Pope Benedict has made a plea for more action to address the poverty, conflicts and neglect that lead to the suffering or death of millions of children around the world.
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WYD visitors in modest boost to tourism
The number of tourists to Australia in World Youth Day month, July 2008, jumped by 47,000 compared with the same month last year, figures show.
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ACU unveils MacKillop sculpture
Sydney Cardinal George Pell has unveiled and blessed a specially commissioned sculpture of Blessed Mary MacKillop at the Australian Catholic University North Sydney campus.
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Breaching laws hit families: CSSA
Harsh social security breaching laws impact on families with up to 50 percent of breached job seekers falling behind in their rent, Catholic Social Services chief Frank Quinlan has told a Senate enquiry.
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Confirmation "the sacrament of farewell": Bunbury bishop
Saying that Confirmation has practically become a "Sacrament of Farewell", Bunbury Bishop Gerard Holohan has called for a radical reconsideration of the age and practice relating to its conferral.
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Qld, Vic school teachers in new abuse cases
A former Catholic College Bendigo staff member has pleaded guilty to sexually abusing two young boys twenty years ago while a Darling Downs Catholic school teacher has been charged with seven counts of rape.
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Poland's Wyszynski proposed Wojtyla
Cardinal Stefan Wyszinski declined to be nominated as pope during a 1978 conclave, proposing instead his compatriot Karol Wojtyla, the late Polish primate's journal reveals.
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Priests arrested over Indian nun murder
Citing "fresh and concrete evicence", Indian detectives have arrested two priests and a nun over the 1992 murder in Kerala of 21 year old Sr Abhaya.
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Salvador archbishop rejects inquiry into killed Jesuits
San Salvador Archbishop Fernando Saenz Lacalle has criticised the prosecution in Spain of Salvadoran officials over the 1989 massacre of six Jesuit priests.
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Feature - Differing memories of a Melbourne institution
The Abbotsford Convent wasn't a cruel place, Angela Dyer says. At least not for her. During her four years there, Dyer says, the nuns did not mistreat her, but she does remember the lack of love and her craving for affection. For some, the nuns were angels of mercy, while others remembered a nightmare childhood of beatings. - Katherine Kizilos, The Age
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Featured Website - Catholic League
This is the website of the Catholic League, the organisation which holds itself as the defender of Catholic civil rights in the United States. The League views that bias against the Catholic Church is deeply rooted in Amercian society and that "Catholic baiting is the anti-Semitism of the liberals."
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Book Review - The Ethics of the Common Good in the Social Doctrine of the Church
Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican's Secretary of State and effectively the second most important official in the Catholic Church, takes a close look at economic globalisation and the social nature of markets in this book which is notable for its ecumenical character. - Paola Fantini, Acton Institute
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Opinion - Anglican dissenters in conflict of conscience
The GAFCON leaders claimed that what they regarded as their orthodox views have not been properly respected in the Anglican Communion. They therefore have had to act out in organisational dissent. To claim that at the global level and not to respect and engage with dissenters in your own immediate family is manifestly dishonest. - Reverend Bruce Kaye, Online Opinion
[More]
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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Critics complain about 'closed door' Pell inquiry
The inquiry into sexual abuse allegations against Sydney Archbishop George Pell was criticised yesterday as being overly secretive.
The internal Catholic Church inquiry opened yesterday at a secret Melbourne location, and could run for a week.
Chief executive of Australians Against Child Abuse Joe Tucci attacked the closed-door approach.
"I appreciate it is important to protect the complainant, but the community has a right to understand how decisions are made," Mr Tucci said.
The church's National Committee for Professional Standards instigated the inquiry after allegations were published on a website that in the early 1960s, as a trainee priest, Dr Pell sexually abused a 12-year-old altar boy at a Phillip Island holiday camp.
SOURCE
Herald-Sun
GERMAN BISHOPS GIVE DIRECTIVES ON SEXUAL ABUSES
The German Catholic bishops' conference has unanimously adopted directives on the problem of sexual abuse involving priests.
The directives, described as "a common procedure for all dioceses," reflect the bishops' conviction that they will make possible "greater objectivity and transparency in each particular case." The country's 68 bishops believe that the directives will help to "regain confidence and credibility."
Approval of the directives came at the autumn plenary assembly of the bishops' conference, which ended onn Thursday.
"Every case is a scandal," Cardinal Karl Lehmann (pictured), president of the conference, stressed during a press conference Friday. He added, however, that the problem in Germany has not been as widespread as in the United States.
SOURCE
Zenit
PRIEST IN SEX CASE BACKED BY FLOCK
In a remarkable show of support, parishioners in Liverpool in the UK have defended a priest convicted of sexual assault, protesting at his "vilification at the hands of the press".
Fr Anthony McCaffrey, 41, of St Andrew's church, Hunts Cross, Liverpool, pleaded not guilty earlier this month to sexually assaulting a 19-year old-man while he slept.
The jury at Liverpool crown court returned an 11-1 majority verdict on the priest, who resigned as the chancellor of Liverpool archdiocese on his conviction.
Many parishioners at St Andrew's have written to local papers protesting at "sensational" coverage and insisting on their priest's innocence. A decision by the Liverpool Daily Post to print a photo of him on conviction caused much outrage, as did the description of a man "known for his love of designer clothing, including Versace".
On Thursday, the paper devoted a whole page to the letters and a response by a senior features writer, Peter Elson, defending the coverage. He emphasised that the conviction "was not because of the Daily Post's reports, but decided by the jury on the basis of DNA evidence".
SOURCE
The Guardian
LINKS
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)
31 Oct 2002
