 |
|
 |
|
|
|
Pontifical Council on Christian Unity head, Cardinal Walter Kasper, has warned the Anglican church that it "must clarify its identity" and make "difficult decisions" ahead of its forthcoming Lambeth Conference.
[More]
Quarantine for Indigenous welfare cards undermines responsibility: CSSA
Quarantining welfare payments in indigenous communities fails to address the real issues putting children at risk and undermines people's sense of responsibility, according to Catholic Social Services Australia Executive Director, Frank Quinlan.
[More]
Baby dies in car outside Toowoomba school
A five month old girl died yesterday after the child's mother left her in the family car while she collected her other children from a Toowoomba Catholic school.
[More]
Latin back on menu at Vatican website
The Vatican website has introduced a section in Latin which will publish the official original editions of pontifical documents.
[More]
Abuse victims plan protest for pope
Support groups for victims of clerical abuse are joining together to hold protests during Pope Benedict's Australian visit.
[More]
ACU seeks student volunteers
Australian Catholic University has announced that starting in 2009 it will base its selection of students on their involvement in cultural, sporting and religious activities including volunteering as well as on academic performance.
[More]
Hart slams Vic government over Catholic school funding
Melbourne Archbishop Denis Hart has attacked the Victorian government for its failure to increase funding for Catholic schools while boosting support for public schools by $1.3 billion and raising state teachers' annual salaries by $5,000.
[More]
Priests and sisters among Burma dead
At least two priests and several sisters are among the ten of thousands of Burmese killed by Cyclone Nargis, a Salesian priest says, with many churches and related projects also badly damaged.
[More]
Feature - Woodstock and worship renew chance for improved relations
Since Pope John Paul II launched World Youth Day 22 years ago, it has become the Olympic Games of world religion, the largest and most complex spiritual event held on a recurring basis across the globe. One part worship and one part Woodstock, the youth oriented festival is designed to offer a rocking rebuttal to impressions that Catholicism is sliding toward oblivion. - John Allen, Sydney Morning Herald
[More]
Featured Website - Rosary in the street
May is a month of devotion to Our Lady often best expressed through the Rosary. This website is encouraging people not just to pray the Rosary in their homes, but to take the pray with others to the street.
[More]
Television Review - No limits
A television program devoted to showcasing people living with a disability is indeed a rare find in our commercialised world and its quest for perfection. No Limits looks at living life to the fullest with a disability, featuring stories about workshops on UN dignity and rights of people with disabilities, disability standards in education, disability legislation and much more.
[More]
Opinion - Respect the key to youth violence
Without other standards of human flourishing to counteract those communicated on billboards and in advertising, the young members of some communities are deprived of all sources of self-esteem and respect. Unable to hope for those signs of success which the consumerist environment holds up for our emulation, young men in particular can be without resources to resist the message given them that they are failures, nonentities, nothing. - Thinking Faith
[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\607\131.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\607\131.php on line 159
Lebanese Maronite bishops plea for UN help
Lebanese bishops have pleaded with the United Nations Security Council to call for an immediate ceasefire and for the opening of humanitarian corridors to enable aid to reach war victims.
The Indian Catholic reports that in an eight-point statement issued Friday, the Maronite bishops have expressed their support for the Lebanese government and condemned Israel's invasion of Lebanon, based on the kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah forces.
The statement was made on the eve of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's surprise visit to Lebanon over the weekend.
"The painful incidents which Lebanon is witnessing are unjustified and inconceivable," reads the statement, which was issued after an emergency meeting of bishops, called by Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir. The patriarch had just returned from on a one-month tour of the US in which he met with the US Vice-President Dick Cheney.
"Does the abduction of two Israeli soldiers deserve cutting all of the country's joints?" the bishops wrote. "The Lebanese people's tragic condition forces us to forget political discords and unite efforts to face the crisis."
The bishops called on humanitarian institutions, notably the Lebanese and international Red Cross, to provide the people with medication and food. Currently, more than 700,000 Lebanese citizens have fled for safety in other parts of the country or in Syria since the violence started 12 July.
Caritas International as well as the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), are mobilising despite the difficulties caused by the current state of war. Caritas Lebanon has been asked by the government to care for 50,000 families mostly sheltering in public buildings, such as schools, in Tyre and Beirut. Caritas reported that water, food, and medicine are needed urgently.
The UNHCR is meeting the immediate needs of some refugees with tents, plastic sheeting and blankets in deposits in Syria and Jordan.
The bishops appealed to people of goodwill to help defenceless civilians who have been forced to flee; they urged all citizens to assist each other, regardless of creed. They also welcomed Pope Benedict's call to pray for peace in Lebanon on Sunday.
An international meeting is scheduled to be held in Rome on 26 July. Ms Rice will meet with the foreign ministers of Italy, Russia, France, Great Britain, Germany, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan, as well as the Lebanese foreign minister to discuss how a permanent ceasefire can be reached.
Meanwhile, warning that "imprudent actions [in the Middle East] might light the fuse of a powder keg," Pax Christi International has called on the Rome conference to "develop an active mediating role to be played by the international community in order to achieve just and lasting peace in the Middle East."
"Engaging all stakeholders in the process will allow people of the region to live in dignity," a Pax Christi statement said.
SOURCE
Maronite bishops call for ceasefire, humanitarian corridors in Lebanon (Indian Catholic 24/7/06)
Caritas Jerusalem: Humanitarian Situation in Gaza Continues to Deteriorate (Palestine News Agency 21/7/06)
End Escalation of Violence in the Middle East (Pax Christi International 24/7/06)
LINKS (not necessarily endorsed by Church Resources)
Bkerke (Maronite Church Lebanon)
Maronite eparchy of St Maroun, Australia
Pax Christi International | Pax Christi Australia
ARCHIVE
Caritas Lebanon slams milk factory attack (CathNews 21/7/06)
Advertise Lebanon evacuation plans, stranded priest tells Govt (CathNews 20/7/06)
25 Jul 2006
