By Ruth Kennedy I was once asked, by a friend who was not religious, why the Church required us to ‘forgive everyone’. How was it fair that you could just say sorry, and it would all be forgotten and wiped away? I agreed with the sentiment behind his questions. I knew that he had suffered a lot and had people in his life that would be hard to forgive, for valid reasons. I also understood that this conception of the Church was a misconception, but a very difficult one to overcome. He saw this concept of forgiveness as a grave lack of justice.  But forgiveness is a tenet of our Faith. When ..read more

By Katherine Bennett Catholic Voices Speaker In the Gospels Jesus and His disciples came to a place called Caesarea Phillippi, whereupon He asks two questions.  Firstly ‘Who do people say I am?’ and secondly ‘Who do you say I am?’ I recently read an article by a Catholic journalist who claimed, “If the church doesn’t do more to engage with BLM, the future of our church is at stake”, and that the Church could learn a lot from the Black Lives Matter movement where, “These Black female leaders, unlike the predominantly all white bishops who oversee the US Catholic Church, are ..read more

During this festive season, many of us will be looking for films to watch and particularly scrambling to find something that everyone will enjoy. Katherine Bennett, Catholic Voices speaker as of 2019, shares with us her reflections from watching The King of Staten Island and draws upon wisdom from St Josemaria Escriva. By Katherine Bennett After deliberating together about how we would spend our evening and ruling out anything that involved donning hazmat suits, standing within 2 metres of anyone or leaving the house, we decided to sit safely in our living room and watch a film. It’s not easy ..read more

by Olivia Rzadkiewicz Have you ever wondered what your non-Catholic friends think of your faith? For people who haven’t experienced church life, or who haven’t been exposed to any religion, the Catholic Church must be quite confusing- we have mysterious rites, priests and clergy of all ranks wearing different clothes depending on who they are and what they do, and we have miracles and Mary, and the saints and all our statues and rosary beads. Stepping into a Catholic Church is a feast for the senses.  Little wonder, then, that people are so intrigued.   I remember when I l ..read more

by Joanne Rolling St Dominic (1170 - 1221) was the founder of the Order of Preachers and spent much of his life travelling the world preaching the faith through word and deed, fighting heresy, and defending the truth. We have so much to learn from his example and teaching, and this piece offers a 4 - part guide to defending your faith! Study:  St Dominic was devoted to the cause of truth. One of the mottos of the Order of Preachers, the religious order which he founded, is ‘veritas’ – truth. St Dominic recognised the necessity of theological literacy among those who would procla ..read more

by Madeline Page The Church doesn’t say no, but yes to something so much greater. Chastity: Authentic Love in a Fraudulent World   “He still hasn’t replied to my text yet.” “I just sent three texts in a row; will he think I’m too needy?” “Who do you think that girl is in his story?” While at university, I found myself surrounded by (me included!) people trying to find their identity and make their mark. A large part of that seemed to be trying to find out if sex was all it was cracked up to be. But I also saw the fallout. The heartbreak, the ‘he hasn’t replied, can I message him again ..read more

by Lisa Fraser “I’m the kind of person who has a discussion, says thank you and waves goodbye… and then will spend the next two weeks thinking about how witty and convincing I could have been. I’ve listed below some of the lessons I’ve learnt during my four years with Catholic Voices – may my shortcomings help you grow!” 1.     Choose the right time   Last week was very busy and I felt under pressure. I was invited to a thirty-minute Zoom meeting on Friday evening, but I declined because I felt overwhelmed. On Saturday morning, after a good night sleep, I receiv ..read more

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