The work of Campus Ministry (Fremantle and Broome) and Chaplaincy (Sydney) is at the heart of the community of The University of Notre Dame Australia.

As he dwells on an extraordinary life of achievements, graces and favour, but also of hardship, tribulation and suffering, it is difficult for Minh Le to speak about his past without shedding a tear or two.

Perched on a hill in the riverside suburb of Maylands, the icon-filled church of St John the Baptist serves as a reflection of the community it represents: Ukrainian Greek Catholics who have been here in WA since the 1940s, and whose story is one of hope triumphing over hardship, and of identity discovered through traditions and faith.

The Australian release of the movie Spotlight, which details the uncovering of the sexual abuse of minors in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston, and in the United States of America more generally, tragically has many parallels for the Catholic Church in Australia.

Born in a village north of the capital Juba, Mr Lako was taken at the age of ten – along with many other boys – by the South Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), under the guise of providing them with an education.

The group – which takes its name from Armadale’s church of St Francis Xavier – began in 1995 with the goal of providing outreach to parishioners and others in the community who needed help, normally in the form of food or additional support when they were struggling.

The chance to work for an organisation which makes a difference to the quality of people’s lives was the motivating factor for visual artist, Wendy, to join Identitywa, one of WA’s leading agencies supporting people with disability and their families.

More than 400 new staff have been commissioned to serve as “the face of Jesus” in Perth Catholic schools – as powerfully described by Archbishop Timothy Costelloe – in a number of Masses held throughout the Archdiocese this month.

When Sister Ursula Frayne and companions arrived at Barrack Street Jetty in January 1846, little did they know that their Order of the Sisters of Mercy – notable for achievements in education and social service – would go on to have a 170-year presence in the colony and throughout Australia.

The Archdiocese of Perth has this month held a seminar with the aim of engaging parishes and other Catholics in the debate about asylum seekers and refugees.