Keywords: Church Governance
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AUSTRALIA
- Moira Rayner
- 26 October 2011
17 Comments
In a simpler time a visit from our head of state seemed to make us feel better about ourselves. Like many Australians, I hold dear the old lady, but have no fear that democracy will shatter when her life and the monarchy slowly come to their natural end.
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RELIGION
- Andrew Hamilton
- 25 October 2011
86 Comments
The issues raised by Bishop Bill Morris' dismissal were not about the Pope's right to act, but about the transparency of the process. The Australian Bishops' letter about the matter is an act of closure. But troubling questions remain.
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RELIGION
- Andrew Hamilton
- 25 August 2011
21 Comments
On Sunday a Gospel story, prison, World Youth Day and a petition to the Australian Bishops calling for renewal in the Church converged in a surprising way. It is daunting to ask others what they think of you, and also to listen to what they say.
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RELIGION
- Andrew Hamilton
- 21 July 2011
30 Comments
A petition circulating among Australian Catholics offers a sombre picture of the state of the Church. To some Catholics petitions seem inappropriate. But they have the value once attributed to canaries in the mineshaft: their witness is dismissed at the mine owners' peril.
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AUSTRALIA
- Andrew Hamilton
- 20 June 2011
22 Comments
Whatever his failings, former Victorian Police Chief Commissioner Simon Overland was a patently good man. His resignation followed a disedifying and concerted campaign against him by media groups, the police union, some of his colleagues and many politicians. It is hard to see any good coming out of this affair.
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RELIGION
- Andrew Hamilton
- 16 May 2011
38 Comments
The treatment of Bishop Bill Morris risks further blurring the image of the Church. The story told of a good man who encouraged his church, who was resolute in dealing with sexual abuse, but was removed in an untransparent process, will confirm many in their distrust of the Church.
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RELIGION
- Andrew Hamilton
- 05 May 2011
54 Comments
Modern societies rightly put much weight on transparency. Its absence is taken to discredit the institutions in which it is lacking. After the forced resignation of Bishop Morris it will be even harder for Catholics to win a hearing on issues that affect the public order.
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RELIGION
- Andrew Hamilton
- 29 April 2011
15 Comments
John Paul II was as much a Polish Catholic as Mary MacKillop was Australian. His moral force eroded the legitimacy of the Communist regimes of Eastern Europe. The controversy about his beatification is not about his virtue or historical significance, but about his legacy to the Church.
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EUREKA STREET TV
- Peter Kirkwood
- 07 April 2011
6 Comments
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EUREKA STREET TV
- Peter Kirkwood
- 07 April 2011
In 2001 Collins resigned from priestly ministry because of a dispute with the Vatican over his book Papal Power. In the interview he discusses his views on the Church and its governance, as well as eco-theology.
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INTERNATIONAL
- Mark Raper
- 17 November 2010
3 Comments
May I tell you about one refugee whom I met during the 20 years I lived and worked JRS? The story has no happy outcome, indeed far from it. But it may help to communicate some of the feelings that inspire many who accompany the refugees.
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RELIGION
- Moira Rayner
- 11 October 2010
12 Comments
Men's control over Christian women's religious lives has grown vastly over the centuries. Perhaps MacKillop might have agreed with Virginia Woolf, 'The history of men's opposition to women's emancipation is more interesting perhaps than the story of that emancipation itself.'
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