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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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Lobby says aid increase not enough to beat shame
The Australian Political Ministry Network has welcomed Prime Minister John Howard's announcement to increase foreign aid to $4 billion by 2010, but sais we will still be languishing around 18th place of the 22 OECD donor countries 
"This significant increase will undoubtedly benefit the people of the Asia Pacific Region and make some advances towards alleviating poverty in the region", said Coordinator Regina Lane.
"However, if Australia is to fully uphold its commitment to the Millennium Development Goals, it must go a lot further," she said. "Howard's announcement will mean Australia will reach 0.36% of Gross National Income (GNI) by 2010, when it should be achieving 0.5% in GNI by that deadline.
"It's still a long way from the internationally agreed target of 0.7% of GNI. It will still leave us languishing around 18th place of the 22 OECD donor countries – not a placing that Australians can be proud of.
"If Australia is to remain true to its commitment to the Millennium Development Goals, it must set a timetable for increasing aid towards the internationally agreed target of 0.7% by 2015.
Ms Lane said that the Prime Minister has stressed the need for law and order programs, but that PolMin believes such programs - while necessary - "should not overshadow the need for aid which is aimed at achieving basic human rights".
"Any such aid should be underpinned by the principle of the human dignity of the person, in order to achieve our full potential as a global community" said Ms Lane.
Australian Political Ministry Network Ltd (PolMin) is a national not for profit organisation committed to bringing about systemic change in Australian society through the influencing of public policy for the common good in accordance with the principles of Catholic social teaching.
SOURCE
Aid increase is welcome but doesn't do us proud, says PolMin (Australian Political Ministry Network 20/9/05)
LINKS (not necessarily endorsed by Church Resources)
Australian Political Ministry Network Ltd
ARCHIVE
Lobby calls Australia´s aid budget a ´drop in the bucket´ (CathNews 7/7/05)
Catholics lobby welcomes what Budget did for overseas poor (CathNews 17/5/05)
MORE STORIES
PM's $4bn aid pledge backed by Labor (Sydney Morning Herald 14/9/05)
CAFOD says US has squandered chance to fight poverty (Independent Catholic News 20/9/05)
Nations Not So United Any More (Vatican Radio English Features 15/9/05, audio - requires Real Player)
Caritas Calls UN Summit "Opportunity Forfeited", Urges Re-Commitment (Reuters 15/9/05)
Speed up progress to end world poverty, bishop tells Rice (Catholic News Service 14/9/05)
Vatican Secretary of State seeks stronger UN mandate (Catholic World News 15/9/05)
US Church urges Condoleesa Rice to make poverty a priority at UN Summit (Independent Catholic News 15/9/05)
CAFOD say rich nations are ignoring poor at UN summit (Independent Catholic News 14/9/05)
21 Sep 2005
