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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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East Timor Catholics protest sea deal with Australia
The Dioceses of Dili and Baucau and 12 NGO's from East Timor have protested over the agreement signed yesterday, between East Timor and Australia over the exploitation of oil and gas from a disputed area of the Timor Sea.
Independent Catholic News reports that in a communiqué signed by the directors of the Justice and Peace Commissions of the two dioceses and of the coordinator of the Centre for Information on the Sea of Timor, to which the 12 NGO's belong, it is stated that the maritime frontier with Australia should have been established first, and only then, should the exploration of resources have begun.
The deal signed yesterday by Australia and East Timor sees the countries delay for 50 years a decision on a permanent maritime boundary in the Timor Sea and ensures a 50:50 royalty split from the Greater Sunrise energy field.
The Church/NGO document says the revenues currently deriving from the exploration are sufficient for the needs of the small territory of East Timor. They also note that oil and gas are non-renewable resources, and in the next few years their prices might be subject to variation on international markets.
On Wednesday, however, Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri left for Sydney where he joined John Howard for the signing of the document. It is widely believed the agreement will give Canberra a greater share of revenues extracted from oil and gas (perhaps 50%) in exchange for Dili's consent to definitively mark the maritime borders.
SOURCE
East Timor: Church joins protest against Australian sea mining plan (Independent Catholic News/MISNA 12/1/06)
LINKS (not necessarily endorsed by Church Resources)
Save East Timor (Edmund Rice Centre for Justice & Community Education)
Timor Sea Justice Campaign
Mary MacKillop Institute for East Timor
Government of East Timor
ARCHIVE
Bishops call for generosity in Timor Sea talks (CathNews 13/5/05)
Bishop heads community leaders' delegation on Timor boundary (CathNews 8/3/05)
Council urges Govt to 'come to table' on Timor Sea (CathNews 21/12/04)
Jesuit says 100% of revenue to East Timor would be fair (CathNews 3/9/04)
Nun challenges media mischief on Timor oil (CathNews 6/8/04)
Christian Brothers leader writes to PM on Timor Sea oil (CathNews 20/5/04)
Josephite support for Timor Sea boundary rethink (CathNews 13/5/04)
MORE STORIES
Australia and East Timor reach agreement on oil field (ABC Radio AM 12/1/06)
Australia, E Timor sign resource treaty (ABC News 12/1/06)
Church and civil society criticize resource accord with Australia (Missionary Service News Agency 11/1/06)
Treaty to pump $25bn to E Timor (The Australian 13/1/06)
Timor deal finally done (The Age/AAP 13/1/06)
13 Jan 2006
