News

09 May 2025

With great joy, the ACMRO joins the Church in welcoming the election of Pope Leo XIV as the new pope. Pope Leo XIV, formerly Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, the first American and Augustinian pope, was born in Chicago on 14 September 1955. On 30 January 2023, the late Pope Francis appointed him as Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and President of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.

The Pope also holds a Peruvian citizenship, where he spent much of his missionary ministry and later became the Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Chiclayo in 2015. He reportedly developed a keen awareness of the vulnerabilities faced by migrants and the circumstances forcing migration.

Following his election as the 267th Successor of Saint Peter, the Pope addressed the faithful outside St Peter’s Basilica and said, “We have to look together how to be a missionary Church, building bridges, dialogue, always open to receiving with open arms for everyone, like this square, open to all, to all who need our charity, our presence, dialogue, love.” This is a timely and relevant challenge the Church will continue to pray for, discern, and translate into action.

May Pope Leo XIV's election continue to inspire and encourage us all to keep working and walking together for a society that respects everyone's dignity, particularly those who have been displaced from their homes in finding a better future for themselves.

Read the ACBC media release here.

Read the Vatican News article here.

Read Pope Leo XIV's first words here.

Know more about Pope Leo XIV here.

05 May 2025

CBS News senior correspondent Norah O'Donnell sat down with Cardinal Michael Czerny of Canada to discuss Pope Francis’ legacy. 

Among the things Cardinal Czerny remembered about Pope Francis was his push to help migrants. He saw the late Pope as a person who “recognised the reality of suffering” and on how “he put himself in the shoes of those who suffered, and he asked us all to respond to those needs.” Moreover, the Cardinal highlighted the Pope’s message of the need for migrants and refugees to be “responded to, welcomed to, cared for, protected and finally to be integrated.”

“He will be remembered for helping us to make the problem or the challenge of the migrants and refugees our own and that's what we have to do in order to solve it properly,” the Cardinal adds.

With acknowledgement and thanks to CBS News, where this interview originally appeared.

22 April 2025

The ACMRO, along with the global community, mourns the passing of Pope Francis with profound sadness.

Pope Francis has been a steadfast and tireless advocate for migrants and refugees, urging the global community to be compassionate and offer respect, dignity, and assistance to those seeking a better life. He has reminded us through his words and actions that we are all brothers and sisters, bound together by our loving God. He continued to be a voice of clarity and conscience, a reminder of our need for a society that is compassionate and just.

Pope Francis once more advocated for the human rights and dignity of people on the move in his Urbi et Orbi message on Easter Sunday, the day before he passed away: “How much contempt is stirred up at times towards the vulnerable, the marginalised, and migrants! On this day, I would like all of us to hope anew and to revive our trust in others, including those who are different than ourselves, or who come from distant lands, bringing unfamiliar customs, ways of life and ideas!”

The world will continue to hear his voice and be reminded of the Gospel’s invitation to “welcome the stranger” as his legacy endures. May he rest in peace.

FULL STORY: Australian Catholics mourn Pope Francis (ACBC Media Release)

07 March 2025

“Migrants, missionaries of hope” is the theme chosen by Pope Francis for the 111th World Day of Migrants and Refugees (WDMR) 2025. The theme highlights the courage and tenacity of migrants and refugees in light of the current Jubilee Year. They bear witness to hope for the future despite difficulties. It is the hope of happiness beyond borders that leads them to entrust themselves totally to God.

Migrants and refugees become “missionaries of hope” in their host communities, often helping to revitalise the faith of local communities and promoting inter-religious dialogues based on common values. They also remind the Church of the ultimate purpose of the earthly pilgrimage leading to the future homeland.

This year, the 111th WDMR will be celebrated with the Jubilee of Migrants on 4 and 5 October 2025.

The ACMRO will soon publish an online resources webpage with various articles, videos, and liturgical materials for parishes and primary and secondary schools to mark the celebration of the WDMR 2025.

With acknowledgement and thanks to the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, where this article originally appeared.

06 March 2025

Each year on 20 June, the world celebrates World Refugee Day (WRD). WRD is designated by the United Nations to honour refugees who have been forced to flee their homes and to promote solidarity with them for a “world where refugees are welcomed.”

Pope Francis encourages us to welcome, promote, accompany, and integrate those who knock on our doors. The Pope invites us to pray with him that “states will strive to ensure humane conditions for refugees and to facilitate integration processes.”

The ACMRO will soon publish various online liturgical resources for parishes and primary and secondary schools to mark this year's World Refugee Day on 20 June.

Useful links: UNHCR World Refugee Day | Refugee Week

25 February 2025

In his Lenten message for 2025, Pope Francis encourages Christians to reflect on their spiritual journey by identifying with the struggles faced by migrants, fostering compassion, and embracing hope in God's promise of eternal life.

“It would be a good Lenten exercise for us to compare our daily life with that of some migrant or foreigner, to learn how to sympathise with their experiences and in this way discover what God is asking of us so that we can better advance on our journey to the house of the Father,” the pope wrote and signed on 6 February before he was hospitalised.

Pope Francis likens the Lenten journey to the Israelites’ flight from slavery in Egypt. “Our brothers and sisters who in our own day are fleeing situations of misery and violence in search of a better life for themselves and their loved ones,” he added. “A first call to conversion thus comes from the realisation that all of us are pilgrims in this life… Am I really on a journey, or am I standing still, not moving, either immobilised by fear and hopelessness or reluctant to move out of my comfort zone?”

The Pope also underscored the importance of journeying together, saying Christians are called to walk “side by side, without shoving or stepping on others, without envy or hypocrisy, without letting anyone be left behind or excluded.”

With acknowledgement and thanks to the Catholic News Service, where this article originally appeared.