Series 14

Compass presents a special program for Easter. A time for all of us, believers and non-believers alike to reflect on sacrifice, renewal and hope.

It has been a secret war between two rival faiths that has lasted for eighty years. For the Communists, the vision was of workers' paradise here on Earth; for the Catholics it was a heavenly paradise promised after death.

An intriguing look at the powerful alliance of Church and State - between Roman Catholicism and the American Government that destroyed the Soviet Empire.

Black Sea : Voyage of Healing mixes environmental issues, nationalist economic issues, mass tourism issues, and Orthodox Church politics into a program which is as much a tourist's travelogue as an information piece.

Finding approaches to abusive families.

Filmed over three weeks at St Christopher's Hospice in South East London, it follows the last weeks of Kevin, Hazel and Doris, who are all dying of cancer.

Who will be the next Pope? As the papacy of John Paul II enters its final phase, there is much speculation about who is likely to succeed him.

The Slaves Of God is a video journey to the all-male "enclosed" Russian and Greek Orthodox Christian monks of this famed peninsula, Mount Athos, in northern Greece.

He is forthright... He has strong convictions... His controversial leadership style has caused friction among his flock. Join Geraldine Doogue for a frank conversation with the Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne, George Pell...

Hinduism is proportionately, the fastest growing religion in Australia today. Whether due to an influx of Hindu migrants of Indian extraction or the increasing involvement of Australians from a Judeo-Christian background.

Compass heads to India in search of the hidden spiritual message behind one of the world's most elegant wonders.

The extraordinary violence and beauty of the Aztec Empire. Behind this artistic and ordered society were Gods who demanded human sacrifice on a massive scale... a story of "Blood and Flowers"...

The search for El Dorado, the legendary golden kingdom of South America. Did cultural misunderstanding foil the quest for untold riches?

Compass peels back the centuries to investigate the ancient Nubian Empire of North Africa. At its height it challenged the power of the Egyptian pharoahs, but archaeologists have found it may also be one of the earliest examples of a mass suicide cult.

In this special Compass series we look at a quiet global revolution now underway, a new emphasis on the role, significance and power of voluntary, non-profit, community, or non-government organisations, now often called civil society organisations (CSOs). The Philippines is regarded as having one of the strongest and most vibrant civil societies worldwide.

The second in our series on People Power, the quiet but profound revolution underway on how we might meet modern community problems better. It envisages a whole new approach to the spread of power and responsibility within the community....with a shift towards volunteer and non-government groups.

The last in our three part series on the emergence of a new era of Civil Society. A time of new prominence and power for community and volunteer groups, non-profit and non-government organisations.

We've all read about East Timor , we've seen the Television Footage, heard the results of inquiries, and maybe in some ways , even started to become a bit desensitised to the whole thing.

The man at the centre of controversy this weekend as he is installed as Australia's newest Church Leader.

Two years ago the government disbanded the CES (Commonwealth Employment Service) and put unemployment services out to tender. Since then Church employment agencies have been major contract winners.

Buddhism is enjoying increasing popularity in Australia. Compass goes on retreat with one of the foremost teachers of Tibetan Buddhism in the West, Sogyal Rinpoche.

Compass examines the role of Churches and Missions in separating Aboriginal children from their families.

Part one looks at the conflicts and clerical politics triggered by the simultaneous arrival at St. Paul's of its new Dean, Dr. John Moses, and its first woman priest, Rev. Lucy Winkett on the occasion of the cathedral's 300th Anniversary.

We Need Money surveys the difficulties encountered by the new Dean to balance the Cathedral's finances and downsize its institutional staff. In his pursuit of his fiscal obligations, the Dean reveals how Christian humanism may take second place to commercial realities in attending to worldly concerns.

In the final of our series on St. Paul's Cathedral, we examine its major human resource, the childrens choir...and the trials and tribulations as young choristers aspire to be the best.

Heroin injecting rooms... Are they the answer to Australia's worsening drug problem or a perpetuation of it? With trials to begin shortly in Sydney's Kings Cross, we look at the heated debate surrounding the involvement of the Uniting Church in the project.

On the 14th of July an exhibition of the Dead Sea Scrolls will open at the Art Gallery of NSW. For the first time Australians will have the opportunity to view some of these documents which represent one of the most important archaeological finds ever.

A Common Heritage explores what the scrolls reveal about early Judaism and the origins of Christianity.

A study of modern service and altruism, an account of Amnesty International.

Opus Dei enjoys favoured status within the Roman Catholic Church...but its secretive recruiting methods and strict control of its members lives and beliefs have led some to liken it to a cult...

The appearance of the first all Jewish float in this year's Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gra Parade polarised opinion in the Jewish community. We examine conflicting interpretations of religious law, when Gay Jews challenge tradition.

On Compass we join the national leaders and youth representatives of Australian Christian Churches on a journey of reconciliation to the centre of Australia.

Thousands of Australians are spending big dollars on personal development courses in the pursuit of success and self-esteem. Do they change people's lives for the better?

This two-part British series outlines the nature of depression, its human impact on families and individuals, its damaging influence on the human spirit, and its current treatments. The series is hosted by biologist Professor Lewis Wolpert, himself a former sufferer of depression.

In Part Two of our revealing series on modern depression: Is it a physical illness? Is it genetic?

Is non-human life important and if so, why?

Marijuana, an ancient herbal remedy can help sufferers of epilepsy, arthritis and glaucoma but it is still on the illegal drug list in most countries.

A new four part series which will take us on a journey of religious discovery around the globe.

In Part Two of this four-part series Frederic Raphael travels to Thailand and Malaysia where Buddhism and Islam have both absorbed and been transformed by older beliefs and customs.

In this episode Frederic Raphael travels to Spain and Mexico to see this devotional intensity first-hand.

In Part Four our series closes with Frederic Raphael going back home... journeying deep into the United States to explore the American way of religion in it's Bible belt heartland.

Contact surveys the contemporary phenomenon of reports of alien abduction, UFO visitations and similar paranormal experiences in Canada and the USA. With several first-hand claims of abduction and descriptions of alien visits, the program canvasses the North American climate of Ufology...cults such as the Raelians who base their religion on extraterrestrial intelligence, plus psychiatric interpretations of this disposition towards the paranormal.

In this edition of Compass, the role of the mainstream churches in the global environment crisis... and whether theology should be responding.

In this edition of Compass, the growth of church schools and the nature of religious education.

When disaster strikes, many turn to religion for solace, and for answers. But catastrophe can also cause drastic change in beliefs, or total abandonment of faith.

Christianity has produced some of the greatest works of art of all time, in which believers and non-believers alike can explore the great themes of life and death. It is the language in which Leonardo and Michelangelo, Dali and Rembrandt speak to us all about love and suffering, loss and hope.

As Christmas approaches we are bombarded with images of the baby Jesus in the manger, one of the quintessential expressions of the Christmas story.

At the core of the Christian faith is an image at once powerful and harrowing the figure Jesus on the Cross.

On Christmas Eve, as the Christian world prepares to celebrate the 2000th birthday of Jesus of Nazareth, this edition of Compass takes a final tour through some of the greatest works of Christian art.

Geraldine Doogue's panel of notable Australians discuss themes of the 2000th Birthday of Jesus, the end of the Jubilee Year, and the true advent of The Third Millennium.