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Keywords: Fathers

  • ARTS AND CULTURE

    Sins of the fathers

    • Ken Haley
    • 29 March 2024
    2 Comments

    Recent years have made clerical child sexual abuse a badge of shame within Australia’s Catholic hierarchy, and rightly so. But Anne Manne’s new book, Sins of the fathers, will give pause to those who blame these offences on the rule of hieratic celibacy.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Redefining Dad: Research leads, but policy lags

    • Mike Kelly
    • 14 February 2024
    2 Comments

    Despite a 'fatherhood revolution', government policies continue to neglect the positive impact fathers can have on child development, educational success, and even social well-being. Bridging the gap between the surging research on fatherhood and concrete policy measures ultimately means better outcomes for families.  

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  • ARTS AND CULTURE

    The sins of our fathers

    • Andrew Hamilton
    • 08 December 2023
    1 Comment

    My Father’s Shadow is a beautifully constructed three-dimensional jigsaw puzzle in which perfectly formed and elegant stories from different times and places are juxtaposed and tested for fit, so forming a pattern of meaning that is never closed. 

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Father down the road

    • Barry Gittins
    • 31 August 2023
    2 Comments

    Father's Day: a symbolic marker in Australia's calendar, often evoking mixed emotions. From fond memories of childhood to the challenges of modern fatherhood, the journey is both beautiful and complex as the role of fathers continues to evolve.

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  • ARTS AND CULTURE

    The Dadist manifesto

    • Barry Gittins
    • 25 October 2022

    When Kenneth Hugh Gittins is in the room and crash-tackling the conversation, well, eat your heart out Salvador Dali and Walter Mitty. Conversations turn surreal, fact-checking expeditions run aground. A charming teller of truths and tales (some tallish and some Himalayan), this rustic raconteur has perplexed many an audience or congregation and delighted many a grandkid and great-grandkid with his reminiscences.  

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  • ARTS AND CULTURE

    On Father's Day

    • David Halliday
    • 05 September 2022
    1 Comment

    There’s a modern narrative around fatherhood being about sacrifice and loss that deserves some scrutiny. New fathers are frequently heard vocalising hardships, grieving the loss of former pasttimes. But there’s something else there that’s harder to articulate and appreciate. 

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Child protection: Fixing an unfixable system

    • Mike Kelly
    • 14 July 2022
    7 Comments

    Is there nothing Government can do to turn around the ever-increasing numbers of children requiring intervention by child protection, youth homelessness and justice systems? Government can start with policies that support families, in all their diversity, and begin to prioritize the needs of children above all else. And given all the evidence tells us that fathers matter to children, isn’t it essential to get fatherhood right?

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  • ARTS AND CULTURE

    From the archives: Dad's army

    • Brian Matthews
    • 09 June 2022
    1 Comment

    It was Christmas morning of... many years ago. I was about eight years old but, despite my advanced age, I remained a dogged believer in Father Christmas. This belief was maintained in the face of cynicism and derision from the youthful toughs I consorted with and despite my own unspoken qualms in moments of inconvenient rationality. 

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  • FAITH DOING JUSTICE

    Best of 2021: How do fathers figure in?

    • Mike Kelly
    • 04 January 2022
    2 Comments

    There are many gems and reflections on ‘fathering’ in Pope Francis’s apostolic letter, Patris Corde ‘With a Father’s Heart’, in which he nominates 2021 as the year to honour the fatherhood of St Joseph. Francis’s letter is inclusive, encompassing the scope of fatherhood and the responsibilities fathering entails. ‘Fathers are not born, but made’, Francis says.

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  • ARTS AND CULTURE

    My father's tools

    • Tom Manning
    • 06 July 2021
    6 Comments

    Father’s hands of finer metal. Chisel, bandsaw, axe and mallet. Bone on wire and flesh on steel. He wore your scars and jabs and cuts. Your friction burns by grinding wheel.

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  • FAITH DOING JUSTICE

    How do fathers figure in?

    • Mike Kelly
    • 01 April 2021
    5 Comments

    There are many gems and reflections on ‘fathering’ in Pope Francis’s apostolic letter, Patris Corde ‘With a Father’s Heart’, in which he nominates 2021 as the year to honour the fatherhood of St Joseph. Francis’s letter is inclusive, encompassing the scope of fatherhood and the responsibilities fathering entails. ‘Fathers are not born, but made’, Francis says.

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  • ARTS AND CULTURE

    The year that turbocharged fatherhood

    • Mike Kelly
    • 21 January 2021
    39 Comments

    Men, it seems, have been looking for more opportunities to spend time with family. Research on young fathers, conducted by the Diversity Council of Australia a few years ago, reported that 79 per cent of new generation dads wanted the flexibility to improve their work and family life. For all its downsides, 2020 provided the opportunities.

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