Members of the Plenary Council executive committee during a 2018 meeting in Melbourne with members of the Facilitation Team and Archbishops Mark Coleridge and Timothy Costelloe SDB

Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB says the executive committee that has helped guide the Plenary Council journey to this point has set the Council up to be a source of renewal for the Church.

Writing to the members of the executive committee earlier this week in his capacity as Plenary Council president, Archbishop Costelloe thanked the group for their time, their energy and their belief in the Council process.

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As the country marks National Carers Week, parishes and other Catholic communities are being encouraged to acknowledge and celebrate the role of those who provide unpaid support to people in need.

According to data from 2015, 2.7 million Australians were unpaid carers, offering support to family members and friends who have a disability, mental illness, chronic condition, terminal illness, an alcohol or other drug issue or who are frail aged.

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Applications are now open for an Australian women’s leadership program that has been held up as an international exemplar for supporting the formation of Church leaders.

The Leadership for Mission program, a joint initiative of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference and the Australian Catholic University with support from Catholic Mission, is a postgraduate program for women aged 25 to 35. It is delivered through three residential sessions over an 18-month period.

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(CNS photo/Cristian Gennari, pool)

A world that looks beyond a global pandemic with no roadmap can find one in Pope Francis’ new encyclical, which Archbishop Mark Coleridge says “is not just for believers but for the entire human family”.

Published this evening, the Pope’s third encyclical is entitled Fratelli Tutti (Brothers and Sisters All) – words taken from St Francis of Assisi, who the Pope says has inspired what he writes.

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Darwin’s Plenary Council delegates were commissioned during the diocese’s Chrism Mass on September 29 (Peter Edward photo)

The Diocese of Darwin last night became the first local Church to commission their delegates for the Fifth Plenary Council of Australia, the first assembly of which will open in Adelaide in 12 months’ time.

Given the postponement of the Plenary Council assemblies by a year due to COVID-19 restrictions on travel and public gatherings, it was proposed that dioceses consider commissioning their delegates on October 4, 2020 – the day the first assembly was due to commence.

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As it celebrates 100 years of global ministry to seafarers, the Apostleship of the Sea is also marking the occasion with the official adoption of the familiar name Stella Maris and launch of a new logo.

Stella Maris, which translates as Star of the Sea, is the name already used for centres around the world from which pastoral care and practical support is delivered – including many Australian ports.

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Worshippers will from late November notice a slight change to the words the priest prays just before the Liturgy of the Word, with the amendment supporting a more faithful understanding of the Trinity.

The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments earlier this year wrote to episcopal conferences that use the English translation of the Roman Missal (2010) regarding a change to the conclusion to the collects – or opening prayers – used in the Mass.

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Archbishop Christopher Prowse

The Bishop Delegate for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Refugees has encouraged Catholics to see in the Scriptures and in Pope Francis’ example the Christian imperative to care for those “on the move”.

Archbishop Christopher Prowse, in a letter for this Sunday’s World Day of Migrants and Refugees, said the understandable focus on the COVID-19 pandemic must not distract people from another ongoing crisis.

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The presidents of Catholic Religious Australia and the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference have thanked a group of key advisors who helped the Church progress matters related to safeguarding and child protection.

In letters sent earlier this month, Implementation Advisory Group (IAG) chair Jack de Groot informed Br Peter Carroll FMS and Archbishop Mark Coleridge that the group had concluded its work, with Mr de Groot noting “the many blessings that will result in taking forward the important and essential work of leading the Church in Australia”.

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Australia Post will release a commemorative envelope later this month celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Catholic Church’s ministry to seafarers through the Apostleship of the Sea.

The postage-paid envelope, which will cost $1.35, features an historical image of an Australian port and a photo of Melbourne Archbishop Peter A. Comensoli visiting his local Stella Maris centre in 2018.

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