FRANCIS X. Rocca has met Pope Francis at least 15 times. That’s the number of international trips he has made as a member of the Vatican press corps aboard the Pontiff’s plane. “Every time we go on a papal trip he comes down the aisle and greets everyone, one by one,” Mr Rocca, the Vatican correspondent for The Wall Street ... Read More »
FORMER Bundaberg parish priest Fr John Daly had been away on the day of the St Mary’s Church fire and returned in the afternoon and when he went to see the church, there was “no sign of anything”. “All the pews were just coals and the altar and the lectern, everything, there was no sign of furniture that existed there,” ... Read More »
VICTORIAN authorities have recorded 52 deaths in the first six months since euthanasia became available in the state. The government had expected one death per month, but were instead counting two deaths per week between June 19 and December 31. Of those 52 people who died, 43 people swallowed the fatal medication themselves and nine people had their doctor administer ... Read More »
HUNDREDS of friends and family crowded the steps of Sacred Heart Church, Rosalie, in the late hours of last Saturday to extend last-minute hugs and goodbyes to National Evangelisation Team Ministries’ 45 young adults, who begin a 10-month adventure spreading the Gospel. Seven teams, made up of 23 Australians, 12 Americans, five Canadians, two New Zealanders, two South Africans and ... Read More »
BRISBANE L’Arche community leader met Jean Vanier four times since the 1980s and never once considered him anything but an inspirational Catholic. But last weekend his image of Vanier was shattered when the L’Arche International community announced the findings of an independent inquiry that found the internationally renowned Canadian had sexually abused at least six women. L’Arche Brisbane community leader ... Read More »
CAMP Hill’s small Catholic community have opened their arms to the family of Hannah Clarke, the 31-year-old mother murdered along with her three children. Fr Christopher Obi, parish priest of St Thomas the Apostle Church, Camp Hill, spent his day off last Monday attempting to contact Suzanne and Lloyd Clarke, the grieving parents who lost their daughter on Wednesday, February ... Read More »
A NEW model of pastoral leadership is being trialled in the central west of Rockhampton diocese to combat the challenges posed to sacramental ministry because of the vast distances between the remote parish communities. Rockhampton Bishop Michael McCarthy appointed Carmelite of Mary Immaculate Father Shaiju Lookose and Heralds of Good News Father Raj Kodavatikanti as priests “in solidum” to the ... Read More »
I REMEMBER an incident from when I was a boy. It was the practice of my family to attend Mass together on a Sunday morning. I wouldn’t say that my brother, two sisters and I were particularly fond of this aspect of family life, but we had done it for as long as I could remember and none of us ... Read More »
By Jonathan Yap FRIENDSHIPS can often make or break a student’s university experience, but Catholics at the University of Queensland believe having good mates can also deepen a person’s faith. UQ Newman Society president Georgina Devenish-Meares said friendships were more effective than formal talks in developing faith formation. “I wouldn’t say we get a lot of formal formations at chaplaincy, ... Read More »
The Catholic Leader Keeping Faith with You
