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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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Churches warn Govt about job welfare changes
Church-based employment organisations including Catholic Welfare Australia have warned senior federal ministers the planned shake-up of the welfare system is so harsh it will be hard to find work for the increased number of people looking for jobs.
The Sydney Morning Herald reports today that representatives from the churches and other welfare groups have lobbied against the changes since they were announced in the May budget, fearing more single parents and people with disabilities will be pushed into poverty.
"The vast majority of jobseekers want desperately to move from welfare to work and want to enjoy all the benefits that brings for them and their families," the executive director of Catholic Welfare Australia, Frank Quinlan, said yesterday.
"What the package needs is greater investment in job creation, skills creation and an all-out attack on the poverty traps that currently keep low-income earners poor."
Church and welfare groups yesterday met about 40 Coalition and Labor members to brief them on what they believe will happen if the welfare-to-work changes go ahead.
Government backbencher Judi Moylan organised a briefing for Coalition members earlier this week. She is concerned about creating a new "underclass" of people trapped in poverty.
The proposed changes have already gone to cabinet three times and the final policy is expected to be announced shortly.
Church groups have been telling ministers there will not be enough jobs that are flexible enough for people with children or suitable for people with physical or mental disabilities.
Church-based members of the Job Network, including Catholic Welfare, the Salvation Army, UnitingCare and Anglicare Australia, account for about 20% of the employment agencies the Federal Government uses.
They represent a higher number of people with disabilities than other employment agencies and are already finding it difficult to find enough suitable jobs.
SOURCE
Welfare plan a trap, say church groups (Sydney Morning Herald 16/9/05)
LINKS (not necessarily endorsed by Church Resources)
Catholic Welfare Australia
Centacare Employment
Centacare Employment (Archdiocese of Brisbane)
Job Network
UnitingCare
ARCHIVE
Church pressure wins Govt change of heart on unemployed (CathNEws 5/9/05)
Federal Budget boosts family relationships (CathNews 11/5/05)
Catholic Welfare stands up for long-term unemployed (CathNews 2/5/05)
MORE STORIES
Church win on access to hospital chaplains (Catholic Weekly 18/9/05)
16 Sep 2005
