A birthday and some big developments…

Dear Friends,

It's my birthday today — the big 60 — and I was hoping to take it a little easy but there are some big stories in the offing so bear with me: The Tablet in London today is reporting some worrying developments concerning Cardinal Egan in New York. The joint seems to be in turmoil with mass reassignments of priests without any consultation whatsoever. Here in Sydney everybody seems to be putting on their best face for WYD but you don't need to be Einstein to know that a lot of it is pr hype and below the surface there are huge worries on a diversity of fronts. On a lighter note, in London The Tablet seems to have taken up our suggestion and they're now running some kind of survey to find who might be the next, best ecclesial leader of the Church in Britain. That article is only available to Tablet subscribers. Possibly the big one to be watching are the international Church politics being played out in Moscow with Cardinal Kasper's visit there. I don't have a lead commentary today to expand on these developments but I draw them to your attention because there seem to be some fairly big developments shaping up in Catholic affairs at the moment on a broad range of fronts. For your own reflection today you might like to brief yourself on the stories running in The Tablet. This edition also contains an interview with Cardinal Daneels who speaks of the dearth of thinkers in the leadership of the Church today. That interview is available freely to all.

An interesting phenomenon: The news I had been planning to bring you today is at a much lesser scale than all of that and it basically concerns some interesting information that is now beginning to show up in the statistics for Catholica. We'll more than probably move through the 16,000 unique visitor milestone this month — up from about 11,000 last month. We're not quite going to crash through the million page reads for the month but we're very close standing at 950,696 at 1920 hours last night. The most surprising thing to me this month is the huge increase in people accessing past commentaries and archive stuff in the forum. This is a very significant development as it starts to provide tangible proof that the model I developed so long ago for Catholica is going to work.

So many probably see Catholica simply as another Eureka Street, or another OnLine Catholics, or even as some kind of alternative to CathNews, but that was never my vision. I'm pleased to report that we are now beginning to see real statistical evidence that the model I dreamed up so long ago now does have real legs. <For a full explanation of what I am referring to please see the post in our forum>

Bishop Geoffrey Robinson in North America… Bishop Geoffrey Robinson has certainly been generating plenty of media coverage from his speaking tour in North America. Our colleagues, Ted Schmidt and John Quinn at New Catholic Times Sensus Fidelium in Toronto, Canada, report that the Archbishop of Toronto has now attempted to obstruct Bishop Robinson from speaking in his Archdiocese. Bishop Robinson is persisting though in his quest to have the issues of power and sex discussed openly and sensibly in the Church. These articles by the editor of New Catholic Times, Ted Schmidt, and John Quinn is how they are reporting the developments in Canada. This is the first of a regular exchange of commentaries we hope to bring Catholica readers from New Catholic Times. <more>

The meaning of Jesus in our lives… The editor is trying to take a short break today to clean up his desk so we're running without a lead commentary today. Last night though Ann Thomson sparked an interesting discussion on our forum that led into a discussion on suffering and pain. The editor placed a post within that string that seems to have generated a bit of interest judging from the responses he had the following morning. Basically it's the story of his personal search to make sense of all this Jesus stuff. What are your thoughts on what he wrote? Is this some weird personal Christology or does any of it with your experiences too? <more>

"How central to the spiritual quest is contemplation?" In the last commentary of Dr Patrick Collins looking at The Spirituality of Thomas Merton which we have been basing this first series of Wednesday Forums on, the discussion is on the place of contemplation in the overall life of the Church, perhaps even the overall life of the individual Christian. (For the specific commentary see HERE). That's the theme Brian Coyne takes up today. If we are serious about our religious beliefs, we are called to a diversity of responses: for example we are called to be charitable; we are called to participation in public prayer or Eucharist; we are called to a certain standard in our moral conduct; we are called to private prayer. The question Brian poses, is how important is the simple act of contemplation or meditation in that whole mix? <Link to Forum Discussion Thread> | <Link to orginal commentary by Dr Patrick Collins>

The wretched of the earth (cf Isaiah 49:13-26)… Today's commentary from Dr Kania draws on some of the work he is presently engaged in writing the biography of Dag Hammarskjöld. It is a poignant reflection on the moral obligation we all face to stand up for the weak and the oppressed. <more>

2.4: Sorting the facts from the pious myths… Tom Lee today takes a look at what the emerging consensus is amongst historians and biblical scholars as to what are some of the facts and what are some of the pious myths concerning the trials and crucifixion of Jesus. <more>

Interview with God's Callgirl… We present a feast of material for reflection today. She might not be a nun anymore, nor even a Catholic, but Carla van Raay would be the first to admit that she is still on a spiritual journey. This reflection ain't for fans of Maria Goretti. This is pretty raw spirituality for grown-ups. <Listen to the interview with Carla van Raay>

Bishop Power's heartfelt expression of support for Bishop Robinson… Retired Australian Bishop, Geoffrey Robinson, has in the last week or so come under pressure from the Vatican, from an unsigned statement put out in the name of the Australian Bishops, and from at least one Cardinal in the United States, for his blunt book entitled "Confronting Power and Sex in the Catholic Church — Reclaiming the Spirit of Jesus". Bishop Patrick Power, who is presently on long service leave, yesterday sent Catholica this unsolicited statement of heartfelt support for Bishop Robinson which it is our great pleasure to publish. The sentiments expressed in this article very much accord with the overwhelming sense of support we detect being expressed for them in the lay Church we come into contact with in this nation. We salute both Bishop Robinson and Bishop Power for having the courage to exhibit the spiritual leadership of their people that they have shown. …Brian Coyne, Editor. <more>

Who is perceived as the most effective Catholic Bishop in Australia? Today we launch the first Catholica Poll. We're trying to find out who is the most effective Catholic bishop in Australia. Our poll is a bit dodgy — we admit that — but we hope it might stimulate much discussion that does lead to a more effective and pastorally responsive Catholic Church in this Great South Land of the Holy Spirit. All votes are anonymous but only one vote per ISP address. Tell your friends and encourage them to vote also. This survey is open to anyone, not just subscribers to Catholica or members of the Catholica forum. <VOTE NOW>

Best wishes for a great day wherever you happen to be ... in life or in our world!

Brian Coyne
Editor and Publisher