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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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Catholic Welfare says relationship centres need coordination
Scores of new family relationship centres across Australia could have a "destructive" impact on broken families if they are underfunded and poorly co-ordinated with existing services, according to warnings issued by a number of counselling representative bodies including Catholic Welfare Australia.
Urging caution as the Howard Government finalises details of its plan to divert more separating families from the courts into mediation, the groups voiced fears about a lack of consultation with existing providers.
Catholic Welfare Australia executive director Frank Quinlan (pictured) said it was vital that the opening of the centres was co-ordinated so that other family support services could anticipate any extra demand.
"One of the best ways to do that would be to have an industry-wide forum in which these issues could be teased out," he said.
Many agencies were already struggling with extra demand for their services as community awareness was raised. "The funding we have see to date is only just keeping up with that," he said.
Warning that a botched implementation could lead to families being shunted between agencies or turned away because demand outstripped services, they asked ministers "not to keep their cards so close to their chest".
Family Services Australia, the peak body for more than 85 family counselling agencies, sparked the debate on the eve of its national conference in Adelaide.
Chief executive Libby Davies said there had not yet been a chance for people working "at the coalface" to help shape the tender specifications and operating rules for the new regime. "There are serious concerns about whether these new centres will be able to provide the resources troubled families really need to find positive solutions," she said.
Relationships Australia national director Mary Mertin-Ryan said she shared the concerns about inadequate consultation.
"It could have been more effective," she said. "This is a huge commitment from the Government and we want these centres to be as effective as they do."
SOURCE
Warning on 'destructive' family plan (The Age 28/9/05)
LINKS (not necessarily endorsed by Church Resources)
Catholic Welfare Australia
Family Services Australia
Relationships Australia
ARCHIVE
Catholic Welfare says policy tweaks amount to little (CathNews 22/9/05)
Churches warn Govt about job welfare changes (CathNews 16/9/05)
Church pressure wins Govt change of heart on unemployed (CathNews 5/9/05)
Federal Budget boosts family relationships (CathNews 11/5/05)
28 Sep 2005
