Pontifical Council on Christian Unity head, Cardinal Walter Kasper, has warned the Anglican church that it "must clarify its identity" and make "difficult decisions" ahead of its forthcoming Lambeth Conference.
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Quarantine for Indigenous welfare cards undermines responsibility: CSSA
Quarantining welfare payments in indigenous communities fails to address the real issues putting children at risk and undermines people's sense of responsibility, according to Catholic Social Services Australia Executive Director, Frank Quinlan.
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Baby dies in car outside Toowoomba school
A five month old girl died yesterday after the child's mother left her in the family car while she collected her other children from a Toowoomba Catholic school.
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Latin back on menu at Vatican website
The Vatican website has introduced a section in Latin which will publish the official original editions of pontifical documents.
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Abuse victims plan protest for pope
Support groups for victims of clerical abuse are joining together to hold protests during Pope Benedict's Australian visit.
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ACU seeks student volunteers
Australian Catholic University has announced that starting in 2009 it will base its selection of students on their involvement in cultural, sporting and religious activities including volunteering as well as on academic performance.
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Hart slams Vic government over Catholic school funding
Melbourne Archbishop Denis Hart has attacked the Victorian government for its failure to increase funding for Catholic schools while boosting support for public schools by $1.3 billion and raising state teachers' annual salaries by $5,000.
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Priests and sisters among Burma dead
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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Feature - Woodstock and worship renew chance for improved relations
Since Pope John Paul II launched World Youth Day 22 years ago, it has become the Olympic Games of world religion, the largest and most complex spiritual event held on a recurring basis across the globe. One part worship and one part Woodstock, the youth oriented festival is designed to offer a rocking rebuttal to impressions that Catholicism is sliding toward oblivion. - John Allen, Sydney Morning Herald
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Featured Website - Rosary in the street
May is a month of devotion to Our Lady often best expressed through the Rosary. This website is encouraging people not just to pray the Rosary in their homes, but to take the pray with others to the street.
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Television Review - No limits
A television program devoted to showcasing people living with a disability is indeed a rare find in our commercialised world and its quest for perfection. No Limits looks at living life to the fullest with a disability, featuring stories about workshops on UN dignity and rights of people with disabilities, disability standards in education, disability legislation and much more.
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Opinion - Respect the key to youth violence
Without other standards of human flourishing to counteract those communicated on billboards and in advertising, the young members of some communities are deprived of all sources of self-esteem and respect. Unable to hope for those signs of success which the consumerist environment holds up for our emulation, young men in particular can be without resources to resist the message given them that they are failures, nonentities, nothing. - Thinking Faith
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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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Iraqi bishop says serpent's head finally crushed
Bishop Rabban al Qas from the Kurdish region of northern Iraq has described the capture of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is a "moment of joy for all Iraqis" that signals the beginning of "peaceful rebuilding" of the country with the help of a "liberating" military presence.
“The serpent’s head has been finally crushed,” he told the Italian PIME missionary organisation's news website AsiaNews.it.
Bishop al Qas, 54, is recuperating in hospital after being injured in an explosion, said there is "no longer any fear".
He said: "During the months of allied occupation, people continued living with their past fear that Saddam was everywhere... 9 April was the day of our political liberation. But only as of today, there is freedom of spirit."
Bishop al Qas predicted that Saddam's demise means "Al-Quaeda will soon be over with".
"Al-Qaeda was able to plan attacks in Iraq thanks to the Iraqis that guided them in loco. But now for whom will these Iraqis work? Who will pay them now that Saddam has been arrested?"
However Bishop al Qas said that even if Saddam Hussein is evil, "his dignity must be respected".
"But he needs to confess his crimes, to admit he killed and had killed millions of people. Even Christian forgiveness presupposes confession and atonement."
SOURCE
“The serpent’s head has been crushed: Our fears are finally over” (AsiaNews.it 15/12/03)
LINKS
Iraqi bishop sees "serpent's head crushed" (Catholic World News/AsiaNews 15/12/03)
Finding Saddam, losing Mazen (National Catholic Reporter 15/12/03)
Patty Fawkner SGS, Director of Uniya, comments on the treatment of Saddam Hussein (Unia Jesuit Social Justice Centre 15/12/03)
“The Only Possibility for Freedom”: Iraqi bishop says Iraq needs the Coalition (National Review Online/Zenit 9/12/03)
Bishop Rabban Al-Qas (catholic-hierarchy.org)
16 Dec 2003
