A MESSAGE to Catholics in Dubbo on the weekend from the Bishop of Bathurst Diocese, Michael McKenna acknowledges more could have been done to curb community concerns about alleged child sexual abuse within the priesthood.
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He said it was already a "matter of sorry record" that in the past church leaders had dealt poorly when these incidents came to light.
However the wider community should be encouraged by the bishop's words and now we wait for the terms of Prime Minister Julia Gillard's royal commission to be published.
Then this dark stain on the church's name can be addressed and corrected.
A COLUMN written by a human rights lawyer in a national newspaper on Monday pointed out 1500 rockets had been fired from the Gaza strip into Israel in the past year.
The Israelis have countered this rocket fire with supposedly pin-point strikes on the Palestinian terrorists.
Just imagine the cost, not only in human terms but for the munitions as well? If each Palestinian rocket was worth an average of $50,000 the cost would be more than $75 million.
Imagine what good that could do in hospitals and education? Conversely imagine the cost to the Israelis every time a fighter plane scrambles into the sky, or when the it musters its 75,000 reservists to be ready for an assault?
War is abominable and a peaceful solution must be sought.
However the impression is that neither side wants to give ground at the negotiation table where a resolution needs to and must be reached.