FORMER Coffs Harbour parish priest Fr Anthony John Casey, who died at the age of 90, was remembered as a gentle pastor and diligent worker at a Requiem Mass held at St Augustine’s Church.  Fr Casey died on January 8 in Ballina. Lismore Bishop Gregory Homeming and many priests of the diocese concelebrated the Mass on January 16.  In his ... Read More »

THE new secondary college planned for the James Cook University campus at Smithfield, Cairns, has been named Newman Catholic College. Cairns Bishop James Foley announced the name following community consultation and recommendations from the Catholic Northern Beaches Parish, whose parishioners strongly endorsed the recognition of the recently canonised St John Henry Newman (pictured). “Having spent considerable time with the writings ... Read More »

TOWNSVILLE Bishop Tim Harris criticised both extreme left and extreme right political narratives for misleading the public from finding a reasoned and nuanced understanding of the costs and effects of climate change. Bishop Harris said this reasoned and nuanced understanding was essential to enacting our “God-given” responsibility to care for creation. He said both the hard-left and hard-right stifled the ... Read More »

WHEN Pope Francis told young lovers in his apostolic exhortation on love to dance towards immense hope, he probably didn’t mean do the tango. But Ben Smith, the director of Life, Marriage and Family for Hobart archdiocese, thinks a dose of social dancing can be effective in teaching young people about the sanctity of marriage. That’s why he’s invited Katrina ... Read More »

IN Yeppoon, Vinnies volunteer member Rick Williams is working for a desperate community that still doesn’t like asking for help despite an ongoing battle with bushfires and drought. Mr Williams said much of his work as a Vincentian at present had been helping locals re-connect vital services required to return their lives to some sense of normality. “Most of the ... Read More »

CAIRNS Bishop James Foley is to step down due to ailing health after 27 years, and is expected to cease duties early next year. “I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s (disease) earlier this year … and I submitted my resignation,” 71-year-old Bishop Foley told The Catholic Leader. One of Australia’s longest-serving current bishops, Bishop Foley has written a letter to Cairns ... Read More »

JULIANNE Schmid has spent the past few years preparing her sons, who were born deaf, to hear the world differently. The Mackay Catholic mum even wrote a book on the daily life of her two boys, titled Bill and Hug – A Dragon’s Tale, which explores the experience of two sibling dragons with hearing aids. But the mum from St ... Read More »

GLADSTONE parish said farewell to the last Marist Fathers who served the parish for 118 years at celebrations on November 23 and 24. Since 1901, there had been a succession of priests who ministered to the people of the city and the outlying towns and communities.  Rockhampton Bishop Michael McCarthy said the presence of the Marist Fathers in the diocese ... Read More »

SCIENCE, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) at St Mary’s College, Toowoomba, uses real-world problems to spark curiosity and teach. This is reinforced through integrated learning in the classroom whilst also providing extra-curricular opportunities for boys.  This includes a timetabled STEM class for Year 9s where they concentrate on solving real-world issues throughout Term 3, before competing in the international First ... Read More »