The Record Newspaper 01 June 2006

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The Parish. The Nation. The World.

German-born pope visits Nazi death camps as ‘duty before God’

■ By Cindy Wooden

OSWIECIM, Poland (CNS)German-born Pope Benedict XVI stood in silence on the site of the Nazi’s Auschwitz death camp.

He walked alone on May 28 under the entrance gate sign, “Work will make you free,” and joined three dozen survivors before the wall where firing squads shot thousands. Moving to the nearby Birkenau camp, he walked past the ruins of gas chambers where hundreds of thousands of people died from the fumes of Zyklon B gas and past the chimneys of the crematoriums where the bodies were reduced to ash.

“To speak in this place of horror, in this place where unprecedented mass crimes were committed against God and man is almost

Continued on Page 2

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Prayers at Auschwitz

Praying in German, Benedict sends a message to his nation

Sydney 2008 jobs drive launches

A recruiting drive has begun to employ staff to join the World Youth Day organising machine, with a website offering regular updates on jobs as they become available.

The Sydney-based organising committee announced last week that its recruitment campaign will start across Australia shortly. Organisers will have plenty to do.

More than half a million pilgrims from abroad are expected to hit Sydney in 2008 for an event expected to attract more people than the Olympic Games held in the city in 2000.

If WYD ’08 goes as the last several such events have, as many as 1.5 million young people will be present for the culmination of the once-every-three-years event.

World Youth Day Sydney 2008 Chief Operating Officer Danny Casey said that over the coming

Continued on Page 4

Flip side to a litany of error

Catholic author thanks Dan Brown in Melbourne talk

■ By Paul Gray, Melbourne

The director to the Australian Catholic Film Office, Fr Richard Leonard SJ, has said Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code should be viewed as a favour to Christianity, despite

the fictional story’s long litany of false conspiracy theories about the history of the Catholic Church.

“I liked the book and think Dan Brown has done Christianity a favour for one reason,” Fr Leonard said in an academic lecture at the University of Melbourne’s Newman College last week.

“While its theories could be easily and humorously disproved, The Da Vinci Code started people doing something I have never witnessed

Continued on Vista 3

EXPERTS LOOK TO AUSTRALIA

A new course for Catholic adults being offered in Sydney is drawing attention from experts in catechesis in the US and Canada.

PAUL GRAY looks at what is new.

Brown gets a deconstructing at UNDA

Aman who found the idea of sexual intercourse repugnant was supposed to be the head of a secret organisation devoted to keeping alive the knowledge of a sexual liaison between Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene, an audience of 850 individuals interested in the Da Vinci Code phenomenon heard last Thursday evening.

The interesting insight into Leonardo Da Vinci was one of many revealed by Melbourne-based renaissance art expert and art his-

torian Dr Kate Challis during her lecture on Da Vinci and the phenomenon which has become The Da Vinci Code

The lecture had been jointly organised between The Record and the University of Notre Dame Australia as a public service; the meeting was chaired by Catholic Education Office of WA Director Mr Ron Dullard. The little-known fact about Leonardo Da Vinci’s disquiet at the notion of sexual intercourse did not

really “sit well” with Dan Brown’s assertion that he was the head of the Priory of Sion, the organization featured in Brown’s book as devoted to keeping alive knowledge of the bloodline of Christ and Mary Magdalene, Dr Challis remarked.

Dr Challis described how Da Vinci had worked at nights, with the permission of his local bishop, in the morgue in order to dissect bodies and arrive at the wonderful and highly-detailed depictions of

Continued on Vista 2

WHO’S WORTH $686 MILLION?

While people starve to death around the

or live trapped in an endless cycle of poverty, more and more eyebrows are being raised at sky-high executive salaries.

Decoders: Catholic Education Office of WA Director Ron Dullard, left, chats with Dr Kate Challis from Melbourne and Opus Dei spokesman Richard Vella at the special lecture organised by the University of Notre Dame Australia and The Record at UNDA’s Drill Hall last Thursday evening, May 25. An estimated 850 people turned out for the meeting. - SEE STORIES BELOW Photo: Paul

Pope honours victims of the Holocaust

Continued from page 1 impossible - and it is particularly difficult and troubling for a Christian, for a pope from Germany,” he said, standing at the Holocaust memorial at the end of the railroad tracks inside Birkenau.

Pope Benedict told those gathered at the monument, “I come here today as a son of the German people.

“It is a duty before the truth and the just due of all who suffered here, a duty before God for me to come here as the successor of Pope John Paul II and as a son of the German people,” Pope Benedict said.

The Nazis came to power when the future Pope Benedict was a boy. School officials enrolled him in the Hitler Youth and, when he was 16, he and his fellow seminarians were conscripted into an anti-aircraft battalion and later into the army.

“I could not fail to come here,” the 79-year-old Pope Benedict said. “I had to come.”

The service included the recitation of the Jewish kaddish prayer for the dead.

Holocaust survivors, Jewish representatives, diplomats serving in Poland and Oded Ben-Hur, the Israeli ambassador to the Vatican, participated in the service.

The Pope said he came to the camp “to implore the grace of reconciliation - first of all from God, who alone can open and purify our hearts, from the men and women who suffered here, and finally the grace of reconciliation for all those who, at his hour of our history, are suffering in new ways from the

power of hatred and the violence which hatred spawns.”

Auschwitz, he said, is a place where the human heart still cries out to God, asking where he was, why he was silent, why he did not save his people.

“We must continue to cry out humbly yet insistently to God,” the Pope said, asking him to save humanity and to help all people actively resist hatred, violence and attacks on the dignity of others.

The heart of the Holocaust

memorial at Birkenau consists of 22 stone tablets with inscriptions in different languages.

The Pope stood before each of the tablets in prayer, shielded by a white umbrella during a brief rainstorm.

“All these inscriptions speak of human grief; they give us a glimpse of the cynicism of that regime which treated men and women as material objects and failed to see them as persons embodying the image of God,” he said.

The Hebrew tablet, he said, is a witness to the fact that the Nazis “wanted to crush the entire Jewish people, to cancel them from the register of the peoples of the earth.”

While the Nazis targeted Jews first, he said, they wanted “to kill the God who called Abraham, who spoke on Sinai and laid down principles to serve as a guide for mankind, principles that are eternally valid.”

In the end, Pope Benedict said, the Nazis wanted to destroy true

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Christianity as well, replacing it with “a faith of their own invention: faith in the rule of man, the rule of the powerful.”

The obligation to remember what happened during the Holocaust and to recognise the depths of hatred of which people are capable should not focus simply on numbers, the Pope said.

“The individual persons who ended up here in this abyss of terror” were real people, he said.

The Pope made specific mention of St Edith Stein, a Jewish convert to Catholicism who had become a Carmelite nun.

Acknowledging that she was deported to Auschwitz precisely because of her Jewish identity, the Pope said, “as a Christian and a Jew, she accepted death with her people and for them.”

Pope Benedict said honoring all the victims of the Holocaust means resisting any temptation to hate others. The victims, he said, “have no desire to instill hatred in us; instead, they show us the terrifying power of hatred.”

Between 1940 and 1945, more than 1 million European Jews, 150,000 Poles, 23,000 Gypsies, 15,000 Soviet prisoners of war and tens of thousands of other European prisoners were murdered at Auschwitz-Birkenau, a complex of extermination and work camps.

Pope Benedict said that in 1979, Pope John Paul paid tribute to the camps’ victims as a son of the Polish nation, “that people which, along with the Jewish people, suffered most in this place.”

Benedict’s prayer a defining moment

Pope’s choice of language will have political ramifications

■ By Paul Gray

Pope Benedict XVI prayed a short prayer in the German tongue - “Lord, you are the Lord of peace!” - during his visit to the Auschwitz death camp in Poland this week.

The Pope’s choice of language has political repercussions which were immediately noticed around Europe, and which will be remembered as one of the defining moments in the present papacy.

The political context for the Pope’s prayer is a growing tension between Poland and Germany over memories of the Holocaust.

Auschwitz was the Nazi concentration camp where about one and a half million men, women and children, most of them Jews, were exterminated by methods including gas ovens during World War II.

British newspapers have reported that recent references to Auschwitz as “a Polish concentration camp” have caused anger in Poland.

As the representative pinnacle of the evil of Germany’s Nazi regime, which controlled much of eastern Europe at the time, Poles resent suggestions of some kind of distinction between the Polish-ness and the German-ness of Auschwitz.

Benedict’s choice of German as the language of prayer during his

closely-watched visit to Auschwitz can be seen in the light of this tension.

It sends a message to the German people that their nation must not water down memories of its historical responsibility for the Holocaust.

The Pope’s Auschwitz visit also continues the emphasis on two important historic principles in relation to the Holocaust and the Jewish people which Benedict’s predecessor, John Paul II, began.

The first is the importance of the Holocaust as a unique crime against the innocent and God-fearing.

The second is the importance of the Jewish people themselves, as the historical first carriers of the message of Revelation from God.

Speaking to a small crowd of Auschwitz survivors, Pope Benedict said: “I’m standing here as a son of the German people, and that’s just why I have to say, why I may say: It would have been impossible for me not to come here.”

He said the Germans are a people that “a gang of criminals managed to achieve power over with deceitful promises, with the promise of greatness, of the resurrection of the nation’s honour and significance, with the promise of well-being and also with terror and intimidation.

“By eradicating [the Jews], those purveyors of violence wanted, deep down, to kill the God who had called upon Abraham, who had spoken on Mount Sinai and established the still valid principles of humanity there,” he said.

Son of Germany: Pope Benedict XVI prays at the death wall as he visits the Auschwitz death camp in Oswiecim. Photo: CNS

New lay course draws US eyes

Sydney Centre pioneers hard thinking for Catholics

■ By Paul Gray

A new two-day intensive course introducing lay Catholics to the Western philosophical tradition launched by Sydney’s Catholic Adult Eduction Centre is drawing attention from catechesis experts in the USA and Canada.

The “Faith and Reason” course, devised in response to a call by Pope John Paul II for Catholics to think more deeply about their beliefs, is part of an innovative expansion of lay education programs in the Sydney Archdiocese.

Peter Holmes, the Manager of study courses at the Catholic Adult Education Centre, told The Record that the philosophy behind adult catechesis in Sydney is to be systematic, positive and practical.

“What we’re attempting is not to get into apologetics, or into arguments about teachings, but simply into presenting God’s will for humankind, in a positive way,” he said.

“We want to say: ‘here is what’s good for us as human beings. Here is what God wants for us’. We think if we present the positive, instead of shouting all the time about negatives, people will be attracted by that.”

The courses are also intended to provide practical steps towards a more intelligent approach to religion.

“Our slogan is that every student walks out of every class knowing a little more about their faith,” he said.

Mr Holmes sees the age profile of the students who are taking courses at the Centre as proof that this philosophy is working.

“We have 450 students on the books, with about 220 taking units each term,” he said. “Over half of our students are younger than 40, and over a third are younger than 30.”

As well as teaching courses about

Actor receives doctorate

Australian Catholic University has awarded an honorary doctorate to actor David Wenham for his contribution to the arts, and for his commitment to social and environmental issues.

Wenham, whose most famous on-screen role is that of the warrior Faramir in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, said he did a double-take when he was contacted by the university about

faith to ordinary lay people and people interested in youth ministry, CAEC is authorised to provide working school-teachers with accreditation as Religious Education teachers, for schools in Sydney and NSW.

Another sign that CAEC’s approach is bearing fruit, according to Mr Holmes, is the warm reception he has received when making presentations of the Centre’s work to north American catechetical experts, at “cutting-edge” centres of innovation such as the Archdiocese of Denver and Steubenville, Ohio.

“I’ve had the opportunity to run the catechetical program by the faculty of catechetical studies at Steubenville, and they were very excited about what we’re doing,” Mr Holmes said.

Mr Holmes has also been invited back to America to help develop catechetical programs for adults in two Catholic dioceses.

The new Faith and Reason course in Sydney, which borrows its title from an Encyclical Letter by Pope John Paul II, is to be taught by philosophy lecturer Dr Hayden Ramsay at a Catholic Club in the Sydney suburb of Lidcombe on June 7-8.

“The course will teach why we have to think in order to live,” Mr Holmes said.

“Every person has to think through moral dilemmas and life issues, using a tool that we all have, our minds. The course says ‘here’s why we have to think, and here’s how we think’.”

Topics in the two-day course include the parts of Western philosophy, Advice for Wisdom, how to think about choices, thinking about goodness and thinking about badness.

“Pope John Paul said every person is a wisdom lover, a ‘philosopher’,” said Mr Holmes. “In this course we’ll look at why this is so, and why Catholics need to do some hard thinking as part of their religion.”

A handbook outlining all courses being taught at Sydney’s Catholic Adult Education Centre can be viewed at www.caec.com.au

the award. In one of his most powerful but least publicised roles, Wenham also played “leper priest” Fr Damian of Molokai, in the Paul Cox movie about Fr Damian’s life.

Wenham is involved with Sydney’s Wayside Chapel and is a member of the Wilderness Society.

His latest acting role is as a police officer who volunteers for United Nations service in East Timor, in the ABC TV drama Answered by Fire.

Ordination just one month away

On the way: these

three

I’m John Hughes, WA’s most trusted car dealer

Do I guarantee that when people come to do business with me, they will be treated with courtesy, sincerity, professionalism and ef ciency?

I say “I want your business and I m prepared to pay for it” and “I stand behind every car I sell”. Is that really true?

Is it true that I have over 40 technicians who are dedicated to getting my used cars in rst class condition before sale?

Join Pope Benedict XVI in prayer - June

Mission intention: “That Pastors and the Christian faithful may consider inter-religious dialogue and the work of acculturation of the Gospel as a daily service to promote the cause of the evangelisation of Peoples.”

Is it true that every year for the last 17 consecutive years I ve been Australia s top selling Hyundai dealer?

General intention: “That Christian families may lovingly welcome every child who comes into existence and surround the sick and the aged, who need care and assistance, with affection.”

CHOOSE

Is it true that if somebody buys a used car from me, I will pay for a pre-purchase RAC or similar inspection?

I have a warehouse selling cars under $10,000. Is it true that I offer a full money back guarantee within one week?

Perth men, plus one other who was not present when this photo was taken last weekend, will be ordained as Permanent Deacons for the Archdiocese of Perth on June 29. The men have been in training for more than

years under the guidance of Sacred Heart Highgate Parish Priest Fr Peter Bianchini (front row, second from left). Also pictured are wives of the candidates Marion Sands and Aileen Atkinson. The ordination will be the last official cermony at St Mary’s Cathedral before it is closed for renovation.

Photo: Jamie O’Brien

JohnHughes

Leading the way: Manager of study courses at the Catholic Adult Education Centre in Sydney Peter Holmes says the new Faith and Reason course will teach why we have to think in order to live.

Photo: courtesy Peter Homes

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Visit our new website to see our complete range of over 1000 titles or contact Paul or Janice for a catalogue. Mail orders welcome.

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PRINCIPALSHIP Goliath set to inspire

ST BRIGID’S PRIMARY SCHOOL

St Brigid’s Primary School, Middle Swan, is located 25 kilometres from Perth in one of Perth’s oldest suburbs. Originally opened by the Sisters of Mercy in 1902, the school moved to its current site in Middle Swan in October 1991.

The school is a double stream primary school and caters for 485 students from Kindergarten to Year Seven. Specialist teachers are employed in Music, Art, Dance, Drama and Italian as part of St Brigid’s commitment to educating the whole child.

A strong sense of pastoral care permeates the community.

The school is staffed by an energetic, enthusiastic staff with a strong commitment to the Raising Achievement in Schools (RAISe) program. In this endeavour, they are strongly supported by the parent and wider community.

The successful applicant will be expected to take up the position on 1 January 2007.

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 and Accreditation to teach Religious Education or its equivalent.

Evidence of current WACOT registration must be provided.

The official application form, Referee Assessment forms and instructions can be accessed on the Catholic Education Office website www.ceo.wa.edu.au

Enquiries regarding the position should be directed to Helen Brennan, Consultant, Leadership Team, email sch.personnel @ceo.wa.edu.au or phone 9212 9268.

All applications, on the official form, should reach The Director, Catholic Education Office of Western Australia, PO Box 198, Leederville 6903 no later than 14 June 2006.

PRINCIPALSHIP

BUNBURY CATHOLIC COLLEGE

Bunbury Catholic College is located on 8.6 hectares in the coastal town of Bunbury, 190 kilometres from Perth. The College opened in 1973 following the amalgamation of St Francis Xavier’s (Marist Brothers) and St Joseph’s (Mercy Sisters). The College upholds the Marist and Mercy traditions and values.

The College is co-educational and caters for 930 students from Years 8–12. A comprehensive curriculum provides opportunities for each student to develop fully as individuals within a Christian environment of care and respect. A well equipped Special Education Centre ensures that the needs of all students are addressed.

A comprehensive building program over the last few years has seen the College equipped with excellent facilities which will be added to by the planned completion of the Performing Arts Centre early next year. The College is proud of its holistic education providing diverse opportunities in all areas of academic, spiritual, sporting and cultural fields.

Parents are actively involved in the school community through the School Board and the different Parents and Friends’ activities. The successful applicant will be expected to take up the position on 1 January 2007.

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 and Accreditation to teach Religious Education or its equivalent.

Evidence of current WACOT registration must be provided.

The official application form, Referee Assessment forms and instructions can be accessed on the Catholic Education Office website www.ceo.wa.edu.au

Enquiries regarding the position should be directed to Helen Brennan, Consultant, Leadership Team on email sch.personnel @ceo.wa.edu.au or phone 9212 9268.

All applications, on the official form, should reach The Director, Catholic Education Office of Western Australia, PO Box 198, Leederville 6903 no later than 14 June 2006.

Catholic Youth Ministry is organising a contemporary music night, dubbed “Goliath”, on June 10 to showcase local talent and encourage young people to become involved in the life of their Church, particularly at a local level.

The night will include several musicians who were active in various youth movements throughout the 1990’s. Drew Griffith, Lorenzo Martinez, Denise Wijasuriya, Patrick Carre and others, will perform their own original songs acoustically in a relaxed atmosphere at the Catholic Pastoral Centre, Highgate.

Newly appointed Catholic Youth Ministry Coordinator, Robert

Hiini, said that those performing at the event, were all keen to help rejuvenate an interest in the music ministry amongst young people in the archdiocese.

Mr Hiini believes that evangelisation through music is a powerful way to draw young people to an encounter with God and to put the gifts God has given them to good use in His Church. “I have seen in my own parish how youth, who have no apparent interest in God and Catholicism get involved for their love of music and are gradually challenged and moved by the Spirit”, Mr Hiini said. Event organiser Lorenzo Martinez, himself a one time

Coordinator looks ahead

■ By Jamie O’Brien

Catholic Youth Ministry has a new co-ordinator.

Rob Hiini, 25, said he hopes to be able to offer services such as the weekly 6.30 Holy Hour and the Youth CAFE program.

Prior to starting his new role at CYM, Mr Hiini was employed at the Respect Life Office as a research assistant. Originally from New Zealand, Mr Hiini was baptised as a child but says he became a seasonal Catholic. At the age of 12, he decided to take part in the RCIA (Right of Christian Initiation for Adults) program.

“At the time, the program wasn’t what I was looking for,” Mr Hiini said, “But it spurred me onto to look deeper.”

Mr Hinii said he could feel God was calling him back to the Church, but didn’t know where to turn.

In December 1996, the family moved to Australia, and the following year to Rockingham.

When his sister started attending St Bernadette’s Primary, Port Kennedy, in 1996. Mr Hiini saw that this was a good reason to get involved in the parish and started attending Mass regularly.

“I became fascinated with the Church,” he said. In January 2000, Mr Hiini started attending formation meetings with a parishioner having realised that he had little or no knowledge about the mean-

ing of his baptism. Now a deeply committed Catholic, Mr Hiini has realised that there is a massive age group missing from the Church - his own.

“This has helped me to want to foster initiatives,” he said, “The young are dealing with a lot of issues – family break-up, unemployment. Many have grown up with little or no knowledge of what faith is... For many of them they are, or have grown up in a pleasure culture that only brings death. A good number are crying out for leadership and meaning. This is the challenge for the Church; to provide that leadership and meaning that is found in Christ. Many young people have questions about sexuality and relationships and who they are supposed to be. There is a lack of hope and my job is to go back to basics and show them a way that is real and meaningful.”

Mr Hiini continued by saying that the reason he was keen to take on the role of Co-ordinator with CYM is because at the time he entered the faith there were many options to explore – sexuality, marriage and vocation.

“A parish that doesn’t have youth initiatives can’t answer these questions. The fraternity that comes from being with other Christians your own age who have the same questions is very important.

“I look forward to the challenges of this role and the opportunity to facilitate that,” Mr Hiini said.

Antioch youth group member, hopes that the inaugural night will be the ‘beginning of the process of the youth of yesteryear passing on the baton of enthusiasm to today’s Catholic teenagers’.

Mr Martinez says that the name of the event, “Goliath”, expresses ‘the hope of greater things to come in God for Catholic contemporary music in Perth, particularly amongst youth’’.

Goliath is open to people of any age and will be held at the Catholic Pastoral Centre, Harold St, Highgate on Saturday, June 10. Tickets are $7. For more information, contact Catholic Youth Ministry on 9422 7912.

Website launched

Continued from page 1

two years there would be many positions to fill in a wide variety of roles for the organisation of the world’s largest youth event and later in the campaign there would be roles for volunteers during the week of activities.

The website at www.wyd2008. org invites viewers to “be part of the wyd08 team” where a link will post the range of full time and part-time roles as they are required.

“People interested in joining this very exciting project should bookmark the page so they can see regular updates as we will be requiring a whole range of skills in the lead-up to 2008. Here is the opportunity to be part of the ‘once in a lifetime’ World Youth Day taking place in our own country,” Mr Casey said.

World Youth Day 2008 will be held in Sydney from July 15 to 20 and His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI has announced he will be coming to Australia for the celebrations that are expected to attract up to 500,000 pilgrims from Australia and around the world.

Inspired by great gatherings of the world’s youth for Palm Sunday events in Rome, Pope John Paul II established World Youth Day as an annual event and a way to reach out to the next generation of Catholics to rejuvenate the Church and spread its teachings.

Ready to rock: Lorenzo Martinez practices for “Goliath” a contemporary music night for Catholic youth.

Cardinal Pell issues pastoral to youth

Cardinal George Pell, Archbishop of Sydney, has issued his annual Pentecost Pastoral Letter to the young people of Sydney, this year entitled “What is Power?”

Each year on Pentecost Sunday the Cardinal writes to the young people of his Archdiocese. As is the usual practice, student leaders from the Catholic secondary schools and youth leaders from the parishes gathered to discuss the topic and listen to an introductory address.

The theme of Power comes from the Scriptural theme for WYD 2008: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses” (Acts 1:8); making the Pentecost Letter a key part of the WYD preparation program. This year’s introductory address was given by a retired Supreme Court Judge. Cardinal Pell in his Letter explains that the judge’s words “were deeply appreciated” because they were “wise and humane, the fruit of wide experience in public life and the courts, spoken by a man who knows, loves and practices his Catholic faith.

“The judge explained that all power comes from outside the agent (and ultimately from God) and is to be used after due reflection for a good purpose and not just for self service. There is always a need for responsibility, for a due sense of proportion (not making a mountain out of a mole hill), for sensitivity but not

sentimentality.” Cardinal Pell writes that “External power was defined as the capacity to direct others and direct the course of events and was distinguished from internal power, the power each individual has to choose, decide and act.”

To illustrate the point the Cardinal presented the well known story of a powerless young man vs a powerful governor.

“We all recognize the story of Jesus before Pilate (John 19: 8-11) and proudly acknowledge that we are followers of that powerless young prophet from Galilee, not followers of the governor, representative of the mighty Roman Empire, whose power then rivalled the super-power status of the United States of America today.”

The Cardinal finished by encouraging the young people of Sydney. “We can break the cycle of weakness and secularism which regularly presses upon us.

“Our Christian faith is energising and empowering. Together we can do so much more. We should begin now and preparations for the 2008 Sydney World Youth Day provide

Prayer festival attracts many

More than 50 youth attended the recent Prayer Festival organised by Catholic Youth Ministry at Eagles Nest Gidgegannup. Talks relating to the new Encyclical Deus Caritas Est by Pope Benedict XVI were given by Fr Hugh Thomas, Fr Don Kettle, Friar Gabriel, Caroline Watson and Br Michael Cornell. Religious Education teacher Paul Kelly also spoke on the devotion to the Sacred Heart.

“There are plenty of ways love is described in our modern world, from very cheap and superficial ones to profound,” said Fr Hugh Thomas. Fr Thomas, who spoke on the ‘Real Meaning of Love’ went on to say that the message of Benedict’s encyclical is the central message of the Gospel. “A wonderful consoling message, that our God is not a distant God, but very close to each of us, loving us immeasurably. He is talking about what is our ultimate destiny to be face to face with God in unimaginable happiness for all eternity, to have all our desires fulfilled.”

Photos courtesy Paul Bui

such an opportunity. I invite all young people to visit the website www.wyd2008.org and join the Pilgrimage today.”

Copies of the Pentecost Pastoral

Letter 2006 “What is Power?” have been sent to every school and parish in the Archdiocese.

The full text will be available on the Archdiocese of Sydney website: www.sydney.catholic.org.au.

FINANCE OFFICER

DIOCESE OF BROOME

(re-advertised previous applicants need not apply)

The Catholic Bishop of the Broome Diocese is seeking to appoint a Finance Officer to be responsible for the financial records management in the Diocese.

This position requires a person with appropriate qualification and / or experience in possession of the following:

• bookkeeping/accounting experience with knowledge of MYOB

• understanding the organisational structure of the Catholic Church

• demonstrated management and organisational skills

• high level IT skills

The successful applicant will be able to demonstrate formal qualification for the role and/or experience in a similar position. A comprehensive package including accommodation, location allowance and car is provided in response to an applicant who is prepared to support the Catholic ethos of the position and meet the selection criteria and duty statement. Details of the position and applications must be submitted through.

www.jolin.com.au/consulting/proapps.html

Applications close 4.00pm on Wednesday June 14

Commencement : July 2006

STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR

World Youth Day (WYD) will be held in Sydney in July 2008. This global event, sponsored by the Catholic Church and held once every three years, recently attracted more than 1 million people in Cologne, Germany.

WYD will not only be a once in a life-time opportunity for the Catholic community of Australia to celebrate and share its faith, but will be an event that will bring together the whole community.

The Strategic Communications Director will play a critical role in the WYD executive team. The individual will work directly with the WYD Chief Operating Officer to develop and implement a communications plan, manage community liaison and media relations, and deal with issues as they emerge. These tasks span a wide range of stakeholders and participants including the visiting youth, Catholic community of Australia and overseas, Government and regulators, international and local media, as well as a range of other community and church groups.

Candidates for this position will have demonstrated a track record for communicating and influencing at the most senior levels. A proven strategist who can clearly demonstrate extensive experience in the use of multiple communication channels and demonstrate an ability to manage “media issues” in a constructive and sensitive way. The individual will be mature, articulate, have outstanding judgment and strong communication skills. Any candidate for this position must be a self-starter, collaborative, proactive and have a strong results orientation. Importantly, candidates will understand and believe in the value of this outstanding event.

Applications to be sent in confidence to: Anthony Spata, Manager, Employment and Staff Development, Level 5, 133 Liverpool Street, Sydney, 2000 or at anthony.spata@ado.syd.catholic.org.au.

Closing date: Friday, 9 June 2006

Cardinal George Pell

Benedict offers youth some life advice

Papal advice to the young: “Lean on Christ”

KRAKOW: Benedict XVI exhorted close to 1 million young people not to be afraid “to lean on Christ,” as he is the rock on which they can fulfill their dreams.

The meeting took place Saturday at Blonie Park where Pope John Paul II drew massive crowds of Poles when he returned as Pope to the city where he had been Archbishop.

“The fear of failure can at times frustrate even the most beautiful dreams,” Benedict XVI said. “It can paralyze the will, making one incapable of believing that it is really possible to build a house on the rock.

“Do not be afraid to lean on Christ! Long for Christ as the foundation of your life! Enkindle within you the desire to build your life on him and for him! Because no one who depends on the crucified love of the Incarnate Word can ever lose.”

Difficulties will not be lacking, added the Pope.

“Often, Jesus is ignored, he is mocked and he is declared a king of the past who is not for today and certainly not for tomorrow,” the Holy Father said. “He is relegated to a storeroom of questions and persons one dare not mention publicly in a loud voice.

“If in the process of building the house of your life you encoun-

World Family Day

Expressing truth with compassion, especially in the area of sexuality, is a major challenge that lies ahead for the Church and for families, commented two Australian members of the Pontifical Council for the Family this week.

Professor Ron and Mrs Mavis

ter those who scorn the foundation on which you are building, do not be discouraged! A strong faith must endure tests. A living faith must always grow. Our faith in Jesus Christ, to be such, must frequently face others’ lack of faith.”

The rock

In particular, the Pontiff exhorted young people not to be “fooled by those who want to play Christ against the Church.”

He recalled that Christ called Peter “the rock” on which he would build his Church.

“Young people, you know well the Rock of our times,” Benedict XVI said. “Accordingly, do not forget: Neither that Peter who is watching our gathering from the window of God the Father’s house, nor this Peter who is now standing in front of you, nor any successive Peter will ever be opposed to you or the building of a lasting house on the rock.”

“Indeed, he will offer his heart and his hands to help you construct a life on Christ and with Christ,” he said at the end, prompting applause from his listeners.

After the meeting, Benedict XVI returned to the Archbishop’s residence in Krakow. Taking up John Paul II’s tradition, on Saturday night, as he did on Friday, he appeared on the balcony to greet young people, gathered around what for years was the home of Cardinal Karol Wojtyla.

- ZENIT.org

Pirola were speaking about the World Meeting of Families with Pope Benedict XVI, which is scheduled for July in Spain.

The Pirolas, who will help lead a pilgrimage of more than 40 people from Australia to attend the meeting, have been members of the Pontifical Council since it began 25 years ago.

At the recent General Assembly of the Council in Rome, Pope Benedict called on married cou-

ples to be “counter-cultural,” the Pirolas reported.

“He emphasised that when married couples commit themselves to each other unconditionally, in a love relationship that is open to new life, they help society to appreciate authentic human values,” they said. More than a million people are expected at the July World Meeting, which will promote the theme, “The Transmission of the Faith in the Family”.

Men look forward to life of priesthood

Blessed a mother to many

New Portuguese Blessed put abandoned children first

VISEU, Portugal, The plight of children in the 21st century makes newly-beatified Mother Rita Beloved of Jesus an important figure, says Cardinal José Saraiva Martins.

Cardinal Saraiva Martins, prefect of the Congregation for Sainthood Causes, said this last Sunday when he presided over the rite of beatification of the Portuguese founder, in Viseu, her birthplace.

The “characteristic point” of the Portuguese religious’ holiness “was the maternal and charitable care of poor and abandoned children, for whom she heroically gave her life,” Cardinal Saraiva Martins said.

Rita Lopes de Almeida was born on March 5, 1848. In 1880 she laid the basis for her institute with the opening of a school for poor girls. She would later found the Institute of Sisters of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Mother Rita’s work extended to several localities and she was able to surmount the existing difficult political conditions by moving to Brazil. She died on January 6 1913.

Trying times

A native of the same region as the new blessed, Cardinal Saraiva Martins recalled on Vatican Radio the circumstances of the time in which Mother Rita was born: “a time, socially and religiously, of notable wounds between the civil authorities and the Church.”

She “literally gave her life” for poor and abandoned children. “There is no greater love.”

The Vatican official added: “In the wake of the material and moral

destructions of World War II, the Servant of God Pius XII cried out several times in his messages: ‘Save the children, who are the future of society.’

“More than 70 years earlier, in a similar climate of riots and destruction, Blessed Rita placed poor and abandoned children at the centre of her attention.”

“Her spiritual daughters received and developed this commission, gathering up, at the same time, the solidity and simplicity of Mother Rita’s pedagogical intuitions and her concrete contribution to the literacy” of the people of Portugal and Brazil, the Cardinal said.

“Still today she is the loving mother of thousands of children in Europe, Africa and Latin America,” he added.

Love of rosary

“Mother Rita could not give us a more timely message, given that the daily news reports again present to us the grief of murdered and rejected children, offended in their modesty and innocence, sold, enslaved or prematurely trained for war,” lamented the Cardinal.

In his homily Cardinal Saraiva Martins highlighted the new blessed’s Marian devotion, “with her particular predilection for the rosary,” which anticipated in a certain way all that would come with the “message of Our Lady to the three little shepherds of Fatima,” just four years after the woman religious’ death.

“In love” with Jesus, from whom she drew her apostolic zeal, Mother Rita also left a “very important” message, because “she struggled with all her might for the liberation of women from all forms of slavery,” Cardinal Saraiva Martins said.

Class of 2006: Father Dan Leary, left, greets Deacon Larry Swink shortly before he is ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Washington at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington on May 27. Twelve men were ordained for the Washington Archdiocese; they represent its largest class since the 1970s and the second largest group in US this year.

Photo: CNS

Smile: Polish faithful greet Pope Benedict XVI as he arrives to celebrate Mass in Krakow, Poland, on May 28 for an estimated 800,000 people. Photo: CNS

Given the astronomical sums paid to some CEOs, it barely seems possible they're....

Worth every CENT?

High levels of executive pay are making headlines again. It’s the time of year when companies in the United States have to file information about what they pay their chief executive officers (CEOs) - and critics are questioning the amounts.

Eyebrows rose when it was revealed that Lee Raymond, who retired last December after 13 years as chairman and chief executive of oil giant Exxon, received $686 million in compensation from 1993 to 2005. During this period the company’s market value increased fourfold and income soared to record levels, the New York Times noted on April 15.

More than $400 million of Raymond’s benefits came in his last year with Exxon. The sum included his pension benefits, which he opted to receive in a lump sum of $98.4 million. Other oil company executives are being paid handsomely. Ray Irani, CEO of Occidental Petroleum, received around $63 million last year.

Alan Murray, in his April 19 column for the Wall Street Journal, defended Exxon’s retired CEO. “Shareholders, by and large, got their money’s worth from Mr Raymond’s toughminded leadership,” he wrote. Exxon even outperformed other big oil companies.

Still, Murray acknowledged that many felt outrage at the idea that someone in Raymond’s position can earn more in a day that others earn in a year.

“CEOs at 11 large US companies were paid a total of $865 million over the past two years.”

But the real problem, Murray contended in his April 26 column, is with the underperforming executives who also receive princely salaries. He cited the case of Hank McKinnell, chief executive of the drug company Pfizer. Over the last five years shares have dropped 40% in value, yet McKinnell received $79 million in that period. Plus he has a guaranteed pension worth $6 million a year for life.

Nor is McKinnell alone. Reuters reported March 31 on a study showing that CEOs at 11 large US companies were paid a total of $865 million over the past two years, while presiding over a collective loss of $640 billion in the value of their firms’ shares. Among the 11 companies cited as having the widest gap between CEO pay and performance were Lucent Technologies, Home Depot, HewlettPackard and Wal-Mart Stores.

Big pay, falling value

The CEO study published by the organisation Corporate Library said: “Far too much compensation is delivered without any link to performance at all, with executives showered with golden hellos, golden goodbyes, tax payments and perquisites before during and after their employment.”

A special report on executive pay published by the New York Times on April 9 mentioned the case of ConAgra Foods. Bruce Rohde retired as its chairman and chief executive last September. During his eight years in charge

he received more than $45 million, plus a retirement package estimated at $20 million.

These rewards came in spite of the company missing earnings targets, and performing worse than its peers. Its share price fell 28% and more than 9,000 company jobs were cut during Rohde’s tenure.

According to the New York Times, average CEO pay increased 27% in 2005, to $11.3 million. The information is based on a survey of 200 large companies. The average wage-earner, by comparison, took home $43,480 in 2004, according to US Commerce Department data.

The gap between top executives and workers continues to grow. A CEO salary at a big company stood to gain more than 170 times the average worker’s earnings in 2004. This compares with a multiple of 68 in 1940. The change came in recent years, when executive salaries started to accelerate in the 1980s.

The Wall Street Journal also published an in-depth look at executive pay, on April 10. Its figures, based on a survey of 350 major companies, showed compensation for CEOs growing 15.8% in 2005, to a median of just over $6 million. This amount covers salaries and bonuses, plus stock sales.

The survey noted that companies are reacting to complaints about high executive salaries. Delphi Corporation, which is in bankruptcy, had proposed setting aside $500 million in benefits for some 600 executives. The sum was reduced after pressure from unions and creditors.

Similarly, John Mack, CEO of investment bank Morgan Stanley, backed down amid widespread protests and had to give up a deal that guaranteed him $25 million for 2005 and

2006 if average CEO pay at Wall Street rivals reached a certain level. But questions remain. Among them is the case of Gillette CEO James Kilts, who was set to receive a package estimated at $185 million after the company was taken over by Procter & Gamble.

Shareholder activists are proposing measures at company annual general meetings that put pressure on companies to limit salaries and to disclose more information about executives’ benefits, the Washington Post reported on April 28.

A case in point is Lucent Technologies, where a measure was passed in a vote during a February meeting to tie bonuses and certain rewards to company performance.

The chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission has also weighed in on the issue.

Christopher Cox has proposed obliging companies to disclose more information on how much they pay executives, including revealing the many hidden perks.

One of the perks that has come in for attention recently is the use of company planes. On Wednesday the New York Times drew attention to the issue, noting cases such as those of Richard Parsons, chairman and chief executive of Time Warner. Parsons owns a small vineyard in Tuscany, Italy, and twice a year, he uses a company plane to make a visit. Parsons had a pay package valued at $16 million last year.

Other companies allow their planes to be used for CEOs to travel to their holiday homes. And as this benefit counts as taxable income for the executives, some companies even pay an extra amount to reimburse the taxes on the trips.

Ethical guidelines

The Church’s social teaching hasn’t directly addressed the question of upper limits on salaries. The freedom of the market and of businessmen to organise their affairs and enjoy the benefits of their work is clearly recognised.

The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, in No. 336, “considers the freedom of the person in economic matters a fundamental value and an inalienable right to be promoted and defended.”

This is not to say, however, that it is unconcerned about matters of inequality and wealth. “Economic and social imbalances in the world of work must be addressed by restoring a just hierarchy of values and placing human dignity of workers before all else,” states No. 321 of the Compendium.

Concerning economic activity and wealth, the Bible has words of encouragement. In the New Testament parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30), for example, it exhorts a productive use of our capacities. And No. 323 of the Compendium notes that in the Old Testament, riches are not in themselves condemned so much as their misuse.

Nevertheless, the Church insists on the importance of solidarity and of looking after the needs of those who are less well-off. The Compendium calls for “A more human development in solidarity,” which addresses the question of social inequality (No. 374).

In fact, the economic well-being of a country should be measured not only by the total amount of goods produced, but also by taking into account the way they are distributed (No. 303). Points that should guide consciences at salary-setting time. - ZENIT.org

At an evening jointly organised between The Record and the University of Notre Dame Australia, close to 1000 people turned out on a chilly night at UNDA’s Drill Hall in Fremantle last Thursday to hear a Renaissance art expert and an Opus Dei spokesman....

High

Absorbed: Normally, said Dr Challlis, you would find it hard to attract an audience to a talk on Renaissance art - until the Da Vinci Code came along. The questions came think and fast after Dr Challis’s talk as audience members explored further aspects of what she had said. One member asks a question while Record journalist Jamie O’Brien holds the roving microphone. The young Melbourne art historian (below) impressed all with her knowledge and the informal but informative way she opened up a subject that would normally be considered for the bookish or the academic. Photos: Paul Bui

Code also reveals a failure of Catholic literacy

Continued from page 1 before - talking about the origins and history of Christianity at the pub, over dinner and around the barbie.”

Fr Leonard, who is the author of a book on viewing movies through the lens of faith, said that the popular success of The Da Vinci Code revealed the failure of Catholic education, particularly in relation to Biblical history.

“What we [the Church] lacked in 2003/2004, apart from much credibility in regard to sexual cover-ups and runs on the board in regard to women’s leadership, were articulate spokespeople who could go on popular radio and television and calmly, systematically and simply refute most of the historical claims made in the novel.”

Fr Leonard said the poor religious knowledge of many churchgoers is a major reason for The Da Vinci Code becoming a major hit.

“What this book and film have brilliantly

turnout reflected the high interest in all things Da Vinci even though the movie has generally been rated as average by critics. Among the interesting facts to emerge last week was the real story of the Mona Lisa whose subject was, according to The Da Vinci Code, Mary Magdalene (her famous mysterious smile points to her pregnancy with the child of Jesus Christ). In fact, the Mona Lisa was married to a merchant and died in childbirth just a short time after the painting was finished.

Deconstructing DAN BROWN

Continued from page 1 human anatomy. Among the less well-known such drawings were a cross-section of a couple engaged in sexual intercourse; on the margin of that drawing Da Vinci had wondered that the human face is certainly the most beautiful part of the human body, for how else could anyone be drawn to such a repugnant act?

Also speaking at the meeting was Sydneybased Opus Dei spokesman Richard Vella, who briefly introduced an audience from a wide background to the real facts of what Opus Dei is, how he and other friends came to join it, and why he found the book and the movie both objectionable.

Earlier, Dr Challis, who is not Catholic and described herself as a fairly typical contemporary secular Australian, congratulated Opus Dei on resisting the urge to lash out at the way in which it has been portrayed in Brown’s novel which asserts at the beginning that it portrays the real truth about the Church and the last 2000 years of Chrtistianity.

The way Opus Dei has been portrayed, she said, “is atrocious.”

Dr Challis covered many of the claims made in the novel that has sold approximately 40 million-plus copies and the film which opened in cinemas to very average reviews in the last fortnight.

One of the key claims is that Da Vinci’s fresco of The Last Supper, perhaps the most famous artistic rendering of the event in his-

tory, portrays a woman – not St John – next to Christ. According to Dan Brown the woman is Mary Magdalene. Dr Challis said that she had been surprised by the assertion; even in her familiarity with the work she had failed to consider the possibility.

But while the figure next to Christ, St John the beloved disciple, is certainly strikingly effeminate most would not know that the famous painting has been repainted on at least 14 occasions because of rapid deterioration in the surface, she revealed, while Napoleon’s armies had used the room as a stable for horses on one occasion and the building in which it is housed was substantially damaged by bombing in world War II.

However, more importantly, a comparison with other figures painted by renaissance artists reveals that young men were often painted in what is considered today an effeminate way. Wealthy renaissance young men wore jewellry, expensive furs and velvets and took extreme care of their appearance – more like a modern-day woman.

Angels, usually depicted as male figures in renaissance art, were still noticeably androgynous or effeminate in portrayal.

Meanwhile, the absence of a golden chalice in Da Vinci’s portrayal of the Last Supper is due not to the fact that the real Holy Grail is Mary Magdalene, but that Da Vinci was a realist and knew that the cup used at the Last Supper would have been an ordinary drink-

ing vessel: intricately-crafted chalices and the like simply would not have existed in ordinary Jewish homes and settings at the time of Christ. Dr Challis revealed an interesting possibility in relation to one of the dominating images of Dan Brown’s book – the Mona Lisa.

It is possible, she said, that Da Vinci was homosexual; he never married, and left all his possessions, including the Mona Lisa painting, to a lifelong male companion when he died.

Modern scholars have also offered a theory that the Mona Lisa is really a feminised selfportrait of Da Vinci. Morphing his own selfportrait into that of the Mona Lisa reveals many similarities.

However, it is also known that the woman portrayed in the Mona Lisa was married to a Venetian merchant, who paid for the completion of the painting in instalments. But only two or three years after the portrait was commissioned the young woman died in childbirth, and her husband did not want the painting anymore, she said.

Richard Vella, who is Dean of an Opus Deirun residential college for students attached to the University of New South Wales, said he had been sickened by the way a fictional Opus Dei member was portrayed in the movie. Instead, he discussed what Opus Dei is really all about – the idea that growth in spirituality is not only for priests and nuns but

Amusing: In Da Vinci’s Last Supper the chalice is absent but in other similar renaissance depictions you can find as many as 14 on the table, explains Dr Challis at the talk held in Perth last week.

also for ordinary people in every moment in their lives.

Mr Vella also spoke about how he had joined Opus Dei 16 years ago at the age of 21, when he felt called to the vocation of being a numerary – a single member of the organisation who devotes himself or herself to offering Christian formation to others through their ordinary work.

Meanwhile, women who join Opus Dei receive a spiritual formation very similar to that given to men studying to become Catholic priests; this is not the sign of an organisation that believes in repressing women, as portrayed in the Dan Brown novel.

There are no monks in Opus Dei and formation is given not only by priests but by laymen and laywomen, he said.

As for mortification, an optional practice, this has been practised by many of the great saints and figures in the Church including Mother Teresa and Pope Paul VI; what is portrayed in the movie is a gross and sickening distortion. Instead, Opus Dei spirituality sees mortification as lying more in the little but difficult sacrifices for others; getting up when the alarm goes in the morning or making a special effort to be attentive to someone that one finds difficult to relate to, he said.

Record editor Peter Rosengren said he was pleased with the large turnout and looks forward to organising similar events in the future.

done is expose the level of ignorance among Christians about their own history and how the New Testament was compiled,” he said “It is much to our shame that Mr Brown has been the first person to tell a host of biblically illiterate Catholics, and other Christians besides, that the New Testament was not a first century version of the Book of Mormon, falling from the sky.”

One of the theories advanced as facts in The Da Vinci Code is that the Emperor Constantine, rather than the Church, compiled the New Testament. He did so for political rather than religious reasons, the book suggests.

In fact, Fr Leonard pointed out, Constantine “did not compile the New Testament.” What the Emperor did do was convene the first general Council of the Church, the Council of Nicea.

This Council began the process of defining - not inventing - the Church’s faith in the divinity of Christ. It also began codifying the New Testament, a process which required omitting several documents, including the so-called “Gnostic gospels,” from what eventually became the New Testament.

Far from emphasising the humanity of Jesus, as The Da Vinci Code proposes, almost all of the Gnostic Gospels portray Jesus as “God parading around in human form,” Fr Leonard said.

Although there was a “prolonged and passionate stoush” within the early Church over which texts should be included in the New Testament, in fact this conflict was not over the four Canonical gospels (as The Da Vinci Code proposes,) but over the book of Revelation and several of the epistles.

“It was not until, finally, in 633 that the Council of Toledo decreed that the fights were over and that the 27 books we now accept as the New Testament were it,” Fr Leonard said.

Novelist Dan Brown and film-maker Ron Howard, Fr Leonard said, have taken to heart the advisory line: “Never let the truth get in the road of a good story.”

Throughout The Da Vinci Code movie, the Catholic Church is called ‘the dark con’ of history. “I know who is conning whom here,” he added.

While viewers can be grateful to Dan Brown for capturing the imagination of the western world with his story, “we need to be worthy of the favour by returning the compliment, knowing enough Christian history to be able to buckle up and enjoy the ride on the page or the screen.”

Fr Richard Leonard

Photos: Paul Bui

Here we are: Richard Vella was probably the first person most people in last week’s audience had met from Opus Dei. The Sydney-based educator described how he had joined and what the spirituality of Opus Dei is all about.

The history: Dr Kate Challis’s talk on Renaissance art and Leonardo Da Vinci’s life and output was a tour de force of facts and figures that kept close to a thousand people fascinated for an hour as she addressed the misconceptions generated by The Da Vinci Code. Dr Challis, who is not a Catholic and describes herself as a fairly typical secular Australian, enjoys being able to share her passion for Renaissance art.

interest: The large

Opinion

i say, i say

The way to be happy is to make others happy

■ With Guy Crouchback

Writing in 1904, the socialist/atheist/deist polemicist Robert Blatchford claimed: “The way to be happy is to make others happy ... to build a cathedral, and to spend our tears and pity upon a Saviour who was crucified nearly two thousand years ago, while women and little children are being crucified in our midst, without pity and without help, is cant, and sentimentality, and a mockery of God.” The articles setting out Blatchford’s philosophy were subsequently published in a book, God and My Neighbour, which attracted a great deal of attention at the time.

Blatchford is virtually forgotten now, but variations of his creed survive, and I think remain

worth answering. A problem with Blatchford’s social philosophy is that things are more complicated than it suggests. Look at the enormous variation in those who really benefited their neighbours. Among the direct and obvious of these were inventors.

Women and children were released

from killing and brutalising labour in mines, not by social philosophers but by men like James Watt who made steam-engines. This, as P J Rourke put it, robbed some 10-year-olds of employment but freed them to do other things, such as living to be 11. Seed-drills and

mechanical ploughs revolutionised human happiness and opportunity. The Industrial Revolution lifted average life-expectancy, for the first time ever, from about 30 years. The rapacious new mill and factoryowners offered the poor employment out of the weather and housed them in dwellings which they at least did not have to share with animals, made it possible for them to buy cheaper clothes and bread, and, later, to buy cheaper educations, motor-cars, refrigerators, coloured televisions and package holidays. Increased production meant the economy could eventually afford pensions.

Adam Smith brought about an explosion of prosperity by pointing out that international trade was not a zero-sum game but benefited both parties. Lord Lister invented antiseptic surgery, and Simpson and others invented anaesthetics. The Duke of Wellington as British Minister in France after the Napoleonic Wars prevented France re-imposing slavery in its colonies. British soldiers in India stamped out venerable institutions like Thuggee and Suttee, and forcibly disapproved of lepers being buried alive. British politicians and matelots destroyed the slave trade, Samuel Plimsoll saved sailors’ lives by having a load-line painted on ships’ sides. Bismarck in Germany

introduced the first wide-ranging social welfare provisions.

Not all those responsible were Christians or directly motivated by religious faith, but virtually all came from a Christian or Judeo-Christian culture. The intellectual tradition which led to the great engineers, inventors, scientists, technologists and doctors came directly from the fact that Christianity and Judaism, alone among the great religions, intrinsically respected and positively encouraged reason.

The churches of course from very early times provided hospitals, orphanages and schools. Between the fall of Rome and the early Middle Ages well over 90% of those who learnt to read were taught by monks, who saved Western civilisation. Among the earliest Orders of Christian chivalry were the Hospitaller knights.

Over the centuries, countless religious lived and died almost nameless in service to their neighbours, while atheist hospitals and orphanages have been fairly thin on the ground. When Blatchford was writing, Christianity had exemplars of supernatural heroism like Father Damien and David Livingstone. Christians know well enough that, in a certain very deep sense, “The way to be happy is to make others happy.”

Sanctity of life begins at conception and continues

It is always informative, not to mention sad, watching the tortuous ways by which people rationalise various points of view when they appear to have no particular objective beliefs. “My Sister’s Keeper” by Jodi Picoult is a case of point. Ms Picoult tends to focus on ‘issues’ in her writing, and this one is about the morality of custommaking a baby to tissue match a sick sibling. In this case a sibling with a particularly aggressive form of leukaemia.

Ms Picoult seems instinctively to find the utilitarian notion of customising babies repellent; but also, as one who has experienced the agony of having a desperately ill child, tempting and understandable, and even perhaps justifiable. The inevitable confusion about ‘rights’ that must follow. An absence of absolute right and wrong is palpable throughout the book, with each person’s perceived ‘rights’ always impinging somehow upon another’s. It certainly shows up the shortcomings of ethics without underpinning absolutes.

The custom baby - a girl - is duly born into a life of slavery to the needs of another; at age 13, she seeks legal help to gain freedom from that slavery. All she really wants, it seems clear, is to be able to freely give of herself to help her sister, to act from love rather than compulsion and to be seen as a person apart from her usefulness to her sister. The truth of her complete enslavement is emphasised by

Catherine Parish @ home

the cruel irony of the final chapter where the she is fatally injured in a car accident hours after finally gaining liberation from the unasked use of her body, and the lawyer with power of attorney over her body should she be unable to speak for herself consents to the harvesting of her organs - a kidney for her sister and the rest to unnamed recipients. As is usual in transplant procedure, she is kept alive until the living organs are taken from her body and only then do her parents turn off her life support machine. From start to finish she is a slave used to serve other peoples’ needs, and this remains the bottom line throughout the book, no matter how much talk there is of ‘love’. She is only even alive because she was the embryo that would serve a purpose and even during death she is used for that same purpose.

Horrific the utilitarianism we are reduced to when we begin on that slippery slope of usurping ultimate power over human life and death. I

couldn’t decide whether the author was clever enough to have meant this denouement to be as horrifying and chilling as it is in its brutal logic or whether she actually thought it was a moving, even heroic, end to the young life (especially as in the epilogue the sister who lived observes that it seemed like someone had to go and her sister went instead of her - not a very nice view of life is it?).

The lesson could even have been that the girl should have just put up and shut up, but I strongly suspect it was mostly a neat author’s trick to solve the otherwise insoluble problem in the story of deciding who is right, and thus avoid alienating her public.

This sad, strange, twisted story broke my heart because it showed so clearly the unspeakable mire we can be caught in when we do not have any belief in the sacrosanct dignity of the person simply because a person is a God’s creature. Not because they have useful organs, or a good mind, or contribute something to the economy or to society, but simply because they ARE. The unbelievable dignity attached to the married couple’s participation in creation when they conceive a child is so misunderstood. The whole dignity of the person begins at conception, when the earthly parents and the heavenly Father co-operate so sublimely with each other to create a person, body and soul. We are so much more than the sum of our physical parts; we don’t

deserve to sell ourselves so short as to believe otherwise. The crying need for the belief in God who gives us the dignity we are so unwilling to

give ourselves when we arrogate His role has never been so clear or so desperate as it is now in this crazy, mixed up world we live in.

Virtually forgotten: Socialist, atheist, deist and polemicist Robert Blatchford.

Catholic Media in Perth

Faith onAir

Broadcast TV

Sundays

Eternal Word Television Network

1-2pm on Access 31 (See Panorama page 11 each week)

FM Radio

Gate of Heaven: 7.30pm Sundays

Radio Fremantle 107.9 FM

June 4

(1) Fulton J. Sheen “The Holy Spirit” (Mercier).

(2) Council Of Faith II w/Fr John Trigilio “Sanctus PontifexGeneral Absolution”.

(3) Holy Spirit At Work In The Church w/Fr Andrew Apostoli

“Pentecost and The New Pentecost”.

June 11

(1) Catholic Heritage w/Peter Johnson & Joanna Bogle “Colchester and St. Albans”.

(2) Lord Have Mercy w/Dr Scott Hahn “The History Of Confession”.

(3) The Gospel Of Life In Healthcare w/Fr Steven Torraco “The Importance Of Healthcare Providers’ Promise Of Reliance”.

June 18

(1) Council Of Faith II w/Fr

Catholic Church TV Australia

Program guide: June

Aurora Community Television is available on Foxtel Digital and Austar Digital. Channel 183

Sunday 4 June

5:00am Mass for You At Home

5:30am Octava Dies

10:00am Mass for You At Home 10:30am Octava Dies

Monday 5 June 5:00am Mass for You At Home

5:30am Octava Dies

8:00am The Vanishing Garden

10:00am Mass for You At Home

Tuesday 6 June

5:00am Mass for You At Home 5:30am Octava Dies

10:00am Mass for You At Home 10:30am The Vanishing Garden

Wednesday 7 June 5:00am Mass for You At Home 5:30am Octava Dies 10:00am Mass for You At Home 10:30am Octava Dies

Thursday 8 June 5:00am Mass for You At Home 5:30am Octava Dies 10:00am Mass for You At Home

Friday 9 June 5:00am Mass for You At Home 5:30am Octava Dies 10:00am Mass for You At Home 10:30am Octava Dies

Saturday 10 June 5:00am Mass for You At Home 5:30am Octava Dies 10:00am Mass for You At Home 1:30pm The Vanishing Garden

Program Notes

Edmund Rice

The Quiet Revolutionary

Edmund Rice was born in Ireland on the 1st June 1762. He founded two orders of brothers, one of which, the Christian Brothers, cares for young people throughout the world in the educational, welfare, and pastoral projects they run. In this film, which was made just before he was beatified, or named Blessed, we learn about him, his brothers today and the lay people who have picked up the baton passed onto them from Blessed Edmund Rice.

The Vanishing Garden

This week the Church marks Pentecost Sunday, and the nation marks World Environment Day. In the Book of Genesis we are told that the Spirit hovered over the waters of creation. This film looks at the spiritual and moral dimensions to our vanishing garden and the the ecological responsibility to which the Bible and recent Popes call us.

All God’s Beggars

This week as the Church focuses on the Body of Christ, and the wider world focuses on the world refugees. All God’s Beggars film looks at the work the Catholic Church performs in its care of refugees and asylum seekers.

The Inner Path

Sunday 11 June 5:00am Mass for You At Home 5:30am Octava Dies 10:00am Mass for You At Home 10:30am Octava Dies

Monday 12 June 5:00am Mass for You At Home 5:30am Octava Dies 8:00am The Inner Path

Mass for You At Home

Tuesday 13 June 5:00am Mass for You At Home

Octava Dies

Mass for You At Home 1:30pm The Inner Path

Wednesday 14 June 5:00am Mass for You At Home 5:30am Octava Dies 10:00am Mass for You At Home 10:30am Octava Dies

This week as we reflect on the unity of the Trinity we also look to Christian unity, when we will be, as Jesus wanted, one community and one witness of faith in the world. “The Inner Path” looks at two spiritual traditions that unite Christians in their search for God: Ignatian spiritually and the phenomenon of Taize, an ecumenical community that has had special appeal to young people from all over the world.

Mission Without Limits

Following on the Church’s celebration of the feast of the Sacred Heart. This film looks at the remarkable French priest, Fr Jules Chevalier who was so inspired by the Sacred Heart he founded three orders of priests, brothers and nuns who work throughout Australia and the Pacific – the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, the Sisters of Lady of the Sacred Heart and Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart. Mission Without Limits shows us what inspired Fr Chevalier and how lay people and religious continue his work.

Octava Dies (Eight Days)

Made by Vatican Television, Octava Dies (Eight Days) is a weekly half hour round up of the activities of the Pope and the Vatican.

John Trigilio “Eucharistiae Sacramentum”.

(2) Catholic Heritage w/Peter Johnson and Joanna Bogle “St John Fisher and Westminster Abbey”.

(3) Holy Spirit At Work In The Church w/Fr Andrew Apostoli “Building Up The Church In Love”.

June 25

(1) Catholic Heritage w/Peter Johnson & Joanna Bogle “Illustrious Converts”.

(2) Lord Have Mercy w/Dr Scott Hahn “Confession As Healing” (3) Defending Life II w/ Fr Frank Pavone “Joe Schiedler”

All times are WA time.

Thursday 15 June 5:00am Mass for You At Home 5:30am Octava Dies

Friday 16 June

Saturday 17 June

Sunday 18 June 5:00am Mass for

Octava Dies

Octava Dies

Monday 19 June 5:00am Mass for You At Home

Octava Dies

All God’s Beggars

Mass for You At Home

Tuesday 20 June 5:00am Mass for You At Home

Octava Dies

Mass for You At Home

All God’s Beggars

Wednesday 21 June

Mass for You At Home

Octava Dies

Mass for You At Home

Octava Dies

Thursday 22 June 5:00am Mass for You At Home

Octava Dies

Mass for You At Home

Friday 23 June

Mass for You At Home

Octava Dies

Mass for You At Home

Octava Dies

Saturday 24 June

Mass for You At Home 5:30am Octava Dies 10:00am Mass for You At Home 2:00pm All God’s Beggars

Sunday 25 June 5:00am Mass for You At Home 5:30am Octava Dies

Mass for You At Home 10:30am Octava Dies

Monday 26 June 5:00am Mass for You At Home 5:30am Octava Dies 8:00am Mission Without Limits 10:00am Mass for You At Home

Tuesday 27 June 5:00am Mass for You At Home 5:30am Octava Dies 10:00am Mass for You At Home 1:30pm Mission Without Limits

Wednesday 28 June 5:00am Mass for You At Home 5:30am Octava Dies 10:00am Mass for You At Home 10:30am Octava Dies

Thursday 29 June 5:00am Mass for You At Home 5:30am Octava Dies 10:00am Mass for You At Home

Friday 30 June 5:00am Mass for You At Home 5:30am Octava Dies 10:00am Mass for You At Home 10:30am Octava Dies

The World

Benedict remembers The Lion in Poland

In Poland, Pope Benedict calls for solid faith, reconciliation, peace

■ By Cindy Wooden

Visiting Poland in late May, Pope Benedict XVI drew on Poles’ history, their tragedies and their love for Pope John Paul II to call for a future of solid faith, reconciliation and peace.

Arriving in Warsaw on May 25, Pope Benedict knew the focus of his audience was on his Polishborn predecessor, and while he constantly referred to his own desire to follow in Pope John Paul’s footsteps, he emphasized that the best way to keep his predecessor’s memory alive was to believe and act as he did.

“This is no mere sentimental journey, although it is certainly that, too, but rather a journey of faith,” Pope Benedict said at the Warsaw airport welcoming ceremony.

Before arriving in Auschwitz, Pope Benedict spent three days visiting sites dear to Pope John Paul and meeting Polish bishops, priests, religious, faithful and ecumenical leaders.

The Pope particularly dedicated May 27 to the life and ministry of

his Polish predecessor, starting the day in Wadowice, Pope John Paul’s hometown.

During a meeting with about 25,000 people gathered in Wadowice’s main square and later visiting the nearby Kalwaria Zebrzydowska shrine, Pope Benedict said he hoped Pope John Paul would be beatified soon.

Beatification is a step toward sainthood. Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls, addressing a May 27 press conference in Krakow, said soon did not mean immediately, especially when the canonisation cause involved studying an enormous collection of documents written by Pope John Paul and eyewitness testimony about his life.

Meeting young people in Krakow in the evening, Pope Benedict told them the experience of having had a Polish Pope made it easier for the youth of Krakow and of Poland in general to understand the importance of the papacy for the fidelity and unity of the Catholic Church.

Polish police estimated that 600,000 people were in Krakow’s

Blonie Park for the youth gathering; wide papal smiles greeted their singing, chanting and cheers.

Pope Benedict assured the youths that, like Pope John Paul, “who is watching our gathering from the window of God the Father,” he would offer his heart and his hands to help them build their lives on Christ and with Christ. CNS

No public priestly duties for founder Best behaviour for Pope

Alcohol sales, suggestive ads banned in Polish cities Pope visited

■ By Jonathan Luxmoore

Polish cities visited by Pope Benedict XVI prohibited alcohol sales and banned sexually suggestive ads on TV and public billboards during his trip.

Most people were obliging.

The majority of small drinking outlets closed in Warsaw while Pope Benedict was in the capital, and restaurants offered only coffee or tea to clients.

Police said the May 25-28 prohibitions in cities such as Warsaw and Krakow were intended to maintain order and show respect for the 79year-old pontiff and had generally been observed.

However, bottles of spirits were traded at high prices in Warsaw’s Rozycki market.

A police spokeswoman, Agnieszka Manelusz, said quantities of alcohol were seized from several bootleg traders.

One garage owner told raiding officers she was storing 250 gallons of spirits for a wedding, Manelusz said.

A journalist from Poland’s commercial RMF radio, Tomasz Skory, said he had bought alcoholic drinks “without trouble” at the main restaurant in Poland’s parliament, the

Sejm. “The waiter brought us whisky and beer and took the money for them,” Skory said.

“After a while, he returned and asked us to sit farther back in the restaurant, explaining no one there had heard about the prohibition.”

Bozena Kowalska, a merchant on Warsaw’s Solidarity Avenue, said she had heard few complaints about the alcohol ban.

“We don’t have a lot of drunks in this part of town, and people are used to this small sacrifice from previous papal visits,” Kowalska said in a May 28 Catholic News Service interview.

“A ban is a ban, so I just covered the shelves in wrapping paper,” she said.

“Several people begged to buy just one beer.

“But how was I to know they weren’t undercover police?”

Polish TV stations suspended commercials for underwear and tampons as well as suggestive consumer ads, and carefully selected appropriate programs for airing during the pilgrimage.

Sexually suggestive ads were also removed from city billboards during the four-day visit, while Polish tabloids refrained from publishing topless models on their back pages.

However, a giant poster of bikini-clad females was displayed in a storefront at Warsaw’s main intersection, close to the route of the popemobile.

Accusers of Legionaries’ founder say Vatican is too lenient

■ By Jason Lange

Men who say the founder of the Legionaries of Christ sexually abused them when they were teenagers criticised the Vatican for what they see as its leniency toward their former mentor.

The Vatican recently asked 86year-old Father Marcial Maciel Degollado not to exercise his priestly ministry publicly after investigating the claims made by nine former Legionary seminarians.

At the same time, the Vatican said it would not begin a canonical process against Father Maciel because of his advanced age and poor health.

The Vatican said it decided to “call the priest to a life reserved to prayer and penance,” but Father Maciel’s accusers were pressing for a formal acknowledgment of his guilt, a conclusion that could only have come through a canonical process.

“That the Church lets him off and invites him to meditate, that is not a legal process,” said Jose Barba Marti, who said Father Maciel sexually abused him at the age of 16 in Rome.

Barba told Catholic News Service that the decision not to put Father Maciel on canonical

trial - and subsequently defrock him - sends a dangerous message to other priests that “this isn’t that serious.”

“We don’t want revenge, but we have been waiting a long time and we thought there would be more coherence” in the Vatican’s resolution of the case, said the former Legionary.

Father Maciel, who founded the Legionaries of Christ in his native Mexico in 1941, is the most prominent Catholic official to be disciplined by the Vatican for alleged involvement in sexual abuse.

Father Maciel has repeatedly denied the accusations.

Barba, who left the Legionaries of Christ in 1962 and is now a history professor at Mexico City’s ITAM university, said he has been meeting with the other former Legionaries who publicly accused Father Maciel, and was authorised to speak for the group.

“We are united in this statement,” he said.

The Legionaries of Christ said in a May 19 statement that Father

Maciel has, “following the example of Jesus Christ, decided not to defend himself in any way.”

The sex abuse accusations against Father Maciel were brought to the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 1998, along with the accusation that he absolved in confession people who were his accomplices in sexual sins - an act punishable by automatic excommunication.

Barba said he and the others began to let church figures know about the alleged abuses shortly after they happened.

“The Church had a long file on (Father) Marcial Maciel since the 1940s and it didn’t do anythingthere was a cover-up,” he said.

Mexican bishops said they supported the Vatican’s actions in the case, and some said they believe Father Maciel is innocent.

“None of the accusations against him have been proven,” said Bishop Ramon Godinez Flores of Aguascalientes on May 22, reported The Associated Press.

Bishop Godinez said the Vatican’s statement on Father Maciel should not be viewed as a punishment.

Taking a different tack, Cardinal Juan Sandoval Iniguez of Guadalajara told Notimex news agency that the case was a cause for grief.

“I think it saddens the entire Church,” he said on May 19. “Being who he was, the founder of a very strong religious movement, it’s sad. He can only be put in God’s hands.”

Father Maciel

Looking back: Pope Benedict XVI prays in the cell of St Maximilian Kolbe at the Nazi’s Auschwitz death camp in Oswiecim, Poland, on May 28.Meanwhile, young people have “B16” painted on their faces during a youth gathering with Pope Benedict XVI in Krakow, Poland, May 27. Young people expressed their affection for the pope by singing a traditional Polish song wishing the pope a long life. Photos: left - CNS /Giancarlo Giuliani, CPP, right - CNS/Wolfgang Rattay, Reuters

The World

Drought relief brings caste change

Church programs help dismantle caste system barriers in India

■ By Anto Akkara

An unexpected result of church programs in a drought-stricken Indian state has been the dismantling of the rigid barriers of India’s caste system. “Earlier, ‘rawats’ or ‘meghwals’ (upper castes) would never sit with me, but things have changed altogether,” Santosh Telli, a “dalit,” or member of the “untouchable” low caste, told Catholic News Service. Telli said that since she joined the church-run village watershed program two years ago, there have been “big changes” in the village of Anshari, which always had strong caste divisions.

“Earlier, we used to fight on the basis of caste and never mix together. An upper caste never visited my house until I joined this work,” said Telli.

Sita Meghwal, an upper-caste member who said she now has “no problem” working with lower castes, pointed to the earthen jar kept at the spot where villagers were building a dam as part of a foodfor-work program.

“Now we are all drinking water from the same pot,” she said. The caste barrier was very strong initially, with women of different castes bringing separate pots for keeping drinking water at the work site, said Albert Abhay Singh, a local church worker. Three years ago, when the

watershed program was launched, the upper-caste villagers did not want to attend the meeting convened by church workers because “dalits” were invited.

“We insisted that they had to work together and, only after much persuasion, the caste barrier was broken,” said Singh.

Marc De Silva, Catholic Relief Services country representative in India said “the silent social transformation” occurring in the drought-relief areas is “an additional benefit” from the CRS droughtrelief programs in India’s Rajasthan state. “Now we are fully aware of its potential. So we are making every

effort to ensure that while improving living conditions of the people we are also trying to spread the message of equality,” said De Silva.

Apart from supporting 60 percent of the Ajmer Diocese’s social work in villages, CRS, the US bishops’ international relief and development agency, is sponsoring similar work with action groups in 800 villages in the desert state of Rajasthan.

The Ajmer Diocese is employing 160 workers in 300 villages to oversee its drought and social awareness programs. Like most of the women of her village, Annilala Cheeta has never been to school and never

dared to bare her face in public or speak to men. That has changed since Cheeta joined the food-forwork program, which provides water for 9,000 plants at a social forestry project near Devra village.

“Now, I can speak before anyone without covering my face with (a) veil. My husband also does not object. This gives a sense of selfrespect to me,” Cheeta told CNS, pointing to her husband wearing a traditional colourful turban.

Father John Carvalho, social service director of the Ajmer Diocese, said his “aim has been to help the people overcome the extreme water scarcity in the dry region.” CNS

Chinese Bishop dies age 79

Chinese Bishop Anthony Li Du’an of Xi’an, a church leader who enjoyed both papal approval and government recognition, died on May 25 of liver cancer.

The 79-year-old bishop contributed to the formation of priests and nuns and the reconciliation of the governmentapproved Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association and the underground Catholic Church in mainland China.

Father Stephen Chen Ruixue of Xi’an told UCA News, an Asian church news agency based in Thailand, that hundreds of Catholics and government officials joined in a prayer service and Mass for Bishop Li Father Chen, chancellor of the Xi’an Diocese, said Coadjutor Bishop Anthony Dang Mingyan of Xi’an and Bishop Joseph Tong Changping of Weinan, also in Shaanxi province, led the prayer service and concelebrated the Mass at St Francis Cathedral in Xi’an city. Bishop Li’s body has been placed in the cathedral, locally known as South Church, for people to pay their respects. After memorial services in the cathedral, the body was to be moved to Gongyi Church in Lintong for a May 31 funeral.

In recent years, Bishop Li served as vice president of the government-sanctioned Bishops’ Conference of the Catholic Church in China. On relations between the open and underground Catholic communities in China, Bishop Li stressed that there is only one Church. CNS

Suspicions recede as bishops grow in acceptance, movements mature

Bishops increasingly accept lay movements, says Vatican official

Increasingly, bishops have been accepting that lay movements and communities should be welcomed and guided to better serve the mission of the Church, said the president of the Pontifical Council for the Laity. Archbishop Stanislaw Rylko said an “increasing number of

the world in brief

Bankruptcy sale

bishops” are displaying “a growing awareness that these new (movements) are a gift to welcome above all with gratitude and responsibility in order not to waste this gift.”

The council’s secretary, Bishop Josef Clemens, also said that over the years “there’s been a maturing” and “an opening up” on the part of bishops and lay communities in recognizing the importance of having them be part of the Church’s mission. The prelates’ comments

The Spokane Diocese is preparing to sell its main office building and several other properties to raise money toward payments for settlements in child sex abuse cases, said Shaun Cross, diocesan lawyer. Meanwhile, diocesan assets have dwindled by $3 million since the diocese filed for bankruptcy protection in 2004 because of legal fees, he told Catholic News Service on May 26. Offers are coming in for the properties but “nothing is going to happen fast,” he said.

The real estate for sale is worth about $5 million, he told CNS.

In keeping with the diocese’s filing for bankruptcy protection, any sales must be approved by the US Bankruptcy Court of the

came during a May 30 Vatican press conference before the Second World Congress of Ecclesial Movements and New Communities in Rocca di Papa, outside Rome.

Some 300 people representing more than 100 movements and communities from all over the world were expected to attend the May 31June 2 gathering focusing on “The Beauty of Being a Christian and the Joy of Communicating This.”

Lay associations, movements

Eastern District of Washington. The property for sale includes the main diocesan office building, known as the Pastoral Center, and several parcels of land, one alongside a golf course, said Cross.

Church will help

When the churches collapsed during Indonesia’s earthquake, Catholics offered aid from tents. In Baciro, the parish council met under a tent in the rectory compound after the May 27 quake that left more than 5,400 people dead and destroyed 45,000 buildings - including the Baciro church - in Yogyakarta and Central Java.

Father Sari Jatmiko told UCA News, an Asian church news agency based in Thailand, that he told parish council members not to focus on their destroyed church. “We will

and communities boomed after the Second Vatican Council, but some in the Church have looked on many of the movements with suspicion.

Some of the movements have been accused of causing deep divisions within parishes, of appearing to claim that they have the only path to true Christianity and of exercising too much control of the lives of their members.

Archbishop Rylko said that Pope John Paul II, a strong supporter of

discuss and handle it later. Now, the most important thing is how to assist the parishioners and other people who lost their houses. They need logistical help and medicines as soon as possible,” he said.

The Indonesian government estimated 200,000 people were homeless after the quake.

Awards for CNS reporters

John Thavis, Rome bureau chief of Catholic News Service, and Nancy Wiechec, CNS visual media manager, won individual excellence honours in the combination awards category of the Catholic Press Association awards announced May 26 in Nashville. Thavis’ award was as a writer/editor, and Wiechec was honored in the photographer/ artist category.

lay movements, insisted new movements “embed themselves in the living fabric of the local churches with a spirit of humble service” while priests needed to welcome them with “paternal cordiality.”

Congress participants were to be part of the 300,000 members of ecclesial movements and lay communities expected to meet Pope Benedict XVI in a special audience in St. Peter’s Square on June 3, the eve of Pentecost. CNS

The CPA judges said Thavis’ “reporting is first-rate, and he brings strong writing skills and passion to his craft. The results are special.” Wiechec received praise for her “great visual range” for “doing her own graphics and assembling a team to provide visual leadership in a newsy year.”

Taking second place for writing and editing was Jennifer Burke of the Catholic Courier in Rochester, New York, John Nguyen of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate in Belleville, Illinois took third place, and Priscilla Greear of The Georgia Bulletin in Atlanta received honorable mention. In the photographer/artist category, Theodore Hennessy of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate received the second-place award. Jeanne Kortekamp and Mark Sullivan, both of St Anthony Messenger in Cincinnati, took third place and an honourable mention, respectively. CNS

A villager pours water on to one of 9,000 saplings from a Catholic Relief Services forestry program in the desert state of Rajasthan, India, in this March 23 photo. Photo: CNS

Book Review

A brush with the Carthusian

An Infinity of Little Hours

Five Young Men and Their Trial of Faith in the Western World’s Most Austere Monastic Order

By Nancy Klein Maguire PublicAffairs (New York, 2006)

■

Reviewed by Elizabeth Rackover

What did you give up for Lent this year?

Chocolate? Alcohol? Biscuits?

Pretty tough, huh?

Not even close, you pampered, selfdeluded, post-Vatican II Catholic you.

In “An Infinity of Little Hours: Five Young Men and Their Trial of Faith in the Western World’s Most Austere Monastic Order,” author Nancy Klein Maguire examines a monastic way of life so austere, so stripped-down, so isolated that even the most devout and disciplined reader will shiver with the cold, ache with the hunger and swoon from night after endless night of interrupted sleep. Keeping company with the monks in Parkminster, a Carthusian charterhouse in West Sussex, England, is to keep a lonely vigil in a lifelong quest for “soli Deo”: God alone.

The book is two tales, really. It is an informed and respectful history of “the Western world’s most austere monastic order,” the Carthusians; it is also a sensitive record of five young men whose individual vocations led them to Parkminster in 1960.

Maguire gives us their stories and accounts of life in the slow lane firsthand, offering enough background on the Carthusian order (founded in 1089 and, until the Second Vatican Council, “never reformed, because never deformed”) to vividly convey the sense that deprivations of sleep, comfort and even simple companionship are considered a privilege in this now-dwindling order.

The five young men whose stories comprise the basis for the book were drawn to Parkminster from happy homes and family lives in Germany,

Ireland and America. They arrived separately over several months in 1960 with an interesting mixture of faithful ardor, naivete and youthful enthusiasm; not all of them fully understood the deprivations they would experience as postulants.

What becomes of their passion and their faith - not to mention their psyches - is an unpredictably interesting and well-written tale that, like a good novel, plunges you into their world and makes you wonder how you would fare there.

Braced against its own solitude, the power and strength of Carthusian devotion lies in its utter and complete focus on “God alone.” But inhabiting the cowls and hair shirts are, after all, mortal men with egos, personalities and - surprise, surprise! - power struggles.

The chasm between divine and human shows clearly in the choir leader’s near hysteria over sloppy, off-key and just plain lousy singing; a novice master considered too radical who is eventually replaced; and one old monk weeping at the funeral of another.

This is the gold that Maguire mines out of a seemingly impenetrable entity. From this all-male enclave where contact with the outside world is limited and controlled, she gained the trust and confidence of elder monks and tracked down the young men who left the monastery before making their solemn profession, a vow to remain in the religious order until death. Her careful, scholarly approach -- and her association with the order through her marriage to an ex-Carthusian - led to what I have to assume is unprecedented lay and female access to Parkminster, where she was allowed to visit an unoccupied cell and spend time in its vast library.

Maguire, a scholar-in-residence at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, carefully crafts -- through the words, memories and experiences of others -- the story of monastic life in all its tedium, monotony and potential glory. That some fall short of that glory is no matter. The young men who made a go of it, who dared greatly, who tell the tale through Maguire’s knowing eye for authenticity and simplicity, deserve the reader’s greatest admiration. - CNS Rackover is a parent and religious education teacher in southeast Michigan.

Sunday June 4

DIVINE MERCY

An afternoon with Jesus and Mary at St Mary’s Cathedral, Victoria Square, Perth, on Sunday June 4, at 1.30pm. Program: holy rosary and reconciliation, sermon: with Fr Hugh Thomas CSSR on Our Lady of Perpetual Help, followed by divine mercy prayers and benediction. Enquiries: John 9457 7771 or Linda 9275 6608.

Sunday June 4

ETERNAL WORD TELEVISION NETWORK

ACCESS 31: 1  2 PM

Pentecost, the Holy Spirit and Charismatic movements / Fr Benedict Groeschel [Sunday Night Live] You are encouraged to tell your family, friends and fellow parishioners about these wonderful evangelising programs. Please send donations and comments to The Rosary Christian Tutorial Association, PO Box 1270, Booragoon 6954. Enquiries 93301170.

Tuesday June 6

KEEPING OUR LOVE ALIVE

The General Public and John XXIII College Parents

are Invited to Attend Relationships: “Keeping Our Love Alive” Presented by Hasser Graham and Steve Kiely (Psychologists) 7.30pm to 9.30pm at John XXIII College, The MacKillop Room Cost $10. The Talk includes information on Ways to improve communication and ‘connection” And The 5 Languages of Love – what they are and how crucial they are for understanding and loving better our partner. Hasser and Steve are regular speakers with Inigo because of the enthusiastic response of their audience and their relevant expertise. For more information contact Murray Graham on 9383 0444.

Wednesday June 7

CHARISMATIC RETREAT HEALING MASS

Led by Fr Augustine Mundakatt VC, Director of the Parithrana Retreat Centre, India, with music by Br Joe Ferndandez. To be held at Our Lady’s Assumption Parish 356 Grand Promenade Dianella from 7pm to 9pm. For more information contact Kiran on 042 378 8630.

Thursday June 8

MONTHLY MASS

In honour of Blessed Mary MacKillop. Come and

join the praying community at the Eucharist and place your petitions at Blessed Mary MacKillop’s shrine and learn more about our Australian Saint; held at the Sisters of St Joseph Chapel, 16 York St, South Perth at 6pm. Everyone Welcome. For more information contact Sister Maree Riddler 9334 0933

Thursday June 8 A HEALING MASS

In honour of St Peregrine, patron of cancer sufferers and helper of all in need, will be held at the Church of SS John and Paul, Pinetree Gully Rd (off South St) Willetton, on Thursday, June 8, at 7pm. There will be Veneration of the Relic and Anointing of the Sick. For further information, please contact Noreen Monaghan on 9498 7727.

Thursday June 8

TOUCH OF HEAVEN

Holy Mass and healing service. St Joseph’s Catholic Church. 22 Hamilton St, Bassendean 7pm Mass, followed by talk and healing.

Saturday June 10

The General Public and John XXIII College Parents

are Invited to Attend “A Morning Retreat” (Inner Freedom and Healing Part 1) Presenter Murray Graham, Inigo Centre Director. 9am to 12pm at John XXIII College in the the MacKillop Room. Cost by Donation for Inigo Centre. Murray Graham (M.Ed) is a Director of the Inigo Centre, a guide in C.L.C. (Ignatian) and a secular Franciscan. He is a teacher of religion at John XXIII College. His talks reflect the many speakers at the Inigo Centre for 13 years and his own research and experience. For more information contact Murray Graham on 9383 0444.

Sunday June 11

PIPE ORGAN PLUS

Duyfken Variations are holding the 2006 Pipe Organ Plus Series Concert at 2.30pm at the Basilica of St Patrick, Cnr Parry and Adelaide Streets, Fremantle. Tickets; Standard $22; Concession $17. Subscription Four Concerts for the price of three. Standard $66; Concession $51. Door sales available. Complimentary Essenza coffee and Leaf tea served with Picobello Patisserie biscuits at interval. Bring a cushion for extra comfort! Bookings

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.

■ PICASSO PAINTING

Top service. Phone 0419 915 836, fax 9345 0505.

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.

FOR SALE

■ ENTERTAINMENT BOOKS

Still only $60.00 Bassendean pickup, St Joseph’s Church, 20 Hamilton St. Mail Order $66.00. Contact: Miriana 93792691. 9am-3pm Mon, Wed, Thurs.

FURNITURE REMOVAL

■ ALL AREAS

Mike Murphy 0416 226 434.

HOLIDAY ACCOMMODATION

■ BED AND BREAKFAST

B & B low rates, lovely riverside walks close to Perth. Ph: 9272 8263 or 0438 946 621.

HOLIDAY ACCOMMODATION

■ DENMARK

Holiday House 3bdr x 2bath, sleeps up to 8. BOOK NOW. Ph: Maria 0412 083 377.

RELIGIOUS PRODUCTS

■ HUMBLE MESSENGER

Shop 16/80 Barrack St (Inside Bon Marche Arcade) Perth WA 6000. Trading Hours: MondayClosed,Tues-Fri-10am-5pm, Sat-10am-3pm, Ph/ Fax 9225 7199, 0421 131 716.

■ REPAIR YOUR LITURGICAL BOOKS

Tydewi Bindery offer handcrafted fine bindings, journals, leather recovering. Repairs fo all your books, liturgical, bibles, missals and statues. Ph. 9293 3092.

OFFICIAL DIARY

RELIGIOUS PRODUCTS

■ 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-Sat). We are here to serve.

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Urgent jobs in 24hrs. W/E and A/H 0410 651 900

JUNE

4 Confirmation, St Mary’s Cathedral - Archbishop Hickey Confirmation, Ocean Reef - Bishop Sproxton

7 LifeLink Internet Launch for Schools - Archbishop Hickey, Bishop Sproxton Slattery Lecture, NDA - Archbishop Hickey, Bishop Sproxton

8 Council of Priests’ Meeting, Glendalough - Archbishop Hickey, Bishop Sproxton

9-11 Episcopal Visitation, Shenton Park - Bishop Sproxton

Sunday June 11

ANOINTING OF THE SICK

Administered for spiritual and physical healing during Holy Mass every second Sunday of the month at the Bullsbrook Shrine. Enquiries: 9447 3292.

Saturday June 17

GOLDEN JUBILEE

Friends, former colleagues and parishioners are invited to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of priestly ordination of Mgr James Nestor. Mass at 10am at the Carmelite Monastery, Adelma Rd Nedlands, with refreshments to follow. To assist with logistics and catering, please advise of attendance to Rosemary Hill on 9389 8805 or fax 9389 8801.

Sunday June 18

FEAST OF CORPUS CHRISTI

To celebrate the special feast of Corpus Christi a procession and Rosary will be held in the grounds of St Anne’s Church, 11 Hehir St Belmont. Procession will commence at 5pm and conclude with Benediction. St Anne’s is one of the churches of the Archdiocese that has Perpetual Adoration. Why not come and spend some time with Jesus? For further details contact 08 9277 2251.

Sunday June 18

CORPUS CHRISTI PROCESSION

“Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” The words of scripture describe the Corpus Christi procession honouring Jesus’ presence among us. Come join in the Corpus Christ Feast 9am Mass with procession followed by parish and school BBQ. St Joseph’s Parish Community, 20 Hamilton Street, Bassendean.

Sunday June 18

CORPUS CHRISTI PROCESSION  TOODYAY

The annual Corpus Christi procession will be held in Toodyay, commencing at St John the Baptist Parish Church (36 Stirling Tce, Toodyay) at 12.30pm (holy Mass at 10.30am). The procession will honour the Blessed Sacrament with prayers, hymns and benediction. A reception will follow (please bring a plate). Bus services will be available – please contact either Nita Campbell on 9367 1366. Flo Cue on 9367 8632 or Chia Sticca on 9337 3831. Enquiries please contact Franciscans of the Immaculate on 9574 5204.

Friday June 23

CATHOLIC FAITH RENEWAL PRAISE AND WORSHIP

Being held at St John and Paul’s Church, Pinetree Gully Road Willetton at 7.30pm. There will be a Praise and Worship evening followed by a talk with Fr Greg Donovan titled Heart Speaks to Heart and a Thanksgiving Mass. There will be light refreshments after Mass. You are all welcome to attend and we encourage you to bring your family and friends to this evening of fellowship. For more information contact Rita on 9272 1765 or Rose on 040 330 0720.

Friday June 23

SOLEMNITY OF THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS

To be held at St Mary’s Cathedral commencing at 6.50pm with the Rosary and Litanies. Mass at 7.30pm and consecration to the Sacred Heart of

Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary followed by Benediction. Principal celebrant is Archbishop Hickey. Novena to the Sacred Heart and Immaculate Heart from Thursday June 15 to Friday June 23 after weekday 12.10pm Mass, after Saturday 6.30pm Mass and after Sunday 11.30am Mass at the Cathedral.

June 23-24

ALLIANCE AND TRIUMPH OF THE TWO HEARTS

Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Holy Mass at 9pm on Friday evening. At St Bernadette’s Church 49 Jugan St Glendalough followed by an all night Eucharistic adoration in reparation to the two hearts (including rosaries, hymns, scripture readings and reflection during the night). Please join us for any length of time at your convenience. Solemnity of the Immaculate Heart of Mary – Saturday morning with usual parish Mass at 7.30am. Reconciliation available prior to both Masses. There will be a first Friday all night vigil winter break from June to August. We will recommence from Friday 1 September. Enquiries 9444 6131 or 9342 5845.

Friday June 23 – Sunday June 25

WEEKEND DANCE RETREAT

Glorify God with your Body Venue: Penola by the Sea, Sisters of St Joseph Retreat Centre, Safety Bay at 7.30pm. For more information contact Sr Shelley Barlow on 9271 3873.

Saturday June 24

25TH ANNIVERSARY OF MEDJUGORJE

You are invited to St Bernadette’s Church, Glendalough, for a morning of Prayer with Our Lady Queen of Peace commencing at 10am with Rosary at 10.30am and Mass followed by a talk by Fr Timothy Deeter. Concluding with coffee at the LJ Gooody Bioethics Centre. Please bring a plate. For more information contact 9341 8082

Saturday June 24

ANNUAL FUNDRAISING DINNER

CROSS ROADS COMMUNITY Will be having its annual fundraising dinner on Saturday the 24th of June at South Fremantle Football Club. Tickets cost $45.00 per person. Please ring CRC on 9319 8344 to inquire further.

Saturday June 24 to Monday June 26

NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF LAY PASTORAL MINISTERS

Following the theme River of Life, creating, empowering, renewing a vibrant people of God. Registration forms can be downloaded from the Pastoral Ministers of Brisbane Website on www. catholic.net.au/layministry/pma. Interested persons can contact Margaret Walker 9390 8365 or Lesley McMinn on 9337 6295.

Sunday June 25

AUSTRALIA’S FINEST GOSPEL PERFORMERS

Our Lady Of The Rosary Church, Angelico Street, Woodlands 2pm to 4.30pm Featuring Western Australia’s Finest Gospel Performers. – Camelot, Gospel Train, Indij Spirits, The Cranfields, A Cappella Praise. Tickets - Adults $12 - Children $2. Advance purchase only. For tickets and information contact Carmel Charlton 9446 1558 or erichancock@swiftdsl.

10-11 Confirmation, Kalgoorlie/Boulder - Archbishop Hickey

11 Mass to celebrate 50th Jubilee of Priesthood of Fr Henry Byrne, North Beach - Bishop Sproxton

12 Bible Ceremony, Cottesloe - Archbishop Hickey

13 Heads of Churches’ Meeting - Bishop Sproxton

14 Board of Catholic Church Insurances - Bishop Sproxton Law Society Cocktail Party - Fr Brian Limbourn

15-18 Episcopal Visitation, Corrigin - Archbishop Hickey

com.au. Tickets also available from Zenith Music 309 Stirling Hwy, Claremont.

Friday June 30

LA SALLE COLLEGE QUIZ AND AUCTION NIGHT

La Salle College is holding its 2nd annual Quiz and Auction Night at 7.30pm in the Laurence Murphy Hall at La Salle College. Tables are of 8. BYO snacks and cool drinks only. Alcohol will be on sale. Tickets can be purchased from the College Office at $10 each. Should you have a business and be in a position to donate, please contact Sabrina Lynsdale at the College on 9274 6266 and your company will be acknowledged in our Delagram and Western Lasallian.

Sunday Septermber 24 to Saturday September 30

FIVE DAY DIRECTED RETREAT

At the Redemptorist Monastery Retreat House 190 Vincent Street North Perth. Director: Fr Joe Carroll CSSR. For more information contact Jan Broderick on 9328 9736.

TUESDAY NIGHT PRAYER MEETINGS

St Mary Cathedral Parish Centre, 450 Hay Street, Perth, 7pm. Come join us! Overcome the burdens in life making prayer your lifeline with Jesus. Personal healing in prayer, Rosary, meditation, Scripture, praise in song, friendship, refreshments. Be united with Our Lord and Our Lady in prayer with others. Appreciate the heritage of the Faith.

EVERY SUNDAY

Bullsbrook Shrine Sunday Pilgrimage Programme. Shrine of Virgin of the Revelation, 36 Chittering rd Bullsbrook. 2pm Holy Mass, exposition of the Blessed Sacrament with holy rosary. Reconciliation is available before every celebration. Enquiries: 9447 3292.

FIRST SUNDAY OF THE MONTH

The Santa Clara Parish Community welcomes anyone from surrounding parishes and beyond to the Santa Clara Church, corner of Coolgardie and Pollock Sts, Bentley on the 1st Sunday of each month for devotions in honour of the Divine Mercy. The afternoon commences with the 3 o’clock prayer, followed by the Divine Mercy Chaplet, Reflection and concludes with Benediction.

Saturdays PERPETUAL HELP NOVENA DEVOTIONS

Saturdays 4.30-5pm. Redemptorist Church, 190 Vincent Street, North Perth.

ART EXHIBITION

Art exhibition every Saturday and Sunday at the Parish Hall, Star of the Sea church, Cottesloe, cnr of Stirling Highway and McNeil Sts 11am – 4pm. All proceeds from the sale towards the extension of St Mary’s Cathedral, Perth.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS

Is alcohol costing you more than just money? Alcoholics Anonymous can help. Ring 9325 3566.

BLESSED SACRAMENT ADORATION

Holy Family Church, Alcock Street, Maddington. Every Friday 8.30 am Holy Mass followed by Blessed

Sacrament Adoration till 12 noon. Every first Friday of the month, anointing of the sick during Mass. Enq. 9398 6350.

PERPETUAL ADORATION AT ST BERNADETTE’S

Adoration: Chapel open all day and all night. All welcome, 49 Jugan St, Glendalough, just north of the city. Masses every night at 5.45pm Monday to Friday, 6.30pm, Saturday and the last Sunday Mass in Perth is at 7pm.

Wednesdays SIGN LANGUAGE COURSE

Australian Sign Language (Auslan) Classes are offered free of charge at Emmanuel Centre on Wednesdays at 1pm. If this does not suit you, other arrangements can be made. Please contact Fr Paul or Barbara at Emmanuel Centre, 25 Windsor St Perth 9328 8113.

QUEEN OF APOSTLES SCHOOL

If anyone has information on Queen of Apostles School, Riverton, used to go there or knows anyone who did please do one of the following to tell the extension group – Call 9354 1360 and ask to speak to Veronique or email your information to veronequeregnard@gmail.com.au or janellekoh@yahoo.com.au or you can put your information into the box in the office at Queen of Apostles School. Thanking you in anticipation.

Sunday September 17

KOORDA CHURCH 50TH ANNIVERSARY

Our Lady of the Assumption Church at Koorda will celebrate its Golden Anniversary this year on September 17. Past Parish Priests and past parishioners are invited to come and join us for the celebrations. Anyone who has any photos they would like to include in a display is welcome to send them to Kath Gosper at PO Box 68, Koorda 6475. You could send copies or we will copy and return them to you. The day will commence with Mass at 10.30am to be followed by lunch at the Recreation hall.

LINDA’S HOUSE OF HOPE APPEAL

To enable us to continue to provide and offer support for girls wishing to leave the sex trade we need your help. We have achieved already with your assistance new offfices which are now complete at the rear of the shelter and are fully functional. Further donations are also required to enable us to complete the internal layout of the shelter itself. Please send donations to Linda’s House of Hope PO Box Z5640, Perth, St George’s Tce 6831. Ph: 0439 401 009. All donations over $2 are tax deductible.

Please Note

The Record reserves the right to decline or modify any advertisment it considers improper or not in unison with the general display of the paper.

The Last Word

Abstinence begins eroding AIDS in Zambia

Church programs effective, says official

KOENIGSTEIN, Germany, MAY 29, 2006 (Zenit.org) - The Church has helped Zambia to turn the corner in the fight against HIV and it has done so by upholding its traditional teachings, says a Ndola Diocese official.

“Meanwhile, the government has done too little, too late,” said Father Alick Mbanda, chancellor of the Zambian diocese, in an interview during a recent visit to the headquarters of the charity Aid to the

Church in Need. He explained how Catholic-run programs to combat HIV had been vital in bringing about a long-awaited downturn in the number of people infected with the virus.

HIV is at epidemic levels in Zambia, where an estimated 1.2 million people are infected out of a population of 11 million. Father Mbanda described how the Church had tackled the crisis by distributing anti-HIV medicine and had successfully taught abstinence by integrating AIDS awareness into catechetical programs.

With a community of lay leaders, the Church has devised youth catechetical programs in which the

risk of HIV is spelled out, especially from casual sex. Church leaders encourage people planning marriage to have HIV-related tests first.

For victims of the virus, the bishops are devising plans for a “farm”a centre providing accommodation, welfare support and medication.

“Of late, we have at last begun to see a bit of progress,” said Father Mbanda.

“The numbers of people infected with HIV have not been going up and, because of the campaign, the numbers are finally coming down.”

The priest stressed the importance of the Zambian bishops’ opposition to contraception and insistence on abstinence.

Bring in the specialists

The intricacy of co-existence between Church and society has caught the attention of theological thinkers and specialists, of Church leaders, religious and lay alike. Indeed, there exists a beneficial working relationship between the above-mentioned categories; both serving as probing mechanisms in the discovery of the Church’s identity and the changing character of its mission in the world.

Reported are the findings of four specialists on the pastoral activity of the Church. Namely, the Spaniard, Casiano Floristan, the Austrian, Paul Zulehner, the Italian, Mario Midali and the Frenchman, PierreAndre Liege. All have engaged in considerable analysis, have published extensively and are considered leading personalities in the field. Since their findings do not differ a great deal, those of PierreAndre Liege (1921-1979), late professor at the Institut Catholique of Paris, will be examined.

Liege contends that the Church’s focus on territorially-based jurisdiction and consequent bulk of pastoral services may not reflect, for example, the mobile nature of current society. Liege singles out several factors, which he believes to be typical of this type of Church: an

“We have some NGOs saying that people should use condoms but the problem with that is that condoms give people some leeway for casual sex,” he said.

“In actual fact, it encourages the problem.”

The priest also underlined the importance of faith in action: “We cannot just preach about the Gospel and talk about the Mass without living it. It becomes difficult to live the Gospel and to preach it if we don’t connect with the problems of our times.”

Devastation: a South African woman massages the hands of her husband who is dying of AIDS. Photo: CNS

atavistic faith, that is, Christianity through parental decisions at birth; and a unanimous belonging, when the Church and the state enjoyed a sufficient degree of harmony. As a result of these factors, particular attention is given to maintaining traditions and customs, through which one would hope to form communities and subsequently establish institutions. The parish, thus, becomes the focal point of efforts aimed at maintaining reli-

gious practice as well as a visible sense of community.

Obviously there is nothing wrong with this organisational outfit. It has served well in the past and has been mediative and effective. But is it still relevant? Is it a suitable tool for analysing the activity of the Church in contemporary society?

Or has it turned into a liability for the Church’s mission in the world?

We could be witnessing a mismatch of expectations between pas-

toral agents of the Church and the needs of those living in a secularised society. Modernity and postmodernity have had a profound influence on society and have in turn altered the needs of communities.

This may mean that if the Church continues to pursue a traditional modus operandi, in an uncritical fashion, the obvious impending outcome will be, as Liege warns, a further distancing from contemporary realities. - Anthony Paganoni CS