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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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Church advocates support cleaners "name and shame" over wages
Canberra Auxiliary Bishop Pat Power and Parramatta Diocese Social Justice Coordinator Sr Libby Rogerson have backed a fair wage campaign being waged by cleaners.
The "Clean Start - Fair Deal for Cleaners" campaign was launched yesterday at rallies attended by 1,500 cleaners in Australian and New Zealand capitals.
Speaking at one of the rallies, Sr Libby Rogerson told the crowd that the human dignity of workers is at stake.
"We're here today because we believe the fundamental human dignity of ordinary workers, and cleaners in particular, is under threat from the WorkChoices legislation undermined by (poor) existing conditions for employment," Sr Rogerson said.
Organisers of the campaign claim that under the Government's new WorkChoices industrial relations laws, which came into effect last month, cleaners will lose up to 30 per cent of their income, which was on average already below the poverty line.
Liquor Hospitality and Miscellaneous union (LHMU) national secretary Jeff Lawrence said the union wants building owners, tenants and contractors to adopt a new ten point plan, which includes a call for job security and better wages.
They say they will name and shame building owners, tenants and contractors who fail to pay cleaners a fair wage.
Cleaner Herry Heryadi, who works between 4pm and midnight each day cleaning a Sydney office building, says cleaners wages are in danger of shrinking.
Mr Heryadi, who immigrated to Australia from Indonesia nine years ago, says he is typical of those in the industry, many of whom are immigrants who find it hard to make ends meet.
"There are so many requests from owners asking us to work more for less money, but we work hard," Mr Heryadi said.
The federal government's workplace watchdog, the Office of Workplace Services (OWS), has promised to investigate any claims of underpayment received from cleaners.
Others lending their support to the Clean Start campaign include Bishop Patrick Power and Canberra Raiders rugby league team captain Clinton Schifcofske.
SOURCE
Cleaners to 'name and shame' over wages (The Age/Australian Associated Press 20/4/06)
Cleaners fight for better wages, conditions (NZ Herald 20/4/06)
LINKS (not necessarily endorsed by Church Resources)
Diocese of Parramatta: Office of Coordinator of Social Justice
Australian Catholic Commission for Employment Relations
WorkChoices: A New Workplace Relations System
ARCHIVE
Employment body echoes concern on minimum wage (CathNews 27/3/06)
MORE STORIES
21 Apr 2006
