The research, led by Dr Andrea Salins of ACU’s Australian Centre for the Advancement of Literacy, is the first of its kind to examine the relationship between the reading-related mental health of children with reported ear and hearing difficulties (rEHD). Photo: Sourced. Children with hearing difficulties who experience early reading struggles are at risk of developing poor mental health ou...

The 2025 Australian Catholic Youth Festival is being celebrated as a powerful moment to encounter Jesus and nurture future leaders of the Church. At the recent plenary meeting of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, Festival Director Teresa Rhynehart shared exciting insights into the vision and mission of the event.

The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference (ACBC) has welcomed the election of Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost as Pope Leo XIV. ACBC President, Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB, offered heartfelt congratulations, assuring the new pope of the Church in Australia’s prayers, loyalty, and joyful anticipation of his spiritual leadership. He expressed hope that the pontificate will be marked by peace, unity, and a deepening of the Gospel message worldwide.

Australia’s Catholic bishops have celebrated a Mass in memory of the late Pope Francis during their May plenary. Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Charles Balvo, preached the homily and Australian Catholic Bishops Conference President, Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB celebrated the Mass, in the Mary MacKillop Memorial Chapel in North Sydney.

NCEC Executive Director Jacinta Collins said there are long-standing concerns from schools and teachers tired of the so-called “lesson lottery” — where learning suffers due to inconsistent curriculum delivery and insufficient support.

St Teresa of Kolkata is pictured in 1992. Photo: CNS/Michael Collopy Entries are now open for Australia’s richest prize for a single poem, where Australia’s top and emerging poets compete for the $10,000 first prize. Now in its 13th year, the ACU Prize for Poetry is open to new works on the theme of Belonging, inspired by a quotation from St Teresa of Kolkata: “If we have no peace, we ha...

ACBC President and Perth Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB with Pope Francis in 2022. Photo: CNS/Vatican Media. Australian Catholic Bishops Conference President, Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB, says Pope Francis will be remembered as a man of simplicity, humility and compassion. Pope Francis, born Jorge Maria Bergoglio, became the first non-European pope in centuries, the first Latin Am...

Inequality in Australia, highlighted Mr Gaetani, is at a 20-year high, with single parents hit the hardest.

Australian Catholic Bishops Conference President and Perth Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB, commended the statement to all people of good will.

Speaking on behalf of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, Maitland-Newcastle Bishop Michael Kennedy said workers have a right to wages that will provide themselves and their families with a dignified standard of living.