Dear friends,

In last week's News & Notes I mentioned that nearly all our parishes are publishers, in that they bring out a weekly parish bulletin, and this is ideal for putting on a parish Web site as it reveals the 'atmosphere' of the parish community to anyone thinking of joining it. The Newsletter of SS Peter and Paul parish in Lower Hutt ( http://hutt-catholic.org.nz/parish_bulletin.htm ) is so far the only example I've been able to find on a New Zealand Catholic Web site, but it's an excellent one. If you have a moment, click over to it and try to see it from the point of view of an 'outsider'. You get the impression of a lively parish community with a variety of activities and everyone invited to get involved; and the parish didn't have to compose this specially for their Web site: it's just the familiar weekly bulletin dropped into a Web page.

The New Zealand Catholic Directory for 2001 is currently being mailed out to those who ordered advance copies, and I'll give it a write-up here next week.

Every best wish and all God's blessings.

Mike Leon
'kiwicath' list manager

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NEWS

Two media releases are on the bishops News page at: http://catholic.org.nz/cathcom/news/frnews.html

'Double Standards from Te Papa' refers to our national Museum's decision to withdraw an exhibition of T-shirts because of trademark violation in the designs, and recalls that the Museum refused to do the same with another exhibit which was offensive to Christians;

'A Catholic Reaction to Human Cloning Proposals' is a commentary on the ethical issues of cloning by Rev. Doctor Neil Vaney SM who teaches Christian Ethics (including bioethics) at the national Catholic theological college in Auckland.

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FROM THE CATHOLIC PRESS

>From 'NZ Catholic' March 25, 2001 http://catholic.org.nz/cathcom/press/nzc/front.html

'Human cloning: not ethical and there's no need to do it' Fears about human cloning should not be based on scaremongering scenarios of duplicated people, says Marist priest and theology lecturer Fr Neil Vaney ... [Links to: Health Research Council Ethics Committee Guidelines ... Faith Central: Classroom resources on cloning ]

'High Pacific presence in Catholic schools' An Auckland Catholic school has been identified as the New Zealand secondary school with the highest proportion of Pacific Islanders on its roll. At McAuley High School, a decile 1 school in Otahuhu, 80.1 per cent of students are Pacific Islanders ... [Links to: NZ Catholic Schools on the Web ... NZ Catholic Education Office]

'Caritas office is busy as Lent donations arrive' Halfway through Lent, already some of the expected 40,000 Lenten donations are arriving at the Wellington headquarters of Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand ...... [Link to: Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand ]

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FROM THE SECULAR PRESS

[You can open links to world news of religion in the secular press on the bishops' News page at: http://www.catholic.org/newzealand/cathcom/news/frnews.html ]

[Please don't try to hand-copy newspaper Web addresses. Instead Select, Copy and Paste them into your browser's address line]

'Agencies confirm strain on families' Otago Daily times 24 March 2001 http://www1.odt.co.nz/cgi-bin/search-display-story-online-new?PATH=24Mar2001/edi\ torial/content/ENH05E4587NG.html&WORDS=catholic&DB=Editorial A University of Otago marketing survey highlights huge pressures on families and relationships, Dunedin church social agencies say. Catholic Social Services director Mike Noonan said the report's findings were "fascinating". He aimed to discuss the report with its authors and with other community support groups ...

'Catholic Bishop Pompallier?s bones on the move again' The Northern News 22 March 2001 http://www.stuff.co.nz/inl/index/0,1008,715060a1927,FF.html Bishop Jean Baptiste Pompallier?s bones will be buried at Motuti in the churchyard of the original Catholic church where he held services in the [mid-19th century] ...

'Kaponga churches join to celebrate' The Waikato Daily News (photo) 19 March 2001 http://www.stuff.co.nz/inl/index/0,1008,707585a1885,FF.html Catholics and Anglicans came together for a special church service in Kaponga yesterday. More than 120 people, including the Bishop of Waikato and the Bishop in Taranaki, turned up to celebrate the St Mark's Anglican Church centenary...

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EVENTS

30 April - 28 September 2001 (Sydney, Australia) Kerygma Teams Discipleship Training School, Sydney, Kerygma Teams is a branch of the interconfessional lay-missionary organization Youth With A Mission. It supports Catholic parishes, renewal movements, and groups active in evangelization, mercy ministries, training and cross-cultural missions projects. Its Discipleship Training School is a five month intensive course which helps students to cultivate a vibrant relationship with God, identify their unique gifts and visions, exercise their faith and grow in character. Full details at: http://www.kerygmateams.org/html/locations/australia/index.html

18-22 April 2001 'Jesus 4 Real' Youth Camps Jesus 4 Real Ministries is an independent voluntary group of adults bringing the reality of Jesus to Catholic teenagers, and training adult leaders for Catholic youth work, through camps and seminars in the Wellington Archdiocese. Web site: http://members.xoom.com/Jesus4Real Contact: (04) 904 7217 ; (04) 905 6636

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EMPLOYMENT

(Vacancies in New Zealand Catholic schools are advertised in the Education Gazette: http://www.edgazette.govt.nz/vacancies )

Deputy Executive Director, New Zealand Catholic Education Office, Wellington. Details in 'NZ Catholic' 25 March 2001, p.23 and 'Wel-com' March 2001 p.19; and from the Executive Director (Brother Pat Lynch) : nzceogs@xtra.co.nz Home page: http://catholic.org.nz/nzceo Applications close: 6 April 2001

Team Leader, Firepower Catholic Youth Outreach, Wellington FCYO encourages young Catholics to deepen their relationship with Jesus and live a life of faith and service in the Catholic church. Details in 'NZ Catholic' 11 March 2001, p.23 and from Brendan Woodnutt tel: 04 939 9890 (day) or 04 380 8898 Home page: http://www.firepower.org.nz

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