BRISBANE Archbishop Mark Coleridge has described the powerful impact of hearing from child sexual abuse survivors during the opening of an historic Vatican summit on child protection. “I was surprised at the way tears welled up,” Archbishop Coleridge said of the pre-recorded video testimonials from abuse survivors. They included one made pregnant three times by a priest who started abusing ... Read More »
BRISBANE Catholic Doug Miller is one of the first to have seen dinosaur footprints that belong to a giant sauropod, largest of the extinct herbivores, discovered in a creek bed near Winton, in Central West Queensland. “It’s quite mind-blowing,” Mr Miller said, describing the sheer size of footprints – more than a metre across – discovered in rock while he ... Read More »
CELEBRITY atheist and author of the top-selling novel The God Delusion Richard Dawkins said faith was “the great cop-out”. The “great excuse to evade the need to think and evaluate evidence”. Professor Dawkins is notorious for avoiding sophisticated theological debate on faith and reason, and he rarely engages in public discourse with Catholic religious. When debating Prof Dawkins in 2016, ... Read More »
PRIME Minister Scott Morrison has called teaching “a calling” as he unveiled a Closing the Gap plan to encourage more teachers to work at remote Indigenous community schools. Under the plan, teacher graduates would have their university HECS debts wiped if they spend four years teaching in remote area Indigenous schools. “If you’re a teacher in a very remote area, ... Read More »
BRISBANE Archbishop Mark Coleridge has described the sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church as “a global emergency”, and a Vatican summit this week “requires a global response”. For Archbishop Coleridge, president of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, and finding himself under a global media spotlight in Rome as the summit begins, the urgency of the abuse crisis requires concrete, ... Read More »
INSIDERS have said the Church’s decision to seek the advice of the LGBTI community has “stirred unease” among some Catholics. Many fear the conference could result in radical change at a time when issues such as the ordination of female priests and the relaxing of mandatory celibacy rules are already hotly contested. Recently Melbourne Archbishop Peter Comensoli invited 80 members ... Read More »
NO-man’s-land encrusted with cattle carcasses and graziers hovering in helicopters, unable to reach their bogged, starved and diseased animals, tells the tale of heartache felt across the rural areas of Townsville diocese. An estimated 500,000 cattle perished in the floods, a direct economic loss of about $300 million. Townsville Bishop Tim Harris said he was troubled by the crushing debt ... Read More »
PAUL Finch had personal reasons for joining the St Vincent de Paul Society, just like thousands of others over their 125 years. Mr Finch lost his Ipswich home in the 1974 Brisbane floods and, inspired by the people who helped him in that difficult time, decided “it’s time to give something back”. But, for Mr Finch, a 40-year veteran of ... Read More »
AMONG any accolades or commendations that come Peter Maher’s way as he retires as Vinnies’ chief in Queensland none are likely to be more precious than a few words from one of his daughters. Looking back over more than 14 years in the chief executive officer’s chair, a comment from Peter’s daughter Belinda was up there among his most cherished ... Read More »
The Catholic Leader Keeping Faith with You
