People in need of humanitarian assistance.

CARITAS Australia, part of Caritas Internationalis one of the world’s largest humanitarian networks, has called for more to be done to contain the growing humanitarian crisis in Syria and neighbouring countries.

Two years of conflict in Syria has caused more than 70,000 deaths and four million people are now in need of urgent humanitarian assistance, including 2.5 million people within Syria who are now internally displaced. Just last week, the UNHCR announced that the number of Syrians registered or receiving assistance as refugees in neighbouring countries had surpassed 1 million.

The Caritas network including Caritas Lebanon, Caritas Jordan and Caritas Turkey have a long established presence in the region.

In response to the crisis, the Caritas network is providing emergency humanitarian assistance, shelter, medical care, food, water and sanitation, and psychosocial support to many Syrian refugees in Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey. Continue reading →

Pope Francis prays in front of Our Lady at his inauguration mass

Fr Richard Leonard

The Election

The Election was first published in Eureka Street

It’s only by good luck and blessing that I found myself in Rome during these days. I have been booked to come as a visiting professor to the Gregorian University for the last twelve months. Obviously BXVI got wind of it and resigned, setting in motion the events of recent days.

On Tuesday morning I was being interviewed by Geraldine Doogue for “Compass” on the roof of the Jesuit Curia, right next to the St Peter’s Square, when the black smoke went up. I said to Gerry on air, “It’s just like so many people’s impressions of the Catholic Church – black or white!” That gem deserves to be left on the cutting room floor. No one thought the Conclave would have it done after three votes, and most seasoned Vatican-watchers were saying Thursday midday.

I finished teaching at 7pm. The first clue that something was on were the bells. As the white smoke went up, the bells at St Peter’s starts ringing and, through a centuries-old tradition, the tolling cascades from one belfry to the next. It took two minutes for the churches around the Trevi Fountain, where the Gregorian is located, to ring out the news. I guess a tweet would be quicker, but less poetic.

At that moment a Polish nun, in full habit ran past me shouting ‘fumare bianca, fumare bianca’. Sister was excited. And all of a sudden so was I. These last days have seen this extraordinary Catholic theatre: where 115 men talk to the world via a chimney stack. It was time for the ‘big reveal’. I now know where real-life TV gets this stuff from. Continue reading →

Bishop Peter Ingham

Bishop Peter Ingham today warmly welcomed the election of Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio SJ as the new Pope. Taking the name Francis, the new pontiff was elected on the second day of the Conclave of Cardinals.

Bishop Ingham said he joined with all Catholics in praying for the new Pope as he took on the awesome responsibility of leading the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics.

Bishop Ingham said, “I am very excited! The election of a new Pope is always a joyous time for the Church as was witnessed by the massive crowds gathered in St Peter’s Square braving the rain. He looked so calm and humble during what would have been a very daunting moment in his life. I liked how he asked the people to pray for him.

“Although a somewhat unexpected candidate, I am thrilled with the decision and I think it shows that the Cardinals really have listened to the Holy Spirit. Being from Latin America, the new Pope brings with him the perspective of the Southern Hemisphere to the Northern Hemisphere. He also brings with him a great social conscience. He is a champion of the poor, which is clearly evident in the simple spartan lifestyle that he has lived.

“As a member of the international Jesuit order, which means the Society of Jesus, the new Pope comes from a great legacy of spiritual leadership, prayer, and a strong focus on education and social justice – being a voice for the voiceless. As Archbishop Denis Hart said, he focuses us on following Jesus closely. Continue reading →

Aussie Pope Alarm image

Media Release, 12 March, 2013

Inspired by www.popealarm.com – a revolutionary new web application that will send a text message or email when the white smoke rises from the Vatican- the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference’s Communications office has developed aussiepopealarm.com.

The Communications Office saw the creation of aussiepopealarm.com as a way in which Catholics in Australia could more fully participate in this historic moment in the Catholic Church’s history.

The US-based organisation FOCUS developed popealarm.com which is an excellent service working on US and Canadian telephone numbers.

A Carmelite priest working in the Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn Fr Jaison Mulerrikal CMI worked with a team of web developers over a 24-hour period to bring this application to an Australian audience.

Matthew Price of mbprice.com designed the landing page, which features links, a field to enter your information and beautiful images of the Sistine Chapel. Continue reading →

cover image: why bother praying by Fr Richard Leonard sj

Book launch – 7:30pm Tuesday 2 April, 20-13, St Mary’s Church, North Sydney

Fr Richard Leonard SJ, Director of the Australian Catholic Office for Film and Broadcasting will launch his new book Why Bother Praying? (New York: Paulist Press, 2013) 7.30pm, Tuesday 2nd April 2013, St Mary’s Church, 264 Miller St, North Sydney.

Why Bother Praying? is less about how to pray, and more about why we pray and what it does for us, for God and for the world.

Richard explores the context within which we pray, what is distinctive about Christian prayer, praying to Jesus, what communal prayers do, how Mary and the Saints help us pray, and finally, what the point of prayer is – sending us out with Christ to witness to the reign of God in our world. The book will be available for sale, there will be an opportunity for a signing, and a reception will follow the lecture in The Ron Dyer Centre. Continue reading →

Cardinal Pell speaks to Katrina Lee on the resignation of the Pope

Catholic Communications, Sydney Archdiocese,
12 Feb 2013

At the below link, Cardinal Pell talks to Communications Director of the Archdiocese of Sydney, Katrina Lee, about the Holy Father’s decision to leave the papacy; his legacy; his leadership and writings; the process from now and if a new pope will introduce a new era in the Church. This is published on YouTube via the Xt3 Channel.

A Conversation with Cardinal George Pell on the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI

Archbishop Philip Wilson

The decision of Pope Benedict XVI to resign on February 28 comes as a great shock to the people of the Adelaide Archdiocese and, indeed, to the rest of the world.

As its spiritual leader, Pope Benedict has steered the Catholic Church through extremely challenging times and he has done so with great grace and humility. His announcement yesterday is further testament to his unselfish commitment to the Church and its future.

On a personal note, I have been fortunate to meet Pope Benedict on several occasions as a bishop and in my former role as President of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference. I have always found him to be very humble and kind-hearted.

His insightful writings and teachings on theology and current issues affecting the Church will have a lasting impact, as will his leadership in the area of ecumenicism.

As South Australians, we will always hold a special place in our hearts for Pope Benedict for conferring the canonisation of our nation’s first saint, Mary of the Cross MacKillop. We also remember fondly his visit to Australia for World Youth Day in 2008.

We pray for the Pope as he concludes his papacy over the next two weeks and continues to serve God through a life dedicated to prayer.

Open doors into the future

Media Release, 12 February, 2013

Caritas Australia marks with gratitude Pope Benedict XVI’s leadership and hopes that his legacy and passion for the “poorest of the poor” and concern over the problems of global human development will be hallmarks of his successor.

Caritas Australia CEO, Jack de Groot made the comments on the eve of Project Compassion, one of Australia’s largest humanitarian fundraisers that brings together thousands of Catholic school children and parishes across Australia in solidarity with the world’s poor.

“The Pope is passionate about the world’s poor and on many occasions emphasised that charity and truth are fundamental parts of faith and our development, both as individuals and for humanity as a whole,” Mr de Groot said. Continue reading →