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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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Bunbury cathedral demolished
The 84 year old St Patrick's Cathedral of Western Australia's Bunbury Diocese was demolished at 10:45 am yesterday, after it was condemned by structural engineers following tornado damage earlier this year.
The Diocese reports that the tower and spire were the first parts of the building to crash to the ground, followed by the rest of the imposing structure. Dust surrounded the Cathedral as it fell and the city looked on in sadness.
St Patrick's, which stood on a site overlooking the large regional city in the state's south-west, began life as a parish Church.
"Many people had visited the Cathedral since the tornado and on Sunday 26th June, people gathered in St. Mary's Church to remember and pray," said the statement sent to CathNews from the Diocese. "Now it is time to look to the future construction of a new St. Patrick's Cathedral."
The West Australian reports today that people gathered at several vantage points to watch a 40-tonne excavator pull strategically positioned steel cables up to 60m long. Multiple cables ran up the side of the 35m tower and spire and around 12 columns inside the cathedral.
The tower and spire, which it was initially hoped could be saved, were brought down first, with the rest of the already-teetering brick and tile building following.
Among those watching were Dennis Maher and Blue Hastie, who were altar boys at St Patrick's in the 1930s and 40s. As the tower crumbled they recalled climbing the steps to the top to ring the bell for Sunday Mass.
Mr Hastie's grandfather, Robert Hastie, built the original pulpit, which was among valuables rescued from the cathedral in the days immediately after the storm.
More than 100 pews, statues, paintings, vestments and sacred vessels were also recovered along with about 20 stained-glass windows removed by the demolition team on Monday.
The altar could not be removed but it is hoped the holy relic stored within it can be recovered after the site cleanup.
"It's very sad, not just for the people of the church but for the whole town. They should build a replica on this site," Mr Hastie said.
Bishop Gerald Holohan said it was heartbreaking to see a holy building and important community landmark reduced to rubble.
Extensive structural assessments were done after the storm but it was soon clear the building could not be saved.
Built in 1921, St Patrick's became a cathedral in 1954. The spire was added another 10 years later.
Bishop Holohan said it would be up to the community to decide what sort of replacement was built. Parishioners and interested people would be asked to fill out a questionnaire over the next few weeks.
Although the building was insured, Bishop Holohan said some fundraising would be needed because the Church had already faced considerable costs in the wake of the storm and a bigger cathedral would be needed for the growing community.
As well as sorting out plans for a new cathedral, the Bunbury diocese faces the task of demolishing an adjoining block of flats - also ripped apart by the storm - and repairing the damaged parish house.
SOURCE
Cathedral comes down (Diocese of Bunbury 6/7/05)
Catholic history in ruins (The West Australian 6/7/05)
LINKS (not necessarily endorsed by Church Resources)
Catholic Diocese of Bunbury
ARCHIVE
Pope sympathises with Bunbury over Cathedral loss (CathNews 27/6/05)
Storm-damaged cathedral to be demolished (CathNews 31/5/05)
Tornado-damaged Cathedral may face demolition (CathNews 23/5/05)
6 Jul 2005
