Faith, Mission 

& Identity

Seven New Saints

Canonising seven new saints on World Mission Sunday, Pope Leo XIV said God is present wherever the innocent suffer, and his form of justice is forgiveness.

• St Maria Rendiles Martínez was the Venezuelan founder of the Congregation of the Servants of Jesus, who was born in Caracas in 1903 and died in 1977. 
• St José Gregorio Hernández Cisneros was born in 1864 and became a Third Order Franciscan. A Venezuelan doctor, he became known as “the doctor of the poor” and he was killed in an accident in 1919 on his way to helping a patient.
• St Ignatius Maloyan, the martyred Armenian Catholic archbishop of Mardin, which is in present-day Turkey; born in 1869, he was arrested, tortured and executed in Turkey in 1915.
• St Peter To Rot, a martyred lay catechist, husband and father from Papua New Guinea. Born in 1912, he was arrested in 1945 during the Japanese occupation in World War II and was killed by lethal injection while in prison.
• St Vincenza Maria Poloni, founder of the Sisters of Mercy of Verona, Italy; she lived from 1802-1855.
• St Maria Troncatti, a Salesian sister born in Italy in 1883 who became a missionary in Ecuador in 1922. She died in a plane crash in 1969.

• St Bartolo Longo, an Italian lawyer born in 1841. He had been a militant opponent of the church and involved in the occult, but converted, dedicating himself to charity and to building the Pontifical Shrine of the Blessed Virgin of the Rosary of Pompei. He died in 1926.

   

The pope called the new saints “faithful friends of Christ” who are “not heroes or champions of some ideal, but authentic men and women”, who were martyrs for their faith, evangelisers, missionaries, charismatic founders and “benefactors of humanity”.

Nostra Aetate School Forum Report

On 28 October 2025, Catholic Schools NSW (CSNSW), the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ), and Australian Catholic University (ACU) hosted the Nostra Aetate and Countering Antisemitism School Forum for Year 10 and 11 students and their teachers at North Sydney ACU. The forum's goal was to foster dialogue between Catholicism and Judaism, to counter antisemitism and inspire hope in young people. The event was held in the context of students being exposed daily to a proliferation of antisemitic propaganda, especially through social media. Five of our Year 11 students attended the forum that also explored the impact of the Vatican II document Nostra Aetate, promulgated 60 years prior.

Students were able to direct questions about issues related to antisemitism to a panel of Jewish and Catholic leaders including Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-CEO Peter Wertheim, Chief Minister of The Great Synagogue Rabbi Dr Benjamin Elton, prominent Catholic educator Dr Paul O’Shea, and Catholic Religious Australia Justice Research Officer Emma Carolan. Archbishop Nona (Chair, ACBC Commission for Christian Unity & Inter-Religious Dialogue), Jillian Segal AO (Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism) and Fr Gerry Gleeson (Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Catholic Mission), ACU) also gave their insights on the importance of interfaith dialogue and combating antisemitism. 

Emma Carolan described Nostra Aetate as a "watershed document" that was informed by Pope John XXIII's encounter with Jules Isaac, a Jewish academic whose family was murdered in the Holocaust. Archbishop Nona affirmed that “the Catholic Church through this document made a clear and enduring commitment that antisemitism is incompatible with the Christian faith.” He went on to emphasise that “To follow Christ means to reject hatred in any form, but especially against Jews.” Nostra Aetate also was able to highlight the “spiritual patrimony common to Christians and Jews” (Nostra Aetate #4) with Emma Carolan emphasising that Catholics are able to “fully understand Jesus through understanding Judaism”. Rabbi Dr Benjamin Elton acknowledged the document was  also "transformational" for Jewish relations, shifting the conversation from a "dispossessed feeling" to a warmer dialogue.

Jillian Segal AO stressed that "Education is the main tool to combat antisemitism", requiring knowledge to stand up. She noted, "We need to learn from history to accept our brethren". Peter Wertheim shared that reports of antisemitism are often amplified by social media and "coming from people who do not have the skills, education or experience to understand falsehoods". Archbishop Nona encouraged attendees to continue "educate ourselves and others as an expression of faith". Year 11 attendee, Amelie Thistlethwaite, reported that the School Forum was able to educate her on “how to avoid misinformation regarding the Jewish people as well as how interfaith dialogue is a great way to counteract antisemitic ideologies within today's society”.

Archbishop Nona urged participants to "build friendship with our Jewish neighbours" as "we share one God". Catholic educator Dr. Paul O'Shea encouraged the students "to see the other as [our] sister and brother" and to "listen deeply to life and culture" for authentic interfaith dialogue. Brigidine student Charlotte Withycombe reported that through these encouragements, attendees were able to more clearly see the importance of interfaith dialogue for the “connection of religions in modern society”. Fr Gerry Gleeson concluded the event with an interfaith prayer focusing on shared belief in God.

Overall this was an incredibly impactful event that fully engages with the ideals set forth in Nostra Aetate with Pope Leo XIV stating the following at his Oct 28 General Audience: “The spirit of Nostra Aetate continues to illuminate the path of the Church. She recognizes that all religions can reflect 'a ray of that Truth which enlightens all men' (NA, 2) and seek answers to the great mysteries of human existence, so that dialogue must never be solely intellectual, but profoundly spiritual.”

Visit to Brigidine House

On Thursday 30 October, some Year 10 students had the opportunity to visit Brigidine House and spend time with some of the Brigidine Sisters as well as the residents for morning tea. Students were also introduced to Ringo, the new resident puppy.

Christmas Appeal

Christmas Appeal for 2025 begins in Week 4 and will run until the end of Week 9.

We will be supporting St Canice’s Kitchen again this year. They assist men and women experiencing homelessness and social exclusion.

They have specified the items that are in most need, including personal hygiene products for both males and females, snacks and sweet treats, along with the very essential inclusion of socks, and non-perishable food items.

Monica Ribeiro

Director of Religious Education & Mission