Monday 30, October 2023
Archbishop Launches Annual Christmas Appeal
The Archbishop’s annual launch of his “Christmas Appeal for LifeLink” is scheduled in parishes throughout the Archdiocese of Perth on the weekend of 11/12 November 2023.
Pope Francis’s seventh “World Day of the Poor” will be launched the week after our appeal.
We can be guided and inspired in our charitable efforts here at home by the message Pope Francis will share with Catholics around the world…
Do not turn your face away from anyone who is poor.”
Archbishop Timothy said, “In Pope Francis’s message, he writes:
“Whenever we encounter a poor person, we cannot look away, for that would prevent us from encountering the face of the Lord Jesus.” Everyone is our neighbour, regardless of the colour of their skin, their social standing, or the place from which they come. We are called to acknowledge every poor person and every form of poverty.
The poor are persons. They have faces, stories, hearts, and souls. They are our brothers and sisters. It is important to enter into a personal relationship with each of them.
Caring for the poor is more than simply a matter of a hasty handout. It calls for reestablishing the just, interpersonal relationships that poverty harms. In this way, not turning our face away from anyone who is poor leads us to enjoy the benefits of mercy and charity that give meaning and value to our entire Christian life.
As we ourselves face the challenges and negative impacts of the current economic climate, let us each imagine what it must be like for those who were already struggling or who now find themselves in a climate of urgent need,” said Pope Francis.
In his appeal letter, Archbishop Costelloe SDB writes:
“As I officially launch my Christmas Appeal for LifeLink on the weekend of 11 & 12 November 2023, I ask each and every parishioner to reflect thoughtfully on the words of Pope Francis.
It can all seem overwhelming I know. But as we ourselves face the challenges and negative impacts of the current economic climate, I ask you to imagine what it must be like for those who were already struggling or now find themselves in a climate of urgent need.
Every day our LifeLink welfare agencies are responding to the desperate calls from families unable to provide sufficient food or to pay electricity, water or gas accounts. From single parents and victims of domestic violence, unable to secure rental accommodation and forced to seek night by night accommodation or resort to living in their cars, to the elderly who are making choices between turning on heating, buying food or filling a much-needed prescription.
It seems hard to imagine that here ‘at home’ in Perth, and around Western Australia, such need can exist at all. Yet more than 35,000 Western Australian families and individuals will reach out to a LifeLink agency for help this year.
Our agencies reach out to those in need providing professional services and support. They are able to do so as a direct result of the continuing love, compassion and generosity you provide through your gifts to my appeal.
Please give generously and help raise a minimum of $650,000 this Christmas,” said His Grace.
The Archbishop’s Christmas Appeal will be launched in parishes throughout the Archdiocese on Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 November 2023.
We ask for your generous and compassionate support.
Archbishop’s Christmas Appeal 2023 Message
