For some charities, delivery is half the battle




		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\20.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\20.php on line 131 For some charities, delivery is half the battle They have a fleet of sport utility vehicles, each labeled with a large window sticker to note the arrival of Catholic Relief Services in this battered city. But almost two weeks after a wall of water destroyed half of this city, workers from Catholic Relief Services, based in Baltimore, have still not delivered any direct aid here. The International Herald Tribune reports that the aid workers are becoming increasingly frustrated. But it is also a demonstration of the great difficulty of setting up a relief operation in such a remote location, at the western edge of Indonesia, which until recently had been off limits for most aid groups because of fighting between the government and separatists. "Stress and frustration is what makes things happen," said Wayne Ulrich, who serves as the service´s emergency assistance coordinator in Indonesia, acknowledging his disappointment with the pace of progress. "The more you are concerned, the faster things will get done." Catholic Relief Services arrived in Banda Aceh with a modest goal: deliver about 740 "family packs," which include a mattress, pots, soap and toothbrushes, to some of the hundreds of thousands of people left homeless in this lush mountainous province. The packs are just a small part of the $25 million effort the agency is undertaking in India, Sri Lanka and Indonesia. As of Wednesday, the kits were still in Jakarta. Catholic Relief Services is certainly not the only charity to get off to a slow start. But some groups already have made a major contribution to the growing response. A lack of familiarity with the Aceh region has also slowed the group´s startup. Catholic Relief Services has not previously had a field operation in Banda Aceh. In India, where it has a much larger presence, the group was able to move more quickly to help open shelters for displaced families. SOURCE For some charities, delivery is half the battle (International Herald Tribune 6/1/05) LINKS Catholic Relief Services 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 Tsunami aid operation stumbles as UN fears tens of thousands more dead (Catholic Online 4/1/05) 6 Jan 2005