Volume 19, Issue 8

The World Youth Day (WYD)Cross and Icon were met by 2500 excited parishioners across the Archdiocese of Melbourne at St Patrick’s Cathedral on Friday 25 April. The ceremony was commissioned by Melbourne Archbishop Denis Hart, who received the Cross and Icon from the Diocese of Sale in eastern rural Victoria.

Volume 19, Issue 8

At this time we are celebrating the Feast of the Holy Trinity. There is no better place to begin our meditation on the profound mystery of God than this passage from John’s Gospel, which we read in the Sunday liturgy a few weeks ago:

Volume 19, Issue 8

The Catholic Bishops of Victoria have issued a pastoral letter in anticipation of the introduction into the Victorian Parliament of a bill to decriminalise abortion. They address the letter to the “Catholic people of Victoria and all men and women of good will” and emphasise that their concerns arise equally from their religious as from their moral commitments.

Volume 19, Issue 8

Archbishop Denis Hart has written to the Catholic parishes of Melbourne urging them to oppose new euthanasia legislation that is to be presented to the Victorian Parliament. He has also written to members of Parliament urging them to defeat the new legislation “for the sake of those who are chronically ill or dying”.

Volume 19, Issue 8

The Church would be in favour of eliminating discrimination wherever possible, wouldn’t it? So, wouldn’t you support moves to strengthen the law in this area? Catholics may encounter rhetorical questions of this kind if they raise their head up in a discussion on the Victorian Government’s reviews of the Equal Opportunity Act.

Volume 19, Issue 8

Christians and Buddhists should work together to promote respect for the earth and a safe, clean environment, said the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.

Volume 19, Issue 8

Capital punishment is no longer carried out in Australia, but it has come into prominence in recent years with the sentencing to death and execution of Australians overseas. It also achieves prominence through its continued use in several other countries, including the US, China and Singapore, and because three Australians – Myuran Sukumaran, Andrew Chan and Scott Rush – are currently on death row in Indonesia.

Volume 19, Issue 8

A new resource for schools on how best to teach students about other religions is now being prepared by a team of Catholic and Muslim school teachers.

Volume 19, Issue 8

Australia’s most senior Church leader has spoken out against a national charter of rights, in a landmark speech praising the role of parliaments and warning against rule by ‘relativist’ judges.

Volume 19, Issue 8

Neither government nor religion has a right to change or limit human rights, because those rights flow from the dignity of each person created in God’s image, Pope Benedict XVI has told the United Nations General Assembly.

Volume 19, Issue 8

When Tony Blair was prime Minister of Great Britain, his press secretary famously quipped: “We don’t do God.” Now, as a private citizen and a newly received convert to the Catholic Church, Tony Blair has chosen to do something about the issue of the harmonious co-existence of religious believers in the world today and of the contribution that they can make to the wellbeing of the international community.

Volume 19, Issue 8

Alfonso Cardinal Lopez Trujillo
(1933-2008) – President of the Pontifical Council for the Family

A tribute by Most Reverend Peter J. Elliott, director, John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family, Melbourne.

Volume 19, Issue 8

Identity and Mission
in Catholic Agencies
Edited by Neil Ormerod, St Pauls, $24.95,
paperback, 126 pages

Church Administration Handbook
Brian Lucas, Peter Slack and William d’Apice,
St Pauls, $45, hardcover, 393 pages

Volume 19, Issue 8

Then She Found Me
Starring Helen Hunt, Colin Firth, Bette Midler and Matthew Broderick. Directed by Helen Hunt. 101 mins. Rated M (moderate sexual references and coarse language).

Volume 19, Issue 8

If you believe in divine providence as I do, it is truly fascinating to observe it at work. While each of us enjoys the gift of free will, even taking that into account, God achieves his purposes, and I’ve seen that often in my life. What prompts these comments is a succession of recent occurrences that seem to me to go beyond mere coincidence. Let me give you some examples, which some might view as coincidental, whereas I see them as providential.

Volume 19, Issue 8

Trinity Sunday
“Jesus would offer Himself to be taken into
people’s hearts.”

Volume 19, Issue 8

The Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi)
“John is remembering Jesus as describing
Himself as food and drink for believers.”