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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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Vatican urges respect for immigrants' rights
The Vatican said that respect for immigrants' human rights is also an important benefit for host countries.
Zenit reports that Archbishop Celestino Migliore, the Vatican's permanent observer to the United Nations, expressed this conviction when addressing the session of the Commission on Population and Development of the Economic and Social Council.
"Although (migration) is a historic and ubiquitous phenomenon, efforts to shape it and control it by political and legal means have not always led to happy results," Archbishop Migliore siad.
In fact, "sometimes it is painted as a threat and is manipulated for short-term political gain, at the expense of the most natural rights of all human beings - the right to life, to citizenship, to work and to development," the prelate said.
However, "for receiving countries, the net economic impact of international migration is said to be generally positive," the Archbishop said.
He said studies in developed countries show that migrants can contribute substantially to relieving the fiscal burden on future generations. "Over the medium and long term, migration can even generate employment and produce net fiscal gains."
But he said there are dangers for both developing and host countries.
"The emigration of skilled personnel can be detrimental to the development prospects of countries of origin," he said. "Especially small developing countries losing high proportions of skilled citizens."
On the other hand, "by 2030, migration may account for all population growth in (developed) countries," said the Archbishop. "Demographic shifts in populations on such a scale will surely have radical consequences for the entire composition of nations."
"So a balance has to be struck between the evident benefits of migration on the one hand and a consideration of the social impact of large numbers of migrants in receiving countries, especially when they are not yet integrated, on the other," he said.
Archbishop Migliore adds: "Furthermore, there seems to be a growing awareness that immigration cannot be the single solution to demographic and labour problems of receiving countries."
He concludes: "The World Summit Outcome document rightly acknowledged the nexus between international migration and development and the need to deal with the challenges and opportunities that migration presents to countries of origin, destination and transit.
"It is to be hoped that the resolve expressed by all the world's leaders to take measures to ensure respect for and protection of the human rights of migrants, migrant workers and members of their families will be built upon, to the benefit of all peoples without distinction."
SOURCE
Holy See: Respect for Immigrants' Rights Aids Host Nation (Zenit 5/4/06)
LINKS (not necessarily endorsed by Church Resources)
Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations
Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People
Australian Catholic Migrant and Refugee Office
MORE STORIES
Migration can generate employment and other benefits (Vatican Information Service 6/4/06 - temporary url)
Cardinal urges 'fair' migrant law (BBC 6/4/06)
Vatican's U.N. rep: immigration debate must not be manipulated for short-term political gain at expense of human beings (Catholic News Agency 6/4/06)
Immigration Bill "a Good Start," Says Episcopate (Zenit 5/4/06)
Calls for prayer, rallies, boycott mark immigration debate (Catholic News Service 3/4/06)
Cardinal lashes out at immigration bill (The Tablet 1/4/06)
Sisters discuss care of immigrants in Japan (Japan Catholic Weekly 26/3/06)
Church Concerned Over U.S. Immigration Bill (Zenit 28/3/06)
Vatican official expresses concern about proposed US immigration reform (Catholic News Agency 22/3/06)
7 Apr 2006
