FR Jose Koyickal was looking forward to a special Easter full of hope in Proserpine despite the destruction swathe Cyclone Debbie cut threw his Whitsunday parish. Cyclone Debbie destroyed houses, farm sheds and equipment, and damaged the sugar cane crop around Proserpine. It caused major damage and flash flooding in tourist hotels and businesses in nearby Airlie Beach and Whitsunday ... Read More »
PRIESTLY vocations might be fewer in number and “chastened” by the Royal Commission’s hearings into abuse in the Catholic Church but “the gift of priesthood will remain”, Archbishop Mark Coleridge said. The Archbishop reiterated the anointed call of men to the priesthood during the Chrism Mass at St Stephen’s Cathedral on April 6, where priests of Brisbane archdiocese renewed their ... Read More »
AN official leading the Church response to child sex abuse has told priests in Brisbane, “we created the abuse”, now it is time for parish priests to listen to their communities, including people who have been abused and are angry with the Church. “We created the abuse. That is the harsh reality,” chief executive of the Church’s Truth, Justice and ... Read More »
HUNDREDS of Coptic Orthodox families in Brisbane began Holy Week with heartfelt prayers for loved ones after deadly church bombings in Egypt. “It is painful. It is tragedy. It is part of the pain that Jesus our Christ carried for us,” Egyptian-born Fr Bishoy Wassef, from St Mark and St George Coptic Orthodox Church, Strathpine, said. “Now we pray, and ... Read More »
ABOUT a half of all Australians believe in God or a higher power, but less than one in five are regularly attending church. According to National Church Life Survey director Dr Ruth Powell recent figures showed a belief in God and church attendance were declining. “At fifty-nine per cent, the proportion of Australians who say they believe in God or ... Read More »
THE Beenleigh Vinnies team is gearing up to provide ongoing support to families hit hard by flooding. As the brown tide of floodwaters subsides across south-east Queensland, the clean-up is proving a mammoth task, not just for an army of volunteers, but also for agencies such as Vinnies which stands ready to help with food, clothing and furniture. The St ... Read More »
THE Cairns Catholic community has mourned the loss of well-known and much-loved priest Fr John Newman. Fr Newman had served the diocese for more than 50 years in priestly ministry. His long standing commitment to his many chaplaincy appointments saw him heavily involved as chaplain to both Calvary and Cairns Base hospitals, director of both Catholic Mission and Vocations, St ... Read More »
MATER Hospital Brisbane has taken delivery of a computed tomography scanner that provides scans in about a third of a second and delivers significantly less radiation. The new scanner takes 0.75 seconds to perform a brain scan compared to two to three minutes with previous machines. This makes a significant difference for patients suffering anxiety or dementia for whom lying ... Read More »
THE euthanasia debate is full of horror stories, the author of a new book on the subject Bill Muehlenberg says. Mr Muehlenberg said people could learn from abuses that have occurred elsewhere in the world where euthanasia was legalised, including Holland and Belgium. Speaking at a forum at the Queensland Parliamentary Annex in Brisbane, promoting his new book The Challenge ... Read More »
The Catholic Leader Keeping Faith with You
