The Catholic Church in Melbourne has apologised for comments by a priest about a woman who was raped and killed. The priest made the comments in an end-of-term service for a Catholic primary school. He reportedly said that if Irish woman Jill Meagher had been more “faith-filled” she would have been at home instead of Read more
Posts Tagged ‘Melbourne’
Sydney’s Archbishop Fisher denies celibacy and clergy abuse link
Friday, December 19th, 2014
Anthony Fisher, the new Archbishop of Sydney, is at odds with the Church’s Truth Justice and Healing Council. In an opinion piece in the Australian newspaper, Monday, Archbishop Fisher seemed to distance himself from the Council’s view that “Obligatory celibacy may also have contributed to abuse in some circumstances”. The Truth Justice and Healing Council Read more
Marriage protection advice in school newsletter outrages
Friday, August 29th, 2014
Mothers at a Melbourne primary school have been outraged at a school newsletter article that advised them to get rid of male friends to protect their marriages. St James Catholic Primary School in Brighton, east of Melbourne, included an article titled “15 Ways to Protect Your Marriage” in its August 7 school newsletter. The article, submitted by Read more
Vatican excommunicates Australian priest who favors gay marriage, female clergy
Friday, September 27th, 2013
The Vatican has ordered the excommunication of Catholic priest Greg Reynolds over his support for women priests and gays. The Australian news site The Age reported that the excommunication document – written in Latin – was dated May 31. Reynolds, who resigned as a parish priest in 2011 and last year founded Inclusive Catholics, said Read more
Catholic Voices media project could come to NZ
Friday, May 31st, 2013
The launching of the Catholic Voices project in Australia has raised the prospect of this media initiative being extended to New Zealand. Catholic Voices, whose aim is to improve the Catholic Church’s representation in the media, began in Britain in 2010 with the training of 24 lay people and a priest in preparation for the Read more
Cardinal Pell denies covering up priestly child abuse
Tuesday, May 28th, 2013
An apologetic Cardinal George Pell has appeared before a Victorian parliamentary inquiry into child abuse and vehemently denied personally covering up offending by priests. “No. Never,” the Sydney cardinal told the inquiry. He said the offending had largely escaped the view of Church officials who didn’t know what a “mess” they were presiding over. Cardinal Read more
Big Catholic education expansion set for Melbourne
Friday, December 21st, 2012In the biggest Catholic education expansion in Melbourne since the 1970s, 13 new schools are planned in the outer northern and western suburbs to cope with population growth. According to Catholic Education’s executive director, Stephen Elder, families are choosing Catholic schools because of their own experiences in the system, because they like the faith and Read more
Two Melbourne sex abuser priests still allowed to minister
Friday, June 8th, 2012
Two priests, one convicted of sexual abuse, and another charged with 30 sex offences were, in the 1990s, allowed to continue ministering in the Melbourne archdiocese. The discovery, reported in The Age, is the result of confidential documents obtained by the paper. The Age reports that the documents show how senior church leaders continued to Read more
Melbourne archbishop welcomes parliamentary sexual abuse enquiry
Friday, April 20th, 2012
The Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne, Denis Hart, says the Archdiocese has welcomed the announcement of a Parliamentary enquiry into how religious organisations handle allegations of sexual abuse of children and will co-operate fully with the enquiry. On Tuesday Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu announced a year-long parliamentary enquiry into the handing of criminal abuse of children. Read more
Multiple suicides: call for Royal Commission into Australian clergy sexual abuse
Tuesday, April 17th, 2012
A lawyer representing 45 victims of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy is calling for a Royal Commission following a police report linking dozens of suicides to sexual abuse by clergy. Most cases concern sexual abuse by Catholic brother, Robert Best and former priest Gerald Ridsdale. “An inquiry would horrify the community”, Vivian Walker told the Read more