The Catholic Leader Keeping Faith with You

AFTER surviving a brain aneurysm during Book Week celebrations last year, former Catholic school principal Michael Nayler has decided to spend the rest of his life supporting indigenous students in Queensland.    Mr Nayler is the newly appointed secretariat director of the Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Foundation (QATSIF), which last year provided scholarships to 2290 indigenous students across ... Read More »

THIRTY years ago British migrant Fr Roger Burns never would have dreamed about retiring in Australia let alone as a Catholic priest. Born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, in England’s north, Fr Burns had tried out a career as a shipyard engineer and then a teacher before being swept into a completely different vocation. “For seven years I ran away from the possibility ... Read More »

PARENTS sending their children back to school are being warned to spot early signs of bullying and know what steps to take if their child is being targetted online. Online harassment and youth suicide have made headlines this month after it was revealed 14-year-old Amy “Dolly” Everett, the “face” of the Akubra hat ad campaign, was the latest young Australian ... Read More »

ROCK singer Dolores O’Riordan was sexually abused as a child, battled with depression, and after meeting Pope John Paul II credited her faith as one of her greatest musical influences. The lead singer-songwriter of famed Irish band, The Cranberries, died unexpectedly at the age of 46, while in London for a short recording session. A few years ago, Ms O’Riordan, ... Read More »

CONFESSORS from Australia’s first Oratory community say an increasing number of people are receiving the sacrament of penance regularly following the Year of Mercy. Oratory Father Andrew Wise said the original second confessional needed to be re-installed at Mary Immaculate Church, Annerley – the home of the Brisbane Oratory – to cope with the number of people lining up for ... Read More »

IMAGINE living in a remote village, without electricity, where people walk for half a day just to charge their mobile phones. When a young West Papuan, Amatus Douw, put that scenario to a group of socially-minded Logan entrepreneurs, they came up with PowerWells – a cheap and innovative solution using old laptop batteries and solar cells. It is just a ... Read More »

IRANIAN asylum seeker Mojgan Shamsalipoor has been granted a further six-month bridging visa allowing her to stay in Australia – but there’s a hitch. Immigration officials have set a new condition on Brisbane-based Ms Shamsalipoor in her long-running battle to avoid deportation – she is not allowed to study. The decision has sparked a bittersweet social media outpouring from hundreds ... Read More »

ORDER of Australia recipient Helen Mahoney has been honoured for “tugging on the conscience” of Indians and Australians through her work supporting a rehabilitation centre for children with disabilities. The Indo-Australian Association, based in Chennai, India, has honoured Mrs Mahoney with a meritorious service award for her work with Friends of Mithra, a charity that provides financial support for a ... Read More »

LIKE most children at Christmas, Sophia Bennett has the biggest smile on her face but not from what’s hiding under the tree. The five-year-old from Augustine Heights is overjoyed knowing that a child who has lost their hair to a medical condition could receive her hair as a Christmas present. Sophia made her first trip to the hairdresser on December ... Read More »