The Catholic Leader Keeping Faith with You

QUEENSLAND’S religious leaders’ strong and united stand against legalising euthanasia has been bolstered by a major Vatican declaration in support of dying patients. A letter signed by 16 faith leaders, including Brisbane Archbishop Mark Coleridge, urges greater support for palliative care, and warned that voluntary assisted dying was “not dying well”.  “We believe that the Queensland Government should maintain the ... Read More »

MIGRATING ​South Sudanese and Italian families share more than the hope found in settling in Brisbane. For 21 years, the local Italian Catholic Federation of Aspley-Geebung (FCI) ​and North Brisbane FCI have nurtured mutual support, cultural expression and faith sharing among their communities. This connection was celebrated when families and individuals gathered in St Gerard Majella parish on October 7. Scalabrinian Missionary Italian Chaplain ... Read More »

“DO you ever get bored?” It is a common question posed by the young men who occasionally come to visit the priory, as part of the process they undertake to help discern their vocation in life.  My response is often simply to pass on a great piece of advice that a very wise friar once gave me.  “The great secret, ... Read More »

HENDRA parishioners have always been sitting closer to Heaven than others. In July 1929, Brisbane archdiocese secured the most elevated portion of land in Hendra – a flat and aluminium-rich farming suburb. Ninety years later, the parish was still on a high when it celebrated its anniversary Mass on June 9 at Our Lady Help of Christians Church. “It’s nice ... Read More »

CATHOLIC schools must help parents teach young people that biological sex and gender are naturally fixed at birth and part of God’s plan for creation, the Congregation for Catholic Education said. In a document published on June 10, the congregation said the Catholic Church and those proposing a looser definition of gender could find common ground in “a laudable desire ... Read More »

E.M. Forster is not generally considered an author of high comedy, but I do recall one particular line from A Passage to India that caused me to laugh out loud when first I read it. In describing the attitude of a certain character toward questions of faith, Forster wrote, “Ronny approved of religion as long as it endorsed the national ... Read More »

THERE’S a story about a priest teaching a group of young children about the Good Shepherd.  He told the children that sheep weren’t smart, needed lots of guidance, and that a shepherd’s job was to stay close to the sheep, protect them from wild animals and keep them from wandering off and doing dumb things that would get them hurt ... Read More »

WHEN a former Governor General was baptised at the age of 85 last year – a man who had previously been an avowed atheist – I was interested to hear not only what had drawn him to the Church, but also what had driven him away from her in the first place. He mentioned in an interview that he had ... Read More »

AFTER career changes and even a time of voluntary ministry, reliant on God’s providence to make ends meet, Helena Montegrande has found her niche.  The 39-year-old Petrie parishioner “finds great joy” in working with people almost twice her age.  “I just love it,” Helena said of full time work within Italian welfare.  “I love bringing a smile to their faces ... Read More »