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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.
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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.
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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.
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Catholic Healthcare pilots squalor phone hotline
Catholic Healthcare is to launch a Sydney telephone hotline to coordinate responses to people living in domestic squalor.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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
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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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Timor Church to pursue truth and dialogue
Dili's Vicar General said the East Timor Church supports efforts to reveal the truth of former Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri's alleged involvement in arming a "hit squad" and plans to hold dialogue sessions to help ease the nation's tension.
Fr Apolinario Aparicio, Vicar General of Dili diocese, told UCA News that the Church appreciates Mr Alkatiri's decision to resign and hopes this will be a "good solution" to the crisis in the country.
Speaking at his office in Dili, Fr Aparicio said the Church belongs to the people and thus urged the Prime Minister to listen to what the people were saying.
Mr Alkatiri (pictured) resigned on Monday after Foreign Minister Jose Ramos-Horta resigned in protest over his continued reluctance to quit and his close ally President Xanana Gusmao threatened to do the same.
He has been accused of participating in the arming of a civilian "hit squad" aimed at eliminating his opponents, including Church leaders. He denied the allegations.
Mr Alkatiri said on Monday in a resignation statement that he was stepping down for the good of the nation and that he accepted his share of the responsibility for the crisis. But he remains a member of parliament.
According to Fr Aparicio, the Church cannot comment on the allegations of the Mr Alkatiri's involvement in a hit squad, but it supports efforts to reveal the truth and to hold Alkatiri accountable through the justice system. He said the Church will wait for the results of local judicial proceedings or "an international inquiry" into who was responsible for the crisis.
Fr Martino Gusmao echoed Fr Aparicio's call for justice in the courts. The head of the Justice and Peace Commission of Baucau diocese said that dialogue, like at a recent interreligious seminar in Baucau, is the best way to help solve the country's problems. He said the Church plans to hold dialogue sessions to ease the tension.
The urgent task is to reunify the people from the eastern and western parts of the country, he said, "otherwise there will be never-ending revenge from generation to generation."
The former Prime Minister, a Muslim of Yemeni decent, had clashed several times with the Church, an influential presence in a predominantly Catholic country. Last year he backed down on a plan to make religious education elective, rather than mandatory, in schools amid Church-backed protests calling for his resignation then.
Meanwhile, he has been accused of being "leftist" and authoritarian, though he won praise from outside observers for his tough stances in negotiating with Australia over gas and oil reserves, and with the World Bank about loans. Interestingly, the World Bank has stood by him throughout the crisis.
SOURCE
Church stresses need for dialogue as embattled Prime Minister resigns (UCA News 27/6/06)
LINKS (not necessarily endorsed by Church Resources)
Caritas Australia
Mary McKillop East Timor
ARCHIVE
Caritas says Timor death toll may exceed official figures (CathNews 9/6/06)
Melbourne prayers for troubled East Timor (CathNews 5/6/06)
Diocese prepares to aid fleeing East Timor refugees (CathNews 11/5/2006)
28 Jun 2006
