Websites of the Week

Websites of the Week

http://www.ncregister.com National Catholic Register is a weekly American Catholic newspaper founded in 1927 in Denver and professing loyalty to the teaching of the Church. It website is a portal for Catholic news providing education and information on Catholics, the Church and faith. Not to be confused with another US based weekly publication and web portal, National Catholic Reporter. Today’s site is a bastion of conservative views. It has been strongly anti-Obama in the US presidential campaign.
http://zenit.org/article-24137?l=english Churches have created profiles on social networking sites such as Facebook or MySpace, as well as on Christian networking sites. Many churches now also have their own Internet pages, with video clips, podcasts and blogs. It's an indication of how important the Internet is today when it comes to evangelisation. A survey last year by the Pew Internet & American Life Project found that more people used the Internet to look for religious and spiritual information than to download music, participate in online auctions or visit adult web sites. Nevertheless, while it offers an enormous range of information it can also disregard values and can degrade human dignity. There is also a great need to protect children and families from the dangerous and destructive content available. - Zenit
http://wdtprs.com Rome based Fr John Zuhlsdorf blogs on this website. The moderator of the Catholic Online forum is noted for his black and white approach to Catholic doctrine and liturgical issues. His commentaries on this website don't lend themselves to ambiguity. Zuhlsdorf proudly labels himself a "slavishly accurate liturgical translator & frank commentator on Catholic issues."
http://marriage.cam.org.au This website focuses on Marriage and Relationship Education in the Archdiocese of Melbourne. It is an image rich site hosting material from the Archdiocese's Council for Marriage and the Family and the Centacare Melbourne agency. The Council component of the site in particular has resources and topical information on marriage preparation and enrichment programs, the Church's teaching on marriage and the process for Catholic weddings in the Archdiocese.
http://www.catholicmom.com CatholicMom.com is a US based website labelling itself as a proud celebration of Catholic motherhood. It promotes itself as a forum for sharing and learning about parenting and faith issues. It contains a blog, podcast and daily reflections and scripture readings but is also highly commercialised, highlighting among other ventures, its own store on Amazon.com
http://www.edmundrice.org October 1, 2008 marked the first anniversary of the Oceania Province of the Christian Brothers. It was formed from the amalgamation of the four Australian provinces and the New Zealand province as well as the regions of Papua New Guinea and the Philippines. It also includes the Cook Islands and East Timor. The province website has been revamped in recent times and includes a number of new features including a forum. It is currently displaying a message from Province Leader, Br Vince Duggan to Brothers, staff and supporters marking the first anniversary and urging them to follow the spirit of the Congregation's Chapter in Munnar, India earlier this year in forging a new identity for the order and its wider Edmund Rice Network.
www.bne.catholic.net.au The Diocese of Brisbane started with the colony of Queensland in 1859. It then covered the whole of Queensland, a vast diocese with few people. The first bishop, James Quinn, organised an immigration scheme which brought thousands of Irish, establishing the style of the Church for a century. This website has been created by the Brisbane Archdiocese to commemorate its forthcoming 150th anniversary. It provides a timeline and a short history of the archdiocese together with a collection of historical photographs. A bibliography is also included as is a list of celebratory events being planned.
http://www.socialjustice.catholic.org.au/. The Social Justice Sunday Statement from the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference is titled A Rich Young Nation: The Challenge of Affluence and Poverty in Australia.
http://www.mackillop.org.au MacKillop Family Services provides a wide range of specialist support services to some of Victoria's most vulnerable and disadvantaged children, young people and their families. It was formed in July 1997 as a refounding of seven child welfare organisations of the Sisters of Mercy, Christian Brothers and the Sisters of St Joseph. The organisation's website is one that could act as a model for other welfare agencies. It strikes a balance between an outline of its services, its history and traditions, its research and advocacy and its fundraising activities.
http://www.litcom.net.au This is the website of the Liturgical Commission of the Archdiocese of Brisbane. It is a liturgist's dream! The Commission's objectives are directed towards educating and consulting for the parishes of the Archdiocese and publishing liturgical resources for the Australian Church. The site shows how it is living out its goals. The site also contains the popular Liturgy Lines columns often featured in CathNews and other publications and written by the Commission's education officer, Elizabeth Harrington. An archive of these columns can be found on the site.
http://www.ucanews.com The Union of Catholic Asian News (UCAN) has been a bastion of Catholic news reporting in Asia since its founding in Hong Kong in 1979. Its mission has been to report news of interest to the growing Church in Asia. It provides a daily English language news service but also news and features reports in language such as Chinese, Indonesian and Vietnamese. Its Asia Focus newsletter is a round-up of reports about local Churches in the region.
http://www.ycw.org.au The Young Christian Worker (YCW) movement was considered by many social analysts to be the most significant cooperative development initiative in Australia since the end of World War II. Founded on the principles of Catholic Social Teaching, YCW is an international youth movement seeking to organise, educate and empower young people to be a positive change within their own lives and the community. Despite a struggle for its relevance and identity in recent decades, much good work is still happening. Its website shows the organisation is very much alive and relevant to today's youth with campaigns on community building, youth formation and just and meaningful work currently in progress.
http://www.adelaide.catholic.org.au/sites/OfficeforWorship/adult-catechumenate-rcia This website is a "sub-site" of the Adelaide archdiocese and belongs to its Office for Worship and in particular the adult catechumenate or RCIA program. A new feature on the site is the excellent brochure on Becoming a Catholic. It is both an invitation to others to begin the journey towards initiation into the Catholic Church but also a guide to some of the initial steps on that journey. It's an example of a complex issue being clearly communicated.
http://www.getreligion.org GetReligion.org was established in 2004 as a blog site by veteran religion journalists Douglas LeBlanc and Terry Mattingly frustrated by the lack of coverage matters of faith get in the mainstream media. As the site says "the press...just don't get religion". The site is a project of the Oxford Centre for Religion and Public Life based in the UK and its media project based in Washington DC.
From the creator of www.womeninthebible.com and www.bible-topten.com this website is a sub-site of the latter created specifically for World Youth Day. It's about young people in Bible stories, such as Jesus in the Temple, Jairus' 12 year old daughter and the young Samuel among several others.
http://www.catholicchurchtv.com Catholic Church Television Australia (CCTVA) is an office with the Australian Catholic Office for Film and Broadcasting. It is mandated to produce, schedule, administer and develop television programs for Aurora Community Television. Its main programming focus consists of a daily Mass for you at Home primarily offered for Catholics who would like to participate in the Catholic Eucharist, but are precluded from doing so because of distance, illness, disability or age. A documentary screens each week about the Church in Australia, an aspect of faith or spirituality, or an issue of social justice. The website is basic but features a valuable daily program guide.
http://misacor.org.au The Australian Province of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart have about 190 members and they are active in parishes, education, hospitals and other specialised ministries. This is a simple, yet descriptive and easy to follow website giving the reader a strong flavour of the charism of the order. The Heart of Christ is at the core of their spirituality and this is promoted through five of their spirituality centres across the country.
http://www.year of st paul.com With the Vatican-approved Year of St Paul having commenced, this website run by the Missionary Society of St Paul has all the information about the year available during the commemorations for the 2,000th anniversary of the birth of the great saint. The site also has numerous links to other activities occurring throughout the Pauline Year.
http://www.wydcrossmedia.org A Website uniting various media organizations and with the slogan "All in one, all for One" will enable those who will not travel to Australia for this summer's World Youth Day a chance to follow the event from home on the Net. During World Youth Day, it will provide free live coverage of some of the activities. "We decided to join forces and unite our goals," the site explains, "to provide better services to those who have the privilege of participating in World Youth Day, and especially for those who will follow it from home."
http://www.liturgyhelp.com is a commercial website offering a subscription based service for parishes, schools and other Church agencies for Lectionary based liturgical and catechetical resources. Its service claims to assist key ministries to better prepare for liturgy and catechetics. LiturgyHelp.com provides resources to individual ministers or a complete suite of web services to parish communities and ministry teams.
http://www.catholicenquiry.com CATHOLIC ENQUIRY CENTRE Many parishes utilise Catholic Enquiry Centre resources for those seeking information on the Catholic faith. Contact us at CEC if you’d like to find out more: 13004FAITH (1300-432-484) or email info@catholicenquiry.com
http://www.mglvocation.org Missionaries of God's Love (M.G.L.) have just launched a new website. They are a consecrated group of priests, brothers and sisters dedicated to sharing in the Church's mission. Visitors to the website can read about the MGL formation process, their mission work, prayers and upcoming events are also available. In his welcome to site visitors the Moderator of the Missionaries, Father Ken Barker explains that the MGL: "...story displayed in these pages is a testimony to the goodness of God. He takes weak instruments and uses them for his purposes." Remember these Sisters were here last year in September.
www.cathnews.com You are warmly invited to subscribe to CathNews online – which five days a week gathers all the important Catholic news from around Australia and the world. CathNews is the most frequently visited religious site in Australia. It helps us keep in touch. To receive it, go to the site above where you can subscribe free of charge.
http://www.erisj.org.au The Edmund Rice Institute for Social Justice is based in Fremantle, Western Australia and is the flagship social justice institute in that state. It is also one of the more prominent ministries of the new Oceania Province of the Christian Brothers. Its work can best be summarised under three headings: - an invitation for others to participate in social justice initiatives; skill development for social justice effectiveness; and ongoing advocacy and support for social justice work.
http://www.wydca.nsw.gov.au World Youth Day Coordination Authority from NSW. The time for registered pilgrims, visitors to, and residents of, Sydney to be making their detailed plans about how they are going to manage their way through the event. This website can assist because the World Youth Day Coordination Authority is responsible for coordinating the efforts across government to ensure the required government services support both a successful event and minimise disruption to the ordinary functioning of Sydney during the six days of the event. If nothing else, check out the transport and traffic information.
http://www.ronrolheiser.com This is the website of one of the best known Catholic priests in the western world. Fr Rolheiser is best known through his writings and lecturing on spirituality and prising open the Word in such a clear, beautiful and heart-inspiring style. The site hosts his weekly column which is also carried by over 60 publications world-wide.
www.beingfrank.co.nz Being Frank is a blog that provides a forum for conversation initiated by seven 20-something New Zealand Catholics who are rostered to write one entry each over a seven day period. It is an extension of the website run and operated by NZ Catholic newspaper, the national Catholic newspaper. Entries include a reflection on Monty Python as social critic.
www.projectrachel.org.au Project Rachel Australia is an international ministry offering healing retreats to those affected by abortion. The site offers pointers and stories for personal reflection.
http://www.divineword.com.au The Australian province of the Divine Word Missionaries has a rich and interesting history which parallels Australia's federation and our relationship with Papua New Guinea, an earlier missionary base for the order in the region. The Society of the Divine Word in Australia encompasses 65 missionary priests, brothers and seminarians from 19 different countries. The Australian province covers works in this country, New Zealand and Thailand. This website provides some excellent information on the order, its ministries, formation and its important "missionary dimensions".
www.faithtrip.net: Faithtrip.net is a new social networking site, launched this week in Sydney, for young Catholics. Founded by Church Resources, its aim is to establish a "virtual parish" that will connect the young faithful across the world. It has hopes to be a Catholic version of MySpace and Facebook. Faithtrip.net offers religious-themed blogs, videos, music and competitions in addition to discussion forums on everything "from climate change to sexuality". Any faith-based group or community is empowered to create their identities and share with each other as well as the universal Church.
http://www.abc.net.au/compass Compass, with Geraldine Doogue - Carrying the Cross this Sunday 6 April, 9:25pm. The world’s largest youth event, World Youth Day, is coming to Sydney in July. Since July 2007 six young Australian Catholics have been travelling around the country armed with a large wooden cross. Compass joined the pilgrims for one leg of their odyssey, from the Twelve Apostles on the Victorian coast to the outback plains of Hay in western NSW. We witness the ups and downs of the cross’s journey, and ask whether it has the power to transform young hearts and minds, and bring them into the church.
http://mp3pray.com If you can put up with the slightly annoying flashing prompts, this website contains a fair bit of gold in terms of the resources it offers to the Catholic community. Founded in Cairns in 1993 the site's goal is to establish and maintain online an Australian audio treasure of Catholic prayers. It provides downloadable recorded Catholic prayer webcasts covering a range of areas such as the individual mysteries of the Rosary and a weekly Sunday Mass webcast from St Monica's Cathedral in the northern Australian city.
http://www.h2onews.org is a Catholic news service on a worldwide scale that creates and distributes multimedia news on a daily basis in eight languages. The news focuses on the life of the Church and on social and cultural events that directly pertain to Catholics living in the world. H2onews was born during the First World Congress of Catholic Television in Madrid in October 2006, hosted by the Pontifical Council for Social Communications. It springs from the Pope’s request for World Communications Day in 2005 to use modern methods of communication for evangelisation and promoting peace and development.
www.catholicculture.org has been developed by the US-based Trinity Communications, who are also behind the influential international news service, Catholic World News (CWS). It was created to help individuals of all denominations and perspectives better understand the Catholic Faith. It has extensive resources and commentary about all things Catholic. A further feature of the site is its reviews of other Catholic web presences.
www.faithsing.com Faith Sing Christian Music. This site provides royalty-free contemporary Catholic music suitable for liturgical use, for free download. It includes sheet music as well as mp3 files. While it contains only a limited number of titles at this point, it does promise to expand its collection.
http://www.qcec.qld.catholic.edu.au The QCEC represents Queensland's five Diocesan education authorities and religious institute schools in the state. Its key mission is the coordination and advancement of Catholic education in Queensland. A key work of the Commission in recent times has revolved heavily around curriculum issues. It released a document Queensland Catholic Schools and Curriculum as an attempt to focus on a curriculum rooted in Catholic identity in response to increased government involvement in curriculum development.
www.bne.catholic.net.au/qbc Queensland Bioethics Centre The Queensland Bioethics Centre, as a sponsored agency of the Archdiocese of Brisbane, has a long and resource rich history of highlighting life issues. A key feature of its simple, yet effective website, is the capacity to search its online library.
www.ymgmovement.org Young Men of God Movement Fr Ken Barker, the leader of the Missionaries of God’s Love, sensed a call to initiate a movement with young men while he was praying in Assisi in the year 2000. YMG has now developed its initial football evenings into prayer nights, formation weekends and an annual conference. The group has grown and established itself in Sydney, Wollongong and more recently in Melbourne.
bne.catholic.net.au/opc This website for Pastoral Councils in the Archdiocese of Brisbane is useful for pastoral councils everywhere. The FAQ deals with questions of practicality and philosophy - such as finding the most suitable new members, and the role of a council. There is also information on Cecilia Anning's Handbook for Parish Councils, which is now in its third edition.
www.catholicgiftshop.com.au Catholic Gift Shop Kamahl has recorded a CD of best loved Catholic hymns and songs of inspiration especially for the Catholic Weekly. The 20 track album is now on sale at the paper's online gift shop, with proceeds in aid of Vinnies' Christmas Appeal. Tracks include Ave Maria, Faith of Our Fathers, and Prayer of St Francis. Other CDs available in the gift shop include Sister Janet Mead's A Time to Sing.
www.caritas.org.au Caritas Australia The Catholic Agency for International Aid and Development Toll Free 1800 024 413. Whenever or wherever disaster occurs Caritas Australia can respond almost immediately. Caritas works through local partners, to provide emergency relief including food, clothing, housing and medical attention to those who need it most.
www.memorare.com Online Nativity is a set of images set to St Luke's account of the birth of Jesus. Each of the five pages contains a sentence of the text and an image which speaks to the text. The pages are an aid to meditating on the nativity story.
www.catholicmission.org.au Catholic Mission Gift Registry Catholic Mission has just launched its online Gift Registry, just in time for Christmas. It offers gifts from $20 to help children, communities and churches around the world. The 50 'gifts' include a contribution to a meals program in Haiti to fight malnutrition for $35, support a catechist in the Philippines for $40, or help towards the restoration of a seminary in Burkina Faso for $20.
www.jesusischristmas.info Jesus is Christmas Festival 2007 Organised by the Archbishop's Office for Evangelisation, the Jesus IS Christmas mission is designed to put Christ back into Christmas in the Melbourne CBD. It originated in 2005, out of frustration that the decorations and messages offered in the city were devoid of any religious reference. The launch began with the location of the nativity scene in the City Square.
www.walkingwithlove.org.au Walking With Love is an initiative of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference. It aims to educate all people of goodwill, on how to walk with love and gentleness in their encounter with vulnerable pregnant women and those who suffer the effects of an abortion. Through education and dialogue, it seeks to foster closer working relationships and support for women, their husbands or partners, families, friends, parishes, service providers, professionals, and pro-life groups.
www.edmundrice.org.au/ Edmund Rice Oceania - at the beginning of October, the six Christian Brothers' Provinces of Australia and the region combined to form the Oceania Province. It is gradually taking shape, with the Province administration located at Nudgee in Brisbane. The website includes a YouTube video tour of the Province Centre, including the offices, personnel and bush surrounds.
www.cwla.org.au Catholic Women's League Australia 'Living the faith of our mothers' is the proclamation of the website's banner. The organisation is about friendship, involvement, and participation in the issues that make a difference to this world at a local, national and global level. The site includes position papers on issues such as human trafficking and euthanasia.
abc.net.au/theabbey Last Sunday, ABC TV screened the third and final episode of its series The Abbey, which followed five ordinary Australian women as they spent 33 days and nights living the life of an enclosed Benedictine nun. The series lives on at the website, where a highlight is the forum, which included observers - 'Fantastic, you are angels' - and those moved to act - 'I would like to learn how to listen to God'
www.envisionchurch.org EnVision Church is about people involved in building or renovating places of worship, commissioning artwork or planning liturgical ministries will be interested in this new online resource from the Georgetown Centre for Liturgy. A forum to explore the relationship among art, architecture, liturgy and spirituality in the Catholic tradition, this site will regularly spotlight artists and architects who have created noteworthy sacred spaces.
sao.clriq.org.au/refresh_australia Social Action Office - Refresh Australia This is the election year campaign on the Social Action Office of the Catholic Religious of Queensland, aiming to 'add values' to three main policy issues - climate change, the future of Indigenous Australia, and Industrial Relations. There are briefing papers, and practical 'actions' such as participation in the Walk Against Warming to be held in most states on 11 November.
www.catholicmission.org.au Catholic Mission is the Australian arm of the Catholic Church’s global mission aid agency in a worldwide network known as the Pontifical Mission Societies. It has a special website for this Sunday's World Mission Day. There are different sections designed for use in schools and parishes. Specific needs that are highlighted include the provision of water tanks and the building of churches.
http://www.avaaz.org/en/stand_with_burma/tf.php?cl_tf_sign=1 to sign an online petition in support of the ordinary people of Burma. We encourage you to take a stand for justice and democracy in Burma.
catholicireland.net/talk2god This is a prayer website from Ireland for children aged 4-11. It extends the pray-at-computer concept the Irish Jesuits began a decade ago with Sacred Space. It's personalised, and contains readings adapted from scripture, and 'Stop for a moment' reflections such as: 'Think of the many people in the world who have too little food' following the story of the feeding of the 5000.
www.vinnies.org.au/youth Vinnies Youth The St Vincent de Paul Society was founded by a 20 year old student named Frederic Ozanam. Vinnies Youth is a broad term to encompass all ages and groups of volunteers including Young Adults, Young Vinnies (High School and Colleges) and Mini Vinnies (Primary Schools). Activities include buddy days, school holiday camps, homework tutoring, and juvenile detention centre visits. The website is from Western Australia, but Vinnies Youth is active in all states.
www.unigre.it /newbiblio Pontifical Gregorian University The website of the Pontifical Gregorian University Library in Rome specialises in a number of key subject areas relating to the disciplines the University teaches. This website, in English and Italian, allows free access to its online catalogue and contains a brief overview of the library's history.
www.family-eu.org FAFCE Represents, through its members, some 11 million families, this federation of Catholic family associations in Europe believes that marriages and families ''are indispensable, and have no alternatives''. Its website offers the association's newsletter for download as well as documents and position statements.
electronicscribbler.blogspot.com Electronic Scribbles is a blog of a young, articulate, self-confessed ''coffee addict'' who reads academic essays during his spare time. He's also Caritas Australia's coordinator for World Youth Day. He blogs on just about anything from the pleasure of lunching on a four-dollar pizza to the meaning of "World" in "World Youth Day". His latest entry reflects on different approaches to tackling Indigenous poverty.
www.sao.org.au/refresh australia The Social Action Office of the Catholic Religious of Queensland has launched a election year campaign which aims to ''add values'' to discussions over three main policy issues - climate change, Indigenous Australia and industrial relations. The campaign website hosts policy briefing papers and lists a number of practical ''actions'' for interested Catholics.
www.soulart.com.au This is an exhibition of artworks ''from the souls of kids under the care of MacKillop Family Services.'' The project is a way to help kids express themselves, says its website. The site contains an online gallery of some of the works as well as upcoming exhibition dates and venues.
catholicvocation.org.au National Vocations Awareness Week offers an opportunity to give thanks for those who have answered the ''call to holiness''. The Melbourne archdiocese's vocations website, a sister site of melbournepriest.com, contains information about Religious women and men, diocesan priesthood, the permanent diaconate and the vocation of marriage. It offers a number of vocation prayers useful for this week.
jci-wyd2008.blogspot.com WYD08 Journey of the Cross and Icon accompanied by the Indigenous Message Stick have bid farewell to NSW for now and are currently in the Toowoomba diocese in Queensland. This ''blog'' allows you to follow the Cross' movement as it makes its way through every diocese in Australia. There is also an online itinerary to check when the WYD symbols will visit your area.
butterflymusic.com.au Butterfly Music is the website of Catholic singer-songwriter Andrew Chinn who recently released his fourth CD, ''Many Roads, One Journey''. The site says that his performances are ''celebrations of faith and fun through singing, actions''. The artist has provided some of his songs for download as well as an itinerary of his scheduled concerts and workshops.
www.pewsitter.com Despite the name, creators of this US website wants to offer a forum for lay Catholics to take stands on issues relevant to the universal church. The site provides aggregated news headlines and a few original stories to keep the lay faithful informed of developments in the church. Users are also encouraged to submit news, opinions and events details.
sandamianofoundation.org Radical US Jesuit peace activist Fr John Dear, who recently toured Australia, is featured in the latest documentary produced by the San Damiano Foundation. The group makes films that showcase Franciscan spirituality and its concern for justice, peace and non-violence. Film clips and a trailer of ''The Narrow Path'' can be viewed from this site as well as information on nearly a dozen other films.
www.prayerpatterns.com.au Something exciting has just been launched. We are pleased to announce the launch of a new online website for parishes and schools. It provides you with daily prayers; powerful PowerPoint presentations (songs, hymns); and a variety of prayer, liturgy and ritual resources. If you subscribe before Friday 3 August 2007, a special $195.00 introductory offer for 12 months will apply. You'll be amazed at how Prayer Patterns can enhance liturgy and prayer within your community.
micahchallenge.org.au Now is ''half time'' for the Millennium Development Goals of halving global poverty by 2015. This ecumenical anti-poverty advocacy network is encouraging schools and churches to mark 7 July 2007, dubbed ''07:07:07'', at their sporting events. You'll find plenty of anti-poverty resources and practical suggestions on this site. There's also an online version of the group's Create to Advocate 07 art prize exhibition.
www.bibleplaces.com From Galilee to Antioch, a biblical historian living in Israel, Todd Bolen, has combined his love of the bible with photography to produce a series of photo CDs of Holy Land places. This website features descriptions along with hundreds of photos of significant biblical sites. There is also a blog and newsletter with a focus on history and archaeology.
www.trinityshawls.com Knit-to-Pray may be hip to knit these days but for one group in the US, it's also spiritually nourishing. As the eco-friendly craze returns to the big cities, Trinity Shawls, the group behind this website, is also urging women to knit for meditation and prayer. The site offers scripture-inspired shawl patterns and knitting kits for purchase, just in time for our winter.
www.catholicmissions.org.au PROPAGATION OF THE FAITH APPEAL: This weekend there will be a collection at all Masses for the Catholic Missions, Propagation of the Faith Appeal. Catholic Mission partners supports local churches and communities in troubled and hardship areas having to cope with extreme poverty, dramatic climate change, AIDS, harassment from military dictatorships and extremists. Please prayerfully consider this appeal.
pinegapontrial.blogspot.com Pine Gap on Trial Supporters of the Pine Gap 4 Christian peace activists, who are currently facing trial accused of breaking into a US spy base, has set up this blog with photos and updates of their activities in Alice Springs. The latest entries show photos of a liturgy being celebrated in front of the Pine Gap base and also of protesters scaling a fence in an attempt to conduct another ''citizen's inspection'' of the top secret facility.
www.worldpriest.com You can now be a card carrying Catholic - literally. This website offers credit card size Catholic ''identity cards'' for purchase with funds raised going to support the site. The card reads: ''I am a Catholic. In the event of an accident or emergency please contact a priest''. The website is designed to support priests worldwide. It includes clergy formation materials, health information, spiritual direction and Vatican news and documents.
www.campfire.net.au Campfire - unlike Cannes, you don't have to travel half way around the world to see this film festival. A short film ''festival'' dedicated to stimulating discussions on faith and spirituality, Campfire can be viewed any time from home. The first festival opened online in February with five films and two essays. This Australian site is currently accepting submissions for the second show.
www.eyouth.com.au The Emmanuel Covenant Community's youth ministry is a busy group, judging from its website. It is involved in a number of activities, including Youth Arise, an international gathering planned for Brisbane prior to the World Youth Day. It also hosts weekly prayer and discussion groups and runs music and drama programs. The site offers a couple of desktop wallpapers for download and lists upcoming events.
www.matercare.org - MaterCare International Maitland-Newcastle Diocese is organising a big day out for women tomorrow to help celebrate Mother's Day. Besides the opportunity to dabble in a bit of tai chi, dancing and wine tasting, the event will raise money for this association of Catholic obstetricians, gynaecologists and midwives. According to the group's website, it is dedicated to improving the lives of mothers and children around the world. It currently runs health programs in Ghana, Kenya and Rwanda.
www.romereports.tv Rome Reports is a television news agency that reports on news from the Vatican and is now broadcasting online through broadband television. According to a Zenit announcement, the agency says it does not report religious news, but ''political, social and economic news from the Vatican's point of view.'' For a few weeks, visitors with broadband internet will be able to view the program for free.
www.vinnies.org.au Vinnies World Youth Day The Vinnies have recently launched a website with information on their World Youth Day plans. They include a series of 30-minute warm-up programs for local groups in the lead up to the major event. Keep an eye on the site over the coming months as they promise to upload more resources, photos and information.
www.yucan.org.au -YUCAN This is a Sydney-based group for Catholic young adults in their 20s and 30s. It runs several programs such as Dialogue, a forum for young people, Talking Table, a monthly discussion at various venues about spirituality and social issues over dinner, and Branches, a 10-week course on life and faith from a Catholic perspective. This website has details of its next course, which begins next Tuesday at St Patrick's in Church Hill.
www.sjweb.info/sjs Jesuit Social Justice Secretariat The website of the Jesuit General Curia's Social Justice Secretariat was revamped last month with the promise of regularly updated news. The Secretariat has in the past provided excellent coverage of the annual World Social Forum. Images from the Nairobi Forum are displayed on the homepage. The site published a ''message of hope'' from the Zimbabwean bishops stating that ''God is always on the side of the oppressed''.
www.catholicholyland.com Catholic Holy Land Pilgrimage website offers traditional Catholic pilgrimages to the Holy Land, catering mostly for Americans. Your guide through Israel is Christopher Cross, a member of the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre from New York. His website features a wonderful collection of photos and short videos of holy sites as well as travel tips and an image gallery of his latest tour.
make-aid-work.org/english Make Aid Work This is the website of a campaign launched by Catholic development agencies targeting rich countries with a message to "make aid work" for poverty reduction rather than the benefit of donor countries. The site lists the campaign's demands. There are downloadable petition sheets and posters for your use and a form to register your support.
www.interchurchfamilies.org With all the talk about moves towards Christian unity, one significant portion of the Christian population is already living it. Canadian Catholic Ray Temmerman who, with his Anglican wife Fenella, manages this site which brings together various international associations of interchurch families. With contacts in Australia, this movement supports couples that belong to different denominations. The site contains a large collection of publications, conference papers and news reports.
vincentians.org.au/wyd - Vincentian WYD. The Vincentian World Youth Day website contains information about the Vincentian Family's WYD program. The site hosts the first issue of Vin-Views, the monthly newsletter about their program, which will take place in the NSW regional town of Bathurst immediately prior to next year's WYD. According to the newsletter, the proposed Vincentian event will have a strong focus on the ''Australian story'' which, surely enough, will include a bush dance.
www.cosdu.blogspot.com Catholic Overseas Students Down Under For most first year students, starting university is a daunting time. So spare a thought for overseas students who face both homesickness and the need to adjust to a new culture. Since the 1980s, this Melbourne University-based student group has provided social and spiritual support for hundreds of international Catholic students. The group's website contains a photo gallery of the recent orientation day, reports from last year's graduation as well as testimonies from two grateful graduates.
bne.catholic.net.au/fwi The Brisbane archdiocese has produced some excellent web resources in recent months and this site is no exception. Focus on Welcome Inclusion This Ministry and Community Life project hosts a collection of practical tools to support communities to become welcoming and inclusive. These include stories, bulletin inserts, and reflection questions on such topics as ''supporting people with disability'' and ''to be Catholic is to be an ecumenist''. The site invites contributions of stories and ideas.
www.creighton.edu/ CollaborativeMinistry/Lent Praying Lent
Hosted by the Jesuits at Creighton University, this website offers resources to assist you pray and reflect during Lent. It offers a simply daily prayer for each day of Lent and Easter. It also has a link to the readings of the day, a brief meditation, a link to a daily reflection and Intercessions from the Liturgy of the Hours. Each daily prayer concludes with a spontaneous prayer by the website author, as an example of the type of prayer each of us might pray, in our own words, for that day.
vision vocation-network.org Vision '07 is a US website, set up to ''help you discern your life's calling'', and is the religious' answer to internet dating and employment websites. Instead of helping you to find the perfect date, it features a tool to help ''match you with compatible religious communities, institutes, or organisations.'' The tool comes complete with an animated, talking brother or nun to guide you through the process.
www.ausdeacons.org - The permanent diaconate, restored in 1972 by Pope Paul VI as a separate rank in ordained ministry, focuses on caring for people who are marginalised by society. According to Outlook, there are about 80 deacons in Australia and 25 were to be ordained in 2006. This website from the Australian bishops contains one of the best resources to find out more about this growing ministry.
www.nativespirit.com.au - Native Spirit Combining her love for Canadian and Australian indigenous art, Linda McNeil of Maitland-Newcastle diocese has created a website featuring paintings by indigenous artists from both countries. The Australian section features Richard Campbell whose striking series of 14 Stations of the Cross paintings hang at Reconciliation Church in Sydney's La Perouse. Along with other paintings, reproductions of this series are available for purchase.
Edmund Rice Centre- www.erc.org.au This Sydney-based social justice centre sponsored by the Christian Brothers has returned from the Christmas break with a new face-lift to its website. The site lists the centre's numerous projects, which range from Indigenous reconciliation, to campaigning against organ harvesting in China, to its well-known study into the fate of deported asylum seekers. The group's series of newsletters and briefing papers provide an excellent summary of current justice issues.
St Brigid’s Parish – Marrickville – www.stbrigid.org.au St Brigid's in Sydney's inner suburb of Marrickville has been in Passionist hands since the late 1880s. Today it is one of the most multicultural parishes in Australia. This website features information about Marrickville's diverse community, the parish's history and staff.
Terry Monagle – www.mongale.net.au A former union advocate and negotiator, Terry Monagle now writes and talks about spirituality. His website features a timely reflection on the fire season in south-eastern Australia which he says is ''the Australian way of transformation, of resurrection.'' According to his personal website, he is currently ''stalking'' Fr Bob Maguire in preparation for a biography of the Melbourne parish priest.
www.nunstories.com - Don't Chew Jesus The authors of this new book from the US have collected hundreds of "light-hearted and nostalgic" nun stories of the baby-boomer generation. The subjects covered, according to their website, range from habits and devotion to discipline, pranks, and the always-dicey sex education. Featuring a brief book excerpt, the site also invites visitors to share their own nun stories for a forthcoming book.
www.famvin.org/wiki Vincentian Encyclopedia The open publishing software Wiki has spawned thousands of online collaborative projects, including some Catholic ones. Established in May last year, this website from the Vincentian Family is one of the more active Catholic projects online. It aims to create an encyclopaedia and dictionary of all things Vincentian. Like its famous cousin, Wikipedia, any registered user can edit any page.
coloradocatholicherald.com Pornography and Sex Addiction The Colorado Catholic Herald this week features a special 12-page ''lift out'' section on the effect pornography and sex addiction can have on family life. Available in PDF for easy printing, the resources are designed to help people deal with the issue and include such topics as ''Stories from men who struggle'' and ''A parent's battle''.
www.micahchallenge.org.au Micah Challenge is a Christian campaign supported by Protestant and Catholic groups working in support of the UN's Millennium Development Goals to reduce global poverty. The website features practical resources for Christians wanting to know more about the campaign, including the latest events being organised to coincide with the G20 meeting in Melbourne this weekend.
www.theemmausseries.com - The Emmaus Series A new resource to assist Catholics to deepen their understanding of their faith was launched last month. Produced over the past five years, this Series is a collection of DVD lectures given by Marist Fr John Thornhill. The Series' website itself is thick with resources, including summaries of the topics covered as well as Fr Thornhill's Sunday reflections, organised by liturgical year.
www.projecthome.org Project HOME Rock legend Jon Bon Jovi and former US President Bill Clinton recently teamed up with this organisation co-founded by the Mercy Sisters to provide affordable, ''eco-friendly'' homes to first-time homebuyers in the US state of Philadelphia. According to the Project's website, the organisation's mission is to ''empower persons to break the cycle of homelessness and poverty.''
northsydneyparish.catholicau.com - North Sydney Parish The Jesuit North Sydney-Lavender Bay-Kirribilli parish is the subject of a newly published book by historian Greg Dening. According to a recent review, the book, published to mark the parish's sesquicentenary year, tells the living history of ordinary believers during 50 years of unprecedented change in the Church. Its regularly updated website provides a good snapshot of parish life today.
catholicmom.com/puppet.htm Catholic Mom Puppet Show Ministry This is the Puppet Show Ministry of Catholic writer Lisa Mladinich. The site offers puppet show scripts to families and teachers. The script themes include the Church's liturgical calendar, gospel values, virtues, saints, the sacraments and vocations. Available in PDF, they can be downloaded and performed for free.
www.vinnies.org.au St Vincent de Paul Society The Vinnies yesterday launched its new-look national website. While the content remains essentially the same, the site now looks a whole lot better with a clearer presentation more fitting for this national institution. You can still make secure online donations for the state office of your choice via this site.
www.thesimpleway.org The Simple Way This is a US movement of mostly young evangelical Christians and Catholics who are dedicated to taking the Gospel literally: "choose to love each other ... again and again". They call themselves the New Monastics. Taking their cue from fifth century desert mystics, they believe Christianity is being seduced by the new Romans: the American empire. This website details their philosophy, activities and structure.
www.restorejustice.com Restore Justice A new website has put the real stories of crime victims, offenders and their families on the same site. Supported by the US bishops, the site was created to promote "restorative justice" from a Gospel perspective - the process of "making everyone involved in crime whole again - victims, perpetrators, and the community," the site says. More information and resources on restorative justice are also found on this site.
www.educationforjustice.org - Education for Justice Looking for resources on Catholic Social Teaching but don't know where to start? An initiative of the Center of Concern, this site lists dozens of justice topics and is regularly updated with current issues. Its enormous database offers downloadable and print-ready materials for educational use. However, an annual subscription is required to access the best parts of the site.
www.taize.fr/en Taize Community from Taize in Burgundy, France, is the home of an international, ecumenical monastic community, founded in 1940 by Br Roger Schutz. Famous for its unique style of meditative worship music, it is visited by thousands of young people each week. The community's website features information about these gatherings and downloadable mp3 samples.
www.jrs.net - Jesuit Refugee Service was initiated in 1980 by the legendary Jesuit Pedro Arrupe in response to the massive post-war exile of Vietnamese boat people. JRS now serves refugees from around the world in over 50 countries including Australia. Its revamped international website is a massive mine of information in four languages on the situation of displaced people around the world. Subscribe to Dispatches for fortnightly updates from the field.
www.educationforjustice.org Education for Justice Looking for resources on Catholic social teaching but don't know where to start? An initiative of the Centre of Concern, this site lists dozens of justice topics and is regularly updated with current issues. Its enormous database offers downloadable and print-ready materials for educational use. However, an annual subscription is required to access the best parts of the site.
www.nla.gov.au - NLA Digital Collections The National Library of Australia's website has a searchable catalogue of its digitised pictorial collection. Currently available is a good collection of Catholic-related contemporary and historical photos. Some of the fascinating black and white photos include Pope Paul VI's visit in 1970 and Australia's first televised Mass celebrated by Cardinal Norman Gilroy in 1968. Search for "catholic" in subject to browse.
ncrcafe.org - Humans are relational beings and good conversation goes to the heart of our humanity and our faith, Fr Michael Whelan said recently. Good conversation is the principle behind this discussion board, launched this week by the respected lay-operated National Catholic Reporter. If the success of our own discussion board - now in its fifth year - is any indication, we could expect robust conversations from our American friends as more people log on.
www.sosj.org.au/mary - Blessed Mary MacKillop This Tuesday is the feast day of Blessed Mary MacKillop, who died in 1909 at Mount St, North Sydney. Thousands of pilgrims are again expected to visit Mary MacKillop Place with Masses planned throughout the day. Hosted by the Josephites, this website recounts Mary's inspirational story, features updates of her canonisation process, and details her feast day program.
caritas.org.lb - Caritas Lebanon As the crisis in the Middle East spirals out of control, Caritas Lebanon staff and volunteers are on the ground to help over 70,000 civilians displaced by the conflict. Its website features an interactive map of the Caritas network in Lebanon and links to the latest news on the situation. The stories are in French and occasionally English with accompanying images of Caritas staff in action. Caritas Australia state contacts are by phoning 1800 024 413 or posting to GPO Box 9830 in Brisbane.
Apostleship of the Sea- www.stellamaris.net This is the international website of the Church's outreach to the seafarers. In almost every country, it is the task of the Apostleship of the Sea to offer pastoral care to all those who live from seafaring and fishing, their dependents and communities. Click on the interactive world map for a full list of offices and Stella Maris Centres in Australia and around the world.
catholicmusicexpress.com The Catholic Music Express Debuting this week is this one-hour Pennsylvania-based podcast show featuring contemporary Catholic music, interviews, news and moments of inspiration. Professionally-produced, it is available free online to listen or for use on radio stations. This week's show features John Michael Talbot, Nancy Krebs and award-winning fiddler Natalie MacMaster.
www.culturalcatholic.com This site has been online since 2003 with regular Catholic news from around the world. News and images are displayed on a single page. The site's content is plentiful and up-to-date but visitors will stumble to find what they want with its awkward navigation. It is worth digging up the site's many Catholic facts and features.
www.catholichistory.net While writing on US Catholic history, author Kevin Schmiesing discovered significant amount of information on the topic on the web. He is planning to collect and organise the information through his new website, Catholichistory.net. Still relatively undeveloped, the website attempts to organise information by important people, places and events.
www.womeninthebible.net- Women in the Bible. This website looks at a range of women mentioned in the Bible. Each entry includes illustrations, suggested activities and questions for reflection. Originally a reprint of a 1997 book of the same title, author Elizabeth Fletcher has recently added a section debunking the idea popularised by The Da Vinci Code that Mary Magdalene was married to Jesus.
www.oer.org.au CREDO - according to the Catholic Weekly only a fraction of Catholics regularly attend mass. The challenge to reach out to the bulk of Catholics in Sydney who are inactive has been entrusted to the Catholic Renewal and Evangelisation Diocesan Office. Its website is currently appealing for volunteers interested in engaging in "new evangelisation" through door-knocks and at shopping centres.
www.pray-as-you-go.org - Pray-as-you-go. You can now permanently turn your day into a cathedral of prayer and meditation. A pilot project for Lent offering prayer MP3s and podcasts has proved so popular that it is now to be offered as a permanent service. These ten-minute daily prayer sessions use music, a reading from scripture and some questions for reflection.
www.teenstarprogram.org Teen STAR is a secondary school sexual abstinence program. Its website claims that over 90 per cent of virgins remained 'uninvolved' during the year-long program while 30-65 per cent of 'previously involved' students stopped. Teen STAR is holding its first training workshop in Australia from June. Their site features a copy of the program's exit questionnaire given to participating teens.
www.eurekastreet.com.au Eureka Street Australia's favourite magazine on spirituality and culture, Eureka Street, enters a new era. After 15 years in print, it has officially embraced what editor Michael Mullins calls the "rapid-fire online medium". With a sleek functional design, its first web-only edition carries stories about Iran's nuclear ambitions, Aboriginal land rights, and the condom debate.
www.thetruthdecoded.org.au Carnivale Christi has launched its response to The Da Vinci Code in time for the film's worldwide release today. This site is a collection of articles and media files debunking the book's claims. It adds to the growing collection of Christian web resources on the topic. Although the film attracted lukewarm responses yesterday at Cannes, strong interest from both critics and fans will ensure that it becomes one of this season's blockbusters.
www.pray-as-you-go.com British Jesuit Fr Peter Scally, who created the renowned Sacred Space prayer site some years ago, is offering daily prayer audio on a trial basis. The idea is to provide downloads and podcasts of daily prayer in MP3 audio for people travelling to work. The recordings use music and scripture, and separate files