Ditosa from Mozambique – Caritas’ main Project Compassion story 2013

Caritas Australia has thanked thousands of generous supporters right across Australia who joined in solidarity with the world’s poor during Project Compassion 2013.

Caritas Australia’s major fundraiser, run over the six weeks of Lent, once again broke a fundraising record. In 2012, more than $10.7 million was raised; while this year, nearly $11 million was raised for the poorest of the poor.

Every year, Project Compassion brings together thousands of Australians in solidarity with the world’s most marginalised people and 2013 is no exception, with hundreds of Catholic schools, parishes and individuals taking part in the annual Lenten appeal. Continue reading →

Francis Sullivan, photo by Beth Doherty

Media Release, 9 July, 2013

Francis Sullivan, CEO of the Truth Justice and Healing Council, has welcomed the Royal Commission’s call today for public comment on Towards Healing – the Catholic Church’s principles and procedures for responding to complaints of abuse.

Speaking shortly after the release of the Royal Commission’s second issues paper, Mr Sullivan said Towards Healing is evidence of the church’s professional approach to the scourge of sex abuse.

“Towards Healing has been reviewed a number of times since it was first introduced in 1996,” Mr Sullivan said.

“The Towards Healing protocols have radically improved the Church’s handling of sex abuse allegations and its treatment of victims of abuse.

“If Towards Healing had been in place prior to the 1990s, we’d have fewer scandals and fewer people would be living with the impact of abuse.

“We welcome this opportunity for further examination of these protocols.

“We will be making a submission and we encourage others to participate in this review. Continue reading →

Media Release, 10 July, 2013

Over 1800 young Australian pilgrims and 16 Australian Bishops are set to participate in WYD Rio from 23-28 July which has the theme “Go and make disciples of all nations!” (cf. Mt 28:19). This will be the first WYD for the newly elected Pope Francis and is expected to draw several million youth from around the world to celebrate the event.

Close to 40 Australian groups are making pilgrimages to WYD Rio. The largest is the Archdiocese of Sydney, host of WYD 2008 in Sydney. Over 450 will travel with Cardinal Pell and three auxiliary bishops from Sydney. Bishop Anthony Fisher OP, Bishop of Parramatta and Director of WYD08, is leading the second largest pilgrimage with over 250 pilgrims.

In addition to the larger delegations there is wide representation from around the country including a group of Indigenous pilgrims from Darwin and a Vietnamese group from South Australia. Continue reading →

Young person involved in the campaign

Australian Young Christian Students (AYCS), part of the End Child Detention Coalition, has called for all sides of politics to give special consideration to children who are currently detained in Australia’s immigration system.

Annie Purbrick, 16 year old spokesperson for AYCS welcomed Immigration Minister Tony Burke moving the last 12 child asylum seekers off Manus Island, but explained there is a great deal of work still to be done.

“Children are a particularly vulnerable group and should not be subject to Australia’s harsh treatment of children who have turned to us for help,” said Ms. Purbrick.

“It remains vital for their health and wellbeing that asylum seeker children and their families be processed here in Australia without being subjected to extended periods of detention. Continue reading →

Media Release, 9 July, 2013

The Australian Catholic Life Council has made available the DVD version of “God So Loved The World”, a Pastoral Series on Life Issues. It can now be purchased and shipped within two days through orders at www.godsolovedtheworld.org.au. The DVD is available for a suggested donation of $10. Continue reading →

Rio de Janeiro Safety and Security Statement, 3 July, 2013.

In recent weeks grassroots protests have taken place in Brazil.

The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference (ACBC) would like to reassure leaders, pilgrims and their families that the safety and well-being of pilgrims is our first priority.

The World Youth Day (WYD) Office in Rio reports that, contrary to some media reports, the protests have mostly been peaceful and some actions by small groups of activists are not supported by the majority of the protesters.

The protests seem to have since died down and the Archbishop of Rio de Janeiro, Most Rev. Orani João Tempesta O.Cist., has expressed his confidence that the protests will not impact upon the celebration of WYD, which he says is “held in high esteem by all”.

Archbishop Tempesta said that WYD shares with the demonstrators a desire to build a better society.

“Catholic youth also have these same hopes and dreams, and they keep Christ in their hearts,” he said. (See http://www.rio2013.com/ en/news/details/2457/pilgrim-s-safety-in-the-spotlight)

The Australian Bishops’ Commission for Pastoral Life (BCPL) has been in liaison with the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) since October 2012. Continue reading →

Australian Religious Response to Climate Change

In a remarkable show of unity, prominent faith leaders from diverse religious backgrounds are calling for bipartisan support of a carbon price in the lead up to the 2013 federal election.

The leaders have signed an open letter organised by the Australian Religious Response to Climate Change, and will be commenting publicly at an official launch in Sydney this Thursday. The letter adds moral weight to calls for the winding back of coal exports and for greater investment in clean, renewable energy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The sixteen signatories include the Grand Mufti of Australia, the President of the Uniting Church Assembly, Senior Rabbi of The Great Synagogue in Sydney, and the Chair of the Hindu Council of Australia. Continue reading →

Photo courtesy of the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne.

The National Catholic Education Commission (NCEC) notes the passing of the Australian Education Act through the Australian Parliament last week.

The Act determines new funding arrangements that will deliver additional funding for the needs of students in Catholic schools across Australia from 2014.

Given the passing of the legislation, NCEC is committed to continuing discussions and negotiations to finalise the regulations and other relevant arrangements to enable funding for Catholic schools from 2014.

State and Territory Commissions as system authorities will further progress outstanding arrangements in the coming months.

ENDS
Contact:
Ross Fox
Executive Director
Tel: (02) 6201 9830
Mob: 0422 583 117
2 July, 2013

By +Archbishop Mark Coleridge

The full text of the ACBC election statement can be viewed at www.catholicsvote2013.org.au

The elusive concept of “the Catholic Vote” frequently makes an appearance during elections and this year’s Australian Federal election will be no different. But like all groups, Catholics are a broad and diverse lot, representing a wide cross section of the Australian population.

One in four Australians are Catholic. A quarter of the 5.4 million Catholics in Australia were born overseas and more than two thirds of this group are from non-English speaking backgrounds. The top five non-English languages spoken are Italian, Filipino languages, Spanish, Arabic and Vietnamese.

That diversity is a great strength as it allows us to have a great many perspectives on how best to apply Catholic social teaching to the problems that face Australia.

The first point of contact with the political process for most of us is the local candidates that present for election. The bishops have asked us all to meet with local candidates and make our concerns known. That’s important because however presidential the style of campaigning that we see every night on the television, ultimately we vote for local candidates – not national leaders. If we can award the best of the local candidates with our vote, that’s one of the most important steps we can take to ensure the national parliament runs well. Continue reading →

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCsqMGl0gdI

www.wisdomatthegate.org.au: Wisdom at the Gate is a colloquium facilitated by the Council for Australian Catholic Women and supported by the National Office for the Participation of Women. It aims to gather, connect and reenergise those who are responding to the issues of women’s participation in our church within their local context.
While acknowledging the limitations that exist, the colloquium is an invitation for women to gather and dream; to be all they can be; to re-imagine the potential of what is possible within their own context; and to distil the wisdom that women carry and nurture within their lives and our church.