A new study has highlighted concerns about the sexual and relationship rights of people living in Australian residential aged care. Research from the University of New England showed many couples in such facilities are unable to have normal sexual relationships. This is because of systematic and illegal breaches of their privacy, the study stated. The Read more
On Friday, Pope Francis released a 256-page document called “Amoris Laetitia,” or “The Joy of Love.” In it, he calls for the Catholic Church to approach issues of sex, marriage, family planning and divorce with less emphasis on dogmatic law and more emphasis on individual conscience. While the post-synodal apostolic exhortation doesn’t directly alter any Read more
The Vatican’s Secretary of State has said that the need for solutions to shortages of priests does not justify scrapping celibacy. Speaking at Rome’s Pontifical Gregorian University last week, Cardinal Pietro Parolin stressed that celibacy is a gift that must be received and nurtured with “joyful perseverance”. He acknowledged that the lack of priests in Read more
Melbourne’s archbishop has urged Victoria’s Catholic high schools to be sensitive to students who want to bring a partner of the same sex to school formals. Archbishop Hart was asked by Fairfax Media for comment on a case at the Academy of Mary Immaculate in Fitzroy last year. A student at the all-girls school started Read more
In preparation for the XIV Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops in October 2015, Pope Francis has encouraged bishops around the world to undertake wide consultation on the topic ‘The Vocation and Mission of the Family in the Church and Contemporary World’. The New Zealand Conference of Bishops invited people to add their Read more
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks gave a inspirational address on Monday at the Humanum conference at the Vatican on the complementarity of man and woman. It ranges over the whole history of marriage and concludes with a brilliant image: marriage turns “the prose of biology into the poetry of the human spirit”. I want this morning to Read more
A common activity in youth work is to use the day’s newspapers to help start a discussion with young people. I can only imagine the apprehension of any church youth leaders using this activity last Wednesday. The Daily Mail headline, ‘Minister: My fear for boys warped by porn’ could have produced a rather uncomfortable conversation. Read more
After the House of Commons voted 400-175 to legalise same-sex marriages, Britain’s Catholic bishops warned the move would have profoundly negative effects on society. “The proposed change will have catastrophic consequences for marriage as an institution, for family life in Britain, and for all human relationships, not least among our young,” said Bishop Philip A. Egan Read more
Money-hungry, career-obsessed and selfish – such is the stigma surrounding childless couples.
A book by Theresa Riley has given an insight into the lives of those who have opted not to have children – and the Auckland PhD student told the Herald she was fascinated by her findings.
Her thesis and book, Childfree in New Zealand: How couples who choose not to have children are perceived, explores the experiences of 10 couples aged from their early 20s to their 50s.
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Relationships are at the core of our beings. We are made for relationships. We are constituted in and through relationships. We thrive in relationships. This should not surprise us as we are made in the image and likeness of that Eternal Community of Life and Love we call God. All of us grow – or Read more