"No, when you have a party invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the
blind; that they cannot pay you back means that you are fortunate
because repayment will be made to you when the virtuous rise again."
St Luke's Gospel 14:13-14

Dear friends,

For readers of 'Kiwicath News & Notes' in MSN Communities: you can read
the Australian bishops' statements on the plight of the Afghan asylum
seekers at:
http://www.cathtelecom.com/index.asp in its News Archive.

I'm story to say, this (Sunday) morning there's a technical problem with
two of the addresses of the NZ Catholic bishops' Website. Neither
http://www.catholic.org.nz nor http://catholic.org.nz were working. I
have written to the address administrators asking for an urgent fix. In
the meantime you can still reach the bishops' Web site at
http://www.catholic.org/newzealand

All God's blessings,
Mike Leon
'kiwicath' forum manager
************************
NZ CATHOLIC BISHOPS' WEBSITE: NEW LINKS

Daily Australian & world Catholic news from Catholic Telecommunications,
Australia
http://www.catholic.org/newzealand/cathcom/news/frnews.html

'Dioceses and Websites of Oceania'.
'Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference'.
http://www.catholic.org/newzealand/cathcom/fruniversal.html

***********************
NZ CATHOLIC WEB TV

'Wel-com Living'
http://www.catholictv.net
Interview with Mrs Ally Gibbons, principal of St Catherine's College,
Wellingon ("the Capital's best kept secret"). What does it mean to be "a
Mercy College"?

*********************
FROM THE CATHOLIC PRESS

>From 'NZ Catholic' No. 120, August 26, 2001
http://www.catholic.org/newzealand/cathcom/press/nzc/front.html

"Cloning offends against person's unique identity"
Reproductive cloning, as proposed by Italian fertility specialist Dr
Severino Antinori, would fundamentally change the manner in which human
beings come into existence, according to Catholic bioethicist Fr Michael
McCabe. "It raises profound moral and ethical issues," said Fr McCabe,
the director of the Nathaniel Centre, the New Zealand Catholic bioethics
centre......
Related Links:
The Nathaniel Centre
NZ Catholic Bishops Conference. Statement on Assisted Human Reproductive
Technologies April 1998
European Parliament. Resolution on cloning 1997

"'Sr Rugby from Rugby City' becomes media attraction "
Sr Mary-Pat McEvoy, RSM, of Dunedin could be dubbed "Sr Rugby from Rugby
City". Shortly before the All Blacks-Wallabies game earlier this month
someone tipped off the Otago Daily Times that she had a ticket. As a
result Sr Pat spent a good part of Friday afternoon at the convent and
Carisbrook with the Holmes programme crew.......
Related Link:
The Holmes Show Report, August 10 2001: "Sister Mary prays for the All
Blacks" (Video)

"Sentencing bill called punitive "
A criminal-sentencing bill introduced to Parliament this month reflects
a punitive response to the media-driven push for longer sentences, says
Lyttleton parish priest Fr Jim Consedine......
Related Links:
International Commission of Catholic Prison Pastoral Care
Hon Phil Goff. Speech introducing the First Reading of the Sentencing
And Parole Bill

*****************************
FROM THE SECULAR PRESS

Dialogue: What Coasters can teach the rest of us, by Christine Rankin
NZ Herald 1 September 2001
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?thesection=news&thesubsection=&storyI\
D=212977
As a child I remember my father attending his favourite event of the
year, the Orangemen's Parade. We didn't live in Belfast, it was
Blackball near Greymouth. As a sometime Catholic, my father loved the
excitement, along with the rest of the Catholic mining fraternity, of
sabotaging the celebrations of the Protestants........

Bells toll for albatross
Otago Daily Times 01 September 2001
http://www.stuff.co.nz/inl/index/0,1008,923930a3845,FF.html
Church bells rang in the greater Dunedin area yesterday to celebrate the
arrival of the first royal albatross of the season. Going by the rather
uninspiring monicker of Yellow-Black-Yellow, named after the colours on
its band, the male bird arrived at Taiaroa Head yesterday
afternoon......

"No Power For The Poor?"
Press Release: NZ Council of Christian Social Services
http://www.scoop.co.nz/archive/scoop/stories/06/92/200108310945.5b56389d.html
Most families using foodbanks are extremely vulnerable to rising power
prices and the threat of disconnection, research released today reveals.
The Poverty Indicator Project, run by the New Zealand Council of
Christian Social Services, shows an increase in the proportion of
foodbank users behind on their electricity bills over the past three
months.........


"How gr8 thou art "
TV One News 31 August 2001
http://onenews.nzoom.com/news_detail/0,1227,55145,00.html
Getting a truly divine message is taking on new meaning for Christian
cell phone users.
Vodafone has launched a new text message service that is taking the
church to those on the run. The service sends edited highlights of
Reverend Ian Lawton's Sunday sermon at Auckland's St Matthew In the
City. "We consider this is part of the way that the church needs to move
forward, " Reverend Lawton says. [Page links to the related Video Report
- 'God on line one' (01:48) ]

****************************************
EVENTS

2-9 September
Centennial Festival of Arts and Music, Sacred Heart Cathedral,
Wellington
A weeklong festival celebrating the Cathedral's centennial year and the
completion of its restoration, featuring a daily cycles of recitals,
concerts and poetry readings and Masses. Full programme at:
http://www.shcathedral.wellington.net.nz/centennial/index.htm

Visit of Diarmuid O'Murchu, author of 'Reclaiming Spirituality: A New
Spiritual Framework for Today's World'
6 September: "The Prophetic Call to Justice". 5:30pm to 7:00pm at
Loaves and Fishes, Anglican Cathedral of Wellington, cnr of Hill and
Molesworth Streets, Wellington. Cost: $5 a person. For more Information
contact Kay Smith: catholicjpd@globe.net.nz
7 September: 'Spirituality for the New Millennium' $10 per 9.00am-12.30
Stella Maris Conference Centre, Seatoun.
7 September: 'The New Reign of God' $5 per person :7.30 -9.00pm Mercy
Centre, Guilford Terrace, Thorndon.
8 September 'Transformation and Prophetic Leadership - living the vows
today' $10 per person Mercy Centre, Guilford Terrace Thorndon.