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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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Govt IR detail fails to ease Commission's concern
The Federal Government's "softened" and more detailed outline of its proposed new system of workplace relations does not appear to address fundamental concerns about fairness and balance, according to the Catholic Church's employment relations body.
In its September Briefing on the Government's proposals to reform workplace relations in Australia, the Australian Catholic Commission for Employment Relations (ACCER) identified five major areas of concern – the minimum wage, unfair dismissals, minimum conditions, workplace bargaining, and the role of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission.
ACCER Executive Officer John Ryan said yesterday that the setting of the minimum wage, if based on the single adult worker as already announced by the Government, would impact on low paid families.
"A job without a fair wage will not help the unemployed successfully move off welfare," he said.
"The interaction of the day to day living costs of families with the taxation and welfare systems must be part of any understanding of the modern family wage. Government has a role to play in ensuring an appropriate balance between the worker's pay packet and the public purse."
"The security of families and their ability to provide for their future is further reduced if employment can be terminated without any fair process and reason," Mr Ryan said. "Not just families but young single workers also need to be able to plan with some certainty for their future needs and commitments."
Mr Ryan expressed concern that new employees in workplaces, especially industrially vulnerable and young workers without bargaining power, could be particularly exposed to the offering of reduced employment arrangements.
"This could impact on their ability to meet mortgage payments and to afford educational opportunities in the future," he said.
Meanwhile the Sydney Morning Herald reports today that Sydney's Anglican Archbishop Peter Jensen warned that changes that affected the sanctity of Sundays risk turning workers into robots. It also says that Mr Howard indicated yesterday that he is writing to church leaders and has met the Anglican Primate, Archbishop Phillip Aspinall. The Herald also says that Cardinal George Pell has also previously expressed his reservations about the impact of the workplace changes.
SOURCE
Continuing concerns about workplace changes - ACCER (Australian Catholic Bishops Conference 10/10/05)
Workplace for robots: PM under fire (Sydney Morning Herald 11/10/05)
LINKS (not necessarily endorsed by Church Resources)
Australian Catholic Commission for Employment Relations | Industrial Relations Reform (ACCER October 2005)
Workchoices - a new workplace relations system (Prime Minister's Media Release)
WorkChoices
ACTU - Your Rights at Aowk
ARCHIVE
Church body open to national industrial relations system (CathNews 12/9/05)
Church body slams IR policy proposals (CathNews 9/9/05)
Bishop urges Govt to tread softly on IR (CathNews 2/9/05)
Minister says full employment is Catholic "first principle" (CathNews 19/8/05)
Remote area voice sees PM ´off target´ on IR (CathNews 12/8/05)
Commission answers PM´s denial of existence of Catholic position (CathNews 10/8/05)
PM dismisses voice of Church (CathNews 8/8/05)
Melbourne Archbishop coordinating IR response (CathNews 3/8/05)
Minister tells churches to stay out of IR fight (CathNews 11/7/05)
Pell voices wages concerns (CathNews 4/7/05)
Canberra bishop speaks out on job insecurity fears (CathNews 1/7/04)
Church leaders worried about Howard IR changes (CathNews 29/6/05)
Bishop hits back at Minister´s claims on IR reforms 1/6/05)
Catholic body seeks meeting with Minister over workplace laws (CathNews 30/5/05)
MORE STORIES
Gerard Henderson: If the push is for jobs, the evidence is clear (Sydney Morning Herald 11/10/05)
IR changes will help economy, says Andrews (ABC TV Lateline 10/10/05)
Church leaders warn of damage to relationships and family life (Sydney Morning Herald 11/10/05)
Families a priority - Cardinal Pell (Sunday Telegraph 9/10/05)
11 Oct 2005
