Friday, 24 Sep 2010
How much of this sits comfortably with you?
Dear Friends,
I'm a day early with the weekly email today as I'm going to be absent for a couple of days accompanying Amanda to the As One Voice National Music Conference over the weekend. I hope to provide updates from the conference over the next two days but there will be no email or lead commentary on Saturday or Sunday.
You, dear reader, probably need a break as much as I do as the past week has delivered a plethora of commentaries leading to strings of thought-provoking reflections on our forum at some very foundational stuff to do with belief and where civilisation is heading. Vince Exley brings us a commentary today that seems to tap into this 'stream of consciousness' going on in the Catholica community. His thought-provoking commentary, written having just moved into a retirement village, is a kind of credo as to where all his musing and meditation has led him to in his foundational beliefs.
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Dr Ian Elmer… |
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 Exploring the meaning of fall and redemption... In his introduction to today's lead commentary Ian Elmer labels this commentary as a "thought experiment". As editor of Catholica, I think it is both a good one and a successful one. To me it might even rank as one of the most perceptive and valuable commentaries we've yet published on Catholica in the last four years. What Ian explores today is deeply foundational stuff about both the nature of God and the nature of the relationship we human beings are called into by the nature of our being. <more>
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Tom McMahon… |
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 Clericalism: the heart of the problem? Tom McMahon as Don Quixote? But this ain't about raging at windmills but at the culture of clericalism that has wrought so much destruction in the Catholic Church. Was the mindset encouraged by the 19th Century's Paul Cardinal Cullen at the heart of the problem? Today and next week Tom goes in search of some answers. <more>
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Dr Andrew Thomas Kania… |
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 The power of a good story to teach... The acclaimed Czech novelist Milan Kundera has written a number of books exploring deeply the things that drive, or characterise the human spirit. In this commentary, Dr Andrew Kania explores some of the territory covered by Kundera in his sixth novel, Immortality. It is largely an exploration of the shifting social and cultural paradigm that drives our behaviour and thinking. Rich material here for quiet meditation. <more>
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Brian Coyne… |
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 The looming leadership crisis facing the Church... In a frank article in the latest edition of his diocesan newsletter, Bishop David Walker outlines for his flock the looming crisis in being able to provide enough parish priests in his diocese. Catholica Editor, Brian Coyne suggests what Bishop Walker is writing about has wider application than in his own diocese. Sadly what the Bishop is saying is unlikely to be heard in the places where it needs to be heard and so, collectively, the Church in Australia will "stumble on" with the crisis only getting much worse as the decades ahead unfold. <more>
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John Chuchman… |
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 WWJS (What would Jesus Say?) As John Chuchman suggests towards the end of today's reflection: it would make a good bumper sticker: "Be the God you want to see in the world!" The attribution though might belong to Jan Phillips whom John has borrowed the core text from (with permission) for today's reflection. It's a reflection on the Mosque proposal near the World Trade Centre but stretches our imagination about what religion is supposed to be about. As the reflection says: "It's not about doctrine. It's a plan for action — an opportunity to be a bigger force for good." <more>
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Social Justice Statement Promotion… |
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 Curbing our anger and societal violence... For reflection today the editor of Catholica, Brian Coyne, invites you to read the 2010 Social Justice Sunday Statement that has been published by the Australian Catholic Bishops. While there are many things deserving of criticism in the institution today, and some of them in the social justice domain, the editor argues that the social justice insights and teachings of the institution are something that we ought take seriously — as individuals and as a community. <more>
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Wishing you a great day wherever you happen to be ... in life and in our world.
Brian Coyne
Editor and Publisher
Catholica
34 Martin Place, LINDEN NSW 2778, Australia
tel: +612 4753 1226
email: editor@catholica.com.au |
