The Italian canon lawyer Donata Horak has called for a representative proportion of women in all advisory bodies of the Catholic Church. At a theological forum of the Synod on Synodality in Rome on Wednesday evening, she explained that canon law already stipulates that the composition of advisory bodies should reflect the composition of the Read more
John Titchener once volunteered for a wide range of organisations. The energetic recent retiree was involved with Rotary, the Alternatives to Violence Project, the Community Organisations Grants Scheme, and his church among others. But he has now stepped down from virtually all his charitable work because of what he sees as discrimination against volunteers by Read more
Rosita Milesi, a 79-year-old Brazilian Catholic nun, was awarded the prestigious Nansen Award by the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) October 9, for her tireless work supporting displaced people and refugees. For over 40 years, Sister Milesi has helped thousands of people gain access to administrative documents, housing, and the job market in Brazil, the Read more
All Saints in Nelson has started a community-focused initiative that takes the church outside the building. On Sunday morning, instead of attending their regular church service, the congregation shared breakfast of bacon sandwiches and coffee before being anointed with oil and the words from Matthew 10, “freely you have received, so freely give”. And with Read more
Australian Bishop Shane Mackinlay sees the controversial Vatican permission to bless homosexual couples because of the World Synod. At a press conference on Friday in the Vatican, he said that the corresponding Vatican document, Fiducia supplicants, was a reaction to some discussions at the Synod Assembly last year. “As with many things Pope Francis did Read more
Pope Francis criticised on Monday what he called the “shameful inability” of the international community to end the war in the Middle East, one year after Hamas’ devastating attack on Israel. “A year ago, the fuse of hatred was lit; it did not sputter, but exploded in a spiral of violence,” he said in an Read more
A new highly transmissible variant of COVID-19 has been detected in Australia, raising questions about whether it will lead to a wave of COVID-19 cases over summer. The XEC strain has been reported in 29 countries including the United States, United Kingdom and China, according to global health data platform GISAID. Here’s what we know Read more
Susan Auma has known little rest since 2001, when her husband died, leaving her with two toddlers. Widowed at just 27, Auma found herself fighting to survive in her matrimonial home, where she was surrounded by hostility for refusing to be remarried. Auma’s tribulations started before the burial of her husband when her brothers-in-law instructed Read more