As political commentators scratch their heads wondering how Labor lost an “unlosable election”, some commentators are suggesting that religious freedom was a crucial factor. Just months ago, Labor launched an attack on religious liberty in the form of two Senate bills proposing to remove all exemption clauses for religious bodies from the Sex Discrimination Act

Religious freedom, religious education and pro-life issues are all at stake in the Australian federal election on May 18. Led by Bill Shorten and backed by the ultra-progressive Greens, the Australian Labor Party is spearheading radical, liberal, anti-Christian policy in Australia. If elected, Christian and Catholic communities will be marginalised. Polls show that Labor leads the

Hours before 10am on Wednesday, March 13 a media cloud had gathered over the County Court of Victoria, Melbourne. In a first for Australia, Judge Peter Kidd announced that the sentencing of Cardinal George Pell would be broadcast live on national television. The mood was thick with an anticipation which too closely resembled excitement. Several

When the McCarrick scandal first broke in America, Catholics began to leave the Church in droves. But when the verdict against Cardinal George Pell was leaked in December, and the suppression order was lifted on February 27, Australian Catholics continued to attend Mass in the same numbers as before. One reason for this is that

Australia’s second youngest archbishop, Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP of Sydney, has made quite an impression on the global Church. Speaking at the Vatican’s youth synod in October 2018, he apologised not only for the failure of bishops to protect minors, but also for the more general lack of clear episcopal leadership in the Church. He

Last month, more than 70 people gathered for a formal farewell commemorating the John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family, Melbourne, which officially closes on December 31. Australia’s only pontifical academy, the institute was established in 2001 and was known for its orthodoxy in the areas of marriage, family, bioethics and education. It has

Lay people are taking on priests’ former duties in the country’s largest diocese New Zealand’s only cardinal, John Dew of Wellington, spoke at the recent World Meeting of Families on “The Future of the Irish Parish: Lessons from Abroad”. He described how his archdiocese has been dealing with the “severe” shortage of priests by appointing

Australian Catholics are preparing for a ‘plenary council’. But the Church is in danger of encouraging false expectations Jump on to any diocesan website in Australia and there will be a tab, a fact sheet or a snazzy revolving banner informing you about the Plenary Council 2020. The event is the latest initiative of the