Kiwicath News and Notes: 8/7/05

Sunday, August 7, 2005

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FROM THE SECULAR PRESS

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The St Joseph's Orphanage Case

Sister tells of being force-fed tripe
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3368958a11,00.html

Abuse claimant 'caught in past'
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/dominionpost/0,2106,3367549a6479,00.html

Orphanage a place of horror, says claimant
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10338697

Orphanage woman tells of priest's sex abuse
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/dominionpost/0,2106,3364293a6479,00.html

Abuse claimant screams in court
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3365355a11,00.html

Church in $550,000 abuse case
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3362695a10,00.html

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Dunedin Catholics to German youth forum
http://tinyurl.com/bzmo7
Eleven Otago-Southland Roman Catholics, accompanied by the Bishop of
Dunedin, the Most Rev Colin Campbell, will attend World Youth Day in
Germany. The group left Dunedin for Auckland this week where they will meet
with about 80 other pilgrims from around the country...

Nun's story a cracking yarn (film review of 'Mother Teresa')
http://tinyurl.com/c3uhk
Religious-themed movies are not necessarily a turn-off for secular
audiences. I am about as secular as you can get but, on my way to see Mother
Teresa (Metro), I found myself intrigued by just how Mother Teresa got to be
the world's most famous nun. This film is a rather nice explanation of how
it came to pass...

Priests lose appeal
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/thepress/0,2106,3366452a6530,00.html
Former St John of God brothers fighting prosecution for child-sex abuse have
lost their Supreme Court bid to have the charges thrown out. Bernard Kevin
McGrath and another former Catholic priest with name suppression appealed to
the Supreme Court to overturn charges, alleging the evidence against them
was too old to allow them a fair trial...

8-year-olds claim ACC for work injuries
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/manawatustandard/0,2106,3368982a6407,00.html
Children as young as eight are claiming ACC for workplace injuries, as alarm
grows at the increasing number of youngsters entering the work force.
Catholic social services agency Caritas is concerned there is no minimum
working age and no minimum wage for children under 16 in New Zealand....

The cost of learning
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/waikatotimes/0,2106,3368752a6578,00.html
Schools say they don't get enough government funding for everything needed
to provide quality education for students. To manage, they must fundraise,
find sponsors, and enter competitions for basics like sports equipment and
computers...

The Great Morality Debate
http://www.phoenix.co.nz/testsurvey6/sstimes.htm
The Sunday Star Times is sponsoring a survey of New Zealanders' views on
ethical and moral issues including honesty, sexual morality, drugs, the
right to life, prejudice, society and politics. Results will be published in
the Sunday Star-Times during the lead-up to the general election. Five
survey entrants will each receive $1000 to donate to the charity of their
choice.

'Da Vinci' film: What role for religion?
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/08/05/news/davinci.php
On the face of it, Hollywood projects don't get much simpler than "The Da
Vinci Code," a movie being shot in Europe this summer, based on the
international publishing phenomenon by Dan Brown. But executives and others
connected with the project acknowledge that the silence surrounding the
project is also a measure of concern about the potentially incendiary nature
of the subject matter...

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FROM THE OVERSEAS CATHOLIC PRESS & NEWS AGENCIES

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CATHOLIC COMMUNICATIONS NZ

Global Catholic News
(plus links to sound files from Vatican Radio)

http://www.cathcom.org.nz

Cloned dog a worry for Korean Bishops
Hiroshima nuclear bomb to be remembered
US bishops mark anniversary of atomic bombings, condemn 'total war'
Lecturer says don't confuse moral clarity with moral simplicity
No-fly zone to aid WYD papal mass security
Spanish rock band invited to perform at World Youth Day slams Pope Benedict
Blair resumes Northern Ireland diplomacy
Pope's brother in hospital, gets pacemaker
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God's chance creation, by George Coyne
http://www.thetablet.co.uk/cgi-bin/archive_db.cgi/tablet-01063
Cardinal Christoph Schönborn claims random evolution is incompatible with
belief in a creator God. Here, in an exclusive rebuttal of that view, the
Vatican's chief astronomer says that science reflects God's infinite
purpose...

Related article:
Evolution dispute now set to split Catholic hierarchy
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/politics/article303775.ece

Hiroshima and Nagasaki or how to teach the young what they know not
http://www.asianews.it/view.php?l=en&art=3867
Tokyo (AsiaNews) - There are events that the mind and words, whether those
of science, of philosophy, of the law, know not how to adequately express
without the risk of slipping into blasphemy. The bombing of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki are such words..

Praying and fasting to counter anti-Christian violence
http://www.asianews.it/view.php?l=en&art=3857
Bhopal (AsiaNews) - In Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh, Indian states ruled
by the Hindu fundamentalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), "all Christians
from the two states came together to fast and pray as a result of the
atrocities inflicted on our community by the anti-conversion law"...

Christian detained for blasphemy in mortal danger
http://www.asianews.it/view.php?l=en&art=3852

The Church in Iraq does not give in to terrorism
http://www.asianews.it/view.php?l=en&art=3834

British journalist makes accusations against the Sisters of Mother Teresa
http://www.asianews.it/view.php?l=en&art=3846

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CARITAS AOTEAROA NZ

http://www.caritas.org.nz

Drought and Famine in Niger (4 August 2005)
In late 2004, locust invasions and cyclical drought damaged crops and
heavily impacted on cereal production, leaving a cereal shortage of
approximately 225,000 metric tonnes. It is four months until the next
harvest and the situation is critical. Serious food shortages have left
around 3.6 million people vulnerable to malnutrition, starvation and
disease. ......

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MARIST MESSENGER

August 2005

http://www.maristmessenger.co.nz/index.php

Full text ...

A Wisp of Smoke
A small school is bringing the spirit of St Marcellin to the big city. There
is an old saying that I like to apply when I think of the experience we have
at the Marist Alternative Education Centre. The saying is this, "A wisp of
smoke can hide Mt. Taranaki." This we know is so true - how often,
annoyingly, something drifts across our vision, hiding what we are trying to
see, veiling the long range view...

The AMSA Ikon
A Modern ikon artist explains the ikon on the cover of the August Messenger

FOCUS
The Editor reflects on the practice of Annulment of Marriage in the Church.

Also in this month's Marist Messenger ...

* Pope Benedict speaks
* Tolkien's Catholic Inspiration
* My Annulment
* God's Beauty Secrets Part 3
* My Favourite Prayer
* Reflections before the Blessed Sacrament
* And my Soul will live for him
* Readers' Survey Report

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THE NATHANIEL REPORT

Nathaniel Centre. NZ Catholic Bioethics Centre

Issue 15, 2005

http://www.nathaniel.org.nz/?sid=5

Editorial: Beyond Slogans (full text)
In a world of ever increasing complexity there is a tendency to try and
grasp bioethical principles and ethical solutions in simple one-liners. Yet
the very truth being sought is often a casualty of such an approach. The
Catholic moral tradition offers a framework to address complex situations in
a way that is both theologically sound and pastorally sensitive...

Also in this issue ...

Xenotransplantation - A Spiritual Perspective
The New Zealand Bioethics Council is seeking feedback from all New
Zealanders on the cultural, ethical and spiritual issues that pertain to
xenotransplantation. Taking as its starting point the sacredness of all
creation, this article explores the meaning of being human by way of a
theological reflection on the relationship between human kind and the rest
of creation.

Guidelines for Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis in New Zealand
Based upon a submission made by The Nathaniel Centre to the Proposed
Guidelines for Preimplantation Diagnosis in New Zealand, this article argues
that the availability and practice of PGD poses very real societal risks
with potentially serious consequences. "The good of our fellow human beings
will at times pose limits to the exercising of personal autonomy."

With gratitude .
A tribute by staff of The Nathaniel Centre to past benefactors including the
recently deceased Father Warren Fowler and Mrs Marilyn Pryor.

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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.

This week ...
Follow up news: Schönborn and evolution, Vatican-Israeli diplomacy; Diverse
views of Benedict's first 100 days; Lessons in leadership from John Paul II

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WORLD YOUTH DAY, COLOGNE, GERMANY
16-21 August 2005

Official site of the New Zealand National Pilgrimage to WYD, Cologne
http://www.worldyouthday.org.nz
En route to World Youth Day, our representatives will follow the path of St
Paul to the sites of the early Christian communities in Greece and Turkey,
as well as a visit to Gallipoli and Anzac Cove. Then its off to Cologne,
Germany for World Youth Day 2005, the Catholic Church's mega event -
hundreds of thousands of young people from all over the world coming
together, united around Pope John Paul, listening to the Word of God,
assisting at celebrations and participating in a festival of joy... See the
NZ World Youth Day Website for further info., or write to: Bill Dysart, C-58
Osier Road, Greenmeadows, Napier. Email: ymachb@clear.net.nz