Your Excellency, Most Rev. Adolfo Tito Yllana, Apostolic Nuncio to Australia; My Lords, Most Rev. Peter Comensoli, Bishop of Broken Bay and Most Rev. David Walker, Bishop Emeritus of Broken Bay…

In a speech in Doha billed as a critique of the foreign policy failures of the Bush and Obama eras, veteran New Yorker journalist Seymour Hersh alleged that the US military’s joint special operations command had been infiltrated by members of the Order of Malta and that these fanatics are modern-day crusaders who “aim to turn mosques into cathedrals”

Margaret Atwood is one of Canada’s most prolific and diverse authors. She has published 17 novels, 10 anthologies of short stories, 20 poetry collections, 7 children’s books, 10 non-fiction books, 3 television scripts, a graphic novel and 3 libretti – so far.

In 2013 the television series Breaking Bad was listed in the Guinness World Records as the most critically acclaimed TV series of all time. It has received numerous awards, including sixteen Emmys and two Golden Globes.

I don’t often quote the German philosopher, Frederick Nietzsche, as he was no friend of religion. He thought that all believers and especially Christians were weaklings for prizing mercy towards the poor, sick and ignorant, for talking of forgiving enemies, turning the other cheek, and so on, and for masking the nausea and disgust he believed we should feel about life.

Susan (not her real name), a young African woman in her early 30s, enjoyed her life as a housekeeper to an Australian family living in East Africa.

If the cinemas are an accurate cultural barometer, our age is crying out for heroes, indeed for superheroes. In the short time since I became Archbishop of Sydney there have been two X-Men movies, two Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies, two Captain America movies, and annual Star Wars films.

Today we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary – a feast and devotion for which we have the Dominicans to thank above all.

Life can be hard. There’s stress at work or school, finances to balance, relationships to manage. It can sometimes seem like no matter where you turn, there’s some obstacle to overcome.

The 2009 film, The Blind Side, starring Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw as Leigh-Anne and Sean Tuohy and Quinton Aaron as Michael Oher tells the true story of a black boy who has had a traumatic childhood and is now suffering from homelessness and learning difficulties.

On this day, 25 years ago, I was ordained to the Priesthood of Jesus Christ. It was the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross and the readings were full of foreboding about the Son of Man being lifted up on the Cross, like the serpent lifted up by Moses on a stick, that we might have life (Num 21:4-9; Phil 2:6-11; Jn 32:13-7).