Wide Range Of Pastoral Care By Catholic Church

Newcastle Herald

Tuesday October 14, 1997

FROM small beginnings the Catholic diocese of Maitland-Newcastle has grown into an organisation with a 140,000-strong congregation.

The territory of the diocese extends from Lake Macquarie to Taree and as far inland as Merriwa and Murrurundi, a far cry from the days of its establishment in 1847 when it consisted only of the borough of East Maitland.

The Church's ability to provide pastoral, health care, social welfare and educational services to its members has also changed dramatically since those early days.

`The Church registers of baptisms, weddings and funerals at any time give us a glimpse of the society of those days,' Monsignor P. Simms, the chairman of the Newcastle 1997 Bicentenary religion sub-committee, said.

`In St Mary's Church, Newcastle, the oldest registers, begun by Father Christopher Dowling in 1838, reveal the sad events of the convict era.

`Most of the wedding records show that the couples could neither read nor write.'

Today the diocese, which moved its base from Maitland to Newcastle in 1995, has 53 parishes and 11 religious orders.

The Catholic Schools Office coordinates the operation of 49 primary schools and 11 secondary schools within the diocese, providing educational facilities for 16,000 young people.

As the family welfare agency of the church in the diocese, Centacare provides services such as accommodation, employment programs, foster care and counselling.

The Society of St Vincent de Paul is also active within the diocese, offering emergency relief, counselling and accommodation services.

The diocese owns and operates three nursing homes and eight hostels, and manages a range of self-care units and community aged-care packages throughout the Hunter and Manning areas.

© 1997 Newcastle Herald

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