October 19-23 2009

19-Oct-2009

    News

  1. SSPX talks ready to go  

    19-Oct-2009

    The Vatican announced the start of a long awaited dialogue aimed at repairing a 21 year break with the Society of St Pius X.

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  2. Leave stimulus for public housing, groups plead  

    20-Oct-2009

    The Australian Government should ensure its stimulus funding continues to support the vulnerable through investments such as in social housing, said a group of church welfare bodies including Catholic Social Services.

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  3. Teachers need to set the bar higher: NZ expert  

    23-Oct-2009

    New Zealand academic, researcher and author Professor John Hattie told local educators that teachers need to set the bar higher and focus only on the strategies that have the greatest effect on improving student achievement.

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  4. NSW education resource sharing scheme expanded  

    22-Oct-2009

    NSW Premier Nathan Rees said the National Partnerships program, that shares resources with schools in disadvantaged areas, will get $175 million and be expanded to become available to 616 NSW public, independent and Catholic schools.

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  5. Union defends teachers' strike plan  

    22-Oct-2009

    The Queensland Independent Education Union defended a strike action planned for next week by its members, saying it springs from nine months of pleas for a pay hike being ignored.

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  6. No need to strike says Cath Ed boss  

    21-Oct-2009

    John Borserio, the director of Catholic Education in Toowoomba says he sees no reason why teachers need to strike next week, while Brisbane Catholic Education said none of its 133 schools would be hit by a strike.

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  7. Sex education policy change prompted by complaint  

    19-Oct-2009

    Toowoomba Catholic Education office says Catholic school principals will now have to send letters home to parents detailing the sexual education material presented to students, after a complaint from a parent.

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  8. ACU and partners give "disadvantaged" a shot at uni  

    19-Oct-2009

    Australian Catholic University's Clemente Australia program is helping provide "a liberal education to disadvantaged people", said a partner in the program, Carroll & O'Dea Lawyers.

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  9. News - National

  10. Clergy warn against human rights charter  

    23-Oct-2009

    Sydney's Cardinal George Pell led a delegation of about 20 church leaders to Canberra to raise concerns about a national charter of human rights, warning the Rudd government it could curtail religious freedoms and give judges the power to shape laws on issues such as gay marriage, said The Australian.

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  11. Judges' voices on rights a good thing: Kirby  

    22-Oct-2009

    Former high court judge Michael Kirby expressed support for a proposed charter of human rights, dismissing criticism of its potential to give a voice to unelected judges on the matter of rights.

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  12. Plea not to risk sending asylum seekers back to their deaths  

    21-Oct-2009

    Australian laws allow asylum seekers to enter the country and this must be observed to ensure that none are returned to face danger and death, said the Edmund Rice Centre director Phil Glendenning.

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  13. Harvest Pilgrimages wins WYD official tour operator role   

    20-Oct-2009

    Catholic tour operator Harvest Pilgrimages will be the official tour operator to support Australian groups attending World Youth Day in Madrid, 2011, the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference said.

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  14. Rudd must speak up about Sri Lanka: Catholic justice commission  

    20-Oct-2009

    Brisbane's Catholic Justice and Peace Commission is calling on Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to act to end the detention of Tamil civilians in camps run by the military in Sri Lanka, in light of the current asylum seekers' plight.

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  15. Compassion urged for refugees and asylum seekers  

    19-Oct-2009

    Australian Catholic Bishops Conference delegate for refugee and migrant issues Bishop Joseph Grech said the annual numbers of asylum seekers entering Australia are not a significant burden for a wealthy country and urged compassion.

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  16. Muck-up pranksters in trouble  

    22-Oct-2009

    Melbourne's Mount Waverley Secondary College students face the rap from the principal over a muck-up day incident being investigated by the police, while antics by some students from the Genazzano FCJ College landed them in trouble at school.

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  17. Vic bishops reiterate dissent on abortion reform  

    22-Oct-2009

    The Bishops of Victoria marked a year since the state's abortion law reform with a statement that condemns the termination of innocent life, and questioned the coercion of unwilling doctors and nurses to cooperate in the procurement of abortion.

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  18. Workplace stress costing millions at private schools   

    20-Oct-2009

    Private school teachers in Victoria received $14 million in payments over workplace stress and injuries in the past five years, according to figures from WorkCover, The Age reported.

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  19. Catholic students in trouble over muck-up pranks  

    19-Oct-2009

    Students from Melbourne's St Bernard's College and Xavier College have each landed in trouble over alleged stealing, unruly behaviour and pranks at the end of the school year.

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  20. Schoolboy who sold ecstasy expelled but escapes jail  

    21-Oct-2009

    A student from St Patrick's Catholic College in Mackay, Queensland was expelled after he was caught trafficking ecstasy outside school hours.

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  21. News - International

  22. Marx "especially relevant": L’Osservatore writer  

    23-Oct-2009

    German born Professor Georg Sans has said in the Vatican's L'Osservatore Romano that Marx's early critiques of capitalism highlighted the "social alienation" felt by the "large part of humanity" that remain excluded, even today.

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  23. FutureChurch wants married priests for all  

    23-Oct-2009

    FutureChurch executive director, Sr Christine Schenk, says that her organisation welcomes the Vatican's flexibility in allowing married priests for Anglican converts but wants the option extended to Latin rite priests.

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  24. Poker playing priest builds church funds  

    20-Oct-2009

    Instead of the conventional fete or car raffle, US priest Father Andrew Trapp is playing poker to raise money for his church building fund.

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  25. Dublin abuse report goes back to court  

    23-Oct-2009

    A report due to be made public about the handling by Church and State authorities of allegations of the abuse of children by Catholic priests in the Dublin Archdiocese is not going to be published yet and needs to go back to court.

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  26. Pro-life concern over NZ family planning's abortion application  

    21-Oct-2009

    Right to Life NZ is against the New Zealand Family Planning Association's application for a licence to perform medical abortions, NZ Catholic reports.

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  27. German court to decide whether to fine SSPX bishop  

    21-Oct-2009

    A German court will decide within the week whether to fine the Society of St Pius X Bishop Richard Williamson for statements in a Swedish TV interview disputing that Nazis had killed Jews in gas chambers during World War II.

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  28. Columbans call on US help for kidnapped Philippines missionary  

    20-Oct-2009

    Columban missionaries in the United States have sought help from the Obama Government for the safe release of kidnapped Irish priest, Fr Michael Sinnott.

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  29. Caritas aid for nearly 300,000 across Asia-Pacific  

    22-Oct-2009

    Even as the media spotlight dims, Caritas Australia said it is helping more than 277,000 victims of the typhoons, tsunamis, earthquakes and flooding that ripped through the Asia-Pacific region some three weeks ago.

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  30. Religion

  31. Papal move on Anglicans provokes debate  

    23-Oct-2009

    The Anglican Archbishop of Melbourne Philip Freier says it would be regrettable if some of the church's clergy joined the Catholic Church, while Traditional Anglican Communion leader Archbishop John Hepworth, says he expects many Australian Anglo-Catholics to leave.

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  32. Pope opens path for Anglicans to enter the Church  

    21-Oct-2009

    Pope Benedict is publishing an Apostolic Constitution introducing a structure to allow the establishment of "personal ordinariates" for Anglicans who wish to enter full communion with the Catholic Church.

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  33. Row over Holy Communion presider  

    19-Oct-2009

    Sydney Anglican Archbishop, Peter Jensen is facing a legal challenge over his church's decision to break with the national church and permit deacons or church workers to preside over Holy Communion.

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  34. Regulars

  35. Feature - Anglican move proves Church's war on sex: women's advocate  

    23-Oct-2009

    The Pontiff is putting into practice in an attempt to offer a spiritual home to those who have either left or are considering leaving the Anglican Communion because of their opposition to the ordination of women and openly gay priests as well as the blessing of same sex unions. - Jamie L. Manson, National Catholic Reporter


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  36. Feature - The case for more commercialism in schools  

    22-Oct-2009

    Should the corporate sector be involved in supporting childhood education? It seems that some are more fearful of company logos than improving our schooling system. The latest furore over big corporate getting involved in schools centres around a free maths online tutoring program sponsored by McDonald's. - Carolyn Popp, The Age


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  37. Feature - The trouble with foreign aid  

    21-Oct-2009

    There have been plenty of critics of Western foreign aid, and quite often, rightly so. They have pointed out the waste, inefficiencies and counter-productive nature of much of our overseas aid programs. But of course such critics can simply be dismissed as stingy Westerners, or out-of-touch capitalist pigs. But what happens when economists from the developing world themselves denounce much of what passes for Western overseas aid? - Bill Muehlenberg, Quadrant


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  38. Feature - Facing death with discernment  

    20-Oct-2009

    A convent is a world apart, unduplicable. But the Sisters of St Joseph, a congregation in Rochester, New York animate many factors that studies say contribute to successful ageing and a gentle death. These include a large social network, intellectual stimulation, continued engagement in life and spiritual beliefs, as well as health care guided by the less is more principles of palliative and hospice care, trends that are moving from the fringes to the mainstream. - Jane Gross, The New York Times


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  39. Feature - St Francis "biblical but radical"  

    19-Oct-2009

    Beggars have been banned within 500 metres of churches in Assisi, Italy. And it's now illegal to feed the pigeons in the town square. You wonder what Francis of Assisi would have thought of that. Eight hundred years ago this month, Francis, a former wealthy playboy, swapped his clothes with those of a street beggar, renounced all material possessions and devoted himself to seriously trying to live as Jesus did. - Bryan Patterson, Sunday Herald Sun

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  40. Featured Website - Institute of the Sisters of Mercy of Australia  

    23-Oct-2009

    The Sisters of Mercy in Australia are an iconic part of both the Catholic and secular communities in this country. The Institute's website is also an iconic site for a religious institute covering so well the numerous autonomous congregations across Australia and its many and diverse works and programs.


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  41. Featured Website - Centres of Ignatian Spirituality  

    22-Oct-2009

    There are five Centres of Ignatian Spirituality across four states funded and supported by the Australian Jesuits. Since 2006 the centres have offered a national approach to their programs in order to give retreants a wider variety of retreats and access to more facilitators and spiritual directors.


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  42. Featured Website - Lighthouse Catholic Media  

    21-Oct-2009

    US based Lighthouse Catholic Media is a not for profit corporation whose mission is to serve the Church in providing inspirational CDs and brochures that will enrich peoples relationship with Jesus and better understand their Catholic faith.


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  43. Featured Website - Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart  

    20-Oct-2009

    Our Lady of the Sacred Heart religious institute arrived in Australia in 1885 and have a proud and interesting history in their involvement in this country and the smaller nations of the Pacific. They share a common spirituality, centred on the Heart of Christ, with the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart from which their founder, Fr Jules Chevalier came.


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  44. Featured Website - Charterhouse of the Transfiguration  

    19-Oct-2009

    The Charterhouse of the Transfiguration located in Vermont and is the only Carthusian monastery in North America. This website presents a glimpse into the life of the Carthusians. The site offers a wealth of information in the form of booklets available in pdf format.


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  45. Film Review - An Education  

    22-Oct-2009

    An Education is set in London in 1961, the year before The Beatles would be a sign to the UK and the world that the post-war age of innocence was at an end, Jenny (Carey Mulligan), is in her final year at school. Her solidly middle class family has great aspirations for their only child: an Oxford education. She has the ability and tenacity for it too. That is, until she meets David (Peter Sarsgaard), a debonair, worldly twenty something year old who whisks her cello out of the rain and sweeps Jenny off her feet. - Fr Richard Leonard, Australian Catholic Office for Film and Broadcasting


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  46. Book Review - Getting Real: Challenging the Sexualisation of Girls  

    21-Oct-2009

    As the contributors to this book demonstrate, women are instructed from an early age that their value stems from their sexual allure and availability. No longer are young girls aspiring to a place in parliament or to shatter the glass ceiling in their local law firm. Nowadays, they are taught that real girl power is acquired in the bedroom. - Pauline Cooper, MercatorNet

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  47. Book Review - The City's Outback  

    19-Oct-2009

    Frontiers are times of opportunity but are also risky, raw and hard. Just as Pope John Paul II emphasised the opportunities of a "new humanity" as well as the pangs of giving birth to new life, in The City's Outback Gillian Cowlishaw shows both the life and the pangs of this new frontier: the hope and the despair, the visions and the realities, of Aboriginal life in this youthful, growing, struggling and fascinating part of Australia. - Fr Pat Mullins, Eureka Street


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  48. Opinion - Charter of rights to oppress religious freedom  

    23-Oct-2009

    The Christian churches strongly support human rights and their attendant responsibilities. But religious freedom should not be eroded by stealth. The Brennan committee's report on human rights gives the government two options: an upfront charter of rights or a Trojan Horse version. - Cardinal George Pell, The Australian


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  49. Opinion - Historic moment in Christian history  

    22-Oct-2009

    Many Catholics have watched in prayer with hopeful, heartfelt longing for their Christian brethren in the Anglican Communion. Many Anglican Christians have suffered from the ravages of their community from within brought about by moves away from Christian orthodoxy and orthopraxy. Now,there is a way to the safe harbour of the Catholic Church. - Deacon Keith Fournier, Catholic Online


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  50. Opinion - Reducing our emissions a matter of justice  

    21-Oct-2009

    We in the developed world, have disproportionately used the earth's atmospheric space. As Australians specifically are among those with the highest per capita carbon emissions, we owe it to the poor of the world to radically reduce our emissions and to assist them to adapt to a new approach. This is a matter of justice. - Sr Clare Condon, Pathways


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  51. Opinion - Collaboration essential for sex education in schools  

    20-Oct-2009

    Few would disagree that, at some point, children ought to understand how the human reproductive system works. It tends to be the case that children initiate this exploration, often prompted by increasing awareness of their private parts or the anticipated arrival of a younger sibling. - Fatima Measham, Eureka Street


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  52. Opinion - Condom use promotes "Armageddon"  

    19-Oct-2009

    Arguing that the Church should embrace use of condoms can best be seen as the advancement of the ignorant assumption that whatever human beings agree to be good must be good. It falls short of the religious truism that all humans may at any one time find religious teachings irrelevant, not because the teachings are outdated, but the world has gone berserk and fallen short of God's expectations. - Henry Munene, Sunday Nation


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  53. What's On - CHA Pastoral Services Forum  

    23-Oct-2009

    Catholic Health Australia is holding a forum to discuss how health and aged care services can incorporate spiritual issues and become more people centred. The forum will also discuss interfaith issues as well as identify barriers and enablers in the delivery of pastoral services.

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  54. What's On - 2009 Prophet School  

    20-Oct-2009

    The Prophet School is an ecumenical weekend retreat dedicated to the life and work of Archbishop Dom Helder Camara and open to people from any Christian denomination and any genuine spiritual seeker. The weekend will be led by Nobel Peace Prize nominee, and US Jesuit priest, Fr John Dear.


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