A new whole-of-Church initiative to help people and communities recover from the current bushfire crisis will set the blueprint for how the Catholic Church responds to domestic natural disasters in the future.

Catholic Religious Australia (CRA) will collaborate with multiple Catholic agencies across the country to assist in a national response to this horrific and unparalleled bushfire crisis.

The presidents of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference and Catholic Religious Australia have welcomed Pope Francis’ decision to remove the application of the pontifical secret in all cases of child sexual abuse, noting that its existence hasn’t stopped Catholic leaders from reporting abuse to civil authorities in Australia.

Catholic leaders have submitted a report to the National Office for Child Safety outlining the Church’s ongoing response to the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

ACRATH (Australian Catholic Religious Against Trafficking in Humans), which has worked to combat slavery for the past 16 years, has collaborated with Flinders University in South Australia to publish a research report which urges the South Australian Government to launch an inquiry into slavery and slavery-like practices in the state.