Archbishop of Wellington, New Zealand, Cardinal John Dew gave the homily at the Mass on Thursday 7 July, for the Second Assembly of the Fifth Plenary Council at Sydney's St Mary's Cathedral. Photo: Fiona Basile/ACBC. Those gathered for the Fifth Plenary Council of Australia are following in the footsteps of the early Christians, Cardinal John Dew said at Mass on Thursday evening. The Arc...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIYrIC7Fxc0

By Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Service Pope Francis greets Sister Raffaella Petrini, an Italian member of the US-based Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist, at the Vatican on 3 December 2015. The Holy Father named Sister Petrini to be Secretary-General of the office governing the Vatican City State. Photo: CNS/Vatican Media. Pope Francis said he plans to name two women to the committee t...

In the first afternoon session for Wednesday 7 July, an overwhelming majority of Members backed a motion to reconsider the two motions from Part 4 of the Council’s Motions and Amendments document entitled “Witnessing to the Equal Dignity of Women and Men”.

In an exclusive interview with The Australian this week, incoming Australian Catholic Bishops Conference President and Perth Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB says the Church’s falling support is a “wake-up call” as it works to balance its convictions with the realities of an increasingly secular nation. The Perth Archbishop said the Church needed to be faithful to its core principles a...

All four motions in part 3 of the document – entitled “Called by Christ – Sent Forth as Missionary Disciples” – achieved qualified majorities on both rounds of voting. Two-thirds of voters present must support a motion to achieve a qualified majority. Photo: Fiona Basile/ACBC Members of the Plenary Council are being invited to spend additional time to discern after two motions did not ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9v7KrvQB3I Day 3 highlights video from the Second Assembly of the Fifth Plenary Council. Video: Neil Helmore/ACBC.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsSmZ8EiSBI

At the beginning of the second full day of the Second Assembly of the Plenary Council, Members received input from two of the Council’s theological advisers, also known as Periti. Photo: Fiona Basile/ACBC. At the beginning of the second full day of the Second Assembly of the Plenary Council, Members received input from two of the Council’s theological advisers — or periti — on topics being...