About Us

NAD represents all of the Catholic deacons of Australia and is associated with the National Council of Priests (NCP) as a sub-association within the NCP.

NAD aims to provide a forum for deacons in Australia gathering their views, ideas and experiences. Through our membership with the NCP we are able to have a voice in matters concerning clergy life and ministry with the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference (ACBC). NAD also has relationships with the national formators network and key people involved in the formation of deacons in Australian dioceses, ordinariates and eparchies.

The nature and purpose of NAD is explained in the constitutions of the association which members of NAD can obtained from the Secretary.

Our Logo

The logo of NAD combines elements that tell us where and who we are. The stars of the Southern Cross constellation are taken from the Australian flag. The colours are wattle green and gold which are found in the Australian coat of arms. As the wattle tree is native to Australia it represents all of the original inhabitants of this land who lived here for at least 40,000 years and all who have come to settle here since 1788 when the first Europeans came from the United Kingdom. The gold cross is the sign of Christ who is risen from death and continues his mission in his body the Church, through the Holy Spirit. The red cross represents the proto-martyr and proto-deacon Stephen. The crosses wrap around like a deacon stole. The deacon is called to witness to Christ crucified and risen and to proclaim and be good news for all in his ministry through Christ, in the Church.

The Executive

The executive body of NAD is elected by deacons who are financial members of the NCP. There is a deacon representative in each state on the executive as well as a deacon representing the Eastern Catholic Churches present in Australia. A non-voting ex officio member of the executive is the current appointee of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference (ACBC) as National Diaconate Coordinator.

Current members of the executive introduce themselves in the NAD Executive 2011 download below.

Supporting Deacons

NAD supports Catholic deacons in Australia in a number of ways including:

• Developing a network of communications among deacons for mutual support in ministry
• Representing the interests of deacons in various consultations, including the review and development of ACBC Guidelines for the Diaconate in Australia
• Hosting a national conference of deacons every two years to provide a formation opportunity and to build a sense of community among deacons
• Contributing articles to Catholic publications about deacons and the diaconate
• Developing and maintaining this website.

Our Website

This website aims to:

• Provide information about deacons and for deacons from around the country and the world
• Provide formation for deacons through the provision of articles about the threefold ministry of the deacon, theological reflections and other articles of general interest to deacons
• Provide a forum for deacons in Australia to discuss issues and share information in the NAD Forum, which is only open to Catholic deacons in Australia.

Contributions

Deacons are welcome to send the editor news items for possible inclusion in the website. Send any photos as separate attachments.

Articles for the pastoral, word, liturgical, canon law and general sections may also be sent to the editor ncdeditor@bigpond.com as a word document attachment (preferably .docx file) for possible inclusion on the website. Authors may use the current articles as a guide to preferred style. We may not publish all that we receive and we are interested in tightly written, clearly argued and well researched articles. Published articles reflect the views of the author and the content and opinions expressed do not reflect the views of NAD nor are they endorsed by NAD.

Peace to all who visit these pages.

NAD Executive