Media Release
June 20, 2013

The Council for Australian Catholic Women (CACW) has announced its inaugural colloquium for Australian Catholic women which will take place on Friday and Saturday 16-17 August at Mary MacKillop Place in North Sydney.

Wisdom at the Gate: Radiant and Unfolding is a colloquium facilitated by the CACW which aims to gather, connect and re-energise those who are responding to the issues of women’s participation in the Catholic Church within their local context.

Director of the Office for the Participation of Women (OPW) Donella Johnston is working with the CACW to organise this colloquium, and hopes that the collaborative effort will bear fruits that will last.

“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”, she said. Continue reading →

Media Release:
Catholic Earthcare Australia

To celebrate World Environment Day, on June 5th 2013, Catholic Earthcare Australia is proud to announce the launch of our 2013 annual resource- The Awesome Cosmic Story.

An interactive, educational program ‘The Awesome Cosmic Story’ explores the creation of our universe, and the world as we know it, through an inspirational blend of theology and science.

In the lead up to World Environment Day on June 5th, Catholic Earthcare Director Jacqui Rémond hopes this interactive education tool will “encourage Christians young and old to experience wonder and awe at the beauty and complexity of God’s creation. “When we spend time reflecting on our belief that everything in the universe is created by God, it’s hard to ignore our call as Christians to care for, and be responsible guardians, of such a wonderful gift, given with love.” Continue reading →

A life-changing trip to Peru provided the inspiration for students from The University of Notre Dame Australia to record their experiences in a new book titled Holistic Development in Action; Changing Lives in Peru.

Launched at Notre Dame’s Fremantle Campus by Caritas Australia CEO, Jack de Groot, the book details the students’ experiences as they travelled with members of Caritas through the Andes mountains, visiting remote schools and communities in 2012.

The trip was made available through the University’s Experience the World program, which was developed in 2005, in collaboration with Caritas Australia and the School of Arts & Sciences on the Fremantle Campus.

Arts student, Vicky Burrows, said she witnessed first-hand how effectively Caritas workers engaged with the communities to deliver change and improve the quality of life for Peruvian people. Continue reading →

Mr Francis Sullivan, CEO of the Truth Justice and Council, has met with the Bishop of Bunbury, Gerard Holohan and local priests to discuss the Royal Commission into Child sexual abuse.

Mr Sullivan said last week’s meeting had been overwhelmingly positive and all involved understood the importance of the Royal Commission to victims and to the Church.

“We talked about the process the Council is going through to collect important documents from dioceses and congregation for the Commission,” Mr Sullivan said.

“We also talked about the way in which parish priests are responding to their congregations at a pastoral level and the importance of providing clear information to parishioners with a focus on the changes that have taken place over the past 20 years.

“Everyone I met said this Royal Commission is an historic opportunity for the truth to be told and for healing and reconciliation,” Mr Sullivan said. Continue reading →

7 June 2013
Media Release

On June 6, 2013, the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People together with “Cor Unum” published the Document; “Welcoming Christ in Refugees and Forcibly Displaced Persons: Pastoral Guidelines”.

The document sets pastoral guidelines and aims to create awareness of the context of forced migration. The document also highlights the weaknesses and ambiguities of the strategies that the international community and national States have developed to prevent and oppose the phenomenon. Continue reading →

Media Release, 20 May, 2013

Catholic Mission has officially launched its 2013 Propagation of the Faith Church Appeal with the theme ‘Do not be afraid… I will rescue you.’ This campaign will appear in parishes around Australia throughout the coming months, as well as online and via a direct mail campaign, and highlights the missionary response to the desperate reality of child trafficking and child labour in India and throughout the world. All donations raised from the appeal will be used to fund Catholic Mission’s work with communities in over 160 countries around the world; providing vital support that assists whole parishes in their pastoral work.

The campaign was inspired by the Bible verse Jeremiah 1:8, and centres on the incredible work of Sister Clara Devaraj and her fellow Salesian sisters who work tirelessly in Chennai (formerly known as Madras) to rescue young girls from the tragic circumstances associated with extreme poverty; providing them with a safe and caring environment at their Marialaya Children’s Home. Continue reading →

Sourcing images of Pope Francis

To order photos of Pope Francis, there are a number of options.

If you are looking for an official portrait, you need to email your request through to photo@ossrom.va. I am informed that you can purchase one digital image for 100 euros which can be used for non-commercial purposes (i.e. for schools, parishes, offices), or, packages as specified on the following site of L’Osservatore Romano www.photovat.com When ordering, you need to specify exactly what you require, including size and the number of the photo. All of those instructions are included on the www.photovat.com website.

The Catholic Weekly has also got some options available for purchase by clicking on the following link.

For media images, for use in publications, you can purchase photos from http://www.apimages.com/

17 May 2013, Media Release

The excision policy has been in place since 2001 and since that time we have still had thousands of people turn up on our shores asking for help.

The decision yesterday by the government to expand the excision policy to cover asylum seekers arriving by boat at any part of the Australian coastline will do nothing to help the underlying situation of war and poverty which compel asylum flows around the world.

“The majority of people seeking asylum in Australia by boat come from Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, and Sri Lanka, these four countries all feature in the top 10 countries at risk of serious human rights violations and mass killings” said Bishop Gerard Hanna, Australian Catholic Bishops Delegate for Migrants and Refugees.

“These people are compelled to leave their homeland and have no option but to seek asylum in a third country” he said.

“It is tragic to think our response is to bypass their legal protections under the refugee convention and send them to remote indefinite mandatory detention on Manus Island or Nauru” said Bishop Hanna.

“Australia is part of the international community, we have a moral obligation to ensure that our decisions and policies contribute to, or at the very least do not subtract from, the common good of all humanity” said Bishop Hanna. Continue reading →

Media Release, 16 May, 2013

Mr Francis Sullivan, CEO of The Truth, Justice and Healing Council, established by the Catholic Church to coordinate the Church’s response to The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, visited Wollongong yesterday to meet with Bishop Peter Ingham, clergy, religious, school principals, and employees from the Catholic Education Office, CatholicCare and the Office of the Bishop.

Mr Sullivan walked through the process of the Royal Commission and gave an understanding of the public and private hearings. He commented, “This is our opportunity not to let down people who have been damaged by the Church.” All present were very positive in their response to Mr Sullivan’s presentation. Continue reading →

Media Release, 16 May, 2013

The Australian Catholic Life Council today released a short video series “God So Loved The World” as a pastoral resource to educate, inform and provide information about life issues.

This pastoral series of videos was developed in collaboration with Respect Life Offices around Australia, bioethicists, theologians, doctors, academics and pastoral carers to provide a response to difficult issues such as abortion, euthanasia and reproductive technologies.

Taking an educative and explanatory approach, the series shares the Catholic Church’s position on bioethical issues, choosing to focus on abortion, euthanasia and reproductive technologies.

The series is available online at www.godsolovedtheworld.org.au

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJz4xSS8gTk

Chair of the Australian Catholic Life Council Bishop Eugene Hurley in recommending the series said that people need to move away from legalistic language and become more pastoral about how they care for those facing life and death challenges. Continue reading →