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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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Centacare Melbourne urges Govt to save Nguyen
An agency of the Catholic Church is urging the Federal Government to maintain pressure on Singapore to give convicted drug trafficker Tuong Van Nguyen a reprieve against his death sentence.
The ABC reports that Melbourne Centacare Catholic Family Services spokesman Denis Fitzgerald says Nguyen's sentence should be commuted to a prison term.
"He has the rights of all of us as human beings, he still has the dignity of a human being and he can play his part now, as he has been since the arrest, in building a better world. There would be no point in hanging him," he said.
Mr Fitzgerald says the Church has been offering support to Mr Nguyen's Melbourne-based mother.
"Her distress goes way back. The family has suffered enormously and it would be futile now for that to be compounded by the Government of Singapore," he said.
Foreign Minister Alexander Downer is not optimistic the Singapore Government will give a reprieve. Mr Downer has written to his Singaporean counterpart in a last ditch attempt to save Nguyen's life.
"I can't mislead people, I can't say that I undertake this exercise with a great degree of optimism," he said. "But nevertheless I just would like to keep trying."
Meanwhile Nguyen's old school - St Ignatius Catholic Primary School in Richmond - has issued a statement of support for the convicted drug trafficker's right to life.
Parish Priest Fr Peter Norden SJ reported yesterday that the school community and the parish community are strongly in support of efforts by Nguyen's lawyers to bring about an appeal against the death penalty imposed by the Singapore courts.
"We have a belief in the sacredness of ALL human life" explained Fr Peter Norden. "Taking a human life as a form of punishment simply devalues human life and the institutions that impose such a penalty, regardless of the circumstances".
Right To Life campaigner, Margaret Tighe joined the Richmond parish in calling for the protection of the life of Nguyen, now aged 25 and waiting on "death row" in Changi Prison.
"All human life is sacred and punishment should never extend to the taking of a human life" she explained.
Fr Norden has visited death rows in several overseas countries and knows the futility of the imposition of the death penalty.
"Mr Nguyen has cooperated with authorities and is deserving of clemency by a reduction in sentence, as specifically allowed for in the Constitution of Singapore" he insisted.
"His personal circumstances should also be considered: as the son of a Vietnamese refugee, he was born in a refugee camp in Thailand. He may be deserving of punishment, but not the loss of his life" Fr Norden concluded.
SOURCE
Catholic agency urges Govt to save Nguyen (ABC Melbourne 27/10/05)
Former school stands by "the right to life" for Tuong Van Nguyen (St Ignatius Richmond / Right to Life 27/10/05)
LINKS (not necessarily endorsed by Church Resources)
Centacare Melbourne
Catholic Parish of St Ignatius, Richmond
ARCHIVE
Papal intervention for death row drug trafficker (CathNews 25/10/05)
MORE STORIES
Catholic church in Melbourne calls for stop to execution (Centacare Melbourne 27/10/05)
Singapore: Urge authorities to stop the execution of Van Tuong Nguyen (Amnesty International Australia 27/10/05)
No mercy for young Aussie (Daily Telegraph 28/10/05)
Pope says committed to good relations with Jews (Leading the Charge 27/10/05)
28 Oct 2005
