General: That old people may be considered an asset to the spiritual and human growth of society
Missionary: That in Africa authentic, brotherly cooperation may develop among all those who work for the growth and development of ecclesial Communities
All Catholic children in WA should have the opportunity to attend Catholic schools no matter what their financial and social situation says the new head of Catholic Education Ron Dullard.
Mr Dullard made the comments to The Record in his first week as director of Catholic Education replacing Therese Temby who left the position after ten years to spend more time with her family.
Mr Dullard was previously the deputy director and said the fact the appointment was made from within the department shows that the Bishops believe Catholic education in WA is heading in the right direction.
“We will continue in the same vein as we have previously and respond of course to any new Catholic education demands,” he said.
This meant ensuring that all Catholic parents had the choice to send their children to Catholic schools.
“Traditionally we have seen about 50 per cent of Catholic children attend Catholic schools,” Mr Dullard said.
“Certainly in the last 10 to 15 years we have been catering to population growth, but now that has slowed down we need to address why that other half of Catholic children are not attending Catholic schools.
“Some of the barriers to a Catholic education may be finance, location and the perception that fees may be too high, so we have to address these barriers so that
all Catholic children have a reasonable chance of attending a Catholic school.”
This did not mean that all parents would have the opportunity to send their children to any school they desired, as all schools had to have enrolment criteria, rather that they should be able to attend a Catholic school that catered to their needs.
“Within the Catholic Church there is a diversity that is reflected in the wider pop-
T he Catholic Education Office is in the final stages of finishing its religious education units for Kindy through to Year 10 and they should be completed by the end of the year.
New Catholic Education Office director Ron Dullard said that the units for years 11 and 12 were currently being developed and should also be completed some time soon.
The units have been developed over many years and are aimed at integrating Gospel values into core teaching subjects such as maths, English and social sciences.
Mr Dullard said the department hoped to be producing materials for teachers to use next year in their classes.
Material will be distributed via Catholic Education’s virtual private network Cathednet, which all Catholic teachers have access to.
■ Page 6 Cathednet wins State award.
ulation and we need to set up schools according to community demands,” Mr Dullard said.
One area he was keen to look into was whether there was a need for a school for boys similar to St Clare’s in Lathlain, which caters for girls who have difficulty coping in the mainstream or normal
all in the name at
school environment.
“For schools in areas where there are high levels of unemployment there may be a need for special fee reduction,” he said.
“On the other hand parents from more affluent backgrounds or those who wish their children to attend more academic based schools on a par with Guildford Grammar or Christ Church should have the choice of sending their children to a school such as Aquinas for example,” he said.
Mr Dullard said we would like to see new single sex schools open in the northern suburbs.
‘We haven’t had a single-sex school open in WA for the last 30 to 40 years,” Mr Dullard said.
“There may be parents who for one reason or another believe that single sex education has benefits and those parents in an area such as Joondalup, where we have seen large population growth, should be given the opportunity to give their children a single sex education.”
Another step being taken to ensure that children do not miss out on a Catholic education was the meeting of Catholic principals within close proximity to each other in order to pass on names of students who missed out on places and to advertise any vacancies they may have.
“At the end of the day the future of Catholic education in WA is looking bright and rosy,” Mr Dullard said.
■ Page 6 Carpenter thanks Temby
The close relationship that exists between the school and parish communities at St Maria Goretti’s in Redcliffe was highlighted recently with the naming of the school’s new pre-primary centre.
Officially blessed and opened last week by Auxiliary Bishop Don Sproxton, and outgoing Director of Catholic Education Therese Temby, the new centre proudly carries the name of local parish priest, Fr Eugene McGrath.
Speaking at the ceremony, Mrs Temby said St Maria Goretti’s was a special Catholic school; an active and important part of the parish. The high regard in which the community holds Fr McGrath was perfectly illustrated in the naming of the new centre, she added.
Bishop Sproxton said the opening of the new centre was an important step in the continued growth and development of the school. Such progress, he said, was built on faith – the same faith that guided the children in their pursuit of reason, knowledge, meaning and understanding.
Echoing this sentiment, Principal Drew Jago said the school’s founding Order, the Sisters of Mercy, were an inspiration to all members of the St Maria Goretti’s school community.
“We would like to thank you for the spiritual foundation that continues so strongly today. You can be very proud of the school’s 47 years and we thank you for your continued support,” he said.
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The following message from Archbishop Hickey was read in many parishes last weekend to mark Migrants and Refugee Sunday:
If we think about it, we will see that our Australian Church is and always has been a Church of Migrant people who have brought their faith and own traditions with them. Our parish communities also welcome refugees, even though many people in Australia do not want them and say so.
And yet the sacrifice of today’s refugees and immigrants offers us a daily reminder of what Jesus does for us: He comes to share the fears and hopes of all generations; He comes to people like ourselves beset with limitations, with weaknesses, with greed; He comes to a limited people, ourselves and refugees alike, who would never fully understand his call to holi-
ness and deep peace.
Today’s refugees remind us that we too are exiles, stopping here for a moment in this world of ours that is no more than a one-way station, our temporary camp of refuge.
And Jesus, as human as we are, the once stranger to the shepherds and the poor in Bethlehem, comes to us, sharing our lot - our uncertainties and fears, our impatience and needs, our lack of power and of hope.
And yet Christ does more than that. He calls us together because he knows that we cannot survive alone. This is the mystery of the Church, the gathering of God’s people. Jesus becomes one of us that he might gather the rest of us together into one family, into one community and Church.
We all need to remember that none of us must ever feel like a stranger when God assembles us together in love.
The Archdiocese of Perth has been blessed with many people, whose practical love and devotion to the downtrodden in our society has been exemplary.
One clear example are the refugees’ support groups which have been witnessing to the love of Christ in the life of refugees in several parishes.
Where both government and private institutions cannot reach, parish-based refugee groups are present by helping the new settlers in a great variety of practical ways. By generously giving of their time and concern, they alleviate daily worries and concerns.
I wish to commend their work and urge parishes where refugees are settling to form such a group.
In our Church there is no room for making distinctions between those who fit and those who do not, between those who belong and those who do not.
Does the Bible predict 20th Century assassinations?
“No way,” says Brendan McKay, winner of the 2003 Australian Skeptics Eureka Prize for Critical Thinking. A mathematician from the Australian National University, Brendan McKay has applied his knowledge of mathematics and statistics to comprehensively demolish claims that hidden messages and prophesies can be extracted from the Hebrew Bible by computer analysis.
In 1994, the academic joumal Statistical Science published a paper claiming that predictions of medieval rabbis were encoded in the Hebrew Bible. Subsequently US author Michael Drosnin used the code theory to predict the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Drosnin issued a chal-
lenge, “When my critics find a message about the assassination of a prime minister encrypted in Moby Dick, I’ll believe them.”
McKay rose to the challenge.
Not only did his detailed analysis reveal the statistical trick that led to the false prophesies, he used the same trick to find “predictions” of the assassinations of Gandhi, Trotsky, Martin Luther King, Kennedy, Lincoln and Princess Di in Moby Dick. “The false prophecies arise because you can analyse the text in billions of different ways it’s just random chance,” says McKay.
For his commitment to critical thinking, and his proof that Bible Code is bunk, Brendan McKay receives the 2003 Australian Skeptics Eureka Prize for Critical Thinking. “This $10,000 prize is awarded for work that investigates conventional wisdoms and
beliefs that owe little or nothing to the rigours of scientific method,” said Brian Sherman, President of the Australian Museum Trust. “Brendan McKay is a fitting winner.
He’s put in the hard work that was needed to disprove the Bible Code claims. “ “This year, thanks to strong support from govemment, educational institutions and private sector sponsors, there are a record 21 Eureka Prizes, with a total prize value of $210,000,” said Sherman.
“The Australian Museum Eureka Prizes raise the profile of science in the community by acknowledging and rewarding outstanding achievements in scientific research, application, education, writing and joumalism,” said Professor Mike Archer, Director of the Australian Museum.
God’s love does not check citizenship papers, status or skin colour. “Come into my tent” Jesus beckons us, “ and pray with me that some day there may be only one tent where every man and woman will praise their Creator in truth and in peace”.
The weekend of September 12-14 will see the North Perth Redemptorist Monastery Church of Saints Peter and Paul celebrate the 100th anniversary of its opening by Bishop Matthew Gibney.
Fr Reg Ahearn CSsR told The Record that a Mass for religious brothers and sisters would be celebrated in the evening of Friday September 12 followed by supper in the monastery’s retreat centre.
However at 2pm on Sunday September 14 a Mass would be celebrated on the front lawn outside the Church (weather permitting) to which all laity are invited.
Following this afternoon tea will be served in the retreat centre.
Although not a parish the Redemptoristrun church and monastery has been a mainstay of church life in the archdiocese since its beginnings.
A popular Novena to Our Lady of Perpetual Succour has been conducted in the Church every Saturday for many years. The Church is also a popular centre for those seeking access to the Sacrament of Reconciliation, which is specifically offered from Tuesdays to Sundays.
MIRIAM’S
Dianella
Ihave been holidaying in Bali for the past eleven years. The highlight of these holidays has been the attendance at weekend Masses at St Francis Xavier Catholic Church, situated in Jalan Kartika Plaza, Kuta Bali. Weekend Masses are held at 6pm Saturday and on Sunday at 7am, 9am and 6pm.
The Church is full for all Masses, so much so that outdoor canopies have been erected at both sides of the Church and an open enclosure has been built at the back of the Church.
Masses are not only attended by middle-age and older couples but by hundreds of teenagers and young couples with their children – a sight to behold. The singing at these Masses is just divine and the service is beautiful. The people are loving and devout.
Several years ago, the Catholic community made the decision to commence fund raising for a new Church, one that would accommodate the increasing number of worshippers. The
old Church is falling apart and is too small. In March 2002, the community had raised half of the projected cost which was approximately A$800 000 – a magnificent feat for people on such low incomes.
A decision was made to go ahead with the project.
However since the Bali bombings, most Balinese meagre
The wife of Iraq's arrested former foreign minister Tariq Aziz has appealed to Pope John Paul II to help win his release from US custody, saying he was not responsible for the crimes of the Saddam Hussein regime.
Aziz was taken prisoner by US forces on April 24 Since then very little has been heard
from him despite the fact the Americans "made many promises", including a guarantee he could remain in contact with his family, said Violet Aziz. In an interview with the Italian radio, she said Aziz "never was responsible for the crimes of the regime" of toppled Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, The CathNews website reported on Wednesday.
Aziz, a member of Iraq's small Christian minority, was 43rd on the list of the 55 Iraqi officials most wanted by the
The parish of Gingin-Chittering will erect a large cross in the grounds of St Catherine’s Church, Gingin, next Sunday, September 14, the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross.
Parish priest Fr Paul Fox said the cross would be 7.38 metres high and would be an imposing reminder of our redemption for all to see.
The ceremony in Gingin will be preceded by a Triduum in St Brigid’s Church, Midland, with Fr Hugh Thomas CSsR as guest speaker.
The Triduum will begin at 7.30pm on Thursday evening and conclude after the Saturday Vigil Mass.
It will be followed immediately by a procession of the cross on foot from Midland to Gingin.
Stations of the Cross will be recited during the procession. Four people at a time will carry a cross (not the 7.3 metre version) for 7.5 kilometres and a Station will be prayed at each changeover.
Fr Paul Fox
cross to be erected in Gingin at 3pm and say the Mass of the Exaltation of the Cross.
incomes have been further reduced and raising the further A$400 000 will be a real struggle.
In May 2003 I returned to Bali and foundations for the Church had commenced.
I met Father Danni (his English name), a Balinese priest who had spent some time in Ireland. He doesn’t know how the Kuta community can possibly raise the additional amount. I promised him I would seek some funding when I returned to Australia.
The Catholic Church is approximately half a kilometre south of the Waterbom Park in Kuta. A special donation box is at the back of the Church.
Perhaps Australian Catholics visiting Bali could go to the Church and leave a donation? All would help.
Recently I received a note from Father Murphy in Ireland. He has been in Bali this year and heard of my commitment to helping with fundraising. He advised me that he would seek funding from his parish in Ireland to help with the project.
Can you help? For further information contact Jack Robinson on 9756 7206.
Americans. Although one of the best known Iraqi personalities abroad because of the leading role he played in making Iraq's case at the United Nations and other international arenas, Aziz was not considered a member of Saddam's inner circle.
A member of the Chaldean rite of the Catholic church, Aziz visited the Pope shortly before the outbreak of the Iraq war in February and travelled to Assisi to pray for peace at the tomb of St Francis.
Warning vehicles will precede and follow the walkers who will wear luminous vests as a further safety precaution. Those interested in carrying the cross or joining the walkers should contact Francis on 9459 3873 or 0404 893 877.
The procession is expected to take about 15 hours.
Bishop Don Sproxton will bless the
Fr Paul Fox said he believed the presence of the cross would bring many blessings to the parish and to those who take part in the procession.
Buses will leave St Mary’s Cathedral and St Brigid’s at 10am on Sunday. Bookings can be arranged with Francis Williams on the above numbers.
Send questions to: The Record
POBox 75 LEEDERVILLE WA 6902
munion given to the dying), and various prayers and blessings. A dying person may receive some or all of these rites, depending upon the circumstances.
Question: I’m confused about the meaning of a ‘rite’. I hear of La st Rites and Eastern Rites. And if there are Eastern Rites, are there Western Rites?
Your confusion is understandable, since the word ‘rite’ has several meanings in Catholic usage. It is an ‘expandable’ term, so let’s start from the most narrow definition and go to the widest.
Basically, a rite is a solemn or ceremonial way of doing something. Thus we have the Rite of Blessing and Sprinkling Holy Water, or the Rite of Reception of a Bishop during the Pastoral Visitation to a Church. The prescribed prayers and gestures make up the rite.
Moving on, a rite can be a collection of these ceremonies to make up a part or the whole of a liturgical celebration.
The Mass begins with Introductory Rites before the Liturgy of the Word, and it ends with Concluding Rites which follow the Liturgy of the Eucharist. Notice that the Liturgy of the Eucharist itself has a subdivision called the Communion Rite, which includes everything from the Lord’s Prayer to the Prayer after Communion.
We also speak of marriage rites, the rite of Baptism, and the famous Last Rites. Some people mistakenly think that the latter is ‘the Last Rights’, as if this is what is owed to a Catholic after years of Mass attendance and financial contributions! But in this case, the Last Rites are those sacraments and ceremonies which are observed in a Catholic’s last moments: Penance (confession or reconciliation), Anointing of the Sick, Viaticum (last holy com-
This brings us to the Eastern and Western rites, which are groupings within the Church, often based upon language or ethnicity, which celebrate the liturgy in a certain way. This may be surprising to many Catholics, who are usually exposed only to one rite, or way of doing liturgical things: the Roman rite. And that is because the majority of Catholics belong to the Roman rite – we celebrate the sacraments in the ceremonial way they are celebrated by the Bishop of Rome (give or take a few Swiss Guards!).
But you are correct to enquire about Western rites, because the Roman rite isn’t the only one of those.
There is also the Ambrosian or Milanese rite, still widely celebrated in northeastern Italy, and the Mozarabic rite, which was once widely used in parts of Spain but is now restricted to a few churches in Toledo.
There once were nearly as many rites in Europe as there were geographical divisions or religious communities: the English had the Sarum rite (based on the usage of Salisbury or Sarum diocese), France had several rites, and the Dominican and Carthusian orders had their own rites.
The historical domination of Rome in Western Europe, and the desire of medieval kings and emperors to identify themselves with the Roman Empire of old, caused the Roman rite to gradually supplant the various local variations or rites. The Council of Trent in the late 1500’s urged all of Europe to adopt the Roman rite, but it wasn’t until the late 1800’s that the last French rite succumbed, and even then Milan and Toledo hung onto their traditions.
Nevertheless, all of the Western rites are also grouped to form the ‘Latin rite’, because they all originally used the Latin language in their liturgy. So most Catholic churches in the Western world are Latin rite churches. And, interestingly enough, most
Catholic churches in Africa and the Far East are also Latin rite.
But many Catholics in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, India and some other places follow the Eastern rites.
These rites differ from the West in a variety of ways: languages, sacramental ceremonies, liturgical texts, priestly vestments, canon law, customs regarding Lent and Easter, and even church discipline regarding priestly celibacy.
They have no such thing as a ‘recited’ liturgy – the Divine Liturgy (the Mass) is always sung (as the norm remains in the Latin rite, but is followed less and less often).
The Eastern rites have a strong mystical theology which emphasises the supernatural and the divine, whereas the West has recently shifted to an emphasis on the incarnational or human aspects of religion (to the point, I might add, where some Latin rite Catholics wonder whether their liturgy has lost something of its
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sacred character in the process).
How the Eastern rites came about is a complicated subject. Suffice it to say for now that some members of Orthodox churches, which had separated from Rome over time due to theological and political controversies, reunited with Rome at various times and in various places.
The popes established Catholic eparchies (dioceses) and patriarchates (major archdioceses) for these groups, respecting their liturgical and spiritual traditions. They celebrate the Divine Liturgy using the same ceremonies and texts as Orthodox Christians, and they follow their own customs and laws, but they are united in doctrine and in obedience to the Bishop of Rome.
Thus they are Catholics, but Catholics of Eastern rite – Greek Catholics, Coptic (Egyptian) Catholics, Syrian Catholics, Melkite (Arab) Catholics, Ukrainian Catholics, and others.
In the Perth area, there are St John the Baptist Ukrainian
Catholic Church in Maylands and St Andraous (Andrew) Melkite Catholic Church in North Perth. Latin rite Catholics are welcome to attend Divine Liturgy, go to confession and receive the Eucharist in these churches, and vice versa, because we are all members of the one Church that is guided on earth by the Bishop of Rome.
Thus, in a real sense, all of us –Eastern Catholics and Western Catholics – are Roman Catholics.
Vatican Council II declared: Holy Mother Church holds all lawfully recognised rites to be of equal right and dignity, and she wishes to preserve them in the future and to foster them in every way. (Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, no. 4).
If you haven’t already done so, visit a Catholic church of another rite sometime soon to gain a new understanding of what we mean when we say together in the Nicene Creed: ‘We believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.’
St Vincent de Paul Society is the largest charitable organisation in WA and to mark the 150th Anniversary of the death of Frederic Ozanam, the founder of St Vinnies, a Fundraising Dinner Auction will be held on Friday October 10 at the Hotel Grand Chancellor, Perth.
If you are able to entertain with a French Jazz influence for just one hour between 78pm free of charge, call Aileen today on Ph 9475 5427.
Tickets are available at $85 per head or a table of ten for $800.
Proceeds from the Dinner Auction will go towards ensuring the continuation of the vital services St Vinnies provides to people in need in our community.
he Bible instructs us about our sexual nature in a way that is at once entirely unsentimental and at the same time invested with an elemental moral beauty,” a visiting expert on Biblical teaching on sexuality told a Perth audience in mid-August.
Fr Paul Mankowski has spent the last three years teaching at the John Paul II Institute in Melbourne, and has been based in Rome teaching at the Pontifical Biblical Institute where he has been a Lector in Biblical Hebrew for the last 10 years.
The talk was the fourth in a series of lectures he gave in Perth.
Examining the Genesis story of Adam and Eve, Fr Paul analysed the inherent meaning of the originally Hebrew text. God’s gift to man is woman, and their gift to one another is their sexuality.
Quoting Christopher West, Fr Paul said “The body has nuptial meaning because it reveals man and woman’s call to become a gift to one another, a gift fully realised in their ‘one flesh’ union. The body also has a ‘generative meaning’ that (God willing) brings a ‘third’ into the world through their communion. In this way, marriage constitutes a ‘primordial sacrament’ understood as a sign that truly communicates the mystery of God’s Trinitarian life and love – and through them to their children, and through the family to the whole world.”
Fr Paul said when the Bible referred to the husband and wife becoming “one flesh,” it celebrated the sexual union. The Bible expresses this as the man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife. This clearly points to sexual congress and to marriage, he said.
“We are made whole by giving, and by being able to receive. The component selves are not obliterated by this sacramental embrace but brought to the final fruition of their individuality,” he said.
Pope John Paul II said the
capacity of Adam and Eve to be initially naked without shame was because they were living in complete accord with the nuptial meaning of their bodies.
Homosexuality, bestiality, incest, ritual infanticide, ritual castration and masturbation could be not be meaningful human choices because they fell out of the nup-
tial and generative meaning of the body, Fr Paul said.
Commenting on the current hot topic of legal recognition of same sex marriages, Fr Paul said the Churches that hold the Bible sacred would never countenance this.
He revisited the story of Adam and Eve, after they had eaten the
forbidden fruit and the original dignity of their nakedness hadbeen replaced with shame. God decreed the woman must endure the pain of childbirth, and the man must toil for his bread. However, Fr Paul added, it was woman’s ability to have children that redeems them both.
“Adam and Eve are now exiles and aliens, forced to gouge a living out of a hostile earth, but they do so cognisant of the generative, as well as the nuptial, meaning of the body: husband and wife are potentially father and mother.”
According to Fr Paul, the Old Testament is not preoccupied with the effects of sexual arousal or the moral choice to engage in sex. The prime focus of sexual morality in the Old Testament was that the man impregnates the woman and the resulting pregnancy strengthens the overall wellbeing of their respective family, clan and nation.
Fr Paul spoke of the two integrating functions of sexuality. Firstly, it brings the diverse components of human personhood together into a harmonious unity
Continued on Page 10
If you would like to know more about life as a Norbertine priest or brother, please contact:
Fr Peter J Stiglich, O.Praem. St Joseph’s Priory PO Box 354 Cannington WA 6987 Telephone: (08) 9458 2729 Email: norbert@iinet.net.au
“Duc
altum!” – “Put out into the deep”.
Pope John Paul II has chosen these words of Jesus as the watchword of the Church as she advances with a firm and confident step into the third millennium. Now he has shed new light on the Holy Rosary for us too, and has entrusted it to us as a priceless means of help as we venture forth into the “vast ocean” of the new millennium. By adding the five Luminous Mysteries the Holy Father has enriched our prayer life. The Rosary booklet contains all 20 mysteries as well as excerpts from the Holy Father’s apostolic letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae, scripture readings, meditations and prayers.
This booklet is intended not only for those who have already enjoyed a Christian upbringing, but also for all those who were deprived of this and are therefore unfamiliar with the great treasure that is the Rosary. This beautifully illustrated little booklet is now available fora donation of $3.00 (includes postage). Also available are the Papal Rosary beads. To obtain the Rosary booklet and the Vatican Rosary beads we ask fora donation of $15.00 (includes postage). All proceeds will go towards the work of Aid to the Church in Need for the persecuted and threatened Church worldwide.
When Gregory Peck died recently, the world briefly remembered some important things about fatherhood. The man who played that legendary on-screen "father," Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird, left a powerful legacy behind.
Peck's passing had an impact on my family through a TV documentary on his life and career, which was repeated soon after he died. It showed Peck in his last years, meeting fans whose lives he had touched, and spending time with his wife, children and grand-children.
One scene in the show touched me particularly, thanks to my wife. We saw Peck cradling a newborn grandson, looking into the child's staring face and talking to the camera. The baby was thinking of the good things ahead in his life, Peck joked. "He's thinking of skiing through the snow.
"Of course," Peck continued, "he doesn't know what skiing is …. or snow.
"But he has a wonderful … imagination."
I thought it was a nice scene, but my wife thought it was even better. "He reminds me of your Dad, when he spoke to the baby like that.
"That was just the way your Dad used to talk." It was only when she said this that I remembered – yes, that was just what my father was like. Dad died in 1997, so it's
By Bronwen Clunebeen a few years since I've seen him with a newborn in his arms.
But growing up in a small country town, that was one scene I remember vividly: my father, the local chemist and member of the church community, cradling some googaahing baby, and chatting away with it like they were the oldest of mates.
It might have been with customers at the shop, or in a throng of people outside church after Mass. Wherever it was, it always seemed …. in character.
The memories come flooding back. Like Gregory Peck, my Dad was Jesuit-educated, tall and self-confident.
A man with a deep, authoritative voice. Capable of being commanding, in adult company.
Yet tender and humorous with little children. Dad was born about the same time as Gregory Peck, too – and that makes me wonder, were the similarities between them something to do with that generation of fathers?
It's impossible to know the total answer to questions like that. But one thing we do know is that the movie character Atticus Finch, created on-screen by Peck in the 1962 movie To Kill A Mockingbird, has become an image of the "perfect father" for generations of people, around the world. There are two scenes from the movie, in
particular, that implant that image for me. The first is Atticus tenderly saying goodnight to his little girl, after her mother has died.
He knows her pain and grief, but doesn't pretend to be able to heal it.
Instead, he assures the girl - and us, the audience – that he will be faithful in watching over her. Is that the most important lesson that fathers can teach – faithfulness to his child, and family?
Another scene in To Kill a Mockingbird is the one where Finch, the lawyer who defends a black man in a southern American community, is confronted by an angry white man. While Atticus's young son looks on in horror, the man spits in Finch's face.
Now you might expect Gregory Peck's character to retaliate – a word of anger, at least, or maybe even a blow in return. This is Hollywood, after all.
But Finch doesn't retaliate. He wipes the spit from his face, and turns away. This is the image of fatherhood that remains the most challenging, for me. And perhaps for all of us. It's an image that says THIS is a crucial task of fatherhood – showing your children, by your behaviour, that you really believe in the meaning of Christian virtue.
The hard stuff. Patience. Forebearance.
The refusal to give in to anger in the face of the world's taunts. You can show them that following the words of the gospel takes strength. And that this strength is not something that the world always expects, or understands.
"Virtue" is the old-fashioned word for this. It comes from the Latin word "vir," meaning "man." To be virtuous, then, is not to be a wimp. It's to be "manly."
Is THIS then the most important lesson that fathers can teach – the real meaning of virtue?
Few movie characters have embodied virtue like Gregory Peck's Atticus Finch. In a way though, his character is a too perfect father.
Though he may remind us of real Dads, we all fall short of this heroic ideal.
But in our culture, a movie figure like his remains important because it shows us the possibilities of what men in real life can be like.
The fact that the world took Atticus Finch so much to heart, and made him one of the movies' all-time favourite characters, suggests to me, too, that in our own lives many of us have glimpsed something of the real thing. The ideal father. When we see it, it is a picture everyone - women, men and even little children – cannot help but take to heart.
Setting up a virtual network which provides all WA Catholic school students with their own email addresses and webpages is no easy feat by any IT standards.
Add to that a Staff messaging system for all Catholic teachers and remote desktop access to principals and staff from anywhere in Australia and you have a big project on your hands.
But that is just what the Catholic Education Office did –on time and on budget.
In recognition of the scope of the project and its management the Catholic Education’s virtual private network, Cathednet, has won the top state award from the Australian Institute of Project Management along with Telstra who were partners in its development.
Catholic Education and Telstra will now represent WA in the national competition run by the Australian Institute of Project Management.
All the Catholic schools in WA as well as Notre Dame’s Broome and Fremantle campuses are connected via the network.
All schools within the metropolitan region were connected in January with 10 satellite schools coming on line in February this year.
The project cost about $4 million, but means that students now have access to the centralised network at greatly reduced costs.
Cathednet manager Michael King, said that prior to Cathednet being in place all
schools had individual access to the internet at much higher costs.
“Due to the size of the project and economies of scale, schools now access the internet through one centralised system,” he said.
He said that Cathednet had three main functions, which were continually being developed and improved.
Its biggest application is “My Internet”, which provides all Catholic students with their own webpage and email address.
“Each student can then go home and access their own webpage with projects and school work on it,” Mr King said.
Across all the schools there are about 50,000 of the 68,000 students enrolled in Catholic schools who have their own email and webpages.
“Obviously the younger kids and kindy and pre-primary don’t have the ability to use the system yet, but they have access to a class page and class email,” Mr King said.
For students who access their pages and email from home there is no cost to them within the network.
Mr King said they were also in the process of developing an application called “My Classes”, which would provide other applications for students from home and in school.
The second major application is providing all Catholic teachers with a staff messaging system running off Microsoft exchange.
Its last application was providing teachers with remote access to their desktops, which means that they can access their computers and all desktop applications from any other computer.
Mr King said he was very happy with the award and they would continue to develop Cathednet in the future.
It is intended to provide teachers with resources and will be used to distribute material from the new religious units next year.
By Bronwen CluneMinister for Education and Training Alan Carpenter last week thanked retiring Catholic Education director Therese Temby for her work in Catholic Education over the last ten years. He issued the following statement:
“Whatever faith, all West Australians should be proud that there are people within our community who are prepared to dedicate their time and energy towards ensuring that our children are given a rewarding and enriching education.
“As the spokesperson for Catholic Education, Mrs Temby has represented her organisation at both a state and national level. She has been a highly effective advocate for Catholic education in Western Australia.
“At the State level she has had a long association with the Curriculum Council and its predecessor, the Secondary Education Authority.
“Mrs Temby was Chair of the Interim Curriculum Council and now serves as Deputy Chair of the Curriculum Council.
“Progression of the Council's work on the development and implementation of the Curriculum Framework, followed closely by the Review of PostCompulsory Education and the subsequent setting of exciting yet challenging new directions in that area, has been greatly informed by her wise counsel and astute leadership in curriculum matters.
“Her contribution to the review of
the former Education Act 1928 and the introduction of its replacement, the School Education Act 1999, is very much appreciated. The new Act lead to our mutual signing last year of the inaugural "System Agreement" formally acknowledging the capacity of the Catholic school system to be self-managing through significant delegation of responsibility for the registration of Catholic schools.
“After nearly 11 years, Mrs Temby has decided that it is time for a change of leadership. She is a remarkable woman and her contribution to education in Western Australia has not gone un-noticed.
“On behalf of the government of Western Australia I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mrs Temby for her years of work and her commitment and dedication to Catholic Education in this state. I wish her all the very best in her retirement.
As our State Parliament lines up to debate the suitability of allowing medical experimentation on human embryos (the stem cell debate) it is worth while to observe that this is one more chapter in the ongoing struggle that many people call the culture war that is raging in our society. It is an intense struggle to establish the values that will govern or dominate our society for the next generation or so.
It is a struggle between the “yoke that is easy and the burden that is light”, which leads us to what is best in humanity, and the other one that leads inevitably towards the ever-deeper tyranny of what is worst in humanity.
This struggle will be heard in the debates in our Parliament, although almost certainly it will not be expressed in those terms.
It is reasonable to describe it as a clash between a media culture and the culture of the Church because the two are motivated by entirely different forces. The differences are easy to see, but it is not so easy to see truthfully how much each of us is influenced by the competing forces.
The media culture is instant - a small fire that is burning now is far more important than a forest that is accumulating fatal levels of combustible fuel. The media culture is throwaway – the old saying that today’s news is tomorrow’s fish and chips wrapper is true on the surface and deeper. The Church’s values on the other hand are always long term and about permanence, about what matters for the length of life and for eternity.
Media culture thrives on opinion and relativity. There is no requirement that an
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opinion be justified or tested against any form of objective value, and while my opinion today might be entirely different from what it was last year, both are equally valid because that is how I ‘feel’ about things. Opinions have the added advantage that they can be expressed in slogans and they can be used to attack other people. The Church’s insistence that we must temper our opinions with reason and truth as far as we are able is just too hard and inconvenient for the media culture.
The world of the media is based on ‘celebrities’ and ‘personalities’, because these people with their shallow immediacy suit the requirements of the media.
They are treated as important because they are convenient and if that means falsehood is flattered, so be it. The Church, on the other hand, presents a world in which everyone is a small but vital part of an awesome mystery, a world in which fame is a less than useful thing which ought to be inflicted only on those with the strongest character.
The media culture depends on sensationalism – that is, on its ability to arouse strong feelings in people, and these feelings are most frequently the negative emotions of fear, anger, lust, aggression, resentment, greed and all the other emotional responses of the false self system.
The Church seeks calmness, detachment, rationality, and the positive gifts of the true self such as kindness, love and compassion.
The media culture is about news, always about news, where the Church is always about truth which is always fresh but never of the transient nature of news. The media are always looking for something else; the Church has found what we are all looking for.
The media fixation on news has had a profoundly negative effect on political life in this country and elsewhere.
Instead of having the wise belief that governments should do as little as possible and that what is done should be done by the smallest possible unit of government, our politicians are almost continuously in search of something new to offer the electors. When they are not offering something new, the newshounds are baying at them for not having policies, not having visions. It ought to be obvious to even the most breathless, wet-behindthe-ears journalists that political visions are inevitably hallucinations, but the need for news drives them.
The demand for new policies and new visions has nothing to do with the needs and desires of normal people and families. It is driven almost entirely by the irrational needs of the media culture.
Politicians, under the pressure of their desire to win elections, rarely have the strength of character to resist this clamour and to focus on good government, instead.
The demand for news is largely what excludes the Church from the media culture. The Church functions at spiritual, moral and social levels. Spiritually, the media simply are not interested because they have almost no capacity to deal with the subject.
Morally, the media are not interested except in conflict because if the Church’s view that the moral law is built into the heart of man were to prevail, most of the entertainment and entertainers in the media would have to be abandoned as figures for admiration, and materialistic consumerism (which supports the media) would have to be tempered by a more realistic view of human nature. In its social activities – welfare, education etc – the Church can occasionally be recognised because proportionately it does more even than governments and does it better, and some of this is news.
Finally, the media culture has almost no commitment to consistent ethics. Its belief in opinion, its desire for news, and its subconscious resentment of the permanence of truth inevitably drives the media culture towards an anything-goes attitude to profound questions. The Church culture is inevitably grounded in its view of the importance and value of the human person. Laws, administration, technology, the economy and international relations must all serve the truth of human nature.
That is the conflict that will be played out in our Parliament this month.
ongratulations on your last two issues, content and lay out were excellent. The priestly ordinations of five local men is a great blessing to Our Archdiocese and our Church.
Might I draw your attention to a dyslectic glitch on page 20. Fr Conlan joins 4,600 (not 406 as printed) other Oblates in their missionary work around the world. Lets continue to pray for vocations.
Fr Hughes OMI
Lesmurdie
Congratulations on the great presentation by Mike Willesee, which you organised last week. Our Lord and His Blessed Mother are drawing a band of top media personnel into their service, both here and overseas.
Something which Mike omitted, but which deserves a mention, is the significance of the town of Lanciano. This town was so named because it was the home-town of St Longinus, the Roman centurion who pierced our Lord’s side with a lance, and shed the Precious Blood and water.
Some of your readers may not know that there have been many other Eucharistic miracles recorded. I have the following in my library:
● Eucharistic Miracles by Joan Carroll Cruz. (Over 40 miracles and other phenomena) Joan also wrote The Incorruptibles, listing about 100 saints with incorrupt bodies.
● This is My Body, This is My Blood - Miracles of the Eucharist. Two books and videotapes by Bob & Penny Lord. About 50 occurrences)
● Betania-Land of Grace - videotape, dealing with the reported Marian apparitions at Betania, and including actual footage of the Sacred Host bleeding after the consecration. This occurrence has been examined by medical experts and approved by the local Bishop. The above items are available through Catholic bookshops.
Eric G Miller
Lesmurdie
The Claremont parish has marked the centenary of its first Mass by installing a magnificent JE Dodd pipe organ in the Church of St Thomas the Apostle.
Archbishop Barry Hickey blessed the organ on Saturday August 30.
Parish Priest and Archdiocesan VicarGeneral, Fr Brian O’Loughlin said the organ was built in Adelaide in 1912 and came to Claremont via the Methodist Church and later the Epworth Uniting Church in South Australia.
The organ had been dismantled and stored before the parish heard about it.
The offer to buy was accepted by the Uniting Church Synod in SA on August 2 last year, and the organ was transported to St Thomas’s by Len and Denise Warner, principals of Warner’s Transport, who have long family connections with the parish, arriv-
ing on January 27 this year. Adaptations to the Church and the re-assembly of the organ by Albany organ builder Patrick Elms had kept the parish busy since then.
Fr Brian said that throughout the long project he had followed the advice of his one-time Seminary Rector: “Seek out and ask someone who knows”.
In a commemorative booklet, Fr Brian said the first Mass in Claremont was celebrated in Bow’s Hall opposite the Claremont railways station in 1904.
Subsequently, Mass had been said in a church/school in Reserve St before the Church of St Thomas the Apostle was blessed and opened on November 22, 1936. Extensions were completed in February 1964.
■ The feast of St Cecilia, the patron saint of musicians, will be the occasion for the inaugural recital in the Church at 8pm on November 22.
Monsignor Hawes wrote a large signature across the Mid West landscape. His lifestyle was spartan, he worked long hours giving spiritual counselling that involved travelling hundreds of kilometres on horseback, and he designed 24 buildings, 16 of which were built.
The scope can be seen in the route taken by the heritage trail that highlights his work. It includes Yalgoo, Tardun, Morawa, Perenjori, Northampton, Nanson and Geraldton. An excellent explanatory booklet available at tourist centres says the Trail can be completed in four days at a leisurely pace.
Hawes trained as an architect in England and came under the influence of the Arts and Crafts Movement of the time that rejected stark, classical lines in favor of a return to simple homeliness and the use of natural materials.
Religion called and he went to the Bahamas as an Anglican priest, but converted to Catholicism. While studying in Rome he met Geraldton’s Bishop Kelly who invited him to Australia to design a cathedral for Geraldton.
Work began on the Cathedral of St Francis Xavier in 1916, with Hawes organising the labour, raising funds and doing much of the manual work himself. In 1921, the new Bishop, Dr Ryan, stopped the work, denouncing the design as unsuitable. (It was completed under Bishop Collins some years later.)
Feeling rejected and humiliated, Hawes retreated to Mullewa to design and personally build his own Church of Our Lady of Mt Carmel. It is an edifice in Romanesque/Mediterranean style of rough-hewn stone, representing the antiquity of old hillside churches in southern Europe. Hawes added many carvings to his churches. Gargoyles jut from the roof
of the Mullewa church, and one is believed to be a caricature of his nemesis, Bishop Ryan. Dominie, his beloved fox terrier, is featured in several church carvings and stained glass windows. Next to the Mullewa church Hawes built a priesthouse that is now a museum dedicated to him.
Many churches, convents and school
■ The British architect-priest Monsignor John Cyril Hawes (1876-1956) spent only 24 of his 80 years in Western Australia (from 1915), but his legacy is a scattering of beautiful churches and other buildings throughout the Mid West.
■ On many constructions this remarkable man was not only the architect but also the foreman, surveyor and labourer.His works have simple lines and consist mostly of rough-textured local stone.Each is different, always in harmony with the landscape, and created with love and deep faith.
■ The Monsignor Hawes Heritage Trail (see illustration) takes in 15 Hawes buildings and other sites. The Trail begins in Mullewa 450km north of Perth and is part of the statewide network of heritage trails devised to commemorate the 1988 Bicentenary.
buildings followed: St Mary’s Convent and Christian Brothers’ Agricultural School in Tardun, the impressive Church of St Mary in Ara Coeli and adjoining convent in Northampton, Nazareth House and the tiny Church of St Lawrence in Geraldton, to name a few.
Hawes believed that each of his church designs should express a particular concept architecturally: Mullewa’s motif is the authority of the Church, Geraldton’s cathedral embodies the solidity and strengthening of the Church, and Northampton’s soaring Gothic lines convey spirituality. His most unusual creation is the mortuary chapel at Utakarra Cemetery, Geraldton, built as a tomb for Archdeacon Lecaille. Behind the sarcophagus is an engraved brass plate covering a tomb intended for Monsignor Hawes. The plate contains an image of himself and a Latin inscription to pray for this architect priest. (Hawes spent his remaining years in the Bahamas as a hermit and is buried in a hilltop tomb he had prepared for himself.)
In June this year, Our Lady of Mt Carmel Church and the priesthouse in Mullewa won a prestigious architectural award for best practice in heritage conservation. The project, coordinated by John Taylor Architects, took the Heritage Council Conservation Award category of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects (RAIA) Architecture Awards.
According to Environment and Heritage Minister Judy Edwards the painstaking conservation "delivered a tremendous result". Dr Edwards noted that in the early 1990s the continuing deterioration of the
masonry, transmission of moisture through the church floor, and increasing vandalism of windows led the parish to seek advice on the ongoing care of the place.
John Taylor Architects had been involved since 1994, undertaking assessments, preparing a conservation plan to guide ongoing plans and implementing window protection measures. Mullewa parish council treasurer Barbara Thomas, a shire councillor, knows the full story.
She says that under the direction of Father Joe Butscher, the parish council began a concerted effort in 1994 to restore and conserve the church. Funding has come from the WA Heritage Council, the
WA Lotteries Commission, the shire council and the Cultural Heritage Program.
"We have been very fortunate with our grant applications," Barbara says. "We have now completed all the major works although drainage is still a problem. We hope in the future to obtain the services of an engineer with comprehensive drainage knowledge who will be able to advise the parish council as to the best way to address this problem which is also a town planning issue.
"There are several minor works to be attended to such as concrete cancer in the war memorial, artwork on the altar, artwork preservation in the priesthouse,
Hawes believed that each of his church designs should express a particular concept architecturally: Mullewa’s motif is the authority of the Church, Geraldton’s cathedral embodies the solidity and strengthening of the Church, and Northampton’s soaring Gothic lines convey spirituality.
replacing marble dedication panels which have deteriorated and repairing gargoyles on the church."
Promotion Plan
Bishop Justin Bianchini DD, Bishop of Geraldton, is pleased at the interest being shown in the Trail by visitors both from Australia and overseas. "I know there is a growth in the number of local people who treasure the rich religious, spiritual and cultural heritage left by John Hawes through our Catholic churches and other buildings," he says.
"Recently a small group came to me with a plan to update and upgrade this heritage
trail. We are involving representatives of the wider Mid West community in this. Apart from its development, the plan includes promotion of the Trail on a bigger scale both nationally and internationally. Time will tell how this goes."
Bishop Bianchini is keenly aware of the maintenance aspect. To restore Our Lady of Mt Carmel involved many submissions to different funding agencies. Many were unsuccessful, he says, "but a persistent and competent parishioner, Barbara Thomas, was instrumental in raising approximately $250,000. You can imagine the cost of conserving all the buildings, especially our unique cathedral!"
When Jing Yun Wong, of Nedlands, celebrated her 21st birthday on August 23 she turned it into a spiritual and charitable occasion for herself, her family and friends.
The evening began with Mass
Continued from Page 5 and secondly it permits a mutual exchange of the gift of self with another person - the “one flesh” integration in which the body has a nuptial and generative meaning.
Fr Paul called all other forms of sexual activity that fell outside these two functions “pseudo sex. ” American moral theologian Germain Grisez first coined the term.
Fr Paul described pseudo sex as disintegrating for the perpetrator (dividing the person against himself) and the object of his erotic desire. He said pseudo sex was at war with the “one flesh.”
Quoting Pope John Paul II again, Fr Paul said “The body, and it alone, is capable of making visible what is invisible, the spiritual and divine. It was created to transfer into the visible reality of the world, the invisible mystery hidden in God from time immemorial, and thus to be a sign of it.”
Fr Paul commented on the irony that it should be the Pope who vindicated the goodness of the body, a celibate and exceptionally holy man. However, Fr Paul believed it was because of the Pope’s sacrifice of his own life to God’s will that he was given this insight.
At question time, Fr Paul said homosexuality and pornography were a mockery of wholesome sexuality. He added that homosexuals didn’t ask for their inclinations and should be supported by the community to face their moral challenge.
We have to re-evangelise the culture to reclaim the true meaning of the body, Fr Paul said.
celebrated by Fr John Piumatti who reminded Jing Yun and the large gathering of her family and friends that the Mass was the greatest gift anyone could receive.
Jing Yun had asked her family
friends well in advance not to buy her presents, but instead to make a donation to the Archbishop’s LifeLink appeal. A display corner was set up around a home-made poster representing LifeLink services, and a selection of LifeLink brochures, and guests were invited to place their donations in a decorated collection box. They gave generously and the evening raised more than $1350.
Jing Yun thanked Fr Piumatti for celebrating Mass and spoke about the services funded by LifeLink before thanking her family and friends for their donations.
Her older brother, Jing Ping Wong, said that when some people seemed to hold little hope for the young, his sister had shown that regardless of age people are capable of shining God’s love into the world.
On Wednesday August 20, 82 Goldfields parishioners packed St Mary’s Hall in Kalgoorlie to hear Jesuit Fr Paul Mankowski.
His address was “Written on your Hearts: The Bible and the Godly way of life”.
Fr Mankowski was invited to speak by Patricia Flood, Chairman of the Goldfields Newman Society. The meeting was chaired by Parish Council Deputy Chairman, Chris Banasik.
Ms Flood later said the talk was well received and many parishioners had the opportunity to ask questions.
“Fr Mankowski was not
afraid to touch on contemporary issues that can, at times, be considered contentious, but his central message was that since God is Truth then Truth can never be compromised.”
The Goldfields Newman Society has been fortunate to receive $6000 funding from the estate of the late Victor Canessa.
To date Archbishop Barry Hickey and Catholic Bioethicist, Dr Nicholas TontiFilippini have addressed Goldfields Catholics courtesy of the Newman Society. Ms Flood said the Newman Society will continue to bring high calibre speakers to Kalgoorlie.
On August 24 Whitfords parishioners celebrated their parish’s multicultural diversity - which currently stands at 62 known nationalities worshipping in their church. Over 600 school children from Whitfords and Padbury Catholic schools and the after-school program prepared their pictures for the walls of the church, the vibrant Filipino choir sang the music, the Church was prepared by Fr Joseph and his team and by Carmel and Donna. Many parishioners in their traditional costume participated in
the Liturgy. A highlight was YCW girls Kate, Sara and Genevieve who spoke about their own experiences of our multicultural society.
After the Liturgy our meal was different and delicious and enjoyed by about 200 enthusiastic Aussies, new and old. It disappeared quickly and the entertainment followed. Irish and Scottish Dancers and musicians, guitars and songs from Malaysia and Indonesia, and beautiful dancers were among the entertainments enjoyed by all.
- Kevin BroderickLa Salle College, Viveash is a Catholic co-educational secondary college, educating students from Years 8 to 12. It caters for students from Midland, the Swan Valley and surrounding districts and is located approximately 20 kilometres from the city centre. The college aims to foster and develop an excellent religious, cultural, academic, social and physical education within a Catholic environment. Today La Salle College has an enrolment of approximately 920 students. The charism of its founders, the De La Salle Brothers, continues to permeate the daily operations of the college and can be seen both in the strong sense of community that exists and the emphasis on pastoral care.
The college has in place a vertical Pastoral Care System set within a nurturing spiritual environment. The current lay administration maintains an excellent relationship with the Brothers and takes advantage of the De La Sallian support network.
There has been a continuous building program at the college since its inception and today facilities include an excellent Library/Resource Centre, Science Laboratories, Gymnasium, College Chapel, Performing Arts Centre with an Auditorium, Art and Craft Centre, Business Studies and Computing areas, a Design and Technology Centre and an Aquatic Centre. These facilities are supported by a technological backbone with extensive computer access throughout the college, including intranet and internet facilities.
St Augustine’s School, Rivervale is a single stream, co-educational school catering for 223 students from Kindergarten to Year 7.
The Presentation Sisters have staffed the school for 48 years and their tradition of teaching and learning within a faith-filled environment is the key to the life of the school. It is the goal of St Augustine’s School to promote the total development of the child in a spirit of love and co-operation between students, teachers and parents.
The school offers a specialist sports teacher, music and computer programs, educational support and Italian as a second language. A social worker is available for students, staff and parents.
St Augustine’s is involved with other Catholic schools in a winter sports program. After-school activities include netball and football. An enthusiastic School Board and Parents and Friends’ Association support St Augustine’s School. Traditionally, the school and parish enjoy a close, harmonious and effective relationship.
The successful applicants will take up these positions on 1 January 2004. Applicants need to be actively involved in the Catholic Church and be experienced educators committed to the objectives and ethos of Catholic education.They will have the requisite theological, educational, pastoral and administrative competencies together with an appropriate four-year minimum tertiary qualification and will have completed Accreditation B or its equivalent.
A current Police Clearance/100 Point Identification Check must also be included. A Police Clearance Consent Form is available from the Department of Education and Training website (www.eddept.wa.edu.au/ HRRecruitment/Downloads/PoliceClearance.pdf Official application forms are available from Martin Loney, Consultant, Leadership Team, on 9212 9268 or Email: loney.martin@cathednet.wa.edu.au
Applications are to be addressed to The Director, Catholic Education Office of WA, PO Box 198, Leederville WA 6903 and be lodged no later than Friday 26 September 2003. Website: www.ceo.wa.edu.au
Following on from the celebration of his Golden Jubilee of Ordination in 2001, Fr Kevin McKelson SAC, STL OAM was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Notre Dame Australia at the annual Graduation ceremony on the Broome Campus on July 4.
The Honorary Doctorate was awarded for his services to Aboriginal language and culture in Western Australia, with particular reference to La Grange/Bidyadanga. His contribution has included a written text of a number of languages, the translation of Scripture stories and the construct of Liturgies for Indigenous people.
"The community is much in debt to Father McKelson" Bishop Christopher Saunders, of Broome said. "His early work put him way ahead of his time.
He toiled tirelessly to help preserve local languages and culture. His dedication has been intense, focused and of inestimable
value. The awarding of the Doctorate is some overdue acknowledgement of his life’s work."
In speaking about Fr McKelson’s long and distinguished career in the Broome Diocese, NDA Vice Chancellor, Dr Peter
Tannock mentioned the influence of a visit to young Kevin’s school by Bishop Raible, the reading of the poem ‘The Last of his Tribe’, and the Chaplain of the school during his time at St Kevin’s College, Toorak, Fr Worms.
The most obvious and significant contribution to the Kimberley was Fr Kevin’s time at Bidyadanga/La Grange from 1961 to 1993. Dr Tannock said, "He was a genuine missionary priest with a great love and respect for the Aboriginal people and their language and culture.
Apart from caring for and supporting the people of La Grange as temporal administrator, he devoted himself to the preservation of their languages, of which he mastered five."
Dr Tannock concluded his citation by saying, "This gentle man has laboured long and hard in the vineyard.
“He has served the Aboriginal people of the Kimberley, his Church and his Pallotine Order with humility and distinction.
“He has brought to his life’s work great scholarship, quality, and love. Chancellor, I have much pleasure in proposing that you
Ever wondered what it would be like to contemplate Christ through Our Lady’s eyes? With that theme in mind, the local Focolare movement is holding a special Marian Day at the main hall of the Little Sisters of the Poor in Glendalough on Saturday September 20.
Archbishop Barry Hickey will say Mass at midday. There will be talks, including a presentation on
the Mysteries of Light. This is in keeping with the movement’s invitation to celebrate Mary in the Year of the Rosary.
Quoting Pope John Paul II, the Coordinator of the Women’s movement Ms Aida Barbosa said “To recite the Rosary is nothing other then to contemplate the face of Christ. I desire that during the course of this year the Rosary should be especially emphasised and promoted in the various
Christian communities.”
The day’s program includes: reflections on the Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae, individual testimonies, talks and theological reflections on Mary.
There will also be a special program for children, and a sausage sizzle. It starts at 10am and finishes at 4pm. Cost is a donation. All are welcome. Enquiries, contact Aida Barbosa 9349 4052 or Mario Merlo 6278 3425.
Archbishop Barry Hickey offered a special Mass in honour of John Hennessy’s retirement and 20 years of dedicated service in the Archdiocese, at the Pro Cathedral last Wednesday.
Originally from Melbourne, John Hennessy enlisted in the Australian Regular Army in1962, where he remained for 20 years. During that time, he saw war service on the Malay-Thailand Border and in Vietnam. By the end of that period, he had been in the SAS for over 11 years.
While on 12 months long service leave, John became an active parishioner of Hamersley (now Greenwood) Parish. The-then Parish Priest Father Barry Whitely asked him to participate in a parish course called “Renewal of Faith.”
“There was no escape! He got both my wife Dennise and I into it,” said John.
The course gave him a hunger for more spirituality, and he accepted Fr Barry’s request to be involved in the instruction of converts. Fr Barry encouraged those at the parish involved in convert instruction to introduce elements of the Rite of Christian Initiation
of Adults (RCIA) into the process.
John said “Gradually it evolved completely into RCIA. Through the mingling with the old and new, I helped to get RCIA off and running.”
Within the first year, John said 40 people from the parish responded to the RCIA team’s invitation.
After leaving the Army John was employed at the Chancery Office. Invited onto the Diocesan Pastoral Council for two years, he was part of the RCIA study team responsible for producing the RCIA Guidelines document. It was also that committee’s recom-
mendation that a Perth Catechumenate Office be established.
John became Coordinator of the new office, educating parishes in the revised Rite.
He held the position until 1992, and describes the experience as a “... very rich and very rewarding time.”
Returning to the Archdiocesan Finance Office he retired last week as the Senior Accounts Clerk.
Bishop Don Sproxton said of his service “He’s committed to the Church. The Archbishop and I bless him for the work he has done for the Archdiocese.”
Archdiocesan Liturgy Committee head Sister Kerry Willison RSM said: “He’s wonderful, an absolute gentleman and always happy to help.
He’s very committed to the Church.
He set up the RCIA Office in Perth and laid such good foundations for the process that when I took over from him it continued to go from strength to strength.”
John married his wife Dennise in St Mary’s Church, in Guildford, in 1967. They have three children John, Karen and Peter.
confer the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws from this University on Fr Kevin McKelson."
Some of his friends from the Bidyadanga community performed a ceremonial dance accompanied by singing in language to lead Fr McKelson to the stage for his acceptance of the award.
It was a very moving spectacle for all those present. No less so for Fr McKelson himself.
The gift of prayer
C o n t i n u i n g i n o u r s e r i e s
o f V o c a t i o n s t o r i e s , t h i s
w e e k K A Y F O R D f r o m t h e
P e r t h - b a s e d F l a m e
M i n i s t r i e s I n t e r n a t i o n a l
There are many vocations; mine is prayer and intercession, a vocation that has largely been the realm of the religious life. As a layperson, I have a dedication to serve God and the Church through Flame Ministries International as a member of its Intercessors Team and as the Coordinator of the international Prayer Request Chain.
My journey began in early childhood when separated from my family during the war years. God was always present to me as Father in the absence of my own father and has remained with me in a special way, guiding me through my growth and conversion experiences.
Long conversations with Him were natural prayer. Blessed with a childlike acceptance I knew that I was heard and that, in time, there would be an answer. This was God’s loving gift of faith that has remained with me into adulthood.
Often in unexpected ways, my prayers have always been answered. I know God had a concern to teach me his ways through the good times and the less good times in my life.
Often he answered prayer through my lack as I responded to the need of another. On one occasion he asked me to take care suddenly and dramatically, of a boy whose mother, a stranger, was homeless. This happened when I had been told that I was unlikely to conceive more than the child we already had. Within a year after returning to his mother, my second child was born, followed in due
course, by five more. I know I prayed and I know many have prayed for me during my life. I have been on many mission outreaches in Australia with FMI, but perhaps the most significant for me was in Penang, Malaysia, in 2000 where I witnessed and participated in God’s love meeting the needs of his people.
During a healing service I held in my arms a child so severely disabled that at age 11 she could be carried only like a baby. We were told that if she had one more epileptic fit, she could die. As I held her on my lap I felt as if God’s overwhelming love was encompassing us, flowing through me to her, as her mother and I prayed for her healing.
A vocation is a calling from God to enter into his service. I have not always understood this calling to prayer, but in my apostolate in FMI I have learned to pray more widely and effectively. Prayer is not primarily feeling or experience; it requires discipline and it is an act of will.
It is God’s will to bring the good that he desires for his people. It manifests our faith as the Body of Christ. It is our hope for the future in Jesus. It is a relationship with God, in Jesus, as his adopted child in all humility in the knowledge of his grace and love. Prayer is a work of faith that brings results and blessing.
GENEVA, (Zenit) - The World Council of Churches elected Samuel Kobia as its new secretary-general, the first African chosen for the top post.
Kobia, who will take up the post in January, succeeds Konrad Raiser of the Evangelical Church in Germany. The World Council of Churches, founded in 1948, is a fellowship of now 341 Christian churches worldwide. The Catholic Church is not a member but works cooperatively with the WCC.
The election took place during a closed session of the WCC Central Committee, in which the 134 voting members chose between Kobia and Trond Bakkevig of Sweden. Born in 1947 in Kenya, Kobia is an ordained minister in the Methodist Church in that country. He and his wife Ruth have two daughters and two sons.
Kobia has served as WCC executive secretary for Urban Rural Mission, and as general secretary of the National Council of Churches of Kenya. He helped reorganize the Zimbabwe Christian Council after independence, chaired peace talks for Sudan in 1991, and in 1992 chaired Kenya's National Election.
LAGOS, Nigeria, (Zenit) - A court in northern Nigeria said it would issue a judgment thismonth in the appeal of a woman sentenced to death by stoning for having a child out of wedlock.
The Islamic appeals court of Katsina made its decision on Wednesday. This was the second time the Islamic court postponed the appeal of Amina Lawal, 31.
Aminu Ibrahim, top Muslim authority of the state of Katsina, said: "It is right that Amina know her fate." However, after a daylong hearing, the ruling was postponed. Defence lawyers contend that procedural errors were made in applying the Shariah, Islamic law, in the case.
Catholic news from around the world
The bishops of Florida have urged that Terri Schiavo continue to receive artificial nutrition and hydration "while all parties pursue a clearer understanding of her actual physical condition."
Schiavo, 39, who is Catholic, has been on a feeding tube since a collapse in 1990 during which her brain was deprived of oxygen for several minutes. She has been the subject of a bitter 10-year battle between her husband, who says further treatment is useless and seeks to have nutrition and hydration ended, and her parents and other relatives, who are fighting to keep her alive.
Last year Circuit Court Judge George W. Greer of Clearwater ruled that the feeding tube should be removed, but he stayed his ruling pending the resolution of appeals.
The appellate court rejected several appeals and Greer was expected to issue a final ruling at a September 11 hearing. On August 26 he rejected husband Michael Schiavo's petition to halt medical treatment of an infection Terri Schiavo had developed.
Terri Schiavo's parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, contend that her condition could be improved if she were to receive medical therapies her husband has refused to provide.
In their statement on August 27 the Florida bishops said, "If additional medical treatment can be shown to be helpful to her condition, we urge that all parties involved take the safer course and allow it to be used."
Florida Govenor Jeb Bush intervened on August 26 with a letter to Greer asking him to appoint a guardian to assess her medical condition independently. The judge said he did not think he had that option within the mandate from the court of appeals under which
he is working.
The bishops' two-page statement backed an August 12 statement by Bishop Robert N. Lynch of St. Petersburg addressing the complex issues in the case in more detail.
"His statement followed careful consultation with his brother bishops and we fully support it," they said. "Because of so much uncertainty and dispute, we reiterate his plea that her treatment be continued while all parties pursue a clearer understanding of her actual physical condition."
"Bishop Lynch's statement clarifies the teaching of the church that nourishment or hydration may be withheld or withdrawn where that treatment itself is causing harm to the patient or is useless because the patient's death is imminent," they said. "Church teaching is clear that there should be a presumption in favour of providing medically assisted nutrition and hydration to all patients as long as it is of sufficient benefit to outweigh the burdens involved to the patient."
Bishop Lynch quoted a 1989
statement by the Florida bishops on the limited circumstances under which it is permissible to stop giving a patient food and water: "Nourishment or hydration may be withheld or withdrawn where that treatment itself is causing harm to the patient or is useless because the patient's death is imminent, as long as the patient is made comfortable."
That statement went on to say that the phrase "death is imminent" implies "that a physician can predict that the patient will die of the fatal pathology within a few days or weeks, regardless of what life-prolonging methods are used.”
Bishop Lynch said Terri Schiavo's case "is especially difficult because her actual medical situation is in dispute including opposing opinions within the family and among physicians who have examined her.”
He urged that all parties "pursue a clearer understanding of her actual physical condition," and that her family "be allowed
The tears of the Blessed Virgin are a call to conversion and peace, particularly in the Mideast and Africa, says John Paul II. When meeting with pilgrims to pray the Angelus, the Pope recalled the 50th anniversary of the day that an image of Mary wept in Syracuse, Sicily.
On August 29, 1953, in the home of Antonia and Angelo Iannuso, a plaster plaque of the Immaculate Heart of Mary shed tears. The miraculous phenomenon,
later recognized officially by Sicily's bishops, was prolonged for three consecutive days until September 1, attracting the attention of newspapers worldwide.
That September 1, a commission of doctors and scientists gathered a cubic centimeter of the liquid shed from the Virgin's eyes. The scientific study concluded that their composition was like that of human tears.
Today those tears are preserved in a reliquary that was taken to all Sicilian parishes during the current extraordinary Marian Year, which ends on Monday. The year was proclaimed to recall what the Pope described as "such an amazing event."
Among those present today in the courtyard of the summer
to attempt a medical protocol which they feel would improve her condition."
"If Terri's feeding tube is removed," he wrote, "it will undoubtedly be followed by her death.
If it were to be removed because the nutrition which she receives from it is of no use to her, or because it is unreasonably burdensome for her and her family or her caregivers, it could be seen as permissible.
But if it were to be removed simply because she is not dying quickly enough and some believe she would be better off because of her low quality of life, this would be wrong."
Supporters of Terri Schiavo have taken their case to the Internet with a Web site -www.terrisfight.org -- that includes videos showing her moving and opening her eyes in response to a request to do so, along with other materials contesting her husband's claims that she is in a persistent vegetative state and unresponsive to visitors.
papal residence of Castel Gandolfo was a group of pilgrims from Syracuse, who presented a
gold crown for John Paul II's blessing. The crown will be placed on the head of the Virgin's image.
"How mysterious these tears are!" the Pope said. "They speak of suffering and tenderness, of comfort and divine mercy. They are the sign of a maternal presence, and an appeal to conversion to God, abandoning the way of evil to follow faithfully Jesus Christ."
The Pontiff concluded with a prayer addressed to the "sweet Lady of Tears," entrusting to her the Church and the whole world.
"Look at those who have most need of forgiveness and reconciliation; bring concord to families and peace among peoples,"
Claims that the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity secretly buried the bodies of women who died in their care are "preposterous and untrue," said a spokeswoman for the order.
Sister Ann Marie Ryan, provincial superior of the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity in Dublin, said in a statement that all deaths at the order's laundry and convent were handled appropriately and within the law.
"In living memory, all women who died in our care were registered at Department of Health Offices at Griffith Avenue, Dublin," said Sister Ryan. "We believe that this practice always pertained -- although we do (not) have the records available at this time to indicate this."
Sister Ryan said many of the records were destroyed by a fire in Dublin.
"We are in contact with the Eastern Region Health Authority in an attempt to trace the records, (but) many of our women died in the last century," she added.
In mid-August, Irish journalist Mary Raftery claimed that death certificates existed for only 75 of 155 bodies exhumed in 1993 from a graveyard attached to a Magdalene laundry run by the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity in Dublin.
Magdalene laundries, run by the Charity order and the Sisters of Mercy, were common in the United Kingdom and Ireland in the 20th century; the last laundry in Ireland closed in 1996.
The laundries were so named as a reference to Mary Magdalene's tears washing Jesus' feet. The women sent to work in the laundries and to live in the convents attached to them were given the work of washing laundry as a penance for sins, real and imagined. Some of the young women were sent there by parents or civil
authorities for a wide variety of reasons that included having children out of wedlock, being seen as "a bit wild" or being perceived in moral danger.
Raftery, who has produced a series of television documentaries detailing abuse allegedly suffered by those in orphanages, industrial schools and other institutions run by religious authorities in the 1950s and the 1960s, made the allegations about the missing death certificates in The Irish Times newspaper and on RTE radio.
She said: "An offence appears to have occurred (at High Park in Dublin) in terms of nonregistration of deaths. This raises important questions for both the order and the Department of the Environment to answer.
"Were these women attended by a doctor at the last stage of their illness, which is a basic right?
"After exhumation, all but one of the 155 bodies were cremated, thus making any identification today impossible," Raftery
Minnesota
wins
CHICAGO (CNS) -- For the past 30 years, Mary Larsen has been saying "yes" to anyone who is hungry, sick or just simply in need. Her We Care project -- which she operates out of her four-car garage -- provides nearly 900kg’s of food to more than 150 families each month.
"We never say 'no' to anyone," said the 76year-old grandmother from Morgan, Minnesota "If they are hungry, we don't care what colour they are, or what religion; it makes no difference."
Larsen is the 2003 recipient of the Lumen Christi Award, a national award presented by Chicago-based Catholic Extension for outstanding missionary work in America. Catholic Extension is the leading supporter of missionary work in poor and remote parts of the United States.
Bishop William R. Houck, president of Catholic Extension, is to present the award to Larsen on September 27 at her church, St. Michael's in Morgan, in the Diocese of New Ulm. The honour also includes gifts of $10,000 to Larsen and $25,000 to her diocese.
"Mary Larsen is a shining example of what it means to live the faith," said Bishop Houck, retired head of the Diocese of Jackson, Mississippi.
"For 30 years she has put others before herself," he added. "This is not a job she was elected to do, nor is it one for which she draws a paycheck. Mary provides this invaluable service in her community simply because she cares."
The We Care project actually began more than 40 years ago when Larsen and her family provided food and necessities for the migrant workers on her parents' farm.
A widow, mother of 11 and grandmother of 37, Larsen continues the tradition of generosity with the help of her son, Joe; her sister, Benedictine Sister Magdalen
Schwab; and Franciscan Sister Gladys Meindl.
Through grants and donations, We Care serves more than 9,000 individuals in a 13county radius. It provides for the sick, victims of disasters, and, more recently, has been called on by families hit by the economic downturn.
"Some days it tears your heart out to see such need," said Larsen, who plans to run We Care for as long as she is able. "I like to keep active in life," she added.
New Ulm Bishop John C. Nienstedt nominated Larsen for this year's Lumen Christi Award.
"Mary is truly a reflection of the light of Christ in our midst," he said. "Her faithful witness to Christ's presence in the poor gives glory to God. Mary's worthy efforts have brought this added honour to her and to this diocese."
This year marks the 26th annual Lumen Christi award given by Catholic Extension. Nominations, made by U.S. bishops, are judged by a prestigious panel.
This year's panel included Bishop Wilton D. Gregory of Belleville, Illinois president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops; "7th Heaven" actress Catherine Hicks; radio legend Wally Phillips; retired Bishop Joseph L. Howze of Biloxi, Mississippi and J. Roberto Gutierrez, vice president of public affairs and communication at the University of Notre Dame and founder of the Hispanic Telecommunications Network.
said. "There are countless people around the world who are trying to trace their relatives -- if they are related to any of these women, now they will never know. During their lifetimes, these women were denied their rights by being locked up for committing no crime -- now it appears they have no rights in death."
In a separate statement to Raftery, Sister Ryan said: "From the middle of the last century, women were sent or came to us seeking refuge, and we provided it. Some of these women remain with us still. We did not seek them out, but we were there to provide shelter when no one else in society was willing to be of assistance. The women in our care were always free to leave, and our records show that a majority of them did so. Families were always free to visit."
Sister Ryan said that about 10 years ago the order decided to exhume and rebury the bodies of 155 women in an effort to make room for a much-needed home for elderly members of the order.
"This ceremony was approved by all relevant authorities, and we have had no queries from families about our decision in the intervening time. One family took the remains of a deceased relative to a family plot at this time. The remaining 154 were respectfully cremated and laid to rest in Glasnevin Cemetery at a public ceremony. I can confirm this absolutely," she said. Sister Ryan said a change in the headstone led to some discrepancies in names, but the "matter is being rectified."
Earlier this year, the U.S. branch of the Sisters of Mercy issued an apology for how some members of their order in Ireland treated young women and girls entrusted to them in the Magdalene laundries.
The apology coincided with the U.S. release of the movie "The Magdalene Sisters," a drama on incidents that supposedly took place at the laundries. The Office for Film & Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops gave the film a classification of O, morally offensive.
Vatican Radio has commented on a feature broadcast recently on ABC TV’s 7:30 Report that demonstrated how easy it can be to make a bomb.
The report said that common agricultural or garden fertiliser, available over the counter, is one of the basic ingredients used in making a bomb.
It indicated that instructions are available on the Internet.
The program then showed how a bomb is made before depicting the test explosion of the bomb in a car under the supervision of experts.
The ABC had resisted calls from Government and community groups not to show the report.
Vatican Radio said the fact that bombmaking instructions are available on the Web is "old news", suggesting that the ABC was irresponsible in enticing new generations of potential terrorists to try their hand at bomb-making.
It said: "Television, substantially stupid [and] led by obtuse market criteria, rules over all and even imposes itself on states' democratic powers."
Finding Nemo is an original film in that it explores the beautiful relationship between a father and son. Its message is that parents must know that eventually they must let their children go, but that a parent’s love can help children do extraordinary things. It also shows us that our shortcomings can sometimes become our strengths.
by Reid Perkins-Buzo, OPFinding an account of the love between a father and son remains one of the most difficult tasks possible in Western culture. On the contrary, tens of thousands of stories, from Hesiod's Theogony to Russell Banks' Affliction, detail the relationship between fathers and sons as a desperate, often deadly, struggle. Simple, concerned love between a father and son has been almost entirely avoided in most writing and film. Since Christian understanding takes the love between father and son as one of its basic expressions for the reality of God, a film such as Finding Nemo becomes far more than run-of-the-mill children's fare. Structurally, the film is a circle. Marlin (Albert Brooks), a reef-dwelling clown fish, is raising his only son Nemo (Alexander Gould), in the seemingly safe reality of Australia's Great Barrier Reef. Tragically, Marlin learned how deceptive the reef could be by losing
Nemo's mother and siblings to a barracuda in the first scene of the film. As a result of this horrifying experience he has become very fearful for his son's safety and constantly overprotects him.
When Nemo foolishly ventures too far into the open ocean and is captured by tropical fish hunters, Marlin overcomes his fear of the deep and embarks on a harrowing voyage across treacherous waters to rescue his lost son.
The determined but cautious Marlin immediately runs into Dory (Ellen DeGeneres), a fish afflicted with short term memory loss, who tries to help him. Together they follow the one clue to his son's disappearance: a scuba diver's mask with a Sydney address marked on it. Chasing the mask, they encounter a scary trio of inept sharks, Bruce, Anchor and Chum (Barry Humphries, Eric Bana and Bruce Spence). These three have formed a 12-step program to change from deadly predators to friendly neighbours. Their motto is "Fish are friends, not food."
Meanwhile, Nemo lands in a
dentist's office overlooking Sydney's harbour, dumped into a tank populated by an assortment of loopy tropical fish including a scarred veteran, Gill (Willem Dafoe).
They find out that within a few days Nemo will be given as a birthday present
Sid from the Toy Story films) whose last fish died a grim death from sadistic "play." Given the gravity of Nemo's situation, Gill and the others plot an audacious escape.
As their quest continues, Marlin and Dory face menacing predators, ravenous gulls, clouds of deadly jellyfish as well as the ancient, yet young-at-heart, sea turtles. When Marlin and Dory must make a "leap of faith" inside a whale to arrive at their final destination of Sydney Harbour, the biblical story of Jonah and the Disney classic Pinocchio both come directly to mind. The ory's final reditus closes the narrative circle, bringing Nemo and Marlin back home, but now with a more certain grasp on life's possibilities rather than life's risks.
The familial love of father and son so plainly shown in Finding Nemo has few parallels in film history. Perhaps Director/Writer Andrew Stanton alludes to this rarity by the choice of the son's name Nemo, Latin for "nobody." Symbolically Marlin
comes to be both father and mother for Nemo, undergoing this transformation during the long journey. Although the female strength of his mother has been permanently lost to Nemo, through his father's transformative quest (with some absolutely essential aid from the female Dory), he returns to security at long last.
The arduous journey of love, together with the critical help of compassionate others, propels Marlin and Nemo out of the father's paralysing fear and the son's belligerent rebellion into a hope-filled future based on mutual trust.It is the image of trusting love between fathers and sons which yields the traditional analogy for God's inner reality. Christian Trinitarian thought names the love between the Father and the Son, "the Holy Spirit."
And so, Director/writer Andrew Stanton gives us a fable that penetrates the ground of the spirit, a journey of love hinting at the most potent symbol of Christian understanding.
TAX RETURNS, mobile
tax return preparation service.For all your tax and accounting needs - business and personal.Contact John Edwards 9388 6773all hours.
BRICK re-pointing.Phone Nigel 9242 2952
ELECTRICIAN, Power/light points from $50 each. Rewiring our speciality. 0418 941 286, 9279 5008.
LIC.PLUMBER/gas fitter, Contact John on 9457 7771, Mobile 0412 185 209.
PICASSO Painting.Top service.Phone 9345 0557, fax 9345 0505.
PERROTT PAINTING Pty
Ltd for all your residential, commercial painting requirements.Phone Tom Perrott 9444 1200.
ALL areas.Mike Murphy 0416 226 434.
DENMARK - To Let, beautiful new 3bd, 2bth cottage, avail from Oct 11.Ph:(after 4pm):0412 08 33 77/ 9402 1252
DUNSBOROUGH - Luxury holiday rental, avail.now. Ph:9309 2659
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.
Why not stay at
27 McLaren Street,North Sydney Restful & secure accommodation operated by the Sisters of Mercy, North Sydney.
• Situated in the heart of North Sydney and short distance to the city
• Rooms available with ensuite facility
• Continental breakfast, tea/coffee making facilities & television
• Separate lounge/dining room, kitchen & laundry
• Private off-street parking
Contact:Phone:(02) 9957 5040 or email:nsmercy@ozemail.com.au
CUSTOM crafted crystal rosary beads and chaplets all occasions ph:Joanne 0414 624 580
THANK YOU
Dear St Jude.Thank you for excellent results of blood test.Pat
KINLAR Vestments, albs, copes, stoles, frontals, chasubles, coffin palls.altar cloths, graduation gowns. Ph:9378 4752
RETREAT from the everyday pressures of life and experience Benedictine hospitality at the Monastery Guest-house.Situated 132 kms north of Perth in the historic town of New Norcia. Twin rooms with en-suites or single rooms.Join the monks for daily prayer and Mass.Directed retreats by arrangement.Tariff by donation, suggested donation $45 full board.Inquiries: Guesthouse sec.phone (08) 9654 8002, fax (08) 9654 8097.Email: guesthouse_nn@hotmail. com.Please quote ref.R3
TALKS FOR IMMACULATE CONCEPTION PARISH HALL
154 Canning Highway,East Fremantle
Sept-Oct 7.15 TO 9pm.1) Thursday Sept 4,Fr Paul
Baczynski,The Devil / Satan.2) Thursday Sept 11, Paul Kelly,Abortion.3) Thursday Sept 18,Brett Regan, Connecting Mind to God’s Power.4) Thursday Sept 25, Paul Kelly,Creation.5) Thursday Oct 2,Fr Paul
Baczynski,Healing Spirituality.6) Thursday Oct 9, Brett Regan,Accountability,God’s Saving Grace.
Monday September 8
BULLSBROOK SHRINE PILGRIMAGE FOR OUR LADY’S BIRTHDAY
Pilgrimage to the Shrine of Virgin of the Revelation, 36 Chittering Rd,Bullsbrook,Monday,September 8 to celebrate Our Lady’s Birthday.Holy Rosary and Benediction at 10.30 am,followed by Holy Mass at 11.00 am.Reconciliation from 10.30 am in English and Italian.Enquiries:SACRI 94473292
Monday September 8
CATHOLIC MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT GROUP
Carers meeting on the second Monday of each month at 7.30pm at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish,Marda Way, Nollamara.These meetings provide the opportunity to share information and offer mutual support.More details contact Pat Mahoney 9275 2809.
Thursday September 11
ECUMENICAL PRAYER VIGIL
An Ecumenical Peace and Justice Prayer Vigil will be held at St Dominic’s Church,corner Beatrice St and Phillips Grove,Innaloo,at 7.30pm for:Those killed, injured by war,terrorism,violence.Those whose hearts are broken through war,terrorism,violence. Please come and pray for peace for our troubled world.Light supper afterwards.
Sunday September 14
FEAST OF THE HOLY CROSS
St Catherine’s Church,GinGin.1pm lunch & refreshments& Confessions.2.15pm - Eucharistic Procession,Rosary & Benediction.3.00 pm Blessing of the Cross,followed by Holy Mass (Main celebrant Bishop Sproxton).4.15pm Afternoon Tea.Coaches depart St Mary’s Cathedral,Victoria Square for Gingin 10.30am & from St Brigid‚s Church Midland 11am.To book phone Francis Williams 9459-3873 or Mob 0404 893 877.Transport $14 person return. BYO Lunch,Tea & Coffee provided.For more details phone Sheila 9575-4023 or Fr Paul 9571-1839.
Sunday September 14
BULLSBROOK PILGRIM MASS FOR THE SICK
Annointing of the sick for Spiritual and physical healing during Holy Mass at 2.30PM at the Shrine of Virgin of the Revelation,36 Chittering Rd,Bullsbrook, Exposition,Holy Rosary and Benediction precede Mass at 2.00pm.Reconciliation from 1.30pm All are most welcome.A Pilgrimage Mass is celebrated at the Shrine every Sunday at 2.30pm.Enquiries Tel.SACRI Assoc.9447 3292.
Monday September 15
DAY OF PRAYER - HOLY FAMILY HOUSE OF PRAYER 23 Keppell Mews,Rockingham,Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows 9am to 5pm.Phone Patty Powell on 9527 9165
Monday September 15
AN AFTERNOON WITH OUR SORROWFUL MOTHER
The St.Juliana Community of Secular Servites extend an open invitation to join their celebration of the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows.Holy Mass followed by a rosary procession.Light refreshments served afterward.Celebrant:Fr Christopher M Ross OSM Venue: Servite College Chapel Time:2pm Enquiries:David 9305 9741
Saturday September 20
MARIAN DAY - CONTEMPLATING CHRIST THROUGH THE EYES OF MARY.
video on Fatima will be shown at 9am.A day of prayer and instruction based upon the messages of Fatima. Includes Sacrament of Penance,Holy Mass, Eucharistic Adoration,talks,rosaries,procession and Stations of the Cross.Please BYO.Any enquiriesFranciscan Friars of the Immaculate 9574 5204
Tuesday September 23
ST PIO OF PIETRELCINA FEAST
4pm Holy Hour.5pm Procession and Holy Mass. Bringing a plate is greatly appreciated.Come and join in! All Saints Chapel.77 Allendale Square,Perth.
Thursday September 25
MOTHER’S PRAYER REFLECTION DAY
Redemptorist Retreat House,North Perth.9am to 2.45pm.Cost:Donation.Contact:Veronica Peake 9447 0671.The day will be conducted by Redemptorist Father Reg Ahern.BYO Lunch,Tea and Coffee provided.All Mothers,Fathers,Grandparents and Children welcome.
Saturday October 4 – 9
A PARISH MISSION TO LOOK FORWARD TO
A focus on prayer/meditation and its part in building faith and community.The Mission Director will be Fr Justin Belitz OFM,a powerful and inspiring international speaker and writer of Success:Full Living.St Francis Xavier Parish,Armadale.For more information phone the Parish Office 9399 2143.Fr Justin will also lead a retreat and a day programme at Peace Be Still,Chittering,on Sept 26-28.Contact Wendy for details:9571 8108
CROSS ROADS COMMUNITY
Healing Masses:1st Monday of month 7pm Church of East Fremantle,2nd Monday of month 10am St Jerome’s Munster & 3rd Monday of Month 7pm St Dominic’s Innaloo.Term 3 begins 21st July to 26th Sept for:Family & Friends Support Groups of Substance Abusers on Wednesday’s 7pm – 9pm, Substance Abusers Support Groups on Tuesday’s 5.30pm – 7.30pm & Friday’s 2pm – 3.30pm & All day Group for Substance Abusers on Friday’s 10.30am –3.30pm,Spirituality:Tuesday’s 7pm – 9pm & Mass: Friday’s 7pm.
NOVENA DEVOTION
In Honour of the Infant Jesus of Prague.Every Tuesday at 11am and 1pm at St Mary’s Cathedral. Divine Infant Jesus of Prague:”The more you will Honour me the more I will bless you.”Please join us in prayer for our Holy Father,Priests and Religious,Holy Vocations,the sick,the deceased and all your special intentions.
HOLY HOUR
Every Wednesday at St Mary’s Cathedral we have a holy hour from 11am to 12noon.For all sick people including the drug addicted and street kids.Please come and join us in prayer.Those who wish to may also bring along a list of names of all the sick people they would like to pray for.
NOVENA DEVOTION IN HONOUR OF ST JOSEPH
Every Wednesday at 1pm at St Mary’s Cathedral. Please join us in prayer for our Holy Father,Priests and religious,Holy Vocations,the sick,the deceased and all your special intentions.
ST THOMAS MORE BEREAVEMENT DROP IN CENTRE
Open every 2nd and 4th Saturday of each month from 10am to 11.30am at the Bateman parish meeting room,100 Dean Rd,Bateman.The purpose of the centre is to provide regular opportunity for the bereaved to receive and give support,begin to think about a new direction and to meet socially in a safe place.If you wish to talk individually with our trained counsellors/volunteers please let us know.All welcome,contact Lesley 93376295,Elizabeth 93103889 or 0417170147,Justina a/h 93102070 or 0409684748. Meeting dates:Sept 13 & 27,Oct 11 & 25,Nov 8 & 22
Mass and Procession for Feast Day of Maria SS del Tindari, Fremantle - Bishop Quinn
Confirmation,Bayswater - Bishop Sproxton
Confirmation,Gosnells - Mgr Thomas McDonald
16Visit Confirmation candidates,Maddington - Archbishop Hickey
Confirmation,Clarkson - Mgr Tim Corcoran
17Confirmation,Woodvale - Mgr Thomas McDonald
17-20Meeting of Ecclesial Communities,Adelaide - Bishop Sproxton
17 & 24Confirmation,Wanneroo - Bishop Quinn
18Visit to CEO Library Team - Archbishop Hickey
In this year dedicated to the Rosary,the Holy Father John Paul II has encouraged the promotion of the Rosary as a way to contemplate Christ through the eyes of Mary.The Focolare Movement is organizing a Marian Day from 10.00am to 4.00pm at the Little Sisters of the Poor in Glendalough.Archbishop Barry James Hickey will be celebrating Mass at 12.00pm. Presentation of the Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae,testimonies and theological reflections on Mary,and artistic contributions.Special programme for children.For more information ring the Focolare centers on 9349 4052 or 6278 3425.
Saturday September 20
DAY WITH MARY – IMMACULATE CONCEPTION CHURCH.
154 Canning Hway,East Fremantle.9am to 5pm.A
COMING EVENTS AT THE SCHOENSTATT SHRINE
9 Talus Drive,Armadale Tel 9399 2349.Twilight Retreat for young people,Sept 13,3pm – 12midnight.Evening for Men,Mon,Sept 15,7.30pm.Reflection Days for Women.Conducted by Fr Ivanhoe Allies.Wed Sept 17, 9.45am to 2pm.Includes Mass.BYO shared lunch. Thurs,Sept 18,9.45am to 2pm.Consecration Day. Includes Mass.BYO shared lunch.Cost each day by donation.Inquiries 9399 2349.Pilgrim Mother Sunday Sept 21.1.30pm Talk by Fr Ivanhoe Allies,followed by Rosary Walk to the Shrine,3pm Devotions and Benediction.Afternoon Tea.Everyone welcome.At 11am Holy Mass for those who would like to spend the day at the Shrine.Weekend for Families at Jarrahdale, Sept 26-29.
radley Birzer speaks on the religious influences in Tolkien’s life and writing.
JRR Tolkien believed that true myth allows us to see things as they were meant to be, prior to the Fall. So says Bradley Birzer, assistant professor of history at Hillsdale College and author of JRR Tolkien's Sanctifying Myth: Understanding Middle-earth (ISI Books). Birzer shared with ZENIT his views on how Tolkien grounded the myth of "The Lord of the Rings" in Christian reality.
Q : H o w d o e s T o l k i e n ' s C a t h o l i c i s m i m p r e g n a t e h i s w o r l d v i e w a n d h i s f i ct i o n ?
B i r z e r : Tolkien wrote in an oft-quoted letter to a close friend in 1953 that The Lord of the Rings is of course a fundamentally religious and Catholic work; unconsciously so at first, but consciously in the revision. And Tolkien was a devout and practising Catholic throughout most of his life. According to his son Michael, Roman Catholicism "pervaded all his thinking, beliefs and everything else."
Indeed, Tolkien was very public about his faith. He once told an audience of Oxford dons, when it was rather unpopular to be open about one's religious beliefs, that as much as he loved his academic specialty, philology, it was unnecessary for salvation.
Tolkien, though, was much more cautious in his expression of his faith than was his closest friend, CS Lewis.
Tolkien believed that the true Christian should be an artist, not a propagandist. In other words, Tolkien rather strongly argued in his academic as well as mythological works that one should use what TS Eliot called the "moral imagination." He should seek the higher, timeless truths, but put them in a new light.
The artist becomes a "sub-creator," made in the image of God, the Creator. But, the human idea of sub-creation is to glorify Creation, never to mock or pervert it.
Tolkien rejected the idea of art for art's sake, or innovation for innovation's sake. There was a truth, and the artist was especially gifted to tap into that truth. To abuse the gift of artistry for one's own glorification is to turn enchantment to power and domination.
Q : W h a t a r e s o m e o f t h e m a i n r e l ig i o u s s y m b o l s i n T o l k i e n ' s M i d d l e - e a r t h l e g e n d a r i u m ?
B i r z e r : In "The Lord of the Rings," several religious symbols exist.
My personal favourite is the Elvish Lembas, translated as the "way bread" or "life bread." Even one piece of the bread can sustain a person for a day. Tolkien wrote that it "fed the will," and certainly without it, neither Frodo nor Sam would have made the journey across Mordor and up Mount Doom.
For Tolkien, nothing represented a greater gift from God than the actual Body and Blood of Christ. "I put before you the one great thing to love on earth: the Blessed Sacrament," Tolkien wrote to his son Michael. "There you will find romance, glory, honour, fidelity and the true way of all your loves upon earth."
Tolkien once experienced a holy vision while praying before the Blessed Sacrament. "I perceived or thought of the Light of God and in it suspended one small mote (or millions of motes to only one of which was my small mind directed), glittering white because of the individual ray from the Light which both held."
Tolkien also witnessed his guardian angel in the vision, not as a go-between but as the personalisation of "God's very attention."
“ B e c a u s e T o l k i e n t o u c h e s o n t i m e l e s s t r u t h s , i t i s i m p o s s i b l e f o r h i s m y t h o l o g y n o t t o p r ov i d e a s o c i a l a n d e t h i c a l w o r l dv i e w . M y t h , T o l k i e n b e l i e v e d , t o u c h e d e a c h p e r s o n a t a v e r y d e e p l e v e l ”
There are other Catholic symbols as well. Frodo, Gandalf and Aragorn each represent the different offices of Christ: respectively priest, prophet and king. Each of these characters places himself in harm's way for the greater good; each is willing to lay down his life for his brother.
When Gandalf faces the Balrog, he not only accepts death, but he names his master, the Secret Fire. According to what Tolkien told a friend, the Secret Fire was the Holy Spirit.
There are also several Marian figures throughout "The Lord of the Rings." The most important, I think, is Elbereth, a Vala, or archangel, to whom Sam prays as he thrusts Sting, the Elvish sword, into Shelob.
As Tolkien admitted, the Mother of Christ provided him with all of his understanding of "beauty in majesty and simplicity."
Q : H o w d o
B i r z e r : Because Tolkien touches on timeless truths, it is impossible for his mythology not to provide a social and ethical worldview. Myth, Tolkien believed, touched each person at a very deep level.
One can, therefore, easily abuse myth, using it incorrectly, as, for example, Richard Wagner or Adolf Hitler did. True myth, though, drew its inspiration from the incarnation, death and resurrection of Christ. Tolkien wrote in his academic essay, "On Fairy-Stories," that to reject the Christ story is to lead to either sadness or wrath.
Q : I n y o u r b o o k , y o u w r i t e t h a t T o l k i e n ' s m y t h i c a l w o r l d i s e s s e n t i a l l y t r u e r t h a n t h e o n e w e t h i n k w e s e e a r o u n d u s e v e r y d a y . B r i e f l y , c a n
B i r z e r : Only since the so-called Enlightenment have intellectuals en masse turned to studying primarily the material world at the expense of the spiritual world.
But man is the "metaxy," the "in between." He is flesh and spirit. To ignore one at the expense of the other is to verge very quickly into heresy; the results of such false materialism are all around us: the gulags, the holocaust camps and the killing fields are their unholy monuments.
God did not enter man at the conception of Jesus -- God became flesh. The soul and the flesh became one. Tolkien and the Inklings, following the Catholic and Romantic traditions behind them, rejected the scientistic worldview.
Myth, Tolkien believed, allowed us to see things as they were meant to be, prior to the Fall. When we look at another human person, we should imagine him as he will be in heaven, as a fully sanctified being.
The Eucharist, for example, is a true myth. We could never explain transubstantiation in modern, materialist terms, but we believe and know it to be the real, actual body and blood of Christ. Again, it is the spirit becoming one with the material.
true Christian humanist would not only understand Scripture and Tradition, but he would also understand the "greats" of Western civilisation: Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, etc. Christian humanism has often arisen as a strong force during some of the most tumultuous times of the Church: during the Renaissance and Reformation as well as during the 20th century rise of the ideologies of the Right and Left. Tolkien felt no kinship with the 20th century and its terror regimes, mass genocides and overwhelming, conformist technologies and industries.
rather
would have felt
with traditionalist English conservatism along the lines of Edmund Burke.
He despised ideologues of any stripe: communists, Nazis and fascists. He also held a strong bitterness against liberals and liberalism of any kind. He was certainly a man of his generation, and his views fit in very well with other traditionalist Roman Catholics in England.
English Roman Catholics tended to distrust liberals and liberalism not only as anti-clerical but also as conformist and statist. Tolkien once described himself as a philosophical anarchist. But he believed that true anarchy would ultimately result in a natural monarchy.
Q : W h y h a
argues for a continuity
the Roman,
Tolkien, an Augustinian Christian humanist, believed in the sanctity and individuality of all life. Each person, as best expressed in Gandalf's conversation with Frodo regarding Gollum, is born into a certain time and a certain place.
He is born for a reason. As Aristotle wrote, "Nature makes nothing in vain." Everything has a purpose. St. Thomas finished Aristotle's thought: "Grace perfects nature."
Within Creation, therefore, each person has a role, a set amount of time, and a number of gifts. He can chose to fight for God and the common good, he can use his gifts for avarice, or he can ignore them altogether.
Tolkien's Middle-earth mythology, powerfully Christian humanist, argues that we live as a part of continuity and that every being and time and event is vitally important to the whole, to Creation itself.
When Frodo complains of living in an evil, burdensome time, Gandalf replies: "'So do I ... and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."