Caritas Australia, the international aid and development agency of the Catholic Church, believes that the decision to cut Australian aid represents a significant turning away from six decades of Australia playing a constructive leadership role in our region and on the world stage.

On Human Rights Day, the Chairman of the Australian Catholic Social Justice Council has called on Government to take stock of its human rights performance. “Recent developments in Indigenous affairs and immigration policy give cause for anyone concerned about human rights to ask, ‘What’s happening to our nation?’” Bishop Christopher Saunders said.

The Australian Catholic Migrant and Refugee Office calls on Australian Senators to safeguard and defend the human dignity of asylum seekers.

The 7th World Congress for the Pastoral Care of Migrants was recently held at the Vatican City, with its proceedings urging all to work towards more comprehensive and just immigration policies in collaboration amongst all Church structures, according to media release from the Australian Catholic Migrant and Refugee Office (ACMRO)

Catholic Religious Australia (CRA) proudly unveils a logo and a new website section to celebrate the Year of Consecrated Life, which begins on the 29th of November, the first weekend of Advent.

In advance of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on Tuesday 25 November 2014, the Australian Catholic Bishops ask all to focus on the message of Jesus Christ and his relationship with women, always one of dignity and respect.

CRA President Sister Berneice Loch rsm says that the hopes expressed by Pope Francis in his letter to Prime Minister Tony Abbott ahead of the G20 Summit are also the hopes and prayers of Australian Catholic Religious.

Francis Sullivan, CEO of the Truth Justice and Healing Council, has called on all Catholic communities and agencies to stay in touch with the reforms which are starting to take place in the Church as the Royal Commission into child sex abuse continues its work.

Francis Sullivan, CEO of the Catholic Church’s Truth Justice and Healing Council, has called on all Catholic organisations around Australia to take part in Blue Knot Day 2014 in support of Australian adult survivors of childhood trauma. It will be held on Monday 27 October, with other activities held in the week from 27 October to 2 November 2014.

At a time when calls for peace have grown ever more urgent amid new threats in the Middle East and Ukraine, Catholic Religious Australia (CRA) joins Pope Francis in urging the world to shed its apathy in the face of what Francis characterizes as a third world war: “one fought piecemeal, with crimes, massacres, destruction.”

The newly elected National Council of Catholic Religious Australia renewed its hope for justice in our world and reaffirmed its commitment to pray and work for peace in the world in a media release on 4 September 2014.

In a media release, Josephites are pleading with politicians to stop using deterrence as an excuse of inhumane and immoral law. "It is simply ethically wrong to victimise the innocent, or to treat as criminals people who are fleeing for their lives," said congregation leader Sister Monica Cavanagh rsj.

A submission from the Catholic Church’s Truth Justice and Healing Council to the child abuse Royal Commission has called for a mandatory national victims’ redress scheme operated by Government but funded by the institutions responsible for the abuse.

The Leaders of Christian Churches SA representing ten of the largest Christian denominations in South Australia today issued a media release calling for transparency in asylum seeker processing fearing “secrecy is creating space for cruelty to play”.

The Young Catholic Women’s Interfaith Fellowship is searching for inspiring women to participate in the 2015-2016 leadership programme to grow in leadership within the Catholic Church and society.

Amid reports that Australia has intercepted two boatloads of Sri Lankan asylum seekers near Christmas Island and the Cocos Islands and has planned a mid-ocean transfer to the Sri Lankan Navy, Jesuit Refugee Service Australia has expressed concerns in its media release that that the government’s ‘enhanced screening’ process is not rigorous enough to meet basic standards of fairness.

The way in which Marist Brothers responded to child sexual abuse in schools in the ACT, NSW and Queensland will be the subject of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse’s next public hearing, in Canberra.

The Oceania Province of the Christian Brothers has announced it is already working with individuals on the re-examination of settlements, following the Royal Commission in Perth, with a number of abuse survivors taking up the offer of ongoing counselling. 

Survivors of abuse suffered at facilities operated by the Christian Brothers will receive ongoing professional psychological counselling, for life if needed, said the Christian Brothers Oceania Province in a media statement.

CEO of the Truth Justice and Healing Council, Francis Sullivan, has welcomed reports that the Pontifical Commission advising Pope Francis on the protection of children in the Catholic Church has called for Bishops to be held accountable if they fail to report suspected sexual abuse or to protect children from paedophile priests.

Amid reports of a proposal from the Australian government to resettle refugees in Cambodia, the Australian Catholic Migrant and Refugee Office (ACMRO) and Jesuit Refugee Service Australia (JRS) were among those speaking out against the proposed policy.

In the wake of the Royal Commission's public inquiry into Christian Brothers' institutions in Western Australia, the congregation has released a statement reiterating the apology they first made in 1993 and expressing their commitment to redress and healing for the failures of the past.

The Australian Catholic Council for Employment Relations (ACCER) says the Australian wages safety net is failing to keep workers and their families out of poverty and has published a free e-book ‘Working Australia, 2014: wages, families and poverty’ which incorporates submissions made to the Annual Wage Review over the past number of years.

A media statement by Archbishop Denis Hart, President of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference and Sister Annette Cunliffe rsc, President of Catholic Religious Australia mourned the passing of the Hon Barry O’Keefe AM QC, the Chair of the Catholic Church’s Truth Justice and Healing Council on 24 April 2014.

The Catholic Church in Australia is calling on the Federal Government to reinstate funding for the Immigration Advice and Application Assistance Scheme (IAAAS), following the Government's announcement on 31 March 2014 that it would cut taxpayer funding for immigration assistance.

The Australian Catholic Migrant and Refugee Office (ACMRO) launched a pamphlet on 26 March 2014 on what the Catholic Church teaches about the pastoral care and rights of asylum seekers and migrants.

The Australian Catholic Migrant and Refugee Office (ACMRO) expresses great sadness at the tragic loss of life at Manus Island and calls on the government to ensure each person’s claim for protection is considered under Australian Law, with legal assistance and access to an independent judiciary.

CEO of the Catholic Church’s Truth Justice and Healing Council, Francis Sullivan, has this morning supported calls by the child sexual abuse support and advocacy organisation, CLAN, for a national child sexual abuse compensation scheme funded by churches and other institutions.

CEO of the Catholic Church’s Truth Justice and Healing Council, Francis Sullivan, has responded to the UN report on child sex abuse by saying the challenge for the Church in Rome is to be open and transparent.

CRA President Sister Annette Cunliffe rsc expressed shock and disappointed at the latest asylum seeker policy announcement that will see the detention and deportation of over 1,000 aslyum seekers whose claims for asylum have been rejected.