048 :
19 Dec 2011

Two priests critique the George Weigel panegyric to Cardinal George Pell... Today we present two contrasting albeit critical responses to the panegyric by George Weigel in praise of Cardinal George Pell we drew to your attention last Friday that was published in the conservative American journal, First Things. Both have been submitted to Catholica by priests: Fr Eugene Ahern is based in Melbourne and Fr Daniel Donovan is located in Sydney. [more]

047 :
02 Dec 2011

Who sets the policy agenda for Catholic Higher Education across Australia? Not just Catholic Higher Education but all of Higher Education in Australia at present is awaiting the outcome of a review being undertaken by the Federal Government which provides a large part of the funding and sets the policy direction for education in this country. We'll know more of the implications of this governmental review next year. Catholic Higher Education also seems to have been a particular focus of attention of Cardinal George Pell who was reputedly charged by the late John Paul II with "cleaning up the Church in Australia". While the strength of the Aussie dollar is posing something of a problem for most universities as the number of full-fee-paying overseas students shrinks quite dramatically, there is much speculation about in what is left of the thinking Catholic Church in Australia that the strength of the Australian economy has proved a boon for Australia's cardinal. In today's essay, Fr Daniel Donovan examines some of the evidence of what is going on and speculates, perhaps not quite as grandly as the speculation His Eminence seems to be engaged in, on some of the possibilities that seem to be emerging. Do the other bishops of Australia have much input into the policy direction for Catholic Education? Do they care? Do they have the power to do anything? [more]

046 :
14 Nov 2011

The pastoral care of priests, and their communities... It's more than simply an essay about the "pastoral care of priests". This essay by Fr Daniel Donovan is an essay about the pastoral care of communities as well. It follows on from his last commentary about the problem of clerical alcoholism which generated much positive feedback from active priests. When a priest resigns, or has to leave because of stress or other causes, Fr Donovan argues the institution, and the bishops in particular, are faced with responsibilities to the individuals directly concerned, the priests — the one leaving as well as any replacement — and also to the community served by the priest in question. [more]

045 :
25 Oct 2011

Dealing with the problem of priestly stress and alcoholism A shocking story from the Diocese of Lismore here in Australia has been generating headlines in the Australian media. It concerns a priest who was picked up for drunk driving in recent days whose blood-alcohol reading was so high that the breathalizer could not measure it. It was one of the highest readings ever recorded in New South Wales according to police. Fr Daniel Donovan has written this commentary in response to the treatment of the story on the Nine Network program A Current Affair on Monday evening. In this commentary Fr Dan lifts the lid a little on the problem of clerical addiction and also introduces us to one center in the United States which he visited some years ago which seems to provide some effective treatment for the problem. Fr Dan told Catholica by phone separately to this commentary that "Guest House" in Michigan returns more priests to ministry in the United States and Canada each year than are newly ordained. That fact in itself might illustrate something of the scale of the problem of the stresses associated with priesthood. [more]

044 :
07 Oct 2011

What can the Australian Ad Limina visits to Rome achieve? The Australian bishops are in Rome to hand in their five-yearly reports to head office. Fr Daniel Donovan has written this essay in the last few days mulling on the challenges facing the Catholic Church in Australia. He ends the essay attempting to take us back to what the core objective of Catholicism is meant to be. Essentially that's a message for the universal church not just for the Church in Australia. That's what ultimately connects us to the universality and catholicism of Catholicism — seeking Oneness with all humankind! Seeking to become "one, holy, catholic and apostolic body of Christ" in service to all of humankind. Not endeavouring to dominate all of humankind with any sense of superiority or greater knowledge we think we might have. [more]

043 :
26 Aug 2011

The importance of the Assembly Part II... In this conclusion to his two-part commentary on the role of the ordinary pew-sitters – the Assembly – in the life of the Church, Fr Daniel Donovan argues that the Council Fathers at the Second Vatican Council returned to the early Church and its emphasis on the gathered Assembly because recognition of the risen Lord in each other is the precondition for cognition or knowing him in his sacramental presence. This is a strongly sourced, cogent argument challenging the "reform of the reform" trend in contemporary Catholicism that seems intent on undoing the insights discerned by the majority of the Church's leaders at the Second Vatican Council. [more]

042 :
25 Aug 2011

The importance of the Assembly Part I... In this informative and instructive, yet challenging two-part commentary, Fr Daniel Donovan argues that those who seem so intent on "reforming the reform" of the Second Vatican Council are actually challenging some of the earliest traditions of Catholicism. The "reform of the reform" does not take us back closer to the insights of Jesus and the early Church leaders but it takes us back to clericalism and a time of triumphalist certitudes that are totally disconnected from our authentic traditions and ecclesial insights. This commentary was sparked by further research Fr Donovan undertook following his recent series on the Eucharist [LINK]. As usual with Fr Donovan's commentaries the footnotes are often as instructive as the main text. [more]

041 :
12 Aug 2011

A non-Jansenist understanding of Eucharist... Concluding his commentary from yesterday Fr Daniel Donovan today offers a quick overview of how Eucharist was celebrated in the early Church and the insights discerned by the Bishops at the Second Vatican Council. Fr Donovan offers these insights as a counter to the seeming determination of some to overturn those insights and take us back to some form of Jansenism. [more]

040 :
11 Aug 2011

Is Jansenism being revived? That conservative religious commentator and recent convert to Catholicism, Tess Livingstone, has been upsetting Fr Daniel Donovan in another article in The Australian newspaper. This time over the attempts of one curial cardinal trying to overturn the Vatican II insights into the Eucharist. Are these people trying to re-introduce Jansenism as the meanstream of Catholic belief and practise? In this two-part series, Fr Donovan examines what is happening and (tomorrow) provides an alternative exegesis of the understanding of Eucharist in the early Church and how that was revived at the Second Vatican Council. Where are the majority of our bishops raising their voices in protest at what is being done to Catholicism, and to the work of the great majority of their predecessors at the Second Vatican Council? Who authorised this take-over of Catholicism by this remnant minority and these latter-day converts to Catholicism who are attempting to turn the insights discerned by the great majority of the world's bishops on their head? [more]

039 :
30 Jul 2011

A valuable "second opinion"! The recent criticism of the Vatican by the Irish Taoiseach is unprecented and might well be the trigger that finally brings Rome to some kind of sense that there is something deeply wrong in the ecclesial culture that extends far beyond the immediate concerns of an inadequate global response to the scandal of clerical abuse. In today's commentary Fr Daniel Donovan explores some of the significance of this development. [more]

038 :
18 Jul 2011

An Investment to Die For! The one sure bet we can all make is that one day we will have to die and be buried. With the coming of the baby-boomer generation to the last phase of life, the funeral industry has become a lucrative investment opportunity. Fr Dan Donovan has officiated at quite a few funerals over his life as a priest and picked up a thing or two about how the ritual has changed over the decades. This article starts off discussing the crisis in the European economy and at first you might wonder what in the dickens that has to do with the price of funerals in Sydney. Well, read on, and prepare to be enlightened — and start your planning now for your own funeral. [more]

037 :
15 Jul 2011

The meaning of the Catholic Mass, Part 2... Fr Daniel Donovan ended his commentary yesterday [LINK] with this sentence: "The Christian community is nourished and strengthened from the table of the word and the table of the Eucharist and the separation of these two tables after 1559 has impoverished both the Anglican and Roman communities." His continuation today expands the pregnancy inherent to that sentence... [more]

036 :
14 Jul 2011

The meaning of the Catholic Mass, Part 1... Our reactionary Catholic reporter friend at The Australian newspaper, Tess Livingstone, has been giving Fr Dan Donovan a bit of heartburn again in her lack of understanding of Catholic theology. Today's commentary — the first of a two-parter which will conclude tomorrow — he gives Tess a lesson that she might not have learned given her late arrival in the Catholic Church. It is also a fascinating exploration of the meaning of the Catholic Mass that will warm the hearts of many older Catholics as well. [more]

035 :
30 Jun 2011

Bishop Morris: Has the Vatican forgotten the lessons from Fr Feeney? Today's commentary from Fr Dan Donovan contains a massive amount of interesting reading material if you include all the articles he links to in the body of the article and the footnotes. Fundamentally what he presents is a comparison of the treatment of Bishop Bill Morris and an earlier excommunication of an ultra-orthodox priest in the United States in 1953, Fr Leonard Feeney SJ. The treatment of Fr Feeney is even to this day a sore issue with some conservative elements and even to more moderate and liberal elements who believe he was treated with gross unfairness and a lack of due process. The excommunication of Fr Feeney and his followers was eventually overturned by Pope Paul VI in 1972 and Fr Feeney died in 1978. Coincidentally we received this commentary from Fr Donovan shortly before the editor of Catholica left to attend the American Catholic Council in Detroit. On the second day of the Council meeting, the editor was surprised to hear one of the keynote speakers, James Carroll (who is also mentioned in Fr Donovan's commentary), also mentioning the relevance of the Feeney case to Catholicism today. So, tomorrow, as well as the fascinating research provided by Fr Donovan we will also be providing you with some video highlights from Mr Carroll's address at Detroit. The commentary and the video will be of interest to readers of Catholica for two reasons: (i) for the information contained about the perspectives of one of the more conservative elements in the Church who today seem to increasingly dictate the agenda being pursued by the hierarchy; and (ii) for the specific arguments Fr Donovan raises regarding the justice issues and double standards involved in the treatment of both Fr Feeney and Bishop Morris. [more]

034 :
18 Apr 2011

Is it time to rewire the brains of our hierarchs? Fr Dan Donovan has been off doing a bit of research in the secular world of business management and neurology. He offers us today this commentary which is both serious and entertaining suggesting it might be time for a bit of neurological "re-wiring" in the brains of our hierarchical leaders. Here at Catholica we are skeptical ... the Holy Spirit seems to have been trying to re-wire a few brains for about half a century but the message doesn't seem to have penerated much as yet. Perhaps it's because there's about as much plasticity in the neurons of conservative or insecure hierarchs as there is in a slab of granite? [more]

033 :
15 Mar 2011

Review of the new book "Our Fathers"... Chris McGillion and John O'Carroll's forthcoming new book "Our Fathers" is probably the most comprehensive study ever undertaken in the Australian Church of the broad outlook of priests towards their work, their vocations and their Church. Fr Daniel Donovan has been given access to a pre-release copy of the text of the book and today provides this overview of the book for the benefit of readers of Catholica. As editor of Catholica I also read the book before passing it on to Fr Donovan and made the comment that there is not so much a disappointment in the book but in the poor response from the priests themselves. They missed out on a valuable opportunity to do themselves a favour, the bishops of this country a favour and the entire church in this country a favour by giving us even better insight into the challenges they are facing. We owe a great debt to the 31.6% of priests who did respond to the survey. Fr Donovan broadly agrees with that assessment also but does see this study as a valuable first step in an ongoing process to help overcome the current crisis the priesthood is facing in this country with dwindling numbers and increasing workloads. ...Brian Coyne [Editor] [more]

032 :
19 Feb 2011

The "cool" and "hot" of religious communications Part 2 This commentary by Fr Daniel Donovan is great catechesis in its own right. For our weekly and occasional readers you've arrived at Part II of a two-part essay by Fr Donovan exploring what's gone wrong with the institutional church's capacity to keep people enthused and participating through its liturgies. Fr Donovan argues that the present, expensive changes in train for the celebration of the Mass take us in the wrong direction and are likely to drive more away from participation unless the institution returns to the principles of communication explained in this essay. While this essay will probably not appeal to the audience the likes of Cardinal Pell and Pope Benedict appear to be trying to enthuse, it will have strong resonance with the sort of audience we are seeking to reach through Catholica — those who have largely given up listening to what the institutional leaders are trying to tell us. [more]

031 :
18 Feb 2011

The "cool" and "hot" of religious communications Part 1 That great secular apostle, Marshall McLuhan, who gave the world new insights into the mechanisms of modern communication died in 1980. That's now 31 years ago! One wonders what he would make of the vastly different, far more instantaneous world of communications we live in today? In this thought-provoking two-part essay from Fr Daniel Donovan which we present today and tomorrow, Fr Dan recalls some of the insights of Marshall McLuhan in his critique of the mistakes the present hierarchical leadership in their communications are making that are driving so many out of the pews. Ritual, catechesis and theology have subtly different functions. There are valuable insights in what Fr Donovan writes as to why so many young people have simply given up listening. It's doubtful the bishops will be listening to anything Fr Donovan has to say, or any of us have to say on Catholica for that matter. They already have the hotline to God himself and do not feel they can learn anything from reading anything in places like this, eh? Just look at the huge crowds the Holy Father draws in St Peter's Square each week. He doesn't need any lessons in communications from a priest or lay people, does he? Read on, the bishops will probably not be interested in any of this but we are sure the readers of Catholica will be. [more]

030 :
21 Jan 2011

What were Jesus' views on leadership, authority and ministry? Part 2 In this two-part commentary Fr Donovan questions the model of church (ecclesiology) that seems to have developed in recent times. Yesterday [LINK] he went back to Scripture, more especially the writings of St Luke, in an endeavour to tease out what were the views of Jesus on leadership, authority and ministry. Today he gives some practical examples of where he believes institutionally we're not living up to the direction offered by Jesus. Again this is a commentary from Fr Dan where the footnotes are almost a second commentary in their own right. [more]

029 :
20 Jan 2011

What were Jesus' views on leadership, authority and ministry? Part 1 In this two-part commentary which we are publishing today and tomorrow, Fr Daniel Donovan questions the model of church (ecclesiology) that seems to have developed in recent times. He goes back to Scripture, more especially the writings of St Luke, in an endeavour to tease out what were the views of Jesus on leadership, authority and ministry. [more]

028 :
18 Jan 2011

Bishop's Holiday Plans raise eyebrows... The new Bishop in the rural Diocese of Bathurst in New South Wales, +Michael McKenna, has been raising some eyebrows with a letter that was sent out recently to the priests of his diocese notifying them of his plans for an overseas trip and for the importation of more priests from overseas. In today's commentary Fr Daniel Donovan gives voice to some of the concerns. A copy of the bishop's letter is attached to the commentary. [more]

027 :
09 Jan 2011

Secret Bishops' Business! Fr Dan Donovan sent in this commentary over the holiday period as a response to the attempted censoring of Fr Eric Hodgens. We have published it in the Catholica Forum. In this hard-hitting commentary Fr Dan effectively explains why the institution has ended up in the diabolical position it is today with nearly 90% of the baptised across the Western world effectively just dropping out of regular participation. ...Editor [more]

026 :
20 Nov 2010

An Open Letter to the Cardinal? Fr Dan Donovan originally titled this commentary as an "Open Letter to Cardinal Pell". On reflection though it addresses issues of much wider concern even if there was the slightest indication that anyone at the top of the ecclesial food chain is the slightest bit interested in the things we discuss on Catholica, or which have driven nearly 90% of the baptised out the door. The Catholic Church hierarchy of today seems only interested in pandering to the needs of a tiny subset of the baptised and the rest of us can all "go to Hell". That said, Fr Donovan's letter does address some issues that the majority might like addressed. From Tempe to Leeds to Manhattan or anywhere else on planet Earth the broad body of the faithful face similar issues to the one's addressed in this commentary. Don't hold your breath waiting for an official reply! ...Editor [more]

024 :
02 Aug 2010

How do we use our conscience... In this commentary Fr Dan Donovan cuts to the heart of one of the great issues that deserves lengthy reflection amongst Catholics today: the relationship between Conscience and Church Authority. Dan goes back to drawn on the insights of some of the great writers in this field, particularly the Jesuit, Bernard Lonergan. This is very practical reflection which includes a practical example of the kind of "conscience perusal" a couple might have to make today. [more]

023 :
08 Jul 2010

What would Mary make of it all? One picks up a growing discomfort in the Australian community over the growing commercialisation surrounding the canonisation of Australia's first saint. The picture being portrayed would seem to be a long way removed from everything that Mary MacKillop stood to represent. Fr Dan Donovan was upset to receive some posters in the mail that he feels takes us away from the spirit of what Mary MacKillop represents. [more]

022 :
03 Jul 2010

Where things seem to be heading now... This is the final part of a series of essays by Fr Dan Donovan examining where the Church seems to have lost its way in the modern world. What he writes today explores how the dialogue between the Anglican and Catholic churches seems to have been skewed in the pontificates and John Paul II and Benedict XVI. [more]

021 :
02 Jul 2010

The New Translation of the Mass: what will it achieve? In this second of a series of essays, Fr Dan Donovan begins his exploration of the game that is being played with changes to the English Mass text and the overtures being made to conservative Anglicans. It's almost two commentaries in one as the footnotes are as informative as the commentary itself. [more]

020 :
01 Jul 2010

The changing order of things in our world! For the next three days we present a connected series of essays by Fr Dan Donovanexploring the significant global challenges facing the institutional Church at the moment. Today, Dan looks at the changing picture of global economics and trade and the implications that has for the mission of the Church in the world. Tomorrow he asks whether the priority of putting an emphasis on a new translation of the Mass is a response to the crises facing the Church or some kind of distraction? On Saturday he explores whether the initiative to invite back conservative Anglicans is a useful way to go in replacing the many who have given up regular practice in the Catholic Church? [more]

019 :
30 Apr 2010

Rethinking Catholic attitudes to Women! Today it is a pleasure to present a thought-provoking commentary from Fr Dan Donovan. The central focus of his essay is directing to getting us to collectively re-think our attitude to women in light of the Gospels and the example provided by Jesus. It also contains some thought-provoking ideas on other things such as how our Church might have looked if we only had the Gospel of Mark? And more contemporary issues about how the Church funds itself? [more]

018 :
11 Dec 2009

Thank God for the Women Religious who embraced Vatican II! The resistance the Vatican is experiencing to its attempts to pull the religious women of the United States back into its conservative line has been generating headlines in even the secular press. Fr Dan Donovan argues: "the Catholic world must stand in solidarity with these women who now find themselves the butt of a latter day inquisition". [more]

017 :
27 Nov 2009

Is the cadaver trial of Pope Formosus in 897 a metaphor for the choices facing the church today? This is probably the most powerful and compelling commentary we have yet published on Catholica. You'll more than probably learn things about our history from Fr Daniel Donovan that you never knew. I think even the more liberal and progressive members of the Church will be awestruck and I hate to think how the more conservative members of the institution are going to react. Mark my words, "they will attempt to react to this one for sure" either against Fr Dan or against Catholica. Leave all that aside for a moment and just ask yourself "how do I react?" We would love to hear your reactions on the forums of Catholica. Which model of Church of the two presented here do you believe offers you salvation, meaning and the "peace which surpasses all human understanding" offered by Jesus Christ? ...Brian Coyne, Editor [more]

016 :
27 Oct 2009

What sort of priests can make the Jesus' message "sing" in society's heart again? Priests and Bishops face a great challenge today as more and more people look elsewhere for people to bless their weddings, conduct naming ceremonies for their children and send them on their way into eternity. How do you continue to make the messages of Jesus Christ relevant in a world that is becoming more and more sceptical of the programs offered by the institutional churches? Today on Catholica we bring you a priest's review of a book by a bishop which, when push comes to shove, is examining the foregoing questions from opposite sides of the social river. The Bishop is Julian Porteous, an Auxiliary Bishop in Sydney who has recently published a new book on priesthood. The Priest taking a critical eye at what the Bishop has written is our occasional commentator on Catholica, Daniel Donovan. [more]

015 :
06 Mar 2009

Catholic Tertiary Education in Australia In today's commentary, religious educator, Fr Daniel Donovan, argues the establishment of the first full Faculty of Theology in Australia at the Australian Catholic University provides rare opportunity for the collective ecclesial leadership in this country to make some critical decisions regarding the direction given to the university in particular, and Catholic Education in this country in general. The appointments made, and the tone the bishops establish for Catholic tertiary education have wider repercussions for our collective success in rejuvenating the institution in this country. Today's commentary is introduced by an editorial which argues: "One of the key starting points for the rejuvenation of Catholicism has to be a fundamental re-think of the role of the theologian in the Church and in society, and a fundamental re-think of the roles of bishops, the magisterium and the Catholic institutes of higher learning." [more]

014 :
18 Dec 2008

A Tale of Two Cities – Part 2 Given that nearly 90% of the baptised population have walked away from regular participation and listening to what the institution has to say in the space of a century, it is almost futile to pretend that anyone at the top is listening to any of the commentaries or discussion in a place like Catholica. "Truth" or "wisdom" is simply not perceived to originate from directions other than via the royal telephone coming down from the top. We can but continue "chipping away". Today Fr Dan Donovan's commentary might be considered in two parts. The first part seeks to take an overview of why things have developed in the way they have — why the Church has become so divided and why so many have "simply walked away". In the second part he applies particular focus to one group, Opus Dei, which exemplifies this simplistic philosophy or theology that has zealot-like attraction to a small sector in society but which leaves the great majority feeling absolutely cold and totally disinterested in what Catholicism has to offer. As Fr Donovan argues though this is the element that is favoured at the highest realms of the Church as offering a "way forward" — a way to enthuse, or re-evangelise, the world again. Fear unlocks wallets though more effectively than pickpockets. They presently have the money and the power. There is no evidence from any objective reading of the recent history of the Church that these groups have even the proverbial snowflakes chance in hell of turning things around. They point instead to a remnant Church — a Church left preaching only to the 5% who fervently believe they have "all the answers". One can only speculate what Almighty God might eventually have to say about this methodology. Fr Dan ends his commentary in a positive way. Many are no longer prepared to simply "walk away". Communities are emerging which encourage their "members to personalise faith and to take responsibility for their decisions". He argues we need a strong local Church and we need a Church leadership "whose authority is rooted in service not power" and the Eucharistic meal "is the key to authority in the Church". He also argues the Eucharist is "the blueprint for all Christian life". [more]

013 :
17 Dec 2008

A Tale of Two Cities – Part 1 The priority for Rome as far as Australia is concerned has to be restoring to the people a sense of pride and respect for the institution. People are over this game of constantly trying to prove we Catholics are the only one's with answers and putting other people down as inferior to us because they do not share in our understanding of truth. in this cutting two-part series, which we publish today and tomorrow, Fr Daniel Donovan cuts to the heart of the problem in Australia. As an urgent priority we need an episcopal leadership in this country that the people can look up to with respect — not a leadership that is divided, and with one of the main players constantly wanting to appease the tiny minority who seek certitude over truth, and law over love. At present even our bishops are collectively divided because of what Rome tried to impose on this country under the leadership of Pope John Paul II. It has been divisive in the extreme. We need an Episicopal Leadership team in this country which is united and shares a common understanding of what our spiritual quest is ultimately about. Enough of these kindergarten-level games trying to constantly prove "we're the kings of the castle and everyone else are heretics and the damned". We need a leadership that is capable of acknowledging the complexities of modern life — and the Mystery of Life — and which is capable of leading us into the complexity, and the Mystery, not constantly trying to take the complexity and Mystery out of Life by reducing everything down to kindergarten-level rules, certitudes and simplicitudes. We need an Episcopal Leadership that respects the people they lead and one which, in turn, is respected by the people. Fr Daniel Donovan's critique has its focus on the Mother Diocese of this Great South Land of the Holy Spirit. He has entitled his essay "A Tale of Two Cities". [more]

012 :
31 Oct 2008

Pray for the Remnant! "War is Peace! Freedom is Slavery! Ignorance is Strength!" — The slogans of the Ministry of Truth in George Orwell's novel "1984". Orwell must laugh that his insights from his 1948 novel, might be applied with delicious irony to the Holy Roman Catholic Church in 2008. Ripping the heart out of Vatican II while pretending that you love Vatican II and want to see it's reforms rejuvenating the Catholic Church. The latest casuality in this game of casuistry it seems are the Eucharistic Prayers for Masses with Children. Fr Daniel Donovan reviews the thinking that led to the introduction of this reform and voices his protest at the game which seems to be underway at the hands of the Vandals and Visigoths (or is it the old lace and incense queens?) who seem to have invaded the citadel of early third millennium Catholicism. And we all thought the Vatican was the last great bulwark against totalitarianism! [more]

011 :
09 Oct 2008

Lessons from St Francis... Last Saturday our occasional lead commentator, Fr Dan Donovan, was to be found blessing the animals at the festival held in the plaza outside St Mary's Cathedral in Sydney for World Animal Day. He sent this commentary in yesterday as a post-event reflection. [more]

010 :
01 Oct 2008

Teaching the Faith or Memorising the Catechism? There is a putsch on coming from some political sectors, and others searching for certitude and simplistic answers within the Catholic Church to take religious education back to methodologies that might have been successful in earlier epochs in history where the broad body of the faithful had far more limited education, and where different social conditions prevailed. Fr Daniel Donovan has been searching around in the archives also. In this commentary he brings to our attention a pioneer from the early 20th Century, Canon Francis H. Drinkwater, still lauded in professional education circles for his insights into the problems facing religious educators, parishes and parents today in the challenge of "passing on the faith". [more]

009 :
18 Sep 2008

How official Church attitudes to suicide have changed, and why… Last Sunday night our occasional lead commentator, Fr Daniel Donovan, was one of the featured guests on John Cleary's program on the ABC discussing the vexed subject of suicide. For our commentary on Catholica today we republish a short segment from the hour-long broadcast in which Fr Donovan discusses the ways in which the Church has modified its approach to dealing with the moral considerations surrounding suicide and also its pastoral response to the grieving families and friends of suicide victims. [more]

008 :
16 May 2008

A Case Study… Following on from his commentary yesterday Fr Daniel Donovan today shares the approach he used recently when called in to assist a parish community when their priest left as a result of feeling called to marriage. The approach Fr Donovan used was modified version of the Elizabeth Kubler-Ross process that is used for bereavement counselling. [Part 2 of 2]

007 :
15 May 2008

The pastoral care of the people in times of turmoil caused by the loss of a pastor… Fr Daniel Donovan shares his very personal feelings when one of his close priest friends decided to leave the priesthood. That experience, and being called in to help communities regain their equilibrium in situations where a priest suddenly leaves is what led to this valuable two-part commentary which we are running today and tomorrow. It might serve as a long-term resource available to any community that faces this kind of situation but hopefully it might help also in the development of pastoral strategies at the national and international levels that in time, communities and the people might find valuable. [Part 1 of 2]

006 :
12 Feb 2008

Will this Pastoral Plan do more harm than good? Fr Daniel Donovan sees enormous shortcomings in the new Pastoral Plan for the Archdiocese of Sydney beginning with criticisms of its underlying Christology (understanding of of Christ's message and mission) and going through to criticisms of its understanding of what the pastoral mission of the Church is. He provides a detailed critique in this commentary. [more]

005 :
10 Aug 2007

Does the Latin Mass help reconcile the divisions with the Church? Two of our recent commentators, Frs Daniel Donovan and Kevin Murphy, have written to the editor drawing attention to some comments Sr Joan Chittister has voiced in her regular column in National Catholic Reporter regarding Pope Benedict's recent decision regarding the Latin Mass. Here are their further thoughts… [more]

004 :
27 July 2007

The crisis facing the Church... In this detailed commentary Fr Daniel Donovan endeavours to break apart the nature of the crisis in participation and morale being experienced by the Church, both locally and internationally, at the moment. It is a potentially explosive analysis with his revelations of a recent Open Letter to the Priests of the Archdiocese of Sydney from Dr Dennis Dubro, the former Bursar at the Opus Dei-managed Warrane College whose letter "warns of the dangers of Opus Dei and its unbridled activity and power in the structures (and worship) of the Local Church". Fr Donovan is concerned at the appeasement that seems to be underway at a high level in the Church for dissident elements who at every turn have endeavoured to undo the work of the Second Vatican Council. Fr Donovan charts how at a number of significant levels there has been a decisive shift away from the spirit and intent of what the collective Church Fathers charted as the future for the Church at the Second Vatican Council. He concludes by arguing that the responsibility of the Church's bishops is "to uphold with courage and imagination the work of Vatican II so that God's Spirit might continue to renew the whole earth" and not be engaged in this constant "appeasment of the disaffected". [more]

003 :
22 June 2007

Further thoughts ... Fr Daniel Donovan takes a further critical look at the draft pastoral plan for the Archdiocese of Sydney. In the interests of encouraging intelligent discussion within the Church community that is to the overall enhancement of the Church, Catholica would welcome informed responses or rebutals from those who drafted the plan, or writers with expertise who disagree with Fr Donovan's criticisms. [more]

002 :
18 June 2007

Our changing perceptions of belief and practice... Fr Daniel Donovan was recently interviewed on The Religion Report on ABC Radio National concerning the comments he first aired on Catholica over the Draft Pastoral Plan for the Archdiocese of Sydney. We invited him to provide us with a debrief following the interview. In overview his commentary ends up essentially being a critique of how and why our views on religious belief and how we practice them have changed in the last half century. [more]

001 :
18 May 2007

Draft Pastoral Plan needs serious re-write suggests Academic... The Archdiocese of Sydney recently circulated a Draft Pastoral Plan for public discussion. A pdf copy of the draft document is available on the Archdiocesan website. The feedback being picked up by independent religious journalists and commentators around Sydney is that at the parish level there is disquiet about the draft plan. Fr Daniel Donovan, a lecturer at the School of Religious Education at ACU National was approached by a number of parishes to provide a critique of the Draft Plan. His conclusion is that the draft is seriously flawed and needs to be taken back to the drawing board for a major re-write. He argues the document is theologically flawed and needs to pay far greater heed to official Vatican documents and the accepted teaching of the Catholic Church. In his critique, Fr Donovan cites a number of significant Vatican level documents which would urge a different approach to be taken to what has been proposed in the Draft Pastoral Plan for Sydney. We publish here the critique Fr Donovan has provided to the parishes that requested it. [more]