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:

***

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 →

Dr Tim Soutphommasane, Race Discrimination Commissioner at the Australian Human Rights Commission.

How would you organise your society if you were living behind a veil of ignorance? Dr Tim Soutphommasane, Race Discrimination Commissioner at the Australian Human Rights Commission asked this question of leaders gathered at the Catholic Social Services Australia National Leadership Forum held at QT Canberra Hotel last week.

Would you ‘protect the vulnerable, help those in need, ensure there is a sense of justice?’, Dr Soutphommasane added.

Focusing on a local story about recent protests against a place of worship, a mosque in Bendigo, he said, ‘Bendigo is a town divided because of such protests. Some residents have sought to close down this project of building a mosque. They see the religion of Islam as incompatible with Australian values and society’.

Continue reading →

Photo of prison

Australian Catholic Bishops Conference (ACBC) president, Archbishop Denis Hart, has written to a Parliamentary inquiry, offering the Church’s help for the Australian Government’s international work to abolish the death penalty.

The Australian Parliament’s Joint Standing Committee for Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade, recently published the ACBC’s submission. The Joint Committee is holding an inquiry into Australia’s advocacy for the abolition of the death penalty.

Archbishop Hart restated the Catholic Church’s opposition to the death penalty, saying we must recognise and honour the human dignity of both victims and offenders. Continue reading →

A radical change to society’s most foundational law, overturning the prohibition of euthanasia, would be ethically unjustifiable; could not ensure the legal protection of the vulnerable and would fail to uphold the dignity of the dying, according to a submission from the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference (ACBC).

The ACBC submission to the Inquiry into End of Life Choices was this week published on the Victorian Parliament’s Legal and Social Issues Committee’s website.

‘The clear conclusion of reason and experience is that euthanasia or assisted suicide cannot be made safe because no law allowing euthanasia can prevent vulnerable people from abuse,’ said Bishop Peter Comensoli, Bishops Delegate for Life Issues.

‘Rather than buying into the dishonest euphemism of “dying with dignity”, we would do better – and be more human – by dignifying the lives of the dying. Palliative care is one key way we can dignify the dying.’

Continue reading →

A new website is being launched via video conferencing today as a Catholic ministry resource for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Community across Australia.

Developed by the Australian Catholic Disability Council with the support of the Bishops Commission for Pastoral Life, the new website contains a series of liturgical resources with Australian Sign Language (Auslan) and live captioning.

Bishop Terry Brady, Bishops Delegate to the Australian Catholic Disability Council, said, ‘A major challenge is to ensure that all people are included in the life of the Church in Australia. We must assist and ensure that the deaf and hard of hearing community can fully participate in the life of the Church in Australia. Continue reading →

A nationwide survey has been launched this week to determine the number of Catholic workplaces across Australia and the numbers of people who are employed in those workplaces.

The survey is designed to create a profile of those who are employed in Catholic organisations by reference to occupation, Church sector, State, the form of employment regulation, nature of employment and gender.

The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference (ACBC) is conducting the survey with the support of Catholic Religious Australia. The Pastoral Research Office (PRO) in collaboration with the Australian Catholic Council for Employment Relations (ACCER) will undertake the work. Continue reading →

Australia’s Catholic Bishops have condemned victimisation of women in detention and offered the Church’s support to help Somali refugee Abyan who was said to be a victim of rape and sexual assault.

Bishop Vincent Long, Bishops Delegate for Migrants and himself a refugee, made the offer of support on behalf of the Church today.

‘The Church wants to offer trauma-related counselling and practical support to Abyan, to help her feel supported during and after her pregnancy, and to other women who find themselves in the same horrific situation,’ Bishop Long said.

‘Given Abyan was raped and that it was Australia who released her into the community in Nauru, we have a duty to provide her the appropriate services and care in Australia. Continue reading →

The Government’s revised family payments legislation still means many low income families face significant cuts to their income.

Social Security Minister Christian Porter today introduced a new family payments bill into the Parliament, which would mean single income couple families lose Family Tax Benefit Part B (FTB B) when their youngest child turns 13, instead of the earlier proposal to cut benefits at 6 years.

“The new family payments legislation means fewer families will be affected, but still means the income of single breadwinner families with the youngest child aged 13 years or older would be worse off by more than $54 a week,” said Marcelle Mogg, Chief Executive of Catholic Social Services Australia. Continue reading →