science news, sky news, health news, sports news, tech news, msn news

PIER GIORGIO FRASSATI is coming to Sydney for World Youth Day. He has been dead since 1925 but that will not stop him playing an important role in the Catholic festival.

He was only 24 when he died, after being ill with polio for a week, but he has become a role model for young Catholics because of his fervent faith, not to mention his good looks, robust physique and sunny nature. His favourite sports were skiing and mountain climbing in the Alps, which rise like an amphitheatre behind Turin.

Despite the 83 years since his death, his body is reported to be in surprisingly good condition. Interviewed by phone, the cathedral parish priest, Father Gardiglio, said the body was intact.

A relative saw Pier Giorgio’s body when it was exhumed during the procedure that led to his recognition as Blessed, the phase before recognition of sainthood. The relative said: “It was like meeting him. His body was intact, his skin was fresh.”

The idea of bringing his body to Sydney seems to come from personal contacts between the Frassati family and the archdiocese of Sydney. Anthony Fisher, an auxiliary bishop of Sydney, is a member of the Dominican order, which inspired Pier Giorgio.

After Bishop Fisher visited Turin this year Pier Giorgio’s tomb was opened. World Youth Day said that his body would be flown to

Sydney in June in a new, sealed coffin to be displayed in St Mary’s Cathedral during the festival. It would be accompanied by a photographic exhibition and might be displayed elsewhere in Sydney, too. For pilgrims, being in his presence will be a matter of faith.

One website devoted to him describes him as the saint for the youth of the third millennium.

He believed that Catholics should practise their faith out of enthusiasm rather than duty. He was active in the Catholic University Students Federation as well as the St Vincent de Paul Society.

His father, Alfredo, a lawyer and journalist, was a founder and editor of the Turin newspaper La Stampa. He was also an Italian ambassador in Berlin before World War II and, later, a senator.
Read the full story

Ancient Aboriginal tools found on a Pilbara mine site in Western Australia have been dated at 35,000 years — among the oldest so far discovered in Australia.

Archaeologists believe the dig could yield material up to 40,000 years old, comparable with the internationally famous Lake Mungo Man discovery in NSW.

The prehistoric dwelling place is on the multibillion-dollar Hope Downs iron ore mine, site about 160 kilometres from the outback town of Newman and 310 kilometres south of Port Hedland. It is jointly run by international mining giant Rio Tinto and Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting.

Archaeologists hired by the Aboriginal traditional owners have released the results of radiocarbon tests indicating that it is one of the oldest-dated sites in Australia and internationally significant as a prehistoric record of humanity.

“We have always known this is an important part of our history, that our ancestors lived here,” said a senior elder of the Martidja Banyjima people, Slim Parker.

“Our stories and songs tells us this. It is a good feeling to know archaeologists have proved what we say is true. It makes us feel strong. Now we want this place preserved. It is part of our heritage and our culture.”

The discovery shows Mr Parker’s ancestors lived in the area for more than 1000 generations.
Read the full story