"John XXIII Catholics trying to survive in a John Paul II world!"

Dear Friends,

There's some great lines in today's extract from Bob Kaiser's novel today. I've used one of them as the headline today's email. That almost defines the readership we are seeking to appeal to via Catholica: "John XXIII Catholics trying to survive in a John Paul II world!"
It's been another great week on Catholica. For the last three days in a row the number of visits have been amongst the highest we've had since we started. While I have your attention could I direct particular focus on the e-Conference on St Luke being organised by the Broken Bay Institute which will take place on 4th November. (For more info click the ad at the bottom of this email.) I have issued an invitation on the forum but extend it here to the wider readership of Catholica. On the day we're opening our house for a small group to take part in the Conference here. If you are interested and live in the Sydney area and would enjoy a drive up to the Blue Mountains and a pleasant discussion with a few people from the Catholica community you'll be made most welcome. Just let us know if you can make it so that we can organise the catering. There will be no cost to you, other than getting yourself here — it's a great train journey up the mountain (about 75 minutes from Central) — and we'll provide a barbeque lunch. We have room for about 15 people and around five or six places are already taken. I can guarantee that it's going to be a very special day so if you'd like to be here please don't hestitate to email me (editor@catholica.com.au).
<Link to today's excerpt from Kaiser's novel, "Cardinal Mahony">
<www.catholica.com.au/gc3/rbk/008_rbk_101009.php

Re-thinking our understanding of Church community... Here's a good example of a reflection on Catholica that was triggered by a previous commentary long ago. Tom McMahon mentioned Paul Lakeland many months ago. Kevin Murphy went off on read up on Paul and found some ideas that are well worth reflecting on. The subtitle of Paul's book "Catholicism at the Crossroads" is "How the Laity Can Save the Church". What we're invited to reflect on is the style of community we build as Church. This is a rich reflection worth spending time with. <more>

How Many Gospels Were Written before Luke? Dr Ian Elmer today takes on the much discussed question of the provenance and reliability of the Gospel record. It's a timely commentary in view of the upcoming e-Conference on St Luke which takes place in a few week's time — a bit of pre-reading if you like. <more>

International Petition Organisers sharply critical of the Vatican... The organisers of the international petition which drew nearly 55,000 signatures, with a heavy weighting from intellectuals and the more reflective sector of Catholicism, have issued a strong rebuke to the Vatican for the brush-off that the Vatican has endeavoured to serve up. Here is the full text of the media release issued by the petition organisers today. <more>

The Psychology of Priesthood #14 Tom McMahon might have sounded a bit frustrated at the beginning of last week's commentary but he has brightened up considerably this week. Intrepidly, he's still on the case of seeking to understand how the psyche of the priesthood developed historically? How related is the psyche of the modern priest related to the psyche of Jesus Christ? <more>

22.3: Original Sin and other pressing issues... The extract from Tom Lee's commentary today explores the origins of concepts like Original Sin, Purgatory, Limbo — as well as Catholic ideas about sex and celibacy in the reasoning of men like Augustine and Ambrose. What are your thoughts on these sort of issues? <more>

A lifetime spiritual journey #15… In today's extract from his book, Francis relates some of the sense of alienation he felt on leaving the clerical priesthood and his pathway to find a new place of spiritual equilibrium in his life. <more>

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

Brian Coyne
Editor and Publisher