The Bishops meet...

Dear Friends,

In the coming week the Australian Catholic Bishops are meeting here in Sydney for their usual November meeting. We are fortunate here in Australia that JPII wasn't quite as successful as he appears to have been in the United States in stacking the ranks of the bishops with men who can't think or who are the "nutters" driving the vast majority out of the pews. There's a good 'tension' amongst the College of the Australian Bishops that prevents the arch-conservatives and 'company men' driving the institution to complete rack and ruin. At a party last night I heard some interesting speculation circulating amongst the priests of the Parramatta Diocese that an annoucement will be made before Christmas of a replacement for Bishop Kevin Manning, who handed in his resignation on reaching the statutory retirement age of 75 some time ago. The speculation is that the replacement is going to be a "middle-of-the-road" person, currently in a senior position in the Brisbane Diocese who is being chosen in the hope of building harmony in the Church. Let us hope it is true. Questions do need to be asked though why drag in someone from a different geographical region? Surely the ideal should be to choosing someone the people of any region already look up to as a leader? Someone who has already forged some trust with their people? If the speculation has substance — and please appreciate it is speculation at this stage ... the period before an announcement of the appointment of a new bishop is always filled with much speculation — this could be an interesting pointer to the outlook of the Papal Nuncio and those in Rome who have a large say in how the Church in this country is to be led and governed.

In today's extract from Robert Blair Kaiser's novel, we are introduced to the term 'autochthony' — self-governing local churches. Next week the chapter is entitled 'Autochthony' and the concept is further developed.
<Link to today's excerpt from Kaiser's novel, "Cardinal Mahony">
<www.catholica.com.au/gc3/rbk/014_rbk_211109.php>

Supporting the Charter for Compassion... There is much spiritual energy in the world at the moment — some of it moving humanity in positive directions and some of it moving humanity in negative directions. Two of the seemingly postive initiatives at the moment are the Charter for Compassion project started by Karen Armstrong and the other is the World Parliament of Religions meeting in Melbourne in early December. Today's commentary from Andrew McAlister helps draw our attention to both these endeavours... <more>

Did God have a wife? What a provocative, and fascinating commentary Dr Ian Elmer presents us with today. He argues it's not simply an interesting piece of history though. In exploring the religious practices of ancient people we better understand some of the practices of today. <more>

The Psychology of Priesthood #20 Today's commentary from Tom McMahon will perhaps be a surprise to regular followers of his column. The assessment he makes of the Council of Trent is generous. He writes "Some claim that it took Vatican Two in 1965 to promulgate some of Trent's best thinking." <more>

24.1: A clash over the human and divine natures of Christ... We move this week from the controversies surrounding Pelagius to those surrounding Nestorius. At the heart of the controversy is an understanding of the human and divine natures of Jesus. Tom Lee today explores the conflict between the two principal actors in the controversy, Cyril of Alexandria and Nestorius of Constantinople. <more>

Addendum to the National Apology... As the author of "Orphans of the Empire" (Random House, 1998), Alan Gill took a special interest in today's apology by the Prime Minister of Australia to former child migrants and Australian-born institutionalised kids. He contacted Catholica earlier today to bring to our attention a little-known aberration where the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney may earn a few brownie points. Here's the story Alan sent us for publication on Catholica... <more>

Is Catholicism a force for good in the world ... or should it be perceived as such? A couple of important things have come up though that do merit a break in our normal schedule. Firstly, being broadcast nationally on Australian television is an unprecedented apology from our national political leaders to the orphans who were removed from their homes and placed in institutions, often on the other side of the world. It is another of those "turning points" in the life of a nation — and perhaps the whole of human society. Particularly for our readers in countries other than Australia you can find more details on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's website at: www.abc.net.au.
Here at Catholica we would like to join this national initiative and extend our deepest apologies, and hopefully our deepest understanding if that is even possible in a matter like this, to the women and men who were subjected to the injustices of past misguided policies and societal attitudes.
The second reason for interrupting our normal schedule is to discuss the debate that was held on British television last week between Archbishop John Onaiyekan from Nigeria and Anne Widdencombe (Conservative British MP and convert to Catholicism) on the affirmative side and Stephen Fry and Christopher Hitchens on the negative side. The proposition under consideration was that "Catholicism is a force for good in the world". The Catholic team got trounced in the view of those participating in the on-screen vote.
In the Catholica forum last night I put up a proposal for a competition to see if anyone might come up with a more effective defense of the proposition that "Catholicism isa force for good in the world". That post has led to some fascinating responses. We'd like to hear from more of you both on the proposition I've put up for a competition, and/or, in response to the ideas that have already been put forward on the forum... <more>

Faith, Love and Kingdom #20… This is a beautiful reflection from Francis Brown today. It brings together all of the ideas he has been exploring in the chapters leading up to this. It's an holistic exploration of the concepts of faith, love and kingdom. Included at the bottom of the page is a music track from the 2CD set, "Music for Joyful Prayer" (which is available in our Spiritual Marketplace). <more>

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

Brian Coyne
Editor and Publisher