The Record Newspaper 05 January 2011

Notre Dame founding father Quinlan retires

One of The University of Notre Dame Australia’s founding fathers, Chancellor Dr Michael Quinlan, has announced his retirement.

Dr Quinlan, who has been a Trustee of the university since its inception, was Deputy Chancellor prior to his appointment as Chancellor in 2008. One of WA’s leading physicians and a Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of WA and Professor of Medicine at Notre Dame, Dr Quinlan had a pivotal role in establishing UNDA, its College of Health and the Fremantle School of Medicine.

The Board of Trustees has elected current Deputy Chancellor Mr Terry Tobin QC, a member of both UNDA’s Board of Trustees and Board of Directors, to succeed Dr Quinlan as Chancellor.

As Mr Tobin is a distinguished NSW barrister, was appointed Queen’s Counsel

Dr Michael Quinlan, left, with UNDA Vice Chancellor Celia Hammond and her predecessor Peter Tannock. PHOTO: UNDA

for NSW in 1985 and has also been admitted to the bar in New York and Ireland, his appointment aims to further enhance the university’s operations and profile across Australia.

“The University has been wonderfully supported by the Church since it began and I am particularly thankful to Archbishop Barry Hickey and (Broome) Bishop Christopher Saunders for being so committed to the Fremantle and Broome campuses during the formative years of the University and since. The invitation to start the Sydney campus was initiated by Cardinal Pell in 2003 and I am grateful for his unwavering support and encouragement since then,” Dr Quinlan said.

High profile WA businessman Peter Prendiville has been appointed Deputy Chancellor and NSW Government Relations Consultant, while Margaret Fisher will join the Board of Trustees as a general Trustee.

Long time supporter of Notre Dame and foundation Trustee, Sister Sonia Wagner sgs, will be retiring as a general Trustee.

Shopfront gives homeless feast

The Shopfront provided a Christmas lunch with all the trimmings to over 300 homeless people and their families on 11 December at St Joseph’s Hall in Maylands.

Guests were treated to a full Christmas lunch of meats, salads, ice-cream and sweets, all donated by various businesses as well as a Christmas stocking and hamper.

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The Shopfront is located in Maylands and offers street people assistance with accommodation, budgeting, addiction issues and loneliness and is a central place where people can have a cuppa, a bite to eat and a non-judgemental chat with volunteers.

The Shopfront is a social service agency established by the Archdiocese of Perth that receives regular funding from Lifelink, and is proudly supported by the St Vincent de Paul Society. The Shopfront was created in 2001 when Julie Williams, now Manager of the Highgate Catholic Pastoral Centre, approached Archbishop Barry Hickey about the fact that the Archdiocese had nothing for the homeless.

The Archbishop approved the establishment of an agency and Sister Claude was appointed the first director before Liz Hare (RIP) took over from her.

Christian Brother Peter Negus was asked to be the director at the end of 2007 and has held the position for three years. “It has been a challenging but rewarding experience,” he said.

“The Christmas party lunch is a very

popular celebration for our homeless, lonely and disadvantaged people. Poor families in particular have a great lunch, receive presents and join in Christmas carols. A huge vote of thanks is due to all those who contribute to the success of this Christmas function.”

The St Vincent de Paul Society’s State Council provided $24,000 for Shopfront over the year as well as food, clothing, travel and phone vouchers.

“The Shopfront aligns very well with our Mission in that it serves Christ in the poor with love, respect, justice, hope and joy,” Ms Ardagh said.

“We know there are over 14,000 West Australians who are homeless on any given night and the Shopfront’s Christmas lunch provides some special festive cheer at a time when everyone deserves to enjoy the spirit of Christmas.”

Aged care house shows integration

MARGARET Hubery House, widely regarded as the best example of the integration of aged care services within the Catholic sector and probably in aged care right across Australia, celebrated its 10th anniversary on 16 December.

In the 1990s, Religious Orders were finding it difficult to meet the increasingly stringent demands on those operating aged care facilities. The passage of the Aged Care Act in 1997 and the drive to improve building standards convinced many of those Orders that a new way forward was required.

Sacred Heart, Sisters of St Joseph of the Apparition and Presentation Sisters.

In WA, a number of those Orders banded together to form the Intercongregational Aged Care Group (IAC). This consisted of six Orders including the Pallotines, Christian Brothers, Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions, Sisters of St Joseph of the

In 1998, six Congregations committed to a plan for a joint aged care facility to be owned and managed by Southern Cross Care. The agreement between the seven parties was captured in an historic document signed in July 1999, which came into effect officially on 31 December of the same year. Southern Cross Care, under the watchful eye of the IAC, was then charged with converting the dream of the agreement into reality in the form of a 65-bed residential care facility, and 37 independent living units and a community centre which would also be located on the same site. To ensure that the necessary number of beds was available for the new facility, Southern Cross had to close its Two Pines Nursing Home at Maylands and three of the congrega-

tions had to close facilities in South Perth, Lesmurdie and Highgate: altogether, a massive process.

The basic arrangement was simple – Southern Cross would bring 32 beds and the IAC would bring 33. To ensure the provision of ongoing care to members of the six congregations, they would have priority access to those 33 beds. Margaret Hubery had been chair of the Southern Cross Board when the idea for the joint development was first contemplated. Margaret also enjoyed tremendous credibility with the IAC who regarded her with great affection. Margaret Hubery House was officially opened in December 2000. Archbishop Barry Hickey attended its 10th anniversary on 16 December.

Southern Cross Care is a not for profit organisation and one of the largest service providers of aged care in WA.

Volunteers help out at the Shopfront Christmas lunch

Deacon ordained at Ballajura

BY ANTHONY BARICH

ARCHBISHOP Barry Hickey

ordained Christian Webb to the Diaconate on 20 December at Ballajura Parish Church.

Webb, born in 1969, started his studies at St Charles Seminary in Guildford before attending the Pontifical Beda College in Rome, which was established in 1852 to form older men, often convert clergymen, for Catholic priesthood. He then returned for pastoral placement in Ballajura with parish priest Fr John Jegorow.

Webb, who was baptised at Claremont Parish, is on his way to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Perth.

Archbishop Hickey told Webb during his homily that, like the men the Apostles chose as deacons for

works of charity, “you should be a man of good reputation, filled with wisdom and the Holy Spirit”.

“Show God and all people that you are above every suspicion of blame, true ministers of Christ and God’s mysteries; a man firmly rooted in the faith,” the prelate said.

“Never turn from the hope which the Gospel offers; now you must not only listen to God’s Word but also preach it. Hold the mysteries of faith with a clear conscience.

“Express in action what you proclaim by word of mouth. Then the people of Christ, brought to life by the Spirit, will be an offering God accepts. Finally, on the last day, when you go to meet the Lord, you will hear Him say: ‘Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Lord’.”

PHOTOS BY MELVILLE PERERA

Kolbe in historic Candles fest

KOLBE Catholic College celebrated its first Carols by Candlelight in the College grounds on 16 December, as seen in photos right and below.

More than 200 people attended the evening complete with singing, dancing, games for families and children, a visit by Santa and, of course, carol singing.

It all began months before the event when Louise Collins and Katie Schofield, two Year 10 members of the Kolbe Student Ministry Team, proposed that the College have a Carols by Candlelight Fete.

Organisers wanted to hold the event in memory of their classmate Rebecca Dinsdale who had passed away earlier in the year.

The two girls worked with other members of the Student Ministry Team to plan the event, gained the support of the College and parish priests and advertised the Carols on the College website, through parish bulletins and from the pulpit.

Hours and weeks of practice by groups of singers and dancers from the College culminated in a scene depicting families picnicking in the Avenue, Kolbe’s very own “green,” with lots of children running around, playing games, joining in

the dancing and singing, waving candles and singing carols.

Through the sale of candles and cool drinks and with the help of donations, Louise, Katie and their friends raised more than $300 for the Cancer Council of WA which they will present to the Council in the New Year in memory of their friend Rebecca.

A Kolbe College staff member said the College was proud of the students. “As wonderful as this [fundraising] gesture most certainly is, the vision and drive and the commitment of Louise and Katie and their supporters formed the greatest tribute that could have been offered to their friend,” the staff member said.

● Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Rockingham’s Christmas Eve Mass (bottom row of photos) proved a highlight of the festive season at Kolbe Catholic College, with 800 attending. Children from the parish acted out the Gospel, Kolbe Catholic College students and former students and parish young adults provided the music and Fr Benny Calanza celebrated the Mass assisted by Fr Michael Separovich and Deacon Daniel Boyd.

Strong family, culture reap benefits for Indigenous

SAINT John of God Health Care has been recognised in the WA Health Awards 2010, contributing to the winning entry in the Partnerships category alongside Carnarvon Hospital, WA Country Health Service (WACHS)

Midwest and Carnarvon Aboriginal Medical Centre.

Aboriginal health service Strong Family, Strong Culture – part of St John of God Health Care’s commitment to Social Outreach and Advocacy – is established throughout regional Western Australia and is actively

engaged in partnership with Carnarvon’s True Culture, True Care Mothers and Babies Programme.

Strong Family, Strong Culture works to increase birth weights and health of pregnant women and young children through improved nutrition and access to better clinical care.

True Culture, True Care aims to improve Aboriginal maternal and child health in the Gascoyne area through working with nongovernment organisations and the Department of Education.

Regional coordinator for Strong Family, Strong Culture in the Gascoyne, Camille Mallard, works with Carnarvon Hospital to engage local people in antenatal care, breast feeding programmes, child hearing tests, child health checks and developing behaviours in the early years to improve school readiness.

Group Coordinator for Strong Family, Strong Culture at St John of God Health Care, Cissy Cox, said: “Working in partnership with other service providers is essential in improving the

social determinants of health in Aboriginal communities.”

The WA Health Awards at the University Club of Western Australia on 7 December recognised and rewarded individuals and organisations that have demonstrated best practice in Western Australia’s health system.

Health Director General Kim Snowball said over 100 submissions were received for this year’s awards. Winners were selected from eight categories that represent key priorities for WA Health.

St John of God Health Care’s

expertise in Aboriginal perinatal and infant mental health has been further recognised by Social Outreach and Advocacy professionals being included on a new Statewide Aboriginal Child Health Project Interagency Steering Group for WA. Strong Family, Strong Culture will provide experience and clinical guidance to the committee which aims to ensure all Aboriginal children, particularly those from birth to five years of age, and their families have access to and receive appropriate healthcare.

Baptising babies shows all salvation is from God

Some scream endlessly, some are angelic, but Osborne Park Parish Priest Fr Michael Gatt sees a profound meaning in his regular work as a Catholic priest baptising babies...

It gives me much pleasure to report that during 2010 I have been privileged to have baptised 75 newly born babies, and what a pleasure I shared with the parents in their preparation as well as their family members and friends in the celebration of the Sacrament in the church at the Baptism of their children.

I know for sure that some people today have some sort of hesitation about what to say to the priest when he asks about the baptism of their children.

In general I always welcome any request for the Sacrament of Baptism unless there is some serious reason to consider the request, for example, a request without the consent of both parents.

The good reasons for accepting, denying or delaying requests from parents to baptise their children can vary immensely.

For example, it took St Augustine

30 years to decide about it, but eventually he became a Doctor of the Church.

Another example is that one of the current eminent Cardinals in Rome still cherishes the friendship and love of his dear pagan mother.

Baptism is the sign by which we are loved and “re-created” in God’s own image (like a gold plated chalice).

To suggest that a child should be left alone until old enough to make his or her own decision is really to miss the whole point of what baptism is all about.

The point, simply, is that just as we need the love of our parents to grow as a human being, so do we need the love of our heavenly Father to grow as a child of God. Without love we grow up unhappy. And the love we receive doesn’t make us less free, but more free.

Baptising a baby, before the baby can make the slightest effort to do anything for his or her own salvation, says very dramatically that all salvation is from God. Clearly, in the adult there must already be an element of faith – some sign of accepting God’s love. But an infant is carried to the font by the faith of the family.

Again, when Jesus was asked indirectly about His new baptism, He simply replied: “I tell you, of all the children born of women, there is no greater than John: yet the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he is” (Luke 7:28).

Kelmscott’s Xmas lights up early

Kelmscott hosted its annual Christmas get-together on 3 December. Camels, wise men and presents for children made it a hit for all who were present...

Photos by Peter Rosengren

Former madam to address child prostitution

Former madam Linda Watson, who founded Linda’s House of Hope, a rehabilitation service for women involved in drugs and the often-related area of prostitution. She has appealed for assistance to help her unique work, which she does with the blessing of Archbishop Barry Hickey.

AS Western Australians settle down into the New Year after the Christmas festive season, Linda Watson, founder of Linda’s House of Hope, has appealed for support for her unique but very tough work helping women and girls exit prostitution.

Established in 1999, Linda’s House of Hope has been operating in Perth for a decade after winning support from Archbishop Barry Hickey and continues to assist women and girls exit lives dominated by exploitation, sexual, emotional, physical problems and drug abuseamong other issues.

However the hard grind which, for many women and girls, will often include numerous relapses into the only form of earning a living they know, needs constant support from the community.

Ms Watson also told The Record she has been invited by three Christian churches in Capetown, South Africa to speak on her work and experiences over decades in Perth’s prostitution business.

She also intends to use the trip to assess the problem of prostitution, including the prostitution of children in South Africa.

Child prostitution, often forced, has been described by child advocates as rampant in cities such as Capetown and Durban. Ms Watson said she would be taking as many simple gifts for children as she could manage when she is in South Africa between late January and February.

Anyone wanting to support Linda’s House of Hope can send tax deductible donations to:

Linda’s House of Hope PO Box Z5640

St George’s Tce Perth 6831

Ms Watson can be contacted on 0439 401 009 or 9358 1719.

PHOTO: DEBBIE WARRIER

Archbishop hopes to bring Brady ‘home’

BY ANTHONY BARICH

PERTH’S controversial first Bishop is set to return to the Archdiocese he started, almost 140 years after he died in France.

Later this month, Archbishop Barry Hickey will travel to Amélieles-Bains, a spa town nestled in the foothills of the Pyrenees in southwest France which Bishop John Brady visited for health reasons, dying there in 1871.

There has been some conjecture over whether to bring back the remains of the Bishop whose conflict with Benedictine Bishop Joseph Serra led to Brady being relieved of all authority by Rome in 1851 and ordered to leave Perth, which he did in 1852. Serra was appointed Apostolic Administrator of Perth.

Despite his removal, Bishop Brady remained Bishop of Perth until his death.

Fr Robert Cross, the archaeologist who led the 2006 exhumation of Bishops Martin Griver and Matthew Gibney from the 1865 section of St Mary’s Cathedral, feels Christian charity demands Brady be given his rightful place in the Cathedral Crypt which lies directly under the sanctuary.

“There are always two sides to a story and what history relates is not always the facts,” Fr Cross said.

“What is fact, however, is that John Brady was the first Bishop of Perth and, accordingly, he should be given his rightful place with his successors.” Doubling as Archbishop

Hickey’s executive assistant, Fr Cross will meet the Archbishop on 20 January in Barcelona near the Spain-France border before meeting the parish priest at Amélie-lesBains and possibly the local Bishop with a view to requesting assistance for exhumation.

Fr Cross has already contacted the family of Bishop Brady, still living in Ireland, and received permission to transfer the remains.

The Archdiocese of Perth has also contacted funeral directors Bowra and O’Dea to deal with legal and practical issues involved in the exhumation and repatriation of the remains of Bishop Brady to the Cathedral Crypt. Archbishops Redmond

Prendiville, Launcelot Goody and William Foley are currently interred in the Cathedral Crypt together with Bishops Griver and Gibney, the latter the founder of The Record Spaces have been allocated for Bishop Brady and Archbishop Patrick Clune, who is currently interred at Karrakatta Cemetery. Whilst the Redemptorist Provincial and the surviving family members of Archbishop Clune are in favour of his remains being reinterred in the Cathedral Crypt, the North Perth Redemptorist community is still considering the matter.

On the day his predecessor Archbishops were interred at St Mary’s Crypt on 5 December 2009,

RCIA gives life to mission of parish: conference

THE Right of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) gives life to the mission of the parish, the 7-10 October 2010 Australian Catechumenate Network (ACN) RCIA Conference in Glenelg was told.

Over 170 participants from all parts of Australia and New Zealand gathered to explore the theme Transforming the Parish, including how each member of the parish community has a role to play in the RCIA process and how this brings about a transformation for the community itself as well as enquirers.

Bunbury diocesan Vicar General Fr Tony Chiera spoke about RCIA and the Mission of the Parish Through the powerful image of the village fountain around which life flourishes, he led particpants to reflect on how the RCIA process gives life to the mission of the parish.

Referring to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, he said that the mission of the parish is “none other than to make men and women share in the Communion between the Father and the Son in their Spirit of love” (CCC 850). He said that the Rite awakens a sense of mission in the community. The essence of the Church’s mission is preserved through telling the good news and celebrating its meaning in its rites.

Rather than being the culmination of a long journey of preparation, the sacraments celebrated are the beginning of a new phase of life for the neophyte – they are “gateways to mission”.

The RCIA fosters pastoral col-

laboration, identifying, welcoming and integrating many and varied gifts into the parish for mission. A mature and co-responsible laity –where all, through their baptismal call, have a contribution to make to the parish’s mission - is the result.

Adelaide liturgy officer Fr Anthony Kain spoke on ‘Renewing the Life of the Parish’. “

The parish exists “to help Catholics make sense of their lives through liturgical life and the charisms they have as the People of God”, he said.

The RCIA helps the parish to adapt in such a way so that enquirers can be companioned, rather than directed, in their faith journey, he added.

Cultivating a Christo-centric spirituality is essential for catechumens, as it is for the entire parish, and this can be promoted through lectio divina, he said.

Speaking about ‘Bringing Conversion through the process’, long-term RCIA liturgist and

Archbishop Hickey expressed his hope that Archbishop Clune and Bishop Brady would one day be reinterred in the Cathedral Crypt.

“If the exhumation of Bishop Brady goes ahead, I would like it to be conducted using archaeological methods as was the case for the other Bishops reinterred in St Mary’s Cathedral Crypt,” Fr Cross said.

“This may involve some of the team who assisted me in the Cathedral and Karrakatta exhumations going to Amelie-les-Bains.

“When bodies are exhumed without the supervision of an archaeologist, appropriate care isn’t given to ensure the retrieval of everything in terms not only of bodily remains but also artefacts associated with the body and burial.

“Eventually, I hope an archaeological report will be completed as an historical record of the whole exhumation and reinterment process.”

Bishop Brady, an Irish priest from County Cavan, left Perth still plagued by the financial troubles of his administration.

He had brought out over 40 missionaries from Europe but there were only about 300 relatively poor Catholics in the diocese at the time, so he had great difficulty financing and maintaining the missionaries.

He sent Fr Serra overseas to collect funds for the diocese. While Fr Serra was in Rome he was appointed Bishop of Port Essington, 300km north of Darwin.

When Brady got news of this

appointment he was concerned

Serra would use the funds he raised overseas for Port Essington, though there is no evidence that this was the case. So Brady sent another Benedictine, Fr Rosendo Salvado, to Rome to express Brady’s concern that the money Serra raised should go to the Diocese of Perth.

Brady asked Rome for an assistant Bishop to look after the temporal goods of his Diocese since, according to John Winship’s recently published book Our Cathedral, the financial worries were affecting him mentally and physically.

Rome changed Serra’s appointment to coadjutor Bishop of Perth with right of succession and power over the temporal goods of the Church in the Swan River Colony, and appointed Salvado the Bishop of Port Essington, as Britain had flagged its intention to establish a colony there.

However, Britain changed its mind, leaving Salvado, Brady and Serra as Bishops all residing in Perth. At first, Brady had an amicable relationship with Serra but it eventually turned sour as he refused to hand over legal control of the diocese.

Bishop John Brady never resigned as the Bishop of Perth despite leaving the Swan River Colony in 1852. Consequently, there was no resident Bishop of Perth from 1852-71.

Serra could not take on the title although he was the Apostolic Administrator, as was Bishop Griver up until the time Bishop Brady died in 1871.

Catholic education under microscope

Doctor of Liturgy from Melbourne, Fr Elio Capra SDB, used the Emmaus story to illustrate that it is through encounter that real conversion occurs. Through walking with the disciples, listening to the story and retelling the story in the light of the scriptures, a change of mind and heart was brought about. Finally, it was through the breaking of bread that they finally recognised him and went hurriedly to share their story.

A similar conversion is facilitated through the encounters that are experienced through the RCIA process, he said. RCIA facilitators “walk with enquirers, listen to the stories, open the scriptures, and together we are focused around the Eucharistic meal which empowers us all to evangelise in our daily lives,” he said.

Over the course of the conference, participants heard testimonies of some new local Catholics who have journeyed through the RCIA process.

The Conference Mass was celebrated with the Glenelg Parish community at Our Lady of Victories Church.

ACN executive members for the 2008-10 term Dianne Majid, Br Patrick Cronin and Fr Greg Bourke were farewelled and new members Elizabeth Harrington (Queensland), Mary McPhee (NSW) and Ben Brooks (Tasmania) joined Fr Capra, Rosemarie Black (Victoria), Stewart Bazzica, Sue Larsen (WA), and Darren McDowell (NSW) to form the executive for 2010-12.

The 2012 ACN Conference will be held in Queensland.

SCHOOL and university Catholic education leaders will gather in Sydney in May to address Catholic identity, faith formation and evangelisation in Australia’s Catholic school communities.

It will be the first time one event has opened itself to gathering Catholic school leaders and formators at all levels, including school staff, parents and pastors from across Australia, plus rituals and celebrations, discussions and reflections by student representatives from every Australian diocese.

Emmaus Productions - an independent non-profit organisation under the direction of composer, teacher and “community animator” Monica Brown – will host the 28-29 May event called Spirit Dream – In Burning Hearts at Sydney Showground in Olympic Park at Homebush Bay sponsored by the Archdiocese of Sydney, Australian Catholic University and the Broken Bay Institute.

The gathering will use as its inspiration and model for a new evangelisation the Emmaus Story (Luke 24), where Jesus re-evangelised the two disciples who had lost all perspective and hope, giving meaning to their story through the Good News of His own story, and in so doing drawing them by His very presence from their heads to the burning in their hearts which caused them to honour their longing for more of Him.

Thus He enabled a simple gesture of hospitality to become a sacramental recognition and celebration of the God for

whom they longed, according to an Emmaus statement. The gathering aims to:

● Reflect on the reality, affirm the strengths and name the issues concerning Catholic identity, faith formation and evangelisation in our Catholic school communities

● Address the issues concerning Catholic identity, faith formation and evangelisation of staff, students and families in our school communities

● Envisage and explore future possibilities for a new evangelisation within our Catholic school communities.

A statement from Emmaus said the gathering is in response to a call from the Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education, which spoke of the needs of Catholic educators: “Catholic educators need a ‘formation of the heart’: they need to be led to that encounter with God in Christ which awakens their love and opens their spirits to others”, so that the education commitment becomes a “consequence deriving from their faith, a faith which becomes active through love (cf. Gal 5:6).”

“Jesus’ mission was essentially concerned with an evangelisation that actually transformed our humanity at the core of our being into right relationship with ourselves, with one another, with all of life and ultimately with God,” the statement said.

“It is this transformative and relational dimension of evangelisation within our Catholic school communities that the Spirit Dream In Burning Hearts Gathering is concerned with.”

Left, Bishop John Brady’s grave in France; right, a portrait of Bishop Brady. PHOTOS: PERTH ARCHDIOCESAN ARCHIVES

Perth Auxiliary Bishop Donald Sproxton receives an RCIA participant into the Church in 2009.

Perth prelates’ daring documented

BOOK REVIEW

Our Cathedral

By John A Winship

Available from The Record Bookshop

REVIEWED BY

MGR BRIAN O’LOUGHLIN, VG Archdiocesan Historical Commission chairman

On the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, 8 December 2010, the Patronal feast of the Archdiocese, there occurred the first anniversary of the Dedication of the completed Cathedral and the launch of a book on the history of St Mary’s Cathedral - Our Cathedral - by John A Winship. The author is a Cathedral parishioner and guide. He was requested by the Historical Commission of the Archdiocese to research and write the history.

The starting point is a letter written by a school teacher, Robert D’Arcy, on behalf of the Catholics of Perth to Dr William Ullathorne, Vicar General of Sydney, whom D’Arcy mistakenly thought was the Archbishop of Sydney; a very understandable mistake, given the isolation of the Swan River Colony at that time. The purpose of D’Arcy’s letter was to request that a priest be sent to them and a promise that he would be supported.

Archbishop Polding responded by sending Fr John Brady as his Vicar General in Western Australia, accompanied by a Belgian missionary, Fr John Joostens, and an Irish catechist, Patrick O’Reilly. They arrived by coastal steamer in Albany on 4 November 1843 and spent three weeks engaged in pastoral care before sailing to Fremantle, where they arrived on 8 December 1843 and proceeded to Perth.

Thus, 8 December is a significant date for the Catholic Church in Western Australia from its beginning.

The author traces Fr Brady’s request to Governor Hutt for a grant of land for a church and school and, following the successful application, building commenced on Victoria Avenue of Western Australia’s first Catholic Church.

The first sod was turned on the feast of St John the Evangelist, 27 December 1843.

After two months, Fr Brady left

for Europe to advocate the establishment of a Diocese of Perth, which was created by Pope Gregory XVI and was offered firstly to Dr William Ullathorne, who declined and instead recommended Fr Brady, who was consecrated in Rome as first Bishop of Perth on 18 May, 1845, and so the incomplete little church became Perth’s first Cathedral after his return from Europe with the missionary band of Benedictines, Sisters of Mercy, Holy Heart of Mary [Spiritans] and catechists.

The author brings to light Fr Brady’s earlier work among the Aborigines in the Windsor district, west of Sydney, and his interest in this apostolate in Perth, shown by his presentation in Rome of an Aboriginal language pocket book based on George Moore’s A Descriptive Vocabulary of the Language in Common Use Amongst the Aborigines of WA which had been published in London in 1842.

Brady’s adaptation was published in Rome in both English and Italian, the latter prepared by Nicola Caporelli, who accompanied Bishop Brady and his missionary band which arrived in Perth on 9 January 1846.

Mother Ursula Frayne, leader of the Sisters of Mercy, describes vividly the poor state of what was to pass as the Cathedral of St John the Evangelist, now the Pro-Cathedral on Victoria Avenue, Perth’s first Cathedral and second oldest public building.

The oldest in the Perth CBD is the old Court House in Supreme Court Gardens.

Bishop Brady was aware of the limitations of the Cathedral and so he applied for vacant land around what is now Victoria Square, then known as Church Hill for the priests’ house and for the school conducted by the Sisters of Mercy, now Mercedes College.

The Colonial Secretary notified the Bishop on 2 February 1849 that the requested lots were granted. No mention was made of his daring request for Church Hill which the Anglicans had declined, as they preferred a site opposite Government House. On an 1845 map of Perth, the place where the Cathedral is now located was called Victoria Square, not Church Hill.

The Bishop was undaunted and, with funds from the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, set about acquiring building materials for his hoped for Cathedral worthy of Perth.

But events were to outstrip him as Dom Serra was appointed coadjutor Bishop and administrator of temporal affairs.

In this capacity, Bishop Serra attended in Rome the definition of the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception.

On his return to Perth, he was accompanied by the Sisters of St Joseph of the Apparition who established a Convent in Fremantle.

While in Rome, Bishop Serra had petitioned the Pope to declare Mary under the title of her Immaculate Conception, Patroness of the Cathedral and of the Diocese.

Bishop Serra returned to Spain and Fr Martin Griver, also Spanish but a qualified surgeon, was

appointed Administrator of the Diocese until the death of Bishop Brady at Amelie-les-Bains, a spa town in the south of France on 3 December 1871.

Archbishop Hickey will spend part of his leave in January visiting the grave to see what possibility there is of bringing the remains for interment in the Cathedral Crypt.

Bishop Griver was assisted in his ministry by his close friendship with Governor and Lady Weld. On their transfer to Straits Settlements, now Singapore and Malaysia, Lady Weld presented Bishop Griver with an amethyst necklet which had been given to her by the Governor’s mother. Lady Weld requested the precious stone be fashioned into a Bishop’s ring. This was done and the ring remained on Bishop Griver’s finger until his remains were exhumed from the vault beneath the floor boards of the Cathedral to be interred in the Crypt. The ring is now on display in the Crypt entry.

Bishop Griver was responsible for the 1865 Cathedral in Victoria Square, which was dedicated on 29 January 1865. His successor, Bishop Matthew Gibney, was consecrated in the Cathedral on 23 January 1887 and added the west facing porch in 1905 and embellished the façade.

In 1910, he added the JE Dodd pipe organ. He resigned the See of Perth shortly after having given service to the Church throughout Western Australia, a giant among the men of his day. His successor in 1911 was Patrick Clune CSsR who became first Archbishop of Perth in 1913.

The author covers in great detail in Chapter 4 the early plans for Archbishop Clune by the illustrious Geraldton priest-architect, Monsignor John Cyril Hawes. These came to nothing when Archbishop Clune invited Michael Cavanagh to design a Gothic Cathedral.

Archbishop Prendiville and Archbishop Goody both embellished and adapted the Cathedral.

The Cavanagh Cathedral was cut short by the Depression and so remained incomplete until the final effort of Archbishop Hickey to complete St Mary’s Cathedral in a project that spans three centuries.

Many people have contributed to the Cathedral we have now.

Architect Peter Quinn gave his heart to the project; artists and crafts-people brought their skills to perfection and many builders, engineers and artisans have contributed and all are named.

The author has brought to his task a love for the subject and this shows forth on almost every page.

The author is to be commended for telling the story of our Cathedral, with all its ups and downs over all those years.

Not only has he laboured over the text, he has completed it with a photographic record; many of the photographs he has taken himself.

The finished product is a very engaging read in a beautifully illustrated book of 240 pages.

Our Cathedral A History of St Mary’s Cathedral, Perth, published by the Archdiocese of Perth, 240 pages, with illustrations and index, paperback $29.95 per copy, available from the Church Office, Victoria Square and The Record Bookshop.

Events across the Archdiocese

At a Glance

St Bernadette’s Port Kennedy

Charismatic Healing Mass by Fr Hugh Thomas

For those suffering from physical, emotional, mental, psychological, or even from spiritual afflictions, never despair. Jesus is the Healer and He will deliver you. Join us at our Church.

Enq: Grace 08 9593 5430 or Chris at 08 9537 3056 or gedavid@iinet. net.au.

When: Wednesday, 12 January, 7pm at St Bernadette’s Catholic Church, Grand Ocean Blvd, Port Kennedy.

Our Lady of the Mission, Whitford

Spanish lessons in preparation for World Youth Day, Madrid 2011 Beginner’s classes commence 9 February on Wednesday evenings, 6.45pm to 7.30pm and Saturday mornings, 10.15am to 11am. Cost$5 per class or $40 for 10 classes if paid in full at the beginning of the term.

Enq: Noeme 9307 4038 or ShirleyAnn 9407 8156.

Where: Lady of the Mission Catholic Church, Camberwarra Drive, Craigie.

Infant Jesus Parish Morley

Holy hour for Vocations to the

Priesthood, Religious Life

The hour includes Exposition of the Blessed Eucharist, silent prayer, Scripture and prayers of intercession. Come and pray that those discerning vocations to the priesthood or religious life hear clearly God’s loving call to them.

When: Every fourth Sunday of the month, 2-3pm at Infant Jesus parish, Wellington St, Morley.

Dwellingup Camp

The Young Salesian Summer Camps

Nanga Bush Camp on the Murray River at Dwellingup. Fun filled camp for 12-15 year olds with a Christian background. Lots of activities such as rafting, lantern stalk, disco, Pictionary, camp Masses and more. Cost: $230 including all meals and transport. This is a well-organised and

supervised camp. Enq: Erin 0412 672 256 or Graham 0418 979 600.

When: 10 – 14 January

Pater Noster Church, Myaree

Novena and Benediction to Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal

Enq: John 0408 952 194.

When: Every Tuesday, 6pm at Pater Noster Church, Marmion and Evershed Sts, Myaree. Mass at 5.30pm.

Club Amici

Club Amici is a network of Perth Catholics who aim to build a community amongst singles, couples and families – (particularly in the 25 and up age group) by organising social get togethers. Our new

calendar of events is now available and a copy will be emailed out to members on our database. If you wish to be on our database or for further information, please email clubamiciwa@gmail.com.

Newman College, Churchlands

Marist New Norcia Annual Mass and Reunion Mass celebrated by Marist Old Boy priests in the Newman College Chapel in memory of deceased brothers and students. A reunion in the college courtyard to follow at 6pm. BYO. SIC and Marist old boys welcome. Enq: Ambrose 9387 1117 or 0419 912 187 or Frank 9446 6435. When: 19 January, 4.30pm at Newman College, Empire Ave, Churchlands.

Bishop Martin GriverArchbishop Patrick Clune Bishop Joseph SerraArchbishop John Bede Polding

Bishop Grech dies

THE Australian Catholic Bishops Conference’s outspoken migrant and refugee advocate, Sandhurst Bishop Joseph Grech, died suddenly on 28 December after a recurrence of a blood disorder. He was 62.

Bishop Grech took ill on 22 December and his condition deteriorated on Christmas Day before he died peacefully in St Vincent’s Private Hospital in Melbourne with Canberra-Goulburn Archbishop Mark Coleridge, the Australian Bishops’ Catholic Migrant and Refugee Office director, Scalabrinian Fr Maurizio Pettena and close friends by his side.

Sacred Heart Cathedral Administrator Mgr Frank Marriott has been appointed the Administrator of the Diocese until a new Bishop is appointed. The funeral Mass is to be held on 6 January at the Sacred Heart Cathedral.

Adelaide Archbishop Philip Wilson, president of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, said in a statement on 28 December that Bishop Grech “frequently spoke out on the treatment of asylum seekers and refugees in Australia, and he matched these words with pastoral action, through his involvement in the establishment of services in remote detention centres”. Archbishop Wilson added that Bishop Grech was “an exceptional pastor” who has “made a “tremendous contribution to the Church in Australia because of his deep faith and spirituality, which has been shown especially in the zeal with which he dealt with issues of migrants and refugees and his outreach to young people”.

“He has also shown a wonderful support and commitment to Charismatic prayer groups in this country”, Archbishop Wilson said of Maltese-born Bishop Grech, who was installed as the sixth Bishop of Sandhurst on 27 April 2001. “Bishop Joe’s commitment to the people of the Diocese of Sandhurst was that of a man with a deep love for humanity and a great enthusiasm for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Bishop Joe is quoted as saying: ‘I love Jesus Christ and want everyone to have the same opportunities to know and love Him as I do’.”

Bishop Grech was also the Bishops’ delegate for Youth and Young Adults as well as serving as their advocate for migrants and refugees – roles that Archbishop Wilson said he served “with joy and a deep compassion”.

“Young people around Australia will feel particularly keenly the loss of Bishop Joe whose enthusiastic manner, unique and charismatic style of preaching and gentle pastoral sensibility helped many young people encounter the spirit of Jesus Christ.”

Archbishop Denis Hart of Melbourne, where Bishop Grech first served after his 1974 ordination, said he was a “committed, joyful and enthusiastic proclaimer of the Good News of the Gospel. His attractive love of Jesus Christ endeared him to many with whom he shared his love of the faith he proclaimed so well”.

Catholics’ right to protect marriage under threat

Priests and parishioners have right to oppose samesex marriage: Pell

PRIESTS who support and encourage people in their parishes to actively campaign against samesex marriage have the blessing of the Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell.

Responding to concerns expressed by Australian Marriage Equality (AME) which campaigns for same-sex marriage, about “undue involvement by the clergy in a debate about the reform of a civil law” Cardinal Pell said that while it is inappropriate for priests or Bishops to serve as legislators or decision makers in government, they enjoy the same rights to freedom of speech and to participate in public debate as everyone else.

Speaking on behalf of AME, Acting National Convenor Peter Furness claimed that the Church’s “instructions to ordinary Catholics

to lobby against marriage equality is a breach of the division between Church and State”.

AME’s comments came after the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference urged Bishops around the country to ask their priests to sign petitions and contact politicians to protect marriage after members of the House of Representatives were asked “to gauge their constituents’ views on ways to achieve equal treatment for same sex couples including marriage”.

The motion to ask MPs to do this was sponsored by Greens member for Melbourne Adam Brandt.

Cardinal Pell said that involvement in public debate is first and foremost the work of lay people.

“The Federal Parliament has resolved that MPs should consult with their constituents about samesex marriage and, as constituents, Catholics have the same right as other Australians to express their views to their MPs,” the Cardinal said.

The prelate added that priests

are continuing a proud tradition of working with lay people and members of Religious Orders to defend important values and the rights of others - in this case, the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion, which has been significantly eroded and constrained wherever same-sex marriage has been legalised.

Mr Furness also expressed concern that campaigning by the Church or priests against same-sex marriage will incite discrimination and prejudice. “We have no intention of doing anything to encourage prejudice or unjust discrimination against non-heterosexual people,” Cardinal Pell says, pointing out the materials on this issue which have been circulated to parishes have been carefully prepared to focus on the fundamental question of marriage and to avoid any language that is even remotely inflammatory.

“For the Catholic Church, the issue of same-sex marriage is not primarily about homosexuality or discrimination, but about the nature of marriage, and the good

Women to fight for life

MEMBER organisations of the World Union of Catholic Women’s Organisations (WUCWO), including the Catholic Womens League, will focus their efforts on eradicating infanticide, forced marriages of young girls and the sexualisation of children over the next four years, it was decided at their historic Centenary Assembly in Jerusalem from 5-11 October.

Thirty-one women from the Catholic Women’s League of Australia (CWLA) joined 500 delegates from around the world in the Assembly at the Pontifical Institute Notre Dame Centre in Jerusalem in October.

The WUCWO’s focuses will be undertaken inspired by the theme for the next four years: “You will be my witnesses” (Acts 1:8).

Prominent laywomen who hold positions in the Church and society addressed the delegates on the crucial importance of marriage and family life, proper Christian formation and effective witness in the world at all levels.

Polish author Ludmila Grygiel, who has worked extensively on marriage and family life and Christian anthropology, was the keynote speaker on the theme “You are witnesses of Love.”

Marguerite Peeters, director of the Brussels-based Institute for Intercultural Dialogue Dynamics, provided some guidance on “How to be Christ’s witness in a globalised world”; while Alliance for the Family founder and president Christine Vollmer discussed “The importance of formation to be an efficient witness in today’s world.”

French theologian and writer Florence Gillet, who has published work on Mary, Therese of Lisieux and Focolare foundress Chiara Lubich, spoke about “Mary, testimony of God’s Love, yesterday and today.”

A panel discussion was held with Catholic women from the Holy Lands; there was also an interreligious panel with youth from the Focolare Movement.

Outgoing WUCWO President

Karen Hurley expressed the hope that in the next 100 years the organisation can “really involve all women, whether they are part of the national organisation, or not, because they are sisters in Christ, and together we can make a difference in the world”.

While acknowledging the many areas of service that Catholic women have already undertaken, delegates at the Assembly reaffirmed the aim of WUCWO: “To promote the presence, participation and co-responsibility of Catholic women in society and the Church, in order to enable them to fulfil their mission of evangelisation and to work for human development” in unity, particularly for increasing educational opportunities, poverty reduction and the advancement of human rights beginning with the fundamental right to life.

After attending the Opening Mass of the Assembly celebrated by the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Archbishop Fouad Twal, delegates who had been accompanied by their husbands also renewed their marriage vows at the Wedding

things it makes possible because of its nature, for spouses, for families and for the community.”

On 20 December Mr Furness wrote to Cardinal Pell on the issue of civil and religious samesex marriages and also seeking assurance Catholic clergy will not actively campaign against civil marriage of same-sex partners.

This letter was posted on the AME website soon after it was sent and before Cardinal Pell replied on 22 December.

In his reply, Cardinal Pell also referred to a 17 December article in the Washington Post summarising the way religious freedom has been restricted in the wake of the legalisation of same-sex marriage in some US states.

Cardinal Pell called on AME to disavow publicly the claim that opposition to same-sex marriage is a form of prejudice or discrimination, and to acknowledge that it is usually based on reasonable grounds, even if they are grounds with which proponents of same-sex marriage would not agree.

Anglican Catholic body set for 2011

AN ordinariate in the Roman Catholic Church for traditional Anglicans will be established in 2011, it was announced after Australia’s Catholic Bishops approved an Australian Ordinariate Implementation Committee.

Clergy of the Anglican Church of Australia and official representatives of the Traditional Anglican Communion in Australia have resolved to work closely to bring to fruition their shared desire to be in full communion with the Catholic Church through Pope Benedict XVI’s Apostolic Constitution, Anglicanorum Coetibus

Sanctuary in Cana. The various national chaplains who accompanied their delegates to the Assembly concelebrated the final Mass in the amphitheatre on the Mount of the Beatitudes which looks out across the lake of Galilee.

The homily was given by a young priest from Senegal who reflected on the business agenda of WUCWO during the Assembly and drew those deliberations into the context of Christ’s message in the Beatitudes.

He emphasised that in such deliberations there must be a sense of unity, a sense of Christ-centred purpose and a careful need to not become side-tracked into developing and implementing programmes which are not Christ’s programmes but rather might reflect our own strongly held positions and views.

Mrs Catherine McGrath, from the Diocese of Wollongong in NSW, was elected WUCWO Board Member Australia for the next four years. She replaces Brenda Finlayson DSG, from the Diocese of Ballarat in Victoria, who resigned after almost 10 years of service and leadership on the Board.

Melbourne Auxiliary Bishop Peter Elliott - a convert from Anglicanism and the Australian Bishops’ liaison with disaffected Anglicans seeking full corporate union with the Holy See – said he was “heartened and moved by the spirit of goodwill and cooperation at the meeting which represented the major Anglican groups.

“This convergence of heart and mind opens the way for establishing an Ordinariate in Australia next year. There is every reason to be optimistic that our goal for unity will soon be achieved”. Adelaide-based Archbishop John Hepworth, primate of the Traditional Anglican Communion which claims a global membership of over 400,000, said the Australian Ordinariate will exist in a matter of months”, and urged Anglican clergy and people to “consider with seriousness this unique offer of the Holy Father”.

Fr GianMaria Polidoro OFM (Ecclesiastical Assistant), Brenda Finlayson (outgoing WUCWO Vice President) and Maria Giovanna Ruggieri (the new WUCWO President) at the WUCWO international conference in Jerusalem.

Vatican backs condom comments

Vatican: Pope’s words on condoms do not mark change in Church teaching

BY JOHN T HAVIS Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict

XVI’s recent comments on condom use in AIDS prevention do not signify a change in the Church’s moral teaching or its pastoral practice, a note from the Vatican’s doctrinal congregation said.

The note, released by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on 21 December, said the Pope’s remarks do not represent a break with the Church’s doctrine on birth control, and cannot be construed to legitimise the use of condoms to prevent pregnancy.

It said that when Pope Benedict said condom use to reduce the risk of infection might be a first step toward moral awakening, he was referring specifically to prostitution, which is already considered gravely immoral by the Church.

In that situation, it said, use of a condom is not a “solution” because

it does not address the mistaken behaviour that is the root cause of the problem.

However, it added, “it cannot be denied that anyone who uses a condom in order to diminish the risk posed to another person is intending to reduce the evil connected with his or her immoral activity.”

The note was published following widespread discussion of Pope Benedict’s comments in a booklength interview, Light of the World: The Pope, the Church and the Signs of the Times.

The doctrinal congregation said the Pope’s words had in some cases been misunderstood, erroneously interpreted and manipulated to make it seem that his statement represented a break with the Church’s teaching against contraception.

In the book, the Pope was asked whether it was “madness to forbid a high-risk population to use condoms” in view of the AIDS epidemic.

“There may be a basis in the case of some individuals, as perhaps when a male prostitute uses a condom, where this can be a first step in the direction of a moralisation, a first assumption of responsibility, on the way toward discovering

an awareness that not everything is allowed and that one cannot do whatever one wants. But it is not really the way to deal with the evil of HIV infection. That can really lie only in a humanisation of sexuality,” the Pope said. The doctrinal congregation’s note said it should be clear that the Pope

Catholic hospital status revoked

PHOENIX (CNS) - St Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Centre in Phoenix can no longer identify itself as “Catholic,” Bishop Thomas Olmsted announced on 21 December.

The Phoenix Bishop issued a decree revoking the 115 year old hospital’s affiliation with the Catholic Church. In the decree, the Bishop wrote that he could not verify that the hospital provides health care consistent with “authentic Catholic moral teaching”.

Still, he said, it was his duty to strip St Joseph’s Hospital of its Catholic identity because its leadership, as well as that of its parent organisation, San Francisco-based Catholic Healthcare West, is not committed to “following the teachings of the Catholic Church.”

To demonstrate that the hospital is no longer Catholic, Bishop Olmsted is prohibiting the celebration of Mass on the hospital’s campus and will have the Blessed Sacrament removed from the hospital’s chapel.

Linda Hunt, president of St Joseph’s, said in a statement after the Bishop’s news conference that the hospital was “deeply disappointed” by the action but would “continue through our words and deeds to carry out the healing ministry of Jesus.”

In May, officials at St Joseph’s publicly acknowledged that an abortion occurred at the hospital in late 2009.

The Arizona Republic , in its initial story on the matter, also revealed that Mercy Sr Margaret McBride had incurred an automatic excommunication because of her role on the ethics committee that sanctioned the abortion.

“Consistent with our values of dignity and justice, if we are presented with a situation in which a pregnancy threatens a woman’s life, our first priority is to save both patients,” Hunt said in her statement.

“If that is not possible, we will always save the life we can save, and that is what we did in this case.

“We continue to stand by the decision, which was made in col-

tal has been “formally cooperating with a number of medical procedures” against Catholic teaching - a fact that the Bishop said he learned about in the past few weeks.

This cooperation included setting up a structure through which patients receive procedures - such as abortions and sterilisationswhich are against Church teaching, according to Fr John Ehrich, director of medical ethics for the Phoenix Diocese.

Learning about the Mercy Care Plan was the “tipping point” in Bishop Olmsted’s relationship with the hospital, Fr Ehrich said.

“was talking neither about conjugal morality nor about the moral norm concerning contraception.”

“The idea that anyone could deduce from the words of Benedict XVI that it is somehow legitimate, in certain situations, to use condoms to avoid an unwanted pregnancy is completely arbitrary and is in no way justified either by his words or in his thought,” it said.

The note said the Pope was referring to “the completely different case of prostitution,” an immoral practice which has been made even more serious by the spread of HIV/ AIDS.

“Those who know themselves to be infected with HIV and who therefore run the risk of infecting others, apart from committing a sin against the Sixth Commandment, are also committing a sin against the Fifth Commandment - because they are consciously putting the lives of others at risk through behaviour which has repercussions on public health,” it said.

The Pope’s affirmation that using a condom with the intent of reducing infection could be a “first step” toward moral awakening is clearly compatible with his previous statement that condoms are not the way

to deal with the AIDS epidemic, the note said.

Neither the doctrinal note nor the Pope’s book specifically addressed the situation of condom use by a married couple in which one spouse has HIV.

The doctrinal congregation said some have mistakenly interpreted the Pope’s words as an endorsement of the argument that, because of the lethal consequences of AIDS, condom use may be tolerated as a “lesser evil.” It said the “lesser evil” theory is susceptible to “proportionalistic misinterpretation.”

“The Holy Father did not say - as some people have claimedthat prostitution with the use of a condom can be chosen as a lesser evil. The Church teaches that prostitution is immoral and should be shunned,” it said.

“However, those involved in prostitution who are HIV positive and who seek to diminish the risk of contagion by the use of a condom may be taking the first step in respecting the life of another - even if the evil of prostitution remains in all its gravity. This understanding is in full conformity with the moral theological tradition of the Church,” it said.

China hits back at Vatican condemnation

China takes issue with Vatican’s comments on recent Church congress

BY CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

laboration with the patient, her family, her caregivers and our ethics committee,” she added. “Morally, ethically and legally we simply cannot stand by and let someone die whose life we might be able to save.”

The public scandal resulting from the 2009 abortion isn’t the first time Bishop Olmsted took issue with Catholic Healthcare West’s adherence to the “Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services,” to which all Catholic hospitals in the United States are required to adhere.

Seven years ago, the Bishop learned that Catholic Healthcare West did not comply with these directives at Chandler Regional Hospital.

“I have continued to insist that this scandalous situation needed to change,” the Bishop said.

“Sadly, over the course of these years, CHW has chosen not to comply.”

During the news conference, Bishop Olmsted detailed other Catholic Healthcare West facility violations of the US Bishops’ directives.

St Joseph’s Hospital is involved with the Mercy Care Plan - an organisation that provides health care through Arizona’s Medicaid programme. By virtue of its involvement in the plan, the hospi-

The Mercy Care Plan, the largest provider of Medicaid in Arizona, has been in existence for 26 years. In meetings with diocesan leadership, the hospital said it had learned of Mercy Care Plan’s cooperation with unethical procedures 16 months ago.

“They hid it from the Bishop for a year and a half,” Fr Ehrich said. The hospital, he said, promised to address the issue but had signed contracts good through 2013.

“It’s a systemic problem,” Fr Ehrich said. “We’re not talking about one isolated incident.”

Through its involvement in the Mercy Care Plan, the Bishop said Catholic Healthcare West has been responsible for a litany of practices in direct conflict with Catholic teaching.

These include: contraceptive counselling, provision of various forms of contraception, voluntary sterilisation and abortions “due to the mental or physical health of the mother or when the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest.”

“The Catholic faithful are free to seek care or to offer care at St Joseph’s Hospital,” the Bishop said. “But I cannot guarantee that the care provided will be in full accord with the teachings of the Church.”

Bishop Olmsted said: “I have hoped and prayed that this day would not come.

“However, the faithful of the diocese have a right to know whether institutions of this importance are indeed Catholic in identity and practice.”

HONG KONG - The Chinese government has branded a Vatican statement on China’s policy of religious freedom as “very imprudent and ungrounded.”

The 22 December statement was Beijing’s first official response to a strongly worded Vatican communique that criticised the Chinese governmentcontrolled National Congress of Catholic Representatives early in December, reported the Asian Church news agency UCA News.

On 17 December the Vatican condemned the methods of convoking the assembly, saying it reflected “a repressive attitude with regard to the exercise of religious liberty, which it was hoped had been consigned to the past in present-day China.”

Forcing people to attend the congress represented a “grave violation” of people’s human rights, particularly their freedom of conscience and religion, said the Vatican.

China’s official Xinhua News Agency quoted a spokesperson of the State Administration for Religious Affairs as saying the Vatican misunderstood the current situation of the Chinese Church and was trying to use religion to implement its political values. The official said the attempt would bring serious harm to the healthy development of the Chinese Church.

The unnamed spokesperson stressed that the national congress did not touch on Catholic doctrine, did not violate the fundamentals of Catholic faith and did not need recognition of other countries or foreign organisations.

The Vatican had tried to prevent the congress from taking place through various means and threatened to punish the clergy who would take part, the spokesperson said.

“Isn’t it very clear that who treated religious belief with the strong hand and who forced the Catholics against their conscience?” the spokesperson said.

The new heads of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association and the Bishops’ Conference of the Catholic Church in Chinathe two groups responsible for the public life of the Church in China - were elected by overwhelming majority, reflecting the wishes and expectations of the congress participants, the spokesperson said.

The Vatican voiced particular concern over the election of new presidents of both organisations during the congress. Bishop Joseph Ma Yinglin of Kunming, who was ordained without papal approval in 2006, became president of the Bishops’ conference.

The new president of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association is Bishop Yohan Fang Xinyao of Linyi, who was ordained in 1997 and is in communion with the Pope.

The Vatican’s condemnation of them was a “contempt” to the democratic wish of numerous Catholics and “extremely rude and disrespectful behaviour,” the government spokesperson said.

The Vatican offered no immediate response.

The book that started all the fussavailable from The Record Bookshop.

A statue of St Joseph and the Christ Child is seen outside the entrance of St Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Centre in Phoenix. PHOTO: CNS

Christmas plea: protect Christian minorities

At Christmas, the Pope’s thoughts turn to the suffering and persecuted

BY JOHN T HAVIS Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY - Celebrating Christmas at the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI appealed for peace in global trouble spots and protection of persecuted Christian minorities in places like China.

At his Midnight Mass in St Peter’s Basilica and in his Christmas Day blessing to the world, the Pope called the birth of Christ the “culmination of creation” and an event that overcame the “infinite distance between God and man.”

The basilica was packed for the Mass, and an overflow crowd braved intermittent rain and wind to watch the liturgy on giant screens in St Peter’s Square. Thousands stood under umbrellas for the traditional papal blessing the next day.

Security was tight for both events in the wake of two package bombings at two Rome embassies. In 2008 and 2009, a mentally disturbed woman sprang at the Pope inside the basilica and last year pulled him to the ground briefly, but this year there were no incidents.

The Pope stood on the central balcony of the basilica to deliver his blessing urbi et orbi (“to the city of Rome”) to the city of Rome and to the world. He said Christmas had revealed a truth about the relationship between God and human history. But it is a truth that must be understood by faith, he said. “If the truth were a mere mathematical formula, in some sense it would impose itself by its own power. But if truth is love, it calls for faith, for the ‘yes’ of our hearts,” he said.

The birth of Christ is a source of hope for everyone whose dignity is offended and violated, because Jesus came to “set every man and woman free from the source of all enslavement,” he said. The Pope prayed for peace in the land of Christ’s birth, urging Israelis and Palestinians to work for a just and peaceful coexistence. He expressed the hope that

Christmas would ease the pain of the Christian communities in Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East, and inspire world leaders to show them support.

“May the birth of the Saviour strengthen the spirit of faith, patience and courage of the faithful of the Church in mainland China, that they may not lose heart through the limitations imposed on their freedom of religion and conscience but, persevering in fidelity to Christ and His Church, may keep alive the flame of hope,” he said.

The Pope’s words reflected increasing Vatican concern over a deterioration of Church-State relations in China, where an illegitimate Bishop was recently elected head of the Bishops’ conference and where Bishops loyal to the

Pope were forced to participate in a State-backed “official” congress of Catholic leaders.

The Pope asked that the spirit of Christmas would “grant perseverance to all those Christian communities enduring discrimination and persecution, and inspire political and religious leaders to be committed to full respect for the religious freedom of all.”

He also prayed for relief of beleaguered populations in Latin America: in Haiti, which is still suffering from the devastating earthquake and a recent cholera epidemic, and in Colombia, Venezuela, Guatemala and Costa Rica, where natural disasters have struck.

The Pope urged continued efforts for peace and political stability in Somalia, Darfur, Ivory Coast

and Madagascar; reconciliation between North and South Korea; security and respect for human rights in Afghanistan and Pakistan; and dialogue between Nicaragua and Costa Rica which are engaged in a simmering border dispute.Pope Benedict then offered Christmas greetings in 65 languages, including Chinese, Russian and Arabic. Speaking in English, he said: “May the birth of the Prince of Peace remind the world where its true happiness lies; and may your hearts be filled with hope and joy, for the Saviour has been born for us.”

At his Mass the night before, which began at 10pm and ended shortly after midnight, the Pope said the birth of Christ ushered in a new kingdom on earth, one that contrasts with the “self asserting

powers of this world.” He said the event in Bethlehem brought “the grace of true brotherhood.” He offered this prayer to Jesus: “Help us to recognise Your face in others who need our assistance, in those who are suffering or forsaken, in all people, and help us to live together with You as brothers and sisters, so as to become one family, Your family.”

Christ came to bring people joy, the Pope said, but also to give them strength to “overcome the tyranny of might. This joy is also a prayer: Lord, make your promise come fully true. Break the rods of the oppressors. Burn the tramping boots. Let the time of the garments rolled in blood come to an end. Fulfill the prophecy that ‘of peace there will be no end’.”

Earlier in the evening, the Pope lit a candle at his apartment window and looked down on St Peter’s Square for the official unveiling of the Vatican’s Nativity scene.

On the morning of Christmas Eve, a spiritual reflection prepared by the Pope was featured on British radio. In the brief talk, aired on BBC’s Thought for the Day, the Pope recalled his September trip to England and Scotland.

“I am glad to have the opportunity to greet you again, and indeed to greet listeners everywhere as we prepare to celebrate the birth of Christ,” he said.

“I pray for your families, for your children, for those who are sick, and for those who are going through any form of hardship at this time. I pray especially for the elderly and for those who are approaching the end of their days,” he said.

For survivor, Eucharist healed wounds of abuse

Sex abuse survivor says her love of Eucharist helped restore her faith

BY K ATIE COLLINS Catholic News Service

ARLINGTON, Virginia - Teresa Pitt Green sat in her car in the church parking lot. She watched parishioners walk up the steps to Mass. It was so easy for them, she thought.

Unable to follow in their footsteps, she sat in the car and longed for the Eucharist. Men who consecrate the bread had betrayed her. Authorities in the Church, who had entrusted the sacrament to the men, had failed her. From age seven to 19, Green was sexually abused by multiple priests in her north-east diocese. Her abusers worked at her school and visited her family in the evenings.

In an interview with The Arlington Catholic Herald diocesan newspaper, Green recently recounted how, though she “left the Catholic Church forever many

times,” her love of the Eucharist endured and, with the support of Arlington diocesan priests, Office of Victim Assistance programmes and Arlington Bishop Paul S Loverde, she was able, eventually, to enter a church without fear and receive the body of Christ.

Earlier this year, Green published Restoring Sanctuary (Dog Ear Publishing), a book part memoir, part spiritual reflection and part impetus for healing.

The book immerses the reader in the Church’s painful wound through the eyes of a victim,although Green does not give explicit details of abuse. But she is explicit when she defines the nature of the crime: “Sexual abuse of children is violence by sexual means by predators who seek to dominate another person by destroying their spirit.”

For “predator priests,” there is “a meticulous grooming of the mind to prepare it to be broken,” she said. “They make themselves a false idol, the dominant power. As a sapling, it cuts to your core.”

The physiological, spiritual and physical costs of Green’s sexual abuse were great. In her book, she recounts her many health problems and an abusive relationship - all, she

- often either rejecting the healing potential of Catholicism or highly suspicious of it - and struggles with faith, Green recognised there was an “imprint of Catholic on me, an imprint of Christ on me that went deeper than any wound.”

Even though she understood the imprint, and therapy had led her toward healing, she had yet to integrate her “wounded faith into the process.”

“Everything seemed different” when she first spoke with Pat Mudd, coordinator of the Office of Victim Assistance in the Diocese of Arlington, and Oblate Father Mark Mealey, vicar general. Both offered two things: They recognised evil and they heard her pain, not with pity but with charity.

Fr Mealey encouraged Green to share her story on paper. “I think he was imagining a two-page article maybe, and he got a full book,” she said.

they carried, and I babbled like a child,” said Green, as she recalled talking with Bishop Loverde the first time. “That is when my memories became a story, and the story revealed to me my own undying faith.”

It was a powerful healing moment to have a Bishop “just sit and listen,” she said.

Green is quick to express her sympathy for the priests and Bishops who were betrayed by the sins of their brother priests - and who often are chastised for those sins. Priests and Bishops have been “betrayed by those they trusted, as well,” she said. “They need to be cared for, too.”

In Restoring Sanctuary , she refutes arguments that to curb clergy sexual abuse, the Church should prohibit gay priests or allow priests to marry. She also said it’s “not a liberal or conservative thing.” It’s a matter of evil, she said.

believes, with roots in the abuse.

Yet, Green does not linger on the costs. In the chapter “Story,” she writes that she reached a point where “suffering was about to be redemptive.” After years of therapy, self-help books, support groups

As she began to weave fragments of her life into a cohesive whole, she became involved in diocesan victim assistance programmes which helped her further along a path that would restore her wounded faith.

“Despite my age, I was carrying memories jumbled still by the pain

Her book - along with the diocesan outreach Green embraces gratefully - is a testament to Christ’s love, present in the sacrament that kept calling her back to the faith.

“The world is full of conflict,” she said. “The Eucharist has something beyond the conflict of the world.”

The cover of Restoring Sanctuary by Teresa Pitt Green, a survivor of clergy sexual abuse who said her love of the Eucharist helped restore her faith.

PHOTO: CNS

People pray during a Christmas Mass for the homeless in a bus in Nice, France on 25 December. Right, Pope Benedict XVI delivers his Christmas urbi et orbi (“to the city of Rome”), to the city and to the world, blessing from the central balcony of St Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican on 25 December.

PHOTO: CNS/ERIC GAILLARD, REUTERS

‘World’s situation is dire, but personal conversion will change everything’

Church must repent, repair damage caused by clerical abuse: Pope

BY CAROL GLATZ Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY - In response to the “unimaginable” scandal of clerical sex abuse against minors, the Church must reflect, repent, and do everything possible to rectify the injustices suffered by victims as it works to prevent such abuse from ever happening again, Pope Benedict XVI said.

The Pope said he and others were “dismayed” when, during a year dedicated to the world’s priests, further cases of clerical sex abuse came to light “to a degree we could not have imagined.”

“We must accept this humiliation as an exhortation to truth and a call to renewal. Only the truth saves,” the Pope said on 20 December in his annual pre-Christmas address to the Roman Curia and Cardinals who reside in Rome.

In his seven-page reflection on the past year, the Pope dedicated a large part of his speech to the impact of sex abuse by priests.

He said priests who committed such scandals “twist” the Sacrament of Ordination into its “antithesis” when they, “under the mantle of the sacred, profoundly wound human persons in their childhood, damaging them for a whole lifetime.”

The face of the Church is soiled and her clothes torn “because of the sins of priests,” the Pope said, referring to the writings of the 12th century German mystic, St Hildegard of Bingen, who had visions of a Church wounded and sullied because of abuses by clergy evident in her day.

“We are well aware of the particular gravity of this sin committed by priests and of our corresponding responsibility,” the Pope said.

He listed a number of “musts” to which the Church needs to attend.

“We must ask ourselves what we can do to repair as much as possible the injustice that has occurred. We must ask ourselves what was wrong in our proclamation, in our whole way of living the Christian life, to allow such a thing to happen,” the Pope said.

The Church must find “a new

resoluteness in faith and doing good”; it must be capable of penance, and it must strive to do everything possible in preparing future priests “to prevent anything of the kind from happening again,” he said. Amid the “great tribulations” the Church has faced during the last year, he said, the Advent prayer, “Stir up your power, O Lord, and come that you may save us,” often has been “on my mind and on my lips.”

However the Pope’s speech commenced with a sobering comparison between the collapse of the Roman empire and the present era where, he noted, “our world is at the same time troubled by the sense that moral consensus is collapsing, consensus without which juridical and political structures cannot function. Consequently, the forces mobilised for the defence of such structures seem doomed to failure.”

Christians must call upon the Lord, he said, but rather than beg Christ to wake up and deliver his

disciples from a storm, it is the disciples themselves who must reawaken their own faith that has “grown tired,” the Pope said.

He said what needs to be restored is a faith that has “the power to move mountains, that is, to order justly the affairs of the world.”

As the Church works to address the sex abuse crisis within its own walls, it must also tackle the larger problems of child pornography and child sex tourism in society, the Pope said.

“The psychological destruction of children, in which human persons are reduced to articles of merchandise, is a terrifying sign of the times,” he said, as he lamented how child pornography is considered “more and more normal by society.”

Insatiable desire and “the excess of deceiving intoxication becomes a violence that tears whole regions apart, and all this in the name of a fatal misunderstanding of freedom which actually undermines human freedom and ultimately destroys it,”

he said. The Pope called on pastoral leaders to renew “the great rational tradition of Christian ethos” and to replace the modern day notion of relative or pragmatic morality with “the essential and permanent foundations of moral actions.”

In his address, the Pope also spoke about the Synod of Bishops for the Middle East in October and lamented that “Christians are the most oppressed and tormented minority” in the region.

“The tradition of peaceful coexistence has been shattered and tensions and divisions have grown” in many parts of the region, he said.

He expressed his gratitude for “voices of reason” such as Muslim leaders who speak up against violence against Christians.

However, those voices “are too weak,” he said, and Christians are “up against an unholy alliance between greed for profit and ideological blindness.”

The Pope urged all political and religious leaders to put an end to

Founder of homosexual programme dies

ELKTON, Maryland (CNS)

- Oblate Fr John F Harvey, who founded an organisation for celibate Catholic homosexuals that now has more than 100 chapters worldwide, died on 27 December at Union Hospital in Elkton. He was 92. His funeral Mass was scheduled for 31 December at St Anthony of Padua Church in Wilmington, Delaware, followed by interment in the Oblate Cemetery in Elkton.

An Oblate of St Francis de Sales for 73 years, Fr Harvey founded Courage, a spiritual support group for same-sex attracted people, in 1980 at the request of Cardinal Terence Cooke of New York and served as its national director until his death.

Today, Courage has chapters

in the United States, Canada, England, Ireland, Poland, Mexico, Slovakia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, Philippines and New Zealand.

“Fr Harvey’s commitment to pastoral care in the Church was tireless,” said Oblate Fr James J Greenfield, provincial of the Oblates’ Wilmington-Philadelphia province, in a statement. “Even in his later years, his travel would take him all over the country and world to offer a voice of compassion.”

Fr Harvey was instrumental in the founding of the De Sales Hall School of Theology in Washington, where he taught moral theology from 1949 to 1987 and was president from 1965 to 1977. The school closed in 1996. “His work in helping to

found both the DeSales School of Theology and Courage were examples of his commitment to the Church that he loved so much,” Fr Greenfield added.

Born in Philadelphia in 1918, Fr Harvey entered the Oblate novitiate after high school and made his first profession of vows on 8 September 1937. He was ordained to the priesthood on 3 June 1944 at the Cathedral of Sts Peter and Paul in Philadelphia by Auxiliary Bishop Hugh Lamb of Philadelphia.

After earning his bachelor’s degree in philosophy in 1941 from The Catholic University of America in Washington, Fr Harvey continued his studies, earning graduate degrees in psychology and theology, and completing a doctorate in moral

theology there 10 years later.

He also taught moral theology at Dunbarton College of the Holy Cross in Washington, 1948-73, and was a professor of medical and sexual ethics at De Sales University in Center Valley, Pennsylvania, 1987-2009. He retired to Annecy Hall in Childs, Maryland, in January 2010.

Fr Harvey had written more than 45 articles in professional theological and psychological journals on questions of human sexuality and counselling.

In addition to the members of his religious community, Fr Harvey is survived by his sister, Margaret Smith, and many nieces and nephews and grandnieces and grandnephews.

“Christianophobia” and to defend refugees and those who suffer as well as revitalise the spirit of dialogue and reconciliation.

Finally, the Pope offered a reflection on his trip in September to the United Kingdom and the beatification of Cardinal John Henry Newman. Blessed Newman’s spiritual conversion is an important model of “a path of obedience to the truth” that gradually opens up to a person, the Pope said.

It is a path of conscience, which is the human capacity to recognise the truth, and therefore seek it out and freely submit to it, he said. Underlining the human capacity for objective truth is imperative in a world that is “troubled by the sense that moral consensus is collapsing, consensus without which juridical and political structures cannot function,” he said.

The Pope’s speech can be found at: www. vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2010/ december/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20101220_ curia-auguri_en.html

Pope Benedict XVI makes the sign of the cross and gestures as he celebrates Christmas Eve Mass in St Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican on 24 December.

PHOTO: CNS/PAUL HARING

Fr John F Harvey, a member of the Oblates of St Francis de Sales, died aged 92 at Union Hospital in Elkton. He founded Courage, a support programme for those with homosexual inclinations to live chaste lives.

CNS

Interfaith meeting to address atrocities

Pope begins new year with call for religious freedom, end to violence

BY CAROL GLATZ Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY - Opening 2011 with a strong call for religious liberty, Pope Benedict XVI condemned deadly attacks against Christians and announced a new interfaith meeting next fall in Assisi, Italy.

At a 1 January Mass marking the World Day of Peace and a blessing the next day, the Pope voiced his concern about fresh episodes of violence and discrimination against Christian minorities in the Middle East.

In particular, the Pope condemned an attack on 1 January against Orthodox Christians in Egypt, calling it a “despicable gesture of death.”

A bomb that exploded as parishioners were leaving a church in Alexandria, Egypt left 25 people dead and dozens more injured.

The Pope said the attack was part of a “strategy of violence that targets Christians,” and which has negative repercussions on the entire population. He offered prayers for the victims and their families.

The Pope also denounced the recent practice of “planting bombs close to the homes of Christians in Iraq to force them to leave.” At least seven Christian homes in Baghdad were targeted in bombings on 30 December, leaving at least 13 people wounded.

The Pope said the latest attacks in Egypt and Iraq “offend God and all humanity.”

Addressing pilgrims at his noon blessing on 1 January, the Pope said he planned to invite religious leaders from the world’s major faiths to gather in Assisi, the birthplace of St Francis, in order to “solemnly renew the commitment by believers of every religion to live their religious faith as a service to the cause of peace.”

“Whoever is making his way toward God cannot fail to transmit peace, and whoever builds peace cannot fail to draw nearer to God,” he said.

The Pope said the gathering, planned for October, is meant to recall “the historic gesture” made by the late Pope John Paul II when he convoked the first World Day of Prayer for Peace in Assisi in 1986. In his homily during the morn-

‘Egypt not protecting Christians’

BEIRUT (CNS) - An Egyptian Orthodox leader said he had received many messages of support from Muslims after a 1 January church bombing that killed about two dozen people.

Mideast Catholic leaders also sent messages of support to their fellow Christians. The head of Catholic Relief Services in Egypt said he was afraid the bombing indicated a renewal of sectarian violence.

“We have to pray. We have to pray for peace,” Coptic Orthodox Bishop Youhannes Zakaria of Luxor, Egypt, told CNS.

He said he has received many visits from Muslims - ordinary individuals and officials, including the Governor - expressing their sympathy and solidarity.

“They (Muslims) don’t accept this violence. They are very upset about this,” he said.

Bishop Zakaria said he would celebrate Christmas Mass, as the Coptic Orthodox do, on 7 January, and the governor would also speak about the importance of friendship and dialogue among religions and people.

In Cairo, Jason Belanger, country representative for the US Bishops’ Catholic Relief Services, said police had put up barricades to prevent cars from parking next to major Christian churches and had cordoned off areas around them to control pedestrian traffic in preparation for Orthodox Christmas celebrations.

“This is a terrible way to start 2011,” Belanger said. “It’s scary.”

Belanger said the attack was the largest attack against Coptic Christians in the past 10 years, and he was concerned this could signal an increase of attacks not only against Christians in Egypt

ing Mass in St Peter’s Basilica on 1 January, the Pope spoke about the theme he chose for World Peace Day 2011: Religious Freedom, the Path to Peace

He said religious freedom was challenged today by two extremes at work in the world: secularism that banishes religion to the private sphere and fundamentalism that seeks to forcefully impose religion on everyone.

He said religious freedom is

but against Christians in the entire Middle East.

Others also saw the attacks as part of a plot against Mideast Christians, but one commentator said religious rhetoric and media reports might have led to the bombings.

“It is a clear criminal and terrorist act targeting innocent Christians,” Melkite Catholic Patriarch Gregoire III Laham of Damascus, Syria said in a statement during a pastoral visit to Egypt. “It is a phenomenon that calls for anxiety and vigilance that Christians might be a target for terrorist acts which move from one area to another.”

The Patriarch called for Arab and international action against terrorism. “The targeting of Christians is a clear plan to empty the Orient of its basic components,” he said.

the best path for building peace, because wherever religious freedom is guaranteed, human dignity is also respected.

Pope Benedict called on political leaders and all people of goodwill to not give up when faced with “the negative force of egoism and violence” and to not become jaded into thinking that conflict, which puts lives and the future at risk, is inevitable.

War, he said, reflects “the most

At the Vatican on 1 January, World Peace Day, Pope Benedict XVI called the bombing a “despicable gesture of death” and part of a “strategy of violence that targets Christians.” He said the bombing had repercussions on the entire Egyptian population and offered prayers for the victims and their families.

Maronite Bishop Bechara Rai of Jbeil, Lebanon called for an Islamic summit to stop attacks targeting Christians in Egypt and Iraq. He also called on the Arab League to meet to protect the safety of both Christians and Muslims.

“We cannot be content with verbal condemnations, as the Pope said. There should be action on the ground,” Bishop Rai said in a statement. Bishop Zakaria said he thought

horrendous and violent face of history.”

He called on everyone to promote and build peace, reminding people that “words aren’t enough for this difficult task.”

He said “a concrete and constant commitment is needed by heads of nations, but above all what’s needed is that every person be inspired by an authentic spirit of peace” which is fostered by prayer and lived out in one’s day-to-day activities.

the bombing was carried out by “someone from outside of Egypt.”

“Like (the attacks) in Iraq, as well as Pakistan, India, Nigeria, and all over the world, it is a political war, and not a religious war,” he said. “The victims are always ordinary people.”

Archbishop Michael Fitzgerald, Apostolic Nuncio to Egypt, told CNS he hoped the Coptic Orthodox could celebrate Christmas in peace.

He said he has expressed his condolences to Orthodox Pope Shenouda III, noting that it is a time to be close to the Christians of Egypt and all those affected.

Belanger said Coptic Christians feel that they are being discriminated against and the government is not providing them with enough security.

“But when the issue is one of a suicide bomber, I don’t know how much protection can really be provided more than doing what they are doing by putting up barricades and controlling pedestrian traffic in front of churches,” he said.

In a commentary in Arab West Report, a digest of media reports from Egypt, chief editor Cornelis Hulsman called recent media reports “poisoned.”

In the past several months, media debates included an interview with Coptic Orthodox Bishop Bishoy, secretary of the Church’s Holy Synod, in which he suggested that Muslims are merely guests in Egypt. However, Hulsman said, the remarks were taken out of context.

“This was followed by some media claiming that Copts are stockpiling weapons in churches,” Hulsman said, a charge Christians denied.

Peace does not come because of “weapons, nor economic, political, cultural and media power,” he said.

Peace is both a gift from God and the result of a change in the human conscience which becomes open to truth and love, he said.

The Pope presided over an evening prayer service with Eucharistic adoration and the singing of a special hymn of thanksgiving to God on 31 December in St Peter’s Basilica.

Hannibal to star in exorcist priest’s tale

WASHINGTON (CNS) - Rare is the priest in the United States who holds the title of diocesan exorcist.

Rarer still is the priest who is the focus of a book on his training as an exorcist, not to mention that the book has inspired the making of a feature film called The Rite - starring Anthony Hopkins, no less.

But that’s all become part of the life of Fr Gary Thomas, a priest of the Diocese of San Jose, California who is pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Saratoga.

When some of his fellow priests were discussing that another priest had declined an offer from the Bishop to serve as diocesan exorcist, he thought to himself, “I could do that.”

Not that it was easy, Fr Thomas said. For one thing, he could find no US-based course of study for

priests to be trained as exorcists. He wound up taking a three-anda-half-month sabbatical to go the Rome seminary of the Legionnaires of Christ and get training from a priest based there. His experiences are recounted in the 2009 book The Rite: The Making of a Modern Exorcist by Matt Baglio.

But Hollywood being Hollywood, when reality isn’t good enough for the big screen, it invents a new reality. “In the movie, I don’t start out as a priest. I start out as a seminarian who has a faith crisis,” Fr Thomas said. “I am ordained eventually before the end of the movie. In the book, already I’m already a priest and I’m not having a faith crisis.” Hopkins plays a priest-mentor to the seminarian, who anchors the story.

Fr Thomas explained that “two

months before Pope John Paul II died, he issued a directive through Cardinal Ratzinger’s (now Pope Benedict XVI) office that every Bishop train and appoint an exorcist.”

With no US training available, Fr Thomas studied three days a week during his sabbatical. “Partially, I made up my own curriculum,” he said. “There’s no cookbook for this stuff.”

A priest for 27 years, Fr Thomas has been San Jose’s exorcist for the past four years. In that time, he said, he has conducted exorcisms on five people. The results, he acknowledged, are mixed.

“One is ongoing and has been successful, but has not been completely delivered,” Fr Thomas said. “Two decided not to continue after a time because they lost patience.

And the other two, the persons are dramatically better.”

But those are just the five whose cases he’s taken. “I get calls from all over the United States and e-mails, and I try to direct them to their own local church. It’s difficult to diagnose these things over the phone,” Fr Thomas said.

“Every person who approaches you has a different story. You have to be able to discern whether what they’re bringing is a psychological matter, a preternatural matter or a combination of both - or neither, none of the above. Quite honestly, no two situations are identical.”

Exorcism, he added, is the last step. He said he has uttered a “prayer of deliverance” over some people who fear they’ve been possessed. Fr Thomas served as a consultant on the set of The Rite, which

is due out late 2011. “I’m very excited about the release of this movie,” he said. “I think the move is very authentic about the topic. I was very impressed with Anthony Hopkins and Colin O’Donoghue (who plays the seminarian) and their portrayal of the ministry of exorcism as accurate ... as was the scene that specifically involved exorcism.”

Mark Tuohy, a co-producer of The Rite, said of Fr Thomas, “I think he’s a great guy.”

Fr Thomas said he is certain that demonic possession exists. He noted that one theme in common with his five exorcism clients is “they had opened doorways to the demonic, either through witchcraft or going to witch doctors or other people having gone to witch doctors on their behalf.”

A man observes the scene of the bomb blast from within the Coptic church in Alexandria, Egypt. At least 21 died and 43 were injured after the bomb exploded.

Priesthood unites the homesick

Eternal city

... and beyond

A Perth boy’s journey to the priesthood

By Mark Baumgarten

In late November we celebrated the American holiday of Thanksgiving at the North American College.

It’s quite a charming holiday: from what I can tell, for most Americans it is comparable to Christmas in being a time for family, and the fact that it is generally not as commercialised as Christmas, making it, for many, the favourite holiday of the year. Its strong focus on family means that it is often the time when students at the NAC feel the most homesick, and to help compensate for this the NAC always celebrates Thanksgiving with considerable vigour, spread over several days.

Thanksgiving Thursday begins with a big breakfast on each of the halls of the college, peaks with a grand feast at lunchtime (together with many other Americans in Rome), then winds down in the evening with the house watching some classic movie. On the Friday evening the men gather to prepare a big communal banquet for themselves as a class.

The Saturday evening features the New Man and Old Man shows, each including over an hour of skits, videos and music.

Finally, the Sunday climaxes with the annual “Spaghetti Bowl”, an American football match between the New Men and the Old Men. The series of events amount to a kind of rite-ofpassage for the NAC New Men, after which we are seen as well and truly part of the house. My own involvement was heightened by the fact that I had been elected director of the New Man Show by my classmates, which became an increasingly sizeable task as the show approached.

St Therese of Lisieux once said that if the only prayer we ever said was “thank you”, that would suffice. For myself, now that I have had a chance to catch up from the chaos of the Thanksgiving weekend, I too have been able to reflect upon what I am truly grateful for.

Whilst I am certainly in no position to complain about the wonderful opportunity that I have to study here in Rome, the distance from friends and loved ones back in Perth does nonetheless make it challenging at times.

To this end, the thing I have felt the most grateful for during my time here thus far is without doubt my fellow seminarians, particularly my fellow New Men.

There is a wonderful sense of brotherhood amongst the guys here. Obviously I felt this at St Charles’ Seminary in Perth too, but now being away from friends and family it is all the more palpable. Directing the New Man Show gave me a unique insight into this dynamic: as the prepa-

Double Epiphany blessing at Holy Cross

rations unfolded, I was particularly struck by the atmosphere of charity and prayerful enthusiasm that permeated proceedings in a way unlike those of other large projects in which I have been involved.

Combined with the New Man banquet and the Spaghetti Bowl, the show served to sow fine bonds of fraternal unity amongst the class and provided a concrete opportunity to thank the house for the remarkably warm welcome we have received during our opening months here at the NAC.

Strangely enough, this sense of brotherhood also strikes me during the occasional times of extended silence we have here (retreats, days of recollection and so on).

I take great consolation from training alongside such fine people, some of whom have walked away from considerable wealth, property and promising careers to be here. It is this sense of common purpose - the irresistible call we share to give up one’s life for a greater good, and of being prepared together to be sent out into potentially unfriendly waters that draws us together into an uncommon sense of union that is very much like an adopted family.

On the rare occasions when one of our number leaves the seminary, there is always a pervading sadness around the house for a few days, as though we have lost a brother.

And so, with the show behind me and the winter break upon us I am able to refocus on studies, learning Italian, prayer, etc. Back home Christmas and New Year always accompany the end of a school year, so it is strange here to have them come up seemingly arbitrarily in the latter half of our first semester.

Perhaps due to the late-Summer heat, many European universities only commence the school year in early October, hence our first semester exams do not begin until late January. We get a couple of weeks off over Christmas and New Year during which I am staying in the Belgian town of Leuven (there is another American College there and we often swap rooms, so-to-speak, during our respective holidays).

My best wishes to you all. I’ll leave you with a photo taken the afternoon our Christmas break began when, for only the second time in the last 20 years, it snowed in Rome.

Priest marks two occasions in three weeks at Holy Cross Church, Hamilton Hill

On Sunday, 2 January, Holy Cross Parish in Hamilton Hill celebrated both the feast of the Epiphany and Parish Priest Fr Julian Carrasco’s 57th Anniversary of his Ordination to the priesthood.

Mass was concelebrated by Fr Dennis Sudla, Fr Julian and visiting priest Fr Jude.

The three Magi, Gaspar, Melchior and Balthasar, visited the parish bringing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh which were placed at the Nativity scene.

To the parish children’s delight, gifts were also brought for them.

It was an enjoyable morning for all parishioners with celebrations continuing after Mass with a tasty brunch in the church hall, everyone bringing a traditional dish from their homeland to share.

On 20 December 2010, Fr Julian invited his fellow priests, parishion-

in brief...

Diabetes hope from pigs

A WORLD first Type 1 diabetes treatment using insulinproducing cells grown in pigs has been approved for sale in Russia. Professor Bob Elliott, an Australian working in New Zealand, said two hospitals in Russia may provide the new treatment next year.

Initially, the therapy would cost about A$150,000 per patient, but Elliott says “that will go down as we get an economy of scale”, and that the treatment “makes a huge difference” to dealing with the condition. Type 1 diabetes is a genetic condition where the pancreas stops producing insulin, requiring a person to inject it many times a day while closely watching their blood glucose levels with periodic fingerprick tests. Prof Elliott’s groundbreaking Diabecell treatment, from Living Cell Technologies

ers and many friends to join him in a Mass of Thanksgiving to mark the celebration of his 80th birthday.

The Mass, over which Archbishop Barry Hickey presided, was in the Church of the the Holy Cross, decorated for the occasion with flowers and lights. The main celebrants of the Mass were Frs Julian, Francisco Mascharenhas and Joe Cardoso

Ltd, is the first xenotransplantation (animal to human) treatment in the world to be approved for sale by a major industrialised nation. It takes insulin-producing cells from a special breed of pig and encases them, so they can be transplanted into humans without the need for immunosuppressant drugs.

Two patients who took part in a clinical trial were able to stop injecting insulin for six months.

“This is not a cure for Type 1 diabetes, but it will make it easier to control,” Prof Elliott says. Some diabetics develop hypoglycaemia unawareness, a condition that causes many diabetes-related deaths as blood glucose can plummet rapidly and go undetected until a person becomes unconscious. The treatment rules out this risk.

“Their diabetes becomes easier to control with fewer highs (in blood glucose), fewer lows and, if they have unaware hypoglycaemia, we can pretty much guarantee to get rid of that. It makes a huge difference to their lives.”

● A woman with Huntington’s disease and two members of

OCD, with nearly 20 priests, in all, concelebrating.

The music throughout the Mass was provided by the Portuguese choirs and was described as “truly beautiful and uplifting”.

In his homily, the Archbishop congratulated Fr Julian in reaching such an auspicious milestone.

The Archbishop also thanked Father for the 19 years of valuable service rendered in the Archdiocese and wished him many more years yet in which to serve the Lord.

At the conclusion of the Mass, all were invited to adjourn to the hall, where a meal was waiting.

Towards the end of the meal, congregants were treated to a PowerPoint display showing Fr Julian from his earliest years, which revealed him to be a much-travelled man.

Present at the celebrations were the niece and nephew of Fr Julian who had travelled from Sydney for the occasion and who said they were delighted to be with him at this time.

At the conclusion Fr Julian thanked all those present for their prayers, their good wishes and messages of congratulations.

the Final Exit Network have challenged Georgia’s “Offering to Assist in Suicide Statute” in Federal Court, arguing that it is unconstitutional.

They call the law a vague “viewpoint-based restriction on speech” that is not tailored narrowly to achieve government interest. They point out that neither suicide nor attempted suicide are illegal in Georgia.

The statute reads: “Any person who publicly advertises, offers or holds himself or herself out as offering that he or she will intentionally and actively assist another person in the commission of suicide and commits any overt act to further that purpose is guilty of a felony, and upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than one nor more than five years.”

The plaintiffs argue that the law does not clearly state whether an “overt act” includes furthering advertising or offering to assist in suicide or the furtherance of the “involvement, intervention or participation” in the act of suicide, as stated in the complaint.

Above, Fr Nicholas (kneeling), Fr Julian Carrasco, the three Magi, Fr Dennis Sudla, Fr Jude and parish children. Below, Fr Dennis with Fr Julian. PHOTOS COURTESY OF EDITH COX

Men

The year 2010 starte d in vexing circumstances, with Pope Benedict XVI taking contro l , for the second time in a decade, of the Church at national level to ensure the scandal of clerical sex abuse is dealt with head on. December 2009 ended with Bishop Donal Murray of Limerick resigning after weeks of pressure over his handling of clerical sex abuse when he served in the Dublin Archdiocese, which The Record reported in January.

The Record also announced the Pope would write a pastoral letter to the Catholics of Ireland that would “clearly indicate the initiatives that are to be taken in response to the situation”, as the Vatican said the Pope shares “the outrage, betrayal

January saw t he Pope ta ke control of t he Churc h in Ireland, a m irac le woman announced hersel f to t he world, Card ina ls feuded over an a lleged Marian apparition site and t he secu lar med ia f lew into a f lurry m isreporting Bened ict XVI, again...

and shame” felt by Irish Catholics over cases of clerical sex abuse and the way abuse claims were handled by Church leaders.

In another mark of people helping people suffering from society’s i lls, Perth-base d Abortion Grief Counselling Australia announced it wou ld provi d e post - abortion grief counselling to men for the first time.

More controversy aboun d e d when Austrian Cardinal Christoph Schonborn said the Church must recognise that private pilgrimages to Medjugorje result in prayer and reconciliation, after he visited the town in early January. C ardina l Jose Sardina, former Prefect of the Congregation for Causes of Saints, said it was a mistake to assume that

displays of piety at Medjugorje are a sign of authenticity. Back home, Perth’s C atho l ic Marriage E d ucation Services l aunche d a new faith - base d marriage enrichment programme ca lle d IMAGO. Over east, New South Wa l es gran d mother of 20, Kath leen Evans, whose cure from cancer was attributed to the intercession of Mary MacKillop, announce d herse l f, saying she be l ieves in miracl es. Hers was the second miracle re quire d for MacKillop’s canonisation. Across the other side of Australia, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Sydney Auxi l iary Bishop an d Wor ld Youth Day Sydney 2008 organiser Anthony Fisher OP as Bishop of Parramatta as Bishop Kevin

Manning was due to retire. In another not - so - far away place, New Norcia, Dom Paulino Gutierrez, the last of New Norcia’s Spanish-born Benedictine monks, passed away aged 99. The University of Notre Dame Australia’s School of Nursing in Fremantle became the first university in WA to introduce a Palliative Care Major at undergraduate level As debate over climate change raged around the world, in an 11 January speech to the diplomatic corps accredited to the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI extended the discussion of “human ecology” to same-sex marriage, Catholic News Service analyst John Thavis reported, quoting the Pope: Creatures differ from one another and can be

protected, or endangered in different ways, as we know from daily experience. One such attack comes from proposals which, in the name of d iscrimination, strike at the biological basis of the difference between the sexes.” This was widely misreported in the secular press and homosexual activists protested the Pope linking gay marriage and ecological responsibility, labelling it “almost comical”, but Thavis said the Pope was not trying to score a cheap political point. Rather, his argument touched on a key teaching of his pontificate: that man is not Go d, and that man’s actions should correspond to God’s plan – or, as he phrased it to the diplomats, to “the structure willed by the Creator”.

PHOTO: C NS/BOB ROLLER

February

Archbishop Mark Coleridge of CanberraGoulburn started February in style, giving a talk in Perth at a national liturgy conference on the new Missal translations that was talked about for months afterwards.

The prelate told liturgists from around Australia that the new translations, due to be introduced into Australian parishes at Easter 2011, will address serious theological problems that existed in the Mass Australian Catholics have been using since 1973.

In the process, the newly translated Missal will more faithfully implement the liturgical vision of the Second Vatican Council and also fulfil the reforms of the muchmaligned 1570 Council of Trent, said Archbishop Coleridge, chair

February saw an Australian prelate clarify deficiencies of the old Missal and the virtues of the new; Perth’s Archbishop appealed to the UN to help orphans abducted for trafficking and The Record revealed why Irish priests were out to get Mary MacKillop...

of the Roman Missal Editorial Committee of the International Commission on English in the Liturgy.

The efforts of Catholics in Perth also had ramifications overseas, as the Archdiocese of New York opened the Catholic Healthcare Centre for Women, the first dedicated to NaPro Technology in the city – eight years after Perth Dr Amanda Lamont and Archbishop Barry Hickey opened FertilityCare in WA to give couples the same hope of conceiving a child, as well as healing reproductive ailments.

Also in Perth, St John of God Health Care and MercyCare, the two major Catholic healthcare bodies in WA and among the biggest in Australia, drafted new guidelines for patients planning future healthcare to cater for the WA

Government’s new Living Wills law that was to come into effect on 15 February.

There was serious need of healthcare in Haiti as Caritas Internationalis and the US Bishops struggled to deal with the devastating fallout from a 12 January earthquake that affected three million people.

The Record devoted two pages to the critical work the Catholic Church was doing rebuilding lives and stopping any further dire repercussions.

Perth’s Catholics continued to keep their eye overseas as Perth Archbishop Barry Hickey wrote to the then-Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith asking him to urgently investigate the apparent kidapping of 50 Karen children from an orphanage near the Thai-

Burma border for trafficking purposes.

The Archbishop then raised the case’s profile, writing to Madam Navanethem Pillay, the United Nations’ High Commissioner for Human Rights based in Geneva, urging her to intervene in the matter with a view to finding the perpetrators and rescuing the children.

The Record also ran a two-page spread on 65 Australian and New Zealand priests who made a group pilgrimage to the Holy Land for the Year for Priests, including Frs Don Kettle, Charles Wadell and Michael Rowe from Perth.

They spoke movingly of how the experience edified them in their mission as men ordained to the priesthood of Jesus Christ.

The Record also reported on the Archdioceses of Sydney, Melbourne

and Brisbane uniting in peace for 40 Days for Life to pray for an end to abortion over Lent.

Pope Benedict XVI also held a two-day Summit with Irish Bishops, which combined a frank admission of mismanagement of clerical sex abuse cases with “truly collaborative” discussions on how to avoid such mistakes in the future.

Though for the wider public the meeting “fell well short” of expectations as no Bishops were fired nor abuse victims heard, CNS’ Vatican analyst John Thavis noted that the Summit was never designed to produce “marching orders”, but was more about information sharing.

The Irish Bishops, he said, had already implemented much-lauded guidelines to protect children from abuse, including full cooperation with civil authorities.

Children at the Perth-funded orphanage in Cambodia in an undated photo from 2009. Perth Archbishop Barry Hickey has appealed to Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith to investigate the whereabouts of 50 boys and girls aged 10-14 who were abducted from the orphanage, possibly for sex trafficking, on 28 December 2009. PHOTO: ADELIA BERNARD

Clockwise from top left: Priests are shown some of the local handywork at a village in Nazareth during a trip to the Holy Land; Bishop Anthony Fisher OP looks to the heavens during his Mass of Installation as Bishop of Parramatta, succeeding Bishop Kevin Manning; Sydneysider Jessica Simon, 18, arrives at Perth Airport with four Disciples of Jesus confreres to evangelise youth in Catholic schools - the main rule being it needs to be fun, while fixed firmly in the Catholic faith; Archbishop Mark Coleridge of Canberra-Goulburn makes a point during his keynote address to a national liturgists’ conference in Perth.

March

The Record opened March by reporting on an important overhaul of the C atholic Women’s L eague to recruit and educate young women on the fulfilment to be found in fidelity to Christ’s Church, with Madge Fahey installed as President on 31 January.

Australians continued to have an impact overseas as the Vatican paid tribute to Rosemary Goldie, the first woman in the Roman Curia who died on 27 February aged 94 For 50 years, she was a leading figure in the Vatican’s bureaucracy.

The F ranciscan F riars in Munster, WA narrow ly escape d having their convent’s five - acre property destroyed by a fire that tore through Wattleup on 1 March. Friars told The Record that they

Marc h saw t he rejuvenation of t he Cat holic Women ’ s League, Our Lady protecting a Franciscan Friary, our Bishops announcing new measures to counter t he sexual abuse of c h ild ren and t he 15t h anniversary of Pope John Paul II’ s Gospel of Life ...

“grabbed the Blesse d Sacrament and ran ” They credited the miracle to Our Lady’s intercession, as they had a new statue of her blessed on the grounds, facing the fire.

Overseas, a fire of a different kind was raging with more European countries’ Bishops’ conferences admitting mismanagement of abuse cases by priests. The Vatican backed the efforts of Germany’s prelates to investigate claims of child sexual abuse in Catholic institutions, even if cases are decades old

Across the bord er, Austria’s Catholic Bishops announced new measures to counter sexual abuse of children after a spate of allegations against local priests.

The Record was one of the few newspapers in Australia to report on the important comments of

Manfried Lutz, chief of psychiatry at a German hospital and a consultant to the Vatican’s C ongregation for Clergy.

Lutz told a theological convention on the priesthoo d in Rome on 12 March that peopl e who view celibacy as “unnatural” fail to understand the positive value of self-control in human sexuality. He also dismissed the link between celibacy and sexual abuse which the secular media and dissident theologican Hans Kung have proffered as fact.

The thir d vo l ume of Mary MacKillop’s letters were published by her Order, the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart, which revealed more details about her sanctity in dealing with homesickness, illness and even arguments between her

Sisters when they were establishing a congregation in New Zealand Though Mary had worked to ensure she did not receive the same hostility from New Zealand’s Bishops as she did in Australia, she still had to deal with bickering within her own community.

In Perth, Archbishop Barry H ickey b l esse d Pregnancy Assistance House on 19 March, saying it is a “public statement of the value of the unborn”

In related healthcare matters, the Catholic Counsellors Professional Network launche d two websites to assist mental health professionals and help “shore up the social legitimacy as practising Christian mental health professionals ” The organisation was founded by Perth Dr Peter Watt.

The Record published an exclusive piece by co lumnist Anna Krohn on the 15th anniversary of Pope John Paul II’s papal letter Evangelium Vitae (“ The Gospel of Life”), “a remarkable exposition of why the Church knows all human life is sacred”

The CWL bioethics convenor said the letter combines the mystery of the Incarnation, the Cross (the letter was released on the Feast of the Annunciation on 25 March, which is during Lent in the Church’s liturgical year) and the devotion the Pope had for Our Lady.

The Vatican also established an international commission to study the alleged Marian apparitions at Medjugorje, a small Bosnian town, at the request of the Bishops of Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Flames race towards the Franciscan Friary in Munster on 1 March. The three Franciscan Friars who were on the property at the time grabbed the bare essentials, including the Blessed Sacrament, and escaped.

T

the new book p

April

April was most distinctively marked by Pope Benedict XVI’s 27-hour visit to the Catholic country of Malta, where he broke down in tears in a meeting with victims of sexual abuse by clergy. More remarkable was that one of the victims said after the meeting that the Pope is a “saint”.

Vatican analyst Andrea Tornielli spoke with Joseph Magro, 38, one of eight victims of clerical abuse who met with Pope Benedict XVI during his visit to Malta. Magro said the meeting “was truly a most beautiful gift, after all this suffering, we all cried, even the Pope.”

As the international media and renowned atheists intensified

April was highlighted by Pope Benedict’s moving visit to the Catholic country of Malta, while back home the Knights of the Southern Cross started a national prayer crusade for him and a pioneer of the Marriage Encounter movement returned to God...

their pressure on Pope Benedict XVI to resign, some even calling for his arrest, the Knights of the Southern Cross’ National Council in Australia called on a national effort in schools, parishes and communities in the Church to pray for the Pontiff and his pastoral mission leading the Church, “that he may be strengthened and uplifted at this time of considerable challenge”. They distributed prayer cards for the praying of a Novena from 15-23 May. The Record also interviewed several priests across the Archdiocese of Perth on how they handle the perceived pressure on the priesthood due to the sins of a minority of others who have sexually abused children. They said they have

encountered “no hostility” from the public, saying they believe people can properly distinguish between “the misdeeds of a few” and the majority of priests who do not sin in this way.

Fr Bernie Dwyer, a pioneer of Marriage Encounter in the Archdiocese of Perth, passed away.

A major split occurred in the Church in the US, with the US Conference of Catholic Bishops clashing with the head of the Catholic Health Association and the superiors of many US Orders of women Religious over whether the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the executive order signed by President Barack Obama would permit the federal funding of abortion, force some people to pay

for the abortions of others through their health insurance or violate the conscience rights of Catholic health providers and institutions.

In Perth, Perth Mayor Lisa Scaffidi presented a cheque to St Mary’s Cathedral Dean Monsignor Michael Keating of $275,000 for the building’s restoration and conservation. Thousands of Catholics attended Easter ceremonies across the Archdiocese of Perth, as priests reported larger than usual congregations turning out to mark the week of ceremonies focusing on Christ’s death and Resurrection. Fr Tony Maher OMI told The Record that people are “slowly but surely coming back to the values of the Catholic faith”.

In April, The Record reported

on a special Mass for martyred San Salvador Archbishop Oscar Romero celebrated on 26 March, drawing over 200 people to St Mary’s Cathedral. Though the prelate died in 1980, his charism is still inspiring Catholics today, even as people from El Salvador migrate to Australia. Also in St Mary’s Cathedral, two Perth women’s artwork featured in the Perth leg of a national photographic exhibition of influential and inspiring Australian Catholic women from 13-19 April. The Council for Australian Catholic Women and the Bishops Commission for Church Ministry compiled the exibition, which featured Perth’s Loreto Sr Marg Finlay and Aboriginal Nyoongar woman Sheila Humphries.

Pope Benedict XVI stands with Malta’s President George Abela and his wife as they look out from a balcony of the presidential palace in Valleta on 17 April during the Pope’s two-day visit to Malta. PHOTO: CNS/ L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO /CATHOLIC PRESS

Clockwise from top left: Adama, 18, left, with her auntie Aminata, who adopted her with her husband after Adama’s parents were killed in Sierre Leone’s civil war, with Aminata’s own two daughters, Haja and Rhana. Assisted by the local St Vincent de Paul Society, the parents’ 10 children were crammed into a two-bedroom unit in Scarborough and were seeking assistance; Archbishop Barry Hickey kisses the Cross as part of the Good Friday service at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary; Monsignor Michael Keating, Dean of the Cathedral, describes the completion process of the building to Perth Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi. The City of Perth donated $275,000 for landscaping costs to the Cathedral.

May

May started with a story that tugged at the heartstrings, with Dutch Australian Cornelia Teeuw confirmed as a Catholic on 2 May at her 100th birthday Mass at Our Lady of the Mission Parish Church in Whitford.

Archbishop Barry Hickey issued a call to volunteers to set up an Evangelisation Centre to reach out to far away Catholics and unbelievers, while over east, the Archdiocese of Sydney established the permanent diaconate after over a decade in hibernation. Sydney Auxiliary Bishop Julian Porteous was appointed the director of the Sydney diaconate. Also in NSW, Campion College announced it

May saw Archbishop Hickey ramping up support for his evangelisation centre and consecrating the first church in the world dedicated to St Emile, the Pope speaking profound truths in Fatima about its ‘secrets’ and a centenarian entering the Church...

would launch a new Centre for the Study of Western Tradition to clarify the link between teaching and research, facilitate dialogue with other academic institutions and encourage students to participate in research.

In Perth, the Archdiocesan Catholic Youth Ministry office hosted a night of glamour, with The Record publishing a two-page spread of the festivities of its annual ball at the Mercure Hotel on 1 May.

The Record also reported on the reaction to its special edition analysing the issues, including comprehensive lapses in basic journalism in much of the world’s media, on the issue of abuse within the Church. In the weeks to follow the paper received overwhelm-

ing support from many readers and clergy around Australia. On a national level, the Australian Bishops’ Towards Healing policy that has governed the handling of abuse cases in almost all Australian Archdioceses was updated for the first time since 2000.

Pope Benedict also visited Fatima, where he prayed to Mary to keep priests holy, joined thousands in praying the Rosary at the Marian shrine, denounced the ‘silence of faith’ in the public square and encouraged Catholics to become more visible in their efforts evangelising in a largely secularised world and in a culture seemingly increasingly antithetical to concepts such as truth.The Church’s mission, he said, is, among other things, to keep

alive the search for truth. He also said Fatima’s prophetic mission is incomplete, adding that, from the earliest times, humanity has unleashed a cycle of death and terror. The ‘third secret’ of Fatima – a vision of a Bishop in white who falls dead after being shot by soldiers –was previously thought to refer to the 1981 attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II. However, Pope Benedict said it may in fact stand for the whole Church, which makes the message of Fatima a permanent challenge. Back home, over 800 people gathered for the consecration of St Emilie’s Church in Canning Vale. Not only is it the suburb’s first parish church, but the first in the world dedicated to the Saint.

Watched by builder John Hendriks and Master of Ceremonies Damian Goran, Archbishop Barry Hickey displays the plans for St Emilie de Vialar Church in Canning Vale.

PHOTO: PETER ROSENGREN

The Record also reported on the passing of widely-loved and respected priest, Fr Gaetano Crocetti, aged 84, the previous month.

Clockwise from top left: The Catholic Youth of Perth were all invited to a beautiful night out at the Mercure Hotel on 1 May. The glamorous night consisted of great food, entertainment, dancing and prizes; Cornelia Teeuw smiles during Mass at Our Lady of the Mission Parish in Whitford on 2 May when she celebrated a century and entered the Catholic Faith having been received into full membership of the Catholic Church by Auxiliary Bishop Donald Sproxton. She took Blessed Mother Teresa as her patron; Pope Benedict XVI prays in front of a statue of Our Lady of Fatima during a candlelight vigil at the Marian shrine of Fatima in central Portugal on 12 May.

June

June carried a remarkable story of resident theologians at Sydney’s University of Notre Dame Australia campus swearing an oath of fidelity to the Church’s teachings and making a profession of faith on 20 May.

The Record reported on Santa Clara, Bentley acolyte and devout Catholic Ralph Martins being awarded with the Lions International Melvin Jones Fellowship for dedicated humanitarian services, including his worldbeating research into Alzheimer’s disease, on 23 March.

The Record also reported on the Bassendean parish opening a Catholic library to help form fami-

June enjoyed some remarkable stories, not least of which was Notre Dame Theology professors pledging allegiance to the Church, while Canberra’s Archbishop called a spade a spade and identified the causes of the sexual abuse crisis...

lies, including weekly catechesis on DVD.

Vincentian priest and moral theologian Fr Richard Benson, Dean of Academics at St John’s Seminary in California, said during a brief visit to the St Vincent de Paul Society in Perth that the Society needs to constantly remember that the prolife vision of the Catholic Church depends on the fact that each person is created in the image and likeness of God.

Canberra-Goulburn Archbishop Mark Coleridge issued a telling Pentecost Pastoral Letter, saying that celibacy must be purified, not abandoned, as the Church moves forward in the wake of the global sexual abuse crisis. The comments

were made in response to some, including dissident theologian Hans Kung, who claims clerical celibacy is the reason for the abuse crisis.

Archbishop Coleridge also said in his Pastoral Letter that “rigorist notions of sexuality”, gaps in seminary training, triumphalism and clericalism must be eliminated from Church culture if it is to move on from the crisis, as these factors contributed to it in the first place.

The Record also announced in a breaking story that the Australian Bishops’ National Committee for Professional Standards is working on protocols to ensure Church authorities in every State and Territory pass information of abuse

to police, even when a complainant insist they not do so. In another breaking story, The Record also reported that the Archdiocese of Broome in farnorth Western Australia will have a new Our Lady Queen of Peace Cathedral by 2015, with Bishop Christopher Saunders revealing a search for an architect and some ideas he has about the project.

The Record also gave extensive coverage to the University of Notre Dame Australia’s Law and Order forum in Fremantle, attended by experts in Aboriginal pastoral care and detention, including Bishop Saunders. Also on the forum’s panel was WA Police Commissioner Karl O’Callaghan, Nyoongar elder Dr

Noel Nannup, Perth Chief Justice Wayne Martin and other experts in law to discuss the root problem and solutions to the crisis of Aboriginal incarceration, and the often cyclical nature that it perpetuates within Aboriginal culture.

Also at Notre Dame in Fremantle, Immaculée Ilibagiza, who survived the Rwandan genocide, packed out the university’s Drill Hall on 29 June as she spoke of forgiveness and her devotion to Mary which pulled her through the devastating episode of her life. While the world still struggles with the country’s problems, this Catholic woman revealed how simple faith and the power of God’s love and mercy can remedy the worst situations.

Immaculée Ilibagiza gave a powerful testimony to that fact that God is real, vividly recounting how she lased 91 days in hiding while her Rwandan brothers and sisters were murdered. God revealed Himself to her and Immaculée revealed this to a packed hall of Perth Catholics at the University of Notre Dame on 29 June.

PHOTO: BRIDGET SPINKS

Clockwise from top left: Pope Benedict XVI ordains 14 priests for the Diocese of Rome in St Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican on 20 June; Broome’s existing Our Lady Queen of Peace Cathedral. The diocese’s Bishop Christopher Saunders announced plans to replace the current asbestos structure that needs constant maintenance with a new Cathedral to be ready by 2015; Bishop Saunders, centre, with WA Police Commissioner Karl O’Callaghan at a historic Law and Order Forum at the University of Notre Dame Australia.

July

Protestant turned Catholic apologist Steve Ray came to Perth as part of the Fullness of Truth nationwide tour organised by Parousia Media.

At the invitation of the Disciples of Jesus Covenant Community, Fr John Rea SM of New Zealand also visited Perth and celebrated a Healing Mass at St Mary’s Cathedral on 1 July for a near-capacity crowd. His visit followed a three-week trip he made in April-May last year.

The Malaysian-Singaporean Catholic Community of Australia, led by Fr Roy Pereira, raised thousands to support World Youth Day pilgrims, including Aborigines, by hosting a fundraising event on 3 July - their second for the year.

This month the Salesians cele-

July saw Archbishop Barry Hickey re-establish the chaplaincy of the Filippino Catholic community in Perth, the Salesians celebrated 25 years of ministry in the Archdiocese and the cloistered Carmelites opened up to The Record...

brated 25 years of ministry in Perth, which began with the arrival of the first Salesian priests - the late Fr Adrian Papworth and Fr Michael Keogh - who began their ministry in Perth at St Joachim’s Parish in Victoria Park.

With up to 10,000 Filipinos in the Perth metropolitan area, Archbishop Barry Hickey re-established the Filipino chaplaincy on 4 July after an eight-year hiatus by installing UWA chaplain Fr Armando Carandang and Mundaring parish administrator Fr Elver Delicano as senior and assistant Filipino chaplains respectively at St Mary’s Cathedral.

Archbishop Hickey and nine concelebrating priests celebrated Mass at the Carmelite Monastery on 16 July to mark the 75th anni-

versary of their establishment in Perth. Carmelite Sisters Marie Therese and Margaret Mary, who were professed in 1961 and 1962 respectively, spoke to The Record’s Bridget Spinks about their hidden life of prayer inside the Nedlands Carmel.

Much-loved Maida Vale parish priest Fr Stephen Durkin passed away after a long battle with cancer on 13 July aged just 54.

The Record reported that, since the launch in Sydney of Catholic online radio station Cradio on 17 July, it has been creating Catholic news podcasts to meet the station’s aim “to nourish the soul of the digital generation”.

Pope Benedict XVI travelled to the Abruzzi region to venerate the relics of 13th century Pope

Celestine V before going on holidays to Castel Gandolfo on 9 July.

A member of the “underground” Church who worked for the reconciliation of the Church in China, Bishop Julius Jia Zhiguo of Zhengding, 75, was released from 15 months’ imprisonment on 7 July.

AsiaNews reported that he made a point of declaring that he did not join the Patriotic Association while imprisoned nor did he accept authority of the governmentapproved Bishops’ conference.

In response to the clerical sex abuse scandal which made headlines earlier in the year, Pope Benedict XVI approved changes to the 2001 apostolic letter Sacramentorum Sanctitatis Tutela on 21 May, which were published by the Vatican press office on 15

July and signed by the prefect and secretary of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF).

The revisions included use of child pornography as a type of sexual abuse against minors; extension of the statute of limitations from 10 to 20 years after a sex abuse victim’s 18th birthday and controversially included the “attempted ordination of women” among the “more grave crimes”.

This latter point restated a 2008 decree from the CDF that said a woman who attempts to be ordained a Catholic priest and the person attempting the ordination are automatically excommunicated. Another “grave crime”, as stated in the 21 May revisions, was the recording of confessions with modern technology.

Residents carry their belongings through a flooded road in Nowshera, Pakistan on 30 July 2010.

PHOTO: CNS/ADREES LATIF, REUTERS

Clockwise from top left: St Charles Seminary students Mariusz Grzech and Thomas Zureich admire the work of artist Geoff, who is deaf, at the Emmanuel Centre in Perth; Fr Tiziano Bogoni chats with Dominican Fr Anthony Van Dyke at the Respect Life Office fundraiser at St Lawrence’s Parish Hall in Balcatta on 10 July; Ben de Boisblanc, 11, re-enacts Mass with his brother at their home in suburban New Orleans in July. Ben, who was born with Kabuki syndrome, a rare congenital disorder that affects learning, speech and motor skills, has let nothing stand in the way of his dream of becoming an altar server; Mgr Charles Scicluna, the Vatican’s chief prosecutor of clerical sexual abuse, answers questions about the Vatican’s revised procedures for handling cases of sexual abuse by priests during a press conference at the Vatican on 15 July; Maida Vale Parish Priest Fr Steve Durkin, who passed away on 13 July.

August

A‘Pray for politicians’

ugust started with controversy in the Archdiocese of Perth, with Archbishop Barry Hickey meeting atheist Prime Minister Julia Gillard on 2 August.

The meeting afforded the Archbishop the opportunity to explain to Ms Gillard The West Australian’s misrepresentation of his statement encouraging people of religious conviction to be politically active. The West reported him as saying Ms Gillard’s atheism could influence Christian voters not to vote Labor at the Federal election.

“While there is no indication that the present Prime Minister will undermine the special privileges that Churches enjoy, some wonder what the future will bring,” The West Australian quoted the Archbishop as saying. “Many Christians are

August revealed the impressive work of the St Vincent de Paul Society in troubled areas with its international president in Perth, Toodyay breaking new ground and Archbishop Barry Hickey issuing a Pastoral Letter on The Pearl of Great Price, marriage...

concerned that someone who does not believe in God may not endorse the Christian traditions of respect for human life, for the sanctity of marriage and the independence of Churches, Church schools and Church social welfare agencies.”

That same day, the St Vincent de Paul Society President General Michael Thio opened the first new Vinnies retail centre since 2004 in Morley.

Mr Thio also told The Record about the diplomatic minefield the Society had to deal with to establish itself in China.

It could only align itself with parishes aligned with the country’s official Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association and had to refer to itself as a ‘charity body’ as opposed to the St Vincent de Paul Society.

Toodyay Parish also broke new ground, as The Record reported it

was on the verge of establishing a mental health support network after years of appeals from the area which previously had few support structures in place.

Archbishop Hickey also ordained Deacons Benny Calanza and Rodrigo Tomala from the Redemptoris Mater Missionary Seminary to the priesthood at St Mary’s Cathedral on 6 August.

The ordinations brought to 83 the number of priests ordained by the Archbishop since being consecrated to the post in 1991 – the most for any currently serving Australian Bishop.

The Archbishop also issued an important Pastoral Letter, Pearl of Great Price, to coincide with National Marriage Day on 13 August. The letter underscored the importance of defending marriage especially in the interests of chil-

dren because, until recently, most people thought of marriage as a lifelong union between a man and a woman. The letter also coincided with an increased push at Federal level by the Greens to redefine marriage under law to include same-sex couples. Australia’s Federal laws that allow a marriage to be dissolved after a short period of separation have also ‘re-educated’ Australians to believe that marriage is no longer a permanent contract.

At the National Marriage Day Mass at St Mary’s Cathedral, the Archbishop urged Catholics to pray for politicians that they may safeguard marriage, emphasising that his declaration was not a political act but it is important that the Church speaks out on key matters.

The Record also published a

unique lift-out to mark Natural Family Planning Week, publishing real-life testimonies and scientific findings that prove Billings, Natural Fertility Services and FertilityCare offer couples a perfectly valid and ethical means of achieving or spacing pregnancies.

Also going on the front foot was Catholic doctor David Watson, St John of God Hospital Subiaco’s Clinical Dean, who said he would be forced to quit if WA’s Parliament passed the Voluntary Euthanasia Bill 2009.

He made the statement at a 12 August forum at the University of Notre Dame Australia in Fremantle, where Barrister Peter Quinlan, Dr Watson and LJ Goody Bioethics Centre director Rev Dr Joseph Parkinson laid out the medical, legal and ethical dangers of legalised euthanasia.

Archbishop Barry Hickey kisses the newly ordained hands of Fr Rodrigo Tomala after the ceremoney which recognises the special work to which every priest’s hands are consecrated. He was ordained to the priesthood with fellow Redemptoris Mater seminarian Benny Calanza on 6 August.

PHOTO: PETER ROSENGREN

Clockwise from top left: Deacons Frank Birrell (Broome Diocese), Emmanuel Valentine Dimobi, Daniel Boyd, Cyprian Shikokoti and Anibal Leite da Cunha (Perth Archdiocese) prostrate themselves during the special Mass at St Mary MacKillop Parish in Ballajura for their ordination to the Diaconate on 20 August; Fr Ermelindo Di Capua is swamped by worshippers at St Mary’s Cathedral on 10 August wanting to be blessed with relics of St Pio of Pietrelcina, the mystic who suffered the stigmata; a young flood victim holds a pan of water while taking refuge on a road with her family in Sukkur, Pakistan on 22 August. The severe flooding that began in Pakistan in late July has left at least four million Pakistanis homeless and without food or clean drinking water.

September

September started in glowing fashion, with members of the new lay movement Focolare inviting all to help them celebrate the 25 September beatification of Chiara Badano, an Italian who died of bone cancer just before her 19th birthday.

The Record reported in a photo essay the Chivalry Ball at St Kieran’s Parish in Osborne Park on 14 August.

The Record also reported on the Archdiocesan Natural Fertility Services agency on the brink of having 10 fully accredited Family Life educators working in primary and secondary Catholic schools around the Archdiocese – an unprecedented number for the agency and for Catholic schools.

The Archdiocese of Perth put out the call for a banner for its 7-9

September was marked by a special Rosary Bouquet and Archbishop Hickey highlighting the essential devotion to Mary; Pope Benedict’s UK visit that drew much global attention and the beatification of towering intellect Cardinal John Henry Newman...

October conference on Scripture and Prayer for Everyday Life called Seek 2010. St John of God Health Care also announced it would build and operate a $25 million comprehensive cancer centre precinct at its South West Health Campus, resulting in greater choice, affordability and access to cancer services for south west residents.

Amidst thousands of protesters storming the streets in England, Pope Benedict XVI beatified Cardinal John Henry Newman and warned that Christianity risks being marginalised in Western societies and that the “voice of religion” must be heard in the public square.

The Catholic Church in Germany announced it would require all employees who work with young people to obtain police checks and undergo psychiatric tests when nec-

essary under new guidelines published on 31 August.

Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput addressed the 15th symposium for the Canon Law Association of Slovakia on 14 August, calling on Catholics in the West to resist the world’s growing intolerance of Christianity. Part of his solution was calling on Catholics to “name evil and fight it”.

The Record announced breaking news – apparently unbeknownst but certainly unreported in secular media – that the Australian Medical Association is actually against euthanasia. When The Record published this fact on its front page on 15 September, along with the reasoned testimony of Wanneroo author and disabilities advocate Erik Leipoldt, who has quadriplegia, some MPs used it

in parliament, and the Voluntary Euthanasia Bill 2009 was defeated.

“Government-mandated euthanasia is too dangerous for vulnerable people, in an uncaring society that already devalues them, for example because it abhors dependence, fragility and vulnerability. Instead we would be more constructively engaged by working towards excellent care in everything we do for others – ie, a caring society,” Mr Leipoldt said.

In the same edition, WA’s Dr Scott Blackwell, the incoming president of Palliative Care Australia, told The Record that specialist physicians across all fields need to learn to prepare people for death and “think palliatively”, especially with the projected dramatic rise in people over 65.

Also locally, 14 schools around

WA participated in the annual 48-Hour Rosary Bouquet, which concluded with Archbishop Barry Hickey celebrating a Mass at St Mary’s Cathedral in which he declared devotion to Our Lady “essential” for priests and laity alike. It was a record number of schools and parishes participating in the event.

Local Theology of the Body enthusiasts read with interest as The Record reported that author and speaker Christopher West has ended his six-month sabbatical, saying he has come to see “a need for greater balance in my life”. He said he would address critics of his interpretation of Pope John Paul II’s Theology of the Body – some of which have been helpful while others, he said, “continue to misunderstand or misrepresent my work”.

Members of the Sudanese Catholic Community put on a cultural feast on 26 September when they performed African Gospel songs at the Redemptorist Monastery in North Perth. The Monastery’s Youth Group also performed, including a rousing rendition of Ave Maria. But it was the Sudanese who stole the show, proving not only an audio hit but a visional one as well, with their national dress also providing an added delight.

PHOTO: JACINTA SPRY

Clockwise from top left: Salvatorian Fr Roman Wroblewski with Mercy Sisters Mary and Catherine O’Connor, twin sisters who have both served as principals at St Lawrence Primary School in Balcatta. The Sisters and priest were celebrating the 50th anniversary of the school in “thanksgiving to the Holy Spirit”, said Perth Auxiliary Bishop Donald Sproxton who celebrated the Mass on 10 September; Pope Benedict XVI greets a disabled woman outside the Royal Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, Scotland on 16 September. Holyroodhouse, a former Augustinian monastery, now serves as the Queen’s official residence in Scotland; disabilities advocate and international author Dr Erik Leipoldt, who has quadriplegia, at his Wanneroo home. He wrote a significant column for The Record against legalised euthanasia; Dr Rhys Clark, with iPhone in hand, outside Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital. iDoctor, the iPhone application he created, helps doctors keep track of professional development and patient caseloads on their iPhones; former Madam Linda Watson, who appealed in September for funds to keep her house open that helps prostitutes escape the dangerous and harmful industry.

October

October was one of the biggest months in Australia’s history as it included the canonisation of St Mary of the Cross by Pope Benedict XVI. The Record’s 27 October edition also came with a special insert – the English edition of Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano that covered the canonisation, including an exclusive story by The Record’s Anthony Barich in Rome.

The month started in high spirits, as the The Record reported how the “irreplaceable legacy” that Irish priests left for the Archdiocese of Perth was recognised forever with an historic Celtic Cross made from wood potentially dated over 5,000 years old placed in the St Mary’s Cathedral Crypt next to three of

October was monumental for Australia, with the canonisation of its first saint and Notre Dame hosting Perth’s big celebration in Fremantle, while the Focolare movement celebrated the beatification of one of its youths...

its Irish Bishops. The Celtic Cross acquired by Dr Eamon Casey –then Bishop of Kerry, Ireland prior to his arrival in Perth to preside at the opening and consecration of the Merredin parish church in August 1973 – was presented to Archbishop Barry Hickey by Irish priests Mgr Sean O’Shea and Fr Michael Casey, Dr Eamon’s brother, on 30 September.

The Australian Bishops’ Commission for Pastoral Life established a Deaf and Hard of Hearing Committee to facilitate the inclusion of people who are deaf and hard of hearing in Church communities by the training of priests in sign language and greater use of interpreters at Mass.

The Record’s mission to carry out its vision according to its founder

Bishop Matthew Gibney – “Be indefatigable in your purpose and with undaunted spirit resist iniquity and try to conquer evil with good, having before your eyes the reward of those who combat for Christ” –was vindicated by the key message to come out of a major Catholic press conference at the Vatican.

The conference revealed that the importance of information in Catholics’ daily lives and the need for the Church to communicate and help people grow in responsibility and holiness are key factors in encouraging the Catholic press to find ways to stay afloat.

Back home, nationally acclaimed artist Annette Allman won the Mandorla Art Award 2010, while fresh talent Emma Itzstein was named as the inaugural youth win-

ner of the St John of God Health Care Prize for an Emerging Young Artist.

In Rome, Perth’s Mark Payton was ordained a deacon on his way to the priesthood on 7 October, as one of the seminarians from the Pontifical North American College.

The Record hosted Sydney Auxiliary Bishop Julian Porteous tp launch his book A New Wine and Fresh Skins at St Mary’s Cathedral on 6 October, in which the prelate analyses the intriguing phenomenon of new movements in the Catholic Church.

Speaking of new movements, their validity as a force of the Holy Spirit in the word and in the Church was confirmed as over 25,000 mainly young people from 57 countries attended the 25 September beatifi-

cation of Chiara ‘Luce’ Badano, who died in 1990 at just 18 years of age. The Record reported on this on 13 October.

On 17 October, the big moment came when Pope Benedict XVI canonised Mary MacKillop as St Mary of the Cross in Rome with five other new saints. The Record’s Anthony Barich was on hand to report as Archbishop Barry Hickey concelebrated the Mass in St Peter’s Square.

Meanwhile, the University of Notre Dame Australia hosted a Royal Show-style festival on the day of the canonisation, beaming the Mass in St Peter’s Square live into Fremantle on big screens. The Fremantle event was organised by the re-energised UNDA student body, headed by Amy Rosario.

of the Cross MacKillop

Pontifical North American College seminarians Keith D Romke of the Diocese of Rockford, Illinois, Mark R Payton of the Archdiocese of Perth and George K Nixon of the Diocese of Providence, Rhode Island are seen after being ordained deacons in St Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican on 7 October.

PHOTO: CNS/PAUL HARING

Clockwise from top left: Australian seminarian Daniel McCaughan waves his nation’s flag prior to the canonisation of six new saints by Pope Benedict XVI in St Peter’s Square at the Vatican on 17 October. The new saints included Australia’s first, St Mary of the Cross; South Perth parish priest Fr Michael Casey, left, and Rottnest Island chaplain Mgr Sean O’Shea with Archbishop Barry Hickey, having presented him with the Celtic cross, the design of which has ancient origins dating back centuries; Bronia Karniewicz, Priscilla Grainger and Hanna Lyra stretch during the City to Surf. With a group of eight friends, they raised $2,637 for Caritas Australia on 29 August, which The Record reported on 6 October; Lucy Power and Meaghan Emery, both six, completed the Mary MacKillop journey during the Mary MacKillop Festival hosted by the University of Notre Dame Australia in Fremantle on 17 October. At each stop they collected a sticker which ultimately related a quote from the saint, “Never see a need without trying to remedy it”. In her work of educating children, St Mary of the Cross showed in practical ways that children were important members of society.

November

November started with evangelical fervour, as Archbishop Barry Hickey called on Perth Catholics to join him in praying a vigil for life on 27 November. The call was in response to Pope Benedict XVI asking every diocesan Bishop in the world to join him in the prayer vigil.

Archbishop Hickey also appealed for prayers for children as they struggle through a world hostile to their faith and life in a Pastoral Letter entitled Pray for children, God’s precious gift

For the first time for the parish of Applecross, Bunbury Bishop Gerard Holohan ordained Roshan Fernando to the diaconate on his way to the priesthood on 3 November.

Overseas, the Vatican confirmed the request of five Anglican Bishops to join the Catholic Church after Pope Benedict XVI established a

November saw Catholics fighting for the Faith on a number of fronts, with Archbishop Hickey and the Pope leading prayer vigils for the unborn and Benedict XVI calling Catholics to a devoted, reasoned approach to Scripture...

special structure for Anglicans who want to be in full communion with the Roman Catholic Church while preserving aspects of their Anglican spiritual and liturgical heritage.

Over east, Victoria’s recent assaults on the conscience rights of medical professionals and The Greens’ continued push to legalise euthanasia drove Victoria’s Bishops to issue an election alert ahead of their State’s 27 November election.

The Record also reported with exclusive quotes on the appointment of former Melbourne Archdiocesan vocations director Fr Anthony Denton as inaugural Rector of Domus Australia (Australia House), an accommodation centre that aims to turn tourists into pilgrims in Rome.

The Record’s Anthony Barich also reported from a pilgrim trip to the Holy Land with Ballajura Parish that revealed what could well be St Joseph’s tomb. Even if unverified, the site reveals much about what

Jesus’ tomb and crib would have looked like, as they were described in the Gospels.

The Record also devoted its centre spread to Pope Benedict XVI’s critical apostolic exhortation Verbum Domini (“The Word of the Lord”), following the 2008 Synod of Bishops on the Word of God. In the apostolic exhortation, the Pontiff encouraged Catholics to engage in a devoted, reasoned approach to Scripture. He also broke it down as a necessity for each vocation – consecrated life, ordained ministers, marriage and family. He also revealed how knowledge of Scripture improves people’s participation in the Mass – not by creating more roles for the laity, but in true participation that Benedict often preaches on, which involves worship, praise and thanksgiving.

“The Bible is not a dusty collection of ancient writings addressed only to ancient peoples,” the Pope said.

Another groundbreaking event took place this month at the Vatican –a two-week Synod of Bishops for the Middle East. Amidst increasing threats and bombings of Christian churches in the region and a terrorist group labelling Christians as “fair game”, the Pope said at the closing Mass that peace is possible and urgent, and it will stop Christians from emigrating from the Holy Land. There was also a significant call during the Synod to ensure Catholics, Protestants, Anglicans and eastern Orthodox celebrate Easter together each year.

Back home, French priest Fr Antoine Thomas toured several parishes in Bunbury and Perth including St Mary’s Cathedral, encouraging children to connect with Jesus in the Eucharist, helping them to develop a special devotion.

The Record also devoted several pages to undoing the damage done to Catholics and non-Catholics

alike by secular press who misreported comments made by Pope Benedict XVI in a book-length interview about the use of condoms.

The confusion began with an inaccurate cable story and was expanded by the general fixation among journalists and health ‘experts’ on the imagined virtues of condoms. When the story broke, most Australian Bishops were on their way to Sydney for their national conference and by the Monday morning when Cardinal George Pell and Parramatta Bishop Anthony Fisher OP, a bioethics expert, issued clarifications on what the Pope said, the damage was done. Even then, the two NSW prelates’ comments were scantily reported in the secular press compared to the frenzied reaction of the media reporting Benedict “changed Church teaching” when the Pope suggested condoms might be acceptable in some circumstances.

Good Shepherd Primary students wowed everyone with their talent at the school’s annual Music Night on 28 October.

A variety of performances directed by Good Shepherd’s Music teacher Diana Newman revealed an ocean of talent, whether singing as ‘Fireflies’ (pictured), or in individual instrumental pieces. The Record reported on the event on 3 November. PHOTO: PETER ROSENGREN

Clockwise from top left: Perth men Brennan Sia and Mark Baumgarten on the roof of the Pontifical North American College in Rome, where they are completing their studies for the priesthood; Australian Catholic University’s new Faith and Justice Ambassadors pictured on the Tiber River in Rome. The team has been established to evanglise the university’s six campuses; French priest Fr Antoine Thomas, with the Blessed Sacrament in the monstrance, was in several parishes in Perth and Bunbury - including St Mary’s Cathedral, above, teaching children to love and adore Jesus in the Eucharist; Trinity College pipers Luke Geoghegan, left, Jack Kay, Peter Walsh and Gerard Ryan outside St Mary’s Cathedral shortly before entering for the beginning of the Catholic Mission Schools Mass, which saw 79 Catholic schools participate. The red tartan worn by Mr Walsh is MacKillop clan tartan, worn over the shoulder especially for the occasion.

December

December opened with reportage of Archbishop Barry Hickey’s urgent call for Catholics to pray for doctors and politicians to safeguard nascent life. He said this during reflections on the Joyful Mysteries when leading adoration of the Blessed Sacrament at St Mary’s Cathedral as part of the Vigil on 27 November.

The vigil was held in unison with Pope Benedict XVI, who called on all diocesan Bishops around the world to join him in praying for all unborn life.

During a visit to Australia, Caritas Internationalis President Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga of Tegucigalpa, Honduras told The Record exclusively that the public

December was also distinguished with individuals highlighting the importance of building a culture of life through prayer and action, with Archbishop Hickey, Mary Glowrey and Sudanese ‘arrowmen’ being cases in point...

debate on the use of condoms triggered by the secular media’s misreporting of Pope Benedict XVI’s comments on the issue is a golden opportunity for parish priests to clarify the Church’s teachings on the subject, which he said few Catholics actually understand. The Record also reported on a group in New Zealand who were threatening to take their country’s government to a human rights tribunal over its antenatal screening for Down syndrome children after the Ministry for Health introduced the programme without public consultation in February. The group – a combination of pro-life supporters and Down syndrome parents –claims that antenatal screening for Down syndrome violates Article 2 of the UN Convention on the

Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, as it imposes measures intended to prevent births within a specific human group.

Archbishop Hickey also issued his own clarification on the issue, saying that Pope Benedict XVI’s controversial quotes were at heart a call to conversion. “The Church’s business is to call people to conversion, not to minimise the immorality of certain acts,” Archbishop Hickey said.

Former Wanneroo man Fra (Brother) Giles Joseph Mary, formerly Kevin Artherton, was ordained to the diaconate in Rome on 24 October after seven years of study and formation in the United States and Italy. The man is on his way to becoming a priest for the Franciscan Friars of

the Immaculate, who have bases in WA. The preliminary phase of the cause for canonisation of another Australian was opened – that of Catholic Women’s League cofounder Dr Mary Glowrey, an ear, nose and throat specialist who gave up her thriving Melbourne clinic to join a Religious Order to care for the poor in India, 30 years before Mother Teresa. Australia’s Bishops approved the wording of a petition they urged priests around the country to promote in their parishes, which are to be filled out and sent to local Members of Parliament in the House of Representatives as soon as possible on the defence of marriage. The petition, which Archbishop Barry Hickey helped write, is a direct response to a res-

olution passed and sponsored by The Greens asking MPs to “gauge their constituents’ views on ways to achieve equal treatment for same sex couples including marriage”.

While Labor Prime Minister Julia Gillard said her party is officially against same-sex marriage, The Greens’ newfound influence in Federal politics and forces within the ALP want it legalised, which Australia’s Bishops believe threatens not only the institution of marriage but family life and, therefore, society itself.

The Record also published the Archdiocese of Sydney’s recommendations on how to counter common arguments for samesex marriage in a reasoned way, and urged people to make private appointments with their local MPs.

Archbishop Barry Hickey leads an hour of adoration praying for all nascent life at St Mary’s Cathedral on 27 November, in which he urged all Catholics to pray for doctors and politicians to protect unborn, or nascent, life. The Vigil was held in response to Pope Benedict XVI’s call for every diocesan Bishop in the world to join him to pray for nascent life.

PHOTO: BRIDGET SPINKS

Clockwise from top left: Fra Giles Joseph Mary, formerly Kevin Atherton, at his Mass of ordination to the diaconate on 24 October in an old mediaeval Franciscan church in Italy. He told The Record he wants to help win the world over to Christ as part of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate; Sr Dr Mary Glowrey treats the poor in India c 1924 working as a Sister of the Society of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. She gave up a thriving ear, nose and throat specalist clinic in Melbourne to join the Order. The preliminary phase of her cause for canonisation was opened in Bangalore, where she died; Simon Peter Gamana, front, and Charles Gorden patrol the forest on 16 November near their village of Riimenze, Southern Sudan. In response to a series of attacks by the Lord’s Resistance Army along the border with Congo, a homegrown network of village militias, known as the Arrow Boys, has formed to protect civilians; Bunbury Bishop Gerard Holohan, who grew up in East Victoria Park, is presented with the parish’s Baptism registry, symbolising the parish’s community of faith initiated through the Sacrament, at Our Lady Help of Christians’ 75th parish anniversary and 50th anniversary of the church itself.

Panorama entries must be in by 12pm Monday.

Contributions may be emailed to office@therecord.com.au, faxed to 9325 4580, or mailed to 21 Victoria Square, Perth WA 6000.

FRIDAY, 7 JANUARY

The Alliance, Triumph and Reign of the United Hearts of Jesus and Mary 9pm at St Bernadette’s Church, Glendalough. Commences with exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, reflections, Rosaries, hymns etc alternating with healing sessions. Vigil concludes with midnight Mass. Participate in building the Lord’s mighty work. Enq: Fr Doug 9444 6131 or Dorothy 9342 5845.

Pro-Life Witness

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

SATURDAY, 8 JANUARY

Witness for Life

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

Divine Mercy Healing Mass

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

St Padre Pio Day of Prayer

8.30am at St Joseph’s, 22 Hamilton St, Bassendean. Programme as follows – St Padre Pio DVD in parish centre. 10am Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, Rosary, Divine Mercy, Silent Adoration and Benediction.11am Holy Mass, St Padre Pio Liturgy, confessions available. 12pm Bring a shared plate for lunch. Tea and coffee supplied. Enq: Des 6278 1540.

MONDAY, 10 JANUARY  FRIDAY, 14 JANUARY

The Young Salesian Summer Camps

Nanga Bush Camp on the Murray River at Dwellingup. Fun filled camp for 12-15 year olds with a Christian background. Lots of activities such as rafting, lantern stalk, disco, Pictionary, camp Masses and more. Cost - $230 including all meals and transport. This is a well organised and supervised camp. Enq: Erin 0412 672 256 or Graham 0418 979 600.

WEDNESDAY, 12 JANUARY

Charismatic Healing Mass by Fr Hugh Thomas

7pm at St Bernadette’s Catholic Church, Grand Ocean Blvd, Port Kennedy For those of you who are suffering from physical, emotional, mental, psychological, or even from spiritual afflictions, never despair. Jesus is the Healer and He will deliver you. Join us at our church. Enq: Grace 9593 5430 or Chris at 9537 3056 or gedavid@ iinet.net.au.

WEDNESDAY, 19 JANUARY

Marist New Norcia Annual Mass and Reunion

4.30pm at Newman College, Empire Avenue, Churchlands. Mass will be celebrated by Marist Old Boy priests in the Newman College Chapel in memory of deceased brothers and students. A reunion in the college courtyard to follow at 6pm. BYO. SIC and Marist old boys most welcome. Enq: Ambrose 9387 1117, 0419 912 187 or Frank 9446 6435.

SATURDAY, 29 JANUARY

Love Ministries - Charismatic Healing Team and FR Hugh Thomas.

6pm at St Pauls, 106 Rookwood St, Menora. Following

Mass, come and get prayed over and healed from past and present issues or stand in for a loved one who may be ill or facing problems at this time. All welcome. Enq: Fr Hugh or Gilbert 0431 570 322.

EVERY SUNDAY

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

Extraordinary Form of Latin Holy Mass 11am Sunday and 7.30pm Monday except 3rd Monday of the month, at St Joseph’s Parish, 20 Hamilton St, Bassendean.

THIRD SUNDAY OF THE MONTH

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

EVERY FOURTH SUNDAY OF THE MONTH

Holy Hour for Vocations to the Priesthood, Religious Life

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

LAST MONDAY OF EVERY MONTH

Christian Spirituality Presentation

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

EVERY TUESDAY

Novena and Benediction to Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal

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

EVERY WEDNESDAY

Holy Spirit of Freedom Community

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

SECOND WEDNESDAY OF THE MONTH

Chaplets of the Divine Mercy

7.30pm at St Thomas More Catholic Church, Dean Rd, Bateman. A beautiful, prayerful, and sung devotion will be accompanied by Exposition and followed by Benediction. All are welcome. Enq: George Lopez on 9310 9493(h) or 9325 2010(w).

EVERY THURSDAY

Catholic Questions and Answers

7-7.30pm at St Joseph’s Parish Centre, 20 Hamilton St, Bassendean. Catechesis learned easily with questions and answers. The Catechism of the Catholic Church. Adult learning and deepening of the Catholic Faith, with Fr John Corapi DVD series, 7.30-9pm.

Divine Mercy

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

Taize Prayer and Meditation

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

The Cathedral Praise Meeting

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

FIRST FRIDAY OF THE MONTH

Holy Hour for Vocations to the Priesthood and Religious Life

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

Communion of Reparation All Night Vigil

7pm-1am at Corpus Christi Church, Lochee St, Mosman Park. Vigil consists of Mass, Rosary, Confession and Adoration. Celebrant Fr T Bogoni. All warmly welcomed. Enq: Vicky 0400 282 357.

Catholic Faith Renewal Evening

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

Healing Mass

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

Communion of Reparation All Night Vigil NOR

7pm-1am at St Gerard Majella’s Church, Majella Rd, Mirrabooka. Honouring the Two Hearts of Jesus and Mary, with 2 Masses, Confession, Adoration and Prayers. Celebrants Fr Giosue Marini and Fr T Bogoni. All welcome. Enq: Joy 9344 2609 or Nick 0428 953 471. Healing and Anointing Mass 8.45am at Pater Noster, Myaree. Reconciliation, followed by Mass including Anointing of the sick, Praise and Worship to St Peregrine and the Sacred Heart of Jesus. All welcome. Enq: Joy 9337 7189.

AA ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS

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

OPPORTUNITY FOR COMMUNITY SERVICE

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

AL  ANON FAMILY GROUPS

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

ST MARY MACKILLOP COMMEMORATIVE MERCHANDISE

Available from the Mary MacKillop Centre, 16 York St, South Perth. Commemorative mugs and plates, collector’s items etc. Enq: Sr Maree 0414 683 296.

PILGRIMAGE TO THE HOLY LAND

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

SPANISH LESSONS OFFERED AT WHITFORDS

PARISH FOR WORLD YOUTH DAY, MADRID 2011

Beginner’s classes commence 9 February on Wednesday evenings 6.45pm to 7.30pm and Saturday mornings 10.15am to 11am. Cost- $5 per class or $40 for 10 classes if paid in full at the beginning of the term. All classes will take place in venues at Our Lady of the Mission Catholic Church, Camberwarra Dr, Craigie. Enq: Noeme 9307 4038 or Shirley-Ann 9407 8156.

BREVIARIES NEEDED

If there are copies of breviaries sitting in bookshelves in presbyteries or Religious houses which are no longer needed, they could be put to good use at St Charles’ Seminary. The three volume set is preferred, but even the single volume could be used. This will help us to introduce our new seminarians to the recitation of the Divine Office. Enq: Helen at the Seminary on 9279 1310 or admin@seminary-perth.org.au and we can organise for them to be picked up.

ACROSS

1 David is said to have written some of these

6 Frogs or locust

10 Type of Psalm

11 Describes the Magisterium

12 Catholic ___

16 Abbr for two NT epistles

18 Priest who established Notre Dame in Indiana, Fr Edward ___, CSC

20 Biblical instrument

21 “…___ to anger and abounding in steadfast love” (Ps 103:8)

22 Moses was floated down this river in a basket

23 “…begotten not ___…”

24 Sr Prejean

26 He had John the Baptist beheaded

28 Certain opening

32 Parish or youth

33 One of the prophets

35 The day of the Resurrection

36 The people in Lystra dubbed Paul this (Acts 14:12)

DOWN

2 Wife of Abraham

3 Diocese of Honolulu necklace

4 Euphemism for died in the Bible: “___ with his ancestors”

5 Reuben or Gad, for example

7 Our Lady, for the Air Force

8 Godʼs life in us

9 “When we ___ this bread…”

13 “And I will ___ you up on eagleʼs wings”

14 Son of Abraham

15 Garden tempter

17 Worn by priests, deacons and Bishops only

19 A dove brought this branch back to Noah

21 “Feed my ___” (Jn 21:17)

25 First word of a Latin hymn

27 Catholic author Tolkienʼs The Lord of the ___

29 “…thy will be done on ___”

30 David married his widow

31 ___ Meal

32 Theology degree (abbr)

34 According to I Thessalonians, we will meet the Lord in this (with “the”)

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION

ACCOMMODATION

HOLIDAY ACCOMMODATION

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

HOUSE MOTHER ROLE FOR FREE RENT IN FURNISHED

TOWNHOUSE We require a Live-In-Housemother for our 2 daughters aged 14 and 16. We wish them to become day scholars after having boarded for the last few years. We are offering free rent for 2 years. Costs include a third of the electricity and gas bills. Bond negotiable. This opportunity would suit a mature woman who is a non-smoker and appreciates our efforts to instil Catholic values in our daughters’ lives. The 3-bedroom townhouse is on Canning Highway, in Melville with city views. Enclosed back garden with gazebo. Single carport with space for an extra car. Conveniently located near shops, on bus route with bus stop a few steps from front door. If this opportunity appeals, please call us at our farm on 9880 4042 or mobile: 0427 186 357. Our email is jilakin@bigpond.com

TRADE SERVICES

BRENDON HANDYMAN

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

BRICK RE-POINTING

Ph Nigel 9242 2952.

PERROTT PAINTING Pty Ltd

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

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

Deadline: 11am Monday

FURNITURE REMOVAL

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

LAWN MOWING

WRR LAWN MOWING & WEED

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

SETTLEMENTS

ARE YOU BUYING OR SELLING

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

BOOK BINDING

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

FOR SALE

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OPPORTUNITIES

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9

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cures many

13 Th St Hilary, bishop, doctor of the church (O)

Gr Heb 3:7-14 Encourage one another

Ps 94:6-11 Listen to God’s voice

Mk 1:40-45 People come to Jesus

14 F Heb 4:1-5.11 Promise holds good

Gr Ps 77:3-4.6-8 God’s marvellous deeds

Mk 2:1-12 Your sins are forgiven

15 S Heb 4:12-16 Confident in God’s help

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Mk 2:13-17 Virtuous or sinners?

Attadale Parish Priest Fr Sean Fernandez , who also lectures at the University of Notre Dame in Fremantle, was asked by a parishioner to write an article on the Trinity...

To write an article on the Trinity is not something I would have undertaken off my own bat, even though my doctoral thesis was on the Trinity. As it is I shall not be able to discuss the Trinity in one article.

Unearthing Treasure

By Fr Sean Fernandez

Where to start? There are many ways into the Trinity, but I shall begin by clarifying some terms and concepts. This may seem somewhat tedious, but it is necessary if one is not going to think that the Church is teaching more than she is when she teaches of the Trinity.

An important principle to keep before us is that we cannot know what God is. St Thomas Aquinas consistently says that while we are able to say what God is not, we cannot say what he is. The Trinity does not tell us what God is. I shall get round to saying what it does say later.

What does Aquinas mean when he tells us that we can only say what God is not? We can say what God is not because God is the Creator.

Creation is God’s bringing the world into being from nothing. ‘From nothing’, not from physical laws or some singularity or point, but ‘from nothing’. God is the

Three, yet One

answer to the question, ‘why does anything exist instead of nothing?’

If God is the cause of all that exists then God must exist in a way completely different from anything we know and encounter. In fact saying God’s existence is ‘completely different’ is not correct. When we say something is different, we mean that it doesn’t fit within a specified category but God fits in no categories at all. So he cannot be compared with anything that exists, even the whole universe.

As I tell my students (to their irritation) God is not any type of being, not even a divine being; God is not any type of thing at all. If God is Creator then he is unchanging, immaterial and eternal. Everything in the last sentence is expressed negatively: God does not change; he is not material; he is not something of time. None of this tells us what he is.

These negative statements radically qualify anything positive we may say. We say that God is unchanging, immaterial, eternal, etc. because change, matter, time are aspects of the created order and if God is Creator then these things are not part of God. If he were then God could not be the answer to the question, ‘why anything instead of nothing?’

But don’t we say many things about God? In point of fact we don’t say a great deal about what God is. The Bible is full of wonderful imagery true, but the imagery does not reveal the divine nature.

And the imagery is not meant to be interpreted literally; the imagery is true, but not true in terms of strict correspondence. For example, we read that God ‘walks on the wings of the wind’ (Ps 104) but the wind does not have wings and God doesn’t actually walk on it. The imagery expresses God’s might and transcendence, but it does it in terms which are much richer than the boring old terms I have just used – ‘might’ and ‘transcendence’.

The Bible piles up the images and gives us a rich palette of language, a rich palette which is used and developed by the figures within the Christian tradition. Take Julian of Norwich’s marvellous Showings:

“... in this he schewyd me alyttille

Ancient practice seen as way for modern Catholics to get close to Jesus

BY BETH GRIFFIN

NEW YORK (CNS) - Lectio divina, an ancient Scriptural meditative practice, is an ideal way for contemporary Catholics to unplug from worldly distractions and establish holy intimacy, permanent friendship and fruitful companionship with Jesus Christ, according to Trappist Brother Simeon Leiva. Br Leiva, a Scripture scholar and monk at St Joseph’s Abbey in Spencer, Massachussetts, said encountering the living Christ in mutual knowledge and love is transformative and challenging. “The word of God must never be a soothing narcotic. God calls us out of our comfort zone and offers us new life on His own conditions,” he said.

“The movement toward Jesus requires courage and generosity and is both thrilling and frightening,” Br Leiva said.

Lectio divina - “the reading of the sacred” or “the divine reading” - dates from the 2nd century. It uses a pattern of reading, reflection, prayer, contemplation and action to meditate on short scriptural passages.

Br Leiva addressed priests of the Archdiocese of New York on 9 December at

thynge the qwantyte of A haselle Nutte lyggande in the palme of my hande & to my vndyrstandynge that it was as rownde as any balle. I lokede þer opoun and thought whate maye this be and I was aunswerde generaly thus it is alle that ys made. I merveylede howe þat it myght laste for me thought it myght falle sodaynlye to nought for litille and I was Aunswerde in myne vndyrstandynge it lastes and euer schalle for god loves it.”

No one thinks that creation is literally a hazelnut in Julian’s hand, but the image is true nonetheless. The Pseudo-Dionysius (yes, him again) tells us that such earthy language is the better language

for talking of God. Why? Because we are less likely to think that we have a grasp on God when we use such images. More philosophical and esoteric language may lead us to think that we have a handle on God. We never do. I hear howls of protest (or muted grumbling anyway): ‘Surely, we say things about God all the time! We say that God is love and God is one.’ I am glad you raised that. We do say that God is love, but what do we mean when we say ‘God is love’? We start with our experience of love. We love one another. So we have experience of human love, but what does it mean to say ‘God is love’. I may love, but I am not love.

Finding God in His Word

the American Bible Society’s launch of two books devoted to the practice: The Catholic Prayer Bible - ‘Lectio Divina’ Edition and Pray With the Bible, Meditate With the Word - a Manual for the Prayerful Reading of the Bible.

The new books are a timely response to a post-synodal document in which Pope Benedict XVI urged Christians to get to know the Scriptures better.

Verbum Domini (“The Word of the Lord”) is an apostolic exhortation on the 2008 Synod of Bishops on the Word of God. In it and in earlier statements, Pope Benedict recommended lectio divina as an effective way to encounter Christ in Scripture and respond with openness and generosity.

Brother Leiva said lectio divina cultivates the human heart to activate to its highest potential and helps bring Christian souls to their natural state with Jesus Christ at the centre of their being. “Union with Jesus is the whole of my life and my relationship with him is the primal relationship that invigorates all others,” he said.

He described lectio divina as leisurely, ruminative, cordial, contemplative, disinterested, provocative, ecclesial and mystagogical. “Each session of lectio is a modest foretaste of heavenly experiences,” he said. He called lectio divina a tool to “make our lives themselves a living exegesis of the Word.”

Br Leiva told CNS that lectio divina is “a

Catholic way to decompress and pray at the same time. For whatever reason you practise it, it requires you to slow down and unplug yourself. It’s healthy and it’s very doable.”

Paraphrasing St Bernard, the Trappist said, “’Stay at home, you may receive an important visitor.’ “Lectio divina is coming home to oneself.”

Mario Paredes, presidential liaison to the American Bible Society’s Catholic ministries, said the lectio divina initiative is an effort to get the Bible read. “We have studies that show there is an excess of Bibles, three to five in each household, but the problem is that no one is reading them,” Paredes said. “We’re shifting tactics. Lectio divina is not a Bible course, but an invitation to read the Bible carefully.”

Paredes said the Bible society provides the lectio divina materials in English and Spanish and organises and subsidises training sessions for parish leaders in dioceses across the United States. He said 2,000 people attended training in Los Angeles, San Antonio, Miami, Houston, Brooklyn, New York, Chicago, Newark, New Jersey, and Norwich and Bridgeport, Conn, and are now training others.

Paredes said lectio divina is an effective tool to “redirect the enthusiasm of the charismatic movement.” He told CNS, “There are many charismatic groups that read and interpret the Bible in a very free way. Lectio divina helps

Our language is stretched; we can say that God is love, but we cannot grasp what it means. We glimpse it in the Cross, but all our language about love breaks down in the face of the Cross. This is love beyond our understanding.

“More philosophical and esoteric language may lead us to think that we have a handle on God. We never do.”

We do say God is one, but what does this mean? We use ‘one’ analogously everyday: Oneness when applied to an atom is different from oneness when applied to a human or to a star; in other words, what makes a human being one is different from what makes an atom one. God is not one in any way that we experience oneness. The people of Israel went through quite a journey to discover that there is only one who is God – a journey which involved a change of mind and heart. So ‘oneness’ when applied to God is far from some abstract concept. Yehezkel Kaufman writes that ‘the mark of monotheism is … the idea of a god who is the source of all being, not subject to the cosmic order, and not emergent from a preexistent realm’.

I hope to have cleared some ground in this initial article. I would suggest that what I have said is no different from the teaching of the Fourth Lateran Council (1215) in which the Church professes her faith in “One alone who is true God, who is eternal, immense, unchangeable, incomprehensible, omnipotent and ineffable.”

But, why? Why engage in futility, trying to know the unknowable, to grasp the boundless? St Thomas Aquinas gives us an answer (quoting St Hilary of Poitiers): “He who reverently pursues the Boundless, even though he will never attain it, will himself advance by pushing forward in his pursuit’”[In Boeth. De Trin II, i ad7].

The second article by Dr Fernandez on the Trinity will appear next week.

people really know and develop a reading of Scripture within the framework of the teaching and tradition of the Church.”

Paredes said the American Bible Society is an inter-confessional organisation that has a sincere desire to be known as Catholicfriendly. He said Catholics have served as board members for more than 20 years.

Alicia DeFrange, the society’s manager of Catholic Church relations, told CNS that lectio divina is a flagship programme for the Catholic Church. “We will keep in touch with the Vatican on any message the Pope has on the Bible and that will drive our mission to serve Catholics,” she said.

DeFrange said the initiative includes Journeys, a free online subscription to twiceweekly lectio divina readings and meditations tied to the Lectionary. The reflections are offered in English and Spanish.

In the Archdiocese of New York, lectio divina training began last year and will be offered twice in 2011. Capuchin Franciscan Fr Brendan Buckley is parochial vicar at St John the Evangelist in Goshen.

He said he plans to work with two neighbouring parishes to introduce the practice of lectio divina to Spanish-speaking groups in Lent “to promote the sense that the Bible is the living word of God. Our hope is that we’ll work through our family life programmes to bring people closer to the heart of the Church,” he said.

One of the most famous respresentations of the Trinity, the Holy Trinity icon by Andrei Rublev, the 14th Century Russian Orthodox iconographer. It depicts the three angels who visited Abraham at the Oak of Mamre - but is often interpreted as an icon of the Trinity. It is also sometimes called the icon of the Old Testament Trinity.