THE global forces of the United States and the Russian Federation are again at war, together with their regional stakeholders, purportedly against terrorist forces, in Syria. I am no expert on this complex and frightening spectacle of human barbarism but the lines are blurred. Pope Francis called on Christians to pray for peace. To this […]

IT is easy to let prayer slip. I know, as a priest, with an obligation to the daily prayer of the Church (Breviary), that an activity or appointment becomes an excuse for missing an hour. I am better with meditation but that too can become an hour of distraction. Having the daily prayer on the […]

RECENTLY I spent some days with three other Bishops at the Royal College of St Alban in Valladolid, Spain. The college was founded in 1589 for the training of priests for England and Wales, who often returned to almost certain death. It numbers six saints and 16 beatified among its alumni. Valladolid is the ancient […]

THIS week we are encouraged to make the theme of God’s creation central. The Liturgy Committee organised a Vigil last Wednesday on this very theme. Today I thought I would make my own brief summary of  Laudatio Si, the 2015 document of Pope Francis. This is not meant to replace reading the document but to […]

BISHOP Vincent Long, recently appointed Bishop of Parramatta, previously Auxiliary Bishop to the Western Region of Melbourne, gave an address, the Ann D Clark Lecture. It was a refreshingly honest appraisal of the Church and affirmation of the ministry of Pope Francis. I will quote just one small part entitled The Challenge to go to […]

THE protagonist of the little parable about the “foolish rich man” is a landowner like those known by Jesus in Galilee. Powerful men who ruthlessly exploited farm-workers, thinking only about increasing their own welfare. The people feared and envied them; doubtlessly they were the fortunate ones. For Jesus, they are the most foolish. Surprised by […]

THERE has been an undercurrent of criticism from some people and groups within the Church about the perceived lack of specificity in Pope Francis’ encyclical Amoris Laetitia. This was the letter, written by the Pope about the conclusions to the Synod on the Family. It seems that the pastoral tone of the Pope’s Letter, which […]

THE Catholic Church in Australia observes the first Sunday in July as Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander Sunday. We acknowledge the traditional owners of this land. The Jubilee Year of Mercy is an opportunity to experience and, more importantly, encounter God’s Grace on many levels. By encountering God’s Marcy on an individual level we avail […]

   An extract from the joint statement from the Catholic Bishops of Australia. AUSTRALIANS are again going to the polls. We do so thankful that the electoral process will be free of the violence found elsewhere. Our political system may have its problems but we have a stable democracy, which is not to be taken […]

TO help us to like him, God pours the special gift of the Holy Spirit into our hearts. This gives us the power to be merciful. If we think of God’s mercy like water, then there are two ways that we can bring it to others. The first is to try to be like a […]