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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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Sydney CEO raises performance targets
Sydney's Catholic Education Office will set performance targets for 63,000 students in a move to raise academic standards across their school network.
The Sydney Morning Herald reports that the CEO targets will be launched tonight at the Sydney Entertainment Centre, with endorsements by the Archbishop of Sydney, George Pell, the Prime Minister, John Howard, and the Premier, Morris Iemma.
The 148 parish schools will aim from next year for a system-wide lift in results in the Basic Skills Test, School Certificate and Higher School Certificate.
The executive director of the schools, Br Kelvin Canavan, said: "Target-setting of itself will not raise student achievement levels but targets help focus what happens in classrooms."
The move comes during an unprecedented national debate on the value of the HSC and year 12 certificates in other states.
Mr Howard showed scepticism yesterday at replacing state exams with a nationwide assessment, as advocated by his Education Minister, Brendan Nelson.
The Catholic school policy sets a precedent in NSW. Many schools have student performance targets but no school sector - including the 2200 public schools - has targets to lift its overall performance.
Br Kelvin said literacy and numeracy results had improved during trials of the target system in recent years. The targets were recently endorsed by principals and will be mandatory for the next five years.
They aim, for example, to get 28% of year 3 students in the top numeracy band for the Basic Skills Test by 2007, up from 23% last year.
In HSC advanced English, the target is for 7% of students to gain band six, the highest band, by 2007. Last year 5% of Sydney's Catholic students hit that target, compared with the state average of 8%.
Benchmarks will also be set for students' knowledge of religion in years 6 and 12.
Parents will be informed of their school's targets and Brother Kelvin said "targeted intervention", such as extra teachers, would take place in under-achieving schools.
Cardinal Pell said the "unapologetically Catholic" schools were "clearly focused on student achievement".
SOURCE
Lift your game: students' new goal (Sydney Morning Herald 18/10/05)
LINKS (not necessarily endorsed by Church Resources)
Catholic Education Office (Archdicoese of Sydney)
Catholic Education Commission, NSW
MORE STORIES
Mixed response to technical college plan (ABC North & West SA 17/10/05)
18 Oct 2005
