Dear friends,

The bishops' Website at http://www.catholic.org.nz has been completely redesigned by Catholic Communications' David Yang. Inevitably with such a major change there will be temporary problems here and there - links that don't work and so on - which may take a while to track down. Please let Catholic Communications know if you come across anything that's not working as it should. The address: cathcomm@xtra.co.nz

It seems that as part of the re-design the 'What's New' page has gone. It carried a note of new features on the bishops' site and other New Zealand Catholic Websites, with links to them. I was also using it to put up daily summaries of the sessions of the synod of bishops and news of the Afghanistan crisis from Catholic news and aid agencies (I have put the latest items in this News & Notes ). I hope to find out next week if the page will be reinstated.

God bless,

Mike Leon 'kiwicath' forum manager

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AFGHAN CRISIS

Pope John Paul commemorates the victims of the terrorist attacks http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20011011/ts/attack_pope_dc_1.html

Prayers and protests one month on in Pakistan http://www.fides.org/bnews/ebn2000/ebnews011011a.html

Catholic, Muslim schoolgirls find a lot to share http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0110110259oct11.story?coll=chi%2Dne\ ws%2Dhed

Pax Christi USA "rejects war and the many-fold manifestations that war inflicts on all parties" http://www.paxchristi.net/PDF/SD39E01.pdf

SYNOD OF BISHOPS

The 10th Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops (September 30 to October 27) is taking place in Rome. New Zealand is represented by Bishop Pat Dunn of Auckland diocese (it seems he hasn't had his turn to speak yet. Maybe this week). The Vatican Information Service is publishing daily summaries of each bishop's address to the Assembly, here: http://www.vatican.va/news_services/press/sinodo/documents/bollettino_20_x-ordin\ aria-2001/bollettino_20_x_ordinaria-2001_index_en.html#Index issues and language editions

CATHOLIC WEB TV

http://www.catholictv.net Interview with Lucienne Hensel, director of the ICPE School of Mission at St Gerard's Monastery, Wellington

EMPLOYMENT

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

Church Mental Health Lobby Group, Wellington: Development worker The task is to locate and work with the champions of the mentally ill in each parish, using an 'action/reflection' approach. Flexible hours, good remuneration. Details in 'Wel-com' October 2001 p.19; and from Rev Hugh Bowron tel 382 8486 or June Read tel. 232 5858

FROM THE SECULAR PRESS

'Solid, honest, godly - and he's a bloke ' NZ Herald 11.10.2001 http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?thesection=news&thesubsection=&storyI\ D=221592&reportID=53510 (The new leader of the National Party, the second-largest in Parliament) Mr English is a man of the land, but also a man of high education and economic literacy, so we can expect him to understand both the theory and the practicality of matters economic. Probably most important of all, Mr English is a family man and a born and bred and still practising Catholic, which means he must have more than a nodding acquaintance with God and must know that there is much more to life (and to politics) than money, property and prestige.........

'Vaggioli's Return: A Deserter's Adventures' Otago University Press /Scoop 8 October 2001 http://www.scoop.co.nz/archive/scoop/stories/b6/6b/200110091132.ea61c2c1.html Eighty years after his death, Dom Felice Vaggioli is finally being recognised as an important commentator on and personality in New Zealand's past. Last year saw the first English edition of the controversial "History of New Zealand and Its Inhabitants", more than a hundred years after its original publication in Italian. Now translator John Crockett has brought to light a second book from the Italian missionary priest. Written after the completion of the history, "A Deserter's Adventures" is an autobiography ......