The collapse of a confident Church
It is Passiontide and autumn. I am in Australia, “the great southern land of the Holy Spirit”, as Benedict XVI described it when he came here for World Youth Day (WYD) in 2008. That was the last time I was here, and I vowed then that I would never make the journey again, averse as I am to the pressurised purgatory of long-haul flights and their after-effects. But now, as then, it is a mission that has brought me here. “Join the priesthood and see the world” is fast becoming my vocations recruitment slogan.
