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At least two priests and several sisters are among the ten of thousands of Burmese killed by Cyclone Nargis, a Salesian priest says, with many churches and related projects also badly damaged.
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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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Archbishop warns against liturgy nostalgia
Hobart's Archbishop Adrian Doyle has spoken of the folly of looking back at the pre-Vatican II liturgy with rose-tinted glasses and forgetting the enrichment the Council's reforms have added to the life of the Church.
Addressing a gathering of Tasmanian liturgists in Hobart on Tuesday, he said the liturgy was more uplifting in the "good old days", just as "tomatoes tasted better and the bread was fresher and crustier".
He said memories of the past don't always fit reality, but that there are "some Catholics who have the same attitude to their religion and in particular to the liturgy".
Archbishop Doyle was speaking ahead of today's 40th anniversary of the Council Document on liturgy Sacrosanctum Concilium.
"Anyone taking the time to read the Council's Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, promulgated 40 years ago this week, would soon realise what the good old days were really like," he said. "Before the Second Vatican Council the liturgy was, in many ways, the private preserve of the clergy. It was conducted in a language very few of the laity understood."
The archbishop payed tribute to the leadership role a previous Archbishop of Hobart - Guildford Young - played in promoting liturgical reform in Tasmania, but also nationally and internationally. Archbishop Young was one of four English-speaking bishops at Vatican II to propose a joint commission of English-speaking bishops conferences to do translations, which has predominated until recently as the International Commission for English in the Liturgy.
SOURCE
Speech of Archbishop Adrian Doyle at Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy 40th Anniversary Forum 2/12/03 (not available online)
LINKS
Sacrosanctum Concilium, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy - Second Vatican Council, Promulgated by His Holiness Pope Paul VI On December 4, 1963
Some Highlights of the Liturgical Renewal Initiated by Sacrosanctum Concilium (Francis Cardinal Arinze, Prefect, Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments)
Archdiocese of Hobart | Liturgy Commission
4 Dec 2003
