1912 :
31 Oct 2011

A quick pep talk... We're still up to our armpits in a whole bunch of new programming for Catholica at the moment so we're not offering a lead commentary. However the big Catholic news story downunder today is Bishop Pat Power (soon to retire Auxilliary Bishop in the nation's capital diocese of Canberra-Goulburn) has published a letter in support of his colleague, Bishop Bill Morris. The letter is generating plenty of discussion in our forum. [monday's email] | [The discussion in our forum]

054 :
30 Oct 2011

A call for unity (again)... Today's layout is a repeat of one we ran a couple of weeks ago. It is only a repeat because of a mistake by the editor who has his mind too busy with a lot of other things and he was running very late with today's commentary as a result of that and did this layout in haste before realising he was repeating the call John Chuchman made a few week's ago. As a writer I am constantly astounded though at the ways in which different layouts often give new meaning to the same words. (Different layouts are also often useful in picking up typographical and grammatical errors.) As I was doing the layout though my mind kept mulling on how all pleas or calls for unity these days are akin to pushing the proverbials up a hill with a pointy stick. There is going to be no "unity" when we have a small remnant element in society who will not allow unity unless we all agree 110% with their point of view. Is the call John makes here about as idealistic as suggesting we go off and have a rational conversation with the religious terrorists who are presently holding the whole of humanity to a king's ransom? ...BMC [more]

013 :
29 Oct 2011

A theology for the new millennium: Chapter Six (Part 4) "Religion and Literalism" Some may find Peter Dresser's commentary today too confronting. He challenges in a no-holds barred manner the entire notion of Original Sin. Where did this notion, and doctrine, come from? How does it relate to the overall picture we have from Sacred Scripture of God's relationship with humankind; of Jesus' relationship with humankind? How does it all sit today with our understanding of Creation in the context of evolution and the insights of modern science? Peter Dresser even challenges Denis Edwards who is cited as one of the contemporary theologians endeavouring to reinterpret this doctrine in the light of our changing worldview and its implications for our theologies. You might agree or disagree with Peter but the intelligent reader will be challenged by today's commentary. [more]

1909 :
28 Oct 2011

A quick pep talk... Instead of a lead commentary today I'd like to draw your attention to a fabulous conversation that is just opening up on our forum. It was started by James and his translation of an article by the South American writer Klaus Ziegler which he has titled "Remembrance Days and Preferring the Sun God". In so many ways this conversation represents the best of what I think we can do as a community for wider public debate. I have never seen Catholica as some "Apologetics' Site" — trying to prove we Catholics have all the answers to life's problems, or our religion is the best religious footy team on earth and everybody else in society are sinners, heretics or pagans because they don't accept out beliefs or rules or styles of worship. Catholica was conceived as an intelligent conversation about the great mysteries and imponderables of life. The conversation James has started today represents to me some of the best in the contribution all of us collectively can make to making our world a slightly better place. In addition to that discussion on our forum I invite you to read today's email where I continue this "pep talk" on what we're trying to achieve with Catholica. [friday's email] | [Klaus Zeigler's article and the discussion started by James]

194 :
27 Oct 2011

The Rubik's Puzzle of Life... Tom McMahon's plans for this commentary got thrown into disarray through the death of his mother-in-law on the weekend. He's been on a long road journey to collect his sister-in-law for the funeral and has sent us this brief commentary on the puzzles of life and our relationships. We extend our condolences to Tom, Elaine and their family and join with them in celebrating the life of Elaine's mother, Jennie. [more]

045 :
26 Oct 2011

Dealing with the problem of priestly stress and alcoholism A shocking story from the Diocese of Lismore here in Australia has been generating headlines in the Australian media. It concerns a priest who was picked up for drunk driving in recent days whose blood-alcohol reading was so high that the breathalizer could not measure it. It was one of the highest readings ever recorded in New South Wales according to police. Fr Daniel Donovan has written this commentary in response to the treatment of the story on the Nine Network program A Current Affair on Monday evening. In this commentary Fr DanFr Dan told Catholica by phone separately to this commentary that "Guest House" in Michigan returns more priests to ministry in the United States and Canada each year than are newly ordained. That fact in itself might illustrate something of the scale of the problem of the stresses associated with priesthood. [more]

006 :
25 Oct 2011

Contribution V: Ministry OUTSIDE the Box; LIFE Outside the BOX! When we started this series we suggested we'd be publishing all the contributions anonymously. We're actually finding it increasingly difficult to hold to that commitment as some, even when writing under pen names disclose information that would make it fairly easy for people with evil intentions, and simply voyeurs, to do a little searching and find out who they are — even people who write for Catholica regularly under psuedonyms. As a result of that there are some stories we are finding we simply cannot edit to preserve some sense of anonymity and that is sad because it is often the very personal parts of those stories that give us greatest insight into why people's outlooks have changed. Today's reflection we'd never be able to disguise in a thousand years because of his very distinctive style of writing. It's by John Chuchman and as is so often in the case of John's writing he somehow captures ideas that entire classes of people might be thinking but cannot themselves articulate. Today we present John's contribution to the series of Exit Stories. [more]

1905 :
24 Oct 2011

Is there an "emerging church" or one in "terminal decline"? NCR Editor, Tom Roberts, was involved in a long interview last night on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's, religious affair's radio program Sunday Nights which we draw to your attention today in place of a lead commentary directly from us. The conversation centres on Tom's recently released book "The Emerging Catholic Church" but after listening to the conversation with Noel Debien on the radio you might begin to wonder if a better descriptor might be one of a church in terminal decline. [direct link to ABC website conversation] | [monday's email] | [discussion on our forum]

053 :
23 Oct 2011

What is This All About? We often use the expression "life is a mystery". Very often there are no simple answers. John Chuchman's reflection today in a sense explores this big mystery of life by asking the question: "What is This All About?". How do we learn to live with mystery and uncertainty when there are no easy answers and certitudes? [more]

012 :
22 Oct 2011

A theology for the new millennium: Chapter Six (Part 3) "Religion and Literalism" Peter Dresser is a brave priest taking us into the sort of territory he's exploring in this chapter of his book. His essay last week on the Divinity of Jesus will hopefully make a bit more sense in what he writes today in the lead-in to another controversial subject: the meaning of the Virginity of Mary and her status as "Mother of God". What on earth do these expressions mean in our modern literal understanding of the terms "virgin" and "mother"? If they don't mean what we literally mean when we use those terms today, what meaning do they have in a religious, theological or analogous context? Buckle up for a challenging exploration of concepts that have led to the excommunication of bishops and some of the greatest rifts in Christianity. [more]

040 :
20 Oct 2011

Is the Vatican engaged in a game of Orwellian 'Newspeak' or is it seriously wanting to evangelize the world to the 'Good News' of Jesus Christ? Next year, 2012, Pope Benedict has called a Synod for the New Evangelization. After 20 or 30 years of 'New Evangelization' initiatives that have seen the number of practising Catholics throughout the world plummet to embarrassing and unprecedented levels it is time to ask if this new synod is just another "make out you're busy for Jesus" intiative or if the institution is seriously engaged in the task of bringing 'the Good News' of Jesus Christ to ALL people or simply a small, identifiable psychological subset who believe they alone are God's "chosen ones"? Is this new endeavour simply an effort to try and re-impose the Old Evangelization methods and thinking that have so patently failed and simply change the name to "New Evangelization"? [more]

193 :
19 Oct 2011

A Church in need of a bit of "Family Therapy" Daily the headlines around the world these days spell out that the Catholic Church is in crisis. Tom McMahon in today's commentary compares the present leadership of the Church to the Southern Plantation Owners of an earlier phase in the history of the United States. What is needed he suggests is a bit of serious "family therapy". [more]

1899 :
18 Oct 2011

The conversation continues... And the publishers are having a short break today to attend to some domestic chores. The next instalment of Exit Stories will be held over until next week. [Today's email with links to some of the main threads in our forum]

019 :
17 Oct 2011

Questioning the understanding of Papal Primacy Part 10... After a lengthy absence caused by the pressure of other commitments, Vynette Holliday returns today with her lengthy investigation of the origin of the belief that the Apostle Peter was in Rome or headed the Church in Rome. In the past in our introductions we have compared Vynette to Sherlock Holmes. After reading today's demolition of the myths surrounding the First Epistle of Peter the reader might be left wondering if a better comparison might be with the stars of the currently popular television series, Mythbusters? [more]

052 :
16 Oct 2011

A Call for Unity... Given a number of conversations taking place on the Catholica Forum at the moment John Chuchman's reflection today is a plea for unity. Whatever our differences on our perceptions of truth, John outlines a possible way for a group of people of diverse beliefs to form a sense of community and express a sense of unity. [more]

011 :
15 Oct 2011

A theology for the new millennium: Chapter Six (Part 2) "Religion and Literalism" Today's reflection from Peter Dresser takes us into the difficult and controversial territory of the twin natures that we ascribe to Jesus. He is both human and divine. How can anyone hold these two contradictory natures at one and the same time? What were the Gospel writers getting at in some of their descriptions? What was Jesus trying to say in some of his descriptions of his relationship with his father? Were they using literal language or talking in metaphorical language? How should be interpret the relationship between God the Son and God the Father today? This ain't "bedtime reading" for the remnant elements in Catholicism or Christianity who believe the answers to all these sort of questions are simple. [more]

102 :
14 Oct 2011

The new confidence in the voice of mainstream Catholic priests... Catholica Editor, Brian Coyne, has been noticing a new assertiveness on the part of mainstream priests to speak out about the crisis institutional Catholicism is in today. In this commentary he directs your attention to a number of places where this new, more assertive voice might be found. Will it be enough to save the institution from sinking below the waves under the assault perpetrated on it by this small remnant minority who seem capable of only dealing with their insecurities in one way — a craving need for certitude and authority figures? [more]

1894 :
13 Oct 2011

Does Prayer Work? In lieu of a lead commentary today could we draw your attention to a discussion on our forum that was started by Rayner a few days ago and seems to have really developed some legs via controversy over very differing opinions. Rayner simply asked "Does Prayer Work?" James and myself have drawn attention to some scientific studies that have attempted to find some definitive evidence via studies of people who have been praying, or prayed for, for the cure of some illness. But we all have personal experiences — and some have already been sharing those in our forum; examples of both where there does seem to be a response and where there was been disappointment at the lack of a result. Also in the discussion is the question of the part that coincidence plays in all of this. ...BMC, Editor. [more]

192 :
12 Oct 2011

Which way, Lord? Tom McMahon has been catching up with some old friends in recent days. Today's commentary stems out of those meetings with his friends. The question in the headline, "which way, Lord?" gels beautifully with a lengthy discussion going on in our forum at the moment [LINK] triggered by a lengthy reflection by one of our readers, Kevin Latta. Kevin's been pondering a few things stemming from Professor Brian Cox's series on "The Wonders of the Universe". That is another constant theme in the writing of Tom McMahon, including this commentary. [more]

081 :
11 Oct 2011

Building a community in the absence of a regular priest.... We're taking a break from our Exit Stories this Tuesday to bring you an uplifting story from a small Catholic Community, in fact now an increasingly ecumenical community, in Queensland that is too isolated and small to have a regular priest. Here a group of lay people have decided to take charge of their own spiritual life and this is what they have achieved. This report was sent to us by Margaret and Tony White on behalf of the St John Bosco Catholic Community at Kenilworth in the Caloundra Parish in Queensland. It is from addresses members of the St John Bosco Community gave to the people at one of the other communities in the Caloundra Parish at Beerwah. Is this the future shape of the church as the supply of priests continues to decline? [Note: It's not quite true that no priest is available as implied in the headline. The official Parish Priest from Caloundra, Fr John Dobson, visits monthly to celebrate Mass. He is exceedingly supportive and encouraging of the community at Kenilworth.] [more]

080 :
10 Oct 2011

The Australian Episcopal Leadership and the Vatican... The first subhead in today's commentary, "A shepherd who refused to become a sheep" comes from the commentary published here last Thursday by Fr Mike Fallon about the Scot's Cardinal Thomas Winning. We've left it there because it could equally apply to the Bishop who is the real focus of today's commentary from Terry Fewtrell. Terry is looking at the case of Bishop Bill Morris who will be conspicuously absent from the presently happening visits of the other Australian Bishops to Rome for their ad liminas. Terry Fewtrell argues though that the case of Bishop Morris, and how the other bishops respond to Rome could be crucial for the future of Catholicism in Australia. [more]

004 :
10 Oct 2011

The diabolical state of seminary numbers in Australia... There are people around who seemingly believe a miracle is going to happen and God will answer all the prayers that have been sent up for vocations in the past 40 years. Christian Brother, Barry Coldrey would seem to be one of them. In the Winter edition of The Swag, the journal of the National Council of Priests of Australia he argued that a recent rise in the number of seminarians in some places in Australia was a cause for optimism and a sense that the prayers were beginning to be answered. Fr Eric Hodgens in this response from the latest issue of The Swag paints a far more realistic picture backed up with some graphical evidence. [more]

051 :
09 Oct 2011

Thoughts on the Liturgy Changes... The objections to the new liturgy seem to be almost reaching the cresendo of the objections to Humanae Vitae all those decades ago. Perhaps if so many people hadn't already left the church the noise of objection would be the same? John Chuchman brings us today some thoughts on the changes he came across written by Susan Masiak from St John Fisher University Parish in Michigan. They echo his own objections. What are your thoughts on the changes? [more]

010 :
08 Oct 2011

A theology for the new millennium: Chapter Six (Part 1) "Religion and Literalism" Today we begin Chapter Six of Peter Dresser's book. It is a lengthy exploration of the problem many seem to have today of sorting the religious and theological meaning of Scripture from historical fact. Today's commentary might be viewed as an introduction or overview to a number of specific instances where Scripture is often taken too literally at the cost of obscuring the deeper mythological, theological or religious meaning. [more]

044 :
07 Oct 2011

What can the Australian Ad Limina visits to Rome achieve? The Australian bishops are in Rome to hand in their five-yearly reports to head office. Fr Daniel Donovan has written this essay in the last few days mulling on the challenges facing the Catholic Church in Australia. He ends the essay attempting to take us back to what the core objective of Catholicism is meant to be. Essentially that's a message for the universal church not just for the Church in Australia. That's what ultimately connects us to the universality and catholicism of Catholicism — seeking Oneness with all humankind! Seeking to become "one, holy, catholic and apostolic body of Christ" in service to all of humankind. Not endeavouring to dominate all of humankind with any sense of superiority or greater knowledge we think we might have. [more]

079 :
06 Oct 2011

One Cardinal who attempted to curb the ecclesial politics... Such are the space limitations imposed by the print media that when Edinburgh priest, Mike Fallon, submitted this essay to The Tablet recently [Not available online], he felt that it was edited to the point where it lost its bite. Seeking a place where it might be published in full he submitted it to us here at Catholica. It's a compelling story of one Cardinal who attempted to stand up for the authority of the National Bishops' Conferences of the world against the power of the Roman Curia and the "ecclesial politicians" who will do their bidding. [more]

191 :
05 Oct 2011

Seeking what it is to be a Jesus person... We all carry deep within ourselves some ideal of the person we'd like to be. It is a struggle to measure up to that. Tom McMahon in this commentary is essentially exploring what it means to measure up to the ideal sense of self offered by Jesus — as priest or lay-person, man or woman? [more]

005 :
04 Oct 2011

Contribution IV: A couple of submissions remote from our usual readership... Two longer exit stories today written by women from another secular list that Milly subscribes to. She received quite a few from sources that are not necessarily familiar with Catholica so these stories are interesting because they are perhaps more representative of people who while they might have had a Catholic connection are not reading today the sort of fare one might find on Catholica or in America magazine (from whence we snatched the idea for this series). As explained in the introduction to this series we will be publishing all the selected stories we have received anonymously. The series has been prepared by Amanda McKenna, co-publisher of Catholica. [more]

004 :
03 Oct 2011

Inculturating Australian values into Catholic culture... Here is Frank Purcell's own introduction to this commentary: "I was scheduled to give a paper on the New Evangelisation at the AAMS (Australian Association for Mission Studies) Conference in Sydney this past week-end. Due to family commitments I had to pull out. My paper was peer reviewed and accepted but I asked that it be withdrawn as I wanted to be free to release it at my own timing. I found John Churchman's commentary ['Where have all the young people gone' LINK] an indirect invitation to send it to you for your consideration. If you think it would help debate and discussion, please use it." Because of the pressure we're under at the moment with the number of quality commentaries to bring you, we will split this into two parts and publish the second part later today. [more]

050 :
02 Oct 2011

God as a verb! Peter Ryan on the Catholica Forum started it by suggesting Eucharist is a verb, not a noun. It's a valuable tool for meditating on the central Sacrament in Catholica practise. John Chuchman in today's lead reflection extends the same tool today for this exploration of the Divine itself. How does considering "God as a verb" help in our understanding of this Mystery at the heart of Life? [more]

009 :
01 Oct 2011

A theology for the new millennium: Chapter Five (Part 2) "Jesus the Avatar" The central theme that binds today's reflection from Peter Dresser is our need to respect the many different ways in which different people understand this Mystery we try to condense into the word "God". In the context of Peter's life, and what he writes in the totality of this book though, he is also arguing for the uniqueness and special place of Jesus as the avatar within our cultural and faith tradition. Readers attracted to what we are seeking to explore through Catholica will find this commentary both uplifting and food for much further thought and reflection. [more]

078 :
30 Sep 2011

A layman challenges the argument about infallibility Part 2 In this lengthy argument, which we have split into three parts, US lay writer, Edgar Davie, looks at the history of the notion of infallibility and a couple of instances where the institution has seemingly broken the founding principle on which the entire notion is based. Today we present the third and final part of his argument. [more]

101 :
29 Sep 2011

Addressing the problem of too many prisoners... Last Sunday the Australian Catholic Bishops released their 2011-12 Social Justice Statement: "Building Bridges, Not Walls" It is a superbly written and produced document placing the spotlight on a public issue that has become an acute embarrassment in a civilised society like Australia — the rapidly escalating number of people in our prisons and the harm this is doing to the individuals incarcerated not to mention to wider society. Catholica Editor, Brian Coyne, has been reading the document and offers this overview of its contents. [more]

190 :
28 Sep 2011

The future of religion in the modern human understanding of self (cont'd)... What can we learn from writers like Galileo Galilei, John Muir, Thomas Berry, Brian Swimme, and Michael Morwood that might guide us in finding a better way to "build the kingdom" than this one which seems to have been driving the great majority of people out of the Church. That's the broad territory Tom McMahon is opening up for exploration in today's lead commentary on Catholica. [more]

004 :
27 Sep 2011

Contribution III: A couple of male confessions... Two short exit stories today but each of them, in their own way, deadly. Both of them come from men who have done their three score and ten and who are now reflecting back on it all. One is a layman, the other a priest. As explained in the introduction to this series we will be publishing all the selected stories we have received anonymously. The series has been prepared by Amanda McKenna, co-publisher of Catholica. [more]

005 :
26 Sep 2011

Meeting an inspiring Catholic Woman Bishop... Emmy Silvius recently had the pleasure of meeting Bishop Patricia Fresen during her visit to Melbourne. She came away from the meeting impressed and inspired and sent us this short essay which she entitled "For the Love of My Church". [more]

049 :
25 Sep 2011

Where have all the Young People Gone? It's a question that everyone, from parents, to teachers, to bishops have been asking for decades: "where have all the young people gone?" John Chuchman picks up some answers given by young people themselves at a recent conference in September. It's a conversation many who are parents in the Catholica community are often asking themselves. For many it is THE question of what has happened to their children that has brought them to questioning the wisdom of the Church leaders who have no experience whatsoever of the responsibilities of bringing up children through to adulthood. What would you say in response to John based on your experiences? [more]

008 :
24 Sep 2011

A theology for the new millennium: Chapter Five (Part 1) "Jesus the Avatar" Today's commentary from Peter Dresser ought to come with a spiritual health warning as this contains the sort of language that sends the fundamentalist and insecure Christians crawling up the wall and over the ceiling. It shouldn't upset the sort of readers we are seeking to communicate to through Catholica. What Peter explores today is the meaning and the uniqueness of Jesus compared to other great "symbols" or "manifestations" of the Godhead or the Divine in the other dreat religions of the world. Again it is a lengthy chapter and we've split it into two parts. [more]

077 :
23 Sep 2011

A layman challenges the argument about infallibility Part 2 In this lengthy argument, which we have split into three parts, US lay writer, Edgar Davie, looks at the history of the notion of infallibility and a couple of instances where the institution has seemingly broken the founding principle on which the entire notion is based. Today we present the second part of his argument. [more]

1873 :
22 Sep 2011

The betrayal of Vatican II and the patience needed in light of that... Today we again take you away from the Catholica website for the lead commentary or reflection we think it important to draw your attention to. That beautiful woman from the West, Helen came across a blog and posted a link on our forum suggesting it was a "must read". We are sure many readers of Catholica will agree. It's an address only recently translated into English given by a now Benedictine senior who, many decades ago, was one of the youngest active participants at the Second Vatican Council as a Benedictine Abbot. He delivered the address recently, in a mix of Spanish and Italian, at the 31st Congress of the Asociación de Teólogos y Teólogas Juan XXIII in Madrid earlier this month. If you don't do another thing this week, don't miss what Dom Giovanni Franzoni has to write. His words explain much of the crisis that Catholicism is in today. And to understand why the editor of Catholica thinks we're in a time of "Waiting on The Lord", or "Qavah", go read his response to Sue in the string where we've started discussing what Dom Giovanni Franzoni has to say. [Today's email] | [Direct link to Giovanni Franzoni's commentary on Vatican II and what went wrong] | [Comment: A time for "Qavah"]

189 :
21 Sep 2011

The future of religion in the modern human understanding of self... There's been an explosion in our human self-knowledge about ourselves and how our minds and emotions 'tick'. This is the landscape — perhaps mindscape? — Tom McMahon is exploring today. What's the future for religion in this new landscape? What will our grandchildren think of our religious views and practises? How are our theological and religious views being shaped by the new knowledge we're acquiring in this new world saturated with knowledge and technology? Is the proverbial "Father McKenzie" still writing the sermons that no one will read? [more]

003 :
20 Sep 2011

Contribution II: Life is now filled with possibility! The second of the contributions we have selected for this series again comes from a woman but this time in Australia and broadly representative of a significant number of contributions we received from individuals who once were highly involved in lay leadership positions in their local Church. Today's contributor eventually ended up in the St Mary's in Exile Community in South Brisbane and she shares the factors that contributed to her exit. As explained in the introduction to this series we will be publishing all the selected stories we have received anonymously. The series has been prepared by Amanda McKenna, co-publisher of Catholica. [more]

076 :
19 Sep 2011

Remembering Robinson's Dream... Today's commentary arrived in my mail box unexpectedly yesterday from an Australian friend, and former student, of Dr Hermes Kreilkamp. Dr Kreilkamp has been reading Bishop Geoff Robinson's book on power and sex in the Catholic Church and become enthused by the dream Bishop Robinson outlines in that book. In this commentary he urges all of us to take up that dream and turn it into a reality. The dream: "God's love and mercy can heal every wound within the Catholic Church." ...BMC, Editor [more]

100 :
18 Sep 2011

What is the Spiritual Goal of Christianity? Today's lead commentary seeks to draw your attention firstly to a string on our forum begun by Sue asking the question "What is the spiritual goal of Christianity?" [LINK]. One of the responses posted in that string was a link to the address given by Dr Anthony Padovano at the American Catholic Council which endeavours to articulate the Vatican II vision of what the spiritual goal of Christianity, or at least Catholicism, is [LINK]. Sue's string has already generated some very thoughtful responses. To be further provocative I reproduce my response from the string as a commentary as to why I believe the vision of Vatican II has all gone belly up. ...BMC, Editor. [more]

007 :
17 Sep 2011

A theology for the new millennium: Chapter Four (Part 2) "God and Jesus" In his commentary today Peter Dresser laments how much we have obscured the real Jesus under too much dogma. The first three letters of dogma are God spelt backwards. How do we rescue the authentic Jesus and the Spirit of God from all the doctrinal mumbo jumbo and small-mindedness? God is Big ..... Real BIG! [more]

075 :
16 Sep 2011

A layman challenges the argument about infallibility Part 1 As Edgar Davie argues in this commentary, the question of Papal Infallibility — long a stumbling block for people of other faiths, is being questioned in a variety of ways today within Catholicism. Certainly not by those who have elevated some sense of faithfulness to the magisterium to first commandment status but in wider Catholic circles there is increasing discussion with some prominent personalities receiving their marching orders for questioning the issue — such as Hans Küng and Paul Collins — and others, such as +Geoffrey Robinson challenging the concept of 'creeping infallibility'. In this lengthy argument, which we have split into three parts, US lay writer, Edgar Davie, looks at the history of the notion of infallibility and a couple of instances where the institution has seemingly broken the founding principle on which the entire notion is based. [more]

1866 :
15 Sep 2011

Much being discussed at present... There's a massive amount of discussion being generated to the moment about various developments concerning the future of Catholicism both here in Australia and internationally. There is a huge amount of material to digest from many different perspectives on our forum that has been generated in the last 24 hours. The consequence of all this is that we don't have time to prepare a lead commentary layout today but we'll be back with one tomorrow discussing the issue of celbacy. [Today's email] | [The current Hepworth thread starting with Archbishop Philip Wilson's Statement]

188 :
14 Sep 2011

Open Sesame! It's a lovely metaphor Tom McMahon uses today. Most of us have experienced that curious pleasure in opening a combination lock when, often suddenly, we get the numbers right and the lock pops open. He likens that to this long process of searching for answers as to what it all means — what our lives mean. He argues a writer from the 1920's pointed us in the right direction. Unfortunately some keep looking backwards for answers instead of forward. We might be prompted to ask: where does God reside? In the past or in the future? [more]

002 :
13 Sep 2011

Contribution I: Should I Stay or Should I Go? The first of the contributions we have selected for this series comes from a professional woman in North America. A convert to Catholicism she writes how she has become tired of an endless cycle of joining and leaving various endeavours over her lifetime and the lessons she has learned. While presently classifying herself as non-practising nevertheless she does not feel she has left nor has she intention of seeing herself in that way. As explained in last week's introduction to this series we will be publishing all the selecting stories we have received anonymously. The series has been prepared by Amanda McKenna, co-publisher of Catholica. [more]

039 :
12 Sep 2011

It's time for courageous political leadership! The Western world today is desperately in need of courageous political leadership. The issue which directly triggers this editorial has been the Australian Federal Government's gutlessness and lack of moral courage over the issue of asylum seekers. That issue is only one of many that demand courageous moral leadership and far sighted vision. Both seem to be commodities in short supply in the leadership of any of the major political parties in the Western world at the moment. [more]

048 :
11 Sep 2011

Real Transformation: Learning from the Gesthemane events in our lives... On this somber day as our world still grapples with the collective pain we endured on the 11th September ten years ago John Chuchman explores the question of transformation or metanoia in our lives. It might be almost a counterpoint question to his reflection but, dare we ask: is real transformation or metanoia possible without a gesthemane, calvary or 911 experience in our lives? How do we learn from the gesthemane moments in our lives and effect real transformation in our spirit? Gesthemane-type moments well up in us feelings of anger, revenge, depression and even indifference — we want to "move on" and forget the pain. How do we turn these experiences inside out so that they become a source of growth to us? This is not just about terrorists driving aeroplanes into buildings. It's about all the experiences of unexpected events that turn our lives on their heads. [more]

006 :
10 Sep 2011

A theology for the new millennium: Chapter Four (Part 1) "God and Jesus" Peter Dresser's commentary today takes us to the heart of what ought be the question at the heart of Christianity; what was the founder of Christianity, the one whom the enterprise is name after, have as his vision of God? What vision of the Godhead does Jesus offer to humankind? What does Jesus model for us in terms of thinking, emotional behaviour and in our actions? Today's commentary is the first part of Chapter Four from his manuscript God is Big ..... Real BIG! [more]

099 :
08 Sep 2011

The Paradox of Christ viewed as a response to The Paradox of Life: Today's commentary by the editor of Catholica, Brian Coyne, is a con job. He heard a very interesting lecture presented at the Broken Bay Institute/Australian Catholic Bishops Conference e-conference on Matthew on Tuesday by an Anglican priest and scholar, Dorothy Lee. The editor believes what she has to say is very insightful and worth listening to. If you haven't already watched the lecture (it's only 20 minutes in length) the editor is trying to con you into doing so and presenting his own perspective on why what Dr Lee has to say is important. [more]

187 :
07 Sep 2011

Jesus' Fire! Tom McMahon's Commentary today is essentially looking back over a few things that have been making news over the past week. Surprisingly for all the doom and gloom associated with things Catholic at the moment, Tom finds quite a bit to be energized and excited about. Most of the congregation might have deserted the pews but there is still a lot of enthusiasm for Jesus and his counter-intuitive "way" suggests Tom. [more]

001 :
06 Sep 2011

Why Catholics are heading for the exits... We have known for a long time that Catholica attracts a disproportionate readership from the sectors of the Catholic Church who have played a significant role in leadership initiatives in the Church over recent decades. This has been confirmed through an initiative that one of Catholica's publishers, Amanda McKenna, initiated earlier this year asking people to send in their stories explaining their disillusion or why they have left or dropped out of supporting the institution. Today's commentary from Amanda seeks to give an overview of the responses she received. Over coming Tuesdays we will publish a selection of the comments that people have written. [more]

1856 :
05 Sep 2011

They still don't get it! Thanks to Des Farmer, Catholica was one of the first places to start generating discussion on the Vatican's response to the Cloyne Report and the Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny's address to the Irish Parliament. We've now had time to assess reactions from around the world. It is not positive towards the Vatican. Those at the top of the ecclesial tree still seem intent on trying to protect the sense that the Vatican and the Pope are superhuman and incapable of error. With every statement they issue these days they continue to dissipate their moral authority in the world except to that small remnant element that they seem to believe will miraculously be capable of resurrecting the Church. What an enormous tragedy this all is: for the mission of Jesus Christ in the world, for the victims of any kind of abuse by the institutional church, and for all those who gave of their very essence in the last half century "to throw open the windows of the Church to the world". [The discussion on the Catholica Forum] | [Full Text of the Vatican Statement] | [+Diarmuid Martin's comments in NCR]

047 :
04 Sep 2011

Where two or three are gathered... Since the first human crawled out of the first womb our deep drive has been for one of domination. Today we still find many in the world whose religious drive seems to be one of domination — trying to prove their God, or their religious rules, are superior to everyone elses. Jesus came into the world and taught a different lesson. As John Chuchman writes in today's reflection "Jesus replaced rules and regulations with Love." Given the conflicts we see around the world, and even within our families and church, it seems to be taking a while for the message to get through! [more]

005 :
03 Sep 2011

A theology for the new millennium: Chapter Three (Part 2) "Who or What is God?" Here's a commentary to test your mettle. In the second part of his chapter addressing the BIG question: "Who or What is God?" Peter Dresser takes you on a wonderful journey exploring this history of human concepts of God as well as many of the competing pictures different people present of this Mystery we try to condense into the name "God". His central argument though is that we all need to expand our minds when it comes to thinking about this Mystery. God is Big ..... Real BIG! [more]

074 :
02 Sep 2011

Some thoughts on the upcoming 2012 Synod for New Evangelisation What will the Catholic Church look like in, say, 100 years time? Do you think it might look anything like the Church that we have inhabited? Next year the Bishops of the World are meeting in a Synod that could go a long way to shaping the answers to those questions. Helen from our Catholica Forum Community alerted us to these thoughts posted by Fr Paschal Kearney CSSp on the website of the WA Cyber Christian Community Inc which explores some of the possibilities. [more]

073 :
01 Sep 2011

A Te Deum for William Morris Despite the efforts of the small protesting remnant who believe they alone are God's chosen ones, and despite the Australian Cardinal's continuing criticism of the man in Ireland recently, the wider faithful, of the Diocese of Toowoomba in Western Queensland, supported by priests and bishops from further afield, travelled from afar to vote with their feet last Sunday to exhibit their support for their greatly loved pastor and colleague, Bishop William Morris. Dr Michael Furtado was there to witness the event and provided us with this report. [more]