AGAINST all odds, the Melbourne Cup did not pass into the hands of media moguls or foreign princes, but a bunch of Aussie battlers from drought-torn places like Gympie and Warwick. Among them was Assumption College, Warwick, principal Kort Goodman. “(It was) an amazing feeling and really quite surreal; we were obviously initially ecstatic but then really pinching ourselves,” Mr ... Read More »

“THERE was that feeling of … this is it, this has happened,” newly ordained Townsville priest Fr Emene Kelemete said after he was ordained a priest in front of 1200 people at Ignatius Park College on October 31. It was an overwhelming night, he said. “It was full of joy and happiness, especially to have my family there, who a ... Read More »

TOWNSVILLE Deacon Emene Kelemete will be ordained at Ignatius Park College on October 31. In the lead-up to the ordination, Deacon Kelemete said his family life played a significant role in his path to priesthood. His family was something that encouraged him “to recognise the love of Christ in my life”, he said in a video on Townsville diocese’s Facebook ... Read More »

WHEN Jacqueline Ramsey got her first job as a teacher in 2008, she could have never imagined standing at the front of a classroom in a white habit. But that is exactly the life Sr Mary Dominica Ramsey has chosen with the Conventual Sisters of St Dominic in Ganmain. The former Queensland teacher from a family of nine professed her ... Read More »

RAPPVILLE resident John Duncan, 83, lost his home in the early October blazes in northern New South Wales. His daughter Carol, a Newcastle City councillor, saved him and his partner Cassie, who were hiding in a steel shed, by tweeting to the Rural Fire Service. Mr Duncan’s home was one of 45 burned down in the bushfires in Rappville. Those ... Read More »

THE St Vincent De Paul Society is playing a big part in new drought-support programs – that will allow rural families to access financial counselling, and pay for groceries and power bills as they fight one of the worst droughts on record. Prime Minister Scott Morrison visited Dalby on Queensland’s Western Downs on September 27 and named the St Vincent ... Read More »

PREPARING for ordination, Deacon Emene Kelemete has received “countless” well wishes on his journey. In a video posted on Facebook, Deacon Kelemete stood with his parents, Josef and Peteli, his siblings and partners, and nephews and nieces to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers. Deacon Kelemete is set to be ordained at Edmund Rice Hall at Ignatius Park College ... Read More »

A QUEENSLAND bishop removed from office in 2011 by Pope Benedict has said Catholic school principals were emerging as the voice and the heartbeat of the Church in local communities and needed to be listened to. Bishop Bill Morris, the former Bishop of Toowoomba, has called for greater dialogue within the Church as a way of moving forward and past ... Read More »

TOWNSVILLE Bishop Tim Harris and Anglican North Queensland Bishop Keith Joseph have issued a joint statement criticising the latest push towards euthanasia by the Queensland Parliament. “As a society we rightly detest murder and suicide: for we rightly hold that human life is precious and should be protected,” the bishops said.  “Euthanasia is carried out either by helping someone end ... Read More »