Sunday, October 26, 2003

*******************************************

FROM THE CATHOLIC PRESS

********************************************

'WEL-COM'

Newspaper of the Wellington Archdiocese and the Diocese of Palmerston North October 2003 http://www.welcom.org.nz

'Pastoral Areas in Wellington Archdiocese by February ' The decree published below sets down that the forty-seven parishes of the Wellington Archdiocese are to be grouped into 15 pastoral areas, in principle, on 1 February 2004....

'N.Z.’s first ever National Interfaith Forum' Last month, New Zealand’s first ever National Interfaith Forum was held in Wellington. While there have been interfaith groups in a number of centres for many years, this was the first time they had come together from around the country....

'Carving honours Suzanne Aubert’s work with Maori' It was the 77th anniversary of the death of Suzanne Aubert when many gathered at dawn at the Centre in Tory Street named after her for the dedication of a carving honouring her work with Maori. Erected over the entrance to the Soup Kitchen it is called Aroha Mai — Aroha Nui....

'Bishop Leamy speaks out for Ahmed Zaoui' “Ahmed Zaoui has been granted refugee status by the New Zealand Courts who have cleared him entirely of being a terrorist,’’ says Bishop Robin Leamy of the Diocese of Auckland. ‘‘I found him to be a very intelligent, very gentle and caring man who loves his God, his family, and his fellow human beings. I am convinced that he is a good person, whom I pray will be soon released.’’...

'Pregnancy Help's 27 years of service' We set up Pregnancy Help to care for pregnant mothers by helping them overcome any problems they were facing and to provide practical assistance where possible. We were the only organisation that focused specifically on pregnant mothers....

'First volunteer for N.Z. Bishops’ newest agency' In the May issue of Wel-com, Peter Hill from the Wairarapa noticed an advertisement from Mahitahi, a newly established agency of the N.Z. Catholic Bishops’ Conference. They were seeking someone with accountancy experience who would be willing to work for a few weeks in the Diocese of Auki in the Solomon Islands. Peter decided to look into this ...

Also: Cardinal's Column: Cardinal Wiliams' letter on pastoral areas Bishop John's reflection: A graced day at st Bernard's College

******************************************************************

'THE FAR EAST'

Magazine of the Australian and New Zealand missionaries of St. Columban's Mission Society. October 2003 http://www.columban.org.au/tfe/tfe_current.htm

Editorial: Small moments in history Columbans write stories in The Far East about people who feature rarely on television or radio news because they are neither significant nor exciting. But their lives are real and on record. In the future a researcher could read these stories and compare 2003 with 2013....

From the Director: In some of the articles in this issue of The Far East we see people learning from other people in a variety of situations. Education does not finish with the end of our schooling it goes on throughout our lives. It is the same for Columban missionaries....

A setback in Mindanao, by Fr Patrick Baker. The Columbans no longer have a presence in Marawi on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines. Our involvement has been in other parishes some distance from the city but the area remains an unsafe place for us to live. Fr Rufus Halley was killed and Fr Des Hartford was kidnapped there...

A new venture in Shanghai, by Peter Julian Kelly I returned to Shanghai last year to develop an educational programme for the priests and sisters of Shanghai diocese. This was a bold move on the part of Bishop Jin. A number of factors influenced his decision to take priests out of their parishes, leaving them empty, so that they could live together and study English....

Young Aussies "wow" the oldies in religious art awards What started out as a humble “Happy 80th Birthday” for the Columban Calendar, culminated in what renowned art expert Sr Rosemary Crumlin RSM described as, “a most important exhibition of young people’s art which will be of International Interest.”...

*********************************************************

CATHOLIC COMUNICATIONS NZ

Media releases http://www.cathcom.org.nz/media.php

"Catholics support 24-hour vigil for Ahmed Zaoui" (23 Oct 2003) (full text) A 24-hour vigil outside Mt Eden prison has the support of the Assistant Catholic Bishop of Auckland, Bishop Robin Leamy, and other members of Catholic justice agencies. The vigil, beginning tomorrow (Friday) at noon, and organised by justice and peace groups, is also to express opposition to Ahmed Zaoui’s detention for eleven months without charge. Some financial support has been given by the Catholic Church in Auckland to provide amenities for the 24-hour gathering.

"Lecturer in religious education" (22 oct 2003) (see 'Employment' below)

"National Art & Faith Competition winners" (20 Oct 2003) Invercargill artist Claire Worrall has won the major award – and $3000 prize money – in this year’s “NZ Catholic and Erin Dwyer Draper Art and Faith 2003 competition”. Worrall’s “Light and Liberation” from the ‘Faith Series’ was described by the judge as a work of outstanding quality.....

***************************************************

POPE JOHN PAUL II

************************************* A Measure Of Greatness The Papacy of John Paul II: two assessments Commonweal Magazine October 10 2003 http://www.commonwealmagazine.org/12003/october102003/10102003ar.htm

Robert Louis Wilken : On the twenty-fifth anniversary of the election of John Paul II as pope, I am reminded of the words of Stephen Spender’s poem, “I Think Continually of Those Who Were Truly Great.” In the course of most human lifetimes there will have lived a great man or woman, or several, but few can say they lived when someone “truly great” sojourned among us. Because our lives have intersected with the life of John Paul II, we are among those few....

Susan A. Ross : Assessing John Paul II’s papacy is a much more difficult task than summing up John XXIII (Vatican II) or Paul VI (the aftermath of Vatican II and Humanae vitae). So much more has happened in these twenty-five years: the increasing globalization of the church, the fall of communism, the growth of nationalism, the dangers of capitalism. I will leave it to others to reflect on such issues. My concern is the impact of the papacy of John Paul II on women in general and on theologies of and by women in particular.... *************************************

Pope's Health 10/24/2003 http://www.wusatv9.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=23947 The Vatican dropped an afternoon Mass from Pope John Paul II's schedule Friday to give the frail pontiff more rest after a hectic week, officials said. The 83-year-old pontiff has been handing over more of his ceremonial duties and, because of difficulties in speaking, has turned over most his speeches to aides to read....

Papal audience awed by ailing pope's vitality http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/news/world/7095593.htm Knight Ridder Newspapers (KRT) - ROME -- "The guy can't walk, can't talk, but he still has to do what he has to do," said Nick Zuvik, of Franklin Square, N.Y., as pilgrims and guests of newly created cardinals filed into Pope Paul VI Auditorium awaiting the pontiff....

*****************************************

FROM THE OVERSEAS CATHOLIC PRESS & NEWS AGENCIES

Br Dan Stafford, chaplain to the Australian Jockey Club - A generous fraternity of ‘saints and sinners’ The Catholic Weekly (Sydney archdiocese) 26 October 2003 http://www.catholicweekly.com.au/03/oct/26/13.html For the past 15 years, Br Dan Stafford has been the master of ceremonies at Melbourne’s annual racing Mass, which is held in the city’s Church of St Francis, in the week before the running of the Melbourne Cup. “The church is packed with men and women from the racing industry who come from all over Australia, making it a special occasion,” Br Dan said. “A high number of people wouldn’t be of the Catholic faith, but the church is full of Christians and the Mass is well attended by priests and bishops from Australia and New Zealand....

Newspaper says elderly cardinals seeking vote in conclave http://www.cathnews.com/news/310/132.php The Italian daily La Repubblica reported yesterday that 59 octogenarian cardinals have written to Pope John Paul II asking him to reinstate their right to elect the next Pope. "Without the right to vote we are half-cardinals, second division cardinals," the paper quoted one octogenarian cardinal as saying....

A Heady Week, and a Multiethnic Vatican Hierarchy and Holiness Come to the Fore http://zenit.org/english/visualizza.phtml?sid=43322 Rome, OCT. 23, 2003 (Zenit.org).- Whew, what a week! A normally placid St. Peter's Square was suddenly overrun with TV cameras, tulips flown in from the Netherlands, Indian nuns in white-and-blue habits, African women in colorful headdress and new cardinals wearing red robes for the first time....

The growing cost of mandatory celibacy National Catholic Reporter October 17, 2003 http://www.natcath.com/NCR_Online/archives2/2003d/101703/101703s.htm Summary: The priest shortage (in the U.S.) is real and getting worse. Over the next 30 years, unless something is done to alter the trend, our priests will be increasingly remote, solitary figures running from parish-to-parish, the human equivalent of sacrament vending machines....

*********************************************

FROM THE SECULAR PRESS

Debt research finds desperate families NZ Herald 21.10.2003 http://tinyurl.com/sc9f Research commissioned by the Council of Christian Social Services and carried out by Massey University shows that high levels of debt are robbing low-income families of their future. The Dynamics of Debt For Low-Income Families, released yesterday, found that New Zealand was faced with a significant social policy problem that disadvantaged indebted families on low income....

Matt Robson: Prayer must go because it's exclusive NZ Herald 22.10.2003 http://tinyurl.com/sc9k I was amazed when I immigrated with my family to New Zealand as a teenager that the principal at my new state secondary school opened the daily assembly with a Christian prayer. I was not opposed to Christianity. My mother's family was Catholic; my oldest sister had attended an Anglican secondary school and my older sister a Catholic secondary school....

Garth George: Parliament's prayer simply a tradition without meaning NZ Herald 23.10.2003 http://tinyurl.com/sc9n Have you ever wondered why, with monotonous regularity, someone -generally a rationalist, humanist or atheist - takes it into his or her head to jump up and down and complain about a piece of our national tradition that proceeds from our Christian heritage?...

The Roman Catholic Church lives on, declares Dunedin reader ROBERT WANSINK - despite the criticisms it receives and its own internal direction changes. Otago Daily Times Tuesday, 21-October 2003 http://tinyurl.com/sca2 Before commenting on the current pontificate, it is necessary to understand exactly what the Catholic church is. There are only two possibilities. Either it is what it has claimed to be for 2000 years or it is by far the most wicked, evil and abhorrent institution ever to deface the earth. So what does the church claim to be? ...

Planner's concerns eased; decision on school reserved ODT 20 October 2003 http://tinyurl.com/sca5 The Queenstown Lakes District Council regulatory hearings committee has reserved its decision on whether a Catholic school can be built in Brownston St, Wanaka....

Interview: Martin Sheen 'The Progressive' July 2003 http://www.progressive.org/july03/intv0703.html Martin Sheen is a pacifist, a social and political activist who has not shied away from putting his body on the front lines, and a devout Roman Catholic. After rediscovering his faith twenty years ago, he began his activist work in earnest. "I learned I had to stand for something so I could stand to be me," he said as we talked....

**********************************************

CATHOLICTV.NET

Wellington Archdiocesan Media Centre

"Steadfast in Hope". Cardinal Williams, Bishop Dew and others speak at the official launch of this new history of Wellington Archdiocese: http://www.catholictv.net/insight/index.html

*********************************************

NZ CATHOLIC EDUCATION OFFICE

'Good News & the News' Broadsheet of good practice in integrated schools Issue 16 2003 http://nzceo.catholic.org.nz/goodnews-news.shtml

In this issue:

Editorial: In a time of rapid change it is important to keep coming back to our values, to see what they have to say to us in new situations, to work out whether our daily actions are truly taking us in the direction we want to go....

The Virtues of Peace and Solidarity Peace, with its associated virtues justice and solidarity, has been a key theme for many schools this year, with practical and symbolic activities bringing these virtues alive

Also: Villa Maria College students hold their Live Tall’ award ... Bringing Our Values Alive at St Francis Xavier School, Tawa ... The Fruits of the Spirit, Sacred Heart School, Timaru ... Marist Youth Leadership Course – a Joint Schools’ Activity ... The Virtues Programme at St Pius X School, Titahi Bay ... Values in Action at St Joseph’s School, Otahuhu ... St Dominic’s College, Henderson, The Living Values Project ... Emotional Needs and Values Programme at Holy Cross School Henderson

************************************************

ANGELS BY E-MAIL

I saw this angel ...

(\O/) -/_\-

... on a Website at the weekend and I thought it might appeal to some of our readers, as it's easily inserted in an e-mail message. Here's how to make it:

(\O/) Left margin, first line, Type: left bracket ... backslash .. capital O ... forward slash .. right bracket

-/_\-Left margin, second line. Type: hyphen ... forward slash ... underline ... backslash ... hyphen

***************************************************

EMPLOYMENT

[Teaching vacancies in New Zealand Catholic schools are advertised in the Education Gazette: http://www.edgazette.govt.nz/vacancies ]

LECTURER IN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION Applications are invited from suitably qualified and experienced persons for the position of Lecturer in Religious Education. The appointee is expected to be employed full-time within the Catholic Institute of Theology, Auckland. Further details at: http://www.cathcom.org.nz/media.php and from: The Registrar, Catholic Institute of Theology, Newman Hall, 16 Waterloo Quadrant, Auckland 1001, New Zealand. Ph: (09)379 6424, Fax: (09)379 6426, Email: cit@auckland.ac.nz Applications close 30 November 2003.