As Official of State, Cardinal Cassidy had a vital role in preparing for Mikhail Gorbachev’s visit to Pope John Paul II on 1 December 1989. It was the first time a Russian communist leader had met with a Pope. “It was my job to help the Holy Father in the lead up to those meetings,” he said. “It was an exciting time because it became clear early on that Gorbachev was no longer going to use the Russian army to stop uprisings in Communist Europe. Within a year the communist system collapsed.”

For Fr Michael Tate of the Sandy Bay Parish, Tasmania, a two month sabbatical leave will see him return to his former university, Worcester College in England.

“I have just completed three years as Archbishop and in that time I have come to see many things.“ Archbishop Mark Coleridge of Canberra, has said. “One of the things I’ve come to see is that without the so-called ‘retired’ priests we would be in deep trouble.

Fr Laurie Timms OCarm, parish priest of Coorparoo, in the Archdiocese of Brisbane, is a qualified diesel rail motor driver.

Recently Professor Roman Vasylyk, accompanied by his interpreter Bohdan Mykytiuk, visited Broome at the invitation of Bishop Christopher Saunders to paint an icon for the new Cathedral. Professor Vasylyk comes from the Ukraine and is a well known master of Iconography: the painting, or “writing” of religious icons.

Bishop Christopher Prowse of Sale has vigorously defended religious freedoms currently enjoyed by the Catholic Church and other faiths in Victoria.

At a time when the Church is facing a number of significant pressures, over 150 parish leaders from around the country gathered to plan and reflect on the foundations and challenges of contemporary church life.

Religious leaders, thinkers and interested people from around the globe will converge on Melbourne this December for the 2009 Parliament of the World’s Religions. The world’s largest global interfaith gathering will be held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre from 3-9 December 2009, with other ‘off-site’ events being held throughout the city.

During his preparation for ministry, John has also spent time in Derby Parish in addition to accompanying the Cross and Icon through the Diocese in preparation for World Youth Day last year. Rev Deacon Purnell made a major contribution to the administration of the WYD pilgrimage when he showed outstanding leadership of the one hundred and twenty pilgrims from the Kimberley who attended the festival in Sydney in July 2008