The only Labor member to cross the floor during the vote to pass the same-sex marriage bill in Tasmania, the member for Lyons and Speaker, Michael Polley says same-sex marriage is a bridge too far. The Labor-Green bill passed 13 votes to 11, with all members of the Liberal Opposition voting against the bill. Mr Polley crossed the floor on August 31 for the first time in his 41 years i...

The strain of dealing with historic cases of child sex abuse was one reason Bishop of Ballarat Peter Connors sought early retirement from his diocese, he told The Record last week. Bishop Connors will be the diocese’s Apostolic Administrator until his newly announced successor, Fr Paul Bird CSSR, assumes the role on October 16. In his 15 years as bishop of Ballarat, Bishop Connors sai...

What happens when Catholic parishes, organisations, movements and youth by the truckload decide to join forces to publicly proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord? It happened in Sydney a fortnight ago, writes Natalie Ambrose. In some ways, the streets of Sydney city are like any other major city in the world, filled with black and grey buildings, black and grey cars, black and grey business  work...

Parramatta Bishop Anthony Fisher OP has decided to deal with the pastoral fallout over recent child sex abuse revelations head-on, writing a statement to the Faithful which was read out in Parramatta parishes last Sunday. The statement begins with the first line of last Sunday’s Mass reading from the book of Jeremiah (23:1): “Doom for the shepherds who allow my flock to be destroyed and ...

Bishops should think twice before agreeing to recorded interviews with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), long-time political and social commentator Gerard Henderson said last week. Mr Henderson, Director of the Sydney Institute (SI) and an occasional guest on the ABC’s Insiders program, said there was no conspiracy against the Church at the ABC, but an institutional mindset ...

Monsignor Robert McGuckin has been installed as the new Bishop of Toowoomba, more than a year after former Bishop William Morris was removed by the Holy See for disunity and doctrinal heterodoxy. A congregation of around 1,500 joined ordaining prelate, Brisbane Archbishop Mark Coleridge, Paramatta Bishop Anthony Fisher, Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Giuseppe Lazzarotto and Australia’s Amba...

The Year of Grace is an opportunity to discover the centrality of God’s action in our lives in the face of the mistaken belief we can merit our own salvation, Bishop Julian Porteous told young adults at Sydney’s SCENE conference last Wednesday. Sydney’s Auxiliary Bishop and the Archdiocese’ Episcopal Vicar for Renewal and Evangelisation was speaking at the opening session of the five day...

Former Federal Court Judge, Antony Whitlam QC has been appointed to head an inquiry into allegations of sexual abuse amid suggestions senior priests failed to pass on knowledge of abuse to state authorities. Armidale Bishop Michael Kennedy and Parramatta Bishop Anthony Fisher OP made the joint announcement on Tuesday, as the alleged incidences of abuse occurred in both their dioceses. ...

A Canberra-based law firm is preparing a class action against the Sisters of Mercy in WA on behalf of women who say they were forced to give up their babies at St Anne's Hospital. Porters Lawyers Associate Mia Donald said the prospective suit relates to alleged cases of forced adoption in the 60s and 70s. "The class action is against those responsible for operating and managing the hospit...

Archbishop Costelloe explains the meaning and significance of the forthcoming year of grace to priests. The Year of Grace is not a program, its organisers say; it’s an opportunity. Beginning on May 27 at Pentecost, the bishops will encourage every Catholic in Australia to ask: “Where is Jesus in my life?” At a conference held at the Faith Centre on April 26, Archbishop Timothy Costelloe S...