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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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Opus Dei head argues against giant masses
Speaking yesterday at the Synod of Bishops in Rome, the head of Opus Dei cautioned against the holding of giant masses where many thousands of people worship together and receive communion.
Reuters reports that Bishop Javier Echevarria Rodriguez said such large-scale celebrations could sometimes be a detriment to the "sacred nature" of the mass.
According to an excerpt of his speech given out to reporters and a briefing by a spokesman, Echevarria said the Church should "re-think whether Eucharistic celebrations (masses) with an excessive number of concelebrants is opportune".
Echevarria said that when there were so many priests saying it at the same time "it does not make the dignified carrying out of the mass possible".
Popes have concelebrated mass with dozens, sometimes hundreds of priests at huge outdoor masses attended by hundreds of thousands of people on fields and in other large locations.
One such mass was held by Pope Benedict last August when hundreds of thousands of young people turned out for the final event at World Youth Day celebrations in his native Germany.
Echevarria told the synod, which advises the Pope on Church matters and is meeting until 23 October, that there were sometimes so many priests at a concelebrated mass that they could not even see each other.
Echevarria, who is the "prelate", or head, of Opus Dei, also suggested the synod should discuss whether it was proper for the communion host to be distributed during masses for large numbers of people.
He said such large-scale distribution of communion, which Catholics believe is the body and blood of Christ, is sometimes "a detriment to the dignity of worship".
He added: "The importance of maintaining a sense of the sacred in Eucharistic liturgies will render the Church a great amount of good."
Ironically, in another address to the synod, Cardinal Camillo Ruini of Rome said one of his fondest memories was a mass during the 2000 World Youth Day celebrations in Rome.
That mass was presided over by Pope John Paul and attended by more than a million young people on the grounds of a university on the city's outskirts.
In another development at the synod on Thursday, the Vatican decided to partially lift a clampdown on information given to reporters about the discussions among bishops.
Priests who are briefing journalists said on Wednesday that would only disclose the theme of what a bishop said during the daily open discussion part of the gathering but no details.
SOURCE
Opus Dei head criticises holding of giant masses (Reuters 6/10/05)
LINKS (not necessarily endorsed by Church Resources)
Synod of Bishops
Instrumentum Laboris
ARCHIVE
Kiwi bishop challenges Synod to review communion ban for divorced (CathNews 6/10/05)
Pope talks to Synod about collegiality (CathNews 5/10/05)
Pope opens Synod with Eucharist link to peaceful, just society (CathNews 4/10/05)
Aussie Synod expert stresses Eucharist values before rules (CathNews 29/9/05)
Two Australians on auditors list for October Synod (CathNews 27/9/05)
Synod tipped to stress Sunday Mass obligation (CathNews 28/9/05)
Pope names four mainland Chinese bishops to October synod (CathNews 9/9/05)
Synod threat to youth masses (CathNews 25/7/05)
MORE STORIES
Communion in hand versus on tongue gets attention at synod (Catholic News Service 7/10/05)
Eucharistic adoration is key, but also has drawbacks, bishops say (Catholic News Service 7/10/05)
Fifth General Congregation (Vatican Information Service 5/10/05)
Sixth General Congregation (Vatican Information Service 6/10/05)
Catholic Bishops reconvene behind closed doors in Vatican (Irish Times 6/10/05)
Bishop suggests stopping communion at large masses (Irish Times 6/10/05)
Synod brings wide range of views in atmosphere of collegiality (catholicireland.net 6/10/05)
Opus Dei head criticises holding of giant masses (Reuters 6/10/05)
Vatican clamps down on information at synod (Reuters 5/10/05)
The Year of the Eucharist breathes new life into the Church (AsiaNews.it 6/10/05)
The Bread of Life vs the culture of death (AsiaNews.it 6/10/05)
U.S. cardinal says sin causes people to break bonds with God, others (Catholic News Service 5/10/05)
Catholics must emphasize penance as well as Communion, bishop says (Catholic News Service 5/10/05)
Synod's briefing officers told to cut back on information to media (Catholic News Service 5/10/05)
Eucharist is antidote for culture of death, say bishops (Catholic News Agency 6/10/05)
Bishops debate proper respect for Eucharist (Catholic News Agency 6/10/05)
Married men to be ordained? Not a solution says Cardinal Simonis (Catholic News Agency 6/10/05)
Synod Reflects On Communion For Christians Of Other Confessions (catholicireland.net 6/10/05)
Cardinal Toppo Attributes Tribal Church's Dynamism And Growth To Devotion To Eucharist (catholicireland.net 6/10/05)
Lively Synod discussion continues (Catholic World News 6/10/05)
Catholic bishops restrict world synod media briefings (Ekklesia 6/10/05)
Cardinal Cormac urges Synod: 'keep focus on communion' (Independent Catholic News 6/10/05)
Synod: Fourth Congregation (Independent Catholic News 6/10/05)
John Allen: Coverage of Bishops Synod on the Eucharist (National Catholic Reporter 6/10/05)
Opus Dei head criticises holding of giant masses (Reuters/swisspolitics.org 6/10/05)
Synod Of Bishops (Vatican Radio English Features 6/10/05, audio - requires Real Player)
Report by General Relator of Synod (Zenit 5/10/05)
Link Between Eucharist and Public Ethics Stirs More Talk (Zenit 5/10/05)
Synod Reflects on a Key Ecumenical Question (Zenit 5/10/05)
Panel Picked for Drafting of "Final Message" (Zenit 5/10/05)
7 Oct 2005
