This paper puts together some thoughts on how we as Religious and you as diocesan priests can collaborate, so that together, as Bishop Schneider reminded us, we can show the People of God the way to Heaven. Rather than an academic presentation, I feel this area is...
My brothers, we are all deeply aware that we are moving through a time in our society where its Christian underpinnings are increasingly being removed. We know that many even among our Catholic people no longer have a Christian mind. Many who would consider themselves...
Many lay people active in campaigns to limit or ban abortions, complain they are met with resistance by their parish priests in attempts to publicise or gain support for such projects as walks for life, prayer vigils to end abortion, campaigns to pressure politicians...
Only in mature years of ministry did I undertake a rural pastorate. It took me some time to identify the differences from urban ministry, and the purpose of this article is to share my reflections on how ordained work in the country varies from the patterns of service...
The crisis in catechesis It is now widely acknowledged that the religious education of children in the Catholic tradition has posed challenges for nearly many years. Some may be tempted to believe that the solution might lie in a return to the strategy of the Penny...
A Year of Grace event In years past, Perth Catholics gathered in great numbers to celebrate the feast of Christ the King with an annual procession, homily and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. This popular event was always held on the beautiful grounds of Aquinas...
It is a good thing, then, to reflect on the juridical dimension of marriage itself. It is an issue that I have touched on in the context of reflection on the truth about marriage, in which I stated, among other things, that: “with regard to the subjective and...
Is this the future? At the time in which I received the invitation to this Conference I was holding meetings with the priests of the Archdiocese of Dublin about the challenges that they face and their priorities in ministry today. During the debate one priest, half...
The exclusive focus of attention, in this article, will be on the preaching to priests by two of the greatest saints of the Middle Ages, two Doctors of the Church, one from the 12th century, and one from the 14th; a man in one case and a woman in the other: St Bernard...
Some of you probably saw a film that came out last year, The Children of Men. The story is set in Britain in the year 2021, and the premise is that there hasn’t been a child born on the planet since 1995. Nobody knows the reason why. Humans have somehow become...