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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Vietnam up, US down on WYD numbers
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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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Swiss bishops denounce calls for papal retirement
The Bishops of Switzerland have issued a statement to express their disappointment with an open letter calling for Pope John Paul II to stand down and written just weeks before the Holy Father is due to visit their country.
The publication of the letter – signed by more than 40 Catholic priests and lay people – coincided with the Pope's 84th birthday on Tuesday.
One Swiss bishop, Kurt Koch, said the decision to publish the letter as the Pope celebrated his birthday was "disgusting and disloyal".
Marc Aellen, spokesman for the Swiss Bishops Conference, said it was "extremely upsetting that people should use the arrival of the Pope to make such a comment”.
The letter “is not characteristic of the greeting which Switzerland is preparing for him," Aellen added.
The letter, which was delivered to the Bishops Conference on Friday, was signed by priests, theology professors, and Catholic lay people.
One of the signatories was Xavier Pfister, information officer for the Catholic Church in Basel. In an interview with swissinfo on Tuesday, Pfister said the Pope had done important work.
“We say that in the letter. We're not saying he's not a good Pope,” Pfister said. "But as his age increases and his health deteriorates, his abilities are increasingly in doubt and the Pope is in some ways less credible. And we think it's important to tell him that, so that he gives some thought to standing down."
SOURCE
Swiss bishops denounce calls for Pope to retire (Swissinfo 18/5/04)
LINKS
John Paul II Marks His Birthday With a Day of Work (Zenit 18/5/04)
New book by John Paul II expected to be best-seller (Catholic World News 19/5/04)
Pope hopes to take Alpine vacation in July (Catholic World News 19/5/04)
Confession, forgiveness are focus of papal audience (Catholic World News 19/5/04)
SACRAMENT OF CONFESSION: THE JOY OF BEING FORGIVEN (Vatican Information Service 19/5/04)
POPE RECALLS 60TH ANNIVERSARY OF BATTLE OF MONTE CASSINO (Vatican Information Service 19/5/04)
20 May 2004
