Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople and representatives of other Orthodox and Anglican churches accompanied Pope Benedict in lighting a candle to launch the Year of St Paul.
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Volunteers refuse WYD powers
Rural Fire Service and State Emergency Service volunteers will not seek "authorised person" status while assisting with WYD in order to avoid "negative interactions with people".
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Vietnam up, US down on WYD numbers
A record number of Vietnamese pilgrims will attend World Youth Day this year but US numbers are down - and 50 Angola pilgrims are stranded in Sydney instead of Adelaide because tour organisers thought the SA capital was only an hour way.
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Celebrate the living spirit: Bishops urge
Australia's bishops have urged Catholics to "celebrate the Living Spirit" to mark Aboriginal and Torres Islander Sunday this weekend.
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Korean priests in Mass protest against US beef
Two hundred South Korean priests have celebrated a street Mass in Seoul to protest an unpopular government decision to resume beef imports from the US.
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Bees for Benedict
Italian scooter manufacturer Piaggio has presented Pope Benedict with two new specially made three wheeled vehicles.
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Feature - Walking away from what they do not know
"People who leave the Church are not leaving because they are rejecting the teachings of John Paul II or Pope Benedict. Most do so because they go to Catholic schools and they think that the kind of warm secular humanism with Christian gloss that they get in Catholic schools is in fact the Catholic faith and it hasn't captured their imagination, their love or their intellect so they are walking away from something that they do not know." - The Catholic Herald
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Featured Website - First Things
First Things is a monthly ecumenical journal concerned with the creation of a "religiously informed public philosophy for the ordering of society." It is published by The Institute on Religion and Public Life in the United States of America.
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Film Review - Kung Fu Panda
Kung Fu Panda is essentially a martial arts comedy and is a total action movie. It has striking effects and action sequences and a particularly impressive concluding fantasy sequence which brings DreamWorks to a new level of technological sophistication. There is a strong cultural feel about the movie and it heavily draws on Chinese culture to bring authenticity to its fantasy. - Peter Sheehan, Australian Catholic Office for Film and Broadcasting
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Opinion - God is without circumference
His challenge was to see the beauty in every face, even when the owner of that face had long given up on it. Surely, that is to love others as Jesus did—Jesus the One who never gives up on us. If we are to love as Jesus loved, we need to be forgiving people. Forgiving people are bridge-builders and reconcilers. - Fr Chris Gleeson, Madonna
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OPINION
Beyond knowledge to wisdomI believe this is one of the crisis points for contemporary Christianity. Put bluntly, its representatives do not seem wise. Yes, those representatives can give you any amount of information, some of them can even speak knowledgeably of Christian teachings. Wisdom is another thing altogether. - Fr Michael Whelan [More] - Aquinas Academy
FEATURE
Connected across bordersIt is time for leaders of nations to see their national interests as connected with the interests of people on the other side of the globe. We have reached the point where human existence is at stake and our destiny is inextricably linked. If we are to overcome this crisis of climate change we need to think beyond the confines of national states. - Just Comment [More] - Edmund Rice Centre
FEATURED CATHOLIC WEBSITE
Catholic Education Diocese of ParramattaReturning to our education theme, we shine the spotlight on arguably the most innovative Catholic education website in the country. In addition to all the standard features of any CEO site, Parramatta's includes some interactive opinion polls and a competition for students to attempt to ''Become the Executive Director for the day''. The site is also well regarded for its RE and curriculum resources.
- www.parra.catholic.edu.au
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Committee pledges hunt for source of Pell complainant character slur
The body that examines abuse allegations on Friday vowed to try to find those who leaked personal information about a man who claims he was sexually assaulted by the Archbishop of Sydney, Dr George Pell.
The undertaking came from Sr Angela Ryan, the Melbourne-based executive officer of the church's National Committee for Professional Standards, which supervises the Towards Healing process for those abused by the clergy, church workers and members of religious orders.
Sr Ryan said the search for the truth about the leaks would be part of an overall review of Towards Healing following the commission of inquiry into the allegations against Dr Pell.
The commission, under former Supreme Court judge Alec Southwell, ended in Melbourne on Friday night after a five-day inquiry into allegations that Dr Pell had abused a boy, aged 11, at a camp for altar boys at Smiths Beach, Phillip Island, in 1961.
The leaks - including the complainant's name - were seen as damaging to the complainant's case. The Broken Rites support group for abuse victims revealed that within hours of the church decision to hold an inquiry, the complainant's name had been released to the media, with details of his criminal past.
SOURCE
The Age
IRISH CARDINAL APOLOGISES FOR MISTAKES IN ABUSE CASES
In a letter distributed at Masses throughout the Dublin Archdiocese, Cardinal Desmond Connell says he deeply regrets the mistakes he made in dealing with the cases of child sexual abuse by priests.
"We failed in significant ways to deal with it appropriately," he said in the letter, distributed at the weekend. "For these failures we ask for forgiveness."
Meanwhile, the president of the U.S. bishops' conference said he hopes the clerical sex-abuse scandals do not weaken the role of religious ideals in influencing public policy, the Associated Press reported.
AP said that Bishop Wilton Gregory, at a Mass in Washington, D.C., for government officials today, cited the role of "religious voices" in shaping policies "whether they be war and peace, the death penalty, stem cell research or questions of poverty.''
SOURCE
Zenit
LINKS
Australian Paper Exposes Campaign against Archbishop Pell (Catholic World News)
George Pell's accuser has career in crime (Sunday Herald-Sun)
Cardinal regrets church's 'failure' (BBC)
Archbishop Pell faces his accusers (4/10/02)
Activities of jailed priest reportedly resurface in Pell inquiry (2/10/02)
Southwell inquiry starts in Victoria (Catholic Weekly)
Critics complain about 'closed door' Pell inquiry (1/10/02)
Inquiry into archbishop abuse claims (BBC)
Pell sex abuse hearing to take place today (30/9/02)
Day of truth dawns for Pell and accuser (The Age)
Pell knew ´abused´ boys (27/9/02)
I knew the altar boys, says Pell (The Age)
Family unaware of Pell abuse claim (24/9/02)
Pell accuser stands by his claim (10/9/02)
Pell defence swaps QCs (The Age)
Legal lifeline for Pell accuser (AAP)
Pell´s accuser weighs up his options (9/9/02)
Terms of Reference Releases for Pell Enquiry (Australian Catholic Bishops Conference)
Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney
Terms of Reference - The Pell Enquiry (comment from lawyer Geoff Cahill)
Dr Pell steps aside while allegations are investigated (Catholic Weekly 1/9/02)
8 Oct 2002
