The Record Magazine Issue #05 (December 2016) by The Record

Official magazine for the Catholic Archdiocese of Perth

CHRISTMAS 2016 LOOKING FORWARD TO THE BIRTH OF CHRIST & REFLECTING BACK ON THE YEAR 2016

SPECIAL FEATURE: Celebrating

the Archbishopâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 30th Anniversary of Priesthood p4-5

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ISSUE 5 DECEMBER 2016

Featured this month

Amoris Laetitia A remarkable gift for the Church

Refugee Story

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Phillip Lako

Overcoming terrorism Church’s refusal to give in to hatred

Cleric and the bushranger The story of Bishop Matthew Gibney

Look, there are those now last who will be first, and those now first who will be last.

— Luke 13: 30

FROM THE ARCHDIOCESE From Bishop Donald Sproxton

On Archbishop Timothy Costelloe

IN THIS EDITION Revisiting Sydney WYD’08 Catholic Education 2016 Review LifeLink: Xavier Care 2016 Social Justice Statement Joshua Adams Pregnancy Assistance 20th Anniversary Wartime Archbishops Padre Pio Relics in Perth Activity Page

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FROM THE EDITOR Jamie O’Brien As 2016 draws to a close, I reflect with great pride on what has been a year of significant growth and change, not just for the Communications Office of the Archdiocese, but for the Archdiocese as a whole. Change is the perfect opportunity to reflect and act to improve not just our own life, but the lives of those around us. Change can also be difficult, as we can often be resistant to new ways and methods, particularly when it comes to using technology - which means a need to learn new skills and gain greater experience. And so while change is often inevitable, this fifth issue of The Record Magazine, gives an overview and account of the Perth Catholic Community, reflecting on the faith journey of numerous people and events that have all taken place and/or come about through growth and change during 2016. In celebrating the birth of Christ this year, let us be grateful for all that we have, remembering those in prayer who perhaps have none. The Record Magazine is a magazine for the people – and I am confident you will all take the time to engage with us. Please feel free to share your thoughts and ideas at editor@therecord.com.au, or by contacting us on 08 9220 5900.

BISHOP’S 2016 CHRISTMAS MESSAGE

The continuation of becoming the

FATHER’S MERCY

dvent and Christmas mark the beginning of the new year in the Church’s calendar. This means that we embark on the next phase of our journey of faith in life. Another new year always raises questions, as we look forward to what the year will bring. One hope I have, is that, what the recently closed Year of Mercy has done for us, will bear lots more fruit in our Christian lives. The grace of God has been at work in many special ways. It has been obvious to me, that so many of the people of the Archdiocese have heard the call of the merciful Father to adopt His ways of looking at our brothers and sisters. Our consciousness of the plight of the poor and disadvantaged has been raised. I have heard of some great initiatives by parish communities and our agencies which have been inspired by their reflection on mercy. These are going to continue because people have committed to becoming the reflection of the Father’s mercy. The Year of Mercy enabled us to experience the grace of mercy. The most powerful has been through the reconciliation of the Sacrament of Penance. I am told that there has been a great increase in the number of penitents over the year. The personal experience of the mercy and love of the Father through this Sacrament of Healing has flowed out into our relationships with family and the others in our lives. The fruits of the Year of Mercy will continue to be seen. A new year is the opening of a new time. Our journey of faith in life continues. The beautiful account of the birth of Jesus, especially at midnight Mass, refers to his journey. St Luke points out that the journey of Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem, was imposed on them because of the census called by the powerful Roman emperor.

Regardless of the cost or inconvenience, Joseph and the heavily pregnant Mary had to go to the town of David to register. No sophisticated computers and surveys to ease census taking! It had to be the taking of an arduous and dangerous journey, in which Jesus would be born. Our Saviour came to live among us through the faith of a couple considered by the world to be insignificant. The birth was made more difficult as they could not find a place of rest. We can see that at the beginning of his life’s journey, Jesus could not be accommodated or even contained in human structures or thinking. We notice, as well, that right from the beginning, there can be no rest. Jesus’ journey goes on. St Luke places Jesus with the outcasts, the poor and disadvantaged. It is little wonder that Jesus shows great understanding of and compassion for the poor. This most clearly reflects the way God looks into our eyes, and why He asks us to develop eyes of compassion as we look outward to others. It is in the light of this story of Christmas and the experiences we have had in the Year of Mercy that I pray for us during the celebrations of Christ’s birth. To a world that is becoming harder in heart and hostile to Faith, we are needed as witnesses to the kinder, tender and compassionate heart of the Father. The joy of our celebration of the coming among us of God can rekindle within us a desire to live more closely the values of the Kingdom of God. I pray for special blessings of God on you and your families this Christmas as we celebrate His great love in moving towards us and entering our journeys.

Bishop Donald Sproxton AUXILIARY BISHOP OF PERTH I S S U E 5 DECEMBER 2016

CELEBRATING

30 YEARS OF PRIESTLY VOCATION:

ARCHBISHOP TIMOTHY COSTELLOE SHARES HIS STORY WORDS Rachel Curry

Archbishop Timothy Costelloe celebrated 30 years of priesthood on 25 October 2016. The Melbourne born, Perth Archbishop told the story of his vocation earlier this year, in a video for the Archdiocesan Vocations Office website and The eRecord.

he Archbishop explained that he first heard God’s call to the priesthood when he was in primary school at St Peter’s, East Bentleigh. “I think I first thought of being a priest quite consciously when I was in about grade five or six, and the reason really as I look back now, is because of the influence of the assistant priest in the parish in which I grew up in Melbourne,” he said. “I realise now that he was a very shy fellow but at the time I didn’t realise that. I just thought of him as a very kind, very welcoming, very friendly and generous person and I thought, as you do when you’re a little boy, I’d like to be like that when I grow up.” Archbishop Costelloe added that he was also influenced by a statue of St Anthony of Padua outside his local Church. The statue, which depicts the Child Jesus standing on a book held by St Anthony and looking up at the Franciscan preacher, provoked something deep inside of him. “I can remember standing in the porch of that parish church, looking at that statue and somehow or other understanding that our faith was about a relationship between Jesus and us,” he said.

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... I am enormously grateful for the gift of my vocation to the priesthood. I’m overwhelmed by it... “There was something about that look between the two of them which helped me to understand that this was what our faith was about.” In an important message for young men attempting to respond to God’s call, the Archbishop also admitted that he went through struggles on the path to becoming a priest. The decade he spent in formation with the Salesians of Don Bosco was a time of both great joy and great challenge, he said. “I wondered whether this was really what I wanted to do, struggled with the whole question of celibacy and in a sense, ‘giving up’ the possibility of getting married and having a family,” he said. “But I eventually came to realise, somewhere deep inside me, that if I was going to be the person that God created me to be, going to be the person that I felt deep within me

I needed to be, the only way for me to do that, was to become a priest and to be a religious. “So that deep sense of calling was the thing I think that sustained me through all the ups and downs.” On the 30th anniversary of his ordination, Archbishop Costelloe said he could look back and say it has been a “wonderful life” so far. “I am enormously grateful for the gift of my vocation to the priesthood. I’m overwhelmed by it, over-awed by it really, and sometimes struggle to understand why the Lord would have chosen me,” he said. “But He has and because He has, I know that He continues to be with me, continues to support me, continues to lift me up when I fall, and if that’s been my experience for the last 30 years, I’ve got no reason to imagine that it won’t be my experience into the future.”

I S S U E 5 DECEMBER 2016

THE BEAUTY OF THE FAMILY, BASED ON THE INDISSOLUBLE MARRIAGE BETWEEN A MAN AND A WOMAN, AND THE FRAGILE REALITIES AND CHALLENGES FACING MARRIED COUPLES TODAY WAS THE FOCUS OF POPE FRANCIS’ 2016 APOSTOLIC EXHORTATION

Amoris Laetitia, THE JOY OF LOVE, RELEASED IN APRIL.

A remarkable gift for the Church: ARCHB IS HOP COS TELLOE

WORDS Jamie O’Brien

T T H E H E A RT of the document, said Perth Archbishop Timothy Costelloe upon its release, is the idea that, while the Church must not abandon or water down the ideals of Christian life, its role should be to accompany people on their faith journey, supporting and encouraging them while never condemning those who find it difficult to do so. The 263-page Exhortation details the Holy Father’s conclusions, following the two synods dedicated to the theme of the family: the Extraordinary Synod of 2014 and the Ordinary Synod of 2015. Archbishop Costelloe described the Exhortation as a remarkable gift for the Catholic Church throughout the world. “The Exhortation is explicitly addressed to the whole Catholic community, but will be of great interest to many other people as well, because it speaks of an emotion each one of us, as human beings, experiences,” he said. The Exhortation is made up of nine chapters, subdivided into 325 paragraphs, with 391 notes and the final prayer to the Holy Family. Archbishop Costelloe explained that the Pope has not changed any Catholic teaching.

THE RECORD MAGAZINE

THE JOY OF LOVE

“What he has done is call for a process of careful and faithful discernment of each particular situation, in the light of the Church’s teachings,” Archbishop Costelloe said.

and the teachings of the Church community, the Archbishop said may be clear, the capacity of people that the Pope is clear that this is an to understand, accept and embrace urgent task. these may be limited by a variety of The Church’s role should be complex factors.

“A key principle underpinning the Pope’s thought would appear to be the idea that, while it is never the role of the Church to abandon, sidestep or water down the high ideals of the Christian life, it is the role of the Church to accompany people on their journey of faith, supporting and encouraging them as they strive to live up to those ideals, while never condemning people who find it difficult to do so,” he said.

“In such situations, faith journey, supporting which are very and encouraging them. common today, the Church is called to accompany people on what may be “Chapter eight of the Exhortation a long journey of discernment, as offers a variety of principles on they seek to respond to God’s will which to ground any decisions. for them. “The blind application of objective “The Pope writes that ‘without rules, without taking into account detracting from the evangelical ideal, the individual circumstances of there is a need to accompany with people’s concrete situations, does mercy and patience, the eventual not, in the Pope’s mind, reflect the stages of personal growth as these teachings and practice of Jesus.” progressively appear’,” (par 308). The Archbishop emphasised that the Speaking on the discernment of whole document must be seen as a people living in what the Church unified whole. has termed, ‘irregular situations’, and “It would be a mistake to lift certain how they should be incorporated phrases or paragraphs out of their into the life of their local Catholic context and build an interpretation of the whole document on a few isolated parts.

A second key principle, continued the Archbishop, is closely aligned to the first, and appears to stress the distinction between objective morality and subjective responsibility. “While the demands of the Gospel

to accompany people on their

“At the same time, the Exhortation itself needs to be placed in the wider context of the Pope’s insistence that ‘the name of God is Mercy’ and that ‘Jesus is the face of the Father’s mercy’. “Amoris Laetitia is an urgent appeal to the whole Church to place divine mercy at the heart of its teaching and pastoral practice in relation to the family today.” The Archbishop concluded his preliminary reflections by commenting that “as a Church, we should be enormously grateful to Pope Francis”. “In Amoris Laetitia, he is calling us all to a comprehensive fidelity to our faith.

I S S U E 5 DECEMBER 2016

Faith has often served as a source of hope for people during dark times and extreme circumstances, and this is certainly a theme in the story of Philip Lako, who came to Perth as a refugee after many years of hardship and abuse as a child soldier in South Sudan.

PHILLIP LAKO HIS STORY & HIS FAITH WORDS Caroline Smith

orn in a village north of the capital Juba, Mr Lako was taken at the age of ten – along with many other boys – by the South Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), under the guise of providing them with an education. “They took us to a village called Turit, which is about 250 km east of Juba. We were taken there in sea containers, and a few people didn’t survive, because they were appalling conditions.” This was 1990, when Sudan was still one country (South Sudan would be declared independent in 2011), and in the midst of civil war, so the boys were brought to a Catholic mission for safety. The group had arrived with their teachers, but these people left shortly afterwards, leaving only the boys and the SPLA leaders, who immediately regimented their daily activities, exacting harsh punishments for any misstep. However, the boys faced much greater hardships the following year, when they moved to the town of Palataka, where they were forced to take part in construction work for the army. “That I think was the beginning of the real suffering for us. We had to learn to live in a manner where any mistake you made, you could die. We had to live with the sense that if you wake up today, you’d be thinking, ‘so I’m alive today’.”

THE RECORD MAGAZINE

ABOVE: Philip Lako today. The 36-year-old came to Perth as a refugee in 2004. Photo: Caroline Smith RIGHT: Philip Lako,(far left) together with friends from Palotaka in Omere Camp, Acholiland in 1994, four years after leaving the village. Photo: Pende Ng’oong

When I woke up the first morning, I cried terribly. I wondered why these people had helped me – for someone who is not even related to you

Often, boys would disappear, being taken by the army for ‘screening’, to see if they were suitable to fight. This happened to Mr Lako at the age of 13, but due to an injury, he was deemed too vulnerable. Throughout these hardships and constant insecurity from the Lord’s Resistance Army, a Ugandan Rebel Movement also terrorising people in Sudan, Mr Lako said he found solace in two things: the support of a French doctor, named Dr Ostrowski and a Catholic priest, named Fr Gerry, together with his burgeoning Christian faith, which saw him baptised into the Catholic Church in 1992. As well as providing him with the strength to face each day, Mr Lako says his faith helped him escape from captivity, after being moved to a displaced people’s camp. It was 1999, and the army had selected him for screening. “There was a priest who tried to get me out, and said that he’d take me to study in a seminary in Uganda, but it was too late,” he said. “It was one week away from us getting arms and actually going to fight. So I managed to escape, and I think it was all the work of God – there was nothing that I would have managed to do without the help of God.” Mr Lako crossed the border into Kenya, and registered at the Kakuma refugee camp, where he sensed despair among the 800,000 people living there.

TOP TO BOTTOM: Kakuma Refugee Camp, Kenya. The cattle station where Philip worked as a young man. Photos: Philip Lako Dadaab Refugee camp (East Kenya). Photo: Sourced

“I realised that there was a complete despair within the people – the real meaning of losing hope is when you’re at a refugee camp, and you’ve tried all you can, and this is it, it’s going to end like this, the prospect of getting resettled is almost impossible.” But again his faith intervened.

“There was a chapel in Kakuma, and we used to go there, and I met a guy who speaks a similar language to me, but he was married to a lady who is from the Denka tribe, and she had children from a previous marriage, who had died. And her relatives wanted to come and take the children back to South Sudan. “So a case was opened on the fact that these people could come at any time, at night, and take the children, and harm everybody who is known to this lady or man.” On this basis, it was considered necessary for Mr Lako and the others to be resettled far away, and so Mr Lako arrived in Australia in 2004. Reflecting on his earliest impressions of the country, he suggested that refugees often become involved in caring professions such as nursing, aged care or social work, to show generosity to the people who have welcomed them. “When I woke up the first morning, I cried terribly. I wondered why these people had helped me – for someone who is not even related to you, or who comes from a different country to help you that much, was something I could not understand that morning,” he said. “And this is why refugees are very grateful for what has been done for them – they want to pay back that gratitude.” Mr Lako himself has worked in this field, as well as being a safety officer within the mining industry and other settings. He is currently augmenting the latter by studying part-time for a Bachelor of Health Science with a Double Major in Occupational Health and Safety and Health Promotion. He also volunteers with MercyCare, teaching English and providing other support to refugees. For this work, he was awarded a certificate of recognition for upholding the agency’s organisational values.

I S S U E 5 DECEMBER 2016

F O R E V E R

YOUNG

REVISITING SYDNEY WORLD YOUTH DAY WORDS Rahcel Curry

t is hard to believe that it’s been nearly 10 years since hundreds of thousands of young Catholics from more than 170 nations descended on Sydney for the 2008 World Youth Day (WYD). From the 500,000 pilgrims who welcomed Pope Benedict XVI at Barangaroo to the 400,000 people who gathered for the final Mass at Randwick Racecourse, the event marked a time when the joy of the Holy Spirit was overflowing in Australia. It is in this vein that the Catholic Bishops of Australia have announced a Year of Youth, which will celebrate the 10th anniversary of WYD Sydney and build on the legacy of that extraordinary time. Beginning on the first Sunday in Advent on 29 November 2017,

“Music was filling the streets of Sydney;

literally people were singing in the streets.”

the Year of Youth will be officially launched at the Australian Catholic Youth Festival in Sydney next December.

young people gave them inspiration.

Archdiocese of Perth Auxiliary Bishop Don Sproxton said the Catholic Bishops of Australia had received the proposal for the celebration from the Australian Catholic Youth Council (ACYC), which they “enthusiastically endorsed”.

our parishes and ministries.

“We thought that the idea had great merit, as 2018 will mark the 10th anniversary of WYD in Sydney,” he said.

Pope Francis had subsequently

“The bishops remembered how close they became to the pilgrims and the many ways, the faith of the

They could see the enormous potential in the young people of the Church to bring about renewal to “The Year of Youth offers everyone in the Church in Australia, the chance to reflect on how, together, we can bring new life to our communities.” Bishop

Sproxton

noted

that

announced the 2018 Synod of Bishops

would

focus

the

accompaniment of young people and

vocational

discernment,

suggesting that “the Holy Spirit is at work!”

Western Australians at World Youth Day in Sydney. Photo: Supplied 10

THE RECORD MAGAZINE

YOUTH

LEFT: Bateman parishioner Matthew Lim says World Youth Day in Sydney marked the start of his faith journey. RIGHT: Northbridge parishioner Carina McPherson, right, pictured with Lian Carter at World Youth Day 2011 in Madrid. Photos: Supplied

I wasn’t really into my faith at the time but a lot of my friends were going. It was quite life changing He said the Catholic Youth Ministry (CYM) Perth team had begun planning for the launch of the Year of Youth and other events in the Archdiocese, while ACYC was preparing youth initiatives and resources. Looking back on WYD in Sydney, Bishop Sproxton said it was a “watershed mark for the Archdiocese” and deserved to be celebrated and reflected upon. “Youth ministry in our parishes has grown amazingly. Nationally, it is said that youth ministers have increased and their time in ministry is longer,” he said. “The most important outcome of WYD Sydney and the other WYDs has been the new personal relationship with Jesus Christ that so many of pilgrims have developed and sustained.”

One of those pilgrims is Bateman

“For an essentially atheist country,

parishioner

who

it was a really cool opportunity

attended his first WYD in 2008 as a

for the Church in Australia to have

19 year old.

Matthew

Lim,

Now working for CYM Perth, Mr

experience

where

Catholics

were seen on the street and were

Lim said he was not particularly in

very visible.”

touch with his faith eight years ago;

Aged 17 when she attended WYD,

in fact, the only reason he attended

Miss McPherson said the pilgrimage

WYD was because it was being held

encouraged her to take greater

in Australia. “I wasn’t really into my faith at the time but a lot of my friends were

ownership of her faith and step into leadership roles, such as serving as President of the University of

going. It was quite life changing,”

Western Australia Catholic Society.

he said.

“For me, it meant I was making

“The thing that struck me the most

an active decision. I was pursuing

was meeting so many people from around the world who were young,

learning about my faith and talking about my faith and recognising that I

who were pretty normal people and

have a role to play,” she said.

who were very open about their

As for the event’s greater impact, Mr

faith. I thought, ‘This is great’.”

Lim said it left a lasting impression on

Another pilgrim who attended WYD

young people around the country –

for the first time in 2008, Glendalough

something that the Catholic Bishops

parishioner Carina McPherson, had a

of Australia plan to build upon during

similar experience.

the 2018 Year of Youth.

“It was really joyful for me and people

“If I could sum it up in one word, it

still talk about it to this day. Music

would be ‘hope’. There was an idea

was filling the streets of Sydney;

before that religion is important, but

literally people were singing in the

after going to WYD people could see

streets,” she said.

that it it’s important,” he said.

I S S U E 5 DECEMBER 2016

OVERCOMING TERRORISM WORDS Dr Marco Ceccarelli

IN THE CONTEXT of a rising trend in global terrorist attacks over the past 15 years, the year 2016 has been no exception. According to the Institute for Economics and Peace’s most recent Global Terrorism Index, although the majority of terrorist attacks do not take place in Western countries, (more than 78 per cent of terrorism related deaths occur in Iraq, Nigeria, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Syria) terrorism is rising dramatically and private citizens are increasingly the targets. The Record Magazine journalist Dr Marco Ceccarelli takes a look at terrorism and the Church’s refusal to give in to hatred.

hile the frequency and ferocity of terrorism seen this year in the Bastille Day attacks in Nice, and other attacks in Orlando (USA); Istanbul (Turkey), Baghdad (Iraq) and Dhaka (Bangladesh) left many in a state of disbelief, the Catholic Church was placed directly in the firing line on 26 July with the murder of French Catholic Priest Father Jacques Hamel.

not fuel hatred against Muslims or immigrants.

Fr Hamel was murdered while saying Mass in the French Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray parish by two young men pledging allegiance to Islamic State (IS).

Pope Francis made similar distinctions in a statement

As Catholics across the world mourned the death of Fr Hamel, Pope Francis and the French Bishops emphasised that shock and grief over the attack should

“Absurd violence,” Pope Francis wrote in his statement.

THE RECORD MAGAZINE

Paris Cardinal Andre Vingt-Trois’ immediate reaction to the attack was to urge Catholics to “overcome hatred that comes in their heart” and not to “enter the game” of the Islamic State that “wants to set children of the same family in opposition to each other.” issued on the day of the murder and while speaking to journalists to and from World Youth Day in Poland. Violence which needed to be condemned along with “all forms of hatred,” he added.

All religions want peace; it is other people who want war. On the flight to Poland, the Pope reiterated a point he has already made during his pontificate: that the world is in the grip of a “piecemeal war.” Fr Hamel, he said, was one its latest victims. On his return flight, the Pope also made it clear that the war he spoke of, was not of a religious nature: “Some might think I am speaking of religious war,” the Pope said. “No. All religions want peace; it is other people who want war.” He also refused to identify Islam with violence. As noted in a recent article by Giancarlo Pani SJ in the Jesuit periodical La Civiltà Cattolica, what the Pope and other Church leaders were essentially doing was denying IS the theological-political legitimacy it seeks. By not calling it a “religious war” but instead promoting interfaith unity among religions – Christianity and Islam in particular – Pani highlights that theirs was an attempt to stop the hate and division which IS was hoping to generate with the murder of Fr Hamel. In other words, instead of giving in to IS’ ploy to set Christianity and Islam against each other, the Church leaders encouraged the faithful to unite with Muslims against the common enemy of violent extremism. In the days following the murder of Fr Hamel, two European Islamic organisations: the French Institute des Hautes Etudes Islamiques (IHEI) and the Italian Comunità Religiosa Islamica (COREIS), released press releases in which they expressed disdain at the murder of Fr Hamel and invited their members to join Mass celebrations in Cathedrals and Churches throughout Europe.

Scenes of interfaith solidarity were soon after seen in France, Italy and Britain. In France, the Catholic cathedrals in Lille, Calais and the Basilica of St Denis outside Paris saw Muslims fill the front rows in remembrance vigils and during Sunday Mass. In Italy, Churches also welcomed Muslims to Sunday Mass; three Imams attended a service at the St Maria Church in Rome’s Trastevere neighbourhood. In Great Britain, similar scenes were seen at Westminster Cathedral in London, as Rabbis, Imams and Priests also gathered for an interfaith vigil on Sunday morning. Professor of Theology at the University of Notre Dame, Fremantle, and expert in terrorism studies, Matthew Ogilvie, recently commented on these events, echoing the Pope’s statements and adding that attention needs to be directed at “how and why” these people use their faith to justify their violence. “The reality is that most people, of all faiths, want peace. Most Muslims simply do not support terrorism,” Professor Ogilvie said. “It is also important to remember that most victims of terrorism are actually Muslim. “I think that fraternal, but robust and critical dialogue is one part of the solution. “Given that most faiths, including our own, have seen people misuse it for violence, I think that a fraternal dialogue on how we overcame and condemned that violence will help.” Professor Ogilvie is currently writing a book on Christian radical extremists and continues his research in terrorism studies, Islamic suicide terrorism in particular. Dr Marco Ceccarelli completed a PhD on the Catholic Church’s response to Terrorism at the University of Western Australia.

LEFT: People hold a banner with a picture of French priest Father Jacques Hamel, which reads, “Where there is hatred, let me sow love,” after a 27 July Mass at the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Father Jacques Hamel was killed in a 26 July attack on a Church at Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray near Rouen by assailants linked to Islamic State groups. RIGHT: People gather around flowers and burning candles on 17 July 2016 to pay tribute to victims of the Bastille Day attack in Nice, France. In response to the attack, Pope Francis prayed that God may give comfort to grieving families and foil the plans of those who wish to harm others. Photo: CNS/Benoit Tessier, Reuters I S S U E 5 DECEMBER 2016

t goes without saying that 2016 has been a busy year for Catholic Education in Western Australia and the Archdiocese of Perth. 2016 was celebrated as an Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy by the Church worldwide, and the theme of God’s mercy was a source of inspiration for activities and initiatives at many Catholic schools and colleges. Following the lead of Pope Francis in opening the Holy Door at St Peter’s Basilica Rome, and then closer to home, of Archbishop Timothy Costelloe opening the Holy Door at St Mary’s Cathedral, a number of schools created their own ‘Mercy Doors’. While the creation of Mercy Doors reminded students and staff that God’s mercy was open to all, the Year of Mercy also prompted schools in the Mercy tradition to coordinate pilgrimages. These pilgrimages were examples of the important place of Catholic tradition, identity and values for engaging, contemporary learning experiences. Through these creative pilgrimages students were supported to connect with history and gain a deeper understanding of discipleship in a current context.

THE RECORD MAGAZINE

National Catholic Education Conference The National Catholic Education Commission Conference was held in Perth in June, bringing together Catholic Education staff and leaders from around the country for a wide range of discussions, workshops and expert presentations. Held once every five years, this was a major event for the development of Catholic Education nationally. The Conference was a wonderful opportunity for Western Australian Catholic educators to connect with interstate colleagues; with many sharing their expertise in workshops. It was also presented an opportunity to gain insights and inspiration from WA students, who ran digital technology and technical demonstrations, displayed artwork and shared their experiences in a panel discussion session. On the closing day of the conference, Mater Dei College students presented their Sorry Day reconciliation performance in the main auditorium, to a standing ovation. Conference keynote speaker and long-time educator, Honduran Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Mardiaga SDB, also paid students at St Norbert College in Queens Park a visit.

CEWA’s LEAD (Learning, Engagement, Accountability, Discipleship) strategic direction was kept as a guide for the system throughout the year, and once again the LEAD Awards for Excellence, held in August, recognised school projects or initiatives that demonstrated LEAD in practice. Iona Presentation Primary School, Mercy College, St Norbert College, St Simon Peter Catholic Primary School, Mater Dei College, Santa Maria College, and Lumen Christi College were all recognised for exemplary work, in areas ranging from student mental health, to robotics-based learning, support for the poor and marginalised, and engaging mathematics programs. LEAD Awards of Merit were also awarded to St Andrew’s Catholic Primary School, St Anthony’s School in Greenmount, St Anthony’s School in Wanneroo, and Prendiville College.

Catholic Schools Performing Arts Festival The Catholic Arts program has again, this year, provided thousands of students with unique opportunities to express their creativity and artistic flair, often in ways that reflect their faith journey. Thousands of students participated in the Performing Arts Festival for Catholic Schools and Colleges, the Angelico Exhibition, and the Catholic Education Carnevale.

The events showcased creative skills, enabling students to publicly share their passion and be acknowledged for their hard work in disciplines including dance, drama, music, painting, drawing and sculpture. With students from across the four WA Dioceses taking part in events, the Catholic Arts program provided truly unique educational experiences. Studio Curious and LEADing Lights To ensure that WA Catholic schools continue to be able to provide a world-class education that prepares students for future work, faith and family life, CEWA has undertaken a process of transformation at a strategic system level throughout 2016. This has seen the introduction of the LEADing Lights Digital

Transformation roadmap, as well as the uptake of ‘design thinking’ through the Studio Curious initiative. Studio Curious and LEADing Lights have worked hand in hand, and moving into 2017 they will bring innovative, practical changes to support genuine improvements for engagement in learning experiences for students, staff and parents.

CATHOLIC EDUCATION WA - 2016 IN REVIEW 30th Anniversary of Catholic Education Centre by Pope John Paul II In 1986, Pope John Paul II toured Australia, a visit that included the now famous speech to Aboriginal people at Alice Springs on 29 November. After the stop in Alice Springs, and another in Adelaide, Pope John Paul II travelled to Perth, celebrating Mass at Belmont Park.

During his Perth visit, the Pope presided over another event, which while not as famous as his Alice Springs speech, was of unique historical significance – the opening of the Catholic Education Centre in Leederville, which remains the only building ever opened by a Pontiff in Australia. The Centre in Leederville, commonly known as the Catholic Education Office, had until that year, been the Home of the Good Shepherd Convent, the Perth base of the Sisters of the Congregation of the Good Shepherd, who arrived in 1902. The Catholic Education Commission of Western Australia had been established in 1971, and after a number of moves to larger offices with a growing Catholic Education office staff,

were looking for a longer-term solution. At that time, the Sisters were looking to sell the Leederville property. After the sale of the property, Dr Peter Tannock asked then Archbishop William Foley, if an invitation could be extended to the Holy Father, which was accepted, and by the time of Pope John Paul II’s visit, necessary renovations to the buildings had been made. The Pope opened the Centre in an outdoor ceremony in front of the heritage building’s entrance. For the last 30 years the Centre has served as a hub for work supporting the improvement and growth of WA’s state-wide Catholic education system, which for many years was the only state-wide Catholic system in Australia.

I S S U E 5 DECEMBER 2016

2016 LIFELINK CHRISTMAS APPEAL

CHURCH COMMUNITY GROUPS OFTEN FIND THEMSELVES CHANGING IN LINE WITH THE DEMOGRAPHIC FEATURES AND NEEDS OF THEIR PARISH, AND THIS HAS CERTAINLY BEEN THE CASE FOR THOSE INVOLVED WITH XAVIER CARE, WHICH FOR 21 YEARS HAS BEEN ATTACHED TO WORDS Caroline Smith THE PARISH OF ARMADALE.

he group – which takes its name from Armadale’s church of St Francis Xavier – began in 1995 with the goal of providing outreach to parishioners and others in the community who needed help, normally in the form of food or additional support when they were struggling. Xavier Care coordinator Helen Lesniak told The Record Magazine that that as needs changed within the parish, the services provided also began to change.

ABOVE:

Xavier

Care

coordinators

Caroline McKebery and Helen Lesniak are working together to help a changing community in Armadale. FEATURE:

Armadale parish priest

Fr Kazimierz Stuglik with Xavier Care coordinators Caroline McKebery and Helen Lesniak at the church of St Francis Xavier. Photos: Daniele Foti-Cuzzola

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“When it started, it mainly involved cooking meals such as casseroles for people when they were in need, or had upheavals happening within their families or lives,” she said. “Now it’s mainly helping people through a crisis such as bad health. So it’s driving them to appointments, or getting them access to information and services.

“There was one lady who was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year, and she was also a carer to her husband - our volunteers were very sensitive to supporting this family with its many and complex needs.” Xavier Care comes under the umbrella of Catholic Outreach, an agency of the Perth Archdiocese that organises volunteering work in local parishes, bringing people together to help one another and in fellowship. “We try and look at matching up volunteers with someone they already know in the parish, so they’re not just going in cold turkey, and so that both parties feel comfortable,” Ms Lesniak said. She added that the personal and interactive approach allowed volunteers not only to inform and support those in need, but to connect them up with other services in the parish and beyond that could help them.

Xavier Care adapts to changing parish needs, supported by Catholic Outreach

The volunteers try to walk the journey with these people in a kind and caring manner. “Our volunteers often go out to visit the sick - they are really wonderful with this, going out and helping people find support through their illness, whether it’s spiritual support from Father Kaz (parish priest Fr Kazimierz Stuglik), or more practical support from one of us,” Ms Lesniak said.

volunteers, with around 20 who are active in the community, with group coordinators providing guidance.

an agency set up in 1990 to develop, implement and promote parishbased pastoral care programs.

“We hold a recruitment drive every two years, so we’ll have one next year,” Ms Lesniak said.

More than 30 such groups exist throughout Perth, with their coordinators maintaining a connection with the Catholic Outreach head office in Highgate.

“We bring people together for several instruction sessions, informing them about insurance, boundaries of volunteer work and other issues.”

“The volunteers try to walk the journey with these people in a kind and caring manner.”

She added that Xavier Care provided a thanksgiving Mass at the end of the year to honour its volunteers and was this year also planning an additional networking opportunity.

At the moment, Xavier Care has about 40 people on its list of

Xavier Care is one of many groups connected to Catholic Outreach –

Ms Lesniak said she hoped Xavier Care would continue to support those in the Armadale Parish, continuing to develop and adapt to its changing needs. “I think we’ve tried to reshape the group a bit since it started, and refresh it,” she said. “In particular, we want to connect more with people through social events and other opportunities.”

I S S U E 5 DECEMBER 2016

2 0 16 S O C I A L J U S T I C E S TAT E M E N T

UPSIDE

THE OF AGEING

an expert tells his story WORDS Rachel Curry

“As the baby boomers age, I think they will drive a different attitude to ageing.”

Silver Chain CEO and father-of-three Chris McGowan says he knew he wanted to do something meaningful with his life from a young age. Photo: Supplied

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espite living in a society that cherishes youth above all else, Dr Chris McGowan is optimistic about getting older.

the release of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference’s 2016-2017 Social Justice Statement, A Place at the Table: Social Justice in an Ageing Society.

The Catholic father-of-three is the CEO of Silver Chain, one of the largest providers of health and aged care in the country, and said the experience had helped him form a positive outlook of the years to come.

The statement, which is available to download from the Australian Catholic Social Justice Council website, highlights the ageing of our population, which will see the number of Australians aged 65 and over more than double to 8.9 million, by the middle of the century.

“One of my favourite sayings is, ‘I’m looking forward to getting old; I’d much rather that than the alternative’,” he said with a smile. All joking aside, Dr McGowan is passionate about valuing the contributions of older people, something which has been brought to the forefront of Catholic thinking with

Rightfully described as ‘the great success story of human development’, the lengthening of our lives also presents a threefold challenge, the Bishops state in the document.

... recognise there’s a group of people who, as they age, are disadvantaged – who won’t have the wealth [nor are] strong advocates for their own welfare.

They call on Australians to work for an inclusive society that brings older people into the community; to ensure the dignity and care of people who are frail and most vulnerable to neglect or abuse; and to foster solidarity among all generations, recognising the special affinity that exists between young and old.

Reflecting on the statement, Dr McGowan said he could not deny the problems raised by the bishops, such as homelessness, unemployment, elder abuse, limited retirement The cover of the 2016-2017 savings – especially for women – and the Social Justice Statement. social and economic disadvantage faced by Photo: Supplied Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. However, he said there was also reason to hope for a better future for older Australians. “I think there’s a very deep ageist culture in our society. I think it will change though,” he said. “As the baby boomers age, I think they will drive a different attitude to ageing: about the way we treat them, the way they want to be seen. It’s going to be very, very interesting.” The baby boomers’ status as a large, highly educated and wealthy demographic means they will be able to make demands as they age, Dr McGowan said, and be taken seriously by government. He also believes technology, such as driverless cars and video conferencing, will play a big role in the coming decades in keeping older people connected to and participating in their communities. “I’m not worried about ageing in general in the future, but what this document does and it’s very important, is recognise there’s a group of people who, as they age, are disadvantaged – who won’t have the wealth, who aren’t necessarily strong advocates for their own welfare, who might not have housing. This will leave them very vulnerable in terms of their accommodation,” he said.

“We need to make sure that they’re cared for and the large body of voting, empowered, engaged baby boomers don’t turn away from the needs of the vulnerable few, who will be in this group.” Dr McGowan’s passion for ensuring no one gets left behind as society changes is something that stems from his Catholic upbringing. The son of strong practising Catholics, it was almost inevitable that he would spend time in a seminary, which he did for a year when he was 20. He decided not to continue on the path to become a priest, but the experience undoubtedly had an impact on him. “While I didn’t want to carry on with a religious life, it did set my mind that I wanted to spend my life doing something more than making money for stockholders,” he said. “For me, the thing that Jesus said that is most important to me was that you don’t exist for your physical, temporal needs. Contributing to a world that relieves suffering, builds happiness and builds humanity is what we’ve been called to do.” Dr McGowan carries out that ethos in his daily work for Silver Chain, and in particular through the organisation’s efforts to grant the wish of the majority of people facing a predictable death – such as patients in the advanced stages of cancer – to die at home. This commitment has led to a 70 per cent rate of people with predictable deaths dying at home in Western Australia, compared to 15 or 20 per cent in the rest of the country. Ultimately, whether it’s in providing palliative care or helping people manage various health conditions, Dr McGowan said the best thing about his work at Silver Chain was interacting with the people they serve. “They’re pretty much invariably fantastic people whom it’s a privilege to care for. And I get to live a life where I’m doing something that’s really meaningful,” he said. I S S U E 5 DECEMBER 2016

“He’s really one of our lead singers at the Cathedral. Whenever our Principal Cantor is away, he steps into her shoes formidably.”

WORDS Rachel Curry

THE RECORD MAGAZINE

PEOPLE

f you are one of the hundreds of parishioners who enjoy the powerful voice of Cantor Joshua Adams at St Mary’s Cathedral each week, you had better enjoy it while you can. In an interview with The Record Magazine journalist Rachel Curry, Mr Adams said he was considering his next move in pursuit of a career in music and may follow previous cantors by testing his talents overseas. “I’m not sure what I want to do; it’s quite hard to progress anywhere in music. A lot of my peers have gone to England to do further study, so maybe I’ll go to Europe,” he said. Luckily for local music lovers, Mr Adams is not going anywhere just yet, as he is part-way through a degree in voice at the University of Western Australia. He balances his studies with his role as Cantor – a soloist who leads the congregation in common sacred song and responsorial singing – and as a member of the St Mary’s Cathedral Choir. Today the 19-year-old doesn’t get nervous before Mass, but it was a different story when he first joined the choir as a treble, at the tender age of 10. St Mary’s Cathedral Director of Music, Jacinta Jakovcevic, was tipped off about his talents after he sang at the Fremantle Eisteddfod music competition, although Mr Adams said he had already been considering trying out for the choir. “I was going to audition for St Mary’s as a boy, because I was doing singing in Church and having lessons at the time,” he said. “I always went to Mass with mum and sang at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, Hilton Parish.”

Aside from his mother, who plays the guitar, Mr Adams said he didn’t come from a particularly musical family. However, he clearly has the musical gene, recalling that he felt a passion for singing at an age when most kids are more interested in playing chasey. “I wanted to do it when I was six or seven. Mum told me that I wanted to do music lessons and from there it’s continued on,” he said. Joshua joined the St Mary’s Cathedral Choir at an interesting time, when restorations to the 140-year-old Cathedral had forced them to relocate to St Joachim’s Pro-Cathedral, Victoria Park Parish, and he sang there for a couple of years before the historical rereopening. Another history-making event had occurred only a few months after he joined the choir, when the group travelled to the 2008 World Youth Day in Sydney and sang for Pope Benedict XVI. Miss Jakovcevic said his talent and dedication were apparent at a young age. “Even as a young boy, he really was like our lead treble. He did all the big solos and he applied himself so fabulously to it,” she said. As he grew up, Mr Adams’ voice developed into a cross between a baritone and a tenor, and Miss Jakovcevic said she was still noticing changes as he matured. “He’s getting a sense of real power in his sound, which is really wonderful…It means that he’s got a fuller spectrum of colour in his voice,” she said.

the group travelled to the 2008 World Youth Day in Sydney and sang for Pope Benedict XVI

“He’s really one of our lead singers at the Cathedral. Whenever our Principal Cantor is away, he steps into her shoes formidably.” Reflecting on his musical progression, Mr Adams said Miss Jakovcevic had been “quite a big inspiration” for him, along with Principal Cantors Carly Power and Daniel Mullaney. He revealed that his favourite time to sing during Mass, was Holy Communion, because of the reflective nature of the music and the creative possibilities it offered. As for the relationship between his music and his faith, he said it was something he had spent a lot of time contemplating. “We’ve had those discussions at school and on retreat and I feel like it’s special to be involved with Mass and to participate in that way. It’s the same as the altar servers and the readers,” he said. While Mr Adams does not know exactly what the future has in store, for now St Mary’s Cathedral has a particular hold on him. He has sung at many venues throughout the city but said there were not many that measured up to its brilliance. “Singing in the building of St Mary’s is wonderful acoustically and there’s not many places like that to sing in in Perth,” he said.

Joshua Adams prepares to sing at the 2016 Easter Sunday Mass. Photo: Ron Tan I S S U E 5 DECEMBER 2016

here is a great story to be told about the vintage house at 195 Lord Street, Perth. The one with the great “Pregnancy Assistance” sign in the front yard that catches the eye of hundreds of motorists every day. Perhaps it is the homely atmosphere it offers - the kind that provides a non-clinical and welcoming environment for anyone wanting to walk through its doors - or it could simply be its convenient location, placed right in front of a bus stop and in full view of a very busy city street. Whatever the reasons for its success, and indeed there are many, Pregnancy Assistance has over the past 20 years, been a beacon of light for women seeking free and confidential emotional support, material help, pregnancy testing, alternatives to abortion, post-abortion counselling, and accommodation referral.

Conceived by now Emeritus Archbishop Barry Hickey in 1995 and established a year later, Pregnancy Assistance was initially chaired by Brian Peachy from 1996 to 2011 – a role to be subsequently later filled by Kieran Ryan, Russell Sumich, Tom Gourlay and since 2014, Eric Jas. Past coordinators have been Anne Marie Langdon (1996-2006), Lydia Stanley (2006-2011) and since 2012, Lara Wynyard. Over the years, the organisation has been sustained by hundreds of dedicated and unpaid counsellors and other volunteers who have generously given their time and skills to what has been an honourable cause. From those who offered information or simply listened, those who took charge of donated clothing, toys and baby furniture, to those who staffed the rooms of Pregnancy Assistance’s houses, every bit of help has gone a long way in making Pregnancy Assistance the organisation it is today.

A PLACE OFFERING

HOPE&LIFE. PREGNANCY ASSISTANCE CELEBRATES 20 YEARS OF SERVICE WORDS Marco Ceccarelli

Baby Valma was born thanks to the help her mother received from Pregnancy Assistance Photo: Monica Defendi

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Current volunteers of Pregnancy Assistance Photo: Monica Defendi

Janice* sought post-abortion counselling from Pregnancy Assistance in 2012/13. She spoke to The Record Magazine about the life-changing effect of her decision to stop by the “Pregnancy Assistance” sign she would drive past regularly. “I would have persistent moments of sadness which interrupted my daily routines and I didn't recognise what I was going through, until I understood that abortion grief existed and that Pregnancy Assistance offered such support,” she said. “Also, since the services are free I was able to continue receiving their support without the financial burden to worry about on top of my grief. “I felt they walked through the grieving process with me and this means a lot since I was so broken to begin with. Having Pregnancy Assistance’s continued support I felt I could finally take that path of healing knowing they would always be there for me if I had moments of falling. I've had many falls but the support has made me stronger,” she said. During a recent Gala Dinner celebrating Pregnancy Assistance’s 20-year-anniversary, Emeritus Archbishop Barry Hickey sent a video message supporting the work of the organisation and emphasising its need and relevance in today’s society.

“I want to endorse the beautiful work that is being done by Pregnancy Assistance. In these days where our culture has virtually accepted abortion on demand, we need places like these, where women can come and be freed from all those pressures out there that might lead her to make a decision that she would have to live with for the rest of her life, that will burden her and give her pain. “This is a place of freedom. Where people can find wonderful counsellors, full of love, full of understanding of the position that people are in when they come here, especially the women, and offer them all the information, give them all the freedom to talk, to examine all the issues involved in this big decision they have to make. The results are amazing. The results are beautiful,” Emeritus Archbishop Hickey said. New chair of Pregnancy Assistance, Eric Jas, has spoken of establishing a new, solid structure and vision for the organisation that will assist in creating a clear direction. “We feel that Pregnancy Assistance is led by the Holy Spirit in this regard. "We follow His direction and adjust our sails accordingly,” he said. “And just like any sailing adventure, it is always an entire crew that needs to do the work. We have a great board of directors, and a number of key volunteers play a significant role in giving direction to this unique ministry.”

LEFT: Current Chairman of Pregnancy Assistance, Eric Jas, is helping the organisation formulate a vision statement which will assist in creating a clear direction. RIGHT: Coordinator Lara Wynyard (third from the left) with some of the volunteers and women who have been helped by Pregnancy Assistance at Pregnancy Assistance Mother’s Day breakfast, 6 May 2016. Photos: Monica Defendi I S S U E 5 DECEMBER 2016

“I heard his confession, which I shall not be expected to repeat. As I at first thought he was dying, I anointed him.”

THE CLERIC AND THE BUSHR ANGER

Perth priest a part of historical siege at Glenrowan WORDS Rachel Curry

More than 135 years after his death, bushranger Ned Kelly remains as popular a figure as ever. To some a ruthless criminal, to others a crusader for justice, Ned Kelly was hanged on November 11, 1880, after uttering the now immortal words, “Such is life”. However, what many people don’t know is that one of Perth’s own bishops played a key

role in this famous story.

erth’s third Bishop, Matthew Gibney, then simply known as Fr Gibney, gave Ned Kelly the Last Rites on 28 June, 1880, during the Kelly Gang’s notorious last stand in the Victorian town of Glenrowan. He also risked his life in a vain attempt to save the other members of the Kelly Gang, and a local man who was their hostage, from the burning Glenrowan Inn. The entire account was published on July 29, 1880 in The Record, the very newspaper that Fr Gibney had established six years earlier in his role as Vicar General of the Diocese of Perth. “I was travelling on the North-Eastern line,

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having left Melbourne by the first down-train in the morning,” Fr Gibney stated. “On arriving at Glenrowan station, having heard, while going there, that the Kelly Gang were at Jones’s hotel, I got out of the train, abandoning my intention to proceed further on. “Consequently my presence at the scene was, so to speak, accidental. I got out at Glenrowan, because I thought I might be of use in my clerical capacity.” Fr Gibney recalled that he went immediately to attend to the wounded Ned Kelly, who had been brought to the railway station after being shot in the legs by police.

LEFT: The remains of the Glenrowan Inn, which Bishop Matthew Gibney bravely entered in an attempt to save members of the Kelly Gang and their hostage from being burned alive, on 28 June, 1880. Photo: Australian News and Information Bureau RIGHT: Perth’s third Bishop, Matthew Gibney, played a heroic role in the Kelly Gang’s last stand at Glenrowan, while he was serving as Vicar-General of the Diocese of Perth. Photo: FW Niven

“I don’t think he is dying. He is penitent, and shows a very good disposition. When I asked him to say, ‘Lord Jesus, have mercy on me,’ he said it and added, ‘It’s not today I began to say that’,” he stated.

Fr Gibney spoke to the Kellys’ sister, Margaret Skillion, and begged her to go to the inn and ask her brother to surrender.

“I heard his confession, which I shall not be expected to repeat. As I at first thought he was dying, I anointed him.”

However, when Mrs Skillion said she would sooner see her brother die than ask him to surrender, the police decided to set fire to the inn, in order to force the outlaws into the open.

Although Fr Gibney’s anointing of Ned Kelly has been reported in various accounts of the siege at Glenrowan, less well known is his valiant effort to save several lives. The Record Newspaper reported that he joined the crowd outside the Glenrowan Inn, in which Dan Kelly, Joe Byrne and Steve Hart were sheltering, along with a local man, Martin Sherry, who was their hostage.

With the building going up in flames, Fr Gibney declared his intention to save those inside from suffering a horrible fate, and moved forward. “There was not a man in the crowd willing to accompany him. Not for £10,000 would any man, we believe, have done so; and this is no wonder, for assuredly not the very highest offer of the kind would have been the least temptation to the brave priest to do as he did, The Record reported. “Passing through the house, the heat he had to endure was intense, and the smoke blinding, yet he made his way out through an opposite door at the back, and as he emerged safe, the people cheered him loudly. “Having announced that the outlaws were dead inside, some people ran towards him, and then – but not till then, did the police enter.” Ned Kelly, pictured the day before he was hanged in 1880, received the last rites from Bishop Matthew Gibney, after he was wounded during the siege at Glenrowan. Photo: Australian News and Information Bureau

Martin Sherry was found badly wounded and moved away from the burning building, where Fr Gibney anointed him before he passed away. Joe Byrne was found to have been shot dead by police many hours earlier, while the bodies of Dan Kelly and Steve Hart were discovered in such a way that suggested they had committed suicide. Reluctant to draw attention to his heroic role in the events, Fr Gibney continued to travel along the East Coast, where he was collecting funds for the Subiaco Boys’ Orphanage. He later served as Bishop of Perth from 1887 to 1910, when he resigned amid financial difficulties, but – as was made clear at Glenrowan - his bravery, devotion and love for all people could never be questioned.

I S S U E 5 DECEMBER 2016

Local context the key to

WARTIME ARCHBISHOPS WORDS Rachel Curry

THROUGHOUT THE HISTORY

of the Catholic Church in Australia

there have been several figures whose leadership and opinions – both theological and political – have made them stand out nationally and on the world stage. In the first half of the twentieth century, the flashpoints of World War One and the Easter Rising in Dublin brought two such individuals into the spotlight – pastoral leaders on opposite sides of the continent whose views on geopolitics influenced not only the Catholic community, but also how it was seen by wider society.’

rchbishop Daniel Mannix in Melbourne and Archbishop Patrick Clune in Perth, were divided not only by the distance between their archdioceses, but by their conflicting positions on Conscription – which the Australian government put to referenda in 1916 and 1917 – and Irish independence.

According to Dr Dowd, Clune’s stance on these issues was in many ways shaped by the demographics and political status of Western Australia, and Perth specifically, at that time. As Archbishop of Perth from 1913 to 1935 (Bishop from 1911) it was desirable for him to affirm the prevailing local social and cultural values by embracing a more pro-British perspective on the war and on Ireland.

Although they came from fairly similar backgrounds – both born the sons of tenant farmers in rural Ireland in 1864 – the two men held very different views about their home country and the political loyalties of their new one. Clune was largely a defender of the British Empire and Ireland’s place within it, and as such promoted the Australian war effort. By contrast, Mannix became known as an outspoken critic of British activity in Ireland, and went head-to-head with Australian Prime Minister Billy Hughes over the issue of Conscription.

“Western Australia was slightly more British than the rest of Australia, which was heavily British anyway, and the British population of Western Australia had a higher proportion of recently-arrived migrants from Britain with a strong personal attachment to the motherland,” Dr Dowd said.

The two Archbishops have been the subject of biographies in the last few years, with the release of Brenda Niall’s Mannix in 2015, and Rev Dr Christopher Dowd’s Faith, Ireland and Empire – profiling Clune – in 2014, and these authors offer different explanations for why each moved in such different directions politically.

“So, Western Australia was a strongly British-type society expressed in loyalty to the crown, the Empire and the homeland. “Hence, Clune’s concern to keep the Catholic community aligned with the prevailing social attitudes in Western Australia.” Given widespread support for the war among WA citizens– whose recruitment rates were higher than in other states – Archbishop Clune was encouraged to embrace the government’s attempt to introduce Conscription.

Archbishop Patrick Clune Photo: Archdiocese of Perth 26

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As the only member of Australia’s Catholic clergy to have witnessed the war firsthand (during his time as chaplain-general in late 1916), it is likely that the sacrifice and suffering he witnessed on the Western Front bolstered Clune’s position as well.

When it came to the Irish question, Clune generally accepted the view that the country would benefit from Home Rule, but remaining within the British Empire.

When it came to the Irish question, Clune generally accepted the view that the country would benefit from Home Rule, but remaining within the British Empire. According to Dr Dowd, this was partly influenced by growing prosperity and political reform during the late Victorian period of his youth. “The era of Clune’s childhood and early adulthood, was a period of considerable social and economic progress, under the direction of bureaucratic reformist policies adopted in London and Dublin,” he said. “Home Rule increasingly loomed on the horizon although progress was painfully slow with no measure adopted before the outbreak of the First World War. “But, until the crisis of Easter 1916, the vast majority of Irishmen, both inside and outside Ireland, would have seen some measure of Home Rule, with Ireland still under the British crown and within the Empire, as the default position constitutionally.”

II SS SS U U EE 55 NOVEMBER DECEMBER 2016

Mannix, by Brenda Niall Photo: Supplied

These influences – plus his desire to accept the status quo in Perth, where the British Empire enjoyed much support – ensured that Archbishop Clune would eschew the independence-supporting views held by Mannix.

These would have included the obvious inequality between tenant farmers like his father, and the landed gentry in the nearby ‘Big House’, as well as bubbling protest from the Boycott and Land League movements, close to where Mannix grew up.

Indeed, the Perth Archbishop’s balanced speeches about Ireland’s need for autonomy, albeit within the Empire, earned him such respect that when he visited the country in 1920 British Prime Minister Lloyd George asked him to act as intermediary with members of the Irish independence movement.

Mannix did not leave Ireland until he was in his forties, remaining at St Patrick’s College, Maynooth as a Theology teacher until his appointment to the Melbourne Archdiocese in 1912. This meant that he was able to see the struggles leading to the Easter Rising up close, and he felt their impact keenly.

By contrast, Mannix – on the same trip – was prevented from setting foot on Irish soil. However, the two men remained on cordial terms despite their differing views, with Clune asking Mannix for advice on this appointment.

“The feelings of an exile significant,” Dr Niall said.

“The relationship was quite friendly on a face-to-face basis,” Dr Dowd said.

In the aftermath of the Rising, Clune remained generally pro-Empire, but the violence he witnessed in Ireland prompted him to condemn British military repression there, and to move from a position favouring Home Rule to one supporting the Irish Free State.

“As soon as Lloyd George appointed him as an intermediary between the British Government and Irish nationalist forces in December 1920 to get peace talks going, Clune visited Mannix to take his advice. “Mannix helped Clune by supplying him with contacts and recommendations although, personally, he was not optimistic about the chances of success.” However, Mannix was publicly critical of Clune and dismissive of his peace efforts and his naïve attitude towards the British government. Faith, Ireland and Empire by Rev Dr Christopher Dowd Photo: Supplied

Although both men grew up in a fairly similar setting, several experiences in Daniel Mannix’s youth were likely to have shaped his sympathy for the struggle for Irish independence from Britain, according to Brenda Niall. “A number of factors would have contributed - no single event would account for Mannix’s sympathy for the cause,” she said.

THE RECORD MAGAZINE

were

“If he had stayed at Maynooth, he might never have felt the extremes of anger and grief brought about the executions of the Easter Rising.”

On his return however, he was faced with strong local criticism for this, as well as the anti-Catholic sentiment that was growing throughout Australia, and it was this in part which helped him moderate his feelings, according to Dr Dowd. “Clune and the Catholic community were also hurt by the anti-Catholic tone of the pro-conscription party (even though Clune himself was also pro-conscription and the Catholic community had responded very generously to the war effort), the attempt of the Perth City Council to ban the 1919 St Patrick’s Day parade and the outburst of vicious anti-Catholic sectarianism in Western Australia in the early 1920s (mainly imported from interstate, let it be said),” he said.

The life of Italian Saint Pio of Pietrelcina – also known as Padre Pio, touched the lives of thousands of Perth Catholics, following the visit of his relics to St Mary’s Cathedral in October this year.

athedral Dean, Monsignor Michael Keating, said more than 8500 people had passed through St Mary’s Cathedral at some 13 events over five days, from 22 October to 26 October. The relics – which included Padre Pio’s hair, a piece of his nails and a pair of his gloves - were brought exclusively to Perth at the request of Mgr Keating by Father GianMaria Digiorgio, who is from Padre Pio’s Order of Friars Minor Capuchin and had studied and worked with the internationally renowned saint. St Mary’s Cathedral parishioner, Patrizia DiStefano and her parents Cesare and Maria also contributed significantly to bringing the relics to Perth.

Mgr Keating also spoke about when he met Padre Pio (personally) in 1965, following a visit to the town of San Giovanni Rotondo, Foggia, Italy. Speaking about the life of Padre Pio, Fr Digiorgio noted that in February this year, Pope Francis promoted Padre Pio appropriately, as a saint of mercy. “Padre Pio was a man of suffering for many, many years. So he understood deeply the sufferings of people who were physically and spiritually in torment,” Fr Digiorgio said.

In an interview with The Record Magazine, Mgr Keating said the visitation by the relics held particular significance in [October] 2016, especially just as the Jubilee Year of Mercy was drawing to a close. The visitation of the relics to Perth was also heightened by the celebration of a special Mass that included the rite of the Anointing of the Sick on Saturday 22 October.

“He also received that very special gift of the stigmata, the five wounds of Jesus which were imprinted on his body. He became in that way, a kind of photocopy of Jesus hanging on the cross, with the same sufferings.” For more than 50 years, Padre Pio of Pietrelcina reported stigmata which were studied by several 20th century physicians. The observations were reportedly unexplainable and the wounds never became infected and disappeared after his death in 1968.

“For many people, this was a once in a lifetime opportunity to experience, in faith, the life of Padre Pio,” Mgr Keating said.

PA D R E P I O R E L I C S

Thousands gather to venerate

‘Saint of Mercy’ WORDS Jamie O’Brien

I S S U E 5 NOVEMBER 2016

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35 Archdiocese in New Mexico

37 What the apostles did while Jesus prayed in the Garden

3 Theology on ___ program 4 Words added at the beginning of a Scripture reading in the Lectionary 5 Catholic tennis great Roger ___ 6 Her eyes were described in the Bible (Gen 29:17) 7 The Diocese of Jefferson City is here 8 “…bone of my bones and ___…” (Gen 2:23) 14 Michaelmas mon. 15 First Catholic US president, familiarly 18 Mother of 31A 19 “Angel of God, my guardian ___…” 21 Alb or stole 22 One of two names in a Catholic book publishing company 23 Joseph saw these in his first dream (Gen 37:7) 24 Take communion 27 “…am I my brother’s ___?” (Gen 4:9) 28 Nationality necessary to be in the papal guard 30 ___ occasion of sin 33 What you should do when the herald angels sing 34 ___ of Faith

ANSWERS

THE R ECOR D M AGAZINE

Cover image Supplied

DECEMBER 2016

ISSUE 5

OUR MISSION STATEMENT The Record Magazine seeks to promote awareness and understanding of vocation – God’s particular call to each of us to live and become what we were created to be. There are many such vocations – marriage and family life, priesthood, religious life or being single – with the first and universal vocation being to holiness, as described by the Fathers of the Church in Lumen Gentium.

COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER/ EDITOR Jamie O’Brien jamie.obrien@perthcatholic.org.au MOB 0455 099 652

DISCLAIMER The Record Magazine is published bi-monthly. Views expressed in published articles are not necessarily those of the publisher or Editor. The Editor may refuse copy or material, including advertisements, for publication. Inclusion of an advertisement in The Record Magazine does not reflect endorsement or responsibility from the publisher or Editor.

MEMBERSHIP The Record Magazine is a member of the Australasian Catholic Press Association and Australasian Religious Press Association.

ARTICLE SUBMISSIONS We welcome unsolicited articles and photos; however, we do not guarantee replies to unsuccessful submissions. Please send all information to: editor@therecord.com.au

CONTACT Archdiocese of Perth Communications Office Phone 08 9220 5900 Email editor@therecord.com.au Address 21 Victoria Square, Perth WA Postal Address PO Box 3075, Perth WA 6832

JOURNALISTS Marco Ceccarelli marco.ceccarelli@perthcatholic.org.au MOB: 0425 543 335

Caroline Smith caroline.smith@perthcatholic.org.au MOB: 0413824828

Rachel Curry rachel.curry@perthcatholic.org.au MOB: 0402 546232

VIDEO JOURNALIST Daniele Foti-Cuzzola daniele.foticuzzola@perthcatholic.org.au

PRODUCTION Feby Plando

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NOTICE The issue may contain images of deceased members of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community. Images are used with respect and appreciation.

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