One of the most dis-spiriting things in life is when we have no sense of ‘agency.’ The notion of ‘Agency’ is one that originated in sociology but it refers to something that most adults have felt at one time or another. Agency is the sense that I can do something about a problem, that I Read more
Before he dies or retires, Pope Francis needs to make changes in the process of electing a new pope to avoid the possibility of a deadlocked conclave. Popes John Paul II and Benedict made innovations in the election process to deal with such an eventuality, but they only made matters worse by not anticipating the Read more
Australia’s Catholic leaders can have a powerful voice in politics, if they choose to exercise it through their pulpits and schools. They use it sparingly and, this year, they have been conspicuously quiet. So, the appearance of Sydney Archbishop Anthony Fisher alongside Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese at St Mary’s Cathedral School last week raised eyebrows Read more
“God told me to pray for you!” is about the last thing Amy Kenny wants to hear when she cruises into church riding Diana, the mobility scooter she has named after Wonder Woman. It’s not that she has anything against prayer. Kenny, a Shakespeare scholar and lecturer at the University of California, Riverside who is Read more
There are men and women whose attraction is to the same sex, who just get on with their lives, often with the support of others of the same disposition, and in many cases living chastely. This essay is not about them. Rather, it is about those who have an ideological agenda. Yet, in either case, Read more
The Gospels contain quotes attributed to Jesus that do not always agree with each other. Sometimes the differences are insignificant, a matter of wording. In other cases, the versions radically differ from one another. In yet other cases, the evidence is strong that a saying is not what scholars call ipsissima verba, the very words Read more
War is deadly. While this is an obvious fact regarding those who fight, it is less obvious regarding the life and death plight of many non-combatants trapped within battle zones. And even less obvious are war’s deadly effects on countless poor people far removed from the fighting. The Russian-Ukrainian war is a case in point. Read more
The denunciation of clericalism can no longer wait. And led by Pope Francis, the Catholic Church is reacting strongly. There are two faces of clericalism. One is the authoritarian priest who decides and does everything on his own. The other is the clericalised laity. These two major errors prevent the laity from developing the charisms Read more
Among clergy and sociologists, film directors and songwriters it’s become practically a matter of cliché that people are searching for wholehearted belonging and not finding their needs met — the phenomenon, in short, behind the phrase “spiritual but not religious.” These people are setting out on an open-ended quest, on their own or with trusted Read more
Pope Francis’ recent “mini-interview” on the topic of LGBTQ Catholics provides some of the building blocks for a re-imagined ministry to gay people. “A ‘selective’ church, one of ‘pure blood,’ is not Holy Mother Church, but rather a sect,” the Pope explained in a handwritten reply to questions from Fr James Martin, a Jesuit priest Read more