With a month to go before half a million young Catholics descend on Madrid, "there are an infinite number of small problems to solve," said the executive director of World Youth Day 2011, the Catholic News Service reports. Yago de la Cierva said this
Teachers taught, bishop's jubilee
23-Jul-2011
A diverse week: in regional NSW, Catholic teachers were given an update and so, too, were a group of Catholic school parents. Bishop Peter Connors in Ballarat (pictured) marked 50 years of ministry. Fr Bob's challenge to producers of The Block (Herald
The Pope's brother has written a book about him, Mexican laity have been invited to an exorcism congress, China prepares for another illicit ordination, and New Zeland banned the use of Lucifer as a first name. In the UK, a funding row over a statue of John
Gough Whitlam's campaign to end 23 years in opposition took an unexpected turn in Sydney during the afternoon of November 12, 1972. Archbishop James Carroll, one of Sydney's auxiliary bishops, was opening a Catholic school library. His statement that the
Father Ted McGrath's lonely road
23-Jul-2011
John Hosie, A Lonely Road: Fr Ted McGrath, MSC. Adelaide, ATF Press, 2010Father Ted McGrath had barely reached his seventh birthday before experiencing the death of his father (who literally drank himself to the grave), the demise of his mother
Wind set to rustle among Philadelphia Catholics
23-Jul-2011
“He is brash, outspoken and fearless -- energetic, colourful, cultured... indeed, even hard-core,” says Rocco Palmo of Archbishop Charles Chaput, the 66 year-old Capuchin Franciscan and New York Times best-selling author who’s led the
Magical journey into the Nepalese sun
16-Jul-2011
The track is a thin slash of uneven rocks and dirt wriggling around the most breathtaking of mountain regions. Trudging in mid morning heat we skirt a ridge and suddenly there is Tari, a small, weathered settlement in this craggy eastern part of Nepal,
While everybody was asleep, an enemy came
16-Jul-2011
Matthew 13:24-43 Jesus put before them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; 25but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. 26 So when the
Wisdom hidden from the learned
16-Jul-2011
I've lived and worked within academic circles for most of my adult life, studying in various universities, teaching within university circles, and having university professors as close friends and colleagues. What's that world like? What kind of folks inhabit
The source of Ignatian spirituality
16-Jul-2011
In this segment from the film Who Cares About The Saints?, Rev James Martin discusses the life of St Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the Jesuit order.
Moral faultlines of scientific progress
16-Jul-2011
New medical treatments and genetic enhancement opportunities have triggered moral questions about eating genetically modified foods and the acceptability of stem cell research. Australian Catholics magazine assesses the key moral
Jubilees, honours and a heritage listing
16-Jul-2011
The week was marked by honours and building disputes: a seminary celebration was held for jubilee priests, an inner-city church (pictured) was rededicated after its roof collapsed, iconic priests from the NSW north coast and
More troubles in Ireland, as riots during the marching season left scores of police injured, further tension in China over illlicit ordinations, Austrian priests called for reform and American bishops opposed a bill about gays and education. US bishops
Sister Marnie Kennedy was a nun and an educator, counsellor, activist, spiritual leader and defender of the rights of the dispossessed and marginalised. She was greatly valued and dearly loved for her warmth, grace, wisdom, generosity of spirit and capacity
Nazis on the Run: How Hitler's Henchmen Fled Justice, By Gerald Steinacher, Oxford University Press, 416pp. $A49.95The story of fugitive "Nazis on the run" is not really a new one, but it has been subject to numerous elisions and distortions ever since it
No need to fear polygamy
16-Jul-2011
Veteran Catholic author and activist, and now blogger for America magazine, Sidney Callahan, has an answer for New York's Archbishop Timothy Dolan and other prominent churchmen who worry that legalising same sex marriage will lead to accepting polygamy in the
Excitement builds for WYD pilgrims
09-Jul-2011
With a mini-pilgrimage walk done, one formation day left and a Commissioning Mass at St Stephen's Cathedral in Brisbane this weekend, World Youth Day fever continues to grow around the nation, reports the Catholic Leader. Pilgrimage co-ordinator and
Matthew 13:1-23 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. 2Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3 And he told them many things in parables, saying:
Fr Thomas Rosica interviews His Beatitude Michel Sabbah, Latin Patriarch emeritus of Jerusalem, who retired in 2008, about the challenges that Christians face each day as they live their lives in the Holy Lands, and the meaning of authentic justice and peace
The idea of a modern Catholic university
09-Jul-2011
A new set of banners, proclaiming “Intellect and Virtue: The Idea of a Catholic University,” appeared across the campus of the Catholic University of America last January alongside traditional banners with the school’s motto, Deus lux mea
From Parish of Our Lady of The Way, North Sydney & Lavender Bay. The first Mass of the day on YouTube. 
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