ST MARY’S CATHEDRAL HOSTS MULTIFAITH SERVICE FOR CLIMATE JUSTICE
By Michelle Tan
On 13 October 2022, multifaith services were held across Australia to raise awareness of climate change and to seek greater commitment from the Australian government to stop new fossil fuel developments.
St Mary’s Cathedral hosted the Perth service, where prominent Western Australian religious leaders from different faiths represented a united front to call for stronger climate action. In attendance were:
- Rev Dr Sean Fernandez, Dean of St Mary’s Cathedral.
- The Most Rev Bishop Don Sproxton, Auxiliary Bishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Perth.
- Rev Mitchell Garlett, Uniting Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress WA.
- Rev Dr Katalina Tahaafe-Williams, Trinity Uniting Church in the City.
- Venerable Ajahn Brahmali, Bodhinyana Theravada Buddhist Monastry.
- Rev Mujyo Williams, Head Priest at Kozanji Rinzai Zen Temple.
- Shri Damji bhai Koria, President of the Hindu Council of Australia Perth Chapter.
- Dr Rateb Jneid, President of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils
- Dr Al Riebau, Chairperson of the Local Spiritual Assembly of the Bahai’s of Wanneroo.
- Susy Thomas, Moderator of the Uniting Church WA.
- Rev Dr Christy Capper, Deputy Warden Wollaston Theological College of the Anglican Diocese. Cathedral Dean Fr Sean Fernandez was the presiding celebrant of the service and a Welcome to Country was delivered by Rev Mitchell Garlett. Rev Dr Katalina TahaafeWilliams shared during the service
that amongst the Indigenous Peoples around the world, those living in the Pacific are among the hardest hit by the climate crisis. “Ocean acidification, overfishing, droughts, and super storms are devastating their food sources. Sea level rise is threatening their homes and, with them, their belonging to the land, their culture, and survival as nations.”
Perth Auxiliary Bishop Don Sproxton led the Christian Prayer for our earth, which was earlier published in Pope Francis’ encyclical, Laudato Si. “All powerful God, You are present in the universe and in the smallest of your creatures. You embrace with your tenderness, all that exists. Pour out upon us the power of your love, that we may protect life and beauty. Fill us with your peace, that we may live as brothers and sisters, harming no one.”
Religious leaders from different faiths gathered to call for stronger climate action. PHOTO: RON TAN.
BJ HICKEY SCHOLARSHIP READY TO AGAIN LAUNCH
CURIOUS MINDS INTO KNOWLEDGE OF SCRIPTURE
By Dr Marco Ceccarelli
The Centre for Faith Enrichment (CFE) has renewed its call for applications for BJ Hickey Scholarships for the year 2023.
Offered to lay people residing in the Archdiocese of Perth, the scholarships are intended to help those wanting to further their Biblical studies of any length at any level, locally or overseas.
Applicants need not be academics or have an academic background – they do need to have a passion to know and further their understanding of the Scriptures and to help others with that knowledge.
CFE Director Dr Marco Ceccarelli said that the scholarship continues to give lay people extraordinary
opportunities to delve into the richness of the Bible here in Perth, interstate and overseas.
“BJ Hickey Scholarship applicants are strongly encouraged to submit their applications by Friday, 18 November 2022. We have a userfriendly process on our website where applicants can submit their application and read about how others have benefited from the scholarship in past years”.
“With travel interstate and overseas once again gaining traction, we hope people will take advantage of the opportunity to deepen their understanding of Scripture by attending a course, a conference, a symposium or another enriching education experience”
The BJ Hickey Scholarship was set up by Emeritus Archbishop Barry
James Hickey, who continues to play a central and fundamental role in the committee. Emeritus Archbishop Hickey began the scholarship with the sole intention of offering lay people an opportunity to undertake Biblical studies either locally or overseas.
For those wanting to apply for the 2023 Scholarship, the Centre for Faith Enrichment’s Scholarships offers both the scholarship application details and the scholarship application form. To find out more please visit https:// cfe.org.au/scholarships/ Applications for a 2023 Scholarship will need to be submitted by 5:00pm on Friday, 18 November 2022.
For further info, please email The Centre for Faith Enrichment on cfe@ perthcatholic.org.au or call on 9278 0261 (please note new number).
2022 BJ Hickey Scholarship winners with Episcopal Vicar of Adult Faith Formation and Education, Fr Vincent Glynn (Left) and Centre for Faith Enrichment Director, Dr Marco Ceccarelli (Right). PHOTO: SUPPLIED.
SYDNEY ARCHBISHOP DELIVERS INAUGURAL SYMPOSIUM LECTURE IN HONOUR OF ST JOHN HENRY NEWMAN
Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP has told leaders and students of Australia’s two Catholic universities seven reasons why the pursuit of Catholic higher education is necessary in a world increasingly antagonistic to Christian values. The Archbishop of Sydney made his comments at the inaugural Saint John Henry Newman Annual Symposium lecture on Australian Catholic University’s (ACU’s) North Sydney campus. The symposium is a joint initiative of ACU and the University of Notre Dame Australia (UNDA) and is to be held annually on or near the saint’s feast day of October 7.
Speaking on the topic, Newman and the Religion of the Future, Archbishop Fisher identified seven reasons for the continued pursuit of Catholic higher education. This included the importance of providing a sympathetic environment to the exploration of spiritual matters; the need to provide an alternative to dominant wisdom; to be a place that produces scholars and students who have a holistic and robust understanding of Christian teaching; and to prepare and form citizens for
the betterment of self and society through holistic education.
Rector of the Pontifical University of St Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in Rome, Fr Thomas Joseph White OP, was invited to deliver a response. Distinguished guests at the inaugural symposium included ACU Chancellor the Hon Martin Daubney AM KC, Deputy Chancellor of UNDA Mr Michael L’Estrange AO, Auxiliary Bishops Daniel Meagher and Richard Umbers of the Archdiocese of Sydney, UNDA Vice-Chancellor Professor Francis Campbell, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Student Experience, Professor Selma Alliex, and Campion College President Dr Paul Morrissey.
Representatives of Church and Catholic education from across greater Sydney, and students of both ACU and UNDA, including those from Western Australia, also attended the inaugural symposium. St John Henry Newman is best known for his instrumental lectures and essays that culminated in his seminal work, The Idea of a University and his efforts to establish the Catholic University of Ireland. He is also one of the most prominent Catholic converts in England to be
declared a saint.
Within ACU, St John Henry Newman is Patron of Faculty of Theology and Philosophy.
ACU Vice-Chancellor Professor Zlatko Skrbis said the university was proud to partner with UNDA in honouring one of the most influential leaders of Catholic higher education.
“St John Henry Newman was relentless in his efforts to defend the need for a university that valued the development of a student’s intellect, while also arguing for the role of higher education in respecting diverse opinions and expertise” Professor Skrbis said.
“St John Henry Newman also viewed the university as a fundamental instrument of the Church, an idea that was later echoed by St John Paul II’s Ex Corde Ecclesiae.
“ACU is proud to partner with the University of Notre Dame Australia to pay tribute to the Saint whose ideas have greatly influenced our own institutions and approaches to Catholic higher education in our uniquely Australian settings.”
Sydney Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP addresses leaders and students from the Australian Catholic University and the University of Notre Dame Australia during the inaugural Saint John Henry Newman Annual Symposium lecture. PHOTOS: SUPPLIED.
PRAYER REVITALIZES THE SOUL, POPE SAYS AT ANGELUS
Prayer is medicine for one's faith and it reinvigorates the soul, Pope Francis said.
"We need the daily water of prayer, we need time dedicated to God, so that He can enter into our time, into our lives," Pope Francis said 16 October during his Sunday Angelus address. "We need consistent moments in which we open our hearts to him so that he can daily pour out on us love, peace, joy, strength, hope, thus nourishing our faith," he said. So often, people spend their day focused on many "urgent, but unnecessary things," neglecting what counts the most in life, he said. "We allow our love for God to grow cold" bit by bit.
Prayer, he said, is the remedy to
rekindle this "tepid faith."
"Prayer is the medicine for faith; it is the restorative of the soul," he said. Just as a patient must "faithfully and regularly" take his or her medication, Pope Francis said, prayer, too, needs to be consistent and constant, not practiced in fits and starts.
In the Gospel of Luke's parable of the persistent widow, Jesus is showing people that they must "pray always without becoming weary," he said. When finding the time to pray is a real difficulty, he said, busy people, should turn to an old but "wise spiritual practice" called "aspirations." These are very short prayers in which the mind is directed to God and "that can be repeated often throughout the day, in the course of various activities,
to remain “in tune with the Lord" so that "our hearts remain connected to Him."
For example, he said, as soon as people wake up, "we can say, 'Lord, I thank you and I offer this day to you,'" or before beginning an activity, "we can repeat, 'Come, Holy Spirit,'" and throughout the day, people can pray, "Jesus, I trust in you. Jesus, I love you."
"And let's not forget to read His responses" in the Gospel, Pope Francis said.
"The Lord always responds," he said, so people should open the Gospel "several times every day, to receive a word of life directed to us."
Members of the Coro Comelico Choir in anto Stefano di Cadore, Italy, hold a banner as Pope Francis leads the Angelus from the window of his studio overlooking St Peter's Square. PHOTO: CNS/VATICAN MEDIA.