Welcome to Eureka Street

back to site
Forgot your password?
Subscribe

Keywords: Plenary

  • RELIGION

    Including women in the Catholic Church

    • Marilyn Hatton
    • 27 October 2020
    37 Comments

    Phyllis Zagano’s latest book Women: Icons of Christ is a must read for all who desire equality for women in our world and an inclusive practice of Catholic faith. The critical issue Zagano presents in this book is that ordaining women to the deaconate is a not a new or forbidden act in Catholic history but rather a return to a practice that endured for hundreds of years.

    READ MORE
  • RELIGION

    Factions and ginger groups within the church

    • John Warhurst
    • 10 September 2020
    66 Comments

    What is happening at the moment is that certain bishops are condemning members of the church renewal movement as pressure groups pushing an agenda, while ignoring the well-known fact that groups with other agendas are widespread within the church.

    READ MORE
  • RELIGION

    Church governance needs to walk the walk

    • John Warhurst
    • 25 February 2020
    7 Comments

    Approaches to governance are in flux within church agencies, sectors, dioceses and at the national level, either driven by the demands of state regulations or in response to the challenging new situation the church finds itself in. There is so much change going on that it is difficult to follow.

    READ MORE
  • RELIGION

    Embracing First Nations voices in the Church

    • John Lochowiak
    • 24 February 2020
    17 Comments

    Pope Francis’ 'Querida Amazonia' (Beloved Amazonia) has been warmly received by many members of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic community. The tone of the exhortation is reflective of the position that underpins our vision for the Church in Australia — a Church that is open to the gifts of First Nations Catholics, honest to the past and embracing of a new way of thinking that utilizes the principle of subsidiarity.

    READ MORE
  • RELIGION

    Australian bishops have a transparency problem

    • John Warhurst
    • 28 January 2020
    57 Comments

    Australia's bishops have yet to demonstrate the new openness to the Catholic community necessary for a successful Plenary Council. Their inclination to secrecy remains an impediment. They just don't get transparency as a virtue and they have twice demonstrated their adherence to old ways of doing things in recent months.

    READ MORE
  • RELIGION

    Aussie bishops can't shy from celibacy questions

    • Nick Brodie
    • 16 January 2020
    55 Comments

    Cardinal Sarah's scandal-causing book arguing against changes to the rule of mandatory celibacy was a transparent attempt to thwart proposals coming out of the Amazonian Synod of 2019. Whatever the fallout, it should not be allowed to scare Australia's bishops off from discussing the subject during Plenary Council 2020.

    READ MORE
  • RELIGION

    Child safety reforms still progressing slowly

    • John Warhurst
    • 14 October 2019
    8 Comments

    The royal commission concluded that child safety, in all its organisational ramifications, raised questions of culture and governance for the church. If the Plenary Council 2020 doesn't take such issues seriously then it will be one indicator that the momentum around last year's official national apology has slowed.

    READ MORE
  • RELIGION

    Cultural questions for getting back on mission

    • Andrew Hamilton
    • 09 October 2019
    11 Comments

    For Catholics who are interested in the Australian Church, its future and the Plenary Council, this is essential reading. Given its focus on governance, it may also be of interest to a wider audience. Many of the strains of dysfunction it finds in Church governance are similar to those in public life in Australia and internationally.

    READ MORE
  • RELIGION

    Lay community key to reforming Catholicism

    • Paul Collins
    • 04 September 2019
    42 Comments

    Anyone in the past who called attention to these issues was accused at best of exaggeration'. Getting Back on Mission points out that until the church accepts good governance characterised by accountability, transparency, inclusion and a recognition of the equality of women, it will continue its culture of clericalism and secrecy.

    READ MORE
  • RELIGION

    Plenary Council rocket science a matter of trust

    • Andrew Hamilton
    • 05 August 2019
    48 Comments

    The inclusive and consultative processes in the early stages of preparation for the Plenary Council are a vast improvement on previous practice. They express the desire to involve Catholics in the council. If they are simply dropped on completion and not kept alive in the church, however, the trust they have engendered will be lost.

    READ MORE
  • RELIGION

    Defend inclusiveness at Catholic Plenary Council

    • John Warhurst
    • 24 July 2019
    80 Comments

    Whatever the legitimate logistical and financial challenges, the Australian church leadership should move heaven and earth to put on an event in which delegates and observers, bishops, religious and laity, traditionalists and reformers are free to mingle and interact in the best spirit of collegiality and joint discernment about the future.

    READ MORE
  • FAITH DOING JUSTICE

    Parsing the Catholic bishops' election advice

    • Andrew Hamilton
    • 02 May 2019
    11 Comments

    The Australian bishops' statement on the federal election is significant as much for the fact it was made as for its argument. Given the polarisation of public debate, they might well have thought it wiser to remain silent. For them the greatest success of the statement may be that, when they spoke of public issues, the sky did not fall in.

    READ MORE