Writer
Eric Hodgens
Eric Hodgens is a Catholic Priest living in retirement. He writes for P&I, International Lo Croix and The Swag.
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Understanding today’s USA
To understand a nation, look at its origins. Continue reading »
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Merry Christmas – 2020 – Really?
We cannot wish people a Merry Christmas without taking some personal action. And the recipe for that action is central to the Gospel message of Jesus. We are called to be a commonwealth of peoples, not a conglomeration of self-interested individuals – Margaret Thatcher notwithstanding. Continue reading »
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Grieving for the Lost Parish.- an institution on its knees.
Some church groups are pressing for a post-pandemic opening up, others, who have already opened up, are sounding a lament as they find it is not business as usual. There are signs of grieving for the parish – an institution on its knees. Continue reading »
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Reflections on sixty years as a priest .
The more reflective component of the Church is crying out for imaginative leadership on the ministry crisis and institutional re-organisation. But episcopal conferences seem paralysed. Continue reading »
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ERIC HODGENS. Easter in a Time of Virus.
Easter is one of the biggest holidays of the year throughout much of the world. It was originally a Holy Day. But its significance is changing – accelerated by COVID-19. Continue reading »
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ERIC HODGENS.- Migration and the Christmas Story.
The Christmas story characters are mainly on the move – migrants in fact. Continue reading »
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ERIC HODGENS. Pastoral Planning – A Church Crisis.
Church Pastoral Planning languishes – ignored and unloved. Yet, with the church being in freefall, it is needed today more than ever. It’s time to bring it in from the cold. Continue reading »
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ERIC HODGENS. Where Do We Find the Authentic Catholic Voice?
Cardinal Pell got his voice heard from prison. Furthermore, surrogate Pell voices are heard from bishops he has promoted in Sydney, Melbourne and Hobart. But, on three current issues polls show that most Catholics disagree with them. So, which voice is authentically Catholic? Continue reading »
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Eric Hodgens. Pastoral Care of Victim and Offender – The Pell Case Dilemma.
The church is called to offer pastoral care to both offender and victim. A dilemma arises when the offender is an official of the church. Like it, or not, the victim must come first. Continue reading »
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The Fascinating Christian Story.
We all have our personal story. And it is just one part of the bigger story of our family, our tribe, our nation – the things that have shaped us. Institutions, too, have a life of their own – and their own story. Where did they come from? What made them as they are? Religions Continue reading »
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ERIC HODGENS. Catholic Culture Wars and the Pell legacy
A clash of cultures was graphically dramatized in 1968 when Paul VI published Humanae Vitae. It was a major moment in a tumultuous year. Europe was split over the Vietnam War. Student riots paralysed Paris and alarmed a young theology professor in Tubingen, Joseph Ratzinger, into retreat to a fearful conservatism.The baby boomer generation was Continue reading »
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ERIC HODGENS. Missing the Catholic Bus.
The Catholic Church is now in freefall. Vatican II called for adaptation to the modern world. Most of the opportunities for adaptation have been missed. How do we catch the last bus? Continue reading »
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ERIC HODGENS: A Possible Australian Church Contribution.
The Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (RC) is one of the most thorough investigations of its kind worldwide. The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference (ACBC) and Catholic Religious Australia (CRA) have made a combined response accepting virtually all the commission’s recommendations. This puts them further down the track of adaptation than Continue reading »
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ERIC HODGENS. Catholic Governance – A Challenge for Improvement.
A monarchical organization, powered by ideology, with promotion by patronage results in bad governance. The Catholic Church has a governance problem. Continue reading »
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ERIC HODGENS. Pell Conviction a Wake-up Call.
Culture wars are simply factional standoffs given a zippy title. The Church has had them forever. George Pell is a warrior of the right. His conviction is a setback for the right – but only a setback. The war still goes on. Continue reading »
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Eric Hodgens. Catholic Culture Wars.
Culture Wars are a feature of today’s political life. The Catholic Church has likewise been through the wars. Here are some features of the last fifty years. Continue reading »
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ERIC HODGENS. The True Christmas Spirit Embraces the New.
Christmas celebrates new life – and a new world order. It is news of joy for all the people. Nervous or not, we are called to embrace the new and add it to our treasure. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not see it? I will make a Continue reading »
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Three Religious Elephants
Is religion on the way out? Continue reading »
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ERIC HODGENS. The Fifties – Werribee’s Greatest Years.
Werribee’s fiftieth year as a scene of priestly training will also be its last. Nostalgia prompts deeper reflection. Our thesis is that the fifties were Werribee’s greatest years. This article was published by Catholic View in October 2018. Continue reading »
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ERIC HODGENS. Revisiting the Theology of Clericalism.
Theology tends to ramp up the status and certainty of its models and theories so that what starts off as a theory morphs into unquestionable truth. Continue reading »
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ERIC HODGENS. Humanae Vitae – A 50 Year Odyssey.
Paul VI had no idea what he was setting loose when he published Humanae Vitae. Continue reading »
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ERIC HODGENS. Spare A Thought for the New Archbishop.
A bishop’ job is part shepherd, part leader, part ruler, part manager. Pope Francis insists that pastoral care is the primary role. The Melbourne Catholic Church is getting a new bishop. At 54 he can look forward to 21 years in that post. What is the scenario Archbishop Peter Comensoli is walking into? Continue reading »
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ERIC HODGENS. Reading the Christian Story Properly.
Christianity is now 2,000 years old with a pre-history of a further 1,000 years Its stories are amongst its most prized possessions. Christians love their stories. Stories take pride of place in its liturgies. But for some they are a credibility stumbling block. How can the story be told and heard so that it engenders Continue reading »
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ERIC HODGENS: Common-wealth versus Common-loss. Easter and Australian Politics.
Australia is a commonwealth, where seeking the common good brings prosperity, unlike the fostering of division which leads to decline if not death. An object lesson in the meaning of Easter. Continue reading »
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ERIC HODGENS. Melbourne’s New Archbishop.
2018 will be a fateful year for the Catholic Church in Australia as Melbourne gets a new archbishop. This appointment, if successful, offers some hope for the Church; if a failure, it will hasten the Church’s decline into insignificance. Here’s why. Continue reading »
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ERIC HODGENS. Christmas Prompts Reflection on Power.
The powerless Jesus of the Christmas Gospel stories offers a tutorial on power in the Church today. Continue reading »
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ERIC HODGENS. What Makes Australia’s Catholic Bishops Tick?
The Catholic Church is a clerical institution. Bishops are the top rung of the clergy. Where do they come from? What are they like? What is their future? Continue reading »
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ERIC HODGENS. Back to following The Way.
Power is still the Church’s stumbling block. Mind you, Jesus warned us: The gentiles lord it over their subjects – not so with you. The Church’s power to “lord it over” society has been curtailed by today’s pluralism but is still jealously guarded within the institution. And ideas and laws are the instruments by which power is Continue reading »
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ERIC HODGENS. The Catholic Dilemma.
Clerical privilege took a heavy blow when Catholic bishops were summoned to appear at the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to child sexual abuse (RC). The church answering to the state. Continue reading »
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ERIC HODGENS. The need for new Church Leadership.
While the Catholic population is increasing, active participation in parish life is steadily decreasing. This means that the pool of future lay leaders is steadily getting shallower. If this decline is to be reversed, now is the time to select lay leaders, train them to lead parishes and then formally appoint them as Parish Leaders. Continue reading »
