Reconciliation, mercy, leadership for Mission, Indigenous advocacy, and the face of the future Church in Australia were among the key themes explored at this year’s Mission: One Heart, Many Voices Conference.

The three-day conference, held in Sydney, was organised jointly by Catholic Mission and Catholic Religious Australia and was attended by 18 Divine Word Missionaries and staff.

This week is National Reconciliation Week and we in Australia are also celebrating the 50th anniversary of the 1967 referendum which gave Indigenous Australians the right to be counted as citizens in the Census. This year is also the 25th anniversary of the historic Mabo High Court Native Title decision.

Both of those events are rightfully celebrated as milestones in the life of our nation, but we’re all aware that much more needs to be done, both symbolically and on the ground in practical measures.

The vibrant reality of the Religious presence in Australia’s Red Centre was on full display again recently when 27 people from 11 different religious congregations and 11 different countries, gathered for the Easter Monday Picnic.

The Picnic for Religious is held in Alice Springs twice a year, at Easter and Christmas, and is a chance for the Religious to come together in an atmosphere of relaxation and fun, to share their experiences of life and ministry in Central Australia.

As society becomes more technologically advanced, one of the things that we notice is that our contact with one another becomes increasingly mediated by digital means—chat applications, social networks, mobile texting, and so on. 

My own life and ministry have become so much richer because of relationships that would have otherwise been impossible without Facebook, Line, and other Internet applications. My connection with my family who live on the other side of the globe has also been reinforced by technology. I cannot be more grateful that I am a missionary in an age where communication has been able to bring so many people to me and me to so many people.

An enthusiastic contingent of SVD confreres and staff are gearing up for the Mission: One Heart, Many Voices conference in Sydney next month.

Fr Tim Norton SVD is even winging his way home from Nemi, Italy where he now works as Director of Courses at the SVD’s Centro ‘Ad Gentes, to act as co-emcee of the conference and share his perspectives on Mission and Interculturality.

There’s nothing like adversity to bring people together, and the parishioners of Holy Spirit Parish in the Archdiocese of Wellington, New Zealand, know this only too well, having enjoyed the ecumenical hospitality of their Anglican neighbours since their church was damaged by earthquake.

Fr Dom Flores SVD, who spent the first three months of this year working in the parish, says this ecumenical spirit was one of the many highlights of his time in New Zealand.

The SVD AUS Province is reviewing its formation program to ensure that it is continuing to respond to the needs of the Church and Mission.

Formation of missionaries is a key priority for the Province, through its Dorish Maru College in Box Hill, Victoria, which is, at the moment, full to capacity with students from around the world.

Happy Easter to you! May the blessings of the Risen Lord be with you all.

I don’t know about you, but aside from the spiritual joy of the Easter season, I always seem to feel an extra spring in my step as well.

Lent as a traditional season has always had a positive impact on me, giving blessings in disguise through reconciliation, prayer and fasting. I encountered Lent this year with the same natural and rich instinct brushing aside all the temptations. At times I found it harder than I had thought it would be in a new missionary arena.

Many of us try to be somewhat disciplined for Lent and give up something that we really like and what we think needs eliminating. That’s great! Fasting has always been an important tradition of Lent. This year however, I thought we could also consider other things that we could give up, keeping in mind all the Biblical texts that guide and confront us ...

Papua New Guinea is a country where reliable access to the internet and digital technology is poor or non-existent for most of the population, and that’s partly why the Communications students at Divine Word University in Madang, have taken to their new drone with such enthusiasm.

The drone, which was funded by a donor, and bought in Australia, places the students at the cutting edge of video filming technology and they are already making the most of it.