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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Cardinal Kasper denies Vatican endorsing Gibson movie
A New York-based Jewish weekly is reporting that the Vatican is distancing itself from the comments of two of its officials who recently praised the controversial Mel Gibson movie The Passion.
Forward magazine reports that Cardinal Walter Kasper, Prefect of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, wrote to the Anti-Defamation League last weekend to say that any endorsements of the film from top church leaders represent "purely personal" views that bear "no official status".
Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos, and head of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications told the Italian daily La Stampa last week that all priests and Christians should see the film. Head of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications Archbishop John Foley also praised The Passion.
The comments by the Vatican officials have fueled speculation that the Holy See had endorsed the views of the movie. Some observers argue the film is anti-Semitic in that it promotes the idea of collective Jewish responsibility for Jesus' death, which Vatican II repudiated.
Foreward magazine says Cardinal Kasper told Jewish leaders that the film was an American issued that should be handled by the US Conference of Bishops. But the furor provoked by the comments from Foley and Hoyos have forced Kasper to speak out publicly.
Monsignor Francis Maniscalco, the communications director of the bishops' conference, told the Forward that the body would review and take a position on the film only when it is released.
Kasper wrote in his letter that no official position will be taken until church officials in Rome see the film.
SOURCE
Foreward
LINKS
Vatican official praises Mel Gibson's The Passion (16/9/03)
Pontifical Council for Social Communications
Simon Wiesenthal Centre | SWC urges Mel Gibson to make changes to The Passion
Vatican praises Gibson's film on life of Jesus despite fears of Jewish groups (Scotland on Sunday)
Gibson guided by 'Holy Ghost' (Sydney Morning Herald 2/7/03)
Mel's latest may be too violent for box office success (Irish Examiner)
Mel's graphic passion (Herald-Sun)
Passion Play (Michael Novak in The Weekly Standard)
Fox Declines Mel Gibson's 'Passion' (Newsmax.com)
26 Sep 2003
