News - National
-
04-Jun-2007
A private members' bill that aims to compel pregnancy counselling
services to disclose the fact that they will not refer clients for
abortion has stalled after lobbying by Catholic agencies, reports say.
» more
-
04-Jun-2007
Backing a refusal by Muslim, Christian and Jewish leaders to give
national security tip offs to authorities, Melbourne Jesuit Fr Peter
Norden says that no minister of religion can betray a confession
without doing away with the profession.
» more
-
04-Jun-2007
Federal Education Minister Julie Bishop says that Catholic and
independent schools have reason to be concerned about their funding
under a Labor Government but Opposition Education spokesman, Stephen
Smith, insists private schools will not miss out.
» more
-
04-Jun-2007
Former AFL champion Jim Stynes, Pakistan missionary Sr Eileen Daffy and
Victorian educationist Susan Pascoe were among Catholics honoured in
yesterday's Queen's Birthday list.
» more
-
04-Jun-2007
The Independent Teachers Union in Victoria is pushing for more
family-friendly Catholic schools with special rooms so breastfeeding
teachers can express and store milk while at work.
» more
-
04-Jun-2007
Paying tribute to Hunter Valley emergency workers following this week's
devastating floods, Maitland-Newcastle Bishop Michael Malone has
offered his sympathy to those affected by the tragedy, adding wryly
that "we can stop praying for rain for a while".
» more
-
04-Jun-2007
Saying that cash is more effective than goods, St Vincent de Paul
Society CEO, John Picot, has called for donations to a nationwide
appeal by the charity for victims of the Newcastle region floods.
» more
-
04-Jun-2007
Criticising politicians who "trumpet their Catholicity" but reject the
Church's teaching, Sydney Cardinal George Pell has said that MPs who
voted in favour of stem cell laws should "think twice before next
receiving communion".
» more
-
04-Jun-2007
After 50 years baking bread, Benedictine monk, Dom Paulino Gutierrez,
now 97, is still working as Master of the Olives at Western Australia's
New Norcia abbey.
» more
-
04-Jun-2007
In a letter to Perth Archbishop Barry Hickey, WA Parliament Speaker
Fred Riebeling says he accepts that there was no intention to threaten
MPs over their cloning vote but warns that "improper interference"
cannot be allowed.
» more
-
04-Jun-2007
After five hours deliberation, a "visibly distressed" NT Supreme Court
jury has found four protesters guilty of 14 charges over a protest at
the involvement of the Pine Gap spy base in the Iraq war.
» more
News - International
-
04-Jun-2007
In his first meeting with US President George Bush, Pope Benedict has
again called for a "regional and negotiated solution" to conflicts in
the Middle East.
» more
-
04-Jun-2007
Mystical whirling dervishes danced at the Vatican's Chancery Palace
this week in a Holy See commemoration of the 800th anniversary of the
Sufi poet Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi's birth.
» more
-
04-Jun-2007
Amnesty International deputy secretary-general, Kate Gilmore, has
accused the Catholic Church of misrepresenting the organisation's
position on abortion after Holy See Justice and Peace Cardinal Renato
Martino slammed Amnesty for "betraying its mission".
» more
-
04-Jun-2007
American forces have deployed Orion spy planes in the search for an Italian missionary priest kidnapped in the Philippines.
» more
-
04-Jun-2007
Spanish sisters who drank beer for 45 days straight as part of a
medical research project are part of a growing trend to study nuns
whose unique healthy, celibate lifestyle makes them ideal for such
purposes.
» more
-
04-Jun-2007
Holy See spokesman on ecumenical issues, Cardinal Walter Kasper, says
that there is hope that Pope Benedict may meet Moscow Orthodox
Patriarch Alexy II in what would be a groundbreaking meeting.
» more
-
04-Jun-2007
As Tony Blair prepares for a last visit to the Vatican as British Prime
Minister, speculation is mounting that he will not only announce his
conversion to Catholicism but that he may also seek ordination as a
deacon.
» more
-
04-Jun-2007
The Caritas Jerusalem medical centre in Gaza has closed owing to heavy
clashes between Palestinian militias with snipers stationed throughout
the area.
» more
-
04-Jun-2007
The Holy Stairs that Jesus is said to have ascended for his trial
before Pontius Pilate have reopened after a painstaking restoration of
neighbouring frescoes - and the removal of pilgrims' chewing gum.
» more
-
04-Jun-2007
A dismembered body discovered in a bag off the coast of Sri Lanka has
been identified as that of Catholic priest Fr Jim Brown who disappeared
last August during clashes between government troops and Tamil
separatist rebels.
» more
-
04-Jun-2007
Latin American bishops have sent Pope Benedict the draft conclusions of
their recent conference at Aparecida Brazil, retaining the traditional
but still controversial "see, judge, act" format.
» more
-
04-Jun-2007
In a wide ranging interview, Brazilian Dominican liberation theologian,
Frei Betto, has slammed "vaticanisation" of the Church and held up
Cuban strongman, Fidel Castro, as a model of the revolutionary "new
man".
» more
-
04-Jun-2007
Seventeen-year-old South African girl Francesca Zackey is claiming to
have received visions of Our Lady surrounded by bouquets of roses and
pictures of the crucified Christ but church authorities remain cautious.
» more
Regulars
-
04-Jun-2007
For death row inmate David Hammer, each bite of the New York cheesecake
was doubly sweet: it was homemade and the plastic fork was his
favourite colour, purple. A guard delivered the treat that Sr Camille
D'Arienzo baked for him. It was another gesture by the Sister of Mercy
toward the man corrections officials once warned her was "the most
dangerous prisoner" they had. Over time, she befriended Hammer,
counselling him as he came close to execution three times in the past
eight years - Verena Dobnik
» more
-
04-Jun-2007
The West is awash with fear of the Islamisation of Europe. The rise of
Islam, many warn, could transform the continent into "Eurabia," a term
popularised by Harvard historian Niall Ferguson and other pundits. Such
grim prophecies may sell books, but they ignore reality. For all we
hear about Islam, Europe remains a stronger Christian fortress than
people realise. What's more, it is showing little sign of giving ground
to Islam or any other faith for that matter - Philip Jenkins
» more
-
04-Jun-2007
In the last month or so, rural NSW has been blessed by rain - but not
rain that fills bank accounts, fend off bank managers or replace
livestock. It's easy to assume when we see those photographs of muddy
rain dances with hats hurled high into the air that rain is all it
takes, but the impact of this drought is more akin to a hurricane than
a willy willy. It has torn deep into the foundations of rural life in a
way that will take years to heal - Genevieve Jacobs
» more
-
04-Jun-2007
Liturgy is the passion of Sr Carmel Pilcher, a "brown Josephite" and
liturgical consultant who joined the Maitland-Newcastle diocesan
community earlier this year. Sr Pilcher's arrival is timely given that
decisions are being made about the most effective ways of ministering,
utilising the financial and physical resources available. At times,
those decisions, and their consequences, are painful. "Most people hate
change," she says. "Most people, however, will accept change if they're
formed to know why, and if a process is undertaken which includes
formation and communication, major divisions are less likely" - Tracey Edstein
» more
-
04-Jun-2007
The Church teaches that it is never justifiable to kill an innocent
human life. Abortion is murder. To selectively justify abortion, even
in the cases of rape, is to define the innocent child within the womb
as an enemy, a "thing" that must be destroyed. How can we say that
killing a child in some cases is "good" and in other cases it is evil?
Such a distinction is incomprehensible for people of good will; and it
is incompatible to the mission of Amnesty International - Cardinal Renato Martino
» more
-
04-Jun-2007
In a week in which storms have wrought havoc in NSW and Bangladesh has
been devastated by mudslides, one item has dominated the news. The big
news has been Paris Hilton. We had, in quick succession, Paris in jail,
Paris being excused on medical grounds, Paris on early parole with
ankle bracelet, Paris back in jail due to a judge over-ruling a
sheriff, and finally, Paris finding God and promising to stop "acting
dumb". One wonders what all this has contributed to the sum of human
existence - James Massola
» more
-
04-Jun-2007
Is it a general human thing or a specifically Australian thing that we
have the greatest difficulty engaging in civilised public conversation
about the issues that matter most to us? Perhaps it is a bit of both.
Whatever the cause or causes, this past week has given us a stark
example of our inability to have a civilised public conversation as NSW
State Parliament attempts to make a decision concerning the
legalisation of therapeutic cloning for stem cell research - Fr Michael Whelan
» more
-
04-Jun-2007
For the past two centuries Judeo-Christian dialogue served as the
medium of a politics of social conciliation, not religious inquiry into
the convictions of the other. Negotiation took the place of debate, and
to lay claim upon truth in behalf of one's own religion violated the
rules good conduct. In Pope Benedict's Jesus of Nazareth
the Judeo-Christian disputation enters a new age. We are able to meet
one another in a forthright exercise of reason and criticism - Rabbi Jacob Neusner
» more