In 1989, when he was a pastor in Santiago de Compostela, Monsignor Rouco Varela received Karol Wojtyla. When he got into the “Popemobile,” the pontiff’s secretary said to him: “But Excellency, you are a youngster.” At
Celebration at Rottnest, sadness in Sydney
13-Aug-2011
A week marked by celebration, sadness and local parish news. Monsignor Sean O'Shea (pictured), the priest at Rottnest Island, off Perth, celebrated 50 years, while in Sydney, there was sadness at the death of Fr Christopher Sheehy. In Melbourne, thieves
Salvadoran soldiers and Christ's 'true face'
13-Aug-2011
Protesters re-occupied a Madrid square ahead of WYD, Salvadoran soldiers turned themselves in over killing Jesuits, a US study invesitgated the impact of education on religiosity and in Rome, new documents added to the story about Vatican's role in WWII.
US nuncio, a good listener
13-Aug-2011
Italian Archbishop Pietro Sambi, the Vatican nuncio to the United States, died late late last month in Baltimore at the age of 73. On July 22, the apostolic nunciature in Washington announced that the archbishop had been "placed on assisted ventilation to
Eucharist at centre of lasting fidelity
13-Aug-2011
Ronald Rolheiser, Out One Great Act of Fidelity: Waiting for Christ in the Eucharist, Three Rivers Press Click here for a 20% discount on these and other books from Church Resources and John Garrett Publishing In his new book Our One Great Act of
Why Britain is burning
13-Aug-2011
One night there were more buildings aflame in London than at any time since World War II. Police were unable to cope as across the capital - and in other cities in the UK - gangs of hooded youths took to the streets in copycat riots, torching and looting in
Moths, mergers and hot air over gas
06-Aug-2011
A new school is to open in Bendigo, one delayed in Canberra due to moths, unrest over a merger between two in Lismore, and ACU will launch a new degree to help developing countries. In other news, the church is trying to heal a rift over a
Shakespeare, Cardinal Burke and an Iraqi church
06-Aug-2011
In England a crypt linked to Shakespeare was opened, British Catholic charities are fighting government cuts, a car bomb at an Iraqi church left 15 injured, and Cardinal Burke (pictured) said religion 'purified' politics. In America, women religious have
The residents of Chickanayakanahalli village in suburban Bangalore, India were ecstatic when the ambulance from the Sumanahalli Society arrived. Their beloved Sister Jean (pictured) was back, reports NCR Online. Montfort Sister Jacqueline Jean McEwan
Jesus made the disciples get into the boat
06-Aug-2011
Matthew 14:22-33 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was
The hands that make the Missal
06-Aug-2011
In a bindery outside Vicenza, Italy, the new altar missals are picked off a conveyor belt, checked carefully and placed on a stack. They are almost ready, but not quite: ribbons and leather tabs are still to be added. After that, they will be wrapped in
Robert Fitzgerald: Advancing Human Wellbeing
06-Aug-2011
Robert Fitzgerald speaks at a Social Policy Connections public policy forum on Advancing Human Wellbeing in a changing society.
Spanish Jesuit Father Luis Ruiz Suarez, who dedicated his entire life to needy people in Macau and mainland China, died last week at the age of 97. Father Ruiz was a giant because of the size of his heart. It was as big as a horse. His missionary work in
The truth about St Augustine's sex drive
06-Aug-2011
Augustine’s Confessions: A Biography, Garry Wills, Princeton University Press/Footprint Books, HB, 174pp, $29.95 Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Letters and Papers from Prison: A Biography, Martin E. Marty, Princeton University Press/Footprint Books, HB,
Ideas about sin for economic hard times
06-Aug-2011
Biblical theologian Gary A. Anderson has written on the changing ideas of sin in Judaism and early Christianity. His intriguing research findings are that the concept of sin in Judaism changed from earlier metaphors of stain and burden to the idea of
WYD reminds us we belong to something larger
06-Aug-2011
I was intrigued by a letter written to a newspaper from a young adult. He wrote it in a response to a letter sent by someone who lived through the years of World War II, who had described how hard it was to be a teenager in the first half of 1940s,
Kiri primed for major role in Madrid
30-Jul-2011
Brisbane archdiocese youth ministry team leader Michael Hart with Kiri Groeneveld for the canonisation of St Mary MacKillop in Rome last year --- Kiri Groeneveld is "pumped" for more reasons than one about World Youth Day in Madrid next month, reports the
When Jesus went ashore, he saw a great crowd
30-Jul-2011
Matthew 14:13-21 Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them
World Youth Day Sydney 2008 has had an extraordinary effect on the life of our dioceses here in Australia. There are so many people who went to the event in Sydney in 2008 now actively involved in the Church in so many ways: in our youth work, in marriages
Science Between Man and God
30-Jul-2011
The Vatican released this week a video about its science academy titled Science between man and God. Italian physicist Antonino Zichichi is prominently featured in the video, claiming that atheists have an unscientific approach to science. "If it
From Parish of Our Lady of The Way, North Sydney & Lavender Bay. The first Mass of the day on YouTube. 
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