The Record Newspaper 06 February 2008

THE R ECORD

Priests, Religious and parishes have much work ahead to embrace those wounded by abortion

Compassion the key

■ By Anthony Barich

Listening and restoring their humanity is the key in the Catholic Church ministering to women and couples who have experienced abortions.

Addressing 24 priests and two deacons at the Catholic Pastoral Centre in Highgate, Abortion Grief Counselling Association national director Julie Cook said on January 30 that compassion and empathy must form the basis of pastoral care for women who have suffered abortions.

She said women and men who have experienced abortion “often run away from the Church, but they should be running to the Church”, where compassion and forgiveness is found.

Ms Cook urged a “communityfocused” approach to caring for the suffering women and men who have experienced abortion, stressing that anyone judging them for either getting pregnant outside of marriage or for having the abortion “only adds to the punishment they are already giving themselves”.

“Some Catholics confuse compassion with condoning abortion,” she said, but nothing could be further from the truth.

Redemptorist Fr Hugh Thomas, present at the talk, noted that the fall in church attendances has coincided with the rise of the use of the Pill since its introduction in 1960 and subsequent rise in abortions and related problems.

While familiar with the content of Mrs Cook’s presentation, Fr Thomas said the issue is an extremely tough subject to even broach with parishioners, and requires careful consideration.

Redemptorist Fr Joe Carroll also said that even if women (or the men involved) have been forgiven through the Sacrament of

Continued on Page 4

Religious life looking up: While there are exceptions,

life is a shadow of its former self. We examine what went wrong and how it can regain precious ground to be a visible witness to Christ and once again be a force in society to help bring people to God. See Vista

Vincentians to strengthen healthcare

■ By Anthony Barich

The Vincentian Congregation has arrived to strengthen the Archdiocese of Perth’s healthcare ministry and has brought with it its charism of priestly training and formation.

Inspired by St Vincent de Paul, the Vincentian Congregation was founded by Fr Varkey Kattarath in Kerala, India in 1904 and, with 398 priests around the globe, focus their energy mainly on spreading the Good News to the poor in the mission fields of India and East Africa.

A thanksgiving and votive Mass in honour of St Vincent de Paul “who continues to inspire us all” was concelebrated by Archbishop Barry Hickey with Vincentian Superior General Varchese Puthessery, Provincial Superior Jose Vettyankal and Perth’s Vicar General Fr Brian O’Loughlin on January 30 at St Aloysius parish, Shenton Park.

Shenton Park’s presbytery will be the Vincentian Congration’s first Australian base.

Also celebrating the Mass were Vincentian Frs Francis Nadiviledath (mission councillor), Augustine Mundackattu (Vicar Provincial) and Sabu Kalapurackal, who will be in charge of the Congregational House until Vincentian Frs Varghese Parackal, Thomas Mankuthel and Joseph Poonattu arrive towards the end of March to form the Archdiocese’s healthcare ministry team.

Assisting him will be diocesan priest Fr Benedict Lee, in charge

Continued on Page 4

The

Pages 4-5-9

The Nation - Pages 6-7

Letters

Religious

Perspectives

Classifieds

Our Lady of Lourdes

19th century feast - February 11

This feast recalls the 18 appearances of mary to a young French girl, Bernadette soubirous, from Feb.11 to july 16, 1858, near a grotto at Lourdes, France. Bernadette did not know the identity of “the beautiful lady in white,” and asked who she was. Mary ssaid, “I am the Immaculate Conception,” the title Pope Pius IX had defined as dogma four years earlier. In 1890 Pope Leo XIII allowed the local Diocese of Tarbes to celebrate this feast; Pope Pius X made it a universal feast in 1907. Lourdes is still the most famous Marian shrine in Western Europe.

YCS caught in political frenzy

■ By Anthony Barich

Two Young Christian Students leaders from Kenya have been caught up in the country’s chaos sparked by disputed presidential pols a month ago.

Paul Meja, a Sudanese refugee who lives in Nairobi, has been corresponding with Perth YCS workers regarding what he and “Mary”, who works for the Pan-African YCS team, have suffered in the past month.

A gang armed with machetes broke into Paul’s home and while his friend escaped with only beatings, they saw another person killed.

Mary’s house was burned down and her family reportedly live on the street with no food or extra clothing.

Corresponding with YCS World Youth Day coordinator Chantelle Ogilvie, Paul, in his mid-20s, says the “announcement of a winner of the presidential contest despite credible evidence of rigging, the hurried swearing in ceremony, the brutal suppression of public protest and the continuing unrest” have left him “speechless”.

Minister in the President’s government as a way of ending the political crisis.

For I am holy

Ps 18:8-10.15 Spirit and life

Mt 25:31-46 I was hungry

12T

Vio Isa 55:10-11 My word, my will

Ps 33:4-7.16-19 Glorify the Lord

Mt 6:7-15 Pray like this

13W

Vio Jon 3:1-10 Preach to them

Ps 50:3-4.12-13.18-19 Steadfast spirit Lk 11:29-32 The sign of Jonah

14T Ss Cyril, monk and Methodius, bishop (O)

Vio Est 14:13-5.12-14 I am alone

Ps 137:1-3.7-8 Your love is eternal

Mt 7:7-12 Ask, receive.

15F

Vio Ezek 18:21-28 Is what I do unjust?

Ps 130:1-8 Be attentive

Mt 5:20-26 Leave your offering

16S

Vio Deut 26:16-19 Follow God’s ways

Ps 118:1-2.4-5.7-8 Do not forsake me

Mt 5:43-48 Pray for persecutors

Kenyans voted on December 27 but, by the third day of counting, reports were being delayed and the ECK chairman suspected votes were being “cooked” and it later confirmed that results were being tampered with.

“It’s a pity to note that the country which has been considered to be the beacon of peace and democracy has turned into untold anarchy and, more so, the enemy of democracy,” he told Chantelle.

Paul dismisses reports that the chaos engulfing Kenya is over the contest between President Kibaki and Opposition leader Raila Odinga, who last week ruled out the option of taking up the post of Prime

Paul says the two leaders are merely symbols of a “seismic battle rooted in the very foundations of Kenyans’ nationhood”.

He says it is equally off the mark to put the chaos down to a “tribal dispute”.

“What we are witnessing is a battle for the very soul of Kenyans’ motherland,” he said.

“It’s a battle to salvage libertarian gains over the past 15 years of pluralist democracy from imminent annihilation; to warn other African presidents that if they rig elections they will not go unchecked.”

Though the Electoral Commission of Kenya has denied rigging the votes, the ECK chairman Samuel Kivuitu has admit-

WA awaits NZ healer

The healing ministry of Marist Priest, Fr John Rea SM, is attracting crowds wherever he goes.

Contact: 0418 650 661 or

New Zealand priest Fr John Rea is a man who leaves a trail of reported miracle healings in his tracks.

WA is the latest state waiting to count the blessings of Fr Rea’s healing ministry, and Catholic Charismatic Renewal is sponsoring his February 22-March 13 visit.

Fr Rea is quick to stress that he is not the one responsible for what appear to be healings. “I just pray with people for healing, the rest is up to the Lord,” he said.

‘As long as He gets the glory. I used to think I was a channel. Now I think I’m a catalyst, an excuse to bring people together for prayer for healing.”

Fr Rea, who has been praying with people for healing since 1974, said the one constant in cases where people had appeared to have been healed was that someone must have faith ‘whether it was the faith of the person being healed, the faith of a parent, loved one or friend, or the one praying for healing.

‘All I do is pray.’ Sometimes people get better, sometimes they don’t.’

Among the people who have been disappointed, one case in particular comes to Fr

Rea’s mind, and that is a couple whose son and daughter-in-law have been trying for a long time to have children and it has not happened.

Fr Rea continues to pray for them. ‘I have a list of people I pray for every day. I pray for them by name.’

Another couple whose frustrations with infertility ended after prayer with Fr Rea, are among those who have testified to his healing ministry on New Zealand television.

After years of trying every other option in desperation to have a child, the couple came to Fr Rea one Ash Wednesday.

A television reporter once put it to Fr Rea that sceptics would say that he is someone who has ‘just got lucky’ with healings from prayer.

‘When it happens so frequently, you can hardly call it luck,’ was his reply. Fr Rea has no set formula for his prayers. ‘They are always short and simple and spontaneous.’

Fr Rea will be ministering with the Disciples of Jesus Community February 23-27 (Contact Melanie on 0416 232 505); with the Charismatic Prayer Groups February 28-March 7 (Contact Dan on 9398 4973); with The Holy Spirit of Freedom Community in Pemberton from March 8 (Contact 9776 1734).

ted he is “not sure who won”. “My question is,” Paul said, “if the ECK chairman doesn’t know, then who should know, when he is the sole person who gives certificate to any winner”?

Paul says the speed with which President Kibaki was sworn in within 25 minutes of the results being announced, without heads of states and governments invited for the ceremony, casts doubt on the legitimacy of his election win.

“Under shoot-to-kill orders, police have unleashed brutality against unarmed citizens, resulting in a massacre of genocidal proportions,” Paul said.

“The media have been muzzled in a manner never seen even in the darkest days of the Nyayo autocracy.”

in brief

Vic charities seek housing development role

Ajoint initiative by Catholic, Uniting Church and Salvation Army charities will seek to develop cheap rental properties for the poor, by utilising church properties worth hundreds of millions of dollars in Victoria.

The key to the proposal is that the St Vincent de Paul Society, the Uniting Church charity UnitingCare and the Salvation Army in Victoria will seek government approval to operate housing associations and become developers of housing. A St Vincent de Paul official said it hopes it will become possible to negotiate with the broader church to free up under-used church properties for housing purposes.

Correction

In The Record last week, it was incorrectly stated that Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen Smith attended Trinity College. In fact, he attended Christian Brothers College, Highgate. Mr Smith’s son attends Trinity College.

Warring: A group of displaced Luo people aboard a van point sticks and clubs at ethnic Kikuyu during clashes in Naivasha, 37 miles outside the Kenyan capital of Nairobi. A priest was among the dead in the latest violence that has plagued parts of Kenya following a disputed presidential election in late December.

PHOTO: CNS/ANTONY NJUGUNA.

Church does not reject the divorced

Milan’s Archbishop addresses letter to couples.

The Church has not forgotten nor rejected those who are divorced and have entered into another union, affirmed Milan’s archbishop.

Cardinal Dionigi Tettamanzi affirmed this in a pastoral letter directed to the divorced and remarried titled “The Lord Is Close to the Brokenhearted.”

“The fact that these relationships are frequently lived with a sense of responsibility and with love among the couple and for the children is a reality that the Church and its pastors take into account,” the cardinal wrote. “It is an error to think that the norm regulating access to Eucharistic Communion means that divorced and remarried couples are excluded from a life of faith and charity, lived within the ecclesial community.”

Certainly, “the Christian life has its summit in full participation in the Eucharist, but it is not reduced only to the summit,” he said.

The Cardinal asked divorced and remarried to “participate with faith in Mass,” even though they cannot receive Communion.

“The richness of ecclesial community life continues to be available to those who cannot receive Holy Communion,” he affirmed.

The 73-year-old Cardinal said that the Church hopes from these couples “an active presence and a willingness to serve those who need their help,” beginning with the educational task they have as parents.

Cardinal Tettamanzi said he wrote the letter to “establish dialogue […] to try to hear about your daily life, to allow myself to be questioned by some of your questions.”

“The Church has not forgotten nor rejected you, nor does it consider you unworthy,” he wrote. “For the Church, and for me, as a bishop, you are my beloved brothers and sisters.”

The cardinal added that when a marriage breaks apart, the Church suffers too: “Why does the Lord allow the shattering of a link that signifies his total, faithful and unbreakable love?”

“When this link breaks, the Church, in a certain sense, is made poorer, and a luminous sign that should be a motive of joy and consolation is taken away from it.”

Zenit.org

in brief

The Jammed wins Catholic film of the year

The Jammed, a movie revealing the illegal importation and sexual exploitation of women in Australia, has been named as Australian Film of the Year by the Australian Catholic Film Office. The film, which tells the story of three women brought to Australia under false pretences to be exploited for sexual purposes, is described as showing the horror of contemporary human trafficking. Catholic Film

Office director Fr Richard Leonard SJ said that the movie was a singularly courageous piece of cinema. “Even though the extremely violent world this film portrays means many people would not want to see it, that does not allow us to ignore the sex trade in women and children occurring in our nation.” Fr Leonard said the Church continues to speak with great clarity against human trafficking and the sexual exploitation of women. Other films in contention for best Australian movie this year included Romulus, My Father, based on the memoir of philosopher Raimond Gaita.

Enrolments 2010 - Years 7 & 8

Middle School - A Planned Transition for Every Student

Applications are now invited for admission into Year 7, 2010

There are also limited places available for Year 8, 2010

Newman College invites you to attend our Information Evening on Tuesday 12 February 2008, commencing at 7.30pm in the Champagnat Chapel (entrance via Empire Ave). This is an opportunity to meet staff as well as to discover more about the College, including its inspiring educational and community environment.

To register your attendance please contact Gay Carroll (08) 9204 9405 carroll.gay@cathednet.wa.edu.au

Enrolment Applications close for 2010 on Friday 7 March 2008

College Open Days

Friday 4 April Lavalla Campus (Yrs 4-7) 9.00am

Marian Campus (K-Yr 3) 10.30am

Saturday 5 April

Marcellin Campus (Yrs 8-12) 10.00am – 1.00pm

29th Newman Arts Festival 4, 5 & 6 April 2008

lll#cZlbVc#lV#ZYj#Vj

James

World Youth Day

Anyone able to help this cause will be sent a complimentary Papal Rosary of Pope Benedict XVI, and a Holy card with a prayer for World Youth Day. We ask you to join the Holy Father and the Catholic community in prayer for the success of this unique and faith filled event.

To send your donation please fill out the coupon below and tick the box* if you would like to receive the complimentary Papal Rosary and prayer card.

Help Poor and Oppressed Youth attend World Youth Day 2008

Aid to the Church in Need, POBox 6245 Blacktown DC NSW 2148

No: (02) 9679-1929 E-mail: info@aidtochurch.org Web:

I/We enclose a donation of $ …….....… to help Youth from Poor and Oppressed countries attend World Youth Day 2008 0Yes please send me the Papal rosary and Holy card*

I enclose a cheque/money order payable to Aid to the Church in Need OR please

the Parish

Women need healing

Continued from Page 1

Reconciliation, forgiving oneself is another proposition entirely. “Every Sacrament works (to heal people in a practical way), except when insuperable obstacles are at work,” he said. Fr Carroll said that though he has “encountered this kind of thing all the time”, he admitted that he often has not considered that “the reason someone is falling to pieces is because of an abortion”. Ms Cook said “it’s what nobody wants to talk about”. She said women who are contemplating or have had abortions have been “dehumanised” in a way, be it by an unsupportive spouse, family or healthcare provider, or a troubled upbringing.

Whether they realise it or not, women need to “extract the wound” of their abortion, which involves validating the pregnancy and creating an environment where the woman can appropriately apportion the blame to others like doctors, boyfriend, etc without taking responsibility away from the woman herself. She said that in their moment of compassion, the priest, Religious or layperson will be but a “dot on their path to healing”, but they will remember that person down the track. By empowering women, affirming their humanity and committing them to God’s care, Ms Cook said “there is nothing more pro-life”, as these women will

then stop other abortions by their own friends or family members.

Ms Cook also said that death often challenges these victims to “look into their own spiritual framework”, adding that many women who call helpline counsellors often make reference to God either punishing or forgiving them during their overthe-phone counselling sessions.

“These people (women and the men involved as well) are hardest on themselves, especially the women, so it is good to talk about the factors in their lives that led to the abortion,”

Ms Cook said. In this way, she said, the Church as a parish community and individuals are “throwing them a lifeline” – whether those reasons be fear of having children, fears of loss of friendship and confidence. She laid particular blame for the abortion epidemic – up to 90,000 are performed annually in Australia – on the healthcare industry, saying that “if the healthcare industry was against abortion, there would be no abortion”. In doing so, she dismissed pro-choice claims of an explosion of “unsafe backyard abortions” if “safe” abortion is not legal and readily available. “Being deceived and manipulated is part of the trauma of women considering or who have had abortions, as healthcare workers’ common ‘trump card’ is ‘there’s something wrong with the baby’ whenever women fight the abortion,” she said.

Maranatha Institute for Adult Faith Education

Archdiocese of Perth

Catholic Education Centre, 50 Ruislip Street, Leederville

TERM 1 COURSES

Commencement Date 12th February 2008

Timetable

Tuesday 9.30am-12pm An Introduction to the Old Testament with Stephanie Woods

1pm – 3.30pm Ecology at the Heart of Faith with Sr Shelley Barlow

1pm- 3.30pm Beginning Theology with Sr Philomena Burrell

Thursday 9.30am -12pm Sacraments for Everyday Living with Jan O’Connor

1pm – 3.30pm Travelling with the Turtle: Women’s Spirituality- A force for non violent peace-making with Judith Woodward

1pm -3.30pm Ministry to Those Who Grieve Level I with Gerry Smith

Friday 9.30am-12pm The Spirituality of the Women Mystics with Stephanie Woods

All courses run for 8 weeks - Cost $50

For Enrolments & further Information

Office Hours Tues, Thurs 9am -3.30pm, Friday 9am -1pm Phone 6380 5160 Fax 6380 5162

Email maranatha@ceo.wa.edu.au

Course Handbook available on request

WA national for CWL

■ By Sylvia Defendi

When Manjimup based national president of Australia’s Catholic Women’s League, Karyn Kammann was first approached to join the organisation, she admits that she was not too interested.

That was 22 years ago and the previous WA state president says she is humbled to have been recently nominated national president as the national executive is passed on to WA for the next two years.

“When the opportunity to join the CWL came knocking I accepted because with a cattle farm and four children at home I needed a personal project.

“What I discovered was an amazing support network that joined the voices of women across the nation,” she said.

Karyn, along with vice presidents Anne Power and Barbara Paterniti, secretary Maria Parkinson, treasurer Noelle Guidera, publicity officer Margaret Sullivan and chaplain Fr Laurence Murphy SDS, will lead Australia’s CWL, which will include global and national projects such as the up coming World Youth Day in Sydney this year.

For Karyn, involvement in the League has given her the courage to step out of her comfort zone, and the opportunity to travel for state and national conferences and hold prominent positions.

Beginning in 1906 with the initiative of English woman Margaret Fletcher, the Catholic

Women’s League is a global support network for women, that also works both within and on behalf of the local community by lobbying government and assisting parishes, clergy and those in need.

Supported by her husband, four children, and three grandchildren Karyn said she believed their theme for this year – walking with God – was a fitting start to WA’s leadership role.

“The theme asks us to think about how each of us walks with God, who we may have brought along and so on.

“For me personally, my new role as national president can only be done well when walking alongside God,” she said.

And Karyn has brought many along with her throughout her journey as a member of the League.

“Instead of always accepting office myself, I chose to encourage and support members who may not have had the confidence to hold office, but who, with love and guidance, have taken up the challenge and excelled at it,” she said.

Aside from the League’s mandate to always display grace, friendship and loyalty, Karyn said she looks forward to adding her signature hospitality to the national organisation.

An installation Mass will be held on February 10 at the North Perth Redemptorist Monastery at 2pm to celebrate the WA national council of CWLA.

For further information contact Maria Parkinson on: 9751 1936 or email: maria. parkinson@westnet.com.au

NFP answer

Anew study showing that 60 per cent of women with unplanned pregnancies were using contraception showed a pressing need to provide women with education on their own fertility rather than on pills and devices, the head of the Natural Family Planning Program said.

NFPP executive officer, Cheryl Curnow said the Marie Stopes International study confirmed what many women already knew - that artificial contraception is, in very many cases, failing to prevent unplanned pregnancies.

“This study confirms the lack of knowledge women have about their bodies, and education programs are urgently needed to reverse this situation,” Ms Curnow said.

“Every woman needs fertility education – to know when she is fertile, when she is not, what damages fertility and how she can protect it. This knowledge will enable couples to plan pregnancies and assist when they wish to conceive. It is information every woman and every couple should have.”

Ms Curnow said natural fertility control is evidence-based and reliable, effective and easy to learn. “The couple alone is in control of the outcome - there are no chemicals or devices to fail. It is a natural, healthy alternative in family planning.”

The Natural Family Planning Program teaches women and couples how to recognise their individual fertility cycle and to work with it in achieving or avoiding pregnancy.

“We welcome suggestions that the Federal Government fund a national sex education campaign, and we would urge it to focus many of those resources on teaching women the basic information about their own fertility,” Ms Curnow said.

Director of Natural Fertility Services in Perth, Derek Boylen said it was an unfortunate irony that in such a sex saturated culture couples often did not have a very sound understanding of how their sexuality and fertility worked. “This research came as no surprise,” he added.

If readers would like to know more about natural methods of family planning they can contact Natural Fertility Services on (08) 9223 1396, email: admin.nfs@aanet.com.au or visit www.acnfp.com.au .

Vincentians arrive to save the day

Continued from Page 1

of the parish while Camillian Fr Sean Bredin, who was also chaplain of Hollywood Hospital, stays until the end of the month before returning to Ireland. Of the other members of the Archdiocese’s current healthcare team, diocesan priest Fr Andre Nahhas is moving to Northam to assist Fr Andrew Bowron, whosedeacon Patrick Seatter is incapacitated after suffering a stroke.

Diocesan priest Fr Demetri Roh, sharing Charlie Gairdner Hospital chaplaincy duties with Fr Nahhas, will continue until the three new Vincentians arrive.

As their charism involves priest formation and training, Archbishop Hickey said he would love to have the Vincentians take on such a role in the Archdiocese in the future.

They have already held three ‘parish mission’ sessions that saw them preach at Dianella parish twice, Lockridge and Maddington, with a full house each time. Archbishop Hickey said that Shenton Park parishioners have already “grieved for some time” about the impending departure of the Camillians from the Archdiocese, which was “beyond our control”.

“We are grateful for the Vincentians, that they bear the name

of St Vincent de Paul, who is already a much-loved saint in the State with the Society of St Vincent de Paul enjoying a prominent profile in the Archdiocese and around Australia.”

The Archbishop said St Vincent de Paul was not just known for his genuine love of the poor but for starting seminaries and assisting in priestly formation. He did this in the belief that the good wrought by his established missions would not last unless there were priests to maintain them.

The Congregation of the Mission that he founded ran St Charles’ Seminary in Perth while Archbishop Hickey studied there.

Pastoral sharing: Southern Cross parish priest Fr Nishan De Saram chats with Dominican Fr Anthony Van Dyke about pastoral care of women at the forum at the Catholic Pastoral Centre last week.

PHOTO: ANTHONY BARICH

Women of strength: WA CWL members and national executive for the next two years, Barbara Paterniti (National vice President), Maria Parkinson (National Secretary), Anne Power (National vice President), Noelle Guidera (National Treasurer) and Karyn Kammann (National President).

the Parish

Now it’s Sr Patricia, AO

■ By Anthony Barich

AWest

John of God Sister working with indigenous Australians in Broome received the highest Australia Day honour.

Sr Patricia Mary Rhatigan was appointed an Officer (AO) of the Order of Australia for service to rural and remote education, particularly through activities supporting indigenous development and learning in the Kimberley region of WA, and through Catholic, governmental, educational and representational roles at State and national levels.

Sister Patricia entered the Kimberley Congregation of the Order of the Sisters of St John of God in 1958 and became Kimberley regional officer for the Catholic Education Office of WA in 1983. She said the honour also rewarded the work of the St John of God Sisters in the Kimberley who last year marked the 100th year since they started up at Beagle Bay Mission.

Within a year, two Sisters went to Broome with nothing in June 1908, when they gathered the first children and started St Mary’s School which is now St Mary’s College.

Last year the SJOG Sisters were honoured when asked by the Aboriginal Kullarri people, who represented Broome, the Dampier Peninsula north of Broome including Beagle Bay, Djarindjin community, Lombardina community, and One Arm Point community, plus Bidyadanga, south of Broome, to be the focus group for NAIDOC week, “which is special, considering we are a non-Aboriginal group”, said Sr Patricia, who was subsequently asked to be the Patron to represent the Sisters.

She has been a CEO State representative on the State Accreditation Committee for Training Courses for indigenous people working in schools; on the Priority Country Area Program of the Kimberley Education Committee; on the Aboriginal Affairs Regional Coordination Committee and on the Broome Learning Network Centre.

She was the founding chairperson of the CEO Language Team formed in 1985 and headed the Economics Department of Broome’s Nulungu Catholic College for seven years and was involved in the establishment and development of the college. Sr Rhatigan also taught at Holy Spirit School, Derby and at the

Beagle Bay and Lombardina Aboriginal Communities.

Another prominent Catholic in the WA community, Carl Torre, was honoured by the City of Perth at the Australia Day Citizenship Award Ceremony “for his ongoing commitment to the community of Northbridge”. Mr Torre is an active business operator whose family has had a presence in Northbridge since 1927. His citation said he is “a committed volunteer who has served on many community-based committees, including the significant role he played with the Rotary Club of Northbridge as a charter member and as its inaugural President, and through his lifelong and valuable involvement with St Brigid’s Church.

Queenslander Dr Kevin Treston received an OAM for service to Catholic education, having been a leadership program coordinator, consultant or lecturer in every diocese of Australia. Darwin-based Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Convent Sisters Elizabeth and Helen Mary Little, who are blood sisters, were awarded a Medal (OAM) of the Order of Australia. Also on this list were NSW-based Dominican Sister Helen Margaret Ryan from Warawee, while Queensland-based Christian Brother Barry James Buckley, from Indoorpilly, was appointed a Member (AM) of the Order of Australia.

Many hands beneath the surface of Caritas

For many WA parishioners, the annual Caritas Project Compassion drive is as much a part of Lent as fasting and contemplation.

But there are many hands that work behind the scenes to ensure that giving to the needy is as easy as possible.

One of 40 Caritas parish representatives across the state, George Key has been assisting the Lenten drive for over 10 years in his local parish of St Columba’s in Bayswater.

In 1998 he donated his time to the cause when long-time volunteer, Colin Hawkins retired from the position at his local church. George said he saw a need within his parish community to facilitate almsgiving during the Lenten season.

“Along with fasting and prayerful contemplation on our redemption, almsgiving is an essential part of our Lenten preparation,” he said.

Of his long-time involvement, George said he enjoyed helping those interested in his parish to make a difference in the lives of others.

“I like to see how we go from year to year, whether we gave more than previously and what we can do to help those in need,” he said.

But that is not the only reason George is so committed to his voluntary role.

“It is an easy way to be part of a good cause and the faith my fellow parishioners and I receive during each Lenten season is enhanced through our support of Caritas,” said George.

He added that getting everyone involved is always a challenge. “St Columba’s role in assisting those living in poverty or under oppression, is relatively small, but combined with other parishes, our support gives hope to those who need it and lets them know that others care about them,” he said.

Caritas Australia’s diocesan director in Perth, Ann Fairhead acknowledged that there was a lot of hard work involved in running the annual appeal, but that many hands made the work-load easier.

“Some of the most important people in the Project Compassion team are our parish representatives,” she said.

“These are usually parishioners who have volunteered to help run Project Compassion in their respective parishes,” she said, adding that each year, long before others have Lent in sight, many dedicated parish representatives have their “Project Compassion caps” on.

The Project Compassion appeal was launched in the Perth diocese on February 2, and continues throughout the six weeks of Lent.

For further information on the work of Caritas or Project Compassion call: 9422 7925 or email: perth@caritas.org.au.

Ready to go: Parish representatives, George Key from Bayswater, diocesan director, Ann Fairhead, Len Waldock from North Perth and Arthur Bruce from Maddington.

PHOTO: SYLVIA DEFENDI.

Honoured: St John of God Sister Patricia Rhatigan accepts her Australia Day honour, being awarded an Officer (AO) of the Order of Australia for service to rural and remote education, among other things.

PHOTO: COURTESY OF SJOG SISTERS

the Nation

Bishops approve body Pro-lifers hail Juno

The new Australian Association of Catholic Bioethicists achieved a solid basis of membership among the medical and legal professions after its inaugural meeting in Melbourne last week.

■ By Paul Gray

The new Australian Association of Catholic Bioethicists has been established by the National Assembly of the Order of Malta, with the approval of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference.

It aims to provide resources and the opportunity for high-level discussion amongst state-based bioethical experts and bioethics centres.

Dr Nicholas Tonti-Filippini, senior lecturer in bioethics at the John Paul II Institute in Melbourne, described the inaugural gathering of the Association as highly successful.

A highlight was the lively discussion around pro-life issues sparked by the presentation to the public forum on the first day of the meeting by the Bishop of Townsville, Michael Putney.

Bishop Putney addressed the topic “The Mission of the Church on Life Matters in Contemporary Australian Society.”

After the meeting, Bishop Putney

told The Record his concern was to explore how the Church can communicate with the world on life issues in what Pope Benedict has called this age of relativism.

“I explored how in our culture it is very important to talk in the right voice.” We need to speak with the kind of voices that can be heard by the secular world, the bishop said.

Asked is this an area in which the Church is challenged today, Bishop Putney said it was. “We haven’t found our voice yet,” he said.

One of the major problems in the area of pro-life ethics is that secular society misunderstands the religious voice, Bishop Putney argued. Often when secular-minded people hear a religious message, “they think because it’s religious, it’s depressive.

“We know our message is not dark and depressing but we have to avoid feeding their prejudices on this,” he said.

In his presentation to the bioethics gathering, Bishop Putney explored a British study from the journal Theos which addresses the question of how can people talk about God in the public square today.

A number of leading Christian figures had contributed to this study, which advocates the use of “public reason” by Christians when they attempt to communicate with the world.

“We must be able to reason in the public square and we must use the language of public discourse.”

However this immediately raises the dangerous temptation not to talk about God at all. “We must always talk about God,” Bishop

Putney said. The bishop described the gathering in Melbourne as very engaged. He said he was impressed by the work of the Knights of Malta in establishing the national association.

Bishop Putney light-heartedly described himself as an “educated layman” on bioethics. He has previously had extensive involvement in the stewardship of Catholic Health Australia.

He said the vital role of a group like the Australian Association of Catholic Bioethicists is to lend authority to what the Church is saying in this area.

“They have to keep meeting and supporting each other,” he said of the new group, “so they can resource the Australian Church.

“They are the voice of the academy. The voice of the academy is not necessarily the voice the bishops will use in this area, but the bishops must know the voice of the academy. Without it, we’re powerless.”

The general title of the fourday gathering in Melbourne was “Conscience in Professional Life.”

A further highlight of the meeting was personal talk presented by Rev Dr Michael Tate, the parish priest of Sandy Bay in Tasmania.

Fr Tate is a former high-ranking politician who participated, as a Cabinet Minister, in the Federal Government’s decision to commit Australia to the Persian Gulf War in 1990-91.

At the bioethics gathering, Fr Tate reflected on his personal beliefs about just war theory and the morality of war, and how he dealt with those questions at the time of the first Gulf War.

An Oscar-nominated movie about a pregnant teenager who decides not to abort her baby has been welcomed, with some reservations, by Australian Catholics working in the pro-life area.

The Canadian-American comedy Juno is written by a young feminist, Diablo Cody, and stars Ellen Page as a pregnant teen who visits an abortion clinic but then chooses to have her baby and give it up for adoption.

The movie is set to have a bigger cultural impact around the world after receiving four Academy Award nominations late in January, including a nomination for Best Picture.

The executive officer of the Respect Life Office of Perth, Bronia Karniewicz, says while Juno would not be everybody’s cup of tea, and features a lot of swearing, it nevertheless comes as a “breath of fresh air” because of its themes.

She said it was a relief to find movies being made which show there are consequences to sexual activity, since so many Hollywood movies over the years have shown sex as something entirely casual. Other recent films which have also shown women keeping their babies after an unplanned pregnancy, despite the hardships the decision brings, include Waitress, Knocked Up and Bella

Ms Karniewicz said that while the swearing in Juno would put some people off, she found the movie’s characters likeable. According to American media reports, the writer of Juno, Diablo Cody, has said she did not want to push an anti-abortion perspective. One profile described her as “pro-choice.” Ms Karniewicz said she believes the intention of the movie’s writer was to create a teenage character with strength and substance, which she has achieved by creating the character of 16-year-old Juno.

Not all other staff working in Respect Life Offices around

Australia had yet seen the film when contacted by The Record, but all were aware of it.

The Respect Life Offices in Sydney and Melbourne said the movie was of interest to many people in contact with them. Some reported that while the movie projected a welcome message about the value of unborn life, other features of the film were less admirable.

Claire Anthony, who is the publicity and promotions manager for the Australian Catholic Students Association, said she had mixed emotions after seeing the movie.

She said the film had genuinely moved her and she left the cinema with a smile on her face. She said the film’s main charater is a teenager who shows real integrity by making the choice for adoption rather than abortion. She’s an example of a teenager who wants to make a decision that she regards as right.

Ms Anthony admired the fact that while the character’s friends encourage her to abort the child, Juno resists this pressure. “She is able to realise the gift of life and how precious it is,” Ms Anthony said.

On balance, Ms Anthony says she thinks the movie is a good one for teenagers to see. However she would not describe the movie’s character as heroic.

Ms Anthony said some negative messages appear subliminally in the film. These include an easy attitude towards pre-marital sexual activity and towards divorce, as well as some swearing. However she says that judging it from the point of view of the non-Christian moviegoer today, Juno is a welcome development.

“So many women today simply panic when they get pregnant and rush to get an abortion. However Juno stopped to think about it.” “Someone who is not a Christian might be affected in a positive way by this movie, by thinking that life is precious,” she says.

PRINCIPALSHIP

OUR LADY OF MERCY PRIMARY SCHOOL, GIRRAWHEEN

Our Lady of Mercy is a co-educational double stream school with a current enrolment of 340 students from Kindergarten to Year 7. The school was founded in 1975 by the Sisters of Mercy.

The school is a thriving, multicultural community with specialist teachers in Information Communication Technology, Music and Movement, Physical Education, LOTE (Italian), Educational Support and Library. The School Board and Parents and Friends’ Association work closely to continue building a strong community spirit. The parish and school enjoy a close, harmonious and effective relationship.

The successful applicant will be expected to take up this position at the commencement of Term 2, 2008.

Applicants need to be practising Catholics and experienced educators committed to the objectives and ethos of Catholic education. They will have the requisite theological, educational, pastoral and administrative competencies, together with an appropriate four year minimum tertiary qualification, and will have completed Accreditation for Leadership of the Religious Education Area or its equivalent. A current WACOT registration number must also be included. The official application form, referee assessment forms and instructions can be accessed on the Catholic Education Office website www.ceo.wa.edu.au

Enquiries regarding the position should be directed to Helen Brennan, Consultant, Workforce Relations & Development Team on 6380 5237 or email sch.personnel@ceo.wa.edu.au

All applications, on the official form, should reach The Director, Catholic Education, Catholic Education Office of WA, PO Box 198, Leederville 6903 no later than 14 February 2008.

the Nation

Revelation can mean revolution

Former Federal Minister tells of how the Gospel transformed him.

Distinguished professor of law Fr Michael Tate has told the Australian Association of Catholic Bioethicists of his personal ethical struggle supporting just war as a former Federal Minister.

Fr Tate, the former Federal Minister for Justice during the Hawke Labor government and now Sandy Bay parish priest in Tasmania, spoke on the topic “Conscience and the Waging of War: a Personal Odyssey.”

Fr Tate described his personal journey through questions relating to the waging of war, starting from his time in cadets at a Catholic school in Hobart, where “no questions were asked.”

In the 1960s he went to Oxford

University where, he says, a process of awakening began. He said two factors co-incided at this time. One was his translation of Matthew 5: 43-48 - the passage at the end of the Sermon on the Mount.

“I found that revelation can mean revolution in one’s social and political outlook,” Fr Tate said. “I was convinced that our Lord required his followers to renounce all violence.”

The second factor was that he “became a devotee of Martin Luther King, who changed American society by non-violence.”

King, says Fr Tate, “became my hero-martyr. I hung his picture above my desk.”

After Oxford, Fr Tate returned to Tasmania where he taught at Law School during the time of the Vietnam War. Some of his students were subject to conscription for the army at this time.

He then decided to enter politics.

The Papal Facebook initiative

■ By Anthony Barich

Want to be personal friends with the Pope?

West Australians have the chance to become

In late 1977, he won a Senate seat for the Labor Party. During his maiden speech to parliament, he advocated a change to the law relating to conscientious objection.

“But in early 1991, my happy state as a Christian pacifist was shattered when Prime Minister Bob Hawke committed frigates to the Gulf War against Saddam Hussein,” he said.

“The Senate was to vote on the issue the following week.

“I spent an agonising weekend in turmoil. I ticked off the conditions for a just war, and I voted for the commitment. This was reasonable, and in harmony with Catholic teaching, but my heart broke. I turned the photo of Martin Luther King to the wall, and couldn’t bear opening Chapter Five of St Matthew.”

Fr Tate said what he could not have known was that at the same time, another man was wrestling with the same questions of Christian

‘virtual’ friends with Pope Benedict XVI and evangelise at the same time by joining The Papal Facebook Initiative on the massively popular networking website.

Since June 2007, 17,000 members have joined the group that, like others on the website, seeks to unite people of common interests around the world. Only this one is different: when 1 million members are reached, those who started it will send a petition to

discipleship and waging war. It was John Paul II who said “there are, in fact, situations in which the values proposed by God’s Law seem to involve a genuine paradox.”

Fr Tate says reading this passage – article 55.1 of John Paul II’s encyclical Evangelium Vitae – one is struck by the transparent anguish of the Pope in finding the correct path when it comes to legitimate defence. As Pope John Paul said, the principles involved “are difficult to reconcile in practice.” In the previous several years, the Catechism of the Catholic Church had dealt with the same issues, but also required addenda to be published, such is the difficulty of grappling with these questions, Fr Tate said.

US moral theologian Germain Grisez has described the recent Catholic struggles over war as being “like the development by which Christians came to recognise slavery as being unjust in all situations,

the Pope to start his own Facebook page, enabling millions of Catholics around the globe to encounter the Pontiff in a whole new way.

This page, if started, will also provide an opportunity for catechesis and formation on an intellectual, spiritual or human basis. The group can be found by logging onto www. facebook.com and typing in “Papal Facebook Initiative” in the site’s search engine. Other

even though for many centuries it was widely morally acceptable.”

Fr Tate says that in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the call is made for equitable provision for the treatment of conscientious objectors. “After 14 years struggle in 1992 the Government agreed to amendments to the Defence Act so that should conscription be reintroduced, conscientious objection to a particular war will be recognised.

“I re-hung the photo of Martin Luther King on my desk but still can’t open the passage from Matthew 5. If I come across it, it stabs me to the heart.

“My only consolation is, if this is my personal odyssey, it is also the odyssey of the Church in our time – an odyssey whose goal is our Lord’s gift of peace.”

Many distinguished people were in the audience for Fr Tate’s presentation, including the Archbishop of Melbourne, Denis Hart.

networking ‘groups’ on the Facebook website started by active Catholics include, “You might be a hardcore Catholic if…”, a Pope Benedict XVI fanclub, Six30 with CYM, Christopher West Huge Fanclub, Embrace the Grace 2007, “Theology of the Body - JPII Generation, and Perth’s World Youth Day Office also has a Facebook page, giving interested people a networking opportunity in which to share their beliefs.

The search for Truth

In our renewed life of prayer during Lent, it is important for all of us to pray for those who are far from God – atheists, agnostics, those who have not heard of God and those who have given up the hope of finding Him. As Pope Benedict said during his audience last week, those who are far from God are far from themselves – and that is an unpleasant place to be.

Pope Benedict drew on the experience and writing of St Augustine – and The Record now draws on the Pope’s talk to present the same subject, a subject that is of great importance to all of us, personally and as a society.

’The catechesis is dedicated to the subjects of faith and reason, which are the defining themes of St Augustine’s biography. As a child he learned the Catholic faith from his mother Monica. As an adolescent he abandoned the faith because he could not see how it could be reasoned out and did not want a religion that was not also for him an expression of reason - that is to say, truth. His thirst for truth was radical and led him away from the Catholic faith. He was not satisfied with philosophies that did not reach truth itself, and that did not reach God - not a God as a last cosmological hypothesis, but the true God, God who gives life and joins our very lives.

The intellectual and spiritual itinerary of St Augustine is also a valid model for today in the relationship between faith and reason, a topic not only for faithful individuals, but for every person who seeks the truth, a central theme for the equilibrium and destiny of every human being.

These two dimensions, faith and reason, should not be separated or opposed, but rather go forward together. As Augustine himself wrote after his conversion, faith and reason are “the two forces that lead us to knowledge”.

To this end the two famous Augustinian formulas express this coherent synthesis between faith and reason: “I believe in order to understand” - faith opens the way to step through the door of truth - but also, and inseparably, “I understand in order to believe” - in order to find God and believe, you must scrutinise truth.

The two assertions of St Augustine express the synthesis of this problem in which the Catholic Church sees its own approach expressed with depth and immediacy. Historically speaking, this synthesis was formed even before the coming of Christ, with the coming together of the Jewish faith and Greek thought in Hellenistic Judaism. Subsequently, this synthesis was taken up again and developed by many Christian thinkers.

The harmony between faith and reason means above all that God is not far away; he is not far from our reasoning or from our lives; he is close to every human being, close to our hearts and close to our reason if we truly follow his path.

It is this closeness of God to man that Augustine experienced with extraordinary force. The presence of God in man is deep and at the same time mysterious. It can be discovered and recognised deep down in oneself: Don’t look outside of yourself, says the converted one, “but go back into yourself - truth resides in the interior man, and if you find that your nature is changeable, transcend yourself. But remember, when you transcend yourself, that you transcend a soul which reasons. Then reach beyond - to where the light of reason is lit”. He emphasises this with a wellknown assertion at the beginning of the “Confessions,” a spiritual autobiography written in the praise of God: “You made

us for you, and our heart is restless until it rests in you”.

Distance from God means distance from oneself. Addressing his words directly to God he acknowledges: “You are more intimately present to me than my inmost being and higher than the highest element in me,” so that, he adds in another passage remembering the time preceding his conversion, “you were in front of me, but I, instead, had gone far from myself and could not find myself again, and even less could I find you again”.

Because Augustine personally experienced this intellectual and spiritual journey, he managed to convey it in his writings with depth and wisdom; in another two famous passages of the “Confessions” he acknowledged that man is “a great enigma” and “a deep abyss” an enigma and an abyss that Christ alone enlightens and saves.

This is important: A man who is distant from God is also distant from himself. Estranged from himself, he can find himself only by meeting God. This path leads to himself, to his true self and identity.

Augustine underlines the fact that the human being is by nature a social animal, but antisocial in his vices.

Man is saved by Christ, the only mediator between God and humanity, and as repeated by my predecessor John Paul II (“Augustinium Hipponensem,” 21), he is “the universal path to freedom and salvation.”

In the same text, Augustine affirms that “no one has ever found freedom or will ever find freedom” other than by following this path which has always been accessible to man. Christ, as the only route to salvation, is head of the Church and inscrutably united with it. Augustine affirms, “We have become Christ. In fact, if he is the head of man and we are the body, together we make up the whole”.

People of God and house of God: The Church in the Augustinian vision is closely associated with the concept of the Body of Christ, based on the Christological rereading of the Old Testament and on the sacramental life centred on the Eucharist, in which the Lord gives us his Body and transforms us in his Body.

It is essential that the Church - people of God in the Christological and not sociological sense - be really placed in Christ, who “prays for us, prays in us, is prayed to by us,” as Augustine affirms beautifully on the written page: “He prays for us as our priest, he prays in us as our chief, he is prayed to by us as our God: so we recognise in him our voice, and in ours, his”.

In the conclusion of the apostolic letter “Augustinum Hipponensem,” John Paul II asked St Augustine what he would say to the men of today, and he answers with the words that Augustine dictated in a letter shortly after his conversion: “It seems to me that men have to be guided toward the hope of finding the truth”. That truth is Christ himself, true God, to whom is dedicated one the most beautiful and famous prayers of the Confessions:

“Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new, late have I loved you! You were within me, but I was outside, and it was there that I searched for you.

So Augustine found God, and throughout his life experienced God to the point that this reality - which was above all an encounter with a person, Jesus Christchanged his life, just as it changed the lives of so many men and women who have had the grace to meet him.

Let us pray that God grants us this favour and in so doing allows us to find his peace.

No to Nicole!

Iagree with the recent letter about Nicole Kidman and was also disappointed that The Record, an interesting Catholic weekly, would have devoted any space to such an interview.

I have no wish to denigrate that sweetfaced young woman but am concerned that as she is undoubtedly a popular, successful actress, she could well be shown as a role model for our young people. The media (secular) is certainly doing their best in that area.

It is obvious from the publicity and content of her films and her own honest, revealing remarks, both to friends and now of the Record, that her knowledge of Catholic teaching and morality is sadly lacking. One of the first Hollywood films in which she “starred” was about seducing an 11 year-old boy. She told her friends not to let their children view any of her subsequent films but that it was OK for them to see “The Golden Compass”. Which Christian reviews have advised against. Her main (to say the least) remark saying that all that is necessary is to know the difference between good and bad sounds hopeful but apparently to practise the good and avoid the bad seems to have escaped her.

Actually, I feel rather sad about this lovely young woman and have no doubt that her parents, as she says, are staunch Catholics. I can only wish that the Record will do a bit more research and come up with something better to uplift and inspire the young as they do so often on many of their papers.

M Proudfoot-Walsh East Perth

of hatred for the Novus Ordo Mass.

7. The TM is just a creation of the sixteenth century.

The truth is that many people would like to have the option of attending a TM. Could we see a reply to the above? Perhaps by Fr Rowe of St John’s pro-cathedral?

Parents right

IPO Box 75 Leederville, WA 6902

cathrec@iinet.net.au

Tel: (08) 9227 7080

Fax: (08) 9227 7087

Give it a try

Ifind it curious that when it becomes even faintly possible that we might again hear the Tridentine Mass in our parishes occasionally, someone like Fr Symondosn SJ jumps in and tells us how bad it is (Record 23/1).

He gives the following objections.

1. Most Catholics aren’t interested and the Tridentine Mass (TM) is being promoted be a tiny group of “militants”.

2. The Novus Ordo is after all the official Catholic Mass.

3. Priests have to have a really good knowledge of Latin to say the TM.

4. Priests find it uncomfortable to pray this alien Mass.

5. Some young people want the TM but that is just a youthful fad.

6. Some people want the TM simply out

Peter Gilet.

n response to Fr Pat Rooney’s letter

(Record 23 January 2008).

The Record newspaper almost continually presents ‘official’ Catholic education in a positive light, then one article appears making homeschoolers feel good about themselves and Fr Pat Rooney puts the boot in to a relatively small (but growing) group of committed Catholics many of whom most certainly pull their weight at the local parish level without sending their children to the local Catholic school.

Even the headline of the letter (‘Raising homeschooling profile sells official Catholic education short’) gives the wrong impression that education in an ‘official’ Catholic school is the only way to educate Catholic children; it’s not.

As primary educators of their children, “Catholic parents have the right to choose a school for them which corresponds to their own convictions” (CCC 2229).

The following Catholic groupings are all numerically superior to Catholic homeschoolers yet seem to have completely missed the criticism levelled by Fr Pat: The majority of Catholics who don’t actually attend Catholic schools; Parents from the country who send their children to boarding school rather than supporting their local country school; Parents who do send their children to ‘official’ Catholic schools but are only rarely seen at the parish church; And, Catholic parents who send their children to non-Catholic Christian schools.

Committed Catholics are finding many different ways of dealing with the current crisis in the Church and in Catholic education. One option is to educate Catholic children at home. Gone are the days when the majority of students in an ‘official’ Catholic school are practising Catholics. Times have changed; so has the response of many Catholic parents. The atmosphere in ‘official’ Catholic education is often not conducive to the development of authentic Catholicism. What would the devout Catholic student be pulling together with in a Catholic school these days? Possibly teachers who dissent from key Church teachings and the majority of students who don’t practise their faith.

The statistics prove my point: the majority of ‘official’ Catholic school students don’t practise their faith; the majority of Catholic homeschoolers do. Some Catholic homeschoolers are passionate about the religious dimension; others are Catholics who happen to homeschool because of the dumbing down in education generally. A significant percentage of homeschooling parents are people who actually teach in the ‘official’ Catholic system; these people are giving the best years of their working lives to the Catholic education of other Catholics’ children so they could hardly be accused of not ‘pulling their weight’.

They might throw themselves into the ‘official’ Catholic system as a teacher for the good of the whole body, but they won’t surrender their children to it.

We can be bonded together by the Holy Spirit in the Body of Christ and still choose to educate our children at home. Times have changed; but one thing that hasn’t is that parents still want the best for their children. Sadly ‘official’ Catholic education is not necessarily the best for many parents these days.

Mrs T E Kelly Success

Vista

Finding the Church

Mark Piggott

Iwas an atheist. Then I tried all different forms of Christianity before Catholicism. None seemed to have a single authority on morality. The Catholic Church said, “We have authority” and that drew me to it. I was baptized at All Saints Parish, Greenwood at Easter last year. My sponsor was Gerard Coyte.

How I Pray

with Debbie Warrier

I never learnt to pray because I didn’t come from a Christian background. My prayer is more contemplative. I meditate on aspects of the faith like: the Trinity, the Church, the sacraments or the exposition. I try to get to weekday Masses as well as Sunday Mass. I pray whenever I have a spare moment, like when I’m commuting to University on the bus or train. If ever I have a lapse in my faith I just think about the reasons why I joined the Church.

I’m a Catholic first and that’s how I define myself. Society holds up individualism as the prime authority. The secular belief is, “Whatever I say goes.” My mates still lead a secular lifestyle. I believe there is an authority that exists outside of us. We can use it when we hear conflicting opinions on issues like pro-life or pre-marital sex.

My conversion began when I had just finished my TEE in Year 12. I didn’t put any effort into it. I’d been doing drugs, drinking alcohol and had girlfriend problems. I got a really ordinary TEE score, not enough to get me into any university or TAFE.

Everything fell apart. I didn’t have any direction in life. I started reading the bible and quickly realised that I wouldn’t be able to understand it on my own. I turned to other denominations but only the Catholic Church is able to defend itself with truth and history.

I think that Pope John Paul II was a great role model. You’ve always got to look to the Pope, whoever the Pope is. I look to Pope Benedict as a role model. He is conservative. He’s bringing back things that people might say that Pope John Paul II compromised on.

Some of things that Pope John Paul II said might have led people to believe that all faiths are the same. I like the present pope because instead of just thinking it, he is telling everyone about what Catholics believe. [Other role models] are the saints. Just reading their stories is pretty awesome.

I am 20 years old. I repeated Year 12 at Tuart College. Now I study Theology and Sociology as a second major at Murdoch University. I plan to do social work next year. My sister isn’t Christian but I’m working on it!

My parents wanted me to make up my own mind regarding religion and didn’t raise me to have a particular faith. Without my faith I think I would still be lost in a sea of secularism and feel alienated.

Even if you have a sense of direction as far as your career goes, you still have to have direction on how your life goes. Without faith I would be a lot less confident. I think we are designed to be social beings and part of a group. We lose purpose if we are not part of a shared value system. If you believe in a continued existence you have hope

New Hope New Hope Vincentians ar rive arrive

■ by Anthony Barich

The phenomenal conversion rate of the Vincentian Congregation proves that the obstacles of this world will not inhibit the Spirit. Australia can learn lessons on how passion for the Word can bring about an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, no matter what.

Of India’s population of 1.13 billion, roughly two per cent are Christians. While that’s still a sizable chunk (and 70 per cent of the 24 million Christians are Roman Catholics) the centuries-old cultural restrictions and biases are proving no obstacle for the Holy Spirit to do His thing: changing hearts.

In some states it is actually against the law for Catholic missions to convert, and if Hindus – who are in the vast majority – convert of their own free will it can be interpreted as subversion and they can be

A Capuchin Franciscan examines what has gone wrong with Religious life, and where it can regain its rightful place in society.

■ By Father Benedict Groeschel CFR

It was a truism - universally accepted until the last decades of the twentieth century - that wherever the Catholic Church was present, there would be representatives of the religious life; communities of vowed men and women living a frugal common life, praying and working together in Christian service, and offering a witness to the kingdom of God.

In better days

Similar religious communities existed in smaller numbers in the Orthodox churches. Even today, many older people were taught, guided and cared for by an impressive army of religious sisters, brothers and priests. They numbered at least three hundred thousand in the United States on the eve of the Second Vatican Council, and their ranks were swelling. From Trappists to Jesuits, from cloistered Carmelites to Sisters of Charity, the religious could be found everywhere, celebrating the liturgy and common prayer, and frequently serving those with personal needs, especially the poor and the sick.

Widespread collapse

Most of these communities are now in a state of collapse, with the average age of members in the upper 70s, and no recruits in sight. My own experience offers a sad example.

In 1951 I entered the Capuchin province of Detroit, which had almost seven hundred friars. The Capuchins were the fourth largest religious order of men in the Church. They had produced such examples of sanctity in our time as Padre Pio, now declared a saint. There were almost 150 friars in formation in the Detroit province when I joined. Today, the province has fewer than a dozen men in formation.

Against the decline, one has to set the number of new communities that have appeared in recent years, made up of deeply dedicated men and women who are part of what has come to be known as the John Paul II generation. I belong now to a reform movement, founded by eight Capuchins and known as the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal. We currently have 115 friars and some 25 sisters. Because I was the first servant, or superior, of our community, many people ask me, “What

Religious Life - the tran Religious - the tran

are you doing to thrive in a wasteland?”

Occasssionally someone inquires “What can we do to see religious life return?” I have thought much about these questions. I had been a friar for two decades when I came across some work in psychological anthropology that made me suspect religious life was beginning to go in the wrong direction. Serious cracks were already appearing in the structures and attitudes of many religious communities, even the largest and most respected. I was mesmerised by some of the anthropoligical components of religious life which seem to have gone unrecognised in the endeless discussion on how to make orders more relevant.

Liminality

An important, but frequently overlooked variable of religious life, which is older and wider than Christianity itself, is a quality known as Liminality the state of being an outsider to the establishment of any society, even one with strong religious characteristics and values. Liminality derives from the Latin word limen (which means threshold or edge) and refers in this case to people who live beyond the accepted norms of the establishment. Obviously, chastity, poverty, and obedience to a spiritual master or superior take a person out of any establishment where family life and inheritance are the norm. Such people as St Benedict, St Francis, and in our own time, Mother Teresa of Calcutta are obvious examples of liminal personalities.

Liminal people stand in sharp contrast even to virtuous members of the establishment. This dichotomy is not a bad thing, although there must always be a degree of liminality in any follower of Christ. But anyone familiar with religious life at the time of its collapse knows that liminality was almost entirely lost and remains lost, except for the new communities and few older ones that have remarkably held the line. If we ask, “What could have gone so wrong and caused such a decline in religious life?” We realiise that this is a dull tale extending over a period of more than forty years. Yet it comes as no surprise to anyone who knows church history and understands anthropology. You cannot go against the laws of human nature reflected in psychological anthropology even laws such as liminality that apply only to the select few without disastrous results. The current tampering with family life and marriage is another example of foolish intervention into the laws of anthropology.

Such endeavours are like trying to grow figs from thistles. The collapse of the large religious orders of men and women in the Church can be attributed to a variety of fac-

tors that coalesced at the same time. Religious life was drawn into the same cultural revolution that undermined study life and higher education in the late 1960s. Unfortunately, the Catholic religious, who had been taught not to think for themselves, followed like sheep. Many of the most strident voices, which demanded the removal of the foundations of religious life, departed after eviscerating the life and constitutions of their communities. Those who sincerely attempted to lead a spiritual life found themselves with little effective leadership.

Seriously Silly

I once heard a well meaning and well educated sister of a respected teaching order tearfully observe at a seminar, “We did what we were told to do”. The obvious question “Who told you” must be asked. Christian religious are called, without exception, to lead a Gospel life and follow the scriptures and traditions of the fathers, the Church and the saints. These sources, which were always there, were almost completely ignored. Instead many shaky theories of psychology, most of them now gone over the waterfall of time, ‘were substituted for the Gospel and the sacred teaching. Alien and awkward things were introduced into the spiritual life, some of them borrowed from misunderstood Asian traditions. We only have to look at the offerings of retreat houses run by some religious congregations to discover how silly people intending to be serious become.

Psychotherapy and Pelagianism

Along with this came the impact of phychotherapy, which as a result of the discoveries of Sigmund Freud focused almost entirely on undoing what were seen as repressive mechanisms in the personality. Contemporary positive psychology has rejected the general intellectual and emotional bankruptcy of this position. As one founder of positive psychology, Aaron Beck, has pointed out, there was an almost complete lack of common sense in psychotherapy from the 1940s to the 1980s. The necessity of grace for the spiritual life was also ignored. Semi-pelagianism, or even fullblown Pelagianism, practically denying the necessity of grace, was observable on all sides. Thus, for example, the widespread popularity of the therapy and Pelagian assumptions of Carl Rogers, practically wiped out a large and respected congregation in California in a single summer.

Scriptural scepticism

On top of this, the two major underpinnings of Catholic Religious life were seriously weakened in their presentation. The first was

the credibility of Sacred Scripture. The rules of many Religious orders say explicitly that they are founded on the Gospel. As a result of sceptical and rationalistic criticism of the New Testament, the scriptural foundation of Religious life was undercut. The rule of life of the Franciscan Order, for example, is to observe the Gospel - but if the popular scholars are telling us that Jesus didn’t do this, didn’t say that, what are we to do?

Collapse of Liturgical life

There was also what Pope Benedict XVI has referred to as the “collapse” of liturgical life. The intellectually and spiritually impressive liturgical movement that was growing in the United States after the Second World War - a movement founded on insights cultivated in the Benedictine abbeys - gave way to a misunderstanding of the liturgy as primarily entertainment. As Religious communities across America, liturgical communities were suddenly filled with people who had never studied anything of substance about the Church’s liturgy. Eminent liturgical writers such as Romano Guardini and Louis Bouyer deplored this debasing of the liturgy.

In addition, a general theological confusion prevailed in the 1970s and 1980s, undisciplined and unrestrained in nature, which deeply penetrated Religious communities and seminaries. I am well aware of it because I was

Australia already has the seeds for its salvation, says Vincentian SG

charged. Yet the Vincentian Congregation, founded by Fr Varkey Kattarath (of venerable memory) in 1904 under the inspiration of St Vincent de Paul, are still baptising up to 300 people annually per region in up to five regions – many of them Hindus.

Their charism involves Ministry of the Word, training of future priests, parish ministry, ministry to the poor and ministry to children.

The Vincentians’ Superior General Fr Varghese Puthussery told The Record last week that Indians generally appreciate the religious value in such a Congregation’s work, even if it’s not Hindu or Muslim.

He says that as they work with the poor in India, “a Religious person is respected for his beliefs”. “We are happy with what we are doing, and the Lord is rewarding us with results.”

Catholic missionaries find solidarity with Muslims because they are both in the minority compared to Hindus, whose caste system relegates some types of people to subhuman status. The Vincentians have just arrived in Australia and have set up their first Congregational House at the Shenton Park presbytery where they will base their operations, which for now consist of healthcare ministry but will expand into parish mission work and priestly formation and training. Knowing that their charism is steeped in priestly formation, as St Vincent de Paul was known for starting seminaries as well as his love for serving the poor who he regarded as his masters, Archbishop Barry Hickey told The Record last week that he would love to see the Vincentians carry out this part of their charism in his Archdiocese.

Apathy may be the biggest of many obstacles they may face when evan-

gelising in Australia, a country that Pope Benedict XVI has described as being “spiritually moribund”. But Fr Puthussery, in town last week to sign the Decree of Acceptance of his Order into the Archdiocese of Perth, believes Australia is not beyond redemption. In fact, he says the Vincentians wanted to form a base in Australia as they were getting so many requests over the past 12 years from Australians who have visited their retreat centres in India and invited their priests back here to preach in our congregations.

“We see that there is a challenge (evangelising Australia), but we know that when we do the Lord’s work it will be rewarded; and Australia is blessed with faith that is already established there, so people have that faith tradition,” he said.

While some adaptation is to be done as they perform their missionary work in Australia, “the tenets of faith will be the same, like preach-

ing and explaining the Word of God to the people, and prompting them to live by the Word. Already he has seen signs of life in the Church in Australia which they can build on. Catholics from Singapore, Malaysia, China, Korea and other countries join Australian pilgrims seeking spiritual nourishment at the Vincentians’ retreat centres, and are so inspired they ask their priests back to their countries to preach to their local congregations.

Fr Puthussery sees evidence of Australians’ willingness to put their faith into action and their willingness to find salvation in the number of Australians who visit his retreat and mission centres in India and the number of Catholics who line up for confession before Eucharistic celebrations when they have visited Sydney and Melbourne.

When discussing the shortage of vocations and decreasing number of priests in many Australian dioceses,

Fr Puthussey says, “it goes in cycles.

If Australia is not having vocations now, the time will come when it will. “Many Australians come to India to work in the missions, so we are only happy to return the favour and look for vocations in Australia.” He is confident World Youth Day in Sydney will generate a spark for young people to realise their baptisimal vocation, as he has seen interest in the Church surge in Germany since the last WYD in Cologne.

“We opened a centre in Berlin a couple of years back, and already there is a change in the quantity and quality of people coming to churches; and there is a higher demand for our ministry as our priests go out to parishes,” Fr Puthussery says.

“So there is already a movement taking place, and I’m sure the same thing will happen in Australia. We have seen that slowly happening in our parish mission visits to Sydney and Melbourne.”

Devoted: Franciscan friars and theology students pray Jerusalem’s Old City in 2003, the day of the first of the US-l called by their minister general to fast and pray in oppo unbridled thirst for power.

nscendent and the human nscendent and

thrown out of four seminaries during those years for the offence of being a Catholic, even though I was only teaching pastoral counselling. This period of confusion has largely come to an end and is roundly rejected by today’s young candidates for Religious life or priesthood.

Marxism in Religious life

Finally, strange as it may seem, the ideas of Marxism suddenly began to appear in Religious communities during this era. I spoke to someone a few years ago who had attended the more avantgarde meetings of Religious Sisters. I asked what the main topic of conversation was. I was flabbergasted when I was told that it was the teaching of Friedrich Engels! (Poor Engels never thought that the last people to take him seriously would be Catholic nuns who had gone off the rails...)

Return to the Founder’s ideals

Religious life will either reform or disappear. The more interesting phenomenon is the creation of new communities largely out of the ruins of older ones - more interesting because it means that an entirely new approach to Religious life is not necessary or even desirable. Instead, new communities can be built on the foundations of older ones by taking rejected traditions (valid ones) and bringing them back to life. It also means that a return to the ideals of an Order’s founder can prove the difference between survival and extinction. One example of a thriving new community that is both original and traditional

is Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity. Most others, like my own, grow out of the past.

Any hope?

Is there any hope for the older communities that are now in a state of collapse? There are so many of these that a statistical probability suggests that only a few will regain their purpose and experience new life. But, so far, there is no obvious example of a community that, having gone into severe decline, later underwent a reform allowing it to regain vitality. The few thriving older communities never lost their identity. It is wonderful to hope that out of chaos and debris, some voices may be raised that will preserve some of the older communities. My own community experienced considerable resistance when we first attempted to reform within the jurisdiction of the Capuchin Order. There seems to be more openness now to possible reform.

Avoid past mistakes

In particular, the new communities must be careful not to make the same mistakes as the older ones. They must teach and encourage people to think for themselves without being disobedient. They must try to discuss and find a consensus within the community concerning what they do. Otherwise there will be return to a widespread resentment that characterised religious both on the eve of the Vatican 11 and later, when changes were forced on them. There must be an authentic and prayerful return to and respect for the following of the Gospel. Finally the athropological signs of religious life must be maintained: Common life, Frugality, identifiable uniform dress of a religious nature (a habit) and a common apostolic work shared by all members of the community - these are all things one must look for.

Expectations of the young

A surprising and welcome development at the present time is the emergence of a whole wave of young men and women interested in authentic religious life. They provide the proof of the ongoing presence of God’s grace - as well as the validity of the anthropological theory of liminality. These young people surprise us by their willingness to join even communities beset by obvious theological confusion and little observance of their traditional rule.

Something in human nature has been calling people to religious life for thousands of years - and Gospel teaching and church Tradition have aimed this human hunger at a strong form of Christian dedication. We should have learned by the disastrous experience of the twentieth century that we cannot afford the luxury of frivolous attempts at silly spirituality and self-seeking. There hardly seems a mistake that religious orders did not make. Corruptio optimi pessimum, the old Latin proverb runs: Corruption of the best becomes the worst. We have seen it for forty years. The generation formed since John Paul became Pope is clamouring for something better.

This column was published in First Things, June/July 2007

On the path to sainthood

Cardinal formally opens sainthood cause for Paulist Fathers’ founder.

■ By Beth

Griffin

NEW YORK (CNS) - Paulist Father Isaac Thomas Hecker was “a real-life saint like you and me,” Cardinal Edward M Egan of New York said on January 27, describing the founder of the Paulist Fathers.

“He was a person who suffered, who made his way through life bearing crosses and who taught that sanctity can be captured in many different ways,” the Cardinal added. He made the comments during a Mass that marked the opening of the cause for Father Hecker’s canonisation and the 150th anniversary of the Church of St Paul the Apostle, the parish he established on Columbus Avenue in New York.

More than 1000 people attended the bilingual Mass, concelebrated by several priests. Before the processional, Cardinal Egan blessed the tomb of Father Hecker, which is inside the church in the northeast corner.

In his homily, Cardinal Egan traced the “troubles and tribulations” that led Father Hecker to found the Paulists as a distinctly “American approach to announcing the Gospel.”

He said the native New Yorker was born in 1819 to German immigrant parents. He escaped a yellow fever epidemic, nearly died of smallpox and carried its physical scars throughout his life. He worked with his older brothers in their successful bakery and flour business, but did not have an interest in commerce. He was disappointed with the outcome of political causes he supported.

“He had trouble finding his place and he didn’t understand the mystical experiences he had,” Cardinal Egan said.

Father Hecker was raised as a Methodist and explored several denominations before becoming a Catholic when he was 24 years old.

Five years later, he was ordained a Redemptorist priest in Europe and preached well-attended missions in England and throughout the eastern United States.

Father John Duffy, president of the Paulist Fathers, said it was Father Hecker’s “driving conviction that if the principles of freedom and democracy of this country were combined with the teachings of Jesus Christ as proclaimed by the Catholic Church then America could become a light to the nations. Cardinal Egan recounted that Father Hecker’s vision was incompatible with that of his religious superiors in Rome and he was dismissed from the Redemptorists. Fortunately, said Cardinal Egan, Father Hecker had the support of Pope Pius IX, who encouraged him to establish a congregation of priests dedicated to evangelising North America.

In 1858, Archbishop John Hughes of New York gave a parish to Father Hecker and his fledgling order, formally known as the Missionary Society of St Paul the Apostle. It was the first religious congregation of Catholic men established in the US.

The sainthood cause of Father Hecker was formally opened after the conclusion of the Mass.

The priest participants exchanged their liturgical vestments for clerical garb and returned to the sanctuary where Cardinal Egan sat at a large table adjacent to the altar. Paulist Father Gilbert Martinez, pastor of the Church of St Paul the Apostle, explained that the ceremony to open a sainthood cause is “not usually done in public. It’s more of an administrative procedure.”

Paulist Father Paul Robichaud, postulator of Father Hecker’s cause, officially requested that Cardinal Egan initiate the archdiocesan inquiry into “the life, service and holiness of this servant of God.” With the formal opening of his cause, Father Hecker receives the title servant of God.

Cardinal Egan accepted Father Robichaud’s request, declared he was initiating the inquiry and would consult with his brother bishops and petition the Holy See. Cardinal Egan took the first of several oaths promising to fulfill his duties for the Archdiocesan inquiry.

Similar oaths were pledged by Father Robichaud; Mgr William Belford, archdiocesan chancellor, who is the delegate instructor for the inquiry; Mgr Douglas Mathers, vice chancellor, who is the promoter of justice for the inquiry; Paulist Father John Foley, notary for the cause; and Paulist Father Ronald Franco, vice postulator.

Father Duffy said Father Hecker was certain the Holy Spirit would guide the Paulists to meet the Church’s needs in the modern age.

He said that the present-day Paulist mission consists of “evangelisation, proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ to the unchurched; reconciliation, reaching out to those who find themselves cut off from the community of faith and/or at the margins of society; seeking unity for the body of Christ and seeking dialogue with those of other world religions.”

“With Father Hecker looking over our shoulders, I am reminded of what he would say: God is not finished with us yet. The Holy Spirit has so much more to bring forth!” Father Duffy said.

The cause for the German-American saint was kicked off by the IrishAmerican cardinal speaking in English and Spanish to a multicultural group that enjoyed Italian pastries from Brooklyn at the back of the West Side church after the ceremony.

the Rosary for peace in the Middle East at St Savior Church in led strikes in Iraq. Around the globe Franciscan communities were sition to war, violence, injustice, terrorism and what he called an

PHOTO: CNS/DEBBIE HILL

Important handshake: Fr Varchese Puthussery, Superior General of the Vincentian Congregation, hands Archbishop Barry HIckey an image of a peacock, the national bird of India and symbol of immortality, the Resurrection of Our Lord and of St Thomas the Apostle who evangelised India.

PHOTO: ANTHONY BARICH

Fr Isaac Thomas Hecker

Religious Life Religious Life

St Dominic’s apostolic zeal forges on

■ By Anthony Barich

When St Dominic founded the Order of Preachers in 1216 he was renowned for his apostolic zeal, heroic sanctity and profound learning.

It is in keeping with this charism that the Dominican Province of the Assumptionwhich encompasses Australia, New Zealand, the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea – will focus its energy on university chaplaincy.

While Australian Dominican priests and Brothers still do parish work and run retreats, they are most prominent in eastern States universities, with chaplains based at the University of Sydney, Monash University, the University of Notre Dame Australia in Sydney. What’s more, Dominicans being Dominicans, who are known for their level of education, this is where they like to be involved, says Fr Kevin Saunders, who has just been elected as prior provincial of the Dominican Province of the Assumption.

Fr Saunders, who himself completed a Bachelor of Arts with honours before being ordained in 1975, told The Record that while the Order is experiencing a vocations explosion in the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea, there are far fewer in Australia.

In fact, there are barely a handful, though a Dominican, Anthony Fisher OP, has risen to be Cardinal George Pell’s Auxilliary Bishop of Sydney.

Fr Saunders says the significant numbers of vocations to the Order in the Solomon Islands and PNG is because “they’re not affected by the secularisation of western society, unlike Australia, where religious values are less strongly held, and religious belief has more competition from secular values”.

“Not that people in Australia are specifically anti-religious, they just don’t have any religion,” he says. “As a society as a whole, western society has become less religious, and that effects religious orders and seminar-

ies.” Thus the Dominicans find themselves in the very places where young Australians are searching for their place in life – universities.

Fr Saunders has noted that in England, the Catholic Church is being revived by an influx of Poles and Africans, from countries where people have strong values.

As for Australia, he says the Dominicans have a plan of action to take full advantage of World Youth Day in Sydney to “reawaken in young people a sense of their baptisimal vocation, first and foremost; and secondly to help them realise whether they are meant for the Religious life or Christan marriage”.

Fr Saunders says the surge in vocations in the Solomon Islands and PNG will not mean Australia will necessarily benefit, as “the demand and need up there is still very pronounced”.

“I don’t think we’re in the position of wanting to bring people down from PNG and the Solomons to work in Australia. They may come down for experience, but the main need for us as Dominicans is up there, rather than filling needs here,” he said.

As for Australia, “we still have people active in ministry as priests and Brothers here, and a few students coming through.

Mother Teresa changes young life

A dare turned into a life-changing experience for a naive suburban Sydney teengaer when she decided to work as a volunteer with Mother Teresa’s Misionaries of Charity in Calcutta, India.

■ By Anthony Barich

It started as a dare. Teenager Helena McCarthy had just finished year 12 when she decided to spend her summer holidays - two months - with Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta four years ago, but she only did it to prove to her family she could “live outside her own comfort bubble”.

But nothing could prepare the 17-year-old, already a practising Catholic, for what would be a harrowing but ultimately life-changing experience that transformed her from naïve middle-class suburban teenager to a grounded young woman. Her older sister Claire McCarthy, a film maker of mainly dramatic short films and features, went along for the ride with camera in hand, though only out of habit.

But as time wore on, the more they filmed, the more Claire realised they were witnessing and filming an extraordinary and crucial time in young Helena’s life.

When they returned to Australia Claire recruited Jewish documentary producer Tom Zubrycki and marketed it to a secular audience, though she hoped the Catholic audience would find it an intriguing journey of a modern teenager into a world she knew existed but never could have comprehended.

On Sunday February 10 at 10.05pm, the ABC’s Compass

program will screen “Sisters”, the finished product of the journey of Helena and Claire, who come from a strong Catholic family and whose brother is a year away from being ordained a priest.

Confronting and frustrating, audiences will empathise with her emotions as big questions and values, life’s meaning and worth, the human condition and sibling angst are interwoven in this raw and engaging personal journey.

“It was really hard for her, it took her a long time to adjust, she found that she was a different person as a result of her experience,” Claire told The Record

Claire said it took her sister a good three weeks to get over her initial illness and “she suffered quite a lot mentally and physically, as she had been quite sheltered before that. It was a confronting experience on every level.”

The conversations reveal more than just a middle-class girl in an unfamiliar environment.

Knowing that her own sister was behind the camera, the reactions of Helena, now 21, are raw and candid, revealing more of what was really going on in her mind and heart, without the inhibitions of feeling like she’s talking to a stranger.

The experience also proved a bonding experience for the sisters, who share a nine-year age gap, “getting to know her more in an extreme situation”.

“She’s very funny and relatable,” Claire said, “and her reactions are what ordinary people would think.

“This isn’t an outwardly pious person going with high humanitarian ambitions, they sit more under the surface of who she is.”

Claire said it was almost unavoidable for a young, naive Western girl to be changed by the experience, but the unconditional love of the Sisters in trying circumstances also stood out to the Sydney pair.

Neither of them will ever be the same.

“We’re not expanding and growing like elsewhere including the Solomon Islands, but we’re still functioning.”

Fr Saunders himself gave “overall guidance” at Blackfriars School in Adelaide “rather than classroom teaching”, and that seems to be how their mission is carried out in universities. He says his objective as regional provincial is to maintain the Dominican contribution to the Church and the charism of preaching and teaching the faith; and ensure that Dominicans will continue to live out their lives, and preaching by the example of their lives.

Trip of a lifetime: Claire (left) and Helena during happier times, as their India trip proved a harrowing one (above); Helena reaches out to a young local (below). The trip proved a life-changing experience for the practising Catholic. PHOTOS COURTESY OF ABC

the Parish

Kelmscott responds to Benedict XVI

Tridentine Mass expands; revived in Perth as Good Shepherd parishioners take the initiative.

■ By Matthew Biddle

Good Shepherd Church in Kelmscott has become the first parish in WA in respond to Pope Benedict XVI’s Summorum Pontificum a Motu Proprio released in July 2007 allowing priests to celebrate the Trindentine Rite Mass of the 1962 Missal without the prior consent of a Bishop.

Up to 100 people gathered at Kelmscott last Sunday as Perth’s Latin Rite chaplain Fr Michael Rowe started the High Mass of Quinquagesima Sunday by singing the Asperges and blessing the congregation with holy water.

After Mass, Fr Rowe gave the traditional ‘Blessing of the Throats’ individually to all parishioners to mark the feast day of St Blaise.

The Tridentine Rite will continue to be celebrated each Sunday at 2pm by Fr Rowe and other priests.

The Kelmscott celebration could be just the beginning as Fr Rowe is confident more parishes will request the Tridentine Mass in the future, saying there has been interest from other priests “who are obviously interested in the Mass and they’re starting to learn the Mass and how to say it”.

“The main problem we’ve got is that a lot of people haven’t really been exposed to it and don’t really know what the Latin Mass is. Once people hear about it, I think there will be more requests for the Latin Mass,” he said.

“The Latin Mass was said for many centuries, and for the Church to recognise that and to realise that it’s something the Church should love and treasure will help the Church ultimately.”

It has been a long journey for the Kelmscott parishioners, with the acquisition of vestments, sacred vessels and altar furnishings, as well as formation in Latin, requiring much patience.

Kelmscott parishioner John Rencontre said it had taken several

Briefly...

months of preparation to eventually enable the Mass to be celebrated. “It’s been a mammoth task, taken on by very few,” he said.

The process began almost as soon as the Pope’s letter was released, with over 120 parishioners registering their support for the Latin Mass.

In preparation for the celebration of Sunday Mass, several weekday Masses were said to train servers in the rubrics and responses of the Latin Mass.

“The Latin Mass hasn’t been said in most churches for 40 years, so a lot of the things that used to be there like altar cards and missal stands are no longer there,” Fr Rowe said.

Parish stalwart Marie Gasper, a Kelmscott parishioner for 40 years, was staggered at the big turnout given the circumstances and the searing heat, saying it brought back memories of her childhood.

“I think it will take off from here in our parish,” she said.

The traditional Latin Mass dates back to the sixth century and the Tridentine Mass was the only form of the Catholic Mass until the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s permitted the Mass to be said in the local language of the people

Fr Rowe explained that this resulted in a virtual abandonment of the traditional rite – as it could only be said upon approval from the Bishop – and barely a handful of parishes in WA offered the Latin Mass.

“There was an understanding that once the English Mass came in the old Mass was forbidden, but it never was,” Fr Rowe said.

“The priests stopped saying it and started saying the new Mass out of a sense of obedience to the Pope, thinking the old Mass was banned, but it wasn’t.

“A few priests who could see its beauty and its soundness kept saying it ... and they kept it alive.”

One of those priests was Fr Dario Brunetti, parish priest of Kelmscott for two decades, who celebrated the Latin Mass in his private chapel for many years after retiring from parish duties.

“He’d be happy to see that the Latin Mass is back at Kelmscott,” Fr Rowe said. “Now that, please God, Fr Brunetti’s in heaven, he’s probably interceding for the parish that

Edmund Rice schools focus on values

Principals and school captains from Edmund Rice Schools across Australia converged on Melbourne, last week, for the two-day national launch of Edmund Rice Education Australia (EREA), taking part in a “formal formation” experience.

EREA executive director Dr Wayne Tinsey

Tridentine Rite explained

Latin Mass chaplain, parishioners describe how the traditional Mass has changed lives and shaped the Church.

■ By Matthew Biddle

The Tridentine Mass was established in the midsixteenth century at the Council of Trent, yet the Mass itself dates back much further.

The central part of the Mass, the Canon, has been traced as far back as the sixth century to the time of St Gregory.

Latin Mass chaplain of Perth, Fr Michael Rowe, said many prayers currently used in the Latin Mass were written over 17 centuries ago, “and they’re exactly the same”.

Since Vatican II, the Tridentine rite has been classified as the ‘extraordinary form’ of the Mass, while the Novus Ordo is the ‘ordinary form’.

Whilst there are differences between the two forms, Pope Benedict XVI has emphasised both are expressions of the one rite.

One of the difficulties for those experiencing the Tridentine Mass for the first time is understanding the Latin language of the Mass.

John Rencontre, a parishioner at Kelmscott for over 30 years, admiited that the traditional Mass can be difficult to understand. However,

wrote on the Edmund Rice Oceania website that much would be said of the core values and priorities that Edmund Rice education stands for at the launch.

“The Charter for Edmund Rice Education is very clear – to be authentic, our schools must embrace a true option for the poor,” Dr Tinsey wrote.

“This is central to the Gospel mandate and the Church and what it attempts to achieve means little if divorced from these key concerns.”

he said it is not impossible. “There is always the English there in the prayer books when you are following and praying the Mass,” he said. “Over time Latin words and phrases become familiar ... it’s a slow process but you get to know it.”

Fr Rowe said Latin was originally the language of the Romans. “Latin became the language of the Church because the Church was based in Rome,” he said.

“To have consistency in worship and prayer, the early Christians gradually adopted the use of Latin as a sacred language, so Mass was said in Latin.

“The Latin language actually is a ‘dead’ language, so the words don’t change their meaning. One of the benefits of Latin is that it’s the universal language of the Church and people, even if they speak different languages, can follow the Mass and worship together.”

In contrast to the modern Mass, for the majority of the Tridentine Mass the priest faces the altar and tabernacle as he addresses God rather than the congregation, so all are facing the same direction.

Fr Rowe said this tradition was based on the practices of the early Christians.

“When the early Christians used to pray, they would all face in a common direction, so they’d all face what we call liturgical east, because the sun rises in the east,” he said.

“In the early morning when they had gathered to celebrate Mass they’d face the east, the sun repre-

Parents abandoning state schools

Catholic schools have recorded a steady growth in enrolments as parents continue to shun government schools.

The Age reports the recent figures were part of the Schools Australia Preliminary Report and show state schools recorded their second consecutive fall in enrolments.

The report, released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics yesterday show the number of students enrolled in Victorian

senting Christ rising from the dead ... facing a common direction, facing God and worshipping together in the same direction.

Another feature of the Tridentine Mass is the custom of kneeling and receiving Communion on the tongue.

Doctor of the Church St Thomas Aquinas justified this practice by saying, “Out of reverence towards this Sacrament, nothing touches it but what is consecrated.”

Although Communion was received standing until the Middle Ages, kneeling was introduced to show the Catholic belief in the Real Presence, in response to assaults by heretics on this doctrine.

“If you went to see the king, you’d kneel down out of reverence for him, so that’s basically the reason why we kneel – out of reverence to Christ the King in the Blessed Sacrament,” Fr Rowe said.

“The reason why we receive Communion on the tongue is because the priest, in the person of Christ, is feeding us His Body. In the same way as a mother feeds her baby, Christ is feeding us.”

Mr Rencontre said that the reverence for the Blessed Sacrament the Latin Mass displays has converted many people he has known to the Church.

“Jesus is present [in the Eucharist] – body, blood, soul and divinity. If Jesus appeared to me in the sanctuary, I wouldn’t be standing up, I’d be flat on my face,” Mr Recnontre said.

state schools dropped by 234 students from 2006 figures.

Meanwhile, the non-government sector - which includes Catholic, private and other religious schools - gained 4252 students over the same period.

Despite a five-year growth in the numbers of students attending government schools, data from the bureau showed that the number of Victorian government schools fell to 1592 in 2007, down from 1605 in 2006 and 1613 in 2005.

Spiritual bonding: Perth’s Latin Mass chaplain Fr Michael Rowe celebrates the Tridentine Rite Mass last Sunday at Kelmscott, the first Perth parish to respond to Pope Benedict XVI’s Motu Proprio encouraging greater use. PHOTO: MATTHEW BIDDLE

Perspectives

Different versions of Vatican documents

Q&A

By Fr John Flader

I am confused. The Latin translation of paragraph 99 of Pope John Paul II’s Encyclical Evangelium vitae (The Gospel of Life) is different from the earlier English translation, as it appears in the version published in Australia by St Pauls. Which version is the official one, and why was the change made? Are changes like this common in Vatican documents? Can we trust the English translations of these documents?

Let us begin by looking at the particular text you mention. The sentence in question is addressed to women who have had abortions.

The original English version reads: “You will come to understand that nothing is definitively lost and you will also be able to ask forgiveness from your child, who is now living in the Lord.” The later Latin version is: “Infantem autem vestrum potestis Eidem Patri Eiusque misericordiae cum spe committere.”

The official Vatican English translation of this text, as it appears on the Vatican website, is: “To the same Father and his mercy you can with sure hope entrust your child.”

As is obvious, there is a significant difference between the two texts.

The first one implies that the soul of the aborted baby is in heaven: “your child, who is now living in the Lord.”

The Latin text does not assume this and rather entrusts the baby to the mercy of God: “To the same Father and his mercy you can with sure hope entrust your child.”

Why was the change made? It is clear that the Vatican considered that the first text was too strong in implying that the souls of unbaptised infants go to heaven, when the Church has never defined this to be the case.

For example, the Catechism of the Catholic Church says in this regard: “As regards children who have died without Baptism, the Church can only entrust them to the mercy of God, as she does in her funeral rites for them. Indeed, the great mercy of God who desires that all men should be saved, and Jesus’ tenderness toward children... allow us to hope that there is a way of salvation for children who have died without Baptism.” (CCC 1261)

The Vatican took advantage of the subsequent publication of the encyclical in the journal of the Holy See, Acta Apostolicae Sedis, to make the correction.

The official version of all Vatican and Papal documents is the one published in Latin in Acta Apostolicae Sedis. All earlier translations are to be judged in terms of the official Latin typical edition. Where a significant change has been made, as in this case, the vernacular is to be disregarded and the Latin followed. Such changes are not common.

What can we say, then, about the vernacular translation of Vatican documents when these first appear?

In recent years, the vernacular translation of Vatican documents comes from the Vatican itself and it can be considered official. It appears on the Vatican website.

Occasionally, the Vatican considers that the original text needs to be amended and it often takes advantage of the publication of the Latin typical edition to make the changes.

A well-known example is the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which was originally published in 1992 in French, followed by the other languages.

After considerable study and in response to numerous suggestions from around the world, the Vatican made over 80 changes in the Latin edition, most of them minor improvements in wording. In promulgating the Latin text in 1997, Pope John Paul II said that it becomes “the definitive text” of the Catechism.

The changes have been incorporated in the Second Edition of the Catechism published in English by St Pauls in 2000.

The need is for missionary

Parishes have a future, but only if they are missionary.

■ By Gisèle Plantec

If a pastor in a parish today wishes to have souls to care for, he needs to go looking for them, says the leader of the priests of the Emmanuel Community.

Father Yves le Saux, general delegate for ordained ministry of the Emmanuel Community, spoke with ZENIT during a conference in Rome last week on “The Parish and the New Evangelisation.”

The congress was organised by the Emmanuel Community and the Pontifical Institute Redemptor Hominis.

Priests in the Emmanuel Community are diocesan priests under the authority of their respective bishops who allow them to be members of the group.

Fr Le Saux said that in different regions of the world, some are wondering about the future of parishes.

I think that the parish is and will continue being the principal and privileged space of the life of the Church.

By nature, the parish is the place where the Christian community meets. It has the vocation of welcoming all Christians around the Eucharist, around Christ, also through the ministry of the parish priest.

The parish is the place where every Christian, every baptised, independently of his sensitivity, his personal charism, can live and be integrated into ecclesial life.

That said, the model of the parish in which the pastor is there, in the midst of its community, available for all the people to go to, is no longer sufficient today.

If a pastor wishes to still have sheep, he should go to find them. Today, the parish should be understood as “mission territory.”

It seems to me that perhaps the term “mission territory” has to be added to the term parish so that the priest and Christians who live in a determined place can enter into a dynamic of announcing the Gospel. Said in another way,

the parish has a future on the condition that it is missionary. It is clear that the responsibility for the mission should not fall on only one man, the parish priest.

I think the parochial function should be entrusted to a team of priests who have a demanding community life and who are prepared for working together in the mission.

By nature, the parish is the place where the Christian community meets. It has the vocation of welcoming all Christians around the Eucharist, around Christ, also through the ministry of the parish priest.

But this is insufficient. Today a parish priest has to be surrounded by the baptised who share with him the same missionary drive.

The priest who feels alone should, in principle, have the objective of surrounding himself with people who not only evangelise with him, but who also pray with him, reflect with

Exploring the very ‘soul’ of symbols: whether

Perth-based Scalabrinian

Tony Paganoni CS writes a series of reflections on the significance of cathedrals in the life of a church and the wider community.

Robertson Davies tells of an English country church where the worshippers made a slight curtsey to a blank wall on entering. When the vicar was questioned, he explained that a statue of the Virgin Mary had once stood precisely on that spot, but Cromwell’s troops had

Spirit in Stone

of Cathedrals and communities

Anthony Paganoni CS

destroyed it in the seventeenth century.

Yet those iconoclasts could not destroy the local habit of bowing to the religious symbol, even after it was gone. In a continental church there was a wall-painting of the Virgin Mary plastered over during the Reformation, venerated by villagers and rediscovered during

the course of restoration. The spirit lives on... The soul of the symbol remains long after it is gone.

However, the soul of a symbol speaks louder when visible and tangible. Response to a church building can depend on whether it is being used liturgically. Scholars, enthusiasts and onlookers often find themselves visiting churches

when they are not in use. As though anaesthetised, the buildings lend themselves more to examination. Yet, even between services, a church is not merely an inert and passive functional structure without religious meaning. A church building should elicit a response even apart from its liturgical use, leading visitors to an experience of the sacred even before anything else happens in that space. It is important that casual observers be helped and catechised about the various features of a Cathedral, most particularly when it is new. Response to a church is learned, and the process of learning requires reflection. The meaning of a church

is seldom obvious. Why is it that good architecture, like most human experiences, does not make all its meanings explicit? This is the reason why education and information are essential.

People respond spontaneously to ordinary natural and social environments. So should they be able to grasp the significance of a church building in much the same way?

What this argument obscures is that responses to social environments are not purely spontaneous, and even reactions to nature are not purely natural: in various ways, people learn how to perceive the world around them. Take for example, the scarcity of water available

Welcoming the faithful: Passionist Fr Charles Dougherty, pastor of Our Lady of the Isle Church in New York, opens the church doors for parishioners arriving for Mass.

PHOTO: CNS/GREGORY SHEMITZ.

Perspectives

parishes

him, have a Christian life with him. That being said, I think that there is also a responsibility of the bishops themselves, who should be on guard to not leave a priest alone. A man alone, even with a lot of help and talents, remains limited in his fruitfulness.

Today the world needs witnesses, not only individuals, but also groups. This restlessness corresponds not just to the priest but also to the baptised, who should accompany their priest and also their bishops, who should be preoccupied about not leaving their priests alone.

Ecclesial movements must always remember they are not present in a parish to defend their own identity. We can see more and more, that the communities and movements place their own charism at the disposal of the parish.

I think that there is also a responsibility of the bishops themselves, who should be on guard to not leave a priest alone. A man alone, even with a lot of help and talents, remains limited in his fruitfulness

This is only possible if the people involved return to a true ecclesial sense and do not reduce the Church to their own experience, even if it is very powerful.

The parish cannot be the parish of a community, of a concrete movement. But the parish can be the place where the charism of a community, of a movement, can be put into action on the condition that it is not exclusive.

Two temptations exist that have to be avoided: that of a parish priest who uses the communities or movements simply as objects, using the people without taking into account their own vocation or charism, which makes it impossible for them to give what God gives them.

The other temptation is that a community, a movement, uses the parish to promote itself. But today there are fruitful experiences in different parts of the world.

The conference that we are having aims to reflect on all of this and evaluate the conditions necessary for facilitating the sharing of the communities and permitting parishes to be missionary spaces. zenit.org

In search of St Thomas and his legacy

Edith Cowan University Journalism student Joanna Lawson has gone to India this summer to establish Branches, a project aimed at helping the exploited working poor in Goa. Her column appears regularly in The Record.

The balmy days spent at Kanniyakumari were over, it was time to say goodbye to the Missionary of Charity Brothers and the residents of the Santhi Bhavan home, though it caused much pain to leave them behind.

The last leg of my journey through India had begun and I was destined for the metropolis of the south, Chennai.

My travelling companion and I had decided to go our separate ways for three days and were destined to meet again at Madras Central station, where we would pick up our pilgrimage and visit

present or absent

to residents in WA and the general sympathetic reactions to repeated appeals to conserve the precious ‘sora aqua’, as St Francis would call it.

Two basic questions are relevant to the understanding of any church building: how is it used, and what sort of feelings is it meant to instil? But these questions can be subdivided into two more specific questions.

To ask how a church is used is first of all to ask about the overall contours of space: how is it shaped, and how does its design relate to the flow, the dynamics of worship?

The question of worship asks about the central focus of attention, if

any, within the church: what is the visual focus and how does it highlight what is most important in worship?

To inquire about the response a church evokes is to ask first about the immediate impact made on a person walking through the door: what aesthetic qualities come to the fore, and how do they condition the experience of the holy within the walls of the building?

But the question is also one about the gradual accumulation of impressions gained in repeated experience of worship within a church: how does sustained exposure to a building and its markers of sacrality lead to a deeper and richer understand-

The Vine Branches

By Joanna Lawson

the tomb of Saint Thomas the Apostle. However, to get there I needed to travel by myself for fourteen hours, which to a slip of a person like me was a little daunting.

My small frame is certainly no match for even a fit teenager, let alone a man intent on laying his hands on the contents of my bags (only dirty washing by now, but that would hardly sway the criminally minded).

While travelling, fellow passenger informed me that I wouldn’t be getting off at Madras Cenral at all, as this train bypassed it and went straight to Egmore, the end of the line which meant that my friend would be waiting in vain for me at the wrong station.

I immediately began to sweat, thinking of him looking forlornly at trains depositing passengers on the platform but never seeing me.

I resolved to catch the first train I could and find him.

As is universal law, everything went wrong, and he, realising the train would stop at Egmore dutifully deposited himself there, while I got off and found my way to Madras Central.

What an unfortunate swap. In those hours, trying to find each other, not knowing exactly where we were or what to do, it was easy to envision what missionary life must have been like for the pioneers of our faith: confusion, fear and a keen sense of vulnerability being the odd one out in a sea of people who are quite at home in their city.

People were eating hot parathas and drinking steaming coffee. Some were already making their way to work and nimbly hopping on trains to work, but I was powerless, unable to speak a word of this ancient language of Tamil that sounds like it bubbles up in the mouth and gracefully slips off the tongue.

Saint Thomas may have felt the same way when he arrived in India in 52AD, a lone man representing an infant Church to a people

whom he knew nothing about. The only things he had to keep him going were providence and an evangelist’s zeal.

It was with much relief after about three hours my friend and I were reunited.

We made our way to Santhome Basilica which is built directly over the saint’s tomb, and we descended the stairs to pay our respects and to pray to this man chosen in a special way by Jesus to carry on His church.

Carrying our precious package of intentions written out by friends, family and fellow parishioners, we offered up the petitions for his intercession.

Saint Thomas, a man who brought Christianity to India and made it a cradle of the faith in the world now lies quietly under a marble block.

But he continues his work by inspiring those who are lost, afraid and doubtful to stay close to Jesus and find their way back to faith, the Church and the life that comes with it.

Read Joanna’s Blog on the internet at: www.thebranchesproject.blogspot.com

ing? One may easily devise various ways of looking at a church, but the more important ones seem to be: its spatial dynamics, its centering focus, its aesthetic impact, and its spiritual resonance.

One last thing. It is a request. Why not say a prayer for all the people responsible (architects, consultants, sub-contractors, workers etc...) for restoring the new St Mary’s Cathedral in the city of Perth?

A heartfelt goodbye: Residents at Kanniyakumari, where the Missionary Brothers of Charity care for the disadvantaged and the disabled, pose for a photo with their visitor, Joanna.

PHOTO: JOANNA LAWSON

An important symbol of faith: A woman stops to say a prayer at the statue of the Virgin Mary outside the Cathedral of St Augustine in Tucson.

PHOTO: CNS.

Caroline Chisolm sainthood investigated

■ By Paul Gray

Anew book on the life of Caroline Chisholm will attempt to garner interest in the cause for sainthood of an Australian woman who is described as a role model for the modern Catholic laity.

Sydney lay Catholic and labour market analyst Rodney Stinson has drawn together numerous historical accounts of Chisholm and her work helping vulnerable women in the early days of Australia’s settlement, to co-incide with the 200th anniversary of Chisholm’s birth in 1808.

The book’s title, Unfeigned Love, is drawn from the words of the Book of Common Prayer of the Church of England - the church in which Chisholm was born and spent her youth.

In a Lenten message last week, the Catholic Bishop of Wollongong also drew attention to Chisholm and her work, describing her as a remarkable Australian woman. “Her cause for beatification is being promoted,” Bishop Peter Ingham wrote in his Our Journey of Hope pastoral letter.

The bishop said Chisholm is an appropriate figure to be remembered as part of the preparations for this year’s World Youth Day pilgrimage. Bishop Ingham said Chisholm assisted many young women arriving in Australia after a long sea-voyage from Britain, winning her the title “the Immigrant’s friend.”

Before Chisholm’s intervention, the new arrivals had no place to live and no employment Chisholm lob-

bied the Governor of NSW repeatedly to be granted an old barracks to house young women, and then she personally cleaned the barracks and took in girls from the streets, teaching them practical skills and organising employment for them.

“Caroline helped at least 11,000 immigrants and ignited a spark of hope in their hearts so that they were able to start a new life in the Australian colonies,” the Wollongong bishop said.

Sydney layman Mr Rodney Stinson told The Record he believes that if there is greater knowledge and understanding of the life of Caroline Chisholm, it will be more widely recognised that the colonial social worker lived a life of “heroic virtue.” He hopes there will be increased interest in promoting the next stage of investigation into her life by the Church. This would be a necessary preliminary step on the road to canonisation.

Mr Stinson’s book brings back to modern readers the actual words of Caroline Chisholm herself, and draws on several late 19th century and early 20th century writings about her life and work. It includes an extensive autobiographical extract written by Chisholm, which shows, says Mr Stinson, the “Christian foundation and motivation for Caroline Chisholm’s social reform and charity work.”

Mr Stinson says that to some extent Chisholm has been a victim of history, having been adopted by modern Australia as a secular heroine. Chisholm is best known to most Australians because her portrait is shown on the Australian five-dollar note. Mr Stinson says that over time Chisholm has also

been lambasted by some secular feminists as being an old-fashioned defender of “bourgeois marriage.” Some later commentators have even gone so far as to suggest she had no time for religion.

In fact, Mr Stinson says these secular depictions are well wide of the historical mark. “Secularists cannot deny the truth of her own words. Religion was at the centre of her life. Chisholm had a marvelous energy and commitment to the work of the Lord,” he says. Mr Stinson says Chisholm could be seen today as an embodiment of the later 20th century ideal of lay Catholic action, which stipulates that the individual Christian should follow the precepts of Seeing, Judging and Acting.

Noting that great zeal is sometimes a feature of converts to Catholicism, Mr Stinson said that “Chisholm thought that if she did not ‘act,’ she might even find herself in a state of mortal sin.”

Caroline Chisholm was raised an Anglican but became a Catholic on marrying her husband Archibald Chisholm. “When Archibald Chisholm proposed marriage, she told him to go away and wait for a month to consider whether he was really ready to put up with the burden of the charitable work she felt she had to do. She had a sense of call for this work from her youth,” Mr Stinson says.

Chisholm is an ideal role model for ordinary people today because of her own experiences, as well as her charity, Mr Stinson believes.

“She had a happy marriage, and a fruitful one. There were six children who survived until adulthood, and another three who died. She knew the joy and suffering of family life.”

Another feature of her life that makes her worth studying today is that Chisholm set out to do good work in the very community in which she found herself.

Finding herself as a wife and mother with young children in colonial Australia, she saw the work that needed doing and did not hesitate to undertake it.

Her husband, who was a British army officer, was overseas for several years at a time with his regiment.

Despite this disadvantage, Chisholm was a confident young woman and took on the job herself.

This work was sometimes unsuccessful. Mr Stinson says one of the most touching stories in Chisholm’s autobiography is that of a young woman called Flora.

Flora was an attractive young woman who was exploited by a series of men, and eventually took her own life.

Mr Stinson says Chisholm saw in Flora what the rest of Sydney didn’t, namely that she was vulnerable. At one time Chisholm intercepted Flora who was on her way to drown herself. Later, Chisholm meets a ferry oarsman on Sydney Harbour who refuses to accept payment from her for a journey, because he was a cousin of the now-deceased Flora, and he remembers with gratitude her efforts to help the young woman.

Chisholm comments after this incident: “Alas poor Flora! Many loved you.” Flora, like thousands of girls and young women at the time, fell victim to the “predatory older male.” Chisholm was astute enough to recognise the problem and courageous enough to do something about it. Despite becoming famous

A cat like no other - a New Norcia legend

Señor Pilich, the Benedictine Monastery Cat

Unless you’re a monk, it’s hard to get a good view of what life is like inside the cloister. Few of us get to venture behind the imposing gates of the monastery that protect the quiet and secluded life of the monks. But New Norcia legend has it that one such soul managed a way in: and his name was Señor Pilich. The monastery cat.

Fr Anscar McPhee

Fr Anscar McPhee, who came to the Benedictine Community of New Norcia fifty years ago and has presided as parish priest at Kalumburu for the past two decades, has produced a fanciful tale of life inside the monastery – as seen through the eyes of a cat. And you don’t

even have to like cats to appreciate the dry and whimsical humour that permeates this book.

Señor Pilich, after all, isn’t a terribly likable character. Self-proclaimed guardian of the monastery underworld (“under chairs, tables, church pews and abbot’s cupboards”, that is), Pilich is brimming with his own self-importance and bravado.

Everything a good Benedictine monk ought not to be: boastful, given to sloth and excess (and the occasional lack of sobriety), with grandiose ideas about the limited world he lives in, which he’s clear revolves around him. But this isn’t a monk, remember; it’s a cat. And monks, Pilich reminds us, are “nothing like cats,” different even “from birds, dogs, sheep and other human beings.” “Curious creatures” to be sure, “and just a little unpredictable”.

Such is our first introduction to the medley of monks, many of whom will sound familiar (either by name or character) that make up this quirky tale (though the author is careful to assure us the book contains no reference to living persons!) And Pilich has seen a lot of them, graced as he says, with a long life (nine of them!) that extends back to Father Salvado, the monk who “began to build my home for me”. Generally, he is favourable to monks, particularly those, such as

Brother Eugenio or Brother Placid, the monastery cook and Pilich’s “great friend”, who are prone to preening and fussing over cats – the greater the excess the more agreeable his estimations of these goodly monks. But these kind souls aren’t the focus of the monastery cat’s sleuthing. No, it’s the sinister Mr Dreggs, a dark and menacing character who has unwittingly made his way into the monastery to create a degree of mischief – or so it seems to the swaggering Señor Pilich, whose immediate opinion of the unwelcome guest is seriously tarnished when he gets a swift kick in the side rather than the genial stroke he’s expecting. It’s clear that this Mr Dreggs is the enemy. And what is this stranger, with his “boot-slinger’s shifty eyes”, up to in the monastery? It appears he’s been enlisted by a greater power than he (the intimidating Mr Bittermouth) to procure the ‘Bolya’, by whatever means required. In Aboriginal mythology, the ‘Bolya’, like Tolkein’s ring, was “an object believed to have mysterious powers”, and highly coveted by those craving worldly power, such as our scurrilous Mr Dreggs. Señor Pilich responds by calling together a rag-tag council of underworld inhabitants – Mr Ferret the yellow cat, Rocin the donkey cat, the little dog Inspector and old Stoned-Crow, Pilich’s ancient

enemy. Temporarily bonded by their quest to save the monastery from its unscrupulous visitors, the band of domesticated ferals scheme ways to disrupt the bandits’ plans, including the construction of a fake Bolya. But despite their best intentions, and Señor Pilich’s “unquestionable genius” in masterminding the plan to save the monastery, things don’t go entirely as planned. The comedy of errors that ensues adds some light-hearted fun to this classic who-dunnit plot.

In the end, though they take much credit for it, it isn’t the domestic pets that save the day, but a real team of detectives who have entered the monastery (under orders from the monks, we presume) under various guises – the podgy new cook, a few gardeners and some unstudious-looking students – all of whom are suspect in the eyes of the evervigilant Pilich. His sole ambition is to save the sanctity of the life of the monks from outside intrusion.

Father Anscar inserts a gentle moral as this spirited tale comes to a close. Not unlike Gollum’s selfobsessed babble when finally he grabs hold of his coveted ring at the conclusion to The Lord of the Rings, we find Dregg’s in a similar frenzied state as he clasps the fake Bolya in hand: “It’s mine. Now I have the power! I am all-powerful! I’ll be known as Mr Dreggs, the Great!

both in Australia and Britain for her charitable work, Chisholm and her husband never benefited in any way from the attention.

Chisholm was self-effacing and did not hold out any notions of her specialness in her relationship with God, Mr Stinson says.

Chisholm and her husband died in poverty. They never owned a house or any property, and never speculated in real estate as was common in colonial days.

Canberra-Goulburn Archbishop Mark Coleridge has given his Imprimatur to a prayer card giving thanks for “the admirable life of Caroline Chisholm,” who heard God’s call as a youth and responded as a woman of patient, energetic faith.

The prayer card bears the caption “Caroline Chisholm 1808-1877, The Emigrant’s Friend and Servant of God.”

Further information on Caroline Chisholm’s life and her cause for beatification can be obtained from the new website, www.mrschisholm.com

No, the Great Dreggs sounds better.” Monks don’t easily talk about themselves (or so Benedict would have it). But the monastery cat sees all – and tells it in a most gentle and kindly manner. Interspersed throughout his story are some delightful vignettes and teasing incidentals through which we catch glimpses of the subtle nuances of monks, the peculiarities of their life in this monastery, and the real purpose of the monk’s life. For those with an interest in monastic life, or a particular fondness for the monastery of New Norcia, this book will delight and entertain – and possibly satisfy a curiosity which, thankfully, didn’t kill this cat.

Hardback editions are $27.50, available exclusively from the New Norcia Museum Shop or by mail order. Call 08 9654 8056 or email museum@newnorcia.wa.edu.au.

the Parish

Riddled with pain, guilt: redemption is at hand

‘It was never about me’: An abortion testimony

“The driving force behind my decision was, I was the oldest of ten children, Mum and Dad had a profoundly retarded daughter, a heroin addict son and had lost an eleven year old child to drowning. They’d had enough. I tried to save them from further pain.”

However, nothing could have prepared Sara for the soul destroying experience of abortion. Only the timely intervention of a ‘stranger’, prevented her suicide, the caring words of a young Christian prevented her spiral into drug abuse and the loving acceptance of a Catholic community brought about her spiritual healing.

Sara was six when tragedy first struck the family. Her 18-month-old sister developed encephalitis, a complication of measles, went into a coma and never recovered. Then on a hot summer’s day tragedy struck again.

With a new baby in the house, brothers Jack, 12, Chris, 11 and Bobbi, 9, took their four year old brother to swim in the river. No one knows exactly what happened the day Chris drowned, but survivors’ guilt was to haunt the lives of the brothers who returned. Sara was 13.

“The day my brother drowned, I lost my Dad. He was there when

Walking With Love is an initiative of the Australian Catholic Bishop’s Conference which challenges us to develop a deeper understanding of Christ’s teachings and our responsibilities towards vulnerable pregnant women and those who have suffered abortion.

DETAILS: Saturday 16th of February 2008, Time 1pm-5.30pm

The Boulevard Centre, 99 The Boulevard, Floreat.

Lower Level Cambridge Library of the Floreat Forum Shopping Centre More details www.walkingwithlove.org.au, or call 9375 2029.

they pulled the body out. Before that, he was the best Dad in the world. He used to come home from work at 4pm, and get down on the floor and play with us. He never did that again.”

Sara, deeply sensitive to her parents’ pain, did all she could to help in the family.

“I was looking after all the kids, trying to protect my Mum and Dad while they ‘checked out’ in their grief.” The ‘final nail in the coffin’ came for the family when Sara’s bother Jack, 15, became a heroin addict.

“Rape was my first sexual experience, from a young man who then began beating me up, but coming from a strict Catholic family, I thought if you had sex with someone you had to marry them, because no one else would want me.

“I stayed with the beatings, the gambling and he went with other girls. When I found out I was pregnant, all I could think of was, I couldn’t hurt mum and dad – they’d had too much grief in their

lives already. I wasn’t adding to it. I couldn’t.”

“I walked out of that room with my head hung in shame because of what I had just done to God and his baby. I know that day I lost my soul. I felt how could I turn to God now, so I turned away instead. I stopped going to church, praying and seeing my friends and family. Before this time, I had not been a drinker, but I lost all will to live so I started drinking heavily every night.”

Sara went to confession two months later. She said, ‘The priest was lovely’. He was gentle and compassionate - asking questions and telling her that God was understanding and forgiving. However, in Sara’s mind she’d done the unforgivable.

Blind drunk every night for the next two years after the abortion, Sara moved away from all those who cared for her.

Riddled with pain; guilt and shame haunted her every waking moment. Longing to be dead, Sara found herself standing on a bridge

A quarter century of learning

■ By Sylvia Defendi

While he admits being very busy as lecturer at Perth’s Catholic Institute of Western Australia, Fr Vincent Glynn has spent the last 25 years making sure parish life was always a part of his.

And parishioners, family and friends welcomed his commitment as they helped celebrate his silver jubilee late in December at St Cecilia’s church in Floreat.

The former director at the Maranatha Institute for Adult Faith Education was one of six children and entered St Charles’ Seminary in Guildford after completing high school.

After being ordained he served as assistant priest in the parishes of Carlisle, Leederville and Kalgoorlie before heading to Rome in 1988 for studies on Sacramental Theology.

“Archbishop at that time, Fr William Foley, instigated great change by seeing a need to train priests in specialist areas; and so I was sent to Rome,” Fr Vincent said.

Upon his return to Perth Fr Vincent was appointed the parish priest at Embleton before moving into a teaching role as chaplain at Trinity College and lecturer in Theology at St Charles’ Seminary in Guildford and the University of Notre Dame.

It was then, he says, that his love of teaching was ignited.

“I loved being part of the school and having a key role in the formation of the students,” he said.

For the next five years he undertook the role of director at

Maranatha before moving on to lecture in theology at Edith Cowan and Curtin Universities under the Catholic Institute of Western Australia.

His experience in the field of adult education has enabled him to witness the changes that have occurred through the years – the Internet, he says, being the most remarkable.

“With the rise of the internet came the opportunity to learn about our faith online and Maranatha placed great emphasis on assisting those who could not make it to the lectures, by allowing for online learning,” Fr Vincent said.

He added that the increase in accessibility has meant many more people continue to sign up for informative courses.

in Bundaberg preparing to jump. “I looked up through bright sun rays and saw a young man, about my age dressed in white coming towards me. He had dark hair and the most beautiful eyes and smile. I remember being defensive.

“Even before he opened his mouth I said, ‘Your one of those Christians aren’t you’. I don’t remember much of the conversation, just him asking me to go to a little church around the corner and telling me about Jesus and the Holy Spirit.’

“A feeling I had never known before filled my body. I felt peace

and happiness.” However, Sara returned to the old ways of trying to cope – now adding drugs. A work colleague, a young Catholic man, said to her. ‘What’s a nice girl like you doing this to yourself for? There is a Christian camp on the weekend. You should go.’ Sara did. The camp retreat with the final Mass changed Sara’s life. When she spoke of her abortion experience she did not feel shamed or judged but rather love and acceptance. Sara believes her spiritual healing was a profound personal experience of God’s love.

Praying with the Pope

General Intention: That the mentally handicapped may not be marginalised, but respected and lovingly helped to live in a way worthy of their physical and social conditon.

Missionary Intention: That the institutes of consecrated life, which are so flourishing in mission countries, may rediscover the missionary dimension and, faithful to the radical choice of evangelical counsels, be generous in bearing witness to and announcing Christ to the ends of the earth.

ADMINISTRATION ASSISTANT (PART TIME)

Catholic Church Office – Perth CBD

A vacancy has arisen for a part-time Administration Assistant to work Tuesday-Friday 10am to 2pm (16 hours per week). In addition up to 8 weeks of full time holiday relief may be required.

But accessibility was not the only change that occurred under Fr Vincent’s watch.

“We noticed that people were less interested in the dynamics of scripture and theology and more interested in how scripture and theology helped them through life, what it taught them about raising a family and so on,” he said.

This change spurred other ‘selfhelp’ courses that focused on the family and coping with grief and loss. And it was throughout his many years in faith education that he experienced his most memorable times.

“When I saw the penny drop for a life-time Catholic, and they finally realised and understood why we believe, it was the most rewarding experience,” he said.

The successful applicant will be working as part of a small team, dealing with a wide cross-section of the community. The position would suit a mature person with experience in a general office environment. Applicants must be able to demonstrate good communication skills and have excellent use of English grammar, good computer skills including the MS Word, Excel and Access. An understanding of the ethos and structures of the Catholic Church would be an advantage.

The position will include Cathedral secretarial duties, reception and general office assistance.

Please send your resume and short covering letter to the Archbishop, Catholic Church Office, PO Box 3311, Perth Adelaide Terrace WA 6832. Further details can be obtained by phoning Caroline Fouché on 9223 1351.

Applications close 19 February 2008.

Posing: Fr Vincent Glynn (centre) celebrating his 25th anniversary with Floreat parishioners.

Wednesday February 6 to Monday February 11

OUR LADY OF LOURDES FEAST DAY CELEBRATIONS

Nollamara, 269 Flinders Street Our Church will be open from 8am til 6pm. Our Grotto is also available for visitation and prayer. Ash Wednesday 6th February Mass 9am and 7pm; Thursday 7th February Mass 9am. Exposition and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament Noon till 1pm; Friday 8th February Mass 9am; Saturday 9th February Reconciliation from 4.30pm. Mass 6pm. Sunday 10th February

Procession in honour of Our Lady of Lourdes commencing at 9.30am. Followed by Mass and morning tea. Monday 11th February. Procession in honour of Our Lady of Lourdes and Mass 9am

Friday February 8 to Monday February 11

150TH JUBILEE OF OUR LADY’S APPARITIONS

Annual tridiuum to our Lady of Lourdes. Our Lady of Mercy Church, Cnr Girrawheen Avenue & Patrick Court, Girrawheen. Enq: Fr Tony & Fr Gavin 9342 3562. Joe 9309 2461 or Jimmy 9342 6049.

Thursday February 7 - March 27

THE LORD’S PRAYER BIBLE SEMINAR; PRAY THIS WAY

Explains what it means to call God your Father and what it means to Hallow His Name and the coming of the Kingdom and God’s will in heaven and on earth. We discover how God’s provision can be seen in our lives and how we can give and receive forgiveness. We also discover a way to overcome temptations, how we are delivered from evil and see how God’s is truly the Glory and the Everlasting Kingdom that is also ours. Presented by Flame Ministries International starting 7.45pm for 8 weekly sessions. Cathedral Praise Meeting. 450 Hay Street, Perth City (East). 9382 3668 - fmi@flameministries.org.

Friday February 8

TORCHLIGHT PROCESSION IN HONOUR OF OUR LADY OF LOURDES

Around Lake Monger, will start at 7.30pm with Rosaries and Hymns. Congregating at the northwest corner at the park end of Dodd Street, Harbourne. The paths are wheelchair and stroller accessible. Please bring torches as no naked flames allowed. Enq: Judy Woodward on 9446 6837, Legion of Mary.

Saturday February 9

WYD SWAN VALLEY WINE TOUR

The Morley/Leederville World Youth Day delegation have organised a Swan Valley wine tour. Tickets are $65 with transport to and from the Swan Valley, several courses of wine tasting, chocolate tasting and a set lunch included in the ticket price. This is a great opportunity to get to know some of the other members of the Perth diocese and represents fantastic value with similar private tours costing up to $130. Tickets can be reserved through the Infant Jesus Parish Morley on 08 9276 8500.

Sunday February 10

ST CATHERINE’S GINGIN FEAST OF OUR LADY OF LOURDES 150TH ANNIVERSARY

Prog: 12 noon BYO lunch, 1pm Holy Rosary, Exposition, Hymns, Benediction and Blessing of the sick 1.30pm Marian Procession. 2.30pm Holy Mass at the Grotto. 3.30pm Afternoon Tea provided. To book a seat on coach, please tel Francis 9459 3873 or Mob 0404 893 877. Enq Sheila 9575 4023 or Fr Paul 9571 1839.

Sunday February 10

CHINESE NEW YEAR CELEBRATION

Perth Chinese Catholic Community welcome all to our Chinese New Year Thanksgiving Mass (English) and celebration at 4pm at Holy Family Church, 45 Thelma St (cnr Thelma

Panorama

a roundup of events in the Archdiocese

Street and Canning Highway). Main celebrant: Archbishop Barry James Hickey. Cultural lion dance and share a meal will follow after Mass. Enq: Peter 0412 626 893.

Sunday February 10

ETERNAL WORD TELEVISION NETWORK

February 10, 1-2pm : The Lenten Journey / Dr Mark Miravalle with the Panel [Franciscan University Presents]. February 10, 4-5pm: Conversion story of ex-London gangster, John Pridmore / with Marcus Grodi [The Journey Home]. Presented by The Rosary Christian Tutorial Association, Box 1270, Booragoon 6954. Enq: 9330 2467

Monday February 11

TAKING CONTROL OF YOUR LIFE

Emmanuel Centre is offering a new program called “Taking Control of your Life”. This program helps people with Mental Health problems gain some control over some of the issues they face each day as a result of their mental illness. These include goal setting, weight management, diet, exercise, decision making, setting boundaries and developing support mechanisms. If you are interested in this program you are invited to an information session at 10am at Emmanuel Centre, 25 Windsor Street, Perth. Enq: Barbara 9328 8113.

Wednesday February 13 to Thursday February 21

HOLY FACE OF JESUS NOVENA, EMBLETON

There is a Novena to the Holy Face of Jesus at the Holy Trinity Church in Embleton commencing on Wednesday February 13 and finishing on Thursday February 21. The Novena with the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament begins at 7.30pm every night with the exception of Friday February 15 when the Novena will start at 8pm. On Friday February 22, there will be Mass and Benediction at 8pm.

Wednesday February 13

CHAPLETS OF THE DIVINE MERCY

A beautiful, prayerful, sung devotion held at St Thomas More Catholic Church, Dean Road Bateman, on the second Wednesday of each month commencing at 7.30 pm. The next devotion is to be held on Wednesday February 13. All are welcome. Enq: George Lopez on 9310 9493 (hm) or 9325 2010(wk).

Thursday February 14

ST PEREGRINE HEALING MASS

7pm at SS John & Paul Church, Pinetree Gully Rd, (off South St,) Willetton. A Healing Mass in honour of St Peregrine, patron of Cancer sufferers and helper of all in need. The celebration will include Veneration of the Relic, and Anointing of the Sick. Enq: Noreen Monaghan 9498 7727.

Friday February 15

CATHOLIC FAITH RENEWAL

Fr Greg Donovan will lead you through Scriptures – Genesis to Apocalypse held at St John and Paul’s Parish Hall at 7.30pm. All are welcome. Enq: Rita 9272 1765 or Rose 0403 300 720.

Saturday February 16

ST PADRE PIO PRAYER GROUP ITALIAN

St Mary’s Church, Franklin Street, Leederville. Holy Mass 8am followed by Adoration, Rosary, Divine Mercy and Benediction. Fr Tiziano Bogoni will be the celebrant. Finish at 10.45am. To follow in Parish Centre video of St Padre Pio and lunch. BYO. Tea/Coffee provided. All welcome. Enq: Des 6278 1540.

Sunday February 17

MEDITATIVE PRAYER IN THE SPIRIT OF TAIZE

7pm-8pm at Sisters of St Joseph Chapel, 16

York St, South Perth. Come and join in this beautiful contemplative way of praying in stillness and in peace in a candlelit chapel where the mind calms and the soul opens up. God speaks and the heart hears. Bring your friends and a small torch. Everyone welcome. Enq: Sister Maree Riddler 0414 683 926.

Wednesday February 20

COPING WITH GRIEF

A workshop on Coping with Grief will be held at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Hall, corner Lesmurdie and Glyde Roads, Lesmurdie, from 7.30pm - 9pm. It will be conducted by Gerry Smith, the director of Grief Management Educational Services, and a respected grief counsellor for more than 25 years. The workshop will cover not just grief issues relating to the death of a loved one, but also to any life-changing situation, such as divorce, loss of employment, children leaving home or diagnosis of an illness (eg mental illness). Admission to the workshop, is free. Enq: Barbara 9328 8113.

Friday February 22

CATHOLIC PASTORAL WORKERS ASSOCIATION

Invite you to attend a Eucharistic Celebration (Pastoral Carers, Associates and Volunteers) to be celebrated in the Chapel, Catholic Pastoral Centre, 40A May Street, Highgate. (Parking off Harold Street). Starting at 9.30am followed by morning tea. The Celebrant will be Most Rev Donald Sproxton, Auxiliary Bishop of Perth. RSVP by Friday 15 February to Margaret 9390 8365 or Maranatha 6380 5160.

Friday February 22

MEDJUGORJE  EVENING OF PRAYER

An evening of Prayer with Our Lady Queen of Peace at Sacred Heart Parish, Ovens Rd, Thornlie. Commencing at 7.30pm immediately following parish Stations of the Cross. Medjugorje evening consists of Adoration, Meditation and Rosary, followed by Holy Mass. Concluding approx 9.45pm. Celebrant Fr. Tiziano Bogoni. Enq. 9402 2480.

Saturday February 23

PRAYER VIGIL FOR PEACE

At the Redemptorist Monastery Church, 190 Vincent Street, North Perth at 6pm to 9.30pm. During Lent, as we reflect on the Death and Resurrection of Jesus, let us join in solidarity with our sisters and brothers who suffer in our broken and war-torn world today. All welcome.

Saturday February 23 - Sunday February 24

LENTEN RETREAT

Led by Father Hugh Thomas CssR. The theme is “Christ Our Hope” (rejoice in Hope, be patient in Suffering, persevere in Prayer). Venue –Redemptorist Retreat Centre, Vincent Street, North Perth. Enq: Susan Teo 0422 897 786 or Rose Lim 0403 300 720.

Wednesday February 27

Set My People on Fire bible seminars begin in como at 7.30pm. Holy Family Church, Cnr of Canning Highway and Thelma Street, Como. 15 weekly sessions with 3 weekend seminars bring you Abundant Life in the Power of the Holy Spirit. Open to all. Pope Benedict XVI says, “Prayerful reading of Scripture, and the consequent reform of life, is the secret to the constant renewal of the Church”. Archbishop Hickey said, “The Set My People On Fire seminars are an excellent source of Biblical teaching, especially as a living experience of the Word of God for the participants.” Full details www.flameministries.org/smpof.html or call Flame Ministries International 9382 3668.

Saturday March 1

DAY WITH MARY

Our Lady of Lourdes Church, 265 Flinders Street, Nollamara. 9am – 5pm. A video on Fatima will be shown at 9am. A day of prayer and instruction based upon the message of Fatima. Includes Sacrament of Penance, Holy Mass, Eucharistic Adoration, Sermons, Rosaries, Procession of the Blessed Sacrament and Stations of the Cross. Please BYO lunch. Enq: Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate 9250 8286.

Saturday March 15

ST BERNADETT E’S CATHOLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL FETE

Where: Grand Ocean Boulevard, Port Kennedy. When: 11am to 4pm. What’s on: rides, show bags, food, plant & cake stalls, music, dancers, magician, ponies, bouncy castle (as available). Fun for all ages. Come and join the fun! Enq: Robyn Fitzgerald rfitzgerald3@aapt.net.au or: 0405 672 487.

First Friday March 7

ALLIANCE AND TRIUMPH OF THE TWO HEARTS

Holy Mass and eucharistic vigil at St Bernadette’s Church Glendalough. Confessions at 5.15 pm. Parish Mass at 5.45 pm (Celebrant: Fr Doug Harris) followed by exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, hourly Rosaries, hymns and reflections etc. Vigil concludes with midnight Mass in honour of the BVM (Celebrant: Rev. Fr. Giosue Marini). Enq: Fr Doug Harris 9444 6131 or Dorothy 9342 5845.

Sunday March 16

THE SACRED HEART COMMUNITY FAIR

Is to be held in the picturesque setting of the Sculpture Park, Jacoby Street, Mundaring. Starting at 10am and finishes at 4pm. The Fair is a FREE old fashioned family fun day with activities, rides, live acts, great food and over 50 craft and specialty stalls.

PERPETUAL ADORATION OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT

Is in its fifth year at Christ the King Church, Lefroy Road, Beaconsfield. 24 hours per day, except at Mass times. All are invited to spend an hour with Jesus truly present. Entrance is from the porch, near the altar on the Lefroy Road side of the church. Enq: Joe 9319 1169.

First Sunday of Every Month

HEALING FIRE BURNING LOVE MINISTRY

Celebrates the Sunday Mass at St Bernadette’s Church, Cnr Jugan and Leeder Streets, Glendalough commencing with praise and worship at 6.30pm and Mass at 7pm. We have healing prayers after the Mass so please invite all those in need of the healing love and power of Jesus. Enq: Jenni Young 9445 1028 or 0404 389 679.

Third Sunday of the Month

OBLATES OF ST BENEDICT MEET

Venue: St Joseph’s Convent, York Street, South Perth at 2pm. An annual Retreat is held at New Norcia, Trinity Sunday Weekend. Oblates are affiliated with Benedictine Abbey New Norcia. We celebrate our 50th Anniversary September 2008. A golden celebration. All welcome. Vespers and afternoon tea conclude monthly meeting. Enq: Secretary 9388 3026.

Every Sunday LATIN MASS KELMSCOTT

The Latin Mass according to the 1962 missal will be offered every Sunday at 2pm at the Good Shepherd Parish, 40-42 Streich Avenue, Kelmscott, with Rosary preceding. All welcome.

Submissions over 55

Classifieds: $3.30/line incl. GST 24 hour Hotline 9227 7778 Deadline: 12pm Monday

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eBay relics sales enrage Catholics

Relics from saints are being sold on the internet auction site eBay enraging Catholics who say it violates Canon Law. CNA reports recently strands of hair from the head of St Therese of Liseux were put up for auction with bids starting at $40. Another auction opening at $49.99 purported to be a frag-

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ment of bone from St Philomena, a 13-yearold girl who is said to have been flogged, drowned and beheaded for refusing marriage to the Roman Emperor Diocletian Recently, an alleged “splendid, rare, antique” reliquary containing bone fragments from six different saints from a dealer at Belgium was posted for auction at an opening price of $625.

WEDDING MUSIC

■ CLASSICAL MUSIC FOR YOUR WEDDING CEREMONY

Performed by the ‘Simply Classical Quartet’ 9444 1630 Demonstration CD available.

FLORIST

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Retailer of Catholic products specialising in gifts, cards and apparel for baptism, communion and confirmation. Ph: 9456 1777. Shop 12, 64-66 Bannister Road, Canning Vale. Open Mon-Sat.

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Looking for Bibles, CDs, books, cards, gifts, statues, baptism/communion apparel, religious vestments, etc? Visit us at 39 Hulme Court (off McCoy St), Myaree, 9329 9889 (after 10.30am Mon to Sat). We are here to serve.

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‘Modern meets tradition.’ Quality hand-made & decorated. Vestments, altar cloths, banners. Contact: Vickii Smith Veness. 9402 8356 or 0409 114 093

Indian singers smash world record

Catholics in India have set a new world record by singing non-stop for 40 hours. Priests, religious and laity in the southwestern town of Mangalore joined to beat the previous record of 36 hours set by a Lutheran group in Brazil. UCAN reports the Konkani-speaking Catholics were lead by Sr

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I am a fit and active widow in my early 70’s and would like to meet a nice Catholic gentleman, with a view to friendship. If interested, please write to; Frances, PO Box 387, Rockingham WA 6968.

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OFFICIAL ENGAGEMENTS: February

19 Community Mass, Corpus Christi CollegeBishop Sproxton

21 Rite of Election, Greenwood - Bishop Sproxton

THE RECORD BOOKSHOP

Witnesses For Christ Lenten Program 2008

The Glory of these Forty Days: Reflections on the Lenten Season

By James Tolhurst

Here are timeless reflections for each day of Lent to remind us of Jesus’ paschal mystery: his passsion, death and resurrection. The Gospel is given for each day with short commentaries chosen from the writings of one of the Saints or Fathers.

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As we come together this Lent in preparation for World Youth Day, we encounter Christ through prayer, reflection, word and song.

“Witnesses for Christ” is designed for use by small groups, families or individuals to consider the Gospel reading for the following Sunday, and to reflect on the Gospel passage and a personal testimony. The themes through Lent are:

Session 1 (Second Sunday of Lent): The Transfiguration

Session 2 (Third Sunday of Lent): Jesus and the Samaritan Woman

Session 3 (Fourth Sunday of Lent): The Healing of the Man Born Blind

Session 4 (5th Sunday of Lent): The Raising of Lazarus

Session 5 (Passion Sunday): The Crucifixion

Witnesses For Christ Program & Study Guide (containing opening prayer, Gospel reading, Reflection, Discussion questions, testimony and concluding prayers for each session)

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A Guide to the Passion: 100 questions about the Passion of The Christ

This book was written to help you understand the many theological and artistic elements of the movie. It presents a fascinating scene by scene analysis of this unforgettable film experience.

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Witnesses For Christ CD (containing a reading of the Gospel passage, a reflection on the Gospel, a short guided meditation and a final hymn for each session)

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Daily Lenten Meditations: Prayful reflections from John Paul II

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