The Record Newspaper 11 February 2009

THE R ECORD

Archbishop launches resource for homeless

■

By Anthony Barich

ARCHBISHOP Barry Hickey often doesn’t sleep well at night. His house in Victoria Square in Perth’s central business district, across the road from St Mary’s Cathedral, is just next to the central operational hub of the Catholic Church locally.

But around 9pm, it changes. Many of the homeless – mostly Aboriginal – who have hung around sheltering in various spots around the city during the day, gather at the Archbishop’s front patio for somewhere to sleep.

They call him “Father Hickey”. They love him. But he knows he can’t do much except be their friend and give them a private property to sleep on.

“I’m not a social welfare agency, but they’ve got nowhere else to go,” he says.

Over the many years that the Archbishop has resided there, it has become a home for many - likely hundreds - of displaced people. Some – like one young woman last weekarrive with their blankets in tow and announce ‘I’m staying here tonight’.

Some sleep on his front porch, some he takes around to the secure back area, but they need to clear out in the morning as Catholic Church employees come and park their cars there. If it were an open space, the police would most likely move them on. But as it is private property, it is a haven from officialdom and the elements.

And the Archbishop often finds himself interceding on their behalf.

Continued - Page 4

Meet the Abbot

New Norcia has elected a new Abbot to replace their beloved Placid Spearritt, who died in the UK in October last year.

■ By Anthony Barich

NEW Norcia’s new Abbot, Father John Herbert OSB, is not your model monk. He freely volunteers the information himself.

“I’m not your standard monk

who arrived at the front gate and followed the path that a good, obedient monk would,” said Fr Herbert, who was elected by twothirds majority vote as the New Norcia Benedictine monastery’s new Abbott on January 22 and was installed by Abbot Bruno Martin, president of the Subiaco Congregation to which his monastery belongs.

Fr Herbert always knew he was drawn to the “monk thing” since a young age, but as his parents encouraged all their kids to try a career first, he “fell into” being

a chef for 10 years and ended up running his own restaurant in St Kilda for two years.

He was first drawn to the Carmelites, but as their work in Australia mainly consists of work in parishes and schools, he looked to the Benedictines, who ran Australia’s only monastic town, New Norcia.

Even then, he got caught up in the monastic life’s structure and whether they were praying often enough, so much so that he left to “look for a better monas-

Continued - Page 6

We’re ready: Anglican bishop

■ By Anthony Barich

MEMBERS of the Traditional Anglican Communion hope to be able to pledge belief in “one, holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church” without being immersed into Catholic parishes if unification talks with the Holy See succeed, the TAC’s Perth bishop says.

Bishop Harry Entwistle, who oversees a small Western Australian TAC diocese based on parishes in Maylands, Lesmurdie, Albany and Brentwood, told The Record that his group professes belief

WHY I BECAME CATHOLIC

ARONA SAYER tells DEBBIE WARRIER about her life’s journey into the Church Vista 4

priests in the 1970s illegally and subsequent Lambeth conferences confirmed the practice, the Canterbury-based Anglican Communion distanced itself from its Catholic roots, he said.

“Be indefatigable in your purpose and with undaunted spirit resist iniquity and try to conquer evil with good, having before your eyes the reward of those who combat for Christ.”

in the Catholic Church as the Anglican Church orginally constituted itself in England, but

not a separate church. When the Anglican Church in America first started ordaining women

After The Record’s exclusive report on January 28 saying that it was understood the Vatican’s CDF would recommend the status of Personal Prelature for the TAC if talks aimed at unification succeeded, Vatican sources said no decision had yet been made, but it was one of the options it was considering.

Continued - Page 6

THE ITALIAN WAY

It will be a mighty milestone for parishioners of Holy Rosary Parish Church in Doubleview over the weekend of February 21-22 as they gather in the beautiful Church built by pioneering clergy, Religious and lay families.

Fr ANTHONY PAGANONI begins a new series of articles on a fascinating success in youth ministry in Italy Vista 4

-Bishop Matthew Gibney 1874

Continuing the tradition: Abbot John Herbert OSB walks towards the monastery’s Church at New Norcia. Abbot Herbert, who was elected to fill the shoes of Abbot Placid Spearritt OSB, is the seventh Abbot of the historic Western Australian monastery.

PHOTO: ANTHONY BARICH

Trying: Archbishop Hickey wants help for the growing numbers of homeless. PHOTO: A BARICH

Hope: Traditional Anglican Bishop of Perth, Harry Entwistle, second from right, with members of the Servants of the Sacred Cross, an ecumencial women’s community, and Archbishop Barry Hickey at Good Shepherd Parish, Lockridge, in 2007.

PHOTO: P ROSENGREN

THE PARISH

“But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who have died, so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have died.”

Priest spreads the Word on Eucharist

A Blessed Sacrament priest who spoke to parishes in Perth draws a lesson in humility and hope from the fact that few young people were among those who came to hear his message on the Eucharist’s importance.

■ By Anthony Barich

AFTER he travelled all the way from India last week to evangelise in several parishes about the life-changing experience of the Eucharist, it saddened Blessed Sacrament Father Erasto Fernandez that his main audience were the elderly.

Erasto Fernandez

Rather than flying home, with his tail between his legs after speaking at Spearwood, Glendalough, Mundaring, Greenwood, Claremont, Mirrabooka, Port Kennedy, Thornlie, Cottesloe and Whitford, he says the age of those who attended his talks served to convince him that “it only means the Church has plenty of work

to do”. In other words, Australia is ripe for the harvest, but this also serves as a warning that perhaps the Church needs to think harder about how to give the message, says the Mumbai-trained priest.

However, huge numbers are not the most important thing, he says; those who did attend were “quality people” who were eager to learn with a great desire to know more about Scripture.

“It gives me the feeling that there is much that can be done,” he told The Record. Not that it’s not already being done. But, he says, perhaps living the faith as a visible witness, with love, would be a good start as opposed to taking a purely intellectual approach.

Fr Erasto, who has spoken widely on the Eucharist thropughout Asia including in places such as Hong Kong and Singapore, is part of a global Catholic religious congregation of 900-plus founded in 1856 by St Peter Julian Eymard, ‘the priest of the Eucharist’ as he became known.

St Eymard was a former Marist Father

who, having grown up in the early 1800 when the Church in France faced intense persecution, founded an order of priests with a special focus on the Eucharist and bringing it to those who had fallen away from the Church.

The three main tenets of the Blessed Sacrament congregation’s work is to better their own understanding of the Eucharist, to celebrate it meaningfully during the Mass, and to live this out more fully so as to evangelise more effectively.

...his talks only served to energise him, convinced of the belief that “it only means the Church has plenty of work to do”.

Fr Erasto’s message, surprisingly simple, is devoid of heavy theological discourse. Basically, he says, the Eucharist is not merely for ourselves, but something we need to share with others. By sharing, he means sharing whatever graces we receive from the Eucharist, inside the context of a liturgy including Scripture, which is the Word of God. How do we receive these graces from receiving that wafer? Fr Erasto says that by partaking in the Eucharist, we have entered into the very presence of Jesus, who has ushered us into the new covenant, the one whereby God the Father offers us everything – all of Himself, His love and His salvation, through the offering of His own Son.

We, in turn, give everything of ourselves to Him by letting ourselves be guided by His Word. This mutual relationship is a covenant. This is what Fr Erasto calls “oneness of life”.

“So already, by living this out in the Eucharist, here on earth we are already one with God,” he says, adding that we are obligated to pass on to others any graces we receive.

This message, unfortunately, often falls on deaf ears in the western world – evidenced by the fact that his own Order is seriously dwindling in Europe, where it was founded, and the Western world.

But it flourishes in the Third World, he says, where people are more open to truth as there is less affluence and a more obvious need for God’s grace in people’s everyday struggles.

“We often turn to God when we’re beaten to our knees,” he says.

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New president elected ahead of Parish Retreat at Ocean Reef

DAVID Grieve of Burns Beach has been elected president of the Parish Council at St Simon Peter Parish, Ocean Reef. It will be his third stint as president of the council.

He was president for three years covering the period when the church was officially opened in 1993 and again for three years beginning in 1998. David returned to the council last year and was elected president at the first meeting for the year on February 5.

He replaces John Hollywood, president for the last two years, who will continue on the council but stepped down from the presidency in order to concentrate on his role as Chairman of the Archdiocese’s Social Justice Council. Other members of the council are Hugh Ryan (secretary), Ninette Davies, Moira Minus, Gaby Simpson, Rita Fanglieiro, Theo van de Peppel, and youth representatives Daniel Reed and Natalie Beale.

The parish has two large primary

schools, St Simon Peter and Currambine Catholic Primary. Staff and spouses from both schools and the parish council will combine for Mass at 5.30pm on February 18, followed by a social gathering at St Simon Peter.

The first major parish event for the year will be a Parish Retreat beginning on the weekend of March 7-8 and continuing with evening sessions from Monday to Thursday March 9-12. Do you have any parish news? Send your parish news plus high-resolution pics to cathrec@iinet.net.au

Fr

He is here: A US bishop and his diocese celebrate a Eucharistic Congress for the diocese’s 150th anniversary. Visiting Indian Blessed Sacrament priest Fr Erasto Fernandez, pictured below, has been bringing their message on the importance of the Eucharist to Perth in recent weeks.

PHOTO: TOM UEBBING, TODAY’S CATHOLIC

Imagine there’s no heaven...

An interview on ABC Radio revealed much about the convictions of the man in the middle of the scandal that is St Mary’s South Brisbane, and who has just been sacked by his Archbishop.

Anthony Barich reports.

FATHER Peter Kennedy does not believe in heaven. Nor does he believe in hell, and he’s hazy on the concept of life after death, if a recent radio interview is anything to go by.

These beliefs underpin liturgical problems and abuses in St Mary’s parish in South Brisbane that led Archbishop John Bathersby to advise Fr Kennedy to remedy them or remain outside communion with the Catholic Church.

With the advice unheeded, the prelate sacked him as the parish’s administrator last week, effective as of February 21.

Fr Kennedy, who will be replaced by Dean Ken Howell of St Stephen’s Cathedral as parish administrator, was given the option by the Archbishop to retire. The prelate’s decision follows a number of longrunning problems at the parish.

Fr Kennedy, who revealed the extent of his belief in the afterlife in a January 27 interview on ABC Radio, has allowed his parishioners to design their own liturgy.

His resident priest Fr Terry Fitzpatrick was captured on Youtube baptising a young child with the words, "We baptise you in the name of the creator, sustainer and liberator of life", adding "who is also father, son and spirit". The priest then added: "That’s good, nice and cool"… and invited "everyone to put water on him".

The clip was quickly removed from the internet, but it is believed hundreds of children have been baptised with this formula, which the Congregation for the Doctrine and the Faith announced was invalid in February 2008.

Archbishop Bathersby will nominate a day “in the near future” when baptisms can be performed at St Stephen’s Cathedral and certificates issued to parents concerned about validity, or those who are adult converts.

“The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith made it clear that invalid baptisms cannot be dismissed and forgotten. They must be corrected,” the prelate told Fr Kennedy in the letter advising the priest of his termination.

For years the parish has had its own Eucharistic prayer, which is recited by the congregation as well as the priest, important parts of the Mass have been eliminated and Scripture readings have been swapped for other material.

“Fr Peter Kennedy does not believe in heaven. Nor does he believe in hell...”

The parish reportedly has a large and growing congregation, which Fr Kennedy has publicly said he may use to form a breakaway Christian community elsewhere in South Brisbane. "I've been here 28 years and I know this community is solidly behind me, and so we could go elsewhere," he has said.

In the letter advising him of his termination, Archbishop Bathersby said that should the priest carry out his threat, “I cannot stop you from doing so”, but warned that those who joined him would not be in communion with the Catholic Church, along with Fr Kennedy himself.

Fr Kennedy, a former navy chaplain whose parish has a strong social justice focus, said that “we as a community” at St Mary’s dispute the Archbishop’s claim of their self-excommunication. “We as a community belong to the Catholic tradition,” he said.

The priest also disputed claims of a Buddhist statue being placed in the church, which made headlines when an irate parishioner smashed it. The statue, which Fr Kennedy purchased with Fr Fitzpatrick, was not a typical Buddha figure, he said, but a statue of a “young monk with his head shaved” that could be mistaken for a Buddhist image. He also confirmed that a “BuddhistChristian” group of 50 holds a meditation session at the parish church every Monday.

“We baptise you in the name of the creator, sustainer and liberator of life” ...

Fr Kennedy wrote to the Archbishop on January 12 inviting him to further discuss the situation at St Mary’s, but the prelate wrote back with a termination letter saying: “I see no reason to do so. I have repeatedly asked for changes but you and the community have not budged an inch.”

He said the parish’s instant dis-

closure to the media of his letters to St Mary’s has also given him “no reason to enter into discussion”. Fr Kennedy admitted on ABC Radio that “we broke liturgical rules”, and mentioned a Mass at the parish on January 25 when the Mass started with Aboriginal dancers performing and singing on the sanctuary instead of starting with the priest introducing the Mass with the Sign of the Cross.

He said he does not feel like he is out of communion with the Church.

Having arrived at South Brisbane in 1980 after being ordained in 1964, he said he quickly changed the furniture, giving away half the pews to leave “an enormous space” in front for the whole congregation to gather around the table – “not an altar” – for the Eucharist.

Fr Kennedy said that he changed the ambience to “celebrate a new way of being church, a new liturgy”, adding that any changes he made were always done in consultation with the people, including the liturgy. He said he has no regrets about being a priest, but would not become one if he had his time again – “not in today’s Church” which he described as a “club where you have to play by the rules or you’re out”. He said giving homilies and talking about issues in people’s lives is a “great privilege”, but said he hopes he does not preach to his congregation.

The social justice focus that Fr Kennedy has fostered was praised by Archbishop Bathersby, which he sincerely hopes will remain. The prelate also wants a return to a Marian devotional focus which “was normal in the past”, adding that he will do whatever he can to facilitate this devotion.

The Archbishop told Fr Kennedy that the decision to fire him from the parish gives him no satisfaction. “The separation of Christians is contrary to all that Christ prayed for,” the prelate said. “Nor does such division promote the Kingdom of God.” However the 62-year-old prelate added that he does not believe this division will be healed in his time. Bishops are required by Canon Law to tender their resignation at age 75.

In the meantime, the Archbishop asked all the faithful of the Archdiocese to pray for him and for all in the Archdiocese, especially the community at St Mary’s.

in brief...

Society of St Vincent de Paul WA opens fires appeal

■ By Anthony Barich

THE St Vincent de Paul Society is assisting in the Victorian fires tragedy that has claimed over 160 lives as The Record went to print.

In what Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said could be a case of “mass murder” if it turns out to be the case that fires were deliberately lit, the Society said members of the West Australian community can help provide practical support to the countless devastated families by donating to the SVDP Victorian Disaster Appeal.

West Australians can donate by logging onto www.vinnies. org.au/vic or call 13 18 12.

The collection and distribution of material goods at this time is logistically complex, a Society statement released this week said, adding that financial donations will provide the most meaningful assistance to those who have lost loved ones, homes and businesses. St Vincent de Paul Society Victoria will use all money raised to provide emergency relief and long-term assistance to the communities affected by the tragedy to help them rebuild their homes and lives. Donations are also being received by the St Vincent de Paul Society North QLD Flood Appeal to help alleviate the disaster caused by heavy flooding in Queensland’s North.

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Over the line: Archbishop John Bathersby of Brisbane, left, has fired parish priest, Fr Peter Kennedy, right, over liturgical innovations he says are clear abuses. For his part, Fr Kennedy says he does not believe in a heaven or a hell.

the Parish

Hollywood comes to WA schools

500 WA Catholic classrooms to get a touch of Hollywood in 2009

FoR the first time, 15,000 West Australian students at Catholic primary schools will have starring roles in their own movie, shot by their teachers.

The Catholic Education office of Western Australia (CEoWA) has partnered with a commercial entity in a statewide first, to film 500 classrooms throughout the entire 130-school primary system and bring a touch of the silver screen to schools

The CEoWA plans to have a ClassMovie filmed in all pre-primary and grade seven classrooms in WA in 2009.

ClassMovies is a new product for schools, capturing the classroom experience and supplying a professionallyedited movie to students.

It is one of a kind and new to Australia but so far has launched with a bang and reached over a thousand classrooms across Australia, due to a large number of parent requests.

Phillip Lewis, founder of ClassMovies, said: “Several Catholic schools in WA have already participated in a ClassMovie in 2008 and the feedback from teachers, parents and students was fantastic.

“now students in Catholic schools from the remote Kimberly to Central Perth to South West WA will all be joining the ClassMovies program.

“They will receive an amazing memory of their time at school and parents will be able to have a unique insight into their child’s school life.”

The CEoWA has decided to implement the ClassMovies program across all schools to help open up the classroom to parents and the community, and provide a real sense of the unique spirit of each school.

Director of Catholic Education in WA, Ron Dullard, said: “We are enthusiastic about this partnership and can’t wait to get started.

“It will be a great insight into our schools and the Catholic school system as well as a great gift for the child and their parents.

“We foresee ClassMovies being screened at graduations, open days, education expos and a range of other events.

“We also plan to use the movies as part of our teacher recruitment initiatives.”

Filming of the 500 ClassMovies will start from Term one this year.

Teachers will receive their ‘Starter Packs’, film their class over a week and then send the footage to ClassMovies to be edited.

The teacher, school and all the students in each class will receive a copy of their 20-minute ClassMovie.

ClassMovies are available in all States and territories in Australia to schools of any size or denomination.

Parish romance produces 64 new Catholics

Two people heavily involved in their local parish community meet, fall in love, grow in faith and are still together 65 years later. Sounds like a prototype for the future of the Church...

John and Bernadette o’Reilly celebrated 65 years of marriage with a big family party in Perth on January 31.

Their actual anniversary date was on February 5, but who could blame them and their family for wanting to get the celebrations underway a bit early?

Among their truly admirable achievements is the 55 years they spent in the same home in north Perth, where they brought up their 11 children – five boys and six girls. But that’s not all.

They have 35 grandchildren and 29 great-grandchildren, with great-grandchild number 30 due later this year.

The couple were married at Sacred heart Church in highgate in 1934 and held their reception in the church hall.

It was truly a parish romance, with John (also known as ‘Jack’) living in Vincent Street opposite the church hall and Bernadette living in Chelmsford Road behind the parish presbytery.

The couple were very much part of the local Catholic community of their day.

John’s sister, Molly, now deceased, became a Presentation Sister (Sr Louis) at Iona Convent

younger brother, was Fr Joseph Russell. her father, Edward, was a wellknown builder in Perth and built

St Mary’s Church in Leederville near Aranmore College and grottos to our Lady at Clontarf and Sacred heart Convent in highgate.

Too Tired to Pray

She thought when night had finally ended day,

“Dear Lord, tonight I am too tired to pray”

And wearily she closed her eyes in sleep, Slipping far into the shadowed deep.

Up in heaven the dear Lord heard and smiled, “Today she soothed a little, crying child, She stopped her work to take old Ella Kloop

A fragrant warming bowl of her good soup. her house was orderly, her garden tended, her children fed, their clothes all clean and mended. her husband home, from work, found happiness And quiet peace in his deep gentleness.”

The dear Lord smiled again, “Too tired to pray? her hands have offered prayers of love all day!”

he also erected buildings at Bindoon and Tardun for the Christian Brothers.

Bernadette’s brothers Gerard, Pat and ned were also builders and built our Lady’s Chapel at the side of Sacred heart Church in highgate.

The couple finally moved to Kingsway Court Retirement Village in Madeley about 18 months ago.

The family celebration was also held as a double birthday celebration for the couple.

John will turn 90 on May 19 this year while Bernadette turned 86 on January 31, the day of the family get-together.

Their daughter Patricia also supplied The Record with a copy of a poem written by Bernadette’s mother, believed to have been composed in the 1930s.

Archbishop launches help for homeless

Continued from page 1

Sometimes they cause a ruckus, as they are usually high on “the sniff” (glue), as the Archbishop calls it, drugs, or their senses have been deadened by alcohol. These elements keep them homeless, in some cases mentally disadvantaged, which prevents them from finding work and accommodation to escape their plight.

This is what keeps the Archbishop awake at night. he doesn’t mind. he sees Christ in them and does what he can. he’s completed a Masters in Social Work from the University of WA, and many times he has attempted to negotiate with local councils and the State government to do more for their accommodation needs.

Catholic Church agencies like Shopfront, staffed by up to 80 volunteers, have been nothing less than a God-send, offering assistance, friendship, support and referrals to the marginalised since 2001.

Shopfront recently has put on ‘night-owl’ staff to organise emergency accommodation for those who arrive at their doorstep wanting somewhere to sleep. At the moment, Shopfront usually refers them to places like 55 Central Avenue in Maylands or St Bartholomew’s house in East Perth. But they have limited beds and demand far exceeds supply.

on February 6 at Queen of Martyrs parish hall in Maylands, the Archbishop launched a ‘basic resource’ for inner-city Perth where the homeless and marginalsed can go for a bed, meal, doctor and a shower.

This resource, which includes contacts for day support, detox centres, accommodation and crisis helplines, was a joint initiative between Julie Williams, Shopfront manager, and Chris harkness, who as part of his studies for a Self Expression Leadership Program, needed a community project to work on. The resultant resource was part of an exercise to “bring people together in the spirit of friendship”.

It was at this launch where the Archbishop revealed his sleeping issues, and was visibly moved when recounting the plight of the homeless who seek him out at night. Most of them are young Aboriginal women, some are escaping defacto relationships or men who ‘seek sexual

favours’. But he wants more to be done. As he scanned the brochure at the launch, he said he knows of many other agencies – Christian and secular alike – who should be on this list. It will be updated. But his biggest concern is emergency accommodation. That is, people rock up and need accommodation. now. There just doesn’t seem to be a major source for it at the moment, he says. So Julie Williams, on behalf of the Archdiocese, is working with the City of Perth to establish a one stop shop, where the homeless can find a bed, meal, doctor and a shower, and refer them to somewhere where rehabilitation can be found.

“I’m not very good at rehabilitation of people,” the Archbishop revealed at the launch at Queen of Martyrs. “But I am their friend not matter what happens, and that seems to matter to them, especially the women who are frightened.

“They are so young, yet appear to be simply going nowhere. We need more accommodation

for the ‘chronically homeless’. That is priority number one.”

The ‘chronically homeless’, he says, is something which ‘the studies’ that keep coming out on homelessness by private and government agencies always seem to neglect. These people are ‘at the bottom’ of the list, under the influence of one or more of a range of things, and are too often put in the ‘too hard’ basket.

“We must befriend them, love them, help them, respect, them. They are our brothers and sisters in Christ,” he said at the launch.

Christian Brother Peter negus, who works at Shopfront, says the agency paid for accommodation for 160 people this year so far already, and had 8170 come through their doors seeking help in 2008. he expects 10,000 minimum this year, as over 2000 have already sought help from Shopfront so far in 2009.

To assist Julie Williams in her initiative or Shopfront, email manager@highgate-perthcatholic.org.au

in Mosman Park. Bernadette’s

Happily married: John and Bernadette O’Reilly in a recent photo. Right, their wedding photo.

Ph OtO s su PP lied

Fervent: A homeless man, who sleeps in a bus, passionately leads the spirit of the streets Choir during the larunch at Queen of Martyrs parish hall of a brochure to help people like him. Ph OtO

Faith, ethics focus at new research centre

Ethics, Faith and Society focused for Notre Dame

FAITH, Et hics and Society are the focus for a new research Centre for private Catholic university, The University of Notre Dame Australia.

Notre Dame’s Vice Chancellor, Professor Celia Hammond, announced today the opening of the Centre for Faith, Ethics and Society based at the University’s Sydney Campus.

New

The Centre’s purpose is to promote the study of Catholic intellectual tradition and moral tradition, with a particular focus on faith and ethics and their application and integration into the broader life of society. Given the University’s commitment to the complementarity of faith and reason, the use of reason in the context of the Catholic tradition will ground the Centre’s capacity to contribute positively to public debate on social issues.

Professor Hammond said that though the Centre is physically based in Sydney, its reach will be University wide.

“This is an exciting development for Notre Dame, and one which lies at the heart of our mission to be a truly great Catholic University,” said Professor Hammond.

The Centre’s main objectives are to inform and support the teaching of ethics through all Schools and to promote and undertake research into professional and social ethics.

Philosophy and Theology lecturer, Associate Professor Sandra Lynch, has been appointed the Centre’s inaugural Director.

“The Centre will help to facilitate students’ engagement in the ethical dimensions of their prospective professions with the aim that they enter the working world with a coherent and practical framework within which to address both professional and social issues.

“Our aspirations are for the development of a lively research culture which guides practice and contributes to the distinctive character of the Notre Dame,” said Associate Professor Lynch.

Inquiries about the Centre can be directed to:

Associate Professor Sandra Lynch

Philosophy and Theology

Santa Maria gets back to its roots

Santa Maria College gets back to its roots in new initiative to help students get in touch with the generations that have gone before them.

SANTA Maria College has returned to its heritage this year by simultaneously educating primary and secondary students.

The start of the school year last week saw 214 students from Years 5, 6 and 7 fill classrooms that were last occupied by Santa Maria primary students in the 1960s.

With the introduction of primary students, Santa Maria College is now structured with junior, middle and senior schools.

Andrea Dopson, Head of Junior School, believes this revised structure will cater for the differing developmental stages of students’

educational life. “Educationalists believe that the grouping of students in smaller schools within a larger College allows the staff to better cater for the pastoral, academic and spiritual development

of the students,” Mrs Dopson said.

“Our junior students will have access to the College’s extensive facilities which will be instrumental in their development.”

The new Principal of the College, Greg Clune, also believes this new structure is a positive development as it will enable the college to respond more effectively to the different pastoral and learning needs of the girls.

“Staff are able to better differentiate the needs of girls at each level through dedicated Heads of School, Year Coordinators and staff attached to each School,” Mr Clune said.

The junior girls were very excited to commence their education at Santa Maria College.

As an example, Sara Becker and Kate Urquhart from Year 5, pictured here, said they were looking forward to making new friends and being in a classroom with a Smart-board.

Bunbury Cathedral aims for 2010 finish

Cathedral plans submitted to Council

PLANS for the new Catholic Cathedral in Bunbury have been submitted to the City of Bunbury for their approval.

The plans include detailed working drawings and specifications to rebuild the iconic Cathedral and restore the historic Federation Queen Anne style building affectionately known as Parish House.

Announcing the submission of plans and application for the building licence, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Bunbury, the Most Reverend Gerard J Holohan, said the plans are the culmination of the past three years of hard work.

“The plans reflect the wishes of the community consultation held in 2005. These wishes have been brought together and turned into detailed working drawings by a dedicated team of engineers and consultants under the guidance of multi award winning Architect Marcus Collins” he said.

“The Cathedral’s beauty and prominence will give it a dignity and strength that everyone can appreciate. Once Council officers have processed this application we can get on with the important part of rebuilding the vital community asset,” Bishop Holohan said.

Architect Marcus Collins said he is very

pleased with how the plans have evolved. “I am confident that parishioners throughout the Diocese of Bunbury as well as the wider community will not be disappointed,” he said.

“The precinct with the new Cathedral as its centrepiece and the restoration of the existing

buildings have all come together well to create a tranquil and harmonious environment with historical and cultural significance.

The rebuilding of the Cathedral precinct is expected to be completed by late September 2010.

Cherishing their heritage: Annemarie Becker, Sara Becker, Kate Urquart, Yvonne Urquart.

PHOTO: SUPPLIED

role: Philosophy and Theology lecturer, Associate Prof. Sandra Lynch, is the centre’s inaugural director.

Progressing: Michael Smith of Marcus Collins Architects submitting to the City of Bunbury the building plans for the new Catholic Cathedral.

PHOTO: PROVIDED

Ukrainian head lays out blueprint for vocations

■ By Anthony Barich

THE leader of the UkrainianGreek Catholic Church has issued a blueprint of effective parish and family ministry to boost vocations in his Proclamation to the Faithful for 2009.

Cardinal Lubomyr Husar, the Major Archbishop of Kyiv and Halych, Ukraine, said that vocations promotion means more than talking or even praying about it.

Good priests, he said, often preach about vocations and actively seek out worthy candidates.

He said a good priest “intently looks closely to the members of society, trying to recognise at least its embryo in concrete persons and, if such will notice, to take care to cherish it”.

Proper parishes existing as effective spiritual communities and “good Christian families” are the best way to help individuals discern their vocations, he said.

“A good parish is fruitful soil which bears the beautiful fruits of priestly vocations,” he said, using the example of one in Pennsylvania that gave 37 lasting priestly and monastic vocations in the 1920s and ‘30s.

Good Christian families, he said, are like a “cradle or hothouse of new spiritual vocations”.

“In a family of believing people the attitude to the priesthood is honour,” he said. “Even if an unworthy priest is spoken about, this is said with pain but not with spite. And if there are boys in a family, this vocation is examined as the best possible one.”

He said the role of father-pastors and “zealous prayer” of the Church community is to promote examples of heroes of the faith, which leads to an awakening of priestly vocations.

He quoted the late Pope John Paul II who, when visiting Lviv in 2001, proclaimed 27 members of the UGCC as martyrs, saying: “If God blesses your land with many vocations and if the seminaries are full – and this is a sources of hope for your Church – that is surely one of the fruits of their sacrifice. But it is a great responsibility for you.”

The cardinal said the responsibility for any lack of candidates for the priesthood falls squarely on families and clergy.

“If there are not enough deserving candidates, however, often we

people are guilty, in particular through the decline of spiritual life in our families, through a lack of proper sermons and encouragement, and also through a lack of honour for the priestly status,” he said.

“There is no hope in gaining priestly vocations in families in which the greatest value is money or in which parents’ major care is family relations.

“It is necessary to remember here the negative influence which the modern mass media has, which quite often becomes the transmitter of anti-Christian ideas and visions. And already quite shattering is the bad life example of some priests, especially the local pastor,” he said, talking in general terms. These obstacles, he said, are “very large”, but not insuperable.

Not a model monk, but new Abbot always wanted monastic life

Continued from Page 1 -tery” and found himself in Ireland, where the local Abbot gave him advice that has stuck with him since: “If you can’t hack it in your own monastery you’re not going to hack it in anyone else’s.”

Luckily, Abbot Placid Spearitt, the man whose death last October led to his own appointment, believed in Fr Herbert’s vocation, and knew he’d be back. He just needed to “get it out of his system”.

In hindsight, he realised he was so caught up in rules and schedules that he was not focused enough on whether he was actually praying.

Now, his guiding prayer remains that belonging to the Carmelite tradition: St John of the Cross’ poem called The Dark Night of the Soul, which refers to ‘going into the dark night’. Fr Herbert interprets this as entering the mystery of God every day through his monastic vows, with no other light to guide him but the one inside him: Christ.

He leads a monastery with a handful of professed monks, the oldest a 98-year-old Spaniard, plus a novice who’s about 30.

Fr Herbert, the seventh Abbot of New Norcia, is 45, and while the global Benedictine community tends to elect men of more expe-

rience, New Norcia has elected at least a couple of Abbots in their 30s.

The monastery, he says, is fortunate that, while not bursting at the seams with vocations, always has at least one novice discerning.

He appreciates his previous experience in the secular world, and in fact would prefer applicants to have done what many lay people have done – struggled financially, fallen in love (“thank you very much”, he adds, intimating that he too fell for to the fairer sex before returning to his original plan of becoming a monk) – though it’s not mandatory.

Since then, in his 14 years at New Norcia he has been director of formation, served the community in the garden, as coordinator of liturgy through spirituality ministry in the guest house, as Prior and parish priest, the latter role he will continue in.

Now he has three advisors, two of whom were elected in the past fortnight – Frs David Barry and Bernard Rooney, a former Abbot, and Dom Chris Power, who is already advisor as Prior and procurator.

Obedience in monastic life, he says, is not about obeying the superior monk, as he listens to the other monks and, indeed, the whole community. This is what his predecessor, Abbot Placid, was big on. “He was the ultimate obedient monk,” Fr Herbert said.

comfortable position, with varied investment portfolios and initiatives. But the monks do not live lives of luxuries. They live in cells, and aren’t even allowed to bring the morning paper back to them so they can get on with their daily work. They can read it, though, and watch the evening news.

As Fr Herbert’s predecessor was a temporary Abbot, however, there were many things that were put on the backburner while the Abbot worked to stabilise the community and promote the monastic town’s treasures, including its museum, to the wider public. These things will finally be given attention.

In continuing to build on the legacy his predecessor left, he sees truth in Pope Benedict XVI’s urgent message to the world’s Religious congregations to get back to the original charism of their founder to renew themselves, as many are falling away.

“My understanding of what he’s saying,” Fr Herbert says, “is to focus on people. St Benedict received everyone into his monastery in the sixth century regardless of status, age or background.

“He said ‘bear one another’s weaknesses in body and character’. He’s not saying put up with it, but hold them up.

“So the Pope is saying let’s be true community, love one another, and community life is inviting us to do that all the time.”

Abbot Placid was so successful, he said, because he said yes to the monks’ ideas often.

He also left New Norica in a financially

“Abbots aren’t meant to be popular,” he says, and to further this sense of community he will encourage strongly the weekly community meetings that, under Abbot Placid, were voluntary.

We’re ready: Perth Anglican bishop

Continued from page 1

The TAC, a group of over 400,000 faithful worldwide in 41 countries, is seeking full corporate and sacramental union with Rome.

In “Ratzinger’s faith”, published by Oxford University Press last year, Australian theologian Professor Tracey Rowland suggested that the TAC could most likely be made a Rite, like the Eastern churches.

ing numbers of Anglican parishes, he said, now do not use the Creed but rather an “affirmation of faith”. Such “liberalisation of Anglicanism”, in belief and creed as well as the appointment of women priests and bishops, is part of the reason why TAC members broke away from Canterbury.

“The Catholic Church has no right to absorb the other churches… The various contemporary Protestant denominations may ultimately be received back into full Communion as Uniate rites, retaining some of their own cultural patrimony in the process,” she said, referring to the TAC.

“Our experience as Anglicans can add a great deal of wealth and experience to the wider Church by what we bring from our 500 years of separate existence,” Bishop Entwistle said.

“We are called ‘dissidents’ and I have been described as the leader of a ‘breakaway outfit’ in the secular media, but we remain loyal to the faith of the One Holy Catholic Church and that is why the Holy See is taking our petition seriously.

Prof. Rowland, Dean of the John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family in Melbourne, said in “Ratzinger’s Faith” that the TAC members would not be expected to be absorbed into existing Catholic parish structures.

“They would have their own parishes, their own clergy and their own liturgy,” Prof. Rowland said.

Bishop Entwistle confirmed this, adding that the TAC and many parishes still inside the Anglican Communion still say the Nicene Creed which professes belief in one, holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.

However, Bishop Entwistle said, increas-

“It is those who have abandoned that faith who are the dissidents. We believed that the Anglican Communion has done this, so we want to continue the thrust of the unity initiatives that were in existence before the Canterbury Anglican Communion derailed them.”

He said that Anglicanism is not “a system”, but “a way of doing theology” – how its faithful understand Scripture, “just as the Spanish and Italians have their way of doing things”. English spirituality, he said, has a basis in Celtic and western spirituality which helped shape Anglicanism.

Abbot John Herbert OSB

Cardinal Lubomyr Husar

Fasting back in vogue

Regaining an appreciation for fasting: Pope's Lenten Message.

ROME (CWNews.com) - In his Lenten Message for 2009, Pope Benedict XVI concentrates on the spiritual value of fasting.

The penitential season of Lent begins this year with Ash Wednesday on February 25.

Noting that Lenten discipline is "an itinerary of more intense spiritual training" traditionally based upon prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, the Holy Father dedicates this year's message to fasting, remarking that the practice "seems to have lost something of its spiritual meaning" in our time.

Both the Bible (Old and New Testaments) and the unbroken tradition of Christian living testify that fasting is "a great help to avoid sin and all that leads to it," the Pope says. He calls attention to the great Christian teachers like St Augustine who saw fasting as a means of restoring spiritual balance to a soul stained by sin. "Since all of us are weighed down by sin and its consequences," the Pope explains, "fasting is proposed to us as an instrument to restore friendship with God."

The idea of fasting - voluntarily giving up something that is recognised as good and wholesome - can be traced to the very beginning of the Bible, the Pope observed. In the Garden of Eden, God instructs Adam and Eve to abstain from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

Thus, the Pope relates, St Basil made the observation that "fasting was ordained in Paradise."

Jesus fasted in the desert, the Pope says, and at the conclusion of his fast, when he is tempted by Satan, he points to a deeper meaning of fasting when he says that "man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. The true fast is thus directed to eating the 'true food,' which is to do the Father's will."

Oddly, the Pope says in modern times fasting has become associated with doing one's own will, and serving one's own needs, insofar as fasting and dieting are used to achieve greater physical and mental well-being.

Without denying the physical benefits of abstinence, the Pope insists that Christian fasting has an entirely different purpose.

One very important spiritual benefit of fasting, the Pope says, is that it can

"open our eyes to the situation in which so many of our brothers and sisters live." Those who fast gain a greater appreciation for those who live constantly in hunger, he says.

"By freely embracing an act of selfdenial for the sake of another, we make a statement that our brother or sister in need is not a stranger." That statement should lead directly to action to feed the hungry, he says.

As he concludes his Lenten Message, the Pope reminds the faithful that along with fasting, their spiritual discipline during the penitential season should also include "a greater commitment to prayer, lectio divina, recourse to the Sacrament of Reconciliation and active participation in the Eucharist, especially the Holy Sunday Mass."

At a press conference held in Rome to introduce the Pope's Lenten message, chaired by Cardinal Paul Josef Cordes, the main focus was on the connection between fasting and almsgiving - specifically, feeding the hungry.

The cardinal introduced Josette Sheeran, the executive director of the UN's World Food Program (WFP), who reported that one in every six people suffer from hunger.

"But this is not a problem of food availability," she said. "It is a problem of distribution - and of greed, discrimination, wars, and other tragedies."

Existing food supplies are adequate to provide for everyone on earth, the WFP director said. "We have the tools

and technology to make this happen, and we have seen it happen in many places around the world." Cardinal Cordes, the president of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum - the official papal charity - said that humanitarian aid is a genuine charitable work when it does not "sink to the level of an ideology or a purely mental exercise" but consists in practical steps to help those in need.

The cardinal acknowledged that other religions, particularly Buddhism and Islam, practice fasting.

However, he said, "fasting in these religions cannot simply be identified with Christian fasts," because the teachings of Buddhism and Islam deny that worldly things are inherently good.

For Christians, he said, fasting is powerful precisely because the faithful acknowledge that food is good, yet forego it for a greater good.

Thus "fasting in this Lent has no negative connotations," he said. "Depriving oneself and denying oneself are positive acts: they aim at the encounter with Christ."

Good Shepherd kids star in music CD

School students get national coverage.

THREE lucky students from Good Shepherd Primary School in Kelmscott star in a new compact disc issued by popular school singer and performer Andrew Chinn.

Annalise Bogoni, Jack Newman and Emma Oorschot were all invited by Andrew to travel to New South Wales after he performed at their school in May last year. After spending the morning conducting workshops with each class during his visit to Good Shepherd a school concert was held.

Some lucky students were chosen to help lead the singing and the students, parents and teachers all enjoyed a wonderful afternoon full of praise and song.

Later, the three students were invited by Andrew Chinn to travel to Springwood, NSW and be part of one of the choirs on his next CD. A weekend in October was spent in the Blue Mountains recording and it was a wonderful experience for all the children involved.

The result is Andrew’s latest CD, “Let Your Light Shine” which features Catholic school students from every state and territory in Australia and from both islands of New Zealand. The CD features 22 tracks for use throughout the school and liturgical year, with the majority of songs composed by Andrew.

PRINCIPALSHIPS

NGALANGANGPUM SCHOOL, WARMUN

Ngalangangpum is a Catholic school at the Warmun Aboriginal Community where the school is centred on the Mother and Child – symbol of the Two-Way process.

The school is located halfway between Halls Creek and Kununurra in the remote East Kimberley region of Western Australia. With a fluctuating population of over 400 people, this is one of the biggest Aboriginal communities in Western Australia. The majority of its residents are members of the Kija language group. Current student enrolment is 129.

Ngalangangpum was established in 1979 in answer to a direct request from the Warmun Community, whose members wanted to be in more control of the education of their children. The community decided upon a Two-Way school based on the Catholic beliefs. A community school board was formed which continues to be responsible for school policy. The school started as a primary school and was extended with secondary classes in 1990.

The term Two-Way learning has in subsequent years been identified as the philosophy of education out of which all Catholic schools in the Kimberley operate. Traditional aspects of education are recognised and given status equal to that of other curriculum subjects. In this way students can learn to value both traditions. The aim is to equip them with a type of education that can help them to cope with the pressures of modern living, without losing their cultural identity.

The school encourages the involvement of community members in the teaching of traditional culture and beliefs. Elders attend the school to teach the children traditional painting and dancing, to tell them stories and to take them out on bush trips. The knowledge that is gained from these experiences is often used for the production of books that are sometimes written down in a Two-Way fashion.

The successful applicant will take up the position at the commencement of Term 3.

ST JOSEPH’S CATHOLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL, PINJARRA

St Joseph’s is a dynamic, coeducational primary school catering for 220 students from Kindergarten to Year 7 and is situated in the heart of the thriving town of Pinjarra, only 20 kms south-east of Mandurah and 80 kms south of Perth.

The school was founded by the Sisters of St Joseph in 1930 and is located in the heart of a growing country town which offers excellent community and recreational facilities.

A broad and comprehensive curriculum supports the needs of all students, with literacy and numeracy being the major focus throughout the school. St Joseph’s is in the second year of the RAISe (Raising Achievement in Schools) literacy program. Specialist areas include Library, LOTE, Physical Education, Music, Choir, an Instrumental Music Program and an Extension Program. Other initiatives that have been implemented over the last two years include Primary Connections Science, Active After School Communities and the Bluearth Physical and Healthy Lifestyles Program.

The St Joseph’s community enjoys a mutually supportive relationship with the Parish of St Augustine’s. The School Board is very supportive and active in developing and enhancing school facilities and resources to support the work of the staff. The Parents & Friends’ Association is a very vibrant group that works tirelessly to raise valuable funds for resources and also develops and enhances the excellent school community spirit that the school is known for throughout the broader community.

The successful applicant will take up the position at the commencement of Term 2.

Applicants need to be practising Catholics and experienced educators committed to the objectives and ethos of Catholic education. They will have the requisite theological, educational, pastoral and administrative competencies, together with an appropriate four year minimum tertiary qualification, and will have completed Accreditation for Leadership of the Religious Education Area or its equivalent. A current WACOT registration number must also be included.

Proud as punch: Andrew Chinn with L-R Annalise Bogoni, Jack Newman and Emma Oorschot outside the recording studio at Springwood, NSW on October 17, 2008.

Fasting for the sake of God’s children like these: A man begs on the steps of an underpass in the centre of Budapest, Hungary, on January 30. The message on the sign reads : “Please help! I am very poor, I have many children! God bless you!” PHOTO: CNS

Guerrilla evangelisation in a culture cool to faith

Here is an editorial titled Guerrilla evangelisation in a culture cool to faith, which appeared in the January 26 issue of the Western Catholic Reporter, the ewspaper of the Archdiocese of Edmonton, Alberta, in Canada. It was written by Glen Argan, editor.

Twenty-five years ago, Pope John Paul II began to speak of a new evangelisation - a preaching of the Gospel that was “new in expression, new in fervour and new in methods.” Things don’t change overnight in the Catholic Churchor in any 2,000-year-old organisation of a billion people. So it’s not surprising that the new evangelisation is still far from the centre of pastoral life.

But it is moving toward the centre and someday it will be there. Fewer and fewer adults in the Western world are Catholics because their parents had them baptised and then raised them in a Catholic culture. Either we adapt to a culture with a remarkable degree of individual autonomy or we perish.

So when atheists in Europe start buying bus signs that say “Probably, God does not exist,” we should see an opening. It puts the issue of faith in front of people in a culture that steadfastly blocks consideration of any questions deeper than whether to drink Coke or Pepsi.

THE RECORD

PO Box 75

Leederville, WA 6902

cathrec@iinet.net.au

Tel: (08) 9227 7080

Fax: (08) 9227 7087

Churches in Europe responded to the atheist bus ads with ads of their own, a wholly appropriate response. There are few opportunities in Western culture to put the God question in front of people. One had best grab them when they do arise. When the Church advertises faith and commitment, it draws criticism from within. People ask: How could something as superficial as a bus sign or a billboard lead people to change their lives? It’s a fair question.

The fair response is that people do tend to make important decisions based not on lengthy treatises but on great ideas expressed simply.

When the Toronto Archdiocese erected billboards in the 1980s with a giant picture of Jesus on the cross and the message, “Dare to be a priest like me,” it drew criticism. It also drew men into the seminary.

When St Anthony the abbot was a young man in the third century, he went into church one day and heard Jesus’ words, “If you want to be perfect, go and sell all that you have and give the money to the poor. Then, come and follow me.” He took those words literally, gave away his great wealth and devoted himself to a life of prayer.

Not everyone who hears the Gospel sound bite will follow. But some will.

The new evangelisation will follow in the footsteps of St Paul who was a guerrilla evangeliser. In a different society than ours, he always sought methods that would fit with those to whom he was preaching. He learned on the fly, made mistakes, admitted them and adapted.

We are coming out of a long, long stretch of history in which the Church was part of the establishment.

This is no longer so. Now the establishment looks askance at the Gospel. The spirit of the age is cool to anything to do with religion. Finding access to the public square is not easy for the Church. We have to be quick on our feet. Guerrilla evangelisation is the way of the future.

in the news

Pope, Chancellor discuss Holocaustdenying bishop

VATICAN CITY (CNS)Pope Benedict XVI and German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke to each other on the telephone about the recent controversy surrounding a traditionalist bishop who has denied the Holocaust. “It was a cordial and constructive conversation, marked by a common and profound agreement that the Shoah is a perpetually valid warning for humanity,” said a statement released on February 8 by the spokesmen for the Pope and for Merkel. Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, papal spokesman,

Letters to the editor

Don’t worry about declines

I was interested to read your article (January 14) “Why are Religious numbers declining?” It surprised me that no mention was made of the fact that most Religious orders in the history of the Church are seen to have a lifespan of about 200 years.

My congregation was founded to provide health care, education and social services for the almost totally neglected post–penal Laws Irish poor. We seem to have done well and worked ourselves out of a job (as all good Missionaries should) as public bodies have taken over.

I have no doubt whatever, that the Lord has it all well in hand and that the Religious of the future are already hearing and heeding the voice of the Spirit. As the wine woman said; God needs only one person to begin an enterprise.

E E Salter

A nurse’s courage

British nurse Caroline Petrie, who was suspended for having offered to pray for a patient, is reported re-instated after massive protests. I believe this is an encouraging sign that a fightback against the forces of political correctness is beginning in Britain at long last, and that we should all take to heart the lesson that we are not only - each and every one of us - obliged to fight for the right, but also that that fight is never hopeless.

Guy Crouchback Nedlands

Holocaust-denier bishop’s status unclear

It remains unclear to me whether holocaust-denier “Bishop” Richard Williamson, who makes the also irrational and disgusting claim that 9/11 was a US Government plot, has actually been instated as a Bishop or not.

said the phone conversation was marked by “a climate of great respect” and included mention of Pope Benedict’s January 28 statement about the importance of remembering the Holocaust and Merkel’s February 3 request that the Vatican make it clear that it would not tolerate Holocaust denial. The controversy began in late January when a television station aired a November interview with Bishop Richard Williamson, who was excommunicated in 1988 after being ordained against papal orders. The late French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, who ordained him, and three other bishops ordained at the same ceremony also were excommunicated. The interview aired just before the Vatican published the news that Pope Benedict had signed a decree lifting the excommunications of the four bishops.

I understand he may receive Communion providing certain provisions of doctrine and discipline are complied with, but is he also allowed to teach and exercise episcopal authority?

I am not a Catholic and I trust my Catholic friends will forgive me saying this, but it appears to me that if he is so teaching and exercising authority it is a matter of grave disquiet for all people of goodwill.

Peter J. Richards Melville

Bishop Williams does not have any episcopal authority. -Ed

What does ‘range of beliefs’ mean?

In The Record that I bought yesterday (February 1) there is an article about a person who converted to Catholicism. It states

that there are a range of beliefs in the Church. This is alright as far as it goes, but the Church has many beliefs that one must adhere to in order to remain a Catholic. True, for example, one does not have to take the creation story absolutely literally as described in Genesis, but one has to accept that all humans are descended from two original “parents” ie. Adam and Eve (though their actual names may have been something else). In other words, Polygenism is not Catholic belief. It has been roundly condemned by the Magisterium, including Pope Paul VI. Bible reading is good and to be encouraged, but, as The Catechism of The Catholic Church states, “...The task of interpreting the Word of God authentically has been entrusted solely to the Magisterium of the Church, that is, to the Pope and to the bishops in communion with him.”

M.J. Gonzalez Willetton

A role for the new media

How encouraging to learn (The Record, January 28) of Pope Benedict’s support of Internet media such as YouTube, Facebook and Myspace. The new technology indeed provides an opportunity for a real victory for freedom of speech.

We are aware of cultural wars that rage in Western societies, including Australia, whereby those who seek to defend life, love, faith and family, often seem to be waging a losing battle against those whose aim it is to tear them down. The secular media fuels this ascendancy. Even people of goodwill, including Catholics, tend to uncritically accept largely biased media viewpoints.

It is in the interests of the mainstream media to disparage the Internet, on the ground that anyone can post messages there. Bravo!

It is true, of course, that both means of communication contain much that is worthless and harmful, and it is necessary to be discerning. But we can be confident that internet communication is a positive development whereby people of all ages can have a voice hitherto denied them. Let us go for it, as individuals and groups!

One informative site is lifesitenews.com where it is possible to learn news hidden from us by those whose agenda it is to promote a culture of death. In Australia our freedom of speech is threatened by proposed legislation of a Charter of Rights.

To prepare the ground for this, the Human Rights Commission conducted a project inviting

submissions on religious liberty, which, in effect, would severely limit, not increase, religious freedom, at least so far as Chrisianity is concerned.

In the US pro-lifers have reason to be gravely concerned about the policies of President Obama and his overwhelmingly pro-abortion administration. Despite such discouragement, 300,000 prolifers converged on Washington for the annual March for Life. It was largely ignored by the secular media. We must be vigilant when we are lulled into apathy, and must become pro-active in defending our freedom of religion and freedom of speech. To proclaim the truth is not only a right, but an obligation.

Anne M. Kirkwood Attadale

Thanks for inclusion

Thankyou for recent introduction in The Record of the “Stewardship” and “Walking with him through the daily Mass readings”. I, as one, have been confused with which readings are to be used daily in weekday Masses. I hope that this portion of the publication is to become a weekly item.

Eddy Joyce Armadale

The real mission

For decades Catholic parents have wondered where they went wrong as they watch their children departing Church attendance and gradually losing any acceptance of the Church and its faith as having any significant role in their lives.

But if one analyses why this phenomenon has occurred it seems clear that while parents are the key formers of their children’s lives when those children are still relatively young, this role is incrementally taken from them by the following influences: first, television, then peers (possibly the most powerful influence for good or bad), then the media and, finally, our wider culture. Whereas some generations ago these forces all generally supported what any parents were striving to pass on to their children, today these are all diagionally opposed to religious faith and the values and activities derived from its experience. There is much writing on this issue.

It is no longer likely that any particular married couple striving to transmit their faith and values will succeed. But if isolation of the child is the diagnosis of the problem, it is clear that the experience of faith as normality among friends, peers and their families will, generally, be the solution. In other words, parents must seek friendship with other similar families, and Christians must build communities in which friendship and solidarity will effectively neutralise the culture of death and assist the child to become the free young man or woman they are meant to be.

Hirotaka Ishikawa

South Perth

VISTA

The house that Father Fintan built...

Our Lady of the Rosary Parish in Doubleview will celebrate its 50th anniversary over the weekend of February 21 - 22. Parish stalwart Brian Peachey recalls some of the history and pioneering figures who laid its foundations, while wellknown Perth ABC identity Peter Kennedy recalls shifting the furniture so he could serve Mass in his parent’s home...

■ By Brian Peachy

The leafy Perth suburbs of Doubleview and Woodlands, sited on a ridge between the ocean at Scarborough beach and the broad wetlands of Herdsman Lake, mainly formed the Dominican Parish of Our Lady of the Rosary.

To do justice to the many Dominican priests and nuns and the hundreds of parishioners who pioneered and sustained the parish for more than fifty years is not possible in the space available. It is always a risk to name some and not others. I will, however take the risk and name two of more than forty Dominican priests, who with various admirable charisms, made the parish what it is today.

The first is the late Father Fintan Campbell OP, a determined, dedicated, evangelical priest from Ireland. In 1954 he was appointed the first parish priest of what was to become St Dominic’s Parish in the sparsely populated bushland in Innaloo. He resided with the parish priest at Scarborough and his only means of transport then was an old bicycle.

I first met Father Campbell in 1957. Although he was then living in a caravan, he had established a very active parish and

had overseen the building of a school with all amenities and four classrooms, where he celebrated daily Mass.

Pioneer Priest

The children at St Dominic’s school were taught by dedicated Dominican Sisters who lived in Santa Sabina Convent at Scarborough. They travelled daily by bus and walked from Scarborough Beach Road to the school. And not only was Father Campbell a doer who got things done, he was a seer who saw and planned for the future.

He was also a leader able to inspire dedication and loyalty from his parishioners, even though he could only promise that they would do hard physical work and build a parish for the honour and glory of God. His parishioners were mainly low-income earners with growing families; they generously gave their time and money, walked the streets, carried bricks, participated in late night meetings and dug a deep well to provide water for the school.

Father Campbell was also a tough negotiator with civil authorities and the Perth Archdiocese administration. He could see the future and what would one day be a flourishing Dominican parish in the sandy virgin scrub-land south of St Dominic’s.

I believe it was he who in 1957 persuaded the Archdiocese to purchase a parcel of ill-

defined bush land, 6.87 hectares in area, from the State Government for 4,250 Pounds. There were few made roads then; the lot would later sit on the corner of Williamstown Road and what was to be Angelico Street. Father Campbell had it earmarked firstly for a school to be named Holy Rosary to be run by the Dominican Sisters; portions would be acquired by the Sisters for a convent, to replace the ageing convent damaged by floods in Dongara, and a large secondary school for girls. The most southern portion would be for the church and a Dominican Priory. It all seemed like a dream.

“I believe it was he who in 1957 persuaded the Archdiocese to purchase a parcel of ill-defined bush land, 6.87 hectares in area, from the State Government for 4,250 Pounds.”

Soon after the purchase of the land and despite celebrating two Masses every Sunday at St Dominic’s, Father Campbell commenced Sunday Mass in homes in Doubleview. (See separate story on Vista 3) A short time later he had plans drawn for a three-classroom school. Although there were no hard-surfaced roads, scheme water or electricity, the building of the school commenced in September 1958, with organised volunteer help from the dedicated band of parishioners.

Holy Rosary School was completed in February 1959 with a grand opening and a blessing by Bishop Rafferty. The school

Perhaps few realise

but

year commenced with 47 students, although there was still no reticulated water or electricity. The three pioneer Dominican Sisters would travel each day from Santa Sabina in Scarborough by bus and walk a mile in blistering heat or cold and rain through the sand track which was to become Huntriss Road. It was not until 1965 that the Sisters built a four bedroom house close to the school at 394 Huntriss Road.

During the energy-sapping tasks of fundraising, building, equipping and staffing Holy Rosary School, Fr Campbell had a Priory built for the Dominican priests who joined him in Phillips Grove, Innaloo.

An illustration of Father Campbell’s persuasive negotiating skill and determination was that he had the nomenclature committee change the proposed name of the area from Hale, for the early colonial

Bishop, to Woodlands.

Anglican

Magnificent: Holy Rosary Church in Doublebiew is one of the most original and effective pieces of sacred architecture in Western Australia. Its Dominican priest-architect, Fr Bonaventure Leahy OP, who had trained as an architect before entering the priesthood, designed the church and supervised its construction but sadly could not be present for its consecration. Inset: a detail of the soaring hand-laid Toodyay stone front of the church.

PHOTOS: JUSTINE STEVENS AND ROBERT HIINI

Sacred:

it outside the parish,

Holy Rosary Church was designed in the shape of a chalice.

Parish church, school, inspired by

Continued from Vista 1

When it was made known that the Perth Roads Board planned to put a scheme over much of Woodlands, bringing together several privately owned lots in a new subdivision, Father Campbell was quick to act.

He wanted streets named after Dominicans or places of note in the Order’s history and lodged an ambit claim of many names. Ten were successful (see box below)

This was a remarkable achievement. Nowhere in Australia has the Dominican Order been given such a permanent public acknowledgement of its history by a civic authority.

This was Father Campbell’s last accomplishment in Western Australia. After seven years he was relieved of his post and returned for a holiday to Ireland on the Iberia, on November 9, 1961. There was a large and enthusiastic send-off party on the Fremantle wharf, but he had laid the foundations of the parish.

Throughout 1962 building and the work of hundreds of generous, dedicated parishioners went according to plan. In December 1961 the foundations were laid for the building of the Dominican Sisters’ high school on the higher land west of Holy Rosary school. At about the same time the parish decided to extend Holy Rosary school by adding three more class rooms. Working in shifts, a group of 33 men in the parish commenced the digging of a well to provide water to reticulate the school grounds. The arduous work of blasting through limestone and sinking concrete well liners was not completed until the water flowed in January 1963.

By May 1962 the large two-storey high school was completed. It was named Siena and opened and blessed by Archbishop Prendiville on May 20. The first intake of students was 140, but it could eventually accommodate 300. The Archbishop was to return again on September 20 to bless the new southern extension to Holy Rosary school. While creating new class rooms it also provided a larger and more suitable area for the celebration of Mass with provision for a sacristy.

During 1963 and 1964 a large number of lots came on the market in the Woodlands subdivisions, substantially increasing the population, many of whom were Catholics attracted by the existing schools and the announcement that the Marist Brothers intended to build a new secondary school in Empire Avenue.

The Dominican Fathers purchased a lot in Angelico Street opposite the school with the intention of building a Priory. The building was completed and four Dominican priests and a lay brother moved from Phillips Grove in Innaloo to take up residence on March 2, 1964. The move was a milestone in the parish history because it formally created two separate parishes. St Dominic’s in Innaloo was to be administered by the Archdiocese of Perth and the parish in Doubleview, Woodlands and Churchlands, variously named Holy Rosary and Our Lady of the Rosary was to be administered by the Dominican Order.

The vitality and spirituality of Holy Rosary parish were obvious. Sunday Masses were celebrated at 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11am. In July 1966 a 7.30pm Mass was added. Fifty-five children made their first Communion. The annual retreat of the Holy Name Society on October 18, 1964 was attended by 45 men and at the Annual High Tea there

50th ANNIVERSARY MASS

A special Mass to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Holy Rosary Parish will be celebrated at the Church on February 21, at 6.30pm.

were 65. There was a very active Conference of the St Vincent De Paul Society; the School Parents and Friends were effective, raising funds and providing valuable support and the ladies’ Rosary Confraternity met prayerfully; there were 84 ladies at the 1964 Annual Dinner. A YCW dance was held at the school.

A masterpiece in stone In October 1968 Father Bonaventure Leahy OP arrived from Adelaide and was to ultimately give the parish a unique place of worship and a monument to honour the Mother of God.

Father Leahy was a trained architect before he entered the Dominicans 30 years earlier in Ireland. Sent to Perth to build urgently needed classrooms at Holy Rosary school, he was also directed to draw plans and be subcontractor for four classrooms, a staff-room and a new toilet block.

It was no simple task for someone not familiar with the bureaucracies in the State and Local Governments. Although there were tradesmen in the parish who assisted, he had no contacts with suppliers or contractors and had no suitable office and workshop. Soon after his arrival he was asked to also prepare plans for a church to be built south of the school.

One can only speculate as to how and where Fr Leahy did his creative work. Unlike other architects he did not have an assistant draftsman, nor did he have a secretary. He did, however, install a band saw and other equipment in the garage at the Priory, where he made the first model of the church and cut the templates for the footings of the elegant curved walls, which he insisted on setting himself.

“He personally chose the durable quartzite Toodyay Stone to be used after assessing all that was available in Western Australia.”

His plan of the church, symbolic of the chalice, and a model were completed in April 1970 and enthusiastically approved by Archbishop Goody. It was the work of a brilliant creative artist and architect, who was also a dedicated, holy priest. He personally chose the durable quartzite Toodyay Stone to be used after assessing all that was available in Western Australia.

The foundations of the church were laid on the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, October 7, 1970. The following month the steel structure, was erected. Next came the cladding with carefully selected Toodyay Stone. It was important that the symmetry, line and form of the magnificent curved walls be scrupulously maintained. This task was reserved by Father Leahy exclusively to himself. He set every line and meticulously preserved all corners with wooden patterns made by a parishioner. This was especially complex when laying the graceful curves of the 25-metre-high central portico.

By the beginning of 1972 the stonework was complete, the external scaffolding was removed and the majestic profile of what was to become the most elegant parish church in Western Australia was revealed. The 33-metre-high stainless steel cross, which was to become a landmark, was yet to be raised and mounted.

Sadly Father Leahy was not to see the finish of his masterpiece, but he had drafted the concept and painted it with an incredible palette of Toodyay Stone. After Mass on Sunday morning, May 7, 1972 he was near collapsing and said “All I could see is the plans of the church.” He was taken to hospital that morning and never returned to the site. And so it came to be that the Church of Our Lady of the Rosary was blessed by Archbishop Goody before a seated congregation of 800 on Sunday May 13, 1973. Among the clergy who were present was Father Campbell. The completion of the church is not the end of the history of the parish, but it is the pinnacle. There was progress

in other directions. A new Priory was built adjacent to the church and Holy Rosary School was extended and improved.

The great flooding of the Irwin River in 1972 did major damage to St Dominic’s Convent, the Provincial

The streets that Father Fintan made

THESE are the streets of Doubleview named for individuals or places important in the history of the Dominican Order. The only exception is the last in this list named for a person greatly admired by Fr Fintan Campbell OP for his sanctity.

● Angelico Street. It ran the length of the church property. It was named after Fra Angelico the famous Dominican painter.

● Sabina Street. It was named after the Dominican basilica, Santa Sabina on the Aventine Hill in Rome

● Lombardy Street. Lombardy was were St Dominic fought the Albigensian heresy and where he established six houses.

● Jarrett Street. It was named after the famous English Dominican priest and writer, Bede Jarrett.

● Imelda Street. St Imelda was a young 14th century Dominican saint and mystic.

● Sadoc Street. Sadoc was one of St Dominic’s first followers who was martyred in Poland.

● Ferrer Place. This small culde-sac above the Church of Our

House of the Dominican Sisters in Dongara. This meant the building of St Catherine’s Convent on the land south of Siena High School. I became the administrative centre fo the Dominican Sisters in WA. The beautiful chapel with the magnifi

by a Dominican spirit

cent marble altar and tabernacle from Dongara was completed in 1978. But nothing built in the parish or in any of the surrounding suburbs could compare with the noble structure and the impact of Church of Our Lady of the Rosary.

Lady of the Rosary was named after the Dominican missionary St Vincent Ferrer.

● Humbert Street. Humbert became Master General of the Dominican Order in 1254.

● Suso Street. Heinrich Suso was a German mystic and a Dominican friar

● Talbot Road. This was named after the Venerable Matt Talbot who was not a Dominican but revered by Father Campbell. In 1981 in Dublin, he showed me the place engraved on the footpath where Talbot died on his way to Mass at St Saviour’s Dominican Church.

First Kennedy Mass was a masterpiece of precision

■ By Peter Kennedy

Home Masses were features of the early development of the Doubleview-Woodlands Parish and the Holy Rosary School, well before the school’s blessing and official opening in 1959.

The Sydney-Smith’s family home in Corbett Street, Doubleview, was the venue of the first Mass, on December 1, 1957. The next Sunday, Mass was at the home of Jenny and Lionel Elliott in Albermarle Street.

Within three months Fr Fintan Campbell had gained the agreement of my parents, Tom and Pat Kennedy, to also celebrate Mass at our home in Elveden Street.

Preparation for the first Kennedy Mass, on March 23 1958, was an exercise in military precision. After Saturday evening’s meal the dining and lounge rooms were completely reorganised. The dining table was pushed up against the eastern wall to become the altar. The lounge suite was also pushed against the walls, and the double doors between the two rooms opened wide to enable as many people as possible to see the altar. Naturally the vacuum cleaner came out, and flowers miraculously appeared.

No one really knew how many people would attend, so there was a hint of tension as Fr Campbell arrived in his brown Morris Minor, after first saying the 7am Mass at the Elliotts. By the time he’d vested the house was comfortably full.

It was truly a family affair.

Everyone had a job. My mother did most of the planning, assisted by my sister Marilyn. My father and brother, also Tom, helped with the furniture moves, and I served the Mass. My father also took up the collection.

That was the routine at our place until the school opened early the next year. Attendances built up too. On some days parishioners not only filled up the kitchen and passageways, but also spilled out on the front veranda. It was real grassroots stuff, and not without some humour. Occasionally in his sermons, Fr Campbell would rail against the “secular press” and its coverage of various issues, especially relating to the Church. On one such occasion, in a wonderful coincidence, the newsagent drove past, throwing the Sunday Times onto the front lawn. Moments later my father darted out to “rescue” the paper, which included articles he had written in his role as one of the cricket-football writers. That didn’t worry Fr Campbell in the least.

In addition to the Sunday Mass, the parish’s first envelope collection was masterminded on our dining room table. The initial goal was two shillings per family per week. My mother had the little brown envelopes and the stamping gear with a number for every family and a date stamp for each week. Each bundle of envelopes would be meticulously prepared. Overheads were minimal!

One early issue to cause consternation was a report that the adjoining suburb to the south was to be called “Hale”, coinciding with the move of Hale School from its West Perth site. According to Parish records, Archbishop Redmond Prendville requested an objection be lodged; presumably on the belief the name of an Anglican bishop was inappropriate for a new suburb.

The objection was upheld. Not only was “Woodlands” duly chosen as the name, some of the streets surrounding the new Holy Rosary School property were given names closely linked with the history of the Dominican Order. They included A’ngelico,’ ‘Lombardy’ and ‘Sabina,’ alongside names aligned to Hale School, such as ‘Loton’ and ‘Lefroy.’ The nomenclature officials had indeed performed an admirable balancing act!

Getting the new school ready in time for the official opening and blessing for the 1959 school year was not without its challenges. Vehicle access was via Huntriss Street, the southern part of which was simply a limestone base. No bitumen in sight! And with the school surrounded by bush, there were no power or water connections. The day was saved by our Elveden Street neighbour, and fellow parishioner, Ernie Gibb, who ensured that a power generator and 1,000 gallon water tank were installed to meet the school’s initial needs.

A big crowd was on hand when Bishop J. J. Rafferty blessed the new school on a warm Sunday afternoon early in February 1959. It marked the end of the home Masses, as the school was also to be the venue for Sunday Mass. But Fr Campbell’s home-based strategy had served its purpose. And I can vouch for the fact that the Passiona stall returned a healthy profit on opening day!

Early days: A Dominican Sister at work in the classroom with students of Holy Rosary Primary School in its early years.

Pioneering parishioner: Tom Kennedy, father of Peter Kennedy, stands at the front of the family home in Elveden Street, Doubleview.

Builders: Members of the Parish’s Holy Name Society pose for the camera while on retreat at Holy Rosary School, May 21, 1959. Many, if not all, would have also helped build the parish, from the ground up.

Pioneers: past principal Pauline Clune and Dominican sisters are shown in this newspaper photo returning to the school to celebrate its latest achievements.

Memories: Students of Holy Rosary enjoy a ride, possibly at the Perth Zoo, in 1960.

PERSPECTIVES

Dark forces tried to stop me finding Christ Christmas is over...

Family is the Future

Icome from a very strong Hindu background because of my family’s culture. At the beginning of my spiritual journey I didn’t realise I was going to become a Catholic. Yet whenever I was going through a down period in my life, somebody would talk to me about Christ.

My conversion started over 25 years ago. It began with me getting rid of anything in my house that related to my previous beliefs. I was assisted in this by Theresa, a very dear friend who has since passed away. Theresa would select passages in the Bible for me to read.

Why I became Catholic

with Debbie Warrier

During this time I had very bad experiences. I would wake up at night, sensing a presence in my bedroom. It felt like cold waves were going over my body. It was like someone was pulling me one way because I wanted to follow the Lord’s way. It was quite bizarre and happened to me two or three times. A friend said, “You will find there will be temptations put in front of you.”

My family found my conversion very hard to take. They now acknowledge and accept that I am a Catholic. I respect my family’s decision to be Hindu. I believe in my heart that there is only one God and that God looks after my family.

My Aunty Molly and friends supported my decision to convert. All Saints Parish, in Greenwood was particularly supportive. At my baptism I had such a strong sense of being with God. It was almost like I wasn’t physically there. I felt like I was being lifted. I really believe at the time of my conversion that God was carrying me. Since I have been baptised I have felt the “yoke” in my life being lifted by Him.

I am a phlebotomist (I take people’s blood). Three years ago at my workplace a shelf stocked with blood tubes fell on and injured the nerves in my foot.

My husband fell off the roof and broke his arm as well. I prayed and prayed. I remember crying and thinking, “What’s going to happen to my family? What is going to happen to me?”

Then in 2008 my Aunt Molly died aged 93. I had to go to New Zealand for the funeral. I hadn’t seen my family for seven years.

Work, schooling and other commitments always seemed to get in the way. When I went, my daughter came with me and we ended up staying for three months. The little inheritance Aunt Molly left me paid for this.

It was like she knew that I needed to be with my family because I was so down. I had total family time. I took myself off the medication. I started to get on my feet again and walk more. It gave me the confidence to get more exercise. My daughter and I took buses everywhere. Slowly everything just seemed to fall into place.

My life has changed in the sense that I know my prayers will be answered. They may not be answered in the way I expect, but somewhere along the line those answers do come. That’s how I know that I am not walking alone and that He is beside me. Now I realise our spiritual journey never ends and my faith just grows stronger.

If you have a story to tell please contact Debbie via debwarrier@hotmail.com

with Karen & Derek Boylen

It was when the parrot (affectionately known as chicken) decided to eat Joseph - the wise men didn’t taste so good - that we finally put the nativity scene back in its box. And that was it... Christmas in our house finished for another year.

So here we are... back to ‘Ordinary Time’. The Christmas season is over. Everyone is back from holidays. Back to the hard grind of school for the kids and work for everyone else.

Ordinary time... not just in the liturgical year but our lives as well.

But is it the same?

Are we the same?

In 1974, reflecting on the meaning of Advent and Christmas, Bishop Karol Wojtyla soon to become Pope John Paul II said “Christianity is the religion of the coming of God, of his breaking through into human history... we live Advent not only in the perspective of the liturgical year, but also in the perspective of the entire existence of the individual, each nation and all humanity.”

Advent and Christmas aren’t just a way to finish off the year and an excuse to remember baby Jesus.

Advent is a time when we should be renewed; reminded that we are an Advent people and challenged to bring forth the joy of Christ born on Christmas day into the coming year. Has Advent changed us? Has it reminded us and inspired us to take up the

what now?

challenge of being Advent people? Or will we go back to ordinariness?

John Paul’s words also challenge us to go beyond the personal experience of Christmas.

We are called to be Advent people; not just Advent persons. The challenge is a communal one. It’s not just a challenge for Derek or a challenge for Karen. He is issuing a challenge to Derek and Karen. How are we together bringing the hope of Advent and Christmas into our ordinary time?

As domestic Church, the most basic unit of Church, John Paul is challenging us to be Advent people.

So, in 2009 we have resolutions:

• Pray more as a family, especially at the beginning of the day. It was a lovely tradition that Derek had growing up in his family.

• Make time as a family to talk about the Sunday readings. Helping our children to better understand what they mean and the significance for our lives.

What are your resolutions? How will your domestic Church be an Advent people?

• Maybe you could find more opportunities to pray as a family.

• Find ways to give scripture a more meaningful place in your daily/weekly life.

• Explore ways that the family could become more involved in the parish community.

• As a family find acts of service that you can offer those in need.

Advent and Christmas remind us that we are called to prepare for Christ’s coming into our hearts and homes... everyday.

Valentine martyred for love of Christ

Who was St Valentine?

When I was growing up we used to exchange Valentine’s Day cards, which we called Valentines, and the day still seems to be associated with romantic love. I believe there was once a feast of St Valentine in the Church’s calendar. Can you tell me anything about St Valentine and why he is associated with romance?

By Fr John Flader

It seems certain that there was an historical figure named Valentine, but as many as three St Valentines are mentioned in the early martyrologies for February 14. They were all martyrs and little is known with certainty about them.

One is described as a priest who was martyred around 269 and another as a bishop of Interamna, the present-day Terni, who was put to death some years earlier. Both of them seem to have been buried on the Flaminian Way outside Rome, in different places.

The third St Valentine appears to have suffered for the faith in the Roman province of Africa with a number of companions, but nothing further is known about him.

According to Butler’s Lives of the Saints, Valentine the priest, along with St Marius and his family, was arrested and imprisoned for assisting Christians who were being persecuted during the reign of the emperor Claudius II, who died in 270.

Apparently, the emperor took a liking to Valentine, but when the saint tried to convert him, the emperor sent him to the prefect of Rome. When Valentine resisted the efforts of the prefect to make him renounce his faith, he was ordered to be beaten with clubs and was then beheaded. He died on February 14, around the year 269.

Pope St Julius I, who was Pope from 337 to 352, is said to have built a church near Ponte Mole in his memory, and the nearby Porta Flaminia, now known as the Porta del Popolo, was for a long time called the Porta Valentini or Valentine Gate.

In 496 Pope Gelasius decreed that the feast of St Valentine was to be celebrated on February 14. The feast was kept on that day until 1969, when the liturgical calendar was revised.

In 1836, Pope Gregory XVI donated to the Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church in Dublin relics identified with St Valentine that were exhumed from the cemetery of St Hippolytus on the Tibertine Way near Rome. They are the object of much veneration, especially on February 14, when the casket containing them is carried in procession to the altar for a special Mass dedicated to young people and to all those in love.

Most of St Valentine’s relics are in the church of St Praxedes in Rome.

As regards the association of St Valentine with romantic love, two possible explanations are given.

Fr Butler in his Lives of the Saints says that there was an ancient custom of boys drawing out the names of girls in honour of the goddess Februata Juno on February 15. To Christianise the custom pastors substituted the names of saints for those of girls.

The other explanation refers to a common belief in England and France during the Middle Ages that on February 14, half-way through the second month of the year, birds began to mate.

Thus Chaucer wrote in Parliament of Foules: “For this was sent on Seynt Valentyne’s day, whan every foul cometh ther to choose his mate.”

Later, in the Paston Letters, Dame Elizabeth Brews wrote to a young man who she hoped would marry her daughter: “And, cousin mine, upon Monday is Saint Valentine’s Day and every bird chooses himself a mate, and if it like you to come on Thursday night, and make provision that you may abide till then, I trust to God that you shall speak to my husband and I shall pray that we may bring the matter to a conclusion.”

Shortly afterwards the daughter herself wrote to the same man, addressing it “Unto my rightwell beloved Valentine, John Paston Esquire”.

Whatever may be the origin of the custom, St Valentine is regarded as the Patron Saint of engaged couples, happy marriages, lovers, travellers and young people. He is often represented in pictures with birds and roses.

Fr Flader: director@caec.com.au

Arona Sayer

The greatest pastoral challenge?

This week, Fr Anthony Paganoni, Scalabrinian, returns to the Perspectives pages with the first of a series of articles on a fascinating story, a long-running successful initiative in youth ministry in the province of Lombardy in northern Italy. It is known simply as ‘the Oratorio...’

The Italian Way

Tony Paganoni, Scalabrinian

Intriguing developments in Youth Ministry

Is youth ministry just one of many pastoral challenges laid at the doorstep of our churches today? Or is it rather the number one issue that could make or break the Catholic Church or the other churches planted here since the European settlement of this continent?

No matter how we go about answering the question, I believe that youth ministry in Australia, as in other western societies, is now up against a ‘cultural shift’ rather than a ‘generation gap’.

“Young people are today growing up in a different world, if compared to that experienced by previous generations”, decried a study in Britain as long ago as the 1970s.

The refrain is repeated with monotonous regularity in the recent (2006) Australian study Spirit of Generation Y. Final Report of a 3 year Study: “Most young people said they had some purpose in their lives, although some felt that their lives did not fit into the wider scheme, that they did not really belong anywhere and ‘were hurting deep inside’”(executive summary).

“Manuals offering ‘everything you need for youth work” sound naive and simplistic.”

This cultural shift has magnified the tensions that have always existed between generations and have always been present in youth ministry. Contemporary work with young people will always make the adult congregations seem at least ‘out of touch’. Manuals offering “everything you need for youth work” sound naïve and simplistic.

Sociologists of religion are quick to point out that there could be a deeper problem. It could be summed up: “How come if you want to become or remain a Christian, you have to find a way of living in a culture that no longer exists in everyday life?”. This is why in a recent issue of the Youth Worker Journal (July-

August 2007), the index of the articles is so revealing: New Paradigm, New Bible, New Illiteracy, New Music, New Humans, New Preaching etc… New world!

According to the Spirit of Generation Y study, Churches must take seriously where young people are at, sidestepping the barriers of irrelevant forms and symbols and taking seriously ethical issues like the equality of women and men and protection of the environment.

Churches must engage in dialogue, exploring faith with young people without first requiring commitment from them.

While many young people show little if any interest in spirituality, others, a small minority, display an inspiring commitment to their faith and to the wellbeing of others. That there are still a goodly number of young people like this was demonstrated by the World

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Youth Day celebrations in Sydney last July.

Of course the extent to which that successful project has triggered a new awakening in the lives of many of them remains to be seen. The ball is in their hands, we might say.

Of course communities and other groups can be of help. Pastoral workers as well as theologians may well discuss styles and approaches, while many young people will remain on the sidelines waiting for someone committed to standing with them, by engagement and dialogue, discerning what is clearly difficult to anticipate.

This conversation - a ministry from alongside rather than from in frontwill be enormously enriched by ongoing experiences gained in other socioreligious contexts.

The experience of the Oratorio in Italy is a notable example.

A House on the Hill

■ By Robert McCormack

Iam a house on a hill near a large busy city. I am not old having seen slightly over 50 Advents come and go. Many of you pass by me on the way to and from the city everyday. Some of you may think that I sit here lonely and unused during the week days.

Nothing could be further from the truth. At this time of the year, the sun has warmed my tiles before the trice weekly early morning Mass is said.

I look with pride on this small band of souls and worry when one is missing. The cars and pedestrians leave for a short while and soon a small group of cars carrying teachers appear and they enter my parish school. I use the term 'my' with a little pride but more of the joy I see in the children as they are disgorged by a herd of cars around my walls.

I can honestly say my parish school children are very noisy when they are happy.

The cars dwindle and the school siren sounds and silence descends upon me, even the morning peak hour rush tapers off. An old chap comes up the path, paint brush in hand and starts to paint my double doors which have been recently installed.

Sometimes I really would like to tell people who look after me stories of people who used to look after me. I think it would be nice to all be part of a shared history. I say this as my painter often looks at a few of my memorial plaques and wonders what the history is behind them. My sacristian arrives and carries out some necessary housekeeping, exchanges a joke with my painter and leaves.

My parish priest then greets me again for the second time this day. In these days of dwindling congregations he lives next to a bigger house and from my height, sometimes I think I can see its roof. He drops off some paper work, exchanges a joke with my painter and leaves.

He is a very busy man, but not too busy for a quick and kindly word.

My painter tidies up and sits a while in the front pew and asks for some patience and some divine intervention (preferably of the old testament variety) on those who spray graffiti on my walls. The painter leaves and exchanges a joke with the priest who lives in the old priest's residence next door but they part on a somber note as the priest is leaving to conduct a funeral at another church.

Morning tea time! The noise in the school climbs, teachers seek solace in tea and children behave like children everywhere! This brief flurry soon ends and the dull roar of the freeway returns. My painter comes back for another coat.

My lawn mower man has come and mows my small piece of sward. A quiet man that has being doing this task for many a year. I would think no more than 5 people in the parish would know he has being doing this for years. The lady who looks after my flower beds walks over the footbridge and tends to them. The painter, the mower man and my flower lady all chat briefly in a kindly way and all leave and go their separate ways.

My parish priest then greets me again for the second time this day. In these days of dwindling congregations he lives next to a bigger house and from my height, sometimes I think I can see its roof.

School lunch time is upon us and the sounds of happy, noisy souls bounce of my walls. A warm sunny afternoon begins and I doze for a while till the 3.30pm mayhem begins. Clouds of cars come and go, the school empties and the freeway fills with outgoing traffic. These cars, mostly with only the driver and no passengers, seldom look up and see me with my white cross gazing down on them.

Evening is soon upon me and the last rays of the sun have gone from my tiles. It will be quiet tonight but tomorrow evening we will have Taize prayer and that will keep me awake watching my people.

Please do not think me lonely and unused, I enjoy each day as it comes and mayhaps some time in the future I can relate why the two year old threw her nappy at the donkey in the nativity play practice, my rafters really hurt from laughing that day.

There for them: Pope Benedict XVI embraces a young woman during a meeting with youth in Loreto, Italy, in 2007. What are the successful elements of working with youth to open their eyes to the Church, asks Fr Anthony Paganoni, an Adelaide-based Scalabrinian priest.

PHOTO: CNS/DANIELE LA MONACA, REUTERS

Faith returns to war-torn Kosovo

In Kosovo, whole families return to Catholic faith.

■ By Victor Gaetan

PRISTINA, Kosovo (CNS) - Although armed conflict in Kosovo ended nearly a decade ago, the capital city still feels like a place hit recently by war or natural disaster.

Electricity goes out often, water is strictly rationed, United Nations jeeps are ubiquitous and people look harried.

Along the main road leading to Pristina, every other lot is full of old cars, stolen from other European countries and picked clean or abandoned by families who fled the war. But during Sunday Masses at the Church of St Anthony of Padua, an active Catholic community packs the pews. There are families and old people, a full-voiced choir, eight young altar servers and long lines to receive the Eucharist.

The church, located in a working-class neighborhood, was built in the 1960s after the communist regime demolished the Catholic cathedral in the city’s centre.

“We are small but very alive. Children from every grade are in catechism (classes),” said Fr Albert Jakaj, 30, whose identical twin is a priest in Montenegro. “People are coming back to their old faith. We have whole families coming back to their roots.”

The priest described a small village where 10 families came to him asking to receive the sacraments: “They want to be back with their traditional faith. It’s not conversion but a strong returning.”

Kosovar Albanians “have lived through a national crisis that centred on national identity as well as on religious identity. But our Catholic roots are very old,” he said.

During the Communist period, Kosovo was an autonomous region of the Yugoslav republic of Serbia. Serbians claimed control over Kosovo although more than 90 percent of its citizens were ethnic Albanian Muslims who converted to Islam under Ottoman rule, but a sizeable minority of Kosovar Albanians remained Catholic.

Following the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s, Albanian Muslims and Catholics often worked together against Serb control, which was associated with the Serbian Orthodox Church.

In 1999, NATO bombed Serbia to convince it to relinquish control of Kosovo to the United Nations. In February 2008, Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia.

Today, Kosovo’s Catholic population is approximately 65,000 in a country with roughly two million people. Another 60,000

Kosovar Catholics are outside the country, mainly for work. The Catholic community tries to share its values while building positive relations with other communities. One way it does this is through schools.

The Loyola-Gymnasium Prizren, which opened in 2005, has 600 students, more than 80 percent from Muslim backgrounds. Its executive director is German Jesuit Father Walter Happel, but Loyola does not offer religion classes.

Pal Bala, legal adviser at Loyola and a parishioner at St Anthony’s Church, said:

“Everyone sees the difference between our school and secular schools or other religious schools right away. We promote equal education for boys and girls. We promote respect, love and justice. We have Franciscan nuns at the school working side by side with lay staff. And we have high standards that promote meritocracy among students.

“As Catholics, we demonstrate our values within the community. Through this kind of work, we convince people about the rightness of our beliefs,” Bala said.

Evidence of the Catholic Church’s confidence in its future is reflected in plans to

construct a new Pristina cathedral, named after Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, an ethnic Albanian. The current and former presidents of Kosovo, both Muslims, have publicly supported the plan.

Monsignor Shan Zefi, chancellor of the Prizren-based Catholic apostolic administration, noted that the Catholic Church was well-represented in the Kosovo government. “There’s no doubt the government sees us as an asset and source of hope, since we represent a link with Western democratic values,” he said.

Mgr Zefi noted that “some Muslim clergy appear unhappy about the current wave of baptisms. But they know the converts weren’t proper Muslims and must be free to make their own choices.

“Our relations with the Islamic community are better than with the nationalistic Orthodox church,” he said, noting that the Catholic Church hopes to play a mediating role between Muslims and Orthodox.

Most Catholic Kosovars say they have had positive relations with their Muslim neighbours for years. “My father is Muslim and his parents, going back, maintain a

combination of Muslim and Christian practices. They are known as ‘crypto-Catholics’ because, although the men go to the mosque on Fridays, the family follows Christian principles at home. Children are baptised at home. Sunday is considered holy. My paternal grandparents lit candles for Christian holy days,” said St Anthony’s parishioner Mihane Nartile Salihu.

“In the morning, my father and his family say prayers in Arabic, but at night, they say the Our Father and Hail Mary in Albanian,” Salihu said. “Like Christians, the whole family eats together... while in strict Muslim homes, men and women eat separately.”

“This double identity developed under Ottoman rule because as a Christian you suffered ostracism and higher taxes, but calling yourself a Muslim had a lot of advantages, so many people declared themselves to tax collectors as Muslims but kept Catholic tradition at home,” she said.

Fr Jakaj said this cultural history contributes to more understanding between the religious groups and makes the process of revitalising the Church a matter of recovering latent identity.

The order whose founder fathered a child suffers

ROME (CNS) - The Legionaries of Christ only recently found out that their founder had fathered a child, knowledge that has caused the members great suffering, but has not destroyed the gratitude they owe him, said a spokesman for the Religious order.

Fr Paolo Scarafoni, spokesman at the Legionaries’ headquarters in Rome, said that, despite the failures and flaws of the late Fr Marcial Maciel Degollado, members of the order are grateful to him for having founded the order and its various ministries.

“We found this out only recently,” Fr Scarafoni said, referring to the fact that Father Maciel had a daughter. Asked how the Legionaries came to know about her, Father Scarafoni said, “Frankly, I cannot say and it is not opportune to discuss this further, also because there are people involved” who deserve privacy.

In the past, Fr Maciel had been accused of sexually abusing young seminarians in the order, accusations that Fr Scarafoni said “have never been proven definitively.”

Because the Holy See decided against conducting a canonical

trial to investigate the allegations, but rather ordered the then-elderly

Father Maciel to withdraw to a life of prayer and penance in May 2006, “we do not know what allegations were made and examined at that time,” Fr Scarafoni said.

Fr Maciel died on January 30, 2008, at 87. The pain the Legionaries are experiencing now “is so great precisely because this is something we did not know before,” Fr Scarafoni said.

However, he said, “We are serene. Certainly, it is a time of great trial for us and in the face of this there is great suffering.”

Fr Scarafoni had told the Mexican news agency Notimex that the Legionaries were living through “a process of purification.”

He told CNS: “When you are faced with such great pain, it means that you must grow, you must be better, you must be purified spiritually because you must continue to move forward motivated by even higher ideals. This is especially true when you are faced with the unexpected.”

At the same time, he said, “there is much gratitude. Our gratitude to him remains very strong because

we have received so much that is good from him. This is something we cannot and will not deny.”

He said the Legionaries of Christ and the lay members of Regnum Christi are dealing with the news “as a family. With prudence and charity we are informing our members and trying to help each other overcome this situation. What is important is not to renounce the great mission that we have. The priority is the life and the holiness of each of our members,” he said.

Fr Alvaro Corcuera, director general of the Legionaries and

Regnum Christi, acknowledged that the order is “living a time of pain and suffering.”

In an undated letter to the 65,000 predominantly lay members of Regnum Christi, Fr Corcuera did not specifically identify the actions of the Legionaries’ founder, but wrote that “these things that have hurt and surprised us - and I don’t believe we can explain with our reason alone - have already been judged by God. It is true that we are going through much suffering and a great deal of pain. As in a family, these pains draw us together and lead us to suffer and rejoice as one body. This circumstance we are living invites us to look at everything with much faith, humility and charity. Thus we place it in the hands of God, who teaches us the way of infinite mercy,” the letter said. A spokesman for the Legionaries of Christ in the United States acknowledged that some aspects of Father Maciel’s life “were not appropriate for a Catholic priest.”

“We have learned some things about our founder’s life that are surprising and hard to understand,” Jim Fair, the order’s US

spokesman, said, adding that Fr Maciel now “stands before God’s judgment and mercy” and denied rumors that the Legionaries would renounce Fr Maciel.

“It’s one of the mysteries of our faith, that someone can have tremendous flaws but yet the Holy Spirit can work through them,” Fair said from Chicago.

Despite the unsettling news, Fair said, the order will continue its ministries. Fr Maciel lived the last years of his life under a Vatican order not to practice his priestly ministry in public. The accusations that Fr Maciel sexually abused seminarians first became public in 1997 in a report in The Hartford (Connecticut) Courant daily newspaper. In a letter to the paper, Father Maciel denied the allegations, saying “In all cases they are defamations and falsities with no foundation whatsoever.”

Fr Maciel founded the Legionaries of Christ in his native Mexico in 1941. Fr Scarafoni said the Legionaries have 3250 male members, of whom 850 are priests; about 1000 consecrated women; and about 60,000 members of Regnum Christi, the lay branch.

Reverence: A Bosnian Orthodox woman lights a candle during prayers for Kosovo’s Serbs in St Trojice Church in Banja Luka, Bosnia-Herzegovina, last year. Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia last year.

PHOTO: CNS/RANKO CUKOVIC, REUTERS

Fr Marcial Maciel Degollado, right

1500 years of water under the bridge

■ By Chaz Muth

WASHINGTON (CNS) - The most significant progress toward full communion since dialogue between the Catholic and Oriental Orthodox churches resumed in 2003 was made during a January 26-30 meeting in Rome.

A representative of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops said that a joint Catholic-Oriental Orthodox statement that came from the Rome meeting was not the very first agreed statement, but is “the first substantial agreed theological statement that has come out of this dialogue”.

“No one is predicting when full communion will come, because we’re in the beginning stages. But everyone is very happy with the statement,” said Paulist Father Ronald Roberson, associate director of the Secretariat of Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs for the USCCB.

The Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox churches have been out of communion since the Council of Chalcedon in 451, when the Oriental Orthodox refused to accept the teaching of the fourth of the church’s first seven ecumenical councils about Christ being both human and divine.

Pope Benedict XVI met on January 30 with the members of the International Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue Between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox.

In addition to the Catholic Church, commission members represent the Armenian Apostolic Church, Coptic Orthodox Church, Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Syrian Orthodox Church, Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church and Eritrean Orthodox Church.

Each of the churches involved in the dialogue brings the richness of its own traditions along with a commitment “to overcome the divisions of the past and to strengthen the united witness of Christians in the face of the enormous challenges facing believers today,” the Pope said.

The statement from the sixth meeting of the joint commis-

In other OrthodoxCatholic news...

VATICAN CITY (CNS) - Pope Benedict XVI gave a chalice to the new patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church and expressed his hope that Catholics and Russian Orthodox can improve their relationship.

The chalice was also a symbol of hope that the two churches would be in full communion with each other.

The Pope’s message to Patriarch Kirill of Moscow was delivered by a high-level Vatican delegation attending his enthronement liturgy in Moscow on February 1. Patriarch Kirill, 62, was elected patriarch on January 27 after

sion acknowledges a large base of agreement in fundamental matters of ecclesiology between the two groups. “The first part of the meeting was devoted to the examination and approval of a common document entitled ‘Nature, Constitution and Mission of the Church,’” it said.

“The document describes broad areas of consensus regarding fundamental ecclesiological principles, and outlines areas that require further study. This common document of our dialogue is a major achievement and will be submitted to the authorities of our churches for their consideration and action. It is also recommended to all the faithful of our churches so that they also can participate in the growing understanding between us.”

The seventh meeting of the commission is scheduled for January 25-29, 2010, in Antelias, Lebanon, where talks about full communion are to be continued.

“My crystal ball is not clear on how long it will take to achieve full communion,” Fr Roberson said. “We’ve been out of communion with these churches for 1500 years. A lot of this is getting to know each other again.”

It’s important for Catholics and the members of Oriental Orthodox churches to know that after all of these centuries the two groups are making significant strides in settling their differences, he said.

“This is of great historical significance,” said Fr Roberson, who participated in the Rome meeting.

“The divisions and hostility of the past are not as deep as they used to be. It should be a source of great joy.”

The Pope seemed to agree with that assessment when he addressed the commission members on January 30. “Your sixth meeting has taken important steps precisely in the study of the church as communion,” Pope Benedict said at the conclusion of the joint commission’s meeting. “The very fact that the dialogue has continued over time and is hosted each year by one of the several churches you represent is itself a sign of hope and encouragement.”

he spent almost 20 years as chairman of the Russian Orthodox Church’s department for ecumenical relations, during which time he had met Pope Benedict three times over the past four years.

The tensions between the two churches arose mainly from the re-establishment of the Ukrainian Catholic Church and of Roman Catholic dioceses in the territories of the former Soviet Union once religious freedom was restored.

Despite the tensions, Pope Benedict said there has been a spirit of openness and cooperation with the Catholic Church “for the defence of Christian values in Europe and in the world. I am certain that Your Holiness will continue to build on this solid foundation for the good of your people and for the benefit of Christians everywhere.”

Singapore Catholics go lunar in new year

Church in Singapore incorporates new year festival into Church life.

SINGAPORE (CNS) - The Catholic Church in Singapore, where most Catholics are Chinese, has incorporated the lunar new year festival into Church life.

The Asian Church news agency UCA News reported that during the 15-day celebrations many parishes decorate their church with red banners. Blessed oranges also are distributed during special Masses held on January 26, the beginning of the lunar new year this year. The Chinese regard red as an auspicious colour and oranges as a symbol of good fortune.

Fr Stanislaus Pang, a diocesan

priest, pointed out the spiritual aspects of the celebration. “During the Chinese new year Mass, we give thanks to God for the gift of the new year and also for the gift of Chinese culture,” he told UCA News.

“The distribution of oranges, which are produce of the earth, is symbolic of the Father bestowing his blessings upon us for the new year.

Many Chinese parishioners also give the priests in their parish “hong bao,” Chinese red envelopes containing money.

This year, at the Church of St Bernadette, the custom also took a new form. Special red envelopes were distributed at Masses for parishioners to donate money to their church renovation fund.

For the festival, Catholic book-

shops also sell specially printed “hong bao” bearing biblical phrases. If the new year period coincides with the start of Lent, as it did in 2008 when the eve of the lunar new year coincided with Ash Wednesday, the Archbishop has permission from the Vatican to allow Catholics to fast and abstain on another day instead. Many Chinese hold family reunion dinners on that night.

But the heightened spirit of family and community is not as strong as it once was, according to a news report in The Straits Times

The English-language daily said the lunar new year is still widely celebrated among the Chinese here, but many young people are losing interest in it because of weakening family ties and the feeling that such customs are old-fashioned.

Foster mother disqualified after teen Muslim converts

Christianity is under seige in the UK as a British foster mother is disqualified after Muslim girl’s conversion to Christianity and its Human Rights Act conflicts with freedom of religion - again.

LONDON (CNA) - A British woman who has fostered more than 80 children over ten years has been disqualified from service as a caregiver after a teenage Muslim girl in her charge converted to Christianity.

The woman, a churchgoer in her 50s, has lost the farmhouse she rented to look after vulnerable teenagers because of the loss of income. Another girl in her charge has been taken back into foster care.

According to the Telegraph, the caregiver said she discouraged the 16-year-old Muslim girl’s interest in Christianity and did not pressure the girl to convert.

“I offered her alternatives. I offered to find her places to practise her own religion,” she said.

“I offered to take her to friends or family. But she said to me from the word go: ‘I am interested and I want to come (to church)’.”

The girl had been placed into foster care after she was assaulted by a family member.

The caregiver said the girl saw her baptism as “a washing away of the horrible things she had been through and a symbol of a new start.”

The woman, an Anglican, claimed that social services staffers were aware that the girl was attending her evangelical church and the council heads only objected when they discovered the girl had been baptised.

According to the Telegraph, abandoning Islam is strongly condemned in the Koran and is considered taboo in Muslim communities. Officials advised the teenage girl to reconsider her decision and to stop attending Christian meetings.

In November, they removed the caregiver from the register, claiming she breached her duty as a foster parent.

“They consider that in some way she should have taken steps to prevent the conversion,” the caregiver’s solicitor Nigel Priestley explained to the Telegraph Priestly is demanding a judicial review of the council’s decision. He claims they breached Article 9 of the Human Rights Act, which guarantees freedom of religion for both the caregiver and the girl.

He said that the now 17-year-old teenager, who has returned to her parents’ custody, was “distressed” that her action had produced such effects and supports her former caregiver’s challenge.

Priestly reported that the council has offered to review its decision but his client is prepared to pursue legal action.

The caregiver told the Daily Telegraph: “I just want to get my life back. I still hope to resolve this so that I can possibly foster again in the future as I simply enjoy helping young people.”

The Christian Institute is funding the caregiver’s legal case. Institute official Mike Judge commented on the case, saying:

“I cannot imagine that an atheist foster carer would be struck off if a Christian child in her care stopped believing in God.

“This is the sort of double standard that Christians are facing in Britain.”

Colourful: A lion dance troupe listens to instructions from an event official before their performance on Renri, the seventh day of the Chinese new year, in Singapore on February 1. Many Catholic parishes in Singapore, where most Catholics are Chinese, decorate their churches and participate in other traditions related to the lunar new year. PHOTO: CNS/TIM CHONG, REUTERS

Harmless, if historically shallow...

The plot is not really, as one critic said, about Nicole discovering

Australia (PG)

■ By Guy Crouchback

WITH a couple of misgivings, I recently joined some friends to see the film Australia It turned out to be neither as good, nor quite as bad, as it might have been.

It was nice of Mr Rudd to give what amounted to $80 million of our Australian taxpayers’ money to 20th Century Fox (owned by the umbrella company of that well-known pauper Mr Rupert Murdoch), to help finance the film, but at the end of the day one cannot call it much more than a moderately successful piece of entertainment.

The concluding wrap about the fact that an apology for the “stolen generation” was issued by the Prime Minister in 2008 might have been more informative with the words “This is a paid political advertisement by the present Australian government.”

In fact the whole story of the so-called “stolen generation” is complex and remains controversial. Some, not all, part-Aboriginal children were taken into care because they were not accepted by either white or Aboriginal society.

The number remains very uncertain. It is wrong to treat the matter in a simplistic, melodramatic manner, pushing a certain agenda.

Still, simplistic is what this film is about. It is basically a very lavish comic-book.

I was not quite sure that the first half-hour or so was not written by Barry Humphries as a caricature of Australian stereotypes, and this level of characterisation is pretty well maintained throughout.

I expected the Catholic missions, where the half-caste children dreaded being sent, to be portrayed as hell-holes staffed by hot-

eyed fanatics or child-molesters, but in fact the only mission shown briefly looks a happy enough place, with the children playing by the sea.

The priest shown comes across as a rather silly-sounding young man very like Dougal in Father Ted, constantly invoking The Lord, but also brave and dedicated, taking a mission-boat back to a Japanese-held island to rescue children there.

a Botox mine...

He is shown in black clerical garb and dog-collar, though I have a feeling that missionaries in the Northern Territory tended to wear shorts and open-necked shirts.

The plot is not really, as some unkind critic stated, about Nicole Kidman discovering a Botox mine in the outback, but the first half is concerned largely with an equally improbable cattle-drive which seems to go to Darwin via the Olgas in Central Australia, the Bungle-Bungles in Western Australia, the Never-Never and various gorges in the North-West. Aboriginal life, to the small degree it is shown, is somewhat… er … romanticised. A small half-caste boy stops 1,500 cattle stampeding over a cliff by the use of magical powers. With Nicole Kidman’s arrival the parched wasteland of Faraway Downs station blossoms equally magically into lush grass and flowers.

There is a scene of a Japanese party landing on an island off Darwin in World War II, which didn’t happen, but is plausible (there were probably some covert Japanese landings for reconnaissance).

Despite the geological mix-ups (Well, John Ford left us with the impression that most of the American West was like Monument Valley), the scenery is spectacular and some of the camera-work very impressive. It would be a mistake to treat Australia too seriously. It is three hours of pretty harmless entertainment and easy to watch. It is just a pity that we didn’t get a film with a little more depth for our money.

Three men who saved more Jews than Schindler

Moral ambiguity underlies movie about Bielski partisans.

■ By Harry Forbes

NEW YORK (CNS) - We’re accustomed to so many Holocaust stories where Jewish people react passively to being rounded up, herded onto trains and interned in concentration camps that it’s more than a little surprising to learn that some fought back.

Defiance (Paramount Vantage) is the wellacted, too lengthy, but ultimately worthy history lesson about the Bielski brothers - Tuvia (Daniel Craig, Casino Royale), Zus (Liev Schreiber, The Manchurian Candidate) and Asael (British actor Jamie Bell, Billy Elliot) - Jewish farmers from what is now Belarus who chose not to be passively victimised by the Nazis.

After their parents are killed, they take refuge in the Naliboki Forest.

Before long, they’re joined by several needy others. As time goes by, the brothers shelter hundreds of Jews, while violently dispatching German attackers.

Tuvia, the eldest, becomes the leader of the community, and one who brooks no opposition to his authoritarian rule.

Considering the lives at stake - and threats of hunger, disease, attack and internal rebellion - this was perhaps a necessary dictatorship.

“We will live free, like human beings, for as long as we can,” he vows.

The hot-headed Zus who, at one point, spearheads a violent ambush of a Nazi convoy, later suggests joining forces with a Russian partisan group.

The Russians reluctantly agree to the alliance, but despite the apparent effectiveness of the teaming, later reveal unchanged prejudice toward them.

Director and co-writer Edward Zwick (Blood Diamond, The Last Samurai) keeps the episodic, story-spanning film moving as well as can be expected given the three-year time span it covers, and the script (written with Clayton Frohman from the book by Nechama Tec) obviously gives a different perspective than your typical Holocaust movie.

Given the complexity of the situation, the Bielskis’ heroism here is shown to be marred by several morally unacceptable instances

of senseless slaughter. Though the Bielski detachment was the largest Jewish partisan band with the greatest number of lives saved, it was also responsible for a record number of German casualties.

When, for instance, the brothers confirm the identity of the police captain responsible for their parents’ deaths, Tuvia tracks down the man at dinner with his family, and coldly shoots all at the table, except, presumably, the man’s wife.

And even beyond the lapses of moral rectitude shown by Tuvia and Zus, we see the crowd’s hunger for revenge, when they capture a hapless German soldier who begs for mercy only to be savagely beaten to death by the mob, while Tuvia looks on enigmatically.

As the forest community grows to the point of constituting a virtual village, and relationships form, the concept of “forest wives” and “forest husbands” takes shape, even as pregnancies are forbidden. After learning that his wife and child have perished, Tuvia forms a bond with Lilka (Alexa Davalos).

(In real life, Tuvia and Lilka would remain together for the rest of their lives.) Zus, in turn, forms an alliance with Bella (Iben Hjelje), while baby brother Asael falls for and actually marries Chaya (Mia Wasikowksa).

The film’s most overt religious note is sounded by Shimon, Tuvia’s ex-schoolteacher, who tries to make sense of the horrors around them. In a poignant moment near the end, Shimon tells Tuvia he believes the latter was “sent by God to save us.”

The film contains strong sporadic violence, vigilante killing, rough language, mild sexuality and a rape reference.

The movie has been compared with Schindler’s List and The Pianist, but the three brothers in Defiance saved more people than Oskar Schindler. - some 1230 souls.

Defiance has also been crudely described as Rambo meets Schindler’s List, but this also says something about the lengths these people had to go to for freedom, albeit portrayed in over-the-top Hollywood-style.

The movie’s main aim is to shatter the apparent myth that the Holocaust was about Jews being led away like lambs to the slaughter, incapable of helping themselves. While in millions of cases this was no doubt true, Defiance attempts to portray not just this individual case, but speak for many others during this difficult period in history who stood up in the face of horrific tyranny.

Moving, if lacking depth: Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman star in a scene from the movie Australia PHOTO: CNS/FOX

Reluctant hero: James Bond star Daniel Craig stars in a scene

Kids bitz & puzzles

CHILDREN’S HILDREN STOR Y TORY

colour ARTIST WEEK

Jesus called His followers and apostles to join Him in God’s work. He asked them to leave everything and to live as He livedpreaching, healing, loving, forgiving.

Picture and words from The life of Jesus Colouring Book. Available from The Record Bookshop 9227 7080

OF THE

Alisha, 9, of Nedlands is our Artist of the Week with this beautiful poem and drawing. Congratulations!

crossword

Crossword taken from Bible Quotations Crossword Puzzles. Available by order from The Record Bookshop 9227 7080.

LEVITICUS

An enjoinment against false Gods.

JESUS CASTS OUT SPIRITS, HEALS THE SICK

By Joe Sarnicola

AFTER Jesus had been baptised by John, he spent time in the desert. When he came out, he went to Galilee and began preaching for the people to repent. He also began healing people who were sick and casting out evil spirits. When he entered Capernaum, he met a man tormented by such a spirit.

The spirit cried out to Jesus, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are - the Holy One of God!”

Jesus did not answer the spirit, but instead commanded, “Quiet! Come out of him!”

With shouting and groaning, the spirit came out of the man. This miracle amazed the people who had seen it happen, and Jesus’ reputation spread throughout the region.

Later, Jesus went to the home of Simon, whose mother-in-law was very sick with a high fever. Jesus went to the woman’s bedside, held her hand and helped her stand up. She was healed and was able to wait on her guests.

Later in the evening, many people gathered outside where Jesus was, hoping he would heal their sick family members and friends. And Jesus healed many people before going to bed. When he woke up early the next morning, he found a quiet place where he could be alone to pray. Simon and the other apostles found Jesus and said, “Everyone is looking for you.”

And Jesus answered, “Let us go on to the nearby village that I may preach there also. For this purpose have I come.”

One of the people who wanted to be healed by Jesus was a leper. The leper knelt before Jesus and said, “If you wish, you can make me clean.”

Jesus felt compassion for the man. He reached out and touched him and said, “I do will it. Be made clean.”

The man was immediately healed. But Jesus added one request: “See that you tell no one anything, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them.”

But the man was so excited and grateful that he could not help but tell everyone what had happened to him. This only made more crowds seek Jesus out for healing and other miracles.

Mark 1

Q&A

1. What did Jesus do for Simon’s mother-in-law?

2. What did Jesus tell the leper to do after he was healed?

PANORAMA

Panorama entries must be in by 12pm Monday. Contributions may be emailed to administration@therecord.com.au, faxed to 9227 7087, or mailed to PO Box 75, Leederville, WA 6902. Submissions over 55 words will be edited. Inclusion is limited to 4 weeks. Events charging over $10 will be a put into classifieds and charged accordingly. The Record reserves the right to decline or modify any advertisment.

Tuesday February 17

TAIZE STYLE SERVICE

7pm at Our Lady of Grace, 3 Kitchener Street, North Beach; practise to learn the songs, 7.30pm start the Taize style service with Brother Mathew from Taize. Enq: Beth 9447 0061.

Wednesday February 18

TAIZE MEDITATION PRAYER

7.30pm to 8.30pm at St Thomas More Catholic Church, 100 Dean Road, Bateman; all welcome to come and spend an hour in Group Prayer and relax in a candlelight atmosphere of prayer, song, gospel reading and meditation. Enq: Daisy/Barney 9310 4781.

Friday February 20

CATHOLIC FAITH RENEWAL

7.30pm at St John and Paul’s Parish Hall. Fr Greg Donovan will lead you through Scriptures, Genesis to Apocalypse. All welcome. Enq: Maureen 9381 4498, Rose 0403 300 720.

Friday February 20 to Sunday February 22

MARRIAGE ENCOUNTER

8pm at Safety Bay, a weekend for married couples. Take time out of your busy schedule, to invest in your most precious asset; Your Marriage! This is a unique opportunity to recharge your relationship batteries, refocus on each other and fall in love all over again. A few places still available. Enq: Joe or Margaret, WABookings@wwme.org.au or 9417 8750.

Saturday February 21

50 YEARS CELEBRATION OF DOMINICAN EDUCATION

6.30pm at Holy Rosary School, Doubleview; Mass followed by picnic tea in the school grounds. Enq: www. holyrosarydblv.wa.edu.au, follow link to Golden Jubilee, or 9446 4558.

Saturday February 21

INNER HEALING RETREAT FOR COUPLES

9am to 5pm at Holy Family Church, Lot 375, Alcock Street, Maddington led by Vincentian Fathers. Prior registration required and is free. Lunch and tea provided. Enq: 9381 5383 or vcparackal@rediffmail.com.

Sunday February 22

CARITAS AUSTRALIA

OFFICIAL LAUNCH OF PROJECT COMPASSION

11am Mass at St Joachim’s Pro-Cathedral, corner Shepperton Road and Harper Street, Victoria Park, Celebrant: Bishop Don Sproxton.

Monday February 23

TLW OPEN SESSION

7.30pm at the Catholic Pastoral Centre, 40A Mary Street, Highgate; join us for our free monthly seminar on understanding and living chastity particularly for young people. Featuring an inspiring and convincing DVD presentation, Romance without regret, summarising why chastity makes sense. Enq: Julie Anne 0438 447 708.

Monday February 23

CATHOLIC PASTORAL WORKERS ASSOCIATION

EUCHARISTIC CELEBRATION

5.30pm at St Catherine’s House of Hospitality, 113 Tyler Street, Tuart Hill, celebrant Fr Paschal Kearney followed by dinner. Cost $12. RSVP by February 19 to Margaret on 9390 8365 or Maranatha 6380 5160.

Tuesday February 24

CARITAS AUSTRALIA

SHROVE TUESDAY – PANCAKE LUNCH

12noon to 1.30 pm at Catholic Pastoral Centre Seminar Room, 40A Mary Street, Highgate - Parking off Harold Street, Guest Speaker, Dr Haridas from Caritas India. Cost: Gold coin donation, RSVP Essential 9422 7925.

Thursday February 26

ALAN AMES HEALING MINISTRY

7pm St Bernadette’s Catholic Church, Jugan Street, Glendalough, Mass followed by talk and healing service. Enq: Loretta 9444 4409.

Friday February 27

MEDJUGORJE - EVENING OF PRAYER

7pm at Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish, Scarborough Beach Road, Scarborough. An evening of Prayer with Our Lady Queen of Peace, commencing with Adoration, Rosary, Benediction followed by Holy Mass. Evening concludes at 9pm. Free DVD’s on Fr Donald Calloways conversion available on night. Enq: Eileen 9402 2480.

Saturday February 28

ST PADRE PIO DAY OF PRAYER

8.30am at St Peter The Apostle, 91 Wood Street, Inglewood; St Padre Pio DVD, 10am Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, Rosary, Divine Mercy Adoration and Benediction. 11am Mass, using St Padre Pio liturgy, celebrant Archbishop Barry Hickey and attending priests welcome to concelebrate.12noon bring plate for shared lunch, tea and coffee provided. Enq: 6278 1540.

Saturday February 28

INNER HEALING RETREAT FOR YOUTHS

9am-5pm St Aloysius Church, 84 Keightlely Road, West Shenton Park. Prayers for inner and physical healing led by the Vincentian Fathers. Prior registration required and is free. Lunch and tea provided. Enq: vcparackal@rediffmail.com or 9381 5383.

Sunday March 1

DIVINE MERCY

1.30pm at St Joachim’s Church Shepperton Road, Victoria Park. Holy Rosary, and Reconciliation. Sermon on St Joseph, by Fr Tiziano Bogoni, followed by Divine Mercy Prayers and Benediction. Refreshments, followed by DVD/Video on ‘Surrender is not an option’ with Fr John Corapi. Enq: John 9457 7771 or Linda 9275 6608.

Sunday March 1 to Thursday March 5

LENTEN MINI MISSION - ONE HOUR SESSIONS

SUCCESS: FULL LIVING

7pm, March 1 and 7.30pm March 2-5 sessions commence and sessions repeated from 9.30am on March 2-5, at Our Lady of the Mission Parish, Whitford, with Fr Justin Belitz, OFM. Experience God’s healing love in ListeningSilence-Music, all welcome. Refreshments provided. Enq: 9307 2776.

Friday March 6 to Sunday March 8

SEPARATED, DIVORCED, WIDOWED

7pm at Epiphany Retreat Centre, Rossmoyne. Beginning Experience is running a program designed to assist and support people in learning to close the door gently on a relationship that has ended in order to get on with living. Enq: Helen 6246 5150 or Maureen 9537 1915.

Saturday March 7

DAY WITH MARY

9am to 5pm at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, 265 Flinders Street, Nollamara; 9am Video on Fatima. Day of prayer and instruction based upon the Fatima message. Reconciliation, Holy Mass, Eucharistic Adoration, Sermons on Eucharist and Our Lady, Rosaries, Procession of the Blessed Sacrament and Stations of the Cross. BYO lunch. Enq: Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate 9250 8286.

Sunday 15 March

150TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS

ST PATRICK YORK – ORIGINAL CHURCH

10.30am Mass concelebrated by Archbishop Barry Hickey followed by launch of the Parish history - Glorious Apostle - and a luncheon picnic, bring lunch and a chair. Please join in the solemnities and festivities. Drinks provided and Parish history book will be on sale. Enq: 9641 1477.

FRIDAY MARCH 20

MEDJUGORJE - EVENING OF PRAYER

7pm at All Saints Chapel, Allendale Square, 77 St.George’s Terrace, Perth. An evening of Prayer with Our Lady Queen of Peace, commencing with Adoration, Rosary and Benediction followed by Holy Mass. Evening concludes at 9pm. Free DVD’s on Fr Donald Calloways conversion available on night. Enq: Eileen 9402 2480.

Friday March 20 to Sunday March 22

SAINT PAUL’S RETREAT

7pm at God’s Farm, Fr Tony Chiera VG, weekend Retreat Master, on St Paul. Luxurious bus hired, direct from Perth and return, limited seats. God’s Farm is 40km south of Busselton. Bookings to PO Box 24, Cowaramup, WA 6284, or Betty 9755 6212, or Yvonne 9348 1897.

Saturday March 21

PRAYER VIGIL FOR PEACE

6pm-9.30pm at Redemptorist Monastery, 190 Vincent Street, North Perth; spend some time with us in prayer for peace in war torn countries, peace in our local communities, peace in our home and peace within ourselves. Enq: Jeanette 9370 4690.

Every Wednesday

THE JULIAN SINGERS

7.30pm to 9.30 at the Edel Quinn Centre, 36 Windsor Street, East Perth, are inviting any interested people for rehearsals to see if they may like to join the choir. We are a liturgical choir and also perform an annual charity concert. Enq: Chris 9276 2736 or Angela 9275 2066.

Every First Friday of the month ST PADRE PIO - LATIN MASS

7.30pm at St Joseph’s Church, 22 Hamilton Street, Bassendean; Latin Mass according to the 1962 missal will be offered in honour of St Padre Pio. The Latin Mass is also offered every Monday evening - except the third week of the month at 7.30pm. All welcome.

Third Sunday of the Month OBLATES OF ST BENEDICT

2pm at St Joseph’s Convent, York Street, South Perth; Oblates affiliated with the Benedictine Abbey New Norcia welcome all who are interested in studying the rule of St Benedict and its relevance to the everyday life of today for lay people. Vespers and afternoon tea conclude meetings. Enq: 9457 5758.

Every Sunday

DIVINE MERCY PRAYER AS NOVENA

3pm St Aloysius Church, 84 Keightley Road, West Shenton Park. An opportunity for all to gather once a week and say the powerful Divine Mercy, Eucharistic Adoration, healing prayers followed by Holy Mass at 4pm. Enq: 9381 5383.

Every 1st Thursday of the Month PRAYER AND MEDITATION SERVICE USING SONGS FROM TAIZE

7.30pm at Our Lady of Grace, 3 Kitchener Street, North Beach. The service is a prayerful meditation in which we sing beautiful chants from Taize together, spend time in prayerful, meditative silence, bathed in candlelight reflecting upon themed readings. Enq: Beth 9447 0061.

MEMORIES OF AFRICA CHOIR

Calling all to come and join this small but vibrant group. Come let us sing and praise God with the African melody and rhythm. Enq: Bibiana, 9451 6602 after 6pm.

Every First Friday and Saturday of month COMMUNION OF REPARATION – ALL NIGHT VIGIL

7pm Friday at Corpus Christi Church, Mosman Park, 47 Lochee Road. Mass with Fr Bogoni and concluding with midnight Mass. Confessions, Rosaries, prayers and silent hourly adoration. Please join us for reparation to Two Hearts according to the message of Our Lady of Fatima. Enq: Vicky 0400 282 357.

Every First Friday HOLY HOUR FOR VOCATIONS TO THE PRIESTHOOD AND RELIGIOUS LIFE

7pm at Little Sisters of the Poor Chapel, 2 Rawlins Street, Glendalough. Mass celebrated by Fr Saminedi. 7.30pm, Adoration with Fr Don Kettle. All welcome. Refreshments provided.

Every Sunday LATIN MASS KELMSCOTT

The Latin Mass according to the 1962 missal will be offered every Sunday at 2pm at the Good Shepherd Parish, 40-42 Streich Avenue, Kelmscott, with Rosary preceding. All welcome.

Every 4th Sunday of the Month HOLY HOUR PRAYER FOR VOCATIONS TO THE PRIESTHOOD AND RELIGIOUS LIFE

2-3pm at Infant Jesus Church, Wellington Road, Morley. The hour includes exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. Let us implore God to pour an abundance of new life into our Church, open our hearts and those of the young people of the world to hear His Word for us now, today. All welcome! Enq: 9276 8500.

Every Friday

EUCHARISTIC ADORATION

9am to 6pm at Holy Trinity Church, 8 Burnett Street, Embleton. Enq: Office 9271 5528 or George 9272 1379.

Every Monday and Tuesday ADVENTURES IN EXODUS – 9 WEEK STUDY

Church of St Emilie, 174 Amherst Road, Canning Vale. New and exciting study into the heart of the Bible - ‘Called To Freedom’ is also our story of what God calls us to be. Free. Limited places. Enq: Dominic celestialorchids@gmail. com, 6253 8041 or 0447 053 347.

Every Tuesday

NOVENA TO GOD THE FATHER

7.30pm St Joachim’s Parish Hall, Shepperton Road, Victoria Park; incorporating a Bible teaching, a Perpetual Novena to God the Father and hymns. Light refreshments will follow. Bring a Bible and a friend. Enq: Jan 9323 8089.

Every Monday

ADORATION, RECONCILIATION AND MASS

7pm at St Thomas, corner Melville and College Roads, Claremont. Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament with Evening Prayer and Benediction, spend 40 minutes quietly before our Lord for the health, faith and safety of yourself and your loved ones; Reconciliation 7.30pm, Mass and Night Prayer 8pm.

Every Thursday

EUCHARISTIC ADORATION

11pm to midnight at Holy Trinity Church, 8 Burnett Street, Embleton. Enq: Office 9271 5528 or George 9272 1379.

Every Saturday

HOLY SPIRIT OF FREEDOM CHARISMATIC PRAYER MEETING

10.30am to 12.30pm at St Peter the Apostle Church Hall, 91 Wood Street, Inglewood. All are most welcome. More Info: 9475 0554.

Every Thursday

JOURNEY THROUGH THE BIBLE

7.30pm, Acts 2 College of Mission and Evangelisation, Osborne Park. Using The Bible Timeline, The Great Adventure can be studied towards accredited course or for interest. Resources provided. See www.acts2come. wa.edu.au/ or Jane 0401 692 690.

CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS

Jesuit Volunteers Australia calls for part-time volunteers to respond to the needs of people in the community who live in marginalised circumstances. At the heart of this program is a reflective process, based on Gospel values, which underpins the work of the volunteers. Enq: Kevin 9316 3469 or kwringe@iinet.net.au, www.jss.org.au.

Every 2nd Wednesday of Each Month

CHAPLETS OF THE DIVINE MERCY

7.30 pm at St Thomas More Catholic Church, Dean Road, Bateman. All welcome to a beautiful, prayerful, and sung devotion. Enq: George 9310 9493 home or 9325 2010 work.

CLASSIFIEDS

Stewardship

SIXTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

Catholic

Church will do ‘all it can’ for

bushfire victims

AUSTRALIAN Catholic

Bishops Conference President

Archbishop Philip Wilson says his thoughts and prayers are with all of the people so badly affected by Victoria’s devastating bushfires.

Archbishop Wilson said the Catholic Church would do all it could, both spiritually and practically, to stand in solidarity with those affected.“I know that Catholic parishes across Australia have been praying for the people who died in the bushfires, as well as for those experiencing the grief of losing loved ones, family homes and cherished pets and belongings,” he said.

“In addition, Catholic relief agencies, such as St Vincent de Paul and Centacare, are already at work providing much needed assistance to people on the ground in these communities. This support will continue over the coming months and years, as we walk with these families and communities in their time of need.

“At this time, we also remember the communities affected by severe flooding in North Queensland, where people have died and many homes, roads and other infrastructure have been damaged.”

Archbishop Wilson urged people to give generously to emergency appeals being established to assist those affected by these tragedies.

“My prayers and thoughts are with all who are suffering so grievously,” he said.

“I also extend heartfelt gratitude to all those volunteers and professionals who have fought these fires and floods so selflessly and tirelessly during these emergencies.”

The fate of a leper is a great tragedy at any time and place. In Jesus’ time, lepers were considered condemned, part of the plagues God sent as punishment. They were cast out of society and abandoned. St Mark’s Gospel reveals the unthinkable. Jesus reaches out and touches a leper. He risks catching the contagious disease and heals the man. As the gospel story teaches, no one is abandoned in Christ. Are there those in our society or in our personal lives for whom we ascribe no hope, who we have abandoned, treated like lepers? Or as Christ’s stewards of our sisters and brothers, do we risk reaching out and touching those who may seem to us to be “unclean” or not worthy of our time or attention?

For further information on how stewardship can build your parish community, call Brian Stephens on 9422 7924.

Walking with Him Daily Mass Readings

15 S 6TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

Gr Lev 13:1-2.44-46 Must live apart Ps 31:1-2.5.11 In time of trouble

1Cor 10:31-11:1 All for God’s glory

Mk 1:40-45 Be cured!

16 M

Gr Gen 4:1-15.25 Cain kills Abel

Ps 49:1.8.16-17.20-21 You despise my law

Mk 8:11-13 Why demand a sign?

17 T THE SEVEN HOLY FOUNDERS OF THE ORDER OF SERVITES (O)

Gr Gen 6:5-8;7:1-5.10 God regrets

Ps 28:1-4.9-10 The voice of the Lord

Mk 8:14-21 We have no bread

18 W Gr Gen 8:6-13.20-22 Noah builds an altar

Ps 115:12-15.18-19 How repay the Lord?

Mk 8:22-26 Can you see anything?

19 TH Gr Gen 1-13 No flood again

20 F

Ps 10:16-23.29 Pay homage to God Mk 8:27-33 Who do you say I am?

Gen 11:1-9 A town and a tower

Ps 32:10-15 God’s people happy Mk 8:34-9:1 Exchange for life?

21 S ST PETER DAMIAN, BISHOP, DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH (O)

Gr Heb 11:1-7 Ancestors’ faith valued

Ps 144:2-5.10-11 Unmeasurable greatness

Mk 9:2-13 Listen to my Son

MISSION MATTERS

Missionary reflections on this Sunday’s Gospel; Mark 1: 41-42 “…Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him… and the leprosy left him at once and he was cured…”

Despite the availability of multi-drug therapies that successfully cure leprosy, there are between 450,000 and 700,000 new cases of the disease still being diagnosed each year throughout the developing world. On top of this there are over 3 million people world-wide suffering from serious and chronic disabilities caused by the disease. I remember quite vividly the first leper I had to treat with foot massage at a Mission clinic in Africa. I remember the revulsion and fear I felt at the sight of her feet. I remember the shame I felt as she smiled gently at me. It was a smile that was so forgiving, so understanding, so healing. At the end of our session together it was me that was cured of the ‘leprosy’ in my heart.

Interested in overseas missionary experience, then call Catholic Mission on 94227933’

ACCOMMODATION

■ AVAILABLE

Willetton single room for female student in family home, on bus to Curtin or Murdoch uni. $150.00 Ph: 0416 815 804.

■ DUNSBOROUGH

Beach cottage, 3 bedrooms, sleeps 7, 300m to Quindalup beach. Great price for Dunsborough! Tel: Sheila 9309 5071 / 0408 866 593 or email: shannons3s@optusnet.com.au.

BUILDING TRADES

■ BRICK RE-POINTING Phone Nigel 9242 2952.

■ PERROTT PAINTING PTY LTD

For all your residential, commercial painting requirements. Phone Tom Perrott 9444 1200.

■ BRICKLAYING

20 years exp. Quality work. Ph 9405 7333 or 0409 296 598.

■ PICASSO PAINTING Top service. Phone 0419 915 836, fax 9345 0505.

BOOK REPAIRS

■ REPAIR YOUR LITURGICAL BOOKS

General repairs to books, old bibles & missals. 2ndhand Catholic books avail. Tydewi Bindery 9293 3092.

PERSONAL

■ CHRISTIAN SINGLES

Widowed, divorced or never married. All age groups. Meet-for-Drinks, Dinner Seminars and Individual Dates. Phone 9472 8218. Tues-Fri 10am - 6pm. www.figtrees.com.au

FURNITURE REMOVAL

■ ALL AREAS Mike Murphy 0416 226 434.

NOTICE OF INTENT

Notice is hereby given that Joanna Lisa Lawson of 6 Sewell Place, Hillarys, WA 6025, being duly authorised by the Branches Project intends to apply to the Commissioner for Consumer Protection on 9.02.2009 for the incorporation of The Branches Project Inc. The Association is formed for the purpose of educating, employing and empowering the exploited working poor.

TUITION

English/tutor, primary specialist, reading/writing, spelling and comprehension. Single/group, limit of four. Diagnostic placement test. Maggie 9272 8263 or 0438 946 621.

RELIGIOUS PRODUCTS

■ CATHOLICS CORNER

Retailer of Catholic products specialising in gifts, cards and apparel for baptism, communion and confirmation. Ph: 9456 1777. Shop 12, 64-66 Bannister Road, Canning Vale. Open Mon-Sat.

■ RICH HARVEST – YOUR CHRISTIAN SHOP

Looking for Bibles, CDs, books, cards, gifts, statues, baptism/communion apparel, religious vestments, etc? Visit us at 39 Hulme Court (off McCoy St), Myaree, 9329 9889 (after 10.30am Mon to Sat). We are here to serve.

■ OTTIMO

Shop 108 TRINITY ARCADE (Terrace Level) Hay St, Perth Ph 9322 4520. Convenient city location for a good selection of Christian products/ gifts. We also have handbags, fashion accessories. Opening hours Monday-Friday 9am-6pm.

SETTLEMENTS / FINANCE

EFFECTIVE LEGAL, family owned law firm focusing on property settlements and wills. If you are buying, selling or investing in property, protect your family and your investment, contact us on (08) 9218 9177.

FOR EVERYTHING FINANCE – Ph. Declan 0422 487 563, www.goalfinancialservices. com.au Save yourself time, money and stress. FBL 4712

THANKGIVINGS

TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN Oh most beautiful flower of Mount Carmel, fruitful vine, splendour of heaven. Blessed Mother of the Son of God. Immaculate Virgin, assist me in my necessity. Oh Star of the Sea, help me and show me where you are. My Mother Oh Holy Mary Mother of God, Queen of Heaven, I beseech you from the bottom of my heart, to suffer me my necessities (make request) There are none who can withstand your power. Oh Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee (three times) Holy Mary I place this prayer in your hands (three times). Say this prayer for three consecutive days.

MW

PRAY to St Claire, say nine Hail Marys for nine days with a candle lit. Ask for three petitions.

saints books for children

By Brendan Larnen OP and Milton Lomask

$19.95+postage

SAINT