I entered the seminary in Dublin in October 1962, just one week before the opening of the Second Vatican Council. The winter of 1962-63 was one of the bleakest in decades, and our seminary was a very cold place in more ways than one. My memory of the seminary is of a building and a Read more
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I’ve commented once or twice or 429 times about how the Catholic Church around the world, and in Australia and New Zealand in particular, often fails to adequately communicate the message of Jesus Christ to the faithful, not to mention to non-Catholics. It’s hardly a view Read more
For years I’ve been immersed in Catholic media and the ongoing conversation within the Church of how to carry on as the Church. And, of course, in the West, at the heart of this conversation is the fact that within the next generation half of the pews will empty. When I travel, I always get Read more
This weekend marks the Holy Father’s two-month anniversary (!). Vatican Insider sums it up so far: What has Bergoglio done in the two months since he was elected Pope and what kind of a Pope has he been? Fondness and confessions The wave of affection for the new Pope is undeniable, with requests to attend papal audiences Read more
Isabel Allende, a leading Latin American novelist, has praised the efforts of the Church in Chile on behalf of human rights following the 1973 overthrow of her cousin President Salvador Allende. She said Cardinal Raúl Silva Henríquez, Archbishop of Santiago from 1961 to 1983, “established an office inside the cathedral” to document cases of disappearance Read more
The Catholic Church in England and Wales has given notice it may be forced to opt out of its civil marriage role if a same-sex marriage bill is passed. The government bill has passed the House of Commons and is now being scrutinised by a joint human rights committee of MPs and peers before being Read more
Allen Ottaro, 28, lives in Nairobi, Kenya. A parishioner at St. Paul’s Catholic University Chapel in the Archdiocese of Nairobi, he studied Environmental Planning and Management at Kenyatta University. Mr. Ottaro is the national coordinator of MAGiS Kenya, an Ignatian young adult ministry, and has worked with the African Jesuit AIDS Network. He is also a cofounder Read more
I travelled several hours on a bus recently. 50 people all travelling in one direction: a pilgrim people. 50 people all in one vessel. Some in front: others loving the back. Some by the window. Some alone: others in pairs or groups. Some wanting interaction: others seeking ‘personal space’. All adapting to their time in Read more
Pope Francis I’s weekend announcement of a new council, the Group of Eight (G8), to advise him on Catholic Church governance and reforming the Church’s central administration (the Roman Curia) has been called the “most important step in the history of the church for the past 10 centuries” by Church historian Alberto Melloni. The group includes Australian Read more
Brother Dennis of the Little Brothers of Mary, as they were originally known, was buried at a cemetery near Melbourne in March, 1992. His two families — the one he grew up with, and the clergy that he made his adult life with — were both present, and separate. The coffin lowered, the mourners were Read more