Pope Francis has this evening announced that Society of the Divine Word priest Fr Tim Norton will become an auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of Brisbane.
Fr Norton, who is currently in ministry in Italy, will early next year join Auxiliary Bishop Ken Howell in supporting Archbishop Mark Coleridge in serving the Catholics of Brisbane Archdiocese.
Archbishop Mark Coleridge, Br Peter Carroll FMS and Joan Fitzpatrick (photos supplied)
A capital injection from Catholic dioceses and religious orders has strengthened Catholic Church Insurance’s and the Church’s ability to make financial reparations for abuse carried out by priests, religious and lay people.
Catholic Church Insurance (CCI), which has been supporting Catholic parishes, schools, community services and other ministries for more than 100 years, last year reported that recent and projected compensation claims for historical abuse had necessitated an increase in the company’s capital levels.
Representatives of Australian dioceses have gathered online to consider how to support local engagement with the global process leading to the 2023 Synod of Bishops in Rome.
On October 17, dioceses across the world hosted celebrations to launch the journey towards the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops.
As the Church in Australia prepares for Prison Sunday, Bishop Don Sproxton has thanked prison chaplains for their ongoing pastoral care of prisoners, especially in a time when ministry has been hindered by the pandemic.
Bishop Sproxton, the Bishop Delegate for Prisoners’ Pastoral Care, cited the words of Pope Francis in underlining the importance of the work and presence of chaplains.
Bishop Columba Macbeth-Green, seen at the 2019 Australian Catholic Youth Festival, is inviting youth ministry leaders to attend a national consultation next month
Representatives of Australian Catholic youth and young adult ministries are invited to take part in a consultation to explore the establishment of a new national network.
Hosted by the Bishops Commission for Evangelisation, Laity and Ministry, in partnership with the Australian network of diocesan youth ministry coordinators (ANDYMC), the online event will take place on Thursday November 25 from 7pm to 9pm AEDT.
The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference has published its inaugural annual report, outlining the key activities undertaken by the various parts of the Bishops Conference.
The idea of publishing an annual report emerged from a desire to inform the Catholic community and wider society about how the Bishops Conference supports the mission of the Church in Australia. It also responds to the call for greater transparency within Catholic organisations.
Catholics are invited to join local consultations about their experience of synodality within the Church as part of a two-year journey towards the next international Synod of Bishops, set for October 2023.
Dioceses across the world hosted local Synod celebrations on Sunday, a week after Pope Francis officially opened the global process for the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops.
“The end of the Australian offshore detention program in Papua New Guinea is a welcome development,” says Bishop Vincent Long OFM Conv, chair of the Bishops Commission for Social Justice, Mission and Service.
Bishop Long, who visited Port Moresby in 2016 and Manus Island in 2019, was responding to last week’s announcement that the Regional Resettlement Arrangement between the Australian and Papua New Guinea governments will end on January 1, 2022.
Dioceses across Australia will this weekend hold launches to mark the commencement of local participation in the two-year journey towards the 2023 Synod of Bishops.
Last Sunday, Pope Francis celebrated a Mass to launch the global process for the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, which has the theme “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation and Mission”.
The months between the first and second general assemblies of the Fifth Plenary Council of Australia are a time for “prayer, reflection, maturation and development”, according to a concluding statement from the first assembly.
The statement, approved by the Council’s members during Saturday’s final plenary session, speaks of a week in which regular prayer and spiritual conversations, encouraging deep listening, “allowed space for still nascent dreams and visions to come to greater maturity”.