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
[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
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Pope tipped for Nobel Peace Prize
Despite a last minute shift of opinion towards former Czech president Vaclav Havel, Pope John Paul II is tipped to be named winner of this year's Nobel Peace Prize at 7:00 pm tonight Sydney time.
National Catholic Reporter publisher Tom Fox suggests there is no doubt the Pope will be named.
"You heard it here first," he said in Thursday's online opinion feature. "In less than 24 hours Pope John Paul II will be declared the winner of the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize!"
But Alice Springs-based betting website Centrebet gave John Paul 2-1 odds of winning the prize, ahead of Havel (8-1), who received this year's Gandhi Peace Prize. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was given 14-1 odds, while Afghan leader Hamid Karzai had 25-1 odds.
Observers believe Pope John Paul II will be cited for his repeated appeals for peace throughout his quarter-century reign, but particularly his pleas for peace during the period leading up to the Iraq war.
In the months leading up to the Iraq war Pope John Paul spoke out vehemently against the notion of "pre-emtive strike" and "preventive war," arguing the notion upsets a fragile international consensus against first strikes.
The pontiff has been nominated on numerous occasions, but has never won the full support of the Nobel committee, which has rarely awarded the prize to religious figures. Exceptions include Mother Teresa of Calcutta in 1979, Archbishop Desmond Tutu in 1984, the Dalai Lama in 1989 and Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo in 1996.
In recent days speculation has grown in Italy that this might be the pope's year. Italy's premier daily, Corriere della Sera, devoted half a page to an article outlining reasons why the ailing pope should get the prize.
The Vatican has stated that the Holy Father, despite his deteriorating health, would attend the prize giving ceremony in Oslo on 10 December in the event of his being awarded the prize.
SOURCE
National Catholic Reporter
AP/Aberdeen News
LINKS
Nobel E-Museum
Centrebet
Pope the bookie's favourite for peace prize (The Age)
Bookies tip Pope for prize (BBC)
Pope Favourite to Win Nobel Peace Prize (The Scotsman)
As anticipation mounts, many wonder if pope will win Nobel Peace Prize; Havel also a contender (AP/San Francisco Chronicle)
Pope, Brazilian president tipped for Nobel Prize (Dawn)
Pope asks Filipino bishops to promote chastity (Catholic World News)
Papal exhortation for laity of Eastern Europe (Catholic World News)
10 Oct 2003
