The Catholic world mourns the loss of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI who passed away today, 31st December 2022. Benedict had been a close adviser to Pope John Paul 11 and succeeded him as Bishop of Rome in 2005. His eight years as Pope will be remembered for many different reasons. He was a power house with his wide range of deep and profound thinking and theological writings, which at the last count was over 60 books and 3 encyclicals. So, the Catholic world has lost a great theologian and a man who deeply loved his faith, and who was a great lover of music and an accomplished p ..read more

Acceptance Sydney conveys its deep sadness in the recent statement by the Vatican’s Responsum ad Dubium of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, dated 15 March 2021, on banning blessings of same sex unions.  While the statement conveyed the message that this "does not preclude the blessings given to individual persons with homosexual inclinations”, it nonetheless does much to damage the relationship that faithful LGBTQI+ Catholics, their family and friends have with the Church. Many may see it as yet another example of where the Church acknowledges the ‘dignity’ of LGBTQI+ peopl ..read more

Peter Maher, Sydney priest and editor of The Swag, National Council of Priests of Australia Quarterly Magazine. This article is inspired by the Acceptance Reflection on August 6, 2021 ..read more

The Global Network of Rainbow Catholics "rejoice at Pope Francis’ action in helping a group of transgender women, because the Gospel is about examples of love beyond words”   http://rainbowcatholics.org/press-release/gnrc-press-release-n12-global-group-of-lgbti-catholics-declares-we-rejoice-at-pope-francis-action-in-helping-a-group-of-transgender-women-because-the-gospel-is-about-example ..read more

We are encouraged by news reports of Pope Francis’ recent comments in a documentary “Francesco” in which the Pope provides support for same gender unions.  Pope Francis’ comment that "Homosexuals have a right to be a part of the family’ goes a long way to reconciling the LGBTIQ+ community with their faith by providing pastoral support for the legitimacy of their relationships. This can only be a positive step that paves the way for future statements from the Church that underscores that we are all children of God who are loved ..read more

  Ben Oh, Acceptance member, Newtown parishioner and campaigner for peace, equality and justice, reflects on the meaning of the Easter events as paradigms for developing a more equitable and just world.     ..read more

Many of us will have heard the recent news about the Vatican rejecting a trans* man as a godparent. The man, Alex Salinas, is a faithful trans* Catholic. This is a story that began in Spain and went to the Bishop then to Rome. The story is well summarised on the New Ways Ministry website here: Vatican Intervention Causes Bishop to (Again) Reject Trans* Man as Godparent. I think it is worth noting that other Church-affiliated news about this tend to refer to Alex as 'a transsexual woman, who considers herself a man'. The story is discussed this week on ABC National on the Religion and ..read more

'Wherever two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them,' says Jesus says in the Gospel of Matthew. Look at what these words say to his followers. You don't need a crowd, just two or three. 'Gathered in my name', not 'gathered in a church' or 'at a certain time or place', but simply 'in my name': that is, two or three, with Christ as the common centre of their faith, gathered to pray and praise God. 'There am I among them.' This is an affirmative statement. It's a positive statement. It is a statement of assurance. It is a statement made with no other qualifications ..read more

This is from an article published on 12 November 2014 by Michael Kenny. Please see the link at the end of the post for source and attribution. The newly installed Catholic Archbishop of Sydney Anthony Fisher has backed calls from Pope Francis for the church to take a more inclusive approach. The 54 year old one time corporate lawyer has been installed as Archbishop during a ceremony at Saint Mary's Cathedral in Sydney. He takes over from Cardinal George Pell who left the position in February to become the Vatican's finance chief in Rome. Archbishop Fisher said he wants to use the role to r ..read more