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FROM THE SECULAR PRESS
Hopes raised of appearance by Pope http://tinyurl.com/3njau Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Angelo Sodano today said there was "no cause to be concerned" about the health of Pope John Paul II and he was certain the pontiff would overcome his present illness. The optimistic statement raised hopes that John Paul would soon make his first public utterance since being admitted to hospital with an acute respiratory infection....
First teachers eager to meet former pupils (photo) http://tinyurl.com/3r7mq About 50 years ago, Irish Roman Catholic nun Sr Pauline Moloney walked into her first classroom in Dunedin. This weekend, she hopes to see some of those pupils she taught as juniors and infants at the former St Pauls School in Corstorphine and St Peter Chanel School in Green Island at the schools' 50th jubilee....
For the love of God http://tinyurl.com/55xxb Richard McLeod is striving for sainthood. The Auckland lawyer acknowledges that in this secular world, that sounds jarring, but he is genuine. "It's about developing an awareness that you are working at all times in the presence of God. It's like supernaturalising your day-to-day life," says McLeod, 35, a busy immigration lawyer whose firm took on the case of Algerian refugee Ahmed Zaoui....
Catholic Church accepts sexual claim against priest http://tinyurl.com/4g3s2 Christchurch: A woman's sexual harassment claim against fallen priest Jim Consedine has been accepted by the Catholic Church, eight years after she complained. Bonnie Quilter, a persistent critic of the church's complainthandling process, got $6000 and a written apology....
Schoolgirl dies after choking on grape http://tinyurl.com/4jp6v A Lower Hutt primary school community is in shock after a tragic start to the school year. A 11-year-old special-needs pupil at Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic school in Wainui Rd died on Tuesday after choking on a grape....
Westport farmer leaves $900,000 to charity http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3175170a11,00.html A retired Westport dairy farmer who died following a car crash last year has bequeathed about $900,000 to two local charities. Shemus Murphy left around $800,000 to St Vincent de Paul Society's Westport branch and $100,000 to the Buller Cancer Support Group...
Some aid agencies winding down tsunami fundraising http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3173750a10,00.html Some aid agencies are winding down their fundraising efforts for victims of the Boxing Day tsunami, five weeks after the devastating waves swept through parts of southern Asia. A spokeswoman for Catholic aid agency Caritas told NZPA the organisation was still accepting donations but were now encouraging donors to turn their attentions to its annual Lent appeal for long-term development projects around the world....
Change of residents planned (photo) http://tinyurl.com/3utym The 128-year-old stately home of the Christian Brothers, in Rattray St, is be redeveloped into a 15-room "small hotel" later this year. Rod and Shelley McMeeken bought the residence for an undisclosed sum last month and once they have taken possession in March, expect to spend about $500,000 converting it....
Raiding the piggy bank for organs http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?ObjectID=10008863 The Bioethics Council is seeking public views on the cultural, spiritual and ethical aspects of the technology, while the Health Ministry reviews its safety. Member Anne Dickinson, whose day job is managing the Catholic Bishops' Conference in Wellington, says the two reviews are independent....
Catholics: Fees help colleges survive http://tinyurl.com/4cfg6 Integrated schools say they must battle as hard as their state counterparts to make ends meet. A Herald survey published yesterday revealed that parents of children at integrated secondary schools are paying hundreds of dollars more in contributions than those at state schools....
Vicar allowed to conduct civil unions (02:02) http://tinyurl.com/4f6p3 An anglican priest has been given permission by his church to conduct controversial civil union ceremonies. The vicar of St Columba's Church in Grey Lynn, Hugh Kempster, will only be allowed to conduct the services in a private capacity but the compromise has upset some conservative clergy....
Acts of Will, by Harry Ricketts (2 pages) Book review of "Will in the World: How Shakespeare became Shakespeare, By Stephen Greenblatt (Jonathan Cape, $65). http://www.listener.co.nz/default,3280.sm " ... We've all heard of the Spanish Inquisition, but the Protestant equivalent was just as appalling. The particular relevance of this to Shakespeare is that his mother Mary Arden may well have been a Catholic (certainly the Ardens had Catholic connections), and his father John was very likely a secret Catholic ... To follow Greenblatt ingeniously tracing Shakespeare to Lancashire and the great Catholic houses of the Hoghtons and Heskeths (and even imagining a possible meeting with the future martyr Edmund Campion) is like being plunged into a terrific historical novel...."
Listener archive: Arts & Books (3 pages) Winner, Best Book Pages, 2004 Montana Book Awards, by David Eggleton http://www.listener.co.nz/default,3231.sm Remember when New Zealand was the land of milk and honey? Some of that idealisation remains in the calm and patient paintings of Michael Smither, whose career is the subject of a lavish new study. Born in New Plymouth in 1939, an only child, Smither was saturated in Catholicism from the beginning. His first encounter with the Stations of the Cross set him howling with fright in church; his compulsory bedtime reading as a child was stories of Christian saints and their martyrdoms....
Risks in rise of religions role in politics, by Richard Randerson, Assistant Anglican Bishop of Auckland. http://tinyurl.com/5uhhg In a recent article (ODT, 12.1.04), Ewen McQueen cites comments I made querying the role of Christian political parties. Mr McQueen makes a good case for such parties, and I have no difficulty with the concept of a group of like-minded people joining together to pursue goals they share in common. Christians, Muslims, atheists and humanists alike have a perfect democratic right to establish a party of their own....
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FROM THE OVERSEAS CATHOLIC NEWS AGENCIES
A Cardinal Whose Mother Died at Auschwitz Interview With Archbishop Lustiger of Paris http://zenit.org/english/visualizza.phtml?sid=65771 Paris, Feb. 2, 2005 (Zenit.org).- On Jan. 21, Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger responded to journalists' questions, on the eve of his departure to attend the ceremonies to commemorate the Jan. 27, 1945, liberation of the Nazi death camp Auschwitz....
Number of Catholics Rises by 15 Million Diocesan Priests Increase; Religious Decrease http://zenit.org/english/visualizza.phtml?sid=65641 Vatican City, Jan. 31, 2005 (Zenit.org).- The 2005 Pontifical Yearbook reveals that there are 1.086 billion Catholics in the world, 15 million more than last year. Half of all Catholics live in the Americas. The data of the volume -- presented today by the members of the Central Office of Church Statistics to John Paul II, despite his bout of flu -- give a statistical picture of Catholicism....
Children and young people can be peacemakers too, says the Pope World Leprosy Day is remembered. http://www.asianews.it/view.php?l=en&art=2455 Vatican City (AsiaNews) - John Paul II speaks again about peace. At the beginning of the year, he had called on the international community to "defeat evil with goodness". In today's Angelus, he called on the young members of the Azione Cattolica to become 'peacemakers'....
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CATHOLIC COMMUNICATIONS NZ
MEDIA RELEASES
http://www.cathcom.org.nz/media.php
Caritas Emergencies Manager Leaves for Aceh (01 Feb 2005) Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand Emergencies Manager, Tim Chiswell left Christchurch on Monday 31 January, bound for the disaster ravaged region of Aceh, Indonesia.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
http://www.cathcom.org.nz/
Bishop says water conservation is a moral duty
Pope thanks faithful for their prayers
Pope says organ transplants must "guarantee respect for life and for the human person"
Sydney Jesuit school considers female students
Priest hears 'confession' by radio
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MARIST MESSENGER (Society of Mary, NZ)
http://www.maristmessenger.co.nz/index.php
From the February Messenger ...
Editor's Focus "With no misgiving, the Messenger now enters on it career, rich in hope -'Enough if something from our hand have power . To live and move and serve the future hour.'"
Prayer, by Jacki Newell Beginning a Day with prayer
The Gentle Ways of God by Derek McCarthy A human story of children brings to life a deep truth about Eucharist.
The Messenger honours its Founders On November 18th there was a small ceremony in Wellington to celebrate the 75 years of publication of the Messenger. It was an opportunity to honour the Founders, and recall some of the highlights of the magazine's history.
Also in the February Marist Messenger ....
* Message from the Marist Provincial * Christian Living - Part 9 * Fr Jean Antoine Seon sm * Farewell: Saying Goodbye
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"THE WORD FROM ROME"
http://www.nationalcatholicreporter.org/word/
A weekly column by the National Catholic Reporter's full-time correspondent in Rome, John L. Allen Jr.
Summary of the column for February 4, 2005 :
Pope John Paul's health; Condoleeza Rice to meet Vatican Secretary of State; instruction on annulment cases to be released; U.S.-Vatican commission on sex abuse norms meets; Religion in the public square; Combating 'Christianophobia' in Europe; Italy debates artificial reproduction
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EVENTS
The Eucharistic Convention, Auckland, New Zealand Friday April 1st to Sunday April 3rd 2005 http://www.eucharistic-convention.com The Eucharistic Convention is an annual event organised by lay people of the Catholic Church in the Diocese of Auckland, New Zealand. The Convention's Website is regularly updated with fresh information about the event.
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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 ]
Pastoral Development Co-ordinator, Hibiscus Coast Catholic Parish (St Francis, Manly; St John the Evangelist, Orewa) http://www.hbcparish.org.nz Further details in 'NZ Catholic' Jan 30 - Feb 12 2005 p. 19, and from The Secretary, Staffing Committee, St John's Parish, 180 Centreway Road, Orewa. E-mail: Jamarell@xtra.co.nz
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