A QUEENSLAND theologian sees the Australian Church’s plenary council as a perfect opportunity to re-engage with the principles of the Second Vatican Council, and continue the work that it started – a vision of renewal and reform for Catholics. “One of the great challenges of the Council was to move away from a very legalistic and triumphalist vision of the ... Read More »
AS if embarking on a new career wasn’t enough of a challenge, graduate teachers were thrown into uncharted territory because of COVID-19, and schools moved to online learning. During her recent fortnightly meeting with the college’s graduate teachers, St Rita’s College deputy principal studies Maree Trims noticed that professional learning meetings for beginning teachers had been cancelled due to pandemic ... Read More »
AS the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect Australians’ lives, including their worship, the Catholic bishops will entrust the country to the care of Mary Help of Christians on her feast day next week. In a message issued on May 15 as “a word of encouragement to the Catholic people of Australia”, the bishops noted that the country “has certainly suffered ... Read More »
QUEENSLAND Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has wiped euthanasia from her government’s legislative agenda for this term – announcing in parliament that a scheme to allow assisted dying for the terminally ill needs “further, careful consideration”. The Premier’s decision means voluntary assisted dying (VAD) legislation will not go before lawmakers before Queensland heads to the polls on October 31. Instead, Ms Palaszczuk ... Read More »
IT started out as Friday Free Feedz, a drive-thru style food distribution to those who needed it in Southport – “no questions asked, no explanations needed” – put on by Aquinas College, Ashmore staff and community members, but it became a real glimpse into the needs of the community. Assistant principal religious education Joe Alexander said he had a feeling ... Read More »
THE long-anticipated Plenary Council 2020 sessions, the first of which had been scheduled for this October, were pushed back to October 2021 and April 2022 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Last week, the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference decided to postpone the opening assembly by 12 months. Adelaide remained the venue for the first assembly in October 2021. Sydney remained the ... Read More »
TRAPPED in Australia and no way to support themselves, no way to fly back home, no way to get support from family at home, no support from the government and no end in sight – local Catholics have stepped in to meet the need for international students. Latin American Catholic Community chaplain Fr Ignacio Rodriguez had about 210 students reach ... Read More »
THE COVID-19 pandemic gives John McCarthy QC an added dimension to his anti-slavery work but he remains sharply focused on the bigger picture. The chair of Sydney archdiocese’s Anti-Slavery Taskforce and member of the Australian Catholic Anti-Slavery Network, like Pope Francis, wants to see the eradication of slavery globally. Mr McCarthy, Australian Ambassador to the Holy See from 2012 to ... Read More »
THE Vatican has declared a “Special Laudato Si’ Anniversary Year” starting almost immediately, and a seven-year action plan emphasising “ecological conversion”, and safeguarding and care for the earth. “I’m delighted, and it brings great blessings as well,” Brisbane archdiocese’s Catholic Justice and Peace Commission executive officer Peter Arndt said, describing the measures as a visionary step. “It is a great ... Read More »
The Catholic Leader Keeping Faith with You
