The Diocesan Pastoral Plan, Bearers of Christ’s Love, called upon us to re-establish the Diocesan Pastoral Council (D9) to act as a significant form of collaborative dialogue and discernment in service of the pastoral needs of the Diocese.
Nominations for the Council were requested...

Our Diocesan Pastoral Plan, Bearers of Christ’s Love, calls for the re-establishment of the Diocesan Pastoral Council. The Diocesan Pastoral Council considers the pastoral questions of our day and makes appropriate recommendations to the Bishop. It acts as a significant form of...

Our First Reading and the Gospel tonight are about good news for the poor, about freedom for those captured by all sorts of traps, about new sight for the blind – (we all have our blind spots), and about setting free those who are trodden down.

In the Gospel, Jesus says he...

Have you ever stopped to think about the courage of Jesus as he set out for Jerusalem for the Passover celebration that was to culminate in his conquering sin and death by dying on the Cross and rising from the dead? asks Bishop Peter Ingham of Wollongong.

In that context, St John...

Jesus Christ frequently mixed with those considered to be on the fringes of society but he always held them to account for their actions.  However, he never condemned them as persons and consistently showed compassion and forgiveness. Easter shouts this message!

In today’s world...

Currently there are critical inquiries being conducted by Federal Parliament regarding attempts to redefine marriage. These inquiries are a likely pre-cursor to votes on Bills that will attempt to recognise same-sex unions as marriage. The consequences of such a profoundly radical step –...

As you well know last September, the Legion of Mary celebrated 90 years of its foundation on 7 September 1921. Despite all the massive changes in that time, personal contact with an individual person still remains the most effective way of approaching people.

Your founder, the...

Archbishop Salvatore Fisichella, President of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization , has accepted an invitation from Australia’s Bishops to be the keynote speaker at the PROCLAIM 2012 conference on the new evangelisation.

PROCLAIM 2012, to be held from...

This Faith Community of St Columbkille Corrimal marks the centenary of its Church.

This parish has been preaching Jesus Christ and his way of life and celebrating Jesus Christ in Word and Sacrament for over 100 years.   We give thanks to God for the Gospel influence on so...

Paschal Precept:

Each of the faithful is obliged to receive Holy Communion at least once a year. This is to be done between Ash Wednesday (22 February) and Trinity Sunday (3 June) unless for a good reason it is done at another time during the year. All the faithful are obliged to...

I would like you to call to mind for a moment the scene in today’s Gospel [Mark 2:1-12] where four people carrying a paralysed person, creatively and with determination, removed the roof and lowered their friend inside a house overcrowded with people who were listening to Jesus preach.

My Brother Priests

I want to try to put fresh heart into you as we, priests, continue to adjust to the still fairly unfamiliar new Translation of the Mass.

The Pope, in his Ad Limina Address to us last October, said the new translation of the Missal is intended to enrich and...

I wish to advise you of the following clergy appointments, effective 5 January 2012:

• Fr Bede North MSC Administrator, Helensburgh Parish
• Fr Hugh Dowdell Assistant Priest, Rosemeadow Parish
• Fr George Condookala Assistant Priest, Lumen Christi Catholic Parishes,...

Bishop Peter Ingham to ordain to the Priesthood police officer and psychology graduate in Wollongong this weekend.

Christmas has come early this year for Bishop Peter Ingham who is counting down the days to this Saturday, 17 December, when he will ordain Geoffrey Allen and Duane...

In the 1930s, cartoons depicting Jewish people were used as propaganda. These were grotesque caricatures with oversized features which displayed false and unfair stereotypes.

They convinced lots of ordinary Europeans to allow Hitler's politics to thrive. More recently, riots resulted...

DIOCESE CREATED 60 YEARS AGO

On 15 November 1951, Pope Pius XII issued a Papal Bull (a scroll or letter under seal) that proclaimed the creation of a new diocese centred on Wollongong. Its territory was taken from the Archdiocese of Sydney and the Archdiocese of...

November 15 this year marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the Diocese of Wollongong.  Pope Pius XII issued two Papal Bulls [from the Latin ‘bulla’ meaning a scroll or letter under seal] from Castel Gandolfo on 15 November 1951. Through these Bulls the Pope created the...

AD LIMINA VISIT TO ROME OCTOBER 2011 

The Ad Limina Apostolorum visit we Australian Bishops made to the Holy See last month was well organised by the General Secretary of our Bishops’ Conference, Fr Brian Lucas, so that within the two weeks of our visit, we were...