News from around the Catholic world for the week ending 14 November.
LISTEN NOW (11:52 mins)
• Pope Francis writes letter to Tony Abbott ahead of G20 Summit
• Australia’s Apostolic Nuncio to take new appointment in Rome
• Kenyan Bishops allege vaccinations are being used to advance the UN’s population control agenda
• Sydney’s new Archbishop installed at St Mary’s Cathedral
• Diocese of Wollongong announces a new initiative for the new evangelisation.
TRANSCRIPT
SARAH: Pope Francis has written a letter to Prime Minister Tony Abbott this week ahead of the G20 Summit.
The meeting, which brings together heads of government from the group of 20 nations, will commence tomorrow in Brisbane. Pope Francis has urged all those taking part to consider their responsibility to those whose lives rest on their decisions.
Vatican Radio’s Linda Bordoni has that report.
VATICAN RADIO: In a letter to Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott ahead of the group of 20 Summit that opens this weekend in Brisbane, Pope Francis urged leaders not to forget the men, women and children whose lives will be impacted and changed by the decisions they make, and identifying concrete key areas such as malnutrition, unemployment, an increase in exclusion and a tax on the environment as urgent issues to be tackled by the powers that be.
The Pope got into detail reminding them that the whole world is waiting for a coordinated agreement through the UN for a definitive halt to the unjust aggression directed at different religious and ethnic groups in the Middle East. He said there’s a need for education and a heightened awareness that religion may not be exploited as a means of justifying violence. And he appealed for support for refugees and all victims of the current crisis.
Pointing to the abuses in the financial system, such as those transactions that led to the 2008 financial collapse, and to a mentality that sees the maximisation of profits as the final criterion of all economic activity, Pope Francis deplored this kind of mindset in which individuals, he said, are ultimately discarded a mindset that will never achieve justice or peace. It would indeed be regrettable, Pope Francis wrote, if your discussions were to remain purely on the level of declarations of principle.
BOBBIE: You can find the full letter on the Vatican Radio website.
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Bishop Peter Ingham has announced a new evangelisation initiative in Sydney’s south-west with television host and evangelist Bruce Downes.
The Bishop of Wollongong, a diocese south of Sydney, announced the collaboration on Tuesday, seeking to reach out to those disconnected from the Catholic Church in Sydney’s Campbelltown area. The initiative will involve weekly prayer and worship events, aimed at forming disciples and directing young people back to their parishes.
Bishop Ingham said that this program [quote]“will not replace a parish community, especially its sacramental life, it is indeed revolutionary within the Catholic Church as a model for outreach and reengagement that aims to draw people into life with Jesus Christ and his Church. My hope is that it will be the first of many such initiatives in dioceses throughout Australia and the rest of the Catholic world,” he said.
Bruce Downes, known as “The Catholic Guy” through his television program on the Australian Christian Channel, has relocated from Western Australia to help set up evangelisation efforts on Australia’s east coast. Mr Downes said that he has been excited about the journey thus far, and what lies ahead in southwestern Sydney.
He said, “It’s only the beginning and we have a lot of work ahead of us, but we are a group of people who are passionate about finding ways to reach others and proclaim God so that their lives would be changed by God’s personal love for them. Many people who attend our events are still on their individual faith journeys back to regular church attendance.”
The Catholic Guy Impact Communities and the Diocese of Wollongong will be partnering with Campbelltown Catholic Club to support and host a number of the evangelisation events, which are set to commence in March 2015.
Details via ACBC Media Blog
Music Credit: Waking Up by Dexter Britain.
