Australia: Commo
nwealth of Australia
Population: 24,772,247 (2018)
Languages: English 76.8%; Mandarin (2.5%); Arabic (1.4%); Cantonese (1.2%)
(2016 Census)
Capital: Sydney
Political System: The Australian Parliament consists of the Queen (represented by the Governor-General), the Senate and the House of Representatives. The executive (the Australian Government) is responsible for enacting and upholding the laws established by the legislature. https://www.australia.gov.au/about-government/how-government-works
Catholic Dioceses in Australia:
7 Archdioceses
Archdiocese of Adelaide
Archdiocese of Brisbane
Archdiocese of Canberra Goulburn
Archdiocese of Hobart
Archdiocese of Melbourne
Archdiocese of Perth
Archdiocese of Sydney
3 Dioceses
Diocese of Armidale
Diocese of Ballarat
Diocese of Bathurst
Missions in Australia:
YWAM (Youth With A Mission) Gold Coast
YWAM Townsville
Churches of Christ Medical Santo
Australia in the News:
The Australian Church has called for Catholics to consider the current crisis of homelessness facing the country as this year’s theme on Day of Social Justice on September 30th. Agenzia Fides reports the current Census report more than 116,000 Australians experience homelessness; a reality that has a "corrosive" effect on family life, on employment, on education, among other facets of standard living. The Australian Catholic Social Justice Council chairman Bishop Vincent Long Van Nguyen O.F.M. Conv. (the first Asian-born bishop in Australia and the first Vietnamese-born bishop to head a diocese outside of Vietnam) asserts, in the Fides article, “in addition to the homeless, there is a real army that fights to keep a roof over their head, struggling every month to be able to pay the rent or mortgage,” as a part of the Bishops’ Conference’s call for there to be safe and affordable housing available.
In light of the ongoing delve into the Catholic Church scandal, according to The Atlantic, there is a spotlight on Australia’s leading reparation program – Towards Healing – that is established by the Dioceses of Australia in 1996. But it still faces its share of criticism. But it is not the only program available to sexual abuse survivors. The Australian government did launch a program this summer called National Redress Scheme following their 5-year investigation into institutional child sex abuse throughout the country in 2013. This program does operate independently from the Church, but BBC News reports it has one major flaw: victims who apply for the “redress,” no longer can pursue civil legal action because they lose their right to sue. BBC News reports the average payment is approximately $50,000. In August 2018, the Australian Church officially rejected the proposition that priests should be required to report confessions related to child sex abuse. According to BBC World Service Newshour, the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference said breaking the seal of confession was "contrary to our faith and inimical to religious liberty."
There is a branch of the international Pontifical Mission Societies known as Catholic Mission Australia. The Australian director of the Pontifical Mission Society reported recently on September 22nd, according to Agenzia Fides, that the international effort to serve St. Luke’s Health Center in Uganda is making a positive impact, according to the Ugandan Ministry of Health. The health center was the first health care provider in the district of Kibaale, in the western province of the country, surpassing other 81 centers, according to Fides. The Catholic Mission Australia committed the Australian Church to this mission in 2017.