050 :
28 Mar 2009

What will "church" look like in the future — Part III The first two parts of this commentary were originally posted on the Catholica Forum on 24 and 25 March 2009. Overall the commentary is seeking to discern what the Church of the future might look like given some of the forces we see at work in society. This first part looked at the changing perceptions of the objective of belief. Part 2 looked at the consequences of the removal of a major incentive that operated in the past to draw people to Church. In this third part, Brian Coyne presents two arguments, one secular and the other spiritually based, that might be used to encourage increased liturgical participation again. [more]

049 :
28 Mar 2009

What will "church" look like in the future — Part II The first two parts of this commentary were originally posted on the Catholica Forum on 24 and 25 March 2009. Overall the commentary is seeking to discern what the Church of the future might look like given some of the forces we see at work in society. This first part looked at the changing perceptions of the objective of belief. This second looks at the consequences of the removal of a major incentive that operated in the past to draw people to Church. This part begins with a summary of the argument from Part I. [more]

048 :
28 Mar 2009

What will "church" look like in the future — Part I The first two parts of this commentary were originally posted on the Catholica Forum on 24 and 25 March 2009. Overall the commentary is seeking to discern what the Church of the future might look like given some of the forces we see at work in society. This first part looks at the changing perceptions of the objective of belief. Part 2 looks at the consequences of the removal of a major incentive that operated in the past to draw people to Church. In part 3, which has not been previously published on the forum, Brian Coyne looks at some possibilities of how we might "be Church" in the future. [more]

047 :
15 Mar 2009

Re-evangelising the Church — how would you do it? Catholica editor, Brian Coyne, seeks to kick off an extended conversation today on the issues of evangelisation and re-evangelisation. The bishops and the pope have been talking about it for decades — and spending billions attempting to do it — the result is that more and more people keep leaving. If you had access to their power, and the money they have at their disposal, what would you do differently to actually achieve something positive? [more]

046 :
07 Nov 2008

Where do we find "The Truth"? There are many good individual arguments in this book. Many which do come out of our "shared Catholic insight". In the final analysis though I think Robert Tilley's analysis is flawed. The harsh reality is that the institutional leadership have been losing contact with their constituency for at least a century. We need to seriously ask why? Robert Tilley's book, through the insights he sheds into the thinking of our recent institutional leaders, provides valuable insights into what has gone wrong — why many thinking people have stopped listening and stopped following their leadership. [more]

045 :
26 Oct 2008

Something to meditate on… I was a bit confused what to call this. It started out meaning to be a parable, it turned into a family story but the parable idea had not gone away, so it ended up being a family story ending in a parable. Whatever I might call it I trust you might enjoy it and it might also leave you with some rich ideas for meditation. Cheers, Brian Coyne [more]

044 :
17 Sep 2008

What defines our "catholicism" — creed or a commitment? Kerry Gonzales and Brian Coyne attended the Australian Reforming Catholics Conference last Saturday which effectively turned out to be an invigorating all-day discussion centred on the question of Creed. What defines our faith today? Do most ordinary Catholics subscribe to all the phrases in the Creed as literal statements of belief? Is Creed what defines our membership of "the Body of Christ"? To get the discussion started Dr John N Collins delivered a keynote address* exploring the historical development of the Creed, and Creeds, which we use in the Christian churches. In this commentary Kerry Gonzales and Brian Coyne share some of their impressions of the Conference and seek to generate wider discussion on the issues raised. [more]

043 :
11 Sep 2008

Catholicism —a quest for identity or a quest for salvation? The news story yesterday that Catholics don't read the Bible much led the editor of Catholica, Brian Coyne, to wondering how most Catholics viewed their religion. Is it a way of helping define our identity or is it primarily a means to salvation? [more]

042 :
31 July 2008

The search for a new understanding of Jesus… The Editor, Brian Coyne, received an email yesterday from Mark Makowski in Minneapolis asking for a more detailed explanation of the suggestion Brian has been putting forward in recent times for us to view Jesus as a "model" or "blueprint" for our lives. Mark wrote: "A friend of mine sent me your article entitled Why Evangelize.  I read it. I appreciate all your efforts and your commitment to stay the course in the RC church.  I'd like to hear more about your blueprint ideas concerning JC.  I'd say that some don't know how to read a blueprint.  The bishops keep selling the wrong blueprint. And the pope has a history of deception and I don't think he's changed much since taking on the taller hat.  Nonetheless, I am intrigued by your blueprint idea." Today's commentary is a slightly expanded version of the response Brian Coyne sent to Mark. Essentially it is the story of his personal journey in search of a more believable and accessible image of Jesus than the one he had been brought up with. [more]

041 :
11 July 2008

Opening up a discussion… A serendipitous series of events led to Brian Coyne taking an interest in a book by Robert Tilley entitled "Benedict XVI and the Search for Truth". Coyne so far has only read the preface and introduction but he's excited by the book for a couple of reasons. In this commentary he provides an introduction to what the book is about with a view to opening up a discussion on Catholica about some of the issues Robert Tilley, and Pope Benedict, are exploring. [more]

040 :
26 June 2008

An important book — highly recommended… Today's lead commentary is a review of Paul O'Shea's book on the wartime Pope, Pius XII. A man who has been at the centre of prolonged controversy over his response, or lack of response to Adolf Hitler and the Holocaust. The Editor of Catholica, Brian Coyne, outlines what the book is about and attempts an overview of Paul O'Shea's conclusions. The principal impact of the book on Brian Coyne though has come from another dimension of the book. It's study of the self-perception the leaders of the Catholic Church seem to have of their role. Our Church is in crisis. Perhaps the greatest crisis in its history given the massive disenchantment by the vast majority of baptised Catholics. The leadership has become disconnected from the ordinary people they are meant to serve. This study of Eugenio Pacelli might give us better insights as to why this disconnect has come about. [more]

039 :
01 June 2008

Asking some tough questions… Last week the two single most important media officers in the Catholic Church delivered separate addresses at a conference for Catholic media professionals in Toronto. Archbishop Claudio Celli is President of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications and Fr Frederico Lombardi SJ heads up the Vatican Press Office. Brian Coyne, editor and publisher of Catholica, suggests there are some serious questions that media professionals in the Church need to be asking themselves and there are serious questions all of us need to be asking ourselves. Is the Catholic Church here just to serve some self-elect minority who believe they are the only ones who possess "the truth" or is it here to serve all people? [more]

038 :
25 May 2008

Interview with God's Callgirl… We present a feast of material for reflection today. She might not be a nun anymore, nor even a Catholic, but Carla van Raay would be the first to admit that she is still on a spiritual journey. This reflection ain't for fans of Maria Goretti. This is pretty raw spirituality for grown-ups. [more]

037 :
27 Apr 2008

BOOK REVIEW: The remarkable life of Charles Gordon O'Neill I do highly recommend Stephen Utick's book on Charles Gordon O'Neill. How would you cope should vicissitude and embarrassment strike your life on the sort of scale experienced by O'Neill? How would you measure the "success" of your life then? This book is useful for its history but also serves as a valuable reflection on the value of each of our lives within a truly Jesus Christ-inspired context. …Reviewed by Brian Coyne. [more]

036 :
12 Apr 2008

Finding "peace with God": How important is it? Brian Coyne takes a quotation from Thomas Merton as a starting point for a reflection trying to fathom what this spiritual journey is all about. [more]

035 :
04 Apr 2008

The paradox involved in "following Christ"… This is a mixed commentary. It started out as a post for the forum seeking to share some of the "fun" the editor's been having in recent months learning a new computer programming language. The arrival of a new book for review at Catholica on the remarkable story of the founder of the Vinnies in Australia and New Zealand, Charles Gordon O'Neill, who himself ended up dying as a pauper, ended up giving it a twist. Brian Coyne reflects on the "paradox" involved in trying to "follow Christ". [more]

034 :
26 Mar 2008

God's "Call Girl"… This is an article written by the religious affairs commentator for The West Australian newspaper, Gavin Simpson, of the story of Carla van Raay, a former nun who left the cloister to work as a prostitute. [more]

033 :
21 Dec 2007

A Christmas thought and prayer… Editor, Brian Coyne, reviews his year, takes up a few thoughts he read in The Tablet overnight, and attempts to come up with a unifying thought and prayer as his Christmas wish. [more]

032 :
03 Dec 2007

A thank you… A post on the CathNews Discussion Board by a Dominican Sister on Saturday, 1st December 2007, prompted this response in tribute to all the religious women and men who helped lift Catholic Australians into the social mainstream. [more]

031 :
31 Oct 2007

Book Review: Cardinal Mahony – a novel Brian Coyne reviews the new book by the esteemed American Catholic journalist and writer, Robert Blair Kaiser. Coyne sees it as "a sort of cross between a Morris West novel — with its superb understanding of Catholic Church culture and politics — and a Tom Clancy action thriller". [more]

030 :
08 Oct 2007

The boundary between opinion and truth… Brian Coyne seeks to open up a discussion on how we set the limits in society between tolerance for different opinions, including religious beliefs, and when there are issues of established or observable truth involved? [more]

029 :
01 Oct 2007

A discussion on Social Justice statements and more… Brian Coyne asks if the wonderful way in which the Australian Bishops handle the social justice debate was not applied to internal Church politics the Church wouldn't be in a far better state than it is in today? [more]

028 :
10 Sep 2007

Addressing the "boredom" and "irrelevance"… Brian Coyne responds to some of the issues raised by one of the younger participants on our discussion forum in his contention that it is a sense of "boredom" and "irrelevance" that is driving so many young people out of the Church. [more]

027 :
03 Sep 2007

You might be interested in… The editor's inbox is overflowing at the moment no doubt caused by the extraordinary growth being experienced by Catholica. Here are three stories that have come in in the past few days that Catholica readers will be interested in: a proposal to set up a Catholic Writers' Group or Guild; a request from an actor/director in the United States for actors/producers to stage a play here next year in conjunction with WYD; an update from Dr Armen Gakavian about his humanitarian efforts on behalf of a family in Armenia. [more]

026 :
27 Aug 2007

What is the real "crisis" the institution faces? The editor of Catholica, Brian Coyne, explores a number of questions raised by the publication of Bishop Geoffrey Robinson's book yesterday. Does his book address the real "crisis" facing the institutional Church? How are the institutional leaders likely to respond? [more]

025 :
20 Aug 2007

A liturgy composed from the heart — and soul! On the discussion forum this morning Fr Alex Caughey started an interesting conversation about symbol and the ultimate meaning of our faith (See "The heart of the matter"). In his contribution to that discussion Brian Coyne made mention of the recent "liturgy" prepared for the recent funeral of his first grandson. In this commentary Brian endeavours to share some of his experience as a witness. [more]

024 :
30 Jul 2007

Do we dream like this anymore? Over the weekend one of our readers sent Brian Coyne a copy of a parish submission to a 1993 Melbourne survey looking at Tomorrow's Church. Surely 2007 is now "tomorrow". There are a heck of a lot less people in Church than in 1993 and it makes interesting reading reflecting back on this document. What sort of mood would we find in the Church if a survey were to be undertaken today? [more]

023 :
23 Jul 2007

Three reasons to be inspired today! Brian provides links to two inspiring addresses and one radio interview that ought give all who are sympathetic to the objectives of Catholica a deep sense of hope. The trouble is finding the time you'll need to take it all in today. [more]

022 :
16 Jul 2007

The WYD Cross and Icon in Parramatta Diocese! Today's commentary takes the form of a visual essay endeavouring to give a balanced overview of the welcoming ceremony for the World Youth Day Cross and Icon in the Diocese of Parramatta yesterday, Sunday, 15th July 2007. Brian Coyne's accompanying commentary poses questions we might need to be asking the meaning of these icons to the community today. [more]

021 :
02 Jul 2007

The challenge our leaders face is theological, not liturgical! Brian Coyne ended up at a Tridentine Mass on Sunday evening more by accident than design. In his commentary today he has a few observations but the commentary is more a discussion about the challenge our ecclesial leaders face in ministering to the needs of the community today. [more]

020 :
25 Jun 2007

It's time for these rumours to stop … and quickly! The rumours concerning Bishop Bill Morris being under investigation by the Vatican continue to circulate. Brian Coyne argue they need to be quashed one way or the other, and quickly. [more]

019 :
11 Jun 2007

Exploring Ian Elmer's "New Vision of Church" further... In this commentary for today Brian Coyne takes up Ian Elmer's challenge from Saturday of exploring what "A New Vision of Church" might look like. He has points of agreement with Ian but also points of disagreement. We're interested also in eliciting responses from our readers as to how you believe the Church needs to re-envisage itself if it is to again become relevant to the world and not just to a dwindling few. [more]

018 :
04 Jun 2007

Crisis on a number of fronts The SMH this morning has a front page story giving one dimension to the crisis afflicting the Catholic Church. Over the weekend, Associated Press, carried an even bigger story about the crisis afflicting Voice of The Faithful in the United States. Brian Coyne examines the dimensions of this crisis from a different perspective. [more]

017 :
28 May 2007

Let us be tongues of fire, criticizing and energizing... We publish an audio file of Sr Susan Connelly's public address to the New Pentecost Forum. [more]

016 :
21 May 2007

What can we learn from Josemaria Escriva, Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens? Brian expands what was initially going to be simply a review of John L Allen's book on Opus Dei into a related but wider discussion of the issues raised by militant atheists, Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens, in two major media events over the weekend. [more]

015 :
07 May 2007

Learning from accidents... Brian witnessed an horrific car accident yesterday less than 600 metres from his home. In this commentary he explores what lessons we might learn from accidents. [more]

014 :
30 Apr 2007

Drawing attention to three interesting articles... Not so much a "take" today, Brian Coyne simply draws attention to three interesting articles. Two of them are concerned with moral aspects of the climate change debate and the third concerns the place of meditation in the moral and spiritual development of young people. [more]

013 :
23 Apr 2007

Trying to better understand what we believe... Something he wrote earlier in the morning on the CathNews discussion board triggered Brian Coyne into this exploration of how the task of writing helps us better articulate what we believe, and why. [more]

012 :
15 Apr 2007

Building a sense of "communio"... Brian Coyne, borrowing a line from Bishop Justin Bianchini, argues in this commentary that "communio" is part of the core business of the Church, and of what we are endeavouring to achieve at Catholica. But how do we build "communio"? Can it be imposed, or is it something organic that grows from the people? [more]

011 :
14 Apr 2007

The Requiem Mass and Funeral for John Briggs... As our lead commentary for today we're pleased to bring you the eulogies and the homily given on Friday, 13th December 2007 at the funeral of John Briggs. Also included are some photos from the Requiem Mass and the Graveside. [more]

010 :
09 Apr 2007

A tribute to a priest who helped define the Australian character... The Editor of Catholica is spending a few days in the Riverina town of Narrandera over Easter. It's the home of legendary priest and poet, Fr Patrick Joseph Hartigan, who wrote under the pen name, John O'Brien. Brian's commentary today takes the form of a small tribute to Fr Hartigan. [more]

009 :
02 Apr 2007

The journey to the Resurrection... Following his wedding last Friday evening to Amanda McKenna, Brian links this all back to the song that started the journey which itself has special connection to Holy Week and the spiritual journey that we're all making this week. The reflection contains a large song file which probably won't be easily accessible by dial-up users so I've provided a text only link as well. [more][text only version]

008 :
26 Mar 2007

Is it time for a discussion on spiritual discipline? Brian Coyne explores the different meanings of discipline in our lives and wonders if part of the disillusion with established religion is a hankering on the part of large sections of the population for new ways of praying and communicating with God — new forms of spiritual discipline? [more]

007 :
17 Mar 2007

Digitising the "Good News" Brian Coyne reviews the Day3 Digital Conference held on Friday, 16th March at the Mary Mackillop Conference Centre, North Sydney. The Conference has generated some good outcomes but he suggests it also underlines some of the communication challenges the Church faces. [more]

006 :
05 Mar 2007

What lessons might this commercial television program have for the Church? Brian Coyne was gobsmacked last night not so much by the content of the climate change program, Cool Aid, screened on Network Ten, but by the rapidity with which a non-mainstream issue has moved to centre stage in such a short space of time. In his commentary today, Brian explores the possibility that there might be lessons in this for the Church? (The emphasis is on the "might". He's not that confident the Church is as politically and culturally astute as it once was, but he'll float the idea anyhow. He feels a little like Bob Brown must have felt not that long ago when Brown must have felt like Sysiphus pushing a stone wheel up the hill against all odds.) [more]

005 :
26 Feb 2007

Christianity in contemporary society... Following a weekend news story in The Age newspaper which reports how the Uniting Church has come to the defence of a lawyer fighting a long-running injustice, Brian asks some uncomfortable questions about how we Christians and Catholics rate today on seeking to minister to the spiritually famished in our wealthy, powerful and educated nation. [more]

004 :
19 Feb 2007

Finding hope in the headlines... For some reason, which I am still trying to work out, I found the clutch of headlines delivered to us by CathNews this morning hope-filling. Some days I read the news headlines and find them simply boring or perhaps one story might be of significant interest and the others are neither here nor there as far as I am concerned personally. Then on other days I find myself frustrated or even exasperated at what some turkey has come out and said that has ended up making the news. Brian Coyne explores what he found "hope-filling" in today's headlines. [more]

003 :
12 Feb 2007

Making sense of it all... "Listen, Dudes, don't you think that if God wanted to make it all as simple as that he'd have written the friggin' instructions on the backs of our packets of Corn Flakes instead of this book we call the Bible that is just about the longest friggin' book of instructions ever written, and contains more contradictions, Zen-like aphorisms, paradoxes and twists of logic than the lexicon used by the International Guild of Master Magicians and Conjurers!" [more]

002 :
06 Feb 2007

Does demographic shift offer hope alone? In his cover story for NCR this week, John L Allen argues the ageing of the population and other demographic shifts offer some hope for institutionalised religion. In this commentary Brian Coyne seeks to draw attention to the important information Allen is bringing to public attention but Coyne urges some caution that demographic shift alone offers hope for institutional religion. [more]

001 :
05 Feb 2007

Learning some unexpected lessons from a Google search Over the holiday break Brian Coyne was doing some technical research for Catholica. He came upon some unexpected answers and insights reading David A. Vise's book, The Google Story which provides a fascinating overview of the Google corporate and technological phenomenon. [more]