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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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British PM to become a Catholic, family priest hints
The British press is abuzz with speculation that outgoing Prime Minister Tony Blair is about to join his wife Cherie as a Catholic after a British priest who says weekly Mass for the family made the prediction at a recent event.
Fr Michael Seed, who is known for bringing high-profile politicians and aristocrats into the Catholic fold, made the prediction to friends at a recent memorial service, Times Online reports.
According to the paper, when contacted Fr Seed did not deny his comments, but said he did not know if Mr Blair would ever be received "formally" into the Roman Catholic Church.
To do so he would have to take part in a ceremony called the rite of Christian initiation for adults, followed by confirmation and taking the sacrament of Holy Communion.
Father Seed said: "He's been going to Mass every Sunday. He goes on his own when he is abroad, not just when he is with his wife and children."
Another church source said that many of the early saints and martyrs were not baptised. Such people were held to have had a "baptism of desire".
He said that Mr Blair was a Catholic by desire and that this did not necessitate a formal conversion. "He is an ecumenical Catholic," said the source. "He is a liberal Catholic. In terms of his private life, he is a Roman Catholic."
Although technically an Anglican, Mr Blair only "darkened the door" of Anglican churches on state and other formal occasions, he added.
Downing Street would not comment on the suggestion that Mr Blair would declare himself a Catholic. A spokesman said: "This story is always circulating in one form or another. The PM remains a member of the Church of England."
SOURCE
Blair will be welcomed into Catholic fold via his 'baptism of desire' (Times Online, 17/5/07)
Could Blair be on the verge of declaring himself a Catholic? (This is London, 17/5/07)
LINKS (not necessarily endorsed by Church Resources)
Tony Blair (Wikipedia)
ARCHIVE
Catholics, Protestants share power in N Ireland (CathNews, 9/5/07)
Westminster Cardinal and Blair in condom clash (CathNews, 4/12/07)
Pope appeals to Blair against Iraq war (CathNews, 24/2/03)
18 May 2007
