The Record Newspaper 08 June 2011

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THE R ECORD

Evangelisation ‘number one priority’ for newest agency Kellerberrin celebrates 100 years

In his latest pastoral letter (below), Archbishop Hickey announces creation of new agency. Top priority: reaching out to those who do not believe, those searching

Today’s Missionary Challenge

Text of Archbishop Barry Hickey’s pastoral

My Dear People, on this Feast of Pentecost I wish to speak to you about the urgent missionary challenge we have in our own country as I announce the formation of a new initiative that will help us face it.

The first Pentecost ushered in the age of the Holy Spirit. With a mighty rush of wind, with tongues of fire appearing over the heads of the Apostles, the Apostles and Disciples gathered in the Upper Room felt the surge of power of the Holy Spirit preparing them for the great Mission of the Church. They were to proclaim from the rooftops that Jesus, the

Risen Lord, had freed all of humanity from the burden of sin and evil and opened up a new freedom which would lead to eternal life with God.

They understood their Mission was to proclaim Jesus as Lord and Saviour. In short, they were to evangelise the world. They were to offer a world burdened and bound by sin and violence the peace that comes from Jesus and the new life He won that lasts forever. They were to be bearers and witnesses of the Good News of salvation.

I want to remind you on this Pentecost Day that the Mission of the Church is still the same and that it has become increasingly urgent in these days of rising secularism.

I also want to say that the task of the Church to offer Good News to the world is

On a glorious autumn

the task of every member of the Church, not just the clergy or the Religious. The call of our Baptism and Confirmation is to share with others the faith that we have received as a precious gift.

EVANGELISATION

The late Pope John Paul II pointed out that the first means of evangelisation is the “witness of an authentically Christian life”. Every member of the Church is called to manifest to the world the attractiveness of an authentically Christian life. We have traditionally relied on family,

Visitors from Melbourne, Geraldton and Albany attended the centenary celebrations as did past and present parishioners and former stu-

Church and school to pass the faith from one generation to another. We have also relied on the support of a free society to help this take place. Regrettably, the world has changed.

No longer is it easy for parents to hand on the faith safely to their children. They are enticed by the world in other directions, often harmful. Fragmented family life, increasingly common today, is a massive obstacle to the safe transfer of faith, despite the best efforts of school and parish.

Even the religious freedom that we enjoy is threatened by secular and anti-religious forces that often oppose and ridicule our beliefs.

dents of St Joseph’s Convent, School and Preventorium.

A large contingent of Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart - who were instrumental in providing education to local childrenPlease turn to Page 10

Our response is to be strong and trust in the power of the Holy Spirit to overcome difficulties and resistance. Pentecost is both a sign and an assurance of the power of God over the forces of evil.

This Pentecost, I want to say that we cannot allow ourselves to be intimidated or silenced by the forces that oppose us. We must remain faithful to our call to offer the world the liberating truth of Jesus Christ. The world needs it. Jesus has entrusted us with His Good News and given us the Holy Spirit as the source of our power and courage.

Please turn to Page 10

Happy day: Parishioners pack St Joseph’s Church in Kellerberrin for Mass celebrating the parish’s centenary. Auxiliary Bishop Donald Sproxton concelebrated Mass with fellow clergy, including parish priest Fr Stanislaw Bendkowski SDS.

PHOTO: COURTESY CHRISTINE LAIRD

day, close to 300 faithful from near and wide travelled to the wheatbelt town of Kellerberrin to celebrate the 100th anniversary of St Joseph’s parish on 1 May. Auxiliary Bishop

Donald Sproxton of Perth concelebrated the Mass with St Mary’s, Merredin parish priest, Fr Stan Bendowski SDS, who administers the Kellerberrin parish; Regional Superior of Salvatorians in Australia, Fr Karol Kulczycki

SDS and former Kellerberrin parish priests Fr Geoff Aldous and Fr Steve Casey.

New Midwifery course at University of Notre Dame

Inaugural UNDA Nursing Chair promotes research, clinical nursing links

THE University of Notre Dame Australia has unveiled its new School of Nursing and Midwifery, with a special focus on research.

culture of research and develop productive working relationships with other schools at UNDA, as well as clinicians and researchers in the healthcare and tertiary sectors,” Prof Monterosso said.

“I intend to provide high quality supervision to higher degree nursing and midwifery research students and hopefully contribute to the development of the future leaders of nursing and midwifery research.”

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Professor Leanne Monterosso, the inaugural Chair of Nursing and a former midwife and neonatal nurse, will initiate and conduct leading edge research programmes in nursing and midwifery that are both nationally and internationally competitive as a “fundamental goal”.

Linking with the university’s unveiling of the new School of Nursing and Midwifery on the Fremantle Campus recently, Prof Monterosso’s appointment is part of an initiative of the School and St John of God Hospital Murdoch (SJGHM).

“My intention is to develop a strong

Having initially trained as a registered nurse at St John of God Hospital in 1978, and holding clinical appointments in the tertiary health sector since then, Prof Monterosso maintains that a strong link is required between clinical settings and the university environment to prepare students for constant changes in the healthcare system. Prof Monterosso hopes to facilitate this vision with School of Nursing and Midwifery Dean Prof Selma Alliex by promoting a culture of research within the School to attract and support undergraduate and higher-degree students.

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Catholic Women’s League WA HQ sold

BY GLYNNIS GRAINGER

DOWNEY House, the headquarters of the Catholic Women’s League of WA, has been sold for an undisclosed sum.

State President Karyn Kamann told The Record many members of the CWL had not enquired about the selling price at its AGM on 29 April, so she remained tight-lipped about it.

There was some serious thought of building on, then it was decided to sell the house and its 1,011sq metre (¼-acre) block at the corner of William and Vincent Streets, Perth, which had been opened in 1972.

A number of offers were made to buy it and it is believed the people who have bought it will restore it to its original condition, as it is heritage listed.

Downey House’s final settlement was on 25 March, the Feast of the Annunciation.

The CWL Archdiocesan Council held its first monthly meeting at the rented premises of the Legion of Mary in Windsor Street, Perth.

Mrs Carmel Downey, after whom the house was named, and who originally discovered the property was for sale - her parents had lived there for a time - was State President of the CWL for 10 years in the 1960s. From 1953-72, nearly 20 years, the CWL’s Building Fund, to which members contributed, was slowly growing and this helped pay for Downey House’s purchase.

It was close to the city and the Highgate parish hall nearby was available for functions of any size.

Corrections

In the article published on 25 May, ‘Sacred Heart help out their founding Religious Congregation’, the opening paragraphs described Sacred Heart Primary School, Highgate as “Perth’s oldest primary school” and the “oldest Catholic primary school in Perth”. This is not correct. The Sisters of Mercy began the first Catholic primary school in Perth in 1846.

In the article published on 1 June, ‘Iona remembers Mother Treacey’, Christine Walsh was credited in the story as “College Principal” and in the photo caption as “Iona Principal”. This is not correct. Ms Walsh is the Iona Presentation Primary School Principal while Mrs Anne Pitos is the Iona Presentation College Principal.

Secondly, the same article stated that “The Presentation Sisters founded Iona College in 1907”. This is not correct. The Presentation Sisters founded ‘Iona’ in 1907 which catered for primary and secondary students.

An article published on 25 May about three Western Australian-born Presentation Sisters’ 60th anniversary of Religious Profession was incorrectly published with the headline, ‘Golden Jubilee for Presentations’. The headline should have read ‘Diamond Jubilee for Presentations’

The Record apologises for the errors.

Malaysians promote human dignity

WEST Australian charitable organisation, the MalaysianSingaporean Catholic Community of Australia (MSCAA) has initiated a move to restore the human dignity of the less fortunate members of our community.

Latest statistics from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) indicate that the number of people who suffer from a range of hardships is now more acute as average living expenditure continues to increase disproportionately higher than wages. According to a 2009 report by the Western Australian Council of Social Services (WACOSS), “WA household costs associated with basic living expenses between 2006 and 2008 increased by approximately $132 per week (23 per cent) while average wages only increased by $61 (10.7 per cent%).”

WA was ranked the wealthiest State in 2008-09 with gross State per capita income exceeding $70,000 as reported by the ABS.

MSCCA founder Fr Roy Pereira said WA boasts immense wealth, yet “the irony of it is that there is a sizeable number of individuals and families who do not have access to the basic needs of life”.

“What is more heartbreaking is that these problems are not beyond us if only more of those who have the means demonstrate the human

Sorry Day

NATIONAL Sorry Day is held every year on 26 May and brings together thousands of Australians, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous. Sorry Day offers the community the opportunity to be involved in activities to acknowledge the impact of forcible removal on Australia’s Indigenous people.

The commemorative ‘silk’ flower of the native Purple Hibiscus has been created as a national emblem for the mothers

virtue of generosity,” he said. “The absence of such basic living needs leaves some adults and many children vulnerable.

“A high number of women and children are defenceless victims of physical and psychological abuse. For many, the effects of such experiences manifest themselves in self-damaging behaviour which threatens their own well-being and sometimes that of others.”

The MSCCA is inviting corporations and affluent members of WA to participate in an effort to heal the wounds of their fellow citizens and not to be paralysed by the human tendency to over-analyse the question of who deserves their generosity when deliberating a decision to support the cause. It is not merely a matter of legality but one that reaches far deeper; it is the innate nature of human beings to show compassion, an MSCCA statement said.

“Man-made laws have often been found inadequate in offering an equitable share of public goods but moral conscience compels us to respond to our true calling, to be charitable to those who are in need,” it continued.

As part of the organisation’s effort to foster the well-being of this community, it is organising a special event on 2 July.

The aim of the event is to reveal

and children of the Stolen Generation.

This flower was adopted because it is found widely across Australia and it is a survivor. Its colour stands for compassion and spiritual healing.

For Sorry Day, St Joseph’s College, Albany students planted our very own purple native hibiscus in memory of the Stolen Generation.

the truth of the situation facing this community and to win the support of the State’s most respectable corporations in building a sustainable base of resources that will be responsibly directed towards addressing these challenges.

“We are not asking for fancy wants to be satisfied but rather the needs of this community. We seek resources to offer relief to those who are suffering greatly,” Fr Pereira said. “We try to keep the children in school, feed families, offer shelter from danger, create employment opportunities and maintain a positive environment that will go a long way in breaking their cycle of despair.”

The MSCCA’s current projects include support for Indigenous Australian youths, and high-risk youths and families encountering severe domestic circumstances. Its mission of charity was envisioned by a group of individual residents of WA and Fr Pereira.

The MSCCA extends assistance to Catholics and non-Catholics alike who are confronted by acute hardships. “A restless conscience will not tolerate apathy and a beating heart will not refuse compassion for those who are in his midst,” Fr Pereira said

For more information about the MSCCA and the 2 July event, contact Fr Pereira on 0417 936 449 or email frroy@mscca.org.au.

Cathedral hosts music bonanza for all

SAINT Mary’s Cathedral is holding an afternoon of Community Singing on 25 June from 2-4pm, including singing and socialising for all ages and levels of singers.

Some of the segments will include Popular Classics, Contemporary Corner, Children’s Corner, Magical Mozart and Golden Oldy tunes.

Special emphasis will be given to fun and educational vocal exercises.

In addition to the Cathedral’s Director of Music, 19 year old UWA student Lochlan Brown will be co-presenter for the Community Singing.

Lochlan is a lay clerk member of the Cathedral Choir and does extra coaching sessions and assistant conducting at the Cathedral. He is currently studying for the combined Bachelor of Engineering and Music degree (majoring in Composition).

Since an early age, Lochlan has proved to be academically very gift-

ed, completing his Year 12 (TEE) at only 14 years of age. In 2005, he sang for the WA Opera Company as part of the children’s chorus in Carmen

He also plays the piano, trumpet and organ and accompanies vocal students at the West Australian Academy of Performing Arts in addition to his work with numerous school and community choirs around Perth. He is a recipient of the St Augustine RSCM award.

Lochlan has won a number of awards as a pianist.

He hopes to study piano accompaniment and conducting at postgraduate level and specialise as a vocal répétiteur

The afternoon includes Miss Maud afternoon tea, registration pack (includes music) - and raffle. All proceeds go towards the Cathedral Fundraising Appeal. To register, please email cathedral.music@perthcatholic.org,au. Cost is $10 adults, $5 children/concession.

Right: St Joseph’s College students Meg Gibson and James Palfrey with the tree.

Brother Olly hits 20,000 mark

BY GLYNNIS GRAINGER

CHRISTIAN Brother Olly

Pickett and his Wheelchairs for Kids charity will produce their 20,000th wheelchair donated to disabled children overseas by the end of this month.

In May, they sent 327 wheelchairs to Iraq and, in June, will send 130 wheelchairs to Tanzania and 130 wheelchairs to Vietnam, all built with volunteer labour.

Br Olly told The Record at his Wangara workshop that they have a minimum of 104 volunteers a week working at the workshop and hundreds of ladies making rugs, cushions and toys throughout Australia. He also said hundreds of people were raising funds and twice a year the organisation sends out a newsletter telling people where their funds have gone.

A total of 200 schools are involved in the project and 170 Rotary clubs and Lions clubs throughout Australia, including Curtin University, doing anything from barbeques, to saving aluminium, to fundraising, Br Olly, 70, said.

“For the last 11 years, Visy Board have funded all the cardboard cartons, the State Government pays the rent and the Scarborough Rotary Club pays the overheads,” he said.

“The Christian Brothers supply the utility – the whole project is voluntary.

“By the end of June, over 5,000 wheelchairs will have gone to Vietnam.”

Br Olly is the workshop man-

ager; Gordon Hudson, 78, chief executive, a volunteer and pastpresident of the Rotary Club of Scarborough, has management experience and does the accounts, and Bob Sheridan, 69, is workshop coordinator and puts out the newsletter.

Br Olly is also an honorary member of the Scarborough Rotary Club and community leader at Edmund House, Wembley where he lives with other Christian Brothers.

Gordon said: “It makes it easier for fundraising that none of their money is used for overheads. We just produce the wheelchairs according to the money we have and make 300 a month.”

Since 1998, there have been eight model changes to the wheelchairs, over 13 years, with a three-wheeled model the latest, suitable for rough terrain. The average age of the volunteer workshop workers is 73, and their ages range from 69 to 90.

The more complicated and accurate requirements in manufacturing the new wheelchair required some components to be machined by outside companies.

A secondhand, computerised drilling/milling machine was offered to the workshop at a very reasonable price by a Brisbane merchant. WA engineer Noel Watson went to Queensland to look at it and snapped it up.

This three-tonne machine, the latest addition to the workshop, was transported free by Toll Express, paid for by a donation from St George Movies by Burswood and set up voluntarily by local engineering workshop Non Ferrous Machining.

Apart from making accurate parts, this machine is saving $20 per wheelchair and will pay for itself in four months.

The strength and durability of the new prototype of wheelchair required extensive testing and, as there was only one set of this particular equipment in Australia and in the Eastern States, the cost of the testing was prohibitive.

They were given an offer by the UWA Engineering Department to build and donate this complicated and specialised equipment.

Gordon said: “Our wheelchair came through the original life/ strength testing without problems and all future modifications can be again checked inhouse.”

The new, rough terrain wheelchair, built to World Health Organisation standards and adjustable for all sizes of children, is now in full production.

The wheelchair was designed with input from the Non-Government Organisation Motivation, an organisation with extensive experience in the provision and correct fitting of wheelchairs to people in underresourced countries.

Motivation will hold a training session in East Timor in July, where the wheelchair will be demonstrated to representatives of WHO and other worldwide organisations. Two proud volunteers from the Wangara operation will be attending.

The cost of producing this high-tech wheelchair with special cushion is only $125 because it is a 100% voluntary organisation which is now also making and supplying postural support devices and padded straps for the many who need them.

“Every wheelchair means so much to a young life,” Br Olly said. Donations can be made to PO Box 1175, Wangara DC, WA 6947, phone and fax: (08) 9409 3633, or to Wheelchair1@optusnet.com.au, or www.wheelchairsforkids.org.

Br Olly Pickett with Gordon Hudson at his Wangara workshop.

PHOTO: GLYNNIS GRAINGER

A girl in Tanzania with one of Br Olly’s wheelchairs.

Cathedral youth launch

BY BRADLEY BARBUTO

THE Cathedral Youth and Young Adults Ministry, with Dean of St Mary’s Cathedral Mgr Michael Keating’s full blessing, held morning tea after the 9.30am and 11am Sunday Masses on 29 May on the Cathedral lawns.

In the Dean’s absence, Fr George James hosted the morning tea to launch the new Youth Ministry and to show parishioners that the parish youth are an integral part and the future of the Cathedral community.

Current members of the 5pm Youth Music Ministry handed out surveys to young people present as did Catholic Youth Ministry staff present to help Fr George start the Cathedral Youth Ministry.

Survey results show that the youth have a keen interest in becoming involved in the Cathedral Youth Ministry and it is hoped that Bible Study groups and Prayer and Worship Sessions will commence soon. Fr Jean-Noel Marie has offered to help run Bible Study sessions with newly baptised Cathedral members who are keen to continue their spiritual growth.

For more information, contact Fr George James on 9223 1351.

Human Experience screening evangelises

TO evangelise and fundraise at the same time, nine pilgrims from the St Joseph’s Workers and the Emmanuel Community hosted a screening of The Human Experience in the parish hall at St Lawrence’s, Balcatta on 21 May.

About 40 people attended and the crew raised enough funds to cover costs associated with the pre-movie sausage sizzle and make a small profit to buy patriotic WYD merchandise to wear in August.

The most important thing, organisers and pilgrims Siobhán Hinton, Rebecca Thomas and Bridget Spinks said, was to create an environment for meaningful conversations and, at the same time, build the WYD team spirit.

“If there’s noise afterwards, you know it’s a successful event,” Siobhán said.

Many stayed long after the film

in brief...

Subiaco choir

lifts St Patrick’s, Bunbury

BY DEB WARRIER

THE Schola Cantorum Choir of St Joseph’s Subiaco (formerly St Mary’s Cathedral Singers) accompanied Mass celebrated by Bishop Gerard Holohan at St Patrick’s Cathedral, Bunbury on 29 May with beautiful sacred hymns.

These included Thanks be to Thee, by Baroque composer George Frederic Handel; O Bone

had finished to socialise over a cup of tea and ginger snap, discussing life and the multi-award-winning documentary. The Human Experience is a true story that chronicles the adventures of Jeffrey Azize, 22, his brother Cliff, 29, and their friends as they live on the street to experience homelessness in New York; meet and spend time caring for Peruvian orphans and visit a leper colony in Ghana.

Their aim is to experience other walks of life where people are really struggling to find out what makes them so happy.

Grassroots Films, an independent company set up in 2001 by Joseph Campo, produced the documentary. Campo also runs the St Francis House in Brooklyn - a refuge for young men from impoverished backgrounds founded by Fr Benedict Groeschel CFR in 1967 - where the Azize brothers live.

Jesu by 16th century composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina and A Clare Benediction by contemporary composer John Rutter. The sound of the 32 harmonising voices accompanied by the organ resonated around the newly completed Cathedral officially opened on St Patrick’s Day, 17 March, this year and comments afterwards were very positive.

Director of the Schola Cantorum Choir and organist, Michael Peters said he strives to ensure each chorister has a good understanding of music and liturgy so that they understand what they are singing and why.

He makes this a priority, he said, “to ensure that God’s spirit is part of everything the choir

Since the film does not have a major distributor in Australia, the only way to show it publicly was to obtain a licence from Grassroots Films. “When the documentary drew such large audiences earlier this year when the Azize brothers visited Sydney and Melbourne and there was a lot of buzz on Facebook, we decided Perth was not going to miss out on this opportunity to build a culture of life and love,” Bridget said. Organisers said there was a lot of positive feedback after the movie night as many people were touched by the journey of the brothers and their experiences with the Peruvian orphans and Ghanaian lepers and wanted to buy the DVD.

“It created such great discussion on what it means to be human, the purpose of suffering and how one can be joyful during suffering,” Rebecca said.

does for the goodness of God and His people”. He is motivated to train others for other parishes, too. He said another reason he directs the choir in this way is to “encourage others from the Archdiocese to join choir rehearsals so they can impart knowledge to their own parishes”. As a result of their performance at the Cathedral, he said, the Choir has been asked to help St Patrick’s in providing choral, liturgy and organ workshops but details of workshops are yet to be announced.

The Schola Cantorum Choir is always looking for new members and provides training in choral, liturgy and music technique.

For more info call Michael Peters on 0414 294 338.

Mrs Michelle Moran

Archbishop Barry Hickey

Mr Dan Hewitt Admission

Mass

Further info: phone Dan on 9398 4973 or dhewitt@aapt.net.au

Above, the Cathedral Youth and Young Adults Ministry which was launched on 29 May. Below, celebrations outside St Mary’s Cathedral on the day.

PHOTOS: COURTESY BRADLEY BARBUTO

Mary in Islam

Fr Mitch Pacwa, SJ

RRP $18.00

In this DVD, Fr Pacwa brings us to a greater understanding of the Blessed Virgin Mary and her relationship to her divine Son present in the Holy Eucharist.

Filmed at Our Lady of Lebanon Church in Harris Park, Sydney, Fr Pacwa explains how we can use this deeper understanding of Our Lady, from both Christian and Muslim perspectives, to help guide our Muslim neighbours into the fullness of the Christian faith.

Our Lady and this Present Darkness

With Fr Benedict Groeschel RRP $31.00

In This Series You Will Learn:

• Why many Christians in America are so weak

• Why prophecy doesn’t cause things to happen

• Why rationalism is irrational

• Why Albert Einstein was fascinated by the mystery of the Blessed Sacrament

• Why the collapse of Religious life in the US is a major catastrophe in Catholic history

• Why the Bible isn’t merely literature but the action of God in the world

• Why the historical-critical method of Scripture study is contrary to faith

• Why objective truth must accompany the call of grace And much more!

A New Look at Our Lady: A Biblical Understanding of Mary

Dr Scott Hahn

RRP $37.00

In one of the most spectacular DVD series we offer, Scott Hahn reveals the Biblical basis for the Catholic teaching on Mary, the Blessed Virgin.

1 MARY, MOTHER OF MERCY

2 MARY, QUEEN OF ANGELS

3 THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

4 MARY, ARK OF THE COVENANT

Mary: The New Eve

The Footprints of God

Steve Ray

RRP $17.00

Steve goes through the life of Mary starting in Jerusalem, then Nazareth, the Visitation in Ein Kerem, Bethlehem, Cana, Ephesus and finally on the island of Patmos. Using Scripture, tradition and history, Steve demonstrates how and why Mary is the Immaculate Conception, the Ark of the Covenant, the Second Eve, the Queen of Heaven. You will learn to understand and defend teachings on the Assumption, the Perpetual Virginity, the Immaculate Conception, the Motherhood of the Church, Intercessor and much more.

WHILE STOCKS LAST

MARY

Hidden & Revealed in Scripture!

Fr Christopher Sharah RRP $23.00

Parousia Media presents Fr Christopher Sharah delivering a talk on the Blessed Virgin Mary as we look deep into the Scriptures to discover the identity of Mary as Blessed Virgin and Mother of God and her key role in salvation history. Fr Sharah tackles some of the common objections about Mary, all hidden and revealed through sacred Scripture and its guardian, the Catholic Church.

This talk was held by Guardians, the largest, parish-organised Catholic initiative in Sydney, hosting great speakers on the Faith dealing with spiritual, theological and controversial topics.

Programme boosts OrthodoxCatholic relations

Orthodox-Catholic Easter reunion in Greece

THERE were smiles all around when a Perth man in Greece renewed acquaintances with the Greek Orthodox seminarians who have visited St Charle’s Seminary over the last six years.

Philip Shields, a member of Perth’s Catholic Archdiocesan Taskforce for Catholic-Orthodox Bridge-building, caught up with the students and Greek coordinator Pangiotis Tsakiris on a recent visit to the country. Meeting at the Grand Britannia hotel, Mr Tsakiris began by wishing all “ Christos Anesti” (Christ has risen).

Lively reminiscing began and continued during a traditional meal in a Greek taverna, replete with Greek bouzouki music in the background.

Greek seminarians Giorgios Gigilis, Dimitris Honis and Kostas Vassilakis were quick to recall memories of visits they described

in brief...

Father Chokolich dies

CROATIAN-born Perth

diocesan priest Father John Chokolich passed away after a long battle with heart problems on 3 June.

Fr Chokolich died at approximately 11.15am at St John of God hospice in Murdoch, aged 94. Born in 1917 and ordained to the priesthood in March 1941, Fr Chokolich served in several parishes of the Archdiocese and resided in Marangaroo following his retirement in 1988.

Archbishop Barry Hickey offered a Pontifical Requiem Mass for the repose of his soul at St Anthony’s Church in Greenmount on 9 June.

He was honoured in August last year as a pioneer of the City of Wanneroo.

He was also a special guest at the 8 May 2009 re-opening of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, having been present at the previous opening

Private health rebate warning

ANY change in the Federal Government’s private health insurance rebate risks increased public hospital waiting lists and will adversely affect both private and public patients, Catholic Health Australia chief executive Martin Laverty said.

In its third attempt, the Federal Government is pushing to cut the current 30 per cent rebate for private health insurance for singles earning more than $80,000 per year and couples earning more than $160,000, which he said will push up health premiums, forcing more people into the public health system. “This means test will result in people forsaking private health insurance,” Mr Laverty said.

hospitals in a unique position in that we seek a balance of strong public and private hospitals as a means of providing quality health care for all Australians,” Mr Laverty said. If the rebate is removed for a large section of the community, many will quit their insurance completely or downgrade their amount of coverage, he added, which will put further stress on the public health system.

to 259 days, or almost four times the amount. He also warned many public hospitals would be unable to cope with increased elective surgery waiting lists and, as head of the nation’s largest grouping of public and private hospitals which accounts for one in every 10 hospital beds across Australia, said that if the Bill was passed, the cost of private health insurance would rise substantially.

as significant events in their lives. Living at St Charle’s and experiencing the nature and people of Australia had been life-changing, they said, particularly making friends among the Catholic seminarians and local Catholic clergy.

Among the Perth clergy they recalled Frs Gerard Beeson and Mgr Kevin Long who were all fondly remembered. Mr Vassilakis conveyed Easter greetings to Archbishop Barry Hickey, informing him that he is in the process of having his Master’s thesis on the Eighth Ecumenical Council accepted. With his fellow seminarians, Mr Vassilakis underscored the importance of the Catholic-Orthodox seminarian exchange programme.

“If not for this”, he said, “we would never have met other Catholic young people, especially those thinking of becoming priests”.

Mr Gigilis said that Catholics and Orthodox may disagree on certain points but can still meet and be friends.

Three other students could not be present but “rang in” to join the spirit of the reunion.

of the incomplete Cathedral in 1930.

More will be reported on Fr Chokolich in next week’s Record

● Archbishop Hickey and the clergy of the Archdiocese of Perth also paid a tribute to the life and ministry of Fr Gordon Herbert Bennett who passed away peacefully on 10 May at Little Sisters of the Poor, Glendalough, aged 90.

Ordained to the priesthood on 29 June 1974 in England, Fr Bennett arrived in Perth in September 1985.

His first appointment was as Chaplain to Little Sisters of the Poor, Glendalough, followed by an appointment as Assistant Priest in the Parish of Northam.

He later served as Chaplain to Hollywood Hospital and at St John of God Villas where he resided.

Fr Bennett continued to live at the Villas during his retirement, and more recently at Little Sisters of the Poor.

“We are grateful to Fr Bennett for his generous and faithful service in the Archdiocese,” said a statement on the Perth Archdiocesan website from Archbishop Hickey, Auxiliary Bishop Sproxton and the priests of the Archdiocese of Perth.

While the Government argues that the private health rebate is middle class welfare, CHA argues that the rebate is an incentive for Australians to take up private health insurance and, in this way, ease the pressure on over-stretched public hospitals.

Independent Andrew Wilkie has also warned any move by the government to cut the rebate will further stress the public health system and send premiums spiralling. Mr Laverty said Catholic hospitals provide care to people in both the public and the private sector. “This puts our

“For those who quit their insurance, no longer able to afford it without the rebate, this means when they need hospital care in the future they will be forced to join the public hospital queues,” he said. He warned that as a result the ones who would suffer the most and be most severely impacted with increased public hospital waiting times would be low income Australians. This is why CHA argues that any moves to cut the rebate or remove it completely “is simply not worth the risk,” he said. When the Government first announced its plans earlier this month to once again attempt to pass a Bill that would introduce a means test for those receiving the health insurance rebate, Mr Laverty spoke out, predicting that hospital waiting times would blow out from the current 65 days

Citing a recently released Deloitte Report, he said means testing for the rebate could see as many as 175,000 Australians withdrawing from private hospital cover with a further 500,000 Australians downgrading their private health insurance to a bare minimum. “When people downgrade their cover, they often find out too late they are facing a high excess or are not covered for some procedures,” he said. “This can mean people who would otherwise be treated in private hospitals end up joining the already long public hospital waiting lists.” The Government insists that means testing the rebate would save $2 billion. But now that Wilkie has voiced his strong opposition to the Bill, the Government has decided to delay its introduction until later this year.

Donation Form: Children Praying the Rosary - Joy, Light, Sorrow & Glory

Above, the reunion in Athens between Panagiotis Tsakiris and Philip Shields, Greek and Australian programme coordinators, and students Dimitri Honis and Kosta Vassilakis. PHOTO: COURTESY PHILIP SHIELDS

Life out of balance

It is a truth that cannot be repeated too much that of all social organisations it is the family that is the fundamental unit of society. Without the family there is no context in which an individual can grow, develop and learn the important lessons of life, much less wonder at the world around us and the rich possibilities for everything from learning to helping other human beings caught in the grip of suffering to discovering more and more of our world. Anything which attempts to replace the family can only ever be a substitute or a counterfeit. Without the family, one cannot have a society or culture in any deep meaning of these words because it is the family that is the social cement of society. This editorial may also just as well be blunt and point out that the word ‘family’ here is used in its normal and civilised sense to mean a man and woman united in an ongoing relationship based on fidelity, together with their children. But, in Australia, you would not be able to deduce that the family is the most important social unit from the available sources of data such as government policy, our laws, the media and powerful, widespread, social attitudes. It is actually likely that a visitor from another planet would conclude that, of all things, the family is the least important part of our society, the least respected institution of our culture.

Among those who suffer, in a unique way, the indifference of our culture to the family are women. Australian society, together with many other developed nations around the world, has accepted in both de facto and formal senses the proposition that women and men are interchangeable and that neither are inherently possessed of unique gifts, capacities or needs. In this view of life, biology is almost accidental and of no real deeper significance (Christianity, of course, sees far beyond society’s blinkered ideologies and sees a significance that goes directly to the nature of God). In order to redress historical discriminations and social imbalances of the kind which gave rise to the feminist movement, our culture has attempted to solve admittedly real historical problems by declaring that man and woman can both do what the other does - and just as well. But a polite description of this now deeply ingrained cultural assumption is ‘baloney.’

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Actually, any reasonable person could conclude that modern society has delivered women and girls far more losses than wins. This is not a denial of historical injustices against woman, but it is also true that the push for rights ended far less in more freedoms than it did in increased responsibilities and burdens. Woman has, in the economic sense, become the new packhorse of capitalist, moral relativism. And, all too often, the result has been to deliver men everything they have ever wanted socially from women minus any accountability for their own actions and choices. This has ultimately come about because of the confusion of femininity and masculinity in a kind of typically culturally deformed Australian manner so that femininity has been redefined essentially in male interests rather than as a discrete reality with its own nature and purpose. Really, it is the result of not understanding the complementarity of the sexes nor the unique contributions that each make to building harmonious society and civilisation. One of the real problems has been to ignore the unique contribution of femininity to society in the field of domestic engineering known as the family.

Setting aside real and present related dangers such as the destruction of childhood through the sexualisation of girls (also hugely problematic among boys), woman is now expected to fill two social roles (mother and employee) whereas man is only expected to fill one. No family can survive anymore on a single income. National economic policy forces mothers out of the family home as soon as possible after childbirth and away from children in the earliest years of their lives precisely because society has created an economy dependent on the illusion that two incomes are essential to support a family. Woman’s entirely normal and natural desire to be with her children in the earliest years of their lives is now almost illegal and near impossible. This reveals an official blindness and disregard on the part of governments and the banking sytem that is callous, both for families and for the unique contribution that, normally speaking, woman is by far the better able to make.

A very real, related, social problem is one of self-perception, that woman all too often often perceives that her role as mother and homemaker is valued by apparently almost no-one. Her female contemporaries in the workforce are relentlessly presented by our culture and the media (inlcuding glossy women’s magazines) as far more glamorous and as embodying that highest of all possible states of life - achievers of more important things such as annual reports to shareholders. Perversely, woman’s contribution to building human beings and therefore entire societies is recognised nowhere politically, economically or socially despite the fact that motherhood is and always will be far more important than any other employed position.

One solution is to do what no-one expects and recognise the value that primary carers for children (usually, but not exclusively, women) make to families and society by according a concrete economic value to the contribution they make precisely in this role. Some estimates of the value of the domestic work carried out by mothers range from $80,000 to $135,000 per annum. It is some measure of how thoroughly we have gone down the path of marginalising the unique contribution of woman that many would be surprised to discover that it is actually economically feasible to begin the process of recognising woman’s contribution by ensuring that all primary carers of children could be paid significant annual figures far beyond the present child-related payments in recognition of the unique work they carry out. Monthly payments could be made to the individual nominated by families as the primary caregiver and would constitute real contributions on the part of society to the welfare of Australian families, women and children. The benefits of such an approach would be numerous, but one of the main ones would be to give woman what she has had less and less of with each passing decade of Australian life - options.

Letters to the editor

Record disabilities article wrong

Ifeel obliged to emphatically refute the contention of your article recently about Catholic schools in WA turning away children with disabilities.

No doubt, like all organisations and individuals, the Catholic Education Commission, its schools and the people in them, are afflicted with many faults and failings which perhaps manifest as insensitivities at times. But an unwillingness to educate children with disabilities is not one of them.

My own daughter, who, like the child mentioned in the article, also has Down Syndrome, was warmly welcomed at each of the three different Catholic schools she attended.

I cannot commend highly enough the principals and staff at these schools for their commitment, dedication and professionalism in developing with my wife and me an individual education programme for her and for resourcing her education to the best of their capacity.

Certainly, we had our issues and challenges to deal with, but my daughter’s education and acceptance as a member of her school and parish community always remained the central focus of all our efforts. (Sadly, my wife died during my daughter’s first year at high school.)

A special word of thanks is due also to the many parent volunteers who helped out in the classroom so that my daughter’s teachers and aides could spread their attention to their many other young charges whose education was also their responsibility.

The primary school which my daughter attended and the parish to which it is attached has since welcomed another young girl with Down Syndrome into their community as a member of the school and parish family.

And in the midst of the school’s reflective space is a memorial to another student with a different condition who sadly passed away while undertaking her education there.

The two Catholic secondary colleges my daughter attended also had dedicated education support centres and comprehensive individual programmes for the many students with special needs in their care.

So, in my experience and observations, far from turning away children with disabilities, there is an openness and generosity of spirit amongst school principals and staff and their parish communities to enrol, welcome and educate many children and young people who have a variety of profound disabilities. I sincerely hope and pray that the family can secure a place for their son at St Helena’s Catholic Primary School.

The parish community there

has been very welcoming to me and my daughter, who now lives in care close by, when I have visited her from the country and have occasionally been in time to take her to Sunday morning Mass and Communion there.

Laurie Sutherland Bunbury

National Council of Priests 1

Recently I heard that there are some who have questions about the NCP (National Council of Priests). As a member of the NCP, I attended the National Conference of the NCP held at Parramatta, NSW in July 2010. There were about 250 priests present. They came from all over Australia.

For me, it was an inspiration to be among these priests (and some Deacons) who were enthusiastic about the Church and their priestly ministry. It was so good to be among them. Most were much younger than my 88 years. I thank God for the NCP.

Fr Michael Brown OFM Maylands

NCPA 2

Iwrite in regard to the members of the National Council of Priests who have stated their refusal to co-operate with the introduction of the new translation of the Missal.  May I suggest, in the interests of anyone who, unsuspectingly may have cause to attend Mass in their parishes, and in the spirit of honesty, that these priests be obliged to display in a prominent position at all entrances to their churches, a notice of a boycott of the directives from Rome. It could even be nailed to the doors.

Margaret O’Hagan Applecross

Prayer for rain

Our local community newspaper, The Claremont Nedlands Post, printed an article and photograph in its 14 May edition about a group of several Protestant ministers who were to gather on Sunday, 15 May at a local park in Dalkeith and pray for rain. The prayer service was open to anyone who wished to attend.

The Post reported how Reverend Sullivan organised prayers for rain along the coast at Canarvon in the 1980s when he was working in the North-West. “A cyclone came, we prayed to guide it and it turned into a soft depression and dropped rain inland and down the coast,’ he said. Everyone got the rain they needed.”

The same paper reported a week later that about 50 people and a group of ministers turned up to pray.

The rain gauge in our front garden recorded 0.5mm of rain on 16 May followed by 13.5mm on 17 May and then 37mm on 20 May. This amounts to the rain gauge overflowing one and a half times. I do not believe this is coincidence. A quote from The Countryman newspaper in its 19 May edition from Beacon farmer Chris Kirby reinforces for me the need for Christians to pray for rain: “The rain was completely out of the blue and we are going to switch back to our original programme”.

Also from the same paper, Sally Hincks, who has a weekly column, said: “and [it was] heart-warming to note that on Sunday a group of Western Suburbs clergy joined to pray for rain in rural WA”.

The Seventh Day Adventists of Australia recently organised a national day of prayer for rain. They lodged advertisements in several papers throughout metropolitan Perth. Rain commenced two days after this prayer event and a letter that I wrote to The Record, which was published, highlighted the event. I lamented the lack of Archdiocesan and parish activity then, as I do now. It seems to me that the Catholic Church in the metropolitan area is not interested in organising anything that gathers the faithful to prayer in a united front for one of our most basic and enduring needs - water.

So I will. Please join me in prayer: A Rosary for Rain on Pentecost Sunday, 11 June. The theme is “May the Holy Spirit reign in our souls and bring rain to our land”. As soon as I am able to find a suitable place, I will advertise through The Record inviting any interested people to pray for this ongoing need of ours.

John Gilmour Mt Claremont

Feel-good ads can’t be trusted

We have an expensive taxpayer-funded advertising campaign to convince us all that we must be happy that we are at last “doing something about climate change”. Emotive and feelgood (for some), but is it true? Sadly, no.

The advertisement deceives. It shows a picture of black skies, pretending that a Carbon (dioxide) Tax will remove the horrible, sooty blackness from our skies. In actuality, we have no skies that look like that. The picture is of the Battersea Power Station in the UK which was closed down almost 30 years ago.

The tax won’t remove a power station that has already closed in a country on the other side of the world.

We are also being fed the halflie that wind and solar power won’t run out. While it is true that the sun is always there, and that wind is always somewhere, it doesn’t mean that they are reliable power sources. In reality, we always need back-up generation of power, and this is generally from a fossil fuel source.

The Carbon (dioxide) Tax will force the creation of more power sources that still require us to burn fossil fuels. That’s twice the infrastructure to deliver the same amount of power.

As to the claims that this will result in “better health for our kids,” how will taxes provide this? How will higher electricity bills and their flow-ons produce better health, when taxing carbon dioxide is taxing a fertiliser of plants?

We are also asked to say “Yes” to something over which we have absolutely no control. The government is going to impose the tax without a mandate, and we can’t control the climate anyway.

The advertisment is untrue and the government should be held accountable. They are spending taxpayer money to “sell” a product we don’t need, that will do nothing for the environment, and they are telling blatant lies in the process.

Mrs CV Phillips Southern River

In Scotland, Paul Maughan stumbled on a museum devoted to, of all things, religion

BY PAUL MAUGHAN

Unless it’s a military history exhibition, I am one of those fellows who takes little more than a passing interest in art galleries and museums; a quick gander is usually enough for me. On the other hand, my wife loves these places.

Imagine then, her surprise (and mine) when after a few hours I had little more than covered one floor of the three-storey St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art in downtown Glasgow - Scotland’s epicentre of Art and Culture.

This unique and fascinating museum explores from a nondenominational perspective the importance of religion in people’s lives across the world, across faiths, and across time. It aims to promote understanding and respect between people of different faiths, or those with none at all, and fulfills its charter admirably.

Stunning religious artefacts and artworks, including contemporary paintings by Aboriginal Australians, occupy three floors of this small museum and are divided into four exhibition areas that are mercifully unassuming yet remain enormously engrossing. What a revelation.

The museum explores six main religions: Christianity (Catholic/ Protestant/Orthodox), Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Sikhism. It also examines issues of fundamental concern to everyonelife, death and the hereafter. Totally absorbing, a few hours spent trawling through the exhibitions here is a fascinating journey of discovery into man’s relationship with God.

The museum is wonderfully positioned adjacent to Glasgow’s superb 13th century Cathedral, and occupies the site of the mediaeval Bishop’s castle. Its honey-coloured stone walls are in perfect harmony with its ancient surroundings, giving the museum the appearance of a centuries-old fortified house, despite the fact that it was only completed as recently as 1993.

Even more religious art can be found nearby in the internationally acclaimed Burrell Collection, the star of Glasgow’s renaissance, housed in a purpose-built gallery

Art for God’s sake

set in 146ha of parkland on the city’s south. Tapestries, stained glass, bronzes, sculptures and renowned paintings are amassed in stunning displays.

If museums and art galleries are your thing, then Glasgow is surely

your city. Here, you will find an incredible wealth of art and culture in what is essentially the hub of creativity in Britain. This re-born city was once a grimy, industrial giant of the nation but these days Glasgow is Scotland’s most fashion-

conscious city, absolutely packed with evocative galleries, museums and exhibition centres. Few of these would be more appealing than Kelvingrove, the glowing gem in Glasgow’s cultural crown for over 100 years. One million plus visitors a year meander through this recently refurbished art gallery and museum. While it didn’t quite capture my imagination in the way St Mungo’s did, the variety and presentation of its artefacts reinforces its envious reputation for excellence. A lazy, half-day tucked inside this charmer is no real ordeal. Lovers of Art Nouveau will barely be able to contain themselves in Glasgow, as this is the home of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, the city’s most celebrated designer. His genius is on display here everywhere with his flamboyant architectural designs a hallmark of the city. His undisputed masterpiece, the Glasgow School of Art, is now a place of pilgrimage for Modernism devotees. It’s a sensation.

However being more interested in my stomach than my mind, it’s his renowned Willow Tea Rooms (in the city’s heart) that pleased and interested me most.

A flamboyant fantasy of Art Deco design, taking tea in this atmospheric establishment is a choles-

terol encounter of pure indulgence and delight. Finish off this experience with a visit to the Hill House in Glasgow’s outer western suburbs for a real insight into the vision of Mackintosh and his extraordinary achievements in art and design.

To do Glasgow (and its museums and galleries) justice, you really need to spend a few days in the city. None of its exhibitions should be rushed (nor will you want to), although the Piping Centre, which traces the development of the bagpipe, may test some individuals’ endurance. I loved it.

An ideal central location to set up base in Glasgow is the roomy and comfortable, self-contained Fraser Apartments. Surrounded by an enormous variety of retail outlets and dining establishments to suit all budgets, this tastefully refurbished old warehouse is positioned downtown right in the centre of all the action.

Glaswegians are wonderfully warm and welcoming folk and their city has a vibrancy and vitality that is totally contagious. You will like it here, just as you will if you venture further afield in Scotland (and you should). Oh, by the way, don’t worry about the fickle weather, it makes the place more interesting –every day in Scotland is an adventure for forecasters.

On the plus side, however, admission to all museums is free –well, after all, this is Scotland … and you know the Scottish reputation for thrift.

Vatican exhibit prepares to unveil Matisse’s visiting card on eternity

Heading for Rome?

There’s a fascinating art exhibition opening soon

BY DESMOND O’GRADY

Apermanent Henri Matisse exhibition will open in the Vatican Museums on 22 June.

It consists of preparatory material for his renowned chapel in Vence: full scale cartoons for three stained glass windows, a depiction of the Virgin Mary and Child which was executed on white ceramic tiles, models for the altar crucifix, a roof top crucifix and bell plus vestments he designed. Later, a Matisse

lithograph of the Virgin Mary and some Matisse letters will be added to the exhibition.

In 1941, Matisse, who was 72, underwent an intestinal operation for cancer. In convalescence, he was nursed by Monique Bourgeouis who became his model. In 1948, she became Sister Jacques-Marie, a nun of the Dominican Order and asked Matisse to help when it was decided to build a small, free-standing chapel for their convent at Vence in the hills behind the French Cote d’Azur.

The exhibition will also display letters, with illustrations and decorations, which Matisse sent to the superior of the convent during construction of the L-shaped chapel.

In the three years after 1951 he threw himself into the task participating in the architectural design

and other aspects of the chapel as if preparing his visiting card for the next world. He was in a new and final phase of his career which had lasted from the beginning of the century and won him acclaim as one of the greatest artists of the 20th century.

In this last phase, he had taken up “painting with scissors”, cut-outs of coloured paper which he composed in collages. The technique was new but the pure colours used were in keeping with his reputation as a painter of the joie de vivre

Some of the preparatory works which will be exhibited in a rectangular room below the Sistine Chapel are huge: the cartoons for the windows are over five metres high by six wide. Matisse used oneto-one scale cartoons.

Please turn to Page 11

The Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, above, and St Mungo’s Museum of Religious life in downtown Glasgow, below, are among the highlights of visiting the Scottish city, writes Paul Maughan. PHOTOS: PAUL MAUGHAN

A 1911 portrait of his own family by Henri Matisse, now in the collection of the Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg.

Evangelisation the priority for new Perth centre

Continued from Page 1

MISSIONARY ACTION

Recently, the Holy Father addressed the new Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelisation. He called for an intensive “missionary action” at this moment of history, the changing culture demands new methods and new vigour in carrying out the Mission of the Church.

The Church must proclaim the truth. As it does, the Holy Spirit acts within the heart of the listener to create a stir of interest, a positive response, and a desire to hear more.

This is followed up with a “catechesis”; that is, a presentation of Jesus as the one who frees, who lifts the spirits, who shows the Way, the Truth and the Life to the seeker and leads him or her to the community of His followers, the Church.

The truth is that our evangelising efforts today are mainly confined to baptised Christians. This is not enough. We must proclaim the Gospel to the world of unbelievers, to people who do not know Jesus Christ. We must be missionary again, this time within our own country.

FAITH CENTRE PRIORITIES

To this end, I want to announce the formation of a “Faith Centre” for evangelisation, whose first priority will be the unbelievers.

The second priority is to reach out to lapsed or faraway Catholics, the “lost sheep” as it were.

The third priority is the deepening of faith of practising Catholics.

To ensure that we remain missionary, we have chosen the outreach to unbelievers as our first priority. It can so easily be abandoned because it is difficult and requires great patience and

Kellerberrenites celebrate great milestone for St Joseph’s Parish

tenacity, and yet it is what Jesus called for.

The “Faith Centre” will shortly open at 450 Hay Street, Perth, not far from the Cathedral. Until we settle on a full-time Director, I will head a group of priests and laypeople in setting up the Centre to make it open to the public.

It will contain a reading and resource room for enquirers. Volunteers will offer them a ready welcome.

The Centre will seek to proclaim to the people of Perth the truth of Jesus Christ in a variety of ways, through television, radio, newspapers, the internet with all its new forms of social communication and personal contact.

It will seek to draw people closer to Christ and His Church by personal guidance and by the processes of catechesis of the Church such as the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults.

It will support evangelising groups that seek to proclaim Jesus to the world.

In addition, it will offer resources to parishes and other groups that seek to welcome people back to the practice of their faith, and deepen the faith of their own people.

The B J Hickey Foundation for Biblical Studies and Scholarships will be housed within the Centre.

I point out that giving priority to unbelievers is the special feature of the Faith Centre.

It will work closely with the Catholic Enquiry Centre based in Sydney. I ask your prayers for this new venture which seeks to carry out in some small way in this part of the world the command of Jesus: “Go, therefore, make disciples of all the nations”.

(Mt 28:19)

+B J Hickey Archbishop of Perth Pentecost Sunday

Continued from Page 1 made the trip to Kellerberrin, which added to the special significance of the occasion.

The Knights of the Southern Cross were also represented.

The luncheon following the Mass provided a great opportunity for everyone to reminisce and catch up with old friends, including many who had not seen each other for more than 40 years.

Bishop Don remarked on the enduring faith of the small number of local parishioners, now fondly described as “the faithful remnant”.

Kellerberrin100 years young

The Kellerberrin parish was established in 1910 with Fr John O’Reilly appointed the first parish priest.

Prior to his appointment, Mass was celebrated at either the Agricultural Hall or the private residence of Mr and Mrs Woods between 1903 and 1910.

The first Catholic Mass celebrated in Kellerberrin took place in 1903 at the Woods’ house.

St Joseph’s Catholic Church, Kellerberrin - built for a cost of 1,135 pounds - opened on 15 October 1916.

The Record Bookshop

21 Victoria Square, Perth (opposite St Mary’s Cathedral)

Catholic clarity for complex times Resources for contemporary Catholics - Books, DVDs, CDs - see Page 20

Auxiliary Bishop Donald Sproxton, above, concelebrates Mass with fellow clergy including previous parish priests of St Joseph’s. Afterwards, young and old gathered to yarn and catch up with each other, often after long periods. Hundreds packed the Church, below, for the occasion.

PHOTOS: COURTESY CHELSIE DONCON

A young woman flips through the pages of a Bible while attending a New Testament class. The Archbishop Hickey Foundation for Biblical Studies and Scripture will be a part of the new Evangelisation Centre.

PHOTO: CNS/GREGORY A SHEMITZ

Film: true tale of shark attack and faith

REVIEW BY SR HELENA BURNS, FSP

Iam very, very, very excited about this movie. It has been a while since I really lost myself in a movie and forgot that a) I was watching a movie b) I was supposed to be reviewing a movie c) I don’t usually lose myself in movies. Soul Surfer is the true story of Bethany Hamilton, the 13 year old Christian surfer girl in Hawaii who had her arm chomped off by a shark in October 2003. Three weeks later, she got right back out there and kept surfing: her love for Christ and surfing stronger than ever.

The story of how Soul Surfer was made is almost as exciting as the story of Bethany and her amazing family. At the screening I attended, a Christian VP of marketing for Provident Films (a division of Sony Pictures) told us that some Christians convinced Sony to tell the real story of Bethany, which is inseparable from her faith in Jesus and to do a big budget film: $20M.

Sony’s money was well spent. Soul Surfer looks and feels big budget, and is just a fabulously successful film all around. The sweeping aerial, underwater, overwater, all-water cinematography of Hawaii and surfing is mesmerising and breathtaking. Hawaii’s tourism industry and the hang-ten sport should shoot up like a Blue Whale blowhole after this film hits 2,000 screens in the US on 8 April and even more screens in Australia on 26 May.

Director Sean McNamara did a swell job here. If I knew how to say “swell” in Pidgin English, I would. Da kine Soul Surfer is a family drama; a sports movie (allgirl surfing!); a story of faith, hope and love; and, well, almost a nature action film.

I’ve never really seen anything quite like it. I liked the movie more and more and more as I watched. The crisis sequence - you get so wrapped up in the story and the gorgeous scenery you forget what’s coming - is one of the best I’ve ever seen. It’s not gory, not overdone, but at the same time, it pulls no punches. The pacing, emotions and reactions are perfect.

Helen Hunt, looking tanned and beautiful, plays Bethany’s mum. Hunt has never particularly been one of my favourite actresses, but this role fits her like a glove; perhaps because in real life she surfs. She’s a joy to watch. Dennis Quaid plays Bethany’s dad. Kevin Sorbo plays Bethany’s best friend’s dad.

Country and pop singer Carrie Underwood plays Bethany’s youth minister and the truly luminous AnnaSophia Robb plays Bethany.

Bethany, her parents and her two brothers all surf, so all the actors had to learn to at least stand up on a surfboard, but from there on out, professional surfers do the fancy stuff, including the real Bethany. The family dynamic is realistic and functional.

Parents talk to teens like they are human beings. Teens talk to parents like they actually love them, and might even like them. Family members help and care for each other.

Christianity is just a taken-forgranted, matter-of-fact factor in the life of the Hamiltons - as it is

for millions of non-surfing families. It is not portrayed fakey-like, nor does “We are Christians, Praise Jesus!” pop up every five minutes although, as a Jesus freak myself, I wouldn’t have minded that.

This is not a movie that you will need to go to the theatre to “support,” because it’s a “good, Christian film and we hope they make more like this.” You will love this film. It is the best film of 2011. You will not be ashamed to take your friends, Christian or non-Christian. It is a very cool film.

Your friends may not even be cool enough to see this film. But go and “support” it anyway while it is still out in cinemas.

Just when you think Soul Surfer

might be going to get a little hokey … it doesn’t. Best. Epilogue. Ever. Tons of footage of the real Bethany through the years and today. You’ll also glimpse how faithful the movie was to the real events of her life. I hope there’s a “making of” documentary on the DVD.

Is this a chick flick? If you consider a Something-For-Everyone film that deals with life’s Big Mysteries and Questions and entertains with Non-Stop, MindBlowing Photography and Action and features some of the World’s

the challenge of what happened to her body could be considered some “theology of the body.”

How did they get rid of the actress’ arm? Wrapped it in green screen stuff.

There’s a great conversation between Bethany’s parents about whether it’s better for her to continue surfing or not. Great.

Magnificent, creative twist to “love your enemies.”

This movie shows a kind of lack of sense of horror on the part of Bethany.

Coolest Surfer Girl Chicks a chick flick, then, yes. Evidently, the actors were freezing and turning blue, but had to look like it was balmy.

Theology of the Body? There is, naturally, a preponderance of teens in bikinis - true to Hawaiian surfand-turf-wear - and although the girls talk about wanting to look good on the waves (as well as the fact that they have company/product sponsorships), they are first of all athletes sold out to their sport, and not into flaunting their zero per cent body fat, buff bods. I would welcome a guy’s take on this who has seen the movie.

Otherwise, a glorious celebration of the human body and the grace it is capable of and how good it can look when you exercise a lot and don’t eat a lot of junk food. Also, and more obviously (even though Blessed Pope John Paul II the Great says that his Theology of the Body doesn’t take up the experience of bodily suffering and death), Bethany’s bravely accepting

It reminded me of what Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (author of The Little Prince) said in his book Wind, Sand and Stars when it seemed his plane was crashing. How there was no horror to it at all. He was very calm and just looked death in the face.

If you search for Soul Surfer on YouTube, you’ll find tons of stuff on Bethany. She works with amputees and shark attack survivors, so search for “Friends of Bethany” too. But don’t watch those other lame trailers.

Okay, you know how the story ends. Sort of. Like you know how Secretariat ends. But you’ll want to see Soul Surfer

Daughter of St Paul Sister Helena Burns, fsp blogs reviews of movies from Chicago, via her blog: www.hellburns.blogspot.com.

Matisse exhibition set to reveal the dimension of faith present in artist’s life

Continued from Page 9

In Vence, the windows were inundated by sunlight but in the Vatican Museum, the exhibits will be suffused by cool lighting.

Matisse wanted his cartoons to be donated to a museum but on his death in 1945 left them to his son Pierre who ran a New York art gallery. In 1979, Pierre gave them to the Vatican.

The Vatican Matisse room will not be a recreation of the Vence chapel but, instead, will document Matisse’s preparations for it.

Not even scholars have been able to see any of the exhibition material in the past 30 odd-years.

Micol Forti, a Rome and Paris trained art historian in charge of the Collection of Modern Art , says the exhibition “shows a great artist working in respect for liturgical purposes like many major artists in the past”.

She added that it had taken a long time to find an appropriate space in the Vatican and raise money to mount the exhibition.

Pope Paul VI instituted the Collection of Modern Art, which opened in 1973, to re-establish the link between the Catholic Church and art, which had been broken in preceding centuries.

About 400 works are on display with 7,000 in storage.

It has works by a wide range of artists including Marc Chagall, Ben Shahn, important German impressionists, Francis Bacon with a version of Velazquez’s Pope Innocent X, Graham Sutherland, Giorgio de Chirico, Marino Marini and an early Matisse copy of Goya.

There are works by several Australians: Justin O’Brien, Roy De Maistre, John Coburn, Ray Crooke and Eileen Slarke.

- Desmond O’Grady writes from Rome

Fact File

Except for major religious feasts, the Vatican museums’ ticket offices are open daily from Monday to Saturday from 9am-4pm. The museums, 13 in all, close at 6pm. Tickets cost 15 Euro but there are reductions for children and students.

Entrance is free on the last Sunday of each month. A ticket gives access to all Vatican museums including the Sistine Chapel and the Matisse Room once it is inaugurated.

Online booking details are available by googling Vatican Museums. Those who have booked bypass the queues which in the high season stretch for kilometres.

Bethany Hamilton (AnnaSophia Robb), left, and her father (Dennis Quaid) have a father-daughter moment in Soul Surfer as Bethany contemplates what her purpose in life is while on the road to recovery; Bethany Hamilton, a prosurfer who lost her arm in a shark attack in 2003, with AnnaSophia Robb who portrayed her in Soul Surfer PHOTOS: MARIO PEREZ, COURTESY SONY PICTURES

Matisse’s painting The dessert harmony in red.

Prayer vigil saves four lives as

40 Days for Life supporters abused while four lives are saved at clinic

At least four lives were saved during Perth’s 40 Days for Life Campaign during Lent this year.

Perth Christians took part in the worldwide 40 Days for Life campaign involving 80,000 participants in 247 cities across the United States, Canada, Australia, England, Ireland, Spain, Belize, Armenia and Georgia, with 714 babies confirmed as saved from abortion this year.

Across these nine countries, 10 abortion workers quit their jobs and three abortion facilities shut down after 40 Days for Life campaigns were held outside their doors.

Over the past seven years of 40 Days for Life campaigns across the globe, 3,599 documented lives have been saved, 43 abortion workers have converted and left the industry and nine abortion clinics have permanently closed.

There was an outstanding response to the first 40 Days for life campaign held in Perth this year, and it will now be an annual event. Catholics from 57 parishes and Christians from other denominations throughout Perth came to the prayer vigils that took place for nine hours each day at the Rivervale abortion clinic.

There was an average of 38 people present per day and a total of over 1500 for the 40 days.

They came in groups large and small from parishes as far south as Mandurah and Bunbury to far north Clarkson and Ocean Reef, aged from four months to 88 years, in answer to the call to pray for an end to abortion.

They came in groups and individually, many came repeatedly, some came daily. They stayed for hours in the heat of March and April, offering their prayers and discomfort in the hope that these precious infants’ lives might be saved. Their focus was total, their peaceful and loving prayers bringing down blessings upon that place of death and sadness. They witnessed the joy of four mothers choosing to keep their babies and turning away from the desperate act of abortion and they rejoiced and prayed in thanksgiving for the lives spared.

Archbishop Barry Hickey prayed an Act of Consecration and

Ongoing prayer vigils in Perth

Mondays, Thursdays,

Saturdays:

2 Cleaver Tce, Rivervale

8am to 10am

Fridays: 201 Jones St, Balcatta

10am to 12 noon; 8 Sayer St, Midland

Time to be confirmed

First Fridays: 9.30am Mass at St Brigid’s, Midland followed by Rosary procession and prayer vigil at abortion clinic led by Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate.

First Saturdays: 8.30am Mass at St Augustine’s, Rivervale followed by Rosary procession and prayer vigil at abortion clinic, led by Fr Paul Carey SSC.

Entrustment to the Immaculate Heart of Mary at the First Saturday Mass a few days before the launch of the Perth 40 Days for Life campaign. The prayer was prayed daily at the vigils.

A counter protest organised by students via Facebook on a Sunday morning turned into a non-event as the 40 youth assembled inside the abortion clinic’s grounds, ready to do battle but found that the rostered time slot had been left vacant and there was no-one there except the police and campaign director Brad Taylor who engaged them in “productive dialogue” and passed on copies of the book Unplanned (on sale at The Record Bookshop) to some of them.

Unplanned is the story of Abbey Johnson, a Planned Parenthood employee who quit her job in 2009 and has since converted to Catholicism. She will visit Perth on 11 July as part of a national Australian tour from 13 to 27 July.

Friendly greetings were reportedly exchanged with some of the clinic staff at Rivervale, one of whom accepted a copy of Unplanned and others took Miraculous medals.

“We were reminded in Abbey Johnson’s story of how she crossed the life-line from being the director of a Planned Parenthood abortion clinic to joining the Pro-Life Movement. We remembered that they were not our enemies and prayed for their conversion of

heart,” Perth campaign organiser Helene Sawyer said.

Priests attended the vigil, leading the faithful and praying the prayer of exorcism over the building. Groups of young people came from St Charle’s seminary, Notre Dame University, the University of WA, Santa Maria College, Prendiville Catholic College and from the Disciples of Jesus community, the Catholic Home School group and the Divine Will prayer group.

Many others prayed in front of the Blessed Sacrament at St Augustine’s Church, Rivervale as well as in parish churches all over the State. Many parishes also offered Masses for an end to abortion, and many parishioners across the Archdiocese, encouraged and led by their priests, prayed the Prayer for the 40 Days for Life together during daily and weekend Masses, as well as Stations of the Cross, Holy Hours, and Rosaries.

“Praying at the site, together or in silence, had a profound effect upon many. Some stayed beyond their allocated shift, reluctant to leave, in fellowship with their companions, sensing Christ in their midst, in the great peace that surrounded them. One felt a sense of the Blood of Christ washing down over the building and all within it,” Mrs Sawyer said.

Some Perth participants witnessed the repeated harassment by an angry resident who insisted that

the displayed pictures and models of babies in the womb were offensive.

“They witnessed the frequent arrival of the police who were very pleasant but told us to remove the images because of the complaints. We complied, as our battle is a spiritual one and our police permit should not be jeopardised,” Mrs Sawyer said.

She added that participants were adhering to the direction of Blessed Pope John Paul II, who in 1995 said: “You are called to stand up for life. To respect and defend the mystery of life always and everywhere, including the lives of unborn babies, giving real help and encouragement to mothers in difficult situations. You are called to work and pray against abortion.”

Mrs Sawyer said “there was the usual heckling from passers-by, with calls of ‘Get a life’ and ‘Get a job’.”

She also described an incident when a man approached, “smelling of alcohol and asked disparag-

ingly whether we thought that our prayers made any difference”.

“When he was told that God heard our prayers, he knelt and prayed, weeping and confiding that his first child had been aborted. He accepted a medal and the assurance of our prayers,” Mrs Sawyer said.

For most participants in the vigil, Mrs Sawyer said, it was the first time they’d ventured out to pray in front of an abortion clinic.

Yet they were there at this modern day battlefield, in the spiritual battle to save unborn children and their parents from the tragedy of abortion.

The reality of this battle was illustrated many times, especially when, no sooner had the group read the Scripture verses “… If you are upbraided for the name of Christ, blessed will you be, because the honour, the glory and the power of God and His Spirit rest upon you” (1 Peter 4:12-16), than someone in a passing car called out “You should be ashamed of yourselves … you’re disgusting.”

A youngster whose family participated in the 40 Days for Life campaign in Rivervale this year walks by a poster promoting the event. PHOTOS: HELENE SAWYER

Students from St Charle’s Seminary in Guildford participate in the 40 Days for Life prayer vigil outside Rivervale abortion clinic.

Catholic high school students participate in the 40 Days for Life Vigil outside the Rivervale abortion clinic.

those who pray face abuse ...

How four babies were saved from abortion

BY HELENE SAWYER

ONE of the most memorable images was of the young couple who came out of the clinic and said that they were going to keep their baby.

They stood on the footpath, in a long embrace, oblivious to the traffic and the many eyes upon them, infused with relief and joy at the decision they had made.

To see this little family, intact and protected because of the prayers of so many, both present and in their churches and homes, was very moving.

On another day a young woman approaching the clinic, explained that she and her fiancé were getting married the following month and that her pregnancy would cause upset in their families. She didn’t need much

convincing not to start their marriage with the death of their eldest child and they went in, cancelled their appointment and left, happy and confident.

The third baby saved occurred when two young girls approached by foot, saw the group, turned away and then returned 10 minutes later. As she stood some distance from the gate, the frightened young mother listened to

What those who prayed had to say

It took an effort for some to “strike up the courage” to publicly pray outside an abortion clinic, but the effort was worth it, participants say

“The 40 Days for life was indeed a great blessing. The people and parishes that prayed were really something special.

“If one could express the campaign in a feeling I guess for me it was like all of us being on a ship in very dangerous seas with all of us as crew together striving to keep afloat and at the same time trying to rescue so many others.”

- Terry

“I was personally moved by the prayer sheets that helped us to focus on what was really happening within the building – to see beyond the bricks and mortar – to clearly

see the Father’s love through it all and to know that our prayers can make a difference because we truly care.”

- Joy

Group leaders in parishes also promoted and organised their groups to attend the vigils. This is from a letter to one of them:

“Thank you so much for the opportunity my husband and I had today of going to the clinic together (our ninth wedding anniversary).

“I have never yet struck up the courage or made the effort to attend an abortion clinic of my own accord and so I truly appreciate your rallying us together.

It was so peaceful and calming –even our toddler was content to just sit and investigate a few things from in my bag for over an hour, while occasionally swaying from side to side with the singing.

“There were about six to eight other people there while we were there, including Fr Doug Harris from Glendalough.

“It was so well organised and the booklets that we slowly worked through as a group were really helpful in focusing me and stopping my mind wandering.

“I felt I could happily have been there for many hours if there were no other children to worry about.

“Being able to share the experience with my husband was especially comforting.

“To see how the experience affected him and to realise how wonderful it is to have him supportive of children and families when so many men aren’t.

“I am thankful to God and my husband that I have never been in a situation where I have had to face what the women I saw today have to deal with.

“The experience brought me to tears at moments. It was only this opportunity that has brought the reality of the day-to-day ‘normality’ and horror of abortion. Praying at home or at Mass has never been as poignant – a very different experience.”

our counsel and accepted the pamphlet directing her to agencies to find real help in her crisis.

When they emerged from the clinic after a little time, she said, “I haven’t done it.”

The group prayed that her resolve would be strengthened.

The fourth confirmed baby saved occurred when a couple drove past the assembled group and the 40 Days for Life banner,

and parked in the clinic car park.

After five minutes, they drove out the front entrance, paused on the driveway and when offered a pamphlet, the woman smiled and said, “I don’t need it now, thanks”, and waved as they drove away.

Five minutes and the prayers of many were the difference between life and death for their child.

- From a speech Helene gave at the annual Rally for Life at Parliament House on 24 May

Pro-life students off to Big Apple

THREE West Australian prolife students will join 22 others from Sydney, Albury, Gosford, Melbourne and Adelaide to attend a retreat and seminar on the defence of the unborn child in New York this month.

Kelly Clark, a second-year Theology student at the University of Notre Dame Australia in Fremantle and University of WA students Daniel Matthys and Chris Paynter will travel to the US after all participating in the recent 40 Days for Life campaign in Perth during Lent out the front of a Rivervale abortion clinic.

The students will be sponsored by Human Life International and Pregnancy Assistance, the East Perth agency run and funded by volunteers that provides support for women and couples faced with unexpected pregnancies.

In New York they will meet one of the “champions” of the global pro-life movement, Monsignor Phillip Reilly, founder of the Helpers of God’s Precious Infants, whose local membres regularly pray outside abortion clinics in Perth.

For a week the three Perth youth will live, pray and work in the heart of New York City, where Mgr Reilly works outside one of the larges abortuaries in the world, counselling and praying to stop the killing of unborn babies.

On 25 June, the day after their

arrival, they will attend one of Mgr Reilly’s monthly vigils where large numbers gather in procession to keep prayerful vigil outside the abortuary.

Mgr Reilly has changed the date of the vigil just for the students, as it was originally scheduled for 18 June.

The three Perth youth will then participate in a 12-day retreat led by Mgr Reilly, who has literally saved thousands of babies and changed the course of the lives of their parents.

Mgr Reilly has been recognised by Pope Benedict XVI in St Peter’s Square and received the prestigious international Von Galen Pro-Life Award in Rome.

The students will also attend a seminar which will be addressed by globally renowned speakers including Mother Agnes, Superior General of the Sisters of Life, President of Life Action Lila Rose, Colin Mason from the Population Research Institute and Fr Benedict Groeschel CFR, a Franciscan Friar of the Renewal.

Pregnancy Assistance (PA) incurs substantial costs: the fare from Sydney to New York costs $2,875; students’ accommodation and living expenses cost $625 and WA students also need to fund the return fare from Perth to Sydney. To assist PA, contact 9328 2929, post to PO Box 8129, Perth VC WA 6849, or email info@pregnancyassistance .org.au

Left, a little girl whose family participated in the 40 Days for Life campaign outside the Rivervale abortion clinic. Right, another family prays for an end to abortion.

Left, participants close the campaign with a picnic at King’s Park.

Online evangelism nets hundreds of converts in Chinese diocese

A NORTHEASTERN Chinese diocese reports that 243 adults received the sacraments of Christian initiation in its Cathedral on 28 May.

The conversions in the Diocese of Tianjin followed an online evangelisation campaign, according to the Fides news agency.

According to Faith of He Bei and diocesan sources, the new believers are the fruit of collective mobilisation for evangelisation, launched by the parish and the pastor in person, with the slogan “Everyone has to preach, and in service.”

In addition to the personal commitment of hundreds of volunteers and catechists, evangelisation on-line contributed to this gratifying result, a new initiative of the parish exclusively for young people and Internet users.

According to statistics released by the parish, the 243 newly baptised on average are around 32 years old, 70 per cent of whom enrolled in catechism.

Among them, 70 per cent are graduates, 78 per cent live in an urban area and 11 per cent in rural areas. The new catechism course was announced which begins on 28 August.

‘Respect sacred music traditions’

IN giving priority to Gregorian chant and to classical liturgical music, the Catholic Church is not trying to limit anyone’s creativity but is showcasing a tradition of beautiful prayer, Pope Benedict XVI wrote.

Music at Mass should reflect the fact that the liturgy “is primarily the action of God through the Church, which has its history, its rich tradition and its creativity,” the Pope said in a letter marking the 100th anniversary of the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music.

In the letter, released by the Vatican on 31 May, the Pope wrote that sometimes people have presented Gregorian chant and traditional Church music as expressions “to be overcome or disregarded because they limited the freedom and creativity of the individual or community.”

But, he said, when people recognise that the liturgy does not belong to an individual or parish as much as it belongs to the Church, then they begin to understand how, while some expressions of local culture are appropriate, priority should be given to expressions of the Church’s universal culture.

He said music used at Mass must convey a “sense of prayer, dignity and beauty,” should help the faithful enter into prayer - including through use of music that reflects their culture - and should keep alive the tradition of Gregorian chant and polyphony.

FDA orders safety review for some birth control pills

CITING concerns about blood clots, the US Food and Drug Administration has ordered a safety review of several birth control pills manufactured by the Bayer Corporation.

While all birth control pills pose a risk of blood clots, the contraceptives under investigation -Yaz, Yasmin, Beyaz, and Safyral - contain the hormone drospirenone.

In the meantime, regulators said doctors and patients should watch for symptoms of blood clots, including leg or chest pain.

The Yaz family of products generated $1.47 billion in sales last year for Bayer, or 3.3 per cent of the company’s revenue.

Filipino divorce legalisation bid out to soften Church’s anti-Pill stance

A LEGISLATIVE initiative to allow divorce in the Philippines has been introduced as a means of discouraging Catholic opposition to a strong family planning policy, one key lawmaker charges.

Senator Vicente Sotto III said that the divorce bill is designed to put Church leaders on the defensive, making it more difficult to rally Catholic opposition to the birth control measure.

He said threats of possibly approving the divorce bill could be used “to weaken the knees” of the Church and force it to give in on the RH bill.

He said he is afraid that pro-RH bill lawmakers will threaten to pass the divorce bill if the Catholic Church continues opposing it.

The divorce bill authors, however, said a divorce law can help put an end to domestic violence prevalent among many married Filipino couples.

Contaminated water affects billions: Vatican newspaper

FOLLOWING a meeting of lawmakers from the EU, Africa, and the Caribbean and Pacific regions, the Vatican newspaper has drawn attention to the problem of contaminated water.

“Contaminated water causes 1.5 million deaths per year and forces more than 2.5 billion people to live without basic sanitary conditions,” L’Osservatore Romano reports.

“Amongst the causes which deprive a sixth of the world’s population of this fundamental resource are the scarcity of supply and pollution.

“According to recent United Nations statistics, a child dies every two seconds due to poor sanitary conditions.”

Condoms still sensitive for Church, experts

Vatican AIDS conference focuses on need to change sexual behaviour

BY JOHN T HAVIS Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY - Back-to-back speeches at a Vatican AIDS conference illustrated that condoms in AIDS prevention remains a sensitive issue for both Church officials and international health experts.

Michel Sidibe, executive director of UNAIDS, told conference participants on 28 May that he was delighted when Pope Benedict XVI, in his recent book-length interview, Light of the World, hypothesised that use of a condom to prevent infection could be a first step toward moral responsibility.

As Vatican officials listened with rather pained expressions, Sidibe quoted the relevant section from the Pope’s book.

“This is very important. This has helped me to understand his position better and has opened up a new space for dialogue,” Sidibe said.

A few minutes later, Archbishop Silvano Tomasi also quoted from the Pope’s book - the part that began, “We cannot solve the problem (of AIDS) by distributing condoms.”

Like other Church officials at the conference, Archbishop Tomasi, the Vatican’s representative to UN agencies in Geneva, took the view that condom campaigns have failed to tackle the fundamental issue of irresponsible sexual behaviour in the spread of the AIDS virus.

The two-day conference was billed as a forum for clarifying pastoral practices when it comes to the Church’s efforts against AIDS.

No guidelines were issued, but they may come later; the Vatican typically lays down principles at a gathering like this one, and specific instructions may emerge somewhere down the road.

One thing, however, was already crystal clear: Whatever the moral arguments over an individual’s use of a condom for disease prevention, the Vatican has judged condom promotion a failure in the battle against AIDS.

Several speakers cited data to show that countries in Africa that rely primarily on condom campaigns have not stopped the spread of AIDS, while the continent’s “success stories” have featured a strong emphasis on sexual responsibility.

Edward C Green, the former

director of the AIDS Prevention Research Project at Harvard University, told the conference that there was a growing international consensus that AIDS can be controlled only by changing patterns of sexual behaviour.

This is not simply a moralistic point of view, but one based on practical effectiveness, he said.

He cited the case of Uganda, where a government emphasis on sexual fidelity and abstinence helped reduce the HIV infection rate from about 14 percent in 1991 to about four per cent in 2003.

But over the past eight years, he said, the focus on sexual responsibility has diminished. Drugs and condoms are now viewed as the solution, and the HIV rate has begun to rise again, he said.

Green said that while faith-based organisations have worked successfully to change high-risk behaviour, they sometimes are denied international funding because they won’t support condom distribution.

“Willingness to promote condoms should not be a litmus test for working in AIDS prevention,” he said.

Several speakers at the Vatican conference said the Church supports greater access to medical care for AIDS patients in poor countries. Antiretroviral drugs have proven very effective in treatment but are too costly for many Africans.

Green cautioned, however, against thinking that drugs are the answer to AIDS. Most countries simply can’t afford it, he said.

Instead, he urged support for “simple, low-cost, sustainable and culturally tailored solutions” like

behavioural change, and less reliance on “the multi-billion dollar industry of biomedical research and pharmaceutical companies, hospitals and clinics.”

In a keynote address to the conference, Archbishop Zygmunt Zimowski, head of the Pontifical Council for Health Care Ministry, said it would be a mistake for the Church to drop its insistence on sexual responsibility and to support all anti-AIDS measures, with the idea that “the end justifies the means.”

Like others at the conference, Archbishop Zimowski said he was intrigued by recent advances in early antiretroviral treatment of AIDS and evidence that it dramatically lowers the risk of transmission. At the same time, he said the very success of the drugs, especially in richer countries where they are widely available, has led people to resume high-risk, sexual behaviour.

Archbishop Zimowski said the success of early antiretroviral treatment in preventing AIDS transmission had brought hope to married couples where one spouse is infected with HIV. He said the early therapy has also been shown to greatly reduce the risk of transmission of HIV from mother to child during pregnancy. That means HIV-positive couples, in some circumstances, could risk having sexual relations in order to have a child, he said. In general, the Archbishop said, the Church recognises that it is proposing “the most difficult path” in limiting the spread of AIDS, but he said it was a path that respects the values of conjugal fidelity, human life and the family.

Soldiers indicted for Jesuit killings

MADRID (CNS) - Spain’s National Court has invoked a special law to order the arrest and trial of 20 former Salvadoran military officers for the 1989 murder of six Jesuit priests, their housekeeper and her daughter. Five of the six Jesuits were naturalised Salvadorans of Spanish birth. In announcing the charges, the Spanish court invoked its universal jurisdiction law, which says that some crimes are so grave they can be tried anywhere.

Issuing an indictment on 20 May, Judge Eloy Velasco Nunez said El Salvador’s juridical process “was a defective and widely criticised process that ended with two forced convictions and acquittals even of

confessed killers.” Among those he indicted were a former Salvadoran defence minister.

A 1993 UN Truth Commission report said high-ranking Salvadoran military officials were responsible for ordering the murders and ordered a cover-up.

The six priests and two women were murdered on 16 November 1989 at their residence on the campus of Central American University. The UN report concluded that units of the US-trained Atlacatl battalion forced their way into the Jesuits’ residence, ordered them into a garden, shot them and did away with witnesses such as the housekeeper and her daughter. Before leaving,

the soldiers scribbled graffiti blaming leftist guerrillas for the killing. In 1991, two Salvadoran officers were convicted of the murders and seven others were found innocent. The two officers were freed in 1993 as part of an amnesty in the peace agreement that ended the nation’s 12-year civil war.

In a 1992 New York news conference, Alejandro Artucio, an international observer for the International Commission of Jurists, called the Salvadoran jury verdict “arbitrary” and “absurd.” He cited evidence that showed the involvement of some of those acquitted in the killing, including that certain soldiers shot specific people.

People attend an international conference on AIDS at the Vatican on 27 May.

PHOTO: CNS/PAUL HARING

Media ‘oversimplified’ abuse report

John Jay report not just about mistakes in 1960s, says sex abuse expert

BY CAROL ZIMMERMANN Catholic News Service

WASHINGTON - Even before the report examining the causes and context of clergy sexual abuse in the United States was released on 18 May, media reports keenly honed in on one possible cause of abuse cited in the study: the social upheaval of the 1960s.

Monica Applewhite, an expert in abuse prevention strategies, said she was surprised the report was characterised almost solely for what The New York Times dubbed the “blame Woodstock” theory, especially since that factor did not “jump out” at her after reading the 150-page report.

She said highlighting one cause - among multiple factors that were described - “is an extreme simplification of what the report actually says” and ends up oversimplifying “a complicated problem that requires a complex solution.”

“I would encourage people to read the report for themselves, or at least the four-page executive summary,” she added. The report is available online at www.usccb. org/mr/causes-and-context.shtml.

The report: “The Causes and Context of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Catholic Priests in the United States, 1950-2010,” was conducted by a team of researchers at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice of the City University of New York and commissioned by the National Review Board, a lay consultative body created in 2002 under the Bishops’ “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.” It concluded that there is “no single identifiable ‘cause’ of sexually

abusive behaviour toward minors” particularly during the 1960s and 1970s but instead that situational factors, opportunities to abuse, social upheaval of the time and lack

of “careful preparation for a celibate life” for priests played a role.

Applewhite said the report makes “a significant contribution” to the study of sexual abuse and

could be a model for any youthserving organisation “that decides to study itself.” She pointed out that “no other major organisation has taken on a study like this” and credited the US Bishops for publicly releasing its findings.

A Texas-based researcher, Applewhite is an expert in the field of abuse prevention and response. She specialises in programmes for churches and schools and has worked with several hundred organisations that serve children and youths. She spoke to CNS on 25 May from her office in Austin, Texas.

One aspect of the John Jay report she found particularly helpful was the language it used to describe different ways Bishops have responded to reports of abuse in their dioceses - either as “innovators” or “laggards.”

The report describes innovators as those who “understood the harmfulness of the (abuse) acts and moved to implement policies to reduce abuse and remove abusers early on.”

It conversely notes that the response of other Bishops “lagged behind, thus creating an image that the Church generally was not responsive to victims.”

The report said the media “often focused on these ‘laggards,’ further perpetuating the image that the Bishops as a group were not responding to the problem of sexual abuse of minors.”

In nearly 20 years of working with religious groups to prevent sexual abuse, Applewhite said she has encountered both types of responses. The most pastoral responses have been from Church leaders who met with abuse victims. Those who avoided these meetings have been “more blind” to the effects of abuse, she said.

Just labelling these different responses is a start, she said, since

“so much of changing a large organisation and problem in society is developing language.” For example, she said, it was important to have language describing the warning signs of abuse or how to establish boundaries in order to bring about changes in behaviour to prevent abuse.

But there is still much to be done. From her perspective, the most significant gap for preventing abuse in the Catholic Church and other religious groups is the “lack of professional supervision for ministers.”

She said this observation “came out in the study, but hasn’t received the attention it needs.”

The report notes, for example: “The absence of supervision and/ or regular evaluation make it all the more important that newly ordained priests are well trained, or formed, in seminary for the life and the responsibilities they will have in a parish.” Applewhite said “ongoing monitoring and supervision is a critical factor,” just as therapists have professional supervision and school employees are given performance evaluations.

Since the report’s release, the Church has been criticised for acting as if the abuse crisis were simply an ugly page in its past. Applewhite said she does not get that sense from reading the study or from the abuse prevention work she knows is going on in dioceses and Religious communities across the country.

“People are saying the Church is portraying this as historic, but I pay attention to the steps the Church is currently taking to prevent abuse which speak loudly and strongly that abuse is an issue to be addressed day in and day out, year after year,” she said.

“The research may say that the worst era has passed, but the Church is not saying that the problem is over - not in words and not in actions.”

US Bishops unite on euthanasia

Bishops’ document on assisted suicide will be first by full conference

BY NANCY FRAZIER O’BRIEN Catholic News Service

WASHINGTON - When the US Bishops consider a proposed policy statement on physicianassisted suicide during their midJune meeting in Seattle, they will be taking on for the first time as a body of Bishops one of the most divisive issues in US society today.

A Gallup Poll released on 31 May showed that Americans are more closely divided on the issue of physician-assisted suicide than on any other issue, including abortion, out-of-wedlock births, gay and lesbian relations or medical testing on animals.

Asked whether doctor-assisted suicide was morally acceptable or morally wrong, 45 per cent said they thought it was acceptable and 48 per cent said they believed it to be wrong - a result that fell within the survey’s margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, chairman of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life

Activities, said the time is right for the statement, titled To Live Each Day With Dignity.

“After years of relative inaction following legalisation of physician-assisted suicide in Oregon in 1994, the assisted suicide movement has shown a strong resurgence in activity,” said the Cardinal in a news release about the proposed statement.

“This renewed effort has led to the passage of an Oregon-style law in Washington by popular referendum in November 2008, a state supreme court decision essentially declaring that assisted suicide is not against public policy in Montana, and concerted efforts to pass legislation in several New England and Western states,” Cardinal DiNardo added.

“The Church needs to respond in a timely and visible way to this renewed challenge, which will surely be pursued in a number of states in the years to come,” he said.

Although the US Bishops’ Administrative Committee issued a brief Statement on Euthanasia in 1991, the Bishops have never commented on the topic as a group. The 1991 statement said euthanasia violates divine law, human dignity and basic “American convictions about human rights and equality.”

In the works since November, the proposed policy statement aims to counter two arguments of

assisted suicide proponents - that their agenda affirms patients’ “choices” and expresses “compassion” for suffering. The assisted suicide movement once known as the Hemlock Society has rebranded itself as an organisation called Compassion & Choices.

The document says physicianassisted suicide does not promote compassion because its focus is not on eliminating suffering but on eliminating the patient. True compassion, it states, dedicates itself to meeting patients’ needs

and presupposes a commitment to their equal worth.

The practice also undermines patients’ freedom by putting pressure on them, once society has officially declared the suicides of certain people to be good and acceptable while working to prevent the suicides of others, the statement says.

It argues that assisted suicide would not supplement palliative care but would instead be a poor substitute that can ultimately become an excuse for denying better medical care to seriously ill people, including those who never considered suicide an option. The draft statement speaks of the hardships and fears of patients facing terminal illness and the importance of life-affirming palliative care. It cites the Church’s concern for those who are tempted to commit suicide, its opposition to physician-assisted suicide, and the consistency of this stance with the principle of equal and inherent human rights and the ethical principles of the medical profession.

If passed, “To Live Each Day With Dignity” would be paired on a USCCB website with a variety of fact sheets on such issues as the role of depression, views of medical experts, assisted suicide as a threat to good palliative care, lessons from Oregon and Washington state, lessons from

the Netherlands and other topics.

It is by happenstance that the document will be debated and voted on in one of the two states where physician-assisted suicide has been approved by voters. The USCCB spring general meetings are held in various US cities, and the locations are set years in advance.

A recent report on physicianassisted suicide in Washington state during 2010 - the first full year that it had been a legal option - showed that 68 different doctors wrote prescriptions for lethal drugs for 87 patients.

The state Department of Health said at least 51 of those patients took the drugs and died and 15 died without taking the drugs. Another six of the patients died, but the state did not know whether they had taken the drugs or not; the Department of Health said it did not know if the remaining 15 patients were alive or dead. In its report covering 10 months of 2009, the state health department said it had lost track of 20 patients who had requested and received prescriptions for lethal drugs.

At least 36 people died from physician-assisted suicide in Washington state in 2009.

Since physician-assisted suicide began to take place legally in Oregon in 1998, 525 deaths from assisted suicide have been reported there.

Robert, who asked that his last name not be used, talks with CNS on 24 May in Arlington, Virginia, about his anguish and healing from being molested as a child by a parish priest. He is among the survivors of clergy sexual abuse who attend grou p meetings and retreats hosted by the Diocese of Arlington. A crucifix is reflected in the table.

PHOTO: CNS/NANCY WIECHEC

Cardinal Daniel DiNardo

Visiting

Croatia, Pope urges nations to promote moral education, protect family, life

BY CAROL GLATZ Catholic News Service

ZAGREB, Croatia - Pope Benedict XVI used his apostolic journey to the Croatian capital to encourage nations to build their communities on Christian values and to support the traditional family and the sanctity of life.

A culture guided by truth, reason and love not only will lead to peace, justice and solidarity, the community’s very survival is dependent on such transcendent values, he said during his brief two-day pilgrimage on 4-5 June.

If religion, ethics and a moral conscience are banished from informing the public realm, “then the crisis of the West has no remedy and Europe is destined to collapse in on itself” and risk falling prey to every form of tyranny, he said in an audience with Croatia’s political, religious, cultural, business and academic representatives.

Free and just democracies thrive when citizens’ consciences have been formed by love and Christianity’s “logic of gift” in which the good of the whole human family is sought after, not narrow self-interests, the Pope said on 4 June in Zagreb’s ornate Croatian National Theatre.

“The quality of social and civil life and the quality of democracy depend in large measure” on all citizens possessing and exercising a conscience that listens, not to subjective feelings, but to an objective truth that recognises one’s duty to God and all human beings, he said.

Such moral consciences are formed in Christian families, parishes and Catholic schools, the Pope said.

“This logic of gratuitousness, learned in infancy and adolescence, is then lived out in every area of life, in games, in sport, in interpersonal relations, in art, in voluntary service to the poor and suffering,” as well as in policy making and the economy, he said.

The 84 year old Pope headed to the Croatian capital in an effort to encourage this predominantly Catholic country to resist secular temptations and hold strong to its Christian identity as it prepares for full integration into the European Union. It was Pope Benedict’s 19th trip outside Italy and 13th to a European nation.

Even though nearly 90 percent of the country’s population declare themselves Catholic, the Bishops say the country is experiencing fierce pressure to allow adoptions by same-sex couples, ease restrictions on artificial reproduction and legalise euthanasia.

Divorce and abortion are legal and same-sex civil partnerships are recognised in Croatia.

Before hundreds of thousands of families and young people gathered for Mass in Zagrab’s grassy hippodrome on 5 June, Bishop Valter Zupan of Krk, Croatia decried current threats against the family, saying alternative lifestyles “have no basis in European culture” and every child has the right to have both a mother and a father.

The Bishop, president of the Croatian Bishops’ commission for the family, urged the government to defend life by reconsidering its abortion laws and to stop calling something “that leads to death, progress.”

The emphasis on the family came as part of the country’s first national gathering of Croatian families. Some 400,000 people attended, including families, Bishops, priests and Religious from nearby nations

Europe without faith will collapse: Benedict

including Slovenia, Serbia, Albania and Macedonia.

Jubilant crowds squelched through the muddy fields to chase after the Popemobile as it slowly circled the giant horse track. People waved banners and Vatican and Croatian flags and many babies braved being passed over barricades and through the open Popemobile window to receive a kiss and blessing from the Pope.

In his homily, Pope Benedict called on the government to support families and he urged young men and women to be courageous and fend off trends that advocate “living together as a preparation, or even a substitute for marriage.”

“The presence of exemplary Christian families is more necessary and urgent than ever” in a world that promotes false freedoms, materialism, superficial relationships and an empty, sentimental notion of love that seeks “the gratification of instinctive impulses without a commitment to build lasting bonds,” he said.

“Do not be afraid to make a commitment to another person,” he said as he encouraged married couples to be open to life since the “respect for natural moral law frees people, rather than demeaning them.”

In an evening vespers service in the neo-Gothic Zagreb Cathedral on 5 June, the Pope urged Bishops to be vigilant and guide the faithful to ensure the Church’s moral teaching was correctly understood in light of the Gospel.

Pope Benedict urged Church leaders “to strive for reconciliation among separated Christians and between Christians and Muslims” in reference to lingering religious and ethnic tensions between Croats, Serbian Orthodox and Muslims that once plagued the Balkan region.

After vespers, the Pope prayed at the tomb of Blessed Cardinal Alojzije Stepinac - a national hero for Croats and a highly controversial figure for Serbian Orthodox and some Jewish groups who have accused him of being a Nazi sympathiser.

however, as the crowds sang and chanted the Pope’s name. The Pope told them to resist today’s materialism and superficiality and let Jesus become their “friend and companion along life’s journey.”

True happiness and the meaning of life are found living fully immersed in God’s love which naturally radiates out toward others seeking the good and well-being of others, he said.

Becoming rooted in Christ will take sacrifice and commitment, especially in the face of so many temptations, but it is worth the effort, he said; “you will fully become the person you are meant to be.”

The festivities and Liturgy of the Word were followed by a long period of silent adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.

Jesuit Fr Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, told journalists the next day that the Pope was “very impressed” with the intensity of prayer and veneration at the end of the event.

“It was so quiet, I could hear the birds chirping,” the priest said.

He said when the Pope drove past the crowds, “he looked in admiration” at all the people still kneeling on the ground and concentrated in prayer.

The Pope’s trip also coincided with Croatia’s 20th anniversary of its independence from Yugoslavia and the eve of its full accession into the European Union.

Croatia’s political and social evolution can be seen in the capital’s architecture as modern steel and glass high-rises have sprung up among rundown, concrete, communist-era apartment blocks; both are juxtaposed against the city centre’s Austro-Hungarian styles, reflecting the influence that empire had over Croatia for centuries.

Pope Benedict has long supported Croatia’s entry into the economic and political bloc of 27 member states.

In response to questions from journalists aboard the papal plane, Pope Benedict said Croatian Cardinals and Bishops have always told him that they feel Croatia is not a Balkan nation, but a part of “middle Europe,” he said.

Therefore, “it’s logical, right and necessary that it enters into the union.”

When asked what he thought of Croatian opinion polls showing a sharp decline in support of entering the union, the Pope said a bit of scepticism is understandable.

“Perhaps there is a fear of an overly powerful, centralist bureaucracy, a rationalistic culture that does not sufficiently take into account the richness of historical diversity,” he said.

The Pope said at a colourful welcoming ceremony at the airport that Croatia has a mission to help the other EU nations “inject new life into that priceless common heritage of human and Christian values.”

Pope Benedict praised the martyr of the Church, saying the revered cleric became “a living image of Christ” and was able to withstand the suffering and torment brought about by his opposition to Nazi then communist oppression. He defended Jews, Orthodox and gypsies who were targeted by the murderous World War II-era Ustase regime, the Pope said. He said the Cardinal is a role model for all people, not just Croatians, because he courageously defended “the truth and man’s right to live with God.”

A torrential downpour and lightning storm lifted right before the Pope was due to lead some 50,000 young people in a prayer vigil in the city’s Ban Josip Jelacic Square on 4 June.

Spirits were not dampened,

Croatian President Ivo Josipovic told the Pope in his welcoming address that even though he is agnostic, he believes in and builds his policies on the Christian values of justice, forgiveness and reconciliation.

The president told the Pope that no matter what one’s religious affiliation, it is love and reason together that create an ethical and healthy family life, community and nation.

From love and reason spring forgiveness and healing, which “are the groundwork of modern Europe” and an antidote to the narrowmindedness that fuelled so many wars in Europe, he said.

A torrential downpour and thunderstorm led organisers to cancel the formal farewell ceremony at the airport.

Instead the Pope, local Bishops and government dignitaries met briefly in a large hangar to shake hands and share parting words.

Images of Mary and the Christ Child are seen in the crowd attending an outdoor Mass offered on 5 June by Pope Benedict XVI in Zagreb’s hippodrome during a two-day visit to the Croatian capital. About 400,000 people attended the Mass, including families, Bishops, priests and Religious from nearby nations including Slovenia, Serbia, Albania and Macedonia.

PHOTO: CNS/NIKOLA SOLIC, REUTERS

A woman cheers as young people attend a prayer vigil with Pope Benedict XVI in Zagreb, Croatia on 4 June. The Pope was on a two-day apostolic journey to the Croatian capital.

PHOTO: CNS/ALESSANDRO BIANCHI, REUTERS

Pope Benedict XVI passes the Croatian honour guard after arriving at Zagreb Airport on 4 June. The Pope used his two-day apostolic journey to the Croatian capital to encourage nations to build communities based on Christian values and to support the traditional family and the sanctity of life.

PHOTO: CNS/NIKOLA SOLIC, REUTERS

Was JPII really a saint?

By Fr John Flader

Q: In talking with friends about the beatification of Pope John Paul II, I have found a degree of scepticism including among Catholics. They say the Church has rushed through the whole process due to popular pressure. How can I answer them?

There is no doubt that there was widespread demand for the beatification and canonisation of the beloved Pope John Paul II.

Everyone remembers seeing those placards at his funeral: “Santo subito” – “A saint soon”. They captured the sentiment of very many people. But the Church doesn’t beatify or canonise someone merely on the strength of popular demand.

It is also true that Pope John Paul’s cause was quicker than usual.

Due to the widespread belief in his sanctity, Pope Benedict XVI waived the usual five-year waiting period after the death for the cause to begin.

As a result, he was beatified just six years after his death.

But the painstaking thoroughness of the process has not been compromised in the slightest.

All the normal steps were gone through, including the study of testimonies about his life and holiness, the questioning of witnesses by tribunals, the examination of his writings, etc.

In addition, a rigorous medical and theological examination was made of the miracle of the cure from Parkinson’s disease of a French nun.

Significantly, the cure took place in July 2005, only three months after the Pope’s death. In short, his cause was not given preferential treatment. With many people working on the cause, all these steps could be gone through in much less time than usual.

We should be very clear that Pope John Paul was not merely an influential and popular Pope – he was a true saint.

This is why the Church is beatifying him. Among the evidence of his sanctity was his extraordinary generosity in

giving his belongings to the poor. Mgr Slawomir Oder, the Postulator of his cause, tells in his book Why he is a Saint how, on one occasion when the Pope was a priest in Poland, he was delayed in arriving for his Mass one morning.

The sacristan went to his lodgings to see what was wrong and found that he had given his only pair of shoes to a poor man the day before and had nothing to wear. The sacristan gave him his shoes so that he could say Mass.

On another occasion when Fr Karol had no warm jumper in the middle of winter, some nuns made him one but he soon gave it away. He insisted that even his underwear be mended when it had worn out rather than buying new garments. Another important aspect of his holiness was his deep and intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. Mgr Oder, in an interview with the newsagency Zenit, said that in examining his life, “What came to light was certainly a mystic. A mystic in the sense that he was a man who lived in the presence of God, who let himself be guided by the Holy Spirit, who was in constant dialogue with the Lord …” He said that those who worked with him would often find the Pope in

a raptus mistico, a rapture, “in which [John Paul II] was in such a profound dialogue with the Lord that the only thing one could do was to stand back and let him live this moment.”

He was also very much in love with Our Lady. It is well known how he would take advantage of any interval between appointments or when travelling to pray the Rosary. Following St Louis de Montfort, he was totally dedicated to the Mother of God, adopting Totus tuus, “All yours”, as his motto and putting an “M” for Mary beneath the cross on his papal coat of arms.

And from his youth, when he became interested in Carmelite spirituality, he was very demanding on himself in penance. In the course of his process of beatification, some of his penances became known for the first time and they even bothered some people. But, as Mgr Oder comments, “this was a sign of his profound faith, of his spiritual life.” Those close to him said that he would lose many kilos in Lent due to his rigorous fasting. In short, Pope John Paul II was a true saint and he will be a powerful intercessor for the Church, especially for the youth. His feast day will be 22 October.

From sports to Religious life

Sr Mel Dwyer

Iwas born in Sydney in 1980. I grew up in Brisbane and am the older of two girls. I was born a sportswoman and spent most of my childhood and teenage years competing at State and National levels. I loved all sports but the one I excelled at the most was athletics, in particular the javelin event. I dreamt of competing for Australia at the Olympics.

My vocation

with Debbie Warrier

When I was

19 I moved back to NSW to train fulltime for sport.

I continued to improve in my National ranking and was working hard to achieve my dream. Then I had the chance to go to Africa as a volunteer, at the same time as I had the chance to compete in the Olympic trials for Sydney 2000. I chose Africa, thinking that I was focusing on the Athens Olympics in 2004 and that I would just take a few months off sport and then come back to it.

I spent one month volunteering at a homeless shelter for kids with the Canossian Daughters of Charity in Tanzania. At the time I had no desire of becoming a Sister. I was very committed to my career as a sportswoman and was half way through my university degree as a physical education teacher. Yet, in Tanzania, walking on African soil, my life was changed completely. I was struck by the poverty of the people, coupled with their unbelievable joy. Surrounded by such immense poverty, I felt helpless. Then I realised the only thing I could do was to try and make a small difference to a few people. I decided that my life of being self-centered and focusing on my own sport and success was not what God wanted for me. I knew that I radically loved Jesus and wanted to give my life completely to serving His people. Back in Australia, I dreamt of returning to Africa one day. Through the grace of God, that has become His dream for me.

I began the journey of Religious life in 2001 as a postulant with the Canossian Daughters of Charity. I made my first profession in 2005. I am still a temporarily professed sister. From 2004-2008 I worked as a teacher at St Jame’s College, a Christian Brothers School in Brisbane. In 2008, I left Australia to travel to Italy for three months of missionary formation. From Italy, I was sent to Africa to serve as a missionary sister in 2009.

Currently, I live in a village in Malawi called Balaka, eastern Africa. During 2010 I worked as the Principal of Bakhita Technical College for male and female students once they complete secondary school. In September 2010, I became the Headmistress of a Boarding School for 400 girls run by the Canossian Sisters. We are four Sisters working in the school and it is full of many challenges. But we try our best to make Jesus known and loved amidst the girls entrusted to our care.

Religious life isn’t easy. Sometimes you have doubts. Sometimes it’s not easy to keep going. When things get tough, I tend to place things in the hands of God even more, surrendering to Him all that I have and all that I am. And every time He shows me in different ways that He is the one in control, that His grace and mercy are more than enough. So the continued presence of God on the journey is the only confirmation I need. I was once very committed to sport. Very focused on my dream of being an Olympian. Very competitive. Very determined to achieve. And while the way I live out these qualities is very different now, I still believe I use my commitment and dedication and determination in living out my vocation as a Religious.

The dream I chase might be a different one now, but I’m conscious that each day I want to passionately give all of myself to becoming all that God calls me to become.

A tapestry featuring an image of Pope John Paul II hangs from the facade of St Peter’s Basilica during his Mass of beatification led by Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican on 1 May. The late Pope John Paul moved a step closer to sainthood during the joyous ceremony that drew more than one million people.

PHOTO: CNS/STEFANO RELLANDINI, REUTERS

Polish Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, who served as personal secretary to Blessed Pope John Paul II, prays at the new tomb of the late Polish pontiff in St Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican on 3 May. The tomb is located under that altar in the basilica’s Chapel of St Sebastian.

PHOTO: CNS/ L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO

Panorama entries must be in by 12pm Monday.

office@therecord.com.au, faxed to 9325 4580, or mailed to PO Box 3075, Adelaide Terrace, Perth WA 6832.

SATURDAY, 11 JUNE

Divine Mercy

2.30pm at St Francis Xavier Parish, 25 Windsor St, East Perth. Main celebrant: Fr Marcellinus. Reconciliation in English and Italian. Divine Mercy prayers followed by Veneration of First Class Relic of St Faustina Kowalska. Refreshments. Enq: John 9457 7771.

St Padre Pio Day of Prayer

8.30am at All Saints Chapel, Allendale Sq, Perth. Begins with St Pio DVD; 10am exposition of Blessed Sacrament, Rosary, Divine Mercy, Adoration and Benediction. 11am Mass with Confession. 12pm lunch. Bring plate to share. Enq: Des 6278 1540.

SUNDAY, 12 JUNE

City Beach Parish 50th Anniversary

9am at Holy Spirit Parish, 2 Keaney Pl, City Beach. Mass celebrated by Archbishop Hickey, followed by brunch in the parish hall. Holy Spirit Parish has touched many lives so please come celebrate with us. Enq and RSPV: Fr Kettle 9341 3079 or email holyspirit.parish@perthcatholic.org.au.

Pentecost Charismatic Mass

3-5pm at Disciples of Jesus venue, 67 Howe St, Osborne Park. Main Celebrant: Fr Dave Callaghan from Eastern States. Afternoon tea provided. Enq: Michele 9202 6868.

TUESDAY, 14 JUNE

Seminar: New Life in God’s Spirit

7.30pm at St Lawrence Alverna Centre, 394 Albert St, Balcatta. 9-week seminar: every Tuesday until 9 August. Enq: Fr Irek 9344 7066 or www.stlawrence.org.au.

Pentecost Formation

7-8pm at St Benedict’s school hall, Alness St, Applecross. “How can we receive the ongoing gift of the Spirit?”

Presenter: Norma Woodcock. Cost: donation. Enq: Norma 9487 1772 or www.normawoodcock.com.

THURSDAY, 16 JUNE

Bible Study at St Paul’s

7.30-9pm at St Paul’s Church, undercroft, 106 Rookwood St, Mt Lawley. “Where does the Bible say that Jesus is God?” Study of Scripture texts that underscore Christian belief in the divinity of Christ. Presented by Fr Deeter. Will continue Thursday 23+30 June. Bring a Bible, notebook & pen. Enq: Fr Deeter 9271 5253.

SATURDAY, 18 JUNE

25th Jubilee Parish Dinner Dance

7pm at St Simon Peter Parish, 20 Prendiville Ave, Ocean Reef in the Prendiville gym. Fabulous evening of music, dancing and a 3-course meal. Tickets $35 per person and Seniors $30. BYO alcohol and soft drinks. Coffee and tea provided. Tickets on sale now after all Masses and from Parish Office. Enq: Monique 9300 4885.

A Morning Retreat – ‘Inner Healing’

9am-12pm at Gonzaga Barry Lecture Theatre (follow signs), John X XIIII College. ‘Inner Freedom and Healing. Part 1’ presented by Murray Graham. Cost: Donation. Enq and registration: Murray 9383 0444 or graham.murray@ johnxxiii.edu.au.

SUNDAY, 19 JUNE

Taize Prayer Service

7pm at Sisters of St Joseph Chapel, 16 York St, South Perth. Come, be still and pray in the silence of a candlelit chapel. Please bring a torch. Enq: Sr Maree 0414 683 926.

St Anthony’s Day of celebration

11am at Saint Anthony of Padua Catholic Church, 15 Dundebar Rd, Wanneroo. Begins with Mass, followed by Festival in honour of St Anthony at school grounds. 2pm Procession and 2.30pm Benediction. Lots of food and fun for all the family. Enq: Fr John 9405 1110.

MONDAY, 20 AND TUESDAY, 21 JUNE

Healing Ministry

10am at The Good Shepherd Parish, cnr Morley Dr and Altone Rd. Fr Michael Truong Luan Nguyen will minister

the Healing Ministry in two full day programmes. Begins with Healing Mass; 3pm Divine Mercy Devotions; 7pm Healing Service. Individual appointments available during day. Enq: office 9279 8119.

SATURDAY, 25 AND SUNDAY, 26 JUNE

Charismatic Renewal Conference

9am-4.30pm at the Disciples of Jesus venue, 67 Howe St, Osborne Park. 10am-5.30pm Sunday. “Come Holy Spirit”. Speakers: International President, Mrs Michelle Moran, Archbishop Hickey, CCR Chairman, Mr Dan Hewitt. Mass both days. Cost: collections. BYO lunch, Bible, notepad. Enq: Dan 9398 4973 or dhewitt@aapt.net.au.

SUNDAY, 26 JUNE

Corpus Christi Procession

10.15am at St Joseph’s Church, 19 Hamilton St, Bassendean. 9am Mass. We bring Jesus Christ in The Holy Eucharist through some of the streets in Bassendean. Followed by Benediction. Refreshments afterwards. Bring a plate to share. Enq: Parish Office 9379 2691.

THURSDAY, 30 JUNE

“Laughter Workshop”

7-9pm at Infant Jesus Catholic Parish Centre, 47 Wellington St, Morley. Laughter is the best medication for good health. By Morley Mental Health Support and Wellness Group. Enq: Angela 9276 8500 or Barbara 9328 8113.

SATURDAY, 2 JULY

Day with Mary

9am-5pm at St Brigid Church, cnr Fitzgerald & Aberdeen Sts, Northbridge. Day of prayer and instruction based on the Fatima message. 9am Video; 10.10am Holy Mass; Reconciliation, Procession of the Blessed Sacrament, Eucharistic Adoration, Sermons on Eucharist and Our Lady, Rosaries and Stations of the Cross. BYO lunch. Enq: Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate 9250 8286.

SUNDAY, 3 JULY

Divine Mercy

1.30pm at St Francis Xavier Church, 25 Windsor St, Perth. Main celebrant: Fr Hugh Thomas. “Our Lady of Perpetual Help” homily. Exposition of Blessed Sacrament, Holy Rosary and Chaplet of Divine Mercy followed by Benediction and Veneration of First Class Relic of St Faustina Kowalska. Reconciliation available. Refreshments afterwards. Enq: John 9457 7771.

PILGRIMAGE TO PRAGUE, POLAND AND AUSTRIA

St Jude’s Parish, Langford is organising a 13-day pilgrimage departing 1 October. It will include visits to the Shrines of Divine Mercy, Infant Jesus, the Black Madonna, St Faustina, the birthplace of Pope John Paul II and the Museum at Auschwitz. Total cost per person $5,800. Spiritual Director, Fr Terry Raj. Enq: Co-ordinator John Murphy 9457 7771, Matt 6460 6877, mattpicc1@ gmail.com.

WEDNESDAY, 5 OCTOBER TO

THURSDAY, 20 OCTOBER

Pilgrimage to Rome, Lanciano, San Giovanni Rotondo and Medjugorje. Bed and breakfast, evening meals, transfers, guide, flying Emirates $3,990. Enq: 9402 2480.

FRIDAY, 11 TO TUESDAY, 22 NOVEMBER

Pilgrim Tour To The Holy Land

Jordan, Israel and Egypt. Spiritual Director: Fr Sebastian Kalapurackal VC from St Aloysius Church, Shenton Park. Enq: Francis – Coordinator, 9459 3873 or 0404 893 877 or Skype ID: perthfamily.

EVERY SUNDAY

Gate of Heaven Catholic Radio

Join the Franciscans of the Immaculate from 7.30-9pm on Radio Fremantle 107.9FM for Catholic radio broadcast of EWTN and our own live shows. Enq: radio@ausmaria. com.

Pilgrim Mass - Shrine of the Virgin of the Revelation

2pm at Shrine, 36 Chittering Rd, Bullsbrook. Commencing with Rosary followed by Benediction. Reconciliation

is available before every celebration. Anointing of the Sick administered during Mass every second Sunday of the month. Pilgrimage in honour of the Virgin of the Revelation, last Sunday of the month. Side entrance to the church and shrine open daily between 9am-5pm. Enq Sacri 9447 3292.

EVERY FIRST SUNDAY

Divine Mercy Chaplet and Healing Prayer

3pm at Santa Clara Church, 72 Palmerston St, Bentley. Includes Adoration and individual prayer for healing. Spiritual leader: Fr Francisco. All welcome. Enq: Fr Francisco 9458 2944.

EVERY SECOND SUNDAY

Healing Hour for the Sick

6pm at St Lawrence Parish, 392 Albert St, Balcatta. Begins with Mass, Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and prayers. Enq: Fr Irek 9344 7066 or ww.stlawrence. org.au.

EVERY THIRD SUNDAY OF THE MONTH

Oblates of St Benedict

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

EVERY FOURTH SUNDAY OF THE MONTH

Holy Hour for Vocations to the Priesthood, Religious Life

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

EVERY MONDAY

Evening Adoration and Mass

7pm at St Thomas Parish, Claremont, cnr Melville St and College Rd. Begins with Adoration, Reconciliation, Evening Prayer and Benediction. Followed by Mass and Night Prayer at 8pm. Enq: Kim 9384 0598, claremont@ perthcatholic.org.au.

EVERY TUESDAY

Novena and Benediction to Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal

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

Bible Teaching with a difference

7.30pm at St Joachim’s parish hall, Shepparton Rd, Victoria Park. Exciting revelations with meaningful applications that will change your life. Novena to God the Father, followed by refreshments. Bring Bible, a notebook and a friend. Enq: Jan 9284 1662.

EVERY WEDNESDAY

Holy Spirit of Freedom Community

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

Holy Hour at Catholic Youth Ministry

6pm at 40A Mary St, Highgate, Catholic Pastoral Centre. 5.30pm Mass followed by $5 fellowship supper. Enq: Stefania 9422 7912 or www.cym.com.au.

EVERY FIRST WEDNESDAY

Holy Hour prayer for Priests

7-8pm at Holy Spirit Parish, 2 Keaney Pl, City Beach. All welcome. Enq: Linda 9341 3079.

SECOND WEDNESDAY OF THE MONTH

Chaplets of the Divine Mercy

7.30pm at St Thomas More Catholic Church, Dean Rd, Bateman. A beautiful sung devotion accompanied by Exposition and followed by Benediction. Enq: George 9310 9493 or 9325 2010(w).

EVERY THURSDAY

Divine Mercy

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

Fr Corapi’s Catechism of the Catholic Church

7.30pm at St Joseph Church, 20 Hamilton St, Bassendean - parish library. Enq: Catherine 9329 2691.

FIRST THURSDAY OF THE MONTH

Taize Prayer and Meditation

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

CHANGE OF VENUE

St Mary’s Cathedral Praise Meeting

Due to renovations at 450 Hay St Perth, CPM now meets at 7.45pm every Thursday at the Legion of Mary’s Edel Quinn Centre, 36 Windsor Street, East Perth. Includes Praise song and healing ministry. Enq: Kay 9382 3668 or fmi@flameministries.org.

EVERY SECOND THURSDAY

St Denis Discussion Group

7.30pm at parishioners’ homes to discuss any aspect of our faith followed by supper and fellowship. Enq: George 9349 2187 or Anna 9242 2788, (w) 9249 2788.

FIRST FRIDAY OF THE MONTH

Holy Hour for Vocations to the Priesthood and Religious Life

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

Catholic Faith Renewal Evening

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

Communion of Reparation All Night Vigils

7pm-1.30am at Corpus Christi Church, Lochee St, Mosman Park. Enq: Vicky 0400 282 357 and at St Gerard Majella Church, Ravenswood Dr and Majella Rd, Mirrabooka. Enq: Fr Giosue 9349 2315, John or Joy 9344 2609. The Vigils consist of two Masses, Adoration, Benediction, Prayers and Confession in reparation for the outrages committed against the United Hearts of Jesus and Mary. All welcome.

Healing and Anointing Mass

8.45am at Pater Noster, Myaree. Reconciliation, followed by Mass including Anointing of the Sick, Praise and Worship to St Peregrine and the Sacred Heart of Jesus. All welcome. Enq: Joy 9337 7189.

Healing Mass

7pm at St Peter’s Parish, Wood Street, Inglewood. Reconciliation, praise and worship, Eucharistic Adoration, Benediction, Anointing of the Sick, special blessings and fellowship after the Mass. Celebrants, Fr Dat (parish priest) and specially invited priests. All welcome. Enq: Priscilla 0433 45 7352, Catherine 0433 92 3083 and Mary-Ann 0409 67 2304.

EVERY FIRST SATURDAY

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.au.

LOST & FOUND

‘Pyx and Cross’ on the roadside between Kojonup and Williams. Enq: Holy Family Parish - Albany 08 9841 1129.

ACROSS

3 He led Davidʼs armies for a while

9 Christian love

10 Land of St

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SINGLE 34 YRS OLD BLONDE

LADY looking for a man for a long term relationship. I am down-to-earth, happy, spontaneous, energetic, financially secure. Please text or call Diana 0402 932 505.

SETTLEMENTS

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

FURNITURE REMOVAL

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

Deadline: 11am Monday

ACCOMMODATION

HOLIDAY ACCOMMODATION

ESPERANCE 3 bedroom house f/furnished Ph 08 9076 5083.

TRADE SERVICES

BRENDAN HANDYMAN

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

PROPERTY MAINTENANCE.

Your handyperson. No job too small. SOR. Jim 0413 309 821.

BRICK RE-POINTING Ph Nigel 9242 2952.

PERROTT PAINTING Pty Ltd

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

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

DEATH NOTICE

PATRICK GUEST, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, uncle and brother- in- law.

Died peacefully on Wednesday, 18 May. Funeral Mass was at Our Lady of Lourdes Church and buried at Rockingham Cemetery. Eternal rest grant unto him O Lord and may his soul rest in peace. Amen..

Walk With Him

BOOK BINDING

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

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

Quality hand-made and decorated vestments: Albs, Stoles, Chasubles, Altar linen, banners, etc. 12 Favenc Way, Padbury. By appointment only. Ph Vickii on 9402 1318, 0409 114 093 or kinlar.vestments@gmail.com.

OTTIMO

Convenient location for Bibles, books, cards CD/DVDs, candles, medals, statues and gifts at Shop 41, Station St Market, Subiaco. Fri-Sun, 9-5pm.

12 S PENTECOST SUNDAY (Solemnity)

Red Vigil Mass

Gen 11:1-9 A tower to heaven

[One of the other Old Testament readings may be chosen]

Ps 103:1-2, 24, 27-30, 35 Majesty and glory

Rom 8:22-27 Wait to be set free

Jn 7:37-39 No spirit as yet

Mass during the day Acts 2:1-11 The gift of speech

Ps 103:1, 24,29-31, 34 Spirit gives life

1 Cor 12:3-7, 12-13 same spirit, Lord, God

Jn 20:19-23 Receive the Holy Spirit

13 M St Anthony of Padua, priest, doctor of the Church (M)

Wh [Week 11 in Ordinary Time, Year 1]

2 Cor 6:1-10 The favourable time

Ps 97: 1-4 Truth and love recalled

Mt 5:38-42 But I say to you

14 Tu 2 Cor 8:1-9 Work of mercy

Gr Ps 145:2, 5-9 Sight to the blind

Mt 5:43-48 Love your enemies

15 W 2 Cor 9:6-11 Thanksgiving to God

Gr Ps 1111; 1-4, 9 Light for the upright

Mt 6:1-6, 16-18 Do good in secret

16 Th 2 Cor 9:6-11 No burden to anyone

Gr Ps 110:1-4, 7-8 Compassion and love

Mt 6:7-15 Pray like this

17 F 2 Cor 11:18, 21-30 I will boast myself

Gr Ps 33:2-7 Glorify the Lord

Mt 6:19-23 Be filled with light

18 S2 Cor 12;1-10 Thorn in the flesh

Gr Ps 33:8-13 The Lord is good

Mt 6:24-34 Life more than food

Πιστεύω είς ενα Θεόν, Πατέρα, παντοκράτορα, ποιητήν ουρανού καί γής, ορατών τε πάντων καί αοράτων.

The Creed

ΚαίείςεναΚύριονΊησούν

Χ ρισ τόν, τόν Υιόν του Θεού

A Film by Tim kelleher

παθόντα καί ταφέντα.

ουρανών καί σαρκωθέντα εκ Πνεύματος ‘Αγίου καί Μαρίας τής Παρθένου καί ενανθρωπήσαντα. Σταυρωθέντα τε υπέρ ημών επί Ποντίου Πιλάτου καί παθόντακαίταφέντα ίτη . ούς νον ετά καί είας

Καί είς τό Πνεύμα τό ¨Αγιον, τό Κύριον, τό ζωοποιόν, τό εκ τού Πατρός εκπορευόμενον, τό σύν Πατρί καί Υιώ συμπροσκυνούμενον καί συνδοξαζόμενον, τό λαλήσαν διά τών Προφητών.

What Christians Profess, And Why It Ought To Matter

Χ

ρισ τόν, τόν Υιόν του Θεού

έ ά άς Γραφάς καθεζόμεν Πατρός.

The Nicene Constantinopolitan Creed, professed by billions of Christians throughout the world, makes radical claims about the nature of reality and the identity of Jesus Christ.

What are those claims? Can they withstand contemporary scrutiny? Who should care? And, why?

Είς μίαν, αγίαν, καθολικήν καί αποστολικήν Έκκλησίαν. ‘Ομολογώ εν βάπτισμα είς άφεσιν αμαρτιών. Προσδοκώ ανάστασιν νεκρών. Καί ζωήν τού μέλλοντος αιώνος.

ουκ εσται τέλος.

In this remarkably succinct consideration, the 12 basic articles that compose the Creed are examined historically, theologically, philosophically, linguistically, scientifically and culturally in order to appreciate more fully this treasure that is so often “hidden in plain sight.”

καί νου ντα.

τε υπέρ ημ

αφέν τα.

Πατρός γεννηθέντα πρό πάντων τών αιώνων. Φώς εκ φωτός, Θεόν αληθινόν εκ Θεού αληθινού γεννηθέντα, ού ποιηθέντα, μοούσιον τώ Πατρί, δι’ ού τά πάντα εγένετο. Τόν δι’ ημάς τούς ανθρώπους καί διά τήν ημετέραν σωτηρίαν

You are invited to join this stirring conversation, featuring an eminent group of scholars and thinkers, whose insights are the fruit of life-long study, prayer and reflection.

ημέρα κατά τάς Γραφάς

μών καί ρίτη ς.

τό Κύριον, τό ζωοποιόν, τό εκ τού Πατρός εκπορευόμενον, τό σύν Πατρί καί Υιώ συμπροσκυνούμενον καί συνδοξαζόμενον, τό λαλήσαν διά τών Προφητών.

Whether you are a student or a teacher, one struggling with questions of faith or a believer, THE CREED: What Christians Profess, and Why It Ought to Matter, will be a challenging and rewarding experience.

FEATURING FEDERICA MATHEWESGREEN, TIMOTHY P STRIVER, DR ROBERT LOUIS WILKEN, DR LUKE TIMOTHY JOHNSON, VERY REV JOHN BEHR, VERY REV JOHN BAKAS, REV VOLODYMYR SYBMY, DR STEPHEN BAR

Καί ανελθόντα είς τούς ουρανούς καί καθεζόμενον εκ δεξιών τού Πατρός.

Only $39.00

Καί πάλιν ερχόμενον μετά δόξης κρίναι ζώντας καί νεκρούς, ού τής βασιλείας ουκ εσται τέλος.

Είς μίαν, αγίαν, καθολικήν καί αποστολικήν Έκκλησίαν. ‘Ομολογώ εν βάπτισμα είς άφεσιν αμαρτιών. Προσδοκώ ανάστασιν νεκρών. Καί ζωήν τού μέλλοντος αιώνος. Άμήν.