Make yourselves clear: Kasper tells Anglicans
Pontifical Council on Christian Unity head, Cardinal Walter Kasper, has warned the Anglican church that it "must clarify its identity" and make "difficult decisions" ahead of its forthcoming Lambeth Conference.
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Quarantine for Indigenous welfare cards undermines responsibility: CSSA
Quarantining welfare payments in indigenous communities fails to address the real issues putting children at risk and undermines people's sense of responsibility, according to Catholic Social Services Australia Executive Director, Frank Quinlan.
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Baby dies in car outside Toowoomba school
A five month old girl died yesterday after the child's mother left her in the family car while she collected her other children from a Toowoomba Catholic school.
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Latin back on menu at Vatican website
The Vatican website has introduced a section in Latin which will publish the official original editions of pontifical documents.
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Abuse victims plan protest for pope
Support groups for victims of clerical abuse are joining together to hold protests during Pope Benedict's Australian visit.
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ACU seeks student volunteers
Australian Catholic University has announced that starting in 2009 it will base its selection of students on their involvement in cultural, sporting and religious activities including volunteering as well as on academic performance.
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Hart slams Vic government over Catholic school funding
Melbourne Archbishop Denis Hart has attacked the Victorian government for its failure to increase funding for Catholic schools while boosting support for public schools by $1.3 billion and raising state teachers' annual salaries by $5,000.
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Priests and sisters among Burma dead

At least two priests and several sisters are among the ten of thousands of Burmese killed by Cyclone Nargis, a Salesian priest says, with many churches and related projects also badly damaged.


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Feature - Woodstock and worship renew chance for improved relations
Since Pope John Paul II launched World Youth Day 22 years ago, it has become the Olympic Games of world religion, the largest and most complex spiritual event held on a recurring basis across the globe. One part worship and one part Woodstock, the youth oriented festival is designed to offer a rocking rebuttal to impressions that Catholicism is sliding toward oblivion. - John Allen, Sydney Morning Herald
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Featured Website - Rosary in the street
May is a month of devotion to Our Lady often best expressed through the Rosary. This website is encouraging people not just to pray the Rosary in their homes, but to take the pray with others to the street.
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Television Review - No limits
A television program devoted to showcasing people living with a disability is indeed a rare find in our commercialised world and its quest for perfection. No Limits looks at living life to the fullest with a disability, featuring stories about workshops on UN dignity and rights of people with disabilities, disability standards in education, disability legislation and much more.

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Opinion - Respect the key to youth violence
Without other standards of human flourishing to counteract those communicated on billboards and in advertising, the young members of some communities are deprived of all sources of self-esteem and respect. Unable to hope for those signs of success which the consumerist environment holds up for our emulation, young men in particular can be without resources to resist the message given them that they are failures, nonentities, nothing. - Thinking Faith
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OPINION
Beyond knowledge to wisdom
I 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 borders
It 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 Parramatta
Returning 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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Cardinal says Venezuelan President ‘needs exorcism’


Venezuela’s Cardinal Rosalio Castillo, a vocal critic of the country’s President Hugo Chavez, called the leader a "paranoid dictator", suggesting that there is "no democracy in Venezuela".

Catholic News Agency reports that in an interview on Sunday, the Cardinal told the colombian newspaper El Tiempo, that Chavez’s government is "despotic", accusing the president of rounding up some 100 political prisoners and torturing some.

Last month, Cardinal Castillo said that Chavez was gaining too much power and becoming a dictator. In turn, Chavez blasted the Cardinal calling him a "bandit" who has "the devil in him."

Chavez insists he is a democratic leader and is widely favored for re-election next year.

The 82-year old Cardinal said that his statements were not personal but reflected the position of church leaders across Venezuela. "The difference is in the way it's said," he pointed out. "There are those who speak diplomatically, and others like me who speak clearly so that everyone understands."

The Church has continually been the strongest critic of Chavez, who calls himself a self-styled "revolutionary."

When asked by El Tiempo whether he would send a blessing to the president, Cardinal Castillo said, "more than a blessing, I’d give him an exorcism."

SOURCE
Cardinal says Venezuelan President ‘needs exorcism' (Catholic News Agency 1/8/05)

MORE STORIES
Cardinal: Chavez needs 'exorcism' (Associated Press/CNN 31/7/05)
Chavez "is not Catholic," says Venezuelan cardinal (Catholic News Agency 28/7/05)
Chávez and cardinal trade insults (The Tablet 23/7/05)
Cardinal Sees an Attempt to "Cubanize" Venezuela (Zenit 20/7/05)
Venezuelan bishops' statement leads to war of words with president (Catholic News Service 19/7/05)
Cardinal confronts Venezuelan president over democracy in the country (Catholic News Agency 19/7/05)
Venezuelan Cardinal Criticizes Chavez (The Herald-Sun Durham North Carolina/Associated Press 18/7/05)
Venezuela's Chavez hits back at Catholic critics (Reuters 13/7/05)
Facing Into Venezuela's Ongoing Crisis (Zenit 6/7/05)

2 Aug 2005