Media Release
14 October, 2011
The Catholic Church welcomes the decision taken yesterday by the Government to process
the claims of vulnerable asylum seekers onshore.
Yesterday, the Prime Minister, decided to delay the Migration Bill accepting that onshore
processing had to be adopted. This came after the High Court found that the Government
did not have the power to swap asylum seekers with Malaysia due to in adequate protection
safeguards. Continue reading
By Archbishop John Bathersby, Archbishop of Brisbane
My brothers and sisters it is a tremendous privilege to be present in this marvellous Basilica of St Mary Major. It brings us together, and brings together also Jesus, Son of God and Saviour, and His mother Mary, Our Lady, and mother of the Church. Mary has already played significant roles in all of our lives. I grew up in Stanthorpe in the 1940s, taught by the Sisters of Mercy who constantly encouraged me to pray for a vocation to priesthood. I tried to do so, but changed my mind when I thought the Air Force was a more interesting career, only to realise that the Sisters had kept on praying for me through the power of Mary, mother of Jesus. For me Mary seemed like a furnace of prayer and I turned to her whenever I needed support for myself, or needed support assist others who asked for my prayers. Continue reading
MASS CELEBRATED BY ARCHBISHOP DENIS HART
AT THE BASILICA OF SAINT PAUL OUTSIDE THE WALLS, ROME,
ON WEDNESDAY, 12TH OCTOBER 2011 AT 4.00 P.M.
DEAR BROTHERS AND SISTERS,
THANK YOU FOR JOINING THE AUSTRALIAN BISHOPS ON OUR PILGRIMAGE TO THIS HOLY PLACE DEDICATED TO SAINT PAUL THE APOSTLE OF THE GENTILES, WHOSE DYNAMIC MISSIONARY ENTHUSIASM INSPIRES OUR EFFORTS TO BRING OUR PEOPLE TO A DEEPER KNOWLEDGE AND LOVE OF JESUS CHRIST. Continue reading
Over a million people have been left dead, homeless or in danger since Typhoon Nesat tore through the South-East Asian nations of Cambodia and the Philippines.
Floodwaters continue to overwhelm cities, towns and villages including Cambodia’s capital Phnom Penh, and Luzon in the Philippines. Continue reading
Two years ago I was researching material for a new book. The book Call and Response is the resource that the Catholic Enquiry Centre supplies to those who enquire seeking information about the Catholic faith. In the midst of research and writing three significant things happened. The first was we received an enquiry from a priest asking if we had any catechetical resources that might be suitable for a person with impaired vision. Continue reading
By Bishop Pat Power
There are many Australians today who are living on the Newstart allowance, one of the lowest payments available to those who are currently out of work. The payment totals about $35 a day, which in a country like Australia makes it impossible to make ends meet.
One of the things I’ve always tried to do in my time as a Bishop is stay in contact with the real people. It’s through this connection that you get to hear their stories, their reality – good and bad. I’ve always had a heart for social justice ever since my early years as a priest, having been born in Cooma and growing up in Queanbeyan Continue reading
By Fr Brian Lucas and Beth Doherty
The Australian Bishops have begun their Ad Limina visit with a reception at the Vatican Museum which featured a presentation on the Australian indigenous collection.
The following is an extract from the homily of the president of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference Archbishop Wilson at the tomb of St Peter.
“Today we begin our Ad Limina visit. It is an act of pilgrimage. As bishops we come to be renewed in faith and love as we renew our unity with one another as successors of the Apostles and with the Holy Father, Pope Benedict; the successor of Peter. We come seeking peace in our lives as bishops. A peace fostered by our obedience; an obedience framed in different ways at different levels of our faith; an obedience framed firstly in our relationship with God; to Jesus’ rule of faith and love; then an obedience framed in our love and fidelity to the Holy Father and the Church. Finally, we come in an obedience of love to one another as brother bishops and to all our people, our sisters and brothers in the communion of the Church.”
The Bishops were joined at this Mass by a number of Australian religious workingin Rome and other Australian visitors. Continue reading
By Bishop Peter Ingham
I was born in 1941, in the midst of the Second World War…. a time of intense change followed the war.
We welcomed migrants and refugees seeking asylum who have since truly enriched our country.
Life has changed more than somewhat from when I entered the Seminary in 1956 in Sydney to today. We wrote letters, where you simply waited the postman’s whistle hoping you got mail!
The 60’s, 70’s and 80’s were a time of great social change, the fastest change in the past decade and a half has been what’s made possible by the internet. Suddenly, a new language of blogs and tweets and MySpace and Facebook and XT3.
As the Bishops’ delegate for the media, I am on a sharp learning curve. As I chair the Australian Catholic Media Council, I am kept up to speed on what is happening, aware I am a digital immigrant.
Mostly, with the help of my staff my email and Facebook are attended to. However, the Church must engage with new media. The last two annual Papal messages for World Communications Day have highlighted the opportunities and pitfalls of using the net.
The Church, and people of faith must not remain silent or remove themselves from the realm of public policy and debate, our opinions and contribution should be eagerly sought.
The weight of evidence would suggest that from our long and rich tradition of Catholic faith and culture we might just have more than a little bit of accumulated wisdom to contribute to public debate. It is for this reason, as much as any other, that upholding and securing religious freedom is so vital for society as a whole, not just for believers.
So, it is with this, I welcome you to the newest addition to the Media engagement of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference – The ACBC Media Blog
Growing up in regional Australia you will forgive me for thinking that been part of the Catholic Church was a lot like been a member of an RSL club – same thing each week and full of old people! I didn’t even know what the word “Catholic” meant and only recently found out it means “Universal”.
While I found that info on Wikipedia, I was also very blessed to actually ‘see’ our Universal Church while at World Youth Day in Madrid this year. Seeing the Church at an event where over two million Catholics from every country in the world come together in unity as sisters and brothers is an amazing sight. It was the Church in her true colours – vibrant and universal! Continue reading
Archbishop of Canberra and Goulburn Mark Coleridge was involved in the process of translation, and he shares, in this short video, a little of the experience of that process. Please click the thumbnail below to view the video.