Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

The beautiful theme of the Year of Grace invited us to 'contemplate the Face of Christ'.  This very invitation challenged us to reflect on the humanity of Jesus at such a depth that we discovery His divinity.

The Bishops of Victoria together with the Leaders of Catholic Religious Australia and Catholic Religious Victoria have issued a Pastoral letter about the Parliamentary Inquiry into the handling of child abuse by religious and other non-government organisations.

The Catholic Bishops of Victoria have release a Pastoral letter in which they encourage you to respond to the on-line survey set up by the Federal Government at their website: www.aph.gov.au/marriage. The closing date for responses is Friday, 20 April 2012. The survey contains three statements with which you can agree or disagree. It then asks if you support the proposed changes to the two separate Bills, to which you answer yes or no. If you choose you can similarly answer these few questions in less than one minute. The survey also provides space (maximum of 250 words) for you to explain your views. Click here to view the  pdf Pastoral Letter: True Meaning of Marriage

Some points that you might like to consider including are set out here.