Bishop of Darwin, Eugene Hurley reflected on Pope Francis’ words in his talk, entitled – Being merciful in the field hospital at the Australian Catholic Youth Festival (ACYF) in Sydney last week that saw some 100 youth gathered for his talk. Photo: Josh Low. By Natashya Fernandez Live and grow in the Church and experience her as a mother who welcomes her children always, who takes car...

Archbishop Denis Hart and Bishop Gerard Holohan join those who prepared the Our Work Matters report at the launch in North Sydney on November 29. Photo: Supplied. The Catholic Church is one of the largest employers in the country, according to a recent report from the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference (ACBC). More than 220,000 people work in Catholic organisations across Australia,...

Melbourne Archbishop Denis Hart has this week responded to the report by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse into the Archdiocese of Melbourne. Photo: Supplied. Melbourne Archbishop Denis Hart has this week responded to the report by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse into the Archdiocese of Melbourne in Case Study ...

Michelle Gear, Religious Education Coordinator at St Mary’s Catholic Primary School, Georges Hall, Sydney. The introduction of 360-degree virtual reality technology in Catholic schools has been hailed a success by educators around Australia. Photo: Supplied. The introduction of 360-degree virtual reality technology in Catholic schools throughout October has been hailed a success by educa...

With just two weeks until the start of the Australian Catholic Youth Festival (ACYF) in Sydney, the Australian Catholic Bishops Office for Youth has launched the official song for the event, a lively anthem called ‘Joyful Generation’. Image: Supplied. With a little more a week until the start of the Australian Catholic Youth Festival (ACYF) in Sydney, the Australian Catholic Bishops Offi...

Time is running out for readers to take part in the first-ever Australian Catholic Media User Survey, which is being conducted by the Australian Catholic Media Council, under the auspices of the Bishops Commission for Evangelisation. The Council is looking to hear about where and how Australians access their news of the Church in the new survey, which launched in late September and must close by November 30.

Parliament must work to unify Australians by respecting different views on marriage, Australian Catholic Bishops Conference (ACBC) President Archbishop Denis Hart said this week in the wake of the result of the Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics yesterday morning, Thursday 15 November, revealed Australians had voted Yes to same-sex marriage in a non-compulsory postal vote, with 61.6 per cent in favour and 38.4 per cent against. There were 7,817,247 votes for Yes and 4,873,987 for No. A further 36,686 votes, or 0.2 per cent, were unclear.

With only a month to go, Sydney is gearing up to play host to more than 18,000 young Catholics from around the nation for the Australian Catholic Youth Festival. If you are over the age of 18, there is still time to register for this amazing event. With Festival numbers nearing capacity, you will need to get online now. Find out more by visiting www.acyf.org.au

Federal Minister for Social Services, Christian Porter has last week introduced the long-awaited Commonwealth Redress Scheme for Institutional Child Sexual abuse Bill 2017 into the Federal Parliament. Mr Francis Sullivan, CEO of the Catholic Church’s Truth Justice and Healing Council, said the Bill is just the start of what is looking to be a long process to get all states, territories and institutions into the scheme.

Pope Francis has last weekend called for a renewed focus on the immense task of mission as parish communities all over the world celebrated World Mission Sunday. On 30 November, 2019, the Catholic Church will celebrate the hundredth anniversary of the promulgation of the Apostolic Letter Maximum Illud, with which Pope Benedict XV sought to give new impetus to the missionary task of proclaiming the Gospel.