'WEL-COM'
Newspaper of the Archdiocese of Wellington and the Diocese of Palmerston
North
From the December issue ...
* Archbishop Dew's column: The hope of Christmas and images of God's reign
As the church and the world remembers the closing of the Second Vatican
Council in 1965, it could be helpful for us to reflect on the Pastoral
Constitution of the Church in the Modern World, Gaudium et Spes. I think
this is particularly helpful as we prepare for and celebrate Christmas.
Gaudium et Spes reminded us that while we live with the expectation and hope
of heaven, that anticipation must not lead to neglect of the commitment to
transform the earth...
* Child poverty group wins key case
The Child Poverty Action Group has won the right to take a case against the
government’s discriminatory practices.
The group claims that the In Work Payment which will replace the Child Tax
Credit next April as part of the Working for Families package disadvantages
300,000 children whose parents are on benefits or who can’t work enough
hours to qualify. ...
* Former Caritas staffer to work with refugees in Sudan
Helping to set up a school system in Sudan will be a first task for Caritas’
Elaine Jepsen who will next year go to work with refugees in Africa’s
biggest country. Elaine has spent the past four years working on schools’
resources for Caritas. Next year she joins the Jesuit Refugee Service, to
expand on her Caritas work by helping to equip a school system in a refugee
camp near El Fasher in the north of Sudan’s Darfur region....
* The face of moral judgment
Australians have responded with compassion to Mr Nguyen Tuong Van’s
impending execution. They have also rejected judicial execution as a
legitimate instrument of state policy. It is easy to understand why Mr
Nguyen and his plight have aroused such sympathy and outrage. We have seen
the face of a young man, have heard the story of a life, and know that on a
day fixed beforehand he will almost certainly die...
* Peacemakers honour Vatican II peoples' paper
The Wellington Catholic Peacemakers Group held three sessions last month to
commemorate the 40th anniversary of the release of the major document of
Vatican II, Gaudium et Spes. The three evening sessions, at the Compassion
Centre Soup Kitchen were led by speakers Fr Gerard Burns, who gave an
overview; Kay Smith, who spoke on peace; and John Maynard who talked about
work. Opening the series, Fr Burns told a group of around 25 people, that
the opening paragraph of Gaudium et Spes indicated a substantial change in
the way the church saw its relationship with the world...
* Gaudium et Spes - the signs of the times and the young
This is the final in our series featuring the 40-year-old document of
Vatican II which has arguably the most inpact on the laity. This month Chris
Duthie-Jung explores the document’s impact on young people. "I was born in
the year that Gaudium et Spes was promulgated and readily admit to taking a
certain comfort in the fact that it was this ground-breaking constitution
with which I share my year of birth. Indeed when those immortal opening
words first gained my full attention, I was immediately caught by them even
though they were by then more than two decades old. 'The joys and the hopes,
the griefs and the anxieties of the people of this age, especially those who
are poor or in any way afflicted, these are the joys and hopes, the griefs
and anxieties of the followers of Christ'...."
* Awe, e Maria, e ki ana koe i te kereatia â€" Hail Mary, Full of Grace
And there we have it! This is exactly what the Immaculate Conception
celebrates. Mary was always full to the brim with grace. Grace is so much
more original, so much more powerful than sin. Yet our Catholic mentality at
times seems fixated on sin. As it stands, the very term ‘Immaculate
Conception’ is a negative expression. A far more positive rendition is ‘the
gracing of Mary’. Mary was so graced by God from the very moment of her
conception that there was no room for sin at all....
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FROM THE SECULAR PRESS
Catholic award to Mary
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/timaruherald/0,2106,3505623a6571,00.html
Fairlie's Mary MacDonald has received the Benemerenti Award for her
contribution to the Catholic community. The award was granted by Pope
Benedict XVI and is granted for exceptional service to the Catholic
Church...
Priest becomes a living legend
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/sundaystartimes/auckland/0,2106,3505484a6497,00.htm/
l
The title of living legend sits uneasily with Father Terry Dibble. The
Catholic priest is being honoured by Auckland mayor Dick Hubbard for more
than 35 years serving the Grey Lynn and Ponsonby community...
The Sallies are there to help those in need at Christmas
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/timaruherald/0,2106,3505622a6010,00.html
Christmas is different for every family, but for some it means accepting
help. South Canterbury charities will help around 100 households have some
Christmas festivity on tight budgets...
'Nine to Noon' with Linda Clark (Radio NZ sound file, 7m)
http://www.radionz.co.nz/nr/programmes/ninetonoon/20051209
Louise O'Brien reviews 'Christ the Lord' by Anne Rice. Published by Chatto
and Windus.
The Tudor Consort competes in Spain and sings at St Peter's in Rome
Friday, 9 December 2005, 2:59 pm
Press Release: Tudor Consort 9 December 2005
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0512/S00062.htm
Promising athlete in Pan Pacific medal haul
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/sundaystartimes/auckland/0,2106,3505483a6469,00.htm/
l
Trying his hand at goldmining was the highlight of Josh Cocker-Valu's trip
to Australia after representing New Zealand at the Pan Pacific Games in
Melbourne. The year 8 pupil at Herne Bay Marist also picked up silver in the
shot put relay and gold in the 100m relay...
United Future's bid to have marriage defined as a union between a man and a
woman has been thrown out of Parliament. The Marriage Gender Clarification
Amendment was presented by United Future's Gordon Copeland...
http://xtramsn.co.nz/news/0,,11964-5111539,00.html
Nguyen mourners speak out against death penalty
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10358881
Melbourne - More than 1000 mourners packed a Melbourne Catholic cathedral
today for the funeral of hanged drug smuggler Nguyen Tuong Van...
If you didn't find Narnia in your own wardrobe ...
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/travel/story/0,6903,1657178,00.html
... you might just find it in Northern Ireland, the birthplace of CS Lewis
and beloved inspiration for the author's fictional land. In the week the
Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is released, Fiona Campbell goes searching
for Aslan ...
Know your Narnia
http://film.guardian.co.uk/features/featurepages/0,4120,1657048,00.html
As the CS Lewis classic finally comes to the big screen, Stephanie Merritt
offers an A-Z guide to the lion, the witch - and everything else ...
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FROM THE OVERSEAS CATHOLIC PRESS & NEWS AGENCIES
Mary the Immaculate Conception, protectress of the Council, light in a
self-destructive world
http://www.asianews.it/view.php?l=en&art=4830
On the 40th anniversary of the ending of the Second Vatican Council,
Benedict XVI drew attention to the meaning of the feast of the Immaculate
Conception in the modern world, which tends not to trust in God, to see “God
[as] a competitor who limits our freedom and [to think] that we will be
fully human only when we have put him aside�...
The Subtle Magic of C.S. Lewis' Narnia
http://www.zenit.org/english/visualizza.phtml?sid=81284
Toronto, Dec. 7, 2005 (Zenit.org).- "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe"
may provide an opportunity for adults to talk about the faith, but don't
expect children to notice the film's Christian themes. So says Michael
Coren, author, columnist and broadcaster who recently wrote "C.S. Lewis: The
Man Who Created Narnia" (Ignatius), a biography of Lewis written for teens.
Coren told ZENIT how mostly adults will understand Lewis' subtle Christian
allegory, and how "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" has the power to
plant seeds of faith in kids just the same...
Church of St Nicholas open to local mufti, but closed for mass on the Feast
Day of Saint Nicholas
http://www.asianews.it/view.php?l=en&art=4829
Although the church belongs to the Orthodox Patriarchate, the authorities
have turned it into a museum where the Eucharist cannot be celebrated. The
local mufti can however use it for his Santa Claus association...
Christmas Making a Comeback
Annual Battle Starts With Victories
http://www.zenit.org/english/visualizza.phtml?sid=81054
Washington, D.C., Dec. 3, 2005 (Zenit.org).- Christmas, it seems, is no
longer a taboo word. This Tuesday, the Washington Times reported that U.S.
House Speaker Dennis Hastert told federal officials that the tree on the
West Lawn of the Capitol will be renamed the "Capitol Christmas Tree." In
recent years it has gone under the name of the "Holiday Tree." Calling a
Christmas tree a Christmas tree has become a hot issue in many communities,
the article noted...
We get no money from the Palestinian Authority and Israel boycotts us, says
Bethlehem mayor
http://www.asianews.it/view.php?l=en&art=4835
Bethlehem (AsiaNews) â€" Bethlehem Mayor Victor Batarseh on Thursday accused
the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) of failing to provide financial
assistance to his town as it prepares to celebrate Christmas. He also
explained how new Israeli checkpoints have created an oppressive
atmosphere...
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CATHOLIC COMMUNICATIONS NZ
Media Releases
http://www.cathcom.org.nz/media.php
Bogus Mail regarding Catholic Church (06 Dec 2005)
It has been brought to the notice of Catholic Communications that a number
of households in Auckland suburbs are receiving anonymous chain letters in
their mailbox claiming to reveal the “third secret of Fatima� among other
things, and suggesting that earthquake, nuclear war and other horrendous
cataclysms are about to be unleashed on the earth by a vengeful and angry
God...
Global Catholic News, plus sound files from Vatican Radio
Israel’s Vatican ambassador praises Pope
U.S. Catholic activists begin anti-torture march
Pope blesses Olympic flame as torch relay kicks off
Being good is not boring, says Pope
Magazine for Catholic girls aims for truer image of young femininity
Ceremony marks 40 years since end of Vatican Council ll
Vatican issues Pope euro coins
Former secretary says JP2's beatification needs critics
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MARIST CHAMPAGNAT FAMILY NEWSLETTER October 2005
http://www.maristbrothers.org.nz/MFN1October2005.htm
'Psalm for the Road', by Joy Cowley ... News of the Brothers ... St
Bernard's College staff day ... St Paul's College Golden Jubilee ... Pacific
Assembly for Brothers and lay partners ... Working Party for the
International Assembly 2007: One Heart One Mission ... Vocation Year ...
Update on the Marist Response to the Asian Tsunami ... In Memoriam
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"THE WORD FROM ROME"
http://www.nationalcatholicreporter.org/word/
A weekly column by the National Catholic Reporter's full-time correspondent
in Rome, John L. Allen Jr.
This week ...
When will this pope make some changes?; Forthcoming encyclical on divine
love; Sacred music; On priestly life and ministry; The "subsists in/is"
debate; Opposing John Paul II's sainthood fast track; Anniversary lunch at
the North American College; World Methodist Council in Rome
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EMPLOYMENT
[Teaching vacancies in New Zealand Catholic schools are advertised in the
Education Gazette: http://www.edgazette.govt.nz/vacancies ]
[Vacancies in Catholic Youth Ministry are advertised on the Job Bank page of
the National Council for Young Catholics: http://ncyc.org.nz ]
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