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.
[More]
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".
[More]
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.
[More]
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.
[More]
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.
[More]
Bees for Benedict
Italian scooter manufacturer Piaggio has presented Pope Benedict with two new specially made three wheeled vehicles.
[More]
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
[More]
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.
[More]
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
[More]
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
[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
Warning: main(http://www.cathnews.com/cgi-bin/ad_management.pl) [function.main]: failed to open stream: HTTP request failed! HTTP/1.1 404 Not Found in E:\hshome\eureka0\cathnews.com\news\310\160.php on line 131
Warning: main() [function.include]: Failed opening 'http://www.cathnews.com/cgi-bin/ad_management.pl' for inclusion (include_path='.\;C:\HSphere.NET\3rdparty\PHP\4.4.7\PEAR') in E:\hshome\eureka0\cathnews.com\news\310\160.php on line 131
Hawaiian nun moves toward sainthood
Mother Marianne Cope, the Franciscan nun whose name and mission have been linked with Fr Damien of Molokai, is now a step closer to being declared a saint.
It was announced last week that her cause was unanimously accepted by the Vatican Congregation for the Causes of Saints. She is expected to be soon declared venerable, ahead of beatification and eventual canonisation.
Mother Marianne arrived in Hawaii in 1883 after King David Kalakaua had asked for Mainland Catholic help for the children of Hansen's disease (leprosy) patients in what was then being called Hawaii's "national affliction".
The superior of her Franciscan convent in New York, Mother Marianne responded to the call and brought six other nuns with her. She never left the Islands, dying there in 1918 at age 80.
Mother Marianne lived in Kalaupapa for the last five months of Fr Damien's life after she had arrived to establish a women's home on the tiny peninsula. She was different from the stubborn Belgian priest, who defied authority and eventually came down with Hansen's disease himself.
"She worked with authority," said Sr Mary Laurence Hanley, whose research frequently brought her to Hawaii and who serves as the order's "cause director" for Mother Marianne's sainthood in New York.
"She worked with the government more and tried to go through official channels as much as possible. She knew when to raise her voice (and) when it would do no good to do so."
Mother Marianne's legacy has spawned books, plays and songs, and she has been listed among the legendary figures in Hawaii's history and among the most notable women of Hawaii. Besides creating the women's home for Hansen's disease patients on Molokai, she also started what is now Maui Memorial Hospital, the first hospital on Maui. After Father Damien's death, she took over administration of the men's and boys' home on Molokai.
SOURCE
Kalaupapa nun moves toward sainthood (Honolulu Advertiser)
LINKS
Mother Marianne Cope and the Sisters of St. Francis (Kalaupapa National Historical Park)
Servant of God Mother Marianne Cope (catholic homeschooling.com)
St Francis Healthcare System of Hawaii
29 Oct 2003
