Author: Brian Bright
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Why the Australian Church needs a vision, not just a process
A great article from Andrew Phelan, springing from what is happening in Canberra-Goulburn, speaks of the whole Australian situation. He emphasises the need for the church to go to its roots, tap genuinely into the sensus fidei, if it’s to become relevant. In the quote below referencing Francis, he writes of the need for a ‘contextual theology’…
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Does the Spirit speak in every heart?
We all think about the questions of religion – but usually do so in a very confused manner. Theology can help us do it better – and the more ably we think about religion, the more we can replace discord with discourse.
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The Unfinished God in an Unfinished Universe
In this article Ilia Delio looks at the quarrel between ‘Catholic’ and ‘Process’ theology. Thomas Aquinas, drawing on Aristotle and Democritus, the father of atomic theory who said that at bottom nothing changes, described God as perfect being itself. Alfred North Whitehead and Pierre Teilhard de Chardin stand with Heraclitus. For them, being is relational. To be is…
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What Jesus Actually Said About Hell
“Mistranslation is only part of the reason we think today that Jesus preached about an eternal hell. The rest comes from cultural traditions both before and after him.” It is likely that Jesus saw it differently. It is also difficult to reconcile a notion of eternal damnation with the infinite love of God.
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The overlooked contradiction in Vatican II’s baptism rules
This article looks at the implications of various church statements about the administering of the sacraments, following them to their logical conclusion. If a woman can validly represent Christ in baptism, why not in the Eucharist?
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Does the Spirit speak in every heart?
“We all think about the questions of religion – but usually do so in a very confused manner. Theology can help us do it better – and the more ably we think about religion, the more we can replace discord with discourse.”
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A Church Teaching, A Church Listening: Making Sense of Study Group 9
Writing in Liturgy and Truth , Msgr. Arthur Holquin, S.T.L. gives a commentary on Patric Peters’ article from “Where Peter Is”, published recently in our News and Views. In the concluding paragraph of this article, Arthur Holquin writes: “The faith we have received is not a sealed archive, opened only to confirm what we already knew. It is a living…
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Study Group 9 Report – A New Paradigm Shaping the Faith
In this report we hear of the paradigm shift envisaged in Vatican II that encompasses the Sensus Fidelium and Synodality. As Patric Peters observes in this article (link below): Nearly three months have passed since the publication of the synod’s final report from Study Group 9, titled “Theological Criteria and Synodal Methodologies for Shared Discernment of…
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The cleric as algorithm & influencer
Terry Fewtrell, in an earlier article posted in ARC News, listed implications for parishes and dioceses of the final document from the Synod on Synodality. https://australianreformingcatholics.au/synodality-jun-26/ In this article, he warns of clerics who are taking up the role of influencers and leading their congregations on the easy path of doing nothing substantial with Synodality. “Plenty…
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Church Tradition and Governance
The following two articles look at the recent reactions of some bishops to Church Synods and Councils where tradition has been developed. Some American bishops are pushing back against the recent Synod on Synodality that promulgated the practice of synodality. We also have bishops of the SSPX refusing to acknowledge outcomes of Vatican II re the…