The Bishops of Australia have announced the appointment of the Honourable Scott Ryan as the new Executive Director of the National Catholic Education Commission (NCEC). Mr Ryan will replace the Honourable Jacinta Collins, who completes her term as Executive Director at the end of February 2026. Mr Ryan brings extensive educational policy knowledge and experience, having served within the...

A survey conducted by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference’s Bishops Commission for Evangelisation, Laity and Ministry has found Catholic clergy enjoy a strong sense of wellbeing. A total of 825 priests and deacons participated in the survey to determine how they can be better supported and better serve their communities in turn. In a second phase of the study, 78 priests and deacons ...

The cause for sainthood for Australian-born doctor and missionary in India Mary Glowrey has advanced after Pope Leo XIV recognised her ‘heroic virtues’ late last year. Venerable Mary of the Sacred Heart Glowrey, as she will now be titled, is only the second Australian, after St Mary Mackillop, to be accorded this status. Dr Mary Glowrey was medical graduate of the University of Melbourne...

History was created in Melbourne recently with the Permanent Synod of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church held in Australia for the first time. In his capacity as the current President of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, Archbishop Tim Costelloe SDB, Archbishop of Perth, met with the members of the Permanent Synod. The meeting was presided over by His Beatitude the Most Revere...

The Catholic, academic and broader faith communities have mourned the passing of renowned Australian Biblical scholar Fr Francis Moloney SDB who died recently aged 85. Fr Moloney was the author of major pieces of internationally acclaimed research into the Gospels of John, Mark, and the Book of Revelation. His last academic posting was as a Senior Professorial Fellow at the Catholic Theo...

Emergency vehicles at the scene of a shooting incident at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Sunday 14 December 2025. Two gunmen targeted Jewish beachgoers at an event celebrating the first day of Hanukkah, leaving 15 dead, including a gunman, and more than 40 wounded. Photo: OSV News/Izhar Khan, Reuters. By Jamie O’Brien On the golden sands of Bondi Beach last Sunday evening, an act of unspeakable ...

Directors through time - Bernard Toutounji, Anne Collignon and Phillip Collignon. Photo: Supplied/Aid to the Church in Need Australia. Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) Australia and New Zealand has this month marked a significant milestone, celebrating 60 years of service to persecuted and suffering Christians around the world. What began at a kitchen table in Sydney in 1965 has grown int...

Perth Auxiliary Bishop Don Sproxton with youth from the Archdiocese of Perth. Photo: ACYF/Archdiocese of Melbourne. In a concluding Mass for the 2025 Australian Catholic Youth Festival that saw the Melbourne Youth Orchestra and the Choir of Trinity College Melbourne accompany the liturgy with a glorious and specially composed fanfare and musical setting, courtesy of local composer Mary Fins...

Emergency vehicles are at the scene of a shooting incident at Bondi Beach in Sydney on Sunday 14 December, 2025. Two gunmen targeted Jewish beachgoers at an event celebrating the first day of Hanukkah, leaving 12 dead, including a gunman, and 29 wounded, New South Wales police said. Photo: OSV News/Izhar Khan, Reuters. The following statement can be attributed to Australian Catholic Bishops...

In a submission to the Australian Law Reform Commission’s review of surrogacy laws, the Conference emphasised surrogacy in all its forms “undermines the dig-nity of women and children by commodifying human life and turning pregnancy into a transaction”.