“Asylum seekers should never be used as pawns in defence of Australia’s borders,” said Marcelle Mogg, CEO Catholic Social Services Australia.

Speaking in response to participant discussions on Australia’s response to the current global refugee crisis at the Review, Reimagine, Renew Conference in Melbourne, Ms Mogg said that Australia must stop using people fleeing conflict as a deterrent to others seeking asylum in this country.

“Australia’s political leaders have accused people seeking asylum of base motives such as placing children at risk in their efforts to secure a place in Australia. Yet our policies of deterrence do just this: we retain children in detention indefinitely, turn back boats at sea, and detain people off-shore who have every legal right to claim asylum in Australia. And we do this all in the name of ‘deterrence’.

“Australia’s response to people seeking asylum must reflect our regard for their humanity, dignity and vulnerability. Continue reading →

John L. Allen Jr.

Three pillars of Pope Francis’ papacy provide ‘a Magna Carta for Catholic Social Services’, Vatican Reporter John L. Allen Jr. told leaders gathered today at the joint Catholic Social Services Australia and Catholic Social Services Victoria, national mission conference.

Keynote speaker Allen, Associate Editor of Crux, said, this Magna Carta includes; firstly the Holy Father’s passion for those on the peripheries namely the poor, refugees and homeless among others. Secondly, his deep missionary concept of the Church, ‘to get out of the sacristy and onto the streets’, and finally, his focus on mercy and being merciful.

‘Knowing these three pillars, you will understand 90 per cent of what Pope Francis is saying during his papacy.’

‘There is a Francis effect at the grassroots level of our Church. This Holy Father has been tremendously bold and dynamic in drawing attention to social justice issues. I think this means that Catholic Social Services have the wind at their back now. Pope Francis has given these issues a new lease of life.’

‘The face of mercy shown by Pope Francis is the blueprint for Catholic social services. A papacy like this may not happen again for a long time, don’t let it go to waste.’ Continue reading →

Public forum hosted by Catholic Social Services Australia and Catholic Social Services Victoria during ‘Review, Reimagine, Renew’, mission conference 2016.

Donella Johnston, Director of the National Office for the Participation of Women

The issue of family violence cannot be relegated to just another social justice issue that we need to pay attention to, Paul Linossier, Chief Executive of Wesley Mission, told church leaders at a public forum addressing family violence on Wednesday 24 February.

‘We are talking about men’s violence against women, physical and sexual violence. We are talking about the litany of controlling behaviours that exclude and denigrate and over time demoralise, abuse and marginalise women.

Family violence is a factor in most cultures on our globe but it is clearly present and strong in Australian culture.’

Gathered at the Australian Catholic University, Melbourne, Linossier told the leaders that this is ‘an uncomfortable conversation if it goes far enough because it drives to the heart of our culture, the heart of our social arrangements and our view of the human person’. Continue reading →

Australia’s Catholic bishops say surrogacy, both commercial and altruistic, is flawed, offends human dignity and that it would be intolerable to argue harm minimisation to allow the development of a commercial surrogacy industry in Australia.

The bishops acknowledged the pain and sadness couples face when they cannot have children because of infertility or the inability to carry a child to full term, but pointed out surrogacy can transfer sadness from the infertile couple to the surrogate mother.

The bishops’ comments were made in a submission from the Bishops Commission for Family, Youth and Life to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs, which is holding an inquiry into surrogacy.

“Surrogacy is not undertaken with the priorities and interests of the child in mind, but rather the interests of the adults who want a child,” said bishops delegate for life issues, Bishop Peter Comensoli.

“The act of surrogacy denies the child the right to be conceived, carried, born and brought up by his or her genetic parents. Continue reading →

Bishop Max Davis, Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of the Australian Defence Force, has been found not guilty of all accusations and charges relating to claims of historical incidents which were dealt with by the District Court of Western Australia during the period from 8-15 February 2016.

Bishop Davis stepped aside from his role as bishop of the Catholic Diocese of the Australian Defence Force on 30 June 2014. He will now take some time to decide whether to return to public ministry.

The Catholic Diocese of the Australian Defence Force strongly encourages any victim of abuse by clergy or staff within the Catholic Church, or any other agency or person, to report the matter to the police and to seek assistance through the dedicated legal and support services.

Within the Church there are a number of established services for victims and survivors of sexual abuse including, Towards Healing and the Melbourne Response.

No further statement on this matter will be made at this time.

Media queries, please contact 0450 348 597 or media@catholic.org.au

The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Council will host a three day retreat in the heart of Australia, Alice Springs, from 19 – 21 April 2016. The retreat is being supported by the Bishops Commission for Relations with Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders.

Designed to build the capacity and the networks of those working in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Ministry, the retreat will give attendees an opportunity to reflect, share and learn from each other.

It is also an opportunity to develop relationships with others working in a similar area from across Australia.

Life is getting faster and distractions more intrusive. The concept of looking internally and contemplating one’s place in God’s world and our relationship with those around us is often maligned. For those serving in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Ministry, we offer this retreat as an opportunity to take the time to place life on ‘pause’ and concentrate on renewing the spirit with fellow workers in Christ.

Many of us work in remote locations, and can often feel isolated so the retreat is an opportunity to build networks and learn from one another in a caring and encouraging environment.  Continue reading →

Still from ‘Spotlight’ | Image by Crux

Dear Brothers & Sisters

Back in 2010 I wrote a Pastoral Letter to the diocese entitled “The Evil and Shame and Pain”. The Pastoral referred to the fact that our own diocese has suffered the presence of abusing priests, and we now live with a sense of the betrayal and pain that their crimes caused. In that letter I did admit that “there has also been an acknowledgement that the excruciating pain of the victims has not been sufficiently recognized and addressed …” That letter also acknowledged a certain slowness on our part as Church to accept the truth of what the media was revealing.

The film Spotlight deals with the Archdiocese of Boston some years ago, when investigative journalism brought to the light of day the extent of the abuse crisis in the Church, the number of clergy involved, the cover up and transfer of perpetrators to other parishes, and so on. It also reveals a society that was complicit in this cover up, involving not simply the Church, but also the law and the police. Continue reading →

Dear Friends,

This Lent, 2016, we are in the midst of a special Jubilee Year of Mercy. Pope Francis is calling each of us to deepen our baptismal vocation. We are being sent forth to be ‘missionaries of mercy’ in a world which desperately needs the Good News of the Gospel.

As we enter into this special Jubilee, let us first ponder the Word of God, so as to become credible and joyful witnesses.

Two parables are especially worthy of our reflection – The Prodigal Son and the Good Samaritan. Continue reading →

Doney with her husband Nedson who is a tailor

Doney (pronounced door-nee) is a quiet and humble woman, but thanks to an innovative program supported by Caritas Australia, she’s creating big changes, in her life, and in her village. Doney beams when she talks about how much her life has changed in the last five years.

“My life has been transformed,” she smiles. “I am now more knowledgeable on a number of issues and I have a vision.”

Located in East Africa, Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world. Over half the population is living below the poverty line, with more than 80% of people living in rural communities, and relying on farming small plots of land to produce adequate food to live on.

In Doney’s remote village in the Blantyre region, her family have often gone months without enough food. Yet, when Caritas Australia and the local Caritas, called CADECOM (the Catholic Development Commission in Malawi), began a program in Doney’s village, they didn’t simply see poverty, isolation and food shortage, they saw potential. Continue reading →

Bishop Edwards commissions Cassandra Bull

On Friday 5 February 2016, six new members of the Australian Catholic Youth Council were commissioned during a Mass at Mary MacKillop Place, North Sydney.

Auxiliary Bishop of Melbourne, Mark Edwards OMI, commissioned the new members: Patrick Langrell, Mitch Firth, Cassandra Bull, Alex Pace, Shawn Torbay and David Cloran. Each one will serve a three year term on the Youth Council.

During the commissioning service, Bishop Edwards explained that ‘as a member of the Australian Catholic Youth Council, the goals of the Australian Vision for Catholic Youth Ministry lie at the heart of all your work’.  Continue reading →