In the aftermath of the Feb. 14 campus shooting at Northern Illinois University, comfort was delivered to the shaken students by some unusually calm dogs whose mission was to find people who wanted to pet them. The weeklong presence of these four-legged therapists has been so missed that campus officials are working to bring them back…
Pope Benedict called on Catholics to examine whether worldly desires had corrupted their faith, as he commemorated Palm Sunday before a crowd holding palm fronds and olive branches.
In a service to mark Christ’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem a week before being crucified, Pope Benedict asked the faithful to remember that greed was also a form of idolatry that could creep into their daily life.
“Is our faith pure and open enough?” said the Pope, seated on a dais in front of St. Peter’s basilica, wearing red, gold and white vestments. “Do we perhaps let idols, through various means, enter in the world of our faith?”
The Vatican says Pope Benedict XVI will host a ground-breaking “summit” of Catholic and Muslim leaders in November.
The “Catholic-Muslim Forum” from November 4 to 6, will bring together 24 dignitaries from each faith on the theme of “love God, love your neighbour,” it said.
About 100,000 Australians are now classified as homeless, and the number is growing.
But the man charged by the Federal Government to help fix this massive human tragedy, social welfare expert Tony Nicholson, is confident that figure can be more than halved within a decade.
However he says the solution demands much more than extra beds.
Bob Geldof is known jokingly as “St Bob” for his work on aid and debt relief in Africa.
But now people are confusing the Bible with speeches by Mr Geldof, according to research published by the public theology think tank Theos.
The study found more than a quarter of people in Britain – 27% – believed that the Old Testament passage: “You must defend those who are helpless and have no hope. Be fair and give justice to the poor and homeless”, from Proverbs Chapter 31, verse 8, came from a speech by Mr Geldof.
A WOODEN cross dedicated to hundreds of fallen World War I Australian diggers is about to make a historic return to the former battlefields of France.
Originally erected 90 years ago in a muddy field where the diggers fought an epic battle against the Germans, the cross was sent to Australia in the early 1930s.
Hundreds of Australian soldiers were killed or injured as they successfully reclaimed the key northern rural town of Villers-Bretonneux in the Somme on April 24 and 25, 1918.
And now as the village prepares to mark the 90th anniversary of the historic battle, the cross is heading back to France.
Guilt is an explosive word. In a recent conversation with my friend and fellow theologian, Scott Stephens, I found myself agreeing with him that public conversation is impoverished if we cannot speak of guilt. But I also argued that because of two cultural barriers it is almost impossible to be heard when you speak of guilt.
A survey conducted by the Red Cross says busier lifestyles are behind a fall in the numbers of people volunteering to help disadvantaged people in their community .
More than 1,200 people took part in the online survey that aimed to gauge public perception about the elderly, people living with a mental illness and the homeless.
The survey revealed that volunteer figures were down compared to a decade ago.
It also found that almost half of the population think Australians are less compassionate towards vulnerable groups compared with 10 years ago.
A 29-page letter (pdf document) drafted by 138 prominent Muslim leaders to leaders of the world’s Christian churches has been met with enthusiasm and encouragement. (Steve G. recommends this report: CS Monitor) The historic Muslim document, entitled, “A Common Word Between Us and You,” received a warm embrace from leaders of the Yale Divinity School in the form of a response that has been cosigned by the Harvard and Princeton seminaries…
The lengthy response released yesterday by the Yale scholars, entitled Loving God and Neighbor Together: A Christian Response to A Common Word between Us and You says, “We receive A Common Word as a Muslim hand of conviviality and cooperation extended to Christians worldwide. In this response we extend our own Christian hand in return, so that together with all other human beings we may live in peace and justice as we seek to love God and our neighbors.â€
The annual world day of prayer is coming to Oakleigh with a worship celebration on Friday 7th March.
The worship is prepared by Christian Women of Guyana.
All are welcome to attend the two ecumenical worship services on the day.
St. David’s Uniting Church, 154 Drummond St., Oakleigh
1:30 pm Friday March 7th
Speaker: Eileen Ray
Holy Trinity Anglican, cnr Dandenong and Warrigal Rds
7:30 pm Friday March 7th
Speaker: Dr. DeJong
For more information see: World day of prayer Australia