Stronger faith builds in the wake of disaster




		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. [More] 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. [More] 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. [More] Catholic Healthcare pilots squalor phone hotline Catholic Healthcare is to launch a Sydney telephone hotline to coordinate responses to people living in domestic squalor. [More] 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. [More] 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. [More] 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 [More] 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. [More] 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. [More] 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 [More] 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
				Warning: main(http://www.cathnews.com/cgi-bin/ad_management.pl) [function.main]: failed to open stream: HTTP request failed! HTTP/1.1 404 Not Found in E:\hshome\eureka0\cathnews.com\news\501\18.php on line 131 Warning: main() [function.include]: Failed opening 'http://www.cathnews.com/cgi-bin/ad_management.pl' for inclusion (include_path='.\;C:\HSphere.NET\3rdparty\PHP\4.4.7\PEAR') in E:\hshome\eureka0\cathnews.com\news\501\18.php on line 131 Stronger faith builds in the wake of disaster Hundreds of people packed St Mary´s Cathedral in Hobart last night for a special mass - led by two Sri Lankan priests - for victims of the tsunami. Young Launceston Sri-Lankan born Catholic priest Father Milton read the gospel and his colleague Father Dudley Prerera celebrated the mass. Father Milton, who lost an aunt and uncle in the disaster, told The Mercury he will soon return to his homeland to share the despair. "I need to be with my own people and share the same feelings of bitterness, anger and even anxiety," Father Milton, 32, said. "I need to let them know I am part of their family." Father Dudley said as the world celebrated the festival of Christmas it was shocked by the phenomenon of nature, which had taken so many lives and made so many people so miserable. "We ask God why but it is very difficult to interpret events of nature," Father Dudley said. "The poor people are affected and the religious interpretation of those people who are suffering is an unfathomable mystery in Christianity." He said God had welcomed the poor of the land and the marginalised. "It is the poor people who have been affected and the poor people whose lives have been taken away and made more miserable ... the deeply religious of India and Indonesia, the Buddhists, Muslims and Hindus. But never ever think that the Asian people would go away from God. They will cling more and more to God and their churches, temples and mosques will be full." Father Dudley said he hoped that from the suffering people would work together to live in peace. In his homeland of Sri Lanka, he said, 60,000 people had died in ethnic conflicts and 30,000 in the tsunami. "Let this awaken us to the difficulties and strive to build a nation in unity," Father Dudley said. "Let us bring solace and comfort to those in need." SOURCE Stronger faith builds in the wake (The Mercury 6/1/05) LINKS Archdiocese of Hobart Caritas Australia \| Caritas Australia Asian Eathquake/Tsunami Appeal ARCHIVE Tsunami survivors find consolation in church personnel (CathNews 5/1/05) Bishop denounces Asian adoption profiteers (CathNews 5/1/05) Pope praises human solidarity after tsunami tragedy (CathNews 4/1/05) Australian Church sends prayers and support to tsunami victims (CathNews 4/1/05) MORE STORIES Church collects funds for tsunami victims (ABC News 5/1/05) A MLN Dollars On Its Way To ASIA Earthquake Victims - Caritas (Yahoo News 5/1/05) Priest calls for Aust to be generous (Sydney Morning Herald 5/1/05) Priest calls for Aust to be generous (The Age 5/1/05) Teenage tsunami victim´s funeral set (The Age 5/1/05) Catholic aid agencies report record giving levels for tsunami relief (Catholic News Service 4/1/05) 6 Jan 2005