coleridge of Brisbane as president of the Conference.

Archbishop Coleridge was ordained Auxiliary Bishop of Melbourne in 2002 and later became Archbishop of Canberra-Goulburn. Since 2012, he has served as Archbishop of Brisbane. Continue reading →

MEDIA STATEMENT: Catholic Bishops, Religious Leaders respond to Royal Commission final report

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has today released its final report, which includes a large number of recommendations, many of which will have a significant impact on the way the Catholic Church operates in Australia.

President of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, Archbishop Denis Hart, said the release of the final report is the culmination of almost five years of intense examination of the way in which many different institutions, including the Catholic Church, have historically failed children. Continue reading →

New Apostleship of the Sea director breaks new ground

The Catholic Church’s ministry to seafarers who visit Australian shores has a new national director, with Roslyn Rajasingam this week beginning as the first lay woman to hold the role.

Mrs Rajasingam, who has worked in Catholic and other faith-based agencies in Australia and overseas for most of the past 25 years, said the Church’s work through the Apostleship of the Sea is invaluable to those who work on the water. Continue reading →

New Vatican publication highlights Indigenous art, culture

When people think of the Vatican Museums, minds turn to Michelangelo and Raphael. But a new book celebrates the prominent place of Indigenous Australian art and culture on display at the much-visited attraction.

Australia – The Vatican Museums Indigenous Collection, which features some of the earliest known documentations of Australian Indigenous cultures, was officially launched in Canberra last week. The publication was a joint project of Aboriginal Studies Press and the Vatican Museums. Continue reading →

Pope Francis names Fr Brian Mascord fifth Bishop of Wollongong

The Holy Father has today appointed Fr Brian Mascord, currently the Vicar General of the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle, the fifth Bishop of Wollongong.

Australian Catholic Bishops Conference president Archbishop Denis Hart said Bishop-Elect Mascord brings a wealth of experience in parish ministry, education, chaplaincy and governance. Continue reading →

New report confirms the vastness of the Catholic workforce Australian Catholic Council for Employment Relations

Our Work Matters bookletsAlmost 220,000 people work in Catholic organisations across the country, a new report has found, confirming the Catholic Church’s place as one of the largest employers in Australia.

Bunbury Bishop Gerard Holohan, Bishops’ Delegate for Employment Relations, said those working in Catholic ministries – small and large – are carrying on the work of Jesus.

“The Catholic Church in Australia today continues the mission of Christ to humanity. This includes its organisations which minister to the poor and the sick; to the elderly and those struggling to find work; to Indigenous people and the homeless,” he said. Continue reading →