Some commentary on Youtube on tips for good homilies.

The U.S. bishops have published a document outlining a series of resources for the New Evangelization.
The document is titled "Disciples Called to Witness: The New Evangelization."

Deacons are called to make a contribution to the new evangelisation. Proclaim 2012 will help to equip deacons for this ministry by examining a range of contexts for evangelisation. Registrations are now open.

Q&A panellists have increasingly come to resemble cardboard cut-outs, caricatures of positions along the spectrum of opinion. The encounter between Richard Dawkins and George Pell was no exception.

The ethics and politics of abortion continue to be neuralgic issues. It is estimated that between eighty and one hundred thousand abortion procedures take place each year. While these figures are enough to make one stop and think, it is not always clear how to articulate what one thinks, much less how to have a humane discussion of the issues.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The number of Catholics in the world and the number of deacons, priests and bishops all increased in 2010, while the number of women in religious orders continued to decline, according to Vatican statistics.

Sr Chittister reflects on the lack of civility in public debate in the USA and the use of langauge in the public sphere that would not have been acceptable even a few years ago. Similar experiences have shaped public discourse in Australia too.

Deacon Brian writes about our brother deacon who has returned to the Father.

The irrationality of proposals to kill newborns is founded in the irrationality of the killing of the unborn, says Chris Meney, director of the Sydney archdiocese's Life, Marriage and Family Centre.

DUBLIN, Ireland, MARCH 2, 2012 (Zenit.org).- This summer's international Eucharistic Congress in Dublin is aiming to attract youth with a program being described as "one of the most ambitious youth ministry programs ever presented in this country."

Letter to the Faithful of the Patriarch of Antioch, Gregorios III Laham

Britain's delegation to Rome takes a message of religious confidence that should ring out beyond the Vatican walls, writes Baroness Warsi.

Date claimer for a national conference on the new evangelisation.

This is an edited extract from Catholic Bioethics for a New Millennium by Anthony Fisher, published by Cambridge University Press. Fisher is the Bishop of Parramatta.

In this op-ed piece for the New York Times the author explores the implications of the expansion of government requirements, for funding of non-government agencies, including compliance with the moral, ethical or political agenda of the government of the day.

John Allen Jr asks why it is that the mainstream media seem to miss the main message when it comes to reporting Vatican news. He notes a variety of possible causes.

Changes to workplace health and safety legislation may have an impact on the ministry of deacons and priests.

Deacon Paul Simmons and his wife conduct a retreat for the deacons of the Northern Territory at the invitation of Bishop Eugene Hurley.

A letter signed by more than three dozen U.S. religious leaders objects to the specter of religious groups being forced to treat same-sex unions "as if they were marriage."

Here is a note from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued January 9, containing proposals for ways to live the upcoming Year of Faith, from the universal to the personal level. Benedict XVI called the Year of Faith for Oct. 11 through Nov. 24, 2013.

In an extract from his regular collumn, All Things Catholic,  Allen suggests the persecution of Christians is the least reported religious news story in the secular media.

The Archdiocese of Canberra-Goulburn announces the ordination of another deacon.

Men preparing for the diaconate in Melbourne Archdiocese take another step as they are installed to the ministry of Lector.

This article follows on from a book launch for Deacon Graeme's book about his time in East Timor. The story comes from the Catholic Leader, the news paper of the Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane.

Pope Benedict XVI urged international leaders to reach a credible agreement on climate change, keeping in mind the needs of the poor and of future generations.