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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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Both Vatican and Human Rights Watch troubled by Rwanda priest charges
Both the Holy See and Human Rights Watch have expressed strong misgivings following the arrest of Belgian missionary priest Fr Guy Theunis on war-crimes charges in Rwanda. 
Catholic World News reports that Archbishop Guido Pecorari, the apostolic nuncio in Rwanda, is converned that other missionaries dmay ecide to leave the African country.
Fr Theunis, a member of the White Fathers, was arrested on 6 September, and charged with inciting violence in connection with the genocidal massacres of 1994. After a hearing before an informal court, he was returned to prison to face trial. If convicted of the charges he would face the death penalty.
Archbishop Pecorari, who is in Rome this week, said that the arrest raises concern that the Rwandan government may intend to "involve the Church in the recurrent-- and totally false-- accusations of having supported a genocidal ideology."
"The Rwandan government has always said that he wants to maintain good relations with the Holy See," the nuncio said. "But we notice some disturbing signs."
Meanwhile the respected international human rights body Human Rights Watch has criticised Rwanda for arresting the priest.
"There was absolutely no evidence of incitement and I think he was charged based on hearsay, emotionalism and association," the head of the US-based Human Rights Watch's board of directors, Jane Olson, told Reuters in Kigali. "We are disappointed that the charges raised against him were not dismissed because there were no facts to support the charges."
But Rwandan officials said the traditional court conducted the hearing in an open and fair manner.
"Everybody saw the amount of evidence that was given against him, but I don't want to comment on what the courts will do," said Johnston Busingye, Rwanda's justice secretary-general.
Belgian prime minister is reportedly set to meet Rwandan President Paul Kagame over the matter.
SOURCE
Rwandan genocide charges trouble Vatican (Catholic World News 14/9/05)
Human rights group slams Rwanda for arresting priest (Independent Catholic News/Catholic Information Service for Africa 14/9/05)
LINKS (not necessarily endorsed by Church Resources)
Human Rights Watch
Missionaries of Africa (White Fathers)
ARCHIVE
Belgian priest arrested on Rwanda genocide charges (CathNews 9/9/05)
MORE STORIES
Rights group criticizes priest's Rwanda arrest (CNN/RFeuters 12/9/05)
Belgian priest arrested on suspicion of inciting genocide (catholicireland.net 13/9/05)
Accused Belgian priest's case moved to Rwandan criminal court (Catholic News Service 12/9/05)
Missionary Society Issues Statement Following Arrest of Priest (Catholic Information Service for Africa 8/9/05)
Belgian priest defended in Rwanda genocide case (Catholic World News 13/9/05)
'Genocide' priest faces death penalty (Associated Press/The Australian 13/9/05)
Priest on genocide charge (Associated Press/Courier-Mail 13/9/05)
Belgian priest goes before Rwandan court (Monsters & Critics/United Press International 11/9/05)
Belgian priest's arrest in Rwanda forces more questions on genocide (Catholic News Service 9/9/05)
Belgian priest arrested on Rwanda genocide charges (Catholic World News 8/9/05)
Belgian missionary still detained in Kigali (Missionary Service News Agency 8/9/05)
15 Sep 2005
