Paul Collins

Paul Collins is an historian, broadcaster and writer. A Catholic priest for 33 years, he resigned from the active ministry in 2001 following a dispute with the Vatican over his book Papal Power (Harper Collins (1997)). He is the author of 17 books, the most recent being The Depopulation Imperative (Australian Scholarly (2021)) and Recovering the ‘True Church’ (Coventry (2022)). A former head of the religion and ethics department at the ABC, he is well known as a public commentator on Catholicism and the papacy and also has a strong interest in ethics, environmental and population issues.

Paul's recent articles

PAUL COLLINS. Back to Nature

It is five years this week since Pope Francis published perhaps the most radical and important papal encyclical ever issued, Laudato si, mi Signore (Praise be to you, my Lord) on care for our common home.

PAUL COLLINS. Meditating with J.S. Bach

There is no better way to meditate this week leading up to Easter than with J.S. Bach

PAUL COLLINS. COVID-19. A chance to rethink the deeper moral and human issues

We are part of nature and the most important lesson of COVID-19 is that it reminds us of our sheer vulnerability.

PAUL COLLINS. A New Era of Fire Part 2

Never before have we experienced fires like the present. They challenge us to re-assess our whole approach to living in Australia. With global warming a reality, we now face some pretty stark options.

Bushfires and the Culture War. Part 1

The bushfire culture wars have already begun. For some the current crisis is apocalypse now, for others its just an extreme example of business as usual on our incendiary continent.

PAUL COLLINS. Ten new papal electors

Last Sunday Pope Francis unexpectedly announced that on October 5 he would appoint thirteen new members to the college of cardinals from thirteen different countries, a truly international group. Ten of the new appointments are under the age of 80 and can therefore vote in a papal election. Significantly there were no Americans, and only one from Italy. The Pope clearly intended the group to be international, continuing his policy of appointing papal electors from as broad a cross section of countries and local churches as possible.

Where to from here?

One persistent question that has been asked since the failure of Cardinal George Pells appeal last Wednesday has been: Why isnt the Vatican acting to force him from the College of Cardinals and expel him from the priesthood? They moved with amazing speed in the case of Theodore McCarrick, Cardinal Archbishop of Washington, DC, after he was accused of sexual abuse of minors. Why isnt the same speedy process happening with Pell?

PAUL COLLINS. Give me a break!

Please, please, give me a break from Israel Folau! Weve all heard more than enough about whos going to hell. He can believe whatever he wants and he can blow his bags ad nauseam to his Pentecostal mates. But we dont have to take it seriously. Hes a rugby footballer, for goodness sake, not a biblical scholar! His literalist and fundamentalist views are simply wrong; theyre not what the bible says and they dont represent the views of the vast majority of Christians.

PAUL COLLINS. A badly governed Church needs a new model. Catholicism continues to wrestle with the unrealized vision of the Second Vatican Council.

It is an understatement to say that Catholicism is in deep trouble. The sexual abuse tragedy and the secrecy and denial surrounding are obvious symptoms. A key element in the broader Church crisis is governance.

PAUL COLLINS. Parochialism Reigns Supreme

The Coalition, like many of those who voted for it, seem incapable of grasping the big-picture evidence required to deal with global warming. Morrison says he always believed in miracles, but unfortunately thats not going to work for climate change.

PAUL COLLINS. Talking Heads in the Catholic Church

PAUL COLLINS. Catholicism's Year from Hell

Without a doubt the last twelve months have been Catholicisms annus horribilis and, let me assure you, theres still not much light at the end of the tunnel.

BRIAN COYNE. A response to Paul Collins' "The real crisis of Australian Catholicism".

Paul Collins' recent commentary, The Real Crisis of Australian Catholicism, raises some contradictory challenges for the future of the Catholic Church in Australia.

PAUL COLLINS. The Best of 2018: The Real Crisis of Australian Catholicism.

It is patently obvious that Australian Catholicism is in crisis. The usual analysis is that this has been caused by the appalling mishandling and cover-up of child sexual abuse and the subsequent investigations of the Royal Commission. However, this is only a partial explanation. Catholicisms problems have a much longer history and go much deeper. They wont be solved merely by the application of the recommendations of the Commission. A much more radical root and branch reform is needed.

PAUL COLLINS. The On-going Threat of Fundamentalism

Religious fundamentalism is having an increasing influence on democratic societies, most obviously in the US, but also here in Australia. The so-called religious freedom debate has re-ignited the culture wars that originate in fundamentalist demands to maintain a kind of purity of doctrine. Previously in Australia church and state had worked out a modus vivendi, a way of operating in which each respected the others sphere. A fundamentalist approach to religious freedom endangers that and it is having a truly baleful influence in our society.

PAUL COLLINS. ABC -Shenanigans at Ultimos Level Fourteen.

Mondays Four Corners on the ABCs management shenanigansthe Guthrie-Milne, she said-he said fiascoand the failure of the rest of the ABC Board to own-up and answer publicly for their performance tells you everything about whats wrong at the top of the national broadcaster. Its not imagined left-wing bias, or inaccurate and unbalanced reporting, or Emma Alberici, or Andrew Probyn. Its the bevy of management and business clones appointed by government to the Board of the ABC and the kind of person they chose to run the organization.

PAUL COLLINS. Dont say I didnt tell you!

I know its obnoxious to say I told you so, but Im going to nevertheless. Back in June I told Pearls and Irritations readers that the greatest danger to the ABC comes from within, from the board and the corporations management. Last weeks events have proved me right. The current board represents a very narrow slice of Australian society, mainly conservative business-types and most were directly appointed by IPA member and communications minister Mitch Fifield. Now that theyve revealed themselves as compromised, the question is: where do we go from here?

PAUL COLLINS. The Sacking of Michelle Guthrie

Commentating on the sacking, former MD David Hill says that no reasonable explanation has been given as to why. While theres some truth to that, I think we can begin to sort out why board chairman Justin Milne acted. And here its important to say that it probably largely was Milne, who was the dominant player; the rest of the board seem quite detached. Milne, however, did say that leadership style and relations with government were important factors in the decision.

PAUL COLLINS. Breaking the Seal.

Recently weve seen a slew of articles in the media, both informed and otherwise, on the question of the seal of confession. Already a couple of Australian governments have acted to enforce mandatory reporting on priests when sexual abuse of children is mentioned in confession. Federal Attorney General Christian Porter told his state and territory counterparts in early-June that his government is working toward developing a consistent approach for all jurisdictions. In passing, Porter correctly pointed out that legally the seal of confession was never absolute under Australian law, but was generally respected. What is also clear is that the...

PAUL COLLINS. No longer eight cents a day.

For a lumbering, slow-moving, accident prone government, the Liberals moved like Speedy Gonzales to reassure us that they wouldnt privatize or sell the ABC as recommended by a Young Liberal motion at the recent Liberal federal council meeting. Energy minister Josh Frydenberg rushed in to assure us that the ABC is an iconic national institution, it provides valuable services. It is not going to be sold and never can be sold. Just in case you missed it, he repeated, The governments policy is not to sell the ABC. Scott Morrison chimed-in with similar sentiments.

PAUL COLLINS Stop the Buck-passing and Resign.

President Harry S. Truman promised that the buck stops here. Well, last Friday afternoon Rome time, the Chilean bishopsall thirty-four of themdecided to stop the buck-passing and face the music, that is confront the consequences of their pretty-much complete failure to deal with the sexual abuse crisis. They all offered to resign. What are the implications for the Australian bishops?

PAUL COLLINS. The Real Crisis of Australian Catholicism.

It is patently obvious that Australian Catholicism is in crisis. The usual analysis is that this has been caused by the appalling mishandling and cover-up of child sexual abuse and the subsequent investigations of the Royal Commission. However, this is only a partial explanation. Catholicisms problems have a much longer history and go much deeper. They wont be solved merely by the application of the recommendations of the Commission. A much more radical root and branch reform is needed.

PAUL COLLINS - Will the Vatican play ball?

We now have the recommendations of the Royal Commission (RC) to the Catholic Church. Many of them request the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference (ACBC) to take specific issues to the Vatican requesting that they be implemented. The question immediately arises: how will the Vatican react? What will Rome do? What Ive tried to do here is foresee something of that reaction.

PAUL COLLINS. The Royal Commissiona mixed blessing

Im not looking forward to the report of the Royal Commission. As a still-practising Catholic with a minor public profile, I am very ashamed of what the Commission has revealed about my church. But, despite its excellent work, I still think it has been a mixed blessing.

PAUL COLLINS. Marriage equality - some thoughts for the perplexed.

Throughout human history all types of arrangements have evolved to nurture children, of which a common form is a reasonably stable relationship between woman and man. Whether or not this was seen as marriage varied widely. So, use of the term traditional marriage is a misnomer. What the Catholic hierarchy is presenting as traditional is really a romantic, bourgeois understanding of marriage.

PAUL COLLINS. An Open Letter to Sydney Archbishop Anthony Fisher

I am disturbed by your identification of your personal views on marriage equality with those of the Catholic Church The saddest thing is that you have linked Catholicism with some of the most reactionary and unattractive political forces in the entire country.

PAUL COLLINS. Theres Movement at the (Radio) Station

It is not only ABC management that dont take religion and specialist broadcasting seriously. What can you expect from a board that is made up of business people and technocrats. The fault here lies with the federal government that has appointed these people.

PAUL COLLINS. Sniffing the Ecclesiastical Wind

Theres one thing you have to concede to Archbishop Mark Coleridge of Brisbane: he can unerringly sniff the direction of the wind in the Vatican; mind you, hes a frequent visitor to Rome. Hes spotted that Pope Francis is big on synods or gatherings of bishops, clergy and laity to set policy for the church, so he told his diocesan newspaper, the Catholic Leader (17 August 2016) that hes persuaded the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference to hold a national synod of the Australian Catholic Church in 2020. Unlike the Anglican and Protestant churches, Australian Catholicism is not big on...

PAUL COLLINS. How powerful is Pell in Australia?

The papacy only gained complete power over the appointment of bishops in the mid-19th century; its that recent. Previously many different systems operated, but the key issue was that the local church had a major say in who was appointed bishop, even if it was only the local lord or king. Nowadays episcopal appointments result from a closed, opaque process in which all power is held by the Vatican and hardly any by the local church. The result: some very poor appointments.

PAUL COLLINS. Theodora the Bishop: Pope Francis and Women Deacons

The Via di Santa Prassede is a back lane close to the imposing Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, Pope Francis favourite church in Rome. But there is a very significant historical building just nearby: the basilica of Santa Prassede in the laneway that takes its name from the church. It was built by a much hated pope, Paschal I (817-824). It would be good for Francis, in light of his decision to create a commission to study the possibility of women deacons, to pop into Santa Prassede next time hes in the area. Hed find it very enlightening.

Paul Collins. Where, O death is now thy sting?

If I had a say in who were made saints there are three people Id immediately nominate, and two of them are not Catholics! My first choice would be Dorothy Day and, thank God, she has begun the slow process to sainthood. The other two are John Wesley (1707-88) and Charles Wesley (1703-91), the founders of Methodism. A truly Christian man, John Wesley set out in 1738 to evangelize ordinary working people who were largely abandoned by the established church. For fifty years he travelled all over England on horseback, riding up to 5000 miles annually, preaching thousands of...

Paul Collins. With leaders like these !

For a committed Catholic George Pells evidence to the Royal Commission was excruciating to watch. It wasnt just Pell himself with his turgid, wooden responses and lack of interest in appalling crimes against those whom Jesus called the little ones. It was also the kind of church his evidence laid bare where all responsibility was upward and accountability to the most vulnerable was non-existent. Here was a divine right, monarchical structure totally out of place in a modern democracy, an institution where everyone colluded to bestow an undeserved sacred status on the ordained. Early in his evidence Pell was...

Paul Collins. Three wise people.

In the last eighteen months Australian Catholicism has lost three of its great leaders, people who genuinely contributed not only to the church, but also to our social and cultural life. They were Professor Max Charlesworth who died on 2 June 2014, Sister Veronica Brady who died on 20 August 2015, and Father Frank Martin who died on 2 September 2015. In a time when the church is utterly bereft of episcopal leadership, it was people like Veronica, Max and Frank who were the ones who inspired us and who remained most true to the message of Jesus and the...

Paul Collins. The Synod on the Family Success or Failure?

I was talking recently about the Synod with a very experienced parish priest. He said that if the bishops thought we were all waiting with bated breath for their decision regarding the divorced remarried receiving Communion, then they really do live in cloud cuckoo-land. Nowadays divorced Catholics dont just hang around waiting for a bevy of bishops to decide. They follow their consciences and do what they think is right, especially if they have talked to a sensible, pastoral priest. Sure, many have understandably walked away from the church, but many have stayed having made their own decisions about going...

Paul Collins. A wake for ABC Religion.

Last week I attended the funeral of long time religious broadcaster and colleague, Ronald Nichols at Sydneys Christ Church Saint Laurence. It was the day after a broad cross-section of religious leaders had written to the ABC Board and managing director Mark Scott, expressing concern about what was happening to the ABCs specialist focus on religion. The letter pointed out that the position of Executive Producer TV Religion was already axed and that Compass had been placed under a commissioning editor with no expertise in religion. In radio Encounter (which has been on air for 49 years) was to...

Paul Collins. Much ado about nothing?

The 2014-15 Synod on ThePastoral Challenges of the Family in the Context of Evangelization Around Christmas 2013 there was much ado in the Australian Catholic community about the upcoming Synod of Bishops on the Family called by Pope Francis for October 2014 and 2015. In preparation for this synod, for the first time ever, the laity as well as bishops were consulted and asked to respond to a document that covered a range of doctrinal and practical issues concerning family, personal relationships and gender. Many people put a lot of energy into responding to what was a badly formulated questionnaire...

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