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CATHOLIC COMMUNICATIONS NZ
http://www.cathcom.org.nz
International News:
Catholic Refugee Office 'wait and see' after Govt change of heart The (Australian) Bishops' Migrant and Refugee Office has welcomed yesterday's news that the Federal Government will now grant a visa 'on compassionate grounds' to an Iranian asylum seeker whose children are stranded in Indonesia....
Catholic levy to fight child abuse Every employee and volunteer in the Archdiocese of Adelaide will be required to undergo training in child protection, under a plan announced yesterday by Vicar-General Monsignor David Cappo....
Melbourne Archbishop opposes Victorian trading reforms Archbishop Denis Hart yesterday expressed opposition to a Victorian government move to soften trading restrictions on religious holidays....
Putin unable to deliver Pope's invite to Russia Pope John Paul II met with Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday afternoon, and told him that he was 'praying for Russia'.... Vatican aiming at 'sacred vernacular language' for liturgy An official at the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments has enunciated the Vatican's vision for a 'sacred vernacular language' that avoids 'slavishly reflecting the development of local speech'....
US archbishop calls partial-birth abortion ban a 'vital step' In what a US archbishop called 'a vital step in the right direction for our nation', President Bush signed the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act into law on Wednesday at a Washington ceremony attended by many Catholic leaders....
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FROM THE CATHOLIC PRESS & NEWS AGENCIES
Catholic take on the latest Matrix movie, by Fr Peter Malone, president of SIGNIS, the World Catholic Association for Communication http://www.indcatholicnews.com/matrixx.html With 'Matrix Revolutions', the American screenwriters and directors, the Wachowski Brothers (Andy and Larry) have completed what has been one of the most popular and talked about film trilogies ever. While The Lord of the Rings showed us Tolkein's world and took its audiences into the mythical past and used religious symbols and motifs, The Matrix trilogy takes audiences into a future that is no less mythical and which also uses religious symbols and motifs....
"If I were Pope" http://www.australiancatholics.com.au/pope.html [New reflections on the topic 'If I were Pope' are added to this page every week. Reflections published do not necessarily represent the editorial views of Australian Catholics nor the official teaching of the Catholic Church. Reflections can be emailed to auscaths@jespub.jesuit.org.au ]
************************ 'FOCUS' - Fellowship of Catholic University Students
[Summary: Curtis Martin was raised in a Catholic home, but by the time he went to university, he was struggling with his faith. Evangelical Christian friends brought him back to Christ, and eventually he re-embraced the Catholic Church. His experience inspired him to establish FOCUS - Fellowship of Catholic University Students - a safety net and evangelization resource for Catholic tertiary students during their "critical decade" when they make major decisions and often lose their faith]
Reclaiming College Students for Christ: Curtis Martin's FOCUS Targets Young Adults in "Critical Decade" (Interview) http://zenit.org/english/visualizza.phtml?sid=44042
Campus Crusade For Catholicism (Article) http://www.crisismagazine.com/september2001/feature3.htm
The Importance of Scripture in Our Lives : Curtis Martin's conversion (audio interview) http://tinyurl.com/u7k4
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FROM THE SECULAR PRESS
Abuse complainant sues Catholic Church The Press 08 November 2003 http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/thepress/0,2106,2719284a6530,00.html A Christchurch woman is suing the Catholic Church over its handling of a complaint she laid against against former Lyttelton parish priest Father Jim Consedine. Bonnie Quilter, a Shirley invalid beneficiary, filed documents in the High Court yesterday, seeking exemplary damages and an inquiry into the Church's abuse complaints procedures....
Order to pay more to abuse victims The Press 08 November 2003 http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/thepress/0,2106,2719281a6009,00.html A Catholic order embroiled in a sex-abuse scandal is about to make more payouts, on top of the $4 million-plus it has already awarded. The St John of God Order made the first offers of compensation last March to 56 men allegedly abused at a Christchurch residential school. Payouts to former Marylands pupils ranged from about $30,000 to more than $100,000....
Helen Tunnah: Art of compromise at coalition party conference NZ Herald 03.11.2003 http://tinyurl.com/u7kb It took radio personality John Dunne, sibling of United Future leader Peter, to finally mention the C-word - Christian - at the party's annual conference in Christchurch over the weekend. It had seemed that a party which evolved in large part out of the Christian Democrats has some reservations in touting its Christian heritage. Or perhaps party strategists have already recognised the limitations of being labelled, as delegates were reminded on Saturday....
Woodcock loses extradition appeal The Dominion Post 07 November 2003 http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,2718006a11,00.html Former Catholic priest Alan Woodcock has lost his appeal against extradition from Britain and could face child-sex assault charges in New Zealand as early as February....
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EVENTS
"Pompallier: Te Hokinga Mai" The journey home of Bishop Pompallier Auckland Museum 18 October 2003 to 18 January 2004.
In April 2002, the remains of Bishop Jean-Baptiste Francois Pompallier were interred in the Hokianga, 130 years after his death. The progress of his body's return from a small village graveyard on the outskirts of Paris, to Motuti in the far North, is chronicled in this moving exhibition. Pompallier Te Hokinga Mai - The Journey Home, is an exhibition of over 100 photographs supplemented by a number of Pompallier's personal effects including his travelling altar and cope. The images, by photographer Karel Lorier, trace the journey of Pompallier's remains from France to New Zealand. They include the exhumation of his remains in Puteaux, a requiem mass performed in Pompallier's local church at Lyon, and the farewell of his body from Notre Dame. Also chronicled is the three month hikoi - or pilgrimage -to places of significance to Bishop Pompallier in New Zealand. Pompallier's personal belongings on loan from the convent of the Auckland Sisters of Mercy and the Auckland Catholic Diocesan Archives, include prayer books printed on the press at Kororareka housed in the building now known as "Pompallier", Pompallier's travelling altar, throne and desk, his ring, cross, Missal and cope. Bishop Pompallier was consecrated titular Bishop of Maronea with responsibility for Western Oceania in 1836. He established missions in the western Pacific as well as founding the Catholic Church in New Zealand where he set up a printing press, founded missions, and became the first Catholic Bishop of Auckland, where he was based from 1848 to 1869. A selection of the photographs are at: http://www.aucklandmuseum.com/web/content.cfm?Id=565
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EMPLOYMENT
[Teaching vacancies in New Zealand Catholic schools are advertised in the Education Gazette: http://www.edgazette.govt.nz/vacancies ]
LECTURER IN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION Applications are invited from suitably qualified and experienced persons for the position of Lecturer in Religious Education. The appointee is expected to be employed full-time within the Catholic Institute of Theology, Auckland. Further details at: http://www.cathcom.org.nz/media.php and from: The Registrar, Catholic Institute of Theology, Newman Hall, 16 Waterloo Quadrant, Auckland 1001, New Zealand. Ph: (09)379 6424, Fax: (09)379 6426, Email: cit@auckland.ac.nz Applications close 30 November 2003.
