Call to Australian Bishops to consider ordination of married men, and women… In a breaking news story on Wednesday evening, a group of lay and religious Catholic leaders and activists has published a petition calling on the Australian Catholic Bishops to collectively discuss the possibility of ordination of married men and, separately, the controversial issue of the ordination of women. Originally published: 02 Aug 2007, 5th most read commentary – 2,668 readers incl. 184 print views. <more>

Perspectives on Spirituality and Religion written by young people Pt III – Armen Gakavian… Dr Armen Gakavian summarises his spiritual journey in this way: "I have had an Armenian Apostolic (Orthodox) upbringing, Catholic religious education at school, encounter with Jesus through a fundamentalist Baptist Church, involvement with various campus Christian groups, and encounters with radical Christian communities. At the 'end' (there is really no end) of this process, I am now what I would call 'evangelical'." His essay is illuminating not only of his own personal journey but seeks to provide commentary on why so many of his contemporaries are today distanced from the Church. Originally published: 01 Jan 2007, 6th most read commentary – 2,285 readers. <more>

Providing moral support to the Australian bishops… Dr Paul Collins is one of the prime movers behind the petition to the Australian Catholic Bishops asking them to consider a number of proposals that might help address the shortage of priests in Australia. In this very candid and honest commentary Dr Collins argues that we are very fortunate in Australia in presently having some excellent, pastorally-minded bishops who are concerned at the crisis facing the Church in this country in being able to provide for the sacramental needs of the Australian Catholic community. In fact, he argues, the moderate, pastorally-minded bishops form a broad and decisive majority in the college of Australian bishops. He explains how the petition is seeking to elicit moral support from within the broad lay community in support of the bishops as they endeavour to address the significant challenges facing the Church in being able to provide ready access to the sacramental life of the Church in the future. Originally published: 31 Aug 2007, 7th most read commentary – 2,134 readers incl. 106 print views. <more>

Draft Pastoral Plan needs serious rewrite suggests Academic… The Archdiocese of Sydney recently circulated a Draft Pastoral Plan for public discussion. A pdf copy of the draft document is available on the Archdiocesan website. The feedback being picked up by independent religious journalists and commentators around Sydney is that at the parish level there is disquiet about the draft plan. Fr Daniel Donovan, a lecturer at the School of Religious Education at ACU National was approached by a number of parishes to provide a critique of the Draft Plan. His conclusion is that the draft is seriously flawed and needs to be taken back to the drawing board for a major re-write. He argues the document is theologically flawed and needs to pay far greater heed to official Vatican documents and the accepted teaching of the Catholic Church. In his critique, Fr Donovan cites a number of significant Vatican level documents which would urge a different approach to be taken to what has been proposed in the Draft Pastoral Plan for Sydney. We publish here the critique Fr Donovan has provided to the parishes that requested it. Originally published: 18 May 2007, 8th most read commentary – 2,112 readers incl. 130 print views. <more>

Who will celebrate the Sacraments in 10 years time? In light of the present petition to the Australian Catholic Bishops, readers of Catholica Australia will be interested in this discussion paper prepared by the Pastoral Council at the Parish of the Immaculate Conception, Rosebank, Johannesburg late last year which discusses the similar looming crisis in Ministry and the availability of Sacraments facing the Catholic Church in Australia. Originally published: 04 Oct 2007, 9th most read commentary – 1,972 readers incl. 157 print views. <more>

The Two Faces of Eve… In this provocative commentary written a few weeks ago in Oxford — which takes on new relevance in the wake of Bishop Geoffrey Robinson's book examining the recent problems of Power and Sex in the Catholic Church — Dr Andrew Thomas Kania, exposes the historical problem of corruption in the institutional Church; the constant problem of the authorities wanting to turn a blind eye to it; and the challenge all of us face in constant vigilance. Perhaps ironically he also quotes some ancient wisdom from St John Chrysostom about the qualities needed by those who are elected as leaders in the Church. The irony being that were the Church to have been more open and democratic perhaps the people might have had some say and that just may have provided some protection against the recent scandals as Professor Leonard Swidler argues with eloquence and at length in his recent book: "Making the Church our Own — How We Can Reform the Catholic Church from the Ground Up". Originally published: 04 Sep 2007, 10th most read commentary – 1,866 readers incl. 88 print views. <more>