HOUSING shortages on the Gold Coast have put more than 1000 people at risk of sleeping without a roof over their head. According to the Department of Housing there are 1700 people waiting for government housing on the Gold Coast. Since opening its doors in 2017, the St Vincent de Paul Society’s Cornerstone program has helped more than 200 of ... Read More »
Category Archives: Local
Brisbane priest Fr Ray Kearney laid to rest
By Adrian Taylor FR Ray Kearney’s death leaves a void in the lives of many people across Brisbane archdiocese. Fellow priests, parishioners and friends are all feeling the loss of a man whose deep concern and empathy for others was matched only by his love for the Church. Raymond Laurence Kearney was born on March 1, 1938, in Brisbane, the ... Read More »
Nobel Peace Prize winner encouraging young people to ‘see the world through the eyes of God’
WHEN Nobel Peace Prize recipient Mercy Sister Denise Coghlan speaks to schoolgirls she encourages them to be part of a world that is bigger than themselves and gives everybody a fair go. Living in Cambodia and internationally recognised for her efforts to ban landmines and cluster bombs, Sr Coghlan is back in her hometown Brisbane, attending a chapter meeting of ... Read More »
World Day of the Poor a ‘moment of new evangelisation’ for all Catholics
CATHOLICS have been encouraged to reach out to the poor – by an act such as sharing a meal – when celebrating World Day of the Poor on November 18. Pope Francis initiated World Day of the Poor on the 33rd Sunday of OrdinaryTime last year, and he held a Mass in St Peter’s Basilica, followed by a free lunch ... Read More »
Haircut and a chat giving Inala Family Support Centre clients new outlook on life
IT’S amazing how a haircut can add a new lease of life. “When people have a haircut, or a colour, they feel great,” Family Support Centre co-ordinator Liza Dykstra said. Last week the St Vincent de Paul Society-run centre at Inala introduced a free hairdressing service and it wasn’t long before the waiting room was filled with eager clients – ... Read More »
Well-known Brisbane archdiocesan priest Fr Ray Kearney has died, aged 80
RESPECTED Brisbane archdiocesan priest Fr Ray Kearney died on October 29 at St Vincent’s Hospital, aged 80. Fr Kearney was ordained in 1962 as part of the second-largest class ever to leave Pius XII Seminary, Banyo. His first posting was to Mt Gravatt parish from 1962-64, where he learned the power of pastoral visits alongside Fr John Rosenskjar. Fr Kearney ... Read More »
Counsellor warns on the growth of post-abortion syndrome after Queensland abortion decision
AFTER Queensland MPs vote to legalise abortion, a respected Catholic trauma counsellor has used her regular newsletter to warn of the grief and long-term psychological impacts of the life-ending practice. “What has happened to all of us that we have allowed this to happen?” post-abortion grief and sexual abuse counsellor Anne Lastman wrote in her newsletter Broken Branches. Mrs Lastman was ... Read More »
Gary and Natasha Pinto have a mutual passion for music and a shared devotion to God
THERE’S divine symmetry between Gary and Natasha Pinto. His name is synonymous with Australian Idol winner and Christian musician Guy Sebastian, together producing the World Youth Day 2008 theme song Receive the Power, and “a few hundred” songs under his musical belt over two decades. Her name as a musician and singer stands tall in its own right with a ... Read More »
Abortion no longer a crime in Queensland, fears that euthanasia is the next target for politicians
BRISBANE Archbishop Mark Coleridge said the Queensland Parliament’s move to decriminalise abortion would mean euthanasia would be the next target of legislation for MPs. The Termination of Pregnancy Act 2018, which passed with a final vote of 50 votes to 41 on October 17, allows for abortions up to 22 weeks, and beyond 22 weeks with the approval of a ... Read More »