The Record Newspaper 02 February 2011

Tdirections in astronomy and physics directions in astronomy and physics

Making convinced atheists ner vous... convinced atheists nervous...

Archbishop backs Perth Christian Radio

BY GLYNNIS GRAINGER

COMOBASED Christian radio station 98.5 Sonshine FM counts Archbishop Barry Hickey as a gold donor - practically and in spirit.

“Archbishop Hickey has contributed a lot to Sonshine FM, both morally and in a practical way – financially – the huge crowd with World Youth Day ’08 in Perth – we were involved with that,” Sonshine’s Development Manager Jill Bonanno said.

“He just had time for everyone. He was very good on air. He has been involved with Sonshine FM for a long time and has been a real friend of the station and gave the most towards this building.

“We are getting him to do a campaign on air, do an endorsement on TV camera and our Facebook page when he gets back in February.”

Sonshine FM celebrated its 23rd anniversary on Australia Day, 26 January.

Colin Waddell is the general manager and Arthur Muhl the breakfast announcer and programme director, with many other staff in the two-year-old building.

Please turne to Page 5

Archdiocese calls on experienced priest, Neocatechumenal families and clergy as it builds a new parish from the ground up

BY BRIDGET SPINKS

Drama teaches Perth’s Polish Catholic youth John Paul II’s philosophy of life

Attadale plans a new church

ATTADALE’S St John Pignatelli parish is the latest community to start planning the construction of a new parish church after a parishioner donated 1.2 million dollars last year.

The donation was given on the condition that it is only used on the new church, Attadale parish priest and columnist, Fr Sean Fernandez told The Record

The current church, which was built in 1954, was intended to function as a hall.

Fr Fernandez said he hopes to have the new church built in the next four years.

As well as planning for the new church, Fr Fernandez said he is trying to organise events for the young people at the parish and is hoping to get a youth group started.

Vietnamese to be ordained

TWO Vietnamese men will soon be ordained - one to the diaconate and one to the priesthood.

Seminarian Tai Trinh, 31, will be ordained to the Diaconate for Geraldton Diocese on 5 February at All Saints Church, Greenwood.

Deacon Quynh Huy Nhat Do, 35, was incardinated to the Diocese of Perth on 6 January and will be ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Perth on 4 March.

Interviews - Page 3

Experienced hand, missionary families, to build Baldivis

established parish of Baldivis, celebrated Christmas Eve Mass in a local government school last year.

There is neither a Catholic school nor a parish church in the area as yet, but up to 130 people attended the Mass at Settler’s Primary School in Settler’s Green, one of the Baldivis estates.

Fr Geoffrey Aldous invited all the parishioners of Perth’s newest parish to write down their contact details and has since then been visiting all the parishioners in the area.

“It’ll be a while before the build-

ings get going; the most important thing is to get people together,” he said.

“I’ve visited 20 odd families since Christmas and they’re very keen to get going.”

Parishioners are getting ready to find a place where they can have a regular Sunday Mass and there seems to be a lot of enthusiasm for that, he said.

Archbishop Barry Hickey canonically erected the parish of Baldivis on 8 December last year and appointed Fr Aldous, one of Perth’s

most experienced priests, as parish priest on the same day.

The parish area is about 16km of rural or semi-rural land, Fr Geoffrey told The Record. It reaches as far north as Kwinana and as far south as Bunbury diocese’s Mandurah parish.

The urban part is developing rapidly and the population is projected to grow to 42,000 by 2030, he said.

Before this parish was established, Rockingham, Port Kennedy and Kwinana were the closest par-

Due to be released at cinemas later this month, The Rite tells the true story of a young American priest sent to Rome in 2005 to study to become a diocesan exorcist. Journalist Mat Baglio’s account of the experiences and transformation of a young priest uncertain what to think about the existence of evil into an exorcist who confronts satanic beings in the name of Christ is gripping and yet not sensationalised. Readers will find the story of a priest’s education inspiring and heartening. $23 from The Record Bookshop

ishes. “It’s not as though they can’t get to Mass; it’s a 10-15 minute drive at most. But it’s nice to have a place to call your own and build community,” he said.

Fr Geoffrey came to Baldivis to take up the new appointment after spending three and a half years on loan to Geraldton Diocese as administrator of the Cathedral parish.

The newly established diocesan parish on the outskirts of Perth’s Archdiocese will work with three Please turn to Page 8

Perth Catholic Polish youth perform a play as part of SCENA 98, the production company founded by Fr Tomasz Bujakowski OFM as part of his pastoral outreach to young people. Having studied Pope John Paul II’s philosophy writings at the seminary in Poland, the chaplain to Perth’s Polish Catholic community helps their youth re-connect with their heritage using the medium that helped form the late Pope’s thinking.

FATHER Geoffrey Aldous, the first parish priest for the newly

Helpers of God’s Precious Infants founder passes away

Tribute to Francette Galibardy

BY HELENE SAWYER

THE Founder of the Helpers of God’s Precious Infants in Perth, Francette Galibardy, passed away on 20 January at the age of 63.

Dream

For 13 years, Francette prayed and counselled outside Perth abortion clinics; firstly at Rivervale and then every Friday at the Marie Stopes abortion clinic in Midland.

There are many hundreds of children, from the newborn up to 12 years of age, who are alive today and their mothers spared the devastating effects of abortion because of the efforts of this inspiring woman of faith and the loyal group who have prayed with her over the years.

Francette was first and foremost a mother and her unwavering dedication to this challenging pro-life apostolate sprang perhaps from her desire to protect and nurture this role in those who were experiencing a crisis in their pregnancy.

She knew that the wellbeing of a mother and that of her child could not be separated.

Francette always had a loving and compassionate heart for those she encountered and her wisdom and good humour have touched many hearts. Her smile lit up every place wherever she went.

It seems appropriate that Francette has

been called to God just as the first 40 Days for Life Campaign is launched in Perth at the beginning of Lent this year.

May this steadfast and prayerful woman enjoy her well-deserved rest and be richly rewarded for her faithfulness.

In eternal life, may she continue to champion the cause of those who have no voice.

May she be greeted in Heaven by the many thousands of babies whose lives were cut short, but who, because of Francette Galibardy, did not die without love and prayer. Rest in Peace, Francette.

● US Planned Parenthood coordinator’s account of how she became pro-life - Page 9

THE R ECORD New Contacts

Editor

Journalists

office@therecord.com.au

Bridget Spinks baspinks@therecord.com.au

Mark Reidy mreidy@therecord.com.au

Anthony Barich abarich@therecord.com.au

Advertising/Production

Mat De Sousa production@therecord.com.au

Accounts

Classifieds/Panoramas/Subscriptions

Bibiana

Storms damage Beverley presbytery

Applecross pair’s CD hits note in US

BY GLYNNIS GRAINGER

THE CD which two St Benedict’s Applecross parishioners have produced for the new Mass is being used as backing music for a documentary being made in the United States.

Choir leader Joe Orifici and colleague Tony Harris launched the CD titled Singing Praises to God about October last year to their parish only.

The pair, fellow composers of the music and words on the CD, said they have sold about 400 copies at $25 each.

Joe told The Record: “A lot of the CDs have been sent overseas to Vatican Radio and the Catholic Radio Station in the US.

“And we sent a copy to Professor Jean-Pierre Isbouts, Professor of Culture and Media Studies at Fielding Graduate University in Santa Barbara, California.

Tony told The Record the two had sent him the CD, wondering if he might want to use it in his work; Prof. Isboutes did just that.

“We will be contributing our music to the soundtrack and as soon as it is finished he will send us a copy of the movie. It is our honour and privilege,” Joe said.

“The whole CD project was to produce the musical resource throughout Australia for the new Mass, and to facilitate the music ministries in every parish, we produced this particular CD - the music only.

“If parishes don’t have any musical instruments, they can use this. There is also a musical manuscript book which will be produced,” he said.

It will cost $70 for the package of three – the CD, the music-only CD and the manuscript.

“He has written many books and made a few documentaries.”

His books include the National Geographic The Biblical World - An Illustrated Atlas, Young Jesus, and From Moses to Muhammad

The first two have been made into documentaries and the third book is being made into a documentary using the Applecrosscomposed music. “We met him on one of our trips, on a cruise ship, very fleetingly,” Joe said.

“We plan to go in May-June and meet up with the Professor,” he said. The music has been sung in St Benedict’s Church since October and some of the material was used at Roshan Fernando’s ordination on 3 November 2010 to the diaconate at Applecross.

Francette Galibardy, far right, pictured at St Joachim’s Church in Victoria Park with a picture of Our Lady of Guadelupe, patron of the unborn, Pel Sawyer, Phillip Leggett, Topsy Brady, Helene Sawyer and Danuta Lamers, volunteers who pray in front of abortion clinics as part of Helpers of God’s Precious Infants.

Joe Orifici and Tony Harris with the music they composed.

PHOTO: GLYNNIS GRAINGER

The roof of the presbytery in Beverley fell during the storm that passed through the wheatbelt towns of Northam, York, Beverley, Wongan Hills, Goomalling, Cunderdin and Toodyay on Saturday, 29 January. The Beverley church was not damaged, nor was

Brookton, Pingelly or Northam but a few slates blew off the roof of St Patrick’s in York. “We couldn’t get into the church in Beverley because trees had fallen across the place,” Fr Stephen Cooney OPraem, York parish priest said.

Trinity principal crafts crucifixes

BY GLYNNIS GRAINGER

TRINITY College’s Br P L O’Doherty Cultural Centre was officially opened on 16 November with crucifixes crafted by headmaster Ivan Banks.

The building and crucifixes were blessed by Archbishop Barry Hickey with the crucifixes crafted by Mr Banks from jarrah taken from the original B block.

Christian Brother Tony Kelly, the first headmaster at Trinity College in 1962, unveiled the commemorative plaque and there was an address from Mr Banks and also from the chairman of the Board, Wayne Bowen.

The 300 guests were then invited to look through the building and go to the top floor (Staff Lounge) for a cocktail party.

There was a jazz band playing in the Staff Lounge, a string quartet on the first floor and Junior School students played percussion and marimba in the second floor studio (Mary Kerr Music Room), with a Fazioli piano played in the Dr Robert Braham Auditorium on the first floor.

The building was named after Br O’Doherty, who was universally loved and respected by all who knew him at the College.

From 1972-79 Br Pat was the promoter of vocations to the religious life in WA and SA and during this time he was a member of the Trinity community.

In 1984, Br Pat returned to the College where, for 11 years, he was a teacher of religious education and mathematics.

He was also involved in many areas of school life and was very popular among the students.

In 1994, he took on chaplaincy duties at the College and coordinated the Christian Service programme for Year 11 students and became responsible for the India Pilgrimage, which continues today.

There are art rooms on the ground floor, an auditorium and rehearsal room on the first floor, music rooms and rehearsal room for the Cathedral Choir on the second floor, the Boardroom on the third floor

Pipes

Viet duo drawn to Christ through trials

BY BRIDGET SPINKS

DEACON Quynh Huy Nhat Do

was incardinated to the Diocese of Perth on 6 January and will be ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Perth on 4 March.

“It’s been a very hard journey to the priesthood,” the 35 year old said, but the humility of Jesus and His constant availability to the poor as well as the thought of those who need him to come and serve them has sustained him.

Deacon Quynh entered the Sulpice seminary in Hue, Vietnam in 1998 when he was 23 after studying French literature at university in Saigon.

He was ordained to the deaconate on 4 August 2005 but has had to wait for nearly five years to be ordained a priest because of Communist policy in Vietnam.

As well as applying to the Bishop for approval to enter the seminary, a young man must also apply to the government. To be ordained a priest, a deacon will need to apply again, he said.

In the meantime, Deacon Quynh worked for ethnic minorities for seven years. He was a secretary of the diocesan development committee where he worked on a project that helped provide food, drink and education to ethnic minorities.

But it was not always easy to get to the Laos Cambodia border or into the restricted area for missionary work due to government restrictions.

“During that time I tried to visit the ethnic communities often and preach the Gospel,” he said.

“They looked forward to seeing me every month,” he said.

Deacon Quynh said he was inspired to become a priest by the French Missionaries (Missions Étrangerères de Paris) who came to Kontum Diocese in 1848 and would die three or four months later from disease.

“I came to realise that this was heroic and being a priest was a heroic vocation as well,” he said.

These missionaries inspired him because they gave their lives for their vocation - God and for people they served, he said.

“They left their material life back in Paris and civilisation in

the West to come to the third world country,” he said.

Fr Lucas Thu Bui, his parish priest in Tan Huong, who sent him to the Sisters of the Congregation of St Paul of Chartres, also influenced him, he said. “Every weekend I came to see them and we said prayer together. These nuns taught me catechism and how to be a good Catholic. They prepared me for the journey of my vocation in Kontum,” he said.

Bishop Michael Hoang of Kontum diocese introduced Deacon Quynh to Fr Vinh Dong to sponsor him to stay in Australia for pastoral placement as well as to learn English and the Australian culture.

Deacon Quynh has been at Greenwood parish since 17 October 2008 and prior to that he was at Lockridge parish from 22 August 2008.

● Seminarian Tai Trinh, 31, is away on retreat this week in preparation for his ordination to the Diaconate for Geraldton Diocese on 5 February at All Saints Parish in Greenwood.

He came to Australia in April 2004 after meeting Bishop Justin Bianchini and Fr Vinh Dong in Vietnam through Dominican Sr Agnes in 2003. Tai spent his first year in Australia based in Geraldton mainly studying

English and travelling around the Diocese to places he will work in the future.

While studying to become a vet in Vietnam, Tai discerned his vocation with the Salesians after being inspired by St John Bosco. He said he liked the spirit that the saint had for helping young people grow in the faith and develop into good people and good Christians.

“I worked for a year and I decided God called me to become a priest and God showed me to Bishop Justin,” he said. He added that he never thought he would come to Australia.

Tai entered St Charles’ Seminary in 2005 when he was 25 and since then the call to be a priest has become stronger over time, he said. Tai has three sisters - one lives in France, another has become a Missionary of Charity and his younger sister is studying at university in Perth.

He said he formed a good impression of priests and nuns when he was growing up. His parents were supportive of the work of Religious and would host them to dinner.

He said this inspired him to become a priest when he grew up.

Tai said his mother is very happy for him to become a priest and his father, who passed away when he was 12, would be too.

Seminarian Tai Trinh, 31, left, and Deacon Quynh Huy Nhat Do pictured at Greenwood Parish. The pair shared a history of being brought up in a Communist country hostile to the Catholic faith. PHOTO: BRIDGET SPINKS

and the

and Drums Room beneath Gibney Hall.

- Photos courtesy of Trinity College

Top, the crucifixes made by Trinity College principal Ivan Banks. Above Archbishop Barry Hickey blesses the artwork in the new Cultural Centre with Trinity College chaplain Fra Oscar Aguilera.

Anglican Catholics out to evangelise

BY ANTHONY BARICH

The Anglican Ordinariate which aims to be established in Australia by Pentecost is about evangelising, not preserving some pure form of Anglicanism, one of its leading figures said.

Bishop Harry Entwistle of Perth, one of 50 disaffected Anglicans who met on the Gold Coast this week to gauge “how many and who” will join the Ordinariate, said the Ordinariate’s aim will be that of the universal Church – to bring people into relationship with God.

Bishop Entwistle, who will address a Festival at Holy Family Catholic Parish in Como to “introduce the Anglican Ordinariate for Australia” on 26 February, said it has always been believed that the Ordinarate will begin “with smallish numbers who will then try to grow and evangelise”.

“We’ve got to get rid of the idea that all we’re interested in is preserving some ideal form of Anglicanism. We’re there to bring others to know and love the Lord and be united to the Church. That’s what it’s about,” Bishop Entwistle told The Record

“We will be a part of the full Catholic Church, and like the rest of the Catholic Church our mission is to bring others into the Church, into a relationship with God.

“We’ll just have a different form of worship, but still be part of the Church, rather like having the Eastern Catholics – which, though not an exact parallel, is similar.”

in brief...

Catechesis at Glendalough

GLENDALOUGH parish is organising a DVD series-based catechesis called Matthew: The King and His Kingdom at the LJ Goody Bioethics Centre on Saturdays from 5 March to 17 September. The catechesis sees Jeff Cavins - who spent 12 years as a Protestant pastor before

The prelate of the Traditional Anglican Communion, which claims a global membership of over 400,000, is expected to be ordained a Catholic priest with three others, including one from the Torres Strait, to lead the western, eastern, southern and northern regions in Australia.

Japan’s TAC community, led by a retired Anglican Bishop, is expected to decide later this month to join the Australian Ordinariate.

The Festival, which Como parish priest Fr Aloysius Leong told his packed congregation last Sunday is “very important” for the

being received into the Catholic Church - build directly on the foundation laid in his The Great Adventure Bible Timeline

It will held 3.30-5.30pm all Saturdays, 5 March17 September except 23 and 30 April and 16, 23 and 30 July. To book, email Jeff and Jenny Tay at kenosis@iinet.net.au.

New Business

Dean for UNDA

Chris Doepel has been appointed Executive Dean of the University of Notre Dame

Catholic Church, will also be held in Melbourne and Adelaide as an “information sharing session to see what the level of interest might be”.

Melbourne Auxiliary Bishop Peter Elliott, a former Anglican and Delegate for the Holy See for the Australian Ordinariate, will address the Festival in Perth, as will TAC Primate Archbishop John Hepworth of Adelaide.

Lay speakers will also address the Festival on what importance and interest the Ordinariate would hold for ‘cradle Catholics’ and former Anglicans who have already been received into the Catholic Church.

Australia’s national College of Business and Dean of its Fremantle campus’ School of Business. Commencing on 1 February, Mr Doepel has served as Registrar of the National Native Title Tribunal and State Director of the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs.

Mr Doepel is moving from Murdoch University where he has been Dean of the Faculty of Law and Business for the last three years. Prior to this he worked in a number of senior roles within the public sector.

Fr Spitzer, President of Gonzaga University and a highly regarded spiritual teacher and writer, presents a practical yet rich guide for helping busy people develop a regular and deeper prayer life. Based on many successful retreats and seminars he has given over the years, this brilliant Jesuit priest presents five essential means through which the contemplative and active aspects of our lives can be fused together for a stronger spiritual life.

Fr Spitzer says that the contemporary generation, perhaps more than any other, needs to integrate contemplation into its very hyperactive way of life, because contemplation allows God to probe the depths of our hearts and allows us to gain deeper insight into His truth and love. This, in turn, leads ultimately to freedom - the freedom to love in the very imitation of Jesus Christ Himself: “ This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.”

“The publication of Fr Spitzer’s book is a happy coincidence, coming soon after Pope Benedict’s Jesus of Nazareth. Both are strong statements of New Testament spirituality and provide an escape from the ‘bleaching of Christ’s image’, caused by the exclusive use of the historical-critical method. Informed Catholic readers are summoned by this book to take the Christ of the Gospels intelligently and seriously.”

— Fr Benedict J Groeschel, CFR, author of Arise from Darkness

Bunbury raises $83k for Caritas

BY DAVID C HUA

THE Bunbury Diocese contributed $83,651.45 to Caritas Australia’s Project Compassion drive.

The funds have arrived at a critical moment for Caritas, which is currently racing to meet the Millennium Development Goals set by the United Nations, a global action plan to achieve the eight anti-poverty goals by their 2015 target date.

Ray Lowe of Caritas’ Bunbury office said that while people are becoming more aware of the global poverty crisis due to Caritas’ work and the media, “we are five years out from the deadline and many of the goals are still far out of reach.”

He said the 12 January earthquake that devastated Haiti last year also made people more aware of how many people are affected by poverty and global situations.

“I think it’s reassuring that older

churchgoers can see more young people active in the Church. Also, when young people visit schools it reinforces the work that teachers do in schools. It affirms what the teachers say,” he said.

“The young and old have to work hand in hand together.”

He also urged people to volunteer to promote Caritas’ Young ambassador pilot programme in WA, which involves education, fundraising and advocacy. For more information call Caritas 1800 024 473 or visit www.caritas.org.au/globalgifts.

Events around the Archdiocese At a Glance

Holy Trinity Church, Embleton

Tridiuum to Our Lady of Lourdes

Tue – Mass, Novena and procession. Wed – Novena. Thu – Novena and Anointing of the Sick and elderly. Fri – Mass and procession. Social get together, please bring a plate.

Enq: Gordon 9377 4472

When: 7pm, Tuesday, 8 – Friday, 11 February, Holy Trinity Church, 8 Burnett St, Embleton

St Benedict’s, Applecross

Spirituality and The Sunday Gospels

Norma Woodcock’s Teaching Session. Be empowered by the Gospel message each week in a personal way. How can we live meaningful and hope-filled lives? Entry – donation for the Centre for Catholic Spiritual Development and Prayer.

Enq: 9487 1772 or www.normawoodcock.com

When: 7-8pm, Tuesday, 8 February, St Benedict’s School Hall, Alness St, Applecross

Holy Family, Maddington

Marian Retreat

A day of Healing with Mary our Mother led by Vincentian Fathers. BYO lunch. All welcome.

Enq: 9493 1703

When: 9am–5pm, Saturday, 12 February, Holy Family Church, Maddington

St Lawrence, Balcatta

St Padre Pio Day of Prayer

St Padre Pio DVD followed by Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, Rosary, Divine Mercy, Silent Adoration and Benediction. 11am Mass, St Padre Pio Liturgy, Confessions available. Please bring a shared lunch.

Enq: Des 6278 1540

When: Begins 8.30am, Saturday, 12 February, 392 Albert St, Balcatta

Annual Procession in Honour of Our Lady of Lourdes

When: Friday, 11 February, 7pm at Lake Monger. All are asked to assemble at the Dodd St carpark. For those unable to walk, there is an area where you can sit with others and pray together.

Enq: Judy 9446 6837

Brother Stanley Perth visit

Come and share Br Stanley’s powerful testimony on the Divine Mercy and also the story of being pronounced clinically dead and his amazing spiritual encounters with Jesus. 10, 11, 12 February. For venues, check church noticeboards or phone 0413 707 707.

Traditional Anglican Communion Bishop Barry Entwistle at his Church of Ss Ninian and Chad in Maylands. He will be ordained a Catholic priest and should head up the WA region of the Ordinariate for Australia.

PHOTO: ANTHONY BARICH

Special Mass for Australia Day

ARMADALE parish celebrated Australia Day on 26 January with a special Mass.

St Francis Xavier parish priest Fr Kazimierz Stuglik gave a short history of the celebration and commented on the commonly held view that Australia is the lucky country; more specifically, the blessed country.

A parishioner told The Record it was important to begin the cel-

ebrations with Mass to thank God for all they have and to ask Him to keep them all in His care.

The culinary gathering that followed the Mass included a display with iconic Australian pictures, with a PowerPoint presentation with images from around the country.

A family in the parish made a very large cake with the Australian flag iced onto it.

Archbishop backs Sonshine FM

Continued from Page 1 Sonshine used to be housed at a Morley premises, which was “very busy,” and are now across the road from the Collier Park Golf Course.

Mrs Bonanno’s own show Simply Living airs on Fridays from 9am-noon. She recalled one show focusing on Easter traditions.

“My whole show was taken up with Catholic listeners telling how they celebrated Easter. It was very, very encouraging,” she said.

“We have a great number of our audience Catholic – it was so inspiring and positive.”

The station will soon be digital and will do its first simulcast. Volunteers will be able to train as announcers for it.

Sonshine FM reaches north to Moore River and east to Northam and south to Mandurah, and is re-broadcast to Esperance, Katanning, Mukinbudin and Wyalkatchem.

At the moment, the station is looking at going State-wide.

The station no longer uses CDs, as the music is all computerised.

Mrs Bonanno says Sonshine FM is a family radio station, unlike the ABC, and is a positive station, playing modern music as well as middle-of-the-road and Christian music.

“We have Sunday night hymns and more contemporary Christian music,” she said.

“Because we don’t pay for the licence, we are allowed only five minutes of advertising every hour.

“We are pushing for funds all the time.”

It is a 24-hour station, on all day and night.

Mr Muhl does the breakfast

Prayer, fasting urged to protect marriage

BY ANTHONY BARICH

SEVERAL key leaders in the marriage and family movement in Australia have called for a national 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting for Marriage and Family from 1–21 February.

While National Marriage Day, organised by the Australian Family Association and the National Marriage Coalition, is not until 13 August, family breakdown and social dysfunction rife in Australia has given rise to the urgent call for prayer and fasting.

Currently, 40 per cent of marriages end in divorce and increased cohabitation rates, which are prone to even higher levels of dissolution, are leading to higher levels of heartbreak.

There is also growing concern about the current Greens’ proposed same-sex marriage Bill which, if passed, will further weaken marriage and rob children of a mother and a father, the AFA said.

Marriage and family leaders are encouraging churches and individuals to join this urgent call for prayer by initiating special prayer meetings or incorporating the call to prayer into existing activities from Tuesday, 1 February to Monday, 21 February.

National Marriage Day coordinator Mary-Louise Fowler said

in brief...

shift from 7-9am and does celebration calls such as birthdays and anniversaries. Rodney Olsen does the morning show from 9am-noon and has regular guests such as a psychiatrist and a chef.

John Donoghue does the afternoon shift from noon-4pm and Tim Long does the drive shift from 4-7pm. Robyn Lewis fills in for anyone on leave.

Outside broadcasts are organised by Ash Wright who goes out with “a minimum of fuss”.

These have included WYD, the RSPCA, WA Cancer Council, Cystic Fibrosis and the Leukaemia Foundation – “World’s Greatest Shave”.

“We are trying more and more to get out into the community - people who haven’t heard of Sonshine FM Radio learn about it from the outside broadcasts,” Mrs Bonanno said.

“Over 172,000 people listen per week and 282,000 people listen per month.

“A lot of mums like to have us on in their car when taking the kids to school – it is very family friendly.

“We get emails from the US and Europe – all around the world. We move with the times. Radio is so much more with media – Facebook, website, Twitter –keeping up with modern media, and we get a lot of emails.”

Mrs Bonanno told The Record the station supports charities and was raising funds for the Queensland flood victims. Donations are tax deductible.

For donations, log onto www. sonshinefm.ws. Its address is PO Box 474, Como WA 6952, or phone 9313 0800.

the month of prayer and fasting is critical to “preserve the essence of and the pre-eminent place of the wonderful institution of marriage in Australian society”.

Dennis and Ann Outred, coordinators of Marriage Week from 11-17 September, said that while there are many things in Australian society that need urgent attention through prayer and fasting, “marriage between a man and a woman is one of the foundational building blocks of the Church and the nation, and is among the top of the list”.

St Valentine’s Day on 14 February is also a timely reminder of prayer and the power of sacrificial love, she said. “This makes February a good time to pray for marriage. We therefore encourage you to join this call to pray for marriage and family,” she said. Francine Pirola, of the Catholic enrichment programme Celebrate Love, said that prayer is “our greatest unused marital resource” as Christians.

“Please pray with your spouse daily over this 21-day period of prayer. Have a family prayer time as well once a week,” she advised.

“When it comes to fasting, rather than fast the whole time you can always fast one day per week or miss a meal from time to time. The key thing is the attitude of the heart. It’s

Burmese unite to raise $3,000 for flood victims

AN alliance of Burmese communities raised over $3,000 for the Queensland flood victims with a cultural feast at St Joachim’s hall at Victoria Park Catholic parish on 30 January.

The Burmese Australian Community of WA, consisting of the Karen Welfare Organisation, the Tisarana Buddhist Monastery and the Australian Anglo Burmese Society, joined other members of the Burmese community in Perth for the fundraiser. Burmese Australian Community of WA chair Robert Peters told The Record there were between

all about expressing a heart of love for God and each other throughout this time of prayer.”

National Marriage Coalition spokesman Gerard Calilhanna said that “negative spiritual forces are only too happy to see marriages fail and families break down. I believe prayer is the answer”, and noted that Jesus referred to the power of prayer and fasting in Matthew 17:21. “We should not be afraid to follow His example.”

Fatherhood Foundation founder Warwick Marsh said the call to prayer and fasting is particularly urgent as Federal Parliament returns on 8 February, and MPs are expected to decide on the proposed introduction of homosexual marriage by the Greens soon after.

“This is why it is so important to pray over the first 21 days of February. Marriage redefined is marriage destroyed,” he said.

“Please go and see your Federal Parliamentarian if you have not already done so. They are waiting to hear from you.

“This is yet another reason to pray for our parliamentarians and the future of marriage and family in Australia in 2011. We are also pleased to announce that the Australian Prayer Network will be encouraging its members to get behind this call to prayer for marriage and family.”

20,000 and 30,000 Burmese migrants in Perth. The alliance was also set to host another fundraiser for the same cause at the Canning Agriculture Society Hall on 5 February.

Left, Armadale parishioner Akaina Smart in St Francis Xavier Church on Australia Day. Right, Tameika Clinch Smart enoys the festivities. PHOTOS: COURTESY OF ARMADALE PARISH

Servite overhauls Joondanna parish

BY BRIDGET SPINKS

The old carpet has been ripped up and new carpet has been laid down at St Denis’, Joondanna.

The crying room at the back of the church has been converted into a gathering space.

These major structural changes, which occurred in the last six weeks, have happened since the appointment of Fr Peter Porteous OSM to the Servite parish on 22 November last year.

But this physical change is not the only transformation that is taking place.

“It’s indicative of the change that’s occurring in the parish,” Fr Porteous said, referring to a restructuring of parish committees and the council. “St Denis’ was a very well known parish in the 70s and 80s; they had a great youth Mass down here. But it went very quiet in the 90s and it went through some very terrible times.”

Fr Porteous said he is trying to renew the parish. He organised a mailout to 500 families in the area in the first week of January and has introduced a Sunday 10.30am Mass. He said he has noticed a growth in Mass attendance of anything up

to 100 new people and a willingness to get involved in parish life.

“We’re confidently working as a parish to increase the Mass attendance, which currently stands at 250 on a Sunday and we’re hoping to increase it to 400 by the end of the year,” he said.

Under the guidance of the parish priest, parishioners are being encouraged to be more involved in the practical running of the parish under this new structure, he said.

The new structure involves several committees with their own budgets who report to the parish council once a month, he said.

The committees meet once a month, the parish council meets once a month and the priest oversees and guides them all as they participate in the running of the parish, he said.

“The purpose of this structure is to assist committees in networking with other committees,” he said.

The parish council is composed of members who have been elected by their respective committee, appointed members from the school and two appointees by the parish priest.

“The priest is the pastoral and theological guide but this is about empowering the people to build

their own parish and work within the parish,” he said.

The ultimate responsibility for the parish still falls to the priest who represents the Bishop, he said.

“The authority entrusted to the priest by the Bishop is to be in no way diminished under this programme,” he said.

The practical aspects of running the parish such as calling the plumber to fix a leaking tap is left in the hands of the parishioners, he said. “It’s similar to the model operating at North Beach parish,” Fr Porteous said.

People have noticed a change and are coming on board, he said.

“There seems to be a new spirit alive in the place; people are getting actively involved again,” he said.

Prior to his appointment as Joondanna parish priest, Fr Porteous was chaplain at Melbourne’s La Trobe University for two years out of the four he has recently spent in Melbourne. Prior to that he was in the United States for four years as a catechist in the parish and religious education teacher in St Louis.

He said he was looking forward to continuing and building on over 60 years of Servite tradition that started in the parish with Fr Nolan when it was established in 1952.

Changes long overdue after 50 years

SAINT Denis’ Parish in Joondanna has not had any structural changes in 50 years, until now.

In addition to the new carpet that has been laid down and the conversion of the crying area, more changes are set to take place.

Parish priest Fr Peter Porteous said that all the developments that will occur at the parish would take place within the framework of the Roman Catholic Church.

“It’s important that we see ourselves as part of the universal Church and as part of the Church in Perth and that we’re marching in step with the mandates set down by the ACBC,

the Archbishop of Perth and his Assistant Bishop and the holy magisterium in Rome. This is non-negotiable and all developments will occur within this framework, that’s imperative,” Fr Porteous said.

The changes to the gardens and the introduction of a green area beside the sanctuary will take place in accordance with ACBC Earthcare guidelines, he said.

“We’ve got to avoid any form of pagan, new age ecospirituality and are looking to promote a Catholic ecospirituality in accordance with the guidelines set down by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference,” Fr Peter said.

Fr Porteous’ five-year plan

THE Joondanna Parish has devised a five-year plan to renew the environmental, structural and spiritual aspects of the building and the community itself:

● The Greening Committee is planning to remove the three fir trees and replant native trees (such as tuart trees) behind the church and around the side as well as a botanical garden.

In the area between the church and the presbytery, a reflective garden and resting area with exotic species is being planned.

This committee will take care of managing the reticulation, tree removal and planting and are working with Kings Park Authority and Stirling Council on the project.

● There is a plan to use the roof of the church to collect solar energy so as to not draw from the system.

● The iconic gum tree will stay.

● Along the side of the presbytery down to the shed will be paved

but the shed will eventually have to go.

● The bathrooms in the car park will be removed.

● The parish is planning to plant and grow a natural barrier around the car park.

● One committee is looking at organising retreats and workshops to form and educate people in Catholic Earthcare spirituality.

● On the right side of the sanctu-

ary, parish priest Fr Peter Porteous wants to create a living green wall in between the baptismal font and the Paschal candle.

● The Building Committee will look after the development of the Memorial Chapel dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrows. This is a very Servite devotion, Fr Porteous said. As part of this, there will be a wall for the photos of deceased members of the parish.

● The parish is also looking into installing new speakers to enhance the sound of the two parish choirs.

● Out the front of the parish, there are plans to remove the concrete canopy, extend the church entrance out, and add a new ceiling, kitchen and new bathrooms that will have disabled access.

Fr Porteous said they are hoping to start work on that early next year.

● There will be new signage incorporating the Crucifix on this new exterior to the parish.

An icon in St Denis’ Church in Joondanna next to wording taken from Isaiah 43:21.

PHOTOS: BRIDGET SPINKS

Joondanna parish priest Fr Peter Porteous shows The Record some of the work to be done on the parish grounds.

Carnarvon honours its pioneers

Carnarvon celebrates its 75th annivarsary at historic church built by pioneering architect-priest

SAINT Mary Star of the Sea Church in Carnarvon honoured its pioneers as the community celebrated the 75th Anniversary of its construction completion on 13 November.

A Thanksgiving Mass was celebrated by Fr Bronek, remembering all the priests, Sisters, parishioners and many people in Carnarvon and its surrounding pastoral areas who toiled and supported the building and ongoing life of the parish over the 75 years through to today.

The church was designed and worked on by the outstanding architect, Monsignor John Hawes, whose amazing work is evident today in the Cathedral in Geraldton and many churches in the Diocese.

A book researched and written by local author Enga Smith titled No Sermon too hot gives a fascinating insight into the life and times of St Mary Star of the Sea church in Carnarvon.

Much hard work by many people, led by Fr Bronek, has enabled renovation projects to be completed and the church has been painted, with new carpet, a beautiful stained glass window to commemorate the 100 years of the Presentation Sisters in Carnarvon, the electrical system replaced, exquisite new altar cloths, albs and other mainte-

in brief...

UNDA to produce physiologists

PEAK professional body

Exercise and Sport Science

Australia (ESSA) awarded

The University of Notre Dame Australia’s School of Health

nance including a new roof, resulting in a beautifully conserved and enhanced church, parishioners told The Record.

Geraldton Bishop Justin Bianchini was not able to be present but a letter was received from the prelate congratulating all on a beautifully conserved church, reportedly looking the best he has seen it in his 18 years as Bishop, and this is a tribute to the priests and people.

A social get together was held following the Mass for all to reminisce and share memories of all that has taken place through the years.

St Mary’s parish in Carnarvon also had a big end to its year with Tongan priest Fr Silito visiting the parish as he celebrated a sung Mass assisted by Fr Bronek on 2 December in an overflowing church.

Carnarvon has a large Tongan community and when they come together and sing, almost totally unaccompanied, Parish Council Secretary Yvonne Fahl said it is a “very moving and spiritual time for all present. Many parishioners had tears in their eyes with the joy of the Mass, and it was a very beautiful event. A social gathering followed with delightful food and lots of fun and laughter with Fr Silito. The Tongans sang again at the Carols by Candlelight and also at Midnight Mass, and it is very inspiring to listen to the sincerity and joy of their singing.”

in brief... Claremont youth form Circle of Friends

A GROUP of young people at St Thomas the Apostle parish in Claremont has formed a Circle of Friends for human and spiritual formation and fraternity.

The group of youths aged 16 to 25 are “keen to come together once a month to share supper, make music, pray together, help with planning the (Sunday evening) 6.30pm Mass, reach out to other young people and undertake community service,” a recent notice on the parish’s impressive new website http://claremontparish.com.au/ said.

The notice came with an invitation to other parish youth around the same age to join the Circle of Friends, adding that “we look forward to meeting you” at a sausage sizzle after the (Sunday evening) 6.30pm Mass on 30 January “to share what we have in store for the coming year”.

Among the activities the group has planned is to join a St Vincent de Paul Society team undertaking volunteer work in Cambodia in January next year.

Sciences full accreditation for its Bachelor of Exercise and Sport Science and the Graduate Diploma of Exercise Science courses in early January.

Full accreditation for a period of five years will allow UNDA graduates to be automatically registered with ESSA as exercise professionals. The Bachelor degree graduates become registered as Exercise Scientists and those completing the additional Graduate Diploma year will be registered as Accredited Exercise Physiologists.

-12.00pm Mary Mother & Disciple 15th Feb – 22Mar) @ St Catherine’s House of Hospitality 113 Tyler St, Tuart Hill

1.00pm - 3.30pm Following Christ in the Third (15th Feb – 5th Apr)

Fridays: 9.30am -12.00pm Ministry to Those Who Grieve (18th Feb – 8th Apr) Level I Mr Gerry Smith

Wednesday: Lenten Reflection Programme – “Heart to Heart” Sr. Philomena Burrell

Top right, Tongan parishioners sing during the special sung Mass; below right, a Tongan family with Fr Silito at the sung Mass.

Do you, persons, take this person...

One of the logical destinations after the legalisation of same-sex marriage is multi-spousal marriage. This fact has probably not occurred to the Greens although it could eventually register in a Homer Simpson ‘d’oh!’ moment after they realise what they have done, were they to succeed in their efforts. Then again, it might not. The well-intentioned but extremely naive and quite random Greens have never been what could be called the top drawer in the grey matter department in public policy issues to do with the human person, marriage, the family and the welfare of children. The problem of Green naivete comes primarily from viewing every issue through a theoretical prism where environmental considerations take precedence over all others such as the sanctity of human life. Secondly, the Greens display almost no comprehension of the meaning of the word ‘history.’

Where the Greens and the gay lobby have erred is to equate a relationship with marriage. In a very real sense, Australia, having long accepted de facto relationship as the social and legal equal of marriage, has made the case for same-sex marriage appear overwhelmingly logical to many people. Those who lobby for same-sex marriage are perfectly entitled to ask why, if other mere relationships can be accepted as marriage, their relationships cannot. This is the logic of doing away with marriage over half a century or more in Australian life.

But another consequence of further legislating marriage into irrelevance by accepting same-sex marriage is that it follows entirely logically that if one accepts the idea that any two individuals can be married or, at least, any two individuals currently engaged in a socially acceptable relationship, then there is no reason why one should not accept the idea that any three or more individuals can be married as well.

THE RECORD

PO Box 3075

Adelaide Terrace PERTH WA 6832

office@therecord.com.au

Tel: (08) 9220 5900

Fax: (08) 9325 4580

The possibilities are almost endless and, eventually, some are sinister. Those campaigning for legalised bigamous marriage would also be perfectly logical and consistent in arguing the contradiction inherent in legalising gay marriage while continuing to keep practices such as bigamy illegal. There could be little doubt that, should same-sex marriage ever be legalised, arguments for legalised bigamy would eventually have to be heard in the High Court of Australia with the probability increasing that majority opinion would find tolerance of bigamy implied in the Australian Constitution and therefore legal. It would be ironic, to say the least, if Green naivete and homosexual lobby groups win a victory for one branch of the Mormon faith bigger in Australia than it ever imagined possible. To demand acceptance of gay marriage is also, one day, to demand acceptance of bigamy.

There is another question which no-one has as yet answered and which proponents of gay and bigamous marriage have as yet not openly discussed: what constitutes a socially acceptable relationship? The logic of same-sex marriage is, of necessity, that any socially acceptable relationship can be legally treated as a marriage especially, but not necessarily, if the relationship includes a sexual dimension. There are numerous permutations and combinations of sexual relationships which suddenly become eligible as ‘marriage’ if one dispenses with the principle that marriage can only be between a man and a woman. This is the point about bigamy. But as social values continue to degrade and the definitions of what constitutes a socially acceptable relationship expand, there is no end in sight as to what might come to be called a marriage. The possibilities are chilling and in some directions are to do with the young, for the young are the most defenceless and unempowered against ongoing attempts to progressively lower such things as age of consent or increasingly widening definitions of what constitutes marriage.

One sign of hope is that as people begin to think more analytically beyond the concept of same-sex marriage as an exercise in tolerance and to consider both its logical and increasingly bizarre implications, more and more of its inherent contradictions and intrinsic lack of meaning become apparent.

The push for same-sex marriage in Australia at this moment comes because of the nexus between two key factors. Firstly, there is the decades-long social decline in the understanding of what marriage is and an accompanying decline in its practice. Secondly, there is an historically weak Labor Government clinging to power, susceptible to ideological penetration and manipulation by the Greens and the media. While neither the Liberal nor Labor parties have distinguished themselves as pro-family parties in recent decades, both are still susceptible to explicit warnings that any support for same-sex marriage will lose them desperately needed votes at the next Federal election. Family lobby groups within Australia should be quite explicit to the point of bluntness in their lobbying of political parties and individuals as to the consequences of legislating marriage into irrelevance to society and children.

The current push for same-sex marriage also indicates a need for a new political force or way, neither of the right or left, but which is focused on the family as the most fundamental unit of society. Currently, there is no convincing political force which truly represents the needs of families. The debate over same-sex marriage is therefore a moment of opportunity for those who understand the importance of real marriage and the family to begin the desperately-needed work of establishing a social and political force that is devoted to protecting and promoting the rights and stability of marriage and the family. Inevitably, the nation’s media will attack such an initiative. Christians and others are perfectly entitled to give public expression to their faith in the political sphere and have been too intimidated and absent from it for decades. Politics can be a noble service but politicians also understand the basic maths of their actions. If necessary, they need to be re-taught the lesson.

Letters to the editor

Asylum seekers

Fr Sean Fernandez has a right to voice his opinions on the rights of asylum seekers (The Record, 19 January), but I disagreed with the way he made light of our borders and the right to defence against invasion in whatever form it may take.

Using certain Vatican pronouncements on human rights, Gaudium et Spes , he concludes about the refugees, “If they cannot meet these essential needs in their homeland they have a right to go where they can.”

I disagree. The Treaty Convention for Refugees specifically covers actual persecution, not economic need.

Fr Fernandez uses the parable of the Levite crossing the road to avoid the sight of a robbed and beaten traveller needing help, thus putting unresponsive Australians in the sandals of the Levite who doesn’t want to know or trouble himself.

But I beg to differ that this fits

the case of the said unfortunate traveller because obviously the subject was not responsible in any way for his condition. Was it not an unforeseen criminal attack?

Whilst complimenting Patricia Halligan on her comments the following week, I think she has bypassed the crux of the issue which is the use of a Vatican document, Gaudium et Spes, to claim that if asylum seekers ‘cannot meet these essential needs in their homeland then they have the right to go where they can’.

Christ’s words, ‘Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God, the things that are God’s’ recognise that the public sphere has to be balanced against idealistic altruism.

And if their philosophical mindset and culture was such as to lead to despotism and confusion in their homeland, might not their addition here in overpowering masses lead to disaster. Hence, human rights charters are all very well irrespective of Vatican origin or not but the old adage holds: ‘Circumstances alter cases.’

Finally, it is worth considering that the Vatican State has its own boundary policed - try trespassing there and see how you get on with those quaintly uniformed but robust pike-wielding Swiss Guards.

David Abbott Scarborough

Priest’s petrol tank

In the course of your article of

12 January Pope gives $450k to flood victims, there is a passing reference to the parish priest

of Theodore, a Queensland town submerged by floodwaters.

It says he travels 600km each Sunday to celebrate Mass in three towns.

One would hope this is a misprint – 600km.

How long can a parish priest last having to endure such an ordeal Sunday by Sunday? Presumably he has to travel at the speed limit to cover the distance; and then hope to have the composure to say Mass and be pastorally involved once he arrives to each church.

As well as our prayers, he deserves a medal for his perseverance and dedication.

Anthony Bolt

Shenton Park

Flood dollars in the plate

Irecently took up a ‘special’ collection in my local parish church in aid of the flood victims in Queensland. I was amazed by the generosity of so many who dug deep and put large denomination notes on the collection plate.

To me, this says a lot about the compassion and generosity of so many Catholics and echoes a response from Jesus when he asked: “when did we see you cold and hungry … homeless and without shelter?”

Truly, this was a Gospel response and confirms in me that our faith is very much alive. I felt so honoured to be part of this Catholic faith community.

Anonymous collector

Dawesville to the rescue

A COUPLE who lost everything in the Lake Clifton bushfires in early January have been boosted by $1,600 that was raised by the Dawesville parish community.

Glenys and Ken Barker were also assisted by various parishioners and the St Vincent de Paul Society since they lost their home, property and possessions, according to the parish bulletin.

The couple are now planning to purchase a house in the Dawesville area until “such a time as we believe we can make an objective decision concerning our Lake Clifton property”, they said in

the 23 January parish bulletin. “We will always treasure the outpouring of love and friendship which we have received from this parish community,” they said.

Nine homes and a granny flat were destroyed along with numerous sheds, vehicles and livestock in the bushfire which started on 10 January.

The Dawesville parish of St Damien - named after the missionary ‘leper priest’ of Molokai who was canonised in October 2009 - was opened and dedicated by Bunbury Bishop Gerard Holohan on 23 January, with a packed congregation attending.

Missionary families build up Baldivis parish

Continued from Page 1 international mission families or missio ad gentes that are already living in the area. These families are part of the Neocatechumenal Way and were sent to live in the Baldivis area 12 months ago to evangelise by their presence, imitating what the late Pope John Paul II in 1985 called the “very first apostolic model” and meet in the midst of people who are mostly not baptised.

Two of these families have seven children and another have nearly six and Fr Daniel Chama and Perth Auxiliary Bishop Donald Sproxton work with them, Fr Aldous said. Fr Aldous also told The Record that they would have different ways of mission but that he and Fr Daniel Chama would work alongside each other and together.

across the Life line

Abby Johnson’s amazing journey and new book

BY ARWEN MOSHER

Abby Johnson’s introduction to her new book, unPlanned, is just two pages. I knew after one page that the book was going to be unique.

Of course, Johnson’s story is an unusual one. She’s a former Planned Parenthood clinic director who walked out of her job and joined the Coalition for Life across the street. She now does sidewalk counselling at the very clinic she used to run.

I bought Johnson’s book because I was drawn to her unusual life story. But it could have been a very different sort of book, just another set of arguments for why the pro-life position is correct. I could have read it and learned nothing.

Instead, the book - which I found so compelling that I finished its 259 pages in a mere four hours - is something very special. I think it has the potential to be a strong humanising force in the debate about abortion.

From the introduction:

“To this day, I have friends on both sides of this polarising debate. We all long for a story that shows that ‘our’ side is right and good, and ‘their’ side is wrong and bad, don’t we? But I testify that there is good and right and wrong on both sides of the fence. And even more shocking - we have far more in common with the ‘other’ side than we might imagine.

“But don’t slam this book shut because of what I’ve just said. Read it for that very reason. Read it to understand the surprising hopes and motivations on the ‘other’ side. I was loved from one side onto the other. My hope is that many more thousands will be loved into truth as well. Maybe you will be the one loving someone on the other side of the fence.”

In the book, Ms Johnson tells her story

from the beginning of her involvement with Planned Parenthood when she was a college student recruited to volunteer. She gives her history mostly chronologically, with honest insight into her motivations. She shares her grief over the part she played in Planned Parenthood’s victimisation of unborn babies and their mothers. She makes no attempt to defend her actions.

But nevertheless, as I read, I found myself identifying with her. Although I’ve never been in her position, I could understand how a person with good intentions might end up in Johnson’s situation. I pictured myself in her shoes, and as I read I found myself recognising that only the grace of God has saved me from going down a similar road myself.

unPlanned is the story of that grace in Abby Johnson’s life. It’s the story of how He knocked at the door of her heart until she found the truth, and of all the beauty and freedom that truth has brought her. It’s not always easy to read - in fact, some parts are quite painful - but it’s worth it.

This is what I found most remarkable about the book: by the end of it, I was more committed than ever to the pro-life cause of saving mothers and babies from abortion. Johnson never wavers from telling the truth about the reality of abortion and its evils. But at the same time, I did come to feelas she promised in the introduction - more understanding of those on the “other” side. It’s natural to argue with those with whom we disagree, but it is so much more beautiful and effective to “love them into truth.”

I feel certain that unPlanned will help prolifers do that. Praise God for Abby Johnson, and praise God for her book!

 FAITH AND FAMILY

unPLANNED is in stock and available now from The Record Bookshop

Contact Bibiana on (08) 9220 5900 or see advertisement in this edition for further details.

US Catholic hospitals and Bishops: trust, but verify

Could the recent highprofile dispute in Arizona between a Bishop and a Catholic hospital be just the tip of the iceberg? Bishops and public-policy experts weigh in on what can be done about a silent and growing problem

BY JOAN FRAWLEY DESMOND

Awash in red ink, US Catholic hospitals are navigating a daunting healthcare environment roiled by the 2010 healthcare reform legislation and other potential threats to their religious mission and ethical practices.

The shifting scene has further complicated the relationship between Catholic healthcare institutions and the Bishops charged with securing their adherence to the moral teachings of the Church, as outlined in the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Ethical and Religious Directives (ERDs). Critics and whistleblowers previously raised concerns about routine sterilisations, contraceptive services and even abortions at some hospitals.

But in the wake of the explosive dispute between Phoenix Bishop Thomas Olmsted

and the administration of St Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Centre in Phoenix, many are calling for stronger action to secure adherence to the ERDs.

that Catholic healthcare ministries should take their cue from the Federal government’s aggressive anti-fraud regulations applying to that country’s healthcare system.

“It isn’t enough for US hospitals to say, ‘We don’t commit fraud.’ Federal regulations require them to identify areas where abuse might take place and develop an action plan to prevent it,” Brehany noted. “Why not take the same approach to ensure the Catholic identity of our hospitals?”

Paul Danello, a canon lawyer who has worked in the healthcare field for over three decades, says he has prodded the National Catholic Bioethics Centre, which advises the Bishops on a range of issues, to advocate a hard-nosed approach to weeding out abuse.

“The time is long past for Catholic health systems to create a mechanism that will demonstrate their compliance with the ERDs and help avoid non-compliance,” said Danello.

Catholic healthcare networks navigate a complex minefield: They answer to Church authorities but also operate in a politicised environment that can misrepresent the Church’s countercultural practices as antiwoman, or even anti-life.

Bishop Olmsted alluded to the danger of Catholic healthcare networks relying on the judgements of theologians who may agree with them — and not recognising their Bishop’s moral authority in the matter. In a 22 November letter sent last year to Lloyd Dean, president of Catholic Healthcare West, the parent company of St Joseph’s Hospital, Please turn to Page???

John Brehany, executive director of the US Catholic Medical Association which defended the conscience rights of physicians in the recent healthcare overhaul debate, contends

Mercy Sister Margaret Mary McBride, the former vice president of mission integration at St Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Clinic in Phoenix, is pictured in a 2008 photo. According to Phoenix Bishop Thomas J Olmsted, the nun was “automatically excommunicated” because she concurred in an ethics committee decision to abort the child of a gravely ill woman at the hospital in 2009.

PHOTO: CNS/J.D. LONGGARCIA, THE CATHOLIC SUN

Witnesses to sp

Perth’s Franciscan Polish priests were there when Com

The role Pope John Paul II had in changing the social and religious fabric of his homeland makes his 1 May beatification a seismic event for Perth’s Polish community, writes

Anthony Barich

As Pope John Paul II fortified Poland’s Catholics who were being imprisoned, beaten and killed by Communist forces in the decades following World War II, Perth’s four Polish Franciscan priests were right in the thick of it.

Franciscan Fr Tomasz Bujakowski, chaplain to Perth’s Polish Catholics, remembers it well. He and fellow Franciscan Frs Maciej Kaczmarczyk, Stanislaw Tomasiak and Piotr Rzucidlo, are all priests because of the influence of the late Polish Pontiff.

Fr Boleslad Smok OFM, who met John Paul II at a Eucharistic Congress in Melbourne in 1973, founded their Maylands base on Eighth Avenue, and in September 2009 they were given care of the Maylands parish one street over, on Seventh Avenue.

The four Franciscans told The Record that the elevation of Karol Wojtyla to the papacy, as John Paul II in 1978, marked the beginning of the end for Communism in Poland and throughout Europe, with the new Pope using the pulpit to instigate change.

In what was only his second apostolic voyage as Pope, John Paul II returned to his Polish homeland in 1979 to rally the faithful, many of whom are now in Perth waiting for him to be beatified on 1 May. It could be argued that the strength of their Catholic faith can be attributed to him.

“Before John Paul II, the Communist government never let anything the Pope said get in the media in Poland, but once the Polish Pope was elected, they could not stop it,” Fr

Stanislaw said. “Every move he made, every pronouncement he made was newsworthy because he was Polish. We came to know the universal Church through our access to John Paul II.”

Catholic schools – few though they were –became more popular as John Paul II’s public opposition to Communism suited teenagers’ rebellious spirit to ‘fight the system’.

In conscripting young boys, the Communists targeted seminarians, setting them apart in special groups and trying to force them to get married; force-feeding their minds with evil like pornography to make them abandon their priestly vocation.

Fr Maciej, who served during liturgies celebrated by Karol Wojtyła as Bishop and Cardinal in the main church in Krakow, was in one such unit.

“It was always a struggle opening new churches and parishes outside Krakow; Catholics were constantly fighting with Communist authorities to build up the Church. But Karol always helped us. We always had his support,” Fr Maciej said.

Fr Piotre remembers watching John Paul II on the black and white television, where the Pope’s white vestments stood out. He wanted to look and be like him, so joined the Franciscans as a missionary.

As Franciscan missionaries wear white habits instead of their traditional brown, Fr Piotre had part of his life-long dream fulfilled. He went on to found what is believed to be the world’s first church named after John Paul II when working as a missionary in Papua New Guinea in 2007.

The gravity of the late Pope’s role in the changes in both the social and religious fabric of Poland, and the depth of feeling towards him in their hearts will be reflected in the special Mass at Our Lady Queen of Poland in Maylands on 1 May.

The event coincides with the celebration, on the first Sunday of May, of Poland’s 1791 Constitution - which guaranteed the same rights to free speech and religion that the Communists ruthlessly crushed for three dec-

People attend Mass at the shipyard workers’ monument in front of the shipyard in Gdansk, Poland on Solidarity union was formed, a step that helped lead to the eventual collapse of Communism. On 4 Ju free parliamentary elections that signalled the end of Communist rule.

ades after World War II. It is widely regarded as Europe’s first and the world’s second modern codified national constitution, having been adopted on 3 May 1791, following the 1788 ratification of the United States Constitution. This date, 3 May, is also the feast of Our Lady Queen of Poland, when Polish Australians

venerate Mary with the Black Madonna of Częstochowa which sits in pride of place in the Maylands church.

There are about 10,000 Polish surnames throughout Perth, said Fr Tomasz, and while barely half those people are likely to speak the language, the community’s ‘blessing of the bas-

Youth steeped in Pope’s Philosophy of D

BY ANTHONY BARICH

OVER 200 Perth Polish Catholic youth are continuing Pope John Paul II’s ‘philosophy of drama’ with a large-scale production that teaches them the deeper things of life.

John Paul II was heavily involved in drama while studying Philology at Krakow’s Jagiellonian University, working as a playwright and he wrote a three-act play in 1960 called The Jeweller’s Shop: A Meditation on the Sacrament of Matrimony, Passing on Occasion into a Drama, about three couples whose lives become intertwined and mingled with one another.

Though the Nazis closed drama classes at the university in 1939, the future Pope learned literary studies, history and linguistics there – all things which Polish Catholic youth now learn in one way or another through an annual large-scale production founded by Franciscan Fr Tomasz Bujakowski as part of his pastoral outreach to youth.

The productions, which started in 1998, were originally in Polish; they started performing in English as well in 2008.

“The theatre is one of the oldest institutions in the world,” Fr Tomasz said.

“However, what interests me the most is the evolution of theatre and

its impact on human mentality and behaviour.”

The Perth-based priest studied John Paul II’s books of philosophy in the seminary back in Poland and his teachers were heavily influenced by the late Pontiff’s writings on philosophy.

“In some of the most impossible life situations, theatre was embraced and actively upheld, at times even in secret underground societies where performers risked being held in concentration camps or deported as a result of living out their passion.”

John Paul II faced exactly such a situation at the Jagiellonian University.

Fr Tomasz founded Scena 98 to give youth an outlet and help connect them with their heritage, as many had lost touch with their Polish language.

He also takes the youth and their families on retreats.

“While many of the youth were born in Australia, they are from Polish families.

“Still, this project helps reconnect them with the literature, knowl-

edge and history of their culture,” Fr Tomasz told The Record. As an example of the power of theatre, Fr Tomasz said his Order’s founder, St Francis of Assisi, initiated a nativity play in the 13th century which has influenced both the Christian and broader communities.

The Australian ritual of ‘Carols by Candlelight’ also dates back to these original nativity plays.

“In this context, amateur theatre appears to enrich everyday life, by adding elements of performance and literature, and a sense of belonging to

a social group,” Fr Tomasz said. “Theatre is a living organism, inspired by everyday events, social gatherings, gruelling rehearsals and finally those long-awaited premieres.”

He said that, as a “Christian personality” and philosopher, John Paul II and his writings were “important for Polish philosophy” and thinking, and were in some ways inspired by his theatre work, where he developed a ‘philosophy of drama’.

The Scena 98 programme, Father said, teaches participants philosophy through drama, “a continuation” of

Scenes from productions performed by Polish Catholic youth - including the Oolish play Balladyna by Juliusz Slowacki inspired by Shakespeare’s Midsummer night’s drea Bujakowski OFM’s pastoral outreach to young people.

piritual warfare

munists tried to destroy the Church after World War II

kets’ Easter Saturday event draws over 2,000. They also draw up to 700 each Sunday to Our Lady Queen of Poland Church in Maylands and at St Brigid’s in Northbridge.

The Polish clubs at Beechboro and Bellevue are also well attended, while Poles also gather at Mass centres in Greenmount, run by the

Salvatorian priests, and at St Patrick’s Basilica in Fremantle.

Our Lady of Poland Church, Maylands is home to a bust of John Paul II sculpted by Gerry Darwin who produced the threedimensional Stations of the Cross in St Mary’s Cathedral. It is regularly decorated with fresh flowers which, Fr Tomasz said, reflects how well-loved the late Pope is.

For Perth’s Polish Catholics and for those the world over, it was only a matter of time before Pope Benedict XVI officially elevated him to the altar to be venerated as a saint.

Perth’s four Polish Franciscans witnessed the methodical way John Paul dismantled Communism in their country before it collapsed around Europe.

In 1981, the Military Council for National Salvation had imposed Martial Law (literally “The State of War” or stan wojenny) as a desperate act to end the Solidarity movement, which was backed by the Catholic Church and notably by John Paul himself.

For the Communist government, things had gotten out of hand since John Paul II uttered words during a Mass in Warsaw’s Victory Square on 2 June 1979 that motivated the

faithful to change the country’s history: “Let the Holy Spirit renew this land,” the late Pope said, then, breaking from his prepared speech, he emphatically repeated the words “this land”.

Fr Tomasz said the Pope’s words were very meaningful for the Polish citizens – the vast majority of whom were Catholics - who understood them as an encouragement toward democratic change.

“We were sick of all the years of demonstrations, of being killed and arrested,” Fr Tomasz said. “John Paul’s speech encouraged us to believe that we could do something.”

The response to this speech, he said, was the Solidarity movement that started in June 1980.

This movement received international attention when Solidarity activist Fr Jerzy Popieluszko was beaten to death by Communist police agents in 1984 and his body dumped in the Vistula River.

The late priest moved a step closer to sainthood in June 2010.

“Fr Jerzy made the headlines because his sainthood cause is up, but he was not the only priest who was murdered; not by a long shot,” Fr Stanislaw told The Record.

That 1979 rally was also a landmark event, Fr

Tomasz said, as it was the first time Catholics had been allowed to gather in public without restriction.

In 1956, police fired into a crowd of 100,000, killing at least 50 people during the infamous Poznań protests over better working conditions.

A major uprising in Warsaw in 1968 saw thousands of students protest, and many were battered by police clubs and arrested.

Police again clashed with thousands of people during strikes in 1970 as people protested over plans to increase the prices of basic goods.

Fr Maciej was arrested walking through the streets where the protests were taking place, though he was just walking back to the seminary and was not involved.

John Paul II personally backed the Solidarity movement, but had instructed priests and seminarians who were involved never to admit their guilt, only to speak of their constitutional right to free speech, and to keep appealing through the courts if found guilty.

When the Pope visited his homeland again in 1983, Poland’s people were still in the grips of Marshall Law.

His speech on 23 June that year has been credited by some as “the moment the system collapsed”.

Fr Tomasz remembers it like it was yesterday. “I had walked all night on foot to meet him – seeing him on television was not enough,” Fr Tomasz said. “Personal contact – even if it was a kilometre away in the same venue – was everything for me.”

Firmly but diplomatically, John Paul spoke of the essence of truth, love for one’s brother and the need for freedom in every sense of the word as man’s highest value.

He also spoke of freedom being impossible without “solidarity.”

Poland’s people understood this last word unequivocally as code for the movement.

“Some people criticised John Paul II, saying he was not strong enough on Communism. They wanted him to urge people to start a revolution, but he wanted it done peacefully,” Fr Tomasz said.

Drama Franciscan opens First John Paul II church

John Paul II’s philosophy of drama. His programme also provides a springboard for youth to study at the School of Polish Language and Culture at the Catholic University of Lublin, which runs Australian summer classes in January and February.

Out of 40 from around Australia who have participated in the Lublin university’s summer programme over the past eight years, 10 young people from Scena 98 have won places in it.

Two of Fr Tomasz’ students won a spot through a video they made of the Scena 98 programme.

BY ANTHONY BARICH

PERTH’S Polish Catholic community contributed over $5,000 to build what may well be the world’s first church named after Pope John Paul II.

Franciscan missionary Fr Piotre Rzucidlo, who spent 10 years in Papua New Guinea, raised $30,000 from Poland and $5,000 from Polish Catholics in Maylands to build the church in Ymut, Papua New Guinea. The church was opened and dedicated to John Paul II in 2007 by Aitape Bishop Austen Crapp OFM, who headed a team of 124 mission

workers: priests, Brothers, Sisters and lay volunteers. The Bishop, who grew up in NSW, is now retired to a parish in Townsville.

Fr Piotre spent a year building the church with locals in a remote village in high grass that has no road access.

He sourced building materials first from Lae, PNG’s industrial centre, transporting it by boat to Wewak, the capital of PNG’s East Sepik province; then by truck to Nuku, the main local station, then by four-wheel drive to the Ymut village.

Ymut is only accessible with thorough preparation – first beat

a path through the kunai, or high grass, that surrounds the village, and traverse a river with no bridge on the way from Nuku. This entails hauling a four-wheel drive across the water using ropes and other materials with brute manpower. It was all worth it, Fr Piotre said, and the locals willingly helped out, as they also have a special love and pride for John Paul II, the ‘pilgrim Pope’. He visited the country once as Cardinal and twice as Pope – the last time in 2005 to beatify the country’s first saint. Catechist Peter to Rot, the World Youth Day

“The Papua New Guineans were very enthusiastic about the project. They knew John Paul II very well and were very proud of him, as he had beatified their first saint. He was very enthusiastic about them and they welcomed him very warmly,” Fr Piotre said. Churches in the area are not just for worship, they also serve the dual purpose as meeting rooms and schools.

The local parish of Nuku-WatiYmut has up to 4,000 Catholics, cared for by Franciscan Friars.

n 4 June 2009. The shipyard was where, in 1980, the une, Poland marked the 20th anniversary of the first

PHOTO: CNS/PETER ANDREWS, REUTERS

Frs Maciej Kaczmarczyk, Tomasz Bujakowski, Piotr Rzucinlo and Stanislaw Tomasiak OFM with a bust of John Paul II, who inspired them to the priesthood.

PHOTO: ANTHONY BARICH

am and Lady Macbeth - as part of Fr Tomasz

PHOTOS: ANIA NIEDZWIADEK

Sydney 2008 patron, was martyred by lethal injection by the Japanese army in 1945.

Franciscan missionary Fr Piotre Rzucidlo, with blue hat, with Aitape locals in ceremonial dress, when the John Paul II church was opened, pictured on the hill in photo to the right, with Franciscan Krakow Provincial Fr Nikodem Gdyk, with brown hat.

PHOTOS: COURTESY OF FR PIOTRE RZUCIDLO

Tide turns for US pro-lifers

BY JULIE ASHER Catholic News Service

WASHINGTON - House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia said that after being out of power on Capitol Hill for the past couple of years, pro-life supporters in Congress and across the nation have been re-energised since last November’s elections brought in “the biggest pro-life freshman class in memory.”

“The tide has turned,” Cantor said in remarks at the March for Life rally on the National Mall on 24 January to mark the 38th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Roe v Wade decision legalising abortion.

The official anniversary date was 22 January, but the March for Life was organised for the following Monday to allow participants to visit their representatives on the Hill after a noon rally and a march along Constitution Avenue to the Supreme Court.

More than 40,000 people attended the event.

Members of the House pledge to institute a government-wide ban on the use of Federal funds for abortion, said Cantor.

He acknowledged that any prolife legislation will face an uphill battle in the Senate and with President Barack Obama, a supporter of keeping abortion legal, but “the people’s House will stand unapologetically for life.”

Nellie Gray, founder and president of the March for Life Education & Defence Fund that organised the march, said there have been incremental steps in the past 38 years to try to address the fallout of what she called the “unconstitutional” court decision but nothing short of overturning Roe is acceptable.

She said pro-life supporters had come to Washington to bring their message to Obama “with love, and we’re willing to work with you ... as the president of all the people, including the preborn.”

She expressed disappointment with the statement the president issued on 22 January, in which he noted the anniversary of Roe, “the Supreme Court decision that protects women’s health and reproductive freedom, and affirms a fundamental principle: that government should not intrude on private family matters.

“I am committed to protecting this constitutional right.”

Religious and civic leaders demonstrated their continued opposition to abortion across the US with rallies, Masses and other public events marking the anniversary of US Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v Wade decision.

At a 24 January rally in Trenton, New Jersey, organised by New

Jersey Right to Life, New Jersey Gov Chris Christie shared his own prolife conversion story: when he first heard the heartbeat of his daughter while she was still in the womb 15 years ago.

“It was at that moment that it became clear to me that being on the sidelines on this issue was not something that I could live with, and that I needed to speak out in favour of the very simple idea that that child is a life which deserves protection,” Christie said.

“What we need to do each and every day is to live our lives in a way that encourages everyone to understand why this cause is so important, to show that we respect the life of every human being and that every human being is one of God’s creatures and deserves the love and respect that God gives to all of us,” he added.

● At bus shelters throughout the Washington area, the Catholic Church is sending a message to women and men whose lives have been affected by abortion: “Come back to God, who is love and mercy.”

The 10-week campaign at 79 shelters in the District of Columbia and the surrounding Maryland and Virginia counties opened in late January as tens of thousands of people gathered in Washington to mark the 38th anniversary of Roe v Wade

The campaign marks the first time that Project Rachel ads were running in Spanish at Washington bus shelters and the first time that one of the ads was aimed at men affected by abortion, said Deirdre McQuade, assistant director for policy and communications at the US Bishops’ Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities, which is funding the $200,000 campaign.

Each ad depicts a person with a thought such as “God will never forgive me,” “I feel so worthless” or “I failed as a father,” followed by a response such as “God’s greatest desire is to forgive,” “You are precious to God” or “Do not despair. All is not lost,” followed by the tagline, “Come back to God, who is love and mercy.” The campaign is “inviting people to the heart of the Church, which is God’s love and mercy,” McQuade said.

The ads direct people to a website, http://hopeafterabortion. org, where they can find resources about the psychological, emotional and spiritual aftermath of abortion, information on what to say to a friend who has had an abortion and a message board where those affected by abortion can share their stories.

The site also features an interactive map to help people locate a Project Rachel programme in their area.

Today’s women ‘hungry’ for truth about abortion

BY JULIE ASHER Catholic News Service

WASHINGTON - Laura Strietmann, the director of a Cincinnati crisis pregnancy centre, calls abortion “the issue that is shaping our country,” and said the challenge for pro-lifers is to get everyone “to respect life again.”

In her work, she hears the stories of women’s pain and sees pregnant women in need who “are hungry for the truth about abortion,” she said. “When they come in the door, we need to love them and tell them the truth,” that abortion is taking a life, she added.

Strietmann, a member of St Rose Parish in Cincinnati who is enrolled in a lay pastoral programme at the Archdiocesan seminary, believes no woman really wants to have an abortion but feels she has no other choice.

She spoke to Catholic News Service as she headed toward the March for Life rally site on the National Mall, where thousands of pro-lifers were gathering to mark the 38th year since the US Supreme Court handed down Roe v Wade legalising abortion. Bundled up against the cold, with the temperature hovering in the mid-20s, people streamed toward the rally site from various points, carrying all manner of signs, many of them homemade.

Among the messages were: “Choose life: Your mother did,” “Unborn babies feel pain,” “Face it: Abortion kills a person,” “I regret lost fatherhood” and “Defund Planned Parenthood.”

“Abortion - a neat, quick easy way out for men,” read another. One couple waiting for the rally to begin held identical signs that read: “To the mother of our 4 adopted children: Thank you for their lives.”

Early in the morning, on the other side of the Capitol, volunteers in the parish hall at St Peter’s on Capitol Hill began their day at 4am, preparing a warm welcome for pro-life marchers who came by bus overnight.

By day’s end they expected to have handed out 175 dozen doughnuts, served gallons of hot coffee and hot water for tea and hot chocolate, and given out numerous small containers of juice. Chartered buses started arriving around 4.30am. Prolifers came in waves throughout the morning and then headed down to the Mall. St Peter’s also offered four Masses before noon.

Why do it? “Because the parish is always pro-life” and shows solidarity with the marchers, said volunteer Dr Anthony Martinez, a physician who just returned from a volunteer medical mission to Haiti. He said he has seen the enthusiasm for the pro-life

cause build “like a crescendo” over the years, especially among young people. But laws on abortion won’t turn around “until the powers that be, the leaders of this country make logical decisions,” Martinez said, adding, “I believe in my heart it (Roe) will be overturned. And prayer is the key.” Just like when he was a child, he recalled, and Catholics prayed “for the conversion of Russia. It happened.”

“It’s a full expression of our faith,” said coordinator Suzanne O’Connor about the parish’s support for the pro-life marchers. She said the parish has provided hospitality since the first anniversary of Roe.

But, she noted, it doesn’t happen without dozens of volunteers working throughout the day and helping with preparations in the days before.

Hours before March for Life participants arrived at the Supreme Court after the rally on the Mall, a woman walked back and forth in front of the court with her sign: “Choose Life: End the Death Penalty.” She declined to give her name to CNS but said she was a Catholic from Maryland who spends each Monday morning in front of the court as her way to draw attention to the issue.

“All life is sacred,” she said, and the death penalty “harms us all.”

Guttmacher Institute

March for Life participants make their way up Constitution Avenue to the Supreme Court building in Washington on 24 January. The demonstration marks the 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalised abortion across the US.

PHOTO: CNS/PETER LOCKLEY

Maria Thompson of the 40 Days for Life campaign, centre, with her daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren outside a Planned Parenthood office during the campaign.

PHOTO: CNS/LISA A JOHNSTON, ST LOUIS REVIEW

A man plays with a child during the Walk for Life West Coast in San Francisco on 22 January. PHOTO: CNS/ JOSE LUIS AGUIRRE, CATHOLIC SAN FRANCISCO

Young people chant and cheer before the annual March for Life rally in Washington on 24 January.

AIDS bares ‘poverty of moral thinking’

Wide chasm between West’s idea of AIDS and the reality in Africa: Archbishop

BY BRONWEN DACHS Catholic News Service

CAPE TOWN, South AfricaNoting that AIDS is a primarily African problem, the president of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference criticised the “poverty of moral thinking in Africa” and dependency on “American-European thinking” in developing solutions to a growing epidemic of the disease.

AIDS “is a disease Africa shares with gay people in Europe and North America,” Archbishop Buti Tlhagale of Johannesburg told his fellow Bishops on 25 January at the start of a nine-day plenary meeting in Pretoria.

“When Europe thinks about moral issues around HIV and AIDS, they think of gay people. In Africa, we think about millions of ordinary men, women and youth,” he said.

UNAIDS, the joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, estimated that about 5.6 million South Africans had HIV or AIDS in 2009. Sub-Saharan Africa remains the region of the world most heavily affected by HIV worldwide, accounting for 67 per cent of all

Archbishop Buti Tlhagale

people living with the disease and for about 72 per cent of AIDSrelated deaths in 2009, according to the United Nations.

“It is high time we challenged our moral theologians to assess the moral challenges of HIV and AIDS,” Archbishop Tlhagale said.

He called upon the Bishops’ conference to “invest in the training of moral theologians in a more systematic fashion.”

“Cynics would say, ‘What more is there to think about? We have the Ten Commandments’,” he said.

“We have a duty not to allow the imaginative genius of the human spirit to stagnate or die.”

Archbishop Tlhagale also spoke of the need for morality in order

‘Chaste lovers and holy role models’

THE Episcopal Commission for Doctrine of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops has issued a pastoral letter to young people on chastity.

“Living chastity is no easy business in the sex-saturated world of contemporary Western culture,” the letter states.

“It’s impossible to walk through a shopping mall, turn on a computer or television, glance at an advertisement or browse through a bookstore without being bombarded by sexual imagery of every kind.

Pornography has never been more widespread, reaching almost epidemic proportions.

It denigrates authentic sexual expression and encourages masturbation, sexual intimacy outside marriage and the separation

to build compassionate human communities.“Government can only do so much,” he said.

The Archbishop challenged Southern African Church leaders “to invest resources and time” to address the development of a moral society.

of the life-giving and love-giving meaning of sexual relations.

“The Sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist help us on our journey to live chaste lives,” the letter continues.

“If we commit a sin of impurity alone or with another person, the Sacrament of Reconciliation communicates to us God’s forgiveness and merciful love.

“All we need to do is approach his throne of mercy with sincere sorrow in Confession and we are assured that all our sins are forgiven.”

The letter upholds St Augustine, Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, and St Gianna Beretta Molla as “chaste lovers and holy role models.”

The countries represented by the conference, Botswana, South Africa and Swaziland, are “developing democracies” that are “politically stable, but fragile,” Archbishop Tlhagale said.

“To varying degrees, they are characterised by graft, violent

crimes, corruption, the serious lack of service delivery and selfenrichment by those in positions of responsibility,” he said.

Noting that South Africa’s “jails are overflowing with prisoners,” Archbishop Tlhagale said that to most citizens, “the promises of democracy and rule of law are not only dreams that have failed but ... a reminder of the painful experiences of the (apartheid) past.”

With “our materialistic society” promoting the rights of individuals to accumulate wealth, “Christian principles of fairness, equality and justice have fallen by the wayside,” he said. Charging that the rich “have become incapable of postponing their own personal interests,” Archbishop Tlhagale said society as a whole has failed to raise up “those who have a greater need.”

“What is missing in the public spaces of our societies is the voice of the Catholic Church that genuinely seeks to engage the public on moral-ethical issues which impinge on the society at large,” he said.

Archbishop Tlhagale also said the Bishops’ conference must develop a mechanism that will ensure that the results of “groundbreaking conferences and documents,” such as the 2009 Synod of Bishops for Africa, are systematically discussed and implemented.

“Unless we have a way of monitoring implementation, we run the risk of reinventing the same ideas every few years,” he said.

Avoid the Matrix bubble in cyberspace: Pope

Pope says online social networks can help spread the Gospel

BY JOHN T HAVIS Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI invited Christians to join online social networks in order to spread the Gospel through digital media and discover “an entirely new world of potential friendships.”

At the same time, the Pope warned of the limits and the dangers of digital communication, including the risks of constructing a false online image and of replacing direct human contact with virtual relationships.

“Entering cyberspace can be a sign of an authentic search for personal encounters with others, provided that attention is paid to avoiding dangers such as enclosing oneself in a sort of parallel existence, or excessive exposure to the virtual world,” the Pope said in his message for the 2011 celebration of World Communications Day.

“In the search for sharing, for ‘friends,’ there is the challenge to be authentic and faithful, and not give in to the illusion of constructing an artificial public profile for oneself,” he said.

The theme of this year’s World Communications Day, which will be celebrated on 5 June is “Truth, proclamation and authenticity of life in the digital age.”

In his message, released on 24 January, the Pope acknowledged that the Internet has fundamentally changed the way people communicate today.

“This means of spreading information and knowledge is giving birth to a new way of learning and thinking, with unprecedented opportunities for establishing rela-

tionships and building fellowship,” he said.

In the digital world, he said, information is increasingly transmitted through social networks as a form of sharing between persons. He said this dynamic has favoured dialogue, exchange, a sense of solidarity and the creation of positive relations.

“The new technologies allow people to meet each other beyond the confines of space and their own culture, creating in this way an entirely new world of potential friendships,” he said.

The Pope added that digital communication has built-in limits, including the one-sidedness of the interaction and “the tendency to communicate only some parts of

one’s interior world.” The creation of an artificial online image instead of an authentic one “can become a form of self-indulgence,” he said.

The great potential of social networks for building relationships makes it a natural place for the Church to be present, he said. But there is a “Christian way” of being online - through communication that is “honest and open, responsible and respectful of others,” he said.

Archbishop Claudio Celli, president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, was asked in a briefing with reporters whether the Pope’s words reflected concern over an aggressive and derisive approach found on some Catholic sites and blogs.

“The risk is there, there is no doubt,” the Archbishop said. He added that his council was working on a document that would offer, among other things, some reference points about the appropriate tone and behaviour for Church-related Internet sites.

Pope Benedict’s message, while underlining the risks of the Internet, was generally positive about online opportunities, saying they had opened new “spiritual horizons.” He said proclaiming the Gospel through new media was not simply a matter of inserting religious content into online platforms, but also of witnessing the Gospel consistently when communicating choices, preferences and judgements.

This witness, he said, can and should challenge some ways of thinking that are typical of websites - for one thing, he said, the truth Christians want to share is not based on its popularity or the amount of attention it receives.

The Pope said the Gospel should be presented online, not as a consumer item but as daily nourishment. That requires communication that is “respectful and sensitive, which stimulates the heart and moves the conscience,” he said.

In their online activities, he added, Christians also need to remember that direct human relations remain fundamental for transmission of the faith.

“Even when it is proclaimed in the virtual space of the Web, the Gospel demands to be incarnated in the real world and linked to the real faces of our brothers and sisters,” he said.

The Pope said that believers can help prevent the web from becoming an instrument that “depersonalises people, attempts to manipulate them emotionally or allows those who are powerful to monopolise the opinions of others.”

Commenting on that passage, Archbishop Celli said one example of manipulation was when social network users are unwittingly tracked for marketing purposes.

While Pope Benedict’s message spoke of the “wonders” of new online possibilities, Vatican officials agreed that the Pope himself doesn’t use new media much. Asked if the Pope personally surfs the Internet, Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, said: “To be very honest, I would say no.”

The Pope still writes with a pen, Fr Lombardi said. But he added that the 83-year-old Pontiff fully recognises the opportunities offered by the new technologies, and has encouraged Vatican departments to move forward on digital projects.

A scene from the 1999 film The Matrix, in which man’s quest for dependence on machines has turned into a nightmare world where machines have created a “prison for your mind”, where humans live in an alternate, digital reality without even knowing it. In his message for World Communications Day 2011, Pope Benedict XVI said entering cyberspace can be a sign for an authentic search for person encounters with others, but warned of the dangers of “enclosing oneself in a sort of parallel existence”.

Muslims to rise 700m by 2030

THE world’s Muslim population will grow from 1.6 billion to 2.3 billion in the next two decades, according to a report published by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. There were 1.1 billion Muslims in 1990.

Over the next two decades, the world’s Muslim population is expected to increase from 23.4 per cent to 26.4 per cent of the world’s population.

Christian unity only possible through conversion: Benedict

THE restoration of Christian unity can only come about as the result of “a serious commitment to convert to Christ,” Pope Benedict XVI told a public audience on Sunday, 23 January.

Speaking about the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which continues through 25 January, the Pope referred to the day’s Scripture reading from St Paul, who asked the people of Corinth, “Has Christ been divided?” What the Apostle meant, the Pope said, is that “any division in the Church is an offence to Christ. At the same time he is saying that it is in Christ, the one Head and Lord, that we can become united by the endless power of His grace.”

Pope Benedict called special attention to the shared testimony of Christians in the Middle East, and especially in the Holy Land, whose ecumenical efforts are “strengthened by a witness which, in some cases, even goes so far as the sacrifice of their lives. And so, while we joyfully welcome the points for reflection suggested by the communities living in Jerusalem, we gather close around them and this becomes another factor of communion for us all.”

Anglicans rap Pope in Christian Unity Prayer Week

DURING the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, several prominent leaders of the Church of England have broken away from the ecumenical theme to protest the establishment of an ordinariate to provide pastoral care for Anglicans entering the Catholic Church.

Pope Benedict’s invitation to Anglicans was “a little like a takeover bid in some broader power play of Church politics,” charged Canon Giles Fraser during an ecumenical service at the Catholic Cathedral at Westminster. He said that the Pope’s invitation had a “slightly predatory feel.” Anglican Bishop Christopher Hill of Guildford, the top ecumenical official of the Church of England, agreed, saying that the Pope was guilty of an “insensitive act.” He added that he was sure most English Catholic Bishops were uncomfortable with the Pope’s decision. Anglican Bishop John Saxbee of Lincoln added that the establishment of the ordinariate had been a setback to ecumenical ties. “Fence-mending will need to be done,” he said.

Priests should take Pope as model

CARDINAL Angelo Bagnasco of Genova, Italy told his Bishops that priests should follow the model of Pope Benedict XVI in fulfilling their missions without fear of criticism. The country’s Bishops were gathered in Ancona, Italy for the conclusion of their winter meetings on 27 January. Cardinal Bagnasco, president of the Bishops’ conference, gave the homily during the closing Mass in the city’s Cathedral.

“If the nihilistic culture tends to erase the interior life of people, priests must help the faithful to rediscover it; and in this mission they cannot be afraid of incomprehension or criticisms,” Cardinal Bagnasco said during his homily in the closing Mass of their winter meeting in Ancona.

“The example to follow is that of Pope Benedict XVI, who teaches us humility, the disarming clarity of the truth, the lucid wisdom of dialogue, the ardent prudence of action, freedom before the world and the courage that comes from knowing he is in the hands of God.” He added that priests have the task of maintaining their hope without hesitation. This hope enables them to respond to the expectations “not only of the Catholic community, but also those the whole of society demands of us - despite our limits and weaknesses - words that echo those of the Lord.”

“We are called and driven to put the light of our priesthood in service to the world, to relate it to the many spheres of life, and to illuminate the perennial questions of the mystery of pain and death, the meaning of our being, each of our destinies, the reason for this extraordinary and dramatic universe and the moral good and evil,” the Cardinal said. He encouraged priests to fight against the routine that makes “life fade” and “dulls the faith,” which “numbs the vibration of the soul before the Eucharistic mystery.”

The Cardinal exhorted his fellow priests to “remember daily the ‘yes’ to Him who chose us by His mercy and who invested us with His priesthood.”

Clerical celibacy is ‘evangelical radicalism’: Cardinal

Congregation for Clergy chief says Church should not be afraid of declining vocations to priesthood

ARS, France (Zenit.org) - The prefect of the Congregation for Clergy is proposing that the support of priestly celibacy may be one of the most effective means to combat modern secularisation.

“In a world which is gravely secularised, it is ever more difficult to understand the reasons for celibacy,” Cardinal Mauro Piacenza told a three-day colloquium last week in Ars, organised by the Society of John Mary Vianney and the Ars Shrine that centred on the theme Priestly Celibacy: Foundations, Joys and Challenges

“However, we must have the courage to ask ourselves, as the Church, if we wish to resign ourselves to such a situation, accepting the progressive secularisation of society and of culture as an unchangeable fact, or if we are prepared for a task of a profound and real new evangelisation at the service of the Gospel, and thus of the truth of man.

“I hold, according to that meaning, that the reasoned support of celibacy and adequately evaluating its worth in the life of the Church and the world might represent some of the most effective means to overcome this secularisation.”

“What else could the Holy Father Benedict XVI mean when he says that celibacy shows that ‘God enters into the reality of our time?’

“The reduction of celibacy to a mere ecclesiastical law, common in some environments, is to be absolutely overcome in light of the papal magisterium,” Cardinal Piacenza pointed out.

“It is a law only because it is an intrinsic demand of the priesthood and of the configuration to Christ that the sacrament determines.

“In this sense, formation for celibacy, above and beyond every human and spiritual aspect, must include a solid doctrinal dimension, because it is with difficulty that one lives that which one does not understand.”

The Cardinal’s comments came the same week that news broke that Pope Benedict XVI put his name to a document as a young priest in 1970 calling for the Church to seriously investigate the obligation to priestly celibacy, as reported in the German newspaper Die Sueddeutsche

The memorandum, which was sent to the German Bishops, read: “Our considerations regard the necessity of a serious investigation and a differentiated inspection of the law of celibacy of the Latin Church for Germany and the whole of the universal Church.”

According to the Sueddeutsche, the document said if there were no such investigation, the Bishops’ conference would “awaken the impression that it did not believe in the strength of the Gospel recommendation of a celibate life for

the sake of heaven, but rather only in the power of a formal authority”.

The Cardinal noted that “the debate concerning celibacy, which is reignited periodically over the centuries, does not contribute to the serenity of the younger generations in coming to an understanding of the sacraments of life.”

“We must not betray our young,” he said.

“We must not lower the level of formation, nor, in fact, what the faith proposes.

“We must not betray the holy people of God, which awaits saintly pastors, such as the Curé of Ars.

“We must be radical in the sequela Christi (the following of Christ).

“Let us not be afraid of the fall in the number of clerics.

“The number decreases when the temperature of the faith is lowered, since vocations are a divine affair and not a human one, and they follow the divine logic, which is foolishness from a human point of view.

“Faith is called for.

“Celibacy is a question of evangelical radicalism.

“The essential question, then, is not to direct the debate so much to celibacy as to the quality of the faith of our communities.

“Could a community which lacks great esteem for celibacy, as an awaiting for the Kingdom or as a Eucharistic yearning, be truly said to be alive?”

“We must not allow ourselves to be conditioned or intimidated by a world without God, which does not understand celibacy and that would like to remove it.”

“On the contrary, we must recuperate the reasoned understanding that our celibacy offers as a challenge to the world, placing its secularism and agnosticism in profound crisis and crying out, through the centuries, that God is present and active.”

Vatican to host party for lost sheep

VATICAN CITY - The Pontifical Council for Culture is planning three colloquia and a youth party in Paris as part of a new initiative to promote dialogue between believers and nonbelievers.

A Vatican communiqué announced the launch of the “Courtyard of the Gentiles,” an initiative proposed by Benedict XVI in an address to the Roman Curia at the end of 2009.

It explained that this is “a new permanent Vatican structure to promote dialogue and encounter between believers and nonbelievers.”

This new institution will be inaugurated with three colloquia in Paris on the theme Religion, Enlightenment, Common Reason

The first will be on 24 March at the headquarters of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), under this agency’s patronage.

The next morning, another will take place at the Sorbonne.

On 25 March, the third will be held at the Institut de France prior

to a roundtable discussion at the College des Bernardins.

The inauguration will also include a party, targeted for youth although open to all, in the evening of 25 March at the Cathedral of Notre Dame courtyard.

The party will centre on the theme Into the Courtyard of the Unknown and will feature artistic creations, music, drama, light shows, and time for meeting and reflection.

The Cathedral will be opened for anyone who wants to participate in a prayer vigil and meditation.

The initiative was proposed in a 21 December 2009 address by the Pope to the Roman Curia, in which he spoke about the “Court of the Gentiles,” a space in the ancient Temple of Jerusalem that was not reserved for the Jews, but rather was open to any person independent of his culture or religion.

The Pontiff noted that Jesus, in the Gospel, cleared this temple courtyard of extraneous affairs “so that it could be a free space for the Gentiles who wished to pray there

to the one God, even if they could not take part in the mystery for whose service the inner part of the Temple was reserved.”

“He was thinking of people who know God, so to speak, only from afar; who are dissatisfied with their own gods, rites and myths; who desire the Pure and the Great, even if God remains for them the ‘unknown God’,” Pope Benedict XVI said.

“I think that today too the Church should open a sort of ‘Court of the Gentiles’ in which people might in some way latch on to God, without knowing Him and before gaining access to His mystery, at whose service the inner life of the Church stands.

“Today, in addition to interreligious dialogue, there should be a dialogue with those to whom religion is something foreign, to whom God is unknown and who nevertheless do not want to be left merely godless, but rather to draw near to Him, albeit as the Unknown.”

Cardinal Bagnasco

Cardinal Mauro Piacenza

Marriage a ‘way to holiness’: conference

ROME (Zenit.org) - A new conference series sponsored by the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family is highlighting examples of conjugal holiness such as Jacques and Raïssa Maritain.

The series, on Profiles of Conjugal Holiness”, aimed to address topics such as the strength that comes from love, faithfulness to love and demonstrations of love, focusing on specific testimonies of married couples.

The first conference on 13 January was titled A Way of Love and Faith as a Couple and focused on the example of the Maritain couple. Jacques and Raïssa were two young intellectual converts who married in 1904, and set out to discover together the way of faith with the sole objective of sanctifying their marriage.

Conferences series coordinator Ludmila Grygiel noted that the conversion of the Maritians was not easy: “In general, it seems to me to be a rule that the conversion of an intellectual is more difficult than that of an artisan or farmer, because the cultural baggage of the scientific world to explain and know reality makes it more complicated to unite oneself to the simple evangelical message and accept the mysteries of God; on the other hand, the task of an honest intellectual is to seek the truth.”

Jacques and Raïssa sought this truth but, at the beginning, when they sought the meaning of life in philosophy, they ran the risk of falling into despair, even thinking of committing suicide.

Grygiel said that the Maritains decided to be baptised only after having given up the idea of finding the truth and intellectual happiness in the philosophy proposed at the time.

Thanks to the reading of the mystics, they understood that what is known of God is nothing compared to what is not known of Him.

She affirmed that the Maritains’ thirst for truth was satiated not by study, but by love for the truth that is given by wisdom, perfect love that gives perfect liberty.

Grygiel stressed that for the Maritains the moment of baptism, the beginning of life as Christians, meant “to begin to carry out their vocation to holiness.”

Cardinal Georges Cottier, who

presided over the conference, spoke about having known Jacques Maritain personally in Rome during the years 1946-1952.

“We are before a great crisis of marriage,” the Cardinal acknowledged. “In recent times, the idea that marriage is to last for the whole of life seems something almost impossible.”

He recalled: “The love of Jacques and Raïssa was something else. Up to the last moment it continued to be the same love as when they were 18, and this seems a monstrosity.”

In modern times, the prelate noted, many people wonder, “How can I be sure that in ten years I will have the same feelings as now?”

“We live in the world of the moment, of the instant, of temporariness,” the Cardinal noted, then asked, “Where is the column that sustains everything if God is not there?

“It is not necessary to forget time, which the body that grows old also passes through. We change also from this point of view. The girl I met at 20 is not the same at 80.

“There are also illnesses, but the present world does not want us to see this. All are young, beautiful people, without illnesses.

“This is what happens if there is no interiority and relationship with God. Youth and obsession of the

body want to be at the same level of the spiritual aspect.

“If the body marks the rules of living, everything changes.”

“To this,” he noted, “are added the enormous economic difficulties that families suffer, the problem of work, unemployment and also the fact that couples arrive home exhausted after work.”

“All this is paid for by the family,” the Cardinal lamented. “It is necessary to reflect on the social conditionings of family life because people are victims of this situation.”

Giulia Paola Di Nicola and her husband, Attilio Danese, both professors, recounted the story of the path followed by Jacques and Raïssa to God.

They affirmed that “forgiveness was an essential issue in the couple’s relationship.”

“If one loves it is fruitful, because love is fruitful,” Di Nicola said. “Two persons who love one another will make their love pass to all those around them.”

She pointed out that at the death of her husband Raïssa Maritain acknowledged that she did not know everything about him.

Di Nicola said: “We see young engaged couples who call one another millions of times to tell each other everything, to explain everything.

“To give each other everything is one thing, to tell one another everything is another.

“It is a delicate area because at times to be alone with God can be an escape from one’s responsibilities or from the other.

“At the same time, to always be together becomes a dependence, a non-growth.

“Silence, in turn, does not mean to take something from the other, but to venerate him, to venerate the mystery that the other contains and contemplate him in his beauty.

“Simply admire the mystery contained in his soul. It is not out of place to propose the validity of modesty, so dispersed in presentday society, made up only of exhibitionism.

“It is the veil of modesty that our society lacks at the basis, and which would help us to discover with discretion the mystery of the other.”

The second conference of the series, titled Gianna Beretta Molla and Pietro Molla: The Strength that Comes from Love, is on 3 March.

France rejects euthanasia

French

Senate rejects legislation allowing euthanasia on demand

BY CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

PARIS - The French Senate has rejected legislation that would have permitted any adult to request a “quick and painless death.”

Under the draft Bioethics Law amendment, French citizens would have been entitled to seek medical help to die when “in a terminal state, or with a serious and incurable illness causing physical or psychological pain.”

The right would have applied when the pain “cannot be alleviated or is considered unbearable,” enabling doctors to bring about the patient’s death “as the outcome of a deliberate act.”

During the Senate’s 26 January debate on the amendment, Catholic pro-life groups conducted a vigil and protest, during which about 700 people pretended to be dead.

In a 25 January letter to Senate members, the spokesman for the French Bishops’ conference, Mgr Bernard Podvin, said the idea of “relentless therapy” for the dying repelled French people, but added that “things affecting the most intimate, ultimate and sacred sphere and existential vulnerabilities” should not be legislated on.

Several Catholic Bishops in France spoke against the legislation and urged Catholics to write to their senators.

The Bishops’ conference president, Cardinal André Vingt-Trois of Paris, said a society’s “humanity and quality of civilisation” was measured by its “treatment of the most vulnerable,” adding that he

Australian missionary’s murder linked to conversions

THE Catholic Bishops of India have protested a statement by the nation’s highest court insinuating that religious conversions were at the roots of anti-Christian violence.

“The Church is seriously concerned,” lamented the Indian Bishops’ 24 January statement about the remarks made by the Federal Supreme Court judgement in its verdict on the triple murder of Australian missionary Graham Stuart Staines and his two sons in 1999 in eastern Orissa state.

While confirming the life imprisonment sentence of Dara Singh, who had led the mob that torched Graham and his young sons, the Supreme Court said: “It is undisputed that there is no justification for interfering in someone’s belief by way of ‘use of force,’ provocation, conversion, incitement or upon a flawed premise that one religion is better than the other.”

By linking the missionary murder to conversion, the Indian Bishops’ statement pointed out, the court was giving credence to the propaganda that “religious conversion was the triggering factor behind the ghastly crime.”

Pakistani Christians converting to Islam in fear

MOTIVATED by fear and better economic prospects, at least 20 Pakistani Christians are converting to Islam each week. In recent weeks, a leading Muslim politician who called for modifications to the nation’s blasphemy law was gunned down, and thousands marched through the street of Lahore, Pakistan’s second-largest city, chanting, “Death to Christians and the friends of Christians.”

“People have no faith in the police or justice system, and the kind of fear that exists now was never there before,” said Peter Jacob, a prominent lay Catholic.

Nadeem Anthony, a Christian and a member of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, said that “no one feels safe right now. People are scared”.

Viet court confirms sentences of Catholic activists

A VIETNAMESE court has rejected the appeal of six lay Catholic activists who were convicted of causing social unrest after a series of demonstrations over the government’s seizure of parish properties.

The appeals court confirmed the nine to 12-month prison terms that had been handed down to the Catholic defendants in October, after a trial that was highly politicised and widely criticised as a sham.

The appeals court announced, however, that two of the convicted activists would be released on parole “because they re-educated themselves well and repented of their violations.” The activists denied having expressed regret for their defense of parish property and renewed their argument that they had done nothing wrong.

Indian missionaries to evangelise Bhutan

AUTHORITIES in Bhutan have signalled that they will permit the registration of at least one Christian organisation in the landlocked Asian nation. Currently, Christians are permitted to worship in their homes but are forbidden to gather in public or spread the Gospel.

Two Indian missionary Orders are preparing to enter Bhutan if the government allows them to be registered.

believed there could be “no liberty without respect for the principle of humanity.”

“The culture of our country, its history and responsibility toward Europe and the rest of the world, as well as its current fragility, require us to show ethical ambition with courage and enthusiasm,” the Cardinal said in a 14 January article in the Le Figaro daily.

“As Catholics, we would have denied help to a society in danger if we had not denounced this suicidal initiative, after participating for years in a spirit of dialogue in pluralistic debate on these issues,” he said.

Doctor-assisted suicides and “mercy killings’’ were first legalised in the Netherlands in 2001 and have since been allowed under specified conditions in several European countries, including neighbouring Belgium.

Fr Arul Raj, founder of the Society of the Daughters of Mary Immaculate and the Society of the Missionaries of Mary Immaculate, says that the two Orders, which work in education and assist the poor, “do not openly initiate conversions, instead clearly manifesting their Christian identity in work and prayer,” and thus “we have never had problems with extreme mixed Hindu groups in India, nor have we ever suffered allegations of mass conversions.”

“Many among the women and youth who partake in our programmes,” he adds, “spontaneously ask to embrace the Christian faith.”

Only 1,000 of Bhutan’s 2.6 million people are Catholic, according to Vatican statistics. Some 75 per cent of the nation’s residents are Buddhist, while approximately 25 per cent are Hindu.

Liverpool puts Confirmation before First Communion

THE Archdiocese of Liverpool has announced plans to change the order in which young people receive the sacraments of Christian Initiation, placing Confirmation before First Communion. Beginning in the Fall of 2012, children above the age of 8 will be invited to receive Confirmation and First Communion between the

Murdered Australian missionary Graham Stuart Staines and his two sons.

A couple are photographed after getting married in a New York Catholic Church. PHOTO: CNS

Goldfields couple celebrate 69 years’ marriage

BY BRIDGET SPINKS

A COUPLE who met growing up in the Western Australian Goldfields of Boulder have celebrated 69 years of marriage.

Stanley Waddell and Dorothy Whyte took piano lessons from the same music teacher, but Dorothy said she fell in love with him when he was on the altar as an altar boy.

Fr Carmody married them in Boulder Catholic Church on 28 January 1942 and this year they celebrated 69 years of marriage at the Little Sisters of the Poor Home for the Aged in Glendalough surrounded by family and friends.

“Being in love does everything,” Dorothy said. “We’re lucky to have been together so long. Sometimes it’s not easy and sometimes it’s wonderful. You just get over the prob-

lems and get onto the next lot,” she said of their 69-year marriage.

While Stan went to the University of Western Australia in Perth on a scholarship and Hackett Bursary to study science, Dorothy worked at her father’s shop in Boulder, Brennan’s Department Store.

When she was 22 and he 24, Stan returned to Boulder from teaching in Albany and married Dorothy within six weeks.

“He came back and said he wasn’t going back without me. Those things happened during the war,” she said.

Stan and Dorothy had 10 children: Peter, Carole, Mark, Janet, Ronald, Gerard, David, Marian, Joanne and Anthony (Tony).

They first lived in Albany then Northam and later in Perth.

Dorothy said that the faith has

played a tremendous part in their marriage.

Little Sister of the Poor Sr Marie Bernarde often sees the devotion Dorothy has for her husband who has been a resident at Glendalough since February last year. “Dorothy comes in the morning and afternoon to visit him and one of her children will pick her up and drop her home of an evening,” she said. “She’s so devoted to her husband.”

Sr Marie Bernard said that Stan will start praying after he has had breakfast and she can hear him saying his act of contrition at night.

“It’s very edifying. No wonder they have a very strong family bond,” she said. “He was a sacristan before; his life is just permeated with God.” Stan and Dorothy have 28 grandchildren and 28 greatgrandchildren.

Losing oneself on freeway of life

She says, she says

By Elena Reidy

Lately I have been doing a lot of driving up and down the freeway. The freeway is a lot like our Western culture. It’s fast and efficient and helps people get where they want to go … that is unless something goes wrong!.

At times, we see cars that have broken down parked in the emergency lanes.

I recently drove past someone whose car had run out of petrol. He’d obviously walked to get some and was now trying to cross the freeway to get back to his car.

However, with the amount of traffic going past, that seemed impossible. I wondered how long he would have to wait. Even if I’d wanted to stop to let him through, I couldn’t have because it would have been too dangerous and could have caused an accident.

So most of us are rushing around trying to fulfil our daily duties and as a result we are trapped in the rush of “freeway” life. We want what is best for our families and children and thus do what is socially expected of us.

But what happens when things go wrong and we “break down” - for example, we lose a job or a family member gets sick? What happens if we are born and live on the side of the freeway and never even get the opportunity to learn to drive?

Many of us are ‘driving’ so fast that we don’t even notice those who are marginalised - trapped on the sidelines. And even if we do notice we can easily convince ourselves that it is too risky to stop.

Yet the Gospel I read calls me to risk all for the sake of His Kingdom and to follow in the footsteps of Jesus into the pain and darkness of those who don’t fit in. Jean Vanier, the founder of L’Arche – a Community for those with developmental disabilities – once said that many of us, when faced with a need, immediately ask ourselves, “What will it cost me if I do help?” Instead, he challenges, what we should be asking is, “ What will it cost them if I don’t?”

As I write this, I find myself being tested in a difficult situation involving a family which is close to my heart. I get to the point where I wonder how much more I can take.

But then I realise that it is this family which is truly suffering and my own discomfort, in comparison, is insignificant.

The Words of Jesus are so challenging when He says to us, so you’re nice to your friends and family, big deal, even non-believers do that! I call you to love your enemies, to do good to those who hate you and bless those who persecute you (Luke 6:32- 36). But most of us live in our carefully, socially structured neighbourhoods that without necessarily meaning to, keep us distant from the ocean of need that exists in our cities … me included!

Yet as I have entered more deeply lately into the lives of those who do live on the fringes of our society, I have been exposed to the reality of the “war” that so many live in ... especially so many children. There is constant fighting, abuse, mental illness, drugs and violence. I think to myself, if I lived in some of these neighbourhoods, how would I protect my children from it all? I don’t know how I could!

Am I at times revolted by what I see and hear and am exposed to? Yes definitely! Do I get angry and want to fight myself? Yes.

Do I experience despair and at times feel overwhelmed and want to run away from it all? Yes! And the truth is I could. I have the power to make choices .... They don’t. That is true poverty .... When you can’t make choices.

As I look for someone to blame,

someone to get angry with, I finally come back to the truth - that ultimately it is a spiritual battle that we are involved in - satan is the real enemy and not people.

It is difficult to forgive the man who took sexual advantage of a vulnerable friend. It is hard to forgive the four women who violently assaulted another friend in a prolonged attack.

It is challenging to accept the decision of the mother who, in her loneliness, allows her violent partner back into hers and her children’s lives. It hurts. It is hard to rise above the ugliness and at times, absolute viciousness, of this world .... And I’m only a ‘spectator’ so to speak! These precious people are entrapped in this war zone and are fighting to survive in the only way they know how.

But where are we, the Body of Christ? Are we keeping our distance in our safe churches and communities, scandalised by the “bad behaviour” of these others? Why is it that Christians are so often seen as judgemental, rather than as radical lovers who are willing to sacrifice their lives for the good of others?

It is time for radical discipleship. It is time for us to lay down our lives and lose them for the sake of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour. His Heart must bleed for the pain and injustice He witnesses in our world. Yet He continues to challenge us, “I was hungry and you

gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink … Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me” (Matt 25:40 - 42).

A well-known evangelist once said, “There is no overestimating the unimportance of almost everything”. We need to seriously seek God about His plans for our lives. We only have such a short time on this earth and I believe that there is a unique and God-given call for each and every one of us (Eph 2:10). With it will be a sense of peace that comes from fulfilling our own unique personal mission … whatever that may be.

I know I can come across as judgemental myself. If so, I apologise. It is not my intention to judge anyone ... Only God is judge. But it is my desire to challenge in the same way that Jesus has challenged me.

We are so imprisoned by fear! Instead, we need to be a people who are empowered by God’s love to overcome fear. As Scripture says, “Perfect love casts out all fear” (1 John 4:18).

We need to be a people of prayer who build up our faith and release the power of God into our world through our prayer, fasting and radical discipleship. Let us follow in the footsteps of our Master and Saviour all the way to the cross in the confident knowledge that it is through the cross that we, and our world, will find resurrection and

peace. Many want to be part of a programme or ministry where they see success and change for the positive - so do I! But recently I was dwelling on the parable of the rich man and Lazarus who is so poor that dogs are licking his wounds. He died poor and presumably in misery. In worldly terms, he did not have a “happy ending”. It is only when he died that he went straight to heaven (Lk 16:19-31).

This offers us an eternal perspective on life that many do not see or think about. The call is for us to respond to the prompting of God’s Spirit, and to love in whatever way is needed.

The least we can do is walk beside those whose lives are in continuous pain and crisis and continue to try to shine God’s unconditional love and mercy into their realities.

Having said all this ... I do recognise that without Jesus, I can do nothing (Jn 15:5) - that I must decrease and He must increase. That my human intentions alone, no matter how well–meaning, are useless unless I am guided and empowered by His Spirit.

Nothing can replace or compensate for a deep personal relationship with Jesus. The call is simply to die with Him on the cross and be born again of His Spirit so that, like St Paul, we can say, “It is no longer I that live, but Christ that lives in me”(Gal 2:20). And this is not just for some “Saints” like Mary MacKillop and others whom the Church rightly upholds for us as models to imitate. I am referring to you and I, in the reality of our daily circumstances and life.

Whether we are cleaning toilets or leading a country, God has a divine plan and destiny for each one of us (Jer 29:11).

He wants us to become worldchangers - instruments of His peace which bring His Kingdom into the world.

So many of us pray daily for, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven” (Matt 6:9-10).

But, do we truly believe what we are praying for, do we mean it, do we pray in faith knowing that as we ask we shall receive?

I believe God wants to move much more powerfully in our world, to bring healing, deliverance and freedom through the power of His Spirit working in you and I.

All He needs is a far, far deeper surrender on our part. It is as simple as, “Not my will, but Your will be done”.

Dorothy and Stanley Waddell who married in 1942 celebrate their 69th anniversary in Glendalough surrounded by seven of their 28 greatgrandchildren from L-R: Sophia, Harper, Jude, Neve, West, Leo and Noah.

PHOTO: BRIDGET SPINKS

Let them know we’re Christians by our love

Bee in my bonnet

By Barbara Harris

Some years ago I was attending a national meeting of people from around Australia who were involved with people with disabilities. At one point, one of the other members stood up and shouted at me, “The trouble with you, Barbara, is that you let your personal values influence your decisions.” It would be a sad day, indeed, if that was not the case.

As I enter this year of 2011, it might be a good thing for me to look at what it is that inspires my visions, informs my dreams and guides my personal values.

The Apostle Paul wrote many years ago that we are all part of the Body of Christ. My dream is that the reality of that becomes more and more evident in our parishes, schools, agencies, organisations and individuals, beginning with me.

In the Body of Christ, everyone has a role to play and everyone has a purpose, even if a hidden one for the time being.

As a Church, if we have an attitude of valuing each person and seeing the worth of each person we will include people automatically.

We would set in place structures and policies that would help make it known that indeed we are the Body of Christ.

I know when my feet swell the rest of my body is entirely sympathetic and does everything it can to relieve the pressure and the pain.

Why can’t we do the same with people?

St Mary of the Cross (Mary MacKillop) said: “Never see a need without doing something about it.” This is as much a challenge today as it ever was.

My problem is that when I focus on myself I don’t even see a need in others and so I can’t even begin to do something about it because I don’t know what the ‘it’ is.

My vision is that the ‘new’ commandment of Jesus will be ever more evident. “Love one another as I have loved you” cannot be left to lie, forgotten, as empty words on a page. Jesus loved me to death. Now it is my turn.

The number of times I’ve had said to me, “get real”, is beyond my counting. Why do I expect that we can stop classifying (labelling) people as “people with disabilities” or “non-disabled?”

Is there such a person?

Why do I believe that it is possible that our parishes can witness the Gospel message and that all people

in brief...

Vatican marks Leprosy Day

VATICAN CITY (CNS)While people in many of the world’s most developed nations look at medicine, health and wellbeing as a consumer indus-

Only Christ could have pulled me through World War II

Jadwiga

Iam 92 years old and was born on 18 March 1918. I have six children (one deceased), 14 grandchildren and 19 greatgrandchildren. I am a survivor of World War II. Originally I came from Poland which was invaded by the Nazis in 1939. Jesus Christ shielded my family until the defeat of the German army in 1945. I am grateful to Him for bringing us through the war.

All my prayers have always been answered by God. I pray The Lord’s Prayer and Hail Mary daily. During the occupation I would pray throughout the night.

The German soldiers threw grenades into our homes.

My husband was taken away along with the other men.

A Polish soldier told me to leave with my three year old daughter, Jolanta.

will find in the parish welcome, support and encouragement; that the role of an altar server, for example, is open to people with various capacities?

Youth groups can be welcoming of young people who are “different”; a Proclaimer of the Word can be in a wheelchair, an Extraordinary Eucharistic Minister can be deaf.

If we are indeed the Body of Christ we cannot amputate another part of the Body because we find it difficult to cope with or we haven’t yet learned how to adapt, to be creative, to raise the standard of what can be possible.

That is what’s happening now. It need not be that way.

Why do I believe that every Catholic school can find a place for all Catholic students living in the area?

Why do I believe that modern technology can be used in whatever setting to ensure inclusion, for example, through captioning, audio descriptors, easy English and so on?

Why do I believe that we can all learn to communicate with each other even though this may call for some hard work, commitment and innovation? Why do I believe

try, hundreds of thousands of the world’s poorest people continue to contract and be crippled by Hansen’s disease, a Vatican official said. “The lethal power of leprosy (Hansen’s disease) has been notably reduced thanks to effective pharmacological therapies, but it continues to provoke suffering, disability and social exclusion,” said Archbishop Zygmunt Zimowski, president of the Pontifical Council for Health

that we can all change our attitude? Faith lets me see beyond this moment. My reality is more than what I can see, touch or feel. 2011 can be a year for fulfilling God’s promises and achieving His purposes for me, for you, for each and everyone.

Sometimes people will see a need and they tell me about it. When I ask them what they are going to do about it, they respond, “I’m telling you.” If only it were that easy.

My experience is that when God gives me a task to do, even though I might be very hesitant and quaking with fear, the strength to continue is given.

Thank God I do not need to be successful at everything. I only need to be obedient. The judgement of ‘success’ is not in my hands.

If I reflect on all the little bits that people are doing, in parishes, schools, agencies and services of the Archdiocese, we can make a difference together. So I will continue to dream and hold on to my vision for 2011.

May you, too, keep your dreams and visions. Let’s work together and we will hear: “See how these Christians love one another.”

Care Ministry. The Archbishop marked World Leprosy Day on 30 January with a statement denouncing a situation in which more than 210,000 people still contract Hansen’s disease each year even though it is preventable and curable. He also denounced long-standing prejudices that lead to situations where even people cured of leprosy are treated as if they were highly contagious.

How I Pray

I escaped with Jolanta by going through the sewage in the canals.

During our escape I found several kilos of sugar and carried what I could to my nearby home. I knew that I could use that in exchange for food and other necessities for us and many others.

with Debbie Warrier

Later, my husband managed to find us. We were all taken to a concentration camp in Germany and I was ordered to take snow off the train rails daily. I traded some of the sugar for another prisoner’s coat as Jolanta was cold. It was too big for her and had to be altered. I found 14 pieces of gold hidden in the collar. It saved our lives as we were able to use the money for food. We ate watered down soup and bread.

Every day people around me died. The sight of their shallow graves made me sick. I prayed, “My Jesus, help me. Please take me back to my Polish land as this land is burning under my feet.”

After a year the French soldiers delivered us.

Then the American soldiers came bringing with them food and water. They gave us chocolate. We hugged and kissed them. My family and I returned to Poland after the war. We moved to Australia in 1950. By then my first husband had left me and our four children. I remarried and my second husband was an alcoholic. I told God, “I can’t take it any more. You gave me my children. Help me to raise them and change my husband.”

Through my prayers my husband woke up to himself, changed his life for the better and became a Christian.

Of the two children I had with my second husband, one became a prostitute. She then became a Madam and sold girls to men for a living. I prayed for her for 20 years.

Now she has left prostitution and instead runs, “Linda’s House of Hope” [an assessment centre for the aid and shelter of prostitutes. The women are provided with emotional support and practical support like referrals to drug rehabilitation, temporary accommodation, finance and community outreach. Enquiries and or donations contact Linda Watson on 0439 401 009 or 9358 1719.] She became Catholic in 2000.

Prayers are powerful. In my childhood, the nuns and my grandmother had a big influence on what I believe.

As a child I learnt the catechism by heart and I can still say it.

I believe God can move mountains even if you have faith the size of a mustard seed. People often lose sight of that.

Throughout my life I have seen the living hand of God and He has saved me many times. Without Him I could never have survived what I have gone through.

Got an amazing faith story? Email Deb Warrier at dwarrier75@gmail.com

A reflection on the struggles of those forgotten in society and Church

A university student counselor talks with a participant in a Catholic summer camp for people with disabilities at Camp Sharing Meadows in Rolling Prairie, Indiana, in this 2007 file photo. It has been 30 years since the US Bishops released their pastoral statement on people with disabilities. Although much has been done to bring those with disabilities into full participation in church and society, advocates say that exclusion continues to occur. Barbara Harris says the same could be said for Australia. PHOTO: CNS/KAREN CALLAWAY

FRIDAY, 4 FEBRUARY

Special Healing Mass

7.30pm at Holy Family Church, Maddington. Mass conducted by Fr Sunil Aenekkat and Fr Binoy Augustine. All welcome. Enq: 9493 1703.

The Alliance, Triumph and Reign of the United Hearts of Jesus and Mary

9pm at St Bernadette’s Church, Glendalough. Commences with the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament; reflections, Rosaries, hymns etc alternating with healing sessions. Vigil concludes with midnight Mass. Enq: Fr Doug 9444 6131 or Dorothy 9342 5845.

Pro-Life Witness

9.30am at St Brigid’s, Midland. Mass followed by Rosary procession and prayer vigil at nearby abortion clinic, led by the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate. All welcome to come and pray for the conversion of hearts. Enq: Helen 9402 0349.

Catholic Faith Renewal

7.30pm at St John and Paul’s Parish, Pinetree Gully Rd, Willetton. Songs of Praise, followed by Thanksgiving Mass and light refreshments. All welcome. Enq: Kathy 9295 0913. Ann 0412 16 6164, catholicfaithrenewal@ gmail.com.

SATURDAY, 5 FEBRUARY  MONDAY, 7 FEBRUARY

Novena

6.30pm at Good Shepherd Parish, 215 Morley Dr, Kiara. Mass, Novena Devotions, procession, Rosary and Benediction concluding with a social get together in the parish hall. Please bring a plate. Sunday, 5pm Mass followed by Novena Devotions, procession, Rosary and Benediction. Blessing of the elderly on Monday at 7pm celebration. Enq: Fr Francis 9279 8119 or Jimmy 0411 615 239.

SATURDAY, 5 FEBRUARY

Day With Mary

9am-5pm at Pater Noster Parish, corner Marmion and Evershed Sts, Myaree. Day of prayer and instruction based on the Fatima message. 9am video; 10.10am Holy Mass; Reconciliation, Procession of the Blessed Sacrament, Eucharistic Adoration, Sermons on Eucharist and Our Lady, Rosaries and Stations of the Cross. BYO lunch. Enq: Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate 9250 8286.

Witness for Life

8.30am at St Augustine’s, Gladstone Rd, Rivervale. Mass celebrated by Fr Paul Carey, followed by Rosary procession and prayer vigil at nearby abortion clinic. All welcome to come and pray for the conversion of hearts. Enq: Helen 9402 0349.

Exploring Marian Spirituality

10am-12.30pm at Newman Siena Centre, 33 Williamstown Rd, Doubleview. Presented by Sr Marie Farrell rsm, Sisters of Mercy congregation. For years she has taught systemic theology and Christian Spirituality at the Catholic Institute of Sydney and was a senior Lecturer with the Sydney College of Divinity. Enq: Sr Kathy 0418 92 6590 or Sr Ann on 0409 60 2927

SUNDAY, 6 FEBRUARY

Divine Mercy – An Afternoon with Jesus and Mary

1.30pm at St Francis Xavier Church, 25 Windsor St, Perth. The main celebrant for the afternoon will be Fr Johnson Mayil SAC - homily on St Jerome Emiliani. Reconciliation, Rosary, Prayers and Benediction. Refreshments afterwards. Enq: John 9457 7771.

Chinese New Year - Perth Chinese Catholic

Community PCCC

4-5.30pm at Holy Family Church, Como. Includes Traditional and Cultural Rite Thanksgiving Mass; entertainment - Lion Dance, Children’s Dances, Traditional music performance and dinner is free. Enq: William Suseno - susenowilliam@yahoo.com.

TUESDAY, 8 FEBRUARY  FRIDAY, 11 FEBRUARY

Novena

7pm at Our Lady of Mercy, Girrawheen Ave, Girrawheen. Mass, Novena Devotions, procession and Benediction. Blessing of the Sick on Thursday celebration. Friday Feast of our Lady of Lourdes. Mass, candlelight procession and Benediction and burning of petitions. Light supper and drinks in the parish hall. Please bring a plate. Enq: Fr Tony 9342 3562 or Jimmy 0411 615 239.

Triduum to Our Lady of Lourdes

7pm at Holy Trinity Church, 8 Burnett St, Embleton. Preacher Fr Nishan. Tue - Mass, Novena, and procession. Wed - Novena. Thu - Novena and Anointing of the

Sick and elderly. Fri - Mass and procession. Social get together. Please bring a plate. Enq: Gordon 9377 4472.

TUESDAY, 8 FEBRUARY

Spirituality and The Sunday Gospels

7-8pm at St Benedict’s School Hall, Alness St, Applecross. Norma Woodcock’s Teaching Session. Be empowered by the Gospel message each week in a personal way. How can we live meaningful and hope-filled lives. Entry - donation for The Centre for Catholic Spiritual Development and Prayer. Enq: 9487 1772 or www.normawoodcock.com.

THURSDAY, 10 FEBRUARY TO SATURDAY, 12 FEBRUARY

Brother Stanley’s Perth Visit Come and share Br Stanley’s powerful testimony on the Divine Mercy and also the story of being pronounced clinically dead and his amazing spiritual encounters with Jesus. For venues and dates check church noticeboards or 0413 707 707.

THURSDAY, 10 FEBRUARY

Healing Mass in honour of St Peregrine Patron of cancer sufferers

7pm at St John and Paul Church, Willetton. Includes veneration of the relic of St Peregrine and anointment of the sick. Enq: Jim 94571539

Information Sessions on Catholic Mental Health

7-8.30pm at the Emmanuel Centre, 25 Windsor St, Perth Enq: Barbara 9328 8113, emmanuelcentre@westnet. com.au. RSVP by Tuesday, 8 February

FRIDAY, 11 FEBRUARY

Annual Procession in Honour of Our Lady of Lourdes

7pm at Lake Monger. All are asked to assemble at the Dodd St carpark. For those unable to walk, there is an area where you can sit with others and pray together. Enq: Judy 9446 6837.

SATURDAY, 12 FEBRUARY

Marian Retreat

9am-5pm at Holy Family Church, Maddington. A day of healing with Mary our Mother led by the Vincentian Fathers. BYO lunch. All welcome. Enq: 9493 1703.

Divine Mercy Healing

2.30pm at St Francis Xavier Church, Windsor St, East Perth. The main celebrant for the afternoon will be Fr Marcellinus Meilak OFM. Reconciliation in English and Italian will be offered. Divine Mercy prayers followed by veneration of First class Relic of St Faustina Kowalska. Refreshments afterwards. Enq: John 9457 7771.

St Padre Pio Day of Prayer

8.30am at St Lawrence, 392 Albert St, Balcatta. St Padre Pio DVD followed by Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, Rosary, Divine Mercy, Silent Adoration and Benediction. 11am – Holy Mass, St Padre Pio Liturgy, Confessions available. Bring a plate for a shared lunch. Tea and coffee supplied. Enq: Des 6278 1540.

SUNDAY, 13 FEBRUARY

Taize Prayer Meeting

5.30–6.30pm prayer meeting recommencing at St Joseph’s Convent Chapel. All welcome. Enq: lmayne@ perthcatholic.org.au.

Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes

12 noon at St Catherine’s Catholic Church, Gingin. BYO lunch followed at 1pm Holy Rosary, Exposition, Hymns, Benediction and Blessing of the Sick, Marian Procession. 2.30pm Holy Mass at the Grotto. Tea provided later. Enq: Lawrie 0448 833 472 or Sheila 9575 4023.

THURSDAY, 17 FEBRUARY

Information Sessions on Catholic Mental Health

10.30am-12pm at the Emmanuel Centre, 25 Windsor St, Perth. Enq: Barbara 9328 8113, emmanuelcentre@ westnet.com.au. RSVP by Tuesday, 8 February

TUESDAY, 22 FEBRUARY

Medjugorje Evening of Prayer

6pm at St Mary’s Cathedral, Perth. Visit of Ivan Dragicevic, reported visionary of Medjugorje, who allegedly is still receiving daily apparitions of Our Lady. Evening commences with Eucharistic adoration, Rosary (alleged apparition of our Blessed Mother), Benediction, Holy Mass and talk by Ivan Dragicevic. All Welcome. Enq: Eileen 9402 2480 or medjugorje@y7mail.com.

FRIDAY, 11 MARCH

Alan Ames Healing Service

7pm at St Bernadette’s Catholic Church, Jugan St, Glendalough. Mass followed by talk and Healing Service. Enq: Katherine carver1@iinet.net.au.

SATURDAY 26, TO SUNDAY, 27 FEBRUARY

Retreat

8.30am at the Redemptorist Monastery, North Perth. Fr Hugh Thomas will talk on The Power of the Word of God, Enq: 9328 6600, Rita 0422 917 054 or Keith 0411 108 525.

TUESDAY 1 MARCH

Catholic Charismatic Renewal

1pm–6pm at the Holy Family Church, Thelma St, Como. Healing Prayer and Ministry, conducted by international guests Diana Mascarenhas (India) and Fr Elias Vella (Malta). For emotional & psychological healing. Includes Mass. Admission free but a collection will be taken up. Enq: Dan 9398 4973.

SATURDAY, 5 MARCH

Women’s Day of Recollection

8.40am at St Paul’s Parish Centre, 104 Rookwood St, Mt Lawley. Rosary 8.40am followed at 9am first Saturday Mass, optional, 9.30am tea. 10am talk on Women of the Bible presented by Fr Tim Deeter, followed by discussions, lunch, Holy Hour and Benediction. RSVP essential to catholicwomen.perth@gmail.com or Lydia 0413 993 987 by 23rd February.

THURSDAY, 28 APRIL TO THURSDAY, 12 MAY

Pilgrimage - Beatification of Pope John Paul II and Medjugorje

3 nights Collevalenza, the Lourdes of Italy, St Rita of Cascia. Visit to Fra Elia present day stigmatist. 3 days and 2 nights Rome, visit St Peter’s Holy Cross Basilica, shrines and Community of Family of Mary. Depart Rome 5 May for Medjugorje for 6 nights 7 days. All flights, bed, breakfast and evening meals included. Approximate price $3,980 with optional extension to Fatima costing extra $900. Enq: Eileen 9402 2480 or 0407 471 256.

SUNDAY, 1 MAY

Centenary of Kellerberrin Parish

11am at St Joseph’s parish, Kellerberrin. All present and past parishioners are invited to the parish Centenary celebrations. Mass celebrated by His Grace, Archbishop Barry James Hickey, followed by a catered luncheon at the Kellerberrin Shire Hall. RSVP by Saturday, 2 April for catering purposes to Christine Laird 9045 4235 or Fax: 9045 4602, or Audrey Tiller 9045 4021, or stmary@ westnet.com.au.

EVERY SUNDAY

Gate of Heaven Catholic Radio

Join the Franciscans of the Immaculate every Sunday from 7.30-9pm on Radio Fremantle 107.9FM for Catholic radio broadcast of EWTN and our own live shows. Enq: radio@ausmaria.com.

Pilgrim Mass - Shrine of the Virgin of the Revelation

2pm at Shrine, 36 Chittering Rd, Bullsbrook. Commencing with Rosary followed by Benediction. Reconciliation is available before every celebration. Anointing of the Sick administered during Mass every second Sunday of the month. Pilgrimage in honour of the Virgin of the Revelation, last Sunday of the month. Side entrance to the church and shrine open daily between 9am-5pm. Enq Sacri 9447 3292.

THIRD SUNDAY OF THE MONTH

Oblates of St Benedict

2pm at St Joseph’s Convent, York St, South Perth. Oblates are affiliated with the Benedictine Abbey of New Norcia. All welcome to study the rule of St Benedict and its relevance to the everyday life of today for lay people. Vespers and tea later. Enq: Secretary 9457 5758.

EVERY FOURTH SUNDAY OF THE MONTH

Holy Hour for Vocations to the Priesthood, Religious Life

2-3pm at Infant Jesus Parish, Wellington St, Morley. The hour includes Exposition of the Blessed Eucharist, silent prayer, Scripture and prayers of intercession. Come and pray that those discerning vocations to the priesthood or Religious life hear clearly God’s loving call to them.

LAST MONDAY OF EVERY MONTH

Christian Spirituality Presentation

7.30-9.15pm at the Church hall behind St Swithan’s Anglican Church, 195 Lesmurdie Rd, Lesmurdie. Stephanie Woods presents The Desert Period of Christianity, 260 to 600AD. From this time period came the understanding of the monastic lifestyle and contemplative prayer. No cost. Enq Lynne 9293 3848.

EVERY TUESDAY

Novena and Benediction to Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal

6pm at the Pater Noster Church, Marmion and Evershed Sts, Myaree. Mass at 5.30pm. Enq: John 0408 952 194.

EVERY WEDNESDAY

Holy Spirit of Freedom Community

7.30pm at The Church of Christ, 111 Stirling St, Perth. We are delighted to welcome everyone to attend our Holy Spirit of Freedom Praise Meeting. Enq: 0423 907 869 or hsofperth@gmail.com.

SECOND WEDNESDAY OF THE MONTH

Chaplets of the Divine Mercy

7.30pm at St Thomas More Catholic Church, 100 Dean Rd, Bateman recommences. Includes sung devotion accompanied by Exposition and followed by Benediction. All are welcome. Enq: to George Lopez on 9310 9493 home or 9325 2010 work.

EVERY THURSDAY

Divine Mercy

11am at St John and Paul Church, Pine Tree Gully Rd, Willetton. Pray the Rosary and Chaplet of Divine Mercy, and for the consecrated life especially here in John Paul parish, conclude with veneration of the First Class Relic of St Faustina. Please do come and join us in prayer. Enq: John 9457 7771.

The Cathedral Praise Meeting

7.45pm at Faith Centre, 450 Hay St, Perth. When the Spirit Comes – A Holy Spirit Seminar. Each evening –worship, teaching, small group sharing, refreshments. All welcome. Enq: Flame Ministries International 9382 3668.

Flame Ministries International

Starting 3 February, new venue in The Upper Room, St Joseph’s Church, 3 Salvado Rd, Subiaco. Enq: Eddie 9382 3668.

EVERY FIRST THURSDAY OF THE MONTH

Taize Prayer and Meditation

7.30-8.30pm at Our Lady of Grace Church, 3 Kitchener St, North Beach. Prayer and meditation using songs from the Taize phenomenon. In peace and candlelight we make our pilgrimage. All are invited. Enq: Joan 9448 4457 or Office 9448 4888.

FIRST FRIDAY OF THE MONTH

Holy Hour for Vocations to the Priesthood and Religious Life

7pm at Little Sisters of the Poor Chapel, 2 Rawlins St, Glendalough. Mass, followed by Adoration with Fr Doug Harris. All welcome. Refreshments provided.

Catholic Faith Renewal Evening

7.30pm at St John and Paul’s parish, Pinetree Gully Rd, Willetton. Songs of Praise, sharing by a priest followed by Thanksgiving Mass and light refreshments after Mass. All welcome to attend and bring your family and friends. Enq: Kathy 9295 0913, Ann: 0412 166 164 or catholicfaithrenewal@gmail.com.

Communion of Reparation All Night Vigils

7pm-1.30am at Corpus Christi Church, Lochee St, Mosman Park, Enq: Vicky 0400 282 357 and at St Gerard Majella Church, Ravenswood Dr and Majella Rd, Mirrabooka, Enq: Fr Giosue 9349 2315, John or Joy 9344 2609. The Vigils consist of two Masses, Adoration, Benediction, Prayers and Confession in reparation for the outrages committed against the United Hearts of Jesus and Mary. All welcome.

Healing Mass

7pm at St Peter’s parish, Wood St, Inglewood. Reconciliation, praise and worship, Exposition of Blessed Sacrament, Benediction, Anointing of the Sick, and special blessing. Celebrants Fr Sam and other clergy. All welcome. Enq: Priscilla 0433 457 352, Catherine 0433 923 083 or Mary-Ann 0409 672 304.

ACROSS

1 Broke a Commandment

5 “I will raise you up on ___ wings…”

8 Blow on the cheek delivered by the Bishop at Confirmation

10 Where Joseph and Mary had to stay

11 Number of loaves Christ had to feed the 5,000

12

13

15 Evil king of Israel

16

18

24

25

28

30

34

3

4

6

WALK WITH HIM

Continued from page 18...

Healing and Anointing Mass

are burdened…” (Mt 11:28)

7 St Edith ___

9 Gregory I sent missionaries to

11 Liturgical celebration

14 St ___ de Beaupre

16 “Fort” diocese

17 A no-coveting commandment

19 ___ Week

21

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION

6S 5th Sunday in ordinary time

Isa 58:7-10 Shelter the homeless

Ps: 111:4-9 The just person

1 Cor 2:1-5 power of the Spirit

Mt 5:13-16 be salt and light

7M gen 1:1-19 In the beginning

Ps 103:1-2, 5-6, 10, 12, 24, 35 Bless the Lord!

Mk 6:53-56 All were cured

8Tu St Jerome Emiliani, priest (0)

ACCOMMODATION

HOLIDAY ACCOMMODATION

ESPERANCE 3 bedroom house f/furnished Ph 09 9076 5083.

TRADE SERVICES

BRENDON HANDYMAN

SERVICES Home, building maintenance, repairs and renovations. NOR. Ph 0427 539 588.

BRICK RE-POINTING Ph Nigel 9242 2952.

PERROTT PAINTING Pty Ltd

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

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

SETTLEMENTS

ARE YOU BUYING OR SELLING real estate or a business? Why not ask Excel Settlements for a quote for your settlement. We offer reasonable fees, excellent service and no hidden costs. Ring Excel on 9481 4499 for a quote. Check our web site on www.excelsettlements.com.

BOOK BINDING

NEW BOOK BINDING, General Book Repairs; Rebinding; New Ribbons; Old Leather Bindings Restored. Tydewi Bindery 0422 968 572.

FURNITURE REMOVAL

ALL AREAS. Competitive Rates. Mike Murphy Ph 0416 226 434.

LAWN MOWING

WRR LAWN MOWING & WEED

SPRAYING Garden clean ups and rubbish removal. Get rid of bindii, jojo and other unsightly weeds. Based in Tuart Hill. Enq 9443 9243 or 0402 326 637.

OPPORTUNITIES

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY

Work from Home - P/T or F/T, 02 8230 0290 or visit www.dreamlife1.com.

CLASSIFIEDS

Deadline: 11am Monday

RELIGIOUS PRODUCTS

CATHOLICS CORNER Retailer of Catholic products specialising in gifts, cards and apparel for Baptism, Communion and Confirmation. Ph 9456 1777. Shop 12, 64-66 Bannister Rd, Canning Vale. Open Mon-Sat.

RICH HARVEST YOUR CHRISTIAN SHOP Looking for Bibles, CDs, books, cards, gifts, statues, Baptism/Communion apparel, religious vestments, etc? Visit us at 39 Hulme Ct (off McCoy St), Myaree, Ph 9329 9889 (after 10.30am Mon to Sat). We are here to serve.

KINLAR VESTMENTS

Quality hand-made and decorated vestments: Albs, Stoles, Chasubles, altar linen, banners etc. 12 Favenc Way, Padbury. By appointment only. Ph Vicki on 9402 1318 or 0409 114 093.

LENDING LIBRARY

Variety of books available: resources material, meditation, psychology, spiritual; come and browse. 16 Fergun St, Maylands, WA 6051, (08) 9272 9361.

OTTIMO

Convenient location for Bibles, books, cards CD/DVDs, candles, medals statues and gifts at Shop 41, Station St. Market, Subiaco. Fri-Sun 9-5pm.

IN MEMORIAM

On 17 January, the day my husband Michael O’Brien was buried at Pinnaroo Memorial Cemetery, an amazing thing occurred. After the final commendation prayers were said the coffin was lowered into the grave. The hymn Hail Holy Queen of Heaven was sung and a dark cloud shadowed the gravesite, and drops of rain fell on the people. All present were surprised and presumed it was a blessing from the Blessed Virgin Mary. Mercia

KIRKWOOD (Maureen)

In loving memory of my darling Mother who departed this life on 3 February 1985. So good, honourable and lovable, kind and generous, to us and to all people. Thank you so much, Mother Darling, for all the wonderful things you did. May God be with you always, and with dear Pappa also. You are both ever in my heart and prayers. Moira

May Perpetual Light shine upon them. May they Rest in Peace.

St Josephnie bakhita, Religious (0)

Gen: 1-20 – 2:4 Male and female

Ps 8:4-9 work of God’s hands

Mk 7:1 – 13 Jesus quotes Isaiah

9 W Gen 2:4 – 9, 15 – 17 A living being

Ps 103: 1-2, 27 -30 Spirit creates

Mk 7:14-23 Do you not understand?

10 Th St Scholastica, Virgin (M)

Gen 2:18 – 25 They become one Body

Ps 127: 1- 5 A fruitful Vine

8.45am at Pater Noster, Myaree. Reconciliation, followed by Mass including Anointing of the Sick, Praise and Worship to St Peregrine and the Sacred Heart of Jesus. All welcome. Enq: Joy 9337 7189.

AA ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS

Is alcohol costing you more than just money? Enq: AA 9325 3566.

OPPORTUNITY FOR COMMUNITY SERVICE

Emmanuel Self-Help Centre for People with Disabilities

is looking for volunteers to transport newspapers and other recyclable paper from its Perth office to a Canning Vale paper mill about every six weeks. Manual car driver’s licence required. Physical fitness is advantageous as heavy lifting is involved; Centre staff will assist. Enq: Fr Paul 9328 8113 or emmanuelcentre@westnet.com.au.

PILGRIMAGE TO PRAGUE, POLAND AND AUSTRIA

St Jude’s Parish Langford is organising a 13-day pilgrimage departing 1 October. Pilgrimage will include visits to the Shrines of Divine Mercy, Infant Jesus, the Black Madonna, St Faustina, the birthplace of Pope John Paul II and the Museum at Auschwitz. Total cost per person $5,800. The Spiritual Director, Fr Terry Raj. Enq: Co-ordinator John Murphy 9457 771.

AL ANON FAMILY GROUPS

If your home is unhappy because somebody drinks too much, we can help with understanding and supporting families and friends of problem drinkers. Enq: 9325 7528.

PILGRIMAGE TO THE HOLY LAND

St Peter’s parish in Inglewood is organising a visit to Jordan, Israel and Egypt from 13-26 March 2011. The pilgrimage will cost A$3,990, everything included. Fr Sam will be the Spiritual Director. Eng Jim 0411 61 5239, zawnaing@optusnet.com.au.

SPANISH LESSONS OFFERED AT WHITFORDS

OPPORTUNITIES

NURSES AID POSITION

Live in Nurse’s aid required for 60 year old semi-retired bachelor in East Fremantle. Light duties for post-major knee operation care for 3 months.

Prefer live in. Offer nice clean modern riverside house, with own facilities

Negotiable salary. Contactable references essential

From 12 Feb –12 May 2011

Email gregor1804@gmail.com.

COOK WANTED

Nursing home in North Perth is seeking a mature person to provide home-style cooking two mornings per week. Experience cooking for the elderly is desirable.

For further information please ring 0431 08 2364.

PSYCHO-SPIRITUAL WORKSHOP

2 March from 9am to 5pm at the Holy Family Church, Thelma St, Como. Conducted by international guests Diana Mascarenhas (India) and Fr Elias Vella (Malta). Participants learn to minister to our emotionally, spiritually and psychologically wounded brethren. Cost for the day $20. Bring own lunch. Enq: Dan 9398 4973

PILGRIMAGES/TOURS

1 Nanga Bay Resort (Western Australia) 3-days/2 nights Fri, 4 - Sun, 6 March 2011 long weekend) dinner/bed/ breakfast (inclusive of transport) $380 per person twin-share.

2 Pilgrimage to Rome for the Beatification of Pope John Paul II Thu,. 28 April - Thu, 5 May 2011.

3 Visit to Vietnam and Cambodia May 2011

4 Pilgrimage to Jordan/Holy Land/Egypt - Tue, 7 - Sat, 18 June 2011

5 Pilgrimage to Prague/ Poland/Vienna - Sat, 1 - Thu, 13 October 2011

6 Pilgrimage to Jordan/Holy Land/Egypt Fri, 11 - Tue, 22 November 2011 (special for senior card holders).

For itinerary and enq: Francis Williams (Coordinator) T: 9459 3873 (after 4pm) M: 0404 893 877

Mk 7:24 – 30

11F Our Lady of Lourdes (0)

Gen 3:1 – 8 Knowing good and evil

Ps 31: 1- 2, 5 – 7 offence forgiven

Mk 7: 31 – 37 Be opened!

12 S Gen 3:9 – 24 sweat for your bread

Ps 89: 2 – 6,12 – 13 A watch in the night

Mk 8:1 – 10 Feeding the crowd

PARISH FOR WORLD YOUTH DAY, MADRID 2011

Beginner classes commence 9 February on Wednesday evenings 6.45-7.30pm and Saturday mornings 10.1511am. Cost - $5 per class or $40 for 10 classes if paid in full at the beginning of the term. All classes will take place in venues at Our Lady of the Mission Catholic Church, Camberwarra Dr, Craigie. Enq: Noeme 9307 4038 or Shirley-Ann 9407 8156.

CRUISE ON THE RIVER NILE

Sightseeing Tour of Jordan and Egypt A 14-day package departs Perth, Sunday, 10 July 2011. Accompanying priest, Fr Joe Carroll from the Redemptorist Monastery, Perth. Enq: Fadua 9459 3873

The Drama of Atheist Humanism

Henri de Lubac

RRP $31.95

De Lubac traces the origin of 19th century attempts to construct a humanism apart from God, the sources of contemporary atheism which purports to have ‘moved beyond God.’ The three persons he focuses on are Feuerbach, who greatly influenced Marx; Nietzsche, who represents nihilism; and Comte, who is the father of all forms of positivism. He then shows that the only one who really responded to this ideology was Dostoyevsky, a kind of prophet who criticises in his novels this attempt to have a society without God.

Atheist Delusions

The Christian Revolution and its fashionable Enemies

David Bentley Hart

RRP $30.95

Currently, it is fashionable to be devoutly undevout. But contemporary antireligious polemics are based not only upon profound conceptual confusions but upon facile simplifications of history or even outright historical ignorance: so contends David Bentley Hart in this bold correction of the distortions. One of the most brilliant scholars of religion of our time, Hart provides a powerful antidote to the New Atheists’ misrepresentations of the Christian past, bringing into focus the truth about the most radical revolution in Western history.

New at the Bookshop

Answering the new Atheism

Dismantling Dawkins case against God

John Feehan

RRP $24.94

The essential book for dismantling Richard Dawkins’ atheistic agenda. Scott Hahn and Benjamin Wiker collaborate to debunk Dawkins’ theories and show how inconsistent and illogical his conclusions truly are. This is the definitive book for college students or faithful Christians hoping to answer Dawkins’ claims and assert the logic and beauty of their faith.

Is Faith Delusion?

Why Religion is good for your health

Andrew Sims

RRP $35.95

How, in a scientifically and technologically advanced age, can people still believe in God? Andrew Sims examines both the connection and the division between Christian faith and psychiatry.

Responding to contemporary popular atheism, Robert Spitzer’s New Proofs for the Existence of God examines the considerable evidence for God and creation that has come to light from physics and philosophy during the last forty years. An expert in diverse areas, including theology, physics, metaphysics, and ethics, Spitzer offers in this text the most contemporary, complete and integrated approach to rational theism currently available. Words, backed by Scripture passages, support his many insights. They also include a brief reflection on how all of this might be applied in our busy, everyday lives.