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.
[More]
Volunteers refuse WYD powers
Rural Fire Service and State Emergency Service volunteers will not seek "authorised person" status while assisting with WYD in order to avoid "negative interactions with people".
[More]
Vietnam up, US down on WYD numbers
A record number of Vietnamese pilgrims will attend World Youth Day this year but US numbers are down - and 50 Angola pilgrims are stranded in Sydney instead of Adelaide because tour organisers thought the SA capital was only an hour way.
[More]
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.
[More]
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.
[More]
Bees for Benedict
Italian scooter manufacturer Piaggio has presented Pope Benedict with two new specially made three wheeled vehicles.
[More]
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
[More]
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.
[More]
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
[More]
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
[More]
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
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\503\101.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\503\101.php on line 131
Irish Bishops launch campaign to support emigrants
To coincide with St Patrick's Day, the Irish Bishops' Commission for Emigrants has launched its "Supporting Irish Abroad" (SIA) campaign.
The Commission reaches out to Irish living in various countries including Australia, where it has a full-time chaplain to the Irish community in Sydney. But the focus of its campaign this year is the plight of the undocumented Irish living in the US, and the difficulties that they face in regularising their status.
Launching the 2005 campaign, Commission Chair, Bishop of Derry Dr Séamus Hegarty said: "We are currently working with the Migration and Refugee Service of the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops. The US bishops have initiated a campaign calling for immigration reform and this is based on the principles set out in their pastoral letter Strangers no Longer: Together on the Journey of Hope, which was jointly published with the bishops of Mexico in 2003."
Bishop Hegarty announced his intention to travel to the US to visit Irish immigrant pastoral centres, and to meet with our chaplains and those working with Irish people.
The Irish Bishops' Conference established a dedicated service in 1957 the Irish Episcopal Commission for Emigrants (IECE) to help co-ordinate support for Irish emigrants in the UK. Since that time outreach chaplaincy centres have been established in Europe, the USA and Australia.
SOURCE
Ireland: Bishops launch campaign to support Irish abroad (Independent Catholic News 14/3/05)
LINKS (not necessarily endorsed by Church Resources)
Catholic Communications Ireland | Bishops launch awareness campaign for undocumented Irish in USA (13/3/05)
MORE STORIES
St Patrick’s Day birthday celebrations (Archdiocese of Adelaide)
Irish doctors call for cut in pub opening hours (The Universe 15/3/05)
Archbishop welcomes ‘New Irish’ at St Patrick’s Day Mass (catholicireland.net 16/3/05)
Top of the mornin' to ya! (The Mercury 17/3/05)
It's time to paint the town green, to be sure (Bathurst Western Advocate)
Irish leader discounts St. Patrick's Day snubs in U.S. (Associated Press/The Plain Dealer 15/3/05)
Kennedy snub adds chill to Adams's visit (Irish Echo)
St. Patrick's Day at the Pubs (Washington Post 14/3/05)
Irish bishops seek help for emigrants living in US (Catholic World News 14/3/05)
Undocumented Irish in U.S. Get Bishops' Attention (Zenit 13/3/05)
17 Mar 2005
