Section Archive: Feature

Refugees: the people behind the label

The issue of refugees is a divisive one in Australia. Debate is fierce. Opinions are loud. Policies change quickly. Pretty soon you can feel adrift in a sea of soundbites....

Posted on: June 18, 2013

On the road to recognition

On the road to recognition

Tanya Hosch, Deputy Campaign Director for the growing movement to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia’s Constitution, explains why recognition and removing discrimination from our national rule...

Posted on: May 21, 2013

The gift of sadness

The gift of sadness

As Ailsa Piper grapples with sadness, she comes to see that this oft-suppressed emotion can be a gift.

Posted on: April 16, 2013

My alleluia gum tree

In the spot where a front fence would be if we had one, stands a towering ghost gum. This beautiful tree, written in God’s sign language, has been my Lenten...

Posted on: March 19, 2013

Lent: Why I won’t be giving up this year

Lent: Why I won’t be giving up this year

Resilience is needed to enter into Lent, to dive in deeper than the immediate, chocolatey surface and live the 40 days of commitment, writes Alice Priest.

Posted on: February 19, 2013

A few good films for the mind and spirit

Some of our regular writers and readers have nominated a film they particularly enjoyed and would recommend to others.

Posted on: December 11, 2012

Hildegard: a woman for women and men of our times

Hildegard: a woman for women and men of our times

Hildegard of Bingen challenges us to know our task and live it out truthfully in accord with justice, rather than being swayed by popular trends or blind adherence to institutions,...

Posted on: November 20, 2012

A personal story from abuse to self love

A personal story from abuse to self love

When I look back to the person I was, she is a stranger to me. She was broken in so many ways; physically, financially, emotionally and spiritually, writes Leeza Baric.

Posted on: October 16, 2012

Catholic and Aboriginal ‘listening revolutions’

Catholic and Aboriginal ‘listening revolutions’

In times of flux, which can be soil for new growth, Benedict reminds us that the first step is to listen, writes Evan Ellis.

Posted on: September 18, 2012

A new daybreak in mission

A new daybreak in mission

In the evening of John XXIII’s life he bequeathed to us a new dawn: a Church of hope and renewal, a youthful Church about to embark creatively on a new...

Posted on: September 18, 2012

A disquieting dualism

We should not leave the affairs of the Church to the clergy, nor the affairs of the world to the laity. We need to work together for the common good,...

Posted on: August 21, 2012

Vatican II: a view from the outside

Vatican II: a view from the outside

The desire for unity expressed in Vatican II and strongly present in contemporary religious communities reflects a more widespread awakening within the global human community, writes Garth Read.

Posted on: July 17, 2012