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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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Synod bishops seek middle ground solutions
A Vatican analyst has identified an emerging dynamic at the Synod of Bishops in Rome, in which the bishops seem, in effect, to be "trying to meet their critics half-way".
The National Catholic Reporter's John Allen argued yesterday in his daily Synod commentary that they're willing to acknowledge, in unusually blunt fashion, certain long-taboo topics as real problems, but not necessarily to embrace the most ballyhooed solutions.
"Thus, bishops have been crystal clear about the conundrums generated by the priest shortage, by the exclusion of divorced and civilly remarried Catholics from Communion, and from the ban on Protestants receiving the Eucharist at a Catholic Mass," he said. "What they don't seem interested in doing is getting rid of clerical celibacy, or relaxing the rules on Communion."
According to Allen, the bishops believe the real solutions must be found elsewhere.
"On the priest shortage, for example, several bishops have talked about the theological and spiritual logic for mandatory celibacy in the Western church, with one defining celibacy as the church's 'most precious jewel', and others arguing that the problem underlying priest shortages is not celibacy but a broader 'crisis of faith'."
Both Cardinal Telesphore Placidus Toppo of India and Cardinal Juan Sandoval Iniguez of Mexico made that argument yesterday in a Vatican news conference, marking the synod's half-way point.
On Wednesday evening, Cardinal Angelo Scola, the relator for the synod, presented the relatio post disceptationem, or the "speech after the discussion," which is intended to focus the discussion to date and provide direction for the meeting of the circoli minori, the small groups whose job it is to generate proposals for propositions to submit to the pope.
SOURCE
Problems acknowledged, synod bishops seek middle ground solutions (National Catholic Reporter 13/10/05)
LINKS (not necessarily endorsed by Church Resources)
Synod of Bishops
Synodus Episcoporum Bulletin
ARCHIVE
Synod frank talk producing few breakthroughs (CathNews 13/10/05)
Pell call to preserve celibacy rule (CathNews 12/10/05)
Irish archbishop says Liturgy of Word can heal (CathNews 11/10/05)
Hobart Archbishop insists on credit for hardworking priests (CathNews 10/10/05)
Opus Dei head argues against giant masses (CathNews 7/10/05)
Oceania bishops plead case for married clergy (CathNews 7/10/05)
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
Sixteenth General Congregation (Vatican Information Service 13/10/05)
Meeting of language groups (Vatican Information Service 13/10/05)
Unity and commitment in transmitting Eucharistic faith (Vatican Information Service 13/10/05)
More faith formation needed for adults Dr Martin tells synod (catholicireland.net 13/10/05)
No change in communion ban for divorced Catholics (Reuters 13/10/05)
Synod considering how to celebrate the Eucharist in a secularised world (AsiaNews.it 13/10/05)
Official says synod faces challenges about access to Eucharist (Catholic News Service 12/10/05)
Washing of feet highlights Eucharist's role in mission, bishop says (Catholic News Service 12/10/05)
Bishops Synod announces closing document: how to live out the Church's Eucharistic mission (Catholic News Agency 13/10/05)
Help Catholics live pious, robust faiths, Synod observer tells bishops (Catholic News Agency 13/10/05)
Priest shortage stems from crisis of faith, ignorance of the infinite, not celibacy, say Bishops (Catholic News Agency 13/10/05)
Latin American founder: faith demands an honest anthropological and cultural perspective (Catholic News Agency 13/10/05)
Synod hears midway report; main themes set (Catholic World News 13/10/05)
Prelates tackle controversial Synod issues (Catholic World News 13/10/05)
World's Bishops Discuss Priest Shortage (The Guardian/Associated Press 13/10/05)
Synod speeches: fourteenth and fifteen sessions (Independent Catholic News 13/10/05)
Viewpoint: Is there religious freedom in Turkey? (Independent Catholic News 13/10/05)
Synod Of Bishops (Vatican Radio English Features 13/10/05, audio - requires Real Player)
Cardinal Pell: Ending Celibacy Rule Would Be a Blunder (Zenit 12/10/05)
14 Oct 2005
