 |
|
 |
|
|
|
The number of tourists to Australia in World Youth Day month, July 2008, jumped by 47,000 compared with the same month last year, figures show.
[More]
NSW parents lobby to keep free student travel
The New South Wales Catholic Education Commission has confirmed that it has called on parents of children in Catholic schools to lobby for the scrapping of a new travel levy for students.
[More]
Qld, Vic school teachers in new abuse cases
A former Catholic College Bendigo staff member has pleaded guilty to sexually abusing two young boys twenty years ago while a Darling Downs Catholic school teacher has been charged with seven counts of rape.
[More]
Catholic Healthcare pilots squalor phone hotline
Catholic Healthcare is to launch a Sydney telephone hotline to coordinate responses to people living in domestic squalor.
[More]
Poland's Wyszynski proposed Wojtyla
Cardinal Stefan Wyszinski declined to be nominated as pope during a 1978 conclave, proposing instead his compatriot Karol Wojtyla, the late Polish primate's journal reveals.
[More]
Vatican denounces Congo "massacre of the poor"
Describing recents events in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as a "massacre of the poor", Vatican spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi called for world support to end the violence and assist refugees.
[More]
Feature - A positive legacy comes from grief
David and Samantha Meyn of East Maitland have gained wisdom beyond their years after losing their son Harrison, who was diagnosed with a brain tumour at the age of 6, in July 2006. Oscar, now 7 and Campbell, 3, speak often of their older brother and love to draw attention to the photos displayed at home. - Tracey Edstein, Aurora
[More]
Featured Website - Edmund Rice Centre for Justice and Community Education
The western Sydney based Edmund Rice Centre for Justice and Community Education is the organisation behind the documentary on Australia's treatment of asylum seekers, A Well Founded Fear, which airs on SBS TV tonight. The Centre is a ministry of the Christian Brothers and has a history of advocacy and campaigning on social justice issues.
[More]
Radio - The Rhythm Divine: The Rapping Priest
Fr Stan Fortuna is a Catholic priest and a founding member of the Community of Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, an order established in the heart of the South Bronx in 1987. But he is also a musician known worldwide as "the rapping priest". Even after 20 years it's not a title he's totally comfortable with.
[More]
Opinion - A moment in history for Anglicans and Catholics
2008 has been a year of potentially historic breakthroughs between Anglican Christians and the Chair of Peter. Many Catholics have noted with great interest the growing number of Anglicans who have approached the possibility of coming into full communion with the Catholic Church. - Deacon Keith Fournier, Catholic Online
[More]
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
Warning: main(http://www.cathnews.com/cgi-bin/ad_management.pl) [function.main]: failed to open stream: HTTP request failed! HTTP/1.1 404 Not Found in E:\hshome\eureka0\cathnews.com\news\605\149.php on line 159
Warning: main() [function.include]: Failed opening 'http://www.cathnews.com/cgi-bin/ad_management.pl' for inclusion (include_path='.\;C:\HSphere.NET\3rdparty\PHP\4.4.7\PEAR') in E:\hshome\eureka0\cathnews.com\news\605\149.php on line 159
Nun says unemployment underlies Timor trouble
Sr Tess Ward OLSH, who has been living in East Timor since 2002, told the ABC's 7:30 Report last night that the root cause of the current unrest in East Timor is really the shortage of work, especially for young people.
"The problems in Dili, I'd say the thing that's really sort of in-your-face all the time is the unemployment. The young people, especially young men wanting work, rushing to look for work," she said.
Since 2002, Sr Ward has been helping run literacy programs in East Timor. When she flew out of Dili a fortnight ago, the soldiers' initial protests had already become a lightning rod for wider grievances.
But Sr Ward - a member of the Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Congregation who works with the Josephites - doubts East Timor could descend into civil war.
"No way," she said. "That would be an extreme view. I think the normal, everyday Timorese little people, as I would say, the normal people on the ground, they do not want civil war."
"I'm praying for peace for them, because they desire that," she added.
"Someone I was speaking to this morning said, 'Sister, keep praying and light the candles.' They're a people of great faith and so I hope that what they desire for themselves, which is a better life, that a peaceful existence in their land, in their very beautiful land."
According to AsiaNews, the Bishop of Baucau has launched an appeal for calm to the nation. The Church, which played a fundamental role in East Timor's struggle for independence from Indonesia in 1999, did not say anything outright until now.
Between 1975 and 1999, Jakarta's army used torture and committed rape against the people of East Timor, killing tens of thousands of civilians.
A priest from the diocese of Dili said all the Church can do for the moment is to be close to the displaced people. He added: "East Timor needs peace to grow gradually; there are many youth and they want to study in their country, hoping to improve it."
Meanwhile, Sydney Morning Herald reports that Australia will again lead a military and police intervention into strife-torn East Timor, after a plea from its leaders amid escalating gun battles across Dili.
The Church and East Timorese Defence Force had supported the move, so "this is a request from the entire Timorese society", Foreign Affairs Minister Mr Jose Ramos-Horta said.
SOURCE
Violence escalates in E Timor (ABC TV 7:30 Report 24/5/06)
Dili: a deserted city, people feel "at war" (AsiaNews.it 24/5/06)
Australians will lead East Timor intervention (Sydney Morning Herald 25/5/06)
LINKS (not necessarily endorsed by Church Resources)
Mary MacKillop East Timor
ARCHIVE
Priest calls frightened Timorese home (CathNews 22/5/06)
Church joins fray in Timor (CathNews 17/5/06)
Diocese prepares to aid fleeing East Timor refugees (CathNews 11/5/06)
East Timor Catholic leaders appeal for calm after riot (CathNews 5/5/06)
Thousands shelter in Catholic centres after East Timor riots (CathNews 3/5/06)
25 May 2006
