AUSTRALIANS have been dealt a relatively good hand when it comes to government financial aid through the pandemic, with the likes of employment benefits and tax-return incentives. A new Deloitte Access Economics report released last week predicted Australia’s downturn would be significantly less than experienced by the rest of the world. “It says our downturn is going to be rather ... Read More »

A GROUP of survivors of sexual abuse have defended the Seal of Confession as a vital lifeline and aided their recovery. Their testimonies paints the confession box as a safe place to speak and ease their trauma, and contradicts the intent of new laws across Australia aimed at compelling priests to report child sexual abuse offences disclosed during confessions. South ... Read More »

MATER across South-East, Central and North Queensland has merged to form the state’s largest Catholic not-for-profit healthcare provider. The July 1 merger saw Mercy Health and Aged Care in Central Queensland, Mater Health Services in North Queensland, and Mater Misericordiae Limited in South East Queensland join forces under one mission to serve the community by providing compassionate care. Leaders of ... Read More »

YOUTH Off The Streets founder Fr Chris Riley was reportedly “very unwell” and 2GB Radio personality Ben Fordham called out for listeners to write to him on June 30. Youth Off The Streets chief executive officer Lex Lutherborrow told 2GB that Fr Riley was unwell, both from mental and physical exhaustion. She said he had cared for thousands of young ... Read More »

EVANGELISATION is at the heart of an upcoming podcast series written and presented by Brisbane Archbishop Mark Coleridge looking at the life of St Paul and the early Church, which will air its first episode next Wednesday, June 15. The podcast, called The Birth of the Church: why the loser won, was adapted from a series of university lectures Archbishop ... Read More »

BISHOP Ken Howell has echoed the words of Pope St John Paul II in calling for a renewed commitment to recognition for and reconciliation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. The Brisbane auxiliary bishop, speaking at the annual Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Sunday Mass at St Stephen’s Cathedral last weekend, said Australian Catholics needed to hear again “those ... Read More »

SR Margaret Cleary, a Brisbane girl who’s wandered far, is the latest in a long list of Catholic religious to be honoured by the Queen, but she’s so mindful of being “ordinary”.   Sr Margaret was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia in the Queen’s Birthday Honours recently “for service to the Catholic Church of Australia”.   It’s not an accolade she ... Read More »

ST Rita’s College principal Dale Morrow is to receive a Queensland Fellowship in recognition of exceptional educational leadership. Fellowships are awarded by the Australian Council for Educational Leaders (ACEL) for contributions of outstanding educational leadership at the state and/or national level. Award recipients are selected from schools across the state, professional associations, universities and supporting organisations. Mrs Morrow’s Fellowship Award ... Read More »

VIETNAMESE refugee Fr Huong Van Nguyen is well aware of the emotional roller coaster that comes with putting your life on hold. The 71-year-old priest for the Brisbane archdiocese said he suffered anxiety, fear, isolation, and uncertainty when he had to wait 12 years to become a priest. In 1983 Fr Nguyen was ordained a transitional deacon for his home ... Read More »