The Catholic Leader Keeping Faith with You

ALL members of religious groups deserve the right to not participate in same-sex marriage ceremonies if they hold a traditional view of marriage, the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference said in a submission to a Senate inquiry. The Australian Senate has established a select committee to examine draft exemptions in proposed same-sex legislation for ministers of religion, civil celebrants and service ... Read More »

MAX Bushnell and Bianca Jackson sit with an empty hat begging for help. They are the hard-luck face of the street in 2017, as support agencies like the St Vincent de Paul Society are bracing for a tough year ahead. Young people make up an increasing number of people turning to agencies for support. Last Monday night Mr Bushnell and ... Read More »

A GNARLY old mango tree that stood for decades on the site of Maroochydore’s new Stella Maris Church now takes pride of place in the place of worship. Part of the mango tree was salvaged during construction and was fashioned into a cross that is the centerpiece of the new $5 million church. When parish priest Fr Joe Duffy celebrated ... Read More »

JOSEPHITE nun and human rights advocate Josephite Sister Susan Connelly has urged Australians to maintain pressure on the Federal Government to negotiate a fair maritime boundary with East Timor. On January 9, Australia and East Timor agreed to begin negotiations on a permanent maritime boundary between the two countries – a significant shift which could potentially end years of dispute ... Read More »

CHILDREN in East Timor can head back to their school after it was reopened last week thanks to the tireless efforts of a Gold Coast couple. A team from Brisbane’s Catholic Mission visited the town of Ossu to witness the reopening of the war-ravaged, 450-student St Teresinha College – stage one of a building reconstruction project that is the brainchild ... Read More »

  Faith-based organisations say they have “a long tradition of … respectfully” providing emergency relief to people despite some negative claims in a discussion about disaster response. The Federal Government-funded National Gender and Emergency Management Guidelines were developed by Victoria’s Women’s Health Goulburn North East Inc in response to major disasters such as the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires and the ... Read More »

AN increasing number of people who are homeless and seeing support services are doing so to flee family and domestic violence, a Federal Government agency says. A report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare shows 279,000 people sought homelessness services in 2015-16, with two in five people seeking help for domestic and family violence reasons. “This is a ... Read More »

SISTER Anne Gardiner vividly recalls the day she flew to the Tiwi Islands to start her missionary work. “That was a moment of joy when I landed,” she said. “I got out of the plane and the children all ran up to me, pinching my skin and saying ‘you look so young’.” The year was 1953. Sr Anne was just ... Read More »

IN a world increasingly embracing technology and a cashless culture, are we ready for the digital church collection plate? It is just one of the many innovations being tried and used by the Church, which still overwhelmingly relies on money being dropped into the collection plate as it passes from pew to pew. Now digital church collection is being tested ... Read More »