Pilgrims not tourists, Harvest prepares for World Youth Day Brazil.

By Beth Doherty

Brazil’s most well-known tourist attraction is the huge Christ the Redeemer Statue in Rio de Janeiro on top of Mount Corcovado. A striking symbol of the world’s most populous Catholic country, its situation and placement has a message to convey.

Mount Corcovado where the statue is placed is characterised by a rich side with mansions and palm trees, and a poor side which is a hill-side slum, heavily populated by Brazil’s poorest living in dilapidated houses.

In the 1990s, photojournalist Mev Puleo attributed traveling on an air-conditioned tour bus to see the statue as a catalyst for her conversion. She peered out the window and was suddenly starkly aware of the sheer inequality she saw before her. As a committed Catholic, she couldn’t reconcile this inequality with her faith. Continue reading

Live the Faith, Receive the Grace – Bishop Peter Ingham’s Lenten Pastoral Message 2012

Live the Faith, Receive the Grace – Bishop Peter Ingham’s Lenten Pastoral Message 2012 from Daniel Hopper on Vimeo.

Bishop Peter Ingham breaks open the Gospel for Sunday 19 February 2012 (Mark 2:1-12) where four people carrying a paralysed person, creatively and with determination, removed the roof and lowered their friend inside a house overcrowded with people who were listening to Jesus preach.

Like the stretcher bearers in the Gospel, Bishop Peter challenges us this Lent to live our Faith and receive the Grace that comes from God.

AUSLAN and subtitles included.

Demography can so easily become destiny

By Bishop Greg O’Kelly SJ,


Bishop of Port Pirie and Chairman of the Australian Catholic Bishops Commission for Catholic Education

The report of the Gonski Funding Review will soon be made public, and there has been a lot of commentary in the media about the new funding “model”. These commentaries typically focus on the benefits this model will deliver for the future schooling of our young people. Continue reading

True message of Valentine’s Day to be celebrated in parishes

To download the Valentine’s Day Kit 2012, click here!St Valentine Resource 2012

Heart shaped chocolates and teddy bears have become a symbol of February in the commercial world, and, for the lucky ones who have someone to share February 14th with, this is another chance to celebrate. Yet it is not an unreasonable question to ask why the Catholic Bishops’ Conference would put out a kit for St Valentine’s Day each year.

In 2010, the Bishops’ Commission for Pastoral Life through the Australian Catholic Marriage and Family Council developed a kit devoted to the celebration of St Valentine’s Day for use in parishes. Continue reading

Social media – what happens when age 18 meets the Bishops Conference?

By Pat Ransom

As an 18-year-old in between jobs and about to move out of town for university, I was in a position in which I had about a week of time I needed to fill.

Rather than spending this time eating all the food in the house and spending 12 hours a day on the computer slaying dragons, I elected to go in search of volunteer work for this short period.

As it would turn out, I ended up spending this week working at the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference (ACBC) and it’s been a fantastic learning opportunity, seeing the inner workings of the Catholic Church and the contributions the people there make to spreading the message of the Christ. Continue reading

Bishops’ Council releases kit for celebration of St Valentine’s Day

Media Release
9 February, 2012

To download the Valentine’s Day Kit 2012, click here!St Valentine Resource 2012

In 2010, the Bishops’ Commission for Pastoral Life through the Australian Catholic Marriage and Family Council developed a kit devoted to the celebration of St Valentine’s Day for use in parishes.

The third edition of the St Valentine’s Day kit for 2012 is now available for download as a PDF from the Bishops’ Conference website by clicking on the button on the front page. Continue reading

Australian Catholic Bishops Conference Names National WYD 2013 Pilgrimage Tour Provider

Media Release
8 February, 2012

In preparation for Australia’s pilgrimage to World Youth Day (WYD) in Rio de Janeiro in July 2013, the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference (ACBC) has named Harvest Pilgrimages as their official Tour Operator for the Conference’s National Pilgrimage of Australian groups attending this universal event.

“I am happy to see Harvest Pilgrimages partner with us again for WYD Rio de Janeiro” said Bishop Christopher Prowse, Bishops Commission for Pastoral Life (BCPL) Delegate for Youth. Continue reading