Bathurst Bishop Michael McKenna

Australian Catholic social services, individual parishes and dioceses have swung into action to assist regional and rural communities suffering hardship due to prolonged drought.

In light of the current crippling eastern seaboard drought affecting rural and regional communities from northern Victoria to Queensland, the Catholic Social Services Australia network has again called for a reinstatement of Federal-government support for its rural assistance and counselling programs. Continue reading →

Pope Paul VI’s encyclical Humanae Vitae was published 50 years ago this month.

by Steven Buhagiar

In Amoris Laetitia, Pope Francis reminds us that “we need to return to the message of the encyclical Humanae Vitae”. (82)

How are we to understand this call? I think the key is to be found in the Pope’s recent statement to doctors that “the Church is for life!” It always has been. As the Scriptures say: “I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.” Continue reading →

The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference has supported new legislation to help eradicate the scourge of modern slavery.

The ACBC has been advocating legislation to combat slavery for a number of years. The bishops acknowledged the long-term and expert work of Australian Catholic Religious Against Trafficking in Humans (ACRATH) and the Archdiocese of Sydney’s Anti-Slavery Taskforce to achieve this outcome. Continue reading →

Archbishop-elect Peter Comensoli Images by Giovanni Portelli Photography © 2018

Pope Francis has this evening appointed the Bishop of Broken Bay, Peter A. Comensoli, as the new Archbishop of Melbourne, with effect from August 1, when he will be installed in St Patrick’s Cathedral.

Archbishop-elect Comensoli was ordained priest for the Diocese of Wollongong and served as Auxiliary Bishop and Apostolic Administrator of the Archdiocese of Sydney before being appointed to Broken Bay in December 2014. Continue reading →

Sixty women and men from Parramatta Diocese and beyond gathered last week to discuss the critical place of women in the life of the Catholic Church and the need for the female voice in leadership.

Our Lady of Mercy College, a school deeply committed to women’s participation in Church and society, was a fitting venue for the evening of formation and consultation with the Council for Australian Catholic Women. Continue reading →

The role of women in families and communities and in the Catholic Church is the focus of this year’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Sunday, to be celebrated on July 1.

The theme for this year’s celebration is “Because of her, we can” – which is shared with the theme for NAIDOC week, to be held from July 8-15. Continue reading →

Sr Monica Cavanagh RSJ

Australian Catholic Bishops Conference president Archbishop Mark Coleridge has congratulated Sr Monica Cavanagh RSJ on her election yesterday as president of Catholic Religious Australia at the group’s National Assembly.

Sr Monica, currently congregational leader of the Sisters of St Joseph, was elected along with a number of other religious women and men to the Catholic Religious Australia Council. Continue reading →

Lana Turvey-Collins explains the Plenary Council 2020 process to Townsville locals.

The northern Australia tour continued for Plenary Council facilitator Lana Turvey-Collins recently when delivered five sessions over three days in the Townsville Diocese, presenting to more than 130 people.

Geoff Gowdie, Church life and mission services director for the Diocese, saw the opportunity to gather as many people as possible together from a wide range of ministries to gain an understanding of how the Plenary Council will work. Those people can then serve as leaders in their specific ministry or parish.

Continue reading →

Roslyn Rajasingam, national director of the Apostleship of the Sea

Dozens of Catholic chaplains and managers who work in Australian ports – and the tens of thousands of people who support their work financially – are being reminded of the scriptural imperative to “always welcome a stranger” in the lead-up to Sea Sunday next month.

On July 8, the Catholic Church will celebrate the work of those men and women who work on the seas and those Catholics across the country who minister to seafarers by providing spiritual, social and material support. Continue reading →

Pope Francis has sent his support and blessings to the Catholic Church in Australia as it commences a three-year process to consider its future through the Plenary Council 2020.

The Church in Australia, on the feast of Pentecost, yesterday marked the official launch of the Plenary Council, which will culminate in gatherings in 2020 and 2021 to consider the Church’s governance, laws and practice. Continue reading →