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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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Open hearts to Latin Mass, Benedict says
Saying that he had witnessed how "arbitrary deformations of the liturgy" following Vatican II caused "deep pain" for people, Pope Benedict on Saturday issued his long awaited motu proprio easing restrictions on the celebration of the Tridentine Mass.
Pope Benedict's motu proprio (or formal direction) deals with the use of the 1962 Roman Missal in which he clarifies the place of the pre-Vatican II Mass in the life of the Church, according to a statement from the Australian bishops.
Fr Peter Williams, Executive Officer of the National Liturgical Office, said that since 1969 Catholics have used the post-Vatican II Missal of Pope Paul VI and from the early 1970s provision was made for the celebration of Mass and other liturgical rites in the vernacular.
"The form of Mass celebrated in Catholic parishes in Australia today is a translation of that Missal in English," he said
"Pope Benedict in this motu proprio expresses that the Missal in use at the time of the Council was never legally abrogated, and thus is still a legitimate form for celebrating Mass."
The new document permits any Latin rite priest to celebrate according to the Missal of 1962 in private, but also makes provision that if a group of people in a parish request a celebration of the Missal of 1962 that he should give serious consideration to the request.
"The Holy Father stresses that above all the unity and cohesion of the Parish communities should be the primary outcome of the celebration of any form of the liturgy," says Fr Williams, giving background to the motu proprio.
According to Fr Williams, the pope refers to the 1962 Missal as an "extraordinary" form of the Roman rite with the Missal of Paul VI being the "ordinary" form.
"Already in Australia provision is made for celebrations of the Missal of 1962 in a number of places. It is not expected that there will be any considerable change to the pattern of worship established in most Catholic parishes in Australia," Fr Williams said.
In an explanatory letter, Pope Benedict said that the motu proprio would help reconcile Catholics after the "turmoil" that followed Vatican II.
"Afterwards, it soon became apparent that a good number of people remained strongly attached to this usage of the Roman Rite, which had been familiar to them from childhood," Pope Benedict said according to Catholic News Service.
Benedict also referred Archbishop Lefebvre and his Society of St Pius X.
Amongst this group, "fidelity to the old Missal became an external mark of identity; the reasons for the break, which arose over this, however, were at a deeper level."
"This occurred above all because in many places celebrations were not faithful to the prescriptions of the new Missal, but the latter actually was understood as authorising or even requiring creativity, which frequently led to deformations of the liturgy which were hard to bear," the pope said.
Apprehensions
However, fears continue to be expressed from several quarters.
The strongest apprehensions were voiced by French and German bishops, who worried that internal church unity - and their own authority - could be weakened by creating parallel worshipping communities, Catholic News Service says.
Other bishops said the move could be seen as delegitimising the liturgical reform of Vatican II.
The pope, in his personal letter, dismissed both fears as "unfounded."
He blamed in part "news reports and judgments made without sufficient information" for confusion over his decision and for divergent reactions ranging from joyful acceptance to harsh opposition.
However, Jewish organisations also expressed fears that the revived Mass will contain a prayer for conversion of Jews.
SOURCE
Pope Benedict XVI issues directions on the use of the 1962 Missal (ACBC Media Release, 8/7/07)
Pope establishes the full return of the Roman Missal from 1962 with new letter (Catholic News Agency, 7/7/07)
Pope relaxes restrictions on use of Tridentine Mass (Catholic News Service, 7/7/07)
At a glance: Pope's letter, norms on Tridentine Mass (Catholic News Service, 7/7/07)
Pope frees up use of old Latin Mass, stresses no reversal on Vatican II (International Herald Tribune, 7/7/07)
Pope: faithful may have "Tridentine" Mass if they wish (AsiaNews, 7/7/07)
Pope scraps 40-year restrictions on Latin Mass (Daily Telegraph, 7/7/07)
Pope's reinstatement of old-style Mass angers Jews (Belfast Telegraph, 7/7/07)
Foxman meets Vatican, Italian officials (JTA News, 6/7/07)
New document re: "subsistit" expected (Kath.net, 6/7/07)
Jewish groups protest Pope's decision to revive old Latin mass (Ynet Neqw, 8/7/07)
LINKS (not necessarily endorsed by Church Resources)
Unofficial translation of papal text on use of Tridentine Mass (Catholic News Service, 7/7/07))
Text of Pope Benedict XVI's letter to bishops on Tridentine Mass (Catholic News Service, 7/7/07)
Tridentine Mass
ARCHIVE
Cardinal confirms plans to revive Latin Mass (CathNews, 21/5/07)
Experts concerned over Latin Mass slight to Jews (CathNews, 24/4/07)
"Personal parish" for French Latin Mass Catholics (CathNews, 7/2/07)
French clerics warn against return of Latin Mass traditionalists (CathNews, 24/10/06)
Benedict expected to restore wider availability of Latin Mass (CathNews, 12/10/06)
Pope to discuss reconciliation with rebels (CathNews, 3/2/06)
Pope's fresh attempt to build bridge with rebels (CathNews, 24/8/05)
Schismatic society lobbies Australian priests on Tridentine rite (CathNews, 3/2/05)
Schismatic group expels its own rebels (CathNews, 14/9/04)
Traditionalist leader attacks Pope's ecumenical vision (CathNews, 4/2/04)
Tridentine rite Mass for Roman basilica this month (CathNews, 5/5/03)
Vatican olive branch to Lefebvrist rebels 'not working' (CathNews, 26/3/02)
Ratzinger calls Lefebvrist schismatics narrow-minded (CathNews, 5/4/01)
9 Jul 2007
