PM meets Pope Leo

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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has met privately with Pope Leo XIV at the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has met privately with Pope Leo XIV at the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City, formally inviting the new pontiff to Australia for the 54th International Eucharistic Congress that Sydney will host in 2028.

Mr Albanese met Leo XIV the day after the new pope’s inaugural mass in Rome, hours after the pontiff met US Vice-President JD Vance. He is the first prime minister to have a private audience with the pope since Kevin Rudd, who met Pope Benedict XVI in 2008.

It is understood that Mr Albanese and the pope discussed their shared concerns about conflicts around the world and the humanitarian catastrophes they have wrought.

The pope also blessed rosary beads that had been owned by the prime minister’s mother Maryanne, a staunch Catholic who passed away in 2002.

This year marks 55 years since the first Papal Visit to Australia by Pope Paul VI in 1970.

Source: ABC

NT bishop reaffirms Church’s position on euthanasia

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Bishop Charles Gauci

As the Northern Territory Government conducts a public consultation on euthanasia, Darwin Bishop Charles Gauci has reaffirmed the Church’s position on the sanctity of life and the importance of compassion for those in their final stages of life. Source: Darwin Diocese.

“No one wants to see people in pain,” Bishop Gauci said. “We must do all we can to support those who are dying through the best possible palliative care.” He acknowledged the significant advances in medical care that can ease suffering and affirmed the commitment of the Church to support individuals and families during this difficult time.

The bishop reiterated that the Church does not support euthanasia, as it goes against the belief in the dignity and value of every human life. However, he also stressed that this stance does not negate the Church’s deep compassion. “We want to be loving and supportive of people in the dying process,” he said. “As a Church, we must provide facilities and care for the dying and their families.”

Bishop Gauci called on the Government to invest in high-quality palliative care across the Northern Territory. “If families receive good support and care, fewer people will consider euthanasia,” he said.

He also raised concerns about the need for strict safeguards should Voluntary Assisted Dying legislation proceed. These include ensuring that people are not coerced by others, and that those who are underage, unconscious, or unable to give informed consent are protected.

“We do not believe in euthanasia in any form,” he emphasised. “But if it is to become law, it is essential that proper safeguards are in place.” Bishop Gauci encouraged all Territorians to take part in the public consultation and share their views. “Let us pray together for wisdom and for the best outcome for our community,” he concluded.

Source: Darwin Diocese

US Report: young ordinands more confident and more conservative

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A new analysis of a study that claims to be the largest national survey of Catholic priests conducted in more than 50 years has found, among other things, that priests describing themselves as “progressive” are practically going “extinct” among U.S. seminary graduates, with the vast majority of young ordinands describing themselves as conservative and orthodox.

The new report highlights “several themes which have emerged from closer analysis of the quantitative data, as well as careful study of the qualitative data collected from the one-on-one interviews with priests.” The study used survey responses from 3,516 priests across 191 dioceses and eparchies in the United States.

Of note, the researchers assert that self-described “liberal” or “progressive” priests have all but disappeared from
the youngest cohorts of priests and that priests describing themselves as “conservative/orthodox” reached more than 80% among those ordained after 2020.

Source: Catholic News Agency

New Archbishops appointed

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Pope Leo XIV has announced the appointment of Bishop Shane Mackinlay as the new Archbishop of Brisbane and Bishop Anthony Ireland as Archbishop of Hobart.

Bishop Mackinlay

Bishop Mackinlay has served as Bishop of Sandhurst, in regional Victoria, since 2019. Australian Catholic Bishops Conference President, Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB, welcomed his appointment which follows the retirement of Archbishop Mark Coleridge.

 

 

 

 

Bishop Ireland

Bishop Ireland currently serves as an auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of Melbourne. “The Archbishop-elect’s experience in the Archdiocese of Melbourne will stand him in good stead as he takes up the new challenge of pastoral leadership in the Archdiocese of Hobart,” Archbishop Costelloe said.

ABC conversations: twenty years on the air

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Sr Clare Nolan

The late morning ABC Radio Program ‘Conversations’ hosted by Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski is this year celebrating 20 years on the air. A recent guest on the program was Sr Clare Nolan, a former Director of Nursing at Sydney’s St. Vincent’s Hospital.

Clare Nolan was 21 years old when she entered the convent, against her mother’s wishes, joining the Sisters of Charity novitiate to prepare for life as a nun. She had already completed her training as a nurse, and so she didn’t want to join a contemplative order, closed off to the rest of the world.

Clare wanted to take care of the sick and marginalised as a nurse, and as a nun, and so she became a ‘walking sister’. Sister Clare quickly rose up the ranks, becoming the director of nursing at St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney, right as the HIV/AIDS epidemic reached Australia.

Clare found herself in meetings with politicians, immunologists, brothel workers, gay activists and Catholics, working together to figure out how to save the hundreds of patients who came under her care in Ward 17 South – the first and only dedicated HIV/AIDS ward in the country.

Clare appeared on the program on Tuesday July 29. A recording of the conversation is able to be accessed via the ABC Conversations website.