[+]Enlarge Image

The Beatitude of Mercy: Love Watches over Justice
PRE-ORDER NOW—DELIVERED IN JUNE!
All other titles below available for immediate delivery!

ISBN:9781920682200
Author(s): Terry Veling Publisher: John Garratt Publishing

ESSAY DESCRIPTION
Terry Veling's work is a meditative exploration of the relationship between justice and mercy. While it recognises the importance of social justice — as a mutual indebtedness — it argues that without social mercy, even justice itself cannot save us. Mercy is not the opposite or complement of justice, but its very condition.

[+]Enlarge Image

Called to be a Sign of Communion: The ordained priest in 21st century Australia

ISBN:9781920682194
Author(s): Hal Ranger Publisher: John Garratt Publishing

ESSAY DESCRIPTION
In this Year of the Priest, the Australian church is faced with increasing demands on ordained priests due in part to increasing age and declining numbers and in part to shifting expectations in a changing church. The topic of this essay: "Who and what is an ordained priest to be and to do at this time in history?" is therefore a pertinent and indeed a critical question for both ordained and lay Catholics. Hal Ranger writes from over 50 years of experience of priesthood, in a variety of contexts. He attempts to clarify the "job description" of the priest in 21st century Australia, recognising that "The priest is to be all things to all people" is neither practical or useful as a description of the role of the ordained priest. Hal does not shy away from the difficult questions: he tells his own story from the heart and boldly examines the hopes, dreams, challenges, questions and frustrations for the contemporary and the future church.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Hal Ranger was born and grew up in Toowoomba on the Darling Downs in Queensland. In 1959 he was ordained as a priest for that diocese. After twelve years in the diocese there followed many new and challenging experiences of life and ministry — as a full-time Army Chaplain and in Community Development work in Melbourne and Canberra. Back on the Downs since 1997, Hal is currently Associate Pastor at St Patrick’s Cathedral in Toowoomba. He has had an ongoing involvement with the National Council of Priests of Australia since the early 1970s.

[+]Enlarge Image

Islam and Christianity and the Secular State by Frank Purcell

ISBN:9781920721916
Author(s): Frank Purcell Publisher: John Garratt Publishing

ESSAY DESCRIPTION
Religion's relevance to public life is not understood and we underestimate the importance of religion to the process of building social harmony in a multi-faith, multicultural society. Because Christianity and Islam are missionary religions with visions of transforming both the individual and the society in which people live, the role of religion in society and the relationship of religion and politics are issues Australia cannot ignore in seeking a basis for its social harmony. Christian and Muslim Australians also face challenges in ensuring that their understanding of the relationship between religion and politics builds and not undermines Australia's social harmony. This essay attempts to address those issues. ...Frank Purcell

Catherine of Siena and the Call to Mysticism (Voices Quarterly Essays)

ISBN:9781920721909
Author(s): Anne Boyd Publisher: John Garratt Publishing

ESSAY DESCRIPTION
The prophetic voices of the mystics, especially of female mystics, have always sounded a challenging note in Christian history. Their words and actions go to the heart of the mystery of human beings capable of transformation by God in Jesus Christ. Catherine of Siena (1347-1380) is one of the greatest of these, notable both for her spiritual wisdom and her remarkable talent for political action.

The focus of this essay is on a series of medieval paintings of scenes from Catherine's life. It sets up a 'conversation' between the saint, the artist and today's readers in a way that points to a unified vision for a world fragmented into tensions between action and contemplation, individual and community, mind, body, heart and spirit.'

Social Justice and the Australian Bishops (Voices Quarterly Essays)

ISBN:9781920721893
Author(s): Michael Costigan Publisher: John Garratt Publishing

ESSAY DESCRIPTION
In this essay I am attempting to review the main activities of the Bishops Committee for Justice, Development, Ecology and Peace under my watch. I have tried not to make the essay a mere apologia for the bishops, talking up their achievements and defending them against those critics who regarded the formation of the Committee in 1987 as a retrograde step, indicative of a lack of trust in lay Catholics. But I have tried to demonstrate that many effective and fruitful activities, always involving laity, were carried out during the Committee's now terminated life. I believe it should be recognised that the BCJDEP earned an honorable place in the history of Episcopal action in Australia in the social justice area. ...From the introduction

Michael Costigan has had careers as a Catholic priest, journalist, freelance writer, arts administrator, public servant and church administrator. From 1987 to 2005 he was employed by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference as the founding Executive Secretary to its Bishops Committee for Justice, Development, Ecology and Peace. The holder of a doctorate from Rome in Canon and Civil Law and a Licentiate in Sacred Theology, he has been an Adjunct Professor at the Australian Catholic University since 2005.

To read Terry Oberg's review from the Catholic Leader, click HERE.

How Secular Are We? (Voices Quarterly Essays)

ISBN:9781920721886
Author(s): Denham Grierson Publisher: John Garratt Publishing

ESSAY DESCRIPTION
The question 'How secular are we?' comes out of a perplexing background. We live in a time when, on the one hand, conservative religious movements are flourishing across the globe. On the other hand, militant atheism is also on the march, at least in the Western World. The following discussion explores dimensions of this present set of circumstances, and addresses another reality in our social experience, that of a growing number of the younger generation who do not care either way. To them, the question of faith or unbelief is a matter of indifference. In an environment such as this, the future we face becomes, at the least, confusing. How are we to read the signs of our time? ...From the introduction

[+]Enlarge Image

New Evangelisation in the 21st Century: Removing the Roadblocks

ISBN:9781920721831
Author(s): Fr Eric Hodgens Publisher: John Garratt Publishing

ESSAY DESCRIPTION
As the end of the 20th century approached, Pope John Paul II confided that he felt God was calling him to lead the Church into the new millennium. To prepare for this he issued a new Apostolic Letter, Novo Millennio Ineunte, calling for a New Evangelisation. This term has become a major sound bite in Catholic PR and has been taken up round the globe by dioceses and religious movements.

In this essay Eric Hodgens identifies the problem that triggered this call, examines how John Paul II and Benedict XVI have responded to that problem, views it in the light of history and current sociology, identifies some new relevant issues and suggests alternative approaches to a New Evangelisation. His basic thesis is that until the Church faces up to issues raised by liberal democracy, biblical literacy, scientific knowledge and issues of sexuality, it will not overcome the roadblocks to effective evangelisation in the 21st century.

Eric Hodgens was ordained a priest in the Melbourne archdiocese in 1960. After his seminary studies he completed a BA majoring in Psychology and Biblical Literature and Antiquities. He subsequently completed a master's thesis in the Criminology Department of Melbourne University. He has held a number of key diocesan positions in pastoral planning, the continuing education of priests and the priests' remuneration and retirement funds. The latter called for extensive demographic research to project the future retirement requirements of priests. He was the founding parish priest of Holy Saviour Parish, Glen Waverley North and recently retired after 14 years as parish priest of St Bede's Parish, North Balwyn.

A New Era of Pastoral Leadership: Consolidation and Challenge (Voices Quarterly Essays)

ISBN:9781920721763
Author(s): Fr Martin Dixon Publisher: John Garratt Publishing

ESSAY DESCRIPTION
"As The Church in Modern World n4 reminds us, 'the Church has the responsibility of reading the signs of the times in the light of the Gospel so that it may carry out its task'.

This means that the Australian Church, as elsewhere in the world, has to embrace change, particularly in relation to leadership....[Now] we have a laity often more educated than the clergy, and often less willing to take orders from an ordained person just because they are ordained or male. As we do move on, the structures that previously surrounded us also have to change.

The laity are expecting a church that reflects the societal practices they understand and live; democracy is not just for politics. We also need to recognise our young people do not see leadership in one area of life as a permanent commitment. If we are to take up the challenge of Vatican II, we will need to use our social skills in determining what form of leadership will take us into the future. We cannot continue to presume the old is sufficient." ...From the introduction

Women in Purple (Voices Quarterly Essays)

ISBN:9781920721688
Author(s): Dr Muriel Porter Publisher: John Garratt Publishing

ESSAY DESCRIPTION
Women have finally broken through the stained glass ceiling in the Anglican Church of Australia. In 2008 two women bishops were named and consecrated: Kay Goldsworthy in Perth and Barbara Darling in Melbourne. Their appointments represent the culmination of a thirty-year struggle for the equality of women in all the ministries of the Anglican Church in this country. The struggle has seen women's role gradually enhanced in painfully slow, hesitant steps which have been contested every inch of the way. Although the national Church effectively agreed that there were no theological barriers to women becoming deacons, priests and bishops as long ago as 1977, putting that position into practice has proved extremely difficult.

This is the story of how a group of Anglicans finally asked the Church's highest court, the Appellate Tribunal, to test the view that, with women able to be priests since 1992, no further legislation was required for them to become bishops. The Tribunal agreed with that view.

This essay looks first at the Tribunal decision and the process behind it, before outlining the troubled history of the women's ordination debate that culminated in the move. The theological issues around women in ministry will also be explored. The essay will conclude with a brief look at Australia's first women bishops, and how this momentous change might impact on the Anglican Church of Australia. ...From the introduction

Dr Muriel Porter, a Melbourne writer and an Anglican laywoman, has played a leading role in the struggle to have women ordained in the Anglican Church of Australia for more than 20 years. She initiated the moves that have enabled women to become bishops in this country. She has been a member of key Anglican decision-making bodies, including Melbourne Diocesan Synod and the national General Synod, for the past two decades. Married to an Anglican priest, she has two adult children. In 2002 Dr Porter was awarded the Order of Australia Medal for "service to the community as an advocate for women's and social justice issues, and to the Anglican Church of Australia".

[+]Enlarge Image

A Democratic Church

ISBN:9781920721602
Author(s): Max Charlesworth Publisher: John Garratt Publishing

ESSAY DESCRIPTION
This essay is centred upon the stark conflict between the values and institutional structures we take for granted in liberal democratic societies and the values and structures that prevail in the contemporary Catholic Church... [Also] the denigration by Church officials of the role of conscience in our moral and religious lives — better to follow the directives of your bishop than your own judgments of conscience — is another instance of this conflict since the very basis of democratic societies is the freedom of individuals to make their own judgments of conscience.

What then are the characteristics of a new view of the Catholic Church which would allow it to speak to, and be understood by the peoples of the world of the third millennium, especially the peoples of the developed world who live in democratic societies and who subscribe to the values of liberal democracy? And how can this ideal Church be realised? ...From the Introduction

SAVE: Buy any four essays for AU$80.00

ISBN:Voicesx4
Author(s): As selected below Publisher: John Garratt Publishing

Make your selection using the four selectors below
and then click the "Add to Cart Button"