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A US Coast Guard officer who refused to be injected with a vaccine derived from the remains of an aborted child has won an exemption from the required vaccination.
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Pope thanks "wifes of Christ"
Pope Benedict yesterday thanked consecrated virgins for their "total gift" to Christ encouraging them to "always irradiate the dignity of being the wife of Christ."
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Mail and penny drop for WYD
Preparations for World Youth Day have stepped up a notch with a letter drop to half a million Sydney homes and the release of a commemorative colour coin of the Pope.
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Priest in supermarket trolley protest
Melbourne parish priest, Fr Noel Brady, has launched a protest against unsightly supermarket trolleys left abandond in streets for up to three months.
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Call to follow WA and reject cloning
Sydney archdiocese policy officer, Dr Brigid McKenna, has welcomed a decision by the Western Australian Legislative Council to reject cloning as a victory for "commonsense science and morality."
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US churches offer mortgage help
With US lenders threatening to repossess 650,000 homes in the first quarter of 2008, Catholic parishes are mobilising to offer assistance to mortgage distressed homeowners.
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Feature - A new dawn for Sorry Day
It is time for this country to build new relationships and to be open to future possibilities, we commit ourselves to deep, on-going dialogue with our indigenous sisters and brothers on further ways of moving forward. - Fr Mark Raper, Pathways
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Featured Website - Ron Rolheiser
This is the website of one of the best known Catholic priests in the western world. Fr Rolheiser is best known through his writings and lecturing on spirituality and prising open the Word in such a clear, beautiful and heart-inspiring style.
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Film Review - Shutter
Based on a 2004 Thai film of the same name, Shutter is an American/Japanese production. If you can take the shocks and violence of this genre, this film is worth the admission price for the cinematography alone. - Fr Richard Leonard, Australian Catholic Office for Film and Broadcasting
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Opinion - Middle class creep in Irish Church
During the transformation of Irish society from a largely rural and agricultural economy to an industrialised one there occurred a failure of imagination in the Irish Church. - Fr Oliver Rafferty, The Catholic Herald
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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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Papal intervention for death row drug trafficker
Cardinal George Pell of Sydney will urge Pope Benedict XVI to intervene in a desperate bid to spare Australian drug trafficker Nguyen Tuong Van from the gallows in Singapore.
The Australian reports that the Howard Government yesterday also promised a last-ditch appeal to spare the Melbourne man's life. While pessimistic about the chances of success, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer vowed to "appeal in every imaginable way" to his counterpart in Singapore, George Yeo, for clemency for the convicted heroin trafficker, insisting that he had been a useful informer.
The Government's promise to fight on came as Cardinal Pell, the Archbishop of Sydney, wrote to Vatican secretary-of-state Angelo Sodano seeking the Pope's intervention.
"I think the punishment to the crime is disproportionate," Cardinal Pell told The Australian from the Vatican last night. "This case has been explained to me and I think there are special circumstances in this case."
Cardinal Pell sought the intervention of the late pope, John Paul II, in March but the gravely ill pontiff died before making a decision. He now hopes the new pope, Benedict XVI, will appeal to the Singaporean Government for clemency.
Cardinal Pell said he was disappointed that Nguyen, a former boy scout who claimed to have smuggled drugs only to pay off his twin brother's drug debts, had lost his appeal against the death sentence.
He said the Vatican did not automatically intervene to save criminals from death row.
"It's not a general rule but I'm happy to do it on this occasion," he said.
SOURCE
Pope asked to intervene (The Australian/news.com.au 25/10/05)
MORE STORIES
Final plea (Daily Telegraph 25/10/05)
Editorial: An issue of life and death in Singapore (The Age 25/10/05)
Mother's desperate plea (The Age 24/10/05)
Execute killers, says Lib (Sunday Times 16/10/05)
Death Penalty: Life For A Life? (Vatican Radio English Features 13/10/05, audio - requires Real Player)
25 Oct 2005
