- Naples 25 Dec 2011
One commentator complained about the Christians hijacking Christmas for religious purposes, like claiming cricketers hijacked the Sydney Test!
|
- God's Will 18 Dec 2011
Over the years people have asked me many times "How do I know what God wants me to do in my daily life".
|
- Sensible Decision 11 Dec 2011
The Human Centipede II (full sequence) has recently been sent back to the Film Classification Review Board after its original R18+ classification was disputed.
|
- Advent 4 Dec 2011
Last Sunday was the start of Advent, when Christians prepare for Christmas.
|
- Coptic Christians 27 Nov 2011
On last Sunday night I attended St. George's Coptic Christian Church in Kensington for an ecumenical service forty days after 27 Copts were killed at Maspero in Egypt.
|
- Going Down 20 Nov 2011
As the world's population reached seven billion, many refused to notice the elephant in the corner of the room.
|
- Boom or Doom? 13 Nov 2011
The world's population has reached seven billion, but opinion is divided between the boomsters and the doomsters.
|
- Remembering The Dead 6 Nov 2011
When I was briefly in London in late October quite a few people were already wearing their red poppies for Remembrance Day on November 11, commemorating the end of the First World War.
|
- Your Kingdom Come 30 Oct 2011
In the prayer Jesus taught us, we begin by praising God.
|
- Domus Australia 23 Oct 2011
On last Wednesday Pope Benedict XVI blessed and opened Domus Australia.
|
- Rome 16 Oct 2011
On last Monday morning 37 Australian bishops concelebrated Mass at the tomb of St. Peter in Rome.
|
- Prisons 9 Oct 2011
About twenty years ago in Cambodia I asked a senior civil servant whether there were political prisoners in the country.
|
- Mental Health 2 Oct 2011
Australian society today looks after people with mental illness better than in the past.
|
- Jerusalem 25 Sep 2011
On our way from Galilee to Jerusalem, which is sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims, we called at Nazareth, where Jesus had lived with Mary and Joseph.
|
- September 11 18 Sep 2011
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks is the outstanding religious leader in Britain today. Not surprisingly his small piece on the September 11 anniversary was thought provoking.
|
- 10th Anniversary of September 11 11 Sep 2011
When I stumbled down to breakfast the morning after the attacks on New York and Washington on 11 September 2001, I first thought the headlines were a spoof or an advertisment.
|
- Father's Day 4 Sep 2011
It was good to be home after my long pilgrimage to World Youth Day in Madrid and to open the curtains on a cool clear morning.
|
- Madrid W.Y.D. 28 Aug 2011
Mother Nature achieved what determined groups of protesters could not in Madrid last week-end. Fierce rain and winds halted Pope Benedict's W.Y.D. sermon for more than 15 minutes.
|
- Pilgrims in Galilee 21 Aug 2011
The Sydney pilgrimage through Israel was unusual for a number of reasons. First of all, the pilgrims were aged from 16 to 30, not the usual group of 45 to 85 year olds.
|
- God in Egypt 14 Aug 2011
Mt. Sinai is tucked away near the most southern point of the Sinai Peninsula in Eastern Egypt.
|
- Convicts and Famine 7 Aug 2011
Cork City Gaol in South West Ireland is a grim pile. The tiny cells and barred windows inside are even more foreboding than the large, dominant exterior.
|
- Homosceptics 31 Jul 2011
On May 17th Hilary Clinton condemned the "terrible scourge" of homophobia and transphobia and as early as 1998 Coretta Scott King, wife of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., equated homophobia to "racism and anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry". ...
|
- General Financial Crisis 24 Jul 2011
Hector Tedeschi who is the president of the Vatican Bank recently claimed that one cause of European financial stagnation is the decline in the birth rate. ...
|
- Same-Sex Union 17 Jul 2011
Last weekend the NSW Labor party conference failed to endorse homosexual marriage, but referred the matter to the ALP national conference in December. Recently the Victorian ALP conference also baulked. ...
|
- Praising God's Name 10 Jul 2011
The Old Testament prophet Hosea married Gomer and they had three children. ...
|
- Believers and Non-Believers 3 Jul 2011
Muslims, Christians and atheists discussed their differences at a public meeting in Sydney C.B.D. last Wednesday. No violence, basic good humour and not too much heartburn. ...
|
- Kids and Computers 26 Jun 2011
A reputable Italian newspaper recently reported research claiming that Italian boys have twenty-five per cent less muscle than thirty or so years ago - due to computers! ...
|
- One God? 19 Jun 2011
Do Christians and Muslims believe in the same God? ...
|
- You Shall Not Kill 12 Jun 2011
Euthanasia means killing someone. Supporters prefer to emphasise ending suffering "dying with dignity", but whatever arguments are used euthanasia means the killing of an innocent person; usually one who is weak and vulnerable because of illness or disability. ...
|
- Domus Australia 5 Jun 2011
Sixty thousand Australians visit the city of Rome each year, a significant part of the much larger group who come to Europe and usually make London their base. ...
|
- Priests 29 May 2011
Despite the fact that the number of men studying for the priesthood doubled during the years of Pope John Paul II (1978-2005), Catholic people are aware that priestly vocations are down in Australia, ...
|
- Archibald Finalists 22 May 2011
Nobody could claim that the finalists each year in the Archibald Prize for portrait paintings give us an accurate snap shot into the Australian soul, despite many of the artists relying heavily on photographs. ...
|
- Gambling 15 May 2011
Sydney and Las Vegas are two of the gambling capitals of the world; a dubious distinction. ...
|
- Royal Wedding 8 May 2011
Westminster Abbey was a Catholic Church for hundreds of years before the Protestant Reformation, is now an unequalled shrine to British history and an ideal setting for the wedding of a future king and queen. ...
|
- Beatification 1 May 2011
This year Easter came as late in the year as possible and a friend claimed that the juxtaposition with Anzac Day occurs only once every eighty years. ...
|
- Easter 2011 24 Apr 2011
Easter is different from Christmas. ...
|
- More on Trastevere 17 Apr 2011
It would be misleading to suggest that the Roman suburb of Trastevere is a hot bed of religious devotion. ...
|
- Trastevere 10 Apr 2011
Rome has grown a lot since the Second World War. My Rome parish only celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary in 2007. ...
|
- Election 2011 3 Apr 2011
The swing against the N.S.W. government in last weekend's election was the largest in Australian history. ...
|
- Seniors Week 27 Mar 2011
Last week was Seniors Week and I was privileged to celebrate a special Seniors Mass at St. Mary's Cathedral. ...
|
- The Our Father 20 Mar 2011
Some feminists object to calling God "our Father", but nearly all Christians are happy to use Jesus' preferred term. ...
|
- Lent 13 Mar 2011
On last Wednesday, Ash Wednesday Christians started the official forty day programme of preparation for Easter without any fanfare at all. ...
|
- Protecting Diversity 6 Mar 2011
Freedom of thought, conscience and religion go together. It is one of the few rights under international law (along with the rights to be protected from slavery and torture) which cannot be suspended or limited even in a time of emergency. ...
|
- Earthquake 27 Feb 2011
The second Christchurch earthquake is a terrible blow. Many lives have been lost, the final number uncertain with hundreds still missing. We can only pray that they will be found alive and well. ...
|
- Christian Prayer (Part One) 20 Feb 2011
One evening in January I visited the Missionaries' of Charity (Mother Teresa's sisters) convent in Surry Hills to say Mass and have a meal with the sisters before they began a week of prayer and silent reflection (a retreat). ...
|
- The Holy Land 13 Feb 2011
The House of Beatitudes is an elegant five story prayer and convention centre nestling into the hills surrounding the Sea of Galilee in northern Israel, close to the very spot where Christ preached the Sermon on the Mount. ...
|
- Violence and Persecution 6 Feb 2011
While we have suffered from floods, more floods, and a cyclone in Australia, others overseas had different problems. ...
|
- Australia Day 30 Jan 2011
This has been a difficult summer for many Australians - so we have new reasons to ponder who and what we are as a nation on this Australia Day. ...
|
- Floods 23 Jan 2011
For many the summer holidays are the best times of the year. ...
|
- The Floods 16 Jan 2011
The floods in Queensland, northern New South Wales and now Victoria are one of our greatest natural disasters. ...
|
- Ashes to Ashes 9 Jan 2011
After another humiliation at the hands of the old enemy, England (not one of the two best teams in the world) Australian cricket is poised for the last rites.
|
- The Year that Ended 2 Jan 2011
The Boxing Day Massacre at the Melbourne Cricket Ground was the last thing we wanted to round out 2010. ...
|
