I've been indirectly involved this week in the sort of effort that reinforces my faith in the contribution that advocacy can make to the betterment of society. This week has seen the parliamentary launch of Dropping off the Edge by Professor Tony
Lenten story: fishing brings new life to farmers
26-Feb-2007
Farid Pathang and his family are from a Bangladeshi village. "Before we received support from Caritas life was very difficult. It was hard to survive," said Farid. Families struggled to grow enough food to eat. They lived a subsistence
Addressing a Lenten retreat for the Pope and top Vatican officials, Italian Cardinal Giacomi Biffi has cited a Russian philosopher's "prophetic" warning that "the Antichrist presents himself as a pacifist, ecologist and
Christians are facing "big problems" in Iraq, the director of the Pontifical Mission for Palestine's Iraq director says, while some Catholic refugees who have fled the war-torn country say they were safer under Saddam. The Catholic News
As he presented his credentials to East Timor's president, the country's new Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli, has urged the Church and government to work together to free the people from conflict. UCA News reports that Archbishop
Assisted by Federal Government grants, Catholic colleges in South Australia have managed to drastically reduce their water consumption and cut ongoing costs while making their sports ovals greener than ever. The Southern Cross reports that Federal
500,000 crosses for WYD
26-Feb-2007
A Mary MacKillop outreach centre workshop has pulled out all stops in an effort to meet a production target of 500,000 mini wooden crosses to be handed out on the route of the World Youth Day cross which will soon begin its journey around
Bishop named among cricket club greats
26-Feb-2007
Port Pirie Bishop Eugene Hurley who once dreamed of wearing the Baggy Green cap as an Australian Test cricketer has been described as one of the South Australian regional centre's best ever cricketers by his former club. As a left-arm fast bowler of
Dehumanising Muslims can be deadly
19-Feb-2007
Rwandan Muslims were once politically negligible, constituting 5 per cent of the population. Then came the genocide of 1994. Churches became slaughterhouses. Some brave priests and nuns lost their lives resisting the genocide but many others were
Opus Dei down to one top Vatican official
19-Feb-2007
With the resignation of Cardinal Julian Herranz as President of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts last week, Opus Dei has now lost two of three positions as heads of Vatican offices it once held under Pope John Paul II. While the two
Non-violence a "way of being", Benedict says
19-Feb-2007
Non-violence is not merely tactical behaviour but rather "a personal way of being" based on love, Pope Benedict told pilgrims at yesterday's Angelus in which he also remembered the Lunar New Year celebrated in parts of
Bishops Commission for Justice and Service chair, Bishop Chris Toohey, says that the Church is "behind the game" in terms of energy use with many buildings old and energy wasteful. Bishop Toohey also warned that concern about the environment
Former priest Ridsdale says sorry
19-Feb-2007
Saying he had finally realised the damage he had caused to hundreds of people, convicted pedophile former priest Gerald Ridsdale has apologised to his victims and their families. The Herald-Sun reports that Ridsdale, 72, who concedes he'll probably
WYD to re-enact Jesus' passion and death
19-Feb-2007
Former opera stage director and Melbourne priest, Fr Franco Cavarra, has been named as Creative Director for an elaborate Stations of the Cross through the heart of Sydney during World Youth Day next year. Brisbane's Westender reports that the
Opus Dei film seeks big name actors
19-Feb-2007
Opus Dei will collaborate on a feature film on the life of its founder, St Josemaria Escriva de Balaguer, for which the producers hope to recruit big name Hollywood actors like Robert De Niro and Antonio Banderas. However, The Guardian reports that an
Catholics will not be able to receive communion on the tongue and no confessions will be allowed in enclosed confessionals, according to draft influenza pandemic guidelines prepared by a Canadian diocese. Canadian Catholic News reports that in an
Ash Wednesday did not begin in 1983
19-Feb-2007
When I was a little kid, I thought Ash Wednesday was synonymous with bushfires. There was a kind of hushed tone reserved for the name; a natural disaster that seemed to me to have scared the pants off fire-fighters, homeowners and volunteers alike in
Moral intelligence
19-Feb-2007
There are different ways of being intelligent, of being awake. Some people are gifted mathematically and philosophically. Some others are gifted with emotional intelligence. Then there is something that might be called moral intelligence. What is this?
No chance of early Anglican-Catholic union
19-Feb-2007
Brisbane Archbishop John Bathersby has poured cold water on an overnight report suggesting that the Anglican and Catholic churches are close to agreement on a proposal for unity. Archbishop Bathersby, who co-chairs the International Anglican-Roman
Peace train attack "inhuman": Indian Cardinal
19-Feb-2007
The Indian Church has condemned an attack on the "peace train" linking India and Pakistan that killed at least 66 people as an "inhuman" tragedy caused by people "blinded by hate and ignorance". There were also over 50
From Parish of Our Lady of The Way, North Sydney & Lavender Bay. The first Mass of the day on YouTube. 
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