This Sunday night on TripIeJ, Safran and I interview Bother Ali, a blind, Muslim rapper from a fairly legendary hip-hop crew called the Rhymesayers.
Also, an interview with Steven McDonnell, foreign correspondent, Beijing, who gained entry to the most secretive country in the world, North Korea.
Next, an interview with Andrew Keen, author of 'The cult of the amateur: How today's internet is killing our culture and assaulting our economy.' Andrew is, indeed, the leading contemporary critic of the internet.
Also, Safran and I will interview Paul Borg of Paynesville, Victoria, legally blind but now can see! He is the current world blind sailing champion. He attended a series of meetings in Melbourne where Australian evangelist, John Mellor, was praying for the sick. Over three successive meetings in May 2007, Paul Borg says he received his sight!
Last but not least, we interview Margaret Mikan, the Australian Society for Indigenous Languages, co-coordinator of the Kriol Translation Team who oversaw the translation of 55% of the Kriol Bible. Kriol is an Aboriginal language spoken by an estimated 80,000 people.
I'm putting this rundown of what's on the menu, TripleJ this Sunday night in both my Parish newsletter and my own blog. That'll satisfy my need to celebrate the annual Parish day, Sts Peter and Paul, in two languages.
I had to let the parishioners of SSPP, where I've been since 1973, know that I see my weekly 2 hours on TripleJ as part of my commitment to the 'Paul' factor in
SSPP.
Paul, put in very few words, was experimental, innovative, adventurous and always on the move, and I believe a local church, mosque, synagogue, ashram, temple, atheist assembly hall - worth the name, that is - should be all of the above.
My commitment to the 'Peter' factor is expressed in my stubborn residence here at the corner of Dorcas and Montague, South Melbourne (for overseas readers, add 'Australia').
I 'do' mass every day for 20 locals. I ensure, as is the duty of every Parish priest, that the 250 weekend mass-goers have their church building maintained and open for 'business' from 7 am to 7 pm 7 days a week.
Baptisms, funerals, weddings employ both 'Peter' and 'Paul' ingredients. We encourage anyone and everyone to celebrate these rituals of passage, bringing their own cleric if they wish.
Before I die, I really would like to witness Catholicism running on 2 cylinders, Peter and Paul, doing no harm and, even, a little good.
Excuse my self indulgence on this special St. Peter and St. Paul day,2007.

South Melbourne Spring
[This poem was written by Barbara, one of our three organists. Barbara will recite the poem prior to the start of Mass.]
Plane trees, leafed up in mists and mornings bunched like bloodied fists as the battle cry begins 'Proddy dogs stink like frogs in and out the water logs'. The raw knuckles stung like Hell in fights outside Dorcas State as the sap rose and the street kids planned strategies of ambush.
South Melbourne, old suburb of the battlers, cracked concrete, broken houses, broken heads as the cops came screaming round the corner and Murphy grabbed O'Riley in a headlock outside the O'Connell Centenary and the crowd mumbled menace but watched the brawl with equanimity and downed another beer. In the Market the housewives shopped eking out their pence for a piece of tripe or brains, cheap cuts to feed the hard men, husbands, brothers and the mob of kids, lined faces masked by cheap cosmetics, a bit of 'lippy'. Too soon their youth passed by.
'South Melbourne is where the crooks live', wrote one girl in English Composition and Mother Joseph rocked with mirth as she read the words to our eighth grade class on that balmy sweet Spring morning. And we wondered why she thought it odd for we all knew that it was true.
But now the Town Hall clock strikes ten, tolling memories of glory days when Emerald Hill surveyed the sea and miners came to pitch their tents and the dream of wealth came true for some who flourished in those days of gold, that legacy of optimism flowering still as boutiques blossom in the 'new' South Central.
While here today, Father Bob makes Truth shine bright among the metaphors as we marvel at his blazing spirit undimmed by age and disappointment as he pushes, prods, provokes - 'You know what I mean?'
And we join our hearts in hymns and Halleluiahs and celebrate the Feast of Peter, Paul, our parish - its past, its present and its pathways for the future.
©Barbara Boyd-Anderson, 2005

A very special thank you is extended to those who, in any way, contribute to the parish life of St Peter and St Paul. Through your generosity of self, our parish outreach will continue to grow and enrich the local and wider community.

John Safran raised the question on TripleJ last week about the dark side of Wikipeding our way through life. 'We can all now chip in and pool our ignorance,' says he.
God, I thought, (hoping Dawkins and Hitchins weren't listening!), maybe the web will destroy our embryonic collective society. I had hoped the www was our messiah, the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth, eden.
The following Guardian Weekly piece by Jonathan Freedland made me feel even more doubtful.
(From the Guardian, Wednesday, 30 May 2007)
The internet will revolutionise the very meaning of politics
The web could yet bypass government and existing political communities, and either expand democracy in the process - or stifle it
Jonathan Freedland,
So the Washington journalist who warned me 10 years ago that the internet was doomed, that it would collapse under the weight of all those pages, was wrong. The internet is here and changing everything, the way we work, shop, communicate, even fall in love. But what of society itself? The industrial revolution changed politics completely, leading to universal suffrage, as well as modern socialism, communism and fascism. What will the internet revolution do for the politics of our own age?
Last week the revolutionaries were in town, as Google's high command came to London for a major think-in, led by the CEO, Eric Schmidt. He had to fend off accusations that Google poses a threat to society, storing up information on everyone who uses it. He was hardly reassuring when he said the company's ambition is to know so much about us all, it will be able to answer the question: "What should I do tomorrow?"
He had yet gloomier news for politicians. First, they will have to be even more guarded than they are already. Thanks to Google-owned YouTube, any careless remark will now be caught on camera (probably built into a phone) and distributed round the world in minutes. That did for Republican senator George Allen last year, when he used a racial slur at a rally and promptly found himself an internet TV star.
Nor is your past any longer the past. David Cameron and George Bush should give thanks they were students before the age of Facebook; otherwise the wild excesses of their youth would have been thoroughly documented, available for all to see years later. Thanks to the internet and easy search, we live in a permanent now, when any mistake, any reckless remark, even some past teenage ramblings on MySpace, are just a click away.
The politician of the internet age has to admit all errors in full and early: they'll only emerge anyway. Factual slips are forbidden, too. Bloggers will find you out and, if they don't, Google hopes its own algorithms will soon be sophisticated enough to detect "falsehoods". No wonder Schmidt says, smiling: "Google's going to drive these politicians crazy."
There's a bright side. Current technology gives politicians campaigning tools they never had before: witness the 62,000 Barack Obama supporters gathered on Facebook without the candidate lifting a finger. Meanwhile, a website offers a way to reach limitless numbers of voters with an unfiltered message at virtually no cost. What's more, the internet can provide detailed knowledge of the electorate. If Amazon can rank the top-selling books every hour, then why not the five most important issues on voters' minds, constantly updated?
There is potential for people as well as politicians. Organising is swifter and easier: electronic mobilisation is said to have swung elections in Spain, South Korea and the Philippines. In the US, the Howard Dean presidential campaign of 2004 saw the birth of "netroots" activism, collecting enough donations from individuals to match the megabucks of big corporate givers and lobby groups.
No less important, the internet has facilitated collective action locally - down to the residents' association able to communicate through a website rather than constant meetings - and globally, with campaigning organisations such as Avaaz or the Genocide Intervention Network, which focuses on Darfur and began with a student site.

Next Sunday (1 July), after the 10am Mass, everyone is invited to stay and enjoy a get together. Please bring a plate of food to share, tea, coffee etc will be supplied.
A chance to catch up with other parishioners and enjoy being part of a community.

Please bring food for our pantry. Tins of fish or steak and vegetables or meaty pasta sauces are especially welcome.

The Melbourne World Youth Day office invites you to a Eucharistic celebration of Melbourne’s Multicultural communities on Sunday, 8 July 2007 at 6.45 pm at St. Francis’ Church, Lonsdale Street, Melbourne and afterwards for a light supper in St. Francis’ Pastoral Centre. Principal Celebrant and Homilist: Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin. Enquiries and RSVP to world Youth Day Office Melbourne – 9926 5618 or info@did08.com

Winter is biting...and demand is at a record high for the basics...food!
Before we even left the church we were approached by a family of four, two adults and two children under 5-y-o to see if there was any food available for them as they had just moved into the Park Tower complex on Friday and had no money for food.
We gave them food and milk and chocolates (non-nutritional, but gratefully received by the kids) and some money and made them aware of the supper tonight at the Church.
Also a young gentleman called Tony came and asked for food as well which we gave him, as did James and Blaine.
At Park Towers we were swamped with people trying to get the food and bread that we had for distribution. It was chaotic and sad to see people who have accommodation but not food. All the bread rolls that we had thanks to Simon were quickly gone. Luckily we had more bread coming from Bakers Delight, which was also, I was told, quickly accepted by the people at Park Towers and at the Dorcas St flats as well.
The rest of the food was given out in Fitzroy and Barkly streets, St Kilda as well as a blanket that was given to a poor soul in Little Grey St.
Cold night for us, freezing night for the people that the Fr. Bob Maguire Foundation tends to.

Buddhism and Christian Meditation: Understanding the differences - see the contrasts.
This course will bring these two ways of seeing into conversation, through teaching, practice, and reflection. Presented by Christina Fox on Saturdays 16, 23, 20, June from 10am to 2.30 pm at the Thomas Carr Centre, 278 Victoria Pde., East Melbourne. Cost: $80.00 Enquiries/enrolment 9412 3325

The inaugural Fr. Peter Cross Memorial Lecture on Ecumenism will be on Wednesday 20 June at 7.30 pm (refreshments to follow) at St. Peter's Anglican church, 77 Were St., Brighton. The guest lecturer The Rev. Canon Charles Sherlock has been engaged in theological education for over 35 years, principally at Ridley and Trinity Colleges, Melbourne, teaching theology and liturgy. He and Fr Peter Cross both joined ARCIC in 1991, and have worked together on several joint papers for the Commission. Fr Peter Cross, respected international and local ecumenist and Parish Priest of St Joan of Arc in Brighton died in June 2006. This lecture series honours his work and vision. RSVP: 9592 2397.

Hearts in Action - Young adults (21-40 years of age). Fr Claude Mostowik, msc will speak at Benedict House, 299 Warrigal Rd, Burwood on 24th June, 2.30 pm. $5.00 donation. For more information phone Jo (0409 542 177) or Edwina (0409 174 234)

The Archbishop of Denver, Colorado, Charles Chaput, OFM.Cap will give a public lecture at 8 pm on Wednesday 4 July at the Cardinal Knox Centre lecture theatre, 383 Albert Street. East Melbourne. The Australian Confraternity of Catholic Clergy sponsors this lecture. Donation to ACCC appreciated.

The Melbourne World Youth Day office invites you to a Eucharistic celebration of Melbourne's multicultural communities on Sunday 8 July, 2007 at 6.45 pm at St. Francis' Church, Lonsdale Street, and afterwards for a light supper in St. Francis' Pastoral Centre. The principal celebrant will be Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin. Enquiries and RSVP to World Youth Day Office Melbourne 9926 5618 or info@did08.com

Centacare's Tabor Journey program is designed for those who are grieving the end of their marriage or who are still feeling the hurt, anger or sadness, or feeling restless or perhaps just feeling lost, or that they have not quite found themselves again. The next program for 2007 is on 22-24 June with a live-in weekend at Templestowe. Bookings are essential and places are limited so please book early. Details: 03 5221 7055

If you are celebrating your 25th, 40th, 50th or 60th wedding anniversary this year, you are invited to the annual Marriage & Family Mass offered by His Grace Archbishop Denis Hart at St. Patrick's Cathedral on Sunday 5 August at 11 am. If you wish to attend and receive a commemorative certificate, please contact the council for Marriage & Family by phoning 9412 3342, by emailing cmf@melbourne.catholic.org.au or by writing to P0 Box 146, East Melbourne, 8002 by Friday, 20 July. All couples will be invited to have group photographs after the Mass in the Cathedral grounds.

Enrolments are now open for second semester for day and evening study in Scripture, Pastoral Studies, Theology, Social Justice, Church History, Canon Law, Liturgy, Missiology, Philosophy, Religious Education, Spirituality, etc., leading to diplomas/degrees.
Non-degree studies are also available. Lectures begin on 23 July. The handbook is available at www.vtu.edu.au. For further information, please call the Registrar on 9890 3771/9898 2240

Applications are invited from suitably qualified and experienced people for the part-time position of Catholic Chaplain/Pastoral Care Coordinator, Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute. Further details can be found on www.melbourne.catholic.org.au/policies/hr-jobadverts.htm