The Plenary Council 2020 moves into its next phase of preparation today with the announcement of the National Themes for Discernment that emerged from a historic process of listening to the voices of more than 222,000 people.

Between May 2018 and March 2019, almost 17,500 submissions, from individuals and groups of all sizes, addressed the Plenary Council’s central question: “What do you think God is asking of us in Australia at this time?” Continue reading →

Bishops and members of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Council visit St Vincent’s Hospital

A delegation of bishops has toured a Sydney Catholic hospital that is improving the health of Indigenous people via a range of innovative reconciliation and Closing the Gap programs.

Members of the Bishops Commission for Relations with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Council (NATSICC) recently visited St Vincent’s Hospital in Darlinghurst. Continue reading →

A combination of data analysis, prayer and reflection has helped the Plenary Council 2020 process move from the voices of more than 222,000 people across the country to a number of National Themes for Discernment.

More than 75 people met last week to listen to and understand the qualitative and quantitative analysis of the submissions received during the 10-month Listening and Dialogue phase of the Plenary Council. Continue reading →

Bishop Geoffrey Jarrett greets Deacon Kopel Gibuma at his Ordination Mass. (Photo supplied)

The first ordination of a Torres Strait Islander into the Catholic priesthood in Australia was celebrated with a culturally-symbolic ceremony in Far North Queensland last Sunday.

In St Francis Xavier Church in Cairns, Lismore Emeritus Bishop Geoffrey Jarrett ordained 55-year-old Fr Kopel Gibuma to the Catholic priesthood to minister in the Ordinariate of Our Lady of the Southern Cross (OLSC). Continue reading →

The convent in its heyday, in the early 1900s. Photo: Courtesy of the Broken Hill Family History Group

After a 40-year hiatus, the historic St Joseph’s Convent at Broken Hill has finally returned to Catholic Church ownership.

The convent, which was built in 1889 for the Sisters of Mercy, was recently bought back by the Diocese of Wilcannia-Forbes in private negotiations that began after it passed in at auction. Continue reading →

Mary Jamieson (seated, second from right) wearing her Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice medal at a recent meeting of the CSSA board

A long-time Catholic Social Services Australia employee has been awarded a papal honour for her services to the Church and to the Pope.

Mary Clare Jamieson, CSSA’s director of corporate services, was bestowed the symbol of honour of the Exalted Cross – Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice (for services to the Church and to the Pope), which is instituted for persons distinguished for outstanding service and zeal. Continue reading →

Paul O’Callaghan, the chief executive officer of Caritas Australia, the Church’s international aid and development agency, tendered his resignation yesterday.

Mr O’Callaghan’s decision to step down comes shortly after the successful conclusion of Project Compassion, Caritas Australia’s major annual fundraising and community education project. Continue reading →

Holly Roberts

Two young Australians will join an international delegation in Rome next month to identify concrete ways to implement Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation, Christus Vivit.

Huw Warmenhoven, 25, from the Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn, and Holly Roberts, 22, from the Archdiocese of Adelaide, are both excited about the opportunity, having recently been told of their selection to represent Australia’s Catholic youth by the Bishops Commission for Evangelisation, Laity and Ministry. Continue reading →

Melbourne Auxiliary Bishop Mark Edwards OMI, Maronite Bishop of Australia Antoine-Charbel Tarabay and Canberra-Goulburn Archbishop Christopher Prowse at Our Lady of Lebanon Church

Leaders of Eastern Catholic Churches say having Latin rite bishops join them in their liturgical celebrations shows the unity of the universal Catholic Church.

During their biannual Plenary Meeting in Melbourne, bishops from across Australia celebrated Sunday Mass with the Chaldean, Maronite, Melkite, Syro-Malabar and Ukrainian Catholic communities on May 5. Continue reading →