The Catholic Leader Keeping Faith with You

UPDATE: The Philippines Government has ordered Sr Patricia Fox to leave the mainly Catholic southeast Asian country within 30 days after immigration authorities revoked her missionary visa for joining protest rallies. The immigration bureau has demanded Sr Fox leave the Philippines after “she was found to have engaged in activities that are not allowed under the terms and conditions of ... Read More »

AUSTRALIAN bishops joined more than 170 faith leaders from across the Commonwealth calling on governments to turn “words into action” on climate change. Brisbane Archbishop Mark Coleridge, vice-president Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, on behalf of the Australian bishops was one of dozens of signatories of a letter that states “not even the remotest corner of the Commonwealth remains unaffected” by ... Read More »

A FATHER and son, members of the Catholic Worker movement, have demonstrated against soldiers carrying rifles in churches during Anzac Day commemorations. Jim Dowling and his son Franz took their action to the steps of St Stephen’s Cathedral in Brisbane last week, where an Anzac Day service honoured the actions of military service men and women. “There are soldiers with ... Read More »

AUSTRALIA’S first resident woman ambassador to the Holy See Melissa Hitchman has described Pope Francis’ papacy as a “unique moment in history”. “He is willing to dialogue on issues that the Church has previously not been prepared to do,” Ms Hitchman said at the start of a mid-term tour during which she will be speaking with Australian Catholic leaders and ... Read More »

HUMAN rights, climate change and environmental protection have topped the agenda as Australian bishops joined more than 70 bishops from across Oceania for meetings in Port Moresby from April 11-18. In a keynote address to the Federation of the Catholic Bishops Conferences of Oceania, held every four years, Holy See secretary of state Cardinal Pietro Parolin challenged the Church to identify ... Read More »

DEVASTATING tribal violence has escalated in the remote highlands of Papua New Guinea, hampering Catholic relief efforts after earthquakes destroyed crops and displaced an estimated 35,000 villagers. The February 26 earthquake and aftershocks that followed killed 125 people and some of the region’s most remote areas are still cut off from assistance. Tremors have continued since the quake, causing distress ... Read More »

A 71-year-old Australian missionary nun has been released by Philippines authorities after a day in detention, but still faces possible deportation. Bureau of Immigration agents arrested Sr Patricia Fox, mother superior of the Our Lady of Sion congregation in the Philippines, on April 16 because she was deemed an “undesirable alien” for joining “political activities and anti-government demonstrations”. Sr Fox ... Read More »

DESPITE world attention on the Commonwealth Games, parishioners at Surfers Paradise have been taking a mass influx of athletes and visitors all in their stride. Surfers Paradise is one of the largest Catholic parishes in Australia and many locals were finding it eerily quiet as they braced for a Games influx, with Carrara Stadium – the main athletics venue – ... Read More »

FRANCISCAN Friar Stephen Bliss, an official driver for athletes and officials at the Commonwealth Games, says his passengers are intrigued when they learn a Catholic priest is chauffeuring them. “St Francis said preach the Gospel and if necessary use words. So I think this preaching of the Gospel is about not using words but using a steering wheel,” Fr Bliss ... Read More »