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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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Cult to continue despite leader's conviction
Followers of a doomsday cult based on the NSW south coast have vowed to "go forward" after their spiritual leader - known as the Little Pebble - was jailed on Friday for sex offences.
The Australian reports that renegade Bishop Malcolm Broussard, now the most senior member of The Order of St Charbel, issued a statement yesterday urging followers to remain at peace and assuring them that "the forces of evil" had not won.
Broussard, a Texan who uses the title bishop but was officially excommunicated from the Catholic Church in 2003, posted a message on the group's website saying "this community will continue to go forward".
William Kamm, known to followers as The Little Pebble, was jailed for up to five years for sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl who lived in the sect's community in 1993.
He was found guilty in July of four counts of aggravated indecent assault and one of aggravated sexual intercourse.
Kamm's devotees believe he receives messages from the Virgin Mary and will be the last pope on earth. He molested the girl soon after he told her she had been chosen, at the direction of the Virgin Mary, to be his mystical wife.
Kamm and his followers believe he will have 12 queens and 72 princesses with whom he will father a divine tribe after the "end times".
Mr Broussard said: "It would seem, on the surface, that the dark forces of evil have won a victory, but it is not true."
The Catholic Church has outlawed the order. A school in the grounds of the community at Cambewarra, outside the south coast town of Nowra, is under investigation by the NSW Board of Studies.
Kamm's barrister Greg Stanton said his client would appeal against the conviction and the sentence.
SOURCE
Cult to continue despite leader's conviction (The Australian/news.com.au 17/10/05)
LINKS (not necessarily endorsed by Church Resources)
Website of the Little Pebble | Announcement by Bishop Malcolm Broussard (14 October 2005) regarding the Sentencing of the Little Pebble (16/10/05)
ARCHIVE
Federal cash for Little Pebble cult school (CathNews 3/8/04)
Little Pebble to face trial (CathNews 26/11/03)
Little Pebble disciple cleared of sex assault charges (13/2/03)
´Little Pebble´ to face court next month on sex charges (5/11/02)
Church bans NSW South Coast cult 'miracle worker' (18/6/02)
MORE STORIES
Ridsdale faces (Warrnambool Standard/Ballarat Courier 14/10/05)
Cult leader jailed for sex with girl, 15 (Sydney Morning Herald 15/10/05)
Pebble jailing has not stopped community (The Age/Australian Associated Press 16/10/05)
Church Sex Abuse Complaints Said Ignored (The Guardian/Associated Press 12/10/05)
Church Sex Abuse Complaints Said Ignored (Leading the Charge 12/10/05)
Church's sins are a turn-off: Jensen (Sydney Morning Herald 11/10/05)
Church drops silence clause in sex payouts (The Australian 10/10/05)
17 Oct 2005
