Home > Latest News

Welcome to the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference Website

• Administrator appointed for Bathurst Diocese - 12 Nov 2008
  Fr Patrick O’Regan has been elected by the Diocesan Consultors of Bathurst as Administrator of the Diocese, following the Pope’s acceptance of Bishop Patrick Dougherty’s resignation, having reached retirement age.



• Holy Father accepts resignation of Bishop Patrick Dougherty - 11 Nov 2008
  The Holy Father has accepted the resignation of His Lordship the Most Reverend Patrick Dougherty, Bishop of Bathurst.



• Aussie families invited to take part in World Meeting of Families photo mosaic and pilgrimage to Mexico City - 11 Nov 2008
  Pope Benedict XVI wants a photo of your family to add to a massive mosaic of families from all over the world as part of the celebrations for the Sixth World Meeting of Families to be held in Mexico City in January 2009.The photos will make up a giant collage forming a portrait of Pope Benedict which will be unveiled during the World Meeting of Families event.



• Powerful new DVD resource pack aims to educate people in ways to support women facing unexpected pregnancy - 1 Nov 2008
  A powerful new DVD, featuring the personal stories of two young women faced with an unexpected pregnancy, has been launched as part of a comprehensive strategy to explore alternatives and pastoral responses to abortion.



• Catholic Bishop calls for review of immigration procedures in relation to people with disability - 31 Oct 2008
  A Catholic Bishop today called for a review of immigration procedures following the Immigration Department’s decision to deny a German doctor permanent residency because his son has Down Syndrome.



• Church takes seat at Senate Roundtable on charity and not-for-profit regulation - 30 Oct 2008
  Secretary of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, Fr Brian Lucas, this week participated in the Senate Standing Committee on Economics’ roundtable discussion on the Inquiry into Disclosure Regimes for Charities and Not-For-Profit Organisations.



• New booklet helps Catholics navigate path towards authentic, life-giving, spirituality - 29 Oct 2008
  The call to live life in the Holy Spirit was a powerful and unforgettable theme of the recent World Youth Day celebration and to aid in this, a new booklet has been published to help guide Catholics towards an authentic understanding of Catholic spirituality.



• Canadian WYD priest to share experience with Aussie youth ministers at National Gathering - 27 Oct 2008
  Canadian priest Fr Tom Rosica, who played a key role in transforming the spiritual fruits of Toronto’s World Youth Day into ongoing legacies, will be the special guest at the national Youth Leaders Gathering to be held in Sydney next month.



• New secretary arrives at Australia’s Apostolic Nunciature - 23 Oct 2008
  A Canadian priest, Fr Frank Leo, has been appointed as secretary to the Apostolic Nunciature in Australia.



• Bishop Peter Ingham - address to Bishops' Synod on the Word of God in the Life of the Church - 20 Oct 2008
  “In the Liturgy of the Word, maximum attention should be given to a clear understandable proclamation of the texts…” This requires competent, well-prepared Readers who, for this purpose, need to be formed in schools, even ones which might be established by the Diocese (Inst Lab 37).



• Reporting on religion in Australia today – ABC changes reflect a deeper problem - Archbishop Philip Wilson - 20 Oct 2008
  No doubt there are many secularists who are cheering to hear that their eight cents a day will no longer be going into funding Radio National’s The Religion Report. Indeed, there might also be a good number of people of faith who are of the same opinion. It certainly wasn’t everybody’s cup of tea when it came to religious programming. But the ABC’s decision to axe this program, along with other specialist RN programs, should give us pause to consider the state of reporting on matters of religion and faith in Australia today.



• Bishop David Walker address to Synod on the Word of God in the life of the Church - 15 Oct 2008
  We need to move the experience of the Scriptures from the head to the heart. This is the real basis of an ordained ministry. Faithfulness to the regular practice of a meditative, prayerful reading of the Scriptures, and the sharing of it, is a way to achieve this.



• Catholic women from the bush to the beach link up by phone for stimulating speakers - 13 Oct 2008
  Catholic women from all over Australia are being invited to pick up the phone and join in an exciting new initiative where they can listen to a guest speaker and then join in conversation with the speaker and other women.



• New Environmental Education Resource Released by Catholic Earthcare Australia - 13 Oct 2008
  A new environmental education resource based on the IUCN International Year of the Reef has been released by Catholic Earthcare Australia, Jacqui Remond announced today.



• Archbishop Mark Coleridge tells synod - New evangelisation calls for more powerful missionary preaching - 8 Oct 2008
  The Archbishop of Canberra and Goulburn was one of the first Bishops to address the general sessions of the Synod on the Word of God in the Life of the Church.



• Bishop Michael Putney addresses Synod on The Word of God in Oceania - 8 Oct 2008
  The Synod opened with a report on the Word of God from each continent. The report for Oceania was delivered by the Bishop of Townsville, Most Rev Michael Putney.



• Catholic Bishops call for action to achieve justice for the poor in Australia’s affluent society - 17 Sep 2008
  Australia's Catholic Bishops have used their 2008 Social Justice Sunday Statement to issue an urgent call for action to achieve justice for those afflicted by poverty in our affluent society.