Executive Officer’s Report: January 2020
Preparing for the 11 Feb 2020 AMPJP Council meeting has occupied most of my time since I returned to work on 06 January. The AMPJP Council meeting has a full agenda with some complex items and lengthy papers to discuss. Thankfully they are all skilled in the etiquette of teleconferences and even complex issues are […]
Church Administration Handbook
If you read this newsletter and have an interest in MPJPs then you probably should own a copy of the Church Administration Handbook. The Church Administration Handbook (2018) was written by Fr Brian Lucas, Fr Peter Slack and Mr Bill d’Apice. The authors have extensive theoretical and practical knowledge from a wide range of Church […]
The People We Are
“The People We Are” says it all. The workers and patients/residents/students of MPJP ministries become a cohesive family because it is core to their identity and purpose in life. Mercy Partners have produced a 2020 calendar where every month we get to meet one of these people and we hear what being in the Mercy […]
Collaboration will enhance Church’s disaster response
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. Earlier this month, the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference and a number of other national organisations encouraged Catholics to donate to the Vinnies Bushfire […]
The Hon Neville Owen appointed St John of God Health Care Trustee
The Members of St John of God Australia Limited have announced the appointment of the Hon Neville Owen as a Trustee of St John of God Health Care. His appointment started on 1 January 2020. Mr Owen was a judge of the WA Supreme Court for almost 20 years and at time of retirement was […]
Executive Officer’s Report: December 2019
There always seems to be a frantic aspect to December. Like most people, I take a holiday over the Christmas-New Year fortnight which shortens the working month. Yet, I still find I try to pack a month’s worth of work into the three available weeks. Fortunately this year I have avoided by usually temptation to […]
Christmas-New Year office closure
The AMPJP office will be closed from 5.00pm on Friday 20th Dec 2019 and will reopen on at 9.00am on Monday 06th January 2020.
Executive Officer’s Report: November 2019
I started and ended the month of November in Melbourne. As a resident of Melbourne in my formative years, I love coming back for both the familiar and to see how much has changed. One landmark that is a constant is St Patrick’s Cathedral in East Melbourne. I have always loved the building and was […]
A new way of Church governance
Transparency, accountability, consultation and participation of lay people are qualities that characterise an emerging way of governance within parts of the Catholic Church in Australia. Ministerial Public Juridic Persons (MPJP) are the vehicle for this emerging way of Church governance. Eva Skira, Chair of the Council of the Association of MPJPs (AMPJP) said: […]
Ministerial PJPs urgently needed for Church reform
Award winning author, Gerald Arbuckle SM, argues in his new book, Abuse and Cover-Up: Refounding the Catholic Church in Trauma, that the Catholic Church needs Ministerial PJPs as agents of reform. He explains: PJPs are urgent for the present and future cultural reform of the Church, an issue dear to the heart of Pope Francis. […]