While some say women’s participation in the Church has improved but could be a lot better, other females who hold senior positions in the Church warn of the dangers of playing purely a numbers game.   A female minister gives Communion during a lay-led service at St Frances X Cabrini Church in Massachusetts. After a letter was sent to the chair of the Australian bisho...

Sacrament of charity: Fr Erasto Fernandez SSS continues his musings on the Mass. This week: Faith shown in action. By Fr Erasto Fernandez SSS   St James states in his Letter that ‘faith without works is dead’ (2:17). Applying this to the Eucharist we see that once our faith has been deepened by the Word, and expressed in the prayer, we need to move into...

There are relationships to which same-sex attracted people, along with everyone else, should aspire and none more important than that between Mary and God, says John Heard.   By John Heard   A few weeks ago, I wrote about a painting. It was more than that, of course; I wrote about the Blessed Virgin Mary and how Catholics relate, or try to relate, to her; how we...

Advertising campaigns are fine, says The Record's Mark Reidy, but every Christian has the opportunity to be a walking billboard. By Mark Reidy As I was talking to the brother of a young man who had recently hung himself, I asked him if he had been surprised by his brother’s tragic and final decision. “Not really”, he said with a heavy sigh, “He had lived w...

How I pray: Bridget Curran, author of Miracles of Mary speaks to The Record's Debbie Warrier.   Bridget Curran. Photo: Debbie Warrier.   The more you can bring God into your life the closer you get to Him.  Mass, the Rosary and intercessory prayer are important to me. I try to attend Adoration for thanksgiving and praise so that not everything is a ...

Fr Anthony Paganoni, Scalabrinian, continues with the last in this series for The Record, this week reflecting on what, if any, future the Church has in Europe and why this is important for us. Islam: on the doorstep of Europe.     Shiite Muslims hold the Koran above their heads as they observe the last ten days of the holy month of Ramadan at Imam Hussein shrine...

Q&A with Fr John Flader: This week - Do Catholics worship statues? By Fr John Flader Question: A Protestant friend has asked me some questions I find it difficult to answer. The first is why we have statues in our churches when the first commandment, so she says, forbids making them. Also, she speaks of us “worshipping” statues. I know we don’t do that, but ...

Vatican says Christians, Muslims should unite against poverty.   Shiite Muslims hold the Koran above their heads as they observe the last ten days of the holy month of Ramadan at Imam Hussein shrine in Kerbala, Iraq on September 8. The Vatican issued its traditional message at the end of the Muslim holy month and called on Christian and Muslim believers to unite against pov...

Congregations unite for homeless in Fremantle.   The Sisters’ Place caps.   A mission exists in Fremantle to relieve suffering and bring hope through providing dignified night accommodation to temporarily homeless women who sleep in the parks and streets of the port city. The Sisters’ Place is a project of the St Patrick’s Community Supp...

Here is Cardinal Sean O’Malley’s blog post on why he did not refuse a wayward son the final ceremonies of the Catholic Church.   Kennedy family members gather during the burial service for Senator Kennedy at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, on August 29. Photo: CNS.   By Cardinal Sean O’Malley of Boston, Massachusetts ...