Brisbane Archbishop Mark Coleridge spoke on the topic of “Leaders that Listen: Synodality in Practice”. Photo: Sourced. Landmark discussions were recently held to look at the future vision and direction for the Catholic Church in Australia. The video conference, titled “Synodality in Practice: Listening to the Spirit and Leading Change”, was filmed at the Caroline Chisholm Centre in Sydn...

Professor of Health Care Ethics at Kampen Theological University, Netherlands, Theo Boer as one of the speakers for AMA (WA) 2018 End of Life Symposium. Photo: YouTube. A leading professor in the field of Health Care Ethics believes Australia must be scrutinised for its intention to legalise euthanasia, following lessons learnt from euthanasia cases in the Netherlands. Theo Boer, Prof...

By Peter Wilkinson This is the fourth in a series of articles looking at the particular (provincial and plenary) Councils of the Catholic Church held in Australia between 1844 and 1937. It examines the 1885 First Australasian Plenary Council, held between November 14 and 29, which officially brought together the Churches in Australia and New Zealand for the first time. In the period fro...

From left: Bishop of Geraldton Michael Morrissey, Bishop of Bunbury Gerald Holohan, Archbishop of Perth Timothy Costelloe SDB, Bishop of Broome Christopher Saunders, and Auxiliary Bishop of Perth Donald Sproxton. Photo: Sourced. The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference has convened an additional plenary meeting for 2018 to expedite the Catholic Church’s response to the Royal Commission...

Chisholm Catholic College pupil Jaymie Lutton represented WA at the 2018 School Sport Australia Swimming Championships in Hobart this past week. Photo: Supplied. By Amanda Murthy Reigning Perth junior state champion and Chisholm Catholic College student Jaymie Lutton has represented WA for the first time at the 2018 School Sport Australia Swimming Championships. The year seven stud...

Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB stands with the Catholic Aboriginal Ministry representatives during a luncheon after the annual Agency Mass at St Mary’s Cathedral on Thursday 26 July. Photo: Ron Tan. By Amanda Murthy “Listen with the ears of your heart.” “The words which we find on the front cover of today’s Mass booklet - understand with your heart, listen with your ears - which we h...

Rev Dr Sean Fernandez was Attadale Parish Priest for 12 years; he began his new role as Cathedral Dean and Administrator on Wednesday 25 July 2018. Photo: Matthew Lau. By Matthew Lau Father Sean Fernandez commenced his new role as the ninth Dean and Administrator of St Mary’s Cathedral last week. Life as a priest has come full-circle for the former Attadale Parish Priest, who was o...

Professor Ilora Finlay, Baroness Finlay of Llandaff, was one of two international keynote speakers at the AMA (WA) End-of-Life Choices and Palliative Care Symposium held earlier this month. Photo: AMA WA. By Amanda Murthy, with the Australian Medical Association “Assisted dying has no place in medical practice – doctors should not be the gatekeepers – the judgements required go beyond...

Papal Household theologian Fr Wojciech Giertych OP was in Perth earlier this month to speak on the topic of Pope Paul VI’s half-century old encyclical Humanae Vitae and its relevance in modern society. Photo: Matthew Lau. By Matthew Lau Theologian to the Papal Household Father Wojciech Giertych OP marked his first ever visit to Australia by speaking about the fallout of one of the mos...

Identitywa Chief Executive Marina Re (fifth from left) and Manager Services Lee-Anne Brensell (second from right) with the Sisters of Mercy. Photo: Identitywa. The Sisters of Mercy were given a first-hand look at the transformation of the buildings which were originally home to St Brigid’s School founded by them in July 1888. Identitywa hosted a special morning tea for the Sisters of ...