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
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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
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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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Pope presides at beatification of six
Tens of thousands of pilgrims gathered in St Peter's Square on Sunday as Pope John Paul II beatified a Polish Salesian priest, a Portugues lay woman, and four nuns, from Colombia, Mexico, Spain, and Italy.
"The secret of sanctity is the love of Christ," he said, as he presided at the 145th beatification ceremony of his pontificate.
They six beatii were:
• Augusto Czartoryski (1858-1893), a priest of the Salesians of St. John Bosco
• Laura Montoya (1874-1949), a Colombian nun
• Maria Guadalupe Garcia Zavala (1878-1963), a Mexican nun
• Nemesia Valle (1847-1916), an Italian nun
• Eusebia Palomino Yenes (1899-1935), a Spanish nun
• Alexandrina Maria da Costa (1904-1955), a Portuguese laywoman.
The Holy Father read his lengthy homily himself, switching languages in the provess. He called attention to particular virtues of each candidate for beatification.
At the conclusion of the two hour ceremony, he remained in St Peter's Square for his regular Sunday audience, greeting pilgrims from the different countries represented by the newly beatified.
He made a special mention of the relatives of Blessed Augusto Czartoryski (pictured left), who had come Poland for the beatification. "I am very close to Poland, as former Bishop of Krakow," the Pope remarked.
Pope John Paul has now presided personally at the beatification of 1334 people (1031 martyrs and 303 confessors). He has also canonised 447 saints since the beginning of his pontificate.
SOURCE
Pope presides at beatification for 6 (Catholic World News 26/4/04)
LINKS
Sprightly Pope announces six more beatifications (The Guardian/Associated Press 26/4/04)
List of Blesseds proclaimed during the Pontificate of John Paul II
Pope adds Mexican, 5 more on path to sainthood (Associated Press/ Houston Chronicle 26/4/04)
POPE BEATIFIES A PRIEST, 4 WOMEN RELIGIOUS AND A LAY WOMAN (Vatican Information Service 25/4/04)
Pope Beatifies 6 and Tells of Their Secret (Zenit 25/4/04)
Papal Homily at Beatification Mass (Zenit 25/4/04)
Democracy without ethics will decay, Pope says (Catholic World News 26/4/04)
Pontiff Suggests How Youth Can Discover God's Will (Zenit 25/4/04)
Papal trip to Lourdes planned for August (Catholic World News 23/4/04)
John Paul II Appeals for Peace in Colombia (Zenit 25/4/04)
Pope calls on Church to intensify prayer for vocations (Catholic Church in England and Wales 26/4/04)
27 Apr 2004
