Manus Island detention centre (Refugee Action Coalition file photo)

Australia’s Catholic bishops have joined the bishops of Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands in calling for detainees on Manus Island and Nauru to be resettled in Australia – eight years after the advent of mandatory offshore detention.

Bishop Vincent Long Van Nguyen OFM Conv, chair of the Catholic Bishops Commission for Social Justice, Mission and Service, has welcomed an open letter from the Catholic Bishops Conference of Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands to the Australian Parliament.

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Catholic ministries are being encouraged to find creative ways to celebrate the inaugural World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly, which will be commemorated on July 25.

Pope Francis announced earlier this year that the day will be marked each year around the feast of Sts Joachim and Anne, the grandparents of Jesus.

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The national agency that conducts surveys and research about the Catholic Church, its members and its ministries has just marked 25 years crunching the data.

Established in 1996 as the Pastoral Projects Office and later named the Pastoral Research Office, the National Centre for Pastoral Research – as it has been known since 2018 – recently celebrated the significant milestone and its history.

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The Church celebrates Sea Sunday on July 11 this year (Photo supplied)

Cardinal Peter Turkson has urged Catholics globally to give thanks for the efforts of maritime workers and pray for their health, safety and wellbeing as the Church celebrates Sea Sunday.

Parishes and Church ministries in Australia are among those that mark Sea Sunday on the second Sunday in July – this year, on July 11.

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Baptised Catholics are invited to submit expressions of interest to serve on a national advisory body to the Bishops Commission for Evangelisation, Laity and Ministry (BCELM).

Up to eight individuals will be selected to serve voluntarily on the Council for Evangelisation, Laity and Ministry, commencing later this year.

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The Catholic Church advocated for a 4 per cent increase to the minimum wage

by Bishop Vincent Long Van Nguyen OFM Conv

It is important to remember that many people – even people who are in full-time employment – can work hard, yet still struggle to provide for their families.

The Church employs more than 220,000 people across Australia, so it has an important role in this debate as we are both a substantial employer and a Church with concern for the most vulnerable.

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The agenda of the Fifth Plenary Council of Australia calls those attending the Council assemblies to “develop concrete proposals to create a more missionary, Christ-centred Church in Australia”.

The Council agenda, which has emerged from three years and several layers of prayer, listening, dialogue and discernment, will shape the program of the Council’s assemblies – the first of which opens on October 3 this year.

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Perth couple Karen and Derek Boylen were part of the Australian contingent to take part in a Vatican conference on marriage and family (Photo supplied)

by Karen and Derek Boylen

Family is a universal and challenging experience for everyone. It is also the future of the Church.

Last week, more than 250 people, representing 72 bishops conferences and more than 30 groups and movements from around the world, gathered online to discuss marriage and family.

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Dr Virginia Miller has written a book on abuse inquiries in Australia, Ireland and the United States

An Australian researcher says while the child sexual abuse Royal Commission pushed strongly for better child protection measures, it did not acknowledge safeguards already in place had lowered rates of offending.

Virginia Miller, a research fellow at the Centre for Public and Contextual Theology at Charles Sturt University, has just published a book on abuse inquiries in Australia, Ireland and the United States. Continue reading →

Six Australians will this week participate in a four-day international webinar to reflect on the pastoral application of Pope Francis’ 2016 apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia (The Joy of Love).

Earlier this year, the Pope inaugurated the Amoris Laetitia Family Year, which is due to culminate with the celebration of the World Meeting of Families in Rome in June 2022.

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