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Why a conscientious Christian could vote for the Greens   
Frank Brennan 10-Aug-2010
It would be regrettable if an attack by Cardinal Pell and the Australian Christian Lobby on the 'anti-Christian' Greens could be construed as an indirect shot across the bows of the atheist Prime Minister. On some policy issues the Greens have a more Christian message than the major parties.

Abbott and Santamaria's undemocratic Catholicism  
Paul Collins 17-Aug-2010
Tony Abbott is wrong to suggest that B. A. Santamaria made Australian Catholicism 'more intellectual'. Santamaria embraced a form of doctrinaire conformism that is the death of thoughtful commitment. It would be worrying if this kind of integralist Catholicism infected contemporary public life.

Women's ordination and other crimes of passion  
Andrew Hamilton 05-Aug-2010
The naming of participating in women's ordination as a crime against faith os disconcerting. I recently attended the ordination of a woman friend in another church. The celebration was prayerful and joyful, and promised to be the prelude to a fruitful ministry by faithful and committed candidates. 

The election Rudd could have won  
John Warhurst 23-Aug-2010
The result suggests some fascinating questions. Prime among them is whether Labor panicked and threw away this election when it deposed Kevin Rudd and replaced him with Julia Gillard in June. Would Rudd have done better? The answer is probably yes.

Inside Canberra's Catholic lobby  
Frank Quinlan 18-Aug-2010
This election we consider a PM who is doubted because of her atheism, an Opposition Leader who is doubted for being too 'Catholic', and the Greens who are doubted as being anti-Christian. Church social agencies have been involved in important issues with each of these groups.

Hung parliament could be the making of Gillard  
Tony Kevin 24-Aug-2010
There was a massive loss of confidence in Labor's policies. The Australian electorate saw through the triviality of what both major parties were offering. Gillard would deserve her party's full support in leading a Labor Government in a hung parliament. This may be the making of her as a great prime minister.

Why harassment claimant wants to rock DJs  
Moira Rayner 06-Aug-2010
Kristy Fraser-Kirk has flabbergasted David Jones with her pursuit of $37 million in punitive damages after allegations of sexual harassment against the company's former CEO. The retail giant says it is still interested in settlement. She doesn't want to settle, mate. She wants to make a point.

Bishops' voting advice needs grounding in dignity  
Andrew Hamilton 12-Aug-2010

In an election campaign characterised by the avoidance of commitment to any principle that might cost votes, the Bishops' advice avoided bagging particular political parties and enunciated broad humane criteria to guide voters. It could have offered more.

Atheist 'Real Julia' courts Christian vote  
Michael Mullins 09-Aug-2010

Gillard was photographed looking up to Cardinal George Pell with an admiring glance, and attended a fundraiser for expenses associated with October's Mary MacKillop canonisation in Rome. She offered $1.5 million in government money, but much more than that in flattery to Catholic electors.

Asylum seekers are Australia's invisible homeless  
Greg Foyster 13-Aug-2010
Every day, Australians face north and scan the horizon. Has another boat arrived? But if our politicians and journalists want to see asylum seekers living in poor conditions, they need to look closer to home.

Most Commented

Why a conscientious Christian could vote for the Greens   
Frank Brennan 10-Aug-2010
It would be regrettable if an attack by Cardinal Pell and the Australian Christian Lobby on the 'anti-Christian' Greens could be construed as an indirect shot across the bows of the atheist Prime Minister. On some policy issues the Greens have a more Christian message than the major parties.113 Comments.

Women's ordination and other crimes of passion  
Andrew Hamilton 05-Aug-2010
The naming of participating in women's ordination as a crime against faith os disconcerting. I recently attended the ordination of a woman friend in another church. The celebration was prayerful and joyful, and promised to be the prelude to a fruitful ministry by faithful and committed candidates.  48 Comments.

Beyond the selfish election  
Andrew Hamilton 27-Aug-2010

The churches, with their tradition of recognising the deeper values in human beings and society, can play an important part in generating a richer vision of Australian society. They'll need to cooperate with other groups who decry the self-interested focus in Australian politics.

33 Comments.

The election Rudd could have won  
John Warhurst 23-Aug-2010
The result suggests some fascinating questions. Prime among them is whether Labor panicked and threw away this election when it deposed Kevin Rudd and replaced him with Julia Gillard in June. Would Rudd have done better? The answer is probably yes. 32 Comments.

Abbott and Santamaria's undemocratic Catholicism  
Paul Collins 17-Aug-2010
Tony Abbott is wrong to suggest that B. A. Santamaria made Australian Catholicism 'more intellectual'. Santamaria embraced a form of doctrinaire conformism that is the death of thoughtful commitment. It would be worrying if this kind of integralist Catholicism infected contemporary public life. 26 Comments.

A vote for the Greens is a vote against Catholic education  
Stephen Elder 12-Aug-2010
I differ with Frank Brennan in his belief that there is no harm in voting Green. The Greens' policy on funding for Catholic schools will force closures, increase fees and change the ability of Catholic schools to be genuinely Catholic. Stephen Elder, Director of Catholic Education, Melbourne25 Comments.

Don't wimp out at the ballot box  
Edwina Byrne 20-Aug-2010
It would be easy to cast a donkey vote or a vote for a minor party and to thus wash your hands of the responsibility for our governance for the next three or so years. In a representative democracy, a vacuous election represents a lazy polity. 22 Comments.

Hung parliament could be the making of Gillard  
Tony Kevin 24-Aug-2010
There was a massive loss of confidence in Labor's policies. The Australian electorate saw through the triviality of what both major parties were offering. Gillard would deserve her party's full support in leading a Labor Government in a hung parliament. This may be the making of her as a great prime minister. 20 Comments.

We're to blame for election shocker  
Andrew Hamilton 23-Aug-2010
We are wrong to assume our involvement in the political process ends with the casting of votes. If the experience of a fetid election campaign, of leadership abdicated and of a hung parliament leads us to offer more modest local forms of participation and leadership, all Australians will gain. 20 Comments.

Vote for hope  
John Falzon 20-Aug-2010
Ngunnawal Elder Aunty Janet Phillips says that for Aboriginal Australians there's no 'justice'; 'just us'. How can we turn this election into a building block for a more equal society? The answer involves weighing up the known policies and track-record of both sides to assess their impact on the growth of inequality. 20 Comments.

Retrospective

Why a conscientious Christian could vote for the Greens   
Frank Brennan 10-Aug-2010
It would be regrettable if an attack by Cardinal Pell and the Australian Christian Lobby on the 'anti-Christian' Greens could be construed as an indirect shot across the bows of the atheist Prime Minister. On some policy issues the Greens have a more Christian message than the major parties.

World Cup a triumph, now South Africa must keep its head  
David Holdcroft 14-Jul-2010
Like many emerging societies, South Africa is a long way from being truly inclusive. The World Cup experience brought it much closer to that goal. Now it needs to ensure this progress is not undermined.

Forgiving genocide  
Bronwyn Lay 14-May-2010
During the massacre Rurangwa's grandmother was murdered mid-prayer, various family members called to god for help, while the killers, fellow parishioners of the local church, struck their machetes until faith fell with precious bodies into a pile.

Losing Ben  
Chris Mulherin 12-May-2010
The oldest of our five, Ben studied science, medicine in his sights, healthy, not wealthy and wise beyond his years. Ben died quietly. He had no choice really, we turned off the machine.

The dignity of Carl Williams  
Andrew Hamilton 21-Apr-2010

When celebrities who have treated people violently suffer themselves from violence, their suffering is approved because it is an expected part of the plot. The death of Carl Williams has been covered as if it were an episode of Underbelly. Williams deserves better than this.

The trouble with school ethics classes  
Neil Ormerod 16-Apr-2010

The Sydney Anglican diocese is concerned that proposed ethics classes in schools might attract students away from existing scripture classes. This looks more like a matter of turf wars, of seeking to maintain numbers and so justify their continuance.

Refugee backflip misses what matters  
Andrew Hamilton 12-Apr-2010
The decision to suspend the processing of future asylum seekers from Afghanistan and Sri Lanka does not respect the dignity of asylum seekers. Now that the Government has bent to the populist winds fanned by an opportunistic Opposition, there are grounds for fearing the claims of asylum seekers will be judged in a way that unduly reflects the interests of the Australian Government.

The crucifixion of Christine Nixon  
Moira Rayner 09-Apr-2010
No firestorm of blame would be raging in the media were Christine Nixon not a woman, a decent and strong woman, a prominent woman and an ethically sound woman of an age and with the experience to possess a raging integrity of her own and, by her very being, to offer ruthless men a soft target.

Easter's image of compassion for abused and abusers  
Andrew Hamilton 01-Apr-2010
It is appropriate to attend to the complex patterns of sin that are involved in abuse and its consequences. This kind of gaze resists the temptations to deny or to minimise the extent of sexual abuse and the harm done by it.

Abbott, Santamaria and Catholic Liberals  
John Warhurst 30-Mar-2010
Tony Abbott had a close association with B. A. Santamaria and personifies church ties with politics through his relationship with the man he has called his confessor, Cardinal Pell. The question is whether Abbott is a one-off or represents a larger group of Catholic Liberals.