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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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Melbourne Archbishop coordinating IR response
Melbourne's Archbishop Denis Hart has sought to protect Church agencies from manipulation by lobby groups working to gain Church support for their position on the Federal Govenemnt's industrial relations reforms.
In a memo to agencies of the Archdiocese published in today's Online Catholics, Archbishop Hart points out that the reforms proposed by the Federal Government are "engendering consideralbe debate", and advocates "have been publicly seeking the support of churches and community groups for their positions".
In order to avoid the Church being used as "a pawn in this debate" and to ensure the views expressed are "consistent and made after full consideration of all issues", Archbishop Hart has directed that statements and comments on the proposed industrial relations legislation should be cleared by him prior to their release.
The memo was directed to a range of agencies based in the Archdiocese that includes the Catholic Education Commission of Victoria, Catholic Social Services Victoria, Catholic Youth Ministry, Centacare, and the Commission for Justice Development and Peace.
Online Catholics could not make contact with Archbishop Hart or Vicar General Monsignor Les Tominson, but one agency representative contacted expressed the fear that their task of public advocacy would be made more difficult by the directive.
Neither Archbishop Hart nor any Catholic agency in Melbourne has made a public statement about the IR reforms. The Australian Catholic Commission for Employment Relations is based in Melbourne, but it is a national body and therefore not part of Archbishop Hart's coordinated response. It has made comments in recent months, as has Cardinal George Pell of Sydney and a small number of other Church respresentatives.
In the same article, Online Catholics reported that Unions NSW president John Robertson last month sought and gained a meeting with the Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal Pell, to solicit his support in the union's fight against the IR legislation. Online Catholics sources said that the Cardinal was prepared to give support for the maintenance of the minimum wage but would not give his support for any wider union campaign.
SOURCE
Hart silences Church Agencies (Online Catholics 3/8/05)
LINKS (not necessarily endorsed by Church Resources)
Archdiocese of Melbourne | Agencies and Organisations
Australian Catholic Commission for Employment Relations
ARCHIVE
Minister tells churches to stay out of IR fight (CathNews 11/7/05)
Pell voices wages concerns (CathNews 4/7/05)
Canberra bishop speaks out on job insecurity fears (CathNews 1/7/04)
Church leaders worried about Howard IR changes (CathNews 29/6/05)
Bishop hits back at Minister's claims on IR reforms 1/6/05)
Catholic body seeks meeting with Minister over workplace laws (CathNews 30/5/05)
MORE STORIES
ACCER Letter to the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations (Australian Catholic Commission for Employment Relations July 2005)
3 Aug 2005
