The rising cost of living and slow wages growth in Australia are combining to put pressure on many household budgets. Bishop Vincent Long van Nguyen, Chair of the Australian Catholic Social Justice Council expresses concern especially for low paid workers and families living in poverty. In his pastoral letter for the Feast of St...
“Why should the Australian Government be frightened if New Zealand chooses to act with compassion?” The Catholic Diocese of Auckland Justice and Peace Commission ask the Australian Government to let New Zealand resettle asylum seekers on Manus Island, Papua New Guinea. Labelling the living conditions of the detainees a “violation of basic human dignity”,...
A humanitarian crisis is unfolding on Manus Island following the closure of the Australian funded immigration detention centre on 31 October 2017. Bishop Vincent Long Van Nguyen is the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference spokesperson on asylum seekers and refugees. He made the following statement on 3 November. Bishop Long’s Statement “The safety and well-being...
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...