Australian Catholic Marriage and Family Council
Chaircouple: Dr and Mrs Ron and Mavis Pirola
GPO Box 368
Canberra ACT 2601
T: (02) 6201 9865
F: (02) 6247 6083
E:
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Australian Catholic Marriage and Family Council
Bishops' Delegate
Bishop Michael Kennedy
Advising
Bishops Commission for Pastoral Life
The Australian Catholic Marriage and Family Council (ACMFC) is a reconfiguration of the Family Working Group (FWG), which was appointed by the former Bishops Committee for the Family and for Life (BCFL) and drew largely from Evangelization Through the Family Group (ETTFG) couples.
The Council promotes and works for the benefit of Australian families in cooperation with the Bishops Commission. It is the engine room through which ideas are generated, reviewed and followed up. It meets monthly by teleconference and reports regularly on its proceedings to the Bishops Commission. The Chaircouple of the Council reports in person to the Bishops Commission at each meeting. The ETTFG is kept informed of Council activities.
The Council and the FWG before it have initiated a number of major activities and carried them out using their own resources or with the participation of members of the ETTFG. The most ambitious projects have been the three National Catholic Family Gatherings, 'Dare to Dream', held in Melbourne in April 2000, 'Living the Dream', held in Sydney in April 2004, and 'Sharing the Dream', held in Melbourne in April 2011. Other projects completed or in progress include:
- Resource kits for use in parishes to reflect on family themes.
- 'I Have a Story...' a Pastoral Document for Parishes.
- A family web pages integrated in the ACBC site.
- A Movement for Continuous Prayer for Marriage and Family Life.
- The Common Marriage Policy, adopted by ACBC in May 2001.
- Pastoral statements on marriage and divorce.
