On World Fruit Day, Dole has written a letter to Pope Francis seeking absolution for the unjustly condemned "forbidden fruit." Read more

Speaking to a two-day summit of Catholic and labour movement leaders at the Vatican last Friday, O'Grady said the world needs a new figure like Cardinal Manning.

(Manning was influential in setting the modern-day Catholic Church direction, advocated for social justice and helped settle the London dock strike of 1889.)

"He [Manning] didn't just make moral pronouncements but rolled up his sleeves and tried to bring about a fair settlement to the dockers' dispute," O'Grady continued.

She called on Catholics to challenge the titans of technology.

She named some of them as including tech giants Apple, Facebook and Google.

O'Grady went on to say these three tech giants negatively impact workers by not paying their fair share of taxes.

They are joined by Uber and Amazon, who exploit workers, O'Grady claimed.

She says they are "washing their hands" of the employer-employee relationship.

"When I speak to those young workers of Sports Direct, McDonalds or Amazon, they feel pretty alone in the world.

"They are facing employers that are far, far more powerful than the dockers' ones and need somebody to stand by their side and speak up for their rights.

"I would hope the Church can play a role."

The Vatican meeting O'Grady was addressing was organised by Cardinal Peter Turkston, who leads the Vatican's newly formed social action department.

The meeting's aim was to hear testimony of injustices suffered by working people and to consider how trade unions and the church can work together to achieve greater social justice.

In an advance press release, O'Grady said she would speak of young people she has met.

"This year I met the ‘McStrikers' - young fast-food workers at McDonald's, stuck on low pay and zero-hours contracts.

"Their demands are the same as the dockers nearly 130 years ago. They want a fair wage, guaranteed hours and recognition of their trade union...".

The press release continues:

"The church and the unions "share values of community, dignity and social solidarity … Together we can improve working lives and put dignity for working people ahead of market forces and freedom of capital.

"We can build a popular alliance for economic justice, in Britain and around the world."

Pope Francis has spoken against social injustice throughout his papacy.

In 2015 he denounced "the mentality of profit at any price, with no concern for social exclusion or the destruction of nature."

At that time, he called the unfettered pursuit of money "the dung of the devil".

Source

• The Tablet
• Catholic Herald
• The Irish Post
• The Guardian
• Image: Tarek Shelaby

But the one-time Trappist monk had an enduring influence on Jobs and the business empire he erected.

Jobs sat in on Palladino's calligraphy class at Portland's Reed College.

And this eventually inspired the elegance for which Apple computers are renowned.

Continue reading

Ban Jabok-Ban Nong Leg templein the northeatern Surin province is now trying to send a message by making Buddha hold an iPad in their next statue, says The Bangkok Post:

Traditionally, Phra Sivali, a pose of the Buddha, carries a walking stick, an umbrella and a bowl, and is worshipped for those seeking love, luck and prosperity.

But the one to be built by the temple will have one hand carrying the umbrella — and the other one clutches one of the innovative best sellers launched by the late Steve Jobs instead of the stick.

This might seem like an attention grabbing gimmick, and let's face it, it kind of is. But the message the temple wants to send is good and forward-facing: they want to stress that monks need to embrace the technology of the modern world in getting their message across.

"Monks have to catch up with the changes and use those gadgets like the iPad to lure the new generation to the temple. Monks can use them to teach Dhamma to those who live their life with new communication technologies," a spokesman of the temple said.

Source: Bangkok Post

The Libreria Editrice Vaticana will work with Apple to produce eBooks and i-Tunes containing the Pope's catechetical talks from his Wednesday public audiences. A series on "Prayer in the New Testament," already available in print form, will soon be produced in electronic formats, richly illustrated with artwork from the Vatican collection.

The Pope's works will eventually be available through computers, smart phones, and PDAs.

Source: EWTN

But now, thanks to the new Rosary Plus iOS app from St. Clement ePress, I might just have a real contender for that ever-elusive perfect rosary app. (Well, on second thought, it might be a tie with iRosary.)

What I love about Rosary Plus: It's easy to use.

Though I think it should be required, I find that many rosary apps are not intuitively easy to use, even for me, a wannabe techie and an admitted rosary geek. Rosary Plus IS easy to use: you tap the beads to pray. Period. It's that easy. And when you need help, it's easy to find. Continue reading

Image: St Clement Press

Not only do workers face long hours, but they also face many hazardous conditions. There have been reports of injuries, and some employees have attempted suicide.

In response the issues identified by the Fair Labor Association, Apple and Foxconn have agreed to improved working conditions at the Chinese manufacturer's plants, reports Reuters.

The agreement covers safety conditions, the maximum number of working hours and overtime compensation.

The agreement will have significant effects outside of Apple. Any increases in costs that come from the agreement will impact companies like Dell, HP, Amazon, Motorola Mobility, Nokia and Sony, who have contracts with Foxconn.

Foxconn has pledged to

• reduce working hours to 49 per week,
• hire tens of thousands of new workers to compensate for those lost hours,
• build housing and canteens for those workers.

Because labour costs are only a fraction of the overall costs of devices from these manufacturers, the boost in consumer prices likely won't be major.

Some employees at Foxconn are concerned at the reduction in opportunities to work overtime.

Wu Jun heard that Foxconn had given employees landmark concessions her reaction was worry, not elation.

"We are worried we will have less money to spend. Of course, if we work less overtime, it would mean less money," said Wu, a 23-year-old employee said.

Huang Hai, a 21-year-old man who said he had worked at Foxconn's factory for about two years said "I don't go out that much as there is nothing much to do."

"This is a good company to work for because the working conditions are better than a lot of other small factories."

The agreement follows on from a visit to the Foxconn factories by Tim Cook, the new Apple CEO. At a conference last month Cook was reported as saying "No one is doing more to improve working conditions in China than Apple.

Sources

• The Next Web
• The Next Web
• Reuters
• Image: Creative Rescue

Last Sunday, I celebrated Mass in a semi-private setting. Before going public, I wanted to try out the new translation of the Mass using our brand new Missal.

This was the first time the congregation and I had used the complete new translation and our new Missal, and afterwards, my effort, our reactions to the language and the navigation through the new book were all topics of discussion.

Some people, those who are having to defend the translation, are saying it's poetic. Well that may be their definition of poetry, but let's just say it's a long way from William Blake, and, while three English scholars in my midst all agreed "it's just not English", we were similarly of the view it's what we've got and those that make these decisions have decided that this is what we should use. Time to move on.

However, what the people who translated the new Missal didn't do, was decide how the new English translation should look. They didn't decide the layout of the New Zealand edition of the Missal.

Given the first effort was rejected, I can only but imagine what it might have looked like.

I'd suggest this edition still has layout issues. Among them

• page turns in awkward places
• the capitalisation of the words of consecration, making them almost impossible to read, and
• some of the text is so closely aligned to the gutter of the book, that standing in a normal upright position makes it also almost impossible to read e.g. the Prayer of the Gifts on the 4th Sunday of Lent.

Negotiating the new text is one thing, negotiating poor formatting is another.

If this were a normal book, I'd be tempted to return it.

After my Sunday experience, I chatted with other priests who like me have tried-out the new New Zealand Missal.

Alas, they reinforced my view; one going as far as saying his experience was "dreadful", and another, "forget the words, the layout is all over the place."

Where to from here?

I'm fortunate enough to have an iPad, and for some time have had the Universalis App.

This week, Universalis released a new free upgrade and with it came a feature "Mass Today".

My initial reaction, it's fantastic.

Some of its features include the ability to:

• select the New Zealand liturgical calendar
• make the font size either smaller or larger
• select "Mass Today" and you get the whole Mass from the Sign of the Cross through to the Dismissal, including readings and your choice of Preface and ten Eucharistic Prayers.
• take it with you in portable form.

Universalis on the iPad is not without its issues:

• some of the pagination still interrupts the flow a little, (but because you don't have to turn the page as often, this inconvenience is minimised)
• it's only in English; there's no Maori translation
• unlike a book which you just open and use, it's important to make sure the iPad has enough battery-life to get you through Mass. A full-charge lasts for 10 hours. Hint: Turn the screen off during your sermon :-)
• managing the iPad itself, navigation, updates and the like, may be a challenge for some
• it probably requires a cover to make it look more like a book
• it costs NZ$26

Using the iPad as a replacement missal may not be everyone's "cup of tea", but I'd pose it's at least worthy of consideration.

Those looking to do something useful with their old iPad could now perhaps dedicate its use as "liturgical", and for those thinking about the additional text quality and the high definition screen of the new iPad; now just might be time to buy.

Additional links

• Apple New Zealand
• iPad Video
• iPad Ad
• Universalis App

John Murphy is a Marist priest working in the Marist Internet Ministry, New Zealand. He recently completed a two-year contract with ucanews.com. He has a Master of Communications Studies from Victoria University.

Lord Sacks said that advertising only made shoppers aware of what they did not own, rather than feeling grateful for what they have.

He insisted that a culture in which people cared solely about themselves and their possessions could not last long, and that only faith and spending time with family could bring true happiness.

The Chief Rabbi's comments are likely to raise eyebrows because he singled out for blame Jobs - the co-founder of Apple who died last month - by likening his iPad tablet computers to the tablets of stone bearing the Ten Commandments given by God to Moses.

Fr Paddy Rushe's new "Vocations" app is billed as the first of its kind in the world and is available to download free from the Apple iPhone app store.

Developed by Magic Time Apps in Dublin, it is described as "an original approach to assist current and future generations seeking to investigate and find information on vocations to the diocesan priesthood in Ireland".

Highlights of the app include connections to Twitter and Facebook, and contact details and statistics on the 26 Catholic dioceses of Ireland. It also includes answers to frequently asked questions to assist in discerning a vocation, a news feed from the national vocations' website, as well as novel and cursory "tests" to enable the user reflect on vocation potential.

As to those "novel and cursory" tests, Fr Rushe told The Irish Times these explored lifestyle issues and were intended to help a candidate assess his overall aptitude for the priesthood. Among other things, the candidate is rated on a scale when it came to thinking of others, a desire to provide a service, and his abilities in relating to the marginalised.

A second test concerns celibacy and involves questions on discipline in a candidate's life, what he believed about relationships, as well as balance where alcohol and food were concerned.

Answers to frequently asked questions concerning entering a seminary included what points were required to get into the seminary, specialist subjects taught there, training, and costs involved.

Future updates planned for the app will include a "prayer counter" to allow people pledge prayer for vocations, and a picture gallery which will include images from the life of a seminarian.

Confessing that he is "a bit of a techie" who is on Twitter and Facebook, Fr Rushe said the church needed "to be there, accessible to all". The launch of his app by Bishop Donal McKeown, auxiliary bishop of Down and Connor and chairman of the vocations commission of the Irish Bishops' Conference, takes place in Naas, Co Kildare, today.

The event will also mark the handover from Fr Rushe as the church's national co-ordinator for diocesan vocations to Fr Willie Purcell and to his team. Fr Rushe had been in the role for five years.

• Source: Patsy McGarry, The Irish Times
• Image: ucanews.com
• Other articles: Irish Church launches app for would-be priests

Vocations app to encourage priesthood

Over 150,000 people signed an online petition demanding that Apple remove the Exodus International iPhone app which claimed to help people with unwanted same-sex attraction to live a life congruent with biblical teaching.

In a statement released on their website, Exodus International said Apple originally gave the App a 4+ rating, but has caved in to the gay activist groups who launched a petition to remove it.

"We are extremely disappointed to learn of Apple's decision to deny equal representation in the public square," said Alan Chambers, president of Exodus International. "Discrimination of thought and belief obstructs essential dialogue and authentic diversity," said Chambers noting that Apple provides hundreds of apps specific to the GLBT community and has made the Gay Christian Network's podcasts available on its iTunes store.

"Ultimately, this issue comes down to what we, as a culture, believe about equality and the freedom to express our beliefs," said Chambers. "It is our hope that Apple will reconsider its decision and allow our organization to be part of the ongoing conversation about the challenging issues many face today."

Apple spokesman Tom Neumayr confirmed the App's removal from the App Store because "it violates our developer guidelines by being offensive to large groups of people."

TWO and Change.org both praised Apple today.

"Apple made a wise and responsible decision to dump an offensive app that demonized gay and lesbian people," Wayne Besen, executive director of Truth Wins Out, said in a statement. "The real winners today are LGBT youth who are safer and less at risk for receiving Exodus' malice and misinformation."

Exodus International is an interdenominational not-for-profit Christian organization, founded by Michael Bussee, Gary Cooper, Frank Worthen, Ron Dennis, and Greg Reid. The free App encouraged people to read prescribed reading material, attend events and to donate to Exodus International.

Sources
Exodus International
Truth Wins Out
cnet News

Suicide at Foxconn Shenzhen plant where Apple and many other companies have their manufacturing plants has thankfully seems to be a thing of the past. The nets that went up around the building seem to have worked.

Who's to blame? Follow Joel Johnson of Wired Magazine as he tours the Foxconn plant as he goes in search of an answer.

The App by the organisation of the same name Exodus International has been widely criticised both for it's functionality and content.

• "Just tried using it... but it kept crashing halfway through...guess I'm bi now."
• "Boring app which hasn't changed me."
• "I'm still Gay, and God loves me."
• I can't understand why Apple would allow such a thing. Being that just about every Gay person I know owns at least one of their products.
• "Biblehumper" labelled the app as "shameful" and "disgusting"

Of 27 ratings in the Australian iTunes store, only one gave it 5 stars. 25 people rated the App as 1 star. Substantially more votes have been cast in the US iTunes store. Of the 586 ratings, 154 rated it 5 stars, and 413 rated it a 1 star app.

The New Zealand iTunes store registered one vote, the voter giving the App a 1 star rating. His comment "not even his most Christian friends would accept this Gospel".

At Change.org, around 35,000 people have signed an online petition for Apple to remove the App.

Exodus International claims over 35 years of ministry experience and to be "the world's largest ministry to individuals and families impacted by homosexuality". Exodus states that it "upholds heterosexuality as God's creative intent for humanity, and subsequently views homosexual expression as outside of God's will".

An interdenominational not-for-profit Christian organization, founded by Michael Bussee, Gary Cooper, Frank Worthen, Ron Dennis, and Greg Reid. The free App encourages people to read prescribed reading material, attend events and to donate to Exodus International.

Apple has been asked whether it intends to take any action in respect of this app, but so far there has been no response.

Unfortunately for Apple, it may have to chose between offending its Christian base or its gay base. Both have significant spending power.

However, when faced with an app created around the Manhattan Declaration, which is hostile to gay marriage, Apple removed the app.

Sources:
Huffington Post
The Register
Exodus International