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Section: Religion

  • RELIGION

    Gay marriage debate has a long way to go

    • Frank Brennan
    • 07 December 2011
    80 Comments

    Even if the Parliament does legislate to expand the definition of marriage beyond its traditional meaning, there will be a constitutional challenge in the High Court. It would be a pity if those of us trying to contribute the strength of the Catholic tradition to the debate were simply characterised as homophobic naysayers.

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  • RELIGION

    The Pope in Alice: 25 years on

    • Frank Brennan
    • 29 November 2011
    19 Comments

    Protocol dictated that he could not wear Aboriginal colours. But local custom won out when he donned a black, red and yellow stole given to him on the track. His speech put strong challenges to the Church, but offered too optimistic a reading of the prospects of Aboriginal Australians taking their rightful place in it.

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  • RELIGION

    Two faces of the Catholic Church

    • Andrew Hamilton
    • 24 November 2011
    44 Comments

    Monsignor John Murphy, the recently deceased former Director of Catholic Immigration, always responded to problems as people in need.  After the suspension of ordinary process following the retirement of Brisbane Archbishop John Bathersby, Catholics there may feel themselves seen as problems rather than as people.

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  • RELIGION

    The role of religious faith in modern society: a renewed vision

    • Frank Brennan
    • 23 November 2011

    Fr Frank Brennan SJ's address at the 'Ethics in a Multi Faith Society: Muslims and Christians in Dialogue' Conference, Conference under the auspices of the Fethullah Gulen Chair in the Study of Islam and Muslim-Catholic Relations, Australian Catholic University, Melbourne, 23 November 2011.

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  • RELIGION

    Labor's Intervention on steroids

    • Frank Brennan
    • 22 November 2011
    16 Comments

    The National Apology began a process of relationship-building with Aboriginal Australians. This process has come to an end, with ministerial calls for racially targeted docking of welfare payments for parents whose children are not attending school on remote communities.

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  • RELIGION

    A Catholic Social Teaching perspective on the Intervention

    • Frank Brennan
    • 22 November 2011
    1 Comment

    Text from the 4th Annual Gerald Ward Lecture 'How do we design a dignified welfare safety net without becoming a Nanny State? — Lessons from Catholic Social Teaching', presented  by Fr Frank Brennan SJ at the National Library of Australia, 18 November 2011.

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  • RELIGION

    Panicky in the UK

    • Andrew Hamilton
    • 17 November 2011
    6 Comments

    Like the Northern Territory Intervention, the severe punitive responses to those involved in the UK riots bore the characteristics of what is commonly called 'moral panic'. A recent report provides an opportunity to ask how adequate these kinds of response are.

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  • RELIGION

    Homily for John Eddy

    • Frank Brennan
    • 11 November 2011
    5 Comments

    Asked 'How are you?', John would caress his scalp, straighten his hat, adjust his cuffs, massage his moustache, purse his lips, and answer, 'I'm headed for Grand Central. But I don't know when this service is due to arrive.' He never did meet Stalin, but thought he had met just about everyone else of significance on the planet.

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  • RELIGION

    Aussie priest's theology of the scrub

    • Frank Brennan
    • 09 November 2011
    10 Comments

    I had time to spare, so I grabbed a bite to eat and found a bench in the park opposite the cathedral. I was approached by four young Aboriginal people. I told them I'd come for a funeral: 'You might have known him, Father Mick Hayes?' 'He, that tall grey one? He knew me when I was a little fella.'

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  • RELIGION

    Principles for a coherent refugee policy

    • Frank Brennan
    • 04 November 2011
    13 Comments

    It is only because we are an island nation continent that we can entertain the absurd notion of sealing our borders from refugee flows. We must remain committed to resettling bona fide refugees who reach our shores regardless of any regional solutions we put in place to deter them. 

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  • RELIGION

    Sharing the journey with agnostics and Qantas

    • Andrew Hamilton
    • 03 November 2011
    27 Comments

    The Pope believes agnostics and Christians are on a shared journey, committed to peace and human dignity. The concept of the shared journey has consequences for the life of the Church, as in the Bishop Bill Morris saga, but also for events such as the Qantas controversy.

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  • RELIGION

    Closing the case of Bishop Bill Morris

    • 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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