Photo courtesy of the Diocese of Sale

Reverend Deacon Anthony (Tony) Aspinall has been appointed by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference as the National Coordinator for the Permanent Diaconate.

Deacon Tony is from the Sale Diocese in Victoria, and was ordained to the Diaconate on 14 August, 1998.

Prior to his ordination, he worked for the Shell company in Melbourne in the area of compliance and auditing.

Deacon Tony is married to June and is the father of two children and grandfather to nine.

“My first appointment was to Narre Warren Parish where I was involved in general Parish ministry and was part time Chaplain to the Berwick Villa Maria aged care facility and the Dandenong Hospital Psychiatric wards. I later became part time Chaplain to St Francis Xavier College Beaconsfield.” Continue reading →

Media Release, 27 February, 2014

Bishop Peter Comensoli, Auxiliary Bishop of Sydney has been appointed by the Holy Father Pope Francis as Apostolic Administrator of the Archdiocese of Sydney.

Bishop Comensoli was ordained Auxiliary Bishop of Sydney on 20 April, 2011 and ordained to the Episcopate on 8 June, 2011 at St Mary’s Cathedral.

During the period while the position of Archbishop of Sydney is vacant, Bishop Comensoli will be responsible for the day-to-day running of the Archdiocese.

President of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference Archbishop Denis Hart congratulated Bishop Comensoli on this appointment. Continue reading →

Media Release
23 January, 2014

The Pastoral Research Office of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference will hold a three-day conference next month (19-21 February) on Australian Catholics and provide an in-depth look at the state of Catholicism in Australia.

The conference Beliefs and Practices of Australian Catholics: what we know and why it matters will bring together findings from the projects carried out by the in recent years.

The event will bring together people from parishes, diocesan agencies, Catholic health and aged care, Catholic social services, Catholic education, religious congregations and other Church organisations. Presenters will include local and international experts.

Director of the Pastoral Research Office, Dr Bob Dixon, said that the conference is a rare opportunity for people to consider the challenges posed by the research results. Continue reading →

MEDIA RELEASE
22 January 2014

Caritas Australia is disappointed by the Australian Government’s announcement of 18 January confirming cuts of $650 million from Australia’s official aid program in the 2013/14 financial year.

The cuts reduce funding for programs in Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, and South and West Asia which help to lift communities out of poverty. They also decrease Government support for non-government organisations like Caritas Australia. Continue reading →

Media Release

The jury of the Australian Catholic Office for Film & Broadcasting has awarded it annual prize to Jonathan Teplitsky’s The Railway Man.

“This deeply moving film about war, love, revenge, retribution and forgiveness was a standout in regard to promoting the best of human values which our prize enshrines”, said jury chair, Fr Richard Leonard.

Opening with a group of ageing former soldiers sitting in a veteran’s club in a Scottish town by the sea, Eric Lomax (Colin Firth) is actually never far from the Thai-Burma railway during World War II where, at the hands of his Japanese gaolers, he undergoes imprisonment, degradation and torture. Continue reading →

Media Release, 12 November 2013

Parish priests around Australia have been called on to acknowledge the start of Royal Commission hearings into Towards Healing on December 9 by reading the Catholic Church’s child sexual abuse commitment statement at Mass over the coming weeks.

The statement, which has been endorsed by Church leaders across Australia, acknowledges the damage sexual abuse has done. It acknowledges past failings including cover-ups, failures of leadership and not believing victims. Continue reading →

Truth, Justice and Healing Council Logo

Calls for a national mandatory accreditation and data collection system for all institutions working with children are part of the Catholic Church’s submission to the Royal Commission on child safe institutions.

The CEO of the Catholic Church’s Truth Justice and Healing Council, Francis Sullivan, said the core responsibility of religious and other Catholic organisational leaders is to ensure the safety of children entrusted to their care.

“There is no fail-safe method that can identify people who are unsuitable to work with children,” Mr Sullivan said. Continue reading →

Media Release, 1 September, 2013

The fourth Bishop of Wagga Wagga, William Brennan, died at 3pm yesterday (31 August) after a long illness.

William John Brennan was born on 16 February 1938 at Arncliffe, NSW.

Son of John Joseph Brennan and Elvie Margaret (nee Barton) from Forbes. William was the second eldest of six children, the others being Therese, John, Joan, Terence and Colleen.

He was educated by the Ursuline Nuns at Ashbury and the Christian Brothers at Lewisham (Sydney).

William Brennan trained for the priesthood at Saint Columba’s College, Springwood; and Saint Patrick’s College, Manly; and The Pontifical Urbaniana University, Rome. He did further studies at Sydney University and the University of New England. He held a Bachelor of Arts (Syd), DipEd(UNE), MLitt [Philosophy and Psychology] (UNE), STL (Urbaniana).

After his ordination to the priesthood on 21 December 1960, he was appointed Assistant Priest at Forbes and then Broken Hill, then Director of Schools for the Wilcannia-Forbes Diocese.

Following this he was Parish Priest of Nyngan and then Wentworth, combining that role with that of the Vicar of Education in the Wilcannia-Forbes Diocese.

William Brennan was appointed Bishop of Wagga Wagga on 16 January 1984 and his Episcopal Ordination took place on 1 March 1984.

In addition to his episcopal duties in the Wagga Wagga Diocese, Bishop William Brennan held various positions on the Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference, including Chairman of the Bishops’ Committee for Industrial Affairs, the Australian Catholic Social Justice Council, Deputy Chairman of Caritas. He was also part of the NSW Catholic Education Commission. Continue reading →

Media Release
22 August, 2013

More than 85 Catholics, mainly women, from around Australia attended the Office for the Participation of Women’s (OPW) and the Council for Australian Catholic Women’s (CACW) Colloquium Wisdom at the Gate on 16-17 August, 2013.

Held at the resting place of Saint Mary of the Cross MacKillop, the gathering brought together mostly women from dioceses around Australia for dialogue, reflection and renewal.

Also present was the Bishops’ Delegate for the CACW Bishop Peter Ingham who was inspired and challenged to understand better the perspective of women about the Church.

Director of the OPW Donella Johnston said that the event aimed to give people from around Australia an opportunity to develop friendships, dream for the Church and engage in “sacred conversations”. Continue reading →

Media Release, 5 July, 2013

As the peak Indigenous advisory body to the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Council (NATSICC) is proud launch a National Consultation into Indigenous Inculturation of the Catholic Church in Australia.
It is a timely announcement, given that this Sunday – Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Sunday – will see Indigenous and non Indigenous Catholics sit side by side to celebrate the gifts that Australia’s first people bring to the Church in Australia.

In collaboration with Aboriginal and Islander Catholic Ministries, councils and communities, the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference and the National Liturgical Council, the consultation aims to discover what can be done by Indigenous Catholics to bring to life the immortal words of Pope John Paul II in Alice Springs 1986:

The Church herself in Australia will not be fully the Church that Jesus wants her to be until you have made your contribution to her life and until that contribution has been joyfully received by others. Continue reading →