Patty Fawkner sgs, an Australian Good Samaritan Sister, is an adult educator, writer and facilitator. She is on the leadership team of her congregation. Though her ministries have been diverse, Patty sees a connecting thread of making the riches of our Catholic tradition accessible to the women and men of our time. She has an abiding interest in questions of justice and spirituality. Her formal tertiary qualifications are in arts, education, theology and spirituality.

This year’s Australian Catholic Bishop’s Social Justice Statement, Building Bridges, Not Walls: Prisons and the justice system, asks Australians to think about the conditions in our prisons, and to ask who are most likely to find themselves there and why.

Chris Sheehy, a Sydney priest well-known for his work on the Marriage Tribunal, died recently at age 63. This is Bishop Geoffrey Robinson’s homily from the funeral which was held at St Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney on 11 August 2011 and we thank him for allowing us to publish it.

St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Toowoomba, was filled to overflowing as was the specially erected marquee in the grounds on Sunday 28th. This special celebration was our final gathering to show appreciation of his ministry and leadership over eighteen years.

Peter Keightley of Mount Martha, Victoria attempts to find a new model for participation in the church as he discusses reasons for the rising failure of the hierarchy to address the growing irrelevance of the church for so many at this time.

Michael Whelan’s critique of David Tacey’s new book Gods and Diseases: Making Sense of our Physical and Mental Wellbeing and David’s response to the critique make for interesting discussion on the relevance of Jungian psychology in reclaiming the sacred in our times.

100 priests gathered at Moonee Valley Racecourse on 25 July 2011 for the annual Corpus Christi College celebration of ordinations. It was at this gathering that Len Thomas reflected on his ministry and retirement.

Eric Hodgens responds to Barry Coldrey’s analysis of priest numbers and comes to the very different conclusion that we are about to experience a new reality with many fewer priests. Eric sees hope in collaborative ministry, but are the diminishing number of priests being ordained today preparing for this reality?

Peter Maher reflects on the influences in his life that have shaped and formed him as a person and a priest as he ponders the death of a priest friend. While the seminary is a foundational source of formation, it is only one of many in the story of life-long learning.

Daniel Ang is the Pastoral Planning Officer for the Diocese of Parramatta. He was formerly the Coordinator of Parish Services at the Institute for Mission and has a Master of Divinity from the Catholic Institute of Sydney. He proposes respectful conversation and dialogue as an antidote to the discord experienced in the Church.