By Matthew Howard

October 24th marked the beginning of Children’s week in Australia, a time to reflect on the Convention on the Rights of the Child, a revolutionary document which has helped change the way we view and treat Children.

Since the ratification of this convention there has been much to celebrate, from declining infant mortality rates to rising school enrolment. While these successes give us hope, children around the world still suffer from injustices which rob them of their youth.

One particularly cruel injustice which some children are forced to endure is child detention. The most recent data shows that there are 197 children in detention due to Australia’s current immigration policy, 104 in Australia and 93 on Nauru, in addition to the 405 children who are in community detention in Australia.

The Catholic Church in Australia has been a vocal critic of mandatory detention centres since their inception. The Catholic Bishops highlighted the dangers of mandatory detention in the 2015-2016 Social Justice Statement For Those Who’ve Come Across the Seas; Justice for refugees and asylum seekers. Continue reading →

Bishop Tarabay

Bishop Antoine Tarabay OLM of the Maronite Church in Sydney is no stranger to Rome, however, it is his first time visiting the eternal city as one of the Synod Fathers attending the XIV Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops.

For the past three weeks Bishop Tarabay has joined with His Eminence Patriarch Mar Bechara Boutros Cardinal Rai, and Bishop Antoine Nabil Andari, in representing the Maronites in Lebanon and the diaspora.

Together with bishops, cardinals and representatives from around the world, he has been discussing the synod theme: ‘The vocation and mission of marriage and the family in the church and in the contemporary world’. While in Rome, Bishop Tarabay caught up with fellow Australian and photojournalist Fiona Basile.

You were in ‘English-speaking Group D’ for the synod; what was it like working in these small groups?

The small groups were divided into language groups and in my English speaking group, I was the only one from Australia. So from the beginning the thought was to provide a new experience for the synod fathers, to meet with new people from the different parts of the world and to discuss the theme with each other.

Continue reading →

They might come from parishes 1933km apart but they have a common goal: to share their Catholic faith at the Australian Catholic Youth Festival.

“It’s hard in today’s society to be a young person of faith,” says Duy, from the Adelaide Archdiocese, which is hosting the festival from December 3-5.

“You feel as though you are on your own,” he says. “The festival is a great opportunity to meet like-minded youth and express your faith together.”

Duy is coordinating the largest South Australian group of festival pilgrims – up to 60 from the Vietnamese Catholic Community. Continue reading →

Richard McMahon

Richard McMahon, Deputy Chair of the Australian Catholic Council for Lay Pastoral Ministry, recently chatted with Aoife Connors at ACBC Communications about his work as a pastoral associate and his role on the Council.

How did you get involved in lay pastoral ministry? Are there challenges to getting involved?

In the mid 1990’s, I was recommended to a priest looking for a pastoral associate. My wife and I were housed with our baby at one end of a renovated convent. As our family grew, we needed to look for other accommodation. I served as pastoral associate in two more parishes over a ten-year period, all in the Archdiocese of Sydney.

An ongoing challenge is remuneration for people in pastoral ministry roles, especially when trying to support a young family. At that time when I changed roles, there was no portability of entitlements, though fortunately long service leave and holiday pay can now be transferred to new positions. Continue reading →

The logo for the Australian Catholic Council for Lay Pastoral Ministry has been created to reflect the mandate given to it by the Bishops Commission for Church Ministry. That mandate requested Council members to plan for the current and future needs of Lay Pastoral Ministry in Australia.

Council members from across Australia have been meeting since November 2011. They have discussed the many and varied aspects of Lay Pastoral Ministry in the Catholic Church, as it operates within Australia and overseas. One of the directives from the Bishops Commission for Church Ministry was for the Council to develop an information network for lay pastoral ministers across Australia.

To that end, and mindful of access to modern communications, the Council has commenced the production of Lay Pastoral Ministry News and selected a logo to use in its networking. Logos are a powerful visual first point of contact for the viewer.

Continue reading →

Fr Rob Galea

Father Rob Galea’s living example of how to be ‘cool and Catholic’ will take centre stage before thousands of young people at next month’s Australian Catholic Youth Festival.

The assistant parish priest from Bendigo is a guest speaker at the festival in Adelaide, as well as leading workshops and performing.

Fr Galea last month said he was hoping to have released one of two new singles before the festival, which runs from December 3 to 5. “We have a lot of new and exciting things planned for Adelaide,” he said.

One of his workshops, “Jesus and the X factor”, will explore how youth can live as Christians in the world of popular culture.

It’s a disparity he’s successfully merged as a pop-singing consecrated man and which was recently evidenced through his audition performance on the popular Australian television show X-Factor. Continue reading →

Sister Corazon with Henny

With the festive season nearly upon us again, Catholic Mission is urging its supporters to remember the most vulnerable children around the world this Christmas.

Catholic Mission has today launched its 2015 Children’s Appeal, which specifically highlights the work of dedicated Catholic missionaries in the Philippines, who are caring for children in desperate need.

The Christmas direct mail appeal raises funds for children’s projects all around the world, including those in the Philippines, so that even the most vulnerable children can live a happy and healthy life with access to greater opportunities.

This year the campaign highlights the work of Baptistine Sister Corazon Riconalla, the Superior at the Our Lady of Providence Home in Cebu. The Sisters of St John the Baptist, who run the orphanage, care for young girls from disadvantaged backgrounds, many of whom are afflicted with conditions such as malnutrition. Continue reading →

Bishop Hurley outside the Synod hall. Photo by Fiona Basile.

For the past three weeks, Bishop Eugene Hurley of Darwin has been in Rome attending the XIV Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, discussing the theme: ‘The vocation and the mission of the family in the Church and the contemporary world’. He was accompanied in Rome by fellow Australian bishops Mark Coleridge of Brisbane and Bishop Antoine Tarabay OLM of the Maronite Church. In the final days, Bishop Hurley took some time out to catch up with fellow Australian and photojournalist Fiona Basile.

Tell me about your experience of the synod.

I think my overwhelming sense is one of great privilege. Firstly, to represent the Australian Church as a representative of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, and secondly, it’s an enormous responsibility to listen carefully to the real lives of families, particularly Catholic families, many of whom find themselves trying to manage the Church’s teaching. They’re great people of great faith and I think we need to listen really carefully to the struggles they’re having. Continue reading →

Cardinal Pell. Photo by Fiona Basile

At the conclusion of the 3-week synod on the family in Rome, Australia’s George Cardinal Pell has said that he agrees with the Holy Father, ‘that everyone will have been changed by the synod’.

He said, ‘It made people realise even more, if it was necessary or possible, how important the family is and how imperfect it often is, but we encourage people to keep on keeping on.’

Speaking on the final document, which is currently only available in Italian, and which contains 94 paragraphs on the theme ‘The vocation and the mission of the family in the Church and the contemporary world’, Cardinal Pell said, ‘it demonstrates that the Church is first of all about love’. Continue reading →

Pope Francis in the Synod Hall. Photo by Fiona Basile.

“It was about showing the vitality of the Catholic Church, which is not afraid to stir dulled consciences or to soil her hands with lively and frank discussions about the family.”

Vatican City, 24 October 2015. English translation by ZENIT.org

Below is the Vatican-provided translation of Pope Francis’ discourse at the conclusion of the Synod of Bishops on the Family in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall this afternoon:

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Dear Beatitudes, Eminences and Excellencies,
Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I would like first of all to thank the Lord, who has guided our synodal process in these years by his Holy Spirit, whose support is never lacking to the Church.

My heartfelt thanks go to Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, Secretary General of the Synod, Bishop Fabio Fabene, its Under-Secretary, and, together with them, the Relator, Cardinal Peter Erdő, and the Special Secretary, Archbishop Bruno Forte, the Delegate Presidents, the writers, consultors and translators, and all those who have worked tirelessly and with total dedication to the Church: My deepest thanks! Continue reading →