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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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Advertise Lebanon evacuation plans, stranded priest tells Govt
An Australian priest stranded in Lebanon has called on the Australian government to advertise their relief efforts on local TV while Lebanon's Catholic Maronite patriarch has told US Vice-President Richard Cheney that the Israeli reaction to Hezbollah attacks is "not proportionate."
The Australian reports that Fr Joe Takchi, a Melbourne priest visiting Lebanon, suggests that Australia should run advertisements on Lebanese television to reassuring the thousands of citizens there.
According to Fr Takchi, other countries including Britain, France and Russia had begun advertising on local television in a bid to comfort their citizens trapped by the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel.
The priest, who is stranded in the northern mountain village of Bann along with hundreds of other Australians, said Canberra should consider the idea.
"They all put on the television phone numbers and they assured their people that (they) were doing their best to get them out - asked people to be patient," he said on ABC radio.
"We haven't seen that from any of the Australian Government or any Australian official or anybody yet to say that."
Fr Takchi said he had been in regular contact with Australian officials in Beirut and painted a picture of disarray for Australia's efforts to co-ordinate evacuations.
"I think we need the Australian Government to really come and be on television and to say 'Look, we're doing our best and we want everybody to keep calm,' just to show that there is an active plan there," he said.
Meanwhile, Catholic News Service reports that Cardinal Nasrallah Sfeir, the patriarch of Lebanon's largest Christian body, the Maronites, said he told Mr Cheney that Israel has a right to defend itself, but its reaction to Hezbollah actions is not proportionate.
"The country is nearly destroyed, the runways, bridges, ports are all destroyed," Cardinal Sfeir said after his meeting with Mr Cheney. The Cardinal said "the Lebanese government is so weak, it is not able to oppose (its offenders). It has no means to."
Cardinal Sfeir met with Cheney at the White House before celebrating Mass at Our Lady of Lebanon Church in Washington. Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, retired archbishop of Washington, and Archbishop Donald Wuerl of Washington were among those concelebrating the Mass for peace in the Middle East.
Cardinal Sfeir told Catholic News Service after the Mass that Mr Cheney told him "he will see what he can do for us. It's not so easy because of a lot of complicated situations with a lot of countries." The Cardinal said Mr Cheney did not share the US government's plan for the Middle East.
"He doesn't have a plan; at least he hasn't told me. I think, I hope he will intervene and put an end to this conflict," he said.
The Washington Post quoted a US Conference of Catholic Bishops spokesperson as backing Cardinal Sfeir's position saying that provocative acts of violence by extreme factions of Hamas and Hezbollah, along with disproportionate military responses from Israel, endanger democracy.
The statement also urged the US to "exert greater leadership" to work toward a cease-fire, to restrain Israel and to move quickly into negotiations between all the parties.
SOURCE
'Reassure Australians with TV ads' (The Australian, 20/7/06)
Lebanese patriarch tells Cheney Israeli response not proportionate (Catholic News Service, 18/7/06)
Lebanese Cardinal Leads Peace Service (Washington Post, 19/7/06)
LINKS (not necessarily endorsed by Church Resources)
Lebanon (Wikipedia)
ARCHIVE
Benedict condemns Middle East reprisals (CathNews, 17/7/06)
Pax Christi raps profiteers in Palestinian occupation (CathNews, 12/7/06)
MORE STORIES
Pope backs G8 stand on Lebanon (Catholic World News, 19/7/06)
Pax Christi Urges Compromise in Middle East (Vatican Radio 19/7/06)
Caritas Australia (Media Release, 19/7/06)
20 Jul 2006
