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FROM THE CHILD: Cardinal Wilfrid Napier, in Perth for the Helder Camara lecture at Notre Dame, offered a solution to South Africa’s deepest problems VISTA 1
A RECORD WIN: Your Catholic paper recognised in Catholic awards Page 2
UN must reform
Vatican tells UN it’s time to respond to people’s real needs UNITED NATIONS (CNS) - The Vatican secretary of state called for institutional reform of the United Nations “that is attentive to the real demands of our peoples rather than to the balance of power” and supported the establishment of a Peace-Building Commission to help people heal after conflicts. Speaking on the last day of the September 14-16 summit of heads of state and government at UN headquarters in New York, Cardinal Angelo Sodano said “ordinary men and women, the many millions who constitute the ‘we the people’ of the UN charter,” are asking world leaders to “give us a modern institution, capable of taking resolutions and then enforcing them.” “This is an insistent appeal issued to us by men and women who are disheartened by promises made and not kept, resolutions adopted and not enforced,” the cardinal added. The high-level plenary session brought together leaders of more than 170 countries and resulted in a 35-page final statement that touched on terrorism, development issues, peace-building, human rights, the environment and health. “Much has been achieved in the service of humanity” since the United Nations was founded in 1945, Cardinal Sodano said. “Nevertheless, time has taken its toll upon this agency, as upon every human undertaking. It is now widely believed that the UN needs to be renewed, in response to the great challenges of the present day.” The leaders voted to establish the Peace-Building Commission, an idea that the cardinal said the Vatican supported as a way to Continued on Page 7
Bishop’s first task to teach: Benedict ■ By Cindy Wooden
CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy (CNS) - The first task of a bishop is to teach his people the Christian faith, helping them see that God loves each one of them and that he has revealed himself in Christ, Pope Benedict XVI told a group of new bishops. The 110 bishops, including five from Eastern Catholic churches, were appointed over the past year. They were in Rome for a course sponsored by the Congregation for Bishops and designed to give them practical information for dealing with their new responsibilities. Pope Benedict, who as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith had been one of the key speakers at the course in previous years, told the bishops it was important for the Vatican to offer them “an adequate reflection on the challenges and problems that await you.” Meeting the bishops on September 19 at his summer residence in Castel Gandolfo, the new Pope told the new bishops that their first task is to teach the faith. “Be ‘doctors of the faith,’ authentic doctors who proclaim with Christ’s authority the faith to be Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Vatican secretary of state, addresses the 2005 World Summit during the 60th General Assembly of the United Nations in New York on September 16. The summit’s agenda included world peace, human rights, development Photo: CNS aid and UN internal reforms.
Continued on Page 7 Also: Priests called to faith, love, prayer
$5 billion annual food waste: should we re-think our priorities? ■ By Mark Reidy
Runaway consumerism has been highlighted by the Australian Catholic bishops’ social justice lobby as a plague on the nation’s life. Old electrical appliances, still working but discarded in favour of the ‘latest’ and ‘best’ models is just one instance of the wastage char-
acteristic of consumerism’s blight, said the Australian Catholic Social Justice Council in the annually-produced statement. This year’s Social Justice Sunday statement, entitled “Jesus, Light for the World – Living the Gospel Today” was launched in Sydney on September 14. The statements are delivered each year for Social Justice Sunday
(September 25) to promote advocacy and action on social justice, peace and human rights issues in an effort to integrate them into the life of the Catholic community. The ACSJC was established in 1987 by the Australian Catholic Bishop’s Conference to provide the Church with a credible voice on these matters. Through the ACSJC the bishops
challenged the Church and wider society to think about where the real difference can be made. “If all of God’s creation is a gift, then where in our home, parishes, schools, workplaces and communities can we shine a light on the way we build, buy, use and discard things?” the statement asked. The statement instanced a study conducted by the Australia Institute
INDEX
IT’S FATHER OSCAR! The Servites celebrated their first ordination to the priesthood in 20 years when Bishop Quinn ordained Chilean migrant Oscar Aguilera last week.
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Perth Sudanese celebrate, pray The Family is the Future The World Reviews Classifieds
which found more than $10 billion was spent each year on products and services that were not used, including $5 billion on food that is ultimately thrown out. “If Australians were to undergo a health check,” the Bishops said, “we could well be diagnosed as suffering from the ravages of the disease of affluence.” Continued on Page 6
STOPPING AIDS DEAD - Page 3 - VISTA 4 - Pages 8-9 - Page 10
Sr Miriam Duggan, an architect in the first instance of an abstinence and fidelity campaign resulting in a dramatic national drop in HIV-AIDS infection, spoke in Perth recently.
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