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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Convicted pedophile priest marries ex-nun in prison
Former priest James Porter, a convicted pedophile now awaiting trial on Minnesota state's bid to keep him locked up indefinitely as a sexually dangerous person, got married in prison this week.
Porter married Anne Milner, a former nun he met more than 40 years ago while he was a young seminarian. The two met again three years ago after Milner wrote him a letter in prison.
Porter, 69, was convicted in 1993 of sexually abusing 28 children. Although he completed his prison sentence in January, Porter has remained in custody while state prosecutors seek to have him committed.
Last month, following a two-week hearing, a judge in Taunton Superior Court ruled that there is enough evidence to hold a trial on the state's request.
Milner attended every day of Porter's hearing, sporting a sapphire and diamond engagement ring.
Porter and Milner were married Monday in a civil ceremony before a justice of the peace at the Massachusetts Treatment Centre for sex offenders in Bridgewater, where he is being held.
"It was the most beautiful day of my life," she told a local newspaper. "It was the culmination of our hopes and dreams. It's a privilege, a blessing."
Although she said she hopes their marriage will help his case when he goes to trial, she insisted that's not why they got married.
She said Porter's crimes are in the past.
"From the first days of his incarceration, James Porter has had an insatiable desire to turn his life around," she said.
SOURCE
Convicted pedophile priest marries in prison (Associated Press/Duluth News Tribune 19/5/04)
LINKS
Perv Porter is wedded to ex-nun (Boston Herald 20/5/04)
Victims recount sex horrors hoping to keep ex-priest in jail (Boston Herald 6/4/04)
21 May 2004
