QUEENSLAND Catholic schools are digging deep to aid struggling farm families caught in the long drought. Fundraising to buy groceries and feed livestock, and waiving school fees are some of the efforts being offered to families facing financial hardship. Term-two school fees were waived at Catholic primary schools in Longreach, Barcaldine and Blackall. Some of Brisbane’s elite Catholic colleges ... Read More »
Category Archives: Local
Dads don’t know their importance in communicating with their daughters
By Madonna King HOW often does a father sit down and really talk to his teen daughter, one-on-one? I asked 400 fathers that question recently, as part of my research for a book Fathers and Daughters, and the answers should make us all stop and think. “This month while on holidays.’’ “Good question. It’s been a while now. Thinking about ... Read More »
‘50 years of marriage is like a 50-point triple word score … it takes time’
MICHAEL and Anne Goodwin might be considered somewhat of an anomaly in today’s culture. This month the couple celebrated 50 years of marriage, 50 years of friendship, and 50 years of true love. On Saturday, October 6, the Goodwins will renew their wedding vows and commemorate the sacrament of matrimony at St Stephens Cathedral’s annual Golden Wedding Anniversary Mass. The ... Read More »
Little Joshua Thomas first in line for Syro-Malankara baptism in Brisbane parish
FOUR-month-old Joshua Thomas has received a unique and historic welcome into the Catholic Church becoming the first Syro-Malankara baptism in Brisbane. Co-ordinator of the Syro-Malankara community in Australia Fr Stephen Kulathumkarotte baptised Joshua with Fr Prem Kumar Rethnamony at St Agatha’s Church, Clayfield, during a small, but vibrant celebration. The Syro-Malankara Church has close to 500,000 members – the majority ... Read More »
Queensland’s proposed abortion bill undermines the ‘foundation of all human rights’
A QUEENSLAND parliamentary committee considering laws to legalise abortion has heard from a Brisbane archdiocesan spokesman that the value, equality and dignity of every human life was at stake. “To speak of a woman’s rights is very important, but what of the rights of unborn children?” Peter Pellicaan, private secretary to Archbishop Mark Coleridge, said in an opening address to ... Read More »
Cardinal Edwin O’Brien asks for prayers to help Pope Francis unify the Church
THE Grand Master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem has made a visit to Brisbane, encouraging seminarians in their priestly vocation as he visited the Holy Spirit Seminary. In Brisbane, United States Cardinal Edwin O’Brien was also preparing to invest three new members into the order, including Townsville Bishop Tim Harris, John Whelan and Therese Gattas. During ... Read More »
Former atheist and political leader Bill Hayden baptised at age 85 at St Mary’s Church, Ipswich
ONE of Australia’s iconic Labor leaders and former Governor General Bill Hayden has been baptised as a Catholic at the age of 85, and after a lifetime as a declared atheist. “There’s been a gnawing pain in my heart and soul about what is the meaning of life. What’s my role in it?” Mr Hayden said. Now in declining health, ... Read More »
The cathedral that was never built – the project that troubled long-serving bishop
SUNDAY (September 16) marks the 90th anniversary of the laying of the foundation stone for the ill-fated Holy Name Cathedral in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley. The cathedral would have housed a congregation of 4000 people, making it the largest cathedral in the world at the time. In a new book titled A Hill in the Valley, author and Brisbane archdiocesan ... Read More »
Woody Point’s first Catholic school had a miraculous start 50 years ago
OUR Lady had a miraculous hand in laying the foundations for Woody Point’s first Catholic primary school 50 years ago. Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School was built on land bought by the suburb’s parish priest Fr Jim Henry, who had an interesting use for Miraculous Medals. Terry White Chemists group co-founder Rhonda White, who was a Woody Point parishioner ... Read More »