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THE RULE OF BENEDICT:
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Tread carefully Pope Benedict XVI warns against threatening human life in the pursuit of scientific progress ■ By Carol Glatz
VATICAN CITY -Technological and scientific advancements in controlling the forces of nature are a part of God’s plan as long as they are not a threat against human life and dignity, Pope Benedict XVI said to a group of scientists and theologians. “Christianity does not posit an inevitable conflict between supernatural faith and scientific progress,” the Pope told some 70 participants attending a Vatican conference on “Predictability in Science: Accuracy and Limitations.” The Pope’s comments came barely 24 hours before the Australian Senate had an initial conscience vote on the future of stem cell research using cloned human embryos, indicating the Australian ban on therapeutic cloning was likely to be overturned. The parliamentary debate was on former health minister Kay Patterson’s controversial private member’s Bill which sought to legalise the practice. Top international scientists, including eight Nobel Prize laureates, attended the November 3-6 plenary assembly of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. In a private audience at the Vatican on Monday, the Pope told participants that God created human beings with reason and entrusted them to be the caretakers of nature and all its creatures. By being able to better predict nature, science “has contributed to the protection of the environment, the progress of developing nations, the fight against epidemics and an increase in life expectancy,” the Pope said. He said this improved stewardship of creation not only clearly shows there is “no conflict between God’s providence and human enterprise” but that “the work of predicting,
Life wins: A child walks past the graves of the victims of the Anfal campaign, where tens of thousands of Kurds were killed in the north in the late 1980s, in the village of Sewsenan, Iraq. Ousted Iraqi president Saddam Hussein was this week sentenced to death for crimes against humanity in the Anfal campaign. PHOTO: CNS
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Life starts again: Some Iraqis are celebrating Saddam Hussein’s death sentence, but the Vatican still supports the sanctity of life
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St Patrick’s up in air despite cash grants ■ By Anthony Barich
Rebuilding of Bunbury’s iconic St Patrick’s Cathedral Precinct is still up in the air despite a $5 million Federal Government grant and $2.5 million from the State government. The grants are to assist rebuilding the precinct, which was ripped apart by a tornado last year. The cathedral, built in 1921 on a hill overlooking the city, had to be demolished two months later. The natural disaster knocked out the priests’ house, the parish office and parish hall. Bunbury’s Bishop Gerard Holohan welcomed the grants but still has no idea of the total cost or when rebuilding will start.
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HOLY HOUSE Perth’s Archbishop Barry Hickey leads a group of pilgrims to Ephesus where the house which Mary the Mother of God is believed to have lived in.
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When it eventually does, he estimates it will take 18 months. Major earthworks are required as the rebuilding project involves installation of adequate parking, which Bishop Holohan admitted was insufficient before the disaster; a safe entrance and exit and provision for those who find walking difficult. While Bishop Holohan initially entertained locals’ suggestion of an underground carpark, he now says it is beyond the diocese’s financial means, as it would cost over $6 million. He plans to make the whole site one level, building up the lower parts, as the diocese cannot meet Bunbury Council requirements any other way. There have also been delays finalising the site masterplan, re-zoning and the need to rationalise
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titles, so the priests’ house, parish centre and hall may begin before the cathedral. In the meantime, the diocesan office remains where it was as it was not affected by the tornado; the parish office has been run from the diocesan house; the priests are living together in the suburbs of Bunbury in a house the diocese rented; and for hall purposes, congregants are using St Mary’s church or the adjacent school. “So we’re really battling,” Bishop Holohan said in summing up the cathedral precinct’s functionality. The bishop also warned that the current escalating costs will continue according to professional advice, but said the diocese would be much worse off if the current site was sold
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Linda Watson, who runs Linda’s House of Hope which needs donations to keep its doors open, says prostitution laws need to be tightened, advising against legalising it.
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