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THREE QUARTERS OF A CENTURY AT
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Parish moves heaven and earth to celebrate 75 years of life and faith. – Pages 10-11
The students of Our Lady of Grace came, they saw and they conquered...
North Beach Masterminds
Year 5 and 6 students of Our Lady of Grace Catholic Primary in North Beach proudly celebrate their numerous achievements at the national final of the Tournament of Minds after months of preparation which saw them sacrifice much of their own free time. The competition is run nationally for students in all primary and secondary schools in Australia and includes entries from schools as far afield as Hong Kong and the Pacific. The students are holding trophies for their state and national wins. Story, photo - Page 4. PHOTO: SUPPLIED
Government refugee policy is ‘ironical indeed’ By Robert Hiini THE GOVERNMENT’S recent move to lock-down refugee family reunions was “irony indeed” given Australia’s recent appointment to the UN Security Council, a Perth academic and researcher said this week. G M Joseph said recent changes to the Split Family Provisions meant even the wife and children of a man who had already been granted asylum in Australia would have to prove persecution, suppression or harassment to be accepted into the country. The changes, which came into
force on September 22, will also mean an increase in the likely waiting period for processing, from two to four years. Given an existing backlog of cases dating back to 2010, people who have already waited two years will now have to wait another four. Mr Joseph said the changes, which were recommended by the government’s Expert Panel on Asylum Seekers headed by Angus Houston, were a hypocritical violation of people’s human rights. “We stress the importance of family in Australia so how can we do this to people who have already faced persecution. It is just creating
more, psychological persecution,” Mr Joseph told The Record. “Every person has the human right to live in a safe environment, to live with his family, to work, to be eligible for social benefits.
Joseph said, which only highlighted, by contrast, the mean-spirited nature of the changes. Prior to 2010, the program was working quite well, he said, with a two year period of processing, in
As Christians, we want family members with us. So why are we denying others this opportunity? “I don’t agree [with these changes] at all.” Australia spent more than $70 million attracting the support of other countries in its bid to gain a temporary seat on the United Nations Security Council, Mr
part to establish that the applicants were actually biologically related to the existing refugee visa holder. Earlier this year, The Record brought readers the story of Mussa Gatera, a survivor of the Rwandan Genocide who had suc-
cessfully applied for refugee status in Australia (Mr Gatera was represented by Mr Joseph). Mr Gatera’s nephew in South Africa is his only surviving family member in the wake of the 1994 genocide but the Australian government will not grant him a permanent visa on the grounds his life is not in danger. Mr Joseph said Catholics and other Christians, in particular should be able to empathise with refugee families’ predicament. “As Christians, we would like to have our family members with us, so why are we denying the other person the opportunity to have his Please turn to Page 2
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Students gather for Fr Raj’s pizza-fest
Round-Up
Australian refugee policy ‘is ironical’
MARK REIDY
Siena High 50th anniversary looms ALL EX-STUDENTS, teachers, parents and friends are invited to join the celebrations for the 50th Anniversary of Siena High School on Sunday, November 25, from 3-5pm at the Newman Siena Centre, Williamstown Road, Doubleview. Everyone is encouraged to bring along any photos or other memorabilia on the day. A light afternoon tea will be provided. RSVP to Jenny on (08) 9304 1945.
Rosary website offers a contemplative moment A NEW reflective way to pray the Rosary has been established online. It offers a place, away from the noise and din of life and all its distractions, and into the presence of God. Offering all mysteries, the website invites users to “Enter into your own quiet spirit ... reflect, in the silence, on the life of our Lord Jesus. Ponder as His Mother Mary had done during His earthly life. Ponder as she would have done all her life after His Ascension. “Today, Mary is asking us to join her in contemplating Jesus’ humanity and divinity, so that we may be awakened into a deeper relationship with our Saviour.” You can visit anytime at www.therosary3.com.
Hilton hosts students for exam prayers and pizza IN STARK contrast to a headline on the front page of the October 27-28 weekend edition of the West Australian which read ‘Students on
Students from Catholic colleges in the Hilton area, including Year 12 students and primary students from Our Lady of Mt Carmel Catholic Primary, enjoy pizza with parishioners and families after a special Mass and prayer service for the exam intentions of this year’s graduating Year 12 classes on October 28 (see story below). PHOTO: EUGEN MATTES
brink: Students plead for drugs to get them through exams,’ Year 12 students from various Catholic colleges turned to prayer the same weekend at Our Lady of Mt Carmel parish in Hilton. Parish Priest Father Paul Raj celebrated a special Mass for Year 12 students for their intentions regarding their upcoming examinations on Sunday evening of October 28. Afterwards, he called them to the front of the altar for a special blessing. Fr Paul also called all children present to come forward and join
him at the altar and together they prayed the Our Father. For the final hymn, primary school children from Our Lady of Mt Carmel Catholic Primary School in Hilton sang beside the organ with each child holding a small candle. Some students enjoyed moving their candles in time with the hymns being sung. After Mass, parishioners went over to the school hall for a slice of pizza and a cup of coffee and chatted amicably with the other parishioners. - EUGEN MATTES
Frances Xavier Cabrini 1850-1917 November 13
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In 1946, Mother Cabrini was the first U.S. citizen to be canonized; she is the universal patron of immigrants. She was born in Italy, the youngest of 13 children, and became a schoolteacher. Denied admission to two religious orders because of frail health, she was given charge of an orphanage in Codogno. In 1880 she founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart with seven of her former orphans. The order spread rapidly from northern Italy to Rome, and then in 1889 to New York City, where Mother Cabrini became famous for her work among Italian immigrants. Before dying of malaria in Chicago, she had opened schools, orphanages and hospitals around the United States, South America and Europe.
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Psalm: My light, my help Gospel Reading: Lk 17:11-19 Lepers meet Jesus Thursday 15th - Green ST ALBERT THE GREAT, BISHOP, DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH (O) 1st Reading: Philem 7-20 A prisoner for Christ Responsorial Ps 145:7-10 Psalms: The Lord gives sight Gospel Reading: Lk 17:20-25 Suffering and rejection Friday 16th - Green ST MARGARET OF SCOTLAND (O): ST GERTRUDE, VIRGIN (O) 1st Reading: 2 Jn 4-9 Live a life of love Responsorial Ps 118:1-2,10-11,17-18 Psalm: Blameless life Gospel Reading: Lk 17:26-37 Words of warning Saturday 17th - White ST ELIZABETH OF HUNGARY, RELIGIOUS (M) 1st Reading: 3 Jn 5-8 Proof of your charity Responsorial Ps 111:1-6 Psalm: The way of the just. Gospel Reading: Lk 18:1-8 Pray continually
SOLEMNITY OF CHRIST THE KING SUNDAY, 25 NOVEMBER
Contributors Debbie Warrier Barbara Harris Bernard Toutounji
Sunday 11th - Green 32ND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME 1st Reading: 1 Kings 17:10-16 Widow heeds Elija Responsorial Ps 145:7-10 Psalm: Praise the Lord 2nd Reading: Heb 9:24-28 Christ’s sacrifice Gospel Reading: Mk 12:38-44 Put in all she had Monday 12th - Red ST JOSAPHAT, BISHOP, MARTYR (M) 1st Reading: Titus 1:1-9 Hope of eternal life Responsorial Ps 23:1-6 Psalm: Seek God’s face Gospel Reading: Lk 17:1-6 You must forgive Tuesday 13th - Green 1st Reading: Titus 2:1-8,11-14 Ambition to do good Responsorial Ps 36:3-4,18,23,27,29 Psalm: Delight in the Lord Gospel Reading: Lk 17:7-10 Merely servants Wednesday 14th - Green 1st Reading: Titus 3:1-7 God’s compassion Responsorial Ps 22
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IN 2006, the Knights of the Southern Cross pledged $1 million to the restoration and completion of St Mary’s Cathedral for the restoration and enhancement of the Dodd Organ. On October 3, current State Chairman of the Knights of the Southern Cross, Mr George Sekulla and State Executive Officer, Mr Rod McAtee, met Monsignor Keating at St Mary’s Cathedral to present a cheque for $100,000, the final instalment of the pledge.
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Continued from Page 1 or her family with them?” Late last month, the government moved to enact another one of the expert panel’s recommendations, introducing legislation to excise the mainland from Australia’s migration zone, a move considered and rejected by the previous Howard Government. The Australian Catholic Migrant and Refugee Office said it was “gravely concerned” by the proposal, which would restrict the appeal rights of any maritime arrivals to the mainland who sought asylum. Late last month, Immigration minister Chris Bowen said the proposal would bring the rights of those who reached the mainland into line with those who arrived at already excised locations such as Christmas Island. At the same time, he said, it would act as a disincentive to people thinking of using people smugglers, demonstrating that no special status was granted to people who arrived in Australia by boat. “The changes ensure there is one rule for all boat arrivals,” Mr Bowen said. “At the same time, we are committed to putting in place an orderly migration which says to vulnerable people that there is a safer way of getting to Australia.”
Mariette Ulrich Fr John Flader Glynnis Grainger
The Record PO Box 3075 Adelaide Terrace PERTH WA 6832 21 Victoria Square, Perth 6000 Tel: (08) 9220 5900 Fax: (08) 9325 4580 Website: www.therecord.com.au The Record is a weekly publication distributed throughout the parishes of the dioceses of Western Australia and by subscription. The Record is printed by Rural Press Printing Mandurah and distributed via Australia Post and CTI Couriers.
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The celebration commences at 2PM at the Shrine of Virgin of the Revelation, 36 Chittering Rd, Bullsbrook. It comprises Eucharistic procession, Holy Mass and Consecration also Confessions before Mass. His Grace Archbishop Emeritus Hickey is the principal celebrant, Enjoy a family picnic on the lawns afterwards.
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Sisters invite West Aussies east to mission school A FLEDGLING religious order of Sisters in New South Wales is urging Western Australian young people across the Nullabor to attend their sixth annual mission school in Lewisham in the New Year. The January 1-14 mission school is for young people aged 16-35 and is billed as an opportunity to discover the “beauty of the Catholic faith through great speakers” and “the joy of new friendships and community life”. The Record featured the vocation stories of three professed Immaculata Sisters in our August 1 vocations edition. One of the Immaculata Mission School’s previous participants, 23-year-old Lynell, currently studying primary education at Australian Catholic University, provided this account of her experience at the 2010 school: “I grew up with very religious parents who used to be very committed members of a certain religious community. As a child, I found this community very controlling. They appeared to impose a lot of rules that seemed like bars locking me up from having fun. They seemed to strongly encourage us to cut ourselves totally from the world. “Apart from this, I barely saw my parents due to their commitments towards this community. These, added together, made me loathe the rules of the Catholic Church. It made me think, ‘Why do they make up all these rules when we can just be nice to one another? Isn’t practising Christian values enough?’ “I saw the Catholic Church as a joy-sucking leech that judged others. This was how horrible my perception was of the Catholic Church. Of course, I went to Mass every Sunday to avoid God’s punishment, but that was all. I secretly despised youth groups and saw them only as a means of socialisation. “When my parents stopped their service to their community, the family rules started to get more lenient. However, that hatred towards rules was still there. I was sick of being told that happiness only comes
Sisters of the Immaculata enjoy a break with youth at the Immaculata Mission School, which will be held from January 1-14 in Lewisham, NSW.
from God. So, I strove so hard to be ‘perfect’ to show my parents I could be successful and happy even without God. I believed that as long as I respected others and was nice to them, I was doing well.
perfection in my head. I had plans for what to do with my life ... but I felt that something was missing. “When my mum heard about the 2010 Mission School, she knew that I needed it. She had never forced
At first I found it uncomfortable but on the third day – miraculously – I wanted to stay. “My image of perfection then was about having a good social life, going to parties every week, doing well academically, being updated with the latest fashion and being financially stable. I thought that I was doing a good job in achieving this image of
me to attend youth groups before because she knew I would never be persuaded. However, she bribed me with something and told me that I could stay for three days and leave if I didn’t like it. It sounded like a good deal, so I went.
“I struggled at first and found it very uncomfortable, but on the third day, I miraculously wanted to stay. I had a feeling I was going to receive something special. The retreat gradually went from bad to ‘the best’. It changed my life, my perception about the Catholic Church and my image of God. I learnt a lot of things about the Church’s teachings and how they were all made out of God’s love for us. “No one at Mission School condemned my way of life ... They accepted me for who I was. Through this, I learned to picture the Heavenly Father as the perfect gentleman, One who constantly
PHOTO: SUPPLIED
and patiently waits for you; a Father who loves everything about you, including your weaknesses. In other words, Immaculata Mission School led me towards the path of perfection - our Heavenly Father. I can’t say that I’ve totally changed, but I know that I have changed a lot. It was God’s patience and gentleness that granted me the joy that I have always been longing for. I am so thankful for the Immaculata Sisters because they have shown the true path towards pure love and pure happiness. More information on the Immaculata Mission School is available at: www.sistersoftheimmaculata.org.
Immaculate Heart College Through Mary to Jesus: “The Way, the Truth and the Life” John 14:6
Immaculate Heart College in Maryville Downs, Lower Chittering, is seeking two suitably qualified Early Childhood teachers for the commencement of 2013.
EARLY CHILDHOOD TEACHERS This is a co-educational independent College that teaches the Catholic Faith. It opened in January 2012 and is enjoying a rapid growth rate, with classes from Kindergarten to Year 4 in 2013, and to Year 6 over the next few years. The successful applicants will be practising and committed Catholics with Early Childhood teaching qualifications. They will join a dynamic, enthusiastic and committed team of educators. For more information, please contact the Principal, Dr Angela EvangelinouYiannakis, on 08 9571 8135. Applications close Monday 26 November 2012. Applications may be emailed to: angela.e-yiannakis@ihc.wa.edu.au or posted to: The Principal Immaculate Heart College PO Box 8 BULLSBROOK WA 6084 For more details on the College, please visit our website: www.ihc.wa.edu.au
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Hard yards pay off for bright minds By Sarah Motherwell HYPERBOLES and hypotheses may put some people’s mind to the test but, for the students of Our Lady of Grace primary school in North Beach, no pronunciation or puzzle is too problematic. Two teams of seven students in Years 5 and 6 from the school participated in this year’s Tournament of Minds (TOM) national final. Our Lady of Grace language literature team beat seven other schools in their category and were announced the Australasian Pacific winner - the only West Australian team to win a national prize. School librarian Monica Mulcahy led the language literature team to victory and was joined by principal Chris Kenworthy and his maths engineering team at the nationals. Ms Mulcahy has been the driving force behind the school’s participation in the TOM since she first entered a team in 2000. More than 500 students from Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong attended this year’s TOM national final, which was hosted at the University of Notre Dame in Fremantle. Students prepared for the tournament months in advance and had to complete an at-school challenge before advancing to the state
Monica Mulcahy (back left) and Chris Kenworthy (right) with their two national teams.
championship where the national competitors were determined. At the nationals, secondary and primary school teams are marked on different criteria but given the
same question for their category and “locked-up” for three hours to create a short production to demonstrate their answer. Mr Kenworthy said the questions
PHOTO: COURTESY CHRIS KENWORTHY
in each stage of the tournament are very difficult and teamwork was essential for the teams’ success. “I look at some of them and think what would you do, how would you
respond to them because they are challenging,” he said. “It’s just a very rich experience and if they get as far as Monica’s team has and the team for maths engineering, it’s extended so they’re all the richer for it.” Ms Mulcahy said students did not have a lot of school time to prepare for the tournament and often met during their lunch times, after school and during holidays. “We have good kids who are prepared to put in their time and work hard,” she said. She said the supervising teachers do not provide any input into the answers - it is all the students’ own work. “We have a belief they can do well and the kids know we believe in them. “You can just see them blossoming because they’re in a group of like-minded kids and they just become much more confident.” Mr Kensworthy said he hoped his team, and the recently added social science team, would be as successful as the language literature team at next year’s tournament. “Certainly, winning trophies is an absolute thrill and a bonus but it’s not at the core of why you do it, you’re doing it for the incredibly rich learning experience it gives the kids,” he said.
Churches need to find a compass, says Doogue By Sarah Motherwell CHURCHES have failed to emphasis a message of hope to help people who over-dwell on the sadness of death, overcome grief. The presenter of ABC TV’s Compass, Geraldine Doogue, said last week in a radio interview on ABC 720 that the sign of a decently tilled faith is that it tells you death is an invitation to life but no church had emphasised this message. “A lot of the unchurched I found - and I can’t tell you the letters I got - are people who are almost marooned overinvesting in grief and to me it’s actually a sign of being stuck, and not seeing the message of hope that all good religions offer you,” she said. Doogue has presented Compass since 1998, a program that looks at issues of spirituality, philosophy and belief. A Catholic herself, Doogue grew up in Western Australia and began her journalism career as a cadet at The West Australian. In August 2012, Doogue’s husband, Ian Carroll, an ABC executive, died from pancreatic cancer. Doogue said she called upon her faith during the difficult time of her husband’s death. “Not in that sort of old bidding prayers notion, of course you have
your moments, ‘please God, take away this cancer’, but in a way I think the older you get, the more you know that’s too simple,” she said. “It takes away the abyss. I think that is its real yield, that you don’t feel totally alone, you do feel life’s worth the candle even in moments of terrible, terrible sadness.” She said she was worried about the Church’s disarray and that a lot of young people would not be introduced to the safety net of the Church. “All those codes and all of that wonder of the tradition, and the wisdom, and the beautiful artistry - all of that is on offer in our art and our music, in our liturgy, in our ritual,” she said. She said the power and enormous comfort ritual gave people should never be underestimated. “The rituals around Ian’s death, and then Ian’s daughter, Genevieve, my stepdaughter, had a first baby three weeks afterwards, the ritual around that [was] immensely consoling.” “Churches deliver that extremely well, others can devise it but I do believe it is on offer there very readily in churches. “It’s an invitation to get on with the next stage of life.”
ABC TV presenter Geraldine Doogue has presented Compass since 1998.
PHOTO: COURTESY USSC
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Indonesians cap two decades of faithful service By Juanita Shepherd THE WA Indonesian Catholic Community celebrated its 20th Anniversary last week with the theme ‘The Wondrous Journey With Christ.’ For the past two decades it has been a great journey for the Indonesian community; they have overcome language barrier, brought migrants to the Church and evangelised their community. The celebrations began with a Thanksgiving mass at St Mary’s Cathedral. The main celebrant was Bishop Donald Sproxton, who concelebrated with Mgr Brian O’Loughlin, Fr Siriakus Ndolu O.Carm, the current Indonesian chaplain Fr Remigius Asnabun, assistant priest at St Mary’s Parish, Kalgoorlie and Fr Jeronimo Flamenco Castillo the chaplain of Royal Perth Hospital. Approximately 250 parishioners gathered for the Mass. In his homily Bishop Sproxton praised the WA Indonesian Community especially in assisting migrants from Indonesia and helping them settle into their spiritual life here. The organisation was urged to continue this service and to smooth the transition of Indonesian migrants to local parishes. The night ended with a group photo of committee members with Bishop Sproxton and other Mass celebrants followed by a light supper. However, the celebration continued the week after when the WA Indonesian Catholic Community held a cultural show at Pater Noster hall in Myaree on November 3.
Catholics from the WA Indonesian Catholic Community celebrating 20 years ministry in the State with Perth clergy.
PHOTO: IRWAN BUDIARTO, MILLENNIU
Bentley pilgrimage to city for Xavier relic offered hope THOUSANDS flocked to visit the relics of St Francis Xavier on display at St Mary’s Cathedral in Perth’s CBD but, for the youth of Santa Clara parish in Bentley, seeing the relics had a deeper meaning. The parish is something of a living testament to the missionary work of St Francis, with the majority of parishioners hailing from diverse parts of Asia including Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and India. Parish priest, Fr Dennis Sudla said the young people who attended the pilgrimage to see the relics were able to identify with St Francis. “We experience the universality of our Church [in our parish] and we were very happy on the day of the pilgrimage because most of the places St Francis visited were very much represented,” he said. Fr Sudla said seeing the relics helped show parish youth that, like St Francis, they can work through their struggles and God can bring
them fulfilment. Twenty parish youth between the ages of 15 to 25 from the Santa Clara parish visited the relic of St Francis’ hand and were led on a tour by Fr Dennis around the grounds of the Cathedral.
Seeing the relics gave parish youth hope that, like St Francis, they can work through their struggles and find fulfilment in God. St Francis was a pioneering Roman Catholic missionary born in the 16th century in Spain. A founding member of the Society of Jesus with St Ignatius of Loyola, he went on to become possibly the most prolific missionary in the Church after St Paul.
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“ … Churches in the Middle East are threatened in their very existence… May God grant ACN strength to help wherever the need is greatest.” Pope Benedict XVI
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Made of olive wood from the Holy Land, this delightful little crib scene is powerfully evocative of Christ’s birthplace.
The cribs are lovingly, handcrafted by poverty stricken families in Bethlehem and your donation helps them survive. (Size: 10 cm x 8 cm) Please tick this box if you would like to receive the crib o Aid to the Church in Need …. a Catholic charity dependent on the Holy See, providing pastoral relief to needy and oppressed Churches
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Loving life in war and peace
Tom Fisher at home with wife, Shirley, whom he met after returning from the war in 1947. His memoir, Tom’s Story, dramatically recalls some of his experiences of war’s hell.
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HERE he was, stuck out in the middle of the ocean on a life raft with a suspect crew and a boozy skipper who had run their chartered boat into a reef before it had rapidly begun to sink. There was no fresh water and no supplies, and a then 25-yearold Tom Fisher was delirious in the sun’s brutalising heat, 15 miles off the coast of the Solomon Islands. After surviving the travails and horrors of the Second World War, it would have been all but impossible not to think, “finally, this must be the end”; to wonder what it had all had been for. None of them knew how long they had been out there; they had no working time piece. Eventually their salvation arrived by means of a native fishing boat which saw them, picked them up and took them back to port. It wasn’t the first time the now91-year-old Tom Fisher had beaten death and, as his newly released autobiography Tom’s Story reveals, it wouldn’t be the last. In spite of hearing of some of his exploits, I had not anticipated the highs and lows, experiences, challenges, occasional tragedies and myriad achievements contained in the book when Tom Fisher handed me a copy across his kitchen table in Osborne Park, in late September. One period of his life in particular has come in for most attention over the years. Since the end of the war, he has been sought out by naval historians and journalists as one of the few surviving men who served on the ill-fated HMAS Sydney and as someone who lived through the Battles of the Java Sea, the Coral Sea and the Allied landing at Okinawa. It was on the Sydney that he got his first real taste of far flung adventure, as well as the hard realities of war. In a particularly powerful moment in the book, he laments the sight of seeing Italian enemy seamen die after the Sydney sunk
the Italian destroyer Espero on June 28, 1940. Remembering the sight of survivors slipping unconscious, down into the dark made him think of the Italian boys and girls he had grown up with in Osborne Park (he remembers helping out at Italian market gardens when he was an adolescent; exchanging his labour for all the vegetables he could carry back home to his mother). “We didn’t have counsellors, or ‘do gooders’ rushing up to hold our hands in those days and I just had to absorb it. I was more fortunate than some as I was a practising Catholic. I could confide in my confessor for help and guidance,” he wrote. Tom was transferred to a different ship to make way for new recruits in need of training, two months before the Sydney was sunk on November 19, 1941 off the Western Australian coast. “I packed my bag and hammock
“I made my way back to my hammock berth to see Kingy, the man who slept next to me, lying on the deck. He was cut in half. I was violently ill and made my way to the upper deck. “We waited for the next torpedo to hit, but this time it didn’t come. There was an eerie silence as the hum of the machinery came to a stop.” Auxiliary pumps kept the internal water level constant throughout the crew’s sleepless night until three US tug boats arrived in the morning. The following evening they buried their 13 deceased comrades at sea. The next month, Tom received his first home leave in more than two-and-a-half years. The fear of being torpedoed again never left him for the remainder of the war. To dwell on the harrowing moments in the book, however, would paint a wildly unbalanced picture. The book reads like a lark,
immediately apparent. Single men weren’t demobilised until long after the fighting had finished. When he returned to Western Australia, he found significant domestic problems at home and that life in general was nothing like what he had anticipated. “The few pre-war mates I had were now either married, settled down in other states or had been killed in the war. All the girls had either married locally, or to men from other states or to Americans. “Now that the war was finished people just wanted to get on with their lives and not be bothered with visiting homecomers ... I have that complex that now the war was over we were not welcome.” He agonised over what he would do in the future, culminating in his unfortunate experience with chartered shipping. Tom’s retelling of his life during the war and its immediate aftermath makes up a good bulk
Tom went to the bathroom on HMAS Hobart. There was an almighty bang, then darkness. When the lights came on, he saw his mate dead, cut in half. and said all my goodbyes to my mess mates and other friends in the ship. Little did I know that in four weeks’ time they would all be dead: the ship missing with all 645 hands, never to be seen again.” There is also a vivid account of the night when he might have been blown to bits during his subsequent posting on the HMAS Hobart, a ship with the dubious honour of having been the most bombed Australian naval vessel of WWII. The ship was heading towards Espiritu Santo, the largest island of Vanuatu, and he and his mates had just finished their evening meal. Tom had gone to the bathroom to clean his teeth after slinging his hammock up for the rare opportunity of getting some sleep. Suddenly there was an almighty bang, and then darkness. The emergency lighting came on, too dim to see by. He knew they had been torpedoed.
interspersed with poignant and dramatic moments. During his World War II service, he got to see many of the far-off lands which a working Australian at the time could only dream about. He read extensively as a young man, mostly travel and adventure stories, and has always been known to friends and colleagues as someone who knows a little something about most everything. “I suppose that I was different from a lot of sailors in those early days, in that I wanted to go sightseeing, instead of diving for the nearest bar to drink grog,” he wrote. An exhaustive list of all the places he visited is not possible here, but the mention of Sri Lanka, Libya, Greece, Egypt, Papua New Guinea, India, Somalia and Malta, gives an indication of just how far-flung his journeys were. When the war ended, the happy future which would ensue was not
of Tom’s Story but it doesn’t begin to approximate his varied life. The final words he wrote in the book make up that immortal Catholic phrase, “the family that prays together stays together”: “it worked for us”, he wrote. He met his wife Shirley at a parish dance in 1947. “He was giving it the power of cheek,” Shirley told me, laughing as she remembered throwing a teatowel at him that night. “I was bitten.” The couple had three boys and two girls. Tom eventually joined the RAC, spending 15 months as a motor patrol man helping to get broken-down motorists back on the road. He described those months, before being promoted to site-based and clerical work, as the happiest of his working life (he would later go on to further study and senior management positions).
PHOTO: ROBERT HIINI
Tom has also spent 50 years serving the poor as a member of the St Vincent de Paul Society, acting at various times as its secretary, regional president, archivist and, from 1985-1990, its State President. The Osborne Park conference, which he heads, still meets around his kitchen table. There is always a danger of the Society becoming too commercialised, he said, and that the importance of social visitation be neglected. “We were always taught, which I still preach, the greatest poverty in western affluent nations is loneliness,” he said, quoting Bl Mother Teresa of Kolkata. For the past 11 years, he has also volunteered as a typist for the Archdiocesan Archives Office, typing up historical documents while Shirley watches her evening television shows. He reckons he has typed some 860,000 words to date, or thereabouts. “Keeps him off the street,” his wife Shirley says. “That’s right, stops me chasing girls around,” Tom fires back, smiling. Sitting on his kitchen table is an exercise book with correspondence from the legendary Archbishop Daniel Mannix (his original correspondence was copied and then the originals destroyed back in the 1960s, much to the horror of subsequent archivists). When he gets to one million words, he told the Archdiocese’s chief archivist, Sr Frances Stibi PBVM, he is going to retire. “’You’re going to retire?’ she said, adding ‘over my dead body’.” Whether or not Tom makes good on his promise, chances are he will be putting his talents and verve for life to some other good use. If Tom’s Story is any guide, he always has. Tom’s Story is available for pick-up purchase only, from the man himself, at 9444 3063 for $22.50 or via mail from Hesperion Press at 9362 5955 for $30 plus postage and handling.
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‘Feast is of all, known and unknown’ By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service THE FEAST of All Saints should prompt Catholics to believe more deeply in eternal life, Pope Benedict XVI said. The day “reminds us of our eternal destiny, where we will dwell, as St Thomas Aquinas says, in true and perfect light, total fulfilment, everlasting joy and gladness with-
out end,” he said on November 1, reciting the Angelus on the feast of All Saints. He urged people to “believe more strongly in eternal life and feel in true communion with our departed loved ones,” who will be commemorated on the feast of All Souls, on November 2. “May the intercession of all the saints lead us and our departed loved ones to our everlasting home
in heaven” he told pilgrims who gathered under stormy skies for the midday prayer in St Peter’s Square. The feast of All Saints includes a celebration of the holy men and women, “whom only God knows” but who have not officially been proclaimed saints; they made Christ present in their lives and carried out God’s will, the Pope said. The saints show that, “being united to Christ, in the Church,
does not negate one’s personality, but opens it up, transforms it with the power of love and confers on it an eternal dimension here on earth,” he said. By becoming united to Christ, people also join in communion with all members of his mystical body, the Church, “a communion that is perfect in ‘heaven,’ where there is no isolation, no competition or separation,” the Pope said.
Sistine marks 500 years of the Master’s genius brush STANDING in the Sistine Chapel under Michelangelo’s famous ceiling frescoes, people are reminded that the world was created by God in a supreme act of love, Pope Benedict XVI said. “With a unique expressive intensity,” the Pope said, Michelangelo depicted the power and majesty of God the creator in a way that proclaimed “the world is not the product of darkness, chaos or absurdity, but derives from intelligence, freedom, a supreme act of love.” Pope Benedict made his remarks on October 31 during an evening prayer service marking the 500th anniversary of the prayer service led by Pope Julius II in 1512 to celebrate Michelangelo’s completion of the ceiling paintings. Up to 20,000 people visit the Sistine Chapel each day as part of their tour of the Vatican Museums, but, “the chapel contemplated in prayer is even more beautiful, more authentic; it reveals all its richness,” the Pope said. With a small group of cardinals, Vatican employees and guests joining him for the prayer service, the Pope asked them to try to imagine what it must have been like 500 years ago to look up and see those famous paintings for the first time. The ceiling, measuring 134 feet by 43 feet, has nine principal illustrations of events recounted in the Book of Genesis, including the various stages of creation and the great flood. The most famous of all the scenes is God creating Adam and transmitting life to him through an outstretched finger. All of the chapel’s paintings recount stages in the history of salvation, the Pope said, but “in that encounter of the finger of God and the finger of man, we perceive a contact between heaven and earth. In Adam, God entered into a new relationship with his creation,” a relationship in which a creature is created in God’s image and called into a direct relationship with God. Pope Benedict noted that, 20 years after Michelangelo finished the ceiling, he concluded work on the massive wall fresco, the “Last Judgement”. Illustrating humanity’s origin on the ceiling and its ultimate destiny in the “Last Judgement,”
“On today’s feast we get a taste of the beauty of this life fully open to the gaze of love of God and neighbour, in which we are sure to reach God and one another in God,” he said. In the saints, we see the victory of love over selfishness and death; we see that following Christ leads to life and eternal life, and gives meaning to the present ... because it is filled with love and hope,” he said.
CHINA Problems have plagued Church in China: prelate OVER THE past five years, relations between the government of China and the Catholic Church unfortunately have been marked by “misunderstandings, accusations” and new “stumbling blocks” to religious freedom, said the prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples. Cardinal Fernando Filoni, congregation prefect, said, “Control over persons and institutions has been honed and sessions of indoctrination and pressure are being turned to with ever greater ease.” In an article published in late October in Tripod, a publication of the Holy Spirit Study Centre in Hong Kong, the cardinal, who spent nine years in Hong Kong as a Vatican diplomat monitoring the situation of the Church in China, issued a call for dialogue with China’s communist government. The Catholic community in China, he said, does not enjoy the freedom it should and it cannot move toward unity and reconciliation as long as the government appoints bishops unacceptable to the Holy See, pressures other bishops to participate in illicit ordinations and detains bishops who insist on maintaining their ties with the Vatican.
NIGERIA Archbishop questions talks with Islamists
Pope Benedict XVI leads a prayer service in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican on October 31. The service marked the 500th anniversary of the prayer service led by Pope Julius II in 1512 to celebrate Michelangelo’s completion of the ceiling paintings. PHOTO: L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO VIA REUTERS, CNS
Michelangelo painted “the great parable of the journey of humanity,” which leads to “the definitive encounter with Christ, the judge of
the living and the dead,” the Pope said. “Praying this evening in the Sistine Chapel – surrounded by the story of God’s journey with human-
ity, marvellously represented in the frescoes above us and around us – is an invitation to praise,” he said. - CNS
A NIGERIAN archbishop questioned the wisdom of a plan that the Nigerian government dialogue with the Boko Haram Islamic sect, responsible for the deaths of thousands of people in the past several years. Critics, including Archbishop Felix Job of Ibadan, urged Nigerian authorities to be cautious of negotiating with an extremist “faceless group” that had been involved in maiming and killing of innocent Nigerians. Archbishop Job also criticised a Boko Haram suggestion that among its delegates to the negotiations in Saudi Arabia would be former Major General Muhammadu Buhari, the country’s military ruler from 1983 to 1985. Archbishop Job told CNS: “Is it not funny that the Boko Haram group, a faceless group, has a spokesman” and is seeking “dialogue with the Nigerian government as a means of resolving the insecurity? Nigerians have not been told who are the sponsors of the faceless sectarian
El Salvador to open tourist route honouring slain Archbishop Romero THE SALVADORAN government will open a tourist route in honour of Archbishop Oscar Romero, who was killed by death squads in March 1980. The initiative, which will begin next year, aims to boost tourism in the country and at the same time remember the legacy of Archbishop Romero, a staunch defender of human rights and the poor who
was hated by the military and oligarchs. The tour should ensure that “his life and thought are known by foreign visitors and also by new generations of Salvadorans,” President Mauricio Funes said from Archbishop Romero’s crypt in the Metropolitan Cathedral, where he announced the plan. The route will include sites like
the cathedral, where the archbishop denounced the injustices that occurred in this country in the late 1970s. On the steps of the cathedral, dozens of people participating in the archbishop’s funeral were massacred by government forces on March 30, 1980. It also will include the Romero Centre and Martyrs Museum, both
on the campus of Central American University. They display objects belonging to the archbishop, to the Jesuits murdered in 1989 and to Jesuit Father Rutilio Grande, the first priest executed by death squads, in 1977. The tour includes the Museum of the Word and Image and Divine Providence Hospital, where Archbishop Romero was shot dead
while celebrating Mass. The Truth Commission, created in 1993 to investigate political crimes committed during the 1980-92 civil war, established that Archbishop Romero’s assassination was carried out by a right-wing command led by Major Roberto D’Aubuisson, founder of Nationalist Republican Alliance. D’Aubuisson died of cancer in 1992. - CNS
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‘Stop scapegoating the elderly’ WESTERN nations must resist the pressure to “scapegoat, abandon, even kill, the elderly as a cost-cutting measure,” an Australian bishop said in a major bioethics lecture. Bishop Anthony Fisher of Parramatta, a member of the Pontifical Academy for Life, said health economists and utilitarian philosophers were placing the elderly at risk by treating them as a “swarm of voracious but unworthy consumers of a resource which doctors must guard from them.” Delivering the 2012 Anscombe Memorial Lecture at St John’s College, Oxford University, he accused health economists who focused disproportionately on costs of “showing us how to get most efficiently to the wrong place.” “In the process we may be led to compromise basic moral principles against killing, harming and abandoning, and favouring respect for the dignity and equality of all, promotion of health, reverence for the elderly and support for the disadvantaged,” Bishop Fisher said in his October 15 lecture. “We should resist that pressure now by a strong insistence that age
will not be a criterion of health care distribution,” he said. Bishop Fisher concluded that priority of access to care and resources should be granted on the basis of needs, irrespective of age, with more important needs overriding less-important demands. “The elderly are not a problem, a market, a budget: They are real individuals, our own people, our ancestors, in due course -- ourselves,” he said. Bishop Fisher said age rationing would not relieve indefinitely the problem of escalating demands and costs of health care systems. “Which group will be next for exclusion once those savings have been exhausted?” he asked. “Those with handicaps or those whose social contributions are deemed low?” His remarks came as concerns mounted about the care of the elderly in Britain’s state-funded National Health Service. In October, British media reported numerous allegations by families that physicians have deliberately hastened the deaths of elderly or terminally ill relatives by withdraw-
Bishop Fisher has warned against abandoning the elderly in healthcare. PHOTO: CNS PHOTO/NANCY WIECHEC
ing food and fluids while they were on the Liverpool Care Pathway, an end-of-life process aimed at making the final hours of dying patients as comfortable and free from distress as possible. The intense media interest was triggered by a formal complaint of attempted murder made by Peter Tulloch to police. During an unscheduled visit
to Western General Hospital, Edinburgh, Scotland, Tulloch found his mother, Jean, 83, isolated and deprived of food and fluid. He demanded that her fluids were restored, but she died two weeks later. Such mounting concerns about the Liverpool Care Pathway prompted Archbishop Peter Smith of Southwark, vice president of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, to write Sept. 27 to Jeremy Hunt, secretary of state for health, to request a “thorough and urgent investigation” into whether “any corrective action is needed.” But according to the Londonbased Catholic Herald, the government has refused to launch an inquiry. “We continue to fully support its proper use as a way of managing a patient’s care with dignity and respect in their last days,” said a Department of Health statement on the paper’s website Oct. 18. The London-based Daily Mail has reported that the British government has asked community doctors to keep registers of patients they think will die within a year.
The purpose, it reported, is to single out such people for care that would allow them to die in comfort rather than prolong their lives with treatment. Bishop Fisher said the United Kingdom Department of Health reports that 45 percent of government hospital and community health expenditures go to those over 65, though they are only 16 percent of the population. He said that as the number of people over age 65 rises, the strain on the government will increase proportionately and in absolute terms. “Across the sea, Medicare for the over-65s will jump from the current 46 million beneficiaries to 79 million by 2030, with costs per person also doubling in the same period,” Bishop Fisher said. “Something, people are saying, has to give. “Of course we need principles of fairness here and virtues like medical temperance. But to wish we were dead before we are old or that the old were dead so they’d stop burdening us is no anthem for a good society,” he added. - CNS
‘Recalling the dead is to profess an eternal hope’ WHEN Christians remember their beloved deceased, they proclaim that their bonds with them are not broken by death and they profess their hope in eternal life, said Pope Benedict XVI. Especially by visiting cemeteries and other burial grounds, the pope said, people “reinforce the bonds of communion that death could not break.” Pope Benedict celebrated a Mass on November 3 in St Peter’s Basilica in memory of the 10 cardinals and 143 archbishops and bishops from around the world who died in the past year. The evening before, Pope Benedict had paid a private visit to the grottoes under St Peter’s Basilica to pray at the tombs of the popes buried there. The November commemorations of All Saints and All Souls, as well as other memorial Masses traditional during the month, are not simply ways Catholics remember those who have gone before them, the pope said, but they also are expressions of Catholic faith in the reality of eternal life. “Death opens to life – eternal life, which is not an infinite copy of the present time, but something completely new,” the pope said. “Faith tells us that the true immortality to which we aspire is not an idea or concept, but a relationship of full communion with the living God.” Remembering the deceased cardinals and bishops, he said, the
Pope Benedict XVI delivers his blessing during a service in front of the tomb of St Peter in the Vatican on All Souls’ Day, November 2. L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO VIA REUTERS
church prays that the Lord will give them “the eternal prize promised to faithful servants of the Gospel.” Pope Benedict said the 10 cardinals and 143 bishops were the “meek, merciful, pure of heart, peace-making disciples” mentioned in the Beatitudes of the Gospel. They were “friends of the Lord who, trusting in his promises – also in times of difficulty or even persecu-
tion – maintained the joy of their faith and now live with the Father forever.” Reciting the Angelus on November 4 with pilgrims in St Peter’s Square, Pope Benedict said the saints are those men and women who tried to live the commandment to love God and to love their neighbours as themselves. The pope said a deep, loving rela-
tionship with God is the best way to ensure that one becomes capable of loving others, “just as a child becomes capable of loving starting from a good relationship with his mother and father.” And just as parents love their children not only when they are being good, God always loves us and tries to help us see when and where we go astray, the pope said.
“From God, we learn to want to do only what is good and never what is bad. We learn to see others not only with our own eyes, but with the gaze of God,” looking beyond the superficial to see the other person and what he or she needs, the pope said. “Love of God and love of neighbour are inseparable,” he said. - CNS
Church defence of life requires ‘absolute adherence’, Chaput tells Catholics CHURCH teaching against abortion “requires absolute adherence” on the part of Catholic voters, who must “stand united” in opposition to the practice regardless of party affiliation, said Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia in the US. “(Abortion) really is a big issue today, and I think what it requires of Catholics is a loyalty to the church prior to their political
party,” Archbishop Chaput told Catholic News Service on October 20 in Rome. “We’re Catholics before we’re Democrats. We’re Catholics before we’re Republicans,” he said. “We’re even Catholics before we’re Americans, because we know that God has a demand on us prior to any government demand on us. And this has been the story of
the martyrs through the centuries. That doesn’t mean we’re not being
Being good citizens means giving God his rights prior to the state. good citizens,” the archbishop said, “because being good citizens means
giving God his rights prior to the government making its claims upon us.” According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, abortion is “gravely contrary to the moral law” in all cases – a church teaching that “has not changed and remains unchangeable.” Under canon law, any “formal cooperation” in abortion automatically incurs the pen-
alty of excommunication. “If we don’t stand united on this issue, we’re bound to failure,” Archbishop Chaput said, “not only in the area of protecting unborn human life but in maintaining our religious freedom.” He said that a lack of such unity among Catholic voters had permitted support for legalized abortion to become part of the Democratic Party platform. - CNS
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EGYPT
Pope welcomes Coptic Orthodox Patriarch Pope Benedict XVI praised the choice of the new patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox Church, saying he was confident the new leader would help build a new Egypt that would serve the common good of the nation and the whole Middle East. Bishop Tawadros, 60, was chosen on November 4 to lead Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox Church, the largest Christian community in the country. He will be ordained on November 18 as Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria and patriarch of the See of St Mark. Pope Benedict noted the “important progress” in ecumenical relations that was made under the guidance of the late Pope Shenouda, who died in March at age 88 after leading the church for four decades.
UK
UK hospitals accept dollars for life end plan State-funded English health service hospitals are being paid millions of dollars to implement a controversial end-of-life patient-care protocol that critics say is a “euthanasia pathway.” Figures from 72 National Health Service hospital trusts show that more than 12.4 million pounds (A$19 million) has been awarded over the past three years to hospitals that have met targets for adopting the Liverpool Care Pathway for dying patients. The revelations about financial inducements to adopt the pathway are controversial in Britain because they coincide with rising numbers of families who have contacted the media with stories which include accounts of how the deaths of their relatives were deliberately hastened. Others say that they rescued loved ones by defying doctors and giving fluids to people who later recovered.
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Mission decline after Council ONE OF THE few lay theologians who served as an official expert at the October 2012 world Synod of Bishops on the new evangelisation, said the “wonderful things” that came out of Vatican II include an “emphasis on the active role of lay people, the universal call to holiness, the rediscovery of Christian unity and ecumenism, (and) the desire to affirm whatever we can positively about modern culture.” But in at least one crucial area, said Ralph Martin, a theologian who teaches at Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit, the council’s expectations have been gravely disappointed. Vatican II had as one of its central purposes to “make the church more effective in proclaiming the Gospel to the modern world,” he said, yet it ushered in a “remarkable decline in the missionary orders that traditionally have carried out evangelisation,” along with a “tremendous decline” in observance by Catholics in historically Christian countries.
Martin attributed the loss of Catholic missionary zeal to a widespread misunderstanding of some of Vatican II’s most distinctive teachings. As he argues in a new book (Will Many Be Saved? What Vatican II Actually Teaches and Its Implications for the New Evangelization), many Catholics were confused by the council’s laudable emphasis on ecumenism and interreligious dialogue into thinking that “maybe it doesn’t matter anymore whether people are Christians or not.” The theologian said many Catholics today have adopted an attitude of “practical universalism,” which he described as a belief that “broad and wide is the way that leads to heaven, and almost everybody is going that way; but narrow is the gate the leads to hell, and hardly anybody’s going that way.” “The problem with this,” Martin said, “is it’s just the opposite of what Jesus himself tells us,” in Matthew 7:14: “How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to
life. And those who find it are few.” At first glance, Vatican II may seem to have taught something inconsistent with Jesus’ words, since the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (“Lumen Gentium”) states that it is possible for people to be saved without hearing the Gospel. Many Catholics have taken this as a license for complacency about evangelisation, Martin said: “They make this huge leap from possibility to probability to (presuming) almost everybody” will be saved. But Martin noted that the council document carefully qualifies its own reassuring message, specifying three conditions for the salvation of non-Christians: “inculpable ignorance, that it’s not their own fault that they haven’t heard the Gospel”; that “they are seriously seeking God, they want to know who he is and what his will is”; and that “they are living according to the light of their conscience assisted by grace.” The same document warns of the deceptions of the “Evil One” and the danger of “final despair” for
those who live without God; and it reaffirms the importance of church missions and of Jesus’ command to “preach the Gospel to every creature.” Rectifying misunderstandings in this area is crucial, Martin suggested, not only for reviving efforts to convert non-Catholics, but for the specific goal of the new evangelisation: persuading those already baptized and fallen away to take their faith seriously again. “In our own culture, especially now with the collapse of Christendom, the collapse of Christian culture, many people are just being swept away with secular culture,” Martin said, “and are drifting toward the disintegration of human relationships and marriage and family life ... and then the possibility of eternal separation from God.” Evangelisation is “not just about enriching people’s lives, it’s not just about making people happier on this earth,” he said. “It’s really about the difference between heaven and hell.” - CNS
High spires, gothic look, for Mother Teresa church
VATICAN
Marriage makes spouses evangelisers The sacrament of matrimony makes Catholic spouses and their families public signs of God’s love and thus missionaries, said the head of the US Knights of Columbus. The missionary power of the Catholic family goes beyond any specific commitment they make to a particular project of evangelisation or social or political reform, Carl Anderson, supreme knight of the Knights, told the Synod of Bishops on the new evangelisation. Anderson was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI to be an observer at the synod, which ended on October 28. “Love, which the family has the task of living and communicating, is the driving force of evangelisation,” Anderson told the synod.
VATICAN
Vatican urges patience over traditionalists “Patience, serenity, perseverance and trust are needed” as the Vatican continues talks aimed at full reconciliation with the traditionalist Society of St Pius X, said a statement from the Vatican commission overseeing the discussions. The Pontifical Commission “Ecclesia Dei,” in a statement released on October 27, said the leadership of the SSPX had requested “additional time for reflection and study” before responding to Pope Benedict XVI’s latest efforts to reintegrate them into the church. In June the Vatican presented the traditionalist group whose headquarters are in Switzerland with a proposal to establish a “personal prelature,” for members, a church jurisdiction without geographical boundaries. Currently, the church’s only personal prelature is Opus Dei. - CNS
An exterior view of of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta Church in Limerick Township, Phennsylvania, is seen on October 27, the same day Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput dedicated the 2000-square-meter Gothic edifice. The church contains artistic and architectural elements of five closed Catholic churches and a Catholic hospital. PHOTO: SARAH WEBB, CATHOLIC STANDARD AND TIMES, CNS
THE COUNTRY roads of Limerick wind past modest homes, small churches and businesses, as in many a Pennsylvania town. But now high spires poke out of the Montgomery County landscape, marking where members of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta Parish now worship God – their new church. Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput dedicated the 2000-squaremetre Gothic edifice on October 27. The church contains artistic and architectural elements of five closed Catholic churches and a Catholic hospital. The most striking features are a towering 37-foot-high main altar piece from St Boniface Church in the sanctuary and priceless stainedglass windows from St Clement Church. St Boniface parish closed in 2006; St Clement in 2004. It might seem as though a church was plucked from the 19th century and nestled into the former farm that is the 30-acre parish campus,
but parishioners have watched as the modern steel construction church has risen over the past 38 weeks. The new church with its stone facing and twin spires makes a statement, according to the pastor. “We are here and we are Catholic,” Father Paul Brandt said. “There’s no question this is a Catholic Church.” Nowhere is this sense more apparent than in seeing the church on the inside, where worshippers “have no sense of space or time. You could be in a 19th-century church,” the pastor said. The narthex, the area immediately welcoming people inside, features a baptismal font and a large coloured glass and mahogany wall in the Gothic style. The wall and font are from St Boniface Church, founded in 1866 by German immigrants. Gothic touches abound in the church, reflecting the churches from where they were drawn. Wooden confessionals and marble Communion rails came from S
Boniface. The murals, holy water fonts and painted statues are from St Peter; the pulpit from St Clare is used as the cantor’s stand; the main altar and pulpit are from Immaculate Heart of Mary in Middleport; and Stations of the Cross are from the chapel of Mercy Hospital in Scranton. Many of the pointed-arch motifs in woodwork, glass and stone reflect the Gothic style even though they were created for the various closed churches. Father Brandt said his parishioners were “excited to be recycling so many things.” On the other hand all of Blessed Teresa’s red oak pews with kneelers are new because of a consideration for modern ergonomics and comfort. New lighting fixtures offer brighter, more energy efficient light. A team of carpenters have been creating new wooden pieces or adapting older pieces for reuse throughout the summer. It all came together on October
27 for the Mass with Archbishop Chaput, which featured a 30-voice choir and 17 instrumental accompanists, all parishioners, and all led by the parish music minister, John Seitz. “Mother Teresa sent him to us,” Father Brandt said. The parish’s namesake also has a prominent presence at the parish. A bronze statue by artist Tony Visco called “Teresa of Calcutta, Mother of the Poor” will be placed in the daily Mass chapel. When completed, the statue’s two hands will reach out to visitors. “I want her focus to be on the person kneeling in front of her, she will be reaching out to them,” Father Brandt said. The $7.9 million cost of the new church is financed through a 30-year mortgage. “Some people said it would never happen, but it got done,” he said. “They got to watch this being built from the ground up. There’s great excitement, and it’s about God’s house.” - CNS
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Nedlands marks
75
years
Three quarters of a century for Holy Rosary Parish in Nedlands was marked with Mass, music and a dinner for everyone from the very young to the very old - and a great time was had by all, reports Robert Hiini ...
A parish celebrates: Scenes from Holy Rosary Nedland's celebration of its 75th anniversary. Above left, former Music Director Maureen Steffanoni, right, and her daughter Helen. Above right, current Music Director Margaret Dey and son, Avijit. Right, Parish Priest, Fr Joseph Sobb SJ joins his parishioners for a sumptuous celebratory dinner in the parish centre and a Mass, left, at which Bishop Donald Sproxton was the main celebrant.
H
The Record, in 1954, celebrates impending priesthood of Nedland's (Frs) Maurice Toop and William Foley.
OLY Rosary Parish Nedlands celebrated their 75th anniversary in splendour on the evening of Friday,
October 26. A packed Holy Rosary church saw Bishop Don Sproxton and 15 other priests join Parish Priest Fr Joseph Sobb SJ in celebrating Mass for the occasion. The night was not just about celebrating a strong history, Bishop Sproxton said in his homily, but about where the parish wanted to go in the future. Parishes today were vastly different from the way Nedlands would have been when it was established, he said, with a great deal more parishioner involvement in the practical services and liturgical celebration of the parish. "We see many who present them-
selves, who prepare themselves for this [pastoral] ministry that they share with the priest, that he confides in them," Bishop Don said. The changes of the Second Vatican Council meant that a parish could become "all of the people's parish". "The Spirit moved mightily in that council and what we have in our parishes today is very much a fruit of that
the new ways in which people sought to live out their faith and even, religious vocations. "A parish community needs to be open to new initiatives, shifts in priority ... to answer the needs of its people. "Maybe they will leave aside a more traditional way of doing things or a particular apostolate in order that a new sort of apostolate can be created
It is not only a time to celebrate your strong history but to consider where you want to go in the future. council. "These are the sorts of things that give me great joy in my visit to parishes ... that give me the sense that our parish communities will be very important for the work of Christ, into the future." The Church needed to be open to
to answer the needs that people have at that time. That's what's exciting and that's what we find in those parishes we visit throughout the year," Bishop Don said. Bishop Sproxton noted during Mass that there was some confusion as to whether or not the parish was 75 or
81 years old. A Record article from May 18, 1937, which was part of the parish's historical display for the anniversary confirmed that a completed Holy Rosary Church was blessed and opened by Archbishop Patrick Joseph Clune after being extended to hold more people. One parishioner told The Record that Masses were said in a shop down on Broadway before the church opened. The 35-strong parish choir, accompanied by organ, strings, woodwind and percussion provided soaring music throughout the celebration after many months of diligent practising. Former Music Director Maureen Steffanoni, who had served in the position for more than 60 years, praised the direction of current Music Director Margaret Dey, who has served in the position since Easter.
The Record, May 18, 1937 celebrates Archbishop Clune's opening of a completed Holy Rosary, Nedlands.
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Aggiornamento
REVISITED The Second Vatican Council was a landmark event whose effects are still being felt in the Catholic Church, writes Edwin Pentin ...
“I
t was a moment of extraordinary expectation. Great things were about to happen.” So writes Pope Benedict XVI as he recalls the mood during the opening of the Second Vatican Council – a momentous three-year meeting that aimed at opening the Church to the modern world. Fifty years ago, on October 11, Pope John XXIII inaugurated the meeting to much fanfare in St Peter’s basilica. Writing in the preface of a new collection of his works on the Second Vatican Council, the Pope, who, as Father Joseph Ratzinger, took part in the Council as a “peritus” or theological expert, summarises with characteristic clarity just what was at stake. “The previous Councils had almost always been convoked for a precise question to which they were to provide an answer. This time there was no specific problem to resolve,” he writes. “But precisely because of this, a general sense of expectation hovered in the air: Christianity, which had built and formed the Western world, seemed more and more to be losing its
The sense of Christianity’s ‘loss of the present’ and what was required to address it was summed up in the word ‘aggiornamento.’ power to shape society. It appeared weary and it looked as if the future would be determined by other spiritual forces.” The sense of Christianity’s “loss of the present”, and what was required to readdress it, was summed up in the word “aggiornamento” (updating), Benedict XVI explains. “Christianity must be in the present if it is to be able to form the future,” he writes. “So that it might once again be a force to shape the future, John XXIII had convoked the Council without indicating to it any specific problems or programs. This was the greatness and at the same time the difficulty of the task that was set before the ecclesial assembly.” The word “aggiornamento” was indeed central to the Council, Professor Norman Tanner SJ, a expert on the Council who teaches at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, told MercatorNet. Describing the meeting as one of the six most important of the 21 ecumenical councils that the Church has ever held, he summarises it as having “something serious to say on a huge range of issues, some quite theoretical, but also a large number which really
Pope Paul VI greets the faithful during the closure of the Second Vatican Council in St Peter’s Square at the Vatican on December 8, 1965. Pope Benedict XVI marked the 50th anniversary of the October 11, 1962 opening of the council and kicked off the Year of Faith with an October 11 Mass in St Peter’s Square. PHOTO: CATHOLIC PRESS PHOTO, CNS
touch lives of ordinary Christians and beyond the Christian community.” By opening up the Church to the modern and increasingly globalised world, the Council aimed to bring the Church to all people in a way that had never been done before. It aimed, in the famous words of John XXIII, to open the windows of the Church to let in some fresh air. This wasn’t strictly a novelty, argues Professor Tanner (earlier Councils implicitly spoke to non-Christians, for example) but it was still a key feature, particularly in contrast to the Council of Trent that focused primarily on the Church. The meeting, which lasted from 1962 to 1965 and involved almost 2,500 participants, gave the Church a “better and fuller expression” of
its identity and of the “meaningfulness of the faith for every man,” Fr Giulio Maspero, professor of dogmatic theology at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome, told MercatorNet. Like others, he sees the Council as deepening the treasure of Tradition in the Church, or as Professor Tanner says, “making explicit what’s implicit, making treasure known that is only partly known.” Before the Council, the Church was often synonymous with the Pope, bishops and priests. Now it became a Church of the “people of God” in which all were called to sainthood, and the laity had a much greater voice. The ancient concept of collegiality among bishops was also rediscovered and re-emphasised. “A richness
emerged among bishops who could appreciate the variety and the true “power”, so to say, of the Gospel,” says Professor Maspero. “It was affirmed, in a very clear form, that Christ is the meaning of history and creation, that He is at the heart of the deepest desires of every human person.” The Gospel was to become comprehensible to everybody, translated into every language and taken to every place populated by man. The Council’s documents emphasised an optimistic and joyful view of humanity and life. But problems soon followed. Many of the conciliar decrees were misinterpreted, largely because of a failure to implement them properly. Previous Councils had centralised procedures to make sure the decrees
were observed, says Professor Tanner, but the same mechanism was lacking at the Second Vatican Council. John XXIII’s convoking of the Council without “any specific problems or programs,” as Benedict XVI put it, brought a certain disorder to the proceedings. “Perhaps we could say the Roman Curia was not prepared to deal with it,” says Professor Maspero, adding that many in the Vatican thought it would be a short meeting. Nor were bishops ready to handle the world’s media who, eager for news, tried to influence the discussions and dwelt only on what was new. Participants from various countries also had wildly differing positions on, for example, religious freedom – one of the most contentious of the Council decrees. “Sometimes decisions were taken and implemented too quickly and without preparing people,” says Professor Maspero. “In some cases, Christians were puzzled by the sudden change.” The Council also came at possibly the worst time, just as the social revolution of the 1960s was taking hold, bringing a poisonous air into the Church. Two reactionary factions soon developed in the Church, both of which viewed the Council as a rupture with Tradition. Progessivists, typified by the so-called Bologna School and certain bishops in northern Europe, saw the Council as a new beginning - the first of a series of Councils leading the Church to become more modern and attune to the Zeitgeist. Traditionalists, on the other hand, viewed the Council as a regressive step, a lapse into heresy, and a break with Tradition and previous papal teachings. As proof of this, they point to the doctrinal confusion that followed, a catastrophic fall in vocations, and a rapid fall in Church attendance in the West after the 1960s. Professor Maspero sees the disorientation that followed as favouring those who believed the Council hadn’t gone far enough. Others have also pointed to the conspicuous and peculiar absence of any mention or condemnation of
Two reactionary factions developed in the Church – the Progressivists and the Traditionalists. Communism in the decrees. “The influence of Marxist thought was a real presence and it is very difficult for us nowadays to get an idea of the cultural situation of the time,” says Professor Maspero. But he adds that does not mean that the Council “was hijacked by anybody”. Rather, he believes it is normal that such an “important and
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God never fails to hear our prayers My godson, who was once an altar boy and quite pious, now lives with his girlfriend, says he doesn’t believe in God and has nothing to do with the Church. How can this happen and is there anything I can do to help him?
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Father of the Council: Pope John XXIII, the Pope who convoked the Second Vatican Council, is pictured in this undated photograph. PHOTO: COURTESY OF ARCHBISHOP LORIS CAPOVILLA, CNS
Bishops arrive in St Peter’s Square before a meeting of the Second Vatican Council in 1962.
rich event” would have “complex consequences.” Professor Tanner agrees, citing previous Councils, such as Nicea (325) and Chalcedon (451), which had “great number of things that had to be digested” and needed time to be accepted by the faithful. Despite the debate over its legacy and fruits, many see the Council as
a gift of the Holy Spirit, and crucial to opening the Church to the world of the 21st century. Like the Pope, they see no rupture with Catholic Tradition, but rather a development that Benedict XVI has characterised as a “hermeneutic of continuity,” or, more recently, as “reform”. What is important, the Pope
PHOTO: CATHOLIC PRESS PHOTO, CNS
says, is that the faithful become acquainted with the Council texts and read them attentively – a task he has strongly recommended during this special Year of Faith. - WWW.MERCATORNET.COM Edward Pentin reports from Rome mostly on papal, Vatican and Church news.
WOULD not be able to count the number of times people have come to me with a story like yours. It is a cause of great concern to family members, especially parents, and also to us priests and others trying to help people find God. At the outset let me say that faith is one of our most precious gifts. For those of us who have faith, life is filled with light, with meaning. No matter what happens to us, we know that God is always there looking after us in his loving providence, and that out of what appears to be evil he will bring good. In this way, even suffering has meaning, as did Our Lord’s suffering on the Cross. And we know that after this life there awaits us eternal life with God, if we live and die in his love. For those with no faith, life must be very different, very empty, especially when they encounter suffering and begin to think of what awaits them after death. Faith is the foundation of our whole spiritual life. I often represent faith, hope and love as three blocks, with faith on the bottom and love on the top. If we lose love through any mortal sin, we still have hope that God will continue to give us his grace and that he will eventually forgive us if we repent. And we still believe in God. If we lose hope, through a serious sin of despair or presumption, we lose both hope and love but we still have faith that there is a God who loves us and will forgive us. But if we sin seriously against faith, we lose love and hope and now even faith, so that nothing remains of our supernatural life. Naturally, God can still seek us out and bring us back to him through our free cooperation, but we have just severed our last link with God. So faith is extremely important. Faith, as I said, is a gift, a gift from God himself. It is not something we can acquire by ourselves. St Paul lists faith among the variety of gifts given by God to different people (cf 1 Cor 12:9). I have seen more than once how faith is truly a gift. One particularly clear example came when I was instructing in the faith a woman who was going to marry a Catholic. In the first classes she was full of objections to what I was saying. But then one day she came to the class eager to become a Catholic herself and there were no more objections. Somehow, God had given her the gift of faith between one class and the next. Although faith is a gift, there is much we can do to dispose ourselves to receive it and to preserve it and make it grow.
Q&A FR JOHN FLADER
The first thing is to learn the truths of the faith well. In this Year of Faith, Pope Benedict is stressing this aspect, calling on Catholics to turn again to the Catechism of the Catholic Church. And we should make sure that our children are learning the faith well from a young age. The more we know, the better we can live our faith. Perhaps your godson lacks this knowledge. The second thing is to live the faith fully each day, so that this priceless gift does not wane but grows ever stronger. This includes praying, doing penance, attending Mass, receiving the sacraments and showing love for others. If we do this, our faith will grow and we will be more likely to cling to God in times of trial. Also, we should protect our faith from whatever could endanger it, avoiding certain books, lectures, television programs,
Learn the truths of Faith. Live them. And don’t stop praying. That’s how we help others around us. and people who are immoral or disbelievers. And we should reject promptly any temptations against faith, asking Our Lord to increase our faith. If we do this, our faith will not be the flickering flame of a candle, ready to be snuffed out by the slightest puff of wind, but rather a roaring fire that will burn even hotter, the stronger the wind blows. If we do not use these means – and perhaps your godson did not – then we can easily grow lukewarm and even cold, fall into a life of habitual sin, and eventually abandon the faith altogether, throwing away God’s precious gift. As regards what to do to help those who have lost the faith, we should let them know that we – and God – love them, that we are always there for them, that we are praying for them. We shouldn’t push them to do something they are not keen to do, like attend Mass with us. Occasionally we can give them something short to read, or engage them in a brief conversation about something in our own life that may help them to see the beauty of faith. And always we should pray insistently, day after day, for their conversion, like St Monica did for Augustine. God will not fail to hear us.
FUN FAITH With
NOVEMBER 11, 2012 • MK 12: 38-44 • 32ND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
CROSSWORD
Across 2. Then Jesus called his disciples and said to them, ‘In truth I tell you, this ____ widow has put more in than all who have put in to the treasury. 5. Jesus sat down opposite the ____ and watched the people putting money into the treasury. 6. These are the men who take the property of ____ and for show offer long prayers. The more severe will be the sentence they receive.’
Down 1. In his teaching Jesus said, ‘Beware of the scribes who like to walk about in long robes, to be greeted respectfully in the market squares, to take the front seats in the synagogues and the places of ____ at banquets. 3. For they have all put in money they could spare, but she in her poverty has put in ____ she possessed, all she had to live on.’ 4. Many of the rich put in a great deal. A poor widow came and put in two ____ coins.
POOR SMALL HONOUR WIDOWS TREASURY EVERYTHING
GOSPEL READING Mk 12:38-44 In his teaching Jesus said, ‘Beware of the scribes who like to walk about in long robes, to be greeted respectfully in the market squares, to take the front seats in the synagogues and the places of honour at banquets; these are the men who take the property of widows and for show offer long prayers. The more severe will be the sentence they receive.’ Jesus sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the treasury, and many of the rich put in a great deal. A poor widow came and put in two small coins. Then Jesus called his disciples and said to them, ‘In truth I tell you, this poor widow has put more in than all who have contributed to the treasury; for they have all put in money they could spare, but she in her poverty has put in everything she possessed, all she had to live on.’
WORD SEARCH POOR SMALL HONOUR WIDOWS TREASURY EVERYTHING
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‘In truth I tell you, this poor widow has put more in than all who have contributed to the treasury; for they have all put in money they could spare, but she in her poverty has put in everything she possessed, all she had to live on.’ - Mk 12: 38-44
therecord.com.au November 7, 2012
Loving, Loyal
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IRREPLACEABLE Catholics throughout Australia are “immensely in your debt” Cardinal George Pell once told a Catholic Women’s League gathering in 2003. In researching their history, Glynnis Grainger discovers he was right, in this, part I of the league’s history in WA.
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HE Catholic Women’s League of WA has been going in this State for 75 years, having been established in 1937 after Archbishop Redmond Prendiville addressed a gathering of about 200 women in Perth. The League began in Oxford in 1906, founded by convert Margaret Fletcher, with a body of Catholic women drawn from all classes and areas, who would take their place among other national and international bodies in the world, but retaining a base that was nonpolitical and which would work strictly in accordance with the mind of the Church. The CWL had been set up in Adelaide as early as 1914 and in 1928 the first conference of Australian Catholic Women was held in Sydney and the majority of the States were represented. From the outset, the aims of the CWL were to be a mature, responsible, understanding and compassionate body of Catholic women who would serve the Church and the community with dedication and loyalty. Their inspiration was the love of God and humanity as well as recognising the privilege to preserve the dignity of all and their human rights, caring and united in friendships. Weekly visits were made by local members to the Perth Public Hospital, the Foundling Home, the Home of Peace, the Alexandra Home and visiting of the sick in their homes. His Grace requested that the CWL take control of the Catholic Ball, held annually in Perth, and with 600 attending and debutantes presented, it was a huge success.
Top, the Perth CWL women celebrate; at the purchase of their new premises on Lord Street, East Perth, and above, at St Mary’s Cathedral, after celebrating a 75th anniversay Mass, earlier this year. PHOTO: COURTESY CWL
Few, if any possessed cars, so trams and trains were the usual means of transport. Until permanent headquarters were purchased in Vincent Street, Highgate in 1972, meetings were held at various venues in the city. Two League members were appointed to the National Council of Women, with its aims including care of Aborigines and raising money for the Home of Peace.
for their debts on their new building. His Grace had suggested that the CWL take an interest in: Prison gate mission; after-care of orphan girls; after-care of patients who had been in mental institutes; visiting and reading to the blind at Victoria Park; Red Cross, and visiting other hospitals as well as Perth Public. In 1939, he urged priests to establish a branch of the CWL in
THE WAR YEARS (1939-45) On September 3, 1939, England declared war against Germany. It was perhaps fortunate that the League was so firmly established by the time war was declared as for two years it had worked on a strong ecumenical basis with other social welfare organisations. There was never a week without a street collection and the League
Their inspiration is the love of God and humanity and all their hard word is aimed at preserving the dignity of human life and loving friendships. In 1938, there were 12 branches established in the metropolitan area, and many charities were being supported. At the end of 1936, a total of 28 churches, schools and presbyteries had been opened, including Osborne Park, Wembley, Scarborough, Bedford Park, Bayswater and South Perth, with parishioners raising money to pay
each parish. The sewing guild was kept busy during this time, with each member having to hand in two new garments, either made or bought, to be distributed to the needy not under the care of St Vincent de Paul. Clontarf Orphanage, which had only one seamstress, received quantities of bed linen, pyjamas, shirts and tea towels from the League.
was automatically asked for collectors by all organisations. Among them were the Red Cross, Naval Comforts Fund, YMCA, Seamen’s Mission, Salvation Army, St John’s Ambulance and the French Comforts’ Fund. The combined effort for the first year of the war was the amazing sum of £6,000 ($12,000). The League was asked to prepare and serve meals to the
troops passing through on transports, for those on leave and for those about to depart overseas. When the men from the armed forces began to return within a year, ill and often maimed and disabled, League members were often on duty every week of the year. They worked at the State canteen in Barrack Street and the Cathedral Hall in Murray Street, where every member donated a cup and saucer and saw to the constant supply of books, magazines, papers, games and general comforts. Others were busily occupied in the sewing circles attached to their own branch, knitting socks, gloves, scarves, etc, that were distributed to servicemen or made up into parcels to be sent overseas. In 1940, Fr AT Langmead, chaplain at Karrakatta Army Camp, asked for 146 sets of pyjamas for his men and 600 net covers for food to be supplied urgently. Before 1937 there had been a serious Depression but, by 1938, Australia, particularly WA, felt it had turned the economic corner and faced better days. League members from both Kalgoorlie and Boulder delivered parcels of food and/or woollies to the army camp at Parkeston, near Kalgoorlie. In 1942, it was realised that the women in the armed forces overseas needed knitted stockings. About 3,000 pairs of stockings were knitted on stocking machines by League volunteers. The years 1940-43 were the peak years for the demand for knitted garments and during this time the annual output was about 30,000 items.
PART II OF THE CWL’S HISTORY IN WA, NEXT WEEK
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OPINION
EDITORIAL
Academic hits the mark on school balls
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ditorialists would say that Dr Andrew Kania’s questioning last week of the kinds of behaviour which have become customary around school balls and ‘schoolies’ weeks, as end of Year 12 private get-togethers are called here in Western Australia, was ‘timely.’ His comments were not the first time that leading figures in Catholic education have been moved to express their opinions and impressions of these events, but it has been some time since anyone said what many have been thinking – that disturbing numbers of students turning up at such events thinking that they are dressing and behaving fashionably and stylishly are, in fact, only aping the tasteless, valueless and trashily immoral figures in the world of entertainment that are held up to them as their exemplars everywhere. Dr Kania astutely named the problem. A further problem is how to address it? The behaviour and absence of values Dr Kania has observed over two decades as a teacher are matched by overwhelming anecdotal evidence from a multitude of parents, families, members of school communities and other teachers. And it is clear that the problem he has observed the lack of standards and regularly obnoxious behaviour at school balls and schoolies weeks are really only a symptom of a deeper, underlying problem. That problem, basically, is that many of the families from which such students come are themselves devoid of basic commonsense and values about what it is to be an adult, responsible human being. This means that they are often largely ignorant of what is important in bringing up children and ignorant about how important a moral compass really is to the future wellbeing and happiness of a child as that child becomes an adult. It means that they are usually ignorant about what parenting is meant to be. It also means that they are basically often ignorant of why they are present in a Catholic school. This is one of the things that makes the work of Catholic teachers who are deeply interested in helping the students given into their care develop into the people they can become all that much harder. In essence, those who are working hardest against their best efforts to help their students find the fulfilment of their own futures are often the parents and peers who exercise the most influence in their lives. The fact is that there are huge numbers of families in the Catholic education system in Australia who are largely adrift from the life and faith of the Church. One hardly hears this discussed and it can be a dangerous thing to talk about openly but, basically, it’s true. The tasteless and often self-destructive behaviour that Dr Kania and generations of school teachers have witnessed is really a symptom of massive numbers of nominally Catholic families who have become indistinguishable in almost every sense from our wider, morally relativist and secular society. For such families, it is the media, the internet and tranPO Box 3075 sient passing trends of fashAdelaide Terrace ion or entertainment that are PERTH WA 6832 the chief moral compasses of their lives. Many want to be office@therecord.com.au part of the Catholic education Tel: (08) 9220 5900 system only because it offers a Fax: (08) 9325 4580 good affordable private education. For such families, being Catholic is merely a tribal affiliation, while being a Christian is something they do not see as attractive or important in any particuler sense. Oblivious to who is really whispering to their children’s lives, they have, by default, allowed the emptiness of Australian culture and the dictatorship of moral relativism it has widely embraced to become the chief formers of their children’s behaviour. In a very real way they are intimidated by the potential conflict between the peer pressure their children experience and any inclinations they may intuitively have about objective moral standards. Educators should not be disheartened. There is much they can do to rescue children from the barbarian culture of the suburbs. In fact, it is often teachers committed to the profound vocation of education who have made the remarkable difference in individual lives. They, after all, are in a position to inspire students by reacquainting them with the difference between the virtues and decadence. Dealing with school balls is a mere matter of practicality, setting out certain standards of dress and behaviour which must be subscribed to before an event occurs. Schools have the right to declare before an event what is acceptable and to vet it. They have the right to attach the most serious consequences to any violations of a code of conduct - and to enforce it. But, at a wider and more important level, teachers have a unique chance over years to offer their students an informing spirit which can guide them onwards through the important moments of life. At a certain level the crass trashiness associated with many school balls is really an opportunity to make the difference in the lives of students when no-one else seems to know or care. Our young are faced with a relentless onslaught from a hyper-materialist society from the earliest years of their lives. Teaching is often underrated as a vocation. In fact, it can be one of the most inspiring of professions. A teacher committed to the idea of the development and fulfilment of each of the persons committed to his or her care can fill the vacuum left in a student’s life by wellmeaning but ignorant others by acquainting their charges with the truly profound things of life. The young always need models of some kind or another. The ones our culture offers them are poisonous. Teachers can make the difference that matters.
Parents and peers work against Catholic education’s efforts to help students.
THE RECORD
therecord.com.au
November 7, 2012
LETTERS
Rites of passage are missing something I HAVE WRITTEN to Dr Andrew Kania: Thank you for your wonderful article “Rites without Responsibilities” as published in The Record. The title is interesting, combining the ideas of ‘rites of passage’ towards adulthood with the ‘rights and responsibilities’ of adult behaviour. A generation ago the rites of passage towards adulthood used to extend over a number of years. In fact, it took four years to transition from being a fully dependent 17-year-old child at school to being a 21-year-old, adult legally able to do adult things such as voting and purchasing alcohol. This stage of maturing over a four-year period has been usurped by politicians who legislated and changed the age of majority from 21 down to 18. Now, a 17-year-old fully dependent child at school is suddenly supposed to act like a fully matured adult at the age of 18. But although legislation says that at 18 one can now vote and
buy alcohol, it does not facilitate four years of progression through a rite of passage to becoming an adult. One cannot turn back the clock, so there needs to be a structural change to the rites of passage towards adulthood. Perhaps between the ages of 15 to 18 some essential life skills, like money management, standards of behaviour, responsibility for and acceptance of consequences for decisions, need to be taught, instead of just expecting responsible behaviour within one year of leaving school. This could lead to the Year 12 ball finishing the rite of passage rather than beginning it, as it was in my youth. MW Linden ARMADALE, WA
Congratulations to the following writers ... CONGRATULATIONS to Mariette Ulrich and G Kiernan (article and letter in The Record of October 12, 2012). They have hit nails on the head that badly needed to be hit. For far too long, some of the
skewed ideas that were aired in public after the Second Vatican Council have been allowed to be pushed in schools and some pulpits. The Catechism of The Catholic Church was supposed to nip such non-orthodox ideas in the bud – or shortly after budding. One example: it is not fine to miss Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation without a really serious reason. The Catechism makes this clear. Pope John Paul II also clearly states in the Foreword to that publication that it is intended for those who want to know what the Church believes, and that it is a sure and authentic reference text for teaching Catholic doctrine. The Catholic teaching and belief that the tabernacle contains the true presence of the Body of Christ is why Catholics genuflect before it. Genuflection should be taught to all Catholic children. I could go on and on, but I don’t want to and shouldn’t have to: some 50 years after Vatican II, one would think that there would be no need for that. MJ Gonzalez WILLETTON, WA
Erecting ghetto walls will not help children
Does the reaction of a gifted child to a suffocating Christian upbringing give us a helpful glimpse of what kind of parents we should be?
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Y parental anxiety levels were raised recently as I read an interview with Katy Perry, a high profile US singer. She is typical of current music sensations – a number of her lyrics, videos and stage shows are highly sexualised. In the interview, Perry spoke of her strict Christian upbringing – both her parents were evangelical missionaries – and how she was not permitted to read any book other than the Bible and was never allowed to listen to non-religious music. Perry was 26 at the time of the interview and stated that she and her parents were now far more accepting of each other’s views. “I think sometimes when children grow up, their parents grow up”, Perry opined. “I don’t try to change them anymore and I don’t think they try to change me. They’re happy that things are going well for their three children and that they’re not on drugs or in prison”. This minimalist attitude that (Perry says) her parents have adopted is, I believe, typical of a trend that has swept (and is sweeping through) the Christian body. Each generation over the past 50 years or so seems to have lowered the bar of expectations they have for their sons and daughters. It may not be as dramatic as, ‘Oh well, my daughter is sexually explicit before millions of people, but at least she is not in jail’, but it is worth considering whether we too have allowed the secular world to temper the expectations we have or may have had for our children. It is a constant battle that all Christian parents have had to contend with – how to pass on Christian values to their children that will not be compromised by the powerful forces of secularism they contend with each day. There are Christian communities such as the Amish who have long opted for a lifestyle of physical separation, literally living in a bubble of isolation from the outside world. As a parent trying to equip my children with a true understanding of
I Say, I Say MARK REIDY
the love and teachings of Christ, I can identify with the Amish desire to protect themselves from the conflicting influences of secularism – but is it the lifestyle that God desires for us? I don’t believe it is. Jesus distinctly tells us to be in this world but not of it. So how can we do this without minimising the beliefs and expectations we have for our children? In the early sixties, Pope John XXIII recognised a cultural and sexual revolution brewing and challenged the bishops of the Second Vatican Council to “open the win-
It’s worth considering whether we, too, have allowed the secular world to temper the expectations we have for our children. dows of the Church” without compromising on the Truth with which she had been entrusted. He knew the Church could not simply be a vacuum of holiness within the enveloping darkness - because this would inhibit her message of love from reverberating into the wider world – but neither should she merely blend into the broader marketplace so that God’s message would become unrecognisable in the melting pot of secularism. The blame for the dwindling number of young people in churches since has often been laid at the feet of both the decisions made by the Council and the hierarchies that followed, but little, it seems, has been accepted by those of us who sit
in the pews. There were individuals within the Church body who saw the uncertainty of the changes and the slow mechanics of the Church as an invitation to personally tailor or select teachings to fulfil their own understanding. That is not to say this was done with malevolent or selfish desires, but it has resulted in a blurring of the borders of Christianity and secularism – a subtle but major distinction from being “in the world, but not of the world”. It is a trend that has gradually eroded the expectations of a growing number of Christian parents. We have become content with our children becoming “good people” at the expense of being “God’s people”. Although we correctly moved away from motivation by fear and law that occasionally hid God’s love and mercy in the era before the Second Council, erroneous interpretations seem to have replaced it with an equally ineffective theology of love without law that has inevitably led our children, and often ourselves, into becoming victims of self-desire. When Jesus wandered the earth he encountered a similar problem to the bishops of the Second Council. The authorities of the time were so focused on the law that God’s love became lost in the detail. Jesus knew that this had to change. However, he did not do this by excusing sin or by changing the law, but rather by revealing, through Himself, the limitless and passionate love of His Father. God’s love and His law are entwined and can never be separated, but we need to understand any law as an extension of God’s love and not the other way around. If we focus our children only on the law, it is highly likely they will never discover His love. However, if we can first assist them in establishing a personal relationship with their Heavenly Father, then the doors will open for them to recognise the spiritual ramifications of sin through the eyes of this love. mreidy@therecord.com.au
OPINION
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Time to make weddings the result of joint effort The planning of weddings, and everything that goes with them, has been left almost solely to women. That’s wrong.
I
AM getting married at the end of the year to a lovely woman named Jane, and so my life in these last five months has involved an inordinate number of decisions around the height of cakes, the thickness of paper and the width of rings. I have also been informed on numerous occasions, by a wide variety of people, that the wedding is Jane’s ‘special day’ and that all major decisions, including what I will be wearing on the day, belong to her. Thankfully, Jane has, all along, seen our wedding as a joint effort but this very common idea, that the wedding is a day for brides, needs some questioning. While I am certainly promarriage I am not so sure that I am pro-wedding. I do not like the way in which the burgeoning wedding industry has taken the ideas of fidelity and self-giving love and associated them with make-up trials, chair covers and expensive cars. Interestingly, the rise of the wedding industry and the amount
Foolish Wisdom BERNARD TOUTOUNJI
of money spent is almost in direct correlation with the fall in the understanding of the nature and purpose of marriage. My ideas about the nature of the wedding industry were confirmed when Jane and I attended a bridal expo with everything on show from jewellery to bombonieres to teeth whitening and even fitness training. One of the stalls was promoting a new wedding planning app in which the couple enters the basic details about their wedding to receive information showing the approximate cost of the wedding, according to industry averages. We had a go and filled out the few questions asked: date of wedding, style of wedding, number of guests etc. We were informed in no uncertain
terms that our wedding, with 150 guests at the reception, was going to cost $105,936.09! This included $20,000 in outfits, $4,500 in decorations (including $550 worth of balloons), $42,000 at the reception and $25,000 of pre-wedding expenses. Maybe this is the ‘industry average’ for a wedding but, if so, we all need to take a good hard look at ourselves and ask when exactly it became acceptable to spend more than a year’s wages on an event that
role in offering opinion. When one particular sex is solely responsible for weddings, we find an imbalance in the end result. At one end, with women in charge, we find the costly princess-for-a-day model. At the other end, with men in charge, we see the disastrous results in TV shows such as Don’t tell the Bride. While it is obvious that men and women are different, this difference is meant to complement one another. Life is a not a competition to see
With men in charge ... we see the disastrous results in shows such as Don’t Tell the Bride. is going to take less than a full day. Now that I can speak from ‘within’ the world of wedding planning, I can report that this is a world that has become overly feminised to the extent that male input is almost considered to be in the way. I assure you that wedding expos would not exist in their scope and size if men were playing a more substantial
which sex is most physically strong (that would be men) or which sex best nurtures children (that would be women). When men and women work together there is a wonderful balance. Where a husband might be happy to eat dinner every night straight out of a pizza box, it is the feminine charm of his wife that will civilise him and help him to see the
role of a serviette. Where a wife might like to go shopping every weekend and continue to stock the house with ornaments that only exist to be dusted, it is the masculine practicality of her husband that stops her turning their home into a museum. I am not blaming the many women who have taken over all aspects of wedding planning. Their leadership is often the necessary result of men who have run away like mice only wanting to know what date and time to turn up at the church. Just last week one newly-married man was telling me proudly how he had left his fiancé to plan everything, as if this was some act of virtue. Both men and women need to embrace their roles in working with one another and using their natural gifts which at the end of the day will benefit not only wedding planning but life in general. www.foolishwisdom.com
The bitter pill we must all swallow
Clericalism and careerism helped abuse flourish. The Church needs to address these for the sake of all, writes Fr Peter Day.
“A
NYONE who welcomes one little child … in my name welcomes me. But anyone who is the downfall of one of these little ones who have faith in me would be better drowned in the depths of the sea with a great millstone round his neck” (Mt 18:5-6). Since my ordination to the priesthood 12 years ago, the millstone of sexual abuse revelations has weighed heavily. Indeed, such is the extent of the crisis that in some circles ‘priest’ and ‘paedophile’ have become interchangeable words. It is as if we have moved from an unhealthy, “A priest would never do that”, to a just as unhealthy, “He’s a priest, so he probably did do that.” In raising these difficult matters, I do not presume to speak for anyone else. I am not a spokesman for the Church. My intent is to help break open a new and broader conversation in which truth, no matter how painful, might hold sway against a collective silence and inertia. Facing the Truth “He was molesting her. Not molesting her, raping her; at five years old … for God’s sake!” (Bob Jyono, whose daughter was abused by Fr Oliver O’Grady in California.) The spectre of global sexual abuse has become a defining moment for our Catholic Church; one that, if not addressed more universally, openly and humbly, poses one of the most serious threats to the Church’s life and authority: a threat at least as significant as the momentous events surrounding the 16th century. We are, after all, dealing here with something akin to crimes against humanity. Priests and others vested with authority in our Church and trusted as its representatives have raped, sodomised, caused suicides, covered up, remained silent or protected paedophiles. Yet, amidst the thousands of shattered lives: the suicides, the mental illness, the poverty, and the broken relationships; the institutional Church is tending towards resuming normal programming while this overwhelming problem corrodes from within. We are desperately in need of a long-term collective, coordinated and global response that seeks to positively impact and transform us
Addressing the culture that allowed sexual abuse to flourish inside the Church is essential, writes Canberra-Goulburn priest Fr Peter Day, above. PHOTO: SUPPLIED
all; something similar, at the very least, to the dedication that underpinned the recent translation of the Roman Missal: an intensely focused institutional endeavour that demanded the attention, energy, and gifts of hundreds of Church leaders throughout the world. In earnestly seeking to deepen the Eucharistic experience and to elevate and brighten the language of prayer, our leaders must also ensure that the weightier matters of Church life are not neglected: justice, mercy, and truth. The language of the Missal can only edify and elevate when those who have compiled it, who sing from it, and who pray from it, are just as actively attentive to the language of love, and all it demands of us: “He called the people and his disciples to him and said, ‘If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and
follow me. Anyone who wants to save his life will lose it; but anyone who loses his life for the sake of the gospel, will save it’” (Mk 8:34-35). We are served by some extraordinary leaders who are courageously addressing this crisis head-on; but too many of our shepherds have acted, and continue to act, like “hired men who abandon the sheep as soon as they see a wolf coming, running away, leaving the wolves to attack and scatter the sheep” (Jn 10:12). Underpinning this culture is an all-too-pervasive clericalism in which men feel set apart, vainly pursuing the trappings of power and prestige: “Everything they do is done for people to see: they make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; they love the place of honour at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to
be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by others” (Mt 23:5-7). Within this context, what can emerge is a culture of careerist clerics who place personal gain, reputation and their own survival ahead of everything else. Consequently, they find themselves living within a kind of ecclesial-gated-community walled by self-interest and a protective silence. Although they are a small minority, they are a very powerful and damaging one. Is it too much to ask an institution founded on Him “who, being in the form of God, did not count equality with God something to be grasped; but emptied himself taking the form of a slave” (Phil 2:6-7) to be vulnerable, open, and transparent for the sake of others, especially the powerless; or to ensure that the daily witness of ‘washing feet’ is not radicalised, nor marginalised, but embraced as a central and nonnegotiable quality in our Church leaders? The people of God in the pews, in the towns, in the schools – people everywhere – are longing for us to face facts and the truth with humility: that’s what good shepherds do. Indeed, is not our core ‘business’ to protect the sanctity and dignity of the young: the very ones “to whom the kingdom of God belongs” (Mk 10:14). The consequences of not doing so do not bear contemplating. A Call For Action As we enter the Year of Grace, what better time to confront this global disgrace. It is not good enough to adopt a siege mentality by blaming an ‘aggressive anti-Catholic media’. It is not good enough to say ‘that happened a long time ago under someone else’s watch’. It is not good enough to say ‘that’s an Irish problem, that’s a Boston problem’, or that it is ‘disloyal’ to raise these matters publicly. There has to be a collective, universal response: to remain silent and passive is to perpetuate the effects of the abuse on both victims and our Church. To this end, dioceses might like to consider, during Lent next year, inviting the faithful to engage in some symbolic action within the Sunday liturgy, such as a prayer for
the victims and a pledge to reform destructive elements within our Church culture. This would allow the whole Church to offer some solidarity to those whose abuse has meant they no longer feel able to join us at the Table. Establishing their own truth and reconciliation commissions would give victims a voice, and encourage leaders to listen. On a global scale, one can perhaps dream of hosting an international response, a worldwide gathering of leaders to specifically address this crisis. What a message such a universal gathering would send to our children, our people, our world: “Your lives, your dignity, your sanctity deserve nothing less
Establishing truth and reconciliation commissions could give victims a voice that leaders would hear. than a concerted global focus and response; whatever the cost.” Convening the 22nd Ecumenical Council of the Church could call the ‘hired men’ culture to account; victims could be afforded a voice, and a collective wisdom given room to breathe and act. As it stands, we are tending to be defined by our collective silence, obfuscation, and inertia. Surely, at the end of the day, it is better for a man, for a Church, to roam the streets destitute, foraging for the Bread of Life, for truth, than to roam the corridors of power, feasting on privileges and on food that does not last. Ours is a profound responsibility: to humbly and gently walk alongside others, especially the most vulnerable. When we do so, then our lives begin to echo the words of Christ: “I am the good shepherd; I know my own, and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for my sheep” (Jn 10:14-15). Fr Peter Day is a priest of the Archdiocese of Canberra-Goulburn who works with the homeless and mentally ill in Queanbeyan. Before entering the priesthood he studied Sports Journalism.
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PANORAMA
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8 “Why developing positive relationships is important to Good Mental Health” Mental Health Parish Event 6-8pm at All Saints Parish Hall, 7 Liwara Pl, Greenwood. Seminar by Guido Vogels, a well known counsellor in the Perth Archdiocese. Please bring a plate of finger food to share. Tea, coffee etc provided. Enq: Barbara 9328 8113 or emmanuelcentre@westnet.com.au. ‘Commemoration of Kristallnacht’ Council of Christians and Jews WA Inc 4.30pm, Sylvia and Harry Hoffman Hall, Carmel Primary School, Woodrow Ave, Yokine. ‘Commemoration of Kristallnacht’ (“Night of Broken Glass”). Guest speaker: The Honourable Kevin Parker, former Vice-President of the International Criminal Tribunal, the Hague. Light refreshments served. Enq: Mary ccjwa@aol.com. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 10 Annual Mass of the Legion of Mary 12.30pm at St Joachim’s Parish, Shepperton Rd, Vic Park. Rosary and Holy Mass at 1pm. All invited. Afternoon tea after Mass. Enq: Rosemary 9328 2726 or perthcomitium@bigpond.com. St Padre Pio Prayer Day 9.30am at St Patrick’s Basilica, 47 Adelaide St, Fremantle. Begins with Padre Pio DVD; 11am – Exposition of Blessed Sacrament, Rosary, Divine Mercy, silent Adoration, Benediction. 12.10pm – Holy Mass, St Padre Pio Liturgy (Confessions available). Bring a plate to share for lunch. Enq: Des 6278 1540. ‘Our Lady of Fatima Reunion’ - Our Lady of Fatima School Palmyra 6.30pm at Our Lady of Fatima Parish, Foss St, Palmyra. For all pupils at the school, formerly St Gerard’s. Enq: Sharon 9333 7900 or lawdavis. sharon@cathednet.wa.edu.au. Divine Mercy – Healing Mass 2.30pm at St Francis Xavier Parish, Windsor St, East Perth. Main Celebrant: Fr Marcellinus. Reconciliation in English and Italian available. Divine Mercy prayers followed by veneration of First Class Relic of Sr Faustina Kowlaska. Refreshments afterwards. Enq: John 9457 7771. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 9 TO SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 11 Charismatic Renewal – ‘Set Free’ Inner Healing Retreat 9am at Newman Sienna Centre, Doubleview. Presenters; Mrs Diana Mascarenhas and Fr Elias Vella. Aimed at healing the emotional and psychological wounds of life and equipping us for the future. Registrations and Enq: Heather 0432 309 142 or Win 9387 2808 or setfreeconf@ mail.com.
UPCOMING SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 11 Regional Council Meeting and Reflection Day The Secular Franciscan Order 10am at The Edel Quinn Centre, 36 Windsor St, East Perth. Begins with a cuppa followed by Morning Prayer at 10.30am. Reports, general business and afternoon presentation on Vatican II Mass at 2.30pm. BYO to share. Enq: Angela 9275 5658. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13 Spirituality and The Sunday Gospels 7-8pm at St Benedict’s School Hall, Alness St, Applecross. Presented by Norma Woodcock. Cost: collection. Accreditation recognition by the CEO. Enq: 94871772 or www.normawoodcock.com. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 17 Fete 10.30am-3pm at Mt Laverna Retirement Village, St Francis Hostel, 678 North Beach Rd, Gwelup. Come and enjoy the many stalls, craft, jams, Devonshire teas, sausage sizzles, bric a brac, etc. Archbishop Costelloe will be visiting to bless our palliative care room and visit the residents. Enq: Brenda 9445 7030. SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 18 Prayer in the Style of Taizé 7-8pm at Sisters of St Joseph Chapel, 16 York St, South Perth. Includes prayer, chants, and silent prayer. Bring a friend and a torch. Last Taizé prayer for the year. Bring a small plate to share for supper afterwards. Enq: Sr Maree 0414 683 926. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 23 Holy Hour Adoration by Holy Trinity Community 7pm at St Benedict Parish, 115 Ardross St, Ardross. Enq: Fayan 0416 51 1947 or Bryan 0406 671388. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 30 Medjurgorje Evening of Prayer 7-9pm at St Joseph’s Parish, 3 Salvado Rd, Subiaco. Prayer in thanksgiving for Our Lady’s reported daily apparitions; with Eucharistic Adoration, Rosary and Holy Mass. Free DVDs on conversion of Donald Calloway from life of sin to priesthood available. Please see pilgrimage advert. Enq: 9402 2480 or 0407 471 256 or medjugorje@y7mail. com. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 1 Day With Mary 9am-5pm at Corpus Christi Parish, 43 Lochee St, Mosman Park. Day of prayer and instruction based
on the Fatima message. 9am Video; 10am Holy Mass; Reconciliation, Procession of the Blessed Sacrament, Eucharistic Adoration, sermons on Eucharist and on Our Lady, Rosary, Divine Mercy Chaplet and Stations of the Cross. BYO lunch. Enq: Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate 9250 8286. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4 Emmanuel Centre’s Christmas Party 11.30am at Emmanuel Centre, 25 Windsor St, Perth. Share with Archbishop Emeritus BJ Hickey in preparation for Christmas. Come join in the singing and meet other people of Emmanuel. Children welcome. Christmas Carols; Lunch BYO to share, tea, coffee, and cool drink supplied. RSVP: November 30. Enq: Admin 9328 8113 (Voice) or 9328 9571 (TTY) or SMS 0401 016 399 or Fax: 9227 9720 or Emmanuelcentre@westnet.com.au.
NEXT YEAR 2013 SATURDAY, JANUARY 26 Youth Inner Healing Retreat (live-in) 7.30am at St Thomas Moore College, 48 Mounts Bay Rd, Crawley. Led by Vincentian Fathers. Registration and Enq: Sonia 0410 596 520 or Sheldon 0415 841 737 or dmymau@gmail.com. SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 10 Our Lady of Lourdes 70th Anniversary Mass – with Archbishop Costelloe 9.30am at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, 207 Lesmurdie Rd, Lesmurdie. Enq: Fr Kenneth 9291 6282 or 9291 8952 or 0434 934 286.
REGULAR EVENTS EVERY SUNDAY Gate of Heaven Catholic Radio Join the Franciscans of the Immaculate from 7.309pm on Radio Fremantle 107.9FM for Catholic radio broadcast of EWTN and our own live shows. Enq: radio@ausmaria.com.
Immaculate Cafe Immaculate Cafe is now open every Sunday 9.30am-1pm at St Mary’s Cathedral Parish Centre, downstairs after Mass. Coffee, tea, cakes, sweets friendship with Cathedral parishioners. Further info: Tammy on smcperthwyd@yahoo.com.au or 0415 370 357. Pilgrim Mass - Shrine of the Virgin of the Revelation 2pm at Shrine, 36 Chittering Rd, Bullsbrook. Commencing with Rosary followed by Benediction. Reconciliation available before every celebration. Anointing of the sick administered during Mass every second Sunday of the month. Pilgrimage in honour of the Virgin of the Revelation last Sunday of the month. Side entrance to church and shrine open daily between 9am-5pm. Enq Sacri 9447 3292. Praise and Worship 5.30pm at St Denis Parish, cnr Osborne St and Roberts Rd, Joondanna. Followed by 6pm Mass. Enq: Admin admin@stdenis.com.au. EVERY FIRST SUNDAY Singles Prayer and Social Group 7pm at All Saints Chapel, Allendale Sq, 77 St George’s Tce, Perth. Begins with Holy Hour (Eucharistic Adoration, Rosary and teaching) followed by dinner at local restaurant. Meet new people, pray and socialise with other single men and women. Enq: Veronica 0403 841 202. EVERY SECOND SUNDAY Healing Hour 7-8pm at St Lawrence Parish, Balcatta. Songs of praise and worship, exposition of Blessed Sacrament and prayers for sick. Enq: Fr Irek Czech SDS or office Tue-Thu, 9am-2.30pm 9344 7066. EVERY FOURTH SUNDAY Shrine Time for Young Adults 18-35 years 7.30-8.30pm in Schoenstatt Shrine, 9 Talus Dr, Mt Richon; Holy Hour with prayer, reflection, meditation, praise and worship; followed by a social gathering. Come and pray at a place of grace. Enq: Schoenstatt Srs 9399 2349. Holy Hour for Vocations to the Priesthood, Religious Life 2-3pm at Infant Jesus Parish, Wellington St, Morley. Includes exposition of Blessed Eucharist, silent prayer, Scripture, prayers of intercession. Come and pray those discerning vocations can hear clearly God’s call. EVERY SECOND AND FOURTH MONDAY A Ministry to the Un-Churched 12.30-1.30pm at St John’s Pro-Cathedral, Victoria Ave, Perth (opposite church offices). With charismatic praise and prayer teams available. Help us ‘reach out to the pagans’ or soak in the praise. Enq: Dan 9398 4973. EVERY LAST SUNDAY OF THE MONTH Filipino Mass 3pm at Notre Dame Church, cnr Daley and Wright Sts, Cloverdale. Please bring a plate to share for socialisation after Mass. Enq: Fr Nelson Po 0410 843 412, Elsa 0404 038 483. EVERY MONDAY Evening Adoration and Mass 7pm at St Thomas Parish, Claremont, cnr Melville St and College Rd. Eucharistic Adoration,
therecord.com.au
November 7, 2012
Reconciliation, evening prayer, Benediction, then Mass and night prayer at 8pm. Enq: Kim on 9384 0598 or email to claremont@perthcatholic.org.au.
would like to learn or practise Auslan in a relaxing and fun atmosphere. Light lunch provided. Enq: Emma emmanuelcentre@westnet.com.au.
LAST MONDAY OF THE MONTH Be Still in His Presence – Ecumenical Christian Program 7.30-8.45pm at St Swithun Anglican Church, 195 Lesmurdie St, Lesmurdie (hall behind church). Begins with songs of praise and worship, silent time, lectio divina, small group sharing and cuppa. Enq: Lynne 9293 3848 or 043 5252 941.
EVERY FRIDAY Eucharistic Adoration at Schoenstatt Shrine 10am at Schoenstatt Shrine, 9 Talus Drive, Mt Richon. Includes Holy Mass, exposition of Blessed Sacrament, silent adoration till 8.15pm. In this Year of Grace, join us in prayer at a place of grace. Enq: Sisters of Schoenstatt 9399 2349.
EVERY TUESDAY Novena to Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal 6pm at Pater Noster Church, Marmion and Evershed Sts, Myaree. Mass at 5.30pm followed by Benediction. Enq: John 0408 952 194. Novena to God the Father 7.30pm at St Joachim’s parish hall, Vic Park. Novena followed by reflection and discussions on forthcoming Sunday Gospel. Enq: Jan 9284 1662. Ninth Annual Novena to Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal 5.30-6pm at St Luke’s Parish, 2 Parkside Rmbl, Woodvale. Novena from Tuesday, October 9 to Tuesday, December 4. A devotion of 30 minutes of public prayer with Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, Novena prayer, reflection and Benediction. Enq: Fr Francisco stlk@iinet.net.au. EVERY FIRST TUESDAY Short MMP Cenacle for Priests 2pm at Edel Quinn Centre, 36 Windsor St, East Perth. Enq: Fr Watt 9376 1734. EVERY WEDNESDAY Holy Spirit of Freedom Community 7.30pm at Church of Christ, 111 Stirling St, Perth. We welcome everyone to attend our praise meeting. Enq: 0423 907 869 or hsofperth@gmail.com. Bible Study at Cathedral 6.15pm at St Mary’s Cathedral, 17 Victoria Sq, Perth. Deepen your faith through reading and reflecting on holy Scripture by Fr Jean-Noel Marie. Meeting room beneath Cathedral. Enq: 9223 1372. Holy Hour - Catholic Youth Ministry Mass at 5.30pm and Holy Hour (Adoration) at 6.30pm at Catholic Pastoral Centre, 40A Mary St, Highgate. Enq: www.cym.com or 9422 7912. Adonai Ladies Prayer Group 10am in upper room of St Joseph’s Parish, 3 Salvado Rd, Subiaco. Come and join us for charismatic prayer and praise. Enq: Win 9387 2808 or Noreen 9298 9935. EVERY FIRST WEDNESDAY Holy Hour Prayer for Priests 7.30-8.30pm at Holy Spirit Parish, 2 Keaney Pl, City Beach. All welcome. Enq: Linda 9341 3079. Novena to St Mary of the Cross MacKillop 7-7.45pm at Blessed Mary MacKillop Parish, cnr Cassowary Dr and Pelican Pde, Ballajura. Begins with Mass, novena prayers and Benediction. Followed by healing prayers and anointing of the sick. Enq: Madi 9249 9093 or Gerry 0417 187 240. EVERY SECOND WEDNESDAY Chaplets of Divine Mercy 7.30pm St Thomas More Parish, Dean Rd, Bateman accompanied by Exposition, then Benediction. Enq: George 9310 9493 or 6242 0702 (w). EVERY THURSDAY Divine Mercy 11am at Ss John and Paul Church, Pinetree Gully Rd, Willetton. Pray the Rosary and Chaplet of Divine Mercy and for consecrated life, especially in our parish. Concludes with veneration of the first class relic of St Faustina. Enq: John 9457 7771. St Mary’s Cathedral Praise Meeting 7.45pm every Thursday at the Legion of Mary’s Edel Quinn Centre, 36 Windsor St, East Perth. Includes praise, song and healing ministry. Enq: Kay 9382 3668 or fmi@flameministries.org. Group Fifty - Charismatic Renewal Group 7.30pm at Redemptorist Monastery, 150 Vincent St, North Perth. Includes prayer, praise and Mass. Enq: Elaine 9440 3661. EVERY FIRST THURSDAY OF THE MONTH Prayer in Style of Taizé 7.30-8.30pm at Our Lady of Grace Parish, 3 Kitchener St, North Beach. Includes prayer, song and silence in candlelight – symbol of Christ the light of the world. Taizé info: www.taize.fr. Enq: secretary 9448 4888 or 9448 4457. FIRST AND THIRD THURSDAY Dinner and Rosary Cenacle - St Bernadette’s Young Adults 6.30pm at Hans Cafe, 140 Oxford St, Leederville. Begins with dinner, then Rosary cenacle at St Bernadette’s, 49 Jugan St, Glendalough. Cenacle includes 8pm reflection by Fr Doug and Rosary. Tea and coffee after. By repeating words of love to Mary and offering up each decade for our intentions, we take the shortcut to Jesus which is to pass through the heart of Mary. Enq: Fr Doug st.bernadettesyouth@gmail.com. EVERY THIRD THURSDAY Auslan Café – Sign Language Workshop 12.30pm at St Francis Xavier Emmanuel Centre, 25 Windsor St, Perth. Its Australian Sign Language - Auslan Café is a social setting for anybody who
EVERY FIRST FRIDAY Mass and Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament 11am-4pm at Little Sisters of the Poor Chapel, 2 Rawlins St, Glendalough. Exposition of Blessed Sacrament after Mass until 4pm finishing with Rosary. Enq: Sr Marie MS.Perth@lsp.org.au.
Relationships and Use Emotional Intelligence and Communication Skills Tue 4.30-6.30pm, 197 High St, Fremantle - Tuesdays 3-4.30pm. Enq: Eva 0409 405 585. Bookings essential. Is your son or daughter unsure of what to do this year? Suggest a Cert IV course to discern God’s purpose. They will also learn more about the Catholic faith and develop skills in communication and leadership. Acts 2 College of Mission & Evangelisation (National Code 51452).Enq: Jane 9202 6859. AA Alcoholics Anonymous Is alcohol costing you more than just money? Enq: AA 9523 3566.
Healing Mass 7pm at St Peter’s Parish, Inglewood. Praise and worship, Exposition and Eucharistic Adoration, Benediction and anointing of the sick followed by holy Mass and fellowship. Celebrants Fr Dat and invited priests. 6.45pm Reconciliation. Enq: Mary Ann 0409 672 304, Prescilla 0433 457 352 and Catherine 0433 923 083.
Saints and Sacred Relics Apostolate Invite SSRA Perth invites interested parties, parish priests, leaders of religious communities, lay associations to organise relic visitations to parishes, communities, etc. We have available authenticated relics, mostly first-class, of Catholic saints and blesseds including Sts Mary MacKillop, Padre Pio, Anthony of Padua, Therese of Lisieux, Maximilian Kolbe, Simon Stock and Blessed Pope John Paul II. Free of charge and all welcome. Enq: Giovanny 0478 201 092 or ssra-perth@catholic.org.
Healing and Anointing Mass 8.45am Pater Noster Church, Evershed St, Myaree. Begins with Reconciliation, then 9am Mass of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, anointing of the sick and prayers to St Peregrine. Enq: Joy 9337 7189.
Enrolments, Year 7, 2014 La Salle College now accepting enrolments for Year 7, 2014. For prospectus and enrolment please contact college reception 9274 6266 or email lasalle@lasalle.wa.edu.au.
Catholic Faith Renewal Evening 7.30pm at Ss John and Paul Parish, Pinetree Gully Rd, Willetton. Songs of Praise and Prayer, sharing by a priest, then thanksgiving Mass and light refreshments. Enq: Kathy 9295 0913 or Ann 0412 166 164 or catholicfaithrenewal@gmail.com.
Pellegrini Books Wanted An order of Sisters in Italy is looking for the following: The Living Pyx of Jesus, Fervourings From Galilee’s Hills, Fervourings From the LoveBroken Heart of Christ, Fervourings From the Lips of the Master, Listening to the Indwelling Presence, Sheltering the Divine Outcast, Daily Inspection and Cleansing of the Living Temple of God, and Staunch Friends of Jesus, the Lover of Youth. If you are able to help, please contact Justine on 0419 964 624 or justine@waterempire.com. Acts 2 College, Perth’s Catholic Bible College is now pleased to be able to offer tax deductibility for donations to the College. If you are looking for an opportunity to help grow the faith of young people and evangelise the next generation of apostles, please contact Jane Borg, Principal at Acts 2 College on 0401 692 690 or principal@ acts2come.wa.edu.au. Divine Mercy Church Pews Would you like to assist, at the same time becoming part of the history of the new Divine Mercy Church in Lower Chittering, by donating a beautifully handcrafted jarrah pew currently under construction, costing only $1,000 each. A beautiful brass plaque with your inscription will be placed at the end of the pew. Please make cheques payable to Divine Mercy Church Building fund and send with inscription to PO Box 8, Bullsbrook WA 6084. Enq: Fr Paul 0427 085 093.
Communion of Reparation All Night Vigils 7pm-1.30am at Corpus Christi Church, Lochee St, Mosman Park or St Gerard Majella Church, cnr Ravenswood Dr/Majella Rd, Westminster (Mirrabooka). Vigils are two Masses, Adoration, Benediction, prayers, Confession in reparation for outrages committed against the United Hearts of Jesus and Mary. Enq: Vicky 0400 282 357; Fr Giosue 9349 2315; John/Joy 9344 2609. Pro-life Witness – Mass and Procession 9.30am at St Brigid’s Parish, cnr Great North Hwy and Morrison Rd, Midland. Begins with Mass followed by Rosary procession and prayer vigil at nearby abortion clinic, and led by the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate. Please join us to pray for an end to abortion and the conversion of hearts. Enq Helen 9402 0349. EVERY SECOND FRIDAY OF THE MONTH Discover Spirituality of St Francis of Assisi 12pm at St Brigid’s parish centre. The Secular Franciscans of Midland Fraternity have lunch, then 1-3pm meeting. Enq: Antoinette 9297 2314. EVERY FIRST SATURDAY OF THE MONTH Healing Mass 12.35pm at St Thomas Parish, cnr Melville St and College Rd, Claremont. Spiritual leader Fr Waddell. Enq: Kim 9384 0598, claremont@perthcatholic.org. Vigil for Life – Mass and Procession 8.30am at St Augustine’s Parish, Gladstone St, Rivervale. Begins with Mass celebrated by Fr Carey, followed by Rosary procession and prayer vigil at nearby abortion clinic. Please join us to pray for the conversion of hearts and an end to abortion. Enq. Helen 9402 0349. EVERY LAST SATURDAY Novena Devotions – Our Lady Vailankanni of Good Health 5pm at Holy Trinity Parish, 8 Burnett St, Embleton. Followed by Mass at 6pm. Enq: George 9272 1379. EVERY FOURTH SATURDAY OF THE MONTH Voice of the Voiceless Healing Mass 12pm at St Brigid’s Parish, 211 Aberdeen St, Northbridge. Bring a plate to share after Mass. Enq: Frank 9296 7591 or 0408 183 325.
GENERAL Free Divine Mercy Image for Parishes High quality oil painting and glossy print – Divine Mercy Promotions. Images of very high quality. For any parish willing to accept and place inside the church. Oil paintings: 160 x 90cm; glossy print - 100 x 60cm. Enq: Irene 9417 3267 (w). Sacred Heart Pioneers Would anyone like to know about the Sacred Heart pioneers? If so, please contact Spiritual Director Fr Doug Harris 9444 6131 or John 9457 7771.
Abortion Grief Association Inc A not-for-profit association is looking for premises to establish a Trauma Recovery Centre (pref SOR) in response to increasing demand for our services (ref.www.abortiongrief.asn.au). Enq: Julie (08) 9313 1784. RESOURCE CENTRE FOR PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT - 2013 COURSES 1) RCPD6 ‘The Cost of Discipleship’ This course combines theology with relationship education and personal/spiritual awareness by teaching self-analysis. 2) ‘The Wounded Heart’ ‘Healing for emotional and sexual abuse’ promotes healing and understanding for the victim and the offender. Holistic counselling available - www. members.dodo.net.au/~evalenz/. SAINTS AND SACRED RELICS APOSTOLATE 300 first and secondclass relics available for public veneration in the following churches: SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 17 TO SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 18 Sts John and Paul Parish, 5 Ingham Ct, Willetton. All Masses. Talk on relics during each Mass. Religious items donations for Thailand Church Fr Ferdinando Ronconi is the parish priest at the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption in Phuket, Thailand. He is in need of religious items such as rosaries and holy medals for his local congregation and visitors. If you are able to help, please post items to: PO Box 35, Phuket 83000, Thailand or, if you are on holiday in Phuket, bring your donated items with you to church and stay for Mass! Fr Ferdinando can be contacted on tel: 076 212 266 or 089 912 899 or ronconi.css@gmail.com.
St Philomena’s Chapel 3/24 Juna Dr, Malaga. Mass of the day: Mon 6.45am. Vigil Masses: Mon-Fri 4.45pm. Enq: Fr David 9376 1734. Mary MacKillop Merchandise Available for sale from Mary MacKillop Centre. Enq: Sr Maree 041 4683 926 or 08 9334 0933. Financially Disadvantaged People Requiring Low Care Aged Care Placement The Little Sisters of the Poor community is set in beautiful gardens in the suburb of Glendalough. “Making the elderly happy, that is everything!” St Jeanne Jugan (foundress). Registration and enq: Sr Marie 9443 3155. Resource Centre for Personal Development Holistic Health Seminar The Instinct to Heal Tue 3-4.30pm; RCPD2 Internalise Principles of Successful
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CLASSIFIEDS RELIGIOUS PRODUCTS CATHOLICS CORNER Retailer of Catholic products specialising in gifts, cards and apparel for Baptism, Communion and Confirmation. Ph 9456 1777. Shop 12, 64-66 Bannister Rd, Canning Vale. Open Mon-Sat. RICH HARVEST - YOUR CHRISTIAN SHOP Looking for Bibles, CDs, books, cards, gifts, statues, Baptism/Communion apparel, religious vestments, etc. Visit us at 39 Hulme Ct (off McCoy St), Myaree. Ph 9329 9889 (after 10.30am Mon to Sat). We are here to serve. KINLAR VESTMENTS www.kinlarvestments.com.au Quality handmade and decorated vestments: albs, stoles, chasubles, altar linen, banners. Ph Vickii on 9402 1318, 0409 114 093 or kinlar.vestments@ gmail.com. MEMENTO CANDLES Personalised candles for Baptism, Wedding, Year 12 Graduations and Absence. Photo and design embedded into candle, creating a great keepsake! Please call Anna: 0402 961 901 or anna77luca@hotmail.com to order a candle or Facebook: Memento Candles.
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY Home-based business. Wellness industry. Call 02 8230 0290 or www.dreamlife1.com.
TAX SERVICE QUALITY TAX RETURNS PREPARED by registered tax agent with over 35 years’ experience. Call Tony Marchei 0412 055 184 for appt. AXXO Accounting & Management, Unit 20/222 Walter Rd, Morley. Trade services.
BOOKBINDING RESTORATION BOOKBINDING and conservation, general book repairs, Bibles, Breviaries, sad, old and leather bindings renewed. Tel: 0401 941 577.
Deadline: 11am Monday FURNITURE REMOVAL ALL AREAS. Competitive rates. Mike Murphy Ph 0416 226 434.
HEALTH LOSE WEIGHT SAFELY. Free samples. Call or SMS Michael 0412 518 318. NATUROPATHIC SERVICE: For a natural approach to achieving good health, call Martin today on 0407 745 294.
PILGRIMAGES PILGRIMAGE TO ROME/ MEDJUGORJE including Sangiovanni, Rotondo, Pompeii, Lanciano, Dubrovnik. Departs June 2013. Spiritual Director Rev Fr Bogoni. Cost $3,999. Enq. Eileen 9402 2480 or 0407 471 256 or medjugorje@y7mail.com.
BIRTHDAY WISHES MICHAEL AZAR How are you doing Michael Azar. To my precious darling son Michael, wishing you a very happy birthday with ALMIGHTY GOD’S LOVE, PEACE, AND EVERY BLESSING ON YOUR 29TH BIRTHDAY 8TH NOVEMBER. I am thinking of you and Francis Today and Every Day. I am Here for you and Francis Always. I wait with open arms to greet you. I Love You Francis with All My Heart and I am longing to see you both. Holy Mass will be offered at St Peter’s, Bedford at 9am for you today Michael on your special Day and also for Francis, my Two Precious Darling Sons. Your Loving Mother Janet. “JESUS I TRUST IN YOU’. MICHAEL AZAR How are you doing MICHAEL AZAR. Wishing you a very happy 29th Birthday Michael Azar. I am thinking of you and Francis Today and Every Day and we are praying for you Both. Longing to see and Francis My Two Darling Grandsons Take Care and God Bless You Both. “LOVE YOU HEAPS’ Your Loving Nanna Doreen Lockyer GOD BLESS YOU.
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ACCOMMODATION HOLIDAY ACCOMMODATION Esperance holiday accommodation, 3-bedroom house, fully furnished. Phone 08 9076 5083.
SETTLEMENTS ARE YOU BUYING OR SELLING real estate or a business? Why not ask Excel Settlements for a quote for your settlement. We offer reasonable fees, excellent service, no hidden costs. Ring 9481 4499 for a quote. Check our website on www. excelsettlements.com.au.
EDUCATION EDUCATIONAL COUNSELLING The Resource Centre for Personal Development RCPD offers an accredited ‘Advanced & Graduate Diploma of Educational Counselling in personal/spiritual awareness and relationship education’ in 2013 - www.members. dodo.net.au/~evalenz/ - Enq: Eva 08/9418 1439 or 0409 405 585.
SERVICES RURI STUDIO FOR HAIR Vincent and Miki welcome you to their newly opened, international, award-winning salon. Shop 2, 401 Oxford St, Leederville. 9444 3113. Ruri-studio-for-hair@ hotmail.com BRENDAN HANDYMAN SERVICES Home, building maintenance, repairs and renovations. NOR. Ph 0427 539 588. WRR LAWN MOWING AND WEED SPRAYING Garden clean ups and rubbish removal. Get rid of bindii, jojo and other unsightly weeds. Based in Tuart Hill. Enq: 6161 3264 or 0402 326 637. BRICK RE-POINTING Ph Nigel 9242 2952. PERROTT PAINTING Pty Ltd For all your residential, commercial painting requirements. Ph Tom Perrott 9444 1200.
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ACROSS 2 John, Paul, and John Paul 6 Holy ___ 8 “In the ___ of the Father…” 9 Church singers 10 Type of candle 11 Bishop of a diocese 13 Describes the soul 15 Partner of Damian 17 “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s ___” (Jn 15:13) 19 Geographical area of the Church 22 Jeremiah was put in these (Jer 20:1–2) 24 ___ Creed 27 One of the Minor Orders of the church 29 Joseph interpreted these 31 Paul’s companion during his missionary travels 32 “…a man sows, that he will also ___.” (Gal 6:7) 33 Gold, frankincense or myrrh 34 Food of the Exodus (Ex 16:15– 31)
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DOWN 1 Angel’s hat? 2 Scripture readings at Mass that are sections of books of the Bible 3 Aaron was anointed to be this (Ex 30:30) 4 Dead Sea find 5 Haman plotted to kill him (Esth
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November 7, 2012, The Record
November Catalogue BOOKS ON AND BY OUR HOLY FATHERS
FROM
$28 WHAT PRICE WOULD YOU PAY FOR FREEDOM? In the exhilarating action epic FOR GREATER GLORY an impassioned group of men and women each make the decision to risk it all for family, faith and the very future of their country, as the film’s adventure unfolds against the long-hidden, true story of the 1920s Cristero War, the daring people’s revolt that rocked 20th Century North America. Academy Award® nominee Andy Garcia headlines an acclaimed cast as General Gorostieta, the retired military man who at first thinks he has nothing personal at stake as he and his wife (Golden Globe nominee Eva Longoria) watch Mexico fall into a violent civil war. Yet the man who hesitates in joining the cause will soon become the resistance’s most inspiring and self-sacrificing leader, as he begins to see the cost of religious persecution on his countrymen . . . and transforms a rag-tag band of rebels into a heroic force to be reckoned with. The General faces impossible odds against a powerful and ruthless government. Yet it is those he meets on the journey, youthful idealists, feisty renegades and, most of all, one remarkable teenager named Jose, who reveal to him how courage and belief are forged even when justice seems lost.
BIBIANA KWARAMBA Bookshop Manager
THE TRUE STORY OF CRISTIADA
FOR GREATER
GLORY IN STOR
E
NOW
Telephone: 9220 5912 Email: bookshop@therecord.com.au Address: 21 Victoria Square, Perth 6000