EVERY day Brisbane taxi driver Aguek Nyok passes the bus stop where, a year ago, he kicked in the door of a burning bus to save 11 passengers. The Catholic father-of-four and former South Sudanese refugee still relives the horror and terrible coincidence of seeing the bus driver burnt to death in the driver’s seat, after the bus was firebombed. ... Read More »
Category Archives: Local
Catholic teachers shine in Queensland teaching awards
QUEENSLAND’S top award for teachers has been given to two Catholics from Gympie and the Gold Coast. Dr Lyn Nothdurft from St Patrick’s College, Gympie and Jane Greffe from Marymount College won two of four state-wide awards from the Queensland College of Teachers Excellence in Teaching Awards. The annual awards coincides with World Teachers’ Day on October 27 and offers ... Read More »
Iona College’s first student returns for 60th anniversary celebrations
BILL Ousley was the first young student to step through the gates of Iona College 60 years ago. He was schooled by priests of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) from Year 6 to graduation, and it was their inspiration that led him to become a priest himself. “Because they were a community. I always noticed that,” Fr Ousley ... Read More »
Fifteen Catholics from across Queensland named finalists for the Community Leader Awards
FINALISTS for the 2017 Community Leader Awards have been announced with only three weeks to go until the much-anticipated Brisbane event takes place. Fifteen Catholics from Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast and north Queensland have been shortlisted for this year’s Community Leader Awards. Nominations for the awards came from all across Australia, with a growing number of nominations coming from New ... Read More »
Our Lady of Fatima honoured by several communities across Brisbane archdiocese
MASSES followed by candlelight processions marked festivities across Brisbane commemorating 100 years of Our Lady of Fatima’s final apparition at Fatima, Portugal. During a Friday night of devotion at Our Lady of Victories, Bowen Hills, Brisbane Archbishop Coleridge crowned the statue of Our Lady, and presided as children received first Holy Communion. On the following night, rain didn’t dampen the ... Read More »
Wheels for Sara appeal rolls out in Brisbane and Toowoomba to help sick little girl
PARISHES in Toowoomba and Brisbane are combining with the St Vincent de Paul Society to raise enough money for a car that would make the world of difference to a 12-year-old girl with special needs. A little over a year ago a backyard playtime accident at Sara Mehari’s family home in Toowoomba left her with a life-changing hypoxic brain injury. ... Read More »
Thousands of golden years celebrated at St Stephen’s Cathedral marriage Mass
WEDDING day memories were revisited as almost 75 couples celebrated half-centuries of marriage at a Mass in St Stephen’s Cathedral, Brisbane, on October 8. The annual Mass recognised couples who were marking their golden wedding anniversaries this year. Denise and Des Walsh were among couples gathered with family and friends to thank God for the good times and the ... Read More »
Christians in northern Iraq in danger of ‘disappearing forever’, tortured priest says
AN Iraqi priest, shot and imprisoned by ISIS has praised and thanked Australians and the Catholic Church for helping in the face of the Christian genocide in his country. In Brisbane to address a Christian conference and to meet Iraqi refugees, Fr Douglas Bazi, of the Chaldean Catholic Church, also said there was a risk that Christians in northern Iraq ... Read More »
Crisis talks tell Vatican officials about state of the Church in Australia
BRISBANE Archbishop Mark Coleridge has delivered a sobering assessment of the Catholic Church in Australia, “shaken to the core” by the sexual abuse scandal and now facing its “biggest crisis”. Archbishop Coleridge and fellow Australian Church leaders have just returned from Rome where they held summit talks with senior Church officials over how to address the fallout of the clerical ... Read More »