and in brief ...

 

 

 

 

From the Middle East to Asia Pacific: Arc of Conflict or Dialogue of Cultures and Religions? an important and timely conference will take place in Melbourne June 30 - July 3.

 

According to the Professor of International Relations and Director for the Centre for Dialogue at Melbourne's La Trobe University, Joe Camilleri it will examine the volatile, not to say dangerous, situation in the Middle East and its implications for Australia and this region.

 

"The Israel-Palestine conflict and the numerous surrounding flashpoints - Lebanon,Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan - deserve our most serious attention. They will go along way to shaping the future course of events. Will conflict or dialogue with justice prevail?" he said.

 

"To help us think though some of these questions we have invited more than a dozen international keynote speakers, as well as some 60 other leading experts to share their knowledge and insights, and to engage in discussion with participants."

 

For interested people who cannot attend the whole conference, there are two public events:

(Printed copies of the flyer, as well as brochures and posters are available on request from R.Buccomino@latrobe.edu.au    or visit the conference website.)

 

 

 

A national ecumenical conference Church Understandings of Social Justice will be hosted by the Edmund Rice Institute for Social Justice, Fremantle, in Fremantle, Western Australia, in October.

 

It is rare for even one Christian denomination to hold a national conference to explore their social justice legacy.

 

For the very first time, an Australian ecumenical and national social justice conference will be held, to:

explore Catholic, Anglican, Uniting Church and Baptist understandings of social justice;

examine their differences and much common ground; and

identify practical outcomes and policies that these  traditions urge.

 

The purpose is to enable the multiple Christian denominations that embrace social justice to converse, network, support and challenge each  other. However, people of all faiths and none are welcome.

 

The conference will be held from Thursday, October 2 - Saturday, October 4.

 

 

 

 

The Myall Creek massacre site, near Inverell, has been included on the National Heritage List.

 

Heritage Minister Peter Garrett announced the inclusion while attending a memorial service for the 170th anniversary of the massacre, on June 7.

 

"The events at Myall Creek resonate across the years and the listing of the Myall Creek Massacre and Memorial Site formally recognises a pivotal moment in Australia's history," Mr Garrett said.

 

"The fact that so many people gather each year from the Myall Creek community, Indigenous elders and the relatives of those killed to honour and remember those who died and continue the journey of reconciliation is a testament to the communities deep understanding and acknowledgement of this crucial chapter in our history."

 

During early European settlement, competition for land and resources and a lack of cultural understanding resulted in conflict between Aboriginal people and settlers. In 1838 about 30 Wirrayaraay people of the Gamilaroi nation were killed near Myall Creek. Seven settlers were found guilty of, and hanged for, the murder of these people.

 

"It was the first and last time the Colonial Administration intervened to ensure the laws of the colony were applied equally to Aboriginal people and settlers involved in frontier killings," Mr Garrett said.

 

"However, the public response to the massacre, trial and hangings also shaped the way the Colonial Administration dealt with Aboriginal people for the next century. The Administration was reluctant to get involved in any future frontier conflicts, and the event also led to the  establishment of Aboriginal missions."

 

 

The latest snapshot of church life in Australia shows that Mass attenders are on average older, better educated and more likely to be female, married and born overseas than Catholics in general.

 

This is the picture from the 2006 National Church Life Survey (NCLS), based on a random sample of around 70,000 Mass attenders from 229 Catholic parishes from every Australian diocese.

 

The survey found that 61 per cent of Mass attenders aged 15 and over (the age group covered by NCLS) were female, compared to 53 per cent of the same age group among Catholics as a whole.

 

Among Mass attenders aged 15 and over, 28 per cent had a degree or higher qualification, while 68 per cent were married, 10 per cent were widowed, five per cent were separated or divorced and one per cent were in a de facto relationship.

 

Mass attenders were also more likely than Catholics in general to be born overseas: among those aged  20 or more, 36 per cent of Mass attenders were born overseas compared to 29 per cent of the Catholic population.

 

The percentage of Catholics attending Mass every week dropped slightly from 2001 to 2006.

 

The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference Pastoral Projects Office conducted a national count in May 2006, which showed that the total number of people at Mass on a typical weekend was 708,600, or about 14 per cent of the Census Catholic population. This was down from a little over 15 per cent, or 764,000, in 2001.

 

Meanwhile, the 2006 Australian Census showed that Catholics remain the largest religious group inthe country.There were 5,126,884 Catholics in Australia, making up 25.8 per cent of the total population of 19,855,288.The next two largest groups in terms of religious affiliation were Anglicans and those who said they had no religion, with both accounting for 18.7 per cent of the population.

 

The Catholic population grew by125,260 between the 2001 and 2006 Censuses, but declined slightlyas a proportion of the total population from the 2001 figure of 26.6 per cent.

 

The median age of Australian Catholics in 2006 was 36.6 years, slightlyyounger than that of other Australians (37.2 years). Five years earlier, the median age of the two groups had been 34.7 years and  36.0 years respectively, so the gap in median age between Catholics and the rest of the population is narrowing.

 

More than one-fifth of Australian Catholics (22.7%) were born overseas, including 17.6 per cent who were born in non-English-speaking countries.

 

Fifteen per cent of Catholics aged 15 and over had a university degree or higher qualification, a considerable increase over the 2001 figure of 12 per cent. Identical proportions - 52 per cent - of Catholic primary students and Catholic secondarystudents attended Catholics schools, the same as in 2001. Non-Catholics made up 21 per cent of the students at Catholic primary schools and 28 per cent at Catholic secondary schools, up from 19 per cent and 26 per cent respectively in 2001. 

 

These Census figures are part of a comprehensive package of 2006 Census data on the Australian Catholic population obtained from the Australian Bureau of Statistics by the ACBC.

 

an extended profile of Australia's Catholics and  for further details, contact Bob Dixon on 0399533456