Author Archives: Schutz

The proposal for a human rights act for Australia has little prospect of being adopted because it faces widespread opposition over a potential shift of power from the executive to the judiciary. (Cathnews) Good.

Yes, I know, Lent is all about giving up your indulgences! But I thought I would indulge in a little über-Catholicism this Lent with a series of extracts fom the USCCB English translation of the the Enchiridion indulgentiarum quarto editur … Continue reading →

We all know the dangers of a “gospel” that is reduced to Social Justice, but is there a danger that conservative Christians, both Catholic and Protestant, might react too much in the opposite direction, by an eschatologising rejection of the … Continue reading →

Yep, no kidding. I don’t watch Oprah (of course), so I am thankful for the tip off from Andrew Rabel about this amazing episode of the show that features the Dominican Sisters of Mary from Michigan. Oprah begins by saying … Continue reading →

Michael Leunig has another beautiful and insightful piece in today’s A2 in The Age: “Dead lemon tree syndrome”. He writes about a lemon tree: I often have occasion to walk past a cafe near Melbourne where a small, dead lemon … Continue reading →

A quite astounding piece was published yesterday in both the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age by Dean Mighell, the Victorian Branch Secretary fo the Electrical Trades Union: “Unions must leave Labor”. He writes: In 1972, Gough Whitlam changed Australian … Continue reading →

Mark Shea put me onto this chap. John Granger has for some years styled himself as “Hogwarts Professor”, and now has branched out into “Meyerology”, discussing the meaning of the Twilight series. If you are a fan of this series … Continue reading →

It is interesting, from the point of view of Catholic/Lutheran dialogue, to see that the Holy Father has based his Lenten Message for 2010 around Romans 3:21-25. Also interesting is that he does so in the context of a discussion … Continue reading →

There has been a lot of media attention given to the Holy Father’s address to the Bishops of England and Wales at their recent ad limina meeting with him. Less attention has been given to the address to those next … Continue reading →

Look what just arrived on my desk from the Book Depositry (A$22.95 – sorry Mary, the competition was too tempting!): The Manual of Indulgences is the only place you can get the 4th (1999) edition of the 1968 manual in … Continue reading →