Catholic Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle Revenue and Competitors

The Catholic Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle represents the Catholic Church in a region extending from Lake Macquarie to Taree and as far inland as Merriwa and Murrurundi. Bishop William "Bill"”‹ Wright is the pastoral leader of approximately 150,000 Catholics in the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle. The diocese provides pastoral, health care, social welfare, educational and child care services for the community in the Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Hunter, Upper Hunter and Manning areas. The parishes and agencies of the diocese are supported and resourced pastorally and administratively by the Chancery (Bishop's Office), Diocesan Pastoral Support Unit, State School Religious Education, the Financial Secretariat and the Communications Office. The Catholic Schools Office (CSO), is responsible for the management of systemic schools which educate more than 18,000 students in 45 Primary schools, 10 Secondary schools and one K-12 school. CatholicCare Hunter-Manning is a mission and outreach agency of the diocese and provides a range of social services including child and family services, youth and community services, disability services, counselling, mental health support, adoption and foster care (Out-of-home Care). The Catholic Development Fund (CDF) is a financial intermediary that exists to further the pastoral mission of the Church in the diocese. It does this by lending members'”‹ funds to finance diocesan and parish building projects. An important role of the CDF is to generate income for the diocese to assist in its pastoral activities. St Nicholas Early Education provides high quality care and education for children aged eight weeks to five years, located at Newcastle West and Singleton. Caritas Australia, Catholic Mission and the Marriage Tribunal are national Church bodies which have a local presence in the diocese. The Society of St Vincent de Paul is also active within the diocese providing emergency relief, counselling and accommodation services.