SPIRITED THINKING SINCE 1888
Natasha Marsh

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Archbishop Fisher: a strong voice who inspires affection
January 31, 2019
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
Australian Catholics say farewell to the John Paul II Institute
December 20, 2018
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
New Zealand: The ‘new normal’
September 20, 2018
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
Council of confusion
September 13, 2018
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
Australia: Seal of disapproval
June 21, 2018
Laws requiring priests to break the Seal of Confession have shocked the Church “This week we have seen the full array of politicians – Green, Labor, Liberal and independent – lining up to dismantle the Catholic Church’s institution of sealed Confession.” So wrote the journalist Waleed Aly in November 2012, when several prominent figures voiced
Australia: Grief and prayer
May 31, 2018
An archbishop’s conviction for failing to report abuse has shocked Catholics The month of May has not been easy for Catholics living in the city of Adelaide, South Australia. On Tuesday May 22, their archbishop, Philip Wilson (pictured), was convicted of concealing the sexual abuse of two boys in the 1970s. Hailed as a “landmark”
The Australian Church is in desperate trouble
November 30, 2017
In 2017, the Church has endured an abuse crisis, lost a same-sex marriage vote and failed to stop euthanasia. Can it recover?
Crisis of faith
November 30, 2017
This Sunday marks the beginning of a new year (Year B, to be precise) in the Church’s liturgical calendar. That may be a relief for Australian Catholics, who will be glad to say goodbye to 2017 a few weeks early. The year opened on a hard note, with the Royal Commission into Child Sexual Abuse,
Australia has voted for gay marriage – and religious freedom is already in peril
November 23, 2017
Social conservatives have found they are very much in the minority. Now their freedoms may be vanishing as well
No love in Australia’s same-sex marriage debate
September 07, 2017
The campaign has been marred by bullying, vilification and media bias
No love in this marriage debate
September 07, 2017
Australia is in the middle of a colour war, but it has nothing to do with race. The rainbow has been making its appearance on city flagpoles and Facebook walls, signalling that the same-sex marriage debate has well and truly begun. After a year of heated political debate, the Australian prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, announced
World meeting of Russian Catholics hailed as ‘last hurrah’ for movement
March 03, 2017
Organiser says the Eastern Church, started by the 'Newman of Russia', is in danger of being lost to history
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