The Federal Budget has drawn a measured but hopeful response from both the St Vincent de Paul Society and Catholic Health Australia who have welcomed reforms they believe could improve the lives of Australians facing housing stress, poverty, illness and ageing. However, both organisations have also warned that much more needs to be done to ensure vulnerable people are not left behind. In a ...

Representatives of more than a dozen Christian denominations joined with members of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference on Tuesday 12 May for an historic ecumenical worship service. Chair of the Bishops Commission for Christian Unity and Interreligious Dialogue, Bishop Michael Kennedy, led the gathering in Sydney’s Mary MacKillop Memorial Chapel. The service was adapted from resou...

Catholic Health Australia has called on the Albanese Government to legislate a minimum 90 per cent benefit-payout ratio for private health insurers, warning that voluntary action has comprehensively failed and patients are paying the price. The latest data reveals just 85.6 cents of every premium dollar is now reaching patient care, down from 91.9 cents before the pandemic. Had the payou...

Catholic Health Australia (CHA) has launched Health Matters, the first podcast produced and hosted by an Australian health peak body. New episodes will be released monthly, addressing issues across health, aged care and mission. Future topics will include aged care reform, workforce sustainability, hospital funding and palliative care. “Both health and aged care are at a critical junc...

Archbishop Amel Nona, leader of the Chaldean Diocese of Saint Thomas the Apostle in Australia and New Zealand, has been elected Patriarch of the Chaldean Church. On 12 April, the Synod of Bishops of the Chaldean Church elected him Patriarch at its legal session in Rome. Archbishop Nona, who chose for himself the name of His Beatitude Patriarch Mar Paul III Nona, was born in 1976 i...

Sisilia refilling her cup from newly installed water taps at her school in rural Tanzania. Photo: Caritas Australia. Thirteen‑year‑old Sisilia, from remote Tanzania, spent much of her childhood walking long distances to collect water each day, time that kept her from school and placed her dreams further out of reach. Today, thanks to Project Compassion and the support of the Diocese of M...

Catholic Health Australia has welcomed the Federal Government’s decision to ensure personal care minutes delivered by religious sisters in aged care homes are formally recognised and count towards mandated targets. The Department of Health, Ageing and Disability has updated the definition of a Personal Care Worker to include a person who is a member of a religious order, such as a nun or re...

Catholic Social Services Australia (CSSA) and the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Council (NATSICC) have welcomed the joint announcement by the Federal Minister for Social Services and the Federal Minister for Indigenous Australians on the launch of the Our Ways - Strong Ways - Our Voices: National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Plan to End Family, Domestic and S...

The Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart have commissioned a new Congregational Leadership Team at a Mass for Handing on Leadership celebrated earlier this month at the Mary MacKillop Memorial Chapel in North Sydney. The new Congregational Leadership Team comprises Sister Josephine Dubiel as Congregational Leader, supported by Sisters Brigette Sipa, Mary Ellen O’Donoghue, Catherine M...

Caritas Australia has announced the launch of Project Compassion 2026, its Lenten fundraising and awareness appeal that attracts participation from 1700 schools and 1200 parishes across Australia annually. This year, Caritas Australia is calling on the community to Unite Against Poverty. For six weeks, schools, students, parishes and individuals are encouraged to donate, participate in T...