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If the Church is to be a school for holiness it must reassure Catholics above all that it is a safe school. In schools, this normally demands a change of culture to shift focus from reputation and power to the dignity, growth and empowerment of students. In the Church it will mean dealing decisively with the abuse of power by clergy.
Many Scottish Catholics are concerned Cardinal O'Brien's legacy will be solely one of drunken fumbles with adult men. We need to remember the other O'Brien: his passion for the poor, his courage in having workshops in Catholic schools on HIV/AIDS, his support for married clergy. The lynching must stop, and compassion begin.
'We do not stay focused on a moribund, severed arm. Rather we remember that Francis with this arm always pointed towards Christ, and always embraced all before him, especially the poorest of the poor.' Fr Frank Brennan SJ's address at St Christopher's Cathedral, Canberra, for the visit of the Relic of St Francis Xavier.
As an institution stricken with dysfunction, the ALP shares a bleak outlook with unions, churches and other organisations that are similarly sustained by shared ideals and belief systems, but are struggling. They've lost their nerve and no longer know how to be authentic.
The Renaissance embodied a revolution not only in form, but in content. Bellini's Madonna and Child is enlivened by a zesty piece of human theatre: the baby Jesus, anxious to be on his way, raises one leg in a gesture of defiance, a perfect half-scowl etched onto his tiny features.
Recent debate in the Australian Catholic Church over the new English translation of the Mass shows the difficulty of expressing age-old spiritual truths in contemporary language and symbols. One Sydney Uniting Church has risen to the challenge.
The crisis facing the Church arising out of sexual abuse is arguably the most serious challenge it has faced since the Reformation. Issues such as authoritarianism, compulsory celibacy, the participation of women and the teaching on sexuality cannot be brushed aside.
There are those who argue that the fight to stave off the negative impacts of climate change is a fight to save the world from humans themselves. Dialogue from population-control advocates fails to recognise the dignity of each person.
Hitchens, like The God Delusion author Richard Dawkins, views belief in God not just as quaint, but as a sign of intellectual bad will. The age of muscular evangelical Christianity has been replaced by the age of muscular evangelical atheism.
At a time of falling and ageing church congregations, St Mary's is one of Australia's most vibrant and deeply engaged Catholic parishes. It is a haven for many who do not feel welcome in other Catholic congregations. Sadly it is positioning itself outside of communion with the Catholic Church.
During Vatican II, which was first called 30 years ago last month, the pastoral leadership of the church attempted to bring Roman Catholicism into the 20th century. Why did the notion of a supreme Pontiff survive?