Shows
Global Roaming with Geraldine Doogue and Hamish MacdonaldThe Simple Idea that Could Save DemocracyAustralia does elections pretty well - in fact, we might be the world's hottest ambassador for democracy. But according to former Australian Electoral Commissioner Tom Rogers we need to be wary of 'the curse of the sausage'; the idea that our own success makes us vulnerable. In this discussion with Hamish Macdonald and Geraldine Doogue he offers a simple idea to protect our elections against growing threats, both at home and abroad. Recommendations:Hamish and Geraldine: Annabel Crabb's Civic Duty : ABC iviewGet in touch:We'd love to hear from you! E...
2025-11-2130 min
The Big TentGrace Brennan and Joe Wehbe on faith unfilteredWhat does it mean to be Catholic in 2025? Does faith need a label? Geraldine Doogue and Julie Thorpe welcome Grace Brennan and Joe Wehbe to explore their search in The Big Tent.
For Grace, growing up in a Catholic home before moving to the bush and founding a business while raising four children, her connection to a faith community feels like being a guest in her own home. While for Joe Wehbe, a community builder with Lebanese Maronite roots and Jesuit schooling, faith is tied to purpose: 'it feels very authored.'
Join Geraldine, Julie...
2025-11-0742 minGlobal Roaming with Geraldine Doogue and Hamish MacdonaldTrump or Xi: Who Blinked First?It may have been the most significant hour and forty minutes in global geopolitics this year...If the highly anticipated summit between Presidents Xi and Trump in South Korea was about putting out the fires of a great power trade war, the flames seem to be under control... for now. But was it a win-win for everyone? Geraldine Doogue and Hamish Macdonald discuss which cans made it onto the negotiating table and were kicked down the road. Then they have a frank conversation with the former Singaporean diplomat Bilahari Kausikan about how South-east Asian countries r...
2025-10-3131 minGlobal Roaming with Geraldine Doogue and Hamish MacdonaldAre we on the cusp of the next big financial crash?If you thought we'd never see a repeat of the GFC or even the dotcom bubble, think again... So far financial markets have proved remarkably resilient to the geopolitical shocks and uncertainty brought about by Trump 2.0, but economists are warning that this could be largely thanks to an AI bubble that is artificially propping up the US economy. Geraldine Doogue and Hamish Macdonald discuss the growing fears of what happens if and when this bubble bursts and how Australia is particularly exposed to a downturn through our superannuation system. Then Geraldine sits down wit...
2025-10-2837 minGlobal Roaming with Geraldine Doogue and Hamish MacdonaldThe VERY important meeting in China you probably missedWhile we were all preoccupied with Prime Minister Albanese's meeting with Donald Trump, another hugely important meeting was taking place behind closed doors in Beijing. At the highly anticipated Fourth Plenum there were political purges, hints at succession, and clues about what one of the world's great superpowers is planning to achieve over the next five years.Geraldine Doogue and Hamish Macdonald are joined by China analyst Neil Thomas to unpack everything you need to know about the Fourth Plenum and how it might affect President Xi jinping's thinking as he heads into his own highly anticipated...
2025-10-2432 minThe Big TentBridges, not walls: Nostra Aetate at 60This month marks 60 years since Nostra Aetate, the landmark Vatican II document that transformed Catholic relations with Judaism and other world religions. Geraldine Doogue speaks with Mary Reaburn, a Sister of Our Lady of Sion whose order was instrumental in the rescue of Jews during the Holocaust, to reflect on the document’s origins and its enduring relevance amid current global divisions. 'Real dialogue is the salvation of our world,' Mary tells Geraldine.
Mentioned in this episode:
David Neuhaus, The Writing of the Declaration "Nostra Aetate" in La Civilità Cattolica
Messianism and the Middle East: lea...
2025-10-2226 minGlobal Roaming with Geraldine Doogue and Hamish MacdonaldCan Netanyahu Actually Deliver on Peace?One week on from the ceasefire deal and the commencement of the first phase of Trump’s peace plan, things look fragile. At this point, peace seems to be very much in the hands of one man: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He has a reputation as a wily political player, and the personal and political stakes for him are sky high. So, what are the calculations he’s making? Can he, and will he, deliver peace? Former speaker of the Israeli Parliament Avraham 'Avrum" Burg shares his thoughts. Plus, to find out what 'peace' actually looks like...
2025-10-1734 minThe Big TentBuilding hope through housingHow can churches help to solve the housing crisis? According to Rob Stokes, former NSW Liberal minister and now chair of Faith Housing Australia, tens of thousands of social and affordable homes could be built on church-owned land. He joins Graham West, former NSW Labor minister and now CEO of St Vincent de Paul Society Housing Australia, in The Big Tent with Geraldine Doogue to share how faith communities are repurposing their property to build essential housing. It's a model of Australia's multicultural, multi-faith communities in action, in partnership with government and industry, providing homes to some of the...
2025-09-2823 minGlobal Roaming with Geraldine Doogue and Hamish MacdonaldThe Dark Roots of America's War on ScienceThe anti-science crusade in the United States extends beyond President Trump's flourishing statements about climate change being a 'con job' and a 'hoax' and claiming links between Tylenol (or paracetamol) and autism. Under the second Trump administration and Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, long-standing medical and scientific institutions are being hollowed out and misinformation and disinformation is rife. There are a number of actors who stand to capitalise on this trend, from foreign states like Russia, to big pharma companies and 'wellness' influencers. And experts say it poses an existential threat not just for America...
2025-09-2631 minThe Big TentMassimo Faggioli on the zombies walking among usFollowing threats of legal action, and restrictions on his freedom of movement and expression, the Italian-born, US-resident scholar of church history and politics Massimo Faggioli has landed in Ireland to take up his new post at Trinity College Dublin's Loyola Institute. So how will a US-born pope respond to what Massimo describes in American Catholicism as 'an army of zombie ideas that we thought were dead'?
Recommendations:
Antonio Spadaro, 'Trump & the Grand Theatre of the World,' in Commonweal
Massimo Faggioli's latest Commonweal piece, 'Continent at a Crossroads? Europe and the rise of right-wing Catholicism'
Geraldine...
2025-09-1923 minThe Big TentFaith on the digital frontlinesHow does the Church stay mission-centred in a machine-centred world? That question preoccupies Kim Daniels, Director of the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life at Georgetown University, who is also the coordinator of the Synod study group tasked by Pope Francis to report on how the Church is meeting people online.
'It's about more than just using tools,' Kim tells Geraldine, 'it's about being present and building relationships in the digital environment.'
It's a message she's taking back to the new pope, Leo XIV, as he drafts his first social encyclical...
2025-09-1625 minGlobal Roaming with Geraldine Doogue and Hamish MacdonaldHow Australia’s Army Chief is preparing us for the next warGeraldine is back and feeling uncharacteristically pessimistic about the state of the world. So as the Australian government works hard to cement stronger ties in the Indo-Pacific region following China's display of military and political might, Hamish and Geraldine are joined by the Chief of the Australian Army Lieutenant General Simon Stuart for a frank conversation about whether Australians need to come to terms with the possibility of a war in our region. Recommendations:Geraldine Doogue: Address by Former senior Chinese diplomat Madame Fu Ying to the AFR Asia Summit 2025. Once available, it can be f...
2025-09-1231 minThe Big TentStorytelling as missionLana Turvey-Collins joins Geraldine Doogue in The Big Tent to share her story from facilitating Australia's Plenary Council to launching formation.org.au – a new national platform to support and connect leaders in formation across Catholic ministries. 'The more time we take to sit, be still and slowly listen to one another's story and share of your own story, the more connected we are and the more opportunity we have to experience what I dream about is God,' she tells Geraldine.
Learn more about formation.org.au
Catch up on another new leadership program, Catholic Leadership Foundation, fe...
2025-09-0520 minGlobal Roaming with Geraldine Doogue and Hamish MacdonaldMeet Nayib Bukele: The 'World's Coolest Dictator'He's young, he's slick, he's social media savvy and he rules with an iron first. Meet Nayib Bukele, the President of El Salvador who has quickly become an icon of the global right. He might style himself as the 'world's coolest dictator' and a 'philosopher king', but this leader is not like other authoritarian rulers. For a start, he's incredibly popular both at home and abroad - befriending the likes of Elon Musk and President Donald Trump. His rapid crackdown on gang-related crime has been labelled the 'Bukele miracle' and is being seen everywhere from Ecuador to A...
2025-08-2229 minGlobal Roaming with Geraldine Doogue and Hamish MacdonaldMeet the 'world's coolest dictator'He's young, he's slick, he's social media savvy and he rules with an iron first. Meet Nayib Bukele, the President of El Salvador who has quickly become an icon of the global right. He might style himself as the 'world's coolest dictator' and a 'philosopher king', but this leader is not like other authoritarian rulers. For a start, he's incredibly popular both at home and abroad - befriending the likes of Elon Musk and President Donald Trump. His rapid crackdown on gang-related crime has been labelled the 'Bukele miracle' and is being seen everywhere from Ecuador to A...
2025-08-2229 minThe Big TentVoices from the Amazon: A conversation with Mauricio Lopez'The Amazon is bleeding, ecologically, culturally and spiritually. And still from within this pain, hope emerges.'
Mauricio López Oropeza, a prominent lay leader from Latin America, joined Geraldine Doogue for this year's 40th anniversary of the Hélder Câmara lecture series to reflect on how the Amazonian experience is reshaping global Catholicism. Bringing the voices from the peripheries to the centre isn't easy, as the Amazon synod showed, but can catholicity become the 'vaccine' against divisions in the Church and the world?
Thanks to Br Mark O'Connor FMS, the Diocese of Parramatta and...
2025-08-2120 min
AgehoodGeraldine Doogue: On the lessons her husband's death left behindGeraldine Doogue is one of Australia’s most respected journalists and broadcasters. And in this episode, Geraldine reflects on losing her husband, Ian Carroll, in 2011 — and the reality of walking beside someone you love through their final chapter. She talks openly about the moments of courage, the guilt that lingers, the memories that endure, and the relief of honouring Ian’s wish to die in hospital, not at home. This is a conversation about love, loss, and the gift of presence. It’s also a reminder that the best death isn’t about where it happens — it’s about giving...
2025-08-1756 minGlobal Roaming with Geraldine Doogue and Hamish MacdonaldThe shocking reality of life inside Putin's RussiaIt's all eyes on Alaska as the summit between President Trump, President Putin and possibly President Zelensky looms. The stakes of these peace talks - for Ukraine, for Russia and for the West - are incredibly high. Given his cool and confident exterior, we wondered about the cards Putin currently holds in his hand. How strong is his position not only in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, but at home? Has his grip on power ever been tighter? To find out, Geraldine Doogue (2025 Andrew Olle lecture) and Hamish Macdonald (ABC Sydney Mornings, The Project) spoke to Anna Ne...
2025-08-1528 minThe Big TentIs hope countercultural? Mark Coleridge and the new popeIn this first episode of The Big Tent, Geraldine Doogue speaks with outgoing Brisbane archbishop Mark Coleridge, about the surprise election of Pope Leo, the legacy of Pope Francis, and how the Church can offer a countercultural narrative amid polarisation and hopelessness in today's world. 'The only thing the God of the Bible is good at doing,' he tells Geraldine, 'is what seems impossible.'
Episode links:
Mark Coleridge's podcast series, The Navel of the Earth: Jerusalem in Time, Theology, and Imagination
David Neuhaus's article in The Tablet, 'What is "hope" right now?'
Launch...
2025-08-1430 minThe Big TentPreview: The Big TentWe have a new Pope. Does a new era beckon for the Catholic Church in Australia and the world? Join Geraldine Doogue and an inter-generational cast in The Big Tent, hosting an honest, contemporary search that aims, in the prophet Isaiah's words, to 'enlarge the space of your tent'. Welcome!
2025-08-0801 minGlobal Roaming with Geraldine Doogue and Hamish MacdonaldCan statehood emerge from chaos? History’s lessonThis week, the prospect of Palestinian statehood suddenly became tangible, with the UK, France and Canada promising to recognise Palestine at the UN general assembly in September. Whether Australia will follow suit remains to be seen. What can history tell us about the formation of new states out of violent conflict? Guest: Sir Christopher Clark, professor of history at the University of Cambridge Recommendations:Geraldine: 'The wrong way to respond to antisemitism', Inside StoryHamish: Andrew Olle Media Lecture 2025, presented by Geraldine Doogue, ABC iViewGet...
2025-08-0139 min
Big IdeasNot drowning waving, a modern media tale — with Geraldine DoogueThe decline of the mainstream media has forced many outlets to try new things to keep audiences engaged and informed. So what works, and what is the industry's future?The ABC's 2025 Andrew Olle Lecture was recorded in Sydney on Friday 25 July 2025.SpeakersGeraldine Doogue - Host (with Hamish Macdonald), Global Roaming, ABC Radio National
2025-07-3100 min
Plenary MattersWhat's next for Plenary Matters?After almost four years, at home and in Rome, Plenary Matters is packing up...and preparing for a new venture!
After her coverage of the funeral of Pope Francis and the conclave that elected Pope Leo, Geraldine reflects on Australia's plenary council, the world synod and what's still to come. And Julie has recorded it all in a book about to be launched along with a new podcast, which we can finally announce!
Recommendations:
Geraldine's Eureka Street article, ABC interview with Vatican foreign minister Paul Gallagher, and Compass episode on the conclave
Mark O'Connor, 'What might...
2025-07-1425 min
Sunday Extra - Separate stories podcastThe funeral of Pope FrancisThe life of Pope Francis was celebrated yesterday in St Peters Basilica. During his papacy, Pope Francis called on global leaders to face the challenges of migration and climate change as well as calls for peace in Gaza and Ukraine. Geraldine Doogue and Noel Debien reflect on his legacy and whether the Catholic Church will continue down this path.Guests: Geraldine Doogue, host of Global Roaming on ABC Radio National and Noel Debien, Radio National religion and ethics specialist
2025-04-2613 minPlenary MattersHanding on the baton: Next generation Catholic leadersWho will carry the Australian church’s mission into the future? And how will the next generation of lay Catholics be accompanied to lead the church’s vital education, health, social and spiritual ministries, especially in regional and rural communities?
‘Lay people are running on empty when it comes to the critical decision making they’re being called into in 2025,’ says Virginia Ryan. She's inaugural CEO of the Catholic Leadership Foundation, recently launched by the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart in response to the call of Australia’s Plenary Council and the global synod for lay Cath...
2025-04-1423 minPlenary MattersPolitics of Hope? Election 2025As Australians prepare to vote, how can our Catholic tradition help us to reflect on what matters? And how might the concept of synodality in the church influence broader relationships and decision making in the contemporary society?
Join Geraldine and two seasoned observers of the Australian church and society, John Warhurst and Eva Skira, for a thoughtful discussion on faith and politics today.
Amid polarisation and a changing world order, is synodality, as John says, ‘something that we as a church have to offer at the moment’?
Mentioned in this episode:
Professor Anna...
2025-04-0432 minPlenary MattersSafeguarding the Future: A Conversation with Hans ZollnerFirst up in this new series of Plenary Matters, Geraldine speaks with Fr Hans Zollner, a world expert in the safeguarding and protection of children and adults at risk. He’s been speaking in Australia and New Zealand on the progress made in the Catholic Church, including the leading role of women, as well as the new global and pastoral frontlines of safeguarding.
Change in the church ‘doesn't come like a miracle,’ says Zollner. ‘We need to work constantly in dissemination and in education of people who are committed to safeguarding.’
Don't miss this conversation with a tru...
2025-02-1519 min
Festival of Dangerous IdeasDemocracy is Not Worth Dying for (2024) - Geraldine Doogue, Masha Gessen, Paul Ham & David RuncimanDemocracy has often been presented as an ideal, where citizens can participate and benefit from a fair society. But as we face growing inequality, political turmoil, and loss of faith in modern life, the price of preserving democracy might be proving too steep. Masha Gessen is an opinion columnist for The New York Times and a Distinguished Professor at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York. They have written extensively on The Russian-Ukrainian war, Israel/Palestine, Vladimir Putin, and Donald Trump. Paul Ham is an author and...
2025-02-041h 00
Fourth EstateOne From The Archives: In Conversation With Geraldine DoogueThis week we dip back into the Fourth Estate archives and revisit Tina Quinn’s interview with ABC broadcaster, Geraldine Doogue.This interview was originally broadcast in December of 2020. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
2024-11-1439 minPlenary MattersAt the Synod in Rome: Ep 8Two of Australia’s most seasoned representatives at the Synod in Rome, Susan Pascoe AM and Bishop Shane Mackinlay, join Geraldine to discuss what’s in the final document and what happens next. While the pace of change may vary in different parts of the church, they both have witnessed moments of conversion – and grace – throughout the 3-year process.
For Susan Pascoe, a facilitator and member of the methodology commission that produced the initial guide for the global synod on synodality, and part of the writing team for the continental stage, the authenticity of the process now needs to...
2024-10-2632 minPlenary MattersAt the Synod in Rome: Ep 7As the Synod on Synodality enters its final week, Timothy Radcliffe urged delegates to speak with freedom as they consider and vote on the final document. Delegates were also addressed by head of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith Cardinal Fernandez, whose absence from a meeting on women's ministries provoked indignation among delegates.
Synod expert and papal biographer Austen Ivereigh attended the Friday meeting of study group 5 and says it was an important moment for seeing synodality in action.
He tells Geraldine this synod is 'a holy process' with the Spirit 'pouring out...
2024-10-2232 minPlenary MattersAt the Synod in Rome: Ep 6Baptised Catholics are 'the principal presence of the Church in the world', says Professor Catherine Clifford. She's one of the Canadian delegates to the Synod on Synodality, an expert on Vatican II, and is overseeing the drafting of the final text that will be voted on by all the delegates in the last week.
When Pope Francis asked bishops to consult people about their experiences in and hopes for the Church, it awakened expectations among Catholics everywhere that they are central to the Church's mission. And they're asking be formed – to pray, to discern, to read the Sc...
2024-10-1620 minPlenary MattersAt the Synod in Rome: Ep 5Who might help or scuttle all these bold ambitious plans for synodality? Tales of the Roman Curia – the Vatican civil service – are replete with villainy, but its constant reform under successive popes may surprise.
Monsignor Anthony Ekpo has worked in the Roman Curia for eight years, first in the Secretariat of State and last year Pope Francis appointed him Undersecretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. He's seen intelligent women and men – lay, religious and clergy – work quietly out of sight in service of Pope Francis, who might drop by unannounced to greet staff.
But wi...
2024-10-1426 minPlenary MattersAt the Synod in Rome: Ep 4What does synodal leadership mean for a bishop? Archbishop Ryan Jimenez is wrestling precisely with that question after being appointed as the new archbishop of Agaña, Guam, amid a crisis of sexual abuse in his diocese.
He's new to the synod – his appointment came after the first assembly last year – but he's using this month in Rome for deep reflection on his role in what he believes is the 'era of the laity.'
As president of the Episcopal Conference of the Pacific (CEPAC) he also brings lived experience of Pope Francis' peripheries – in the reg...
2024-10-1328 minPlenary MattersAt the Synod in Rome: Ep 3One of the most influential lay women at the synod in Rome is Professor Anna Rowlands, who believes a relational revolution is underway inside the synod hall.
Working in the synod office for the past two years on secondment from Durham University, she sees the building of a relational fabric – including relations between women and men – as the basis of being a global synodal church.
Catch up on Timothy Radcliffe's pre-synod meditations, and also his latest reflection on part two of the synod working document.
Keep listening! And keep in touch via the Plena...
2024-10-1222 minPlenary MattersAt the Synod in Rome: Ep 2God nudging us along, is how synod expert Eamonn Conway describes the process happening inside the Paul VI hall. He attended a previous synod, in 2012, but this synod he believes is fundamentally reshaping the mission of the global church, which 'can only succeed if the gifts and charism being given by the Holy Spirit to every single baptised faithful is enabled to flourish.' The choice, as he says, is whether we choose change or have change overtake us.
You can follow the opening prayers each day inside the synod hall via Vatican YouTube.
Watch Massimo Faggioli's webinar...
2024-10-1027 minPlenary MattersAt the Synod in Rome: Ep 1Welcome to Roma where the global Catholic church is meeting for this final assembly of the Synod on Synodality. To set the scene Geraldine chats with Br Mark O'Connor, Vicar for Communications for the Diocese of Parramatta, who has a close eye on the proceedings and participants, including the men whom Pope Francis has just named cardinals in a move that has renewed attention on the global shifts underway in Catholicism following his recent visit to our region.
Also mentioned in this episode:
Mark O'Connor's 1st letter from the Synod in Catholic Outlook
Michael W. Higgins...
2024-10-0921 min
7amMidwest and masculinity: The Vance-Walz debateAs much as they would hate to admit it, both Donald Trump and Kamala Harris fit the definition of “coastal elite”. The United States presidential candidates are a wealthy New York businessman and reality TV star running against a San Francisco liberal with a career in public office.That’s why they’re both hoping their vice-presidential candidates and running mates will speak to a specific group of voters – the blue collar, working class area of the Midwest.And yesterday’s debate showed that both J.D. Vance and Tim Walz are taking that opportunity seriously.
2024-10-0218 minPlenary MattersPlenary Matters S6 Ep 8: The pope prepares for the Asia-PacificAhead of Pope Francis’ trip to our region, Plenary Matters caught up again with Augustinian Assistant General Fr Tony Banks during his recent visit to Australia. He’s been involved with preparations for the pope’s visit to the border between Indonesia and Papua New Guinea where prayer and diplomacy meet.
He believes that the real impacts of synodality are on the ground, in local decision making, and the implementation of regional differences that put people at the centre of pastoral work. And like Francis, the bishops still have a journey to go.
Geraldine will be bac...
2024-08-2822 minPlenary MattersPlenary Matters S6 Ep 7: Can the church be a credible witness?Synodality is ‘a different way of living’ unity in diversity, according to theologian and canon lawyer Myriam Wijlens who has been closely involved in the global synod. And Europe’s diplomatic leaders are taking note.
Cardinal Hollerich, one of four male clerics who presented the working document for the second session of the synod in Rome, thinks synodality can bridge polarities. But can the church be a credible witness while only ordaining men to speak on its behalf?
The people of God need new lenses, Myriam tells Geraldine, that can focus on the local church while...
2024-08-2043 minPlenary MattersPlenary Matters S6 Ep 6: Fully alive - naming vulnerability and truthFresh from her meeting with Pope Francis, Associate Professor Maeve Heaney VDMF joined Geraldine at the Spiritual Care Australia conference to speak about holding together tension in the church, and how music has helped her to name experiences of vulnerability through illness.
Two years on from Australia’s Plenary Council, and in the wake of Francis’ ‘no’ to women’s ordination to the diaconate during his CBS interview, Maeve thinks we need to find ways truthfully and creatively to ‘untie the knot’ between ordination and authority in the church.
Mentioned in the episode:
Maeve's meeting with P...
2024-07-0126 minPlenary MattersPlenary Matters S6 Ep 5: At the way places of careAt the Spiritual Care Australia conference held at the Australian Catholic University in North Sydney, Geraldine sat down with keynote speaker, Rev Jon Owen, CEO and pastor of the Wayside Chapel, which turns 60 this year.
They discuss the spiritual needs of communities still seeking ritual, as in the aftermath of the Bondi shootings where Wayside has opened a chapel. It's when we come together to share stories, Jon says, that we can remedy the social impacts of loneliness and mitigate the temptation to retreat into easy answers.
Mentioned in the episode:
Papal nuncio to...
2024-06-2823 minPlenary MattersPlenary Matters S6 Ep 4: A living hub in the churchHear from some inspired leaders, fresh from an international conference in Canberra, about a church alive in Catholic education today.
Barbara Coupar from Scottish Catholic Education Service, Ross Fox from Catholic Education Canberra Goulburn and Peter Woods from the ACU La Salle Academy have all seen the confidence-building of students, teachers and leaders where conversations about faith are encouraged in and outside the classroom.
And they want the conversations to extend beyond schools to the whole church.
Read more about the conference, A Current of Grace: Renewing Catholic Schools as Centres of Evangelisation.
2024-06-0330 minPlenary MattersPlenary Matters S6 Ep 3: Bold reform in Catholic schoolsTwo years on from Australia’s Plenary Council, Catholic schools are taking up Pope Francis’ call for bold action in living the contemporary mission of the Church in Australia.
Deputy CEO of Catholic Schools NSW Danielle Cronin says Catholic schools are no longer immune to the challenges of social cohesion. But it’s ‘in our DNA,’ she says, to see the whole child, including the families and communities around them, as the mission of Catholic education today.
From the Diocese of Lismore to the tiny town of Wee Waa, the ‘Connected Catholic Communities’ initiative is responding to...
2024-04-2838 minPlenary MattersPlenary Matters S6 Ep 2: Timothy Radcliffe ...on hopeIn this special episode of Plenary Matters Geraldine speaks about hope with Dominican priest Timothy Radcliffe during his recent visit to Australia.
Pope Francis appointed Fr Timothy as spiritual advisor to the synod on synodality and his series of talks and meditations to synod delegates set the tone for the synod’s call to journey together as a global human family.
Timothy tells Geraldine he thinks the church has something to offer a multipolar world. But it may cost us. ‘This crisis will really put us to the test whether we are the body of Chri...
2024-03-2200 minPlenary MattersPlenary Matters S6 Ep 1: The Afternoon of ChristianityWelcome back to a new season of Plenary Matters!
Up first is renowned Czech theologian Tomáš Halík, in Australia last month to discuss his new book, The Afternoon of Christianity, with Australian Jesuit Frank Brennan. Drawing on his experience of an underground church, Tomáš calls for a deepening spirituality that goes beyond the institutional and mental borders of Christianity to meet the ‘Galilee of today’.
Is the church ready for the task?
Watch the discussion on the Diocese of Parramatta's YouTube channel, as part of the 'Bishop Vincent Presents' series, and leave your feed...
2024-03-1745 min
The Storymakers Institute with Joel Carnegie"Are You Avoiding The News?" with Geraldine DoogueThis is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit thestorymakersinstitute.substack.comHave you turned off the news? This week on The Storymakers Institute, say hello to freshly Walkley awarded ABC Senior Presenter, Geraldine Doogue.It would be fair to say that 2023 hasn’t exactly been “light” - there’s been plenty of heavy issues to grapple with this year, wherever you may be across the world. When is it ok to put the head in the sand?In this second last episode for the year, I sit down with Ger...
2023-12-1224 minPlenary MattersPlenary Matters S5 Ep 5: What did the first assembly achieve?Christopher White, Vatican correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter, sat down with Geraldine during his recent visit to the Diocese of Parramatta to give some revealing anecdotes and insights into the synod's first assembly.
While the dismantling of hierarchy may be a step still too far for some delegates, he believes the next papal enclave will be a referendum on synodality.
He also told Geraldine any correspondence to the pope on matters like women deacons can be sent c/- Prefecture of the Papal Household, 00120 Vatican City State.
You can watch the interview on the...
2023-11-2030 minPlenary MattersPlenary Matters S5 Ep 4: Letter to the people of GodThe synod released its letter to the People of God, while Pope Francis made his own intervention on the Church as 'God's faithful people.' Geraldine chats with Julie on her last day on the press floor about her experience observing on the ground and how synodality might be made more concrete in the coming months.
On Vatican News:
Synod General Assembly to People of God: 'Church must listen to everyone'
Pope: I like to think of the Church as God’s faithful people
Timothy Radcliffe's spiritual reflection, 'The seed germinates'
On National Catholic Reporter:...
2023-10-2721 minPlenary MattersPlenary Matters S5 Ep 3: History making at the synodAs the synod prepares its final documents to go out from Rome to the whole Church at the end of this week, the real work of the first assembly is only beginning. The Tablet correspondent Christopher Lamb, who covered the Plenary Council in Australia, tells Geraldine that this synod is history in the making despite some questioning its legitimacy.
This episode was recorded on the floor of the press room and filmed by a PBS documentary team. We are trying to resolve the audio issues on Geraldine's end, please bear with us!
Mentioned in this...
2023-10-2523 minPlenary MattersPlenary Matters S5 Ep 2: A church under pressureJust over the halfway point of this first assembly of the synod and the tensions on the floor are no surprise, according to Australian Augustinian Fr Tony Banks. He has a unique vantage point living with five of the synod delegates right beside St Peter's Square and tells Geraldine that the emotions and personal testimonies in the room, which are reportedly disturbing some delegates, are part of the process. While the effects of synodality won't be felt for some years to come, he believes this synod is cementing the notion of a church under pressure to change.
...
2023-10-1919 minPlenary MattersPlenary Matters S5 Ep 1: The synod gets underwayAs the first full week of the synod wraps up Geraldine speaks to Br Mark O’Connor who is in Rome watching and listening on the ground. The pre-synod retreat led by Dominican priest Timothy Radcliffe set a reflective tone for the men and women who will spend the rest of October at round tables just like at Australia’s Plenary Council.
While inside the synod hall delegates seem to be learning the new rules of engagement, Mark is also keeping a close eye and ear on Vatican press proceedings.
Follow Plenary Matters in Rome on t...
2023-10-1324 minPlenary MattersPlenary Matters S4 Ep 10: The Young and the Restless revisitedGoogle synodality, then discuss: how can Catholicism attract modern searchers? Geraldine goes back to two ‘Young and the Restless’ guests from last year, Grace Brennan and Joe Wehbe, to explore how they each think the church can better serve diverse communities.
In regional Australia Grace sees a parallel between empty shopfronts and empty churches, in need of creative solutions to arrest decline. For Joe, it’s the individuals who can hold communities together and are often unaware of their influence on those around them who emerge as the true leaders. But how do people become the protagonists and no...
2023-09-1133 minPlenary MattersPlenary Matters S4 Ep 9: Creating a future churchHow does the church engage creatively with the modern world? For Richard Lennan, who did his doctorate in Austria on Karl Rahner, looking to the future to see how we should be in the present has been the project of his theological life for nearly four decades. This is the 'Gaudium et spes' approach to the world: neither naïve nor fearful about the future, but always moving ourselves towards God rather than reducing God to our place and time.
Now professor at Boston College teaching the next generation of theologians, he wants church leaders to better s...
2023-08-3130 minPlenary MattersPlenary Matters S4 Ep 8: Will the centre hold? Women in the churchThe restoration of women to the diaconate is the urgent issue of our time, says Dr Phyllis Zagano. How many of us even understand the essence of deacons’ roles: its emphasis on service but also its impressive history in the life of the church. The early church ordained deacons to provide vital pastoral and social services. Deacons could be made bishops and, in a few cases, even made pope! Deacons disappeared into the priesthood after the 12th century until the Second Vatican Council restored the diaconal ministry, but so far not for women.
Until a woman can st...
2023-08-2024 minPlenary MattersPlenary Matters S4 Ep 7: Who are the ministers?The future church must be more incarnational, says Professor Massimo Faggioli, if it is to respond to the needs of modern Catholics. That is the big question on the table at the upcoming synod in Rome: who will be the ministers in this church?
Critics of the synod reject what they see as a ‘paperwork church’ – a technocracy dressed in any ideological guise. The church is less centralised than it was during Vatican II, but the tone struck so far in this synod has also been different from Vatican II: more respectful, less radical, more hopeful perhaps?
...
2023-08-0827 minPlenary MattersPlenary Matters S4 Ep 6: An Australian view of the global synodAustralia’s Plenary Council set the scene for the global synod as onlookers at home and in Rome wondered if the Australian church would emerge intact. Now it’s the turn of some of our seasoned Council members, Sr Clare Condon, Emeritus Professor John Warhurst and Francis Sullivan to reflect on their disappointments and hopes in a synodal church.
Both the working document for the synod and the list of people who will participate in the meetings in Rome have the makings of a meeting like no other in church history. But will the restless movement that we a...
2023-07-2437 minPlenary MattersPlenary Matters S4 Ep 5: Finding new words for a modern churchHere's a chance to hear a qualitatively different voice and tone reflecting the Church's possible future--listen and see if you agree.
Professor Anna Rowlands is a political theologian helping to shape the future of the Catholic Church. She presented the pope’s 2020 encyclical Fratelli Tutti at the Vatican and now she's been seconded from her university to work with the global synod team as well as supporting the Vatican’s research on politics, economics, climate and migration.
Ahead of the release of the synod working document that will set the agenda for the October meeting in R...
2023-06-0435 minPlenary MattersPlenary Matters S4 Ep 4: 'Strap yourself in for the ride!'Fr Bill Uren SJ offers sage advice and a history lesson in the lead up to the synod in Rome. The late Cardinal Pell warned that synodal reform would water down bishops’ authority, but Fr Uren takes the long view that earlier popes had already centralised church decision-making in reaction to 19th century revolutions and part unintended consequence of Vatican II. He also detects in Pope Francis’ response to Germany’s synodal way a deep fear of an irrecoverable loss of direction.
Further reading/listening:
Fr Bill Uren's article in Eureka Street
Loup Besmond de Senneville's articl...
2023-05-1930 minPlenary MattersPlenary Matters S4 Ep 3: On the Way to RenewalGeraldine teases out both the potholes and possibilities of church renewal with keen observer Br Mark O’Connor fms. He’s clear-eyed about opposition to the pope’s reforms but ultimately, he believes, the synod is the best hope of implementing Vatican II.
Cardinal Martini in his last interview said: ‘Vatican II gave the Bible back to Catholics. Only those who perceive this Word in their heart can be part of those who will help achieve renewal of the church, and who will know how to respond to personal questions with the right choice.... Neither the clergy nor eccl...
2023-05-0827 minPlenary MattersPlenary Matters S4 Ep 2: New Approaches to REThe need for Catholic educators to adapt religion to the modern classroom, operating amidst lower levels of religious literacy, has produced some good results in the Brisbane archdiocese. Their new RE program, Religion, Meaning and Life has been offered as a pilot course to Yr 11 and Yr 12 students across 17 Catholic schools since 2020 with an emphasis on personal reflection and dialogue in the classroom. Plus evaluation results among post-school students showed considerably raised interest in RE and in the worth of Catholic education more broadly.
Guests are Associate Professor Bill Sultmann, Deputy Dean of Australian Catholic University’s La...
2023-04-2828 minPlenary MattersPlenary Matters S4 Ep 1: Surprising Leadership DevelopmentFirst up in this new series Geraldine speaks with Dr Monica Dutton who leads the Sisters of the Good Samaritan Study and Mentoring (SAM) Program, helping lay women aged 30+ to pursue theological training. Now in its third year, with the support of male congregation leaders in Australia, the program offers mentoring, spiritual accompaniment and financial assistance to equip women to become future leaders in their chosen fields including education, chaplaincy and canon law.
Further reading/listening:
Massimo Faggioli's article in La Croix
Christopher Lamb's interview with Archbishop Tim Costelloe
Good Samaritan article on the SAM program
...
2023-04-1720 minPlenary MattersPlenary Matters S4: Roundtable on the SynodGuests were Sr Nathalie Becquart XMCJ, Undersecretary of the Synod of Bishops; Kirsty Robertson, CEO Caritas Australia; Paul McClintock AO, Chairman of Metlife Care, Director Catholic Health Australia, Chairman St Vincent's Health Australia; and Chiara Porro, Australian Ambassador to the Holy See.
You'll hear Sr Nathalie describe her role at the Vatican and now attending a wide range of different international synodal discussions. Paul McClintock eloquently teases out what's asked of people who realise, to their surprise, that they may need to think of themselves as 'church leaders'. Kirsty Robertson is inspirational, describing the commitment of women...
2023-02-0746 min
Baby Boomers Guide to Life in the 21st CenturyFull Episode: Matriarchs of News Media & 90 Years of ABCTwo of this country's leading current affairs media identities - the ABC's Geraldine Doogue AO and the Sydney Morning Herald's Kate McClymont AM join Lex and Patricia in this captivating episode.While in 2022 the ABC celebrated 90 years, Geraldine notched up her own extraordinary career milestone - 50 years as a journalist. She discusses the many faces of the ABC and the women who broke through the glass ceiling. Meanwhile, in Nostalgia Town, nine-time Walkley Award-winning journalist, Kate McClymont talks about her life as the chief investigative reporter of the Herald. She entertains listeners with...
2022-11-221h 18
Festival of Dangerous IdeasAmerican Decadence (2022) | Nick Bryant, Ruth Ben-Ghiat, Geraldine Doogue & Adam ToozeWhile we've all watched the rise of the US in our lifetimes, its recent decline has been a hot topic of conversation – with ballooning inequality, military overreach, gun violence and police shootings, the great recession, and a dramatic slide into decadence and division provided by recent politics and structures of power. While the idea of a slightly less-powerful America might be attractive to many countries tired of US dominance, can we reach the conclusion that America has reached a of tipping point into irreversible decline? One of the BBC's finest foreign correspondents, Nick Bryant has covered some of...
2022-11-1357 minPlenary MattersThe Australian church post Plenary Council: two bishops reflectIn this new episode, Geraldine speaks to Archbishop Tim Costelloe, president of the Australian Bishops Council and Bishop Shane Mackinlay, bishop of Sandhurst in Victoria and vice-president of the Plenary Council. Speaking during afternoon breaks of the bishops’ regular November meeting, they both reflect on the significant impact of Australia’s five year Plenary Council journey; on the eventful two public sessions, on how many Australians Catholics chose to contribute while also recognising how many in and out of the pews probably knew little about proceedings. And they have both met Pope Francis in these last couple of months and...
2022-11-1200 minPlenary MattersPlenary Matters S3: Sunday 24th JulyHere is the promised bonus episode in this series.
It offers a very rich---and bracingly realistic set of observations---about a Council from a seasoned Church participant, Fr David Ranson.
He was secretary to the Council and deeply absorbed, as you'll hear, in the lead-up, in the events of the week itself and now in assessing what comes next.
He might surprise you with his judgements. They're delivered by a man with an acute sense of Church procedures but also with an eye to possibilities. Let me know what you think.
Join...
2022-07-2400 minPlenary MattersPlenary Matters S3: Sunday 10th JulyIt's wrap-up time after a very big week in the life of the Church.
Listen and ponder these first thoughts from two key contributors to the Council: Sr Patty Fawkner, head of the Good Samaritan Sisters and a member of the Council organising committee.
Alongside Emeritus Professor John Warhurst, who was a scrutineer at the Council, ensuring the propriety of voting. He's a prominent member of the Concerned Catholics for Church Reform group from the Canberra-Goulburn diocese. They both feel transformational moments occurred but that there is much to come still, to ensure a welcoming...
2022-07-1000 minPlenary MattersPlenary Matters S3: Friday 8th JulyWell prepare yourself for some powerful listening in this episode. Two guests join me who've been at the core of events this past week of surprises at the 2nd Assembly...and they're still pretty raw from the sheer intensity of it all.
First Archbishop Mark Coleridge, who as President of the Australian Catholic Bishops Council, persuaded his confreres to call this Council back in 2015, in an inspired moment following the Rome 2015 Synod on the Family.
Then Dr Maeve Heaney joins me, a feisty but faithful theologian/liturgist, who's President of the Aust Catholic Theological Assn...
2022-07-0800 minPlenary MattersPlenary Matters S3: Friday 8th previewGeraldine gives a preview of the big final day of the Plenary Council.
There'll be another longer episode out this afternoon.
2022-07-0800 minPlenary MattersPlenary Matters S3: Wednesday 6th JulyWell today, day 3, really drew out the latent tensions and challenges always inherent in this Plenary Council process, ones that could not be dodged for much longer. It is not entirely clear as I write, what the final vote will be on issues around men and women’s status in the Church. So this issue could hardly be more significant.
It would appear (I am choosing my words carefully because a lot is opaque) that neither the broader members (the Consultative voters) nor the Bishops (Deliberative voters) gave these moves the requisite majority today. It is possible th...
2022-07-0600 minPlenary MattersPlenary Matters S3: Tuesday 5th JulyTwo key issues have been on the discernment and consideration list for the Plenary Council members these past two days:
Reconciliation: Healing Wounds, Receiving Gifts - with an apology to Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander peoples and the role of Catholic education in the life of the Church. And as we'll hear, in the wider Australian community.
In this episode, Geraldine speaks to John Lochowiak, chair of NATSICC, the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Council, born in Cooper Pedy to an Aboriginal mother and Polish father.
And to Jacinta Collins, head...
2022-07-0500 minPlenary MattersPlenary Matters S3: Monday 4th JulyThe Plenary Council is back in session, which means another season of Plenary Matters awaits.
In this episode Geraldine talks to Sarah Moffatt, a member of the Plenary Council Organising & Executive Committee. She's also the Director of Pastoral Life & Mission at Archdiocese of Adelaide.
Thanks for listening!
Join the conversation at the Facebook page "Plenary Matters" or email plenarymatters2021@gmail.com
2022-07-0400 minPlenary MattersThe Young and the Restless - Ep. 5 Madeline FordIn this final episode of The Young and Restless, we meet Madeline Ford.
At just 25 years of age, she’s one of the youngest members of the Plenary Council and she’s passionate about ensuring that the voice of young people forms part of the Plenary Council process.
So where to now for the church and how best do we nurture the faith for future generations?
2022-06-2900 minPlenary MattersThe Young and the Restless - Ep. 4 Luke SmithGeraldine talks to 28-year-old Luke Smith.
Raised a Catholic and educated at Riverview College in Sydney, he’s a thinker and a searcher.
While he may not be sure where it all might take him, he knows that he wants to go somewhere that is decent.
But how does the church relate to his search for meaning?
Thanks for listening! Join the conversation at the Facebook page "Plenary matters".
2022-06-2800 minPlenary MattersThe Young and the Restless - Ep. 3 Andy NguyenIn this podcast of the Young and Restless, Geraldine catches up with Fr Andy Nguyen.
Born in Vietnam, he studied architecture in the US, came to Australia to do a master’s degree, became a Catholic and entered the Jesuits in 2009 before being ordained a priest in 2019. His journey of faith and how he became a priest is fascinating.
He has cautious optimism for the Plenary Council and his great hope is that all the important questions that can be asked, are asked.
Thanks for listening!
Join the conversation at the Fa...
2022-06-2400 minPlenary MattersThe Young and the Restless - Ep. 2 Joe Wehbe27yo Joe Wehbe is an author, entrepreneur, writer, and deep thinker, with more than a touch of leadership about him.
He has his own podcast, a blog and he’s the co-founder and lead of the ‘Constant Student Community’. That's a place where young people starting out in their careers can find support and guidance ‘which is all about changing education, and supporting those who want to change the world.’
Joe tells Geraldine that his Jesuit education - where community service was a big part of the curriculum - still influences his thinking. But where does the c...
2022-06-2000 minPlenary MattersThe Young and the Restless - Ep. 1 Grace BrennanIn this episode Geraldine talks to Grace Brennan, who’s been instrumental in uniting Australia’s communities in the city and country.
Raised in Sydney, she went to school at Loreto Kirribilli. Her story of marrying a farmer and moving to Warren in western NSW, becoming a mother and starting up ‘Buy from The Bush’ is inspirational.
She describes herself as a proud Catholic, but says that she’s trying to navigate some of the more challenging positions of the church.
In 2019 with much of the country experiencing devastating drought and bushfires, she founded t...
2022-06-1300 minPlenary MattersWise Old Souls - Ep. 5 Andy HamiltonAndy Hamilton is a Jesuit priest, a deep thinker and the final subject of this Wise Old Souls series. For many years Andy has contributed widely to theological and religious journals and has been editorial consultant for Eureka Street.
He’s taught theology and church history at the United Faculty of Theology in Melbourne for many years and he’s worked extensively with refugee communities and has written on the conditions of asylum seekers in Australia.
So where now for the church and how best do we nurture the faith for future generations?
For...
2022-06-0700 minPlenary MattersWise Old Souls - Ep. 4 Jo LaffinGeraldine talks to Dr Jo Laffin a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Theology and Philosophy at the Australian Catholic University. She lectures in church history and biblical studies and is currently researching the impact of the Second Vatican Council on the archdiocese of Adelaide.
Raised a protestant, Jo Laffin became a Catholic in 1994 and has dedicated her life to the understanding and teaching of Catholic spirituality and history.
Her doctoral thesis is a biography of Archbishop Matthew Beovich whose influence on Catholic belief and practice was highly significant.
Jo describes the profound...
2022-05-1900 minPlenary MattersWise Old Souls - Ep. 3 Michael McGirrGeraldine catches up with Michael McGirr, best-selling author, former publisher of Eureka St and editor of Australian Catholics. His writings are known for their wisdom and gentle wit, but how has growing up Catholic influenced the life of Michael McGirr?
Born in 1961, he's had quite a journey both inside and outside the Church, joining the Jesuits at the age of 18 where he worked for 21 years (seven as a priest). He left the order in 2000, got married and had three children.
Today he's the director for mission at Caritas Australia, the Catholic Church's international aid and...
2022-05-0900 minPlenary MattersWise Old Souls - Ep. 2 Clare CondonIn this episode Geraldine talks to wise old soul Clare Condon, a woman of great integrity and leadership in the Catholic Church.
Clare has been a Good Samaritan Sister for 50 years, including 12 as congregational leader. She's also the winner of a humanitarian award by the Human Rights Commission for her work with indigenous Australiasn, asylum seekers and victims of domestic violence.
As co-chair of the National Committee of Professional Standards from 2012 to 2017 she believes there should be a better response to the church to the findings of the Royal Commission.
She suggests that...
2022-05-0500 minPlenary MattersWise Old Souls - Ep. 1 Edmund CampionGeraldine talks to Edmund Campion, a Sydney priest, writer, historian and academic.
Witty and profound, he describes the many changes in the religious lives of Australian Catholics and what those changes have meant.
Edmund Campion has been described as an encyclopedia of Australian Catholicism, ready to look backwards with a chronicler's honesty and gratitude as he is to look foward in hope.
In this interview Edmund Campion tells of the little-known role that lay-led organisations played 60 years ago in educating the rest of the church about the changes brought about by the Second...
2022-05-0100 min
La Civiltà Cattolica EnglishEpisode 12: Accompanying and Discerning the Australian SynodWelcome to La Civiltà Cattolica’s podcast.In 2018 the People of God in Australia began preparing for their first Plenary Council since the Second Vatican Council. After delays due to the pandemic, the Australian Catholic Church gathered for the first Assembly of this Plenary Council in Adelaide, October 2021. A second assembly will be held in June 2022.“It's the first time really, the first time, in Australian church history that there has ever been an effort to listen to anybody else but official voices. And that means those participating have to learn a whole lot of new sk...
2022-03-2546 minPlenary MattersPlenary Matters Ep 10: Archbishop Mark ColeridgeGeraldine wraps up the week's deliberations by hearing from the man sitting at the official episcopal helm, Archbishop Mark Coleridge, President of the Australian Catholic Bishops Council.
He initiated the whole process, celebrated the final Solemn Mass today and reflects on a remarkable week.
Crossing to Rome, she also connected with a prominent Melbourne woman Susan Pascoe, AM. Susan is a teacher by training with wide experience governing Church and government agencies, who is the Australian invitee to the Pope's Synod. She chairs the Australian Council for International Development and sits on the board of...
2021-10-1049 minPlenary MattersPlenary Matters Ep 9: Greg CravenGeraldine talks to prominent Catholic layman, constitutional law specialist and former Vice-Chancellor of the Australian Catholic University, Greg Craven.
Prepare for a feisty chat!
There are groups who believe they'd be better at running the Church instead of the bishops, but Craven begs to differ.
2021-10-0922 minPlenary MattersPlenary Matters Ep 8: Looking To The FutureGeraldine speaks to two people with particular experience to share.
Sr Clare Condon is a former leader of the Sisters of the Good Samaritan, who advised the bishops on setting up professional standards within the Church in the wake of the Royal Commission into Institutional Child Abuse. Also, on better pastoral approaches to people who had been so hurt.
Geraldine also speaks to Professor Francis Campbell, now Vice-Chancellor of Notre Dame University headquartered in Perth, who was the UK's Ambassador to the Holy See in the Vatican and formerly advisor to PM Tony Blair.
2021-10-0849 minPlenary MattersPlenary Council Ep 7: John WarhurstIn this episode, Geraldine interviews John Warhurst, Emeritus Professor of Political Science at the Australian National University.
He is chair of Concerned Catholics Canberra Goulburn and a member of the Plenary Council, and a regular columnist with the Canberra Times and Eureka Street
2021-10-0713 minPlenary MattersPlenary Matters Ep 6: Diagnosis & ChangeToday, Geraldine follows the increased debate at the Plenary Council about the challenge of naming the issues at stake versus instituting some change for the better?
Hear surprising realism from Fr Gerry Gleeson, Vicar-General of the Archdiocese of Sydney, and also parish priest of Our Lady Star Of The Sea at Watson’s Bay; and Raj Rajasingam, from the Diocese of Broken Bay, who is a financial advisor and planner and also National Mission Director of the Couples For Christ movement, a covenant community.
2021-10-0637 minPlenary MattersPlenary Matters Ep 5: The Council in SessionGeraldine talks to three members for their impressions of the conversations thus far: to Virginia Bourke, the chair of Mercy Health in Victoria and St John Ambulance Victoria, who's a lawyer with considerable experience in corporate governance as well as charity work.
Fr Peter Williams, the Vicar-General of the Parramatta Diocese in NSW, ordained as a Catholic priest in 1992 having moved from an Anglican background, director of Liturgy for World Youth Day in 2008.
And to Francine Pirola, who runs Catholic family groups and the Marriage Resource Centre in Sydney.
All enthusiastic about the...
2021-10-0535 minPlenary MattersPlenary Matters Ep 4: Lay Women At The CouncilFormal proceedings got underway today at the Plenary Council offering a taste of things to come.
Geraldine talks to two of the 58 women involved, both lay and religious.
Her two guests are Angela McCarthy, Adjunct Senior Lecturer in Theology at Notre Dame University in WA and Dr Maeve Heaney, senior lecturer in the Faculty of Theology and Philosophy at the ACU based in Brisbane, where she’s also Director of the Xavier Centre for Theological Formation.
One of the key issues before the Church is the need for greater female involvement in the in...
2021-10-0424 minPlenary MattersPlenary Matters Ep 3: Fr Frank BrennanThe Plenary Council is formally underway with the celebration of Mass in Perth.
Geraldine caught up with Fr Frank Brennan, the prominent Jesuit priest and public commentator.
What does he sense can be expected from this coming week of major talks? His day-job these days is Rector of Newman College in Melbourne but as a constitutional lawyer, he believes in contributing to the public square as a Catholic and is never timid with his interventions.
At the Plenary Council, he's been invited to be a peritus, that is, a specialist, to offer advice...
2021-10-0324 minPlenary MattersPlenary Matters Ep 1Geraldine readies herself for a week of talking and listening and the Catholic Church's Plenary Council which begins on Sunday 3rd October.
It's the first event held in Australia since 1937 and the first where lay-people can attend. All 300 or so participants will gather online from parishes around the country, due to Covid, all primed for respectful but passionate discussion about the future of a troubled Church.
Geraldine speaks to Lana Turvey-Collins, the lay-woman facilitator who's guided the complex organisation. They discuss Lana's ambitions for the Council but also the details about live streaming and access...
2021-10-0230 minPlenary MattersPreview: Plenary MattersJoin prominent Australian broadcaster and Catholic Geraldine Doogue for her new podcast, Plenary Matters.
She'll follow a big, important gathering of the Catholic Church in Australia called the Plenary Council.
The last one was in 1937…yes, it’s been a long time between drinks!
And this one REALLY matters to the future of the Church….which is, let’s face it, swamped with challenges.
Geraldine has held on through this difficult period because she believes in the ability of the Church to 'resurrect' itself.
Join Geraldine as she speaks to other...
2021-09-2501 min
Minding Your MindMinding Your Mind - Religion, Spirituality and Mental Health with Geraldine DoogueWhat is the difference between religion and spirituality? What influence does each have on our mental health? The ABC’s Geraldine Doogue joins us to examine what ‘spirituality’ can mean, and whether feeling connected to something bigger that yourself is good for your mental health.
Geraldine mentions two books in the podcast, The Politics of Hope by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks and Intimacy and Solitude by Stephanie Dowrick. Both are readily available online through your preferred search engine.
Geraldine also co-hosts the popular podcast Long Distance Call with her daughter Eliza Harvey.
If you have any...
2021-08-2045 min
Fourth EstateIn Conversation with Geraldine DoogueA special talk with ABC journalist Geraldine Doogue about her career, creating Life Matters and the culture wars around the ABC. Presented by Tina Quinn. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
2020-12-2445 min
Ideas at the HouseHow to be a feminist | All About Women 2015 [Rebroadcast]This all-star panel from All About Women 2015 tackles the question 'how to be a feminist'. In times when the term has expanded to encompass intersectional feminism, this panel asks not only what the label now means, but whether it is necessary. With Clementine Ford, Roxane Gay, Celeste Liddle, Germaine Greer, Tara Moss and Anita Sarkeesian. Chaired by Geraldine Doogue. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
2018-03-021h 09
Communities in ControlFROM THE ARCHIVES: Geraldine Doogue AO - Imagine Communities with Vibrant Hearts and SoulsGeraldine Doogue AO invites you to "Imagine Communities with Vibrant Hearts and Souls" from the 2005 Communities in Control Conference
2016-05-2716 min