Prisons are not meant to be places of rejection, punishment and revenge, but rather a mission field where we are called to share Jesus’ good news of love, mercy and inclusion.

The Ordinary Council, chaired by the Holy Father, will play a fundamental role in the implementation of the synodal process on synodality and the preparation of the next Synod.

Award-winning foreign correspondent Peter Greste, who spent 400 days in an Egyptian gaol after being charged with terrorism offences, has told Catholic communications professionals that there needs to be a way of upholding the principles and ethics of journalism in the digital age.

In preparing the original document, the bishops consulted widely with a range of people including church leaders and health professionals. The bishops have also worked with the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Archbishop Costelloe said the commission did not appear to have sought constitutional legal advice despite submissions detailing the problems with abolishing Basic Religious Charities.

In 2007, the ACBC commissioned a project, Catholics who have stopped attending Mass, which focused on once active Catholics who had ceased participating in Mass and their parish, and the interpersonal, cultural and societal factors that led to their disengagement with liturgy and ecclesial life.

National Centre for Evangelisation Director Malcolm Hart said a range of resources were being developed to assist parishes in using sport to reach out to their communities.

More than 2.6 million Australians have been granted a pay rise though this week’s decision by the Fair Work Commission (FWC) to raise the nation’s minimum wage. The approved increase of 3.75 per cent takes effect at the beginning of July. The minimum hourly rate will rise from $23.23 an hour to $24.10, or by $33 per week for a full-time worker.

“As we journey together, we must continue to heal from the past while also looking toward the future. We need to find effective ways to ensure the common good is shared by all people of this nation, especially our First Nations People,” said Chair of the Bishops Commission for Relations with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, Bishop Charles Gauci, as Australians marked National Reconciliation Week.

In May 2021, when the most recent survey was conducted, just over 53,000 people attended Mass celebrated in a language other than English each weekend, which represented 13.6 per cent of all Mass attenders – a rise of 3.3 per cent since the last count in 2016.