HE was simply known as “the Man with the Hat” and “the Boy from Boree Creek”. A down-to-earth bloke, Tim Fischer (pictured) was instantly recognisable in his Akubra, whether as deputy prime minister in Canberra, on an overseas mission as trade minister, or treading the cobblestones of Rome as Ambassador to the Holy See. The affable and much admired politician, ... Read More »
Brisbane photo journalist Alan Edgecomb was inspired by a recent visit to the Basilica of Santa Cecilia in Rome. This is the story of his visit in words and pictures. ST Cecilia lived in a small neighbourhood on the right bank of the Tiber River in Rome in the 3rd century. She was a noble Roman girl and a fervent ... Read More »
AUSTRALIA’S Bishops will use results from the largest survey of young Catholics in Australia to support young people facing problems with mental health, relationships, politics and living the faith in a secular world. More than 15,000 young peopled aged 16 to 29 completed a survey last year initiated by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference for the upcoming Synod of Bishops ... Read More »
NURSING student Kate Gavin will honour Indigenous women as she prepares to study in Rome thanks to a scholarship from the Australian Catholic University. The Australian Catholic University student from Brisbane was named the 2018 Francis Xavier Conaci scholarship recipient, which will allow her to study at the institution’s Rome campus. Named after an Aboriginal boy from Australia who left ... Read More »
BRISBANE Archbishop and Australian Catholic Bishops Conference president Mark Coleridge has used a Vatican visit to publicly demand bishops “be accountable” in changing Church culture that made child abuse possible. “We’re not above the law, we are not a law unto ourselves nor is the Church a law unto herself,” Archbishop Coleridge said following a conference on safeguarding and child ... Read More »
AUSTRALIA’S Governor-General has tried to win a new fan for the Socceroos during an official audience with Pope Francis on June 25. Sir Peter Cosgrove and his wife Lynne Cosgrove met with the Holy Father in the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City. The Governor-General presented the Argentina-born Pontiff with a personalised Socceroos jersey to encourage him to cheer for Australia ... Read More »
WHEN Brisbane artist Antoinette Wijeyakulasuriya starts to paint she knows in her “minds eye” exactly how the finished artwork will look. “The Holy Spirit is guiding me, and that is the joy of it,” Mrs Wijeyakulasuriya said from her home studio where she produces exquisite oil paintings that range from naturalistic landscapes to portraits and abstracts. Her acclaimed work, Holy ... Read More »
INDIGENOUS Catholic student Lachlan Tomkins says a surprise trip to Rome has given him a thirst to know more about himself, his faith, and to be involved in the Church in a new and enriched way. Last month, the Australian Catholic University student, literally, found himself in the heart of Vatican City at short notice, as a delegate preparing a ... Read More »
AUSTRALIA’S first resident woman ambassador to the Holy See Melissa Hitchman has described Pope Francis’ papacy as a “unique moment in history”. “He is willing to dialogue on issues that the Church has previously not been prepared to do,” Ms Hitchman said at the start of a mid-term tour during which she will be speaking with Australian Catholic leaders and ... Read More »
The Catholic Leader Keeping Faith with You
