News
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11-Nov-2009
The Vatican's Pontifical Academy of Sciences is holding a conference on astrobiology, the study of life beyond Earth, with scientists and religious leaders gathering in Rome this week.
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10-Nov-2009
The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has published the Apostolic Constitution Anglicorum Coetibus including provisions for future married Anglican priests to be ordained with the permission of the pope.
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13-Nov-2009
Stakeholders agree school performance data needs to be more transparent but differ on how it should be presented, said a Sydney Morning Herald report.
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12-Nov-2009
Education Minister Julia Gillard said the plan to publish information on almost 10,000 Australian school on the myschool.edu.au website from early next year will go ahead, despite acknowledging that principals are anxious about it.
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10-Nov-2009
Teachers at South Australia's Catholic schools are threatening legal action over a pay dispute with Catholic Education, while Queensland's Catholic schools teachers look close to receiving a new pay package.
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10-Nov-2009
Citing "a decision of conscience", Louisiana Catholic Representative Anh "Joseph" Cao was the sole Republican to vote with the Democrat majority to pass the House of Representatives health bill after Speaker Nancy Pelosi accepted to insert a ban on federal abortion funding proposed by Michigan Democrat Representative Bart Stupak.
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News - National
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10-Nov-2009
The Australian Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young wants Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to allow Labor MPs a free parliamentary vote on gay marriage, to get a better picture of national sentiment on the matter.
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09-Nov-2009
A decline is happening in the Christian faith from a literal interpretation of the Bible, according to shadow treasurer Joe Hockey. In a speech to the Sydney Institute tonight, he will also urge for religious tolerance and understanding.
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09-Nov-2009
Low income earners could pay as much as 40 percent of their fortnightly income on electricity with the advent of smart metering, and some households face an annual increase of $320 in electricity bills.
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12-Nov-2009
The Victorian County Court judge Howard Mason sentenced confidence trickster Olivia Raymond to four years and eight months in jail for defrauding elderly priest Father Paul Kane of parish funds and his life savings.
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12-Nov-2009
Catholic schools in Victoria are set to receive an additional $268 million in funding while private schools are slated to receive an extra $133 million under an overall $2.1 billion funding deal with the State Government.
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11-Nov-2009
A 15 year old Mount Alvernia College student who shaved her head to raise money for cancer has been suspended for breaking school rules by going bald.
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10-Nov-2009
Comments encouraging forgiveness for convicted paedophile Dennis Ferguson, by Shalom College Bundaberg principal Dan McMahon, raised hackles among some parents while others agreed it is the Christian thing to do.
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09-Nov-2009
The Tasmanian MP and Greens leader Nick McKim said he will keep pushing for voluntary euthanasia legislation if he is re-elected in March, despite his "Dying with Dignity" bill being defeated in parliament last week.
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13-Nov-2009
The ACT legislation granting same sex couples the right to legally binding ceremonies will "almost certainly" be vetoed by the Federal Government, The Canberra Times reported, although this could not be officially confirmed.
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12-Nov-2009
The ACT Parliament passed a Greens Bill to legalise civil ceremonies between same sex couples, allowing gay and lesbian couples to create their civil partnerships through a legally binding ceremony.
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11-Nov-2009
The ACT Greens are trying to push the Little Company of Mary Health Care (LCMHC) to abandon its bid to buy Canberra's hospice as part of the proposed Calvary Public Hospital sale.
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News - International
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12-Nov-2009
The UN food agency will host a summit next week to address the "enormous tragedy" of world hunger, said its director-general, Jacques Diouf. Pope Benedict will be among global leaders in attendance.
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13-Nov-2009
US District Court judge Cameron Currie this week ruled the South Carolina state legislature had shown favoured treatement to one religion in allowing cross adorned car number plates, and ordered to halt its issue.
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11-Nov-2009
US woman Patricia Black is a mother and grandmother, a former nurse and a former technical writer. On Saturday, she added another title: a nun with the Sisters of Mercy.
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10-Nov-2009
US Bishop Donald W. Trautman urged fellow bishops to reject at least one of four segments of a new US English translation of the Roman Missal, to avoid new Mass prayers full of grammatical errors and unproclaimable texts.
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13-Nov-2009
Italian churches are installing automatic holy water dispensers to help reduce the risk of spreading H1N1, breaking with the tradition of having holy water in open fonts into which people dip their hands.
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12-Nov-2009
Media experts will join European bishops to show how best to communicate the Catholic Church's message using the tools of the 21st century.
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11-Nov-2009
Society of St Pius X Bishop Richard Williamson faces trial in Germany for Holocaust denial as he appeals against a fine imposed by a German court.
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11-Nov-2009
Bells pealing every five minutes for the Angelus, two nights in a row, has left villagers in Ireland's Kilmessan, Co Meath bleary eyed and fuming.
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09-Nov-2009
UK's school children will be given sex education from the age of five, and although parents can keep their kids out of the classes on moral and religious grounds, this right to opt out ends when their children turn 15.
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13-Nov-2009
A "lost command" of Filipino rebels freed kidnapped Irish missionary Father Michael Sinnott early Thursday morning Philippines time.
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13-Nov-2009
Pope Benedict XVI is appealing to the Sri Lankan government to hasten the process of allowing displaced civilians to return home from internment camps.
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09-Nov-2009
The Rudd Government is being called to tighten controls over the way Australian companies operate overseas, following reports that local company Anvil Mining, which is caught up in alleged war crimes in Africa, could partner UK oil company Trafigura, which has landed in trouble over dumping toxic waste.
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09-Nov-2009
The South Africa Bishop's Conference (SACBC) is warning that thousands of women will be trafficked for prostitution at the soccer World Cup 2010 in South Africa.
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Regulars
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13-Nov-2009
In an age which has witnessed a decline in Christianity on the European continent, Pope Benedict XVI boldly calls for a rebirth of Christianity in Europe. In an age which has been beset by disunity in the ranks of those who bear the name Christian, he has undertaken an extraordinary mission of Church Unity. His prophetic and pastoral response to Anglicans seeking full communion in the safe harbour of the Catholic Church is one among several courageous and prophetic actions taken by this quiet, diminutive, and humble "servant of the servants of God." - Deacon Keith Fournier, Catholic Online
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12-Nov-2009
Jails now house not only serious offenders, but all those people whom society does not know what to do with. These include the homeless, the mentally ill, the unemployable. It seems to me we are becoming more and more intolerant as a society of people who are not earning money, not fitting in and being good consumers, who are in some way handicapped or "different". - St Columban's Mission Society E-News
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11-Nov-2009
Men initiate men into a world of disrespecting women and bad behaviour from the moment they arrive at college, revelling in the "boys will be boys" and "tradition" nonsense which has been used for far too long to justify a hideous culture. - Carina Garland, The Punch
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10-Nov-2009
It is difficult to over estimate the degree to which the vote in the House, passing a comprehensive health care reform bill, was a huge victory for the Catholic Church. Yes, for the USCCB, but also for a view of the world that the Church, at times alone, has sustained in the face of the radical individualism of American culture. The belief that health care is a right, not a privilege, took a giant step towards legislative enactment. - Michael Sean Winters, America
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09-Nov-2009
Over nine years ago one of the Catholic Church's finest canon lawyers, Father James Provost, a professor at The Catholic University of America, published an exceedingly important article in America magazine, "What If the Pope Became Disabled?" Father Provost died a month later at the age of 60. Unfortunately, his urgent words of advice in that article have still not been acted upon. - Fr Richard P. McBrien, Tidings
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13-Nov-2009
The website of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd of Australia and New Zealand is a site that clearly displays and provides ready access to the ministries and the programs of the Province. The Sisters are well known for their Centre for Justice and Fair Trade and the Trading Circle initiatives both of which are prominent on the site.
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12-Nov-2009
The Latin Mass: A Journal of Catholic Culture is a magazine dedicated to the preservation and restoration of the traditional Latin Mass and traditional Catholic thought, practice and education. It hopes "to offer an antidote to the universal phenomenon of an accelerating secularism."
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11-Nov-2009
Jesuit Social Services works to build a just society by advocating for social change and promoting the health and wellbeing of disadvantaged young people, families and communities. It is a significant ministry of the Australian Jesuits and in more recent times it has broadened its outreach from its Melbourne origins and is now active in Mt Druitt in western Sydney.
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10-Nov-2009
Pray 2010 is a major prayer gathering in July 2010 announced last week by the Archdiocese of Brisbane. It will involve keynote addresses from leading Fathers Stan Fortuna and Frank Brennan among several others and involve nearly 300 prayer workshops.
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09-Nov-2009
The Catholic Church in Africa is an online source for information about all things pertaining to the Church in Africa. The recent Synod of African bishops sparked renewed interest in the Church in the region and this website contains statistics on the Church, information on the regional and national Episcopal conferences, links to Diocesan websites, and much more.
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13-Nov-2009
You would have to be a bit of a grouch not to enjoy this old fashioned lavishly produced portrait of aviator, Amelia Earheart, during her ten years of limelight and flying feats. Especially if you know how it ends, you can sit back and be absorbed by this visit to the US of the 1920s and 1930s. Certainly the production values, sets, costumes, songs help us to immerse ourselves in this era. - Fr Peter Malone, Australian Catholic Office for Film and Broadcasting
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10-Nov-2009
Quite an exhilarating experience of Charles Dickens' classic tale of miser, Ebenezer Scrooge, his meanness to his clerk, Bob Cratchit, his unwillingness to celebrate Christmas with his nephew, Fred, and his miserable and lonely life. Though seen many times on screen, the story is always welcome. - Fr Peter Malone, Australian Catholic Office for Film and Broadcasting
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12-Nov-2009
An upcoming edition of Compass focuses on British philosopher and theologian Dr Conor Cunningham who 150 years after the publication of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species, argues it's possible to be a Christian and accept the theory of evolution. He says when Darwin's theory was first published in Britain it was welcomed by both the Anglican and Catholic Churches.
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11-Nov-2009
Perceptive, evenhanded, thought provoking, horizon expanding, remarkably well informed - words like these popped into my head as I read John L. Allen Jr's new book, The Future Church: How Ten Trends Are Revolutionising the Catholic Church. I thought I detected in his introduction a note of apology for writing as "a journalist, not a priest, theologian or academic." His credentials, as NCR readers know, are just fine. If you had doubts, the book will dispel them. - Fr John W. O'Malley, National Catholic Reporter
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13-Nov-2009
It has been an open secret that powerful forces in the Church's leadership have strongly opposed the reforms set in motion by the Second Vatican Council and have worked quietly yet assiduously during the past 40 years to roll back what has been accomplished. The regression is usually couched in Orwellian churchspeak, which lavishes praise on the Council even as its intentions are reversed. - National Catholic Reporter
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12-Nov-2009
One thing you can give our media Chattering Classes, they are utterly consistent. After Major Nidal Malik Hasan opened fire on a roomful of defenceless people in Fort Hood, it was absolutely assured that we would immediately be told that this outrage had nothing to do with his Islamic faith and that it was not an act of terror. - Mark P. Shea, Inside Catholic
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11-Nov-2009
The very changes needed to strengthen the education system and raise standards are not happening under Kevin Rudd's education revolution. Instead of supporting competition and choice and giving all schools the resources, autonomy and freedom to get on with the job, in the ALP's so-called revolution all roads lead to Canberra. It is highly centralised, bureaucratic and statist in nature and scores a three out of 10. - Dr Kevin Donnelly, The Age
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10-Nov-2009
With representatives of the world's nations due to jet into Copenhagen this December to discuss ways of saving the planet from inevitable incineration due to the human race's increasing carbon dioxide emissions, many in key sectors of the Christian churches have already joined the bandwagon, along with most of the mass media, politicians and educators. - John Morrissey, AD2000
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09-Nov-2009
In the end it all comes down to tolerance and fairness. Mostly imbued with Christian values, Australians are tolerant and very fair. Christianity hasn't always been tolerant, but church leaders of the 20th century have at least moved beyond calling for the execution of newspaper editors who published irreverent cartoons. - Alan Howe, Herald Sun
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09-Nov-2009
Centacare Brisbane will reflect on more than 50 years of supporting families and the community with its annual Centacare Week celebrations (November 9 - 17). Centacare week honours the social service arm of the Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane. More than 3,200 staff and volunteers take up the gospel challenge of revealing the compassionate heart of Jesus to those people most in need.
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