News
Source: Pope's Worldwide Prayer Network
07 January 2025
Today we’re experiencing an “educational catastrophe.” This is no exaggeration. Due to wars, migration, and poverty, some 250 million boys and girls lack education.
All children and youth have the right to go to school, regardless of their immigration status.
Education is a hope for everyone – it can save migrants and refugees from discrimination, criminal networks, and exploitation…. So many minors are exploited! It can help them integrate into the communities who host them.
Education opens the doors to a better future. In this way, migrants and refugees can contribute to society, either in their new country or in their country of origin, should they decide to return.
And let’s never forget that whoever welcomes the foreigner, welcomes Jesus Christ.
Let us pray for migrants, refugees and those affected by war, that their right to an education, which is necessary to build a more human world, might always be respected.
~Pope Francis
Source: ACBC Media Release
07 January 2025
The ACMRO joins the Church of Australia, especially the Diocese of Bunbury, in welcoming the appointment of Bishop-elect George Kolodziej SDS by Pope Francis on Monday, 6th January, in Rome.
Fr George, 56, was born in Dobra, Poland, and has been the Superior of the Salvatorians in Australia since October 2018.
Australian Catholic Bishops Conference President, Archbishop of Perth Timothy Costelloe SDB, said the bishop-elect was “profoundly marked by the richness of his Salvatorian charism”.
“Fr George will bring a wealth of experience in parish ministry, in youth ministry, and in spiritual and pastoral accompaniment to the new mission to the Church in Bunbury to which the Lord has called him,” Archbishop Costelloe said.
“These same gifts will also enrich the life and work of his brother bishops through his involvement with them in the work of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference. We look forward to welcoming him among us. “
Fr George directs the Salvatorian Spirituality Centre in Perth and is a member of the Council of Catholic Religious Australia and the Council of Priests of the Archdiocese of Perth.
He has served as a chaplain for Catholic Education Western Australia since January 2019.
Fr George’s religious journey with the Salvatorians began when he entered the novitiate in September 1987.
He made his perpetual profession in the Society of the Divine Saviour (SDS) in September 1992.
FULL STORY: New bishop for Diocese of Bunbury (ACBC Media Release)
Source: Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development
20 December 2024
On 1 January, the Church throughout the world will celebrate the 58th World Day of Peace. The theme chosen by the Holy Father for this year is ‘Forgive us our trespasses: grant us your peace'.
At the opening of this Year of Grace, the Pope invites us all to stop for a moment and think about God's mercy: by recognising ourselves as forgiven debtors, we can rediscover the path of hope and peace.
Watch the video presentation of the Message for Peace 2025:
In his Message, Francis speaks of ‘situations of exploitation of the earth and oppression of one’s neighbour’ that threaten the existence of all humanity. In a call for solidarity and justice, he suggests three possible actions to remedy the injustices and inequalities that mark our time.
In the days leading up to World Day of Peace 2025 and beyond, graphic and video contributions will be offered to animate reflection and dialogue on the topics of the Holy Father's Message.
03 December 2024
The ACMRO Directors met in the Santa Teresa Spirituality Centre in Brisbane from 25 to 27 November. It was attended by Fr Khalid Marogi and Don Gomez from the ACMRO, Fr Roland Maurer and Kylie Cullen from Sydney Archdiocese, Fr Joselito Asis from Melbourne Archdiocese, Eric Robinson and Liliana Ortiz from Brisbane Archdiocese, Tracey Tessitore from Adelaide Archdiocese, Fr Paul Anthony from the Armidale Diocese, Fr Jun Perez from the Divine Word Missionaries, and Dcn Greg Lowe from the Perth Archdiocese, who joined in via online.
The event was a great opportunity to gather, pray, share reports, and have formation sessions. In his address via Zoom to the Directors, Archbishop of Canberra-Goulburn and ACMRO bishop-delegate Christopher Prowse highlighted the importance of migrant communities and challenged the communities that bring so many gifts to Australia to be actively engaged not only in their church communities but also in political leadership roles that shape policy and decision-making.
Davide Bernocchi, the Secretary General of the International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC), provided via Zoom from Geneva great insights on the important work of the ICMC as well as a summary of the global data relating to migrants and refugees.
Fr John Quang SVD shared the history and story of the Vietnamese Catholic community in the Archdiocese of Brisbane highlighting the community's rich faith and culture.
One of the highlights of the gathering was the participants’ visit to the Romero Centre, the Archdiocese of Brisbane's ministry to people seeking asylum. The gathering ended in planning for future projects, such as the celebration of the Jubilee Year 2025, most specifically the World Day of Migrants and Refugees, as well as the Jubilee of Migrants in September to October 2025.
Members are known as “ACMRO directors” because of their close collaboration and cooperation in sharing information and reflecting on grassroots practices, as well as raising issues the ACMRO could bring to the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference's attention through the Bishops Commission for Evangelisation, Laity and Ministry, which Archbishop Prowse chairs.
Source: Lisa Zengarini | Vatican News
29 October 2024
In his meeting with the Scalabrinian Missionaries on the occasion of their 16th General Chapter, Pope Francis reaffirms that migrants escaping poverty, injustices, and wars must be welcomed, accompanied, promoted, and integrated. He also said that our ageing societies need them.
Reiterating his call for a compassionate response to migration challenges, the Pope denounced once more the prevalent “indifference” to the plight of refugees and migrants in today's world, which is “aggravated by the closing of borders,” as well as the increasing hostility against them.
The Scalabrinians chose the 2025 Jubilee theme “Pilgrims of Hope” as their focal theme this year. From this, the Pope reflected on the virtue of hope in light of their three ministry aspects: charity, pastoral care, and migrants. He then elaborated on the following key themes:
- Migration can be a precious school of faith and humanity
- Pastoral closeness to migrants
- Ageing developed societies need migrants
- Rejecting exclusivist stereotypes
In his closing remarks, the Pope acknowledged the vibrancy of the Scalabrinian charism and urged them to deepen the mission that St John Baptist Scalabrini had entrusted to them more than a century ago.
FULL STORY: Pope to Scalabrinians: ‘Migrants teach us the virtue of hope’ (Lisa Zengarini | Vatican News)
Bishop Anthony Randazzo, president of the Federation of Catholic Bishops Conference of Oceania, has announced the creation of a network to support thousands of migrant workers, refugees and their families across the Pacific.
Source: Broken Bay News | CathNews
22 October 2024
The Migrant and Refugee Oceania Network will serve as a unifying voice offering much-needed pastoral and practical support for the region’s unique challenges.
Bishop Randazzo made the announcement in Rome, where he is attending the Synod on Synodality at the Vatican.
“This is what a Synodal Church looks like where words are supported by actions that foster and generate real human relationships, a region not on the periphery but a region in which we live and work together in solidarity, making sure no one is forgotten,” Bishop Randazzo said.
The bishop announced details of the network at a dinner in Rome on Saturday with leaders from the four episcopal conferences of Oceania – the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference, the Conference of Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands and the Episcopal Conference of the Pacific.
Oceania covers a vast area of the Pacific with approximately 41 million people with international migrants making up almost 22 per cent of the population, over a million of those originating in Oceania staying within the region.
The network will identify urgent problems and build programs to respond to and protect the needs of people displaced within and across Oceania.
This will occur through advocacy and raising the voice of the region at international levels, cooperation through the four episcopal conferences sharing information, skills, resources and practices, and connecting the smaller Pacific Island countries and dioceses through the International Catholic Migration Commission and the Dicastery for Integral Human Development at the Holy See.
“The hopes of Oceania are as vast and diverse as the region itself. From the smallest, most remote islands to bustling cities, the voices of the people of God are united in their longing for a Church that listens, heals, and walks alongside them in their journey of faith. We have brought our voice to this Second Assembly of the Synod,” Bishop Randazzo said.
“It is unhelpful when the dominant voice from the north forgets the vulnerable people and region from Oceania.
“Maybe we need to change the paradigm where from Oceania; it is Europe or North America that is on the edge.
“This is how we can lead by example, calling others back to the Christian faith, not because we are dominant or powerful, but because we are walking with our brothers and sisters in Christ.”
FULL STORY: New Network to support Oceania migrant workers, refugees and families announced at Synod gathering (Broken Bay News)
