In 1986, when Pope John Paul II spoke to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Alice Springs, he said that ‘the Church herself in Australia will not be fully the Church that Jesus wants her to be until you have made your contribution to her life and until that contribution has been joyfully received by others.’
At the beginning of NAIDOC Week, the Aboriginal Catholic community of Victoria presented the Church in Melbourne with a new message stick—a living symbol of welcome and a gesture of friendship and hospitality. We take a close look at the design of the new message stick and what it means.
With great sadness, we also mark the passing this week of Rev Professor Austin Cooper OMI AM, a man whose long and distinguished academic career, deep prayerfulness and pastoral sensitivity helped to form countless students in the spiritual traditions of the Catholic faith.
We hear about the Australian tour of the relic statue of St John Bosco as part of the centenary celebrations of the Salesians’ arrival in Australia; Sr Marian McClelland SSS, the last remaining Servants of the Blessed Sacrament sister in Australia, talks to us about her call to ‘be present to God and others’; some recent converts to Catholicism at Our Lady’s parish Craigieburn and Roxburgh share their stories; and we hear about an upcoming workshop on building vibrant and vital parishes.
In this week’s instalment of our series on WYD destinations, we provide a glimpse of some of the fascinating and inspiring sites that pilgrims will be visiting as they travel ‘the Italian way’ to World Youth Day.
And finally, as winter sets in, we offer some reading suggestions to warm the mind, heart and soul.
For more, visit the Melbourne Catholic news and stories page or follow us on Facebook.
