Russian Catholic official says conditions improve for Catholic Church. By Jonathan Luxmoore WARSAW, Poland (CNS) - The secretary-general of the Russian bishops’ conference said the Catholic Church’s working conditions in Russia had improved, and he was hopeful that would lead to the development of higher-level diplomatic relations. “Our Church’s tie...

Diocese expects serious shortage in near future. By Anthony Barich The Archdiocese of Adelaide has launched a Leap Ahead project to address “major issues” facing it in next five to 10 years, including the impending lack of priests. Leap Ahead was launched late last year by Archbishop Philip Wilson to address major issues facing the archdiocese and to develop a plan to ens...

There must be a better way than anulment to protect Catholics and marriage. And how many Catholics are aware of their legal right in Canon Law to appeal local marriage tribunal decisions?   Sheila Rauch Kennedy pictured in happier times with husband Joseph, married into one of the most high-profile Catholic families in the world. The Kennedy clan famously produced US Presid...

Derek Boylen from Perth's Catholic Marriage Education Service and Luke and Vanessa Van Beek from Catholic Engaged Encounter have their say on the state and significance of marriage.     Vanessa and Luke Van Beek, coordinators of Catholic Engaged Encounter. Photo: courtesy of Catholic Marriage Encounter.   By Derek Boylen It’s distu...

It's happening to faithful, believing Catholics. So what's going on? And why? By Tom Hoopes "It wasn’t supposed to be like this.” That’s how divorce starts for the Catholic couples I talked to: hard-core, confession-going, Humanae Vitae-believing Catholic couples. Couples who know exactly what marriage is supposed to be. One man I spoke with, now div...

How I pray now:  Deborah Robertson speaks with The Record's  Debbie Warrier.   Deborah Robertson.     I am a Principal in a small Catholic school, Holy Name Carlisle (soon to be amalgamated with Notre Dame School Cloverdale), and Chair of Catholic Arts. After graduating as a mature age student I became a ‘lay missionary’ te...

The Faith of Our Fathers: Obedience and Love. By John Heard There is little of any value in change for the sake of change, and much that can be oppressive. That is the summary, the crude summary, of a noble tradition in Western (and, often, specifically English-speaking) thought. That tradition is, depending on the prism through which it is viewed, variously termed orthodoxy, c...

The National Catholic Education Commission has recommended to the Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference that the Church become more deeply involved in early education and child care. The ACBC left it to each bishop and state Catholic Education Office to decide their own policies. WA is ahead of the curve; 20 schools are now providing care for infants as young as three; at least two fo...

Fr Erasto Fernandez SSS, a priest from India, continues his series on the Eucharist during this the Year for Priests. This week: The Word of God speaks to us.   a view of the Codex Sinaiticus, the world's oldest known Bible containing the complete New Testament, at the British Library in London July 3. The fourth-century Bible was reunited digitally when its four surviving ...

Q & A with Fr John Flader. This week's question: What is the role of a Papal Nuncio? Does he have authority over a Cardinal in the resident country? Can he stand down a recalcitrant bishop, for instance? By Fr John Flader   I will begin by explaining the role of papal representatives in general. By the way, the more formal word for them is “papal legates&r...