013 :
05 Mar 2011

"Gay Marriage – yeah or neah?" In his delightfully sensitive, "view from the pews" way George Ripon offers us today a thought-provoking commentary exploring the difficult issue of gay relationships and the call for gay unions to be legalised under the Marriage Act in Australia. The issues have been causing much discussion in the media and in Australia's parliaments. George seeks to explore these divisive issues within a contemporary catholic spiritual context. Have you reached a view on these issues yet? Hopefully George's commentary, and the discussions he cites we've already been having on the Catholica Forum may assist you in navigating through this challenging moral territory. [more]

012 :
04 Feb 2011

The Ecumenical Effort in Australia... George Ripon gave us a two-part essay last year [LINK] on the subject of the stalling of the ecumenical initiatives in the Church. In this essay, which he sent in just as we were going on holidays last year, George returns to review a Pastoral Letter prepared by the Australian Bishops last year "The Impulse of God's Grace". It was released to commemorate the centenary of the birth of the modern ecumenical movement in Edinburgh in 1910. In general George gives the bishops a very positive rap for this initiative albeit he thinks much more needs to be done. [more]

011 :
22 Aug 2010

Ut Unum Sint: what happened? Part II This is the second part of George Ripon's commentary on Ecumenism. Jesus prayed for the unity of His followers and we must concede that we have not been very good at this. Even some 500 years on from the Reformation we are still only scratching the surface. As the biggest (numerical) Christian Tradition we should be doing much more than just talking about it. How about offering Communion to fellow Christians as they share at our Eucharist? Why not joint Confirmation Services with Anglicans? In country areas, short of ministers, why not encourage all local christians to attend the one Sunday Service of whatever tradition? We really have to start breaking the ice inspired by the Prayer of Jesus (John 17). [more]

010 :
21 Aug 2010

Ut Unum Sint: what happened? Part I In this first part of a two-part essay George Ripon explores what happened to the great quest for Christian Unity that had so much attraction a decade or two ago? This ought stir up a good discussion on Catholica and further afield. We'll published the second part tomorrow. [more]

009 :
01 May 2010

Should we bother to protest? George Ripon wrote this commentary a couple of weeks ago and by coincidence the first available spot for publication on Catholica has turned out to be the day after the Vatican announced the New Missal Translations have finally been approved. Our own sense here at Catholica is that all it is going to achieve is a further significant exit from the pews adding to many other factors that have been emptying the pews for decades now. George Ripon thinks we should still protest. Who has the energy left to protest if they have been unable to read the signs for the past five decades? ...Catholica Editor [more]

008 :
27 Mar 2010

The Challenge facing our Bishops Whenever we run articles by George Ripon on Catholica they invariably draw a large readership. Perhaps that is because they reflect what many in the pews, or who have recently left the pews, are thinking. Is his an articulate voice for the majority today who feel severely let down by our episcopal leaders? In his commentary today — which was written before Pope Benedict's recent Pastoral Letter to the People of Ireland — George seeks to articulate the challenges he sees the bishops facing from the perspective of an ordinary pewsitter and elder in the average Australian suburban parish. [more]

007 :
27 Feb 2010

George Ripon's letters to the leader of the Australian Catholic Bishops George Ripon, in his possum-stirring way, has been trying to get a response out of the leader of the Australian Catholic Bishops, Archbishop Philip Wilson, regarding the new Mess translations. So far he has not had a reply so he'd like to make the call a little more loudly by publishing his letters to Archbishop Philip more publicly. Here they are... [more]

006 :
05 Feb 2010

The Parish of Tomorrow... George Ripon, in his delightful way, has been getting his knickers in a knot again about the sad state of the Church. Partly what got him fired up was a news item back in September last year where it was reported that Pope Benedict said that "when dioceses are faced with a lack of priests they should not resort to 'a more active and abundant participation of the laity' since it would detract from the lay calling" (See the original report on CathNews HERE.) In this "from the heart and from the pews" commentary, George puts forward some thoughts about how we ought to deal with the looming (and present) crisis in participation and the institutional slide into societal irrelevance. He presents a plan for re-juvenating the Church from the 'bottom-up'. [more]

005 :
04 Dec 2009

How realistic is this dream? One of our other regular commentators, Dr Andrew Kania, is delivering an address at Oxford University tonight. Today though by the wonders of these new technologies we are able to bring you an address delivered at Oxford in the Year 2040 by the recently retired Pope John XXIV. The 'tehnology' is actually the creative, perhaps over-optimistic, mind of one of our other commentators, George Ripon. By way of introduction, George writes: "I first got into print on the Church Reform under the heading "Breathe" in the Online Catholics in issue 62, 20 Jul 2005. I had a dream and I'm at it again with a look into the future under a new pope, a dream or maybe a vision? No one can stop our dreams and dreams can lead us in many directions. Sadly the reality is different but we must maintain 'Joyful Hope' unless this is abolished in the New English translations." [more]

004 :
20 Oct 2009

The Mass: If it ain't broke, why fix it? George Ripon, in questioning the changes to the English version of the Mass, today asks "If it ain't broke, why fix it?" The response to George might be: but "they" think it is "broke". "They" honestly seem to think that why 86% have walked out of the pews is because we've all become more liberal, less pious and less reverent, and "they" are going to do something about it — and have been doing so for the last four decades with the determination of zealots to get their way. The implementation of these changes is one of "their" greatest victories. "They" are gunna show us how to fill the pews again with changes like this which re-introduce the world to "real prayer" — and get rid of this namby-pamby, watered-down, cafeteria Catholicism so beloved by the 'liberals' and 'geriatric stupido baby-boomers' who've driven everybody out of the pews! [more]

003 :
29 Sep 2009

Lay Celebration of the Eucharist... Now here's something to stir your passions — and bring the trads down out of their trees roaring their terrible roars — our resident Irish-Catholic, aged, liberal, reforming pot stirrer, George Ripon, rips into any number of Sacred Cows — popes and bishops. Let her rip, George. Come back and tell us what you think of George Ripon's proposals in our forum… [more]

002 :
17 Apr 2009

Planning for Priestless Parishes... Like many older Catholics George Ripon has found himself increasingly frustrated watching the steady exit out of the pews as the episcopal leadership turns increasingly inward and only interested in responding to the needs of those who seek certitude in preference to truth and consolation in the past in preference to providing effective responses to the real challenges of today. In today's commentary he puts forward a set of proposals that might provide the basis of an effective and pastoral response to the looming crisis in this country where, in the space of a further decade or two, there will simply not be enough ordained priests to go around. In a related article (see box in main commentary) we provide extensive coverage of a major development in the United States where parishioners in 18 dioceses have taken it into their own hands in an unprecedented appeal to the Vatican regarding Parish closures. [more]

001 :
07 Mar 2009

Electing our priests and bishops? Like many older Catholics George Ripon has found himself increasingly frustrated watching the steady exit out of the pews as the episcopal leadership turns increasingly inward and only interested in responding to the needs of those who seek simple answers and certitudes. In today's commentary he not only asks why can't the ordinary pew-sitters have a say in the election of bishops and priests, he also poses questions worth reflecting on as to whether we even need bishops today or, if we do, what is their role? [more]