WYD visitors in modest boost to tourism
The number of tourists to Australia in World Youth Day month, July 2008, jumped by 47,000 compared with the same month last year, figures show.
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NSW parents lobby to keep free student travel
The New South Wales Catholic Education Commission has confirmed that it has called on parents of children in Catholic schools to lobby for the scrapping of a new travel levy for students.
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Qld, Vic school teachers in new abuse cases
A former Catholic College Bendigo staff member has pleaded guilty to sexually abusing two young boys twenty years ago while a Darling Downs Catholic school teacher has been charged with seven counts of rape.
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Catholic Healthcare pilots squalor phone hotline
Catholic Healthcare is to launch a Sydney telephone hotline to coordinate responses to people living in domestic squalor.
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Poland's Wyszynski proposed Wojtyla
Cardinal Stefan Wyszinski declined to be nominated as pope during a 1978 conclave, proposing instead his compatriot Karol Wojtyla, the late Polish primate's journal reveals.
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Vatican denounces Congo "massacre of the poor"

Describing recents events in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as a "massacre of the poor", Vatican spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi called for world support to end the violence and assist refugees.


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Feature - A positive legacy comes from grief

David and Samantha Meyn of East Maitland have gained wisdom beyond their years after losing their son Harrison, who was diagnosed with a brain tumour at the age of 6, in July 2006. Oscar, now 7 and Campbell, 3, speak often of their older brother and love to draw attention to the photos displayed at home. - Tracey Edstein, Aurora


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Featured Website - Edmund Rice Centre for Justice and Community Education
The western Sydney based Edmund Rice Centre for Justice and Community Education is the organisation behind the documentary on Australia's treatment of asylum seekers, A Well Founded Fear, which airs on SBS TV tonight. The Centre is a ministry of the Christian Brothers and has a history of advocacy and campaigning on social justice issues.
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Radio - The Rhythm Divine: The Rapping Priest

Fr Stan Fortuna is a Catholic priest and a founding member of the Community of Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, an order established in the heart of the South Bronx in 1987. But he is also a musician known worldwide as "the rapping priest". Even after 20 years it's not a title he's totally comfortable with.


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Opinion - A moment in history for Anglicans and Catholics

2008 has been a year of potentially historic breakthroughs between Anglican Christians and the Chair of Peter. Many Catholics have noted with great interest the growing number of Anglicans who have approached the possibility of coming into full communion with the Catholic Church. - Deacon Keith Fournier, Catholic Online


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OPINION
Beyond knowledge to wisdom
I 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 borders
It 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 Parramatta
Returning 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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Bakhtiaris ´headed for Afghanistan´ according to Centacare head


Dale West, friend of the Bakhtiari family and head of the Centacare Adelaide, claims the Bakhtiari have left the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, and are possibly heading for the Afghan border. The family arrived in Pakistan on Sunday morning, Australian time, but have not been seen since.

Mr West told the Sydney Morning Herald that on Monday he talked with people in Pakistan who had spoken with Montazar (the 14-year-old son of Ali and Roqia Bakhtiari) in Islamabad. Mr West´s contacts believe the Bakhtiaris are well on their way to Afghanistan.

"The distance between Islamabad and the Afghan border is about 200 to 300 miles so if they have left I expect them to be there by now," said Mr West. "However, I can´t say for certain if they are in Afghanistan."

ABC News reports a Pakistani immigration official has confirmed a family deported from Australia arrived in Islamabad on Sunday.

"We allowed them go after someone furnished a personal guarantee that they would return for investigations," he said.

The Pakistani immigration official said the family´s nationality could not be ascertained because they did not have any passports or identification papers when they arrived in Islamabad.

"The person who gave guarantee later took them to Flashman´s Hotel in nearby Rawalpindi," he said.

The hotel staff confirm that Bakhtiyaris came on Sunday, but were denied accommodation because they did not have passports or valid identification.

SOURCE
Bakhtiaris ´en route to Afghanistan´ (Sydney Morning Herald 4/1/05)
Bakhtiyaris vanish after arriving in Pakistan (ABC News 4/1/05)

LINKS
Edmund Rice Centre | Deported to Danger Report
Centacare Adelaide
Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs

ARCHIVE
Bakhtiyaris deported to save face, says Centacare head (CathNews 4/1/05)
Fears for Bakhtiyaris´ safety after deportation (CathNews 24/12/04)
Brigidine says Bakhtiyari family ´victims of cruel deed´ (CathNews 23/12/04)
NZ refuses Bakhtiyari pleas (CathNews 21/12/04)
Headmaster blasts ´totalitarian´ act on family (CathNews 21/12/04)
Students rally behind detained Bakhtiyari family (CathNews 20/12/04)
Headmaster optimistic over Bakhtiyari claims re-examination (CathNews 31/8/04)
Centacare director ´devastated´ by Govt demands (CathNews 30/6/04)
Bishop´s increased concern over Baxter situation (CathNews 13/12/04)


5 Jan 2005