LOL indy....Quantumleap,
Warm & fussy ?? I think you're more of a Quantumstumbler, it's fuzzy actually. Did you too go to a QLD Public School ?

LEAP

No, it is actually a very good article, because the writer appears well imbued with the authentic outlook of concern that comes from the Beatitudes, rather than the harshest legal narrowist excesses of the Old Testament.
And it's not some thing that would have been proliferated by Cardinal Mannix and his zealots, at their worst, either. Kate Mannix is clearly about as similar to the late militant Cardinal as this writer is to Roy Rogers, although likely as tenacious as the late prelate.
So my reference to a bygone era would be that we appear to have inherited the worst of that era rather than anything positive, since. Times were tough back then and they did what they could.
As to substance, yes. I think Stendahl would be turning in his grave at the way things have developed lately. Especially I agree, as to the forlorn retreat from responsibility that characterises modern neoliberalism, with its seige "first self, then self, then self again" mentality.
The continuing and ruthless Americanisation of this culture continues apace, regardless of rational objection or alternative propositions for public improvement.
A zombie culture is so much more amenable to exploitation than a healthy civil society.

The most interesting aspect of Kate Mannix's article, is that she can see the social and political dangers of Catholicism, Opus Dei, and "the religious right", but nowhere in her article is there any mention of Islam.

I find it significant that the same journalists who denounce people who negatively prejudge, stereotype or labels Muslims as a threat to their society, can not see any contradiction when the journos are doing the same thing to Christians.

It is a clear double standard.

As a secular person, I consider the aims and teachings of the Catholic Church and "the religious right:" with suspicion and deep mistrust. Give them half a chance, and they will use whatever means to force their religious, sexual and social views down my throat. So my commitment for tolerating religious freedom is dependent upon these people not becoming too powerful.

But I don't consider the "religious right" or the Catholic Church to be anywhere near as bad a threat to my countries liberal laws and lifestyle as Islam, and I find it odd that journalists like Kate Mannix can see the dangers of certain Christian sects, yet have a case of acute myopia when it comes to the dangers of an evil religion like Islam.

“While I've only been occassionaly and disasterly drunk it's always under someone elses sober control, however my sexual deviance, but not oddball deviance, has and is my more common practise and ... I might add a daily occurance ... happily.”

Glad we cleared that up Keith. :) I’ll return to why I asked…

Keith: “Firstly I don't see the policy of any privately operated instution, even if receiving funding from us taxpayers, need be discussed. It's a fact and we should just accept it and work alongside it.”

When the privately operated and tax payer funded institutions negatively affect the public then I think we can’t simply work alongside them. It needs to be discussed to death, then tossed on the same heap we’d probably put oddball deviance. Any government that supports private businesses and funds private businesses that are rife with abuses towards peoples of Australia needs correction.

"The most interesting aspect of Kate Mannix's article, is that she can see the social and political dangers of Catholicism, Opus Dei, and "the religious right", but nowhere in her article is there any mention of Islam."

... or of the State. We see around us evidence of its high crimes on a grand scale, it's double standard ("I'm allowed to hit you but you're not allowed to hit me"); it's aggressive wars, its murders and mass murders, it's licensing of privilege, it's corruption, theft, violations of liberty and property, waste, divisiveness, its planned chaos. But there seems to be this cognitive dissonance: people see all this, and just endlessly re-circulate the belief that the state represents the greater good, that the state is selfless and indispensable, that the state knows better, that the state is over and above the selfishness of the individual, that the state can fix anything, that the state can even control the winds that blow. Pure religious supserstition.

Kate Mannix,

My humble apologies.

I said that the number of Charitable institutions in Australia were about two hundredand fifty.

I was relying on my memory.

I found my notes to-day; there are six hundred and forty three (643) of them .

That is at the start of this financilal year.

I am too old and lack the strenght to reserch this matter and its implications on our economy.

If you are young I would recommend your deep attention.