A Long Way from Rome: Why the Australian Catholic Church is in crisis

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Despite a new hunger for meaning, values and a sense of community in Australia, it is clear that the established churches have failed to capture the public imagination. This collection casts a critical eye on Catholicism in Australia today, arguing that the richness of the Catholic tradition has become constrained by its own organizational imperatives. Chris McGillion has gathered some of the most influential and innovative writers on religion in Australia: Morag Fraser, Paul Collins, Michael McGirr, Michael Whelan, Damian Grace and Katharine Massam. They argue that Catholicism has become self-absorbed, unwilling to engage with the world. Looking beyond the statistics, they examine how ordinary Catholics express their faith, and why so many of them don't care what the Pope says. They also explore ways in which the Church could reconnect with the community. This provocative analysis should appeal to readers concerned about the state of the Catholic Church, and may also be used as a student text.

Author Bio

Chris McGillion is the religious affairs columnist for the Sydney Morning Herald. He has written on religious and political issues for numerous newspapers and magazines in Australia and overseas including The Age, Eureka Street, National Catholic Reporter, The Tablet, Christian Science Monitor, Miami Herald and BaltimoreSun. He is currently a senior lecturer in print journalism at Charles Sturt University.