Category Archives: Uncategorized

Communicating timeless messages using new media

www.cievents.com.au/events/ACMC2012

Recently, a friend sent through a message to me on Facebook with the picture just below, which shows Jesus talking to a young man. Indeed, Jesus is asking us to follow him, and although we all misread the signs at times – Christ desires all of us to be with him. So, we have a 2,000 year old message which is timeless, it doesn’t age, although perhaps the mediums we use to communicate the message could do with a little work. This message of course is that of love, hope, mercy, faith and salvation. These are not easy messages to put into one line “tweet” or a pithy “facebook” status. We don’t exactly update our relationship status to “In a relationship with Jesus Christ” and consider ourselves “Facebook official” the moment we realise how much we have been gifted by God in our lives.. The hope of Christ in the world gives life to all, and yet so many haven’t been touched in this way.

Next year, the second Australian Catholic Media Congress will be held at the Menzies Hotel in Sydney with the theme “Communicating the Word: Timeless messages, new media.” Our international guest for this Congress is Monsignor Paul Tighe, Secretary to the Pontifical Council for Social Communications.

The Congress is open to anyone who wishes to attend, particularly those with an interest in Church media. The congress aims to address some of the challenges of spreading a message in a sometimes hostile world; it aims to show new ways of engaging with technology to more effectively proclaim those messages. Over three days, from the 30th of April to the 2nd of May, the bishops have invited you, the people of Australia to attend the Australian Catholic Media Congress and discuss your hopes and vision for Church media.

So we hope that you will join us. www.cievents.com.au/events/ACMC2012

Building bridges in the justice system

By Beth Doherty

Note: For a copy of the Social Justice statement, or for more information, visit http://www.socialjustice.catholic.org.au/

Social Justice Sunday was celebrated in parishes over the weekend of 24 September and this year’s statement by the bishops is on a unique and timely subject: prisons and the justice system. The statement is hopeful and reflects the Gospel-inspired dream of human dignity held by the Church for some of the most undervalued members of our society. It also wonders aloud about a system in this country which falls terribly short.

The CEO of Jesuit Social Services Julie Edwards spoke on our justice system as she opened the National Justice Symposium held at Australian Catholic University over the weekend of 21-22 October, a symposium specifically on this topic.

She said: “We want a community where people flourish and get to reach their potential. We want to bring this type of community into being through evidence-based assessments and respect for human dignity, not just knee-jerk reactions. Let’s not have a shallow, superficial and populist conversation. We want to help people turn their lives around. We need to step back and ask, “What does a humane, effective justice system look like?” Continue reading →

The Blessing of the Altar; Domus Australia Rome; By + Cardinal George Pell

Archbishop of Sydney
17 October 2011
This evening we conclude the retreat day of the Ad Limina visit with both Mass in this renovated chapel of St. Peter Chanel and the consecration of its new altar.
I am not sure whether the chapel was ever consecrated previously by the Marist Fathers. But we can be sure that this place of worship has been made holy by the prayers and lives of all the Marist priests and seminarians who lived here during more than one hundred years.
As Jesus pointed out to the Samaritan woman, his followers, the true worshippers to which we belong, worship the Father in spirit and truth. It is the same Eucharist, the same seven sacraments that will continue to be celebrated here as in the Marist times, when we worship the Father through his only Son. Continue reading →

Toward a theology of disability

By Patricia Mowbray

The Disability Projects Office of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference is a much more all-encompassing ministry than one might imagine. It involves encouraging and promoting the full participation of people with disability, their families and friends in the faith life of our Church in Australia.

It’s all about taking our rightful place in the Body of Christ. Continue reading →

Hearing God’s call – resource for prisoners

Two years ago I was researching material for a new book. The book Call and Response is the resource that the Catholic Enquiry Centre supplies to those who enquire seeking information about the Catholic faith. In the midst of research and writing three significant things happened. The first was we received an enquiry from a priest asking if we had any catechetical resources that might be suitable for a person with impaired vision. Continue reading →

To the threshold of the Apostles – Australian Bishops Begin their Ad Limina visit

By Fr Brian Lucas and Beth Doherty

The Australian Bishops have begun their Ad Limina visit with a reception at the Vatican Museum which featured a presentation on the Australian indigenous collection.

The following is an extract from the homily of the president of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference Archbishop Wilson at the tomb of St Peter.

“Today we begin our Ad Limina visit. It is an act of pilgrimage. As bishops we come to be renewed in faith and love as we renew our unity with one another as successors of the Apostles and with the Holy Father, Pope Benedict; the successor of Peter. We come seeking peace in our lives as bishops. A peace fostered by our obedience; an obedience framed in different ways at different levels of our faith; an obedience framed firstly in our relationship with God; to Jesus’ rule of faith and love; then an obedience framed in our love and fidelity to the Holy Father and the Church. Finally, we come in an obedience of love to one another as brother bishops and to all our people, our sisters and brothers in the communion of the Church.”

The Bishops were joined at this Mass by a number of Australian religious workingin Rome and other Australian visitors. Continue reading →

The Catholic Solution

Growing up in regional Australia you will forgive me for thinking that been part of the Catholic Church was a lot like been a member of an RSL club – same thing each week and full of old people! I didn’t even know what the word “Catholic” meant and only recently found out it means “Universal”.

While I found that info on Wikipedia, I was also very blessed to actually ‘see’ our Universal Church while at World Youth Day in Madrid this year. Seeing the Church at an event where over two million Catholics from every country in the world come together in unity as sisters and brothers is an amazing sight. It was the Church in her true colours – vibrant and universal! Continue reading →

ACBC MediaBlog

Latest media releases and statements by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference