The Cloistered are sad to learn of the death of Bishop Patrick Dougherty, Bishop Emeritus of Bathurst, who died last night from lung cancer. 
Pax vobiscum gentle pilgrim...
Twelve-year-old Catholic school student, Brandon Sheehan, who is a descendant of Mary MacKillop, will travel to Rome for her canonisation on 17 October, said Catholic Education of the Parramatta Diocese.
I'm sticking to my prediction of two week's ago: "I'm increasingly confident that Labor will get back in with a reduced majority but not uncomfortably so."(August 10 See post below.) I don't think it is going to be as "close" as some commentators and the leaders have been predicting. My sense is that she'll behome relatively comfortably albeit that the Greens will more than probably havethe balance of power in the Senate.
Melbourne last night became the Emerald City with its new Wizard, Adam Bandt spruiking that his electoral success showed the Greens' values of compassion, sustainability and equality were mainstream Australian values. "Today Melbourne has put those values back on the national agenda," he said. "These Green values are mainstream values and we want the whole country to hear them."
Several white feathers illuminated by a neon light. 
It seems like just a few short weeks ago, a long-forgotten locket containing a few hairs from Blessed Mary MacKillop's head mysteriously and quite providentially emerged from the Josephite archives. Authenticated on account of documentation providentially found with the locket the relic has been contained in crosses fashioned from old red gum fence posts from the property where MacKillop worked, and mounted on local dolomite stone.
THE rustic redgum reliquary containing the 100+ year old hairs was revealed this week in Penola and will be presented to the Pope during the October 17 Vatican canonisation ceremony. Sister Maria Casey delivered the relic and it seems that when the hairs were placed into stained glass embedded in the reliquary, the fine hairs fell to form a cross.
Br Pelagius has drawn to our attention the 2010 ACBC Election Statement but some in The Cloister felt it worth revisiting the 2007 incarnation...
●The right of every person to human dignity;Other issues allegedly of importance to Church Agencies include:
●The right of every person to adequate food, shelter and protection;
●The right of every person to equality of access to education, health, employment and basic services;
●The right of every person, both present and future generations, to live in a safe, healthy and secure environment;
●The right (and the duty) of every person to contribute to society to the extent that they are able;
●The right of every person to live according to their own beliefs, to the extent that those beliefs do not impact upon the rights of others.
•Health: A Health System that is efficient and accessible for all; properly funded mental health services and an improvement in aged care services.What an amateurish presentation. And in an almost telling 'typo' Human Dignity failed to even achieve the bolded status of the points preceding it!
•Social Justice: Human dignity demands that a wealthy country such as Australia must define its priorities so that those who cannot cope in society are helped through government spending by those who can;
•Migrants and Refugees: All those seeking to live in Australia should be treated with dignity and in accordance with international law;
•Overseas Aid: Increase Australia's overseas aid to 0.7% of GNI as a step towards recognising Australia's plenty in the midst of great need;
•Women: To protect their dignity, steps must be taken to protect women from all forms of violence; pay equity should be improved and paid parental leave is an important step forward.
•Indigenous Australians: Until the most disadvantaged of our Indigenous citizens move beyond 3rd world living conditions, all Australians must feel ashamed and work together to change their conditions.
•Disability: People with a disability are entitled to a quality of life equivalent to that of other Australians; serious effort must be made to improve access to services for people with disabilities and their carers.
•Environment: The debate about the environment must shift to consideration of the needs of future generations, not just to avoiding present inconveniences.
•Education: Schools funding should be available equitably and respect parental choice.
•Religious Liberty: In a society with a variety of faiths and non-faiths, we need to be respectful of others.
•Human Dignity: The value of human life must be respected at every stage.
Senator Brown, in reply, said Cardinal Pell's "anti-Christian" claim was a lie, and that he had fallen out of touch with his people.
"The good archbishop has forgotten the ninth commandment, which is 'thou shall not bear false witness against thy neighbour'," Senator Brown said.
"He's lost the ethic of the golden rule and the Greens have kept it.
"The Greens are much closer to mainstream Christian thinking than Cardinal Pell.
"That's why he's not standing for election and I am."
The Catholics the senator spoke to support an end to discrimination, he said.
"They support compassion to asylum seekers and they support the BER (Building the Education Revolution) scheme, like the Greens do," he said.
"Cardinal Pell opposes those things."
Senator Brown said the archbishop's views on gay marriage were "discriminatory and biased".
"The majority of Catholics support equality in marriage (as do) the majority of Christians in Australia," he said.
"The Greens are with the majority but both the big parties, like Cardinal Pell, are opposed to 21st Century majority thinking in Australia.
"He's lost contact with his own voters ... his own Catholic majority in this country."
Broadcaster Geraldine Doogue hosted a 'sell out' evening at the Sydney Town Hall last night remarking that she hadn't seen so many Catholics since Mick Young's funeral. Among the faithful was Australia's First Atheist Prime Minister Julia Gillard who told the gathered faithful that Mary MacKillop embodied "the spirit of Australian egalitarianism." 
Asked by the Sydney Morning Herald if Catholics were ready to vote for an atheist Prime Minister, Parish Priest of Sydney's Lane Cove Parish, Father Martin Maunsell said yes... God love him! 
