News National & Overseas
1 May 2024
There are four sections of articles below:
- This Month's Picks
- The Crises in Palestine / Israel
- News from the Rome Synod on Synodality
- Previous articles
1 - This Month's picks
Synod: Four major governance reforms considered by the Vatican
National unity needed to address First Nations challenges
The questions Catholics must ask to keep reconciliation alive
Pope: Care for creation is an ethical and theological issue – Catholic Outlook
Pope Francis: Listen to women, often overlooked and undervalued
The Prime Minister says he has appointed an antisemitic envoy and will soon appoint an islamophobia envoy, because the population does not understand the complexity and seriousness apparent in a perceived threat to Australia’s social cohesion. But the boot is on the other foot. He and his government have shown an abysmal lack of understanding or perhaps wilful blindness to the causes of misplaced anger with racist overtones. Defacing war memorials and attacking the offices of members of parliament, which I do not condone, are protests against our government for not sanctioning Israel for its gross violations of international law. Read more… The two envoys
In conversation with Rabbi Shapiro "Rabbi Yaakov Shapiro discusses the origins of Zionism and how, contrary to prevailing Western views, it is fundamentally opposed to Judaism."
The Night Won’t End, an Al Jazeera documentary which takes an in-depth look at attacks on civilians by the Israeli military in Gaza and the United States’ role in the war. The film follows three Palestinian families as they recount the horrific experiences they have endured under relentless Israeli assault, including the family of 6-year-old Hind Rajab, the young Palestinian girl who made headlines when it emerged in January that she had been trapped in a car with family members deliberately killed by Israeli ground troops." One Palestinian has commented, "this is by far the most confronting and distressing documentary on the war on Gaza I have watched to date."
2 - The Crises in Palestine / Israel
The following material may help you understand the current crises in Palestine and Israel - the material emphasizes the views of Christians, Jews and Muslims working together for justice and peace in the Holy Land and material that is seldom reflected in our own western media or by our politicians.
The Prime Minister says he has appointed an antisemitic envoy and will soon appoint an islamophobia envoy, because the population does not understand the complexity and seriousness apparent in a perceived threat to Australia’s social cohesion. But the boot is on the other foot. He and his government have shown an abysmal lack of understanding or perhaps wilful blindness to the causes of misplaced anger with racist overtones. Defacing war memorials and attacking the offices of members of parliament, which I do not condone, are protests against our government for not sanctioning Israel for its gross violations of international law. Read more… The two envoys
In conversation with Rabbi Shapiro "Rabbi Yaakov Shapiro discusses the origins of Zionism and how, contrary to prevailing Western views, it is fundamentally opposed to Judaism."
The Night Won’t End, an Al Jazeera documentary which takes an in-depth look at attacks on civilians by the Israeli military in Gaza and the United States’ role in the war. The film follows three Palestinian families as they recount the horrific experiences they have endured under relentless Israeli assault, including the family of 6-year-old Hind Rajab, the young Palestinian girl who made headlines when it emerged in January that she had been trapped in a car with family members deliberately killed by Israeli ground troops." One Palestinian has commented, "this is by far the most confronting and distressing documentary on the war on Gaza I have watched to date."
Alternative Jewish Voices
In the midst of the current crises in Israel and Palestine there are many Jewish voices, both here and overseas, not being heard because of their commitment to a just peace with the Palestinians. The links below give them a voice. You may need to copy the link and paste it into your browser.
· Nachshon Amir, a former Israel Defence Force soldier now active supporter of Palestinians' rights, shares his story
https://youtu.be/2e5lDb1vR14?si=uPzj9Vp4vOqoP8Ak
· Sarah Schwartz, the Executive Officer of the Jewish Council of Australia, wrote this piece 'Political opportunism in full flight - The Coalition use Jews as political footballs to bolster support for Israel and Albanese is playing into their hands'.
· John Coulter, a former Senator for South Australia who comes from a large Jewish family writes 'Israel/Palestine: my personal experience and conversion'.
· The new Jewish international: taking back the power of definition. The International Jewish Collective for Justice in Palestine began in opposition to the IHRA antisemitism definition and is now a worldwide network of organizations from 16 countries working as partners with Palestinians in pursuit of justice."
Caritas gets aid to Gaza, but more access needed www.caritas.org.au/gaza
NAKBA – The Palestinian Catastrophe
Award winning Jewish journalist Antony Loewenstein was recently featured on the ABC Compass program. Antony shares his story in Not in My Name, speaking out against Israel's attacks on Gaza.
Think of all the good that could be done, both domestically and globally, if we ever come to our senses and transfer the vast amounts of money spent on weapons of war to building instruments of peace Endless flow of weapons fuelling the world’s wars
Nationhood secured with violence and dispossession requires ongoing violence to maintain security. Bishop George Browning has had significant experience in Palestine, and he shared his views about the situation. He is a former President of Australian Palestine Advocacy Network
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXjGK48_kQc&authuser=0
A Reflection for Jewish Passover (Fr. Bill Edebohls)
Patriarch Sabbah: The real cause of the war in Gaza—and the only path to peace
The Holy Land has arguably never seen such brutal political and religious turmoil
A Palestinian Christian’s account of trauma and resilience
Christmas Message from Bethlehem University
Our Parish Nativity Scene & the Separation Wall
Sister Nabila Saleh of the Holy Family Catholic Parish in Gaza speaks to Vatican News about the two parishioners killed by Israeli snipers on December 16, as Catholic Ordinaries issue new appeal for peace.
Sr Nabila: World leaders must open their eyes on catastrophe in Gaza – Catholic Outlook
Pope Francis yesterday issued a heartfelt appeal for an end to the “terrorism” of war, condemning a reported Israeli military attack on Gaza’s Holy Family Parish, which killed two women and destroyed a Missionaries of Charity convent. Source: Vatican News.
Pope condemns attacks on civilians in Gaza - CathNews
A Catholic sister working in the occupied West Bank says while the world is focusing on the resumption of conflict in Gaza, the situation in the West Bank has worsened in recent weeks.
Catholic sister describes worsening situation in the West Bank | Global Sisters Report
From Bishop George Browning (Bishop emeritus of Canberra Goulburn)
Antisemitism and criticism of Israel: open letter to Julian Leeser MP
The violence and grief are overwhelming | National Catholic Reporter (ncronline.org)
Caritas launches petition calling for immediate ceasefire in Gaza Ceasefire Petition | Act Now | Caritas Australia
Palestine Israel Ecumenical Network Weekly Update 1.11.23
Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Centre have issued this statement.
A special service of prayer and lament with reflections from key Palestinian church leaders that was held last week can now be viewed.
Kairos Palestine statement on the war on Gaza. "This war came to say, it is time for everyone to wake up and know the truth about what is happening in Palestine and Israel, that Israel has settled in a land that belongs to the people of Palestine and has deprived the people of Palestine of their freedom."
Churches for Middle East Peace: Implores global leaders to address Core issues. "The actions of Hamas and the Israeli response in Gaza in no way advance peace, but rather cause loss of life and harm, grief, and devastation, not only to the individuals affected, but also to the legitimate cause of the Palestinian people in seeking an end to the decades long occupation and the blockade of the Gaza Strip."
Jeff Halper from The Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions offers this excellent opinion piece 'The choice: apartheid/genocide or a shared democracy'.
'A Textbook Case of Genocide' is an article by Raz Segal, associate professor of Holocaust and genocide studies at Stockton University. He states that "the assault on Gaza can also be understood in other terms: as a textbook case of genocide unfolding in front of our eyes. I say this as a scholar of genocide...and...Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza is quite explicit, open, and unashamed. Perpetrators of genocide usually do not express their intentions so clearly."
With the world's attention turned on Gaza and Israel there has been scant reporting on the situation in the West Bank. Here are two reports: 'Israeli Settlers take advantage of Gaza chaos to attack Palestinians in West Bank'. "Settlers and soldiers have killed 51 Palestinians in the West Bank since Saturday [7th October]. At least two Palestinian villages have been entirely depopulated.
'West Bank on edge', a podcast from the ABC's Saturday Extra with Lawyer and human rights activist Raja Shehadeh.
Open Letter from Palestinian Christians to Western Church
1948: Creation & Catastrophe on Vimeo
3- News from the Rome Synod on Synodality
Synod: Four major governance reforms considered by the Vatican
15 hidden gems in the synod on synodality report | National Catholic Reporter (ncronline.org)
Archbishop Costelloe: Cardinal Newman’s ‘development of doctrine’ is key to understanding the synod
The Synthesis Report at the conclusion of the 16th General Assembly of the Synod on Synodality calls for Church that involves everyone
The Synod’s final stretch – Catholic Outlook by Loup Besmond de Senneville, 27 October 2023
Synod: Testimony of Australian Bishop Shane Mackinlay – Catholic Outlook
Put out to sea! Letter Three from a listening and global Synod – Catholic Outlook
Ear to the Ground: Letter Two from a listening and global Synod
Paving the Way for a Synodal Church: An Integral Experience
Dominican Fr. Timothy Radcliffe’s pre-Synod reflections on synodality
See News from the following Links:
Crux | Taking the Catholic Pulse
4 - Previous articles
2024
June
A reflection for Refugee Week – Catholic Outlook
In "Teilhard: Visionary Scientist," a new documentary from American broadcaster PBS, four key ideas emerge from the life and mind of Jesuit Fr. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881-1955): evolution, integration, fire and passion. MPT Presents | Teilhard: Visionary Scientist | PBS
In CBS interview, Francis calls climate change 'a road to death,' chastises 'foolish' deniers
April - May
A Reflection for Jewish Passover
Message for the Feast of St Joseph the Worker
Patriarch Sabbah: The real cause of the war in Gaza—and the only path to peace
The Holy Land has arguably never seen such brutal political and religious turmoil
God’s silence in the face of evil – Catholic Outlook
February - March
A reflection for Australia Day
CSSA welcomes Labor’s overhaul of stage 3 tax cuts
JANUARY
Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin delivers Pope Francis’ speech to delegates at the UN Climate Change Summit, urging world leaders not to postpone action any longer but to craft concrete and cohesive responses for the well-being of our common home and future generations.
https://catholicoutlook.org/pope-francis-address-to-the-un-climate-change-summit-cop28/
2023
DECEMBER
From Bishop George Browning (Bishop emeritus of Canberra Goulburn)
Antisemitism and criticism of Israel: open letter to Julian Leeser MP
Montesquieu and the Enlightenment, anyone? Or do we prefer the darker amoral Machiavelli?
Montesquieu and the Enlightenment
Eminent American liturgist Rev John Baldovin SJ joins us to talk about the vision of Vatican II’s Sacrosanctum Concilium—a document that celebrates its 60th birthday next week.
JULY - NOVEMBER
From war to peace By Bishop Philip Huggins
In the Soviet-era film of Leo Tolstoy’s epic novel “War and Peace” there is a haunting scene, brought to mind by recent events in Russia. In this scene, Russian elite member and rather philosophically minded Pierre has been captured by the invading Napoleonic Army of 1812. A soldier reminds Pierre that he is under their Continue reading »
Church leaders in Australia welcome Synod working document
Church reformers hopeful about synod document
Eureka Street: The refugee children of colonisation
Eureka Street: The elusive search for justice
Confession: the under appreciated sacrament needed for a listening church
MARCH - JUNE
Our over-burdened planet: Humans weren’t a mistake, though admittedly much of our stewarding has been because we tend to think of the world as something we can strip mine in any way that benefits us rather than as a garden, with limited resources, which we have been asked to care for with love. Read in browser »
We need courage to dream a different economy serving all: Vatican News features excerpts of an interview with Pope Francis published 28 February by the Catholic Belgian weekly “Tertio” together with the Belgian French publication "Dimanche." Read in browser »
Relentlessly Pursuing Reconciliation: Catholic Social Services Victoria released a statement Relentlessly Pursuing Reconciliation and we believe 2023 presents an important opportunity for dialogue and discussion around reconciliation due to the the referendum on the Voice to Parliament for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. At Catholic Social Services Victoria we see issues related to reconciliation as fundamental and interconnected to any work of justice in Australia.
The Leadership of Pope Francis: This was originally presented by Archbishop Christophe Pierre as a Bergoglio Lecture at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut on February 8, 2023, with the title, “Pope Francis: Origins and Destination, Leading the Synodal Journey.” Read in browser »
FEBRUARY
A parting salvo raises questions for the Australian Church
When I was first ordained a priest 43 years ago eulogies at funerals were frowned upon. I think with some justification. How easily they turn into a canonization of the departed and an adulation that is not in keeping with the rite of a Christian funeral.
Voices are very divided on the legacy of the late Cardinal George Pell. That division, together with Cardinal Pell’s opposition to Pope Francis, raises issues that must be faced not just by the Australian Church but by the Universal Church.
Will the Catholic hierarchy embrace the legacy of the late Cardinal George Pell or work more determinedly for a collaborative and co-responsible Church in the spirit of Pope Francis?
John Warhurst, emeritus professor of political science at the Australian National University and a member of the Plenary Council, raises some of those issues in his recent article A parting salvo raises questions for the Australian Church
DECEMBER
High-profile Catholic leaders Sr Nathalie Berquart and Fr Hans Zollner to visit Melbourne HERE
Eureka Street: Unpacking the Statement from the Heart
Film review: The Letter: A message for the Earth
Double Standards on Palestinian Resistance
Longing for Christmas peace in the Holy Land
Francis Sullivan tells us that 30 years on, Keating’s Redfern speech demands we back the Voice: Watch it HERE
The ABC TV's The Drum recently gave a very interesting and timely broad discussion on "The path to The Voice" lead by Ellen Fanning. John Costa has extracted this 21-minute segment from The Drum and had it published on St Kevin's Templestowe Parish website. You can view the video extract is linked HERE
A sustainable population - How many Australians? The need for Earth-centric ethics Paul Collins HERE
Zionist violence against Palestinians is the antithesis of Judaism
By George Browning HERE George Browning was Anglican Bishop of Canberra Goulburn 1993 – 2008. He founded the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture Barton ACT. He was president of the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network 2013 – 2022. He is now its patron.
Catholic Religious Australia says the Albanese Government’s announcement of a new Environment Protection Agency and pledge to reform current environment laws is a “step in the right direction”. HERE
AN INDIGENOUS VOICE: In his homily for the 3rd Sunday of Advent (11.12.22) Fr. Frank Brennan makes a plea for a return to bipartisanship in the Parliament on constitutional recognition. See https://catholicoutlook.org/fr-franks-homily-11-december-2022/
Catholic Religious Australia says multi-employer bargaining ‘good news’
A reflection for International Human Rights Day
German Church changes labour law to protect gays and divorcees
Advent - A guide for the perplexed
Eureka Street: Amoral putting: The LIV Golf Circuit comes to Adelaide
Challenge to ensure Vatican II flourishes
Catholic advocates call COP27 deal on loss and damage 'real breakthrough'
Eureka Street: Good for the economy
NOVEMBER
Bishops Conference launches new website
Eureka Street: Why we need a special day to see the poor
Eureka Street: A brief comment on commentary
Submission portal opens for next Synod of Bishops phase
Eureka Street: The hope of remembering
Eureka Street: New gambling slogans unlikely to curb social losses
Catholics saved carbon by cutting out meat on Fridays, study shows
Modern conversation dominated by ‘tribalism and incendiary rhetoric’
A reflection for World Science Day for Peace and Development
Archbishop Costelloe: Women’s ordination and church governance are ‘big theological questions’
OCTOBER
Two Jesuits report from the Ukraine front—standing up to Putin and serving refugees in Poland
A reflection for Pope Francis’ prayer intention for October
New Vatican synod document mentions women's ordination, LGBTQ relationships
A new way to think about the ‘consistent ethic of life’ (uscatholic.org)
Science, faith and what it means to be human | Melbourne Catholic
Cardinal Parolin: Nuclear weapons threaten human existence – Catholic Outlook
Weapons cost more than money (australiancatholics.com.au)
Pope at Mass: ‘Learn from Vatican II how to see the Church’ – Catholic Outlook
Eureka Street: Devaluing freedom
Eureka Street: In praise of words
Pope tells Putin: Stop the war
Eureka Street: Pacifism and Putin
Eureka Street: Insider outsider
New document to guide next phase of Synod
Vinnies backs call for urgent reform of housing agreement
SEPTEMBER
After Queen Elizabeth II's death, Indigenous Australia can't be expected to shut up. Our sorry business is without end – Stan Grant HERE
Eureka Street: Democracy - fraternity = catastrophe
Pakistani bishops say they need more help after deadly flooding
Why Ukraine will prevail - A country of churches
Building the culture of encounter
Eureka Street: Uncle Jack Charles – a tribute
Pope: Religions must be purified of extremism, self-righteousness
How the Church became truly global
Australian Catholic Bishops Conference president Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB on the death of Queen Elizabeth II. A statement from Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB
The Vatican has released a beautiful tribute video featuring Her Royal Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the five popes she met with during her reign. View Video
Pope Francis mourns death of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II
Pope Francis’ tenure isn’t over. In fact, themes of his pontificate are now starting to gel.
Threatening all creation, nuclear weapons are a climate justice issue, too
Soundings from Rome: Good News from a Pilgrim Church
AUGUST
The Morrison shadow government and the romantics of convention
Laying the foundations for an economy that works for people
Pope praises Gorbachev's commitment to harmony, fraternity, progress
Blessed John Paul I, 'the smiling pope', showed God's goodness: Pope Francis
Leaders of national bodies discuss Church's mission
Beyond bans: How Catholics should talk about abortion
Pope calls on people to modify lifestyles
Bishops lament family, domestic violence in annual justice statement
Eureka Street: To live until he dies: The gift of Salman Rushdie
New cardinals feel honoured, humbled, ready to promote renewal of Church
Australian synthesis for global Synod of Bishops published
Leaders of national bodies discuss Church's mission
Eureka Street: Why we need new rules for money
Reflections on the Voice to Parliament: Vicki Clark and Frank Brennan
Without forgiveness, humility, Pope says, then injustice, wars will rage