From left: Elizabeth Dale, Justine Tanner, Prof Peta Sanderson (Notre Dame Pro Vice-Chancellor International), Katarina Welborn, Tom Crellin, and Kamran Ahmed attend the announcement event in Canberra. Photo: Supplied. Students from the University of Notre Dame Australia’s Fremantle Campus have made their mark at this year’s national New Colombo Plan Scholarship Awards. Of the 18 scholars...

Dr Paul Morrissey spoke on the topic of “The Sacraments and Salvation” at CYM’s 2018 Embrace the Grace youth conference on 6 December. Photo: Matthew Lau. By Amanda Murthy Sydney Theologian Dr Paul Morrissey has last week delivered a talk titled “Freedom for Excellence: Why a classical understanding of freedom is needed today”. The one-hour talk, held on Wednesday 5 December at Northbr...

Australia’s Bishops have welcomed the seven-member Apostleship of the Sea National Committee at its inaugural meeting and commissioning ceremony in Sydney on 11 September. Photo: CathNews. By ACBC and Amanda Murthy Australia’s Bishops have welcomed the seven-member Apostleship of the Sea (AoS) National Committee at its inaugural meeting and commissioning ceremony in Sydney on 11 September...

Bishop of Broome Christopher Saunders. Photo: Supplied. By Christopher Saunders, Bishop of Broome I visited a family last Christmas Day who had received a hamper from the Bishop’s Christmas Appeal. Clearly they were not a well-off household at the best of times. As it happened that year, a number of bills had arrived leading up to the festive day thus adding to their poverty. Come Chri...

Bishop of Geraldton Michael Morrissey. Photo: Supplied. By Michael Morrissey, Bishop of Geraldton “A light that shines in the dark, a light that darkness could not overpower.” These words from the first chapter of St John’s Gospel are read on Christmas morning. How are these words for Christmas in Australia meant to have an impact with the heat and bright sunshine we can experience ...

Archbishop of Perth Timothy Costelloe SDB has late last week signed the legal documents required for the entry of the Archdiocese of Perth into the Commonwealth Redress Scheme. Photo: Jamie O’Brien. Archbishop of Perth Timothy Costelloe SDB has late last week signed the legal documents required for the entry of the Archdiocese of Perth into the Commonwealth Redress Scheme. Having sought a...

Auxiliary Bishop of Perth Donald Sproxton. Photo: Feby Plando. By Donald Sproxton, Auxiliary Bishop of Perth It is sometimes said that Christmas is “the silly season”. There is justification for this rather cynical view when we reflect on the fuss that surrounds the celebration of the feast. Yet could it be that all we do with Christmas speaks of our desire for those things that we search...

Attendees are pictured embracing music during one of the daily praise and worship sessions. Photo: Matthew Lau. By Matthew Lau “Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world ablaze” – St Catherine of Siena. The 2018 Embrace the Grace (ETG) youth conference vitalised some 120 Catholics to bolster their relationship with God. The attendees, aged 16 to 25, ventured to New Norci...

Archbishop of Perth Timothy Costelloe SDB. Photo: Ron Tan. By Timothy Costelloe SDB, Archbishop of Perth I would like to begin my Christmas message this year by recalling two phrases of Jesus from Saint John’s Gospel. The first is from Chapter 10: “I have come that you may have life and have it to the full” (John 10:10). The second is from chapter 17: “This is eternal life: to kn...

Ocean Reef parishioner Prafula Pearce speaks firsthand about her life and experience a woman. Photo: Jamie O’Brien. In this raw interview, Ocean Reef parishioner Prafula Pearce speaks firsthand about her life and experience a woman. The 62-year-old wife, mother and grandmother is a full-time academic who converted to Catholicism. “These days, I have to juggle my time between my variou...