Facilitated by visiting scholar Fr Eamonn Conway, the talk series Synodality and The Future of The Catholic Church: A Journey Towards Communion, Participation and Mission was held at the Centre for Faith Enrichment on Thursdays 2 March and 9 March attracted more than 40 participants who were able to ask questions throughout the sessions.

Archbishop Costelloe has emerged as a leading figure in the church’s synodal reform process in Australia and globally. He was part of the Frascati team that synthesised the worldwide synodal dialogues and was recently appointed to the planning committee organising the synod assembly in October.

The new executive council of the Federation of Catholic Bishops Conferences of Oceania recently met via videoconference, along with members of the discernment and writing group tasked with drafting the Oceania response.

“It’s all about recognising that we all have a part to play,” Archbishop Costelloe said, explaining that Pope Francis, throughout his pontificate, has been striving “to shift the Church’s culture to one of active engagement in this task of being the visible sign that Christ is with us.” By Christopher Wells, Vatican News.

Perth Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB, President of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference is a member of the commission and brings with him the experience of the four-year process of the Australian Plenary Council, which concluded in July 2022.

Community Engagement Animator WA/SA for Caritas Australia, Deacon Paul Reid, said that the occasion was uniquely special in that it enabled a connection with students and teachers from 68 schools across the four Western Australia dioceses and share with them the stories of Project Compassion.

Released to the Catholic community this week, Why Do We Gather? presented by Sr Kerry Willison RSM as the fourth and final video of the Liturgical Formation and Renewal Program, focuses on the words in the Eucharistic prayer ‘Do this in memory of me’. (Luke: 22:19).

The death of a baby, highlighted Pregnancy Assistance Counsellor Lisette Jas, at any stage of pregnancy can be a very sad, distressing, and overwhelming time. Perth Auxiliary Bishop Don Sproxton has last weekend Saturday 18 March celebrated the Day of the Unborn Child Mass at St Mary’s Cathedral.

The theme Pope Francis chose for the synod is: "For a Church that Journeys Together: Fellowship, Participation and Mission." It will meet at the Vatican from 4 to 29 October 2023.

During a world-wide Divestment Week of Action initiated by the global Catholic Laudato Si’ Movement, Australian people of faith and their organisations were encouraged to consider divesting from fossil fuels as part of their broader responsibility to care for the earth.

Speaking in the third video for the Liturgical Renewal and Formation program, Mildred Rego explained that over the years, meaningful signs and symbols have come to occupy a key place in the Church that remind us of the history, teachings, and traditions passed down to us as followers of Jesus,

Speaking during a visit to the Salesian community at West Battersea, London, Archbishop Costelloe reflected on the word “listen”, inviting the congregation to listen to God in the scriptures, to listen to the unfolding of God’s mystery in the Church, and to listen to the reality of the world in which we find ourselves.

Catholic Education Commission WA Chair, Ms Eva Skira AM has last week announced the appointment of former Federal MP, Celia Hammond and National Director for Marist Schools Australia, Dr Frank Malloy, as new commissioners.

The Church, said Archbishop Costelloe, wearing his Salesian scarf, is always in danger of getting stuck and closing in on itself; thankfully God constantly does things to shake us all up. Archbishop Costelloe was speaking at the 2023 Flame: Rise Up, National Youth Congress, held at Wembley’s OVO Arena in London, Saturday 4 March.

Religious life, said Geraldton Emeritus Bishop Bianchini, is very similar to the actions of Mary and Joseph who presented the baby Jesus in the temple.

“Each time we celebrate a liturgical ritual of the church, it is an opportunity for us to open ourselves to the words and actions of each part of the ritual and allow ourselves to be transformed by the presence of Jesus Christ,” Centre for Liturgy Director, Sr Kerry Willison has said.

Ukrainian Catholic Church Parish Priest Fr Ihor Holovko explained to The Record that for him the past 12 months have been a very defined mission of helping the community every way he can. “It has motivated, all of us, I think, to do what we can when we have seen people in need – a bit like the words of St Mary McKillop,” Fr Ihor explained.

In the liturgical celebration of the sacraments, important stages of life are made holy, said Episcopal Vicar for Education and Faith Formation, the Very Rev Fr Vincent Glynn. Speaking in the first of four videos for the recently launched Liturgical Formation and Renewal Program, Fr Vincent continued by saying that baptism sanctifies our human life, marriage sanctifies our love for another, the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick allows us to experience God entering into our suffering and the Eucharist feeds us and nourishes us for this life and eternal life.

The MOU was developed following extensive consultation in 2022 to re-affirm both cooperation and a united commitment to the delivery of a quality, Christ-centred and child-focused education for families who choose a Catholic school. 

“We look at our own struggles, our own limitations and our own sinfulness and recognise that what God is calling us to is actually beyond us – and we would be right, especially if we were to think that we had to respond to this call on or own,” Perth Archbishop Costelloe SDB has said, during the Ordination to the Diaconate of St Charles Seminarians Errol Lobo and Jason Yeap.