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Keywords: The Sydney Institute

  • INFORMATION

    Santamaria and the bishops in politics

    • Gerard Henderson
    • 11 March 2010
    2 Comments

    Towards the end of his life, the French philosopher Jacques Maritan thought it was a you-beaut idea to advocate Catholic/communist dialogue between the Vatican and Stalin's heirs in Moscow. Santamaria made mistakes, yet on the issue of Soviet totalitarianism he was smarter than Maritan. 

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Rosemary Goldie and the Santamaria Split

    • Bruce Duncan
    • 10 March 2010
    12 Comments

    In July 1953, the Vatican's agent Rosemary Goldie — who died on 27 February — met Santamaria but was unable to convince him of the need to keep Catholic Action out of direct political involvements. She was dismayed by the Movement's defiance of clear directives from the Holy See.

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  • INTERNATIONAL

    Messiah Mandela's miracle moment

    • Catherine Marshall
    • 11 February 2010
    4 Comments

    I clearly remember what I was doing the day Nelson Mandela walked free from prison. The behemoth apartheid state shifted so thoroughly and so smoothly that even the erratic events of the past 20 years have done little to diminish South Africa's reputation as a miracle nation.

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  • RELIGION

    The Church as advocate in the public square

    • Frank Brennan
    • 09 February 2010

    'Tonight I want to reflect in light of the National Human Rights Consultation how we as Church can do better in promoting justice for all in our land. Full text from Frank Brennan's 2010 McCosker Oration, 'The Church as Advocate in the Public Square: Lessons from the National Human Rights Consultation'.

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  • RELIGION

    Toothless, Trojan or true to Trinitarian anthropology

    • Frank Brennan
    • 28 January 2010
    1 Comment

    The full text of Frank Brennan's January 2010 address to the Australian Association of Catholic Bioethicists, 'Toothless, Trojan or True to Trinitarian Anthropology? Reflecting on the 2009 National Human Rights Consultation'. 

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  • RELIGION

    Churches confused on Human Rights Act

    • Frank Brennan
    • 28 January 2010
    22 Comments

    Cardinal Pell thinks Church positions on contested moral issues have a better chance of being reflected in law and policy if parliaments are not constrained by a Human Rights Act. I would beg to differ. Gone are the days when church leaders can do deals with politicians behind closed doors.

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  • ENVIRONMENT

    The perverse skills of climate change deniers

    • Charles Rue
    • 30 November 2009
    46 Comments

    Climate sceptics use proven lobbying techniques to confuse people and delay political action. That Cardinal George Pell allows himself to be aligned with them compromises the credibility of church mission to serve humanity.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Reinventing our gathering places

    • Deborah Singerman
    • 26 November 2009
    1 Comment

    Just as architecture plays a role in community building, community building is important to architects looking to develop as creative innovators. A new breed of public spaces is helping put the flesh and blood back into 'community'.

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  • EDUCATION

    Why universities welcome theological colleges

    • Neil Ormerod
    • 18 November 2009
    7 Comments

    The movement of existing theological schools into the university structure restores the ancient place of theology as a discipline within a university. But universities could be more interested in money than theology, with theological colleges bringing healthy student numbers and value for money research outputs.

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  • EUREKA STREET TV

    When Hitchens met Brennan

    • Peter Kirkwood
    • 09 October 2009
    15 Comments

    Christopher Hitchens appeared on Q+A last week with Frank Brennan and others to debate questions of belief. Hitchens was a sharp debater, relentless in pointing out the flaws in fellow panelists' arguments. But Brennan was a worthy opponent.

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  • RELIGION

    Patient autonomy and the doctor's conscience

    • Frank Brennan
    • 18 September 2009
    4 Comments

    In Life and Death: How do we honour the Patient's Autonomy and the Doctor's Conscience? Frank Brennan's Sandra David Oration at St Vincent's Clinic, Darlinghurst, Sydney, 17 September 2009.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Sex and secrecy close doors to good policy

    • Michael Mullins
    • 07 September 2009
    2 Comments

    Last week's sex scandal provides lessons for leaders on both sides of politics. Those energised by quality 'open-source' conversation will speak to the electorate more effectively than those who derive their inspiration from behind the closed doors of either the faction meeting room or the bedroom.

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