Category Archives: Soapbox

OK, so I’ve pinched the headline for this post from The 15th Station, the podcast on which I appear pretty much every month. We’ve just uploaded this month’s episode after a bit of a technical issue, and as my headline — and the podcast episode name — suggests, there’s an interesting mix of stories to be consumed in the show. We chat about the much-publicised comments of Pope Francis on the prospect of atheists getting into heaven, as well as … Continue reading →

Having been an avid consumer of news media for more than 20 years — including an irrational obsession with newspapers as a teenager before working in the industry for 15 — I’m partial to a good headline. Headline writers canoften try just that little bit too hard, though some people will inevitably like even the cheesiest headlines. And a headline I saw today, which has a very strong Catholic connection and can therefore gladly find a home on top of … Continue reading →

The Catholic Church has had little trouble finding its way onto the front pages of Australian newspapers in recent weeks and months, though it’s usually been — not unlike many other Western countries — to report on something related to the sexual abuse of minors. With two state inquiries and a national Royal Commission all at various stages, there has been plenty to write about that has tarnished the Catholic Church. But imagine my surprise and joy when a positive … Continue reading →

Last month, there was an interesting story from New Zealand on groups and their use of the word “Catholic” in their name. It stemmed from the attempts of one group of Catholics to engage in political debate over the vote that would eventually legalise same-sex “marriage” in New Zealand. Here’s the abridged version of what transpired from the Stuff news website: A radical group that sent emails to MPs saying they were “on the road to hell for all eternity” … Continue reading →

There are about 50 days left until the eyes of the world descend on Rio de Janeiro for the first of three massive events over the next three years in the famous Brazilian city. Before the football world arrives for the World Cup in 2014 and before the 2016 Summer Olympics, Rio will host a far bigger influx of humanity for World Youth Day 2013, where Pope Francis will make his international debut in front of hundreds of thousands — … Continue reading →

There was much fanfare when it was announced that Pope Benedict would be joining the Twittersphere, promptly causing hundreds of thousands — and now millions — of people to follow @Pontifex on the microblogging site, including on a range of associated accounts that are run in different languages. But did you know that you could go one step higher, and follow God on Twitter? Me neither. OK, so they’re actually (obviously) accounts that people have set up in the name … Continue reading →

The Vatican — like so many other parts of the Church — has been a bit slow when it comes to embracing new media and social media. Thankfully there’s been a bit of a change in that area in the past year or so, and one of my favourite pages now on Facebook is news.va. You can check out their page here and like it, like I do. One of the things I love about the improved and more prolific … Continue reading →

Sometimes — because of other stories taking precedence or because of the busyness of daily life or because of forgetfulness — I take quite a while to get around to blogging about certain stories or topics. If I see an interesting story, I’ll often open it on my iPhone, taking a valuable spot among my eight permissible open windows, and it will remain there until I get around to blogging about it. Tonight that story is the efforts in Brooklyn … Continue reading →

Knowing Father Roderick Vonhogen has many benefits, but one of those is the doors that open in the Catholic new media world when you can shamelessly namedrop the world’s best known Catholic new media star. We at the Southern Cross New Media Project are milking that for all it’s worth, and it’s a big part of the reason why people like Greg and Jennifer Willits, Jimmy Akin, Brandon Vogt, Angela Sealana, Captain Jeff Nielsen and, now, Lisa Hendey have been … Continue reading →

In a political sense, reaching across the aisle is when one political party — typically the one in power — seeks to work with their opposition party or parties to achieve a policy outcome that they think can garner widespread support. It’s a strategy that gets talked about a lot during election campaigns but is rarely actually implemented in the day-to-day machinations of politics. There have been attempts in recent years from Catholics to reach across the aisle in a … Continue reading →