With the report recently of a Sri Lankan man in his mid-20s found dead in Villawood Detention Centre after getting refugee status, Bishop Saunders recent comments have even greater importance. He has branded Curtin detention centre a “chamber of horrors” where detainees were ever more depressed, and felt hopeless.
Only a third of marriages take place in Church
Since 2009, the rate of civil marriages has been climbing, according to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics. Today a third of marriages take place in church. The Australian Bridal Industry Academy chairman John O’Meara says this shift is in direct correlation to who’s paying for the big day.”If you look back more than 25 years ago, 18 percent of [...]
Healing those suffering post-abortion trauma
Rachel’s Vineyard Retreat Ministries, begun in the USA by Dr Theresa Burke, offers healing and hope to those traumatised by an abortion experience. This ministry is offered through a two day retreat which uses scripture, the sacraments and ways to assist people connect to their lost children. It is a process to assist people to grieve their lost babies. It can bring great [...]
Domus Australia opens in Rome
Pope Benedict opened Domus Australia in Rome on October 19. He recalled his visit to Australia in 2008 with joy and went on to honour Mary MacKillop as an example of faith saying: “Almost exactly one year ago, the first Australian saint, Mary MacKillop, was raised to the altars, and I join all of you in giving thanks to God for the many [...]
National Charismatic Retreat for Priests and Religious
Jim Nesbit will direct the retreat to be held at Newman College, Melbourne University on January 8-14, 2012. Jim’s involvement with the Charismatic Renewal began in 1967, while a student at the Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, California. Details and registration for the retreat can be found at: http://tinyurl.com/4yjfxfp
Man of the poor, successor of Sin for Manila
Rocco Palmo at his blog, Whispers in the Loggia, notes: Home to 3 million Catholics in a country where four-fifths of its 88 million residents belong to the fold, one would have a hard time finding a larger or more influential Asian diocese than that of Manila.
Austria: the Church is dangerously close to schism
Austria infelix. It is still causing conflict between Cardinal Christoph Schönborn and dissidents. This wekend, the Archbishop of Vienna spoke out about the risk of a schism in the Austrian Catholic Church.
In our DNA. Bishop Morris did it the Australian way
Terry Fewtrell is an active Canberra Catholic and a strategic analyst. He looks at the case of Bishop Bill Morris, conspicuously absent from the recent Rome ad limina visit by the Australian bishops and argues that this is a moment crucial for the future of Catholicism in Australia.
Ecumenism and the spirit of Assisi
Convened in Assisi in 1986 by Pope John Paul II, the Day of Prayer for Peace was an event without precedent, and both Christians and members of other religions are still engaged with the process of reflecting on it, appraising its significance and taking forward what happened there writes Kevin McDonald in The Tablet (15 October 2011). Pope Benedict convened another Assisi Day on [...]
Don’t scapegoat the hierarchy
Daniel Ang, Pastoral Planning Officer for the Diocese of Parramatta, explores the roles and responsibilities at all levels of church life in bringing about a truly collegial church.
