Year of Mercy poster

‘The Year of Mercy is a vital moment in the life of the Catholic Church’ – Australian Catholics editor Michael McVeigh.

Australia’s largest Catholic publication, Australian Catholics magazine, is publishing a series of five special editions next year to help Catholic schools and parishes journey with Pope Francis through the Year of Mercy.

‘We wanted to provide communities with a way to bring the Year of Mercy home to families – to help deepen people’s understanding of the concept, and see how it can invigorate their life and faith’, said Australian Catholics editor, Michael McVeigh.

McVeigh said while Australian Catholics has covered many different themes in the past, this is the first time the magazine has devoted an entire year to a single topic.

‘The Synod on the Family showed just how important it is to engage families in the life of the Church, and we believe the Year of Mercy is an opportunity to bring faith to life for families’, said McVeigh.

The series will begin with an edition focusing of our own personal experiences of mercy through the sacrament of reconciliation, and will continue with editions exploring mercy in relationships, social justice and the Catholic Church, as well as a special youth edition. Continue reading →

Senate Committee room

19 November 2015, opening statement from Brian Lawrence, chairman, Australian Catholic Council for Employment Relations

Senate Community Affairs Committee hearing into the Social Services legislation Amendment (Family Payments Structural reform and participation Measures) Bill 2015

Note: Brian Lawrence appeared before the Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee at 11.20am, Thursday, 19 November 2015

I would like to thank the Committee for inviting me to appear here today to speak about this important Bill, a Bill which, if enacted, would have a major impact on the living standards of low and middle income families.

The submission filed on behalf of the Australian Catholic Council for Employment Relations is in opposition to the Bill.

The Government’s financial impact statement for this legislation shows that the legislation is intended to save $4.84 billion dollars over the first three years of its operation. These proposed cuts will fall on about two and a half million Australian families. All families with children would suffer substantial cuts in their incomes. All children would be worse off, save for those who are less than 12 months old. Continue reading →

French flag

The Australian Catholic Bishops have expressed their deep sympathies for the hundreds of innocent people killed and maimed in the recent terrorist attacks in Paris.

President of Conference, Archbishop Denis Hart said, “We offer our prayers and condolences to the victims of these horrendous attacks. Like all Australians, we join in solidarity with the people of France and share in the hope that the perpetrators and their networks will be swiftly brought to justice.

“Our shock and sadness draws us close to the victims and their families. As we mourn for them and their loved ones, we must affirm that feelings of grief and compassion are a sign of a fundamental goodness in humanity that cannot be defeated by evil. Continue reading →

Priest holding a copy of Don’t Mess With Marriage

Archbishop of Hobart, The Most Reverend Julian Porteous DD, has received notification from the Office of the Anti-Discrimination Commissioner that a complaint made about him has been viewed as a possible breach of the Anti-Discrimination Act 1998 (Tas).

The complaint concerns the distribution of a statement by the Australian Catholic Bishops,’Don’t Mess with Marriage’ to all Catholic schools in Tasmania. The Australian Bishops as author of the booklet has also been named as a respondent.

“In distributing the Pastoral Letter, ‘Don’t Mess With Marriage, my aim was to assist the Catholic community in understanding the teaching of the Catholic Church, at a time when debate on this matter was widespread within the community,” Archbishop Porteous said.

“The intention was to inform the debate as leader of the Catholic Church in Tasmania, to ensure the Catholic community understood where we stand on the issue of marriage.

“It was not my intention to offend, rather, it was and is, to express the teaching of the Catholic Church. I regret if offence has been taken by individuals, and will work with the Commission to resolve this matter,” said Archbishop Porteous.

Archbishop Porteous and the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference have been given 21 days to respond to the finding of the Commission.

Media queries, please contact Mark Franklin on 03-6208 6231.

Pictured (l-r): Fellowship participants Moira Byrne and Kirby Heath

Look around and what do you see?
Are there plenty of women next to thee?
Do they encourage and inspire you?
What a pity there are so few.
Who guide and nurture, shape and lead.
Don’t you think this is something we need?

Meanwhile media tells the stories
That have not shown the Church’s glories.
Numbers in the Church are falling
So let’s appeal to women’s calling.

Interfaith study, friends and fun –
It’s OK, you don’t have to be a nun!
The Fellowship will provide
Women with the skills to guide.

And so our important vision
Is to find support to help us with this mission.
Mentoring, finance or prayer
We’d really appreciate your help to get us there!

So donate what you can to the Fellowship Program
Because the future waits for no man!

By Moira Byrne and Kirby Heath,
Young Catholic Women’s Fellowship Participants 2015

This opinion piece was first published by the Daily Telegraph.

“DYING with dignity” is a euphemism. It purports to say something ennobling; it means something entirely menacing. ‘‘Dying with dignity’’ is dishonest. It claims to be telling a truth, but it is instead spreading a falsehood.

It reduces people who are dying to nothing more than the pain and suffering associated with their dying.

Language matters in the question of whether or not to legalise euthanasia and assisted suicide in Australia.

Adopting emotive slogans to bolster one’s own position, while belittling the reasoning of your opponent, might pass as acceptable in political electioneering but it is not a ploy that should determine debate over the life and death of fellow human beings, our neighbours.

The Judeo-Christian tradition has always claimed that every person is made in the image and likeness of God. This is, of course, a declaration of belief but it is equally a statement of reasoned argument. Continue reading →

Couple-parent families, especially those on low incomes, will bear the burden of Labor’s decision to support some of the Government cuts to Family Tax Benefit Part B (FTB B).

The Chief Executive of Catholic Social Services Australia, Marcelle Mogg, said the Coalition and Labor should not be taking FTB B from low and middle income families with school age children.

“Cuts to FTB B should not discriminate against children who have two parents with a single income, in favour of sole parent families or grandparent carers,” said Ms Mogg.

“The issue here is children living in poverty. Whether the child has one or two parents should not be the basis for discrimination. We must support low income families if we are to secure a better future for their children.

“The cuts mean single breadwinner families with the youngest child aged 13 years or older would be worse off by more than $54 a week. Continue reading →

COP 21 official logo. cop21paris.org

The following appeal was issued by Cardinals, Patriarchs and Bishops from across the globe representing the continental groupings of national episcopal conferences. It is addressed to those negotiating the COP 21 in Paris and it calls on leaders to work towards the approval of a fair, legally binding and truly transformational climate agreement.

Representing the Catholic Church from the five continents, we Cardinals, Patriarchs and Bishops have come together to express, on our own behalf and on behalf of the people for whom we care, the widely-held hope that a just and legally binding climate agreement will emerge from the negotiations of the COP 21 in Paris. We advance a ten-point policy proposal, drawing on the concrete experience of people across the continents, and linking climate change to social injustice and the social exclusion of the poorest and most vulnerable of our citizens.

Climate Change: challenges and opportunities

In his encyclical letter, Laudato si’ (LS}, addressed ‘to every person living on this planet’ (LS 3), Pope Francis claims that ‘climate change represents one of the princi pal challenges facing humanity today’ (LS 25). The climate is a common good, belonging to all and meant for all (LS 23). The natural environment is a collective good, the patrimony of all humanity and the responsibility of everyone (LS 95).

Continue reading →

A gift can transform lives, particularly when passed on in the spirit of kindness, compassion and solidarity. Caritas is the Latin word for love and compassion and this spirit of generosity is never so important than at Christmas, as we celebrate the birth of Jesus and rejoice in the hope this brings.

By choosing a Caritas Global Gift this year, you are helping to spread the message that together, as one global family, we are making the world a better place.

Caritas Australia, the Catholic Church’s international aid and development agency, works in partnership with local communities in over 30 countries throughout the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Pacific and Australia.

This year there are seven Caritas Australia Global Gifts which encompass the range of Caritas Australia’s community development programs including; water, food, agriculture, healthcare, education and emergency assistance. You can also make a gift to whole community. The Global Gifts start from $10 to $1,500 or more – the choice is yours. Continue reading →

National Director of the Australian Catholic Migrant and Refugee Office, Fr. Maurizio Pettenà CS, welcomed news the Australian Government has given visas to the first of the 12,000 Syrian and Iraqi refugees to be resettled in Australia.

On Tuesday, at the Australian Embassy in Amman, Jordan, Immigration Minister Peter Dutton personally gave out the first refugee visas to four families.

According to United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reports, two of the families fled the war in Syria, and the other two are Christian families who fled Iraq.

Fr Pettenà also welcomed the news that depending on the success of the resettlement of the 12,000 refugees from Syria and Iraq, Australia will look at expanding the refugee intakes. Mr Dutton said, “…we do think it’s a reasonable thing to look at the prospect of offering more places beyond the 12,000, over coming years”. Continue reading →