The intertwined relationship of mental health and poverty was the spotlight at the Anti-Poverty Week (APW) Ecumenical Service, held at Highgate Parish on 14 October.

Spring sunshine warmed the grounds at St Francis Xavier Church in East Perth on 18 October as the Emmanuel Centre community gathered to celebrate Mass and a ceremony to bless the centre’s new memorial garden in honour of the late Fr Paul Pitzen, former Chaplain for the Catholic Ministry for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.

The Hon Ben Wyatt, WA Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, has last month launched new online resources dedicated to Aboriginal communities to “assist them research on their families and community histories”.

Archaeologists have launched a project to find Australia’s lost stories carved into iconic centuries-old trees in the Kimberley in Western Australia.

What happens when you bring together an Italian, a Peruvian, an Indian and an Aussie? Well, in this case, you get a beautiful representation of the many faith-filled people in Rockingham Parish, Western Australia.

Catholic School Parents Western Australia (CSPWA) acknowledged five categories of individuals, groups, and a parish, in appreciation of their significant contribution to work collaboratively with their schools and parishes to provide a Catholic education to help all children reach their full potential.

This year, on 9 May, marked 175 years since Perth became a diocese. The anniversary was not formally celebrated because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB and his curia wished to recognise this significant event. Odhran O’Brien, Director of the Archdiocesan Archives Office, has compiled a short reflection on the diocese’s foundation, which includes extracts from the missionaries who arrived in Western Australia during 1845.

“At the heart of the Plenary Council, in its preparation stage (presently underway), in its celebration stage (the two formal Assemblies) and its implementation stage (to be undertaken at both the national level and, more importantly at the local level), we find the call to, and challenge of, discernment. Both the call and the challenge are captured very well in the fundamental question of the Plenary Council and in the foundational theme of the Plenary Council.

This time of COVID-19 has been a challenge, but it has also been an opportunity for healing and hope.

It is the peace of God given when there seems to be turmoil all around and I need help to find my way through the darkness; it is the grace God gives, embodied in Jesus Christ who rose from the dead offering hope to all of us even if we do not deserve it.