 |
|
 |
|
|
|
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\505\100.php on line 153
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\505\100.php on line 153
Pope fine-tuning October Synod
The working document for an October meeting of the Synod of Bishops is nearly complete, and will be presented to the public in "two or three weeks" according to a Vatican official.
Catholic World News reports that the instrumentum laboris (or working paper), which will form the basis for discussion when the Synod of Bishops convenes in Rome on 2 October, will be available in time to give participating bishops ample time to prepare for the meeting, the official observed.
The Synod of Bishops will discuss the theme: "The Eucharist: Source and Summit of the Life and Mission of the Church."
Preparations for the Synod meeting were temporarily interrupted by the death of Pope John Paul II, due to the fact that a Synod meeting and its topic must be approved by the reigning Pontiff. Last Thursday, Pope Benedict quickly confirmed the existing plans, including the chosen theme of the meeting and the officers of the Synod, who had been named by Pope John Paul.
Pope Benedict did make one significant change in the Synod plans, shortening the duration of the assembly. The bishops will meet from 2 to 23 October - rather than until 29 October, as earlier planned. One official at the office of the Synod suggested that in changing the dates, the Pope probably wished to minimise the time that bishops would need to spend away from their own dioceses.
The instrumentum laboris is the final preparatory document for the Synod meeting. Earlier the Vatican circulated the lineamenta, an earlier draft that suggests the broad lines of possible discussion. After the circulation of the lineamenta among the world's bishops, the instrumentum laboris is prepared on the basis of their comments and suggestions.
The October meeting will be the 11th general assembly of the Synod of Bishops since these meetings were begun under Pope Paul VI in 1975. This will be the first Synod meeting of the current pontificate.
SOURCE
Synod working document near completion (Catholic World News 17/5/05)
LINKS
Synod of Bishops
MORE STORIES
Redfern's Father Ted dies (ABC Message Stick 17/5/05)
Fugitive Mafia boss said to pose as bishop (Reuters 17/5/05)
Benedict XVI Offers Blesseds As Models of Charity (Zenit 16/5/05)
Pope to Render Homage to "Sacrament of Love" (Zenit 16/5/05)
Russian Pilgrims Visit John Paul II's Tomb (Zenit 16/5/05)
Benedict XVI's Commitment to Faith and Reason in Universities (Zenit 16/5/05)
18 May 2005
