Addiction and Grace…

Dear Friends,

Please forgive our headline photo. In recent days a newspaper photographer caught Pope Benedict having a quiet drag. I've already drawn attention to that story in our forum last night suggesting that Benedict might yet become the patron saint of we addicts to nicotine (See: "Smokers get a patron saint" Post 13241). It is a picture that I have a strong feeling will get everyone's attention for the topic at hand in this lead commentary today. Vince Exley sent it in to us. He's been reading Gerald G May's book "Addiction and Grace" and Vince has given us this edited extract. While we do not receive any benefit from Harper Collins, the publishers of Gerald May's book, we hope the stretching of the laws of copyright, if that is indeed what we are doing, might induce a few people to go purchase Gerald May's book, or borrow it from their local library — both actions which would provide some compensation for Dr May. …Editor <More> | <Read the story about Pope Benedict's smoking habit>

Looking at the difficulties of evangelisation in Australia… The weekend after next the Bishops of Australia are launching an advertising campaign across the nation to reach out to the 86% of Catholics who no longer practice. Brian Coyne has been looking at the Pastoral Letter and the materials to be used in the campaign. Does it have much chance of working or is it a repeat of the many other re-evangelisation programs run over the last 100 years since people started leaving the Church? <More>

Collins-Purcell urge petitioners to now write directly to Pope Benedict! In the wake of the "disappointing" response from the President of the Australian Catholic Bishops last week, Dr Paul Collins and Frank Purcell, the organisers of a petition to the Australian Catholic Bishops last year, last night announced a new campaign to generate at least a thousand letters which they hope to have delivered to Pope Benedict during his visit to Australia next month. The letter they are suggesting people write addresses the looming crisis in Ministry this nation faces with a lack of priests to officiate at weddings, funerals and Sunday liturgies. <More>

What sort of witness do we Catholics seek to project? With a little over a month to go until World Youth Day is celebrated in Sydney, the event is attracting more and more coverage in the media. Last Saturday the Sydney Morning Herald published a provocative article by Adele Horin looking at the event through the eyes of a an unbelieving mother in a household of religiously sceptical young people. In this response a Catholic mother with much experience of the mores of young people today, Kerry Gonzales, responds supporting Adele Horin's call for the fostering of greater religious tolerance in the wider Australian community but herself also expressing a different kind of scepticism about what World Youth Day is going to achieve. Will it convince the broad masses of young people or is it likely to fan the flames of the sort of religious intolerance recently exhibited in Sydney against the proposal to build an Islamic secondary college in the outer suburbs of Sydney at Camden? <more>

How do you pray today? Today we travel back to somewhere close to the orgins of the Catholica community. In the wake of the turmoil unleashed by 911 Brian Coyne ran a competition on the old CathNews Discussion Board for people to write "A Prayer for Our Time". For our reflection today we re-visit Kate's audio visual prayer. We also pose some questions: have the ways in which you pray today changed in the last five years? Should they change or is prayer timeless? Is God timeless and hence our relationship with God ought never change? Or should our relationship with God be in continuous flux as we mature spiritually? <Link to Forum Discussion Thread>

The futility, reality and morality of war and self-defence… Human society owes an enormous debt to those hundreds of thousands of naive boys on all sides who went off to fight for King, Kaiser and Country in the First Great War. Those who witnessed the brutal reality of the trenches returned chastened, shattered and convinced of the futility of war. Humankind does not learn some lessons easily though. The other reality is that evil does exist in the world. At times we do have to defend ourselves when faced with an aggressor who is beyond contact by reason. In the first of a trilogy of commentaries looking at Fifth Commandment morality — "thou shalt not kill" — Dr Andrew Kania examines the vexed issue of the morality of war and self-defence. <more>

Supporting an independent Catholic media… Cliff Baxter has drawn our attention to an important address by Bill Moyers which we have now placed on the forum. It's an address delivered in the United States about the freedom of the press. What he has to say though perhaps applies with even more force within the Catholic Church. <more>

Myth, Mystery and the Meaning of Sacrament… Tom McMahon today introduces a new series of Sunday commentaries which will be exploring our understanding of Sacrament in an Age of Technology. The Seven Sacraments we have today were an evolution. Once there were more than a hundred sacraments which the Council of Trent codified into the Seven we know today. Tom explores the meaning of the term Sacrament … what they are meant to achieve … have the Trentian Sacraments lost their meaning for many today … should we re-examine the entire issue of "Sacrament" and give them new meaning for our prsent age — or find new symbols that communicate more effectively today? In this introductory reflection he looks at the power of Myth and Mystery in the human imagination. <more>

Brian Coyne & Adel Ghali… We begin a new series of aural conversations on Catholica today. Initially this might seem like an interview simply because the editor of Catholica is the usual interviewer in the other audio segments we have introduced to readers. In time we hope to introduce a diversity of "conversations" between different individuals. We want to keep the tone as natural as possible — just like the conversations any of us might have around the kitchen table talking about our faith, our beliefs, our perceptions of the Church, and life. This first conversation is between the editor of Catholica, Brian Coyne, and his friend, Adel Ghali. Both Brian and Adel have had a long involvement in lay endeavours and apostolates in the Church over many decades. The conversation is being published in three segments. Here is a summary of the segments:
Segment 1 (13m01s): Introduction – explaining what this series is about and providing background to the participants in this first conversation. Adel shares some of his observations from working at both parish and diocesan level…
Segment 2 (13m04s): Broadly this segment is an extended exchange of views on our different perceptions as to why the Church has lost traction in attracting people. Adel puts forward a more conservative view than Brian…
Segment 3 (14m18s): In the concluding segment the focus is on what might be done to re-vitalise the Church and perceptions of what is happening in Catholic education with the education of young people… <Go to the audio files>

Who is perceived as the most effective Catholic Bishop in Australia? Have you voted yet in the Catholica Poll? All votes are anonymous. Two Questions: If we had a Primate of the Catholic Church in Australia (which we don't) who do you perceive would be the best person to occupy the position? If Dr Pell moves from Sydney after WYD who do you think would be the best successor as Cardinal Archbishop of Sydney? <VOTE NOW>

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

Brian Coyne
Editor and Publisher