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\403\114.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\403\114.php on line 131
Pope praises Neocatechumenal Way's formation work
Pope John Paul II has recognised the "abundant good fruits" produced by the Neocatechumenal Way's work in seminary formation.
Speaking to the community of Rome's Redemptoris Mater diocesan seminary, the Holy Father paid tribute to its 16 years of "formation of priests for the new evangelisation".
"A great number of enthusiastic priests have come from your seminary," he said. "They are priests dedicated in part to the pastoral service in the diocese of Rome and in part to the mission in every corner of the world as fidei donum priests."
The Way was started by Kiko Arguello in the slums of Madrid in 1965. By the time it was formally recognised by the Pope in 1990 as an "itinerary of Catholic formation valid for the present society and for our times" it had already spread to over 87 countries. Today it is in 105 countries and more than 860 parishes.
The Pope told the seminarians that when they are ordained they will belong "to the diocesan priesthood which has the bishop as the main reference point, and at the same time will (live) the deep bond that links you to the Neocatechumenal Way."
Quoting their Statutes, he said: "Candidates to the priesthood find in participating in the Neocatechumenal Way a specific and fundamental element of the formational path and, at the same time, are prepared for the genuine priestly choice of serving the entire people of God, in the fraternal communion of the priesthood."
Missionaries from the Neocatechumenal Way came to Australia in 1977. The Way is now present in nine dioceses, with around 50 communities across the country. There are seminaries in Perth and Sydney.
The Way conducts ministry to Aboriginal people in the dioceses of Broome and Darwin, and the Archdiocese of Sydney, where Fr Gerry Prindiville was last year named the new Parish Priest of St Vincents, Redfern.
However Fr Prindiville, a diocesan priest who received his formation through the Neocatechumenal Way, has been the subject of accusations of gross pastoral insensitivity by longstanding Indigenous and non-Indigenous parishioners. He has replaced many practices and structures introduced by previous long-term parish priest Fr Ted Kennedy.
SOURCE
Pope thanks Neocatechumenal Way for vocation formation (Vatican Information Service 18/3/04)
LINKS
Neocatechumenal Way (International site)
Neocatechumenal Way (Australian site)
New home for new breed of priest (Catholic Weekly 6/4/03)
Neocatechumenal Way setting up its second Australian seminary (AD2000 June 2002)
Archdiocese of Sydney: The Neocatechumenal Way - Background
Church Mouse | The mystery of the Eucharist: Polarised views at St Vincent’s Church Redfern
Neo-catechumenate Review (Parishioners Against a Secret Church, UK)
19 Mar 2004
