Pacific Bishops meeting in Auckland in August 2017 declared: “As Bishops of the Pacific, the place of the sea in the lives of the peoples we serve was a central focus of our meeting. Our common ocean is teeming with life and goodness. For many of our peoples the sea is their treasured source...
Cardinal John Ribat says that climate change is an urgent issue for the people of Papua New Guinea, and the whole of the Pacific. Cardinal Ribat drove his point home saying that the issue is a more urgent than discussing Amoris Laetitia. While there will be time to talk about Church teaching on family...
In a 7 November 2016 statement Bishop Vincent Long calls on Australians to reject cruel refugee measures proposed by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Minister for Immigration, Peter Dutton. They intend to introduce legislation banning refugees and asylum seekers who have arrived in Australia by boat from 19 July 2013 onwards from ever being...
In a 13 October 2016 statement the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference calls on the Australian government to bring asylum seekers held on Nauru and Manus Island to Australia. Conference President, Archbishop Hart, got behind the Bring Them Here campaign: We endorse the campaign to Bring Them Here to Australia. We pledge the help of...
Social Justice Statement 2016 – 2017 The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference Social Justice Statement 2016 – 2017 addresses social justice in an ageing society. The statement is titled A Place at the Table. Bishop Vincent Long van Nguyen’s opening message explains: At this time in Australia, we face a threefold challenge: to work for...
The Catholic Church in Australia will celebrate Migrant and Refugee Sunday 2016 on 28 August. Bishop Calls for Culture of Encounter and Welcome Bishop Vincent Long Van Nguyen, the Australian Catholic Bishops Delegate for Migrants and Refugees said, “Australia has had a long history of welcoming migrants and refugees, including many ‘boat people’ who...
Director of the Australian Catholic Migrant and Refugee Office, Fr Maurizio Pettena calls for immediate action on the allegations made in the leaked Nauru files. The Nauru files detail numerous alleged incidents of physical and sexual abuse of detainees at Australia’s offshore immigration detention centre. Fr Pettena expressed “grave concern that more than half...