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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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Adelaide respite centre plans to fill mental health gap
A new respite centre for the intellectually disabled and their families officially opened the doors of its new premises north of Adelaide yesterday.
Run by Catholic welfare agency Centacare, Auricht House will provide much needed respite care in Elizabeth North for up to 10 children each day.
"One of the most pressing needs for families in South Australia who have a member with an intellectual disability is the provision of respite care," said Centacare director Dale West.
"Across South Australia there is a grave lack of respite for families caring for someone with intellectual disability," said Mr West.
Centacare-fundraising over the past year, including skydiving challenges and abseiling down the face of the Adelaide Hilton, and State Government funding has enabled the building of Auricht House.
The respite house was opened by Families and Community Services Minister Jay Weatherill and blessed by Archbishop Philip Wilson. It is named after the late Mark Auricht, who dedicated his fatal 2001 Mount Everest summit attempt to Centacare and, in particular, to supporting the establishment of the new respite service.
Auricht House will allow Centacare to expand its northern support care program, which assists over 100 families and has been operating day respite care services from temporary accommodation. Auricht House will allow for the service to expand so that it will eventually include overnight respite opportunities.
"Respite provides opportunities for parents or carers to have a break from caring to spend time with other family members and to recharge energy levels," said Mr West.
"Respite can allow parents and carers to maintain the caring role for longer, and can increase the overall quality of family relationships. For the individual with an intellectual disability, respite provides opportunities to socialise, try new things, and be independent from their family.
Meanwhile Queensland University of Technology (QUT) graduate Beverley Watkinson (pictured) has been recognised in this year's QUT Outstanding Alumni Awards for her work with Brisbane's Centacare Catholic community organisation.
Ms Watkinson is the director of Brisbane Centacare's Community Support Services and the winner of the 2005 QUT Alumni Award for Humanities and Human Services.
The annual QUT Outstanding Alumni Awards were handed out on Wednesday at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre to recognise QUT alumni who have achieved outstanding results in their careers and communities.
Ms Watkinson, a former nurse, gained a Bachelor of Social Science from QUT and has been been director of Centacare Community Support Services for the past five years. She has developed and implemented a range of programs tailored to the needs of carers and designed to encourage independence in clients.
The organisation runs community-based programs for the aged, frail aged, young disabled and their carers at 38 locations in south-east Queensland.
This year Ms Watkinson has also been volunteering in the East Timor village of Laho, where an Australian-funded silk farming project has been established.
And in Wollongong, the Diocese has celebrated the 25th Anniversary of its Centacare agency, with more than 100 people attended a mass held to mark the milestone at St Francis Xavier's Cathedral on Wednesday.
ABC Illawarra reports that Bishop Peter Ingham said there is a high demand for Centacare services in the region.
"The counselling and the family services, the reach out to unemployed people, the reach out to the disabled, elderly people, aged care packages, there's a lot of work done that you never see, it's all very quiet...behind the scenes, but yet it makes a difference to the lives of those people," he said.
SOURCE
Respite centre helps fill mental health gap (Centacare Adelaide 28/7/05)
Centacare director wins QUT alumni award (Centacare Brisbane 28/7/05)
Centacare gets praise for 25 years of work (ABC Illawarra 28/7/05)
LINKS (not necessarily endorsed by Church Resources)
Centacare Adelaide
Centacare Brisbane
Centacare Wollongong
Catholic Welfare Australia
MORE STORIES
Jesuit Social Services Submission to the Senate Inquiry into Mental Health (Jesuit Social Services)
2005 QUT Outstanding Alumni Award Winners (Queensland University of Technology)
29 Jul 2005
