News
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Moscow churches will this week recall the 70th anniversary of Stalin's
Great Terror with the Orthodox Church to hold a ceremony at a shooting
range where mostly Orthodox but also Catholics and people of other
faiths were slaughtered.
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06-Aug-2007
An environmental magazine has rated Pope Benedict, who rides an
electric popemobile and has installed solar power at the Vatican, as
among the world's top religious leaders on "green" issues.
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At least two months is needed for genuine consultation on draft
legislation introduced into Federal Parliament yesterday by Indigenous
Affairs Minister Mal Brough, says Catholic Social Services chief Frank
Quinlan.
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NSW bishops have backed a plan, including a trial introduction of
Catholic pre-schools, to reinforce Catholic identity and strengthen
religious literacy as part of a battle against "secularisation,
consumerism, family dysfunction and values disorientation".
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Describing the God's Squad Christian Motorcycle Club members as
"chaplains to the biker community", Catholic David Hansen sees his
ministry as an opportunity to follow St Francis' dictum to "preach the
Gospel at all times - sometimes even with words".
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Citing concern that states are set to lift a series of moratoriums on
the planting of genetically modified food crops, a Sydney-based
Columban justice centre has called on Australians to lobby their state
parliaments to extend the bans.
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Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox and other Christian theologians will
meet in Toulouse, France today as part of a move to adopt a common code
of conduct among churches on how each community seeks and accepts
converts.
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06-Aug-2007
Citing increasing numbers of low income people who are being forced to
choose between paying for food, heating and rent, Catholic Social
Services has called on the Government to index rent assistance for
people in the private rental market.
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In a pre-election statement calling for "fair industrial laws" and an
end to Aboriginal child abuse, Australian bishops have urged Catholics
to get involved in the political process to promote the "common good"
and not just their own individual interests.
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Major US supermarkets and toy chains will start to carry a line of
"faith-based" toys for children including Old Testament action heroes
and heroines - and a 10 metre high inflatable ark.
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Described by Pope Benedict as a "great figure" of the Church in France,
retired Paris Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger, a Jew who converted to
Catholicism and whose Polish mother was a victim of Auschwitz, has died
after a long illness.
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Blaming two Australian mining companies for hardships experienced by
villagers in several remote Philippines villages, a town mayor has
called on the local Catholic bishop for backing in his "lonely fight"
against the mines.
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Incoming head of the revived Pontifical Council for Interreligious
Dialogue, Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, says that the facts speak for
themselves on Iraq and that "paradoxically" Christians were better
protected under Saddam's dictatorship.
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Fernando Lugo, who resigned as a Catholic bishop last December to avoid
a constitutional ban on clergy seeking political office, has kicked off
his presidential campaign with a rally in a small Paraguay town.
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One of the skateboarders who provoked a tirade from Melbourne's St
Patrick Cathedral Dean Geoff Baron has expressed regret over his role
in the affair but said that the priest's reaction was also wrong.
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The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions has lodged an appeal
against a "manifestly inadequate" fine imposed on Pine Gap Four
protestors by the NT Supreme Court and is seeking a custodial sentence.
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A Gold Coast Catholic school, Marymount Primary, has chartered a plane
to fly home a group of over 150 students from a Canberra excursion
after more than 50 students fell ill with flu, including 16 who were
hospitalised for overnight observation.
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06-Aug-2007
Backing a move by bishops to promote a stronger Catholic identity in
church schools, New South Wales Independent Education Union secretary,
Dick Shearman, says that it is only natural that the church should
"reassess the religious nature of its education message".
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The Australian Catholic University has announced the appointment of law
professor Greg Craven as its new vice-chancellor to succeed Professor
Peter Sheehan who will step down after ten years in the role.
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The Hong Kong diocese has issued a new translation of Pope Benedict's
letter because the Vatican's translation "contains mistakes and is hard
to understand", according to Taiwan and Hong Kong bishops.
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A Melbourne bishop well known for his support for Timorese people,
Bishop Hilton Deakin, is calling on Australians to remember the role
played by Papuans in assisting Australia during World War II and has
urged Australia to resist human rights abuses in the region.
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06-Aug-2007
An Australian psychologist and former sister, Michelle Mulvihill, says
that the Church moved priests facing abuse allegations to Pacific
islands in order to hide them but New Zealand church officials have
denied the claims.
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News - National
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06-Aug-2007
Sydney archdiocese has withdrawn a proposal for school principals to
make a public vow of fidelity to church teaching after planners decided
it was not an appropriate way to proceed, Catholic Education chief Br
Kelvin Canavan says.
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06-Aug-2007
A priest who was bashed outside his parish church in Canberra's
O'Connor suburb has suffered a new blow after church property sustained
over $500,000 damage in two blazes yesterday that police say were
deliberately lit.
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News - International
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06-Aug-2007
Police have charged a Colorado Catholic priest with indecent exposure
after he went for a nude early morning jog because he sweats profusely,
he says.
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06-Aug-2007
An intruder repeatedly stabbed Divine Word Fr Ho Tran and cut his
throat after the priest disturbed him early Thursday at the order's
centre in north-western Sydney.
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06-Aug-2007
Sporadic violence in East Timor continued yesterday with a number of
church properties burnt and some priests rumoured to be targeted for
attack following the naming earlier this week of Xanana Gusmao as Prime
Minister in charge of a new coalition government.
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Religion
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06-Aug-2007
A young boy's cure from multiple sclerosis is virtually "unheard of",
according to vice-postulator for the sainthood cause of Mary MacKillop,
Sr Maria Casey, who has referred the case to a Vatican doctor before a
possible official church judicial enquiry.
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06-Aug-2007
In a webcast courting the Christian vote last night, Prime Minister
John Howard told viewers that there are people of good faith in all
political parties while Opposition leader Kevin Rudd said that
Christian faith shapes the values that he tries to uphold in the public
sphere but "not always successfully".
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Regulars
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06-Aug-2007
Newly ordained Fr Kevin Kiem, 63, describes himself as someone who
"likes to be part of a system and doesn't mind some pressure" being
placed on him. His years as a teacher of mathematics and science, and
as a school principal reflect this, although being father to four sons
may at times have challenged his love of order and structure! When his
children had become young adults and at an age when most men are
looking forward to putting their feet up and slowing down after a
demanding career, Kevin found himself at a crossroads - Tracey Edstein
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06-Aug-2007
Sr Janet Palafox, 42, feels she has come a long way since her radical
student days rallying for social change in the 80s in the Philippines.
"I thought I'd seen hardship and battle for justice before. I thought I
knew about these things. But my experience with Loreto Sisters ... the
places I have been to, the people I have met, the stories I have shared
... have enriched and changed my life forever." Joining the Loreto
Sisters has allowed her to pursue her passion and drive for social
justice.
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In June, Pope Benedict XVI surprised the Church with an apostolic
letter issued "motu proprio", ie on his own initiative, concerning the
votes required at a conclave for the valid election of the pope. The
document is brief, its language is terse, and its content is simple and
clear: in all circumstances two thirds of the votes of the cardinals is
required for the valid election of a pope. Why was this new order
needed? It was needed because John Paul II had broken with an ancient
tradition - Ladislas Orsy
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"The greatest poverty-reducing machine in history is the market
economy." So said former Melbourne philosopher and economist Samuel
Gregg, now a high-flyer with the Acton Institute, a free-market think
tank in the US, last week. Dr Gregg, back in Melbourne on holiday,
launched a new book, Catholic Social Teaching and the Market Economy,
at the Institute of Public Affairs on Friday and got in some solid
blows against both the economic teaching of Catholic bishops and the
interventionist welfare state - Barney Zwartz
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Shortly after being appointed editor of The Universe,
the Catholic weekly, I received a letter of complaint from the late
Archbishop of Birmingham. The paper had reported the case of a priest
of his diocese who had been found guilty of child abuse. "It's bad
enough when this is reported in the secular press," he wrote, "but we
don't want our own newspapers to publicise it as well." After a
worldwide scandal and the drip-drip of case after case of abuse by
priests, have things really changed in the British church? - Tom Murphy
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06-Aug-2007
Traditionally religious beliefs have been considered a private matter
in Australia. Unlike in the US, most Australians look askance at those
who declare their love of God from the rooftops. Perhaps this helps to
explain why health minister Tony Abbott, the former seminarian whose
strong Catholic views have coloured his political decisions, scores
relatively poorly in a recent national opinion survey on whether
Australians believe certain political leaders deserve to go to heaven.
On the other hand, Peter Garrett, who keeps his firm Christian beliefs
to himself, scores well - Clive Hamilton
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06-Aug-2007
Sometimes it seems that everyone is an expert on liturgy and that
personal preference carries more weight than the considered judgement
of someone with years of study and experience in the field. The
self-proclaimed liturgy "experts" will often quote liturgical law to
prove their point. They see official Church documents - especially
those dealing with liturgy - as weapons to browbeat sincere pastors and
parishes into their own way of thinking and acting. This is not what
these documents are intended for - Elizabeth Harrington
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In the documents of the Second Vatican Council is a mandate for an
encouragement of the popular in music - the "music of the people" at
Mass. This is an aspect of Vatican II that lovers of fine music hope
will not always be understood as it has been by many parishes. Today in
America, up to 90 million people have muzak forced upon them daily -
and it ranges from trivial pop music to the most debased forms of rap
music. Musical ignorance is on the rise among the populace, and musical
taste is in decline - Webster Young
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Amnesty International's decision to abandon its neutral policy on
abortion in favour of advocating a raft of abortion rights has
surprised many members and friends. Amnesty is not a Catholic or
religious organisation. I am not seeking to impose a Catholic line on
Amnesty or to demonise others. But I urge the organisation to recognise
that its new position excludes those who believe that the unborn are
entitled to at least consideration in the human rights arena. If people
of faith feel excluded then it runs the risk of becoming just another
secular Left voice - Fr Chris Middleton
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The Vatican officially accepts the Billings method. But how many
bishops' conferences accept it as a viable, positive alternative to
artificial family-planning methods? As a group, they all would support
promoting it, but they have differences. In India, my experience has
been varied from excitement to extreme sadness. I am excited when I
hear stories of couples who have benefited and enrich their marriage
using the method. I am also sad because the Church in India has done so
little to really promote the Billings method - Sr Catherine Bernard
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