Recently members of St Leonard’s Parish Pastoral Leadership Team, Glen Waverley, received a reply from the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference to their concerns for the Australian Church. They felt the bishops’ response was inadequate. This general letter to parish teams outlines the concerns and invites others to join them in advocating for reform. It was designed as a lead up to the bishops’ ad limina visit and even though the ad limina visit has passed, parishes may still want to follow up this initiative.
TEAMS – a movement of married spirituality
The National Conference of the TEAMS Movement held in Adelaide in early October was well attended by 172 participants, mostly from Queensland, Victoria and South Australia. There was a great array of speakers including Bishop Geoff Robinson, Fr Richard Leonard SJ, Michele Simons (a university professor with a long history of involvement in marriage education), Penny and Peter Cahalan who spoke on sexuality in marriage and Michael and Anne Mangan on music, drama and marriage.
Benedict’s retreat from Vatican II
David Timbs reflects on the trouble with the Vatican II theology of “People of God”. He asks if it has ever been accepted fully and argues that the growing centralisation of power by the Pope and the Curia has produced a marginalisation of everyone else.
The value of humilitas
Is it not time for the resurgence of true ‘humilitas’ in the world of business, sport, politics and the Church, asks Clare Condon SGS in this article taken from The Good Oil, October 2011, the ‘Good Samaritan’ monthly e-magazine.
Catholic Synods in Australia
This is an extract from Peter Wilkinson’s long and scholarly article which outlines the history of Synods. It is useful at this time as we think about the implications of church governance at a national, regional and global level. The full article with references can be found on The Swag website as an online extra.
Priests appreciate acculturation program
Brian Vale SSC reports on the important initiative to assist those priests and religious joining us in ministry in the Australian cultural context. It certainly seems to be one way ahead.
National Association of Deacons
As we close in on the end of another liturgical year, it is an opportune time to reflect on the work of the NAD over this past year. It has been twelve months since my appointment as Chair of our diaconal association and it is pleasing to note that there have been some achievements in this period of time.
John Chokolich
John Chokolich 26/03/1917 – 3/06/2011 Croatian by birth and Austrian by citizenship (Croatia was under Austro-Hungarian rule) John arrived in WA on 1 April 1924 with his uncle Josip. His uncle Tony arrived in 1926 and his father Luka in 1932 but Luka returned to Croatia leaving John in the care of his uncles. John left school [...]
John Dunlea OMI
John Dunlea OMI 22/08/1932 – 26/09/2011 Born in Country Cork, Ireland, John entered the Oblate Novitiate at Cahermoyle, Limerick in 1952 and later studied at the Oblate Seminary in Piltown, Co. Kilkenny where he was joined in 1954 by a young Don Hughes OMI who had travelled from Fremantle, WA, to begin theological studies. John and Don [...]
Michael Kerry Hayes
Michael Kerry Hayes 25/09/1926 – 25/10/2011 Michael, a dearly loved retired priest of the Catholic Diocese of Rockhampton, died peacefully at McAuley Place, Rockhampton after a prolonged illness. Fr Mick as he was affectionately known, was ordained a priest in Rockhampton on 25 July 1950, and served his entire priestly ministry in the Diocese of Rockhampton. He loved [...]
