A betrayal of the faith indeed... with more WWJD nonsense!

John McIntyre, the Anglican Bishop of Gippsland in Victoria feels Christians should support equality and human rights laws, not seek exemptions after The Age reported that Victorian Attorney-General Rob Hulls had announced that the capacity for church groups to discriminate under the Equal Opportunity Act will be continued, albeit in a more limited way. Indeed he labels it "a betrayal of the faith".

McIntyre believes the exemption is at odds with the essence of what Jesus lived, taught and died for, arguing that it is bizarre for Christians to oppose, and ask for exemptions from, a legal instrument that has at its heart a declaration of the dignity and value of every human life and the basic rights of every person, particularly in matters of employment by church organisations.

Pilgrims could be forgiven for thinking that McIntyre must be living in a different Australia to the rest of us... The legisaltion in question, as would be the case with any charter of human rights, is designed as a direct challenge to the role of religion in shaping Australian Society, in favour of the increasingly dominant faith - rabid secularism.

Well meaning simpletons like McIntyre would be serving all Christians if they remained silent, as going on their grasp of the local culture they are clearly ill-equipped to advise anbody on the matter of what the good Lord might or might not have done in this age?

Here in The Cloister we are increasingly convinced that whenever the good Lord hears the question posed WWJD?, he likely does this...


We know we do!

The Archbishop and the Eunuch...

Archbishop Denis Hart has agreed that Father Bob Maguire may continue on as parish priest at South Melbourne until February 2012.

Fr Bob likely felt he could not risk such an orthodox approach as tendering his resignation quietly lest it be accepted forthwith. So we have been forced to suffer his public nonsense for some weeks. And while it was unclear to many why Archbishop Hart allowed the matter to suffer so, all was revealed with the details of the granted extension.

Under the agreement Fr Bob may stay on in his parish until February 1, 2012, and continue his charity work, but the financial reins of the parish are to be surrendered to an Archdiocesan appointed administrator - leaving some in The Cloister feeling as if the parish priest of South Melbounre has been neutered with the removal of a significant faculty of his autonomy... the parish purse!

Fr Bob may have carried the day, the Archbishop on the other hand walks away having arrested the reckless manner in which well meaning but unsustainable charity work was being undertaken in his Archdiocese and not having trouble himself with finding a replacement for some months more.

We will no doubt hear more from Fr Bob Maguire gentle pilgrim... albeit an octave or two higher!

Will Lawrence kick a goal debuting for the Liberals...

News is filtering in to The Cloister from pilgrims in the Victorian electoral seat of Burwood that the former Director of Evangelization and Catechesis for WYDSYD08, Steve Lawrence is out to win preselection for the Liberal Party.

A former Australian rules footballer, he played for Hawthorn debuting at centre half forward in 1988 and kicked 5 goals in his first game. In a career spanning some 10 years he played 146 games, kicking 30 goals.

Lawrence it seems has the backing of the former member and Hawthorn Club President, Jeff Kennett who sums him up as "a young man with a large family who has had an interesting career with a highly tuned social conscience"...

While the current member for Burwood and former seminarian Bob Stensholt infuriated the Warden with his social conscience when he voted in favour of the abortion legisation in Victoria, the Warden is having equal difficulty reconciling the thought of an Emmanual representing the Liberals in the state's legislature, having long referred to them as the "French Neocats".

That said, one thing that has most in The Cloister fascinated is if Lawrence does win pre-selection, which social conscience will Right-to-Life support at the election?

The Pulverine Basilica

That dust gets in everywhere. It ruins the altar-cloths, collects in the bellows of the burse, makes the tabernacle key jam, tints the previously blonde wig on the Infant of Prague statue, ruins the plastic flowers, plays merry hell with the organ pipes. And that's just in the Warden's private oratory....

The good news is that it is low in fat.

Gorby brings down the walls in South Melbourne

It appears that 'Father Bob' has got his wish and that the matter of him remaining as parish priest of South Melbourne has been resolved before the AFL Grand Final.

All day, The Cloister has been denying suggestions stemming from The Age article about an emmisary known as 'Gorby' residing within these walls.

Again we assert this is most certainly not the case.

To start, Br Pelagius is redder behind the ears than Mikhail Gorbachev and the Warden has ensured that Sr Magdalene has been busy since Wednesday morning with Spring cleaning duties and yours truly was assisting Br Momus with his Greek.

The more venerable cloistered ones were surely all monitoring heresies at aCatholica or relishing in WDTPRS. Leaving only Br Belevedere whose name cannot be mentioned by decree of The Warden and Br Thaddaeus the former Prior who is surely still at the hermitage... but then perhaps?

Is there an irony in this tale of two publications...

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times... two books were published this month featuring Masonic overtones and neither of them enjoying the slightest Dickensian skill!

Dan Brown released his book The Lost Symbol which has been reviewed by many as a simple exhortation to praise the Lord and pass the hope. A sound defence of Freemasonry, the secret society that in the United States became a social networking club for businessmen, including the Founding Fathers who used its symbolism as decoration for the new republic, the book is already being embraced by lodges everywhere to promote membership.

A world away in Sydney, Australia Reach for the Stars by Cliff Baxter claims the Knights of the Southern Cross in NSW were NOT a secret society or “Catholic Masons”.

Baxter's book meanders anecdotally through the past 90 years of select personalities, events and a rather dubious appreciation of Australian and in particular Irish Catholic history to construct a picture of how the fraternity first gained its momentum and reflects inadvertantly on its decline in recent years.

Brian Coyne over at aCatholica has some thoughts on how the book reads but if you want to know what he really thinks about the Knights and the book click on the image of the book over in that other place to reveal the hidden picture beneath! For our money, Baxter's book reads more like an obituary than a history while supposedly lifting the veil of secrecy on the Knights and telling for the first time the stories which form its identity and allegedly point to it future.

Rather ironically, anything post 1990 or so seems to get little attention and certainly the publication makes no mention of the youngest Chairman in its history or the event he masterminded which arguably put the Knights back on the map as a major player in 2005 - the Festival of Faith. The festival it seems ran again in 2006 before dissappearing altogther along with the young chairman who orchestrated it.

Why would such a successful venture dissappear and what became of the one term chairman - now there is a story some in The Cloister would like to read!

Another case of Reductio ad absurdam or simply an invitation to caption?

Is this another case of Reductio ad absurdam...

Kirill I, Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia engaged in the rarely witnessed Extraordinary form of the Lilliputian Rite.

The Sky is Falling!

One Day, Chicken Little was walking in the woods when - KERPLUNK - a book of the new English translation of Mass fell on her head.

"Oh my goodness!", said Chicken Little. "The sky is falling! I must go and tell the Spirit of Vatican II"

On her way to the cafeteria where the Spirit of Vatican II dwelled, Chicken Little met ICEL who said "I'm going into the woods to hunt for Dynamic Equivalences"

"Oh no, don’t go!" said Chicken Little. "I was there and the sky fell on my head! Come with me to tell the Spirit of Vatican II."

So ICEL joined Chicken Little and they went along as fast as they could.

Soon they met Bishop Trautman of the USCCB who said "I'm going into the woods to look for John and Mary Catholic."

"Oh no, don’t go!", said ICEL. "The sky is falling there! And the dew. Come with us to tell the Spirit of Vatican II."

So Bishop Trautman joined ICEL and Chicken Little and they went along as fast as they could.

Soon they met Paul Collins of Australians for Ministry*, who said, "I'm going into the woods to look for new models of Church".

"Oh no, don’t go!", said Bishop Trautman. "The sky is falling there. Come with us to tell the Spirit of Vatican II". So Paul Collins joined Bishop Trautman, ICEL and Chicken Little, and they went along as fast as they could.

Then who should appear on the path but sly old Vox Clara.

"Where are you going, my dear brothers and sisters/ people/ friends or similar words?", asked Vox Clara, speaking in a polite way so as not to frighten them.

"The sky is falling!" cried Chicken Little. "We must tell the Spirit of Vatican II!"

"And with your spirit! I know a shortcut", said Vox Clara sweetly. "Come and follow me. Its not far, just over here behind this gibbet."

But in fact Vox Clara did not lead the others to the Spirit of Vatican II. He led them right up to the documents of the Council itself and the living Tradition, where he was planning to show them the beauty and genius of the prayers in the Missale Romanum!

Just as Chicken Little and the others were about to go into the living Tradition, they heard a strange sound and stopped .

It was the Spirit of Vatican II ‘s hunting dogs, Joan and Richard**, howling and yapping . They frightened Chicken Little and ICEL and Bishop Trautman and Paul Collins. So they ran away from Vox Clara and the Council and the living Tradition.

After that day, Chicken Little carried a ruptured hermeneutic umbrella with her when she walked in the woods. The ruptured hermeneutic umbrella was a present from the Spirit of Vatican II. And if - KERPLUNK- a new English translation of the Mass fell, Chicken Little didn’t mind a bit. In fact, she didn’t notice at all.

*Readers from overseas should substitute the local equivalent: any ex-priest who acts as a mouthpiece for the "Spirit of the Council" will do.

** Chittister and McBrien, but you can substitute your favourite tired old trendy baby-boomer hepcats.

Nuns 101 - IV

They inspire toys such as the Nunzilla Fire Breathing Nun.

In a galaxy far, far, away...

Bishop C3po seemed unmoved by the Cardinal's eloquence.

Prayers for Malone's Miasma... Cloister suspends countdown!

Bishop Malone has appealed to the Holy Father to be released from his singular trust of the people of Maitland Newcastle. With 1859 days remaining on The Cloister countdown before his 75th Birthday the good Bishop has advised that in correspondence with the Holy Father in August he had asked for the appointment of a Coadjutor.

The issue has been on the boil for some time but was likely not helped by a recent Sydney Morning Herald interview in which Malone criticised fellow bishops, referring to them as "pussycats" and joking that the interview might facilitate his retirement "10 days from now".

A Coadjutor Bishop to the then Maitland-Newcastle Bishop Leo Clarke in 1994 himself, the Rome hierarchy may be reluctant to follow a similar course in the case of Malone.

That said some may see it as a blessing...

Here in The Cloister, Miasma and Countdowns aside, we feel the Bishop and his Diocese of the Big Drain are in real need of prayers!

Did we mention it's our third anniverary?

It seems like only yesterday that we opened The Cloister doors to the strains of that classic Dan Schutte hymn A Ditty to God.

The constant speculation which passionately persists over the cloistered's true identities has been a feature again this year. Many have been accused both here and elsewhere but the hottest and most amusing gossip from our perspective remains the firmly held belief in a Dominican connection... Truly they can be a conceited lot at times!

Soooo... let us kick off another year as we began with yet another hymn. It's a Marty Haugen fav, and is accompanied by yet another fine candid camera shot of everyone's favourite pontiff and his Master of Ceremonies looking a touch self absorbed especially for our Domincan pilgrims...

Haugen's "Worship Space" (after Marty Haugen, All Are Welcome)

Let us write a song about ourselves
That makes us feel OK
Let it rattle in our heads as well
The remainder of the day
Built of tuneless, trite confection
On the ashes of good taste
Here it's spreading like a vile infection
No more organs, no more chanting
Here in Haugen's "worship space"

Let us do away with altar rails
Where once the faithful knelt
No statues and no chapel veils
Just banners made of felt
Let's put human interaction
At the center of our praise
And exalt ourselves without distraction
No more silence, no more reverence
Here in Haugen's "worship space"

Let us build a plain hall of concrete
Find priests who makes us laugh
We will sing a song of wine and wheat
And then disperse like chaff
Let us leave for our descendants
A liturgical disgrace
And ignore our dwindling attendance
No real answers, bring some dancers
Here in Haugen's "worship space"

As usual, our thanks to the Society for a Moratorium on the Music of Marty Haugen and David Haas for this little pearl!

We can only pity her...

Catherine Deveny is at it again...

This time an attack on marriage which she argues is "the reinforcement of unrealistic expectations, outdated gender stereotypes and proof we're still being sucked in to happily-ever-after endings. It's also a scathing indictment of our lack of cultural maturity and spiritual imagination. And proof we're emotionally medieval".

How sad it must be to be Catherine Deveny with so little joy in her life!

The angels must truly weep for her...

Up His Sleeve

With things beginning to crank up again in Rome after the summer, we are given to understand that the Holy Father has something up his sleeve for Australia, of an episcopal nature. Several people are shortly to be relieved of the torment of waiting, according to our Roman Desk.


Apparently the white handkerchief "slipping" from the papal sleeve was the pre-arranged signal to our Roman cockatoo that "Operation Eel" is nearly complete.

Harrington on the selective application of liturgical law...

Previously we remarked on Elizabeth Harrington's observations about the selective application of liturgical law in the Sydney Archdiocese. We highlighted the difficulty, for those with a history of advocating the primacy of ill informed pastoral judgment, in arbitrating what constituted the selective application of liturgical law. And finally suggested that a good rule of thumb is that people with glass houses shouldn't throw stones...

With that in mind, pilgrims may well wonder what Ms Harrington might make of a recent funeral liturgy where the the casket was draped in an old rebel flag of Ireland (green background with a gold harp). The opening hymn was sung before a 'Welcome to Country' and reflection on the grief surrounding the death. Where the liturgy of the word consisted of a reflection by Patrica Murphy Butler, the responsorial psalm The Lord is My Shepherd, the Gospel of Matthew 5: 1-10 and a poem by Fr. Daniel Berrigan SJ “To the Jesuits of Central America – The Gratitude of a Brother”.

How might she respond to an offertory where the gifts included the departed's harmonica, an Offaly GAA sports jersey, and some traditional East Timorese sashes. Or to a perfomance of Kevin Barry as the post communion reflection afterwich there were no less than three eulogies.

Finally, what would she say about Danny Boy being sung as the casket was carried shoulder height from the church.

Just what insight can Ms Harrington offer the parish priest of Holy Cross Church Wooloowin in Brisbane on the selective application of liturgical law especially in relation to the funeral rite?

Fr Z's Miracle!

He may not have realised it yet, but in the Cloister we think that Fr Z of WDTPRS fame has been favoured with a miracle along the lines of the famous apparitions of Our Lord on a grilled cheese sandwich and Our Lady on a slice of toast.

On his blog, Fr Z shows a picture of flour on a board in his kitchen. Clearly visible in the flour is the face of a singing angel!


Do you see the angel's face at the top of the board?

Unfortunately it seems Fr Z failed to notice the miraculous vision and turned the angelic face into a pepperoni pizza.

"But Father! But Father! How could you?"

For God so loved the world...

Nuns 101 - III

They really are just human. And when the incense has run out they even smoke the odd cigarette.

Promotions - Archdiocese of Sydney

Pilgrims are commenting on the perceived expansion of the Sydney Archdiocese. Some will recall our priory discourse where the new aquired territories were discussed, as was the omission of Norfolk Island from the official map.

It has not gone unnoticed the seeming anomaly that Theology on Tap takes place in the P J. Gallagher's Parramatta establishment despite its being now officially promoted on the Archdiocese of Sydney's website.

As it is not being promoted by the Parramatta Diocese website the question begs whether the Sydney boundary now extends to include the small patch of land where the pub stands?


Cardinal Pell recently made mention of how his archdiocese had been 'divided' up. Could it be that he means to reclaim it 'brick-by-brick' or, more accurately... 'beer-by-beer?'

It is increasingly the perception that creations of the diocese of Parramatta, under the guidance of the now-over-75-bishop of Parramatta, appear to find promotion in the Sydney Archdiocese.

There is Dr White, the new head of Sydney's CEO, who was formed in Parramatta, and Sean Finucane, head of Catholic Youth Services for the Sydney Archdiocese and former youth minister with "LIFETEEN" credentials in Castle Hill, one of the bigger parishes of the Parramatta diocese.


















Expansion? or is the Archdiocese of Sydney simply staying true to form.

Vee Too

From well-intention pious youth who think the Church would be better off if the Second Vatican Council had never been convoked, Good Lord deliver us.

To biretta or not?

This photo started a deep and passionate discussion in The Cloister as to who ought wear a biretta.

They are increasingly popular in ordinary parishes with some clergy wearing them in procession to and from the altar - before and after the Mass in the Ordinary Form.

While some in The Cloister applaud this we don't wish to engage in a detailed study just yet!

Suffice to say the question arose "to pom-pom or not to pom-pom?"

While Sr Magdalene innocently enquired how big or fluffy should the pom-pom be? it was left to Br Jasper to correct her politely explaining that the technical term was 'tuft' rather than pom-pom.

Br Momus has always been a fan of the tuftless biretta in the Jesuit tradition but the discussion was stymied when The Warden observed that monks of a much older tradition and indeed Sr Magdalene had little use for such rarefied headress.

Perusing those groups in Australia that claim continuity through unchanging rubrics following the Second Vatican Council we discover that parishes, chaplaincies and individual priests that celebrate the Extraordinary Form in Australia have different views and practices.

The clergy in the Melbourne Archdiocese enjoy the tuft, but then the question begs why a seminarian, not yet a subdeacon, is wearing a biretta at all!

The chaplains to the Latin Mass Community in Sydney and Brisbane don't tend to think much of birettas. Certainly in Brisbane nothing has been sited and in Sydney the FSSP appear to think that they too are monks, though of an order not readily recognised by most.

So gentle pilgrim... to biretta or not to biretta?

A tale of two funerals...

One rises above the mire of difficult politics to observe that which is correct...

Empress Zita of Austria




The other funeral simply descends into the mire of the politically correct...

National Threatened Species Day!

Quote: "National Threatened Species Day is held on 7 September each year to encourage the community to help conserve Australia's unique native fauna and flora. We can all take action to prevent further extinctions by restoring healthy numbers of endangered species and ecological communities in the wild."

With the extinction of Online Catholics a few years back, The Cloister are wondering what else is headed in that direction. A few things have come to mind but some of the cloistered thought the guests pictured at the recent Catalyst for Renewal 15th birthday 'bash' seemed to indicate that it might soon be approaching the 'extinct' category.

However conservation is necessary however as some things are better left to wither and diminish naturally.

How's it feel Leo... Conceived for want of a condom!

As if her voice carried any weight in the Catholic Church, Cherie Blair is on the pro=choice hustings again suggesting the Church's hardline stance against contraception could be holding some women back from pursuing a career.

"I think it's a really important issue and I would prefer it if the Catholic Church took a more positive attitude towards contraception because I think there's a lot of difference between preventing a life coming about and actually extinguishing a life when it has come about."

Not known for a sense of self restraint after she previously revealed that her now nine-year-old son Leo was conceived at Balmoral after she neglected to pack contraceptives for a stay with the Queen; the question begs are natural family planning methods so incompatible with a woman's pursuit of a career?

For Cherie's sake we hope young Leo doesn't eventually favour euthanasia... afterall, there is a young man with every reason to find a place in his life for his aging mother!

Will the re-ordering of the Bathurst Church make for a Cross 'Dresser'...

Bathurst seems to be coming alive with the new bishop engaged in a little re-ordering. Among the list of appointments is one of particular interest which took effect from Tuesday 1st September 2009.

Allow us to build up to it…

Appointed Fr Martin O’Mahony - Parish Priest of St Joseph’s Parish Gilgandra - as Administrator of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish, Coonamble.

Appointed Fr Ephrem Thadathil CMI - currently Associate Pastor of St Joseph and St Mary’s Parish, Orange - as Associate Pastor to St Joseph’s Parish Gilgandra, and Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish, Coonamble.

Appointed Fr Peter Dresser - currently Parish Priest of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish, Coonamble - to lighter duties, resident in Kandos presbytery.

Regulars to these curious corridors will recall Fr Dresser as the priest who professes...

1. Jesus is NOT the Son of God he is just an ordinary sort of bloke in thongs who likely played cricket and hung out with his mates Peter, Judas and the rest;
2. God does not know everything infinitely, or at least everything that can be known about any of us including thoughts, feelings, life and the universe. In fact, God is the last to know!
3. "Sacramental Presence" is the new Transubstantiation;
4. Having given the Tridentine option to the Traddies over and above the Novus Ordo Missae enjoyed by the Neo Cons we really need something a little less structured - a Novus Novus Ordo Missae' for the aCatholics who dont want to be tied down by rubrics and doctrine;

Pilgrims should mark our words... Dresser and his aCatholic fans will be cross...

Sacraments are out... just ask Coyne!

Sacraments are outward signs of inward grace, instituted by Christ for our sanctification (Catechismus concil. Trident., n. 4, ex St. Augustine, "De Catechizandis rudibus") but not according to Brian Coyne and his aCatholic 'church'.

Indeed in this rather telling two part interview we gain a sneak peek into why aCatholics like Coyne invest so much time searching for what's right in front of them!

Sacraments - spruce them up or get rid of them is the mantra...

Tell us what you think!

It Must be One or More

"How Many People Have You Slept With?"

asks the new website http://www.gettested.com.au/ that is the NSW Reese government's $1.5 million attempt at helping prevent STIs (Yes taxpayers, this is from your pocket).

Like a personification of all the cliche's that 'social workers' get pumped with, this website attempts to 'educate' young people about sexually transmitted infections. It is accompanied by TV and print campaigns, so if you are in NSW you won't be able to miss it. It leaves little to the imagination regarding what the (former) NSW Health minster and his minions actually think of young people. The Cloister tried to submit the number zero in the box on the web page and was given this answer "It must be 1 or more."

A Freudian slip demonstrating what the social workers/thought police think of abstinence perhaps?

Maybe this poor brother was naive in assuming that a message like this would appear: "well done for practicing chastity, this is the surest way to avoid an STI. We are sorry we make it so hard for you but keep up the good work." However I never expected it to imply that I have been deficient in my cavorting.

Even the other prominent state and federal campaigns that promote the destructive condom/STI/Safe sex mantra at least somewhere in their fineprint say that the best way to avoid pregnancy and STIs is to abstain from sex.

This is nowhere to be seen on the new website. Have a click under "How do I prevent STIs" to see what the government really thinks of marriage, lifelong committed relationships and abstinence. The answer is 'not much.' Sex, according to the NSW Heath Minister's website, is simply 'Safe Play.'

Health Minister John Della Bosca said in this article that he wants the young to "avoid unnecessary suffering and inconvenience." One wonders how the minister (a Catholic) misses the fact that people could avoid STIs by abstaining until marriage, as well as bypassing unnecessary social, mental and cultural suffering that goes with the diminishment of moral values (it's not like he hasn't heard of the concept). Instead, the website encourages promiscuity, urging the youth to "explore the different textures, sizes, flavours and non-latex varieties (of condoms) to see what feels good."

While the new website reminds the young to 'check the use by date' when buying a condom, I would suggest a far more productive endeavour would be for Minister Della Bosca and his minions to check their own used by dates.

BREAKING NEWS
Media outlets have been reporting that The NSW Health Minister, John Della Bosca, has resigned.

Seems like he has been leading by example, taking the 'it must be one or more' quite literally.

So-long Minister!

"Deep Humility"... Oh Please!

"I am writing with deep humility to ask that you pray for me..."

Kennedy penned in a 'private' correspondance with the Holy Father.

"I want you to know, Your Holiness, that in my nearly 50 years of elective office, I have done my best to champion the rights of the poor and open doors of economic opportunity. I've worked to welcome the immigrant, fight discrimination and expand access to health care and education. I have opposed the death penalty and fought to end war. Those are the issues that have motivated me and been the focus of my work as a United States Senator.

"I have always tried to be a faithful Catholic, Your Holiness, and though I have fallen short through human failings, I have never failed to believe and respect the fundamental teachings."

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, may be remembered for his enthusiastic advocacy of select areas of Catholic Social Teaching, but his enduring pro-choice stance on legal access to abortion draws into question his respect for the more "fundamental teachings". It would be easy to attribute this to 'human failings' if it were not for a 1971 letter on the subject where Kennedy had this to say:

"While the deep concern of a woman bearing an unwanted child merits consideration and sympathy, it is my personal feeling that the legalization of abortion on demand is not in accordance with the value which our civilization places on human life,"

"Wanted or unwanted, I believe that human life, even at its earliest stages, has certain rights which must be recognized -- the right to be born, the right to love, the right to grow old. When history looks back at this era it should recognize this generation as one which cared about human beings enough to halt the practice of war, to provide a decent living for every family, and to fulfill its responsibility to its children from the very moment of conception."

Kennedy understood the teaching but from this to a nearly 100 percent negative rating in recent years from the National Right to Life Committee and a 100 percent positive rating from NARAL Pro-Choice America for his abortion-related votes in the Senate.

No doubt this was a 'good' man but some in The Cloister believe that Kennedy's private last apologia to Benedict (conveniently made public) is further evidence of how Christ's Church was merely an instrument to Kennedy to be taken up and set aside as his politics required.

It remains for life's final Judge to determine whether Christ's Church got the best out of its instrument, Kennedy, but for our part The Cloister feels He is unlikely to be persuaded by popularity as any measure of truth!

Doppelganger

One of these is the Auxiliary Bishop of Atlanta...

Praise for the Diocese of the Big Drain

When perusing the current online edition of the Maitland-Newcastle diocesan magazine 'Aurora', The Cloister were struck by how interesting the stories were.

So while we haven't always been too complimentary about the Diocese of the Big Drain, we would recommend having a look at the August 'Aurora' during your next tea-break:

Finals Football

Even the Archbishop of New York is looking forward to the AFL finals.