Cardinal George Pell, head of the Vatican Secretariat for the Economy, arrives at the Melbourne Magistrates Court in Melbourne, Australia on 1 May. Photo: CNS/James Ross, via Reuters. By Catholic News Service After a month long pre-trial hearing, a judge has ordered Cardinal George Pell to stand trial on multiple charges of sexual abuse of minors, charges the Cardinal has consistently...

ACU Vice President Father Anthony Casamento, pictured with Professor Margot Hillel. Photo: ACU. The 2018 Australian Catholic University Prize for Poetry opened for entries on 5 March with “Empathy” as the major theme. The annual poetry competition aims to support writers and continue the tradition of the Catholic Church as a key patron of the arts. Last year’s top accolade was take...

Psyche Mae is a social worker with plans to study a master’s degree after growing up in a squatter settlement. Photo Sean Sprague. More than 20 million Filipinos live below the poverty line, and hundreds-of-thousands of people are vulnerable to abuse and exploitation. Caritas Australia is working with Filipino youths to improve education opportunities and move out of poverty. Psych...

Ditosa in 2013 aged 12 received support from the Matuba Children’s Centre to attend school. Photo In Mozambique, a country where more than 10 per cent of adults live with HIV, Caritas Australia is working with local communities to create sustainable education and work opportunities. Ditosa lives in Matuba, near Chokwe in southern Mozambique, where many children have lost one or both p...

The new Audio Divina podcast episodes will be made available to listen to every Wednesday. Photo: Adobe Stock. World-renowned biblical scholar Rev Professor Francis Moloney SDB AM will be headlining the brand-new podcast Audio Divina, recently launched on Ash Wednesday to mark the beginning of Lent. New episodes will be released each Wednesday of the week, featuring a Lectio-Divina st...

Evangeline – Senior Artsworker for Djilpin Arts Aboriginal Corporation. Photo: Richard Wainwright. Two years after featuring in Project Compassion’s campaign, Evangeline is now building on her success story to benefit her community. Caritas Australia is helping youth in First Australian communities to strengthen their culture and create opportunities for their communities. Evangeli...

Pope Francis appears for the first time on the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican on March 13, 2013. Photo: CNS/Paul Haring. By Cindy Wooden Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected Pope just a few days after telling the College of Cardinals that the Catholic Church faced a clear choice between being a church that “goes out” or a church focused on its internal af...

An innovative online engagement platform for young Catholics, and created by Catholic Mission, called #ShoeStories was launched earlier this month. Image: Sourced. An innovative online engagement platform for young Catholics, and created by Catholic Mission, called #ShoeStories was launched earlier this month. The initiative was launched at the Australian Catholic Youth Festival in De...

Former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Australian Catholic University Vice-Chancellor Professor Greg Craven have last week launched the Institute of Religion Politics and Society’s leadership series with a dialogue about faith, leadership and politics. Photo: Supplied. Former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Australian Catholic University Vice-Chancellor Professor Greg Craven have last week l...

This is the cover of A brief guide to the Final Report: Children and Young People. Australia’s Royal Commission Into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse released its 17-volume final report on 15 December 2017. Photo: CNS. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has this month made a statement regarding the Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. The Royal Commission delivered...