EDITOR'S ROUND-UP

Saturday, 07 February 2009

A wealth of reading today!

Dear Friends,

Despite sitting on a small mountain of lead commentaries at the moment we have decided not to publish our own lead commentary today. Instead we point you to the veritable avalanche of material flooding the media and cyberspace at the moment in the wake of Pope Benedict's enormous gaffe in inviting back the SSPX bishops. In our forum the regular contributors to the forum have drawn attention to numerous articles in The Tablet (it's available free to all this week because of the extreme weather in Britain), National Catholic Reporter, the secular media, and other websites, not to mention Alan Gill's commentary on Catholica on Friday. The readership stats on Catholica have been going through the roof in recent days because of what has happened. For weekly readers I particularly draw your attention to the homily Cliff Baxter provided links to in our forum from a Traditionalist priest in Ohio last weekend [See Post id=22598]. The Church leadership is taking a battering from all sides. Ladies and Gentlemen, we have an institution in meltdown. What happens from here is anyone's guess. Even Cardinal George Pell said on ABC radio during the week that the situation had been "badly handled" by the Vatican. <Check out the forum discussions>

Are these the only ones who will be saved? Recent news has projected back into the spotlight the small ginger groups way over on the extremes of Catholicism. Veteran religious affairs journalist, Alan Gill, recalls his meetings with two of the highest profile spokesmen for a couple of these groups, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, who visited Australia in 1974 and Hutton Gibson, the father of actor Mel Gibson. NOTE: This commentary contains a link to the main flash file on Hutton Gibson's website. The sound might drive you crazy after a while so be prepared to turn your speakers off. Unfortunately we cannot control the sound from its source. <more>

"Apostle to the Gentiles" This is a "catch-up" commentary from Dr Ian Elmer. It went astray somewhere in cyberspace between Brisbane and the Blue Mountains before Christmas. We insert it now as this series is also being followed by students in various tertiary institutions and seminaries as part of their reading. The dispute Paul was involved in with Peter, James and the leaders at Jerusalem was complex and scholars are still seeking to fully understand it with various explanations being put forward. The thrust of this commentary is, as Dr Elmer concludes, "[i]n a very real sense, it was this dispute that gave birth to Paul's quintessential mission as the 'Apostle to the Gentiles'". <more>

Penance – Part 3 Yesterday on Catholica Andrew Kania brought us a provocative commentary on what amounted to a strong argument in favour of the importance of Reconciliation. Today on Catholica Tom McMahon continues his series on the Sacrament of Penance with an exclusive revelation of the first "sin" he confessed in Confession. It's lain as a secret for 73 years. Be one of the first to read the momentous revelation. Can you remember what the first "sin" was that you confessed? Many readers will identify with what Tom writes. Does the form of "Confession" we were brought up on actually lead to the sort of "Reconciliation" that was being discussed in yesterday's email and lead commentary. Is it, for example, a protection against dementia? <more>

Resolving illusion and fantasy in our lives! For his first commentary for 2009, Andrew Kania presents a provocative commentary examining the "living hell" that the world of illusion and fantasy can create in our lives. What's the answer to getting rid of our illusions, delusions and fantasies? Andrew's title for this essay is "Living Hell". <more> <See also further discussion in Tuesday's email>

11.1: The European Dimension… In our continuation of the serialisation of Tom Lee's mammoth exploration of the first 500 years of Christianity, we begin our new publishing year with a four-week examination of the chapter he entitles "The European Dimension". One of the fascinations of Christianity is that its origins were diverse and perhaps that is what helped it become the first global religion. Within the diversity of its origins though the European dimension was the strongest. <more>

A Review of Clive Hamilton's book "The Freedom Paradox" For our first Sunday Forum James, a retired lawyer and regular contributor to the Catholica Forum, has been reading Clive Hamilton's book, "The Freedom Paradox — towards a post-secular ethics". James provides a thought-provoking introduction to what is almost certain to be a sustained discussion on morality. <more>

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

Brian Coyne
Editor and Publisher