Australian leaders are fond of making apologies.  Perhaps one is owed to Cardinal Pell following his High Court exoneration.  Among the many public figures who owe such an apology, the Cardinal might well expect one from our Prime Minister.

Many of us in lockdown, have been denied the comforts of the Sacraments for around two months.  This shameful abuse of power by the State has been at great cost to souls.  In both Australia and New Zealand, though, some true shepherds have emerged.

The recent public and legal focus on the George Pell case obscures many other, less publicly known cases of innocent Catholic priests being falsely accused of sex crimes.  One relates to Fr John Fleming.  His awful story needs to be told and the lessons from it learned.

We are asked to forgive our enemies, as core business of Christian life.  How do we best forgive, in a culture of non forgiveness?  Who and what should we forgive?

Pell Derangement Syndrome is alive and well, post the High Court's exoneration of the Cardinal.  The reactions of the Get Pellers, while entirely predictable, are a cause of considerable concern, not just to supporters of the Cardinal, but to all who value a civilised society and proportional responses to past heinous sexual crimes against the young.

Accepting that the Victorian institutions involved in getting Pell need reforming, this two part essay explores the uncanny parallels between the Pell case here and similar cases in the UK, and draws lessons from these in charting a course towards reform.

Accepting that the Victorian institutions involved in getting Pell need reforming, this two part essay explores the uncanny parallels between the Pell case here and similar cases in the UK, and draws lessons from these in charting a course towards reform.

A Melbourne college run by Jesuits is fostering an environment which favours deviant sex but bullies Catholics who try to uphold traditional teaching on sexuality and marriage.

While many are delighted by the High Court's decision in the Pell case, unease and questions remain, especially about the operations of the justice system in Victoria.  One core question is - why weren't these questions asked by Australia's media?

George Pell's enemies, long determined to have him answer for the Australian Catholic Church's sex abuse sins, got their man - until the High Court's acquittal this week.  But were Pell's enemies only in Australia?  He made enemies in the Vatican as well, with his attempted reforms of the Vatican's finances.  Maybe Rome played a part in the Get Pell campaign too.

Condemnation of contraception was not limited to church leaders; in the early twentieth century, social commentators, and even presidents rejected the use of artificial contraception in the strongest words. For example, US President, Theodore Roosevelt, called contraception “the one sin for which the penalty is national death; a sin for which there is no atonement.”

The Vatican’s 2004 Instruction Redemptionis Sacramentum stated that “the faithful always have the right to receive Holy Communion on the tongue” (n.92) and that it was never licit to deny Holy Communion to anyone who has no impediment to receiving (n.91). This directive was reiterated in 2009, when the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments issued another clear statement on the reception of the Holy Eucharist.

Whatever the outcome of the upcoming High Court appeal by Cardinal Pell against his conviction on sex abuse charges, and despite the continuing social media tirades against the man and the undying hatred expressed by Pell haters against his small band of public defenders, there has been a recent, ever-so-subtle turn in elite opinion towards the possibility of an Alfred Dreyfus/Lindy Chamberlain scenario here.  That the man may have been wrongly convicted.  This is evidenced by some support for Pell’s innocence from unlikely quarters, and suggests hope against hope for justice.

Melbourne’s prestigious Newman College is showing open support for LGBTI students, while actively discriminating against those who uphold the Church’s teaching on sexuality. Newman College is a residential campus for Catholic University of Melbourne students and was established more than a hundred years ago.

One hope remains for George Cardinal Pell: that the High Court of Australia will overturn his guilty verdict.

Just when we thought that the Christmas celebrations would provide a break from controversy, the Vatican disappointed yet again by honouring the Earth Mother at a Christmas concert.

Back in July, I wrote an article for The Remnant on a Queensland priest who publically admits to having been a Freemason for more than a decade. While that is shocking enough, the most disturbing part of this story was that the priest claims to have a letter from the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, giving permission for Catholics to become Masons. Now evidence has come to light which suggests that, in fact, this is the official policy of the ACBC.

Faithful Catholics who had been scandalised by the presence of pagan idols during the Amazon Synod received another blow when Pope Francis apologised for their removal from the Church at Traspontina. However, only a little research reveals that the images which featured prominently during the Synod are traditionally associated with child sacrifice.

Given its commitment to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals, it is not unreasonable to question whether the Vatican intends to hold the line on contraception and abortion. In light of all this, it was highly disturbing to hear about new appointments to the redesigned John Paul II Theological Institute for Marriage and Family Sciences in Rome, and to read comments by its new president.

Last week’s article looked at the Fourth Revolution, as predicted by Plinio Corrêa de Oliviera in his classic book, Revolution and Counter-Revolution. This article follows up with a look at the Counter-Revolution: our practical response to the disorder we see around us.

Idol worship was on full display in preparation for the Pan-Amazon synod, with the tacit approval of Pope Francis. Although the Synod hadn’t yet started, the celebration of pagan ceremonies added weight to the concerns being voiced by prominent prelates and laymen that the Synod will be a vehicle for apostasy.

It is not the imminent collapse of the earth that we should fear, but loony groups like Extinction Rebellion.

Dr Plinio Corrêa de Oliviera was the founder of the Brazilian Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property (TFP). His classic book, Revolution and Counter-Revolution was written in 1959 and was remarkably prescient in his description of the challenges which would one day face the Church.

Some thoughts on the Left’s new messianic figure, Greta Thunberg.

Laws which mandated breaking the seal of the confessional were enacted in two Australian states last week. In Victoria, the penalty for failing to report child sexual abuse admitted in confession is up to three years imprisonment, while in Tasmania, the maximum penalty is 21 years’ in prison - which is the same penalty in that state for crimes such as rape.