I HAVE recently had a number of conversations with various people on the subject of the cultural composition of the presbyterate in Australia. In light of the increasing number of priests from overseas that are ministering in this country, the whole notion of what it means to serve a particular community seems to have been highlighted in many minds. ... Read More »
PARISHIONERS, family, friends, fellow priests and colleagues joined a chorus of celebration for Brisbane archdiocese’s ordered and diocesan priests for the Presbyteral Jubilee Mass at St Stephen’s Cathedral on July 17. A total of 21 jubilarians celebrated at the Mass. Diamond jubilarians were Fr Pat Dowd, Fr Vince Hobbs, Fr Denis Long and Carmelite Father Jerome Watt. Golden jubilarians were ... Read More »
DEACONS Josh Whitehead and Brendan Gormley are to be ordained priests on Friday, May 31 – but between now and then, there’s still a lot of work to be done. Deacon Whitehead said he was unsure about his expectations for the ordination itself, but he said he was excited to be ordained alongside his “brother” Deacon Brendan Gormley. “I’ve been to ... Read More »
CLERGY advocacy groups representing more than 2000 priests across Australia have rejected outright breaking the seal of confession, even if it becomes law in some states and territories. The National Council of Priests of Australia, with 1700 members, rejects new laws announced in South Australia, Tasmania, the ACT and Western Australia –which would require priests to break the seal of ... Read More »
PRIESTS have been known to invite their mothers, fathers, sisters or brothers to their priestly jubilee Mass, but alongside Fr Brian Harris were his children and grandchildren. The Oblate priest, who has six children, 17 grandchildren and one great-grandchild, joined the priesthood in 1987 when he was 55. “I was married and had a family, but my wife died,” Fr ... Read More »
TRUE friends share everything – even the emotional day they become priests. Fr Thomas Zaranski, 32, and Fr Damien Everitt, 43, first met in 2015 as trainee priests for Holy Spirit Seminary Queensland. They took their friendship to the next level when Brisbane Archbishop Mark Coleridge ordained both men priests on June 29, the Feast of Sts Peter and Paul, ... Read More »
DECEMBER 6, 1273. It’s not a date that immediately jumps out at the average person, but those intimately connected with the life of St Thomas Aquinas know its significance. Although he is said to have written one of the world’s greatest intellectual achievements in Western civilisation – the Summa Theologiae – St Thomas Aquinas abruptly ended his writing endeavours before ... Read More »
GOD might have been on side with the wrong team in the opening game of the 2018 State of Origin, but a few young Queensland men still have faith in His call for them to be priests. Brisbane archdiocese’s director of vocations Fr Stanley Orji said on the night Queensland lost to the Blues in the 2018 State of Origin ... Read More »
PAULINE Fathers from around the world have welcomed the first Queensland-born priest into the monastic order. Fr Joseph Maria Buckley, originally from Brisbane, was ordained a priest of the Order of St Paul the First Hermit, better known as the Pauline Fathers, on June 9. He is the first Queenslander to be ordained for the order, which was founded in ... Read More »
The Catholic Leader Keeping Faith with You
