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.
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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".
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Bees for Benedict
Italian scooter manufacturer Piaggio has presented Pope Benedict with two new specially made three wheeled vehicles.
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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
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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.
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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
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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
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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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World Day of Prayer Women's Fellowship announcement
The Australian Bishops' Commission for Australian Catholic Women has chosen today's World Day of Prayer to officially announce the establishment of Young Catholic Women’s Interfaith Fellowship, which will identify and train key individuals to take a leadership role in promoting interfaith relations.
The Young Catholic Women’s Interfaith Fellowship program will equip ten young Catholic women withi academic and skills training in Interfaith Relations in 2006 to equip them for leadership in Interfaith Relations. The value of each Fellowship is $12,000.
Mrs Geraldine Hawkes, Chair of the Commission for Australian Catholic Women said: "The gifts of young Catholic women are necessary for the Church in Australia to come to a more profound understanding of itself and its role in contemporary Australia."
The Commission is seeking women who are especially gifted in forming and nurturing relationships with people from a variety of life experiences.
Last month, each of the State Premiers and Foreign Minister Alexander Downer congratulated the Commission on its initiative to seek funding for the Fellowship, which was approved by the Bishops at their November Plenary meeting in Sydney.
"CACW wishes to ensure that these gifts are encouraged and nourished and that young women be supported in leading the work of building religious understanding and peaceful coexistence in our church and in our world," said Mrs Hawkes.
The Fellowship is comprised of:
• an academic course of study resulting in a Graduate Certificate in Interfaith Relations delivered • • through Australian Catholic University, Canberra campus;
• skills development in interfaith dialogue as well as media relations
• ongoing engagement in Interfaith Relations
• personal and group reflection and processing of course content, skilling and engagement
Recruitment for the Fellowships will be through advertisements in the Catholic press, the Australian Catholic Universitiy, the University of Notre Dame Australia, and nomination by Diocesan offices, Catholic Education Offices, and Ecumenical and Interfaith Commissions.
The World Day of Prayer (logo pictured) is a global ecumenical movement of informed prayer and prayerful action. It was first observed in Australia in 1927 as the Women's World Day of Prayer. Liturgical services are held around the world. Last year, the number of Orders of Service printed for the 2004 Service totalled 104,516 and 1777 Services were held in six Australian States. Today's service - which takes the theme 'Let Our Light Shine' - was created in Poland. Its message is: 'A city built on a hill cannot be hidden'.
SOURCE
Media Release (Commission for Australian Catholic Women 3/3/05)
LINKS
Commission for Australian Catholic Women
World Day of Prayer Australia
World Day of Prayer
Interfaith fellowships for young Catholic women (Australian Catholic Bishops Conference - Bishops' Plenary Meeting, November 2004 - News Briefs - 6/12/04)
ARCHIVE
Premiers, Downer pleased with Catholic Women interfaith plan (CathNews 24/2/05)
Women´s Commission looks to future lay leadership (CathNews 18/11/04)
4 Mar 2005
