CHOICE FOR POVERTY: Perth priest embraces spirit of St Francis Page 3
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October ,
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HITLER’S THORN: German bishop to be beatified this Sunday Page 5
The first married couple to be beatified simultaneously will be the focal point of a pilgrimage for marriage and family life to be held at the Schoenstatt Shrine in Armadale on Sunday November 6.
Luigi and Maria Beltrame Quattrocchi were beatified by Pope John Paul II on October 21, 2001.
Two of their sons, aged 92 and 95 at the time, concelebrated the Mass with the Pope and a daughter aged 87 sat close to the altar.
The November 6 pilgrimage has been planned to give everyone involved or interested in family life the opportunity to pray and ponder the importance of holiness in marriage and family life.
As the organisers put it, the pilgrimage is “for all who are married, separated/divorced, single and considering married life, widowed, devoted to family life, interested in learning about the Quattrocchis and their Cause, or involved in marriage and/or family services”.
The program will begin at 10.30am. There will be adoration and the rosary between 11 and 12, Mass from noon to 1pm, and BYO picnic lunch from 1 to 2.15. There will be a talk on Bl. Maria and Luigi Quattrocchi from 2.15 till 3pm, with separate activities for children. The pilgrimage will conclude with consecration to the Holy Family at 3pm.
Luigi Quattrocchi was born in southern Italy in 1880 and Maria in Florence in 1884. They met in 1899 and soon began a courtship that was documented in their love letters which expressed their passionate love for each other as well as deep religious sentiments.
They married in 1905 and had three children within four years. When Maria became pregnant again in 1914 doctors told her there was a 99 per cent chance she would die unless she aborted the child.
The couple decided they could not do that. Their daughter Enrichetta was born safely in 1914 and was present at her parents’ beatification. Maria herself lived for another 51 years.
At the time of the beatification the surviving children (the fourth, a daughter died in 1993) described how ‘normal’ was their life with
Continued on Page 5
Ask most young people what they think of the Church and a likely answer is ‘irrelevant.’ They’d be amazed to discover the Church built Western civilisation.
VISTA
MIGRANTS: Ethnic ministry faces big decisions - can it choose?
A refugee family from Sudan who arrived in Australia last November have been given the unique opportunity to stay in a house provided by St Bernadette’s parish Port Kennedy.
The idea has stemmed from the mind of Fr Richard Doyle, who also set up the idea at his former parish of Saints John and Paul Willeton in 1992.
Adam and Siama Longolio, together with their three children are now becoming acquainted with Australian life.
Fr Doyle said the parish has been provided with much support, with people donating clothes and welcoming the children, aged three, four and six, at the school.
Fr Doyle has also set up a support group of volunteers from the parish to help the family in any way they can.
Record Comment
The publication by The West Australian on two successive days of photographs of a victim and alleged perpetrators of the Bali bombings raises once more the serious reservations that many have about the direction of the paper.
The first, a front page photo which appeared on Monday, was of a 13 year old girl, the sister of a Western Australian victim, desperately injured in her hospital bed and apparently asking where her brother was.
The following day photos of the three severed heads of the alleged suicide bombers were published on Page 4, after a large notice at the top of Page 1 warned people about what they would find.
Journalism is full of temptations, and ever more clearly, dominated by a lack of self control.
The first question which should be asked of The West is simply this: what good has any of this done?
We defy anyone to name one single benefit to those injured or bereaved, or to the reading public.
Editors and journalists must exercise self-control and not be shallow creatures of every whim of the market.
Who benefits?
The criticism is not limited to The West Australian, although it has a special responsibility as our only daily paper.
The severed heads were also shown on television news programs where they were much more likely to be seen by unsuspecting viewers, particularly children.
There are no lessons we have to learn that could possibly justify such gruesome and pointless displays.
Writer and columnist ANTOINETTE BOSCO has been honoured by Catholic women in the US for her achievements. But she overcome life’s deepest tragedies in the process.
4
Research by the Refugee Health Research Centre at La Trobe University Melbourne has found that Australian regulations governing the rights of community-based asylum seekers are not so positive after all.
The research has found that the regulations have a negative effect on the health and well being of asylum seekers as well as those working for community-based organisations and health care professionals who are working to help them.
Dr Ignacio Correa-Velez and Professor Sandy Gifford from the Refugee Health Research Centre at La Trobe University in Melbourne said the research involved interviewing nearly 15 organisations that provide services to commu-
nity-based asylum seekers in the Melbourne metropolitan area.
The researchers found that many asylum seekers given permission to live in the community while their cases to remain in Australia are determined — as opposed to those in detention centres — have no rights to work or to health or social benefits.
This means an estimated 40 per cent of refugees have no rights to work or access to Medicare and social benefits.
This, said Dr Correa-Valez, often forces people helping them to act as ‘beggars and borrowers’ as they negotiate to obtain basic services.
“Difficulties in coping, feeling of powerlessness, frustration and burnout are common among com-
munity based organisation workers assisting asylum seekers,” said Dr Correa-Velez.
Dr Correa-Velez and Professor Gifford also ran into unexpected difficulties when they attempted to research the health care and social welfare needs of community-based asylum seekers.
“There has been considerable focus on the plight of ‘unlawful non-citizens’ in detention centres but little limelight on those permitted to live in the community.”
One of the reasons for this, said Dr Correa Velez, is that workers from community-based organisations are sometimes reluctant to share information.
“They fear that the informal and unofficial help programs developed
to assist the asylum seekers may be undone if they talk publicly.”
Dr Correa-Velez and Professor Gifford described the dimension of networks and informal links as astonishing.
“These have been established at the community level to counteract the harmful policies of no work, no Medicare, ”said Dr Correa-Velez.
Research also found that most such community-based organisations work with very limited resources donated mainly by religious groups, charities and concerned citizens.
They say some have even received unexpected endorsement, including financial donations, usually behind the scenes, from public servants and local politicians across
the political spectrum. In addition, health care practitioners and other professionals are providing services free of charge to this group of asylum seekers.
Community based organisations and health care professionals commonly find themselves in ethical and organisational dilemmas in terms of their duty of protection and care towards asylum seekers, their participation in research, their relationship with government agencies and possible conflict between their provision of care and advocacy roles.
The report concludes that the response of the community sector to the negative impact of policies on asylum seekers has been ‘outstanding’.
Nearly 150 people gathered last Saturday October 1 to celebrate the traditional Latin-rite Mass at St Mary’s Cathedral in honour of St Therese of Lisieux with Fr Michael Rowe.
Recent reports from the Vatican have said that Pope Benedict XVI could soon liberalise Church regulations, allowing all priests to use the banned Tridentine rite.
However Cardinal Jorge Medina Estevez, who made the prediction, cautions that serious doctrinal issues, as well as liturgical questions, must be resolved before the change, which would pave the way for the schismatic Society of St Pius X to be
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fully reconciled with the Vatican. Cardinal Medina, the former prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship, is a member of the Ecclesia Dei commission, set up by Pope John Paul II to serve the needs of Catholics who prefer the Latin Mass.
In an interview with CNS, the Cardinal said the Pope could act soon to liberalise Church regulations, allowing all priests to use the Tridentine rite.
The restoration of universal permission to use the Tridentine Mass would involve canonical and liturgical questions, but no major theological concerns, the cardinal said. “So I hope that, little by little, the possibility of celebrating the old form of the Roman rite will be opened,” he said.
Members of
and former officers and
families gathered for the Mass at Trinity College Chapel on September 29.
“I am pleased that the Association is again active and I am delighted to have been appointed by Archbishop Hickey to serve as Chaplain,” said Fr Donovan. Fr Donovan, who is Parish Priest at Willetton, said he is looking forward to being involved in further functions with the Association.
Earlier in the day Fr Donovan assisted Police Chaplain, Fr Barry May, at the Remembrance Day ceremony at the Joondalup Police Complex.
Association President, Inspector Paul Newman, said he was pleased with the response and attendance of serving and former Catholic
police officers and their families. “We hope to have two or three functions a year to provide for the spiritual needs of Catholic police officers as well as enjoying the social aspect of such occasions.
Committee member Peter Browne said the concept of celebrating the Mass on National Remembrance Day provided a unique opportunity to remember those killed in the line of duty.
The objects and purpose of the Catholic Police Officers Association are to encourage Catholic fellowship amongst members, provide practical application of Catholic principles in the Police profession, co-operate, and if in the interest of the Association, to affiliate with similar societies and bodies and to unite all serving and retired Catholic members of the WA Police.
Serving and former Police Officers who wish to know more about the Association are requested to contact Inspector Paul Newman on 9222 1474, or Des Noonan on 9291 8641.
The East Fremantle-based Cross Roads Community celebrated the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi last Tuesday October 4 with community leader Father Paul Baczynski taking a new vow of poverty.
As an ordained priest, Fr Paul had already taken his vows of obedience and celibacy.
After last Tuesday’s Mass he has renounced his stipend and vowed to live by the rules of Saint Francis who lived from 1182 to 1226.
Archbishop Barry Hickey celebrated the Mass.
Friends and supporters of Cross Roads and
members of the East Fremantle congregation attended the Mass at the East Fremantle church of the Immaculate Conception.
Fr Paul said the Mass marked the official spiritual character of the ongoing work of Cross Roads Community, an East Fremantlebased counselling and therapy centre.
By taking the vows, Fr Paul has pledged to live by the example of St Francis, but is excused from becoming a member of the Order which would have meant giving up the valuable work he does with Cross Roads. -
For over 155 years the Sisters of Mercy have provided wonderful aged care and community services from the Wembley site.
Now, as part of a program to expand and develop these important services, a substantial area of this historic site is being transformed into an over 55s village of world-class.
Mercy Village–Wembley will offer luxury apartments, villas and terraced villas in a safe, involving and superbly planned community, with its very own chapel.
You’ll
Although her life has been pierced with sorrow, Antoinette Bosco’s eyes sparkle when she talks, her laughter is warm and her presence is engaging.
The author and longtime columnist for Catholic News Service received the Distinguished Service Award on September 16 from the National Council of Catholic Women in the US for her leadership and service to the Catholic Church and the community.
The award was presented at a luncheon where she was the keynote speaker during the biennial convention of the NCCW held in Atlanta from September 15-18.
One wouldn’t suspect the weight of tragedy the petite 77-year-old has carried, but she acknowledges that her life - a mixture of sorrow and joy - is supported by her faith in God, which continues to deepen and grow to sustain her.
“Don’t ever forget how to laugh. That is the ground and the moisture from which you can grow roses
from the thorns,” she said to the women attending the convention.
One of her spiritual touchstones is the writing of St Francis de Sales, who admonished a person who questioned why roses must have thorns by saying, “Isn’t it wonderful that thorns have roses.”
“It became kind of a theme for my life,” Bosco said. “Nurture the joy and the laughter in your life.”
Early on, when she was a student at St Rose College in Albany, New York, she had two experiences
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that have been life-changing, Bosco said.
On a freshman retreat she heard a priest tell of an American soldier in France finding a broken statue of Jesus inside a small Catholic church at the end of World War II. The statue was intact except for the hands of Jesus, which were gone. The soldier wrote a message and left it at the base of the statue: “I have no hands but yours.”
Bosco said the story made a profound impression upon her. “We have to be partners with God in helping others,” she said.
The other event from college was a talk she heard by Maryknoll Father James Keller, founder of The Christophers. He told the young women there were three fields in which they could change the world - politics, teaching and writing.
“That writing really stuck in the back of my head,” said Bosco, who began to write as a young woman out of necessity to support her family after her marriage, arranged by her father, failed and ended in divorce. As a single mother, she raised seven children, one of whom, Sterling, she adopted after meeting
him in the local post office where he was hungry, ragged and looking for food.
She now has 15 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.
At the same time she has experienced deep sorrow in the deaths of several of her adult children. Sterling, an Illinois state trooper, died last year after a failed heart and kidney transplant. Her son Peter, a young writer and teacher, committed suicide when he was 27. Then, in 1993 her son, John, and his wife, Nancy, were murdered in their home in rural Montana by an 18-year-old stranger who broke in at night apparently just to kill whoever was inside.
She had to confront at the deepest level what her faith really meant, Bosco said. “I had to get to the gut reality about what I really believed.”
She acknowledged, “I do a lot of crying. The pain never goes away from that kind of loss. ... I screamed at God. I asked over and over, ‘My God, why have you forsaken me?’”
However, she found herself compelled to go “back to the Gospels” and “get to know him even bet-
ter.” There she found Jesus speaking of compassion, of mercy and of forgiveness - “one of the hardest things.”
While she and her four living children never wanted the confessed killer of John and Nancy Bosco, whose name is Joseph Shadow Clark, to receive the death penalty, they have gone on to become even more active in various ways in seeking an end to the use of the death penalty in the states where they live.
Shadow Clark, who received a sentence of 220 years in prison and will be eligible for parole when he is 60, recently wrote a short letter to her, she said, “expressing his sorrow for the killing and asking for forgiveness.”
The family wrote back, she added, saying they had forgiven him, while also saying that they believe he needed to serve out his sentence and that society needed to be protected.
She now corresponds with about 40 prisoners and has visited and spoken in prisons, a ministry that began with a column she wrote in 1995 that an inmate answered. -CNS
Requires the services of Cooks/Shop
at Kalumburu Mission
The Diocese of Broome, Western Australia urgently requires volunteers – (couples or single people) - to cook and serve in the shop at the remote Mission at Kalumburu in the East Kimberley. Placements are preferred for a period of twelve months but a reduced time would be considered.
For further details and an application form please contact:
Mr Kerry Purcell
Ph: (08) 9192 1060 Fax (08) 9192 2136 email: secretary@broomediocese.org PO Box 76 Broome WA 6725 Maranatha
Catholic
Centre 50 Ruislip Street Leederville
7 weeks - Cost $45.00 beginning Tuesday 11th October
9.30am-12pm Catholic Moral Teaching with Fr Joe Parkinson
for further information
please phone 9212 9311 Tuesday, Thursday or Friday 9am-1.30pm. or email: maranatha@ceo.wa.edu.au
The Trustee of the KSC Education Foundation Inc (a project of the Knights of the Southern Cross) takes pleasure in again inviting applications from teachers of Religious Education in Catholic Schools in Western Australia to undertake further study for units in religious education, theology or campus ministry at the University of Notre Dame Australia in 2006.
Application forms and further information are available from: The Trustee KSC
Sainthood is now one step closer for a German Cardinal who resisted the Nazi regime during WWII
AGerman Cardinal who denounced the Nazi regime and its policies from the pulpit during World War II will be beatified in Rome this Sunday, October 9.
Cardinal Clemens August von Galen (1878-1946), bishop of Munster, Germany, will be beatified at a Mass presided over by Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Causes of Saints.
Cardinal von Galen was a vocal opponent of the Nazis’ persecution of the Jews and of their euthanasia programs.
The Vatican’s Information Service reported on Wednesday that a note issued by Pope Benedict’s Office of Liturgical Celebrations read: “With the beatification of this generous pastor, the Church invites us to
imitate, amid the vicissitudes of our own times, his brave and faithful witness.”
At the end of the ceremony, Benedict XVI will arrive in the basilica in order to venerate the
relics of the new blessed. Cardinal von Galen symbolised German Catholic resistance to Adolf Hitler and Nazism prior to and during World War II. He was known as the “Lion of Munster” for his courageous and outspoken opposition to the Nazi regime.
Cardinal von Galen was born in 1878 in Oldenburg, the 11th of 13 children. His parents were Count Ferdinand Heribert von Galen and Countess Elizabeth von Spee. The family was an old and well-established one in northwestern Germany.
The young von Galen received his higher education in Catholic institutions in Switzerland and Austria.
Ordained in 1904 the young Fr von Galen volunteered during World War I to serve as an army chaplain but his offer was refused due to the large number of clergy who joined the service.
After World War I the future cardinal ministered to his people in Berlin. The young priest admonished his flock to be steadfast in
their faith in the face of economic difficulties and the frequent clashes between communist and Nazi storm troops.
In 1933 Hitler and the Nazis took power in Germany. Shortly thereafter the Vatican signed a concordat with the new German government to maintain a proper relationship between church and state.
Cardinal von Galen’s elevation to bishop of Munster was the first appointment under the concordat.
As bishop, prior to and during World War II, Cardinal von Galen spoke out against the Nazi campaign against the Church. Then in 1941 he condemned Nazi euthanasia projects. He also referred to Gestapo interrogation cellars and concentration camps, indicating an awareness of what was happening in these restricted areas.
In December 1945, shortly after the end of the war, Pope Pius XII elevated the bishop to the College of Cardinals. Cardinal von Galen died in 1946, revered as the “Lion of Munster.”
– CNS/VIS
Continued from page 1 saintly parents – they suffered hardships and disease, had some mild arguments, but mostly treated each other with deep respect and love.
“When it was needed, they gave us punishments, reprimands and sometimes even a good slap,” Fr Paolino Quattrocchi, a Trappist, said. “The worst punishment was to go to bed without a goodnight kiss, and that caused a lot of crying on the pillow. But Mum always came in later and so did the kiss.”
He said his parents never really fought, but sometimes exchanged hard words. They had their contrasts in ways of seeing things, but it was always about secondary things. Afterwards, they would apologise to each other.
For those who missed Archbishop Hickey’s address on Channel Nine the text is below:
Welcome.
I want to say a word about the prevention of HIV/AIDS because the Catholic Church has been vilified for not endorsing the use of condoms.
Let me explain as clearly as I can what the policy of the Church is on the control of AIDS.
We say this infection can only be prevented by a change of behaviour. Condoms do nothing
The Eucharist is a sacrament, because in it one thing is perceived by the senses and another thing by the mind. What is seen has a physical appearance; what the mind perceives produces spiritual fruit. You hear the words, “The Body of Christ”, and you answer, “Amen.”
– St Augustine
to change behaviour. They give a false sense of security and will eventually fail.
Put simply, the Church’s message is this - sexual control for the unmarried and fidelity for the married. Where the Church’s teaching has been taken seriously, rates of infection have been reduced dramatically.
I’m Barry Hickey, Catholic Archbishop of Perth.
Next: Justice. For current and past talks visit www.perthcatholic. org.au.
Join Pope Benedict XVI in prayer - October
The eldest child, Fr Tarcisio Quattrocchi, described his mother as very sweet but also demanding, with ‘a supernatural vision of things’. His father, a lawyer and civil servant, was reserved but affectionate towards his children.
Enrichetta remembered her home as a place of tenderness and joy where her parents always faced problems and trials with faith.
The Quattrocchis lived through both World Wars and the Depression, and faced the difficulties of first being attracted to Mussolini as a national leader and then changing their minds after racial discrimination laws were introduced. Later they frequently hosted and helped political dissidents and Jews sought by fascist authorities.
Luigi died in 1951 at the age of 71, and Maria died in 1965 at 81.
- For further information, contact Cathy or Lucas Cavuoto on (08) 9343 6213, or the Schoenstatt Sisters on (08) 9399 2349.
The Parish. The Nation. The World. The big picture. The Record.
Spiritual grace is conferred by this Sacrament, lost virtue is renewed in the soul, and the beauty destroyed by sin returns again.
– Thomas à Kempis
“For all Christians facing the threat of secularism: may they trust in God and be courageous witnesses of faith and hope.”
Mission intention: “For all Christians: besides praying for the missions may they also support missionary activity with material offerings.”
Australia’s overall response to terrorist attacks around the world is misguided and likely to lead to more damage to our community than terrorism itself. While there is much that is laudable and more that is defensible in our response, the fundamental problem is that we are placing our faith in control rather than in freedom and decency. We are over-reacting and changing the relationship between the citizens of our country and the government and government authorities. The change is a serious negative for self-reliance and mutual trust, and will have lasting detrimental effects on our society.
The problem began with the declaration of the “war on terror” and the continued use of that phrase to justify whatever attitudes or behaviours governments want to introduce. War of any sort conjures up changes of relationships between governments and citizens, and all of those changes involve greater authority for government and less freedom for citizens.
Almost all the changes now being effected are based on fear and control. There is almost no appeal to the greater strength that faith in freedom offers us. The truth is that you cannot really have a war on terror. It is a contradiction in terms, a non-rational statement. It is easy to presume “we know what it means”, but in reality we don’t. We can be sure, however, that when authorities rely on such irrational terminology there will be much in their actions that will be equally vague and irrational. It will produce similar reactions in the community. The second major problem about having a war is that we must have an enemy. Experience tells us that it must be so. No enemy, no war; a war, there must be an enemy.
We don’t really have an enemy, and definitely not an enemy requiring such a massive response as a war. There are a few known people (such as bin Laden, if he is still alive) and there are the morally deranged individuals who can be persuaded from time to time to act as suicide bombers. Worldwide, they seem to be relatively few in number, although there may be an incessant supply in the Middle East. The fact that they turn up at all, or that they can be ‘home-grown’ as in the recent London bombings, is a legitimate cause for concern, but not a reason for imagining that they are lining up in their tens of thousands. They do not constitute an enemy as in an enemy at war.
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The danger is, of course, that, requiring an enemy for our war, we begin to imagine vast numbers of them, and that they have characteristics in common (enemies do, don’t they!). We haven’t really had an ‘enemy’ since the collapse of European communism put an end to the Soviet Union, and burgeoning trade prevented the transfer of this enmity to communist China, so we are probably ready for one, psychologically at least. The truth is that the winning of this ‘war’ is essentially a police/intelligence operation. It is large-scale and broadly international, but it is not a war in any traditional or even realistic sense of the word. It requires more and better cooperation with authorities in other parts of the world, particularly parts of the world where western society has not shown much respect to local populations for a long time.
One of the laudable aspects of Australia’s response to terrorism to date has been the rapid development of cooperation and mutual trust between police forces here and in Indonesia and other parts of South-East Asia. We tend to forget the immense advantage of having a civilian police service, as distinct from living in a world where a rampant military can be a plague on the population. It will be very helpful if we can share that blessing.
However, the more a police service begins to look like a military in its equipment and in its arbitrary powers, the less it will be able to encourage faith in freedom at home or abroad. (In fairness to the Australian military, no criticism is implied. From East Timor and the Solomons all the way back to Gallipoli, they have demonstrated that if you believe in your own freedom and decency you can treat enemies and civilians with respect.)
The point is that if we put our faith in the right way of doing things, we will have a much greater chance of success than if we put our faith in control of the population. Some of the comments emerging from the meeting of federal and state leaders were as alarming as the legislative program they adopted. When our Sunday paper can put up a headline saying “draconian laws our safeguard”, the wool is being pulled over our eyes.
Ten years from now, when the sunset clause forces a review of the law, we may find that we still have not experienced a terrorist attack, but will we still be talking about a mythical war on terror and will we still be treating ourselves as though we can’t be trusted?
More importantly, will we still be at peace with the Muslims who have lived here for generations, or will we (and they) have turned them into enemies?
How much of our own standards of behaviour will we have retained? And how much lost? The question is appropriate. On Monday this week, after the Bali bombing, we saw a rather gruesome picture of a 13-year-old girl on the front page of our morning newspaper for no good reason at all.
Then on Tuesday, we were presented with pictures of the severed heads of three alleged bombers, emphatically for no good or even excusable reason. This followed display of the same gruesome images on television on Monday and Tuesday. How far are we from public executions and hanging the heads on pikestaffs outside Parliament? When Jesus said, “Turn the other cheek”, he was not telling us to invite people to belt us. He was telling us to develop the strength to behave according to our own principles, not according to the principles of those who attack us. We are all reminded of this when we get a tap on the cheek at confirmation with the words “peace be with you”.
That is the strength of character needed to maintain peace, and at the moment we are losing sight of it.
Iwas pleased to see a mention (The Record, September 22) of the
daily Plenary Indulgences, which sadly will expire in less than a month now.
I have been disappointed and dismayed during the Eucharistic Year to have heard no mention, at any Masses or gatherings, of this wonderful blessing granted us by the late Pope John Paul II.
Nor have I received any positive response from other Catholics, when I have mentioned this wonderful opportunity.
It is almost as if they have not grasped the significance of this special grant.
Is it not of great importance that we can every day gain remission of all punishment due to sin, not only for ourselves - a clean slate – but that they can be used for the suffering souls in Purgatory, thereby gaining their immediate entry into heaven.
As to when the plenaries can be gained outside of special grants, such as this year, I have received varying reponses from priests (and bishops) to enquiries. They usually mention conditions, which are standard and straightforward, but avoid saying just when they can be gained.
Very rarely it seems.
I do hope you print this letter, which I now wish I had written sooner.
It just might remind and inspire others, to use the precious remaining days to help the souls in Purgatory.
M. Proudford-Walsh North PertthContinued from page 1
“The key is local volunteers,” said Fr Doyle. “People who are willing to have some motivation and vision of Christ.”
Group leader Margaret Bochat said this can include a variety of requests, from taking children to the doctors or helping with setting up bank accounts, and
helping with shopping when the family first arrives in Australia.
At present Mr and Mrs Longolio are concentrating on learning English in order to find employment and support themselves. Siama Longolio, whose fourth child is due any day said she is very happy with all the support she has received since arriving in Australia.
Fr Doyle went on to say that the project is very much a ‘do’ thing.
“It makes the world of difference and does the local community good.”
The service is soon to gain support from Centrecare in cooperation with the Immigration Department to establish a greater network of volunteers for migrant families.
“The Blessed Mother of Christ . . . shows herself a mother also by her care and loving attention. For her heart is not hardened against these children as if they were not her own; her womb carried a child only once, yet it remains ever fruitful, never ceasing to bring forth the fruits of motherly compassion.”
— St Guerric of Igny
“If our faith is weak, we should turn to Mary. St John tells us that it was because of the miracle that Christ performed, at His mother’s request, at the marriage feast at Cana, that ‘His disciples learned to believe in Him.’ Our mother is always interceding with her Son, so that He may attend to our needs and show Himself to us in such a way that we can cry out, ‘You are the Son of God.’ ”
— St Josémaria Escrivá“It is because (Mary) is, of all the saints, the most perfectly poor and the most perfectly hidden, the one who has absolutely nothing whatever that she attempts to possess as her own, that she can most fully communicate to the rest of us the grace of the infinitely selfless God. And we will most truly possess Him when we have emptied ourselves and become poor and hidden as she is, resembling Him by resembling her. And all our sanctity depends on her maternal love. The ones she desires to share the joy of her own poverty and simplicity, the ones whom she wills to be hidden as she is hidden, are the ones who share her closeness to God.”
— Thomas Merton
“No enemy on earth fears a powerful hostile army as much as the demons of hell fear the name and protection of Mary.”
— St. Bonaventure
“The Rosary is my favourite prayer. A marvelous prayer. Marvelous in its simplicity and depth . . . I cordially exhort everyone to recite it.”
— Pope John Paul II the Great
“The Rosary will be your little wreath of roses, your crown for Jesus and Mary.”
— St Louis de Montfort
“Therefore let all men, the learned and the ignorant, the just and the sinner, the great and the small praise and honour Jesus and Mary night and day by saying the Most Holy Rosary.”
— St Louis de Montfort
O c tober is the month of the October is the month the Rosar y. Here is a little refresher Rosary. Here is a little refresher course on how to pray this course on how to pray this beautiful prayer and, to borrow beautiful prayer and, to borrow Pope John Paul II’s words, “to sit John Paul II’s words, “to sit at the school of Mar y.” at the school of Mary.”
One of the most unmistakeably Catholic items is the Rosary — the set of beads on which millions of people offer prayer with Mary each day. The Rosary is an ideal Marian prayer because, as with all the works of Mary, it serves to draw us closer to her divine Son, Jesus. The Rosary is an ancient prayer, which took its present form in the Middle Ages.
When people say the word “Rosary,” they can be referring to one of two things: either the set of beads used to count out Marian prayers, or the prayers themselves. A Rosary is a set of beads that follow a pattern: one bead by itself, followed by ten beads grouped together. On the standalone bead, we pray an Our Father. On each of the ten beads, we pray a Hail Mary. The sets of ten beads are called “decades,” and there are five decades in an ordinary Rosary. (There are other variations on the beads, including ring Rosaries, which can be worn on one’s finger, and pocket Rosaries, which are one decade long.)
hope, and charity. Next we say a Glory Be before moving to the next individual bead. This forms the introductory prayer to the traditional fivedecade Rosary. With each decade, then, we meditate on one of the events, or “mysteries,” in the life of Jesus and Mary. Before beginning each decade, we call to mind that event. There are twenty of these particular mysteries, and they are divided into four sets of five: the Joyful, Sorrowful, Glorious Mysteries, and the Mysteries of Light or Luminous Mysteries added by Pope John Paul II in 2002.
The term “Rosary” also refers to the set of prayers and meditations that we count on the strung beads. We can say the prayers of the Rosary without using beads. But the action of moving one’s fingers along the beads is beneficial because it takes yet another of our senses up into our prayer, and the beads do make it easier for us to count the prayers.
Normally one begins the Rosary by reciting the Apostles’ Creed while holding the crucifix of the Rosary. After the cross comes one individual bead followed by three consecutive beads. As the fingers take up that first solitary bead, we recite an Our Father. On each of the three consecutive beads, we say a Hail Mary; it is customary to offer these three prayers for an increase of faith,
● The Joyful Mysteries recall the events surrounding the conception, birth, and childhood of Jesus.
● The Mysteries of Light focus on Christ’s ministry and events which reflect God’s transcendent glory and goodness.
● The Sorrowful Mysteries focus on His suffering and death.
● The Glorious Mysteries begin with Jesus’ resurrection and move on to heavenly realities.
All 20 mysteries together comprise an entire Rosary. Usually only five are covered in each recitation.
Holy Queen, another ancient prayer, in honor of the Blessed Mother. Try to pray the Rosary in an unhurried manner with a quiet rhythm. Take time after announcing the particular mystery to orient your meditation before beginning the recitation of the decade.
After recalling one of the mysteries, we say an Our Father while holding the stand-alone bead. Then we move along the ten consecutive beads, praying a Hail Mary with each one. We conclude each decade with a Glory Be. Then we continue with another mystery and repeat the process until we’ve completed five decades.
Some people follow each decade’s Glory Be with a “Fatima Prayer” a short prayer that the Blessed Mother taught to three little children in Portugal in 1917. Another pious custom is to end the recitation of the Rosary by praying the Hail
The Rosary is best prayed when the mind is free to contemplate the mysteries. The best time is when you have fifteen minutes or so to devote entirely to the prayer. But you can also pray the Rosary fruitfully during physical activity that does not monopolise your thoughts — such as mowing the lawn, doing the dishes, or driving the car. Pray the Rosary daily. If you can’t find the time just now, start with just one decade per day. The habit allows you to grow in the prayer and over time, it engraves the truths of the fifteen mysteries upon your heart and mind.
The Rosary is an ideal prayer for family devotion. It provides a format that children can learn quickly. It also allows older children to have the opportunity to lead prayers. In the family Rosary or in group recitation, the leader prays the first half of each prayer (Our Father . . . Hail Mary . . . Glory Be . . .) while the rest of the group recites the second half (Give us this day . . . Holy Mary . . . As it was in the beginning . . .).
The Rosary is also a profoundly biblical prayer. Reading a scriptural quotation or some other meditation that pertains to the particular mystery can enhance our understanding. There are many good collections of Rosary meditations and Scripture verses.
October is the month of the Rosary and provides an excellent opportunity for an individual or family to grow in this devotion. - OSV
Ask your average university student today what he or she knows about the Catholic Church and their answer might come down to one word: “irrelevance.”
But that one word should be “civilisation.” Western civilisation has given us the miracles of modern science, the wealth of freemarket economics, the security of the rule of law, a unique sense of human rights and freedom, charity as a virtue, splendid art and music, a philosophy grounded in reason, and innumerable other gifts that we take for granted as the wealthiest and most powerful civilisation in history.
But what is the ultimate source of these gifts?
Bestselling author and professor THOMAS WOODS offers what he describes as the long neglected answer: the Catholic Church. In How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilisation, Woods explains:
■ Why modern science was born in the Catholic Church;
■ How Catholic priests developed the idea of free-market economics 500 years before Adam Smith;
■ How the Catholic Church invented the university;
■ Why what you know about the Galileo affair is wrong;
■ How Western law grew out of Church canon law;
■ How the Church humanised the West by insisting on the sacredness of all human life.
Question: How did it come to be that the Church is considered the enemy of progress, freedom, human rights, science, and just about everything else modernity champions, when in fact your book claims that the Catholic Church is at the origin of these phenomena?
There are many reasons for this phenomenon, but I’ll confine myself to one. It is much easier to propagate historical myth than most people realize.
Take, for instance, the idea - which we were all taught in school - that in the Middle Ages everyone thought the world was flat. This, as Jeffrey Burton Russell has shown, is a 19th-century myth that was deliberately concocted to cast the Church in a bad light. It couldn’t be further from the truth.
The matter of Galileo, which most people know only in caricature, has fueled some of this fire. But it is both illegitimate and totally misleading to extrapolate from the Galileo case to the broader conclusion that the Church has historically been hostile to science.
It may come as a surprise to some readers, but the good news is that modern scholarship - say, over the past 50 to 100 years or so - has gone a long way toward refuting these myths and setting the record straight.
Scarcely any medievalist worth his salt would today repeat the caricatures of the Middle Ages that were once common currency, and mainstream historians of science would now be embarrassed to repeat the old contention that the relationship between religion and science in the West has been a history of unremitting warfare - as Andrew Dickson White famously contended a century ago.
Let’s begin with a few little-known facts about science. The first person to measure the rate of acceleration of a freely falling body was Father Giambattista Riccioli. Father Nicholas Steno is considered the father of geology. The father of Egyptology was Father Athanasius Kircher, and the man often cited as the father of atomic theory was Father Roger Boscovich.
The Jesuits took Western science all over the world. In the 20th century they so dominated the study of earthquakes that seismology became known as “the Jesuit science.”
Some Catholic cathedrals were built to function as the world’s most precise solar observatories, and the Basilica of San Petronio in Bologna was used to verify Johannes Kepler’s theory of elliptical planetary orbits.
The science chapter of How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization is by far the longest. In addition to discussing examples like the ones I’ve just mentioned, it also notes that certain aspects of Catholic teaching - including the idea of God as orderly and even mathematical, thus making possible the idea of autonomous natural laws - lent themselves to the development of modern science.
Economics
Recent scholarship has discovered that medieval economic thought, particularly in the High and Late Middle Ages, was far more modern and sophisticated than was once thought.
Many scholars, but above all Raymond de Roover, have shown that these thinkers possessed a deeper understanding and appreciation of market mechanisms, and were more sympathetic to a free economy, than
traditional portrayals would suggest.
In general they did not believe, as has been commonly alleged, in an objectively ascertainable “just price” of a good, or that the state should enforce such prices across the board. To the contrary, the Scholastics were deeply indebted to Roman law, resurrected in the High Middle Ages, which described the value of a good as what it could commonly be sold for.
The common estimation of the market in effect determined the just price. Debate and discussion on this matter continues, but no serious scholar has been so foolish as to reject de Roover’s findings root and branch.
I develop this point at even greater length in my book The Church and the Market: A Catholic Defense of the Free Economy which has received the endorsements of the economics chairmen at Christendom College and the University of Dallas.
An interesting tidbit, by the way, that I discuss in How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization is that at the very time Henry VIII was engaged in the suppression of England’s monasteries, those monks were on the verge of developing dedicated blast furnaces for the production of cast iron. Henry may have delayed the Industrial Revolution for two and a half centuries.
The Rule of Law
Canon law served as a model for developing Western states seeking to codify and systematize their own legal systems. Harold Berman, the great scholar of Western law, contends that the first modern legal system in the Western world was the Church’s canon law.
And that canon law, particularly as codified in Gratian’s Concordance of Discordant
Canons, served as a model of what Western states sought to accomplish.
Scholars of Church law showed the barbarized West how to take a patchwork of custom, statutory law and countless other sources, and produce from them a coherent legal order whose structure was internally consistent and in which previously existing contradictions were synthesized or otherwise resolved.
Moreover, the subject matter of canon law was not as far removed from that of civil law as we might think. For example, the Church had jurisdiction over marriage. The canon law of marriage held that a valid marriage required the free consent of both the man and the woman, and that a marriage could be held invalid if it took place under duress or if one of the parties entered into the marriage on the basis of a mistake regarding either the identity or some important quality of the other person.
“Here,” says Berman, “were the foundations not only of the modern law of marriage but also of certain basic elements of modern contract law, namely, the concept of free will and related concepts of mistake, duress and fraud.”
Additionally, the concepts of international law and human rights were developed by 16th-century Spanish scholastics such as Francisco de Vitoria.
People such as Francisco de Vitoria were convinced that international law, which codified the natural moral law in international relations, could serve to facilitate peaceful coexistence among people of disparate cultures and religions.
The idea of international law, as the Late Scholastics saw it, was an extension of the idea that no one, not even the state, was exempt from moral constraints. This idea ran completely contrary to the Machiavellian view that the state was morally autonomous and bound by no absolute moral standards.
While the idea of international law is morally indispensable and philosophically unimpeachable, there are practical difficulties associated with its enforcement by an international agency.
If the institution has no coercive powers it will be impotent; if it does have coercive powers then it, too, must be protected against and becomes a threat to the international common good.
There is also the risk that the organization will seek to go beyond mediation and peacekeeping and seek to intervene in the domestic matters of member states or to undermine traditional institutions in those states.
This, of course, is what has happened today, what with the radical politics on constant display at the United Nations. The Holy See’s role in international relations, it seems to me, is both to advance peace by means of its own initiatives, and to remain the great obstacle to the leftist social agenda put forth at typical U.N. conferences.
It is hard to explain briefly why it seems that over the last 40 or 50 years, Catholic contributions to art, literature and science have waned and Catholic influence in the academy and other important cultural institutions has also declined, though I take it up to some extent in my book The Church Confronts Modernity. That book looks at the great vigor of the Catholic Church in America during the first half of the 20th
century. Here was a self-confident Church that engaged in healthy interaction with the surrounding culture without being absorbed by it.
Hilaire Belloc observed at the time that “the more powerful, the more acute, and the more sensitive minds of our time are clearly inclining toward the Catholic side.”
Historian Peter Huff notes that the Catholic Church in America “witnessed such a steady stream of notable literary conversions that the statistics tended to support Calvert Alexander’s hypothesis of something suggesting a cultural trend.”
According to historian Charles Morris,
“Despite the defeat of Al Smith, American Catholics achieved an extraordinary ideological self-confidence by the 1930s, much to the envy of Protestant ministers.”
That self-confidence and sense of mission has, for a variety of reasons, diminished substantially since the 1960s.
It is dramatically urgent that Catholic intellectual and cultural figures regain that old confidence and sense of identity, for people need to hear the Church’s message more than ever.
Pope Benedict XVI has made abundantly clear his displeasure with the moral condition of Western civilization and its need for redemption.
Simone Weil once wrote, “I am not a Catholic, but I consider the Christian idea, which has its roots in Greek thought and in the course of the centuries has nourished all of our European civilization, as something that one cannot renounce without becoming degraded.”
Western civilization seems to be learning that one the hard way.
diversity matters (contemporary human mobility and the stand of the Church)
The network of ethnic ministries set up in Catholic parishes across Australia by way of response to the influx of European migrants after the Second World War made a great contribution to their social and religious adjustment to living in the new country. And in the process this opened up many local parishes to the new challenge of absorbing large numbers of newcomers from war-torn Europe, bringing with them many new ways of being Catholic.
In particular, European-based religious congregations rallied to the support of their faithful who had emigrated to Australia. They ensured that the migrants were not alone in facing a strange environment. Ethnic community centres and chaplaincies, national churches, kindergartens, media in languages other than English, homes for elderly migrants were set up over the course of time. Many established parishes in areas where migrants settled came to be staffed by personnel sensitive to language and cultural issues and, as a consequence, came to be regarded as a haven by countless migrants. For several decades past and even today such parishes are regarded by many migrants as “their own” centres and parishes.
Today the gradual decline of the
i say, i say
European-based agencies is obvious.
Reasons for this include: the ageing and eventual disappearance of
the settlers responsible for building and maintaining their own centres, this ageing process equally affecting their priests and religious, with lit-
tle or no replacement drawn from their countries of origin, the gradual integration into the Church of many of the settlers’ descendants
or, more commonly, the realisation, even after going through the Catholic school system, that they are devoid of any sense of belonging to the Church. But the most important factor in change has been the shift in migration movements.
In the course of a few decades, we have seen the demise of European migration, with the exception of the former Yugoslavia and the old Soviet satellites now slowly emerging from their painful history of isolation. Migration flows into Australia have diversified significantly. At the moment, Australia is the destination of people originating from many countries in Africa, Asia and the Pacific.
Many Catholic migrants (for instance from Vietnam, the Ukraine, China, Lithuania, Sudan, and some countries in the Middle East) came in order to escape religious persecution. Many others came out of extreme conditions of poverty and social neglect, while others again were evading wars, genocide and ethnic cleansing (in parts of former Yugoslavia, and in Ruanda, Lebanon, Sudan, etc).
Geopolitics triggered by the Cold War, natural disasters and the widening divide between rich and poor countries have all combined to displace millions of people, giving rise in more affluent countries to politics and political parties characterised by heightened concerns over national security and restrictive entry policies. To be continued.
Of course: mean, bad, nasty, brutish Crusaders...
■ With Guy Crouchback
Given the notorious persecutions and massacres of Jews by Crusaders, one would not expect Jewish publications to portray the crusades in a favourable light. However, that always-informative magazine The Review (formerly the Australia Israel Review), a publication on the Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs council, carries a major article in its latest issue, by Daniel Johnson, “Fighting Faiths: Rethinking the Crusades.”
This article does not seek to minimise the massacres of Jews and other atrocities that occurred during the Crusades. It does, however, point out that the Western historians of the Enlightenment, from Gibbon to Sir Steven Runciman, have sought to discredit and blacken the crusades for one ideological end or another, and that today: “the historical reality of the crusades has been appropriated by those whose quite specific aim is to discredit the war against Islamist terrorism.” The film Kingdom of Heaven, it continues,
presents a travesty of the crusades, in which the good guys among the crusaders are atheists. Ridley Scott plays an utterly ahistorical character who, having lost his faith on a hill supposed to be Calvary, “finds himself at home among a liberal brotherhood of freethinkers who ignore their bigoted anti-Muslim bishop and instead make peace with Saladin.” The Muslim leader Saladin is depicted as the very model of chivalry and a pioneer of religious toleration. This is grotesque bunk, and Saladin today is actually idolised by fanatical Islamicists as the very model of an anti-Christian warrior. In contrast to this fictional Islamic paragon, the unenlightened crusaders are depicted as “bloodthirsty, drunken, scheming, venal, treacherous and above all, fanatical.”
In fact, Daniel Johnson says, the motivation of the crusades, for all their faults, was primarily spiritual. Some crusaders were out for plunder, but “materialism, while it looms very large in the conventional narrative of the crusades, was only a secondary factor: most crusaders sacrificed far more wealth than they gained. According to [historian Thomas] Ashbridge, it cost the equivalent of five times a knight’s annual income to pay for his passage and that of his entourage to Jerusalem ...
“When the crusaders besieged and took the great city of Antioch, and established a principality there
on the way to Jerusalem, they believed they were merely restoring the oldest of the patriarchial sees, the site of Peter’s first church, to Christendom. In contrast to the long-standing cliché about the crusaders’ greed and avarice, or about the predominance among them of land-hungry younger sons, Ashbridge argues convincingly that chivalry and religiosity outweighed the hope of material rewards.”
None who returned from the First Crusade did so laden with riches.
Jews and Muslims as well as
Christians benefited from the prosperity and development the Christian kingdoms brought to Palestine, which had been in a state of devastation since Roman times, and in Europe itself the Crusades played a major rule in bringing to birth much of the best of the modern world: it was no coincidence that the crusades, which aroused the Europeans from intellectual stagnation, were closely followed by Magna Carta, the Gothic Cathedral, the scholastic university and a great expansion of international trade.
Further, Johnson says, far from being wanton aggression the Crusades were a limited and belated counter-offensive against “another, much lengthier and much more relentless holy war - namely, the Muslim jihad against Christendom. For the fact is that the Crusades were a temporary phenomenon that flourished for some two centuries and had quite a limited purpose, whereas jihad has been a permanent and ubiquitous fact of Islamic life.” The whole article is well worth reading.
Mapping the face of absence:
the conclusion of the address by Cardinal George Pell of Sydney to the National Press Club on 21 September. The first part appeared in The Record last week.
An unprincipled and intolerant secularism
There is considerable evidence that atheism is dying in the Western world (cf. Alistair McGrath’s The Twilight of Atheism 2004) and that popular secularism is heavily infected with superstition, but if intellectual secularism does have a creed it is relativism. With the demise of Communism secularism only survives by attacking Christianity, has no independent platform of value and objectivity but lives (in the Western world) on a post-Christian overdraft.
Many think that Australia is now a secular society (some Catholics and many secularists like to talk like this) but in the 2001 census 68% declared themselves Christian and only 15.48% declared themselves without religion, a decline of 1.45% from 1996.
While the percentages of believers and unbelievers among our academics and journalists might be the reverse of that obtaining in the general population, there remains a good case for claiming that Australia is still a Christian country (tolerant of every religion and no religion), whose major social, political and legal institutions cannot be fully understood without it.
Daily we hear of human rights, obligations to the needy, ideals of virtue, principles of equity and compassion that are certainly not relative and often not secular. In fact under relativism, human rights are not just watered down but literally incoherent. Obligations to the needy become negotiable, virtue is flexible so that “might can be right” and “greed can beat need”. Equity and compassion are fine for those who freely choose them, but simply options, not imperatives.
If relativism were ever officially endorsed, moral life and public life would be changed forever.
Many people never think seriously about religion at all, hence secularism wins by stealth and default. But we should ponder the effects of an increase in the secular-relativist bite into Christianity: previous moral norms we all accept (on lying and promise breaking, assault and abuse, cheating and rorting, even freedom and equality) would be vulnerable to revision: conscience would become personal preference – a polite term for ‘doing it my way’, and clear thinking and past wisdom would be repudiated and ridiculed.
Could this really happen in Australia?
It might seem hard to believe we would ever reject the most fundamental moral values; but it was hard only 50 years ago to believe we would abort 100,000 babies a year, contemplate men marrying men, killing the sick, experimenting on human embryos…. Under relativism there is no antidote to Nazism, racism, Communism, fundamentalism: for relativism, whatever is socially supported thereby deserves social support.
Relativism follows from secularism because part of secularism’s original argument was that the renunciation of the claim to religious truth is a fundamental condition for peace. In an essay in his book Truth and Tolerance, the-then Cardinal Ratzinger refers to the work of Egyptologist Jan Assmann, who claims that it was Moses who introduced the notion of truth into religion, and insisted on rejecting false gods.
Hitherto religions had been pure or impure, sacred or profane, and people could have a number of religious enthusiasms. But Moses’ destruction of the Golden Calf set an unfortunate precedent for monotheistic intolerance.
The secular ambition today is to return to ancient Egypt, to remove again the distinction between God and the world, to tolerate undemanding forms of spirituality, perhaps a return to pantheism, a vague nature worship, where there is no need to be concerned with truth and falsehood, much less any notion of individual judgement after death by the one true God. With this reversion there would be no more need for the notions of sin and redemption. According to Assmann’s theory, sin only came into the world with Moses. But if there is no true and false religion, it is much more difficult to distinguish good from evil. Relativism is meant to serve as the operational principle that delivers tolerance, mutual respect, and a basis for civic peace, in contrast to the way religion causes war and dissension. Those who defend secularism and relativism continue to offer
Islam. There were more Christian martyrs in the twentieth century than in any other century, most of them under atheist tyrants like Lenin, Hitler, Stalin, Mao and Pol Pot. To what extent these were principled killers, ruthlessly following their ideologies, or relativists who worshipped power is a moot point.
Obviously it would be an ambition of Pope Benedict that Catholics and indeed all Christians would be sturdy opponents of the dictatorship of relativism. This is not always the case.
In 1993 Pope John Paul II wrote his beautiful and controversial encyclical on The Splendour of Truth. There he spoke of a genuine crisis in the Catholic understanding of morality; not only dissent on particular points but differences which contested
it can conceal, even from those involved, the fact that they are disagreeing with the teaching of the Church, and sometimes with Christ’s own teaching.
Recently I heard of a discussion between two Christian politicians (I am not sure both were Catholics) on how they would vote on destructive human embryo experimentation. One proposed to vote for it and the other to oppose, and the supporter of the legislation justified his position by claiming he had asked advice from a priest who told him to follow his conscience.
At best the priest ducked the issue; at worst he disguised his dissent by advocating what his listener preferred. Simpleminded relativism is alive and well within the Christian communities. In its radically liberal forms it is poisonous of both faith and morals, while at a pastoral level such fudging of the issues offers nothing to peo-
this rationale, but secularism and relativism can be dictatorial, intolerant of principled opposition.
In 2001, when the Anglican Archbishop of Sydney suggested that Christians should do more to evangelise Australian society, the Sydney Morning Herald published an editorial condemning this idea as arrogant, dangerous and a recipe for bloodshed.
Observing that “in Australia, one’s religion is largely a private matter”, the editorial concluded - with only a small hint of menace - that ‘it should remain that way”. This editorial captured the secularist attitude to traditional religion very well: it is acceptable, perhaps even a good thing, to have some of it around for the sake of “diversity” but it can only be tolerated on the condition that it is privatised. The privatisation of belief is usually justified by referring to the importance of maintaining the public domain and public policy as “neutral” areas.
But privatisation does not favour neutrality. It is a way of silencing your opponents, because barring God from the public square is not neutral. Believers have equal rights in a democracy!
There have been other manifestations of secularist intolerance throughout the Western world in recent years: the witch trial of Rocco Buttiglione conducted by the European Parliament because of his Christian understanding of homosexual activity; the conviction of critics of samesex marriage for publicising their views under human rights legislation in Canada; and the penalties handed out to Christian ministers in Victoria for allegedly vilifying
the very basis of Christian moral thinking, that there are moral truths.
Put very crudely, but with basic accuracy, there is a conviction even among some Church-going Catholics that the Second Vatican Council taught that they can now choose to identify conscience with their personal opinions, and disagree with Church teaching especially on matters of sexuality and life. Somewhat strangely those who assert this claim rarely urge people to follow their consciences in matters of public morality, such as social justice. No one seems to be free to follow his conscience when confronted with racism.
The crisis is more publicly apparent in other Christian denominations e.g. in the tragic divisions in the Anglican Churches over the ordination of homosexually active bishops, but the root causes are similar. A fundamental division between liberal and traditional Christians is where to draw the line between immutable tradition or Revelation and what can be changed and updated according to modern understandings.
In moral matters this often involves two contrasting views of conscience; the Christian concept, where conscience seeks to discover and do what God commands and a secular view of conscience as personal autonomy, each person’s right to define right and wrong for himself.
Sometimes Christians move unknowingly from one concept of conscience to the other, easy victims to the fashionable relativism.
Pastorally there can be a radical confusion which is much welcomed, because
ple young or old who are looking for truth and principles.
The first St Benedict was born at Nursia, Italy in 480AD. He withdrew from the world to Subiaco, where Nero had a villa centuries earlier with its own artificial lake, and then moved to found a monastery at Monte Cassino. His rule became the basis of the Benedictine Order, whose monasteries across Europe preserved faith and learning through what is sometimes called the Dark Ages.
Pope Benedict is clear-headed, longsighted, a realist rather than a pessimist. He does not seem to share those surges of almost Messianic optimism which touched Pope John Paul II. It is significant that he took the name Benedict as he begins to lead the Church in a Europe with a declining population, many signs of metaphysical boredom, and a culture of relativism which lacks clarity and self confidence. There is also a crisis of faith in many parts of this continent.
Pope Benedict knows this well, just as he knows that a vibrant Christianity can still transform even post-industrial societies with its love and faith, its principles and communities of service.
Australia is still a young society. With our energy and optimism we are not fertile ground for the dictatorship of relativism, but are rich in spiritual and especially moral potential.
This could be one reason why Pope Benedict nominated Sydney to host the World Youth Day in 2008.
As it looks for ways to increase Catholics’ love for the Eucharist, the world Synod of Bishops also will have to grapple with questions about ordaining married men, sharing Communion with other Christians and allowing divorced and civilly remarried Catholics to receive the sacrament, said a synod official.
Italian Cardinal Angelo Scola of Venice, the synod’s recording secretary, told synod participants and reporters on October 3 that he did not believe current church practice should change on any of those issues.
However, even before the synod debate began, the two bishops who joined Cardinal Scola in facing the press offered slightly different views on the issues.
In his 52-page, Latin-language summary of topics awaiting the synod, Cardinal Scola said the Eucharist must be understood as a gift from God; it is not a possession or a right.
“The problem of the scarcity of priests must be faced with courage in the framework of the Eucharist as a gift,” he said.
Some people, while recognising the value of priestly celibacy, have said that the need and right of Catholic faithful to receive the Eucharist regularly meant the Church must consider the possibility of ordaining married men in the Latin rite when the lack of celibate priests is particularly serious.
But Cardinal Scola said that attitude assumes that the Church is like
a business and can calculate exactly how many priests it requires; priests, too, are a gift from God and, if more are needed, people should pray. The cardinal also asked the synod to consider practical ways for ensuring a more equitable global distribution of the priests the Church does have. Philippine Bishop Luis Tagle of Imus, joining Cardinal Scola at the Vatican press conference, said
while the focus of the synod was on the Eucharist as the source of the life and mission of the Church, it must not be forgotten that “in the absence of the priest, there is no Eucharist.”
In the Philippines, there are “lots of neighbourhoods and villages or barrios where people long for the Eucharist,” he said, and even though the “seminaries are full,” there still
are not enough priests to minister to the rising number of Catholics in the country.
As a result, priests are stretched to the limit, he said. Bishop Tagle said he is worried about “what happens to the vocation of the faithful” and how they can “become full communities of faith” if they receive a preconsecrated host, but are not able to participate regularly in a Mass.
The bishops of the Philippines did not send representatives to the synod with a “particular position” on addressing the priest shortage, he said, but they were hoping for concrete suggestions.
The issue of Communion for Catholics who married only in a civil ceremony after having been divorced also was under discussion from the opening moments of the synod. In his presentation to the synod, Cardinal Scola said, “no one can fail to notice the widespread tendency” of divorced and remarried Catholics to receive Communion despite the Church’s teaching that first they must receive an annulment of their original marriage.
The cardinal said “superficiality” in understanding the permanence of marriage and the significance of the Eucharist are not the only factors involved, and that some situations were complex. CNS
Our Lady’s message to pray still vital, says Fatima advocate
Our Lady of Fatima’s message to pray is just as vital today as it was in 1917 when she appeared to three shepherd children, said the international president of the World Apostolate of Fatima.
“We are acting on Our Lady’s request to pray often,” the president, Americo Lopez-Ortiz, said on October 1, the eve of the Worldwide Day of Prayer for the Sanctity of Life. “Hard work and prayer will triumph in the battle for life.”
On October 2, more than 100,000 people filled the square outside the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima for Mass to mark the day of prayer for life. Bishop Serafim de Sousa Ferreira e Silva of Leiria-Fatima celebrated the Mass, which also served as the annual pilgrimage for lay Franciscans from throughout Portugal and for the people of the diocese.
The World Apostolate of Fatima sponsored the day of prayer with the goal of getting 100 million prayers said for the intention of upholding the sacredness of life.
Before the Mass, thousands of families gathered at the shrine to offer prayers in thanksgiving for the intercession of Mary. Hundreds at a time prayed the Rosary in the Chapel of the Apparition, while others walked on their knees through the square and around the chapel in devotion to Mary.
The shrine’s pilgrimage office estimated that about 170,000 people visited Fatima that day.
It was an annual trip for Elana Cohlo, 21, who drove three hours from the town of Santo Tirso, Portugal.
“I have faith for Fatima,” she said, using her limited knowledge of English.
Anthony DiLorenzo of Stamford, Conneticutt, was with a Vaticanrelated pilgrimage agency, Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi. DiLorenzo, whose trip originated in Italy, said he was “not quite a believer, but maybe after” the visit he would be.
After the Mass, Bishop de Sousa Ferreira e Silva went to the guesthouse of the Blue Army of Fatima to bless a statue, “Mary Mother of the Life Within.” Another model of the statue was being blessed and placed at the US headquarters in Washington, New Jersey, the same day. Bishop Serafim, who does not speak English, said Mary was trying “to think, to do new things” for a better world. “Each of us has something to do. And the boss wants us to produce,” Nuno Prazeres of Fatima interpreted as the bishop spoke. “If 60 years ago mankind could build an atomic bomb to destroy Hiroshima, why are we not able to neutralise a destructive hurricane?” the bishop asked. “We hope that in the coming years it can become the largest day in the world for prayers for life,” he added.
He said the international headquarters in Fatima has received prayer pledges from about 500,000 people.
Noted theologian and author Monika Hellwig died at Washington Hospital Centre on September 30 from a severe stroke. She was 75 years old.
Hellwig had just retired in August as president and executive director of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities, where she played a role in the efforts of US bishops and Catholic colleges and universities to work out implementation of church norms for Catholic higher education in the context of US law and academic culture.
Before taking up the ACCU post, she taught theology for more than 30 years at Georgetown University, retiring there in 1996 as Landegger distinguished professor of theology.
Just days before her death she had taken up a new position as a research fellow at the university’s Woodstock Theological Centre. Three days before her death she moderated a theological forum on the papacy marking the centre’s 30th anniversary.
A former president of the Catholic Theological Society of America, Hellwig received numerous honours and awards for her work, including more than 30 honorary degrees.
She was the author of more than 200 scholarly and popular articles or book chapters, including a three-year series of columns on homiletics in America magazine.
Among her 20-plus books are titles such as “Understanding
Catholicism,” “The Christian Creeds,” “What Are the Theologians Saying?” “Jesus, the Compassion of God,” “Death and Christian Hope” and “Christian Women in a Troubled World.”
She was co-author with Michael Glazer of the Modern Catholic Encyclopedia in 1994 and of its second, expanded edition, which appeared late last year.
A plain-spoken theologian who addressed a wide range of issues hotly contested in today’s Church, Hellwig at times challenged church positions, especially on the role of women, but often took the role of intermediary between positions of the left and right.
In the midst of last year’s election-season debate over Catholic politicians and abortion, at an all-day forum on the subject at Washington’s National Press Club, she challenged speakers who called for the bishops to deny Communion to Catholics who
vote against legal restrictions on abortion. Politically, that would reinforce the widespread misperception that abortion is really just a Catholic issue, not a public issue for all Americans, she said.
“The issue of abortion is not a Catholic issue, it’s a human issue,” she said. “It’s an issue which in our traditional understanding is supposed to be discussed at the level of natural law, at the level of the public square, at the level of enlisting the reflection of all people of good will and enlisting their reflection in a sustained, coherent argument about the case, and I don’t think we have done that.”
Monika Hellwig was born in Germany on December 10, 1929, but before World War II her family fled Hitler’s regime, first to the Netherlands and then to England, where Hellwig grew up.
She studied at the University of Liverpool, majoring in social sciences. Following her graduation in 1951, for four years she worked in social research and social service and as a tutor.
After moving to the United States she earned a master’s degree in theology from The Catholic University of America in 1956. From 1956 to 1962 she was a teacher and, for a time, academic dean at St Therese’s Junior College in Philadelphia. Living in Italy from 1963 to 1966, she did research and writing for a Vatican official and handled the English language desk at the Pius XII International Centre in Rocca di Papa.
An American bishop has called for a “bolder and more effective” catechesis program in his diocese to educate Catholics about their faith.
Bishop Michael Saltarelli of Wilmington issued the call in a 4,600 word pastoral letter titled “Go and Teach: Facing the Challenges of Catechesis Today.”
The pastoral is a response to what some US church leaders see as a decrease in religious literacy among Catholics in the past 30 or so years, creating what has been called a “lost generation” of “undercatechised” young adults who are not as committed to or knowledgeable about the faith as older Catholics.
He placed diocesan efforts to renew the faith in the context of the current American culture and its threats to the exercise of religious freedom.
“There are powerful elements in the culture that want us to keep that faith ‘private,’ not to bring it into our schools, our places of work or our political life,” Bishop Saltarelli said. He noted the potentially “destructive” power of certain media. “Today, the Internet, video games, television and film are capturing hearts, minds and imaginations not only of our young, but of many adults as well,” he said.
He also said the Church itself has been changed and enriched by immigrants from Latin America, the Asian Pacific Rim and other
parts of the world. “This is the soil in which we must plant Christ’s message,” he said. The letter was published in the September 15 edition of The Dialog, Wilmington’s diocesan newspaper. Its publication coincided with the following weekends Catechetical Sunday observance, when parishes in the diocese commissioned and blessed those who teach the faith in religious education programs and schools. The diocese’s Office for Religious Education has developed a multiyear plan to implement the bishop’s vision in parishes and schools; details of the plan will be
announced soon, the bishop said in his letter.
The pastoral letter and the plan build on a series of conversations that parish and diocesan officials held throughout the diocese in 2003-04.
The “On Good Soil” discussions gave local Catholics the chance “to look realistically at ourselves and to discern together our future” and to study the Church’s texts on catechesis, the bishop said.
“To ensure a faith for tomorrow,” he said, the diocese’s efforts will be guided by the US bishops’ National Directory for Catechesis
and the adult catechism for US Catholics approved by the bishops last November and sent to Rome for approval. Quoting the Vatican’s General Directory for Catechesis, Bishop Saltarelli said catechesis is “more than instruction, it is an apprenticeship of the entire Christian life.”
The bishop challenged adults to lead this renewal of faith. “Our children will live their faith if we adults live it,” he said. He said the Church will help parents who might feel inadequate discussing the faith with their children or with friends or coworkers. CNS
The Vatican confirmed Chicago Cardinal Francis George’s decision to remove 11 archdiocesan priests from ministry following accusations that they had sexually abused minors. The 11, who have now been permanently removed from ministry, were among 14 whose cases the archdiocese sent to the Vatican for review in accordance with the US bishops’ 2002 “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People” and the related “Essential Norms” implementing the charter legislatively. All of the priests had already been removed from public ministry.
Of the 14, one has died and two await canonical trials, which will be decided by tribunals of priests in the United States.
The Vatican decision, announced on September 26, means each of the priests is prohibited from “engaging in any public ministry, presenting himself as a priest or acting as an agent of the Archdiocese of Chicago,” said the archdiocesan chancellor, Jimmy Lago.
The archdiocese did not release the names of the priests, but did notify the victims and affected parish communities.
According to information released when the priests were originally removed, victims said they were abused from 20 to 50 years ago. “All of the allegations had been reported to the civil authorities, and parishes were notified when the priests were withdrawn,” said Mr Lago. CNS
A Russian Orthodox bishop has appealed for the formation of a Catholic-Orthodox alliance to negotiate with European institutions and members of other faiths on behalf of “traditional Christianity.”
“Europe has so rapidly deChristianised that urgent action is
needed to save it from losing its centuries-old Christian identity,” said Bishop Hilarion Alfeyev of Vienna and Austria, the Russian church’s representative to the European Union.
“I strongly believe the time has come for Catholics and Orthodox to unite their efforts,” the bishop said at an ecumenical congress in Gniezno, Poland, on the role of Christians in contemporary Europe. “We need a strategic alliance, and we need it here and now. In 20, 30
The environment for breeding vocations is not what it used to be. Catholic schools used to be feeder systems to the seminaries. Religious sisters used to be prominent fixtures in schools and parishes to offer words of encouragement and to plant the seeds of priestly vocations. The rise of secularism, materialism and careerism and a lack of commitment among young people do not generate vocations. Those ideas are not lost on vocation directors or the US bishops, who have made the promotion of vocations one of the top three priorities in the Catholic Church, according to Father Edward J Burns, executive director for vocations and priestly formation for the US Conference of Catholic
or 40 years, it may simply be too late.”
He said the alliance would bring together representatives of European Catholic bishops’ conferences and Orthodox churches and noted that the group would seek a “common position on all major social and ethical issues,” including the family, sex and bioethics.
He added that Orthodox leaders hoped for a breakthrough in working with Catholics under Pope Benedict XVI and counted on the
Bishops. “With today’s secularisation we don’t have the feeder system we used to,”
Father Burns said on September 26 at the 42nd annual convention of the National Conference of Diocesan Vocations Directors. “The materialism of society fosters a lack of commitment among young people and a feeling to live life for one’s self.”
Father Burns said the “live-for-self” agenda not only affects the priesthood but other service jobs, such as teaching and nursing, which also are suffering shortages. But the priesthood, he said, has a double whammy - it is a life of service and a life of commitment.
Religious leaders in Bali expressed concern as they condemned the October 1 suicide bombings that killed at least 26 people and
new Pope to oppose “progressive groups that demand the ordination of women, approval of so-called same-sex marriages, abortion, contraception and euthanasia.”
“The proposed alliance would enable European Catholics and Orthodox to fight together against the secularism, liberalism and relativism prevailing in modern Europe and to speak with one voice in addressing secular society,” the Russian Orthodox bishop said.
“It could act as an authorita-
injured more than 120 others on the island famed as a centre of tourism and Indonesian Hindu culture. “We must strongly condemn the bombing that has hit Bali again. The action of the bombers was uncivilised, and regrettably it has happened in Indonesia, a civilised nation,” Bishop Benyamin Bria of Denpasar told UCA News. Hospital officials in Denpasar told UCA News the bombings killed 26 people, and more than 120 others were being treated for injuries in seven local hospitals. The dead and injured included foreigners as well as Indonesians. According to reports, three suicide bombers targeted restaurants in Jimbaran Beach and Kuta, on the south of the island. Kuta is a 25-minute drive from Denpasar, while Jimbaran is a 15minute drive from Kuta. This was the second deadly attack on Bali in less than three years. A bomb on October 13 2002, killed 202 people, including 88 Australian tourists.
tive partner in dialogue with such international organisations as the European Commission, European Parliament and Council of Europe. The alliance could also represent traditional Christianity in dialogue with Judaism, Islam and other world religions,” he added.
The September 16-19 congress, hosted by Poland’s Catholic church leaders, brought together 900 Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant representatives, as well as Muslim and Jewish leaders. CNS
New Orleans archdiocesan officials estimated a negative cash flow of $40 million by the end of the year. The projection was based on assumptions about drastically reduced parish giving and income from federal grants that are used to operate many Catholic Charities programs. Millions more could be needed to repair facilities damaged by the hurricane, depending on whether insurers assess the damage as flood-related or wind-related. Although the archdiocese’s insurance coverage for wind-related damage provides for full replacement value, it has only about $13 million in flood insurance. A preliminary assessment of about 50 archdiocesan buildings indicated there was at least $84 million in flood damage, leaving a shortfall of more than $70 million.
An American bishop has called for a “bolder and more effective” catechesis program in his diocese to educate Catholics about their faith.
Bishop Michael Saltarelli of Wilmington issued the call in a 4,600 word pastoral letter titled “Go and Teach: Facing the Challenges of Catechesis Today.”
The pastoral is a response to what some US church leaders see as a decrease in religious literacy among Catholics in the past 30 or so years, creating what has been called a “lost generation” of “undercatechised” young adults who are not as committed to or knowledgeable about the faith as older Catholics.
He placed diocesan efforts to renew the faith in the context of the current American culture and its threats to the exercise of religious freedom.
“There are powerful elements in the culture that want us to keep that faith ‘private,’ not to bring it into our schools, our places of work or our political life,” Bishop Saltarelli said. He noted the potentially “destructive” power of certain media. “Today, the Internet, video games, television and film are capturing hearts, minds and imaginations not only of our young, but of many adults as well,” he said.
He also said the Church itself has been changed and enriched by immigrants from Latin America, the Asian Pacific Rim and other
parts of the world. “This is the soil in which we must plant Christ’s message,” he said. The letter was published in the September 15 edition of The Dialog, Wilmington’s diocesan newspaper. Its publication coincided with the following weekends Catechetical Sunday observance, when parishes in the diocese commissioned and blessed those who teach the faith in religious education programs and schools. The diocese’s Office for Religious Education has developed a multiyear plan to implement the bishop’s vision in parishes and schools; details of the plan will be
announced soon, the bishop said in his letter.
The pastoral letter and the plan build on a series of conversations that parish and diocesan officials held throughout the diocese in 2003-04.
The “On Good Soil” discussions gave local Catholics the chance “to look realistically at ourselves and to discern together our future” and to study the Church’s texts on catechesis, the bishop said.
“To ensure a faith for tomorrow,” he said, the diocese’s efforts will be guided by the US bishops’ National Directory for Catechesis
and the adult catechism for US Catholics approved by the bishops last November and sent to Rome for approval. Quoting the Vatican’s General Directory for Catechesis, Bishop Saltarelli said catechesis is “more than instruction, it is an apprenticeship of the entire Christian life.”
The bishop challenged adults to lead this renewal of faith. “Our children will live their faith if we adults live it,” he said. He said the Church will help parents who might feel inadequate discussing the faith with their children or with friends or coworkers. CNS
The Vatican confirmed Chicago Cardinal Francis George’s decision to remove 11 archdiocesan priests from ministry following accusations that they had sexually abused minors. The 11, who have now been permanently removed from ministry, were among 14 whose cases the archdiocese sent to the Vatican for review in accordance with the US bishops’ 2002 “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People” and the related “Essential Norms” implementing the charter legislatively. All of the priests had already been removed from public ministry.
Of the 14, one has died and two await canonical trials, which will be decided by tribunals of priests in the United States.
The Vatican decision, announced on September 26, means each of the priests is prohibited from “engaging in any public ministry, presenting himself as a priest or acting as an agent of the Archdiocese of Chicago,” said the archdiocesan chancellor, Jimmy Lago.
The archdiocese did not release the names of the priests, but did notify the victims and affected parish communities.
According to information released when the priests were originally removed, victims said they were abused from 20 to 50 years ago. “All of the allegations had been reported to the civil authorities, and parishes were notified when the priests were withdrawn,” said Mr Lago. CNS
A Russian Orthodox bishop has appealed for the formation of a Catholic-Orthodox alliance to negotiate with European institutions and members of other faiths on behalf of “traditional Christianity.”
“Europe has so rapidly deChristianised that urgent action is
needed to save it from losing its centuries-old Christian identity,” said Bishop Hilarion Alfeyev of Vienna and Austria, the Russian church’s representative to the European Union.
“I strongly believe the time has come for Catholics and Orthodox to unite their efforts,” the bishop said at an ecumenical congress in Gniezno, Poland, on the role of Christians in contemporary Europe. “We need a strategic alliance, and we need it here and now. In 20, 30
The environment for breeding vocations is not what it used to be. Catholic schools used to be feeder systems to the seminaries. Religious sisters used to be prominent fixtures in schools and parishes to offer words of encouragement and to plant the seeds of priestly vocations. The rise of secularism, materialism and careerism and a lack of commitment among young people do not generate vocations. Those ideas are not lost on vocation directors or the US bishops, who have made the promotion of vocations one of the top three priorities in the Catholic Church, according to Father Edward J Burns, executive director for vocations and priestly formation for the US Conference of Catholic
or 40 years, it may simply be too late.”
He said the alliance would bring together representatives of European Catholic bishops’ conferences and Orthodox churches and noted that the group would seek a “common position on all major social and ethical issues,” including the family, sex and bioethics.
He added that Orthodox leaders hoped for a breakthrough in working with Catholics under Pope Benedict XVI and counted on the
Bishops. “With today’s secularisation we don’t have the feeder system we used to,”
Father Burns said on September 26 at the 42nd annual convention of the National Conference of Diocesan Vocations Directors. “The materialism of society fosters a lack of commitment among young people and a feeling to live life for one’s self.”
Father Burns said the “live-for-self” agenda not only affects the priesthood but other service jobs, such as teaching and nursing, which also are suffering shortages. But the priesthood, he said, has a double whammy - it is a life of service and a life of commitment.
Religious leaders in Bali expressed concern as they condemned the October 1 suicide bombings that killed at least 26 people and
new Pope to oppose “progressive groups that demand the ordination of women, approval of so-called same-sex marriages, abortion, contraception and euthanasia.”
“The proposed alliance would enable European Catholics and Orthodox to fight together against the secularism, liberalism and relativism prevailing in modern Europe and to speak with one voice in addressing secular society,” the Russian Orthodox bishop said.
“It could act as an authorita-
injured more than 120 others on the island famed as a centre of tourism and Indonesian Hindu culture. “We must strongly condemn the bombing that has hit Bali again. The action of the bombers was uncivilised, and regrettably it has happened in Indonesia, a civilised nation,” Bishop Benyamin Bria of Denpasar told UCA News. Hospital officials in Denpasar told UCA News the bombings killed 26 people, and more than 120 others were being treated for injuries in seven local hospitals. The dead and injured included foreigners as well as Indonesians. According to reports, three suicide bombers targeted restaurants in Jimbaran Beach and Kuta, on the south of the island. Kuta is a 25-minute drive from Denpasar, while Jimbaran is a 15minute drive from Kuta. This was the second deadly attack on Bali in less than three years. A bomb on October 13 2002, killed 202 people, including 88 Australian tourists.
tive partner in dialogue with such international organisations as the European Commission, European Parliament and Council of Europe. The alliance could also represent traditional Christianity in dialogue with Judaism, Islam and other world religions,” he added.
The September 16-19 congress, hosted by Poland’s Catholic church leaders, brought together 900 Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant representatives, as well as Muslim and Jewish leaders. CNS
New Orleans archdiocesan officials estimated a negative cash flow of $40 million by the end of the year. The projection was based on assumptions about drastically reduced parish giving and income from federal grants that are used to operate many Catholic Charities programs. Millions more could be needed to repair facilities damaged by the hurricane, depending on whether insurers assess the damage as flood-related or wind-related. Although the archdiocese’s insurance coverage for wind-related damage provides for full replacement value, it has only about $13 million in flood insurance. A preliminary assessment of about 50 archdiocesan buildings indicated there was at least $84 million in flood damage, leaving a shortfall of more than $70 million.
Published by Connor Court Publishing.
■ Reviewed by Fr Tony Paganoni CS
‘Along with Britain, Australia entered the Second World War in September 1939. As a result, the Australian Government enacted a National Security Act which granted extraordinary wartime powers.
There were restrictions for immigrants who were considered “enemy aliens”. These affected travel, work, residence, the sale or transfer of land, the possession of cameras, wireless and any means of transport.
It was an offence to speak a language other than English on the telephone and freedom of assembly was denied.
These prohibitions were also extended to those who had become citizens. It didn’t matter whether they were born in Australia or elsewhere.
This was one of the ways of upholding Australia as part of the British world, by isolating and identifying the other – the Italian,
German or Japanese enemy. The tag “enemy alien” transformed the lives of 7,771 individuals of all nationalities, mostly men. Some women and children were also interned.
Of those classified as enemy aliens, 4,727 were Italian, approximately 15% of the Italo-Australian community at the time.
In the United States only 2,100 Italo-Americans out of a total population of 600,000 were interned.
The number of Italo-Australian internees varied from state to state. Queensland topped all other states, with a comparatively greater proportion.
Western Australia, perceived like Queensland to be under threat of invasion, interned a comparatively greater proportion as well, but was somewhat more lenient with naturalised Italians and those born in Australia.
Possibly due to the greater social cohesion of the community and the patronage of Archbishop Daniel Mannix, in Victoria, there were few internees: 170.
Aside from those suspected of leaning toward the Fascist ideology, Italo-Australians engaged in fishing were highly suspect, on the basis that their boats and seafaring experiences could constitute a threat to national security.
They could facilitate the traffic of spies in and out of the country. At
Wollongong, Ulladulla, Fremantle, Geraldton and Port Augusta fishing boats belonging to Italians were confiscated and their licences suspended.
Aside from the disruption of family life and a source of livelihood, internment was often regarded by the wider community as proof of fascist leanings and/or subversive activities - matters of shame.
The explanations offered by historians for Australia’s internment policy vary: Paul Hasluck deplores the infringement of civil rights, GianFranco Cresciani attributes the internment to the fascist threat, Margaret Bevege notes that internments increased every time the Allies suffered a setback in the war, Ilma Martinuzzi O’Brien stresses prejudice and discrimination as a major contributing factor, Saunders and Daniels conclude that the USA and Canada were better able to confront similar issues.
The four authors agree that the internment was, for the vast majority of cases, unnecessary and unjust. It imperilled the economic security of many Italian families, their prime reason for migrating to Australia. It highlighted the fact that policies and practices of the government were fluid and contradictory: it involved “a continuous interplay between the basic structures of society – its laws and values – and
the demands of achieving victory.” In barely 70 pages, the four authors, aided by first hand information and case histories, lift the curtain over a lamentable historical experience. While some official policies
towards powerless groups resulted in unnecessary suffering, the remedial efforts of Church leaders at the time, such as Mannix, Lyons and Freeman is well noted and needs much more exposure.
George WeigelSunday October 9
SOCCER FOR UNITY
Join the Focolare Youth in Perth as they take part in a worldwide day of sports activities to promote peace and unity between people of different races and cultures. Those who wish may attend the 9.00am Mass at the Redemptorist Monastery on Vincent Street at10.30am, game of soccer at Perth Soccer Club, Lawley Street, West Perth. There will be a fundraising sausage sizzle for lunch. Money raised for study bursaries for schoolgirls in New Caledonia. For further details ring 6278 3425 or 9349 4052.
Sunday October 9
ETERNAL WORD TELEVISION NETWORK
1 2 PM ON ACCESS 31
Spiritual journey of Dr Paul Schenek, raised Jewish, former Evangelical, then Anglican pastor, with Marcus Grodi [The Journey Home].This program is sponsored by Fr Kaz Stuglik and the parishioners of St Francis Xavier Parish, Armadale. Brought to you by The Rosary Christian Tutorial Association, PO Box 1270, Booragoon 6954. Enquiries 9330 1170.
Sunday October 9
FATIMA HOLY HOUR
St Aloysius Church, corner of Keightly Rd West
and Henry St, Shenton Park, 3.00pm. All welcome. Further info: (08) 9339 2614.
Sunday October 9
SCHOENSTATT SPRING FAIR
10am to 2pm in the grounds of Schoenstatt Shrine, 9 Talus Drive, Armadale. Cakes, books, plants, toys, morning and afternoon tea, sausage sizzle and more. All welcome.
Monday October 10 and Tuesday October 11
CATHOLICS EXERIENCING THE BIBLE
Term 4 courses at Acts 2 College of Mission & Evangelisation commence Monday/Tuesday October 10/11. Courses are: What Catholics Believe and How to Defend It; St Paul’s First letter to the Corinthians; Practical Evangelisation; and, Christian Leadership. Courses are 8 weeks each; two hours per week morning (9.30-11.30) or afternoon (2pm4pm). Bookings essential. Jane Borg 9202 6859.
Tuesday October 11 til Friday December 16 2005
CROSS ROADS COMMUNITY
Term 4 Family & Friends Support Groups of Substance Abusers are on Wednesdays 7–9pm, Substance
Abusers Support Groups are on Tuesdays 5.30 to 7.30pm & Fridays All day Group for Substance
Abusers is from 9.30am to 2pm including Healing
Mass on Fridays @ 12.30pm during term. Ladies Group’s are on Tuesdays 11am to 1.30pm. Rosary is from Tuesday to Thursday at 12.30 to 1pm.
Wednesday October 12
LIFE IN THE SPIRIT SEMINAR AT THE BETHEL CENTRE
Looking for more in your spiritual life? All welcome. Enquires to The Bethel Centre on 9388 1333.
Friday October 14 EUCHARISTIC YEAR CLOSING CEREMONY
40-hour Eucharistic Adoration at Embleton beginning 6pm on Friday and concluding 9am on Sunday with Mass and a procession around the Church with Benediction and Fellowship in the Parish hall. Enq 9271 5528, 9272 1379.
Friday October 14
CHARITY FUNDRAISER NIGHT
Our Lady of Sorrows is having a charity fund-raiser movie night at the Cygnet Theatre, Como on 14th October 2005 at 8.30pm. Film “Must Love Dog”. Tickets are $12. Phone Elspeth O’Connor, 9364 5800 or Judy Phillips 9364 9249.
Friday October 14
CROSS ROADS COMMUNITY
Will be having a 1st Anniversary Mass for our
esteemed Board Member Dr Pat Cranley on Friday the 14th of October at 12.30pm at the Cross Roads Community Chapel, 4 Preston Point Road, East Fremantle.
Sunday October 16
TAIZE MEDITATIVE PRAYER
Third Sunday of the month, 7pm - 8pm. Come along and join in the prayer with the Sisters at St Joseph Chapel 16 York Street, South Perth. For more information contact Sr Maree on 9457 3371.
Sunday October 16
GOSPEL OF LIFE
Bishop Don Sproxton will be giving a homily on ‘The Gospel of Life’ in order to promote this Encyclical in the year of its 10th anniversary. This will be on Sunday 16 October at the 10.00am Mass at St Mary’s Cathedral, Victoria Square, Perth. All welcome.
Sunday October 16
ST GERARD MAJELLA 40TH ANNIVERSARY
Celebrations commencing 9.30am with Mass followed by lunch in St Gerard’s school grounds, Westminster, meat provided bring salads and dessert to share. BYO Drinks. Enq 9349 2315.
■ BRICK REPOINTING
Phone Nigel 9242 2952.
■ GUTTERS/DOWNPIPES
Need renewing, best work and cheapest prices. Free quote. Ph: Ad 9447 7475 or 0408 955 991 5008.
■ MJP PAINTING & DECORATING REG:
6197
“South of the River” quality work guaranteed. Phone Michael - 041 796 8802
■ PERROTT PAINTING PTY LTD
For all your residential, commercial painting requirements. Phone Tom Perrott 9444 1200.
■ PICASSO PAINTING
Top service. Phone 9345 0557, fax 9345 0505.
■ 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.
■ WORK FROM HOME
Around your children & family commitments. My business is expanding and I need people to open new areas all over Australia. Training given. Highly lucrative. www.cyber-success-4u.org
■ LUMEN CHRISTI HOMES
Augusta Life Time Lease. Enquiries Catholic Diocese of Bunbury 9721 0500.
■ AAA SLIPSTREAM
Piano removal, sales and hire. Special discount for schools. Contact Tony 0418 923 414
■ ALL AREAS
Mike Murphy 0416 226 434.
■ CHINESE REFLEXOLOGY
Two day course 10-11 October, 6.30pm9.30pm. Sts John and Paul Parish, Pinetree Gully Rd, Willetton. Cost by donation. Enq Fr Dominic Su SDS 9294 3504/0429 921 823, Anne Yeap 9459 0642/ 0421 953 747, Augustine Lai 9310 4532. Book Early.
■ BUSSELTON
Geog Bay, Park Home sleeps UP TO 6, winter rates apply. Ph Elizabeth 0408 959 671.
■ DENMARK
Holiday House 3bdr x 2bath, sleeps up to 8. BOOK NOW. Ph: Maria 0412 083 377.
■ DUNSBOROUGH
3 bed cosy cottage, sleeps 7, available for holiday rental, quiet oasis 3 mins walk to beach. Sheila 9309 5071.
■ FOR BEGINNERS
Notation, vocal techniques, English modal chants, Latin Chants. 6 week course on Mondays starting 10 October. The only prerequisite is a willingness to sing. Jubilus Song School Australia. Making sacred music simple. Phone 1300 725 138.
■ SHEILA SHANNON
Thinking of changing your address?
Selling or buying, please think of me!
Sheila Shannon, First Western Realty, ...hoping for your call 040 88 66 593.
■ HUMBLE MESSENGER
Shop 16/80 Barrack St (Inside Bon Marche Arcade) Perth WA 6000.
Trading Hours: Monday-Closed,TuesFri-10am-5pm, Sat-10am-3pm, Ph/Fax 9225 7199, 0421 131 716.
■ RICH HARVEST YOUR CHRISTIAN SHOP
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-Sat). We are here to serve.
■ ACCOMODATION
Fully furnished self contained accommodation for mature lady in quiet hills area near bus stop. $100 per week. Contact 041 424 1783.
■ CARETAKER/HANDYMAN
For Catholic Church, Bindoon. Accom provided. Suit pensioner. For details tel 9571 1839 or 9576 0006.
■ CLEANER
Looking for a trustworthy,committed cleaner to do two houses in the Stirling + Duncraig areas. Day-Saturday, but can be negotiated. Please call Joan during the day on 9444 9366 or after 7pm 9344 3380.
■ HELP REQUIRED
Resident of Church’s Christ Retirement village wants a Cleaner for 2 hours once a fortnight $13p/hour. Negotiable. Time and amount is negotiable. Phone: 9271 0800.
OCTOBER
7-9 Parish Visitation, Attadale - Bishop Sproxton
8 Pontifical High Mass, St Mary’s Cathedral - Archbishop Hickey
9 Mass at Lockridge Parish - Archbishop Hickey Service of Worship to launch Mental Health Week, Manning Uniting Church - Fr John Harte SJ
11 Heads of Churches Meeting, Wollaston College - Bishop Sproxton
12 Opening and Blessing of Fremantle Mausoleum - Fr John Sherman OMI
Friday October 21
HOLY MASS AND HEALING SERVICE TOUCH OF HEAVEN
With Alan Ames at St Brigid’s Catholic Church 69b Morrison Road. Time: 7pm followed by talk and Healing Prayers. For details contact Loretta on 9444 4409.
Friday October 21
REUNION THANKSGIVING CELEBRATION
Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish and School, Miles St, Karrinyup invites Priests, past parishioners, teachers, pupils and anyone who has ever been a part of our past to celebrate our 40th Anniversary. Please bring photos with you. Commencing with Mass at 6pm followed by light supper and drinks. RSVP John Reid 9341 2895, OLGC School Secretary 9341 3148.
Friday October 28 til Sunday October 30
CATHOLIC FAITH RENEWAL
Retreat by Fr Gino Henriques CSSR. Contemplate the Face of Jesus. See him more clearly, love him more dearly and follow him more closely. Fr Gino is a Catholic Priest of the Redemptorist Congregation. He is an international Speaker who has preached to Bishops, Priests, Religious and laity through retreats, seminars and conferences. For more information contact Maureen on 9381 4498, or Rose on 040 330 0720.
Saturday October 29
YOUTH WITH A MISSION OPEN DAY
Youth With A Mission has existed in Perth for over 20 years equipping young and old alike with the knowledge and methods to impact this city and nations abroad with the Gospel. A great event for a youth group. Date: 29th October 2005... time: 10am - 4pm... location: 150 Claisebrook Road, Perth... contact: (08) 9328 5321... hope to see you there.
Wednesday to Sunday November 9 - 13
CATHOLIC FAITH RENEWAL
Retreat by Fr Vincent Lee. Come and experience the power of the Holy Spirit. A retreat, accompanied by St Jude’s Choir, on Sin and Repentence. Fr Lee, from Singapore, is currently on mission in Africa and is well known for his evangelical mission around the world. He has conducted many spiritual and
healing retreats and Life in the Spirit Seminars in Singapore, Malaysia, Korea, China, India and Kenya. His zeal and love for spreading the good news have touched and reached the hearts of many who have come to listen to him. For more information contact Maureen on 9381 4498, or Rose on 040 330 0720.
BULLSBROOK SHRINE MASS PROGRAM
Shrine of Virgin of the Revelation, 36 Chittering Rd. Bullsbrook. 2pm Holy Mass, Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and Holy Rosary. Reconciliation available in Italian and English. A monthly pilgrimage is held on the last Sunday of the month in honour of the Virgin of the Revelation. Anointing of the sick is administered for spiritual and physical healing during Holy Mass every second Sunday of the month. All enq SACRI 9447 3292.
SCHOENSTATT FAMILY MOVEMENT: MONTHLY DEVOTIONS
An international group focussed on family faith development through dedication to our Blessed Mother. Monthly devotions at the Armadale shrine on the first Sunday at or after the 18th day of the month at 3pm. Next event: October 23. 9 Talus Drive Armadale. Enq Sisters of Mary 9399 2349 or Peter de San Miguel 0407 242 707 www.schoenstatt.org.au
ST CLARE’S SCHOOL, SISTERS OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD
A short history of St Clare’s School is being prepared to celebrate 50 years of its work in WA. Any past students, staff, families or others associated with the school - from its time at Leederville, at North Perth, at East Perth or at Wembley - are invited to contact us with photographs, or memories. Privacy will be protected, in accordance with your wishes. Please contact Nancy Paterson on 0417 927 126, (email npaters@yahoo.com.au) or St Clare’s School, PO Box 21 & 23 Carlisle North 6161. Tel: 9470 5711.
ALL SAINTS CHAPEL
CONFESSIONS: 10.30 to 11.45am and two lunchtime
MASSES: 12.10 and 1.10pm Monday through Friday. Easy to find in the heart of Perth , 77 ALLENDALE SQUARE, St. George’s Terrace, Perth, WA. Exposition: 8am - 4pm. Morning Prayer: 8am (Liturgical hours).
Holy Rosary daily: 12.40pm. Divine Mercy Prayers and Benediction: Mondays and Fridays 1.35pm. St Pio of Pietrelcina Novena to the Sacred Heart and
13 Council of Priests’ Meeting, Glendalough - Archbishop Hickey, Bishop Sproxton
14-16 Parish Visitation and Confirmation, Port Kennedy - Archbishop Hickey
15 Eucharistic Celebration for Religious to mark Year of the Eucharist, Como - Bishop Sproxton
16 Mass to celebrate Encyclical “Gospel of Life”, St Mary’s Cathedral - Bishop Sproxton
19 Holy Hour for Priests, St Thomas More College - Archbishop Hickey
Ecumenical Service for Anti-Poverty Week, St Mary’s Cathedral - Archbishop Hickey
20 St Luke’s Day Service, UWA - Bishop Sproxton
Launch of “Directory of Services for New Arrivals in Western Australia” - Fr Antonio Paganoni CS
Benediction: Wednesdays 1.35pm. Lending Library of a thousand books, videos, cassettes at your service. Tel: 9325 2009. www.allsaintschapel.com
INDONESIAN MASS
Every Sunday at 11.30am at St Benedict’s church Alness St, Applecross. Further info www.waicc.org. au.
PERPETUAL ADORATION
Christ the King, Lefroy Rd, Beaconsfield. Enq Joe Migro 9430 7937, A/H 0419 403 100. Adoration also at Sacred Heart, 64 Mary St Highgate, St Anne’s, 77 Hehir St Belmont. Bassendean, 19 Hamilton St and Mirrabooka, 37 Changton Wy.
PERPETUAL ADORATION AT ST BERNADETTE’S
Adoration: Chapel open all day and all night. All welcome, 49 Jugan St, Glendalough, just north of the city. Meanwhile, Masses every night at 5.45pm Monday to Friday, 6.30pm, Saturday and the last Sunday Mass in Perth is at 7pm.
BLESSED SACRAMENT ADORATION
Holy Family Church, Alcock Street, Maddington. Every Friday 8.30 am Holy Mass followed by Blessed Sacrament Adoration till 12 noon. Every first Friday of the month, anointing of the sick during Mass. Enq. 9398 6350.
SUNDAY CHINESE MASS
The Perth Chinese Catholic Community invite you to join in at St Brigid’s Church, 211 Aberdeen St (Cnr of Aberdeen and Fitzgerald) Northbridge. Celebrant Rev Fr Dominic Su SDS. Mass starts 4.30pm every Sunday. Enq Augustine 9310 4532, Mr Lee 9310 9197, Peter 9310 1789.
LITURGY OFFICE OFFERING EXCELLENT WORKSHOPS
Cantors for the Country: To give people confidence and practical skills to lead the singing in country parishes, 22 October. Phone: 9422 7902.
CONFRATERNITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
The Confraternity of the Holy Spirit has been sanctioned in the Perth Archdiocese, our aim is to make the Holy Spirit known and loved, and to develop awareness of His presence in our lives. If you would like more information please call WA Coordinator
Frank Pimm on 9304 5190.
First Sunday of each month
DEVOTIONS IN HONOUR OF THE DIVINE MERCY
Fr Douglas Hoare and Santa Clara Parish Community welcome anyone from surrounding Parishes and beyond to the Santa Clara Church, Bentley. The afternoon commences with the 3 o’clock prayer, followed by the Divine Mercy Chaplet, Reflection, and concludes with Benediction.
THE DIVINE MERCY APOSTOLATE
St Mary’s Cathedral, Victoria Square, Perth – each first Sunday of the month from 1.30pm to 3.15pm with a different priest each month. All Saints Chapel, Allendale Square, 77 St George’s Tce, Perth - each Monday and Friday at 1.35pm. Main Celebrant Fr James Shelton. St Francis Xavier Church, 25 Windsor Street, East Perth - each Saturday from 2.30pm to 3.30pm, main celebrant Fr Marcellinus Meilak, OFM. Saints John and Paul Church, Pinetree Gully Drive, Willeton - each Wednesday from 4pm to 5pm. All Enq John 9457 7771.
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1915 - September 13, 2005
■ By Brian Peachey
John Kehoe was a survivour. He died two months before his 90th birthday. During the Second World War he served as a Sergeant in the 2nd 28th Battalion, part of the AIF 9th Division, which fought with great gallantry at Tobruk and El Alamein.He was one of the famous “Rats of Tobruk” who in 1941 survived the eight months siege in blazing heat and blinding sandstorms, the “flies and the fleas” and the fury of Rommel’s Afrika Korps’ constant infantry assaults, artillery and Stuka bombardment. During the strategically important battle at El Alamein the 28th Battalion suffered its greatest losses.
On July 28, 1942 John Kehoe and 488 other members were taken prisoner by the Germans at Ruin Ridge. They were moved more than 1000 km to Benghazi, crammed into an overcrowded ship and taken to Brindisi in Italy. John was eventually sent to Austria where he spent the rest of the war in Stalag XVIII until rescued by the US forces early in 1945. He was flown back to England.
As well as his own wartime privation he suffered deep sadness. The first letter he received from his mother on February 29, 1944 informed him that his younger brother Austin, a Warrant Officer with the 30th Battalion, had died in New Guinea at the age of 25. On his return to England he visited 462 Squadron where his youngest brother, 21-year-old Desmond, was stationed as a Pilot Officer.
When he enquired if his brother was there he was told Desmond’s Halifax bomber and three others had been shot down over Germany the previous night on 24 February 1945, only weeks before hostilities ended.
John Francis Kehoe was born on 3 December 1915, the feast day of St Francis Xavier, which accounts for his middle name. He was the sixth child
John Kehoe
of 10 born to Mary Margaret (Maggie)
Boxhal and an Irish schoolteacher, Daniel O’Connell Kehoe. He often expressed pride in having been a third generation descendant of the convict William Boxhal, who arrived in the colony on the William Hammond in April 1856. Boxhal was one of the few convicts who overcame great disadvantages and succeeded in farming his own land at New Norcia and raising a large family.
Like his other siblings John Kehoe received his early education from his father, who was in charge of a oneteacher school near York. He was 10 years old when his father retired and the family moved to Perth. He completed his education with the Christian Brothers at St Patricks in Wellington Street and the college in St Georges Terrace.
When he left school he seriously considered becoming a priest and spent a year in the seminary at Manly. Eventually he concluded that this was not the course he should take and decided to follow his father and become a teacher. He graduated from the Claremont Teacher Training College in 1938.
Like his father his career in education was in one-teacher schools in Quindanning and Duranillin. In 1940 he enlisted in the AIF, becoming part of the 2nd 28th Battalion. After the war he rejoined the Education
Department in 1946 and was sent as an itinerate teacher to the Pilbara to assist families who were educated by correspondence. Midway through the year he suffered another sad loss with the death of his father.
Life changed for him in 1947 when he married Delores (Lola) McAdam in St Patricks Church, Havelock Street West Perth. Lola was the sister of Frank McAdam who had married John’s sister Carmel the previous year. The newly-marrieds did their teaching stint in the country at Dandaragan and Frankland River before settling into a new home in Floreat, where they welcomed their two children Desmond born August 2, 1959 and Jonine on December 13, 1960.
John Kehoe was a dedicated teacher at schools in Swanbourne, Floreat, North Scarborough, Balcatta and Kent Street High School. When he retired in 1980 he was the principal at Wandarra primary school.
He enjoyed a full and active retirement, working for the St Vincent De Paul Society and other causes. But this was shattered and plans to travel were put on hold when Lola, his wife of 42 years, developed cancer and died on August 1, 1989.
John Kehoe’s grief was deep, but typical of his resolution he contained it to himself and continued with a busy life. He made a melancholy pilgrimage back to Europe where he located the grave of his brother Desmond in the Reichwald Forest War Cemetery south west of Kleve in Germany and visited Austria where he has been a prisoner of war.
He was a great raconteur, who had uncounted stories of ‘the old days’, often told with peals of laughter. Although he had a close connection with the declining numbers in the 2nd 28th Battalion and Rats of Tobruk Associations he rarely told stories of his wartime experiences.
As he advanced in years he accepted the loving care of his daughter Jonine in 1998 and moved to her home in Glen Forrest. It was here that he died peacefully in his sleep on September 13. John Kehoe is survived by his two children Desmond and Jonine and grandchildren, Ella and Holly.
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Married men and women have lower rates of alcohol consumption and abuse than do singles. Longitudinal research confirms that young adults who marry tend to reduce their rates of alcohol consumption and illegal drug use. Children whose parents marry and stay married also have lower rates of substance abuse, even after controlling for family background. Twice as many young teens in single-mother families and step families have tried marijuana (and young teens living with single fathers were three times as likely). Young teens whose parents stay married are also the least likely to experiment with tobacco or alcohol. Data from the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse show that, even after controlling for age, race, gender, and family income, teens living with both biological parents are significantly less likely to use illicit drugs, alcohol, and tobacco.
How does family fragmentation relate to teen drug use? Many pathways are probably involved, including increased family stress, reduced parental monitoring and weakened attachment to parents, especially fathers. John Embling, from the Melbourne-based Families in Distress Foundation, is well aware of the harmful effects on children of parental breakup. He has spent 30 years working with such children. Says Embling, “The children are in diabolical need. I could take you into these households and show you what it’s like for kids to try to cope when mum is on drugs or drink, there’s no bloke around worth a cracker and primary school kids have to get themselves up and off to school.”
