008 :
31 Aug 2010

Dining with Jesus: his ministry of meals... Brian Gleeson has written this introduction to today's commentary: "The mission of Jesus the Messiah was to proclaim the coming of the kingdom (reign and rule) of God on earth and make it happen. He was both its agent and servant. His ministry consisted of all the means he used to accomplish his mission. They all expressed his pastoral care of people as their Good Shepherd, the one who lays down his life for his sheep (Jn 10:11). One principal ministry was his preaching and teaching. Another was his healings of one kind or another. Yet another was his passion, death, and resurrection. Still another was his ministry of meals, of table fellowship. Too often, though, his ministry of meals has been somewhat overlooked or neglected. The following investigation and presentation is all about it..." Today's commentary might be read as an extension of the discussion started by Kevin Murphy in his commentary last Saturday. [more]

006 :
30 Aug 2010

Questioning the Virgin Birth Part 3... Vynette Holliday today continues her challenging argument that the Gospel of Matthew when read through its original Jewish meaning does not provide a justification for the virginal birth of Jesus. This is the second of two parts examining the Gospel of Matthew in a wider series arguing that in the Jewish religious setting in which Jesus moved he would not have been viewed as divine or viewed himself as divine. [more]

015 :
29 Aug 2010

Out from Under the Bushel... Stephen, a member of the Catholica community, has written movingly today of the deep trauma caused by abuse. (See "Are sexual abuse victims whingers?") The deepest damage is not caused by thoughts but by the feelings buried deep down inside of us. We all carry negative feelings around with us like some kind of monkey on our back. Victims of abuse carry them more deeply and traumatically than others. Today's reflection by John Chuchman explores similar territory to what Stephen has been discussing earlier this morning on our forum. This reflection from John sums it up well: "Unless I see myself as that beautiful creation of God I cannot truly Love or be Loved"! Our constant challenge is to climb out from under that bushel of our negative feelings. [more]

009 :
28 Aug 2010

Finding the presence of the Spirit of God... In these times of scandal in the institution, great uncertainty in the world, and loss of confidence in our spiritual and political leaders there is a temptation to give up. In recent days in our forum a number of people have called for perseverence and solidarity amongst the grass roots. Today's lead commentary from Kevin Murphy sits well with this call. This is "a back to the fundamentals—back to Jesus" call for us to find solidarity in our communion with one another and with Jesus and his core insights. It's a call to let the Spirit of God guide us through these times. As Kevin concludes: "Even if it is sometimes difficult to live with the life of the Spirit of God within official church structures, we all have the freedom and right and responsibility to welcome the Spirit of God into our personal lives." [more]

1482 :
27 Aug 2010

What will the new liturgical translations achieve? In lieu of our own lead commentary today could I direct your attention to two excellent articles in The Tablet and National Catholic Reporter on the looming challenges with the new liturgical texts for the Mass. Is this whole exercise going to end up with a further great exit out of the pews — perhaps intentional to create a "smaller, purer Church"? There's news stories in CathNews today about the implementation of the changes across Australia and the United States. Don't forget to return to the Catholica Forum and follow the discussion we're having there. See the following links to go directly to the articles and news reports: [NCR] | [The Tablet] | [CathNews (AU story)] | [CathNews (US story)]

154 :
26 Aug 2010

The legend of God and Magog... Today's Puzzling Passage from Dr Ian Elmer flow on from last week's examination of the Book of Revelation but also represents an interesting change of direction. Ian today examines the legend of Gog and Magog with a particular objective of explaining the presence of these two legendary figures in one of the City of Melbourne's oldest shopping arcades, the Royal Arcade. [more]

143 :
25 Aug 2010

The Church as "the People of God"... Vatican II brought a radical change to our understanding of Church as "the People of God". Tom McMahon's commentary today explores what this means. Do "the People of God" have much power, or say, in the present institution dominated by Rome? [more]

1478 :
23 Aug 2010

"Spiritual Sushi" -vs- "Spiritual Shaghetti" In place of our regular commentary today from Vynette, may I direct your attention to a fascinating paper on Sandro Magister's blog by the Japanese Ambassador to the Holy See which examines the differences in spiritual outlook between Eastern and Western cultures. I sense readers of Catholica will value the insights that Kagefumi Ueno shares in this lecture which was delivered in Rome on 1st July. See today's email for a fuller introduction and the link to the paper by Ambassador Kagefumi Ueno. [more]

011 :
22 Aug 2010

Ut Unum Sint: what happened? Part II This is the second part of George Ripon's commentary on Ecumenism. Jesus prayed for the unity of His followers and we must concede that we have not been very good at this. Even some 500 years on from the Reformation we are still only scratching the surface. As the biggest (numerical) Christian Tradition we should be doing much more than just talking about it. How about offering Communion to fellow Christians as they share at our Eucharist? Why not joint Confirmation Services with Anglicans? In country areas, short of ministers, why not encourage all local christians to attend the one Sunday Service of whatever tradition? We really have to start breaking the ice inspired by the Prayer of Jesus (John 17). [more]

010 :
21 Aug 2010

Ut Unum Sint: what happened? In this first part of a two-part essay George Ripon explores what happened to the great quest for Christian Unity that had so much attraction a decade or two ago? This ought stir up a good discussion on Catholica and further afield. We'll published the second part tomorrow. [more]

007 :
20 Aug 2010

Catholic Church Reform: No more thrones! For our lead commentary today we bring you the text of the keynote address Robert Blair Kaiser delivered to the Humbert Summer School at the Harlequin Hotel, Castlebar in Ireland last night. He entitled the lecture: "Catholic Church Reform: No more thrones". [more]

153 :
19 Aug 2010

The Book of Revelation: Fact or Fiction? Today's Puzzling Passage from Dr Ian Elmer examines the fascination the the Book of Revelation has had for the human imagination down through history. We all love our apocalyptic vision, don't we? Just witness the popularity of films whose stories are rooted in this genre of writing. This is a fascinating commentary just for its general knowledge content. [more]

142 :
18 Aug 2010

The potential of the Laity... Tom McMahon's commentary today returns to a focus on the laity. Interest in the importance of the spiritual and moral side of life has not waned in society. If anything it has grown. Institutional religion no longer seems able to respond to what the broader population is looking for. Some still want to return to the old ways. Tom argues: "My church of old is collapsing yet Jesus' spirit lives on." [more]

006 :
17 Aug 2010

Putting our hope in the person of Jesus – Part II By way of introduction, Dr Brian Gleeson writes that this reflection "is a partial response to those questions that the Editor of Catholica, Brian Coyne, raised in the forum on August 6, 2010: 'Who, exactly is this Jesus I'm seeking? What is his "message" or "good news"? Does he have a message for all humanity?'" In today's extract we have included the last two paragraphs of Part I as introduction to this exploration of the differing styles of the four evangelists. [more]

005 :
16 Aug 2010

Questioning the Virgin Birth Part 2... Essentially what Vynette Holliday invites us to do in today's commentary is place ourselves in the mind of a Jewish person at the time of Jesus and view how this man was viewed by his followers and those who recorded his story. This is the first of two parts examining the Gospel of Matthew. [more]

005 :
15 Aug 2010

Making Sense of the Assumption of Mary... For today's Feast of the Assumption Dr Brian Gleeson presents a reflection inviting us to reflect on the origins of the bodily assumption of Mary into heaven and what meaning we can draw from it today. [more]

014 :
15 Aug 2010

The Return of the Divine Feminine... We published an earlier reflection by John Chuchman entitled "The search for the Divine Feminine" and return to the theme again this Sunday, the Feast of the Assumption. This is a separate reflection written by John on the same theme. [more]

008 :
14 Aug 2010

Searching for a mature set of beliefs... It is something of an irony that one of the greatest achievements of the Church has been in the realm of education. The irony being that as we've been educated we've also begun to question many of the old certitudes upon which the edifice of the institution was built. Dr Graham English is a recently retired member of that important cohort in Australia who helped build the modern Catholic Education system. In today's commentary he reflects back on the maturation of his own faith discarding many of the shibboleths but also disinguishing those things he still believes have enduring truth or insight. [more]

141 :
13 Aug 2010

A Critique and Praise for Catholica... Tom McMahon has been away in the High Sierra Mountains for a few days reading back over some of the recent Catholica commentaries. Taking a break from his series on the Documents of Vatican II he offers us a critique on Catholica and some of the commentaries he's been pondering. Editor of Catholica, Brian Coyne, offers a separate response which you will find linked at the end of this page. [more]

074 :
13 Aug 2010

A Response to Tom McMahon... Catholica Editor, Brian Coyne, responds to Tom McMahon's reflection on Catholica and some of our recent commentaries [LINK]. [more]

152 :
12 Aug 2010

What can we learn from "Doubting Thomas"? There is an enormous struggle going on within Catholicism today between those who question almost everything and those who want a "simple faith" and "blind obedience". It is an old struggle of course captured at the first Pentecost with the Fourth Evangelist's story of "Doubting Thomas". Today's Puzzling Passage from Dr Ian Elmer cuts to the heart of this controversy that has exercised the minds of believers since that first Pentecost. What can we learn from the story of "Doubting Thomas"? [more]

005 :
11 Aug 2010

The miracles that do really matter! Today's lead commentary comes from the co-editor of the Danish online magazine, vero.dk, Dr John-Erik Stig Hansen. It's a further interesting perspective on this question of miracles, or special divine action, which is frequently discussed on Catholica. By way of introduction, Dr Stig Hansen writes: "In a time when traditional scientific rationality is frequently attacked, allegations of supernatural phenomena and interventions from God are readily accepted as true. Weeping madonnas and Medjugorje apparitions are promoted as core Catholic values and more relevant for a rebirth of true faith in the secular West than scientific exploration of God's creation. There is a widespread suspicion that meaning cannot be derived from objective reality and that miracles are needed for the natural world to reveal God's creative will." [more]

004 :
10 Aug 2010

Putting our hope in the person of Jesus – Part I By way of introduction, Dr Brian Gleeson writes that this reflection "is a partial response to those questions that the Editor of Catholica, Brian Coyne, raised in the forum on August 6, 2010: 'Who, exactly is this Jesus I'm seeking? What is his "message" or "good news"? Does he have a message for all humanity?' Towards answering them, let me draw attention also to the response Fr James Proctor gave his childhood friend, Cherie Blair, when she asked him on the ABC Compass episode of August 1, 2010: 'Is there any hope for the future of the Church?' James answered that the key to the survival of Christianity and the Church is the gospel and the person of Jesus. What follows, then, is put forward as an expression, development, and endorsement of that hope." [more]

004 :
09 Aug 2010

Questioning the Virgin Birth Part 1... Did Jesus have a self-understanding of himself as being "born of a virgin"? What was his understanding of the passages from Isaiah to which his birth was subsequently linked by Jewish and Christian scholars and religious leaders? In today's commentary — which you will recall is part of a larger series seeking to examine the Jewish mindset of early Christianity and Jesus himself — Vynette Holliday explores the concept of the Virgin Birth of Jesus. [more]

152 :
07 Aug 2010

The importance in getting our communications right... Today's commentary from Andrew Kania provides much fuel for discussion on a number of fronts. The principal thrust of his reflection though is all about the importance of using appropriate language and symbol in our communications. The genius of Jesus was his ability to communicate using parable and symbol. Andrew titled this essay "On Teaching" and reminds us of the awe expressed by the companions of Jesus after he had left their company on the Road to Emmaus [Luke 24:32]. [more]

1461 :
06 Aug 2010

Caption Competition... Des Farmer has suggested we have a caption competition in our forum. The photograph to caption is of Australian Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, in conversation with Australia's Cardinal, George Pell. [more]

151 :
05 Aug 2010

Trying to discover the "real Jesus"... Today's Puzzling Passage from Dr Ian Elmer fits in very well with the extended exploration we're having on Catholica in our search for the real Jesus. Dr Elmer, and other scholars he quotes, suggest the Gospel accounts are not all there is to discovering the Jesus whom we seek as the animator and inspiration for our lives. There are conflicts between the Gospels, and they were each written for particular communities. Ian ends his commentary with this observation: "The 'real Jesus' is the one we encounter in prayer, reflection and meditation. The Gospels function not so much as historical accounts but as sacraments of encounter with the risen Christ." [more]

140 :
04 Aug 2010

The Connection between Priests and Laity... Two principal themes stand out in Tom McMahon's reflection back on the Documents of Vatican II today: (i) A sense he has picked up that many priests feel abandoned by their institutional leaders; and (ii) that as the priesthood shrinks greater responsibility will fall to the laity. In a sense this is a reflection on the connection between priests and laity and how the majority of both have been abandoned by the institutional leaders. [more]

003 :
03 Aug 2010

The Jewish World of Jesus – Part III Dr Brian Gleeson today concludes his three-part exploration of the Jewish world in which the historical Jesus lived. As he suggests at the end, we've learned a lot from scholarly study in recent decades but there is still much which we will probably never know. What we have been learning from modern scholarship, Dr Gleeson suggests, "is essential" to any investigation of Jesus' mission, ministry, destiny and identity. [more]

024 :
02 Aug 2010

How do we use our conscience... In this commentary Fr Dan Donovan cuts to the heart of one of the great issues that deserves lengthy reflection amongst Catholics today: the relationship between Conscience and Church Authority. Dan goes back to drawn on the insights of some of the great writers in this field, particularly the Jesuit, Bernard Lonergan. This is very practical reflection which includes a practical example of the kind of "conscience perusal" a couple might have to make today. [more]

049 :
01 Aug 2010

When Church leaders get involved in secular politics... In recent days some comments by Perth Archbishop, Barry Hickey, on the professed atheism of Australian Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, have caused a minor storm in the media. Archbishop Hickey had objected in a story on his own archdiocesan website that his comments had been misconstrued by The West Australian newspaper. Meanwhile someone in Ms Gillard's entourage appeared to believe some rapprochement was needed and yesterday the archdiocesan website carried photos and a story of a very happy meeting between Ms Gillard and the Archbishop. Today's commentary by Professor Allan Patience, writing from Tokyo was submitted to Catholica before the latest developments on the Perth Archdiocesan website. Dr Patience has updated it the last few hours before publication after we alerted him to the new developments. While both Archbishop Hickey and the Prime Minister's office seem to have been involved in some deft footwork in the last 48 hours to neutralise the damage caused by his remarks in The West Australian, Dr Patience's commentary raises more general issues about how the nation's spiritual leaders ought endeavour to intersect with the great moral issues of our time. [more]

013 :
01 Aug 2010

Bishops' Prayer... John Chuchman engages in a little satire today — some satirical prayers that some of our bishops might seem to be addressing to God at the moment. This reflection sits so well with the breaking news commentary we are running on Catholica today from Allan Patience [LINK]. Where in the dickens did this logic come from that constantly appeasing the remnant sector of the Catholic baptised who confuse the search for truth with some kind of search for certitude from authority figures is the way to bring the "the good news" to ALL of humankind? [more]

150 :
31 Jul 2010

Remembering Abraham... Why do we human beings invest so much energy in remembering past heroes and events from our history? That question is the essentially what Dr Ian Elmer is exploring in today's commentary. The broad body of his commentary explores the central place taken by Abraham in the three great religions of the Book: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Ian ends his commentary though in a more contemporary setting asking how much of our contemporary faith is related to its roots and how our faith is forged by subsequent developments in knowledge and history. Rich fodder for contemplation in this commentary... [more]

139 :
30 Jul 2010

The Document on the Laity... Tom McMahon turns his attention to how the Second Vatican Council considered the laity in his series looking back on the Documents of Vatican II. He's going to have more to say in a subsequent commentary but he ends today by suggesting the document on the laity was "grossly inadequate and limp". Perhaps it is easier to pass a judgment like that today. At the time of the Council the document might have been viewed as a big leap forward from the clericalism that had been building up for centuries? That seemed to be the message Tom was conveying last week. [more]

002 :
29 Jul 2010

The Jewish World of Jesus – Part II A lengthy commentary today from Dr Brian Gleeson as he explores the Jewish world in which the historical Jesus lived. If you think the politics of the world in which we live is complicated spare a thought for Jesus and the politics of the world in which he found himself operating. This commentary sits with the parallel series of commentaries we are running by Vynette Holliday and should also be considered within the context of the interesting discussions opening up on our forum exploring the Jewishness of Jesus and the implications for our thinking today. The commentaries, and the forum discussions, might help open up to the intelligent lay reader a more nuanced way of interpreting what we read or hear in the Scriptural accounts of the life of Jesus. [more]

003 :
28 Jul 2010

Jesus the Jew... Vynette Holliday today opens her substantive argument: "If the Church wishes to redeem itself and be included in the people of God, it must rebuild itself on the foundation of the Jewish apostles and the Jewish prophets, with the Jewish Jesus as the chief cornerstone." Does her argument hold weight that Christians down through history have lifted Jesus too far out of his Jewish context? [more]

073 :
27 Jul 2010

We are a Church in search of a re-vitalised leadership! Catholicism today is fast becoming just one amongst the thirty thousand or so churches that make a claim to be led by Jesus Christ. It is fast-losing any claim to primacy amongst the Christian churches. Catholica Editor, Brian Coyne, today explores what has gone wrong and what needs to be done if the institutional Catholic Church is to legitimately reclaim some sense of primacy amongst the Christian churches. [more]

007 :
23 Jul 2010

Exploring the Abuse Scandal through the eyes of a Convert Dawn Bowie is an Attorney in Washington and a convert to Catholicism (as well as a long time member of the Catholica community). She sent this commentary in some months ago and the editor apologises that it slipped under the radar. As it's a reflection that might also lead readers off into an exploration of a lot of interesting YouTube clips it will be a useful commentary to leave up on Catholica for a few days while the editor takes a break. (Exploring the YouTube clips could keep you occupied for about 2 weeks in fact!) [more]

149 :
22 Jul 2010

Confusing aspects in the story of the conversion of the first Gentile to Christianity... As in virtually all of his fascinating trawls through the earlier scriptural record of Christianity Dr Ian Elmer very often ends his commentary by seeking to connect the history to our present situation. As you find today there are some puzzling aspects to Luke's original telling of the story of the conversion of the first Gentile, the Roman Centurion, Cornelius. Why the confusion? Why couldn't the story be told as straight history? What was the point Luke, and the early writers, were trying to make? Dr Elmer draws on the insights of a range of scholars to provide insight into what may have been in the minds of the early chroniclers of the Jesus and Christian story. [more]

138 :
21 Jul 2010

Vatican II's empowerment of the Laity... Tom McMahon today begins to "cut into the meat" in this fourth part of his series on the The Documents of Vatican II. A large focus today is on the impact Yves Congar had on the Council and the empowerment given to the laity. [more]

001 :
20 Jul 2010

The Jewish World of Jesus – Part I We welcome to the pages of Catholica today Dr Brian Gleeson with the first of a series of commentaries looking at the Jewish world in which the historical Jesus lived. Dr Gleeson submitted this series not so much as a direct rebutal of the ideas Vynette Holliday presented in her lead commentary yesterday but as a set of ideas to be considered in parallel with the very similar territory Vynette has indicated she is intending to explore in her series. [more]

002 :
19 Jul 2010

The Spirit of Truth... Here's a commentary to scare the pants off both Benedict's "simple people" and the delators as well as some of our foremost biblical scholars and theologians. She'd probably be burned at the stake 400 years ago for even asking questions like this, more so in that she is a woman. They are questions that many readers of Catholica might find fascinating and intriguing though. Like our commentator, many would appreciate responses from scholars in the field she is addressing. The essential question Vynette Holliday addresses today concerns the frame of mind the early leaders of the Church were operating out of. What was the frame of mind in which the New Testament was originally composed: was it an essentially Jewish frame of mind or was it a Greek frame of mind? Vynette asserts it was a Jewish frame of mind, not Greek, and the Greek mindset subsequently imposed on the New Testament has distorted the original message of Jesus. These are massive questions which we hope might lead to an invigorating discussion and exploration of our beliefs. Vynette's title for this essay is "The Spirit of Truth". [more]

012 :
18 Jul 2010

The Search for the Divine Feminine... Like many in recent days John Chuchman has been incensed with the insensitivity coming from the Vatican in equating the quest for the ordination of women as both a sin and a sin on the scale of pedophilia. His blog in recent days [LINK] has featured a string of reflections exploring this controversy. For Catholica readers I have chosen this latest reflection and subtitled it "the search for the Divine Feminine". John's further reflections on this theme can be found at the link above. [more]

012 :
17 Jul 2010

Is it possible to make Catholicism a strong spiritual & cultural force in society again? I cannot believe it is over 20 months since we ran a lead commentary from Vince Exley. Vince has been one of the founding members of the Catholica community. My association with him goes back to the earliest days of the community that first began to congregate on the old CathNews discussion board around nine years ago now. And what a valuable commentary Vince delivers to us today. In so many ways I see it as a reflection of the journey so many of us in this community have been on. This is a "no holds barred" lay persons' reflection exploring the crisis the institutional Church is in and the search for any alternative set of answers that might pull the Church he loves out of that crisis by returning to grasp the insights of the original followers of Jesus. You may not agree with all that Vince writes. I can imagine some will switch off completely and get angry with some of his thoughts. Many will read this as the reflections of a mature man who has endeavoured to be faithful to the institutional line for a long, long time and he has, like so many others in this place, simply got fed up with where we have been led. ...Brian Coyne (Editor) [more]

148 :
15 Jul 2010

What sets Christians apart from the rest of Society? Today's commentary is the text of an address Dr Ian Elmer delivered at a conference in Melbourne last week. In it he's looking at one of the earliest places in the history of the Church where there was conflict between the Christian community and the State. These conflicts are still real in the world today and this commentary might help foster a discussion on what are the hallmarks that might characterise Christian attitudes towards the rest of society. [more]

137 :
14 Jul 2010

The impact of Vatican II on priests at the time... In the third part of his series on the The Documents of Vatican II Tom McMahon reflects on the impact the Second Vatican Council had on him, and his priest colleagues at the time of the Council. It created disquiet in the minds of hears of some — a disquiet we're still living with. For others it opened a whole new way of relating to Jesus. [more]

007 :
13 Jul 2010

Time for your audit or performance review! For those who remember his whimsical commentaries from last year our mate Pewter is back. He sent me through a pile of these short reflections he's penned over recent months. This is the most recent, written in the last week, and I'll see how I can fit the others into our schedule. [more]

103 :
12 Jul 2010

30.4: Looking for positive alternatives... Sadly today, we publish (or, more correctly, re-publish) Tom Lee's mammoth personal exploration of the First 500 years of Christianity and the Papacy. He ends with a sense of personal optimism but also a sense of dread of the threat posed by fundamentalism. He writes: "Like novelist William Kelley, 'My faith now is a thin wire wrapped in a cord of hope'. I have left the world of miracles behind, but not, I trust, my sense of wonder. I look forward to my ultimate death, free of dogmatic optimism, and without dread. I am wistful for faith, but can only stand with the Buddhists who leave the existence of God as an open question. Superstition has reigned for all of our known human history, and that kind of thinking seems to have led us to the brink of global destruction, the likes of which no previous generation has witnessed." [more]

136 :
11 Jul 2010

How can the world solve inter-racial conflict? We interrupt our normal schedule to bring you this special commentary from Tom McMahon written in the wake of rioting that broke out in Oakland, California, following the trial of a white policeman who shot dead a colored man, Oscar Grant, on a train in January 2009. Tom's essay takes a deeper look at the racial tensions that continue to lurk just below the surface in American life. [more]

048 :
10 Jul 2010

Apologies for Sexual Abuse are now "Too Little, Too Late" We welcome a new voice to the pages of Catholica. Professor Allan Patience is an Australian lay Catholic presently working at Sophia University in Tokyo. Archbishop Denis Hart's recent apology to victims of sexual abuse has stirred him into penning this cutting response that argues the institution's present problems extend far beyond the present focus of the sexual abuse scandal. [more]

1433 :
09 Jul 2010

Three articles to lift your spirits... We're holding off on any commentaries from Catholica today to draw your attention to an editorial and two commentaries that have been published in NCR overnight. As PeterR wrote in our forum just a while ago referring to the commentary by South African Bishop, Kevin Dowling, "IF YOU READ ONLY ONE ESSAY IN YOUR LIFETIME, MAKE IT THIS ONE". If you have the time we also recommend you read the NCR editorial and Eugene Cullen Kennedy's piece also. [more]

023 :
08 Jul 2010

What would Mary make of it all? One picks up a growing discomfort in the Australian community over the growing commercialisation surrounding the canonisation of Australia's first saint. The picture being portrayed would seem to be a long way removed from everything that Mary MacKillop stood to represent. Fr Dan Donovan was upset to receive some posters in the mail that he feels takes us away from the spirit of what Mary MacKillop represents. [more]

135 :
07 Jul 2010

The Documents of Vatican II—Part II Have there been bishops who have strongly influenced your life — in either positive or negative ways? In the second of his series on the The Documents of Vatican II Tom McMahon takes a look at four bishops who had a profound influence on his outlook in the light of what collectively all the bishops of the world discerned at the Second Vatican Council. [more]

001 :
06 Jul 2010

The Jewish God or the Triune God? Vynette Holliday, like many of us drawn to Catholica is a Catholic by birth and her early education but increasingly as she has grown older she has begun to question some of the assumptions on which her beliefs were based. Her particular quest has taken her back to exploring the Jewish roots of Christianity. Some of the conclusions she has come to are confronting and challenging. We are providing Vynette with a platform here to expound her views in the expectation that they will encourage spirited discussion, much thought, and hopefully responses that will significantly expand our thinking on these central issues of Christian belief: the nature of God; and the nature of Jesus and the nature of the relationship he beckons humanity, and each of us, into. [more]

102 :
05 Jul 2010

30.3: The future... Today's reflection from Tom Lee ends with a line from the comedian Dave Allen: "In the Catholic Church everything is forbidden until it's made compulsory!" Given the state of the institution these days perhaps the best survival mechanism is with gallow's humour? This essay, which we originally published on 7th April 2008 is the third in his concluding essays exploring the history of the first 500 years of Christianity and the Papacy. [more]

011 :
04 Jul 2010

The Nature of Spirituality... Spirituality is far from straightforward and simple. The metaphor of journey comes through in this reflection from John Chuchman today. It does have a destination but we meander around in our life journey to eventually get there. Perhaps the meandering is necessary to "shake off the absolutes" and grow "beyond a faith cast and frozen as dogma in stone"? [more]

022 :
03 Jul 2010

Where things seem to be heading now... This is the final part of a series of essays by Fr Dan Donovan examining where the Church seems to have lost its way in the modern world. What he writes today explores how the dialogue between the Anglican and Catholic churches seems to have been skewed in the pontificates and John Paul II and Benedict XVI. [more]

021 :
02 Jul 2010

The New Translation of the Mass: what will it achieve? In this second of a series of essays, Fr Dan Donovan begins his exploration of the game that is being played with changes to the English Mass text and the overtures being made to conservative Anglicans. It's almost two commentaries in one as the footnotes are as informative as the commentary itself. [more]

020 :
01 Jul 2010

The changing order of things in our world! For the next three days we present a connected series of essays by Fr Dan Donovanexploring the significant global challenges facing the institutional Church at the moment. Today, Dan looks at the changing picture of global economics and trade and the implications that has for the mission of the Church in the world. Tomorrow he asks whether the priority of putting an emphasis on a new translation of the Mass is a response to the crises facing the Church or some kind of distraction? On Saturday he explores whether the initiative to invite back conservative Anglicans is a useful way to go in replacing the many who have given up regular practice in the Catholic Church? [more]