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.