032 :
11 June 2010

The search for a Church we can believe in again... The crisis in contemporary Catholicism is profound. It is of a scale unprecedented in the previous history of the institution. The sell-out of the ideals discerned by the majority of Bishops at the Second Vatican Council and the handing over of the institution to a small Taliban of liturgical and doctrinal fundamentalists has to end. That has been institutionalised theft and sin on a grand scale. Today's editorial is prompted by the words of William H. Slavick in an op-ed piece published in the Portland Press Herald, Maine. Dr Slavick argues it is time for Benedict to resign and take the thoroughly discredited leadership he heads with him. The full text of William Slavick's article calling for the resignation of the present leadership of the institution can be found in the Catholica Forum HERE. Our editorial though takes a softer line in inviting you to help us draw up a list of things that might define a Church we can believe in, or have hope in, again. [more]

031 :
21 Mar 2010

A Squandered Opportunity to Restore Morale... Late last night Australian time the Vatican released the much anticipated Pastoral Letter from Pope Benedict to the People of Ireland in the wake of the clerical abuse scandal in that country. Here at Catholica we looked forward to this Pastoral Letter with a genuine sense of hope and anticipation. In the end we were disappointed. Today's editorial has been written as an attempt to reflect what we believe might be a shared communal view of those who support the objectives of Catholica — an outreach to those who have given up regular sacramental participation in the institution and those still practising who have deep misgivings with the agenda presently being pursued by the institutional leadership. [more]

030 :
06 Mar 2010

Our institutional mission... Last night, at his installation as Third Bishop in the Diocese of Parramatta, Dr Anthony Fisher OP delivered an inspiring and thought-provoking homily outlining some of the challenges he sees as pastor to the Western suburbs of Sydney. In short, it was his mission statement. Here at Catholica we suggest his homily has wider application than this Diocese and to draw attention to it, and to some of the challenges we'd also like to draw to the attention of His Lordship and other bishops, we submit for thoughtful consideration this editorial... [more]

029 :
20 Feb 2010

There can be no excuse for these crimes; and no excuse for their cover up! On the 26th of November, 2009, a statement was issued by the Irish Government with regard the findings of the Commission of Investigation Report into the Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin. The long-awaited Statement informed the Irish public that: "a systemic, calculated perversion of power and trust was visited on helpless and innocent children in the Archdiocese over a 30 year period ... The report leaves us in no doubt that clerical child sexual abuse was tolerated and covered up by the Archdiocese of Dublin and other Church authorities. The focus of those authorities was on the avoidance of scandal for the Church and the preservation of the good name, status and assets of the institution, rather than on the welfare of children. The findings are shocking and raise the most fundamental questions for the Church authorities." Dr Andrew Kania has prepared this commentary which we publish as an editorial reflective of the collective view of the wider Catholica community on this issue of acute embarrassment to almost all baptised Catholics. ...Editor [more]

028 :
28 Aug 2009

The Duty of Care of the Institution to its Employees... Today's editorial comment has been drafted by a group of priests in the Sydney area who have been dismayed at the response of the Archdiocese of Sydney to the situation that developed recently when the Parish Priest of Liverpool, Fr Robert Fuller, was arrested and charged. This editorial is not concerned with the serious allegations which have been made concerning Fr Fuller. Under our system of law he is innocent until he is proven guilty by a properly constituted Court of Law. The issue that is of concern to the priests is the manner in which the employer of priests seems, through the issuance of a media release, to have wiped its hands of a duty of care to priests who, for whatever reason, find themselves in difficulties, legal or otherwise. ...Brian Coyne (Editor) [more]

027 :
12 May 2009

Going out on a limb in search of the Divine... Editor, Brian Coyne, presents arguments why the Eastern and Western Church need to be listening to one another and why, together we ought be listening to our Jewish forebears in our search for the authentic theologies, Christologies that help give us access to the Divine and to Ultimate Truth. [more]

026 :
02 May 2009

A time to have hope despite all the negatives! Caught between the uncertainties created by the global economic situation in the secular world and the certainties of an institutional Church leadership that seems hell-bent on making our Church totally irrelevant in the lives of the great majority of the baptised, in some ways it's not a time of great joy. In this editorial though, Brian Coyne argues there is cause for hope as we face the future... [more]

025 :
20 Feb 2009

Seeking a win-win outcome for everybody! We invite comment from members of the Catholica Forum and Letters to the Editor from subscribers expressing your views on this Open Letter, or offering further suggestions that might help build the Church in positive ways in Australia and help foster a win-win outcome for the St Mary's Parish Community in South Brisbane, the Archbishop, the institution, and for all the stakeholders in this present impasse... [more]

024 :
24 Jan 2009

Who will lead us? In our third formal commentary for 2009, editor and publisher of Catholica Brian Coyne offers an overview of the challenge facing Catholicism in the world through the perspective of the particular challenges, and the opportunities, that characterise the Church in the "land down-under". [more]

023 :
10 Jan 2009

Let us encourage a spirit of hopefulness… In our first formal commentary for 2009, editor and publisher of Catholica Brian Coyne takes up a suggestion voiced to him by Dr Patrick Collins last Sunday that we ought endeavour to take on a spirit of hope and hopefulness for the year ahead. Catholicism at the moment still seems to be "going backwards" at a great rate of knots it seems to becoming less and less relevant in the minds of more and more. This editorial argues how and why we ought to try and turn this around even if not for the sake of ourselves, for the sake of our children and grandchildren. [more]

022 :
20 Dec 2008

It's time for our ecclesial leaders to stop playing games! Our editorial today was triggered by a commentary Fr Eric Hodgens sent in late yesterday in which he expresses moral support for Archbishop John Bathersby and the parish community at St Mary's South Brisbane. In our editorial we amplify what Fr Hodgens has to say and suggest it is time the Bishops started to get serious in responding to the spiritual needs of ALL Catholics and not just the insecure and conservative minority who have been driving everyone else to distraction or out the doors of our Church. [more]

021 :
05 Sep 2008

A model for re-unifying the Christian church… As regular readers of Catholica by now well appreciate, our regular Tuesday lead commentator, Dr Andrew Thomas Kania, has become a passionate advocate for the Eastern rite Catholic churches who maintain their communion with the Latin Church headquartered in Rome. This week he has taken his advocacy to a new level scoring the lead story in The Tablet with a passionate commentary urging the Latin Church to pay greater heed to the universality and 'catholic' nature of Catholicism. It's an article that extends beyond simple advocacy for the Eastern churches and urges all of us to re-discover the depth, beauty and universality of our faith. Catholica is strongly supportive of the particular calls Dr Kania is making in his advocacy on behalf of Eastern Catholics in general and the Ukrainian Catholic Church in particular. We also believe there are themes in Dr Kania's expositions that might profitably be taken up within the Latin Rite Church to the benefit of its local churches around the world. You'll find a link to Dr Kania's article in The Tablet at the conclusion of today's editorial. We invite you to return and share your views on Dr Kania's article and the editorial in our forum. [more]

020 :
21 Aug 2008

Embracing the incertitudes and mystery of life with confidence… Today's editorial is partly sparked by the events currently unfolding in the Archdiocese of Brisbane concerning the parish community at St Mary's South Brisbane. The editorial ends by addressing that particular situation. Before that though the editorial seeks to raise some wider issues concerning the role of our institution and its leaders. Are our churches primarily a means of replacing the intrinsic uncertainties of life with man-made dogmas, certitudes and fundamentalism? Or are they primarily a means of providing comfort and companionship as we, the community at large, negotiate the uncertainties of life? [more]

019 :
13 Jul 2008

Bethel the responsibility we have to clean up the mess... Every event in life, even the worst tragedies, carry within them the potential for much that is also good. This truism ought be ranked somewhere up near the greatest insights of Christianity. The death of the founder of Christianity, Jesus Christ, from some points of view was one of human civilisation's greatest tragedies and gravest injustices where an innocent person was crucified and had his life taken away from him. Out of the tragedy though we Christians learned about the Resurrection perhaps the single greatest sign of hope ever given to humankind. Now that a decision has been taken to close the Bethel Community there are two significant issues that remain to be dealt with. In today'e editorial we seek to articulate what those issues are and to draw attention to who might have the responsibilities associated with addressing them. [more]

018 :
28 Jun 2008

Learning lessons from the Bethel Covenant Community... In our lead commentary today we provide a lengthy exposition of the sexual, leadership and potential financial scandal that has erupted in Western Australia concerning the Bethel Covenant Community. In an Editorial Commentary we endeavour to outline some of the major lessons that might be learned. [more]

017 :
15 Mar 2008

Charting a more positive way forward... Hundreds of millions of people in he Western world now have simply walked away from the Catholic Church seemingly in the belief that it is no longer "the fount of all truth". There is a sense that it is absolutely useless raising one's voice in protest. Others have stuck around seeking to see the reforms of the Second Vatican Council implemented. Slowly, slowly they have come to realisation that the battle is hopeless. In this editorial, Brian Coyne asks if those who are genuinely interested in finding a Catholic spirituality that does lead to "truth" and "grace" and "salvation/resurrection" ought start defining their quest in positive terms instead of this constant response to the behaviours of people like JPII, Benedict and their dwindling number of supporters and those who are locked in a form of "deep-fried adolescence". Let us start defining our spirituality in terms of what the collective leadereship of the Church endeavoured to discern at the time of the Second Vatican Council instead of having it defined for us by the neanderthal elements in the Church who, at every turn, have endeavoured to undo the collective work of the bishops of the Church at the Second Vatican Council. This editorial is a response to an editorial we also published on 15 March 2008 from ARCC Light. [more]

016 :
02 Feb 2008

Editorial commentary to launch our new publishing year... In today's commmentary, Brian Coyne explores some of the issues that place challenges in the way of what we're seeking to build here through Catholica Australia. He ends the commentary more optimistically by re-articulating our objectives in light of the changing challenges and landscape we face in the year ahead and also seeks to explain the editorial objectives in the sort of stories we are carrying and what sort of discussion we're endeavouring to encourage in our forums. [more]

014 :
20 Oct 2007

A response and defence of Bishop Manning's comment regarding the petition and a suggestion about a new book the bishops might buy one another for Christmas... This editorial looks at Bishop Manning's recent intervention regarding the petition to the Australian Bishops. It ends with a suggestion of a new book the bishops might buy one another for their Christmas stockings: Robert Blair Kaiser's racy new novel entitled "Cardinal Mahony the novel". [more]

013 :
03 Aug 2007

A time for optimism and hope... The Editor argues: "it is time for intelligent Catholic men and women to provide moral support to our religious men and women and to the great majority of our bishops. There are many, many reasons in this country to be optimistic for the future of our Church if only we can break the institution away from the clutches of the emotionally insecure who have placed a premium on the search for certitude in their lives at the expense of the search for "real truth" and the real guidance of the Holy Spirit that this Great South Land of the Holy Spirit so desperately hungers for today." [more]

012 :
16 Apr 2007

This behaviour is morally objectionable... The news on the weekend that yet another priest in Australia is the subject of a witch hunt by the self-appointed "thought police" is the pits. It's time for the rot to stop. What is just as objectionable is when some in the leadership echelons of the Church encourage this behaviour or fail to stand up for their staff. [more]

011 :
03 Feb 2007

The many ways in which you might help 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]

009 :
05 Dec 2006

Australian Bishops launch initiative for People with Disabilities... The Australian Catholic Bishops launched a significant initiative in Canberra on Monday to develop a more inclusive attitude towards people with disabilities in the Australian community. We have an exclusive report of the Mass and Launch event with photos and video. [more]

008 :
02 Dec 2006

The ACBC Report on Catholics who have stopped going to Mass will it lead to changes that reverse the drift? We applaud the Australian Catholic Bishops for funding this important study. We ask will this study be enough though? Cranking up the volume of the same broken record, appeasing the insecure sectors of the Church, is not going to be enough to reverse the drift and re-evangelise the world. [more]

007 :
19 Oct 2006

The challenge they face in cyberspace... The Bishops face enormous challenges in the new frontier of cyberspace. We put forward a few ideas that ought be reflected upon. [more]

006 :
10 Oct 2006

The demise of lay aposotolates. What can be done? Catholic lay apostolates today are a shadow of what they used to be. Should we care? If we do what can be done? [more]

005 :
13 Sep 2006

The Christian meaning in Human Suffering Catholica Australia presents a special feature on the Christian Meaning of Human Suffering. The editorial provides an overview and leads into a commentary prepared by Peregrinus on the Apostolic Letter of Pope John Paul II on the subject Salvifici Dolores. [more]

004 :
10 Sep 2006

Can you help with the marketing of Catholica Australia? Catholica Australia will take about four years to develop to the point where it can stand on its own feet financially through advertising. We are seeking to fund the development of the initiative through philanthropic support. We see the core members of this community as already making contributions through the volunteering of their time and for those who have the communication skills to attract the audience to our website we intend to pay them rather than rely on them for the financial help as well. This editorial then is not so much a plea for funds but a request for names of people we might approach. [more]

003 :
28 Aug 2006

On some serious issues of truth and half-truth...
The editor of Catholica Australia takes issue with elements in the Catholic media who appear to have been involved in an attempt to defame the reputation of Fr George V Coyne SJ who has resigned from the position of Director of the Vatican Observatory a post he has held since 1978. [more]

002 :
26 Aug 2006

What drives this endeavour? Brian Coyne thanks all those who have supported the Catholica Australia endeavour in its initial weeks and seeks to answer some of the questions that have been raised as to what this endeavour is all about for those who are still a little confused. [more]

001 :
18 Jul 2006

A Prayer for our time... Jo Shears was the winner of a competition we ran on the CathNews discussion board in 2002 in the aftermath of the terrorist bombing in New York. The competition invited readers to submit "A Prayer for Our Time". Jo Shears produced a multi-media reflection that won the competition. We republished the prayer here on 18th July 2006 along with an editorial explaining the significance of this prayer for us today. [THE PRAYER] [THE EDITORIAL]