Acknowledgement of Country, welcome and opening prayer. Photo: Diocese of Parramatta. By Theresia Titus The Australian Catholic Bishops Office for Youth and the Diocese of Parramatta hosted the Australian Catholic Youth Ministry Convention (ACYMC) 2018 from 21 to 23 September. Held at Rooty Hills, Western Sydney, the event focussed on the call of Pope Francis to “Open New Horizons for ...

Professor Br David Hall FMS, Dean of La Salle Academy. Photo: Supplied. Australian Catholic University’s (ACU) La Salle Academy has last month published a comprehensive review of Catholic Education documents from Vatican II and the Congregation of Catholic Education. Constants in context: Conciliar and post-conciliar documents on the Catholic school and their implications for mission was ...

Catholic Health Australia (CHA) has this week announced their support for Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s call for a Royal Commission into Aged Care, so that the future of care for Australia’s elderly can be properly and independently addressed. CHA members share the community’s expectation for quality and compassionate care for all our older Australians and commend the commitment made to im...

The Hon Scott Morrison MP, the 30th Prime Minister of Australia. Photo: Scott Morrison/Facebook. By Matthew Lau Australia’s newest Prime Minister Scott Morrison has vowed to go ahead with the national apology to victims and survivors of institutional child sexual abuse on 22 October. The fallout of last month’s leadership spill – which saw Mr Morrison supersede Malcolm Turnbull – h...

The core theme of this year’s contest was “Empathy”. Photo: Supplied. Castlemaine-based poet Annie Hunter is the winner of the 2018 ACU Prize for Poetry for her entry Anthea Noctua. Ms Hunter’s poem was selected ahead of Sound Bridge by Felicity Plunkett of Croydon in NSW ($5000 second prize) and Point of Recognition by Jane Williams from New Town in Tasmania ($3000 third prize). A rec...

Archdiocese of Perth Communications Manager Jamie O’Brien is congratulated by Melbourne Archbishop Peter Comensoli at the 2018 ACPA Awards. Photo: Neil Helmore/Diocese of Townsville. The eRecord and The Record Magazine have been awarded several crowns at the 2018 Australasian Catholic Press Association (ACPA) Awards and the Australasian Religious Press Awards (ARPA). ACPA ...

Bernard Holland, the new head of Catholic Earthcare Australia. Photo: Nicole Clements/Caritas Australia. By Matthew Lau Building on the ecological work already underway within each diocese, the new Director of Catholic Earthcare Australia has pledged to act as a conduit for the good of “Our Common Home”. Bernard Holland brings a wealth of experience from both Catholic education and env...

Eileen O’Connor died in 1921 – a month short of her 29th birthday. Photo: Supplied.  Australia is one step closer to getting its next saint with the Vatican advancing the cause for Sydney woman Eileen O’Connor to the title “Servant of God”. The significant announcement comes just months after Sydney Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP began the formal process for the beatification of Eileen when...

Fr Hans Zollner SJ was Chair of the organising committee for the symposium "Towards Healing and Renewal" on sexual abuse of minors in February 2012. Photo: Supplied. The Catholic dioceses of Wollongong and Parramatta will co-host two days of presentations this week with a priest widely recognised as one of the leading experts in the field of safeguarding of minors. Fr Hans Zollner SJ is a...

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...