Trappist monks want to re-open a monastery in the Algerian Atlas mountains where seven fellow French monks were killed by Muslim terrorists in 1996. Zenit reports that four monks from Algeria, France, Spain and Poland had visited Algiers in 1998 to
Priest lets blind skiers "see"
05-Mar-2007
Describing it as a lesson in trust, American priest Fr Bill Key volunteers to lead legally blind skiers down the slopes of a US mountain resort. The Milwaukee US Catholic Herald reports that Fr Key, who is pastor at St Joseph Parish in
Be wary of the election year
05-Mar-2007
This is a year of elections, Federal towards the end of the year, and this month, the statutory four-yearly election in NSW. This is not fresh news. Federal and State politicians have been hard at work for some time convincing us theirs is the party to
Lenten story: Rebuilding a broken people
05-Mar-2007
Dili resident Luisa, whose husband was killed by militiamen during the 1999 East Timor independence vote, was evacuated with her children to a refugee safe haven in Sydney. After returning home in June 2000, Luisa began working as a counsellor
West Bank Wall shocks German bishops
05-Mar-2007
German bishops visiting Israel and the Palestinian territories on a peace mission have been accused of anti-Semitism after one bishop compared West Bank conditions with the Warsaw ghetto. Haaretz reports that the comments came during a seven day visit
Christians have often "lacked the imagination" to use the media well in making known the good news of Jesus Christ, according to the President of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, Archbishop John P Foley. The Archbishop
In a ruling described by a Mumbai archdiocese representative as a "landmark", the Indian Maharashtra State Commission has recognised an unborn child as a consumer and therefore entitled to insurance coverage. AsiaNews reports that the
ACT Chief Minister invokes priestly alibi
05-Mar-2007
Responding to what he calls the Opposition's campaign of "innuendo and slime", ACT Chief Minister Jon Stanhope says that he was dining with his wife and a local Catholic priest on the night of the 2003 Canberra firestorm - and not with another
Catholic students put gender on agenda
05-Mar-2007
In a statement for today's International Women's Day, an Asia-Pacific Catholic student group has called for effective work for gender justice and equality and criticised men as the main perpetrators of gender violence. The International Movement of
A member of online encyclopedia Wikipedia's team of experts, who used Catholicism for Dummies as a source for some of his contributions, has been outed as a 24-year-old college dropout and not a religion professor with a canon law degree. The Age
Waging jihad for peace in Papua
05-Mar-2007
My perception of jihad is mostly shaped by the mass media. I used to think jihad referred to the use of physical force or war. I thought engagement in jihad was restricted to the Muslim community. My view of jihad has now changed. I have been convinced
Building bridges for 50 years
05-Mar-2007
Celebrating 50 years of married bliss on New Year's Eve 2006, Brian and Nanette D'Arcy have resided for 47 years in the parish of St Bernadette's, Castle Hill, NSW. Stalwarts of the parish, the D'Arcys are engaged Catholics who live their faith in
Former Jesuit Refugee Service worker and King Cross, Sydney's parishioner, Liz O'Neill, is believed to have died in Wednesday's plane crash at Indonesia's Yogyakarta airport, rescuers say. According to a Eureka Street report last night, Ms O'Neill was
Writing in a pastoral letter on the eve of the NSW state elections, Parramatta Bishop Kevin Manning says that politics cannot be separated from faith and Catholics must embrace what he calls the "apostolate of influence". In his pastoral
Baby survives mistaken abortion in Italy
05-Mar-2007
Church authorities in Italy have slammed a doctor involved in a mistaken abortion attempt that left an Italian baby born at 22 weeks fighting for his life after an erroneous diagnosis of a birth defect. Playfuls quotes Italian news service ANSA as
The NSW Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal by an inner Sydney brothel against a closure order that followed complaints by the neighbouring Catholic girls school, St Vincent's College. Misty's brothel in Tusculum Street, Potts Point must cease
Toowoomba diocese douses concerns over KKK
05-Mar-2007
The Toowoomba diocese's Catholic Social Justice Commission says that people should be more concerned about Aboriginal health and education than with the distribution of a Ku Klux Klan recruitment brochure in the Queensland provincial city. According
When he learned that John Paul II was to appear with famous singer Bob Dylan at a 1997 concert, then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was so appalled he unsuccessfully tried to stop the double act from proceeding, Pope Benedict has revealed. However, the
A new Anglicanism?
26-Feb-2007
Instead of long-predicted schism, the Anglican Communion's Tanzania meeting last week helped create a different kind of Anglicanism of the first decade of the twenty-first century. The developing world is coming to the fore as a mature power within the
Young magician brings liturgy's magic to life
26-Feb-2007
A magic trick isn't normally part of proceedings at your everyday church service. But last year one school's graduation liturgy cast a different spell on proceedings. St Mary's Gateshead in the NSW central coast had a magician in their ranks and they
From Parish of Our Lady of The Way, North Sydney & Lavender Bay. The first Mass of the day on YouTube. 
All your daily readings, reflections and prayers can be found here...
view
