Latest News

Solidarity with Sri Lanka

23 Apr 19

Caritas Australia is deeply saddened by the news of the violent attacks in Sri Lanka over the Easter Weekend.

18 Apr 19

Moved by twelve-year-old Thandolwayo’s experience of walking seven kilometres a day to retrieve clean water, the students of St Pius X, Adamstown, sought to make a difference. Around 1000 students took part in a three kilometre walk of solidarity and raised $17,520 for this year’s Project Compassion.

03 Apr 19

Read a reflection from Livia Lingenti, Year 9 Faith Leader from Santa Maria College Northcote, Victoria.

26 Mar 19

Cyclone Idai has caused widespread devastation across Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe. The tropical Cyclone made landfall in Mozambique on March 14 and an estimated 1.8 million people, including 900 000 children have been seriously affected.

Entire villages have been submerged and houses, schools and health care centres have been completely destroyed. The current death toll is said to be over 750 with 110 000 people congregating in improvised camps, but numbers are said to rise.

22 Mar 19

On the 14^th of October 2018, Pope Francis canonised seven saints in Rome’s Saint Peter’s Square – a ceremony years in the making. Canonisation is a lengthy process that involves extensive investigation into the subject’s life, approval from different councils and authorities and two miracles.

Among those canonised was Oscar Arnulfo Romero – a profound figure to Caritas, the Catholic Church and El Salvador overall. So, who was he and why is he an important person to commemorate?

20 Mar 19

Coming from one of the wealthiest countries in the world, it is challenging to recognise the scale of extreme poverty in Australia’s region and around the world. An example of this is that about 600 million people lack access to clean water and the 2.3 billion people have no basic sanitation.

Since the launch of Project Compassion on March 6, students, parishes and community supporters throughout Australia have taken action in an effort to make a difference on this situation. Fundraising for Caritas Australia’s international programs as part of our main annual appeal, Project Compassion, has officially begun.

18 Mar 19

Caritas Australia was deeply saddened by the events that occurred in Christchurch last Friday. We want to express our profound sorrow and grief to victims, family and friends affected by this tragic act of violence. In particular, we stand in solidarity with our Muslim brothers and sisters in New Zealand, Australia and throughout the world. We are united with you, as well as to all the people of New Zealand, in mourning. We continue to pray for the end of violence and for peace throughout the world.

17 Mar 19

We all need water. It is vital to the existence and well-being of humans, nature and the sustainability of the planet.

That is why, this year’s Project Compassion appeal has placed special focus on water. Here are five important things you should know

08 Mar 19

When communities experience poverty, women and girls bear the burden greatly. They’re often tasked with managing their households’ consumption where resources are already quite scarce. This was the case for twelve-year-old Thadolwayo from Zimbabwe, our feature story from this year’s Project Compassion.

23 Dec 18

At least 220 people have been killed and 843 people injured on the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra when a tsunami struck areas around the Sunda Strait late on Saturday following a sub-sea landslide caused by a volcanic eruption.

Caritas Australia's Asia and Humanitarian Emergencies staff have contacted our partners in Indonesia, who are monitoring the situation closely.

21 Dec 18

While it’s normal to set New Years Resolutions such as “lose weight” or “eat healthily”, this sort of goal setting often leads to failure a few weeks (or days in). Feeling disheartened, you give up and revert to old habits.

Rather than setting a goal based on a particular target (like “Exercise every day” or “Stop eating chocolate”), try this instead:

What one word – a core quality -- do you want to embody in 2019?

19 Dec 18

The remarkable strength, resilience and hope of the communities Caritas works with, despite the many challenges they face was a source of inspiration for Paul O’Callaghan, Caritas Australia’s CEO, during a recent visit to communities in Indonesia.

Across Indonesia, Caritas Australia's programs through our partners like Caritas Indonesia (Karina), and a Muslim social support agency in West Java, Laz Harfa, focus on issues including disaster preparedness, livelihoods improvement, community health and community empowerment.

18 Dec 18

As we say goodbye to another fruitful year, we reflect on 2018 and the many stories of hope, determination and strength that have inspired us.

It is only through the immense generosity of you, our supporters, which have made our work this year possible.

10 Dec 18

If you look at Christ’s birth and death with today’s eyes, you could think he was a loser; born in a stable and thirty-three years later crucified by his own people like a common criminal.

Despite his lowly birth and his humiliating and agonising death, through the events in his life, this man of very humble origins revolutionised how we see the poor and marginalised, how we think of power and who we deem to be “winners” and “losers” in our world.

28 Nov 18

On International Day of People with Disability, December 3^rd, Caritas Australia celebrates the achievements of the thousands of people who have taken part in its program in Vietnam – “Empowering People with Disabilities."

Supported by the Australian Government through the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP) and run by Caritas Australia’s partner in Vietnam, Sustainable Rural Development (SRD), the program helps young people gain access to inclusive education and health services, develop livelihood skills and strengthens the skills of teachers and parents of children with disabilities, through involvement in People with Disabilities (PwD) clubs.

27 Nov 18

As Eleanor Trinchera arrived at Cox’s Bazaar in Bangladesh, where hundreds of thousands of Rohingya people are living in refugee camps, she was struck by the view before her.

“It’s just massive, you can see the different colours of the roofs and it was a bit overwhelming because it was so bare. Some of the roofs are already broken down, in a state of disrepair,” says Eleanor, Caritas Australia’s Program Co-ordinator for Bangladesh and Nepal.

15 Nov 18

In his statement for World Day of the Poor, Sunday November 18, Pope Francis has spoken of the way that “…many initiatives, meritorious and necessary in themselves, are meant more to satisfy those who undertake them than to respond to the real cry of the poor.”

08 Nov 18

Our 2019 Global Gifts cards are about empowering the poorest and most vulnerable families to live with dignity, free from hunger and with real hope for their children’s future.

If you would like for your Christmas gifts to have a positive impact on the world, why not buy a Global Gift? Global Gifts are Caritas Australia's charitable Christmas cards. We call them Global Gifts because the funds raised from these gift cards go towards supporting our work with the poorest of the poor around the globe, including right here in Australia.

02 Nov 18

The life of 55 year old, Umi, was changed forever, when her entire neighbourhood was flattened by a mudflow caused by a masive earthquake that struck the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia on 28th September, 2018.

"When the earthquake struck, I panicked and prayed, 'Please, God help us,' Umi says.

30 Oct 18

Anote Tong, former President of Kiribati and renowned climate activist, recently visited the Caritas Australia Head Office in Sydney. In a powerful Facebook Live event, he made a rousing call to action for Australia to invest in more environmentally friendly and sustainable policies, and for individuals to take action, too.