We will be reading this 2011 Summer Swag during Advent – a ‘Season’ in the language of the Church that is perhaps undervalued. I want to share a few thoughts about waiting, listening, pausing and being open – all of which are central to Advent.

The major exhibition at the Guggenheim Museum, New York last summer was by a Korean artist, Lee Ufan. The exhibition was called “Marking Infinity”. His paintings and sculptures invite the viewer to explore an encounter with “what is” in the world. His life work has developed around carefully placed objects and markings on a canvas to involve the viewer in a relationship between the viewer and the world.

As I sit down to write this editorial comment, many diverse thoughts and experiences are running through my mind. Muddled as they are I want to share them. My sense is that many of us ordained priests at this time are trying to hold faithfully in balance lots of mixed feelings. Four months since the forced departure of Bishop Bill Morris from [...]

Recently Amos Oz, Israeli writer, poet, and historian, presented The Ervin Graf Memorial Oration at the Shalom Institute in Sydney. He spoke about what he regards as the single most urgent issue of our times – fanaticism. The problem with fanatics, according to Oz, is that they fail to appreciate that the ends never justify the means. To bring about what they believe [...]

56 delegates enjoyed the opportunity to meet up with Catholic colleagues from around Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific to discuss issues of common interest at the annual conference held recently in Adelaide. Whenever possible, the Association sponsors a Pacific delegate who may otherwise not have the opportunity to attend and this year ACPA was pleased to [...]

Having made the top story two days in a row on CathNews after the last edition of The Swag, courtesy of a little sensationalism from the secular media on the article by Cardinal Pell, it seems opportune to reflect on the first year of my experience of editing The Swag with Hal Ranger. The overwhelming response has been very positive with very few [...]

I join with Peter Maher in thanking the members of the NCP executive for their confidence in us as co-editors of The Swag and in gratefully acknowledging the contributions from priests and people across Australia over the past year. Please keep writing and sharing your insights and experiences with our readership in Australia, NZ and Oceania. My personal contribution to this issue of The [...]

Ghassan Hage in his book, White Nation: fantasies of white supremacy in multicultural society, (Pluto 1998) notes that, in Australia, multiculturalism is a white construct designed to exercise control over other ethnicities. This is especially seen in the process of ‘ethnic caging’, as Hage calls it, by which dominant whites cage the ‘other’ to assert [...]

While gathering the various contributions, pieces of important news, tributes to brothers who have died, dreams etc that will constitute this edition of The Swag, my mind and heart are deeply caught up in the recent ‘natural’ disasters experienced across Australia as well as in New Zealand, Japan and Burma. What extraordinary months! Cyclone Yasi [...]

Thanks, firstly, for the positive feedback regarding the spring edition of The Swag which showcased the July Parramatta Convention and a second word of thanks to all who have contributed material for this summer edition.