We commemorate the Feast Day of Our Lady of Lourdes Feb 11th, which coincides with World Day of the Sick, with a message from Pope Leo XIV and a Lourdes Day Mass to be held at St Patrick’s Cathedral, Melbourne on Saturday14th of February, hosted by the Order of Malta Australia. (click here for more information) In this issue,Shalom World has just released the video of Archbishop Anthony Fischer delivering the 2025 NTF Oration ‘Evangelium Vitae- 30 Years On‘, which was hosted by the CMAA on October 17th last year. A survey of Australian health workers, has been commissioned and is being run by researchers at Sydney’s ACU Plunkett Centre and ND University to gather information about the experiences of doctors and other health professionals being impacted through moral distress by the VAD laws. The CMAA strongly encourages members and other health professionals to consider participating in this important work. Please share the survey with concerned colleagues. A video discussion about the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist with Fr Ben Saliba, Professor Hayden Ramsay and world-renowned theologian Professor Tracy Rowland, as part of the lead up to the International Eucharistic Congress in Sydney in 2028. Two recent articles on ethics and human dignity from the Linacre Quarterly and the National Catholic Bioethics Centre. In our Trans-update section, a report on the breakthrough New York State lawsuit against gender affirming care for children. And the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) has become the first major US medical association to adopt a cautious stance on paediatric gender medicine. In our ‘Covid in Review‘ series, we post three short videos offering important counter-narratives to previous ‘official’ stories; by Dr Marty Makary, FDA commissioner, Dr Robert Redfield, former CDC Director, and our own Dr Mark Hobart, a GP in Melbourne, who remains suspended from medical practice for over 4 years, despite his ethical approach to Covid now being vindicated across the world. Video excerpts are embedded below. Upcoming events that may be of interest, including FIAMC’s 27th World Congress of Catholic Doctors in Brazil from July 30th- August 1st. The CMAA weekly online prayer session will move to Thursday evenings at 8pm (AEDT), recommencing on February 12th. To join each week, save and use the following ongoing link and details:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89120425806
Meeting ID: 891 2042 5806
Passcode: 605314
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The Compassion of the Samaritan: Loving by bearing another’s pain Read Pope Leo XIV’s World Day of the Sick message In his message he wrote: “Let us raise our prayers to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Health of the Sick, asking her to assist all who suffer and are in need of compassion, consolation and a listening ear. Let us seek her intercession with this ancient prayer, that has been invoked in families for those living with illness and pain: Sweet Mother, do not part from me.Turn not your eyes away from me.Walk with me at every momentand never leave me alone.You who always protect meas a true Mother,obtain for me the blessing of the Father,Son and Holy Spirit.”
Archbishop Fisher: Evangelium Vitae – 30 years on
The 2025 Nicholas Tonti-Filippini Oration, delivered by Sydney’s Archbishop, Anthony Fisher OP, entitled ‘Evangelium Vitae- 30 years on” is now available. Watch here
The Real Presence
Is the Eucharist just a symbol, or is it something more? Sydney will host the International Eucharistic Congress in 2028. In this video Fr Ben Saliba, Professor Hayden Ramsay and world-renowned theologian Professor Tracy Rowland (University of Notre Dame) unpack one of the most profound mysteries of the Catholic faith: The Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Watch here
VAD: Moral Distress Survey
You are encouraged to participate in this important voluntary survey which aims to assess the impact of VAD practice on Australian healthcare workers, particularly in regard to moral distress. It has been commissioned by the ‘Ethical End of Life Care’ group. The lead researchers are: Dr Xavier Symons (Plunkett Centre, ACU) and Dr Megan Best (Notre Dame University). No identifying details will be collected. Access the survey here
upcoming events
The 27th World Congress of Catholic Doctors will be held at Casa Dom Luciano in Brasília, Brazil from July 30 to August 1, 2026. More information here
Articles
The Personhood of the Preborn “It was refreshing to see that Puerto Rico now has a law recognizing the personhood of preborn children from the moment of conception. It amended the civil code of Puerto Rico to read, “Every human being is a natural person, including the conceived child at any stage of gestation within the mother’s womb.” This is a good reminder that there is still unfinished business when it comes to this issue within the Church and broader bioethics….”
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