I have sometimes attended Masses where confessions were being heard in the church at the same time. Is this allowed? Before I give the Church’s official position on the question, let me say that priests can be quite divided on this issue. Some, moved by love for the Mass, say the faithful should not be distracted from the Mass by going to confession. Others say that if there is a l...

In Murder in the Cathedral T. S. Eliot had St Thomas A’Beckett warn against doing “the right deed for the wrong reason.” I remembered this when reading (Record, October 1) of the British Guardian newspaper and lawyer Geoffrey Robinson campaigning to abolish the legal exclusion of Catholics from the British throne. This would be the “right deed.” I think even few...

Perth’s Indonesian Catholic Community celebrated its sixteenth aniuiversary on Sunday 9 November. Father Blasco Fonseca, the archdiocesan vicar for migrants, honoured this active community by being the concelebrant during the regular Indonesian Mass at St Benedict’s Church in Ardross led by the Indonesian chaplain, Father Ari Pawarto. In his homily, Father Blasco encouraged the ...

Notre Dame students make learning fun when English isn’t first language Education students from The University of Notre Dame Australia’s Fremantle Campus have been spending time at Beaconsfield Primary School to assist students in the Intensive English Centre (IEC)with their mathematical skills. Notre Dame students have been visiting classes on a weekly basis for a hands-on teach...

As Christmas draws near, most Australians understand what this picture means. But the nation’s Department of Immigration doesn’t. And all because of a child. Their decision to to refuse a family Permanent Residency because of their downs syndrome child smacks of bureacracy divorced from reality.  discovery comment Australians are facing yet another Christmas in whic...

Academics and students help raise awareness and speak out on why homelessness isn’t good enough                                              Speaking out: Stu...

The Edmund Rice Centre, inspired by the founder of the Christian Brothers, has created a new way to welcome migrants and refugees to Australia as its Director, Stephen Bowman, tells the discovery.                                 &nb...

It’s one of the saddest facts of life in Western Australia: children who effectively have no functioning family. So... have you ever considered being a foster carer for a child in need of a home? MercyCare’s Dr Nicola Howe urges discovery readers to think about the possibility. Wanted: One true heart, two strong arms. Our society is rapidly becoming more anti-child, and child...

Paul Everall sees many parents and children in his daily work at MercyCare and  runs workshops for families and parents and provides a monthly reflection on Parenting in a local newspaper. Paul shares some of his reflections on the topic of helping children during times of fear and helplessness. Paul, a Social Work practitioner and manager at Mercy Family Services, says “As I put ...

Mental Health training program aims to assist those in regional and rural Western Australia The state of our mental health can be influenced by many outside factors - the loss of a job, death of a loved one, divorce and illness to name a few. While we all experience change in our lives, some changes can be traumatic. On the other hand, we or someone in our family may live with a mental heal...