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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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Pope's Easter wish for peace in troubled world
Celebrating the first Easter of his pontificate, Benedict XVI prayed for peace in the world's troubled regions and urged world leaders to use diplomacy to defuse tension in the Middle East.
Catholic News Service reports that following the Easter mass at St Peter's Square the pope offered his blessing "urbi et orbi" (to the city of Rome and the world), and prayed for peace and justice in the most troubled areas of the world.
During his midday Easter blessing, the pope called for "serious and honest negotiations" to find an "honourable solution" to the standoff between Iran and the international community over Iran's nuclear program. He also prayed that "in Iraq may peace finally prevail over the tragic violence that continues mercilessly to claim victims."
The pope called on the international community to come to the rescue of the people of Sudan's Darfur region who continue to be under the threat of genocide and face terror and hunger.
He prayed for peace in the Holy Land and for "patient and persevering dialogue" between Israel and the Palestinian government.
"May the international community, which reaffirms Israel's right to exist in peace, assist the Palestinian people to overcome the precarious conditions in which they live," he said.
With more than 80,000 people gathered in St Peter's Square for the blessing, Benedict XVI said Christ's resurrection from the dead fulfilled God's promise to save his creatures from the power of sin and death.
"From the risen Christ, all those who are still oppressed by chains of suffering and death look for hope, sometimes even without knowing it," he said.
"May the risen Christ grant that the strength of his life, peace and freedom be experienced everywhere," he said, after offering Easter greetings in 62 languages, including Esperanto, Maori, Arabic and Hebrew.
He told English speakers, "May the grace and joy of the risen Christ be with you all."
During the Easter Vigil on the weekend, Pope Benedict baptised and confirmed seven men and women from six nations, using a small golden shell to trickle the holy water over each catechumen's head.
Baptism represents more than just receiving people into the faith or the simple washing away of sin, the pope said in the vigil homily. Baptism ushers in a complete transformation in one's life, making it "no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me," the pope said, quoting St Paul.
At the end of the Way of the Cross service the night before at Rome's Colosseum, Pope Benedict called on Christians to be bold and courageous in their faith and help rein in the evil plaguing the world by reaching out to others with love.
Speaking without a text to those gathered at the site where numerous Christians had been killed in ancient Roman times, the pope urged people to be merciful and not sit back and watch injustice and suffering take place.
"We cannot be just spectators in the Way of the Cross," which is not just an event from the past, but is an ever-repeating reality, he said.
The Way of the Cross reflects "all of humanity's sufferings today," including the suffering of abandoned or abused children, threats against the family, the division of the world between rich and poor, and the misery of those suffering from poverty and deprivation, he said.
Earlier, Pope Benedict presided over the Good Friday liturgy of the Lord's Passion, beginning the rite by lying prostrate with his face on a pillow in front of the altar.
The preacher of the papal household, Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa, said in his homily that people needed to be more compassionate and forgiving if the world was "not to slide ever more into the abyss of globalised violence."
Apparently referring to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian territories, the Capuchin priest said he wondered what would happen if, "in the Near East, the two peoples at war for decades, rather than blaming one another were to begin to think of the suffering of others, to be moved to pity for one another," making the "wall of division" between the two no longer necessary.
There is so much pain and suffering in the world, "we must have some compassion and solidarity for one another," he said.
The pope left the Vatican Easter afternoon to spend a few days resting at the papal villa in Castel Gandolfo, south of Rome.
SOURCE
Pope celebrates Easter, urges people, nations to turn away from sin (Catholic News Service 17/4/06)
MORE STORIES
Homily of His Holiness Benedict XVI: Easter Vigil (15/4/06)
Urbi et Orbi Message of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, Easter 2006
Easter: Certainty that evil does not have the last word (Vatican Information Service 12/4/06 - temporary url)
One year on, Pope Benedict confounds critics (Reuters 17/4/06)
Pope calls for nuclear diplomacy in Easter message (Reuters 17/4/06)
Washing of the feet embodies the love of Jesus that purifies man (AsiaNews.it 13/4/06)
Before the Way of the Cross we cannot be mere spectators, says the Pope (AsiaNews.it 14/4/06)
Pope: Resurrection, "explosion of love", concerns each one of us (AsiaNews.it 15/4/06)
Pope: May the world welcome the peace of the Risen One (AsiaNews.it 16/4/06)
Mary guides us to the joy of Jesus' resurrection, says the Pope (AsiaNews.it 16/4/06)
Pope reminds priests of their ordination, importance of prayer (Catholic News Service 13/4/06)
Pope, in Holy Thursday homily, says Judas was a greedy liar (Catholic News Service 17/4/06)
God's infinite love purifies, pope says at Holy Thursday Mass (Catholic News Service 13/4/06)
Benedict XVI receives birthday greetings from around the world (Catholic News Agency 17/4/06)
On first Easter Mass, Pope Benedict calls for peace in Iraq, Holy Land, resolution of nuclear crises (Catholic News Agency 17/4/06)
Pope calls Catholics to be like 'living stones to build the Holy Church' (Catholic News Agency 17/4/06)
Benedict XVI gives 'Urbi et Orbi' blessing, calling humanity not to have fear (Catholic News Agency 17/4/06)
A busy weekend for Pope Benedict (catholicireland.net 17/4/06)
Resurrection sends message of hope to people (catholicireland.net 17/4/06)
Pope offers hard-hitting Way of the Cross meditations (Catholic World News 14/4/06)
Pope's Easter message calls for talks on Iran (Catholic World News 17/4/06)
Resurrection brings "qualitative leap" for mankind, Pope says (Catholic World News 17/4/06)
Pope points toward 500th anniversary of St. Peter's (Catholic World News 17/4/06)
Pope lights the way (Herald-Sun 17/4/06)
John L Allen: The pope's `patriarch' puzzle (Los Angeles Times 9/4/06)
Pope of Surprises? (Newsweek 13/4/06)
Pope weighs invitation to visit the Holy Land (The Tablet 15/4/06)
Charles Curran: From division to unity (The Tablet 15/4/06)
Pope Warns of Threats to Families (Zenit 14/4/06)
65 Countries to See Papal Easter Blessing (Zenit 14/4/06)
Pope Warns of Threats to Families (Zenit 14/4/06)
Way of Cross Includes Consolations, Says Benedict XVI (Zenit 15/4/06)
Benedict XVI's Address at Way of the Cross (Zenit 15/4/06)
Papal Homily at Mass of the Lord's Supper (Zenit 15/4/06)
Benedict XVI Makes Easter Appeal for Peace (Zenit 16/4/06)
Resurrection Yields a New World, Says Pope (Zenit 16/4/06)
Benedict XVI Gets Birthday Greetings (Zenit 16/4/06)
Assessing Benedict XVI's First Year (Zenit 16/4/06)
Benedict XVI's Easter Message (Zenit 16/4/06)
Pope's Easter Vigil Homily (Zenit 16/4/06)
18 Apr 2006
