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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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Priests Council's Synod call for married clergy
The number of Australian Catholic priests needs to increase more than 20-fold by reopening the priesthood to married men and possibly women, according to the National Council of Priests.
The Sydney Morning Herald reports that the Council is calling on the Vatican to revisit celibacy to meet the global goal of having one priest ordained for every 50 families or 200 Catholics. But priests acknowledge that the targets cannot be met unless the criteria for priesthood are radically altered.
As well as opening vocations to married men, the council, which represents about half the country's Catholic clergy, has reopened debate on women priests, questioning whether their exclusion from the priesthood is as a result of divine direction.
In a submission to a bishop's synod in Rome that began on Sunday, the council says: "Vocation is very much God's calling. The discernment about whom God is calling to the priesthood at this time is possible only if the whole church is speaking to God and listening to God."
A Melbourne priest and statistician, Fr Eric Hodgens, estimates that in Australia there is one working priest for every 4500 Catholics. As priests from the baby-boomer generations retire and die the ratio is likely to grow.
The council's chairman, Fr Hal Ranger, says it is not uncommon for parish priests in Australian capitals to attend to the spiritual health of between 5000 and 10,000 Catholics. The Vatican's official ratio for Oceania, which includes Australia, is one for every 1746 Catholics.
The council's suggestions for radical change in an "honest and open discussion" have been handed to Australia's three episcopal representatives at the Rome synod, who include the Archbishop of Sydney, George Pell.
SOURCE
More priests needed, even married ones, say clergy (Sydney Morning Herald 4/10/05)
LINKS (not necessarily endorsed by Church Resources)
Media Release on Submission from the Executive of the National Council of Priests of Australia to the World Synod of Bishops XI Ordinary General Assembly (National Council of Priests of Australia)
National Council of Priests
ARCHIVE
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
Ordination of married men is raised at Vatican synod (Leading the Charge 3/10/05)
Top Cardinal Plays Down Priest Shortage (Leading the Charge 3/10/05)
4 Oct 2005
