Sheik Khan, Professor Ramsay, Bishop McKenna and Dr Mohammed with the signed interfaith commitment statement (Giovanni Portelli photo)

Australian Catholic and Muslim leaders have adopted an interfaith commitment statement on the first anniversary of Pope Francis and Al-Azhar Grand Mufti Dr Ahmed al-Tayyeb signing the Document on Human Fraternity.

The anniversary was marked at an event at Australian Catholic University’s North Sydney campus on Tuesday evening attended by dozens of people from the two faith traditions.

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A new whole-of-Church initiative to help people and communities recover from the current bushfire crisis will set the blueprint for how the Catholic Church responds to domestic natural disasters in the future.

Earlier this month, the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference and a number of other national organisations encouraged Catholics to donate to the Vinnies Bushfire Appeal, which is supporting people who have lost loved ones, homes, property and animals.

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Bishop Pat Power and Alison Burt listen to the experiences of people in and around Tumut including those who were on the front lines (CSSA photo/Facebook)

by Ursula Stephens, CEO of Catholic Social Services Australia

Visiting some of the areas of southern New South Wales most affected by the unprecedented bushfires in recent days has highlighted the extent of the devastation and the long road of recovery that is ahead for so many communities.

In Wingello, I witnessed the capacity of a little village to hold its own, grateful for the diligence and persistence of firefighters who held off the fire in the Morton National Park. The community has rallied to support those who lost their homes, and there is an enormous sense of resilience in dealing with the aftermath of the terrifying experience.

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Pope Francis has appointed Fr Mykola Bychok CSsR, currently in ministry at St John’s Parish in New Jersey, the third Eparch of Sts Peter and Paul of Melbourne for Ukrainian Catholics in Australia and New Zealand.

Bishop-Elect Bychok will succeed Bishop Peter Stasiuk CSsR, who has served as eparch since 1992. Bishop Stasiuk, now 76, offered his resignation to Pope Francis upon turning 75, as canon law requires.

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Parishes across Australia will take up special collections at Masses on Australia Day weekend to support people and communities affected by devastating bushfires that have claimed more than 20 lives.

Australian Catholic Bishops Conference president Archbishop Mark Coleridge, in a statement on January 7, spoke of “our powerlessness before the devastating force of nature”, while praising the “heroic” efforts of firefighters and the resilience of the affected communities.

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The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference has extended the national prayer campaign for drought as historically dry conditions continue to affect most parts of eastern Australia.

The Bishops Conference initiated the prayer campaign to be held during the month of November, but this week decided that it should run indefinitely, until drought conditions ease.

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Malcolm Hart has been appointed director of the revamped National Centre for Evangelisation

Malcolm Hart, the director of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference’s Office for Youth, has been appointed director of the National Centre for Evangelisation.

Mr Hart, who last week served as director of the Australian Catholic Youth Festival for the fourth time, will lead a revamped National Centre for Evangelisation, which will take on the functions of a number of offices – including the Office for Youth. Continue reading →

The closing Mass of the 2019 Australian Catholic Youth Festival was held on Tuesday evening in Perth

Perth Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB has encouraged thousands of young Catholics to leave the 2019 Australian Catholic Youth Festival ready to open their hearts and lives to Jesus.

An open-air Mass at Trinity College in East Perth was the culmination of the three-day Festival, which attracted 5500 young people from across the country. It was the largest Catholic event ever held in Western Australia. Continue reading →

An 1871 portrait of Pope Pius IX by George Peter Alexander Healy (1813-1894) (Wikimedia)

December 8 marked the 150th anniversary of the opening of the First Vatican Council. This is the final article in a series on the Council, its key moments and its legacy.

by Dr Josephine Laffin, Australian Catholic University

Full in the panting heart of Rome
Beneath the apostle’s crowning dome.
From pilgrim’s lips that kiss the ground,
Breathes in all tongues one only sound —
God bless our Pope, the great, the good!

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Bishop for Youth Columba Macbeth-Green OSPPE speaks with young Indigenous Catholics about faith, culture and life at the Australian Catholic Youth Festival

American speaker, evangelist and author Katie Prejean McGrady has told 5500 young Australian Catholics that they are made “not only for something great” in this world, but that they are ultimately made “to worship God for eternity”.

Mrs McGrady was addressing the evening plenary session on the second day of the 2019 Australian Catholic Youth Festival, which will conclude in Perth on Tuesday evening. Continue reading →