Pope Francis has invited Catholic communities around the world to take part in a global campaign to mark the fifth anniversary of the publication of his encyclical Laudato Si', Vatican News reports.

Leaders from prominent faith-based and religious community service organisations have come together to urge the Federal Government not to implement the Religious Discrimination Bill as proposed.

The official ceremony to mark the formal opening of the cause for Australia’s second saint has taken place at St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney.

McAuley Community Services for Women, founded by the Sisters of Mercy, has made a submission to a Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry into Homelessness, bringing to life the stories and experiences of women in their own words.

Pilgrims will have a chance to experience some landmark sites in Australian Catholic and Jesuit history on a new trail being pioneered this year.