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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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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Communion: What does Ratzinger really say?
There are some confusing media reports about this morning reporting a possible intervention by Cardinal Ratzinger into the controversial matter of Communion for US Catholic politicians.
What is clear is that the news has come to light as a result of the present meeting of US Bishops in Denver, Colorado. What is known is that there is a letter in circulation written by Cardinal Ratzinger to at least some US Bishops on the matter of communion. The secular media is generally reporting that the contents of the letter have not been disclosed to the media. Some of the Catholic Bishops though are reported as saying that Cardinal Ratzinger, both in his recent personal conversations during ad limina visits to Rome and in the letter is basically simply restating Church teaching on the general principles involved in the distribution of communion to all the faithful and that Rome is not intervening in the politically difficult US presidential election campaign. He isn´t issuing specific directives as to who should and who should not receive communion.
This morning the conservative Catholic World News agency claims to have a copy of the letter and that the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith is "saying that public figures who openly dissent from Church teachings should not receive Communion". They headline their story: "Ratzinger joins US debate on withholding Eucharist".
In contrast the New York Times, for example, reports: "In a sign of how delicate the issue is for the church, the Vatican office responsible for doctrinal issues sent the bishops´ meeting a letter of guidance on how to approach the Communion controversy, the church officials said. The bishops are meeting this week for what they call a special assembly at the Inverness Hotel and Conference Center, a luxury resort in Englewood, Colo. The assembly is closed to the public and the press, and the bishops were asked in advance not to respond to requests for interviews."
"Some bishops have been accused of trying to influence the presidential race after they said they would deny Communion to Senator John Kerry, a Catholic and Democratic presidential candidate who favors abortion rights."
"Church officials at the meeting declined to say what guidance was in the letter, which was sent from the Vatican by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who heads the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. But they suggested that it reiterated church teaching, which holds that Catholics who are aware they are living in serious sin or who reject church doctrine should refrain from receiving Communion."
The news from CWN is also in marked contrast to the information that we alerted you to two days ago on Vatican attitudes in this delicate matter (see link below) from John Thavis, the respected Vatican reporter for Catholic News Service.
SOURCES – FULL STORIES:
CWN – Ratzinger joins US debate on withholding Eucharist
NYT – U.S. Catholic Bishops Approve New Series of Audits on Abuse
CNS – No easy answers: U.S. debate over Communion reverberates at Vatican
LINKS:
Communion Issue Creates Split Among U.S. Bishops (New York Times 6/6/04)
Denial of Eucharist a ´slippery slope,´ cardinal tells journalists (Catholic News Service 1/6/04)
Cardinal George denies Communion to Rainbow Sash gay activists (Catholic News Service 1/6/04)
Cardinal Stands by Decision on Holy Communion (Zenit 1/6/04)
Questions the Holy See Is Asking About the Eucharist (Zenit 1/6/04)
Steady as she goes (Online Catholics 2/6/04)
18 Jun 2004
