 |
|
 |
|
|
|
The tide may be turning in the flow of enrolments moving from state schools in New South Wales with many Catholic schools recording a moderate or even steep drop in numbers.
[More]
Pill inventor slams ... pill
Eighty five year old Carl Djerassi the Austrian chemist who helped invent the contraceptive pill now says that his co-creation has led to a "demographic catastrophe."
[More]
NZ priest defends his actions
NZ priest, Fr Gerard Burn, has defended his actions in smattering blood and paint over a statue of assassinated Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin while an Israeli official has criticised Vatican Cardinal Renato after he described Gaza as like a "concentration camp".
[More]
Vietnamese nuns "tricked" over monastery seizure
Vietnamese sisters who responded to an invitation to meet with the local government last month were dismayed when the meeting turned into a press conference announcing the government would seize their monastery to convert it into a public square.
[More]
Bethlehem altar wine flows again
Bethelehem's Salesian made Cremisan altar wine is flowing again after Israeli authorities lifted restrictions on its export.
[More]
Rio Christ to get a rival
A Brazilian sugar cane town wants to place itself on the map by building a 39 metre tall statue of Jesus, a metre higher than Rio de Janeiro's iconic image of Christ the Redeemer.
[More]
Feature - Protestants robbed of Marian tradition
If we Protestants are serious about the Bible we cannot escape the conclusion that Mary is a figure to be reckoned with, even if her prominence varies in the gospels and the earliest known New Testament writer, Paul, never mentions her. It is unfortunate that many Protestants are so reactive to what they conceive of as an idolatry of Mary in the Roman Church that she is almost written out of Protestantism. - Reverend Dr Peter Sellick, Online Opinion
[More]
Featured Website - Coffs Harbour Catholic Recreation & Sporting Club
No doubt in the tradition of "Catholic clubs" which developed in New South Wales and other states, the Coffs Harbour Catholic Recreation & Sporting Club would have sprung up as an inititive of a local Catholic parish or sporting club.
[More]
Television - Changing Climate, Changing Times
This SBS documentary is set in the Year 2075. Climate predictions made at the beginning of the 21st century have turned out to be dramatically true and global warming of the Earth's atmosphere has now serious consequences on the every day lives of our grandchildren.
[More]
Opinion - "Just war" back in vogue?
Pacifists want to understand war as a lawless condition that should be abolished. But those who recognise that humanity won't succeed in stopping war seek, instead, to contain and "humanise" it. The medieval Popes practiced this wisdom when they limited permissible wars to certain times of year. But any "last stand" type of warfare refuses to recognise the possibility of a future war for which it may be a precedent. - Robert Spaemann, The Malta Independent
[More]
OPINION
Beyond knowledge to wisdomI believe this is one of the crisis points for contemporary Christianity. Put bluntly, its representatives do not seem wise. Yes, those representatives can give you any amount of information, some of them can even speak knowledgeably of Christian teachings. Wisdom is another thing altogether. - Fr Michael Whelan [More] - Aquinas Academy
FEATURE
Connected across bordersIt is time for leaders of nations to see their national interests as connected with the interests of people on the other side of the globe. We have reached the point where human existence is at stake and our destiny is inextricably linked. If we are to overcome this crisis of climate change we need to think beyond the confines of national states. - Just Comment [More] - Edmund Rice Centre
FEATURED CATHOLIC WEBSITE
Catholic Education Diocese of ParramattaReturning to our education theme, we shine the spotlight on arguably the most innovative Catholic education website in the country. In addition to all the standard features of any CEO site, Parramatta's includes some interactive opinion polls and a competition for students to attempt to ''Become the Executive Director for the day''. The site is also well regarded for its RE and curriculum resources.
- www.parra.catholic.edu.au
Warning: main(http://www.cathnews.com/cgi-bin/ad_management.pl) [function.main]: failed to open stream: HTTP request failed! HTTP/1.1 404 Not Found in E:\hshome\eureka0\cathnews.com\news\702\96.php on line 159
Warning: main() [function.include]: Failed opening 'http://www.cathnews.com/cgi-bin/ad_management.pl' for inclusion (include_path='.\;C:\HSphere.NET\3rdparty\PHP\4.4.7\PEAR') in E:\hshome\eureka0\cathnews.com\news\702\96.php on line 159
Blood oozes from Indian Jesus statue, bishop confirms
Jabalpur, India Bishop Gerald Almeida has called on Catholics to engage in "soul searching" after the eyes of a life-size statue of the Sacred Heart in a church yard began to ooze a blood-like substance.
UCA News reports Church people in the central Indian diocese say that on Monday they started noticing bloodlike substance oozing from the eyes of a statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus kept in an open yard.
"I am convinced it is a miracle," Fr Paul Pappachan, the assistant parish priest, told UCA News. The red substance tasted like blood, he said. "I just can't understand it."
Bishop Gerald Almeida of Jabalpur celebrated Mass at the parish a day after the incident. On his return, he told UCA News that the bloodlike substance was still visible on the statue. The phenomenon is "a powerful indication for us to mend our ways," he concluded.
Bishop Almeida said he wants his flock to engage in "soul searching" and ask if they have been living according to God's plan. There could be "something lacking in our service, or people may have performed certain 'incorrect' actions," he said. "There need to be some reforms in our lives."
The prelate added that he will send an official letter to all Church workers in the diocese to explain the incident and to invite them to reflect on why the statue apparently shed blood.
According to Fr Pappachan, the first person who witnessed the phenomenon is Chandrawati Armo, an assistant nurse at a local dispensary.
Armo, 20, told UCA News that when she routinely cleaned the statue on the morning of 12 February, she noticed that the statue displayed a "sad expression" and she wondered why it seemed so sad that day.
After cleaning the statue, she went to get a new garland for it, she said, "but when I turned back and looked at the statue, it began to shed blood from both eyes." She said she burst into tears and rushed to tell Fr Pappachan.
"I raced to the statue and found blood oozing out of its eyes," Fr Pappachan said.
The priest said he then ascended the statue's concrete lotus-shaped pedestal and dipped his finger into the red liquid. "After smelling it, I tasted it," he recalled. He repeated this action four times, he said, and every time he did so, he sensed the smell and taste of "real blood."
According to parish priest, Fr Florentius Kujur, blood clots are also visible on the statue's hands. He told UCA News that people of all faiths now visit the statue and offer prayers, and about 400 parishioners have been praying inside the church ever since the phenomenon occurred. The news has also attracted many priests and nuns from other areas, he added.
Fr Anand Muttungal, spokesperson of the Catholic Church in Madhya Pradesh, told UCA News that the substance will be sent for DNA testing.
SOURCE
Church People See Divine Message In 'Blood-Oozing' Sacred Heart Statue (UCA News, 15/2/07)
LINKS (not necessarily endorsed by Church Resources)
Jabalpur Diocese
Jabalpur Diocese (Catholic-Hierarchy)
ARCHIVE
Perth priest claims miracle (CathNews, 20/3/06)
Archbishop says weeping statues were fraudulent (CathNews, 30/7/04)
Brisbane miracle investigation report still weeks away (CathNews, 9/7/04)
Weeping statue investigation progresses (CathNews 8/6/04)
Retired chemistry professor to examine weeping statues (CathNews 3/6/04)
Weeping Mary draws faithful (CathNews 31/5/04)
Archbishop Bathersby announces weeping statue investigation (CathNews 26/5/04)
Crowds flock to see 'weeping' religious icons (CathNews 24/5/04)
Tests on crying Madonna fail to show hoax (CathNews 13/9/02)
Padre Pio statue weeps tears of blood (CathNews 8/3/02)
16 Feb 2007
