I was intrigued by a letter written to a newspaper from a young adult. He wrote it in a response to a letter sent by someone who lived through the Second World War years, who had described how hard it was to be a teenager in the first half of 1940s. The senior citizen's message was that kids...

There is a campaign urging people to tick "no religion" in the forthcoming Australian Census on 9 August, even if they have lapsed from the faith into which they have been initiated.

I...

In Britain last September, Pope Benedict challenged young people (and all of us) by saying: "I want to speak to you from my heart and I ask you to open your hearts to what I have to say.

"Firstly, I want you to look into your heart – think of all the love your heart was made to...

Dear Fellow Bearers of Christ's Love...

We gather for our Annual Chrism Mass this Holy Week in the first year of our Five-year Diocesan Pastoral Plan.

This Mass of the Holy Oils helps us focus on the Body of Christ (which is the Church) - the Church so well represented here...

Dear Fellow Bearers of Christ's Love

We gather for our Annual Chrism Mass this Holy Week in the first year of our Five-year Diocesan Pastoral Plan.

This Mass of the Holy Oils helps us focus on the Body of Christ (which is the Church) - the Church so well represented here...

Anzac Day is our solemn Memorial to honour our Navy, Army and Air Force service personnel who have paid the supreme sacrifice of their lives in the battle to free us from the enemies of our country and to protect the democratic values for which we stand.

Increasingly, Anzac...

In 1994, a Pulitzer Prize-winning photo showed a frail little Sudanese girl crouched, head bowed, struggling to make her way to a feeding centre with a large vulture behind her, ready to claim her body when she died. The photographer had waited some 20 minutes to catch the photo, after...

My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ

Introduction
Last year through my Lenten Pastoral Message I introduced to you the pastoral planning process being undertaken in...

The recent movie "the King's Speech" had the highest earnings per screen throughout Australia in mid-January. It has been called "a masterpiece", "glistening perfection in every department", "genuinely unmissable and utterly perfect."
Despite the positive acclaim the movie has received,...

The dream of our Saviour and of his Church is to develop a society that is inclusive of everyone, thus putting into practice Jesus' command to love God and to love our neighbour as we love ourselves.

How often do we draw a line that can be sharp and divisive between whom we accept and...

While we often wonder how relevant is Christ the King today in democratic countries, we saw the media...

Friends,

I am delighted to be able to promote Catechist Sunday in our Diocese of Wollongong. What's Catechist Sunday about? Well, it gives us all the opportunity to stop and think about the incredible work of the Catechists in our Diocese, who generously dedicate themselves to spending...

When it was announced that we were to celebrate, as a Diocese, the Canonisation of our first Australian Saint in over 2,000 years of Christianity on 31 October, someone said to me, "31 October, that's Halloween!"

I said, "Precisely – because from the 8th Century, the Church Christianised...

At her funeral Mass, Cardinal Patrick Moran, Archbishop of Sydney, said: "Few, if any foundresses, have been permitted to see their work grow as Mother Mary of the Cross had in her lifetime." Visiting her, prior to her death, the Cardinal had said, "I have just assisted at the deathbed of a...

Sadly, euthanasia is again becoming the focus of discussion and debate, both in the national parliament and the wider society.

Life is a precious gift from God, to be cherished and protected from the moment of conception through to natural death. In fact, the right to life is the most...

There is a property called Kalaurgan House at Moss Vale in the NSW Southern Highlands that was rented by Blessed Mary MacKillop for three of her sisters. Records show: "In February 1884, a meeting was held by the area's Catholics to establish in that house a school conducted by the Sisters of St...

There will be a new English translation of the Missal in our churches by the end of 2011. This is part of the ongoing renewal of the liturgy which began prior to the Second Vatican Council of the 1960s. After Vatican II, a new Latin Missal was produced which contained many changes to the Mass and...

This past month, I have been part of Jubilee celebrations for some Priests and Religious men and women. Later in the year, we have the annual diocesan celebration for couples with significant anniversaries of the day they were married: 25, 40, 50, 60 years ago.

Such celebrations are always...