Planet Catholic

I’ve posted on The Soapbox before about the criticisms that many conservative/orthodox Catholics have of Catholic politicians who cherry-pick parts of Church teaching and somehow justify their views based on their own interpretation of what is taught. Some call them cafeteria Catholics and they’re often criticised for supporting abortion and contraceptive rights, as well as same-sex marriage, IVF and cloning funding, to name but a few. Well, it appears the shoe is on the other foot at the moment with … Continue reading →

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On Monday night, one of the worlds most well-known atheists/humanists/rationalists/non-theists Richard Dawkins, who is in Australia at the moment, was a special guest on the ABC show Q&A. It’s pretty much what the name suggests — a question-and-answer show. There’s often a group of four or five people who sit on a panel and work their way through a number of topics. On Monday, though, there was only one person sitting around the desk with host Tony Jones and Dawkins. … Continue reading →

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Well, it has been quite a while since I’ve posted on the US presidential race, in particular the Republican primaries, but that’s partly because I know have an outlet specifically geared towards discussing religion, politics and culture in the States on The View from Down Here, a new podcast on the 15th Station podcast network. Head over to the website to listen to the show. But there was such a major development in the Republican presidential contest that I had … Continue reading →

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They are two of my favourite things: God and golf. It’s not all that often that the two worlds collide, though I do have a good priest friend of mine who loves his golf and a few of my Church friends are some of my best golf mates as well. And I’ve played in a few Catholic-oriented golf tournaments. Now living in Australia, I’ve been shocked into getting out of bed at ungodly hours to watch this weekend’s Masters golf … Continue reading →

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Happy Easter to the Soapbox family. I hope you’ve all had a happy and holy Triduum. Just a quick post today to share a bit of music to capture the mood of this great feast in the Church’s year: Christ is Risen by Matt Maher And remember, we’re now entering Easter week, so even though we can eat junk food again now that Lent is over, Easter continues through next weekend. Let’s retain that Easter spirit all week — and … Continue reading →

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As Good Friday winds down in Australia and New Zealand — and is just beginning in the US — I stumbled across this story on some of the more unusual Easter traditions that different cultures partake in as the biggest feast in the Christian Church’s year unfolds. As the story from Stuff explains in its introduction, “If egg hunts and hot cross buns fail to excite you this Easter, then you may want to take note of what people in … Continue reading →

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…and I’d count myself among that group. In the past I’ve had nice things to say about the Acts of the Apostasy blog. It’s an orthodox blog, but one that looks at some of the lighter stories around the Faith, something a little akin to The Curt Jester blog — another cracking good read. Well, LarryD, the regular blogger at Acts of the Apostasy, has been away and some other bloggers have been using his blog to share some of … Continue reading →

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The honest answer to that question is “I wouldn’t have a clue.” But that’s not going to stop me pontificating — get it? — on who might be the next Archbishop of Canberra-Goulburn. And though others don’t really have a clue either, they’re also weighing in. In the Canberra Times this morning, a few names were floated. The included the Vicar General Msgr John Woods, who I’m pretty sure was born in New Zealand; Msgr David Cappo, something of a … Continue reading →

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The anniversary of Pope John Paul II’s death — albeit not a “milestone” anniversary at seven years — kind of sneaked up on me this year. The period was a very memorable one for me, given that I had entered the world of Catholic journalism just four days earlier. It was a very steep learning curve for me, as I think I’ve written about before. It was also a very important time in the life of a Dutch priest I’ve … Continue reading →

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So, if you remember a post I wrote a few weeks back about possible moves among the Australian bishops, you might recall what I had to say. You more likely don’t remember, so feel free to click here to refresh your memory or read it for the first time. What we learned from that experience is that I’m not very good at predicting what the Holy Father might do in terms of episcopal appointments. Back then, I said I didn’t … Continue reading →

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For the Catholics reading this, and I assume that’s the vast majority of the visitors to the “Catholic” Soapbox, we have either already started (for those in NZ, Australia and Asia) Holy Week with today’s celebration of Palm/Passion Sunday Mass or (for you Europeans and Americans) we will start it in the next few hours. We Catholics should know what the liturgical celebrations during Holy Week are all about. But, if we’re a little bit fuzzy on the specifics or … Continue reading →

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For as long as I’ve been immersed in and closely following religious issues in New Zealand (and abroad), so back until about 2004, there has been no figure in the Anglican church in New Zealand who has been more visible — and audible — than Glynn Cardy. One might argue that Sir Paul Reeves would trump Rev. Cardy, the head honcho at St Matthews in the City Church in central Auckland, but Sir Paul kept a pretty low profile in … Continue reading →

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It never ceases to amaze me the lengths that some atheists will go to in order to rid the world of what they see as the pestilence that is organised religion — and, more often than not, Christianity. The latest efforts are another Grade A head-scratcher. As FoxNews reports: HARRISBURG, Pa. –  A national atheist and agnostic group is suing Pennsylvania lawmakers for passing a resolution that declares 2012 as “The Year of the Bible.” MyFOXphilly reports the Freedom From … Continue reading →

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Sorry for the interruption in service; I’ve made a whirlwind trip back to New Zealand and was off the grid for a few days. It was a little bit liberating, though I did miss my nightly ritual. But, I’m back In fact, I was back on Monday, just in time to record the latest episode of The View from Down Here. Click here to listen to the show, in which we talk about the primary season, the Obamacare Supreme Court … Continue reading →

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I recall a couple of years ago running in the humorous section of NZ Catholic a series of satirical — though with an once of truth — parish bulletin notices. They talked about some of the problems that are encroaching into Sunday Mass celebration, including tardiness, inattention and poor dress. The latter notice included comments along the lines of “contrary to popular belief, there won’t be a pool party during Mass” and “the Britney Spears concert has been cancelled”, alluding … Continue reading →

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I like to consider myself someone who stays abreast of stories of importance to religion and religious freedom around the globe, but it was only today that I became aware of a story from six months ago that is one of the most stark examples of political correctness gone mad and religious intolerance I’ve ever read about. This is from the ABC: A California family has been fined for holding weekly Bible studies in their home, meetings that are allegedly in violation … Continue reading →

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Christian-bashing has almost become a little boring this days, especially when you’re predictable enough to drift into the ultimate bastion of boredom, bashing the Catholic Church. It’s the new black, apparently, but so many people think it’s the new black that it’s becoming the old turquoise. An organisation called the Freedom from Religion Foundation is the latest to wave the anti-Catholic flag and in a forum no less august than the New York Times, one of the most read newspapers … Continue reading →

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I’ve read — and even reported — stories of holy objects being stolen. Among them was the story of a statue of St John the Baptist being stolen from the foyer of a church in Auckland during Mass. I don’t think it was ever recovered. A story from Ireland certainly tops that one. As the Associated Press reports (via the Stuff website): Somewhere in Ireland, a burglar has the heart of a saint. Officials at Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin … Continue reading →

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No, I don’t have a speech impediment. And nor am I making fun of people who do have speech impediments. Faithbook is the name of the newest Catholic blog in New Zealand (unless another one has started up in the past week or so). It’s been set up by a group of young Catholics who give us this information on the blog’s About page: We’re a group of young Catholics in New Zealand who share a deep love for Jesus … Continue reading →

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Stories of Christians suffering small-scale discrimination seem to pop up all the time these days. There are things like the removal of the Ten Commandments in courthouses in the US, the inability of students to pray at graduation ceremonies and a banner having to be removed from a school because it had the words “Our Heavenly Father” and “Amen” on it. The latest story relate to what people can wear when at work. Specifically, it refers to the wearing of … Continue reading →

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