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News Archive
» New pressure over faith schools in England
Published 09/2/2008
BBC News reported on 31st August that Ministers are being urged to stop faith schools in England selecting pupils and staff on the basis of their religion.
Accord, a new coalition of secular and religious figures, wants the government to stop state-funded schools engaging in what they say is "discrimination".
It argues that all children should have equal access to good local schools and that segregating them on religious grounds harms community cohesion.
Read this article on how "Faith schools work".
 read more
» CPD Catalogue
Published 08/25/2008
You can download a copy of the SCES 'Faith & Teaching CPD Catalogue' for session 2008-09 by clicking here.
» Advice on HPV Immunisation
Published 08/18/2008
This is the advice on the national HPV Immunisation programme which has been provided to Catholic secondary schools by the Scottish Catholic Education Service:
VACCINATION AGAINST CERVICAL CANCER
The Scottish Government has decided to introduce a national immunisation programme which is intended to reduce the risk of cervical cancer for girls and young women. From September 2008 all 13-17 year old girls will be offered a vaccine to protect them against the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) which causes 70% of the cases of cervical cancer.
HPV is spread by intimate skin-to-skin contact during sexual activity. Most women will be infected with HPV at some point in their lives without knowing it, as there are usually no symptoms. Most of the time, the virus does not cause cancer because the body’s immune system clears it up, but not always.
It should be noted that HPV vaccination does not provide protection against other sexually transmitted infections; nor is it a contraceptive.
Parents and teachers can be confident that the moral teachings of the Catholic Church support the use of vaccination to prevent disease. With the consent of their parents, young people can be protected from infection before the time when they are most vulnerable to sexual pressure and to the dangers of non-consensual sex.
Vaccination against the disease should not be seen as any sort of encouragement to promiscuity. Head Teachers of Catholic schools should ensure that any information and advice provided by Health agencies about this or any other programme is appropriate in the context of the school’s ethos, values and moral teaching.
Of course, the only 100% effective way of avoiding the dangers of HPV and other sexually transmitted infections is to abstain from sexual activity before marriage and to remain faithful to your spouse within marriage. The HPV immunisation programme provides an opportunity for parents to discuss with their children - boys as well as girls - the virtues of chastity and fidelity and the meaning of marriage. Opportunities for such discussions are provided within the context of the ‘Called to Love’ programme which has been developed for Catholic secondary schools.
» The Pope speaks to young people at World Youth Day
Published 07/20/2008
At various events organised as part of the World Youth Day celebrations in Sydney, Pope Benedict XVI delivered some key messages to young people as they face up to challenges of modern life:
Choose the path of life and shun the path of death
Let us pray for the resolve to nurture unity
"You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you" (Acts 1:8).
On God's Marriage Proposal
» "If you wish to remain young, seek Christ", Pope tells young people
Published 07/15/2008
ZENIT provides the the text of the message Benedict XVI wrote ahead of his trip to Australia to the people of the nation and the young pilgrims who will take part in World Youth Day, to be held in Sydney from July 15 to 20, 2008.
* * *
"You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you: and you will be my witnesses" (Act 1:8)
The grace and peace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you! In a few days from now, I shall begin my Apostolic Visit to your country, in order to celebrate the Twenty-Third World Youth Day in Sydney. I very much look forward to the days that I shall spend with you, and especially to the opportunities for prayer and reflection with young people from all over the world.
First of all, I want to express my appreciation to all those who have offered so much of their time, their resources and their prayers in support of this celebration. The Australian Government and the Provincial Government of New South Wales, the organizers of all the events, and members of the business community who have provided sponsorship – all of you have willingly supported this event, and on behalf of the young people taking part in the World Youth Day, I thank you most sincerely. Many of the young people have made great sacrifices in order to undertake the journey to Australia, and I pray that they will be rewarded abundantly. The parishes, schools and host families have been most generous in welcoming these young visitors, and they too deserve our thanks and our appreciation.
"You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you: and you will be my witnesses" (Act 1:8). This is the theme of the Twenty-Third World Youth Day. How much our world needs a renewed outpouring of the Holy Spirit! There are still many who have not heard the Good News of Jesus Christ, while many others, for whatever reason, have not recognized in this Good News the saving truth that alone can satisfy the deepest longings of their hearts. The Psalmist prays: "when you send forth your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth" (Ps 104:30). It is my firm belief that young people are called to be instruments of that renewal, communicating to their peers the joy they have experienced through knowing and following Christ, and sharing with others the love that the Spirit pours into their hearts, so that they too will be filled with hope and with thanksgiving for all the good things they have received from our heavenly Father.
Many young people today lack hope. They are perplexed by the questions that present themselves ever more urgently in a confusing world, and they are often uncertain which way to turn for answers. They see poverty and injustice and they long to find solutions. They are challenged by the arguments of those who deny the existence of God and they wonder how to respond. They see great damage done to the natural environment through human greed and they struggle to find ways to live in greater harmony with nature and with one another.
Where can we look for answers? The Spirit points us towards the way that leads to life, to love and to truth. The Spirit points us towards Jesus Christ. There is a saying attributed to Saint Augustine: "If you wish to remain young, seek Christ". In him we find the answers that we are seeking, we find the goals that are truly worth living for, we find the strength to pursue the path that will bring about a better world. Our hearts find no rest until they rest in the Lord, as Saint Augustine says at the beginning of the Confessions, the famous account of his own youth. My prayer is that the hearts of the young people who gather in Sydney for the celebration of World Youth Day will truly find rest in the Lord, and that they will be filled with joy and fervour for spreading the Good News among their friends, their families, and all whom they meet.
Dear Australian friends, although I will only be able to spend a few days in your country, and I will not be able to travel outside Sydney, my heart reaches out to all of you, including those who are sick or in difficulties of any kind. On behalf of all the young people, I thank you again for your support of my mission and I ask you to continue praying for them especially. It remains only for me to renew my invitation to the young people from all over the world to join me in Australia, the great "southern land of the Holy Spirit". I look forward to seeing you there! May God bless you all.
BENEDICTUS PP. XVI
© Copyright 2008 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana
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» Guided by love - portrait of a young Catholic
Published 07/15/2008
A young Catholic lawyer writes in the Sydney Morning Herald on the eve of World Youth Day to "aopologise" for her Catholic faith.
read more
» Pope Benedict - Is Religion in crisis?
Published 07/15/2008
ZENIT reports on comments made by Pope Benedict XVI to journalists as he travelled to Australia for Wordl Youth Day:
"The Western world has had in the last 50 years great successes -- economic successes, technical successes; yet religion -- Christian faith -- is in a certain sense in crisis. This is clear because there is the impression that we do not need God, we can do all on our own, that we do not need God to be happy, we do not need God to create a better world, that God is not necessary, we can do all by ourselves.
On the other hand we see that religion is always present in the world and will always be present because God is present in the heart of the human being and can never disappear. We see how religion is really a force in this world and in countries. I would not simply speak about a decline of religion in Europe: Certainly there is a crisis in Europe, not so much in America but nevertheless there too, and in Australia.
But on the other hand, there's always a presence of the faith in new forms, and in new ways; in the minority, perhaps, but always present for all the society to see. And now in this historical moment, we begin to see that we do need God. We can do so many things, but we cannot create our climate.
We thought we could do it, but we cannot do it. We need the gift of the Earth, the gift of water, we need the Creator; the Creator re-appears in his creation. And so we also come to understand that we cannot be really happy, cannot be really promoting justice for all the world, without a criterion at work in our own ideas, without a God who is just, and gives us the light, and gives us life.
So, I think there will be in a certain sense in this "Western world" a crisis of our faith, but we will always also have a revival of the faith, because Christian faith is simply true, and the truth will always be present in the human world, and God will always be truth. In this sense, I am in the end optimistic."
» Youth more religious than one might think
Published 07/14/2008
Youth More Religious Than One Might Think ZENIT reported on 11th Jul 2008 the outcome of a German research foundation report that, contrary to popular belief, teenagers and young adults are interested in religion.
The German Bertelsmann Foundation announced that a study on religion and religious practices worldwide found that 85% of young adults between 18 and 29 are religious, and 44% are deeply religious.
Only 13% have no appreciation for God or faith in general.
"The assumption that religious belief is dwindling continuously from generation to generation is clearly refuted by our worldwide surveys -- even in many industrialized nations," Dr. Martin Rieger, project leader of the Bertelsmann Foundation's Religion Monitor, concluded in a press statement.
The study, which surveyed 21,000 individuals from 21 nations, noted important differences among cultures. For example, young adults in Islamic states and developing countries are deeply religious, while young Christians in Europe are comparatively unreligious.
Among Catholics in particular, the proportion of deeply religious Catholics in Europe is 25% percent, while outside Europe this figure is 68%.
Most of the youth of Eastern Europe and Russia have not been baptized, and most young people have no connection at all to faith and the Church. Only 13% are deeply religious.
Exception
The study noted that a great exception among the Western industrialized countries is the United States, where 54% of the young adults polled said they considered themselves deeply religious.
The study also revealed that 35% of the young adults surveyed worldwide who regard themselves as not belonging to a denomination, nonetheless identified themselves as religious.
Religious practices also differed among cultures. For youth in developing countries such as Nigeria and Guatemala, 90% reported praying at least once a day, and 75% of the respondents in countries such as India, Morocco and Turkey do likewise.
In contrast, daily prayer is no longer common practice among young Europeans. In France, just 9% of young adults pray daily, in Russia the figure is 8%, and in Austria only around 7%.
In the United States, 57% of young Americans say they pray on a daily basis.
» Eucharist is not a meal among friends, says Pope
Published 06/25/2008
This homily was given by Pope Benedict XVI transmitted by satellite from the Vatican to thousands of faithful gathered on the Plains of Abraham in Quebec, for the closing Mass of the 49th International Eucharistic Congress, held in that Canadian city from June 15 to 22, 2008.
Commenting on the theme of the congress - "The Eucharist: gift of God for the life of the world" - the Holy Father said: "The Eucharist is our most precious treasure. ... It is the Sacrament par excellence ... It contains all the mystery of our salvation, it is the source and the summit of the activity and the life of the Church". [full text]
» Respect conscience, says Cardinal O'Brien
Published 06/5/2008
Cardinal Keith O'Brien, Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, has challenged Westminster politicians to examine their consciences over recent parliamentary votes.
Speaking at a Mass in the Crypt of the House of Commons, the Cardinal reminded MPs and Members of the House of Lords of the "time of confusion" in which we live and the need for legislators to follow their conscience, even at the expense of political difficulty.
The Cardinal noted: "It has struck me that for all the Church's calls for
recognition of the inviolability of conscience the sad reality is that the vast
majority of politicians have given support to various attacks on human life with apparent lack of reproach from conscience.
"What does one say then, in the face of those who without guilt condemn the innocent in the womb, show disregard for family life and play God with the building blocks of life?"
The Cardinal also stated: "We cannot but help notice that consciences among even some who ostensibly see themselves as loyal Catholics or champions of the life have been dulled even so far as to acquiesce with what is euphemistically called a right to choose."
Quoting St Paul, the Cardinal told politicians: "God's gift was not a spirit of
timidity, but the Spirit of power, and love, and self-control. So you are never to be ashamed of witnessing to the Lord".
"That is precisely what all involved in political life are called upon to do at this present time."
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