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25TH ANNIVERSARY OF POPE JOHN PAUL'S PONTIFICATE
On Friday, some 50,000 people filled St. Peter's Square for the Mass commemorating the 25th anniversary of the election of Karol Wojtyla to the See of Rome, the first non-Italian pope in 455 years. This page has a comprehensive a selection of links to press reports and photos of the celebrations: http://news.yahoo.com/fc?tmpl=fc&cid=34&in=world&cat=pope_john_paul_ii
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BEATIFICATION OF MOTHER TERESA OF CALCUTTA
This (Sunday) evening our time, Pope John Paul will beatify Mother Teresa of Calcutta. Links to press and video reports and photos of the event will appear here: http://search.news.yahoo.com/search/news/?c=&p=mother+teresa
The beatifaction ceremony will be broadcast live on the Internet by EWTN, and repeated several times thereafter. The first (live) broadcast is likely be interrupted because of the world-wide demand for the video. Viewers in New Zealand will very likely get a smoother "stream" with one of the repeat broadcasts.
At: http://www.ewtn.com/tv/click on "Watch EWTN Live" to select your viewer and connection speed ("28 to 100K" for most of us).
Broadcast times (NZ standard time): Live broadcast: Sunday 9pm ... Repeat broadcasts on Monday at 5am ... 11am ... 5pm .
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CONSISTORY OF THE COLLEGE OF CARDINALS 21 October 2003
On 21 October, the College of Cardinals will assemble in Rome where Pope John Paul will formally appoint 31 new members. This article includes a background paragraph about each of the new cardinals: http://www.nationalcatholicreporter.org/word/word100303.htm
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MISSION SUNDAY 2003
A special collection is made this Sunday on behalf of the three Pontifical Mission Societies: Propagation of the Faith, St Peter the Apostle and Holy Childhood. The Societies are the main financial support of Catholic missions worldwide. Their distinctive roles and recent activities are described on their Website: http://www.missio.net
St Columban's Mission Society sends missionaries from Australia and New Zealand to Asia, the Pacific and Latin America. The Society's Website at http://www.columban.org.au has comprehensive details of its missions and other projects, and - in articles from its magazine 'The Far East'-http://www.columban.org.au/tfe/TFE_fp.htm - first-person reports by missionaries in the field.
Maryknoll missioners from the United States work in Africa, Asia and Latin America. In a series of 13 video reports here: http://www.catholic.org/cathcom/maryknoll/field_afar/maryknoll.php they tell the stories of the people they serve.
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FROM THE CATHOLIC PRESS & NEWS SERVICES
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'NZ Catholic' No 172, October 4-18, 2003 http://www.nzcatholic.org.nz/
Bishops seek to limit harm caused by IVF WELLINGTON - Assisted reproductive technology is acceptable only between a husband and wife in very specific circumstances, New Zealand's Catholic bishops say in a submission on the Human Assisted Reproductive Technology Bill...
Parishes affirmed in Auckland Survey AUCKLAND - People in Auckland diocese want to worship in their own parish communities rather than travel to large regional churches for Sunday Mass....
Collegial tone at liturgical music conference AUCKLAND - Those who organised the Worshipping Under Southern Skies conference in Auckland last month might have ended the weekend exhausted, but could also feel satisfied. ...
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'Do-it-Yourself parish', by Christopher Lamb The Tablet 11/10/2003 http://www.thetablet.co.uk/cgi-bin/archive_db.cgi?tablet-00791 Many parishes now lack resident priests. Will they be run by resident lay people? One parish in the diocese of Hexham and Newcastle shows the way ahead...
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NZ CATHOLIC BISHOPS' CONFERENCE
Media Releases http://www.cathcom.org.nz/media.php
** Opportunity to email Silver Jubilee greetings to Pope John Paul II (16 Oct 2003) ** Pilgrimage to honour Pope's Silver Anniversary (15 Oct 2003) ** New Zealand Catholics honour Pope’s Silver Jubilee (15 Oct 2003) ** NZ's Anglican and Catholic bishops on detention of Ahmed Zaoui (14 Oct 2003)
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FROM THE SECULAR PRESS
My will be done, says Speaker NZ Herald 17.10.2003 http://tinyurl.com/rdqs MPs yesterday rejected proposals to replace Parliament's humble daily appeal to God, and anyone trying to end the ritual hasn't a prayer while Jonathan Hunt is Speaker. But Progressive MP Matt Robson is determined to pursue the matter and will now ask the Human Rights Commission to investigate....
NZ Pays Tribute To Pope NewstalkZB News 16/10/2003 (full text) The head of the Catholic Church in New Zealand has paid tribute to Pope John Paul II, who today celebrates 25 years as Pope. Around 200 people met in Wellington's Cathedral of the Sacred Heart for a Mass celebrating the Pope's anniversary. The Mass was led by Cardinal Thomas Williams and was also attended by the Pope's representative in New Zealand, Archbishop Coveney. Cardinal Williams told the congregation that, despite his physical frailty, the Pope still showed significant intellectual and spiritual prowess. He said that the Pope's early years as a forced labourer, his poetry writing and his stint as a University lecturer all shaped the leader he has become. He also paid tribute to the Pope's initiation of gatherings for young Catholics from around the world.
Derelict Wellington church building gutted by fire NZ Herald 16.10.2003 (full text) A derelict church building in Wellington was gutted by fire today. The former Holy Family Catholic church building at the corner of Webb and Willis streets in the city was a known haunt of the homeless and was to be demolished. A Brooklyn Fire Service spokesman said the building was gutted and most of its roof destroyed in the fire, which was still being attended this morning. Police and the Fire Service are investigating.
Tipped school site to be for seven years Southland Times 18 October 2003 http://tinyurl.com/rdqu A Catholic primary school planned for Wanaka would remain on the proposed Brownston Street site only for up to seven years, the Queenstown Lakes District Council hearings panel heard yesterday.
Parliament's daily prayer may breach human rights Fairfax NZ Ltd 17 October 2003 http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,2694211a6160,00.html The Human Rights Commission has been asked to rule on whether the daily prayer that opens Parliament is appropriate. Progressive MP Matt Robson says he will seek the commission's view after his attempt to have the prayer revamped was overwhelmingly rejected by a cross-party committee....
Order head says give abuse victims benefit of doubt http://www.cathnews.com/news/310/70.php Br Peter Burke, the Australian and New Zealand head of the St John of God Brothers, has said it is not necessary for religious leaders to demand proof before reaching out to those who claim they have been sexually abused by authority figures in the Church. "I believe them. I'm not there to be judge and jury, that's not my job," he told The Australian newspaper's correspondent in New Zealand....
Cell move allows human contact NZ Herald 18.10.2003 http://tinyurl.com/rdqv Algerian prisoner Ahmed Zaoui beamed with joy yesterday as he shifted into his new cell. The alleged national-security risk was overjoyed at his accommodation in the Auckland Central Remand Prison after 11 months in solitary confinement at Paremoremo....
Zaoui supporters slam Dalziel claims NZ Herald 18.10.2003 http://tinyurl.com/rdqw Supporters of Ahmed Zaoui have hit back at Immigration Minister Lianne Dalziel's attempt to blame his lawyers for his long detention. Asked how long the Algerian politician would remain behind bars, she accused his counsel of extending his 11 months in jail by making a baseless challenge in the High Court....
Dame Felicitas Corrigan: Writer with a Benedictine gift for friendship (obituary) The Independent (UK) 17 October 2003 http://tinyurl.com/rdqx Dame Felicitas Corrigan OSB was one of the great Benedictine figures of the 20th century - a century she experienced personally almost from beginning to end. The anonymous author of a religious classic about life at Stanbrook Abbey, appropriately entitled 'In a Great Tradition', she exemplified many of the qualities of that monastic tradition which has so deeply moulded English civilisation....
Church 'appalled' at funding of lobbying Fairfax NZ Ltd 14 October 2003 http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,2690729a6160,00.html Anglican Bishop of Wellington Thomas Brown said he was "absolutely appalled" to learn that the Prostitutes Collective received more than $50,000 a month in government funding as it lobbied MPs to push through a law to decriminalise prostitution....
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CATHOLIC WEB TV (Wellington Archdiocesan Media Centre)
http://catholictv.net
New videos:
Confirmation has been conferred on young people in their mid-teens until recently. Denise Johnson and Bishop John Dew discuss a parish programme to prepare much younger children for the Sacrament of Confirmation.
Sister Susan Shannon , an Australian nun, sees the requirement of celibacy for priesthood or religious vocation in a positive light.
'Pause and Pray': The great St Augustine tells us where the restlessness of the human heart can find peace (first of a new series).
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WHY PEOPLE DON'T GO TO CHURCH (SURVEY)
National Church Life Survey (Australia). "Why People Don't Go to Church" (book review) http://www.media.anglican.com.au/culture/2003/book/dont_go_church.html The question 'Why don't people go to church?' is one that probably all of us in ministry ask ourselves on a fairly regular basis. After all, don't we put considerable effort into running wonderful and inspiring worship services? So, let's face it, most of us have a vested interest in knowing why more people aren't packing into our pews on a Sunday. This book sheds considerable light on the issue ...
Related articles: Focusing on ‘Why people don’t go to church’ can be unhelpful http://www.anglicanmedia.com.au/july2002/feat3.html We can make church more relevant and fulfilling http://www.anglicanmedia.com.au/july2002/analysis.htm
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STATISTICS OF RELIGION
Vatican City (Fides Service) – Fides Service statistics offer an overall view of the Catholic Church in the world as registered on 31 December 2001. Our figures are taken from the Church’s Annual Book of Statistics (valid to 31 December 2001) and they regard Catholics, church personnel, structures and activity as well as variations in comparison with previous years. http://www.fides.org/eng/statistiche/index.html
(In 2001, Oceania (Australia, NZ and the Pacific Islands) had a population of just over 31 million of whom 8,320.000 were Catholics).
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