Making dreams come true

Twelve lucky young pilgrims from across the country have been awarded sponsorship to attend World Youth Day in Poland from 25 – 31 July this year.

The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference (ACBC), Office for Youth and the World Youth Day (WYD) Committee today announced twelve recipients of the ‘Pilgrim Support Program’.

The Pilgrim Support Program aims to support young people who may never ordinarily have had the opportunity to travel to World Youth Day. The program is funded by the ACBC, Catholic Church Insurance and Cosmos, the official tour operator for the Australian pilgrimage to WYD.

Pilgrims were nominated by their Bishops and Youth Ministry leaders. The selection criteria for the program included two key elements; providing opportunities for personal and spiritual development and identifying emerging youth ministry leaders. Continue reading →

A tribute to Bishop Satterthwaite, 1928-2016

Bishop Satterthwaite, Fourth Bishop of Lismore. Coadjutor bishop (1969-1970) Bishop of Lismore (1971-2001) May he rest in peace.

Bishop Satterthwaite died on Saturday, 23 April 2016, just one week short of the 47th anniversary of his ordination to the episcopate by Cardinal Gilroy.

His provides us with an opportunity to reflect on the contribution of this unassuming man to the life of the Catholic community on the North Coast of New South Wales.

Ordained originally for the Diocese of Armidale, Bishop Satterthwaite was what has been termed “a late vocation”. Prior to ordination he had studied engineering at Sydney University and theology at the Lateran University in Rome. Ordination to the priesthood brought with it service in Glen Innes as assistant priest and Armidale as Chancellor and Bishop’s Secretary. At the time of his appointment to Lismore he was Administrator of the Cathedral.

In 1969, at the relatively young age of forty he was appointed Coadjutor Bishop to the then Bishop, Patrick Farrelly, himself first appointed as Coadjutor to Bishop John Carroll in 1931.

Bishop Satterthwaite spent the first years in the Diocese in Casino and Grafton before becoming Bishop of Lismore in 1971, on the retirement of Bishop Farrelly. Continue reading →

Australian Catholic Superannuation supports young dancer

Kim Wilcke & Elyse Lenehan The Australian Catholic Superannuation and Retirement Fund awarded Elyse Lenehan, a dance student from Canberra, with a YWCA (Young Women’s Christian Association) Enrichment Grant on Tuesday 28 April at the annual Round the World Breakfast event.

Elyse is a young dancer of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent who is currently studying dance at NAISDA – National Aboriginal and Islander Dance Academy in Gosford.

The award was presented at the YWCA Canberra’s Round the World Breakfast event to celebrate World YWCA Day.

World YWCA Day is recognised every year across 120 countries. The Round the World Breakfast event provides an opportunity for YWCAs to come together to honour the contributions of women leaders in their communities. Continue reading →

Catholic Education welcomes school funding commitment

The National Catholic Education Commission has welcomed the Coalition Government’s announcement of $1.2 billion in additional funding to support all Australian schools, saying it has placed school education at the centre of this year’s federal election campaign.

“Schools are important institutions in the community and well-directed investment in schools will determine the future of Australia as a society and an economy,” NCEC executive director Ross Fox said.

“Catholic education is pleased that the Government has today committed to future funding that reflects real costs for schools.”

In its announcement, the Coalition said per-student school funding from 2018 will increase at 3.56 per cent each year, which it says is in line with recent increases in school costs. Over the past two years, the NCEC has led calls for needs-based funding for all schools, with funding that keeps pace with school costs. Continue reading →

“Give Us A Sign: Peace!”

A new ecumenical project called, Give Us A Sign, calls on Churches and Christian organisations to stand together in support of peace in the month of May 2016.

The project emerged in 2015 following conversations between the Anglican, Catholic and Uniting Churches in the Hunter and Central Coast. It supported by the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle and the Diocese of Broken Bay.

Last year its focus was promoting compassion for asylum seekers. In 2016, the theme is seeking peace.

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.” (John 14:27)

The troubles of our own times can appear overwhelming. In our daily news we are bombarded with stories of war, terrorism, civil unrest and violence. Many people in our own communities do not feel any true sense of peace in themselves or in their homes. We ask that churches and Christian organisations consider posting a message of peace on their noticeboards for at least one day per week for the weeks during the month of May. Individuals can also share creative messages of peace. Continue reading →

Papua New Guinea Supreme Court decision a welcome sign of hope for Manus Island detainees

Refugees take a rest at a detention centre

The decision of the Papua New Guinea Supreme Court that the detention of asylum seekers on Manus Island is illegal is a welcome sign of hope for those currently in detention on Manus Island, Fr Maurizio Pettenà, Director of the Australian Catholic Migrant and Refugee Office, said today.

“This ruling is important because it highlights the fact that governments have human rights obligations under domestic and international laws.

We also welcome the decision of the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, Peter O’Neill, to close the Manus Island detention centre as a result of the ruling.

The Australian Government’s response to people seeking asylum should first and foremost focus on respecting their human dignity.

I urge the Minister for Immigration, Peter Dutton, to use this opportunity to show leadership and act to end indefinite mandatory offshore detention.

If the Australian Government insists on returning people to their country of origin or moving people to other countries as a result of this decision, the Government must ensure no asylum seeker is at risk of persecution or violence.

The Catholic Church opposes mandatory indefinite detention and offshore detention, these policy responses do not respect the dignity of people seeking our refuge.

Whilst Governments have a responsibility to manage migration flows into countries, the Australian Government’s approach is harsh and needs to change; the dignity of the human person must always come first.”

Victorian Budget 2016: strong revenue, sound initiatives, more to go

Budget 2016

‘Strong revenue has enabled sound spending programs, and welcome initiatives’, said Denis Fitzgerald, Executive Director of Catholic Social Services Victoria, following the Victorian budget announced on Wednesday 27 April 2016.

‘However, the budget does not yet reflect a central focus on the fundamental needs of those on the margins of our society,’ he added.

Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas MP brought down the Andrews Government’s second budget on Wednesday 27 April, a week earlier than usual because of the earlier date for next week’s Federal budget.

Only rarely does a Government have sufficient revenue available to meet its broad fiscal managment goals, to fund existing programs, and to have enough left over to embark on a number of initiatives.

This was such a budget. Continue reading →

Bishop Satterthwaite RIP

Bishop John Satterthwaite

On Saturday 23 April, Bishop of Lismore, Geoffrey Jarrett, announced with sadness the news of the death of his immediate predecessor, the Emeritus Bishop of Lismore, John Steven Satterthwaite. The bishop died in Port Macquarie, NSW, in the south of the Diocese. He was 87 years of age.

Bishop Satterthwaite’s remains will be received into St Carthage’s Cathedral for a Vigil of Prayer on Sunday, 1 May 2016 at 6.30pm, prior to the Mass of Christian Burial on the following morning, Monday 2 May, 2016, at 10.30am.

Bishop Satterthwaite was born at Randwick in Sydney, on 11 August 1928. His primary education was at Ashford State School, and his secondary education was entrusted to the Marist Brothers at St Joseph’s College, Hunter’s Hill.

Having gained entrance to university, he enrolled in the faculty of Engineering, Civil Division, and took up residence at St John’s College, Sydney, in 1946. Academically brilliant he graduated in 1949 with a degree of Bachelor of Engineering (Civil Division), and thereafter was employed as a junior engineer with Australian Iron and Steel, Port Kembla. Continue reading →

National count of Mass attendance commences this month

Parishioners attending Mass

The national count of Mass attendance across Australia will commence at the end of this month, the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, Pastoral Research Office announced today.

The first weekend in May, Saturday 30 April and Sunday 1 May 2016, will see the commencement of the national count of attendance. The count was first held in 2001. This will be the fourth time that the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference (ACBC) has conducted the count at a national level.

The Count consists of a simple headcount of all attenders of all ages in all parishes and other Mass centres throughout Australia over the first four weekends in May. The count will only be conducted at the Sunday mass or the Saturday evening equivalent. Continue reading →

Nepal Earthquake – Shelter still the priority one year later

Man Bahadur Garti Chetri

As Nepal marks the first anniversary of two devastating earthquakes this week, the Caritas international network continues to invest millions of dollars to assist survivors.

The 7.8 magnitude earthquake on 25 April last followed by another on 12 May, 2015 left almost 9,000 people dead, caused numerous casualties and destroyed tens of thousands of homes and buildings.

A major focus of the global Caritas network has been to provide good quality housing. As the Caritas member agency chosen by Caritas Nepal to play a lead coordination role among 18 Caritas agencies from around the world, Caritas Australia has been very active in this response. Continue reading →

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Latest media releases and statements by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference