005 :
29 Mar 2007

A conversation on the subject of Hell... Farmer Jack makes a return to the pages of Catholica today. You'll find him in conversation with Pope Benny on the meaning of Hell. Is there such a thing as time in Hell? Do the words "eternity" and "forever" have any meaning in a state of being that is outside time? Is Hell populated by whole armies of people dancing in the fires? These are questions we bet you've never thought about but Jack and the sheep have! [more]

037 :
28 Mar 2007

A new way to communion and unity... This coming Sunday brings us the long Gospel reading of the Passion. Today, Peregrinus explores the penchant in society for scapegoats and discord and how Jesus offers a new way towards social communion and unity. [more]

015 :
27 Mar 2007

Applying conscience to moral leadership... In this powerful piece of writing that crosses a number of political boundaries, Dr Kania, looks at moral leadership and how all leaders need to think from a perspective outside their own limited experience. History is littered with great human tragedies caused by little men who believed themselves to have the wisdom and overview of God. All of us are leaders in some shape or form, even within our own homes with our own children. This commentary ought speak powerfully to all of us. [more]

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]

027 :
25 Mar 2007

Look to the future and don't wallow in the past... In our upside-down-world Alan Simpson concludes his series of gentle reflections on the Sunday readings during Lent with this bobby dazzler! Enjoy... [more]

031 :
24 Mar 2007

A Reflection on the Adulterous Woman in John 8:1-11... Did you know that of the 1426 names mentioned in the Bible, 1315 are males and only 111 are female. This is one of the interesting facts Ian Elmer brings to this analysis of the curiously placed story in Scripture of Jesus' encounter with the adulterous woman and the mob who wanted to stone her for her sins. [more]

012 :
23 Mar 2007

The Christian Brothers announce their leadership team for the new Oceania Province... The Christian Brothers today announced the new leadership team which will head the new Oceania Province of their Congregation from 1st October 2007. We have prepared a small tribute to the Brothers and their work. [more]

252 :
22 Mar 2007

Why do the conservatives have little trouble in attracting funding and everyone else struggles? Is it because, as some of the conservatives would claim, that this reflects that Providence is shining on their endeavours and that lights the ways forward? Or do we have to look to other causal factors? [more]

036 :
21 Mar 2007

Caught in the act... This coming Sunday in the Lenten cycle of gospel readings, we have the story of the woman caught in the act. In this commentary Peregrinus prises the story apart to explore the depths in its meaning. It's another example of Jesus "breaking the rules" but why does he do this? What's he trying to say to us? [more]

014 :
20 Mar 2007

Applying conscience to social service... This week Dr Kania begins a new series of three commentaries that he suggests take conscience into the field of practical application. This first commentary looks at the attitude our faith invites us to bring to social service. In his commentaries over the next two weeks he will provide perspectives on leadership and moral dilemmas as they relate to conscience. [more]

026 :
19 Mar 2007

Using the internet to broadcast some "Good News" II... Milly continues her thoughtstream on cyberspace and its potentials for broadcasting the Good News. In this commentary her focus is on some of the challenges posed by the net to the more traditional channels of communication we use. [more]

025 :
18 Mar 2007

The tale of the Prodigal... Alan Simpson takes us on a gentler meander through today's Gospel reading and poses a few questions about our own behaviours. [more]

030 :
17 Mar 2007

A Reflection of the Lukan Parable of the Father and Two Sons... Continuing this interesting style of Lenten reflections that's evolved this year where we have an indepth series of commentaries on the Sunday reading rather than a reflection on each daily reading, today Ian Elmer offers a different perspective on the Parable of the Prodigal Son. He writes: "Although this story appears only in Luke, most scholars agree that its character and style testifies to the deft hand of Jesus masterful storytelling ability. However, within the context of Luke's Gospel this memorable story serves to critique the perceptions of honour and shame common to the Mediterranean cultures of the first century." [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]

245 :
15 Mar 2007

Good News: Vatican does not ban Liberation Theologian... There's genuinely good news carried in the headlines this morning that the Spanish Jesuit and Liberation Theologian, Fr Jon Sobrino, has not been banned or barred by the Vatican from teaching. [more]

035 :
14 Mar 2007

What's the real focus of this story? The Parable of the Prodigal Son is perhaps one of the more familiar of the stories Jesus told in the New Testament. Pereginus argues it is probably over-familiar to the point where we lose sight of the key message Jesus is endeavouring to get across. In this analysis he sets the story in the wider context of what surrounds it in order to focus on what is essentially important. [more]

013 :
13 Mar 2007

Finding the balance between the letter and spirit of the law... In a wonderfully balanced commentary, Dr Andrew Thomas Kania today explores the tension involved in discerning between the spirit of the law and the letter of the law. It is a timely commentary given the division evident so often today between those, often drawn from conservative religious sectors, with an overbearing emphasis on literalism and the letter of the law and the libertarian tendencies in some sectors of society which seem to imply that "the spirit of the law" is somehow synonimous with following whatever feeling comes into one's head at a particular time. Dr Kania argues that Jesus Christ puts forward a middle and balanced way between these two extremes where the spirit is dependent on the letter, and vice verse. His commentary is not to be missed. [more]

024 :
12 Mar 2007

Using the internet to broadcast some "Good News"... Chief cheerleader, soulmate, business partner and soon-to-be bride to the editor of Catholica, Milly (Amanda McKenna), in recent days has been reading The Google Story by David A. Vise. Quite part from finding her future partner across the width of a continent through a Catholic discussion board on the internet, Milly is excited about the possibilities of the web for building community and broadcasting the “Good News”. In a two-part commentary she shares some thoughts on the possibilities the web offers. [more]

023 :
11 Mar 2007

Don't look back... Both in the lead commentaries and in the forum in recent day we've had much discussion on today's Gospel reading about the Parable of the Barren Fig Tree. In his commentary today, Alan takes a different tack and concentrates on the Epistle and its message. [more]

029 :
10 Mar 2007

A reflection on Divine Providence... The issue of Divine Providence is at the heart of the Gospel reading this Sunday. In this commentary Ian Elmer seeks to break apart the many ways in which human beings try to interpret Divine Providence. At heart he's seeking the Christian interpretation. [more]

239 :
09 Mar 2007

The major challenges... Drawing on some material published in National Catholic Reporter this week, and his own intuitions, Brian Coyne, outlines what he believes are three of the major issues facing the institution at the moment. He's doing that to throw the question open for wider discussion. What do you think are the major issues facing the institution today? [more]

238 :
08 Mar 2007

Further developments in the ongoing controversy in Melbourne... This email commentary draws attention to a new blog by Melbourne priest, Fr Eric Hodgens, who queries recent high level developments in Catholic Education in Melbourne. [more]

034 :
07 Mar 2007

Contrasting images of God... Peregrinus applies his incisive legal mind in order to try and understand precisely what Jesus seems to be driving at in the Parable of the Barren Fig Tree. Does it give a pciture of a vengeful God or something altogether different? [more]

012 :
06 Mar 2007

The Way (cf Psalm 40:6-8)... Last week Dr Kania focused on conscience. His commentary today is related to all of that in that he endeavours to focus on the positive and affirming ways in which we ought be witnesses to Jesus Christ and the Gospel values the Church upholds and is supposed to witness to. [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]

022 :
04 Mar 2007

Overcoming our fear of the dark... Alan Simpson, thinks it's "a shame, really, that so often our very human forms of artificial 'enlightenment' obscure our vision of what God gives to us. Do we see only what we allow ourselves to see?" [more]

028 :
03 Mar 2007

Reflecting on the Transfiguration through Matthew... The reading at Mass for the Feast of the Transfiguration tomorrow is from Luke. Ian Elmer argues that the Gospel of Matthew provides rich territory to explore other understandings of this event. [more]

033 :
28 Feb 2007

The Transfiguration... In this interesting commentary Peregrinus explores the parallels and contrasts between the Transfiguration story and the Temptation in the Wilderness story as a means of finding the significance of the Transfiguration. [more]

011 :
27 Feb 2007

The Twilight Zone of Conscience... Following the provocative suggestion by Sydney's Cardinal Pell in the media at various times in the last decade or so that the Catholic teaching on Primacy of Conscience ought be either dropped or revised (see links at conclusion of commentary), the subject of conscience has been an agenda item. Today and next Tuesday we have pleasure in presenting two related and thought-provoking articles by Dr Andrew Thomas Kania which seek to explore some aspects of this complex subject. In his first article today he uses the example of Albert Speer to explore some of the negative aspects of the subject and how a person can be led into behaviours that would be classified as the products of a faulty conscience. Next Tuesday his article looks at the contrasting "Way of Christ" that endeavours to focus on the more positive aspects of conscience and how it can lead us in the right direction. Dr Kania's articles barely scrape the surface of this vast and complex subject. We hope his articles might serve to generate vigorous discussion in our forums exploring this subject in further depth. [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 Coyne 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]

021 :
25 Feb 2007

What does this mean: "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved"? From the other side of the Pacific, and taking a break from growing grass on his ranch in Texas, Alan Simpson, is joining us with a series of gentle reflections on the Sunday readings during Lent. In his first contribution, Alan reflects on the meaning in "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." [more]

027 :
24 Feb 2007

Confronting our own demons through a better understanding of the Temptation of Christ In this powerful piece of analysis Ian Elmer breaks apart the three different Synoptic versions of the Temptation of Christ to provide what we feel sure will be exciting new perspectives for most readers on challenges that are very real in our lives today. [more]

225 :
23 Feb 2007

Restating our objectives at Catholica... Catholica Australia at present is largely put together by voluntary effort of the contributors and the editor. We are slowly attracting more and more support, including the substantial amount of financial support that we will require so that our work can really begin in earnest. Our principal objective is to be forming a community that is able to identify with and communicate in terms that might be attractive to those who have not been contactable by the other channels of communication the Church has been using. We publish lead commentaries from Saturday to Wednesday and our main forum is open to the public around the clock everyday. We also provide a more private members' forum where contributors are able to share their stories and personal struggles without being subject to the kind of attacks that are sadly too common in some parts of the Christian community when these stories are shared in more public places. In the long run we believe it will be the sharing of these personal stories that are one of the main ways of contacting the audience that we seek to serve. We welcome the support of all people of good will who are sympathetic to our objectives. [more]

032 :
21 Feb 2007

A Lenten reflection... Peregrinus argues, in this first of our Lenten reflections, that the process of discernment we all have to travel through is modelled for us by Christ. It is not a process that happens quickly. It is a slow process carved out in years rather than hours or days. [more]

010 :
20 Feb 2007

Putting any suffering we might endure into a different context... Given our recent discussions on Catholica on the question of suffering, this essay by Dr Kania on the suffering endured by Ukrainian Catholics under Soviet occupation might shift our perspectives and open up new directions in our conversation. The essay is accompanied by links to further interesting web pages, books and audio-visual resources which readers might value for further general knowledge and faith education. [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]

011 :
18 Feb 2007

“Special Plans” – a new reading of the Annunciation... Catholica Australia is proud to preview a new song by Mick Bezzina and Amanda McKenna which seeks to explore the Annunciation story of Mary, the Mother of God, in more contemporary imagery and musical style. The recording was presented to Dr Bezzina at a farewell dinner held at Rosehill to acknowledge his work as a former director of the Parramatta Catholic Education Office. Michael Bezzina is now working as Adjunct Professor at ACU National in the School of Educational Leadership. [more]

009 :
18 Feb 2007

How do we "love one another as I have loved you"? Fitting so well with today's gospel reading were Jesus introduceds the Great Commandment, Andrew's reflection today explores the meaning of love with the assistance of a number of the great writers, mystics and artists. [more]

026 :
17 Feb 2007

Does God answer our prayers? In his commentary today Ian Elmer explores whether the institutional Church might have some formal view on this and what some of the thinking has been at different points in time. He argues the trite response to the question is "God gives us what we need and not what we want!" but goes on to argue that the question also raises the fundamental issue of God's role in the world. [more]

217 :
15 Feb 2007

A question for the organisers of the conference advertised at left, and also to the Australian Bishops... "It is all very well organising these sorts of conferences, and it is all very well expending huge sums of money on fancy websites, but what do you do when effectively a lot of those websites end up driving more people away from Catholicism than they attract?" [more]

031 :
14 Feb 2007

Exploring the moral issues surrounding the Death Penalty, Part II... In this second part of his exploration of the moral issues surrounding the death penalty, Peregrinus, endeavours to analyse in detail the significance and nature of the changes in official Church teaching which came about with the publication of Evangelium Vitae in 1995. [more]

008 :
13 Feb 2007

The eternal questions of love, suffering and life... Andrew today analyses what we might learn of the eternal questions of love, suffering life from the movie and story based on the life of CS Lewis, Shadowlands. [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]

007 :
11 Feb 2007

A matter of Judgement! In this powerful rejoinder to Peregrinus' opening commentary on the morality surrounding capital punishment, Dr Andrew Thomas Kania provides passionate argument as to why the Catholic Church has been modifying it's attitude to State-sanctioned execution. [more]

025 :
10 Feb 2007

Rules is Rules! Ian Elmer returns this week with his thought-provoking explorations into Sacred Scripture. His first commentary for the year takes us though a lesson from St Paul's letter to the Galatians that continues to cause difficulties in our own time. [more]

030 :
07 Feb 2007

Exploring the moral issues surrounding the Death Penalty, Part I... For his first contribution for 2007, Peregrinus, begins a two-part exploration of the moral issues surrounding the death penalty. In particular he examines how Church teaching has been developed and refined with the publication of Pope John Paul II's encyclical, Evangelium Vitae, in 1995. [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

Finding some unexpected results 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]

006 :
04 Feb 2007

Finding the meaning in the story of Ben-Hur... Andrew has gone delving into the literary and movie classic, Ben-Hur: A tale of the Christ to extract the timeless essence of the story — finding Christ in the least of our brothers and sisters. [more]

011 :
03 Feb 2007

The many ways in which you might assist the Catholica Australia initiative In this commentary the editor, Brian Coyne, explains the objectives of Catholica Australia and renews the appeal for support from commentators, volunteers and those who can help further the endeavour financially. [more]

010 :
02 Feb 2007

The search for spiritual hope "The responsibility of our ecclesial leaders is to be engaging with, not pandering to, 'the children' in their flocks and providing the adult faith formation programs that enables all people to grow in their faith and love of God as revealed to us through the insights and 'fullness of revelation' found in God's son and human emissary and model, Jesus Christ." [more]

006 :
01 Feb 2007

A conversation with Diarmuid O'Murchu To recommence our publishing schedule for 2007 we have pleasure in presenting an extended conversation with Fr Diarmuid O'Murchu recorded during his recent visit to Australia. Fr O'Murchu is in conversation with the publisher of Catholica Australia, Brian Coyne, and Brian's business and creative partner and fiance, Amanda McKenna. [more]

003 :
01 Jan 2007

Perspectives on Spirituality and Religion written by young people Pt III – Armen Gakavian Dr Armen Gakavian summarises his spiritual journey in this way: "I have had an Armenian Apostolic (Orthodox) upbringing, Catholic religious education at school, encounter with Jesus through a fundamentalist Baptist Church, involvement with various campus Christian groups, and encounters with radical Christian communities. At the 'end' (there is really no end) of this process, I am now what I would call 'evangelical'." His essay is illuminating not only of his own personal journey but seeks to provide commentary on why so many of his contemporaries are today distanced from the Church. [Editor's introduction][Ben's perspective][Phoebe's perspective][Armen's perspective]

020 :
01 Jan 2007

"Loyal Dissent" by Fr Charles Curran reviewed by Dr Christine Roussel Historian, Dr Christine Roussel, has long been a supporter of progressive endeavours in the Church and she was one of the first to offer encouragement when we were setting up Cathol