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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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Bishop highlights poverty of vocations in bush
Canberra-Goulburn auxiliary Bishop Pat Power has responded to Cardinal George Pell's assertion that Sydney has "about enough" students for the priesthood, pointing out that there is an acute crisis of vocations in many regional areas, and Tasmania.
He was speaking to ABC Radio National's Religion Report yesterday, in answer to comments made on ABC Radio's AM earlier this month that there is no real vocation crisis in Australia, given that Sydney has 42 or 43 seminarians for the priesthood, and that is "just about enough".
"I must say that I was disappointed," said Bishop Power. "It struck me that the two elected representatives; Archbishop Doyle in Tasmania has 17 diocesan priests for the whole of the state. Bishop Chris Toohey has about 12 or 13 active priests for his diocese of Wilcannia Forbes, which takes in about half the area of New South Wales."
He continued: "Well, it's one thing for a city bishop to say I'm alright Jack, but his brother bishops, and many other bishops here in Australia would have similar experiences to Archbishop Doyle and to Bishop Toohey."
Cardinal Pell was interviewed on AM after he told the worldwide Synod of Bishops that abandoning celibacy would be a serious error. He took a different position from Australia's National Council of Priests, which called for a consideration of optional celibacy.
Bishop Power said that Cardinal Pell does not necessarily represent the feeling of Australian bishops on this matter
"He wasn't elected by the Australian bishops, and I'm not saying that doesn't give him a legitimate place there," he said. "I'm certainly saying that the views that he expressed are not compatible with what the Australian experience is."
Speaking in place of Cardinal Pell - who is still in Rome - Bishop Julian Porteous told ABC Radio's The World Today that he is certain that Cardinal Pell is very conscious that there is a shortage of priests.
He said: "It's not the fact that's the problem, it's the how to resolve the issues that are created by it, and the Cardinal is very convinced, as are the Synod fathers, that the answer is to work more thoroughly to promote vocations to the priesthood."
SOURCE
Vocational crisis confronts Catholic Church: Bishop Pat Power (ABC Radio The World Today 26/10/05)
LINKS (not necessarily endorsed by Church Resources)
National Council of Priests
ARCHIVE
Kasper continues talk of communion for divorced and optional celibacy (CathNews 25/10/05)
Synod opts for major vocations push, not easing of celibacy (CathNews 19/10/05)
Pell call to preserve celibacy rule (CathNews 12/10/05)
Priests Council's Synod call for married clergy (CathNews 4/10/05)
Bush bishop backs priestly celibacy debate (CathNews 31/1/05)
Alternative priests´ council hits back on mandatory celibacy (CathNews 28/1/05)
Council of Priests argues for married clergy (CathNews 27/1/05)
Bishops´ Secretary confirms priests´ survey on celibacy (CathNews 31/10/04)
MORE STORIES
Bishop Pat Power on the Synod of Bishops (ABC Radio The Religion Report 26/10/05)
Jane Anderson, John Hill, Pat Bishop and Fr John Walshe on Compulsory Celibacy (ABC Radio The Religion Report 26/10/05)
Most priests are happy, new book says (Catholic News Agency 26/10/05)
Pastoral Letter highlights fall in priest numbers (The Universe 19/10/05)
Catholic Church to review seminary study (Monsters and Critics/United Press International 16/10/05)
Celibacy not the problem, say bishops, lifelong commitment is (Catholic News Agency 17/10/05)
Catholic Church Looking Abroad for Priests (Christian Today 17/10/05)
New Vocations Program Encourages Renewed Priests to be 'Fishers of Men' (Catholic News Agency 14/10/05)
Gay men can be priests if celibate: paper (Leading the Charge 16/10/05)
Vatican Moves to Oversee Gay Priests (Leading the Charge 15/10/05)
Catholic bishops reaffirm priestly celibacy in draft proposals to pope, urge new vocations (Associated Press 16/10/05)
Catholic Church recruiting abroad (Sunday Herald 16/10/05)
Editorial: Celibacy and the priesthood (The Tablet 15/10/05)
Lack of Priests Seen as a Symptom of a Problem of Faith (Zenit 13/10/05)
U.S. Bishops Launch New Vocational Campaign (Zenit 13/10/05)
Holy See to issue document on prison ministry (Catholic News Agency 13/10/05)
Statutes of Priestly Formation Center in Rome OK'd (Zenit 12/10/05)
27 Oct 2005
