FERVORINO FOR HOLY HOUR, LAUNCH OF YEAR OF PRAYER FOR EUCHARIST28ST MARY’S CATHEDRAL, 1 MARCH 2026 On His last night, after finding them asleep in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus asks His disciples: “Could you not watch with me one hour?” (Mt 26:40). It’s a relatable moment. On the one hand we sympathise with the […]
ST MARY’S CATHEDRAL FORECOURT, SYDNEY, 17 DECEMBER 2025 Dear friends, we gather this evening in what should be a season of joy, feeling a great weight of sadness; our celebration of peace, now marred by violence; the festival of light for Jews and Christians, now overshadowed by darkness and death. An unspeakable evil has visited […]
A Statement from the Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, Most Rev. Anthony Fisher OP Monday, 15 December 2025 We all share in profound grief and righteous anger following last night’s terrorist attack on Bondi Beach. That a celebration of the Jewish feast of Hanukkah could end in at least 16 dead, including a young child, and many […]
Melbourne Convention Centre, 2 December 2025 Over these days something powerful has been moving among you. The hunger for God, the courage to seek Him, the joy in finding Him have been tangible—unmistakable signs of the Holy Spirit at work in this country. More than a feeling, an enthusiasm, an experience: something is being awakened in our […]
ST MARY’S CATHEDRAL HOUSE, SYDNEY, 20 NOVEMBER 2025 Of all the Knights of the Round Table in the great Arthurian legends, Lancelot du Lac is probably the most famous. His courage, courtesy and prowess in battle made him the very model of chivalry. He has captured the modern imagination, his story being retold in many […]
CATHOLIC LEADERSHIP CENTRE, EAST MELBOURNE, 17 OCTOBER 2025 1. If only we still had Nick… In the last month alone, there have been news reports of campaigns here in Victoria both for and against: My instinctive reaction, each time I hear these or similar reports from anywhere, but especially from Victoria, is to exclaim: Where’s […]
Conference on “Aquinas and the Vita Contemplativa” Campion College Toongabbie, 11 October 2025 Introduction: St John XXIII on the authority of St Thomas Even if St Thomas Aquinas thought we rise with the bodies of 33-year-olds, the fact is that he’s eight hundred years old this year, at least in earthly time. I’m delighted that […]
Domus Australia, Rome, 1 August 2025 I. Winter for the Church Yesterday it was announced that Pope Leo will soon declare St John Henry Newman a Doctor of the Church. 173 years ago Newman gave the clergy of Westminster his ‘Second Spring’ sermon.[1] Unlike the natural world, where Winter inevitably rolls into Spring, he thought […]
Four Seasons Hotel, The Rocks, 30 May 2025 Bishops, Fathers, Sisters, Sponsors, Business Networkers, Friends all, I. Winter for the Church 173 years ago, St John Henry Newman began a sermon to the clergy of Westminster with a beautiful reflection upon “the perpetual renovation” of our world—not constant home renovations a la contemporary Australia, but […]
A Statement from the Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, Most Rev. Anthony Fisher OP The Church in Sydney and Australia joins with people throughout the world in mourning the passing of the Holy Father, Pope Francis. As priest, bishop and pope, he embodied Christ’s command to care for all people, especially the most vulnerable. He was a […]
Dharawal Elders Uncle Edward and Auntie Lisa; Excellent Bishops of the Maronite and Latin Catholics, of the Greek and Antiochean Orthodox, and leaders of the other Christian churches; Rabbis and other Jewish leaders; Grand Mufti, Sheikhs and other Islamic leaders; and leaders of other faith traditions; Premier Minns, Minister Kamper, with Honorable MPs; Mayor Lound; […]
ST MARY’S CATHEDRAL CHAPTER HALL, 21 MARCH 2025 On this day one hundred years ago, the Butler Act was signed into law prohibiting the teaching of evolution in public schools in the state of Tennessee. Its author, Democrat John Washington Butler, sprung into action after hearing a Baptist sermon about a woman who had lost […]
ST MARY’S CATHEDRAL, 18 MARCH 2025 عَلَيْ As-salamu alaykum, Peace up upon you. Welcome to St Mary’s Cathedral House for our 14th annual Iftar dinner, honouring especially the Muslim community, but bringing together people of many faiths. I’m glad to be with you in person this year, after Covid forced me to Zoom in last […]
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, The idea of a ‘synod’ has a long and rich history in the life of the Church. Since earliest times, there have been diocesan, regional or universal gatherings of the pastors of the Church, often with some lead-ing lay faithful, to pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit […]
Mine honour is my life; both grow in one.
Take honour from me and my life is done.
Then, dear my liege, mine honour let me try.
In that I live, and for will I die.
QUITO ECUADOR, 6 SEPTEMBER 2024(MOST REV.) ANTHONY FISHER O.P. Excelencias, padres, hermanas y queridos amigos, en primer lugar, deseo felicitar a los organizadores del Simposio Teológico y del Congreso Eucarístico Internacional por la maravillosa serie de eventos y oportunidades que nos han brindado a todos. Lamentablemente, debo disculparme ya que mi discurso de hoy será […]
I’m so grateful for the literary diet served me in my Catholic secondary school, named for St Ignatius whose feast it is today. We read Austen, Beckett, Blake, Bolt, Bronte, Chaucer, Chekhov, Conrad, Dickens, Donne, Dostoevsky…
Your Beatitude, Ignatius Yousef III Cardinal Yonan, Syriac Catholic Patriarch of Antioch and all the East; Your Graces of the Syriac Catholic Church, Mor Basilius Georges Casmoussa, Apostolic Visitor in Australia & New Zealand, Mor Ephrem Yousif Abba, Archeparch of Baghdad and Mor Barnaba Yousif Habash, Eparch of the USA…
Good evening and thank you Rabbi Elton for the kind introduction. It is a delight to be among friends at the Great Synagogue and a real honour to be invited to offer this address in memory of Rabbi Dr Raymond Apple and his contribution to Jewish-Christian relations. He truly was a trailblazer…
The term “communion” translates the Greek word κοινωνίᾳ koinonia and the Hebrew word חַבּוּרָה chavurah. Both indicated an association or cooperative, such as Jonah and Sons, and Zebedee and Sons, who were in partnership in the fishing business at Lake Galilee, until the boys ran away from home to join Jesus and fish instead for people. Already at the time of Jesus, as today, a chavurah or minyan of at least ten men was required to represent the community of Israel at a synagogue service, wedding or funeral…
The year is 2035, hopefully my last as archbishop. I’ve just emailed my draft homily for Sunday to the Religious Safety Commissioner for her approval. She’s the independent regulator charged with ensuring that faith groups spread no discriminatory and otherwise harmful messages. With the help of AI, she vets all planned sermons and spiritual talks to be given in Australia each week, catching any inappropriate words or themes before they are spoken…
I’m grateful to be invited to appear before the Committee today on behalf of more than 20 Catholic and Orthodox Bishops of NSW, to express our concerns & those of our people in relation to this bill…
Your Excellency, the Hon. Margaret Beazley AC KC, Governor of New South Wales; Hon. Justice Stephen Gageler AC, Chief Justice of Australia with other members of the Federal and State judiciaries…
The stabbing of Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel and Father Isaac Royel is shocking and has caused distress to many in the community.
ٱلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْ As-salamu alaykum, Peace up upon you. Welcome to St Mary’s Cathedral House for our 14th annual Iftar dinner, honouring especially our Muslim leaders and people, but bringing together people of many faiths for feasting and friendship. My sincerest apologies for not being there is person: I have a light dose of Covid, and didn’t want to risk giving it to any of you, so we must meet through the ether…
I recently returned from the month-long first assembly of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, held in the Vatican from 4th to 29th October at the behest of Pope Francis. The Synod is a representative episcopal body established by St Paul VI following…
Many of our shared spaces are broken and we seem only able to see things through a hyper-tribal lens of progressive and conservative, us versus them. On hot-button topics there’s little room for civil exchange of views, reasoned arguments and openness to persuasion, nuance, compromise, or respectful disagreement; instead, we have slogans, vitriol…
Lately there’s been plenty of talk about UFOs, aliens, and interstellar travel: a former US official has even claimed under oath that government is in possession of a non-human spacecraft with some intact alien biological material! I don’t pretend to know the rights and wrongs of all of this, but I wonder what an alien species would make of a million plus adolescent humans…
My Lords Bishop Columba Macbeth-Green, Richard Umbers and Danny Meagher, Reverend Fathers, Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Friends all: Welcome to my place. It’s a delight to have you all here this evening, as we bid farewell to Michael Moore as Director of Finance of the Archdiocese of Sydney. I welcome him and Elizabeth (his long-suffering better half), their daughters Jacinta and Adriana with Thomas, and Michael’s sister Maria…
Welcome to St Mary’s Cathedral House for our 13th annual Iftar dinner, honouring especially our Muslim leaders and people, but bringing together people of all faiths for feasting and friendship.
Representing our First Australians, I welcome Dr Lisa Buxton who heads our Aboriginal Catholic Ministry. Together with her I acknowledge the elders past and present of the Gadigal clan of Eora nation, traditional custodians of the land on which we meet…
I’m delighted to be with you all this morning for the blessing and opening of Hartford College! The foundation of a new school is always a cause for celebration and hope, and I want particularly to congratulate the founding parents who had the vision and courage to bring this school to reality. I salute Board Chair Tim Mitchell, Penny Wright and the other directors, Principal Mr Frank Monagle and the growing teaching staff…
Today we have lost a Cardinal of the Church, a former Archbishop of Sydney, a fine priest, a good Christian soul.
The Church in Australia and around the world is deeply saddened at the sudden passing of Cardinal George Pell, the former Archbishop of Sydney and of Melbourne.
Cardinal Pell’s episcopal motto was ‘Be Not Afraid’ and through good days and bad, he lived up to these words…
“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose, By any other name would smell as sweet.”[1] So asks the heroine in Shakespeare’s romance-tragedy. Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet could be Jack and Jill Smith for all she cared, as long as they were the same people, and they should resist the attempts of families and culture to pigeonhole them. Yet as romantic and postmodern as this might sound, it raises all sorts of metaphysical…
United with Pope Francis and Christians throughout the world, the Church in Sydney and Australia mourns the passing of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, one of the greatest theologian-popes in the Church’s two-thousand-year history.
For more than 70 years, as priest-theologian, bishop-pastor, cardinal-prefect, teacher-pope and finally pope-emeritus, Joseph Ratzinger selflessly…
After a year of terrible war in Ukraine and disastrous floods closer to home, in which people have lost loved ones, homes, livelihoods, where are they to find security and hope? Amidst fragile recovery from pandemic and rising cost of living, how do we deal with anxiety and uncertainty?
At Christmas, God comes to us as a newborn baby, the most vulnerable…
When St John baptised Our Lord in the Jordan, the Gospels tell us the Spirit of God descended upon Jesus. One might have expected thunder, lightning and quake, a pillar of cloud and of fire, a fearful voice from a burning bush, a vision splendid and stupefying of God upon a lofty throne surrounded by seraphim…
Earlier in the year at our Mass commemorating the 200th anniversary of the laying of the foundation stone of St Mary’s Cathedral, I spoke of the towering influence of some Irish pioneers of the early Church in Australia, the most prominent one going by the name of “Therry.” This Therry was…
Welcome to our Christmas at the Cathedral celebration at St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney. I acknowledge our hosts St Mary’s Cathedral and the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney. I thank our sponsors, especially Paynter Dixon, the NSW Government, and CommBank; our collaborators Electric Canvas and Epic Team; our media partner Channel 7; and those providing music, entertainment or prayer here in the cathedral forecourt…
In the liturgical calendar, today is the memorial of the dedication of two churches: the Basilicas of St Peter in the Vatican and of St Paul also outside the Aurelian walls. Why, we might wonder, do we have another feast of Peter and Paul in a calendar already overloaded with the feasts of the Conversion of St Paul on 25 January, the Chair of St Peter on 22 February, and St Peter and Paul on 29 June? It is understandable that Peter…
Thank you, Ms Hastings. It’s a pleasure to be back with you for this feast, both liturgical and culinary!
This week our nation, the Commonwealth of nations, and the world beyond are mourning the greatest woman leader of modern times. Whatever our views of monarchy and democracy, of the past or present role of Britain and its children in the world, of colonisation …
Welcome to my place for tonight’s official launch of the Catholic Women’s Network, a ministry to acknowledge all that Catholic women bring to our Church and city, and connect and support them better. I welcome distinguished guests, friends and colleagues.
This initiative would not have been possible without the tireless efforts of its faith-filled organisers. Here I want especially to recognise …
All Australians are united in sorrow as we mourn the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The Catholic community pauses to remember a wonderful Christian woman.
While Her Majesty was not born to rule, posterity will record her reign as a benchmark against which leaders will be judged for generations to come.
Queen Elizabeth II will be remembered as a model of public service …
I’m delighted to see so many faithful and joyful young people here today! Many say religious beliefs and values are out of favour with young people, that they’ve given up on God, and that while some are willing to volunteer for a bit for a good cause, they’ve largely moved on from those more idealistic days. Young people, the pundits claim, are more interested in getting ahead, having a series of short-term relationships …
The winner of the Most Outstanding Entertainment or Comedy Program at the recent Logie Awards was… Lego Masters. The hit show’s host, comedian Hamish Blake, also took home the prestigious Gold Logie for his role as the face of the program. Lego Masters is now in its fourth season and as the accolades prove, it’s a real crowd pleaser. The show charts …
“What is the good life?” Philosophers have offered their wisdom on the matter since time immemorial. Socrates thought it was about the quest for wisdom, Epicurus the pursuit of rather baser pleasures, Aristotle the cultivation of virtue, the Stoics a life in accord with nature. For the children of the Enlightenment, it was faithfulness to reason and freedom. Kant thought it was about fulfilment of duty …
Welcome to my place! I’m delighted to see so many here for what will be, God willing, two days of inspiring reflection upon Parish Renewal. I would like to acknowledge the tireless efforts of the Parish Renewal Team and the Sydney Centre for Evangelisation, for providing this opportunity to the Church in Sydney and beyond. The Archdiocese is blessed to have so many sharing their gifts …
Let me begin by commending the leadership and tireless work of the Archdiocesan Anti-Slavery Taskforce and now the Australian Catholic Anti-Slavery Network (ACAN), headed by John (“Wilberforce”) McCarthy and his dedicated team. Their engagement with various Catholic groups …
Papal arrivals are big occasions. We’ve had four in Australian history, but by far the most dramatic was the arrival of Pope Benedict XVI on the Sydney 2000, rebadged Das Papstesboot, on 17 July 2008. Accompanied by Cardinals Bertone, Rylko and Pell, and the bishops of Australia, as well as excited young people from every continent and nation, the Holy Father was escorted by thousands …
Pope St John Paul II wrote that God has placed in our hearts a desire to know the truth, and that faith and reason are the two wings by which we reach it in contemplation.[1] In the 2012 superhero film, The Avengers, Black Widow (played by Scarlett Johansson) says “These guys come from legend, Captain. They’re basically gods.” To which Captain America (played by Chris Evans) responds, “There’s only one God ma’am, and I’m pretty sure …
It is truly a dark day for New South Wales. I am deeply saddened that the Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill 2021 has passed the NSW Parliament. The disturbing nature of this legislation is compounded by the way the debate over amendments was conducted. All amendments put forward by those who would seek to make this deadly regime …
I welcome you all to Cathedral House this evening to celebrate our twelfth annual Iftar dinner. Can I say how pleasing it is for us all to be together, as representatives of our respective faiths, for a night of food, faith and friendship. I salute Dr Lisa Buxton, representing First Australians and directing our Aboriginal Catholic Ministry. With her I acknowledge the elders past and present of the Cadigal clan of the Eora nation …
Very Rev. Archpresbyter Simon Ckuj, Vicar-General of His Excellency the Most Rev. Eparchial Bishop Mykola Bychok CSsR and Parish Priest of St Andrew’s; my brother priests; distinguished guests including Hon. Tony Burke MP, the Mayor and Deputy Mayor, and others; dear parishioners and friends of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and the Ukrainian community:
Where do Christmas carols come from? Our word carol derives from the medieval Latin word choraula and medieval French word carole, a secular circle-dance accompanied by one or more singing minstrels.
Thank you for the opportunity to address the Committee this morning. I appear on behalf of the Catholic Bishops of NSW and the Bishops of the Australasian‐Middle East Christian Apostolic Churches. The faithful of our communities make up a quarter of the population of this state.
Your Eminence Archbishop Makarios Griniezakis, Primate of the Greek Orthodox Church of Australia,
Dear friends in Christ, Announcements have been made today about Sydney beginning to reopen once 70% of the adult population has had two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, and foreshadowing further easing once we reach 80%.
It’s great that despite COVID-19-Δ restrictions we can still meet. I guess by now the Baby Boomers are all now Maybe Zoomers! 6 parts
There’s never a good time to introduce laws that sanction the killing of vulnerable human beings such as the terminally ill, elderly, frail and suffering.
Come Holy Spirit! Lead us Back to Mass for the Church’s Birthday! Ninth Pastoral Letter to the Clergy and Faithful of Sydney during the COVID-19 Pandemic In the lead up to Pentecost Sunday, 23 May 2021
Welcome to the eleventh Iftar ‘breakfast’ hosted by the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney. It is with great joy that I’m able to welcome you all back to my place tonight, after a year of forced separation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We were especially conscious of the hardship the COVID-safety restrictions imposed upon our Muslim brothers and sisters during last year’s Ramadan.
Welcome to our first Clergy Conference of 2021. It’s always a joy to be with you, but after a year of pandemic, lockdown and virtual conferences, it’s all the more so.
Cathedral of Sts Mary & Joseph, Armidale. Before Armidale was… 32 years they had waited for a priest. Sure, a convict priest (Fr James Dixon) had been permitted to celebrate Mass for ten months in 1803
‘Take me for your model, as I take Christ.’ These words of St Paul give us a template for the Christian life (1Cor 10:31-11:1). St Paul stands as a reflection of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, of the love of God, and of the communion of the Holy Spirit (cf. 2Cor 13:3), pointing our gaze towards the source of that grace, love and fellowship.
Welcome to St Mary’s Cathedral as we commission the Sydney-based delegates to the Fifth Plenary Council of Australia. The previous four such councils – in 1885, 1895, 1905 and 1937 – were all held here in Sydney with this cathedral as their focal point, as will be the case for the final session of the 2021-22 council. Last time the aged and long-serving Archbishop Michael Kelly of Sydney presided.
It’s been a difficult year. At this time last year, smoke hung heavy upon our city, the light was an eery orange hue, and moths invaded the opening night; drought and bushfire continued through the first month of 2020.
Following the acknowledgements and welcomes from Lisa and Chris today, I want to add my own, including a very warm welcome to my place, St Mary’s Cathedral.
Dame Margot, Sir Richard and Sir John, My Lord Bishop Ingham, Mr Justice Kunç, Vice Chancellor, Deputy Vice Chancellor, professors and friends all
Welcome to St. Mary’s Basilica in Sydney for the Funeral Mass for Sr Mary Paul OLHC, last surviving member of our the Congregation of Our Lady Help of Christians.
“Let us not despair; it is a blessed cause, and success, ere long, will crown our exertions. Already we have gained one victory: we have obtained, for these poor creatures, the recognition of their human nature, which for a while was most shamefully denied.
‘All humanity is being put to the test’ says the Vatican’s bioethics thinktank, the Pontifical Academy for Life (PAV), in Global Pandemic and Universal Brotherhood: Note on the Covid-19 Emergency.
Dare we hope in a world that is suffering? It can seem impossible, even insensitive, to talk of hope when people are sick or dying, anxious or isolated, unemployed or otherwise burdened.
I welcome today’s exoneration of Cardinal George Pell in a unanimous decision of the High Court of Australia.The Cardinal has always maintained his innocence and today’s decision confirms his conviction was wrong.
Dear brothers in ministry and brothers and sisters in Christ. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all in this time of pandemic.
With respect to the Celebration of Mass and other Liturgies. Many people are already self-selecting to stay at home and attendance at many Masses will predictably be under 100.
Apocalypse now? Drought, fires, storms and now plague. It can feel like the end of the world is coming. In a sense it is.
One in five Australians suffers some form of psychological illness in any particular year, and nearly half do so at some stage in their life. It affects all age groups, sexes, ethnicities, beliefs, professions. The figures are staggering, and mean a lot of people are hurting out there, many of them silently, without professional help
On 13 October last the Church canonised a man whose life and work has been described by Pope Benedict XVI as ‘one great commentary on the question of conscience’, who was praised by St John Paul II for his “deep intellectual honesty [and] fidelity to conscience and grace”
Christmas tells us we are valued, we are wanted, we are loved. Each one of us is precious, irreplaceable, made for greatness. It might sound overblown, even vain. But that’s what Christmas says. You matter so much, that God would become one of us – for your sake!
How far that little candle throws his beams!
So shines a good deed in a naughty world.- Shakespeare, Merchant of Venice, Act V, Scene I. So says Portia, the beautiful heiress of Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice. She speaks a great truth: good deeds – and the intentions and agents behind them – don’t just get done and then fade away.
In the past few weeks mental health has emerged as a key challenge for modern-day cricketers, with their gruelling schedules, intense public scrutiny, performance anxiety, burnout or loss of love for the game, effects on family life, and the baseline stress of contemporary life all weighing heavily.[1] Glenn Maxwell, one of the world’s best short-format players, announced he was taking time away, and Will Pucovski and Nic Maddinson followed suit, just before the first Test against Pakistan.
A warm welcome once again to our forum for the student leaders in the systemic and congregational schools. I thank Mr Tony Farley, Mr Anthony Cleary, and other education leaders and staff for this initiative.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ: it’s a joy to be here with you tonight as Most Rev. Anthony Randazzo is installed as Bishop of Broken Bay.
It’s a strange and portentous book, the last one in the Bible, theApocalypse of St John or Book of Revelation. It opens as a letter from John, the beloved young friend of Jesus, who is all grown up now and writing to the seven Christian communities in what is Turkey today.
Tomorrow the Church will canonise a man whose life and work has been described by Pope Benedict XVI as ‘one great commentary on the question of conscience’, who was praised by St John Paul II
In the name of the Archdiocese of Sydney, the Reverend Father Anthony L’Estrange Robbie, the duly appointed Postulator for the Cause of Beatification and Canonization of the Servant of God Eileen Rosaline O ‘Connor
I offer my sincere congratulations to Bishop Anthony Randazzo on his appointment by the Holy Father, Pope Francis, as the fourth Bishop of the Diocese of Broken Bay
Thank-you Meredith. Might I begin by repeating my thanks to Dr Peirson and all at New College for the honour they do me
Today is a very dark day for New South Wales. The new abortion law is a defeat for humanity.The Abortion Law Reform Act 2019 may be the worst law passed in New South Wales in modern times, because it represents such a dramatic
Thank-you Meredith. Might I begin by repeating for those who weren’t here last night my thanks to Dr Peirson and all
Thank-you Meredith. Might I begin by thanking Dr Peirson and all at New College for inviting me to join in conversation with my friend Archbishop Glenn Davies for this year’s New College
They call themselves “pro-choice”: yet what choice do the promoters of the abortion bill offer the unborn? Death, no reason given, up to 22 wks; death, if 2 drs agree, right up to birth
The Victorian Court of Appeal has today upheld the verdict of historical sexual abuse allegations against Cardinal George Pell in a 2-1 decision.
I am deeply saddened at the passing of the Reproductive Health Care Reform Bill 2019 through the NSW Legislative Assembly this evening.If a civilisation is to be judged by how it treats its weakest members, New South Wales failed spectacularly today.
Our state is so full of life and promise, especially for the next generation.
We, as faith leaders, see God as the creator of life, and we welcome all new lives that will live, love and laugh
This week it was announced that a private members bill would be introduced immediately into parliament that will allow abortion for any reason up until birth in NSW.
Dear brothers and sisters, I write to you from Rome at the end of the Ad Limina Apostolorum pilgrimage of the Australian Bishops to the tombs of the apostles, to the Holy Father, and to the Vatican Departments.
“There is little love of God in that parish; you will be the one to put it there.”[1] So advised the bishop who sent Fr Jean-Baptiste Vianney to Ars, a remote and neglected village of only 230 people. Visit every family in their home, the bishop advised, and do your best to give regular
“God bless you ladies!” said the boatsmen who rowed the first sisters ashore to Sydney Cove on New Year’s Eve of 1838. Mother Mary John Cahill, Sisters Mary
Salt is rather out of fashion these days, being blamed for high blood pressure, fluid retention, heart disease, stomach cancer, you name it. While a little sodium is a necessary element in any diet, Australians, we are told, consume twice as much salt
Despite his many accolades, the Canadian poet-singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen is perhaps best known for his hit song Hallelujah.
Welcome to the tenth Iftar breakfast hosted by the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney. It is with great joy that tonight I acknowledge our Muslim guests: His Eminence Dr. Ibrahim Abu Mohammed, Grand Mufti of Australia and President of the Council of Imams NSW;
Thank you for attending our Mass and Candlelight Vigil. Tonight we have commended to Almighty God the 253 or so victims of the Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka.
The high points of my day are my Mass, Divine Office and Rosary, when I spend time with Our Lord, opening my heart and mind to Him, listening, asking, thanking, adoring. This relationship with God is, I hope, the foundation of my every word and deed.
“Today we are all Muslims,” said one of our nation’s most respected journalists.
Not that we all share the same faith.
So began the first reading for Mass on the day the news broke of Cardinal George Pell’s conviction. While I must leave commenting on that matter until after the appeal process is complete, the media storm around the case was read by
Welcome to St Mary’s Cathedral Hall to this Anti-Slavery Ethical Sourcing Seminar and Expo. As we honour past and present elders of the Gadigal People and the Eora Nation, we acknowledge that our history as a nation includes a shameful chapter in which many Indigenous people
There are in religion two contrary tendencies. The first focuses on the spiritual dimension of human beings. It regards the physical universe as confining and distracting, and emphasises God the pure spirit, the angels also, and the dead now released from bodily life.
‘I’m a servant.’ Such talk sticks a bit in our throats, makes us more than a bit uncomfortable, doesn’t it? A waiter or waitress OK. An airline steward, maybe, as long as I don’t have to look after a plane full of Aussies going to WYD. A nurse, sure.
Wow young Australia! What an awesome Aussie gathering this has been to introduce our World Youth Day week! We come together this week, young people with their lay leaders, pastors, and pope as a living-breathing, singing-dancing, praying-acting proof that the Catholic Church is alive and well.
Might I begin by congratulating the organisers of this twentieth annual Cardinal O’Connor Conference on Life here at Georgetown
The birth of a child is Always a time for rejoicing. The great joy of the Christmas season is born of our celebration of the arrival of the Christ Child, the one who came to set us free.
Welcome to St Mary’s Basilica for the Unveiling of the Armenian car-car Khachkar Cross to mark the 2015 commemoration here at St Mary’s of the centenary of the
Around this time of year, people often phone the cathedral or their parishes to ask what time the Midnight Mass will be. In fairness to them, they are not being stupid: the time of the “Mass at Midnight of the
The Slow Food movement began in the 1980s in response to the opening of a McDonald’s store near the Spanish Steps in Rome.
Thank-you Dean Richardson, Mr Toutounji and Mr Tobin. Your Eminences and Excellencies, Reverend Sirs and Ladies, Friends all: welcome to my place! It is a tribute to the kind of country Australia is that religious leaders, representatives
Thank you, Chancellor, Vice-Chancellor, Dr Zimmerman, Teresa, ladies and gentlemen. It is a great pleasure for me to launch Archbishop Peter Comensoli’s In God’s Image: Recognizing the Profoundly
A very warm welcome to our forum for the student leaders in the systemic and congregational schools. I thank Mr Anthony Cleary, Michael Kelleher, Glen Thompson, and other education leaders and staff
St Patrick’s Primary School Parramatta and Parramatta Marist are able to trace a continuous line with the school founded by the first Catholic Chaplain to the Colony
The Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, Most Rev. Anthony Fisher OP, stands united with Prime Minister Scott Morrison as he delivers the national apology to victims and survivors of institutional child sexual abuse.
After the horrors of the Second World War, in which more systematic perpetration of evil conceived by human minds and crueller things were done to human bodies than at any time in history, it took a great act of faith and hope in humanity
Let me begin by wishing you all a very happy and holy Feast of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop, our home-grown saint, Patron of the Catholic School System here in Australia, and a special favourite in this Joey school and parish.
Thank you, Fr John, for your gracious words; you are over-generous to me. God bless you for all you and your brothers do to model faith and vocation to young people throughout Australia. My thanks also to Fr Goonan and St Paul’s publications.
When I was a young ‘seminarian’ and then priest in Melbourne Gerard was a rising star in the educational scene. When I was director of the John Paul II Institute for Marriage and the Family he was one of the first students, eventually ‘doctored’ and one of the lecturers there. When I came back home to Sydney and got involved with UNDA, he was soon contributing here too, now as Associate Professor …
When I was a young ‘seminarian’ and then priest in Melbourne Gerard was a rising star in the educational scene. When I was director of the John Paul II Institute for Marriage and the Family he was one of the first students, eventually ‘doctored’ and one of the lecturers there. When I came back home to Sydney and got involved with UNDA, he was soon contributing here too, now as Associate Professor …
Thank you all for joining us on this annual Walk With Christ procession on the Feast of Corpus Christi, especially in the 200th anniversary year of the Reservation of the Blessed Sacrament here in Sydney. I acknowledge today the presence of the auxiliary bishops, clergy, religious and lay faithful who helped organise or assisted in today’s procession.
AUSTRALIAN CATHOLIC STUDENTS ASSOCIATION NEWMAN DINNER “A PERSON CONVERTING” St. John’s College, University Of Sydney Many of you will have seen James Cameron’s 1997 film Titanic – at the very least, you’ll know the story. But one part of the events that night is often left out: the ship hit an iceberg just as a […]
STATEMENT FROM MOST REV. ANTHONY FISHER OP ARCHBISHOP OF SYDNEY The Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, Most Rev Anthony Fisher OP, welcomed today’s announcement by the NSW Government to join the Federal Government’s National Redress Scheme for victims of abuse. “I welcome the news by Premier Gladys Berejiklian that the NSW government will join the National […]
“BUSINESS ETHICS 101 IN THE AGE OF THE CORPORATE TAX CUT” Sydney Catholic Business Network Lunch, Hyatt Regency Hotel, Sydney Thank you Lisa. Your Excellency, Archbishop Angelo Zani, Secretary of the Congregation for Catholic Education, my Lords Bishop Terry Brady, Richard Umbers, Monsignor Guy-Real Thivierge, ACU Pro-Chancellor Julien O’Connell and Vice-Chancellor Greg Craven, Mr Luke […]
POST-ROYAL COMMISSION SERVICE OF PRAYER OF FORGIVENESS AND REPARATION FOR ALL PEOPLE AFFECTED BY ABUSE WITHIN THE CHURCH St. Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney Introduction Welcome to tonight’s service marking the end of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. It has been a gruelling time for everyone concerned. For the Commissioners, those who […]
THE CHALLENGES OF THE TIMES St. Bernadette’s Parish, Carlton When my predecessor Sir Norman Thomas Cardinal Gilroy returned from one of the sessions of the Second Vatican Council, he was asked by a breathless reporter what he thought was the greatest challenged faced by the Church and society today. No doubt he was expected to […]
STATEMENT ON THE RESPONSE OF THE CATHOLIC ARCHDIOCESE OF SYDNEY TO MODERN SLAVERY Cathedral House, Sydney, 8 February 2018 I would like to begin by acknowledging the efforts of the Archdiocesan Anti-Slavery Taskforce, especially John McCarthy QC and Katherine Moloney, who have worked tirelessly to complete the report you have received today. This report details […]
She's fat! Fat with child. She's only young and yet there's an eight-and-a-half month baby on board. Her friends call her Mazza. Boyfriend Joe.
A very warm welcome to our forum for the student leaders in the systemic and congregational schools. I thank Dr Dan White, Mr Anthony Cleary, other education leaders and staff for this initiative.
Like Brother John Luttrell, I never met Cardinal Gilroy. As a child growing up in Lakemba and Lane Cove I knew of him simply as “the Cardinal”.
On 22 June 1535, my great-great (to the power of twenty) grand-uncle, Cardinal John Fisher ascended the scaffold, just as his friend Thomas More would do three weeks later.
Dear friends. This is a time of challenge for our Church. Whether it's debates over school funding or religious liberty or the sacraments of Confession and Matrimony, there's more than a bit of anti-Christian feeling in the air.
The Harman Lecture was established to honour the late Rev. Dr Francis Harman, a charming and wise canonist, ethicist and parish priest who long hoped for a session of the John Paul II Institute in Australia, celebrated its conception, but died in 2000 just before it came to birth.
Welcome to St. Mary's Cathedral Hall. I am very pleased to co-host tonight's community forum and I want to begin by thanking all of you who have chosen to take part.
I acknowledge and welcome from the Muslim Community: Your Eminence Dr Ibrahim Abu Mohammed, Grand Mufti of Australia;
The Victorian Office of Public Prosecutions has now delivered its advice on its investigation of historic child abuse allegations against Cardinal George Pell.
Brexit, impeached presidents in Brazil and South Korea, new presidents in America and the Philippines, an attempted coup in Turkey, civil war in Syria…
At the beginning of the holiest week in the Church's year, we have been appalled by the bombings of two Coptic Christian churches in Egypt by ISIS, the dozens of deaths and injuries, and the images of blackened and blood-stained sanctuaries.
Thank you Dr Leach and may the force be with you! I'm grateful to you all for hosting me once again at this annual Archbishop's Mass and Dinner.
Following Brexit, the election of President Trump, and other seismic shifts in politics around the world, commentators are pondering the strength and future of democracy as we know it.
commending the Legislative Council for establishing this Select Committee.
Good afternoon Chair and Honourable members, and thank you for the invitation to address you today. Might I begin by commending the Legislative Council for establishing this Select Committee.
Thank you for those kind words of introduction Professor Ramsay. Vice Chancellor Celia Hammond, the newly arrived Dean of Philosophy Christian Brugger, my Auxiliary Bishop, Richard Umbers, colleagues and friends.
My dear friends, The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has begun its final three-week review of the performance of the Catholic Church in Australia. And what has been revealed has already been harrowing.
I offer my warmest congratulations to Father Greg Homeming OCD on his appointment yesterday by Pope Francis as the sixth Bishop of Lismore.
Recently the Oxford English Dictionary announced its Word of the Year 2016 was 'post-truth'.
The Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, Most Rev Anthony Fisher OP, welcomed today's announcement by the Federal Government of a National Redress Scheme for victims of sexual abuse.
A very warm welcome to our forum for the student leaders in the systemic and congregational schools of the Archdiocese.
Thank you very much for those kind words of introduction.
The causes of poor mental health problems such as anxiety, depression and suicide are complex and require serious study and compassionate treatment. It is far too important an issue in our community and we should not play politics with mental health.
Welcome to All Saints Church for the Funeral Mass for Fr Frank Furfaro. I acknowledge the presence today of Fr Frank's two sisters, Josie and Tina, their husbands and his extended family, to whom in particular I extend my sympathies and those of the Archdiocese of Sydney.
The allegations against Cardinal George Pell aired on the ABC's 7:30 Report were extremely distressing for all parties, are as yet untested, and have been emphatically denied.
With the federal election just around the corner, we all have to decide who to vote for. This is not always an easy decision, but it is a very important responsibility, for Catholics as for others. We all must decide who deserves our vote.
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, It is a joy to be back with you in St Patrick's Cathedral on this historic occasion as Bishop Vincent Long van Nguyen OFMConv is installed as Bishop of Parramatta.
The news of the mass shooting at a nightclub in Orlando, Florida is heartbreaking.
Your Eminence the Grand Mufti of Australia and President of the Council of Imams, Dr Ibrahim Abu Mohammed; Your Highness Shiek Kamal Moselmane of the Supreme Shiite Islamic Council of Australia; Mr Hafez Kassem, President of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils; and other leaders or representatives of the Muslim community;
I write today to thank you all for the thousands of prayers and expressions of concern for me, that have come by email and letters, with gifts and cards, in so many different ways since I got sick at Christmas time.
What an awesome opening this has been for our Australian Catholic Youth Festival! And you might say: surprising. After all, our theme – “Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God”
A very warm to our Forum for the student leaders in the systemic and congregational schools of the Archdiocese.
My thanks to Mr Darryl Courtney-O'Connor AM, Founder and Chair of the International College of Management, Sydney, and his wife Anne, for inviting me to give the Graduation Address today.
It is a pleasure to join you for the St John's College Annual Visitor's Dinner for my first time as official Visitor of the College. Founded in 1857 during the episcopate of my predecessor
Thank you Professor Craven for your kind introduction and for the Australian Catholic University's sponsorship of our conference…
Welcome all to St Mary's Cathedral this morning as the relatives, police family, and wider community of Sydney gather to pay tribute to Mr Curtis Cheng…
The year is 2025 – nine years after a plebiscite narrowly approved same-sex 'marriage' and Parliament amended the Marriage Act and many other laws to remove all references to 'a man and a woman', 'husband and wife' and 'mother and father'…
It's great to be back in the Diocese of Parramatta for the unveiling and blessing of this John Paul II Monument, a project begun when I was bishop here…
Welcome to St Mary's Cathedral, the Mother church of Australia…
Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP visited Warrane as special guest at formal dinner on Wednesday 26 August 2015…
Thank you to CYS for inviting me to speak at tonight's GraceFest to mark one year out from World Youth Day in 2016…
My thanks to the Order of Malta for inviting me to address a topic of vital importance for the Australian community today…
Your Eminences the Grand Mufti Dr Ibrahim Abu Mahamed and Sheikh Tahar Moselmane, and other Muslim leaders;
Your Eminences, George Cardinal Pell, Vatican Secretary of Economic Affairs, and Edwin Cardinal O'Brien, Grand Master of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre…
Your Eminence, George Cardinal Pell, Vatican Secretary of Economic Affairs…
His Excellency Fra' Duncan Gallie, Member of the Sovereign Council of the Order, on behalf of His Most Eminent Highness the Prince and Grand Master Fra Matthew Festing…
Thank you Ambassador McCarthy and Christine for your welcome and kind words, and for hosting us all at this reception in honour…
Your Excellencies, Archbishop Paul Gallagher, Foreign Minister of the Vatican, and Mr Paul McCarthy Ambassador of Australia…
We all know and love someone with same-sex attraction. We want them to be happy.
Invented in 1983 the 'slap band' was a steel plate embedded within velvet or pvc which is 'slapped' around the wearer's wrist or ankle…
Well, this week on RN Breakfast you've been hearing the litany of horror from victims of child sexual abuse at the hands of Catholic clergy in Ballarat…
Street missionaries Thanks to Catholic Mission Australia and Catholic Religious Australia for inviting me to speak this morning. As the local bishop it is my privilege to welcome you all to Sydney: organizers, speakers, sponsors and participants. I am especially pleased to acknowledge His Excellency, Archbishop Protase Rugambwa, President of the Pontifical Mission Societies, Archbishop […]
It is a great pleasure to join you tonight for the launch of our pilgrimage to World Youth Day 2016 in Kraków. (Let's all try pronouncing that…). Tonight we begin the adventure of a life-time as we go to meet Christ in company with the young people of the world and our Holy Father Pope […]
Thank you. This is my first opportunity to address the Religious Education Coordinators and school-based Youth Ministry Coordinators of the Archdiocese…
It was a delight to celebrate the Eucharist with our newest members of the Church today.
Like most Australians I do not support capital punishment: there is enough violence in our world already without legal systems modelling it to others. When the Grand Mufti of Australia, Dr Ibrahim Abu Mohamed, and I made a joint appeal for clemency, we made it clear that we respected Indonesia's sovereignty and shared its condemnation […]
Priests for the New Evangelization Address at Clergy Conference, Le Montage, Lilyfield, 23 April 2015 Welcome dear brothers and thank you for joining me for our clergy day. I would like to reiterate my gratitude for the welcome you have given me before, at and since the Installation Mass. I’m pleased acknowledge the presence of […]
“Do not be afraid: It is I” Address at Vocation Discernment Retreat Seminary of the Good Shepherd, Homebush, 17 April 2015 Thank you Fr Michael for inviting me to contribute to this Vocation Discernment Retreat and to the Seminary for hosting us. Welcome to you all, whatever your stage of discernment. I invite you to […]
The Ministry of Health and Aged Care: A Vital Role for the Church Catholic Health Australia Governance Conference, Effective Governance and Leadership for Mission, Crowne Plaza, Coogee Beach, 30 March 2015 My thanks to Catholic Health Australia for inviting me to offer some brief remarks this morning on “The Ministry of Health and Aged Care: […]
Introduction to Mass Opening School Year for Eastern Region St Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney, 24 March 2015 Welcome to this year’s CEO Eastern Regional Mass. It presents us with the opportunity to ask for God to bless our school year in 2015 and especially our new leaders, teachers, staff and students. I acknowledge the presence of […]
Address to Meeting of Priests and Principals Waterview, Bicentennial Park, Sydney, 24 March 2015 Introduction Thank you. This is my first opportunity to address our priests and principals together. You are my chief collaborators in the great tasks of evangelization and education in the Archdiocese of Sydney, and so I am grateful for your presence […]
St Antoninus and the New Evangelisation in the World of Business Address at the Sydney Catholic Business Network Luncheon, 13 March 2015 Thank you Nerida. I’m pleased to address the esteemed members and guests of the Sydney Catholic Business Network at its first event for the year. The Network is one of the many wonderful […]
Address at Caritas Australia Project Compassion NSW Parliamentary LunchNSW Parliament House, 16 February 2015 Welcome to this year¡¦s Parliamentary Lunch to launch Project Compassion for 2015. I am grateful to Hon. Barry O¡¦Farrell MP, Member for Ku-ring-gai, for hosting today. I acknowledge his presence and that of Hon. Mike Baird MP, Premier of NSW, as […]
Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, Most Rev Anthony Fisher OP and Grand Mufti, Dr Ibrahim Abu Mohammad of the Australian National Imams Council have jointly called for clemency…
When Tim Gunn, Lady Gaga, Sir Isaac Newton or Leonardo da Vinci declares themselves celibate, no-one fears that will make them a danger to the public…
Your Graces and Reverend Fathers, leaders and representatives of Christian Churches, Federal and State Members of Parliament…
Address of Archbishop-elect Anthony Fisher OP at Australian Christian Lobby National Conference 2014, Hyatt Hotel, Canberra, 24 October 2014
In our reading today, we hear St Paul thanking God for the faith of the Colossians and their love for the saints of God (Col 1:3-5).
On Wednesday, a Senate committee will hear evidence on a euthanasia bill that would allow some people to be given a lethal injection on compassionate grounds…
I think the biggest challenge to the family today is that people have forgotten how to love…
Thank you Bishop Peter and thank you all, a very good morning to you; I am deeply honoured by this appointment and by Pope Francis's expression of confidence in me.
When I heard that I had been appointed Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, I was deeply honoured by Pope Francis'.
Archbishop-elect Anthony Fisher OP addresses the media at a press conference held in the Diocese of Parramatta, following the announcement of his appointment as the ninth Archbishop of Sydney.
