Sunday, January 25, 2004

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'NZ CATHOLIC'

No 179, January 25 - February 7, 2004

http://www.nzcatholic.org.nz

Full text:

Judge, missionary and chaplain receive honours Wellington - A family court judge, a missionary, a journalist and a military chaplain are among the Catholics in the New Year Honours...

"Pilgrimages" to Philippines could expand consciences Auckland - It was a visit of contrasts - from debating contexualised theology with experts at a university conference in Manilla to talking with people in their homes in Midsalip, "a town at the end of the road, at the very back of beyond"...

Parish mourns mother killed by hurricane Christchurch - Christ the King parish in Burnside, Christchurch, has felt the full impact of a hurricane-strength nor-westerly wind over the South Island on January 9...

Also in the current issue of 'NZ Catholic':

Child labour risks revealed by Caritas ... Council veto postpones school for Wanaka ... Debate on condoms continues in Rome ... Chaplain to Antarctica finds extremes of faith ... Vietnamese chaplain urges reconciliation.

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CATHOLIC COMMUNICATIONS NZ

http://www.cathcom.org.nz

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

PM's comments on public schools causing sharp response There has been a sharp reaction in all of the Australian media today to the Prime Minister's comments yesterday on State schools being too 'politically correct and values-neutral'. Our detailed report endeavours to provide an overview.

Cardinal comments on absence of a sound moral and ethical basis for business dealings Cardinal Camillo Ruini, the president of the Italian bishops' conference, has commented on the Parmalat business scandal in Italy. The debacle, he said, exposed 'an unexpected vulnerability in our economic and financial system,' caused largely by the absence of a sound moral and ethical basis for business dealings. CWN

Abuse Crisis: Poll - most priests want celibacy discussion Three stories today: 1. A poll of priests in a US diocese shows more than half want discussion on celibacy. 2. Report of a meeting of 190 priests with Bishop in NY. 3. UK priest remanded in NZ.

Q'land Election: Catholic Social Action Office pushes Water Policy The Catholic Social Action Office in Queensland says water and water management needs to be a major consideration for voters in the lead up to the State election.

Activists support "Untouchables" at big conference in India Anti-globalisation activists who have gathered in Mumbai (formerly Bombay) for the World Social Forum have rallied for an end to discrimination against minority groups, such as those born into the Dalit caste in India.

Monotheist Religious Dialogue: Two significant meetings The Ninth Congress of the Islamic-Catholic Liaison Committee has just concluded in Rome. In the US high level representatives of the Church attended a Jewish sponsored conference to foster better Jewish-Catholic relations.

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WEEK OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY

[The week is celebrated in mid-January in the northern hemisphere, and later in the year down here becasue of the summer holidays. ML)

John Paul II Says Christian Unity Involves All Believers It calls for a change of heart, he tells general audience http://zenit.org/english/visualizza.phtml?sid=47727

Macao - Young people lead Week Of Prayer for Christian Unity: “striving to live as true followers of Christ in the world today ” http://www.fides.org/eng/news/2004/0401/20_1551.html Macao (Fides Service) – Christians in Macao started the Week of Prayer for the Unity of Christians with an inter-confessional meeting. Organised by the local Catholic and Anglican Churches, the meeting was held on Sunday 18 January at the Baptist College in northern Macao where people are mostly immigrant workers recently arrived from mainland China....

Cardinal welcomes historic Russian Orthodox service at Westminster Cathedral Independent Catholic News 16 January 2004 http://www.indcatholicnews.com/cordx.html [Summary: Christian Unity week in Britain was marked by a series of events - including Russian Orthodox Vespers in Westminster Cathedral, a Homily by Greek Orthodox Archbishop Gregorios at 10.30am Mass at the Cathedral, and a joint Ecumenical Vespers with Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor and the Bishop of London, the Rt Rev Richard Charteris at the Tower of London]

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FROM THE SECULAR PRESS

23,000 At Parachute Festival NewstalkZB 24/01/2004 [Full text] New Zealand's largest music festival is well underway at Mystery Creek near Hamilton. Parachute 2004 director Mark de Jong says more than 23,000 campers are already at the Christian four-day event and that number is set to rise. Mr de Jong says 100-plus bands are playing over the long (Auckland province anniversary) weekend, including New Zealand act Brooke Fraser and overseas punk-rock band Relient K. Parachute 2004 runs until midday Monday.

Kiwi kids 'work in sweatshop conditions' The Dominion Post 24 January 2004 http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,2792388a11,00.html Children as young as 11 are being forced to work to support their families, according to a new survey which reveals Third World child labour conditions in New Zealand. Catholic social service agency Caritas Aotearoa surveyed 4864 children, aged 10 to 17 years, from 69 Catholic schools and found cases of children working as late as 1am and children suffering cuts, burns, dog bites and broken bones at work...

Integrated schools turn many away The Press (Chch) 24 January 2004 http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,2792339a7694,00.html Integrated schools are being forced to turn away hundreds of students as parents shunning state schools flood them with enrolment applications. The situation has got so bad some parents are enrolling their children at birth to ensure they get accepted....

Sentencing after false sex abuse complaints NZ City 13 January 2004 http://home.nzcity.co.nz/news/default.asp?id=38826 [Full text] A second man has been sentenced in the Christchurch District Court after falsely claiming he had been abused by an order of Catholic brothers. John Kevin Fenn claimed he was among more than 70 men who were sexually molested at the St John of God's former Maryland's school. The 39-year-old, who is described as having limited intellectual capacity, was sentenced to 200 hours community work. Last month Justin Richardson was jailed on charges of fraud and making a false statement. He had earlier received compensation from the religious order of more than $100,000.

Band of brothers ready to leave town The Press 21 January 2004 http://tinyurl.com/2qefv A Catholic tradition almost as old as Greymouth itself is coming to an end as the Marist Brothers prepare to leave the West Coast. Age and dwindling numbers have forced the decision to disband the Greymouth community – now numbering only three brothers – after 114 years...

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DICTIONARY OF NATIONAL BIOGRAPHY

Croke, Thomas William 1822 - 1902 Catholic bishop of Auckland (1870-1874) http://www.dnzb.govt.nz/dnzb/Find_Quick.asp?PersonEssay=2C39 Thomas William Croke was born in the parish of Ballyclough, County Cork, Ireland, probably in 1822 or 1823. He was the third of eight children of William Croke, an estate agent, and his wife, Isabella Plummer, daughter of an aristocratic Protestant family who disowned her following her Catholic marriage in 1817. After William Croke died in 1834 his brother, the Reverend Thomas Croke, supervised the education and upbringing of the children. Two of Thomas's brothers entered the priesthood, while two sisters became nuns...

Redwood, Francis William 1839 - 1935 Catholic archbishop of Wellington http://www.dnzb.govt.nz/dnzb/Essay_Body.asp?PersonEssay=2R6 Francis William Redwood was born on 8 April 1839 in the parish of Tixall, Staffordshire, England, the son of Henry Redwood, a farmer, and his wife, Mary Gilbert. The family emigrated to Nelson, New Zealand, on the George Fyfe in 1842....

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FAITH CENTRAL

A religious education resource site for NZ Catholic secondary schools at: http://www.faithcentral.net.nz

Faith Central reports ...

"Sinfulness and Reconciliation" Explore brokeness in the world; read stories of reconciliation and of world organisations who promote healing and reconciliation. Understand more about sin, and how God brings us healing through the Sacrament of forgiveness. http://www.faithcentral.net.nz/inclass/reconciliation.htm

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BOOK REVIEW

Arise, Reform: the liberation of the laity in search of an accountable Church, by Paul Lakeland 'America' Vol. 189 No. 2 July 21, 2003 http://tinyurl.com/36lqx Timing is everything. Many of the elements of a sophisticated theology of the laity and recommendations for church reform featured in Paul Lakeland’s new book originated earlier and elsewhere. But never before have they been put together in such a compelling way and, more to the point, at such an opportune time....

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EVENTS

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Catholic Festival: A Celebration of the Catholic Faith Auckland Town Hall, Friday 20 - Sunday 22 February 2004 Website: http://www.catholicfestival.org

"The Catholic Festival is a celebration of our faith that will be joyful, prayerful, reflective, informative and educational. We hope that it will be inspiring and life-changing for all who participate... We seek to provide the opportunity for anyone to display the gifts that God has given them... We also wish to celebrate our cultural diversity and to grow together in unity. From the centre of Auckland, we also have the opportunity to witness to our faith and help others to see its richness and beauty. Finally, there is the opportunity for the many groups and religious communities to promote their apostolates and seek members and vocations."

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EMPLOYMENT

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

[Vacancies in Catholic Youth Ministry are advertised on the Job Bank page of the National Council for Young Catholics: http://ncyc.org.nz ]

General Manager, Resources and Services, Catholic Archdiocese of Wellington The appointee will head a company to be formed by the Archdiocese to provide management and resourcing services to it. Further details in 'NZ Catholic' Jan. 25 p.17 and from Mike Hurdle or Catharina Vossen at Micah Partners, PO Box 499, Wellington. Tel. 04 499 4749; mobile 021-552-929; fax: 04 499 7375; e-mail: contact@micapartners.co.nz . Diocesan Website: http://www.wn.catholic.org.nz Applications close 13 February 2004