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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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 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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Timorese Church opposes war crimes deal
East Timor's new Catholic bishop has opposed a deal between Timorese and Indonesian leaders to drop trials over atrocities committed during the country's 1999 independence process, saying it lacks public support.
The Australian Financial Review reports that Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his Timorese counterpart Xanana Gusmao agreed in Jakarta last month to form a Truth and Friendship Commission to deal with crimes during Indonesia's scorched earth withdrawal six years ago.
The United Nations has refused to endorse the deal, proposing instead a Commission of Experts to assess why a 1999 Security Council resolution to try those accused of war crimes has failed.
"What Kofi Annan says or not, what Timorese leaders want or not, the position of the church is the same, it's clear and firm. We need justice, justice must be done," Bishop Alberto Ricardo da Silva said.
He took over as bishop of Dili - an influential position in the largely Catholic country - last year, replacing Nobel peace laureate Carlos Ximenes Belo, who retired due to ill-health.
The new bishop asserted that "all" Timorese people supported war crimes trials, and said he was dealing with constant complaints from his congregation over the issue.
Foreign Ministers Jose Ramos Horta of East Timor and Hassan Wirayuda of Indonesia are due to meet in Jakarta this week to hammer out details of the proposed commission.
Bishop da Silva said the Timorese church would not actively petition the United Nations on the issue, "but our door is always open".
The 61-year-old said he was puzzled by Mr Gusmao's stand. "I don't understand," he said. "If you reconcile, does justice remain to be done, or is it not going to be done?
"When a person steals, and they're not tried, where are we?
"If there was a crime, there has to be justice. This is independent of Xanana's position. It's nothing new, it's always been the church's position on justice and peace... Guilty or not guilty, justice must be done," he said.
He said he had not yet spoken personally to Mr Gusmao on the issue, but would like clarification.
SOURCE
Timorese church opposes war crimes deal (Financial Review/AFP 7/2/05)
MORE STORIES
Timor Bishop opposes war crimes deal (ABC/AFP 7/2/05)
New ETimor bishop opposes deal with Indonesia over war crimes (ABC Radio Australia 7/2/05)
Timor Bishop opposes war crimes deal (AsiaNews.it 7/2/05)
Timor bishop opposes move to drop war-crime charges (Catholic World News 7/2/05)
8 Feb 2005
