106 :
04 Feb 2012

A quintessentially "Catholic" homily... In the Members' Forum of Catholica yesterday I broke a piece of Good News for the benefit of our forum members and I'd like to share that a little more widely today with you, our loyal subscibers. ...BMC, Editor [more]

105 :
20 Dec 2011

A tribute to Aileen, Lawrence, John and other departed members of our cyber community... I received a belated email yesterday advising me of the death of one of our long time contributors to the discussions on Catholica. She wrote under the name Gaspode, a name she'd borrowed from a character – a talking dog by that name – in the novels of Terry Pratchett. Today's commentary is a tribute to Gaspode – she was actually famous in her own right as a poet under her real name Aileen Kelly – and also to some other members of our community who have passed away almost without our noticing in recent years. ...BMC, Editor [more]

104 :
13 Dec 2011

A second look at a valuable insight into where Catholicism is heading... Over the last few weeks Catholica editor, Brian Coyne, has been having a more leisurely read of Tom Roberts' recently published book, The Emerging Catholic Church. We reviewed it on Catholica with some haste when it was first published [LINK] but on a second, more detailed reading Brian Coyne concludes " this is a 'tour de force' analysis of the challenges facing institutional Roman Catholicism". In this review Brian attempts to give an overview of what is in the book, how Roberts presents his case, what conclusions he comes to, and why we should treat this study Tom Roberts has undertaken seriously. [more]

103 :
25 Nov 2011

Who controls the Catholic church's agenda? A Case Study from Australia... Today's lead commentary deals with a sensitive political issue causing some concern in a number of places in the Catholic Church in Australia. It concerns the encouragement, or lack or encouragement, given to contemporary Christian music which has been widely used in parishes across this country since the Second Vatican Council. In some conservative quarters "contemporary music" is preceived as "the problem" that has caused Mass attendances to drop. We do not share that view here at Catholica. We believe this retreat back to the liturgical and musical styles of the 1950s is simply more of the same agenda that we have been fed for the last forty years since that Council that has been a major factor in causing nearly 90% of the adult baptized to cease listening or participating across the face of the Western world. [more]

102 :
14 Oct 2011

The new confidence in the voice of mainstream Catholic priests... Catholica Editor, Brian Coyne, has been noticing a new assertiveness on the part of mainstream priests to speak out about the crisis institutional Catholicism is in today. In this commentary he directs your attention to a number of places where this new, more assertive voice might be found. Will it be enough to save the institution from sinking below the waves under the assault perpetrated on it by this small remnant minority who seem capable of only dealing with their insecurities in one way — a craving need for certitude and authority figures? [more]

101 :
29 Sep 2011

Addressing the problem of too many prisoners... Last Sunday the Australian Catholic Bishops released their 2011-12 Social Justice Statement: "Building Bridges, Not Walls" It is a superbly written and produced document placing the spotlight on a public issue that has become an acute embarrassment in a civilised society like Australia — the rapidly escalating number of people in our prisons and the harm this is doing to the individuals incarcerated not to mention to wider society. Catholica Editor, Brian Coyne, has been reading the document and offers this overview of its contents. [more]