Bishop Pat Power’s historic moment of grace

Bishop Pat Power at St Peter's Square

By Bishop Pat Power

This article was first published on CathBlog, a daily service of CathNews.

Planning a two week holiday in Italy, I had overlooked the fact that October 11 would mark the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council.

So on that day I travelled by train from Spoleto in Umbria to Rome for the historic occasion which was marked by a Mass celebrated in St Peter’s Square by Pope  Benedict XVI with hundreds of bishops, many of whom were present in Rome for the Synod of Bishops. Continue reading →

Time to take one small step to address national poverty

Image courtesy of The Age

 

By John Ferguson, Executive Officer, Australian Catholic Social Justice Council

In March 2004, a Senate Committee issued its report on poverty and hardship. It was the most exhaustive investigation of the causes, effects and extent of poverty in Australia since Ronald Henderson’s Commission of Inquiry into Poverty, thirty years earlier.

The 2004 report, A hand up not a hand out: Renewing the fight against poverty, was wide ranging – addressing everything from poverty measures to wages and income support, from education and training to gambling addiction, from the circumstances of sole parents to the decline of rural communities.

This inquiry called for the establishment of a National Poverty Strategy and a commitment to action within 12 months of the report being tabled. It warned, ‘Australia will face a crisis of poverty and disadvantage in the coming years … [with] the implication that Australians are increasingly at risk of falling into poverty and indeed more so now than at any time in the post-war era.

The recommended Strategy did not eventuate and the lack of political consensus across parties saw the report and its recommendations shelved.

Continue reading →

We’re at our best when we follow Lumen Gentium and Gaudium et Spes – Cardinal Timothy Dolan

By Devett O’Brien

“It’s time to stop the hand wringing” this was the main message from Cardinal Timothy Dolan when he sat down this morning with a group of around 10 english speaking journalists including myself to discuss his views on the Synod so far.

Cardinal Dolan is the Archbishop of New York and President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

He told us that the thing he is most surprised and “tantalized” by is the number of Bishops who acknowledge the power of secularism but are saying “it’s time we stopped wringing our hands over this.” Continue reading →

A kiss from the Pope

Photo taken at Synod

By Devett O’Brien

 
The Italian Catholic Action movements last night capped the Church’s day of celebrations with a dramatic candlelit walk from Castel San Angelo to St Peter’s Square. Yesterday marked both the 50th Anniversary of the Opening of Vatican II and the start of the Year of Faith.
 
Pilgrims flooded down Via della Conciliazione in a sea of light and song, halting the normally unstoppable Roman traffic. Over 40,000 people joined the celebration, far surpassing the organisers expectations of 20,000. Continue reading →

See, Judge, Act: an instrument of the new evangelisation

By Devett O’Brien

Former YCS member and President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace this morning addressed the Synod, taking up Blessed John Paul II’s description of the Catholic Social Teaching as “an instrument of evangelization.”
Cardinal Turkson, from Ghana, highlighted the Pontifical Council for Justice & Peace as a fruit of the Second Vatican Council and recalled the teaching of Popes Paul VI and Benedict XVI saying:
“Evangelization would not be complete if it did not take account of the unceasing interplay of the Gospel and of man’s concrete life, both personal and social’. […] Testimony to Christ’s charity, through works of justice, peace and development, is part and parcel of evangelization, because Jesus Christ, who loves us, is concerned with the whole person.”

Continue reading →

Vatican II: Everybody’s Talking about It

Sr Maryanne Confoy presenting at the eConference

By Dan McAloon

Vatican II: An Event of Grace National eConference

Broadcast Wednesday 10 October 2012

The themes of renewal, adaptation, ecumenism and mission that Vatican II laid out were articulated in a voice that was at once fresh and energising, said Bishop Michael Putney,  keynote speaker at the BBI-ACBC international eConference ‘Vatican II: An Event of Grace’, broadcast live on Wednesday 10 October.

The strong impetus on dialogue throughout Vatican II continues to impel us forward, said Bishop Putney. “Vatican II defined dialogue in ever widening circles”, he said. “Dialogue begins within the Church, reaches out to other Christians, to other believers in God, and to the rest of the world. Our mission is to share our relationship with God with others.” Continue reading →

A Day Made Possible by Vatican II

By Devett O’Brien, Secretary-General of the International Young Christian Students reporting from the Synod in Rome

Devett O'Brien

Tomorrow will see massive celebrations in Rome and around the world to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Opening of the Second Vatican Council. As majestic as the celebrations may be, the events in the Synod in the last 24 hours emphasise the impact of the Council, the seemingly commonplace things that would not have been possible before Vatican II.

The good news coming out of the Synod from last night and today was an increasing focus on hearing the voice of the laity.

Cardinal Ouellet presented yesterday evening on the reception by the Church of “Verbum Domini,” the outcome document of the last General Synod which was on the Word of God. In his closing summary last night he was reportedly extremely animated in saying that many Priests were not effective in their preaching and that to improve this they should not only look to preaching aids and other Priests but more importantly to ask the lay people to tell them how to improve. Continue reading →

Australian Catholic Youth Festival 5-7 December, 2013, Melbourne

 

To watch the promotional video on the ACYF, click here

The Australian Catholic Youth Festival is an event which gathers young people from year 9 to those aged 25 years. It seeks to celebrate the life of young people in the Catholic Church in Australia, providing them with an encounter with the Catholic Church in Australia. A key element of the Festival will be a listening process allowing young people to dialogue with Church leaders and each other about their joys and challenges. To learn more about the Festival visit: www.youthfestival.catholic.org.au

Australian Bishops at Synod on New Evangelization

 


People gather at St Peter's for the Synod

 

Media Release, 7 October, 2012

Three Australian bishops are among the hundreds of Bishops and priests from around the world gathering in Rome for the XXIII Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, on the theme “The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith.”

The three are Cardinal George Pell, Archbishop of Sydney, Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB, Archbishop of Perth, and Bishop Christopher Prowse, Bishop of Sale. Cardinal Pell was nominated by Pope Benedict XVI as one of the Synod Fathers, and Archbishop Costelloe and Bishop Prowse were elected to represent the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference.

The Synod commenced this morning with Mass in St Peter’s Square at 9.30am and will conclude on Sunday 28 October. Continue reading →

Focus on human dignity – 3rd National Conference on Pastoral Care of Migrants and Refugees

Media Release, October 4, 2012

The Third National Conference on the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Refugees will be held from 6-7 December at St Patrick’s Campus of Australian Catholic University, Melbourne.

The conference carries the theme “I have heard them crying out” (Exodus 3:7) and is run by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference (ACBC) through the Australian Catholic Migrant and Refugee Office (ACMRO) and endorsed by the Pontifical Council for Migrants and Itinerant People. Continue reading →