The buzz around Spotlight started almost immediately after its release in America late last year. Critics hailed the film, which tells the story of The Boston Globe’s investigation into the cover-up of clerical abuse in the Archdiocese of Boston. Abuse survivors also applauded the movie and box office figures proved very decent. Read more Read review by Jim McDermott. Read also Richard Leonard's review. And finally Michael Kirwan SJ's review.

St. John’s Abbey, one of the largest Benedictine monasteries in the U.S., released more than 15,000 pages of documents Tuesday related to 18 priests it said “likely offended” sexually against minors dating back to the 1960s. Read more.

The monastic tradition understands faith as a journey we make in companionship with others. Accompaniment is an important way in which we help each other find our way forwards in faith, hope and love. It can include spiritual direction and counselling, it can take place formally in one-to-one dialogue, in informal but regular meetings, on an individual basis or in groups, in the context of retreats and conferences. It is about sharing insights, listening to questions, seeking wisdom for the journey. Read more

On the evening of Nov. 16, 1965, quietly alerted to the event by word-of-mouth, some 40 Roman Catholic bishops made their way to celebrate Mass in an ancient, underground basilica in the Catacombs of Domitilla on the outskirts of the Eternal City. Read more

Sunday Novcember 29 at 1pm - the Domain. For further details copntact Simon Habel: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

One of the ten prelates responsible for drafting the final document from the ongoing Synod of Bishops on family has said that while it may not give solutions to all the questions discussed by the gathering, it will give good direction to Pope Francis for future decisions. Read more

September 27 is Social Justic Sunday. The Australian Catholic Bishops have published a very challenging document. To see an introductory video and find out more about that document, click here. To see Andy Hamilton's comments in Eureka Street, click here.

Contemporary spirituality includes multiple forms of devotion and meditation. In this e-course, Joan Chittister looks at the most fundamental of them all -- reading and writing -- and their relationship to the development of the spiritual life. Read more

We do not know what President Barack Obama will give Pope Francis when he visits the White House next September. But we can be sure that it will not be a hammer and sickle crucifix like the one that Bolivian President Evo Morales gave the pope during his recent trip to Latin America. Read more.

October's synod of bishops on the family should take on a global perspective, rather than sticking to isolated issues found primarily in western society, African Church leaders have said. Read more.

Three Muslim organizations have raised over $100,000 to rebuild black churches in the South. Read more.

Find out more about this excellent initiative.

When Pope Francis releases his much-anticipated encyclical on the environment this week, he will find a largely receptive audience among American Catholics. Very few will have ever heard their own religious leaders speak about climate change before. Read more.

The interview by the Jesuit Antonio Spadaro with the Dominican theologian Jean-Miguel Garrigues, in the latest issue of "La Civiltà Cattolica," continues to raise discussion. Read more.

Aboriginal Australians at War

A conference by Marist Family Peace and Justice Group. Keynote speakers: Professor Henry Reynoldsand Uncle Dave Williams. Chair: Jeff McMullen At Santa Sabina College, 90 The Boulevarde, Strathfield NSW 2135. Saturday 29 August 2015, 9.30am-3pm. Register by 7 August at http://maristfamily.com.au/  Information: Fr Jim Carty SM on 0447 691 223 and This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..  Adults $30, Concession card holders $20 and Students $10.

"I'm an ordinary priest," Fr. Yann Vagneux tells all those who invariably asks him why he is living in Varanasi, India, "the Rome of Hinduism." Read more

Chaldean Archbishop Yousif Thomas Mirkis of Kirkuk launched a project in 2007 for an open university in Bagdad. The idea was to create a space of freedom, dialogue and research to pass on knowledge and facilitate individual reflection. Read more

The film is based on a novel by Shusaku Endo and tells the story of Portuguese Jesuits in the 17th Century who suffered persecution while working in isolated parts of Japan. It stars Andrew Garfield, Liam Neeson, and Adam Driver and will be released in cinemas in 2016. Read more.