A global search will commence for a new Executive Director for Sydney Catholic Schools following the decision of Mr Tony Farley not to continue in the role at the end of his five-year term. Earlier this week, Mr Farley notified the Archbishop and board of Sydney Catholic Schools of his decision not to seek the […]
“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Two thousand years after Jesus spoke these words from the cross, we can forget just how shocking a prayer this was. Forgiving loved ones is hard enough. Forgiving enemies, pleading for unrepentant persecutors, even as they are wronging us, seems impossible. The scandal of the […]
Images by Giovanni Portelli Photography © 2023 ‘Warts and all.’ It means an unsanitised picture or narrative of someone, free of enhancements, complete with flaws. It means being shown the unadulterated truth, the bad along with the good. Some ascribe the saying to Oliver Cromwell, the Lord Protector (or military dictator) in the 1650s, when […]
Old and young, sick and well, buoyed and burdened, Holy Week opened with the people of God gathered around the true centre of the world, the Cross of Christ. In Western Sydney streets where wounds from pandemic lockdowns, cost of living pressures and the heartbreak of war remain evident, 300 people proclaimed a spirit of […]
‘Warts and all.’ It means an unsanitised picture or narrative of someone, free of enhancements, complete with flaws. It means being shown the unadulterated truth, the bad along with the good. Some ascribe the saying to Oliver Cromwell, the Lord Protector (or military dictator) in the 1650s…
The Resurrection, painting by Andrea Mantegna, 1457–1459, Image Wikimedia Commons This is the edited text of the homily given by Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP for the 5th Sunday of Lent, Year B, for the Opening of Catholic Institute of Sydney Academic Year at St Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney, 17 March 2024 “Sir, can we please see […]
“Sir, can we please see Jesus.” (Jn 12:20-33) They were Greeks who had come up to Jerusalem for Passover. They approached Philip because he spoke Greek like them. By now Jesus was the hottest ticket in town—the ancient near-eastern Taylor Swift—and to get near Him you needed connections. He was famed for His miracles, teachings, personality…
Moses and the Bronze Serpent depicted in a stained glass window from St Patrick’s seminary chapel in New York. Photo: Lawrence OP/ Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 DEED “The Son of Man must be lifted up, like the serpent Moses lifted up in the desert” (Jn 3:14). It’s an extraordinary thing for Jesus to compare Himself […]
ٱلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْ As-salamu alaykum, Peace up upon you. Welcome to St Mary’s Cathedral House for our 14th annual Iftar dinner, honouring especially our Muslim leaders and people, but bringing together people of many faiths for feasting and friendship. My sincerest apologies for not being there is person: I have a light dose of Covid, and didn’t want to risk giving it to any of you, so we must meet through the ether…
Faith leaders welcomed exceptions for religious faith and practice in the New South Wales Government’s proposed conversion practices ban but warned that the laws may still negatively affect the faith community. Prayer, homilies, advice and religious teachings about sexuality would not be penalised under the laws, said NSW Attorney General Michael Daley, introducing the bill […]