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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Pope returns home from hospital
Pope John Paul II has left his hospital in Rome, where he spent more than two weeks recovering from throat surgery, and has returned to the Vatican.
The BBC reports that he looked alert and smiling as he waved to crowds lining the road for the journey of a few kilometres from the Gemelli clinic to the Holy See. He was travelling in a gray Mercedes minivan with tinted windows rather than his more usual popemobile.
Earlier, he addressed pilgrims for the first time since his tracheotomy.
The Holy Father is expected to appear at Holy Week events later this month, but a papal spokesman stressed he would be "continuing his convalescence" at the Vatican.
It is thought the tube that was put in his throat is still in place.
When he spoke from the window of his 10th-floor room, the Pope sounded hoarse. He read only a few words from a sheet of paper but his appearance delighted those who had gathered below.
In Polish, he thanked a group of pilgrims who had travelled from his birthplace in the southern Polish town of Wadowice to be among the crowd.
And in Italian, he said: "Dear brothers and sisters, thank you for your visit. To everyone, have a good Sunday and a good week."
SOURCE
Pope returns to Vatican after op (BBC 13/3/05)
ARCHIVE
Pope to come home for Holy Week (CathNews 11/3/05)
Pope a non-starter for Holy Week (CathNews 9/3/05)
Pope told to use gestures to spare voice (CathNews 8/3/05)
Pope´s message to Berlusconi on hero Nicola Calipari (CathNews 7/3/05)
Pope hoping to be home for Easter (CathNews 4/3/05)
Cardinal urges pope to keep World Youth Day commitment (CathNews 4/3/05)
Pope celebrates Mass in hospital room (CathNews 2/3/05)
Chilean cardinal to announce Pope´s successor (CathNews 1/3/05)
Pell backs Pope resolve to carry on (CathNews 28/2/05)
Pope set for tracheotomy procedure (CathNews 25/2/05)
Mixed signals on Pope recovery (CathNews 23/2/05)
New Pope book hits Jewish sensitivities (ICathNews 21/2/05)
Pope tells media to promote truth, not trash (CathNews 22/2/05)
Vatican official urges effort to reach lapsed Catholics (CathNews 4/6/04)
Pope again encourages use of Internet for evangelisation (CathNews 18/2/04)
Vatican official urges advertising that promotes human dignity (CathNews 29/10/03)
64% in US use Internet for religious reasons (CathNews 19/5/04)
Pope says truth in media serves cause of peace (CathNews 26/3/03)
MORE STORIES
Pope prepares for window appearance (Seven News/Australian Associated Press 13/3/05)
Pope leaves hospital after 18-day stay (ABC News 14/3/05)
Pope’s voice heard in footage from hospital (AsiaNews.it 11/3/05)
Pope greets in his own voice the faithful gathered at the hospital (AsiaNews.it 13/3/05)
John Paul II back in the Vatican this evening (AsiaNews.it 13/3/05)
Vatican says pope in hospital 'few more days,' home for Palm Sunday (Catholic News Service 10/3/05)
Pope stresses need to reject anti-life campaigns to Tanzanian bishops (Catholic News Agency 11/3/05)
Pope's voice aired on Vatican telecast (Catholic World News 11/3/05)
Defend family life, Pope urges Tanzanian bishops (Catholic World News 11/3/05)
Pope, in Raspy Voice, Speaks Out Blessing (The Guardian/Associated Press 13/3/05)
John L. Allen: The pope is a rock star? (National Catholic Reporter 11/3/05)
Pope Speaks to Faithful, to Leave Hospital (Reuters 13/3/05)
Pope speaks first words in public since operation (Sydney Morning Herald 14/3/05)
Pope finds his voice for hospital Mass (Sun-Herald/Reyters 13/3/05)
The flag versus the cross (The Age 14/3/05)
Pope to leave hospital (The Age 14/3/05)
Pope to be discharged today (The Mercury 14/3/05)
Pope welcomes Tanzanian prelates on "ad limina" visit (Vatican Information Service 11/3/05)
John Paul II Due Out of Hospital by Palm Sunday (Zenit 12/3/05)
Pope's Voice Recorded for 1st Time Since Surgery (Zenit 11/3/05)
Pope Urges Resistance to Imposed Sterilization and Contraception (Zenit 11/3/05)
14 Mar 2005
