PARISH.
Western
Radioactive friars?: Tune in to a heavenly radio frequency Page 5
Strength in Suffering: a message for the World Day of the Sick Page 2
THURSDAY
FEBRUARY 3, 2005
Perth, Western Australia ● $1
Great!: Tarleah Thomas on a Marriage Encounter weekend Page 6
ROME (CNS) -- Every Iraqi who cast a vote on Jan. 30 amid continued chaos and violence showed that democracy will win over terrorism, said a top Iraqi church official.
“This is a big lesson to terrorism, a great message that says we are not afraid” and “we will rebuild our country,” said Father Philip Najim, the Rome-based representative of the Chaldean-rite Baghdad Patriarchate.
The greater-than-expected voter turnout is “a positive sign” as it marks a turning point in Iraq’s future, he said.
“It shows the whole world how educated the Iraqi people are and that we are capable of reaching freedom and democracy,” the Iraqiborn priest told Catholic News Service on January 31.
Even if polling in some places proved less than perfect, “the most important thing is that the people went; they went despite the violence, the fear and terrorism,” he said.
Millions of Iraqis cast their votes on January 30 in the country’s first democratic election in decades. They voted for a 275-member transitional National Assembly that will eventually choose a new government that will, in turn, elect the country’s president and prime minister. But despite clampeddown security and a daylong ban on most traffic, some 44 people were killed on January 30 after insurgents carried out a string of attacks and suicide bombings.
Continued on Page 13
■ By Martin Nesirky
One of the last two German nuns who endured years in communist North Korean camps was buried on January 26 after
a service attended by deaf-mute people she helped during more than sixty years on the peninsula.
The two sisters were reported on by The Record in mid-2003.
Sister Caritas died unexpect-
edly but peacefully on Monday January 24 whispering “Guardian angel, guardian angel”, the head of her priory, Sister Gertrude, told Reuters. Sister Caritas was 91. Her story spans Hitler’s
Continued on page 4
■ By
Cindy WoodenA marriage cannot be declared invalid simply because the couple feels unable to reconcile and continue living together, Pope John Paul II said.
“Acquiescence to interests foreign to the search for truth” is unjust, undermines Church teaching on the indissolubility of
Continued on page 4
■ By
Carol GlatzThe Vatican praised an Italian woman who sacrificed her life for her unborn child, calling it an act of “love and faith.”
A 41-year-old woman from northern Italy died on Jan. 24 from
Continued on page 3
Robert Duncan interviews JOHN ALLEN, the US National Catholic Reporter’s world-renowned journalist, on understanding the Vatican and his new book.
Pages 7-9
Archbishop Barry Hickey has issued a Pastoral Letter for Lent, appealing for Catholics to take the Church’s laws on abstinence and fasting seriously.
Page 3
INDEX
Bishop Sproxton on Marriage - Page 6 I say, I say - Page 10
The World - Pages 12-13
- Page 14
The following Perspective is
by
Fr Richard
Smith, Catholic Chaplain at Royal Perth Hospital.
The Indian Ocean Rim tsunami devastation focused our attention on other people and we Australians responded quickly and with great generosity at every level of our society. The Catholic community, through Caritas, has raised over 9 million dollars in Australia for the Tsunami Appeal. The overall effect of Australian Catholics has been much greater if you take into account our giving through other agencies. It is a simple proof of just how effective we can be when we act with others in a focused way.
Pope John Paul II’s aim for the XIII World Day of the Sick is to proclaim the hope for full health for the whole of mankind, committing the worldwide Catholic community to work with greater determination in the service of this great
cause. The theology which underpins the Holy Father’s aim not only stems from compassion and generosity, but is “stimulated by adherence to Christ the Redeemer, whose face the Church (the people of God) sees in the features of every person who suffers. It is therefore faith that leads her to be fully committed to looking after the sick, as she has always done during the course of history. It is hope that makes her able to persevere in this mission despite the obstacles of every kind she encounters. And lastly it is charity that suggests to her the right approach to different situations, allowing her to perceive the special features of each one and to meet them”.
The Holy Father goes on to say, “With this approach of profound sharing, the Church comes to the wounded of life in order to offer them the love of Christ through the very forms of help that ‘creativity in charity’ suggests to her in order to come to their aid. To each one of you I say: courage, God has not forgotten you. Christ suffers with you. And you, offering up your sufferings, can work with him for the redemption of the world”.
“The World Day of the Sick also has as its purpose that of stimulating reflection on the notion of
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health, which in its most complete meaning also alludes to a situation of harmony of the human being with himself and with the world that surrounds him.”
Our individual health and well being is important for ourselves, for those around us and for those we offer help and ministry to. Despite medical issues, our health and well being is about our attitude to life and to Christ.
As a chaplain it becomes clear to me that those who have an outward focus through Christ and his Church usually have a better sense of well being and are better able to face their own health issues and to be more thoughtful of the needs of others. To grow into the wisdom of Christ is to understand more fully
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The National Christian Youth Convention (NCYC) is a biennial event which offers a wide range of experiences for young people within a Christian community so they can discover a deeper relationship with God and be empowered to share in the life and work of Christ in the world. NCYC will be held in Perth, Western Australia in 2007.
The Assistant Manager will work in conjunction with the Convention Manager in the planning and coordination of NCYC 2007. Commencement of the position is 14 March 2005.
A position description and application guidelines are available on request by contacting Jeremy Burtenshaw or Natasha Passé on 08 9486 1577 or via email: Jeremy.Burtenshaw@wa.uca.org.au
Applications close 4pm 18 February 2005
An activity of the Uniting Church in Australia
our motives and actions and thus to open up the path to becoming more completely human.
The Holy Father’s message emphasises the suffering that is taking place in Africa and at one point he likens the African people to the man in the Parable of the Good Samaritan who fell among robbers, who stripped him, beat him and departed leaving the man half dead.
“There is a practical answer to the profound suffering that too many men, women and children undergo and all of us can be part of the answer.”
We see the same suffering in every part of the world and in every part of the world there are Samaritans/good people – Catholics among them – working to bring about hope, health and new beginnings for those who suffer. There is a practical answer to the profound suffering that too many men, women and children undergo and all of us can be part of the answer.
Our interaction with and our intervention in the suffering that surrounds us will be many and
varied but it can be effective, as Australians have shown in recent weeks. Our individual thoughtfulness, prayerfulness, skills, financial backing can all be put to work for the benefit of others. The wonderful thing is that we don’t have to reinvent the wheel. There are already Catholic agencies and people on the ground who can focus our efforts and channel our resources to where they are needed.
Within each parish and the Archdiocese as a whole there are many contacts and organisations that will enable individuals to work effectively by harnessing and building their resources into a useful aid package. As Catholics acting together there is no end to what we can achieve. We can help to bring to others the health and wholeness that is Christ.
I commend the Holy Father’s Message for the XIII World Day of the Sick (February 11, 2005). I trust you will get as much out of it as I have and that it will give you even more reason to be a faithful disciple of Christ the Risen Lord.
Editor’s note: Pope John Paul II’s Message for the World Day of the Sick can be found on the Web at http://www. vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/messages/sick/index.htm
VATICAN CITY (CNS) - As Pope John Paul II took a rare sick day, he was given a thick tome to thumb through: the first copy of the 2005 “Annuario Pontificio,” the Vatican yearbook. The book was delivered to the Pope on Jan. 31, a day the Pope suspended his appointments because of the flu, said Joaquin Navarro-Valls, the Vatican spokesman. Initial figures from the book compiled by the Vatican’s statistics office contained some good news, for example, that the world’s Catholic population grew from 1.07 billion in 2002 to 1.08 billion in 2003, the last year for which complete figures are available, and that the number of Catholics in Africa grew by 4.5 percent; in Asia by 2.2 percent; in Oceania by 1.3 percent; in North and South America by 1.2 percent. Europe reported “a situation of practical stability.”
Centacare Employment and Training is an agency of the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Perth that provides services to the unemployed in the areas of finding employment, further education or vocational skills training.
Currently, the organisation is seeking Expressions of Interest from people who may wish to become members of the Board.
Individuals with skills and expertise in any of the following areas
– Organisational Development, Business Management, Human Resource Management, Process Improvement, Business Planning or Marketing and who are committed to the principles of social justice, are asked to apply.
Early morning Board meetings are held once per month and last for two hours.
Further information on the organisation is available at www.centacarewa.com.au
Expressions of Interest kits are available by emailing probertson@centemploy. com.au or by phoning Pauline Robertson, Executive Director on 9482 7001.
Expressions of Interest close on 15th February 2005 and should be sent to probertson@centemploy.com.au or posted to P. Robertson, Executive Director, Centacare Employment and Training, 3rd Floor 641 Wellington Street Perth WA 6000
Penance and selfcontrol are essential to the Christian life. We need to ask for God’s mercy and forgiveness for our sins.
The need for conversion, and for most of us ongoing conversion, is obvious. It was the meaning behind the baptism of John - “Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is near”. (Mt.3,2)
St John the Baptist knew that
only those who repented of their sins and turned back to God would be open to the coming of the Redeemer.
For those who regularly attend Mass and seek to live a good life according to the Gospel a radical conversion is not required or even possible because one has already chosen to follow Christ.
At the same time the recognition that one continually falls into the same sins of pride, selfishness, lust, unkind criticism of others and dishonesty requires of us constant conversion in order to grow in holiness.
Ash Wednesday and the time of Lent afford an ideal opportunity for us to redirect our lives and our energies towards a rejection of sin and a renewed commitment to
follow Christ more closely through a life of love and forgiveness of others.
For some a radical conversion is necessary. Please God some will receive the grace this Lent to abandon their sinful way of life that will lead inexorably to spiritual destruction and to receive the peace and love to be found in God’s kingdom.
The ashes used on Ash Wednesday come from the palms of Palm Sunday. The two events are linked. They come at the beginning and end of Lent, giving way to the greatest week of the Church’s year, Holy Week, and the Feast of Easter, the rising of Christ from the dead and triumph over evil.
Let us enter this time of Lent
with great earnestness and anticipation. It can be a marvellously rewarding spiritual time.
Please take the Church’s laws of Lent seriously.
Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are days of fast and abstinence.
The law of fasting binds those who have completed their eighteenth year, until the beginning of their sixtieth year. The law of abstinence binds those who have completed their fourteenth year.
At the same time, all are to observe the spirit of Lent by fasting, prayer and works of charity.
In St Matthew’s Gospel on Ash Wednesday we hear Our Lord instructing the people about what, in effect, the Church asks of us at Lent.
Continued from page 1
skin cancer, just three months after giving birth to a healthy baby boy.
Soon after Rita Fedrizzi was diagnosed with melanoma last year, she discovered she was pregnant.
She refused doctors’ recommendations to abort the fetus or to undergo treatment that would have been harmful to her unborn child.
The Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, headlined its January 26 story about Fedrizzi “A gesture of love and faith in order to let life win.” The decision to forgo treatment knowing she would most likely die as a result was not made without “a heavy
heart” or with “superficiality,” said the paper.
Soon after Rita Fedrizzi was diagnosed with melanoma last year, she discovered she was pregnant.
“She informed herself ... and she knew clearly that if she were to give birth she would not have had any hope of surviving” the disease, it said.
The woman’s husband, Enrico Fontana, said his wife had told the doctors that carrying out an abortion would have been like “killing one of my
other two children to save my skin.”
Fedrizzi made “a choice based on her faith, which I always shared with her,” Fontana said.
The Vatican paper called her sacrifice “a courageous gesture.”
The article recalled “another act of courage and love
toward life” with the example of St. Gianna Beretta Molla, also from northern Italy. St. Gianna died in 1962 after refusing treatment for a tumor so that she could carry her unborn child to term. Pope John Paul II beatified her in 1994 and proclaimed her a saint on May 16, 2004 - CNS
“Give alms but your almsgiving must be in secret, and your Father who sees all that is done in secret will reward you.” (Mt.6, 3)
“When you pray, go to your private room and pray to your Father who is in that secret place and … he will reward you.” (Mt.6,6)
“When you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that no one will know you are fasting except your Father … and he will reward you.” (Mt.6, 17)
To summarise -
Be generous towards all, especially the poor, fast and pray earnestly in your heart, but do not make a display of it.
May this Lent help you grow in Christian living and prepare you to celebrate Easter with great joy.
Ph: (08) 9446 5069
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ne sell orthodox Catholic books for all ages: colouring books lives of the saints catechisms devotional and much more. Contact Paul or Janice for a catalogue or more information. Mail orders welcome.
A dynamic and inspirational speaker for the Marian Movement of Priests
February 17-22
Fr Michael Gaughran is the world wide Responsible for the English-speaking countries and will be here in WA promoting the relevance of Our Lady’s message in today’s world.
Perth Metro Itinerary
Thursday 17 St Bernadette’s Church Jugan St, Glendalough
Day of Reflection 10.30am2pm. Cenacle/Holy Mass. BYO share lunch 7.30pm Cenacle/Holy Mass
Monday 21 Day of Reflection - York10am-2pm includes Cenacle/Holy Mass BYO share lunch
Tuesday 22 St. Joseph’s Church, Hamilton St, Bassendean Day of Reflection 10.30am-2pm. BYO share lunch: includes Cenacle/Holy Mass
Tuesday 22 St Jerome’s Church, Troode St, Munster 7.30pm Cenacle/Holy Mass
Country
Saturday 19 St Patrick’s Cathedral Bunbury 10.30am. Cenacle/Holy Mass. BYO lunch
Continued from page 1
Germany, Japanese colonial rule, World War Two, the communist takeover and Russian presence, the Korean War, brief exile and a return to the ruins of the US-backed South half a century ago.
Her life-long friend, Sister Bertwina, is now the sole survivor of the original large group of German missionary nuns, monks and priests who came to Korea in the 1930s as Hitler tightened his grip in Germany.
She said Sister Caritas had brought help to the poor and disabled, notably deaf-mutes, throughout a life filled with happiness and infectious laughter.
“She was like a mother,” Sister Bertwina said at their Benedictine priory on the fringes of Taegu, South Korea’s third-largest city, two hours southeast of the capital Seoul by bullet train.
“They did not believe they could possibly live without her.”
An interpreter signed for those deafmutes who attended a service in the priory chapel conducted by Cardinal Kim Stephen, retired head of the Catholic Church in South Korea.
He specifically asked to take the service because he had known Sister Caritas during her decades working in Seoul with those who cannot speak or hear. He drew laughter describing the nun’s humour and praised her endless enthusiasm.
Sister Caritas was buried on a hill overlooking the priory. Sister Bertwina
stayed below, now too frail to walk that far. In their latter years in what passes for retirement when you are a nun, the two sisters chatted almost daily about their life in Korea and often conversation turned to their time in North Korea.
They worked there, notably in Wonsan on the east coast, from the mid-1930s until the North Koreans imprisoned them before the 1950-53 Korean War and subsequently sent them to desolate labour camps that cost the lives of many of their compatriots.
Talking with outsiders, they played down their hardships before they were exiled in 1954 but the suffering was great.
“It’s not something you can forget,” said Sister Bertwina. Cardinal Kim and other priests said both women were remarkable for never expressing hatred for their captors.
Despite losing a friend she first met at school in Germany when she was about 18, Sister Bertwina, now 90 herself, seemed happy rather than sad as she recounted her fellow nun’s passing.
“As she devoted her entire life to helping the poor and handicapped, Christ will surely have greeted her with open arms,” said Sister Bertwina, who taught novices when she worked.
“It won’t be long. My time will soon be up. And then we will meet again.”
- Reuters
Continued from page 1 marriage and can never be a pastoral response to a troubled marriage, the Pope said on January 29 in a speech to the Roman Rota, a church court dealing mainly with marriage cases.
Pope John Paul’s speech focused on the moral obligation of tribunal staffs to uphold church teaching and on the responsibility of diocesan bishops to ensure their tribunals operate according to church law and the requirements of justice.
“In the name of supposed pastoral needs, some voices have been raised to propose declaring the nullity of unions that have totally failed,” the Pope said.
Suggestions have been made, he said, that tribunal judges make it appear that they have followed all the forms and procedures to hide the fact that “a true judicial procedure” never existed.
“It is obvious that the objective juridical and moral seriousness of such behaviour certainly does not constitute a pastorally valid solution to the problems created by matrimonial crises,” the Pope said.
Pope John Paul also criticized
those who would see Church teaching on the permanence of marriage as “mere orientation or exhortation” while seeing Church law as an unconnected set of procedures for dealing with failed marriages.
Marriage, a lifelong union between a man and a woman open to having children, is not simply a concept, the Archbishop said, but is an institution created by God, unlike “all other interpersonal unions of a merely human creation (made) in the image and figure of ‘corruptible man’ in the service of the sinful body.”
Tribunal staff members, he said, must be motivated by “love for the truth.” “They must resist the fear
(10th October 04 - 29th October 05)
“The Church and the world have great need of Eucharistic Worship. Jesus waits for us in the sacrament of love. Let us be generous with him in going to meet him in adoration and in contemplation that is full of faith and ready to make reparation for the great faults and crimes of the world.”
(John Paul II: Dominicae Cenae 3)
“This book ... contains a wealth of prayers, thoughts and meditations, all centred around the Real Presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament ....It is a privilege for us to be able to spend time before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. During those precious moments we sense Jesus' tremendous love for us. We bring to Him our joys and our sorrows, we talk to Him about the needs of those around us, and we ask for that deep conversion of the heart and mind that will make us one with Him ... I commend this book to all, especially to those who have rediscovered the beauty and joy of Eucharistic adoration..."
Most Rev. B. J. Hickey - Archbishop of Perth
A beautiful set of Vatican Rosary beads will be sent to all those who give an additional charity donation of $10.00 or more to help the projects of Aid to the Church in Need for the persecuted Church in Sudan*. Please tick the box below if you would like to receive the Papal Rosary beads.
of truth, which sometimes rises from the fear of hurting people,” he said. A judge who truly acts with justice “does not let himself be conditioned either by feelings of false compassion for persons, or by false ways of thinking, even when they are widespread in society,” the Pope said.
“He knows that unjust sentences are never a real pastoral solution and that the judgment of God about his actions is that which counts for eternity,” Pope John Paul said.
Archbishop Antoni Stankiewicz, dean of the Roman Rota, said that judges have an obligation not only to render justice, but also to reaffirm through just sentences “the natural and sacramental identity and dignity of marriage.”
Marriage, a lifelong union between a man and a woman open to having children, is not simply a concept, the Archbishop said, but is an institution created by God, unlike “all other interpersonal unions of a merely human creation (made) in the image and figure of ‘corruptible man’ in the service of the sinful body.” - CNS
Acts 2 College of Mission and Evangelisation Invitesyouto
Two Series of Public Lectures on Tuesdays
4pm – 5pm
@ 67 Howe Street, Osborne Park
‘A Brief History of the Faith’ by Paul Kelly
A series of six lectures, commencing on Tuesday 15th Feb
‘History of the First Century’ by Dr J Skerritt
A series of two lectures, commencing on Tuesday 8th March
1.The World of Jesus 2.Historical Details of the Crucifixion
Cost: $5 per lecture ~ All Welcome
Term One Courses Commence Feb 14/15
Bible Timeline 1 Mondays 9:30—11:30am
The first 7 lectures of a 24 lecture video-based course presented by Jeff Cavins.
The Gospel of Matthew Tuesdays 9:30—11:30am
A seven lecture course by Richard Egan.
Saints of God and Actions of the Spirit
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The FEE for each course is $150
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They aren’t your average radio morning crew. But Friar Augustine and Father John Joseph from the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate, along with lay members Paul and Michelle Carter, also known as Sr Therese and Br Joseph, have been hosting a weekly program on radio station 107.9 Radio Fremantle.
The program, which runs from 7.30-9.30pm on a Sunday night, focuses on Our Lord, Our Lady and the Holy Father Pope John Paul II.
“We try to make our audiences aware of what is happening in the wider Church community as well as the Archdiocese,” Fr Joseph said. Airtime on the program is dedicated to talks on the teachings of the Church, playing music from various religious artists and speeches by theologians from around the world.
Most of the content comes from the Eternal Word Television Network in Alabama in the United States of America, which has been transferred to audio CD.
However, there is also some content gained from local resources.
One of the programs played recently was a speech by Archbishop Fulton Sheen from the Fulton Sheen Society of Perth.
Sr Therese said the team aims to find programs that are capable of attracting an audience without the visual content.
Fr Joseph says the radio program is part of the order’s apostolate to spread the good news.
“We try to promote the name of Our Lady by all possible means,” he said.
“Through this we also learn to be faithful to our Lord.”
Unfortunately there is no way to monitor how many people are listening to the program.
However, Fr John Joseph said he has had reports a number of supporters of the program are listening on the Internet.
Friar Augustine, the main host of the program, said in the beginning the experience of being the main host was daunting, as the role came quite unexpectedly.
“I didn’t have time to think about it but I’m thankful it turned out that way otherwise I may not have accepted the role,” he said.
Paul and Michelle Carter, who have taken on the religious names Br Joseph and Sr Therese, are members of the Friars third order, or lay community.
The couple have undertaken a vow of unlimited consecration to the Virgin Mary and aim to follow in the footsteps of St Francis of Assisi while remaining part of the lay community.
Br Joseph undertakes the role of technical support, while Sr Therese is co-host.
“I have enjoyed being given the opportunity to be part of the program because it allows me to give something back to the Church that has given me so much life,” he said.
Many of St Thereses’ notices come from the panorama section of The Record.
One of the highlights of the pro-
gram recently has been an interview with Clare Pike, Director of the Respect Life Office, who spoke about a plan by some government schools to allow teachers to provide contraception to students in an effort to prevent the increasing number of abortions. “We had very positive feedback and people were very happy to become aware of the topic,” Sr Therese said.
Another program aired recently has been an interview with Cardinal George Pell.
This year, the team also hope to play a series of talks on the Eucharist by Fr John Hardon, as part of the Year of the Eucharist.
The program will also help
increase the amount of pro-life content. Fr Augustine mentioned that the program is the only Catholic radio show in Perth.
Each year, the cost of the radio program is funded by donations to the Friars of the Immaculate.
They hope to be able to continue the focus on Our Lord, Our Lady and John Paul II through increased live content and other radio program sources.
The Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate recently held a dinner for the conclusion of their raffle to raise funds for the new friary being built in Munster.
For more information, or to make a donation, contact Fr John Joseph, on 9384 3311.
Archdiocese of Perth
Catholic Education Centre 50 Ruislip Street Leederville
Do you want to:- Know more about your faith? Confirm your adult understanding of Catholic belief and practice? Take a guided tour through the Old or the New Testament? Discover the links between self-knowledge/personal growth and prayer. If so Maranatha offers 13 complete Courses in four terms in 2005 Courses are held Tuesday and Friday
Begin Tuesday 15 February and Friday 18 February
For: 7 weeks
Cost: $45
Tuesday
9.30am-12pm The Gift of the Eucharist –“Do this in Memory of Me” with Fr Vincent Glynn 1pm – 3pm The Enneagram with Sr Margaret-Anne Beech SJA
Friday
9.30am-12pm Ministry to those who Grieve with Gerry Smith
Enrolments or information phone 9212-9311 Tues. Thurs Fri. 9am-3pm. and we will send you a Course Booklet fax 9212-9382, Email: maranatha@ceo.wa.edu.au
Two crowded farewell parties were organised to say good-bye to the Carmelite priests Fr Jerome Watt, Fr Maurice Barry and Fr Frank Shortis at the parish of Our Lady of Mt Carmel in Hilton. The Carmelites took care of the parish for 48 years and their services were greatly appreciated by the Hilton community. And the Carmelite fathers enjoyed their stay in Hilton. As Fr Maurice wrote in his farewell: “The people of the Hilton parish are imprinted on this Carmelite’s heart.”
L to R: Fr Frank
of graduating students that are highly skilled, strongly motivated and committed to community service.
Funding the University is achieved primarily through student fees and the very generous support of many private individuals who believe in the mission and values of Notre Dame. A contribution or bequest to the university is an investment in our future leaders and our community. Your support will make a difference.
If you would like to know more about Notre Dame, please contact Michelle Ebbs in our Community Relations Office on (08) 9433 0610.
Free tours of the campus are held each Friday at 11am. Please call 9433 0555 to book your place.
The following account is by Tarleah Thomas, from Mullewa who attended a Marriage Encounter weekend. Here Tarleah describes the difference the weekend made to her marriage and her life.
At the beginning of 2004, I believed I had a great marriage.
I work at the local high school and my husband Andrew works on a large broadacre farm, which involves very long hours away from the house.
At the time, I thought that if we both lived separate lives and got on well, then we would be happy.
I would get up each morning and go to work and get home and have dinner waiting for Andrew when he got home at around 7pm.
We would talk about how our respective days had gone and then I would sit in front of the television and Andrew would go and do book work until the early hours of the following morning.
While we weren’t experiencing any difficulties in our marriage, I didn’t want to go down the path of being ‘married single’.
My parents had divorced and I didn’t want to run into the same problems they experienced when they realised that they did not love each other anymore.
Andrews’ parents are an inspiration to me and I thought that if I could obtain half the love and affection that they share, I could be happy.
It was Andrews’ mother who gave me the brochure for Marriage Encounter.
She just left it on our kitchen table. I read it and knew it would be up to me to make the decision to go.
Andrew and I did not know what to expect of the weekend. I thought that it would be a few talks
on how to make your marriage work and then we would get free time to relax and enjoy each other’s company.
We were even joking before we went that we could probably sneak out to a movie on the Saturday night.
We arrived on Friday night after a five-hour drive from our farm, both feeling tired and stressed from our busy life styles.
It was then that I realised that it’s never a good time to do something for our relationship when we have more important things to do with our lives, like work.
We unpacked our car, including the laptop computer, mobile, camera and radio, just in case we had time to catch up on work. Our first talk was at 8pm that night.
That’s when it really hit us what the Marriage Encounter weekend was about. I can remember the presenter telling us that this was
a rare opportunity to spend time with each other and that we should forget outside life influences, relax and take whatever we could from these two days.
“Now I can say that we are living as ‘one,’ and life really is so much more enjoyable.”
Andrew and I looked at each other. Later that night we returned the laptop, mobile, camera and radio back to the car.
The experience was nothing like what we had expected; sometimes it was challenging as we had to address issues that we thought were better left unsaid.
But it took our marriage to another level that we never thought possible.
One presenter told us that we are on this earth for a short amount
of time and we should make every opportunity to enjoy what we have together.
The strength of two is better than living as individuals, he said.
This made me really think of how Andrew and myself were living together but separately at the same time.
Now I can say that we are living as “one,” and life really is so much more enjoyable.
We are able to really listen to each other and understand how the other person is feeling at that time.
This is so different to the kind of situation where both of us might be talking but not understanding what the other person was saying.
We are now open with our affection in public and are not afraid of what people might think of us.
We’ve noticed that when we are out with friends and hold hands or give each other a hug, that our
friends are also are more affectionate towards each other. It’s a great virus to send to others.
I asked Andrew what was the most valuable thing he got from the weekend and he told me that unlike a lot of the couples on the weekend, we had been married for only a short period.
He realised that with our very busy lifestyles we had started to fall into a ‘married singles’ lifestyle.
He told me that for him the weekend was life-changing, and he was thankful that at last our communication lines were reopened and the fire re-lit.
He could feel a sense of love, respect, and affection like never before.
Marriage Encounter can be a very emotional and touching time for couples. The talks, dialoguing and time alone freeing one from all distractions are the basis, with the rest up to the couple.
It was such a pleasure to see other young couples and be surrounded by positive like-minded couples and presenters.
During the weekend we got opportunities to talk to other couples and one of the main comments that come from them was that they should have done this sooner in their marriage.
I’m very lucky to have done that and now I’m really looking forward to Andrew and I spending the rest of our lives together as “ONE”.
Thank you to all the presenters and behind-the-scenes staff at Marriage Encounter.
My advice to others who are thinking of going on a Marriage Encounter weekend is “Just do it!”
Marriage Encounter weekends for this year are March 11-13, June 17-19 and October 2123 at Jarrahdale and May 13-15 at Albany.
For more information contact Joe and Margaret Cordina on (08) 9417 8750.
tion sessions like this if they are offered”.
nal author and the current edition is the work of John and Penny Carroll.
Last week I completed preparation for two couples to be married soon. One of them said as we were gathering our things together that he found the meetings very helpful, despite having come initially with a lot of mixed feelings. He said, “In fact, I will recommend to my friends that they should make sure that they have marriage prepara-
This comment surprised me because it was unsolicited and the young man and his partner have been living together for some time.
“What was it that he had found helpful?” I asked. He explained that he and his future wife had just assumed some things about their relationship and they had never talked about them until these came up in their discussions.
For some years now, I have been using a course called Before We Say Forever that comes from the Liturgical Commission in Brisbane. Fr. John Chalmers was the origi-
I find the fact that the workbooks come as a His and Hers set, with brief presentations on the key areas of relationships, and space being provided for each person to record their ideas and reflections, makes this preparation course very user-friendly and attractive.
The couple does most of the work. Individually they read and write their responses and later they share what they have written with their partner. I meet with them to help with anything that needs clarification or more discussion. Although what I have said so
far might sound like a sales pitch, this is not my intention. I know there are a good number of marriage preparation courses around the Archdiocese. But those words of that young man struck me. Just living together is not enough to guarantee that a couple is truly ready for a marriage.
Couples may think they have touched all the bases in their conversations and come to some sort of agreement about what they want in the marriage ahead of them, but how will they know without the opportunity to participate in a guided program? The World Marriage Day is being celebrated this Sunday 6 February. It is a great
opportunity for our parish communities to recognise, celebrate and support married couples who are seeking to live their Sacrament day by day.
Many parishes take some trouble to make sure marriage is honoured on days such as World Marriage Day. Some have arranged for Papal Blessings to be presented to couples celebrating significant anniversaries. Others arrange days of reflection and spiritual enrichment for couples. Many arrange for the couples present at each Mass to renew their marriage vows and to receive a special blessing.
Marriage Encounter provides
Continued on page 14
John Allen is is perhaps the leading journalist in the world reporting on what goes on in the institution at the heart of Christianity – the Vatican. Here he talks to Spanish-based US journalist Robert Duncan about what goes on behind closed doors in Rome.
nBy
Robert DuncanI met John Allen during the visit of Pope John Paul II to Spain.
Like many Catholics, I was familiar with Allen’s work with The National Catholic Reporter, and his popular column The Word From Rome . Based in Rome, Allen’s weekly column, which is closely followed by the media and Christians worldwide, provides a view on the Vatican bureaucracy, the religious institution with headquarters in Rome, and Western and Eastern Christendom.
Because I am a curious type - and at times a bit too forward - I fired Allen an email suggesting that we meet, and offered to help put him in touch with some people who could describe the status of the Catholic Church in Spain.
My logic at the time for sending Allen the email went something like this: I am a journalist and the representative of a US news agency as well as an ombudsman for the foreign press in Spain.
John Allen
Also, I am a US expatriate who has lived in Spain quite a few years, and therefore I know a bit about the country. Additionally,
I am a Catholic and, more importantly, I am curious about what goes on in the Vatican.
I was pleased because Allen immediately responded. Not only that, but he expressed interest in meeting over dinner with myself and others to discuss the Spanish Catholic scene.
And we, in turn, were able to pick his brain with respect to the Vatican.
We met during the Pope’s visit, and later over dinner with a friend of mine, as well as a priest from Opus Dei.
John Allen is currently working on a book about Opus Dei.
I met Allen under the expectation that he would be an extreme “liberal” with respect to the Church; after all he does work for NCR
But, I found myself enjoying the conversation.
With great surprise, I discovered that Allen was not a loose cannon set on redefining the Church, but was a thoughtful person, who enjoyed a glass of red wine, was a good conversationalist, and more
importantly, he was respectful of others and a great listener (hence the success of his column).
Later, he sent an email asking if I could put him in contact with some people in Spain with regard to the book that he is working on.
We once again met over a meal, this time being paella, and with his wife.
During the course of that enjoyable meal, I sprung on Allen a request: that he would grant me an interview.
Without hesitating, he accepted.
I promptly pulled from my vest pocket the questions I had already prepared, but in a moment of remorse, because the meal was so enjoyable, suggested that I just read the questions so as to not disturb the meal, and then later email the questions.
Allen readily accepted, and following are his responses:
"Eventually a Ukranian policeman took pity and loaned me a poncho. As we were making our way back to the press gallery, I caught sight out of the corner of my eye of a young Ukranian woman, maybe 2025, on her knees, crying..."
Robert Duncan Can you tell us a little bit about the latest project that you are working on? How did you decide to work on this project? Was it in some way a reaction - or taking advantage - to Dan Brown’s “DaVinci Code?”
John Allen: Aside from my regular daily work of covering the Vatican, my new book project is on Opus Dei, the controversial lay Catholic group that in 1992 became the Church’s first “personal prelature.” I’m hoping to write the first serious journalistic study of Opus Dei in English, since what’s on the market now are largely either conspiracy theory books or insider’s treatments.
I got the idea after a speaking tour in the United States in February-March 2004, when everyone was asking Opus Dei-related questions. This curiosity was driven by the DaVinci Code phenomenon, so there’s a sense in which my book is riding on the coat-tails of the novel’s success. (My book will be published by Random House, which was the publisher of the DaVinci Code in the United States).
R.D.: Can you give a bit of background about your bio and how did you end up at NCR?
J.A.: I had been a seminarian
with the Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity, and when I decided that I did not have a vocation to religious community, I opted to go into academic work in early Christian literature. finished a master’s degree, got married, and my wife and moved to Los Angeles where I planned to complete a doctorate in scripture at the Claremont Graduate School.
In order to pay the bills, I took a part-time job teaching religion at a Catholic high school in the Valley. This school needed a journalism advisor, and asked me to do it. I started hanging around newsrooms in the Valley in order not to feel like a complete phony, and was actually seduced by journalism. I started freelancing, and one of the places I wrote for was the National Catholic Reporter. Eventually they offered me a job, and here am.
R.D.: With respect to NCR, in some Catholic circles there is criticism that NCR is too liberal, or out of step with the Catholic Church in the rest of the world, and with the Vatican in particular. Can you respond to this?
J.A.: No doubt NCR’s editorial line is left-of-centre, on matters both of Church and state. It’s not my job, however, to write the editorials. The
only part of the paper for which I’m responsible is what appears under my byline, and in that space I try to be as fair and non-ideological as humanly possible. To the paper’s credit, they have never told me how to write a story or censored anything I have written because it didn’t cohere with their biases.
My “Word from Rome” Internet column has a readership that is, I believe, more ideologically diverse than the readership for the print edition of NCR. I realise the newspaper is not everyone’s cup of tea, but I ask that readers approach my work on its own merits.
R.D.: Switching to the Vatican, do you have one (more than one?) specific memory that stands out?
J.A.: There are too many to talk about, but perhaps I can just share one. I was with the Holy Father in Ukraine in June 2001, and I remember the day of the huge outdoor Mass in L’viv in Western Ukraine, where the Greek Catholic population is concentrated. There were perhaps two million people at this huge airfield, and the grounds were soaked because it was raining terribly. I had forgotten to pack an umbrella, so a colleague of mine and I made our way to the back of the massive crowd, were there was
we react to it, can be so different depending upon our history and experience.
R.D.: Working as a journalist in the Vatican, do you find it easy to make contacts, to find sources or is it a closed “organisation?”
J.A.: I think secrecy is one of the great myths about the Vatican. The real problem with understanding the Vatican is not that it’s secretive, but that it’s unique. Its culture is foreign to the experience of most observers.
To understand the Vatican, one must master three “languages”: Italian, which is the working language of the papal bureaucracy; the specialised language of the Catholic Church, meaning a knowledge of church history, scripture, theology, liturgy and canon law; and the distinct argot of the Roman Curia itself, meaning its systems, culture and psychology.
being nominated, documents are still being issued, files of wayward theologians and abuser priests are still being processed, etc. The key difference is that less and less of that work is ever reaching the Pope’s desk, which means that more matters are being settled by subordinates.
As for the succession, cardinals do not talk about it openly, both out of respect for the current Holy Father and because doing so is prohibited by pain of excommuni-
just because an instruction has appeared.
R.D.: Is the Vatican out-of-touch and outdated, or is it just as relevant for today’s generation as it was for our parents and grandparents?
J.A.: If by “out of touch” you really mean “counter-cultural,” certainly the Vatican takes positions on moral questions that would place it out of the mainstream in some parts of the developed world. It does not accept gay marriage,
Paul II’s position on the war was moving opinion, undercutting the moral argument for the intervention.
Rarely has the Holy See been more relevant. The Vatican is, and will remain, an extraordinarily important global point of reference.
R.D.: Not trying to sound ghoulish, and I don’t want this to happen for quite some time, but do you think we’ll see in our lifetime a movement to have Pope John Paul
As for the succession, cardinals do not talk about it openly, both out of respect for the current Holy Father and because doing so is prohibited by pain of excommunication. But discreetly and behind closed doors, they do.
cation. But discreetly and behind closed doors, they do. As one put it to me recently, “This is one choice we dare not get wrong.”
divorce, abortion or birth control, and certainly that challenges the liberal consensus in many societies.
II canonised and the title “Great” affixed to his name?
Most people trying to understand the Vatican simply don’t have this background. Hence what looks from the outside like secrecy is often really singularity. Let me be clear: As a professional communicator, I wish the Holy See did a better job of opening itself up. John Paul II in 1984 said the Church should be a “house of glass,” and we’re not there yet.
R.D.: What do you think is the Vatican’s number one concern today... and why the difference between this concern and possibly what many Americans might think should be the issue?
On the other hand, it’s hard to see how the Vatican is irrelevant. I watched the build-up to the Iraq
J.A.: I suppose many Americans think the sexual abuse scandals should be the only thing, or at least the primary thing, Vatican officials think about. Of course, it’s not like this. American Catholics represent six percent of the world’s 1.1 billion Catholics, and their concerns cannot be the only ones in the Holy See.
In fact, my sense is that today key thinkers in the Vatican are preoccupied with three mega-questions: 1) the challenge of secularisation in the developed West; 2) Islam and the war on terror; 3) biotechnology and life issues.
R.D.: What has been the initial
J.A. Canon law envisions a five-year waiting period, and then the process for beatification could begin on the local level (i.e., in Krakow, perhaps also simultaneously in Rome). That’s unless the next pope chooses to waive the waiting period, as John Paul II did with Mother Teresa.
I’m sure we’ll see mammoth worldwide requests for the process to begin, and for “the Great” to be applied to his name. Much depends on who the next pope will be, however, and how he chooses to approach this question.
(Some experts in the past have suggested a moratorium on beatifying popes, on the grounds that the purpose of a beatification is to lift up a model of holiness, and popes have already been proposed to the world as a role model by virtue of their election).
I’m not a historical determinist I don’t pretend to know what the
a kind of rolling bazaar set up. You could buy appliances, have your tires rotated, anything... except buy an umbrella.
Eventually a Ukranian policeman took pity and loaned me a poncho.
At the same time, for the most part there is no cover-up, no dark forces orchestrating events behind the scenes. Most of the time, what you see is what you get, if you have eyes to see and ears to hear.
R.D.: What is the atmosphere like in the Vatican? Are people already planning for the next pope, or is it business as usual?
As we were making our way back to the press gallery, caught sight out of the corner of my eye of a young Ukranian woman, maybe 20-25, on her knees, crying. I walked up and waited until she noticed me, then asked if she spoke any English or Italian. She spoke a little English, so asked her why she was crying. She told me her grandfather had been a Greek Catholic priest (remember that Eastern Rite priests can marry), and had been arrested by the Soviets. He was given the choice of either converting to Orthodoxy, or remaining loyal to the Pope and staying in jail. He chose jail, and died in the gulags. The young woman said she was imagining what must be in her grandfather’s heart that day seeing the Holy Father on Ukrainian soil. That moment brought home for me how the significance of the papacy, what it represents and how
J.A.: The truth is, both. The volume of business being generated by the Vatican has not decreased because the Pope is elderly and ill. Bishops are still
■ With Guy Crouchback
The British Home Secretary proposed recently that inciting religious hatred be made a criminal offence punishable by up to 7 years prison.
Like other proposals made in obeisance to political correctness, this is filled with danger. It could very easily be turned into a weapon against any religion, including, and as things are today especially, Christianity. It will probably be parallel to The Public Order Act 1986 which makes it an offence to use threatening, abusive or insulting words with intent or likelihood of stirring up racial hatred.
Christians are enjoined to proclaim their religion, which they are also told is the one true faith. They are also enjoined to love sinners but hate sin. This means they should hate the errors which Christianity holds that nonChristian religions contain. The Book of Proverbs, Chapter 13, Verse 5, says: “The righteous hate what is false.” Suppose a Christian priest speaks on this passage to someone who misinterprets it, proceeds to punch a non-Christian on the nose, and then claims the Priest incited him to do it. Does the priest go to prison for seven years? One can see banning of very large passages of the Bible, as well as possibly the sacred books of other religions.
Further, it is often difficult to say what is a religion and what is not. Witchcraft is reported to be widespread. Is it going to be an offence to criticise witchcraft or to say that astrology is nonsense? Might even Satanism claim protection from criticism under such legislation? This is by no means as ridiculous or far-feteched a proposition as it might appear, or would have appeared a few years ago. There
are already a series of much-promoted children’s books in England which can be seen as pushing a sort of cosmeticised version of Satanism. Would criticising these books on these grounds invite prosecution?
These books depict Christians, particularly Catholic priests, as torturing and murdering children, but it is safe to say they will not be prosecuted if the proposed law is passed, any more than will the anti-Christian da Vinci Code - political correctness is a one-way street. Nor, I imagine, will the various blasphemous plays which are a feature of the modern British stage be prosecuted (Not that, in all probablitiy, they need to be. The audiences stay away from them in overwhelming numbers in any case.)
On the other hand C. S. Lewis’s “Narnia” books might be prosecuted and banned because in Lewis’s imaginary world of Narnia the Calormenes, swarthy-skinned desert-dwellers who wear turbans and carry curved swords, and who could conceivably be taken as representing a certain great monothestic religion in this world, worship a cruel, vulture-like God and finally conquer and enslave the gentle Narnians.
Already in Britain under the present government there have been a stream of Draconian prosecutions against people who violate the precepts of political correctness in even the most harmless way - even the criminal prosecution of an English child who racially insulted another child after himself having been called a skunk and a teletubby in a school playground argument! - while incitement to violence and hatred the other way is permitted and sometimes even encouraged.
This proposal is only the latest instance of Political Correctness being used as a kind of Aqua Regia to dissolve not only ordinary common sense, but the whole structure of assumptions, values and traditions that go to make up our civilization. It could happen here. Whether or not it will be successful depends on how effectively the likes of us resist it.
(contemporary human mobility and the stand of the Church)
Traditionally missionaries have been, and to a large extent still are, Church personnel originating from a different country – in a sense migrants – who seek to embody and witness to the good news of Jesus Christ. Thus the migration of religious personnel has often been associated with the movement of peoples.
As we have argued, diversity is deeply etched on the face of innumerable human communities which over a period of time have either been forced or have chosen to move across national borders. Their minds and hearts have proclaimed the one message in a variety of languages, through a diversity of symbols and underpinned by many cultural understandings. “The world’s peoples are so different!” we often exclaim. Likewise, the Church is so different. In fact in the Church, diversity is of the essence.
From the beginning, the mission of the Church has been expressed through relationships with people on the move. This has led to the mixing and blending of everything under the sun, embodying in its fulness the mystery of Christ. How else can the growth of Christianity in Europe be explained and since the Renaissance in the Americas, in Africa and in Asia?
Particularly over the last hundred years or so official pronouncements by Church authorities have become frequent and articulate.
The frequency underscores the Church’s growing sense of obligation to speak out on social issues, one of which is migration. It also demonstrates that more understanding is needed, both within and beyond the Church.
Encyclopedias on the issues of migration are beginning to fill bookshelves, the number of academic journals about migration has grown.
The Scalabrinians alone publish six academic journals with an interdisciplinary perspective and have recently established in Rome a Scalabrini International Migration Institute (SIMI), an international academic body
promoting the scientific formation and professional training of scholars, researchers and pastoral workers operating in different areas of human mobility.
Courses on the theology of migration, offered as part of formal training, particularly in North America and Europe, are taught in a number of public as well as independent universities. They promote theological reflection on this rather contentious phenomenon of our times. Sadly such courses are quite lacking in Australia at the moment. And yet the great and growing diversity in the make-up of the Churches and of the Catholic Church, particularly in countries such as the USA, Canada, several western European countries - with Australia no less than any of them - is a strong signal that needs to be heeded.
Theologians are beginning to elaborate the contribution that their insights can bring to a fuller understanding of migration in a variety of ways: by re-presenting some biblical stories, such as the stories of Abraham and Sarah, of Joseph and his brothers in Egypt, Moses, Ruth, Daniel etc; by proffering some theological themes to help understand the phenomenon better, such as pilgrim and guest, reconciliation and catholicity. And also by critiquing some of the most common catchcries of today such as the way is Christ, not globalisation; remission not indebtednes; neighbourliness in place of xenophobia; solidarity instead of exclusion.
In the United States, one of the best known migration institutes is the Mexican American Cultural Center (MACC) in San Antonio, Texas which studies the ways in which people of Hispanic cultures express their faith and the possibilities of cultural pluralism in the US Church.
On a more sophisticated level, the Institute for Ecumenical and Cultural Research at Collegeville, Minnesota, is a centre for research and publications about the relation of the Church to differing cultures and differing religious beliefs.
Notwithstanding some notable efforts – i.e. the Anglican ITEMS course in applied theology, formerly accredited by the Melbourne College of Divinity as “Multicultural Australia and the Church” – nothing of major importance has been devised in Australia. Perhaps it is worth remembering one of the findings of the Anglican Archbishop of Melbourne’s Commission on Multicultural Ministry and Mission:
We cannot accept the idea that Anglicans should think and act as merely an ethnic Church. We value enormously our British heritage, but confess too often it has been used to restrict ministry and mission.
We believe we are called to a broader and deeper understanding of God’s purposes. Our particular and immediate response must be to reshape our structure, attitudes and actions in our multicultural society.
Two country towns are calling their city friends to be part of a special event for Catholic Mission’s Tsunami Solidarity Fund.
In line with their big hearts and open spaces a small band of concerned, enthusiastic and motivated people have been galvanised to organise a Gala Charity Dinner Auction on 2 April 2005 as a fundraiser for the long-term rebuilding program in all affected countries.
Mary and Michael Nenke, of
“Desperately Seeking Sheila” fame, have agreed to hold the Dinner Auction at their “Cambinata Yabbie” Farm east of Kukerin and just 36 kilometres west of Lake Grace.
Mary said, “Our neighbours and community have just recently experienced a ferocious fire that destroyed thousands of hectares of farmland, fences and hundreds of animals that form our own livelihood. When the fire was racing towards us all we could do was to pray as a family and miraculously our prayers were answered with the gale force winds fanning the flames changing direction.
“Our hearts go out to all those
untold hundreds of thousands of people who have lost everything in the tsunami and we want to do something concrete to help them and let them see that they are not alone or forgotten. After all, everything we have is God-given and anything our family can do to help others is God’s work.”
Mary continues, “This is a wonderful opportunity for city people to experience and enjoy country hospitality - something different. We are an easy three-hour drive from Perth and two hours from Bunbury and people are invited to make up a table or come individually and make new friends. We are offering on-site camping (by
donation) so bring your caravans, tents or campervans and camp overnight next to our beautifully refurbished shearing shed where the Dinner Auction will be held. We will also offer breakfast the next morning before you leave to travel home.”
“Alternatively, accommodation can be arranged within Kukerin township or at various accommodation facilities in Lake Grace and districts. A bus will be available for all guests staying at Lake Grace. (Please ask for a list of accommodation when booking).”
“Tickets at $40 per person are available now until 22 March 2005 but be quick as bookings, names
and payment are essential prior to the dinner.”
The dinner auction will commence with pre-dinner drinks at 6.30pm and a three-course country dinner will start at 7.00pm. Wine, beer, soft drink will be available for purchase (no BYO) and entertainment, bush ballads and a giant auction will be enjoyed throughout the evening. (Auction items gladly accepted.)
For further information and purchase of tickets please contact Mary Nenke, 9864 6054, email: cambinatayabbies@bigpond.com or Lyn Carroll, Catholic Mission Office, 98836171, email: lyncarroll @catholicmission.org.au
An Ethiopian Bishop has spoken about how the West is labouring under the delusion that aid pumped into Africa makes precious little difference to those most in need.
In an interview at the project headquarters of the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), the Bishop Musie Ghebreghiorghis criticised the media for giving too much coverage to disaster stories in poverty-stricken countries, such as Ethiopia.
Installed in February 2004 as bishop of a brand new diocese, south west of the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, the prelate said the problems were not so much about getting overseas aid as using existing resources more effectively.
Speaking exclusively to ACN on a visit to the charity’s project headquarters near Frankfurt, Germany, Bishop Musie Ghebreghiorghis, 55 said: “We have nothing to complain about when it comes to support from the international community. We are only too thankful.
“But we simply have to share the word of thanks through radio and television. Instead of always communicating bad news, we should spread good news about the good work that so many people are doing.” Bishop Musie Ghebreghiorghis’s remarks follow increasing international concern that Africa is the only continent to have become poorer in the last 20 years, with five million in Ethiopia alone dependent on food aid.
Bob Geldof, the rock singer turned campaigner against poverty in Africa has said part of the continent’s problem lies in the West’s reluctance to listen to the poverty-stricken nations themselves, convinced that “we had all the answers”. Bishop Musie Ghebreghiorghis’s broadside against excessive bad news‚ stories about Africa came after he delivered impassioned words of praise for charities committed to the cause of his people: “ACN is one of our best supporters,” he said.
In one of its latest projects, ACN has given primary assistance to enable Bishop Musie Ghebreghiorghis to start his fledgling Diocese of Emdibir, ending the region’s reliance on Church authorities in Addis Ababa, more than 150 miles away.
Now the charity’s key focus of support for the new diocese is to expand the work of the Church’s massive medical and schools programs. The bishop, who is a Capuchin friar of Eritrean extraction, said that despite Catholics making up only 18,000 in a population of two million, the Church was heavily involved in running most of his region’s schools and health institutions.
In Emdibir diocese, the Church has key responsibilities in the run-
ning of two hospitals in the towns of Atat and Wolisso and a host of schools and kindergartens.
Bishop Musie Ghebreghiorghis said: “There are many, many Muslims, Orthodox and Animists in the area but the Catholics are very small in number. And yet”, he added, “we are the most appreciated for what we do in the community.
“Even so there is still much more that we could do,” he continued. “More than 80 percent of the people do not read or write. So you see education is very important to everything we do.”
In a diocese with only 15 priests and a similar number of religious sisters, the bishop said lay people held the key to the Church’s future.
He said that in his diocese evangelisation fell largely to as many as 60 catechists. “Their training and formation is very important,” said the bishop.
He added that the rapid growth of the Church in Ethiopia owed much to the work of lay missionaries whose presence had been a defining characteristic of Catholicism in the country for many years.
The bishop, who is a Capuchin friar of Eritrean extraction, said that despite Catholics only making up only 18,000 in a population of two million, the Church was heavily involved in running most of his region's schools and health institutions.
Unlike the Orthodox Church, which dates back to the earliest Christian times, the first Catholics to arrive in the country were lay missionaries who came to Ethiopia in the 1880s.
He said that a Church which had grown from a handful to almost 20,000 in the space of barely a century owed much to the Catholics’ commitment to the country’s educational, medical and social development.
Editor’s Notes:
Enjoying the personal backing of Pope John Paul II, Aid to the Church in Need is a registered charity dedicated to the support of persecuted and oppressed Christians. Founded in 1947 by Fr Werenfried van Straaten, whom the Pope named “An Outstanding Apostle of Charity”, the organisation is now at work in about 130 countries throughout the world, especially Eastern Europe. The charity undertakes thousands of projects every year including providing transport for clergy and lay Church workers, construction of church buildings, funding for
priests and nuns and help to train seminarians. Since the initiative’s launch in 1979, about 40 million Aid to the Church in Need Child’s Bibles have been distributed worldwide. For more information about Aid to the Church in Need, contact the Sydney office of Aid to the Church in Need 02 9679-1929.
AJewish group’s recent threat to sue for access to Church archives left Vatican officials unimpressed.
“It doesn’t make much sense, if you know how archives function. We certainly aren’t going to be intimidated,” said one Church expert.
Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld, vice president of the Coalition for Jewish Concerns, said in Washington on January 27 that his group would take legal action unless the Vatican Secret Archives were opened within a week. The group believes the material could identify Jewish children baptised as Catholics during World War II.
There are a couple of reasons why such demands for documents are not taken very seriously at the Vatican.
For one thing, delayed opening of archival materials - typically from 50 to 100 years - is a practice adopted by states all over the world, for technical reasons and to protect archives from contemporary political pressures.
Second, the Vatican has made extraordinary efforts to open some document sections in advance in recent years - only to find that very few scholars bother to examine the material.
“It’s strange. It seems that if they can’t find confirmation of their predetermined but undocumented theories, the archives can be forgotten,” said Father Sergio Pagano,
prefect of the Vatican Secret Archives. Father Pagano told the Italian newspaper Avvenire in January that only a trickle of experts is examining the documents regarding Vatican relations with Germany from 1922 to 1939; those documents were made available last fall, ahead of schedule.
The Vatican archives also had seven employees work for three years collating more than 3 million documents on the Holy See’s quiet efforts to help prisoners of war during World War II. The material was
opened last May; so far, only 10 European scholars have come to do research, Father Pagano said.
“Sometimes you get the impression that some scholars, whose voices are perhaps amplified too much by the media, demand the opening of the Vatican archives as if they wanted to battle their way into a secret fortress,” Father Pagano said.
“But when the doors open and the documents can be consulted, those who seemed interested don’t show up, or come for what is basically a tourist visit,” he said.
A government plan for the post-tsunami replacement of houses that were close to the coast might cause serious difficulties for fishing communities and for the local Church, say observers.
Fishermen make up the sector hardest-hit by the December 26 tsunami that struck in Asia and Africa.
In Sri Lanka, the authorities’ decision to remove the houses from the coast “has caused protests because most fishermen are used to living right by the sea,” said Father Sunil de Silva, secretary of Colombo Archbishop Oswald Gomis.
“The Church and the opposition are protesting because such a restriction would make fishermen helpless,” said the priest.
The government’s restriction will weaken the position of the Church itself because, “around one-third of fishermen are Catholics, and we are concerned that Catholic communities will be dispersed if this rule is implemented, and the strength of the Church would be diminished,” explained Father de Silva.
Human rights activists already have criticised the government’s
reconstruction plans, saying that the proposals do not take into consideration the needs of the people for whom they are intended.
Father de Silva added that the authorities want to build fourstorey concrete blocks but that “this is not what people want.”
“I don’t think the government is ignoring survivors’ needs and wishes, but it is time for it and the people to reach a consensus,” he said.
However, “the government has yet to begin reconstruction. People have been waiting and waiting, well aware it will take time to build houses.”
The Catholic Church, meanwhile, continues with its rehabilitation projects.
Houses are being rebuilt or repaired and, in some areas, people have been resettled.
According to the secretary of Colombo’s Archbishop, the top priorities are to help fishermen and to rebuild schools.
A month after the tragedy,
the spirit of solidarity shown by tsunami survivors remains strong, regardless of their ethnic group or religion, and the bulk of Church aid is going East where the need is greatest, the priest said.
Caritas Sri Lanka and other institutions of the Church have decided to establish in each diocese of the affected areas a team of experts in charge of coordinating the post-emergency plans.
In a statement to ZENIT last Friday, Caritas explained that this is the way it is responding to the request made to humanitarian organisations of the Church by the president of the country’s episcopal conference, Bishop Joseph Vianney Fernando, during a recent meeting in Colombo.
At the meeting it was learned that in Sri Lanka alone, the tsunami killed more than 30,000 people and destroyed 80,000 houses and seriously damaged another 40,000. About 5,500 people are listed as missing -Zenit
In the Vatican’s view, the recent controversy over a document discovered in France illustrates the dangers of amateur archival research.
The letter, discovered in French church archives, purportedly was approved by Pope Pius XII. It said Jewish children who had been baptised to save them from the Nazis were to be entrusted only to families or institutions that would guarantee their continuing education in the faith.
Jewish groups pounced on the text, saying it proved that the Vatican under Pope Pius XII did not want baptised Jewish children returned to their parents.
But Vatican experts quickly pointed out that the letter was an unsigned summary of church policies, with no clear indication of source. It was written in French and was not found in the archives of the papal nunciature in France.
Then a more complete version of the letter emerged, clarifying that church leaders were speaking of abandoned Jewish children who were in the care of Church institutions, not children whose parents wanted them back.
“It would be another thing if the children were requested back by the parents,” said the letter.
At the Vatican, Father Pagano oversees more than 50 miles of shelved archival documents, and the material just keeps growing.
For example, he said, over the last six years, more than 5 million pieces of paper have been added to the collection.
The material is opened by pontificate, and next year the Vatican Secret Archives will make available documents from the papacy of Pope Pius XI, 1922-1939. -CNS
The world’s traditional tribal or indigenous religions are rich in values that can contribute to peacemaking, but they need to be better known and supported, said participants in a Vatican meeting.
In most traditional religions, “peace is viewed in terms of harmony with all facets of reality: the seen and unseen, the divine and the human, the cosmic and the historical,” said the final statement from the January 12-15 meeting.
Sponsored by the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, the meeting brought together Catholics from North and South America, Africa, Asia and the South Pacific who were specialists in traditional religions, often because they had been raised in families that follow those religions.
The final statement was released in late January.
“Peace in traditional religions is fostered by a communitarian as opposed to an individualistic way of life,” the statement said.
Traditional religions contribute to
peace by emphasising a sense of responsibility and stewardship for the gifts of the created world, it said.
In addition, the statement said, traditional religions tend to value the role of women as peacemakers and to promote “restorative justice as well as forgiveness.”
The statement said that many of the religions, which usually are confined to a small ethnic group in a limited geographical region, struggle to promote the values of their faith in a world increasingly marked by globalisation.
In areas where there are traditional religions, participants said, the Catholic Church must engage in dialogue with them.
In addition, they said, the Catholic Church also must listen to its members who have family and cultural ties with traditional religions.
“Through these two types of dialogue, the participants believe that both Christians and the followers of traditional religions will come to a better understanding of the richness of traditional religions, but also of their possible limitations,” the statement said.
Participants said that if the Catholic Church took more seriously the positive values found in traditional religions the quest for peace in the world would advance.
The Robert Manuel family is decidedly pro-life. However, they speak a lot about “choice.”
Their daughter Kayla is a choice. And so are their two sons, Jordan and Nicholas, and their other daughter, Tegan. All of the Manuels’ four adopted children were born to women who could have chosen abortion. Instead, they chose life.
Kayla Manuel, 16, is a junior at Bishop Sullivan High School in Baton Rouge. She recently won second place in the Diocese of Baton Rouge’s Respect Life Oratory Contest.
“I am a choice,” she wrote. “I was born in South America to a young teenage mum. She could not afford to raise me and the father was out of the picture. Instead of getting an abortion, she made the decision to put me up for adoption. It is this selfless act of my birth mother that allows me
to be here today. Because of her choice, I am able to live a full and happy life and I am able to fulfil the plans God has for me.”
The Manuels know it was God’s plan for them to have children. When they were unable to conceive, they looked into alternate fertilisation methods, but almost immediately felt this was not the route they were supposed to take.
“We didn’t look at adoption as a second choice,” Becky Manuel told The Catholic Commentator, Baton Rouge’s diocesan newspaper. “We wanted the child God had planned for us. This child was going to come from elsewhere than a doctor’s office.”
She began researching international adoptions in 1987. Instead of waiting years, the Manuels
brought their first child, Kayla, home before Christmas that year.
For nine years the Manuels were a family of three, but for some time Becky Manuel had the feeling that there was another baby waiting for them. This time they tried a domestic adoption. Within six months, a birth mother chose the Manuels as the family she wanted for her son. “It was the hand of God,” Becky Manuel said. “It was just so quick.”
With one boy and one girl, husband Robert Manuel certainly felt that the family was complete. He was delighted with his two children, but had no desire for any more. His wife did not share his sentiment. She convinced her husband they should try for another adoption, and last year they welcomed home their two
youngest children. Robert Manuel readily acknowledges that family is a big commitment. Some mothers are not ready for the responsibility. But the Manuels feel when a woman says yes to an abortion, she is saying no to family, not just for herself but also for the couple that could have adopted her baby.
“The choices mothers make are life and death,” Kayla Manuel wrote in her speech. “Since when has a woman been given the rights of God alone? To choose whether someone lives or dies. No human should be given the right to decide if another human should be able to live out the life God has planned for them.”
“I can’t imagine this planet without these children in it,” Becky Manuel said motioning to her family. “I am thankful that their birth mothers never gave (abortion) a second thought.” -CNS
A crowd of more than 1,000 people packed Blessed Sacrament Church in Alexandria on January 21 to be in the presence of the Eucharist and to hear Father Benedict Groeschel, a Franciscan Friar of the Renewal and a popular writer and retreat leader.
“Almost a year ago you were praying for me not to go to purgatory,” said Father Groeschel, who hovered near death after a car hit him in January last year. He underwent a long recovery and last fall resumed his schedule, but the effects of the near-fatal car accident could still be seen.
According to Father Groeschel, the renewal of the Church will begin when people start giving respect and reverence to the Eucharist. He told stories about the “old days” when people never spoke inside the church.
“The reverence to Christ has eroded in the Catholic Church,” he said. “The sense of mystery was lost. The Catholic faith is a faith of mystery. We must be prepared to understand and accept that mystery.”
The word “mystery” comes from a Greek word meaning “with your eyes closed.”
“Part of the problem in this age is that it thinks it understands everything, but we are surrounded by mysteries,” he said. High school science classes are the first to teach that everything can be known. “(Albert) Einstein’s favourite mystery was the Blessed
Pope John Paul II has sent an envoy to the tsunami-stricken areas of Indonesia and Sri Lanka, offering his personal sympathy to the victims and praying that those involved in relief efforts would be filled with wisdom and strength.
“I pray that the solidarity shown by our brothers and sisters throughout the world will prove a source of encouragement, hope and perseverance to everyone in the great work of rebuilding that lies ahead,” the Pope said in a message sent with his envoy.
Archbishop Paul Cordes, president of the
Sacrament of the Church,” he added.
According to Father Groeschel, people such as John Wesley, founder of Methodism, and Martin Luther, founder of the Lutherans, still believed in the real presence of the Eucharist and showed respect for it.
“Outside the Catholic Church are people who do better with
Pontifical Council “Cor Unum,” the Vatican’s charity promotion and coordinating office, left Rome on January 29 for Indonesia. He was to visit Aceh, the hardest-struck province, and celebrate a memorial Mass there for the victims.
The Archbishop was to fly to Sri Lanka for a February 2-4 visit.
For the second year in a row, Pope John Paul II will begin his Lenten observance by replacing his weekly general audience with a Liturgy of the Word and the distribution of ashes on Ash Wednesday, February 9.
Following his normal practice, he will spend the first full week of Lent on retreat with his top Vatican aides.
He has chosen Italian Bishop Renato
the Eucharist than we do,” he said. Father Groeschel told a story about a group of older Protestant African-American women from Harlem who were invited to a holy hour with his religious order. Even though they did not understand the Eucharist completely, they knew that the “sweet Lord Jesus” was there, he added.
“The holy Eucharist was in the Church (for) 700 years when someone got the idea of reserving the Eucharist outside of Mass for adoration,” he said.
At some point, the tradition of adoration came to St Francis of Assisi, who promoted it. After St Francis died, a young nun was given a vision of Christ asking for her to establish a feast of Corpus Christi. Pope Urban XI answered that call and the feast day was established. Corpus Christi is still celebrated as a holiday throughout Europe.
“Adoration of the Eucharist should bring us joy,” he said. “Even those trapped in sinful lives, who can’t receive holy Communion, can come to that step” and be with Christ. -CNS
Corti of Novara, vice president of the Italian bishops’ conference, to preach the February 13-19 retreat. For the first time, he will end the retreat semi-publicly, with Mass and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament on February 19 in St Peter’s Basilica.
Officials of the Diocese of Rome and employees of the Vatican have been invited to participate. Bishop Corti, 68, is scheduled to preach the Lenten retreat on the theme “The Church at the Service of the New and Eternal Covenant.”
Pope John Paul II, meeting representatives of the Oriental Orthodox churches, prayed that “the real bonds of communion between us may be further strengthened.”
Continued from page 1
Chaldean Patriarch EmmanuelKarim Delly of Baghdad condemned those who used violence to express their opposition to the vote.
“It’s possible to have differing opinions, but some showed it with ferocity, others peacefully,” he said.
“Everyone, Christians and Muslims, went to vote as one people,” he told the Italian-based missionary news agency Asianews on January 31.
“Those who want the best for our country cast a vote,” he said.
Chaldean Auxiliary Bishop Shlemon Warduni of Baghdad told Vatican Radio on January 31 he was partially satisfied with the election process.
“On the one hand I am certainly satisfied because it means we are going forward with democracy and freedom; but on the other hand, I am not satisfied because not everyone participated,” he said.
Early exit polls suggested that in some parts of Iraq a substantial percentage of Sunni Muslims did not vote. More than 62 percent of Iraq’s population is Shiite Muslim, while 34 percent is Sunni Muslim, a different branch of Islam.
Under Saddam Hussein, power was generally in the hands of the Sunni minority.
If too many Sunnis opted out of elections, “we will have some difficulties” in forging a united country, said Bishop Warduni.
But most Catholic leaders said they were optimistic a fully democratic process would benefit the whole country no matter what group obtains a majority in the transitional assembly.
Chaldean Archbishop Djibrail Kassab of Basra told Asianews that “Christians, like all Iraqis, just want a government, a constitution and a democracy.”
Father Najim said, “If there is a capable citizen who wants to help build a new Iraq, we will support him” no matter what his religious affiliation may be.
Members of the official dialogue between the Vatican and the Oriental Orthodox churches were meeting in Rome on January 27-30 to discuss “The Church as Communion.”
Meeting the dialogue members on January 28, the Pope said the ties between the churches must be strengthened “through a spirituality of communion, which contemplates the mystery of the Trinity dwelling in us and sees what is positive in others, to welcome it and prise it as a gift from God.”
The January session marked the second meeting of the dialogue commission.
It is sponsored by the Vatican and by the Coptic Orthodox, Syrian Orthodox, Armenian Apostolic, Ethiopian Orthodox, Eritrean Orthodox and Malankara Orthodox Syrian churches.
One of the most talked-about US social phenomena of the past 30 years has been the “fatherhood crisis,” wrought by a culture of permissiveness and easy divorce.
Few public officials and academics, however, have looked to Christianity as a source of renewal for fatherhood in everyday life, in part, says one researcher, because they often accept the myth that Christian men are domineering and patriarchal.
That misconception prompted University of Virginia sociologist Brad Wilcox to study the state of fatherhood among Protestant men and write about his research in “Soft Patriarchs, New Men: How Christianity Shapes Husbands and Fathers” (University of Chicago Press).
He shared with ZENIT his findings, which challenge some of the secular assumptions about Christian fathers, and his thoughts on Catholic fatherhood.
Q: What inspired you to study and write about the state of Protestant fatherhood?
Wilcox: I was raised in the liberal wing of the Episcopal Church, but migrated into the evangelical wing of that church as a young adult. So I had personal experiences with mainline and evangelical Protestantism, though I am now Catholic.
When I started reading critical academic accounts of evangelical Protestantism, I found them unconvincing. One article by a Princeton Seminary academic, for instance, argued that there was an intrinsic link between evangelical Christianity and child abuse.
I set out to test these academic accounts with serious empirical research of evangelical fathers and husbands - something which, for the most part, was sorely lacking in academic discussions of evangelicalism.
I have written articles and a book on surveys of more than 1,000 pastors and more than 3,000 husbands and fathers of all religious traditions in the United States.
Q: Do you think your studies would turn up similar findings among Catholics?
Wilcox: My book focuses on Protestants, but my empirical analyses, in the appendices, include Catholic fathers and husbands. I’ve also done a separate paper looking at traditional Catholics compared to regular and liberal Catholics.
I find that mainline Protestant fathers are somewhat more involved than secular fathers and that evangelical Protestant fathers are markedly more involved than secular fathers.
For the most part, Catholic patterns would be similar. For instance, I find that self-described “traditional” Catholic fathers and mothers are markedly more involved with their children than other Catholic - and secular - parents.
The main difference between traditional Catholics and evangelical Protestants is that traditional Catholics rely more on close friends and family to guide and monitor their children, and evangelical Protestants rely more on rules and their own direct parental oversight to guide their children.
Q: Why do you call today’s Christian men “soft patriarchs”?
Wilcox: Evangelical Protestant family men are patriarchs because they see themselves as the heads of their families, they do less house-
work than their secular peers, and they take a stricter approach to discipline than secular fathers.
But theirs is a “soft” patriarchy because their authoritative approach to family life is softened by large amounts of affection and involvement, both with their children and with their wife.
Q: Has the Christian male’s understanding of familial patriarchy changed in recent years?
Wilcox: Fifty years ago, many Christian men saw male authority in the home largely in terms of their rights to a certain level of service and deference from their wife and children. Of course, these same Christian men also believed that male authority was linked to successful work outside the home, which was largely done to serve their families.
Now, many Christian men see their authority at home primarily in terms of their responsibilities to serve their wife and children in the home. So this ethic of male responsibility applies now both to work
outside the home and work inside the home.
Q: Is there a crisis of fatherhood in America? How do you think this has affected children’s vocations, especially to the priesthood?
Wilcox: There is a twofold crisis in fatherhood in America.
The biggest crisis in fatherhood is that approximately 50% of American children will spend part of their childhood living apart from their biological father- either due to divorce, separation or illegitimacy. These children are much more likely to suffer serious emotional, social and spiritual consequences.
For instance, boys who grow up without their father are twice as likely to end up in prison, compared to boys who grow up in an intact family. I suspect that children from these homes have difficulty pursuing vocations to marriage, religious life, apostolic celibacy or the priesthood because they have not seen commitment modeled by their parents.
The second crisis is that too many fathers - including Christian fathers - do not teach their children the virtues of obedience and fortitude. They are soft with their children, and tolerate too much disobedience, misbehaviour, sloth and cowardice from their children.
I suspect that children in soft homes have difficulty embracing the sacrifices associated with a vocation to religious life, apostolic celibacy or the priesthood.
Q: Your studies demonstrated that fathers are spending more time with their children. However, it seems that society in general has exhibited a further weakening of the bonds of family. What accounts for this phenomenon?
Wilcox: Overall, children spend no more time with their fathers than did children in the 1960s. But this general trend obscures a fundamental disjunction in the lives of contemporary children.
Children living in intact families now spend more time with their fathers than did the average child living in the 1960s. Children living in fatherless homes now spend much less time with their fathers than did the average child living in the 1960s.
Family structure makes all the difference in the world for contemporary paternal involvement.
Q: Another interesting statistic noted in your book was that the Christian men you surveyed did far less housework than their wives, yet these same women exhibited the highest degree of satisfaction with their husbands. Why
the disparity? Wilcox: Evangelical Protestant men do about an hour less of housework, compared to secular men. But evangelical wives whose husbands attend church regularly report the highest levels of marital satisfaction of any major group in the United States.
What gives? My book indicates that evangelical wives get more gratitude and affection from their husbands than secular wives. And it turns out that the emotional work that husbands do is more important for wives’ marital happiness than the housework that their husbands do. In other words, compliments matter more than cleaning.
Q: Some have claimed that Christianity has become overly feminised in the past 50 years. Were the Protestant men you studied emasculated by their faith life, or supported in the growth of authentically male virtues? How do you see the masculinity of Catholic men displayed and encouraged?
Wilcox: I do not think that the evangelical Protestant men I studied are emasculated but I do think there is a danger that some of these men-- as well as many Catholic men - are drifting in the direction of emasculation, both with themselves and their children.
Of course, the danger with encouraging men to focus more on family life is that they may lose sight of their unique roles in the family as teachers, protectors, disciplinarians and challenging guides to the outside world. Contemporary fathers need to figure out how they can exercise a uniquely paternal role inside the home that doesn’t turn them into a second - and inadequate - mother.
Many evangelical churches have strong pastors and men’s ministries that encourage manly virtues, and succeed in making men see faith and family life in a manly lightpartly because they are not afraid to tackle controversial moral issues from the pulpit.
Unfortunately, I would say that there are few Catholic churches in the United States that have pastors or men’s ministries that present faith or family life in a manly light.
It is no accident that evangelical churches have higher rates of male participation than do Catholic churches. Priests and Catholic men need to rectify this by revisiting the life of Our Lord, and by embracing the array of manly virtues that he displays throughout the New Testament.
- ZenitThe role of parishes in promoting marriage
Continued from page 6 couples with a live-in weekend so that they can get away to be with one another and to focus on how to make their communication even better.
Everyone in the parish is called to reflect on how marriage is to be promoted and valued. The married
couples themselves are encouraged as they consider again the importance of their Sacrament in the life of the Church. Jesus gave to all couples the assurance that their awesome promise to love and honour one another for the rest of their lives is possible because of His powerful presence in their
marriage. It is not just up to them to find the strength to be true.
The Parish Priests and the other leaders are challenged to find ways to nurture and assist the married couples and particularly the couples wanting to create a marriage. A serious period of preparation is needed. It is a work that requires
gifts and experiences from the priests, couples and the excellent agencies of the Archdiocese. The staffs of Catholic Marriage Education Services and Engaged Encounter are always available to help a parish community provide the best preparation for newly engaged.
I am confident that World Marriage Day will give each of us the chance to celebrate the wonderful call of marriage to renew and strengthen our society. Let it challenge us as parish communities to own the responsibility to support and form those who are called to marriage.
■ FULLY QUALIFIED
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required for New Christian Catholic Project, giving help to children in need of care, love and training. We require a person who has high Christian Catholic beliefs, willing to work on a voluntary basis (some help available) to help formulate this large project from the start. For the right person it will be a very exciting God-driven position. For further information please contact 9368 5292 tel/fax.
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To assist 43 year old quick witted male (interests include sports and current affairs) who has cerebral palsy. He is in an electric wheelchair needing assistance with daily living activities. All safety equipment is provided. Police clearance, first aid certificate, drivers licence and reference/s essential. Job share available Monday to Friday 8.30am to 6pm. Ring Toni on 9345 4036 or 0415 881 755 after 6pm for more details.
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Specialising in gifts, cards and apparel for baptism, communion and confirmation. Ph: 9456 1777. Shop 12A, 64-66 Bannister Road, Canning Vale. Open Mon-Sat
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■ RICH HARVEST BIBLES, Books, CD’s, Cards, gifts, Statues, Baptism & Communion Apparel, Albs, Vestments and much more. RICH HARVEST, 39 Hulme Court, Myaree, 9329 9889 after 10.30am.
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Delicious meals, unique giftware for all occasions. Regular workshops and seminars, catering for office and other groups, giftware for schools, parishes, individuals. Ph: 9470 1423, 0414 624 580, email: aparacidas@myaccess. com.au. See ad page 2
Classifieds Ph: Kylie - 9227 7080 or A/h: 9227 7778
4 Mass and Presentation of Youth Books to Yr 12s, Trinity CollegeArchbishop Hickey
6 Mass and Launch of Project Compassion, St Mary’s CathedralArchbishop Hickey
Farewell Eucharist for Archbishop Carnley, UWA - Archbishop Hickey Mass of Commissioning for Leaders and Visitors of Basic Ecclesial Communities, Como - Bishop Sproxton
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Contact: Phone: 0418 650 661 or email: nsstormtpg.com.au
8 Commissioning Mass for School Staff, Western Region, Redemptorist Monastery - Archbishop Hickey Mass and Commissioning of Foundation Principal for Newman College, Churchlands - Archbishop Hickey Commissioning Mass for School Staff, North Eastern Region, Leederville - Bishop Sproxton
9 Ash Wednesday Mass, 12.10 pm, St Mary’s Cathedral - Archbishop Hickey
Opening Mass for St Charles’ Seminary - Archbishop Hickey Ash Wednesday Mass, Como - Bishop Sproxton
Saturday February 5 – 6
CARITAS AUSTRALIA –
PROJECT COMPASSION
Launch of Project Compassion in Parishes; Archbishop Hickey 11.30am Sunday Feb 6 St Mary’s
All panorama items not in this week will be included in the issue of February 20.
Cathedral. Project Compassion Lenten Visitor Mr John Ashworth: has a long association with Sudan where he worked as a Millhill Missionary then as the founding Coordinator of CEAS (our main and long term partner in Sudan). He will share ideas on making a difference and working towards a Just and Peaceful Sudan along with How we can help.
Tuesday February 8 – Catholic
Social Justice Council hosted Lenten Visitor Forum 7.30 – 9pm - 40a Mary St Highgate (parking at rear off Harold St) Tel: 9422 7900.
Wednesday Feb 9 Kalgoorlie/ Boulder Tel: 9021 2100. Saturday Feb 12: 9.45 – 11am - 40a Mary St
Highgate. Tel: 9422 7900. Tuesday Feb 22 – Spirituality in the Pub: Elephant & Wheelbarrow – 7.30 – 9.10pm
Guest Speaker: John Ashworth Cnr Francis & Lake Sts, Northbridge (Parking rear of the Pub entry from Aberdeen St, Meals avail 6pm). Sunday Feb 27: 4 – 7pm (including 6pm Mass) Redemptorist Monastery North
Perth, Host: Monastery Social Justice Group Tel: 9472 4227(w) 9361 4981(h).
Sunday February 6
ETERNAL WORD TELEVISION
NETWORK
1 - 2 pm on Access 31: Church teaching on homosexuality: psychologist, Peter Rudegeaire, with Fr Francis Mary Stone. Enq: 9330 1170. Web site: http://www.cathworld.org/worlds/org/media/
Monday February 7
LEEDERVILLE MENTAL
HEALTH SUPPORT GROUP
10am-12noon, Parish Centre, 40 Franklin St, Leederville. Everybody welcome who’s interested in receiving or giving support to people who’ve suffered from any depression or mental down times. Just come! Enq: Harry Mithen 9444 4626.
Wednesday February 9
LATIN MASSES FOR ASH WEDNESDAY Day of Fast and Abstinence. 10am Low Mass (preceded by Holy Hour at 8.45-9.45am) and 6.30pm Sung Mass. Stations of the Cross on Fridays in Lent, at 6.30pm beginning February 11 at the ProCathedral. St Johns Pro-Cathedral, Victoria Ave Perth. All welcome.
10 Council of Priests’ Meeting, Glendalough - Archbishop Hickey, Bishop Sproxton Commissioning Mass for School Staff, South Central Region, Willetton - Archbishop Hickey Commissioning Mass for School Staff, Northern Coastal Region, Whitford - Bishop Sproxton
12 Year of the Eucharist Seminar, St Bernadette’s Parish, Glendalough - Archbishop Hickey
13 Confirmation for Divine Mercy College at St Mary’s Cathedral - Archbishop Hickey
Farewell Eucharist for Mr Ben Taylor, Embleton - Archbishop Hickey Celebrations for Feast of S Girolamo Emiliani, Hamilton HillBishop Quinn
15 Rite of Election, St Mary’s Cathedral - Bishop Sproxton
15 & 16 Central Commission, Canberra - Archbishop Hickey
17 Mass and Presentation of Youth Book to Yr 12s, Emmanuel Catholic College - Bishop Sproxton
Enq: Fr Michael Rowe 9444 9604.
Wednesday February 9
THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST
The movie will be shown at the Embleton Parish Hall at 7.30pm and also on Saturday Feb 12 at 7.30pm. All welcome. Enq: 9271 5528 or 9272 1379.
Thursday February 10
HEALING MASS
A Healing Mass in honour of St Peregrine, patron of Cancer sufferers and helper of all in need, will be held at the Church of SS John and Paul, Pinetree Gully Rd (off South St), Willetton at 7pm. Enq: Noreen Monaghan 9498 7727.
Thursday February 10
HILLS & EASTERN SUBURBS
MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT GROUP
Kelmscott 12noon starting with light lunch at Good Shepherd Parish Hall, 42 Streich Ave, Kelmscott.
Enq: Barbara Harris of Emmanuel Centre 9328 8113, Clive 9495 1919 or Charles 9497 7170 (after 6pm).
Sunday February 13
VISITATION PARISH OF GINGINCHITTERING
Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. Come! Join our pilgrimage to the
Holy Places of the Visitation Parish. First stop - Our Lady’s ShrineBullsbrook, then on to lunch at Gingin 12noon. 2.30pm depart for St Anne’s Church in Bindoon for Chaplet of Divine Mercy and Benediction at 3pm, this will be followed by the Blessing of the Sick. Coaches depart Mercedes College Carpark 9.30am sharp. To book phone Francis Williams 9459 3873 or Mob 0404 893 877. Transport cost. BYO Lunch. For more details phone Sheila 9575 4023 or Jean 9576 0006 or Fr Paul 9571 1839.
Sunday February 13
SUMMER SUNDAY
Come and join us for a BYO picnic on Scarborough Beach. Mix with old friends and meet some new, from 5pm. Bring your own picnic or buy dinner at Scarborough Beach eateries. From the Scarborough Beach clock tower, head north until you are in front of Peter’s by the Sea kebab place. With that eatery behind you, head towards the water and meet us on the grass at the bottom of the steps. Look for our coloured balloons. This function is organised by an informal network of Catholics who aim to build community amongst those in the 25-50 age group. RSVP and enq: Therese 0413 021 972.
■ By Mark Reidy
With science advancing us into the 21st Century I realise that only the feeblest of minds would even contemplate the notion that Satan actually exists.
In spite of this, however, I recently found myself entertaining an interesting thought.
I recently heard of a vision of Pope Leo XIII in 1888 in which he was reported to have overheard God granting Satan control of the entire next century. The incident shook him enough to pen the words of the Prayer to Saint Michael the Archangel. This subsequently triggered my own creative juices!
Now my wife’s probably right when she says that I have too much time on my idle hands, but I couldn’t help wondering what I would have done with the 20th Century had I been the Devil-incharge?
My first strategy I guess would be to get people to turn away from God or to at least distort their perceptions of Him.
I’d probably soften them up with
a few World Wars and Revolutions …… you know, get into the ears of a few aspiring Dictators!
Then with all the ensuing chaos I’m sure people would start to question the very existence of God and human reasoning will inevitably unleash the instinct of selfpreservation. This type of fear will then create a global insecurity that should escalate itself into a futile arms race.
This will guarantee that the starving and uneducated will tumble down the priority list. Excellent! A world that neglects its most vulnerable is my sort of world!
Then whilst I’ve got the balance off kilter I think I’d plant the notion that, to fulfill their potentials, women need to free themselves from the oppressive shackles of motherhood and enter the workforce. Not only will this cause some of them to spend less time nurturing their children, but it will also undermine the role of those who choose to stay at home. Now with the combination of this new found “Liberation” and the partial severing of the unique mother/ child bond, I’m sure it will only be a matter of time before the concept of manipulating procreation for their own convenience becomes entirely acceptable!
And this, thank you very much,
will open the floodgates for contraception!
Then with women hypnotized by the notion of being released from the confinements of their fertility and men captivated by the possibilities of sex without responsibility, the outcome is predictable. Once unfettered from the restraints of antiquated morality, people will have only their instinctive urges to guide them.
At this point I think I’d add a dose of pornography to the simmering pot.
With unbridled urges searching for an outlet, then (under the guise of “freedom of speech”, of course!)
Parishioners from the Catholic Diocese of Bunbury have responded generously to the Caritas Australia Asia Earthquake Appeal, donating $175,000.
Bishop of Bunbury Gerard Holohan said the response from parishioners and their generosity was overwhelming.
“The parishioners of the Bunbury Diocese have lived up to their reputation for their generosity to such emergency appeals.” Bishop Holohan said.
“Parishioners have been deeply affected by the devastation they have seen and heard, and the emergency aid needed. Not only have they reached out through their prayers and reflection, they have reached out in a material and financial way.”
“Being a rural diocese many parishioners live and work on the land and know what it’s like to face the forces of nature. I think there is a strong connection between their own experiences and those of the tsunami victims.”
Bunbury Diocese Caritas Director Mr Ray Lowe reiterated Bishop Holohan’s remarks by saying Caritas National Director Jack de Groot has stated “the Catholic relief agency has been overwhelmed by the deep compassion shown by the Australian
community. Caritas has received unprecedented levels of support to assist those whose lives have been devastated and who are now facing the full implications of their tragedy.
“Not only have they reached out through their prayers and reflection, they have reached out in a material and financial way”
Caritas Australia is committed to working with the people affected by the earthquake and tsunami for many years to come.
Long term rehabilitation projects will include rebuilding houses, clinics, schools, small businesses, ensuring clean water supplies and sanitation systems, trauma counselling, skills training, continued medical assistance and ensuring ongoing food supplies.
In Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Caritas partner Jesuit Refugee Services is operating a communal kitchen for 5,000 people and is undertaking road clearing to enable aid to get through. Catholic Relief Services are providing expertise in food distribution, health, water and sanitation.
Plastic sheeting and tents have been provided for 10,000 people in Meulaboh.
It is estimated that the overall program being supported by Caritas in Indonesia alone will be $5 million.
In Sri Lanka, Caritas partners are providing storage, transportation and distribution of essential goods such as rice, dahl, sugar, milk powder, canned fish, water purification tablets, medicines and cooking utensils in a program that is estimated to cost $3.4 million.
Caritas partners are working in the worst affected districts of India, mostly fishing villages supporting the work of 19 Diocesan Caritas offices providing food, medical supplies, mats, sheets, clothing, water and sanitation projects for 100 relief camps housing 125,000 people. That program is estimated at $1.5 million.
And in Thailand, Caritas partners are at work in Phuket, Phangnga, Krabai, Satun and Tran providing basic needs to people living in temporary shelters. It is estimated the overall program being supported by Caritas will be $100,000.”
For more information please contact Mr Ray Lowe on (08) 9721 0500
it should be no problem getting those erotic images once hidden below the counter into the vision of every man, woman and child, via televisions, videos, magazines and billboards. Soon there’ll be no body part too sacred or word too profane to be put on public display. Brilliant! So now that I’ve unleashed “sexual freedom”, fed lustful desires, devalued the roles of wives and mothers and undermined the position of men, it’s only a matter of time before marriages begin to crack. The repercussions of this will leave generations of hurt, angry and incomplete children.
Now these poor little creatures, of course, will need something to substitute for their loss. I’ll be only too happy to guide them into the comforting arms of some alternatives …… let’s say. Drugs, alcohol, violence, crime, addictions to work, money, sex, and food etc.etc.
It’s enough to make my pointy little tail quiver!!
Yes, with their innate propensity to self govern, all moral and social behaviour will be reduced to the individual’s interpretation of what is acceptable. In their minds God will have become redundant.
This is literally where I will go in for the kill … or rather they will!
Without God it should be easy to get them to reduce the significance of life to a financial and practical output. Combine this with the rampant promiscuity and it wont be long before they begin terminating their unborn under the justification of, “they’re only pieces of tissue”
Aaaaagh ……... to get them to kill their own …. wouldn’t that be the ultimate triumph of evil?!
Yeah ……. so I guess that’s what I would have done if I’d been the Devil with the Twentieth Century reigns.
I wonder what Pope Leo XIII‘s Devil would have done if he’d been real?
