The Record Newspaper 08 September 2005

TOM O’DWYER: Never without his Rosary Page 12

The

WONDERFUL: The lives of Sisters Maureen and Katherine Page 7

COURAGE: priest recounts horrors that almost destroyed him Page 9

Medical school opens

Notre Dame University celebrates official opening

■ By Jamie O’Brien

Federal Health Minister Tony Abbott officially opened the School of Medicine at Notre Dame University in front of a crowd of approximately 400 students, university staff, wellwishers and supporters last Friday.

Australia’s first private medical school (Bond University medical classes commenced in May) commenced its first academic semester in February this year with 80 students from all around Australia.

The four-year graduate entry program received approval from the Commonwealth and State Governments in 2003 and accreditation from the Australian Medical Council in November 2004.

In his address Mr Abbott spoke about Jesus as a healer, and said the result of the Medical school, at Notre Dames was the ability to offer theology with the best scientific medical teaching.

Notre Dame Vice Chancellor Dr Peter Tannock said he was “delighted” with the quality of the initial intake of students and with the welcome they had received from the medical profession, the State, Catholic and private hospitals, and the State Health Department.

“I am also very grateful to Curtin University for its partnership with continued on Page 2

Catechists will go out into the deep

De Foucauld to be beatified

VATICAN CITY, AUG. 30, 2005 (Zenit.org) - Charles de Foucauld, a French Army officer who entered religious life and became a hermit, will be beatified on November 13 in St. Peter’s Basilica, says the postulator of his cause.

The beatification was to be celebrated by Pope John Paul II on May 15, but was postponed because of his death.

Born in Strasbourg, France, in 1858, de Foucauld was orphaned at 6. After a brief military career, in 1883 he undertook an expedition in the Moroccan desert which won him the gold medal of the French Geographic Society.

His religious conversion occurred in 1886. He went on pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1888.

After de Foucauld’s experience as a Trappist in Syria and as a hermit in Nazareth, in 1901 he was ordained a priest. He studied Arabic and Hebrew.

“He lived in poverty, contemplation and humility, witnessing fraternally to God’s love among Christians, Jews and Muslims,” said Cardinal José Saraiva Martins, prefect of the Congregation for continued on Page 4

Meet Genevieve: the first WA Vinnies female State President

Declining membership is one of the biggest challenges facing the St Vincent de Paul Society today, according to new State President Genevieve De Souza.

Speaking during her Commissioning Mass on September 4, Mrs De Souza said the Society needed more members for it to continue to effectively carry out its good works within the West Australian community.

She added that members also faced the apparent dilemma of trying to uphold the traditions of the organisation while adapting to the rapid changes affecting our world.

“Many of us in the Society will concede that we do not have all the answers to these problems,” she said. “But what we do have is the assurance it’s God’s work and He

A SPECIAL PLACE IN PERTH

has everything under control – we however need to do our part.”

The Mass, held at Gosnells’ Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament Church and attended by about 160 guests, marked the start of Mrs De Souza’s five-year term at the head of WA’s biggest charity.

It was celebrated by Emritus Bishop Peter Quinn and concelebrated by Fathers Pat Cunningham, Brian Russell, Joss Breen, Leonard Macionczyk and Karol Kulczycki. Outgoing President, Brian Bull, who will be staying on with the Society as Vice President, reminded Mrs De Souza and the congregation of the gravity of her new position.

HEAVENLY ART

“Genevieve, the office of State Council Presidency is a responsibility rather than an honour.” he said.

“As President you have the responsibility of ensuring that the spirit of the Rule of the Society is observed.”

Members and guests included National President John Meahan, Queensland President Mike McKeown, Victorian President Syd Tutton, and family, friends and staff from the Society.

The Mass was followed by light refreshments and speeches where outgoing Brian Bull was thanked for his five years as President.

- Glenn Buchanan

“Don’t be afraid. The Lord has called you and he will provide for you.” Taken from the teachings of Pope John Paul II, that was the advice Bishop Don Sproxton offered to the group of 44 men and women who were commissioned as Catechists during a special Mass held at the Chapel of St Michael the Archangel in Leederville last week. Referring to his recent involvement in the World Youth Day celebrations in Cologne, Germany, Bishop Sproxton said catechesis had played an important role in the experience of the pilgrims, and those being commissioned had the opportunity to positively influence the faith development of those with whom they worked. continued on Page 4 Photo: Phil Bayne

New Vinnies State President Genevieve De Souza

Medical School open for business

continued from Page 1

Notre Dame in the provision of biomedical science education,” he said.

The new Medical School, housed in a renovated 19th-century warehouse building, “…provides stateof-the-art facilities for the medical training program and reflects great credit upon the University’s Architect and builder,” Dr Tannock said.

“This new medical school, the second in Western Australia, will make a major contribution to meeting the health care needs of this great State long into the future,”

“It will work with public, Catholic and private hospitals, general practice clinics, and community health services, to train doctors of outstanding quality who have a strong commitment to the values which underpin the University.”

Special tribute was also paid to Wesfarmers for its foundation gift of $1 million and to the Galvin Family and Bevis Smith who had also contributed $1 million each to the project.

State Health Minister and Member for Fremantle Jim McGinty who was also present for the occasion, thanked Notre Dame for their vision and persistence in making the new school operational.

When it is fully-developed, the School will see nearly 400 students training to be doctors in Western Australia.

Christian missions and the Islamic missionary thrust

Comment

The growing number of Christian missionaries from non-Western countries may challenge the Islamic view of Christianity as a Western religion

The January issue of the International Bulletin of Missionary Research, in marking its 50th anniversary, has published preliminary estimates of the status of Christian missions to Muslims and of Islamic outreach on a worldwide level.

Christians and Muslims have a long history of outreach beyond their own communities. Even if preliminary, the findings are helpful in understanding the significance of both movements.

Christian Mission in Muslim contexts

The Christian Missionary Enterprise is related to 52 countries, of which 45 are 50 per cent or more Muslim and of the remaining seven countries each has a Muslim community of at least ten million people. The huge table reports the number of Muslims in each country, the percentage of the country’s population that is Muslim, the status of religious liberty in each country, the total number of Christian missionaries sent to that country and the resulting number of Christian missionaries to Muslims per million Muslims. The number of Christian missionaries to these countries is 13 per cent of the world total – over 85 per cent of all Christian foreign missionaries (443.000) work in the other 186 countries. Of these 141 are 60 per cent or more Christian.

The number of foreign missionaries working in each country is an estimate that includes initiatives of all six ecclesiastical megablocs (Anglican, Independent, Marginal, Orthodox, Protestant, Roman

Catholic). The calculation in the column “Missionaries per million Muslims” assumes that foreign missionaries are evenly deployed across the religious traditions in a given country. For example, that in a country which is 90 per cent Muslim, 90 per cent of the Christian Missionaries are focussing on Muslims.

“In Pakistan, for example, the vast majority of missionaries in fact work with tribal groups or with existing Christian communities, not with 95.6 per cent of the population who are Muslim...”

This ideal is often not realised. In Pakistan, for example, the vast majority of missionaries in fact work with tribal groups or with existing Christian communities,

not with 95.6 per cent of the population who are Muslim. The actual number working among Muslims is lower than reported here. The same discrepancy occurs elsewhere. As a result, a very small percentage of the 41,000 missionaries shown in the table work in Muslim communities.

In this age of globalisation, one should note that few of the countries listed offer missionary visas. In the past, missionary work, encouraged by colonial powers, was facilitated and included educational and medical initiatives.

Today, social betterment is an essential aspect of mission. Very few of these missionaries are in the Muslim world simply initiating Christian Churches.

Efforts at ground level to follow dialogue between Christian and Muslims are not uncommon, as for example Silsilah in Zamboanga City (Mindanao, Philippines), but they remain fairly peripheral. There are also examples of Christians using

Beatification

Continued from page 1

Sainthood Causes, during the ceremony for the decree’s promulgation. “In order to imitate Jesus’ hidden life in Nazareth, de Foucauld went to live in Tamanrasset, in the heart of the Sahara Desert,” added the cardinal. De Foucauld wrote several books on the Tuaregs, members of a Berber people of the western and central Sahara, including a book of grammar and a FrenchTuareg dictionary. He founded the Union of Brothers and Sisters of the Sacred Heart that was committed to the evangelisation of the Tuaregs. On December 1, 1916, at 58, de Foucauld was shot dead in the midst of a skirmish among Berbers of Hoggar. Ten religious congregations and eight spiritual life associations have been inspired by his testimony and charism.

mosques for their worship, just as new believers were using the synagogues in the first century of Christianity. A more far-reaching development is the shift which is occurring as to where these missionaries come from.

“There are also examples of Christians using mosques for their worship...”

The country sending the largest number of missionaries to Muslims is the Philippines. It sends Roman Catholics, Protestants and Independents. The growing participation of large numbers of Christians hailing from poor countries will begin to challenge the perception that Christianity is a Western religion in opposition to Islam.

Fr Tony Paganoni Scalabrinian

Federal Health Minister Tony Abbott with Western Australian Health Minister Jim McGinty at the opening of the new School of Medicine at Notre Dame University. Photo: Jamie O’Brien

Retreat to mark Br Andrew’s fifth anniversary

A retreat to be conducted in October will resonate with the memory of a beloved spiritual director.

For the last 12 years of his life Br Andrew, cofounder with Mother Teresa of the Missionary Brothers of Charity, held many challenging and encouraging Retreats on “God’s Farm” in Wilyabrup in WA’s picturesque south west.

Since his death on October 4, 2000, the feast of St Francis of Assisi, God’s Farm owner Mrs Betty Peaker, has endeavoured to ensure that his messages of love and simplicity are kept alive through annual retreats.

Mrs Peaker describes these weekends, which are held around the time of the feast of St Francis, as an opportunity to once again experience “our Brother’s wonderful words of loving joyful hope and wisdom”.

She believes that this year’s program would not only serve as a time of renewal for those whose lives have already been influenced by Br Andrew, but also as a precious opportunity for the many people who have expressed regret at never having personally encountered him.

This year’s retreat, which is the fifth anniversary of his death, will include a recorded welcome and a talk by Br Andrew.

Fr Brian Morgan will be available throughout the weekend to celebrate daily Mass as well

as offering the opportunity for Confession and Prayers of the Church.

One of the sessions during the weekend will be a presentation on Br Andrew by Christian Brother Kevin Paull.

The retreat will begin at 7pm on Friday September 30 to 2pm Sunday October 2.

Suggested cost: $80 including meals.

■ Other Retreats will also be available in October at “God’s Farm.”

Father Hugh Thomas CSsR will be presenting two retreats entitled, “What is the New and Divine Holiness?”

These have been organised at the request of the supporters of Casa de Luisa Piccarreta in Spearwood.

Luisa Piccarreta was an Italian mystic whom St Padre Pio called, “the angel of Corato.” She was bedridden for most of her 82 years and died in 1947.

The cause for her Beatification was introduced in 1994 and is now proceeding with the first stage already past.

Retreat One: “Introduction to Living the Divine Will.”

Date: 7pm Friday October 14 to 2pm

Sunday October 16.

Retreat Two: “Our Lady and the Divine Will.”

Date: 7pm Friday October 21 to 2pm

Two books by Br Andrew available from The Record

What I Met Along the Way: Brother Andrew set out on his journey to bring Christ’s message to the poor, the suffering, the exploited. He brings Christ’s message to us, the readers, by showing us the Spirit of God alive in ordinary people living with tragedy, disability or oppression.

Malcolm Muggeridge describes this book – “A visionary figure writing a contemporary version of the amazing journeys of the apostle Paul.”

Cost: $10 plus $1.50 postage.

The Song of a Wounded Heart: Writings of Brother Andrew published after his death. ‘I believe that one of the main inspirations that Br Andrew tried to share through his life and words was, to put it in a few words, that our poverty can be our greatest wealth – because it is in our poverty that God can find an empty space to come in and work in us and love us fully.’ Brother Geoff M.C. (First General Servant elected after Brother Andrew).

Cost: $6.00 plus $1.50 postage.

Sunday October 23. For further details or reservations contact: Betty Peaker: Ph./fax 9755 6212 or Michelle on 9434 6331 (after midday).

“God’s Farm” is situated 40 kilometres

south of Busselton and is nestled in scenic coastal bush land.

The location provides an environment of peace and tranquility ideal for a weekend of prayerful reflection.

Contact Eugene on (08) 9227 7080 or via cathrec@iinet.net.au

For

Now, as part of a program

these

own chapel.

Founders recall 14-year-old Mexican martyr to be beatified

GUADALAJARA, Mexico, SEPT.

2, 2005 (Zenit.org) - The execution of José Luis Sánchez del Río, a 14-year-old martyr who will be beatified this northern-hemisphere Autumn, was witnessed by two founders of ecclesial entities in the Church.

Father Marcial Maciel, founder of the Legionaries of Christ, and Enrique Amezcua Medina, founder of the priestly confraternity of the Laborers of the Kingdom of Christ, both met the young martyr, and are able to recount years later the heroism he exhibited. José Luis, of

Sahuayo, in the state of Michoacan, joined the Cristeros, a large group of Mexican Catholics who rose against the religious persecution of the government of Plutarco Elías Calles, a year before he was executed on February 10, 1929.

A 7-year-old Marcial Maciel witnessed the martyrdom of his friend. José Luis “was captured by government forces, which wanted to give the civilian population that supported the Cristeros, an exemplary lesson,” said Father Maciel in the book ‘Christ Is My Life.’

“Under pain of death, they asked

him to give up his faith in Christ. José Luis refused to apostatize. His mother was overwhelmed by sorrow and anguish, but kept encouraging her son,” he said.

“Then the skin of the soles of his feet was sheered off, and he was obliged to walk through the village towards the cemetery. He wept and moaned with pain, but would not give in.”

Father Maciel continued: “Every now and then they stopped and said: ‘If you cry out “Death to Christ the King,” we will spare your life. Say ‘Death to Christ the King!’ But

The Parish. The Nation. The World.

DIOCESE OF BROOME WANTED

LAY ADMINISTRATOR - PARISH OF KALUMBURU

The Mission Parish of Kalumburu is situated 240km north west of Wyndham; it is one of the most isolated communities in the Kimberley.

The Administrator would be expected to take responsibility for the operation of the shop, service station and accommodation area including caravan park, and for the maintenance and good order of the plant and machinery of the Parish, supervise the work assignments of Lay Volunteers, support the Priest in his work and ensure the accurate keeping of the Parish’s financial records.

The position becomes available in November 2005.

The remuneration package is negotiable.

For a detailed role description and application form contact:

Bishop Christopher Saunders or Mr Kerry Purcell

Diocesan Office PO Box 76, Broome WA 6725

Ph (08) 9192 1060 : Fax (08) 9192 2136

Email secretary@broomediocese.org

Applications close on Wednesday, 28 September 2005

PRINCIPALSHIPS

CLONTARF ABORIGINAL COLLEGE, WATERFORD

he answered, ‘Hail to Christ the King!’”

Father Maciel said that at the cemetery, “before shooting him, they asked him once more if he would deny his faith. He refused and was killed right then and there. He died crying out as many other Mexicans did: ‘Hail to Christ the King!’

“These are indelible images of my memory and of the memory of the Mexican people, although often there is not much mention of it in the official history.” Father Medina, then 9, said in the biography of

Catechists commissioned

continued from Page 1

the confraternity he founded that he considers his meeting with the young martyr providential. He met the child-martyr of Sahuayo and asked him if he could follow him but, seeing that he was so young, the future martyr told him: “You will do things that I will not be able to do,” which, eventually, led him to the priesthood.

The confraternity’s seminary in Salvatierra, Guanajuato, has been named Christ the King Seminary, and the boarding school was called José Luis, in honour of the future Mexican blessed.

“As catechists you are chosen, you are called to this ministry by God through your communities,” he suggested.

“For some it is a call that they are not prepared to answer; for others, like yourselves, they choose to step into what can be something of the unknown.

“In this way you are not only providing a service to those who are seeking answers, you are also fostering the growth of your own faith as you come to know your God in a new way. To this end you benefit as much as (if not more) those with whom you work,” he added.

A total of 23 parishes were represented through the commissioning ceremony.

WANTED: VOLUNTEER WORKERS

KIMBERLEY CATHOLIC VOLUNTEER SERVICE Kalumburu Mission

The Diocese of Broome, Western Australia urgently requires volunteers – couples or single people - to serve at the remote Mission at Kalumburu in the East Kimberley. Duties include any of the following : cooking, working in the Mission shop, building and vehicle maintenance, housekeeping and ground persons.

Placements are preferred for a period of twelve months but a reduced time would be considered.

For further details and an application form please contact:

Mr Kerry Purcell Ph: (08) 9192 1060, Fax (08) 9192 2136 email: secretary@broomediocese.org

PO Box 76, Broome WA 6725

Clontarf Aboriginal College is a co-educational college with an enrolment of 130 students, ranging from 15-18 years of age, who come from all over Western Australia. The College was founded in 1986 by the Christian Brothers, who still maintain a presence in the school.

Home, college and community partnerships are strongly supported as individual student’s needs are catered for by the committed staff and through structured workplace learning. There is a strong literacy emphasis and Information and Learning Technologies are integrated throughout learning areas.

Clontarf offers Vocational Educational Training (VET) hospitality with Mercedes College,as well as school based traineeships which are supported by Swan TAFE.

There is a strong emphasis on physical and outdoor education, as well as a strong relationship with the Clontarf Football Academy and the Clontarf Girls Foundation. School camps and excursions are part of the College life enhancing the educational programs available to students.

The College has a current Capital Development and Strategic Plan and recently upgraded classrooms, art rooms and liaison area. Further developments are planned to improve facilities for students and staff.

LA SALLE COLLEGE, VIVEASH

La Salle College is a Catholic co-educational secondary college educating students from Years 8-12. It caters for students from Midland, the Swan Valley and surrounding districts and is located approximately 20 kilometres from the city centre. The College aims to foster and develop an excellent religious, cultural, academic, social and physical education within a Catholic environment.

La Salle College has an enrolment of 940 students. The charism of its founders, the De La Salle Brothers, continues to permeate the daily operations of the College and can be seen both in the strong sense of community that exists and the emphasis on pastoral care.

The College has in place a vertical Pastoral Care System set within a nurturing spiritual environment. The current lay administration maintains an excellent relationship with the Brothers and takes advantage of the De La Sallian support network.

The College facilities include a Library/Resource Centre, Science Laboratories, Gymnasium, College Chapel, Performing Arts Centre with an Auditorium, an aquatic Centre, an Art and Craft Centre, and a Design and Technology Centre. These facilities are supported by a technological backbone with extensive computer access throughout the College, including intranet and internet facilities.

The successful applicants for these positions will commence at the beginning of 2006. Applicants need to be practising Catholics and experienced educators committed to the objectives and ethos of Catholic education. They will have the requisite theological, educational, pastoral and administrative competencies together with an appropriate four-year minimum tertiary qualification and will have completed Accreditation B or its equivalent.

A current Federal Police Clearance/100 Point Identification Check must also be included. The appropriate Police Clearance Consent Form is available from the Department of Education and Training website (www.eddept.wa.edu.au/HRRecruitment/Downloads/PoliceClearance.pdf). The official application form, referee assessment forms and instructions can be accessed on the Catholic Education Office website www.ceo.wa.edu.au

Enquiries regarding the position should be directed to Helen Brennan, Consultant, Leadership Team on 9212 9268 or sch.personnel@ceo.wa.edu.au

All applications, on the official form, should reach The Director, Catholic Education Office of WA, PO Box 198, Leederville 6903 no later than 15 September 2005.

25 Year Reunion

St Jerome’s Primary School Munster is celebrating its 25th year on the Troode Street site. All past students, staff and community members are invited to attend a social evening/reunion at 6.30pm on Tuesday 13th September in the Fr Barry Whitely Hall and attend Mass at 9.00 am on Wednesday 14th September. Please contact the school office on Ph: 9418 4422 or email admin@stjeromes.wa.edu. au to confirm your attendance.

Caring Lady Funerals

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Students throw WYD party, plan for 2008 event

Over 100 tertiary students and graduates converged on Sydney’s St Mary’s Cathedral last Sunday night to celebrate Pope Benedict XVI’s announcement that World Youth Day is coming to Sydney. They were also gathering to show their support for the biggest Church event that has yet come to Australia in a night of celebrations organised by the Australian Catholic Students Association.

In his homily, Sydney Auxiliary Bishop Anthony Fisher OP spoke of the importance of World Youth Day.

He emphasised the event as an opportunity for all Catholics in

Australia to be transformed, noting that it will not only have immediate effects, but will also be a strong foundation for decades to come.

Students then moved to the Cathedral Hall for an evening of music, testimonies and talks, all shared over pizza and drinks.

One of the evening’s highlights was the opportunity to relive, via video, the moment that WYD Sydney was officially announced by the Holy Father.

“Tonight we are truly blessed to have with us His Eminence Cardinal Pell, the man who did it, who made it happen, who has brought World Youth Day to Sydney,” declared

ACSA spokesman James Foster.

“We are also truly blessed to have with us Bishop Fisher, our great Bishop who worked so hard and for so long with Cardinal Pell and Bishop Porteous to make this a reality, working with the Committee and the Government to deliver this for us.”

ACSA President Daniel Hill said “I am sure I can speak for everyone in saying that the students of Australia pledge their total support.

“But it is not only support we wish to pledge here tonight; it is also our sincerest thanks for what has been done for the youth of this

country. Australia will never be the same again.”

Cardinal Pell encouraged students to support WYD Sydney and to volunteer for the occasion.

However he also warned students not to become so engrossed that they failed to pay due attention to their studies or dropped their continuing involvement in their local parish or other communities.

It was evident that while WYD was some three years away, students could show support in their everyday lives by just being positive about the event to their friends, the Cardinal said.

Cardinal Pell encouraged all to

pray for the success of the event; prayer is essential in ensuring that WYD Sydney is not only well organised but that it produces many spiritual fruits, the latter certainly being more important.

ACSA also released a special commemorative bookmark and prayer which will be distributed over the coming years to assist students and graduates prepare for WYD Sydney.

The Sydney celebrations were complimented by ACSA celebrations in Adelaide, Hobart, Melbourne and Brisbane, with Melbourne to have further celebrations in early October.

Chisholm Catholic College is a vibrant Catholic secondary college with an outstanding record for moral, religious and academic education.

The Principal invites suitably qualified applicants for the following positions to commence in 2006.

Royal Perth Hospital

Clinical Pastoral Education

Specialised training in pastoral care, Pastoral formation and pastoral supervision

We are now accepting applications for 2006

● Internships commencing 13th March – 10th November 2006

● Autumn CPE Quarter 13th March – 19th May 2006

● Part-Time CPE 2006

● Certificate in Pastoral Care 2006

Details from: Director of Clinical Pastoral Education Centre for Pastoral Care and CPE

Royal Perth Hospital PO Box Y3137 East St George’s Terrace PERTH 6832 WA

Tel: (08) 9224 2482

Year of the Eucharist

When you receive Communion, you receive the mystery of your own communion with one another in love. Being many, you are one body. Many grapes hang on the vine, but their juice is mingled into oneness. Therefore, be what you see, and receive what you are.

– St Augustine

Wonderful and hidden is the grace bestowed by this Sacrament on the faithful of Christ! Unbelievers and those who give their lives over to sin can never experience it.

– Thomas à Kempis

Head of Physical Education

(Re-advertised)

Teaching Positions

(Ongoing)

● English with the ability to teach Literature

● Photography/Media Years 9 – 12

(Leave Replacements)

● Society and Environment with Economics and/or PLS- 2 positions (1 year each) and 1 position (term 1)

● Mathematics Years 8 – 11 (1 year)

● English – 2 positions (1 year) and (terms 1 – 3)

● Physical Education (1 year)

● Home Economics (.6 Part Time)

● Indonesian Years 8 – 10 (.4 Part Time)

● Work Studies Years 11 - 12 (.4 Part Time)

● Laboratory Technician (1 year)

Application Forms are available on request from the Principal’s Secretary on 9271 8465, or on our website – www.chisholm.wa.edu.au

Applications should be forwarded to the Principal,s secretary at: Chisholm Catholic College PO Box 89, Inglewood WA 6932

Fax: 9271 8475 admin@chisholm.wa.edu.au

Applications close on Monday 19th September 2005

Join Pope Benedict XVI in prayer - September

“For governors and governments: may they always respect the fundamental right to religious freedom of every person.”

Mission intention: “For young Churches: may they proclaim the Christian message so it may penetrate and enrich all local cultures.”

Perspectives

The seeking continues

World Youth Day has come and gone, and will come again. The seeking resulted in wonderful discoveries, but the seeking must continue.

The hundreds of young people representing all of the dioceses in WA are back home and, as one of them put it, going through the process of ‘unpacking’ the experience. It will take each one of them a lifetime.

The Old Testament is riddled with the instruction, “Seek the Lord”. One expert said the expression appears 165 times in the Old Testament.

Pilgrimage has always been a symbol and a process of seeking. It is a journey within life’s journey. The travelling is a preparation and an affirmation of the desire to achieve the objective, but (unlike mere tourism) the destination is not the objective. It is the physical symbol of the spiritual reality sought. It is not the snapshots of the place, but the snapshots of the Lord that the pilgrim takes home.

World Youth Day has become the pilgrimage that reveals the meaning of the world we live in. It is thoroughly modern, it is universal, it is noisy, it is youthful, it is joyous and it is deep, deep as the Lord we seek, deep as His presence among us. And it is a pilgrimage in which all can share because it is so big it commands media attention and the modern means of communication bring it into our homes and hearts. Those at home can see the snapshots as they are happening.

Tel: (08) 9227 7080, Fax: (08) 9227 7087

Email: cathrec@iinet.net.au

The special feature of each World Youth Day is that its objective is not a place, like Cologne or Sydney. Its objective is the Pope as the visible head of the Church, the visible Vicar of Christ on earth. The young seek the Lord and find him, and they find the truth that the Church is the body of Christ, the fullness of him who himself is the completion of all things, as St Paul put it. The Church is the pillar and bulwark of truth (St Paul again) and the pilgrims experience travelling their journey with a pilgrim Church.

Physically, they travel with the Church because they travel with cardinals, bishops and priests. There were four bishops from WA and numerous priests on the journey. The pilgrims travel spiritually with the Church through the sacraments, prayers and witness available along the way.

“This most remarkable of pilgrimages culminates in the universal gathering of the young in one place where they can see themselves as brothers and sisters in Christ, people of every colour and country all seeking the Lord and finding him in the final event where they meet the Lord and his earthly Vicar together in the great open air Mass where Jesus illustrates his promise that he will draw all people to himself.”

This most remarkable of pilgrimages culminates in the universal gathering of the young in one place where they can see themselves as brothers and sisters in Christ, people of every colour and country all seeking the Lord and finding him in the final event where they meet the Lord and his earthly Vicar together in the great open air Mass where Jesus illustrates his promise that he will draw all people to himself. It is so wonderful that even the ‘oldies’ still at home can see the truth and beauty of it all.

After World Youth Day, it comes time to travel home … and to continue the seeking. The injunction to seek the Lord never fades away. Our memories of seeing, hearing or feeling the Lord may fade, but the need to seek him is always present.

In her Revelations of Divine Love, Julian of Norwich tells us: “It is God’s will that we see him and search for him; it is his will that we wait for him and trust him.”

This is God’s will for all of us: that the seeking does not end at the times when we see, and it does not end at the times when we don’t see.

Sometimes in joy and sometimes in tragedy, we hear the voice of the Lord or feel his touch, or see a glimpse of the wonderful mystery that all life is within his loving care, but all of these marvelous gifts of grace are a signal to redouble our commitment to seek the Lord. At the moments when we think we have found him, we must renew the seeking.

And at the darker moments when we think that not only have we lost him, but he has lost us, then we must redouble the seeking and “wait for him and trust him”.

The seeking is made easier for us because we have a visible universal Church seeking with us, shining lights for us, and reminding us always of Christ’s real presence in every Mass and in every tabernacle.

But even with all this help we must each make the individual effort to seek the Lord because it is only when we seek him that we will let him draw near us. It is God’s will that we see him and that we search for him. The search will end and the seeing will be complete only when the pilgrimage of life achieves its objective. It would be a terrible waste to go on the journey and not arrive at the goal.

Funding for St Pat’s

■

By

Jamie O’Brien

St Patrick’s Basilica in Fremantle has been given a

T$600,000 grant to ensure its survival. St Patrick’s is the only Basilica in Western Australia.

Heritage Minister Francis Logan formally announced the grant

earlier this week, describing the basilica as one of Fremantle’s most significant land marks.

“The conservation will help restore the basilica’s limestone walls, which are in urgent need of repair,” Mr Logan said.

“The basilica is a significant heritage asset, valued for its beautiful architechure and history as the cultural and spiritual hub for many Irish, Italian and Portugese migrants for 105 years.”

The Basilica was built in 1900 and designed by renowed architect Michael Cavanagh.

The Minister said the funding was in addition to the State Government’s annual $1 million Heritage Grant Program, which assisted private owners with heritage conservation.

“The basilica is internationally recognised for its music, being home to two of Australia’s finest organs.

Calling all teachers

A Conference Approved by the CEO for Accreditation Purposes

o celebrate the 30th anniversary of the publication of Evangelii Nuntiandi, Pope Paul VI’s apostolic exhortation on evangelisation in the modern world, at the behest of the Australian Catholic Bishop’s Conference, the Catholic Mission Office in Perth together with the Archdiocesan Evangelisation Committee, The Record and WACRI will be organising a one day conference in Perth.

Thursday 22nd September 2005.

KEY NOTE SPEAKER:

Fr Stephen Bevans SVD, Professor of Mission and Culture at the Catholic Theological Union in the United States, and an internationally acclaimed writer and speaker on the theology of evangelisation and missiology, will present two talks focusing primarily on the compelling message of Evangelii Nuntiandi. It will be an invitation and challenge to imagine Church in a new and dynamic way. There will be opportunity for local responses to the presentation, along with café-style small group discussion in some key areas.

AGENDA:

Parish Hall of Sts John

30 YEARS

Evangelii Nuntiandi Conference September 22 Willetton

All interested in evangelisation are welcome to attend.

Fr Greg Watson OMI (Chaplain NDU)

Sr Marie-Therese Ryder RNDM (Formation consultant)

Ms Angela Bendotti (Music and liturgy consultant)

Mr Terry Quinn (Executive Officer CSJC)

Ms Donella Brown (Principal Clontarf Aboriginal College)

Fr Antonio Paganoni CS (Vicar for Migration)

Presentation: Fr Stephen Bevans SVD

Eucharistic celebration; Archbishop Barry Hickey

with bishops and priests from around the State.

COST: $25.00 (Lunch and refreshments provided)

ACCREDITATION: This conference has been considered by the CEO for accreditation purposes. Participants who already hold an Accreditation Certificate will be able to claim 2 hours towards the knowledge component and 1 hour towards the faith component of on-going renewal.

RSVP: Friday 16 September 2005

At the end of the conference each participant will be provided with an adult education study guide for on-going reflection & animation in their respective parish & school communities.

For more information or to register your interest in attending contact Francis Leong at the Catholic Mission Office on 9422 7933

hours or email him at

St Patrick’s Parish Priest Fr John Sherman and Heritage Minister Francis Logan.

Photo: Jamie O’Brien

Heavenly art

Want to model your church in the high European tradition? If you do there’s a new presence in Australia offering everything a renovating parish might want - at a price.

■ By Mark Reidy

Talleras de Arte Granda (TAG) is a Spanish company that has been at the service of sacred art since 1891. Today at their headquarters in Madrid, there are more than 100 artists and craftsmen who form the only company in the world with the capacity to produce every object of sacred art, from church furnishings, statues and sacred vessels to altar linens and vestments.

They also employ architects, interior designers and engineers who can renovate as well as custom design church furnishings and interiors.

Known in English speaking countries as Granda Liturgical Arts, the company was founded by 23-year-old Father Felix Granda in response to the 19th Century industrialisation of Europe. Along with the social and economic unrest, unemployment and increased poverty, which the expansion of industry ignited, he believed there was also a cultural and spiritual degradation, which nurtured in many, an apathy or even opposition, to God.

Within this transformation Fr Granda recognised the separation of the world of art from the world of faith and set out to restore the dignity and beauty that was integral to sacred art.

By the beginning of the 20th Century Fr Granda had gathered over 200 artisans into his workshops under the corporation’s motto, “ O Lord, I loved the habitation of thy house and the place where thy glory dwells” (Psalm 25, 8) to which he had added his own aspiration, “I am moved by the ideal of employing all of my strength to beautifying your temples and altars.” Under his direction sculptors, goldsmiths, metalworkers, painters, carpenters, enamellists, jewelers, and designers began utilising their skills to create objects for divine worship. Continued on Vista 4

Sterling Silver Monstrance, inspired from a 17th Century model. Decorated with cabochons and hand enamelled plates. Photos: Granda Liturgical Arts

A Gothic chalice made from sterling silver, featuring the four evangelists in the stem. Height: 10 inches. Available from Granda for 4,200 Euros.

Most of WA’s World Youth Day pilgrims visited the Schoenstatt Shrine in Germany recently. The Schoenstatt Shrine in Armadale is also one of those perfect places for the pilgrim seeking peace and renewal. Behind the shrine is a movement established to help ordinary people find God’s secret call in each and every life...

A special place in Perth

Three graces for all who come

■ By Mark Reidy

During his studies for the priesthood in the early 1900’s Joseph Kentenich began to recognise the increasing alienation of man from God that was permeating the world. He believed that if Christ was to be restored to His rightful place then His followers needed to be imitators of Mary who was the original Christ bearer. He understood Mary to be the perfect embodiment of the natural and the supernatural and believed that through her intercession the harmony of the human and the divine could be restored.

With this understanding he, along with a faithful group of seminarians, entered into a ‘Covenant of Love’ with Our Lady on October 18, 1914 and the Schoenstatt movement was born.

Their consecration was made in a small chapel in the Schoenstatt Valley near Koblenz in Germany and the group, led by Father Kentenich, asked that Mary make the chapel her shrine – a place of grace and pilgrimage. In return they offered her their apostolic efforts, prayers and sacrifices.

The Shrine became a place for people to pray for and receive the graces of inner transformation that would allow them to discover and freely embrace God’s will for them and to live it out in their daily lives.

Since that day Schoenstatt has become known as: a Place, a Movement, a Spirituality, and a New Way of Life.

A PLACE

There are now 176 replica shrines in over 40 countries. Each is a spiritual centre for the Movement. Each is dedicated to Mary and is a place of pilgrimage. In German ‘Schoenstatt’ means “beautiful place” and each shrine offers people from all walks of life an opportunity to experience peace and tranquility and to receive the graces for inner transformation. Members continue to enter into a Covenant of Love with Our Lady, but the graces are available to all those who visit the shrines. Hundreds of thousands of people have visited these shrines over Schoenstatt’s 91-year history.

beside, above or separate from it. It aspires to be at the heart of the Church and members are encouraged to actively participate within their own parishes.

It teaches that each person is responsible for the growth of God’s kingdom on earth and that each has been given a unique role in life to fulfill. Members strive for sanctity in their everyday life in the hope of responding to the challenge of Vatican II to “consecrate the world”.

People are formed and educated through groups that meet regularly and discuss topics of faith and practical relevance. These include:

• The Family Branch. Groups of six to eight families support one another as they strive to model themselves on the “Holy Family”.

• Women’s League. This is made up of single women who follow the model of Mary and aim to bring Christ into their everyday environments ie. workplace, family and social lives.

• Youth Groups. These provide young people with the opportunity to share their experiences and to grow in faith while also participating in enjoyable and recreational activities. They are encouraged to become involved with their local, parishes and through this make worthwhile contributions to the Catholic community.

• Mothers’ Branch. These provide an opportunity for mothers to meet together to discuss and share topics related to their maternal vocations.

A SPIRITUALITY

Schoenstatt spirituality aims to give inspiration and direction to all those searching for inner renewal. Its message is threefold:

• A living and practical faith in Divine providence which teaches that God in His wisdom and love desires to provide the very best for each individual.

The Schoenstatt Movement arrived in Australia in 1951. Members have since established shrines in Mulgoa (NSW) in 1968 and in Armadale (WA) in 1991. Wherever possible the Movement tries to find a place which reflects not only the original setting in the Schoenstatt Valley, Germany, but also the peace and tranquility which Father Kentenich desired to foster through the Movement’s philosophy.

The Western Australian Shrine, perched in the green foothills of Armadale, encapsulates this serenity. It has become the spiritual centre for a growing number of Catholics who have dedicated their lives in the Covenant of Love to Mary.

The Shrine was built by members of the Perth Movement and was

blessed and opened by Archbishop Barry Hickey on November 17 1991. He officially recognised it as a place of pilgrimage in 2000.

Visitors are always welcome to attend the Shrine and avail themselves of the threefold graces with which it is associated;

1. The Grace of Finding a Home. In the embracing shelter of a motherly heart Mary offers visitors to the shrines an opportunity to escape the hectic pace of life and attach themselves to a place where they can feel love and acceptance.

2. The Grace of Inner Transformation.

The opportunity to become a new creation by seeking God in every moment of every day. Where,

with the intercession of Mary, one can become a new person in Jesus Christ.

3. The grace of Apostolic Fruitfulness.

To be sent from the Shrine sharing the Mission of Mary, which is to bring Christ to others and lead souls home to the Heavenly father’s heart.

The Shrine is open every day from 8am to 8pm. Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is available every Monday from 7.30pm to 8.30pm.

There is a Mass every Friday at 10.00am followed by Adoration until 9pm.

For further information on Schoenstatt ring Sister Renee on (08) 9399 2349 or see website: www.schoenstatt.org.au

• The Covenant of Love that encourages a life of everyday sanctity.

• The call to become a fruitful apostle for Christ and His mission.

A NEW WAY OF LIFE

A MOVEMENT

Schoenstatt offers support to any Catholic person searching for spiritual growth and apostolic activity. It is made up of priests, sisters and lay people. It is a movement of moral and religious renewal within the Catholic Church and is not

Schoenstatt offers a way of life which affects every aspect of one’s daily living and individual relationships with others. It encourages people in their practice of self-education and the pursuit of sanctity. This goal is nurtured within small groups that meet regularly, as well as annual retreats, days of reflection, summer camps, family picnics and other activities.

We relied on Mary to lead us

A testimony from Stephen and Ida Stokes.

We first encountered Schoenstatt as young parents. The movement gave us an ongoing supportive environment in which we mixed with likeminded people in family groups, sharing our faith, insights and concerns. It is through these family groups and attending formation weekends with a Schoenstatt priest and the Schoenstatt sisters that we received the formation, skills and education needed to be prime educators of our children in faith.

A very important part of the Schoenstatt movement is the renewal of family life. It is recognised that the family is the basic cell of society and that renewal of family life will flow through to the Church and to the community at large. As parents we realised that in order to be effective we needed to be educated and to constantly remind ourselves that we are called to lead each other to holiness, “to sanctify ourselves for others”. This everyday sanctity needed to permeate our daily lives. Our Covenant of Love has been a real help in our striving to achieve this. It is a deepening of our Baptismal Covenant and Our

Lady assists us in remaining loyal to it. In our consecration we surrender ourselves into her hands. We ask her to intercede for the necessary graces needed to guide and strengthen us in leading each other and our children to God.

We firmly believe that Our Lady has enriched our lives with her many blessings and has guided us in our efforts to discover God’s vision for each of our children and in educating them to be Christ-like people. Though the road for them is not always straightforward, we pray that we have been able to give them a firm foundation from which they can discover more fully what God has in store for them.

Sanctuary: the Shrine at Armadale is nestled in the picturesque foothills of Armadale. It offers all a chance to find that peace deep within themselves which comes only from

Pray-ers gather in eucharistic adoration in the Schoenstatt Shrine in Armadale.

Photos: Peter Rosengren

Continued from Vista 1

His workshop methods were reminiscent of the middle ages and the Renaissance, where he intentionally avoided the growing 19th Century patterns of mass production, and he focused instead on service to the Church and the spirit of teamwork. His desire was to craft individualised works, which both inspire and teach about Christ. He wanted any artwork that his company produced to not only emanate beauty but to also portray the profundity of the religious act that it was created.

The mission of the corporation today is inspired foremost by the greatest of mysteries, the Eucharist, and the desire to create objects worthy of this.

Fr Granda died in 1954, but the calling which motivated him, which was to nurture artistic talents to promote and conserve the dignity of all sacred artwork and to form artists to serve the Church, is still the goal of the corporation today. Their mission and spirit derive strength and direction from Holy Scripture, the documents of the Second Vatican Council, the General Instruction of the Roman Missal and the writings of Pope John Paul II.

Due to the recent growing demand for high quality sacred art, TAG now has commercial offices in Chicago, Miami, Seoul and London. Today almost 50% of their production is crafted for clients outside of Spain.

TAG’s objective is to continue to unite traditional craftsmanship with technological advancements and Christian tradition with contemporary liturgical norms. And in the spirit of Fr Granda their desire is to continue to remain active contributors in the evangelisation efforts of the Church.

The Ark of the Covenant Tabernacle, available from Granada Liturgical Arts was designed for Our Lady of Walsingham Church in Houston, Texas. The tabernacle stands at 46cm without the angles, and the angels are 18cm in height alone. Above: detail of a processional cross.

Cover it in style: The Book of Gospels cover, also available from Granda Liturgical Arts, complete with semiprecious stones, designed to accomodate the Book of Gospel” published by the Liturgical Press USA. Above: a ciborium, and above this photo just four of the hundreds of styles of vestments available for priests and deacons.

Sister Maureen, teacher of thousands, loved the poor

■ By Glynnis Grainger

Mercy Sister Maureen Cream, who taught thousands of children during her 61 years as a nun, passed away peacefully at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital in Shenton Park on 20 July.

Maureen Dolores Cream was born at Geraldton on 17 December, 1924, into a family of 10 children, the daughter of Elsie and Tim Cream.

First they lived at Geraldton, before moving to a farm at Eradu, about 50km east of Geraldton, where a teacher lived at their home and taught the children there.

Maureen was the fifth eldest child. Her mother died after giving birth to the youngest child, from complications of childbirth, leaving her father with three sons and seven daughters, aged from a few days old to 13 years.

He honoured a promise to their mother and sent nine of the children to the Sisters of Mercy Orphanage at St Joseph’s, Wembley, where the McAuley Centre is today.

Maureen was eight years old at the time.

She passed her Junior Certificate at Victoria Square and later won a scholarship to Santa Maria College to do her Leaving, which she completed before her 16th birthday – a testament to her high intelligence.

She entered the Sisters of Mercy Victoria Square on 25 March, 1941, and at her reception was given the name Paula.

Having achieved her letters for music and speech and drama, Sr Maureen spent many years teaching piano, violin and singing and speech and drama at Bassendean, Norseman, Kalgoorlie, Santa Maria College, Attadale, and Mercedes College, Perth. She was the first music teacher at Mercedes to produce the beautiful Cantata “Easter Song”, which was presented in St Mary’s Cathedral,

involving all 750 students, some staff, parents and clergy.

Sr Maureen also produced a religious program for the ABC in the Victoria Square Chapel, and the nuns received letters of congratulations from all over Australia. The ABC even repeated the program sometime later.

Because she had a great gift for writing and a wonderful turn of phrase, Sr Maureen spent four years researching, interviewing and writing at history of Mercedes College to mark its 150th celebration in 1996, entitled “Out of These Stones”.

A very modest person, she loved teaching music to the poor, especially Vietnamese migrants, such as Joseph Tran, now Parish Priest at Whitfords-Craigie Catholic parish, he told those gathered at her funeral.

She would go to his home at Belmont – he was one of nine children – and teach him the violin,

which he played at her Thanksgiving Eucharist at Our Lady of Mercy Chapel on 26 July.

Fr Tran told The Record “she was a great role model, very patient and generous; she was really God’s instrument, who makes us shine in the world.”

Sr Mollie Wright and Albert Cream, Sr Maureen’s brother, wrote the two eulogies read at her funeral Mass.

Sr Mollie said in her eulogy: “Maureen’s life was a beautiful mosaic highlighted by the core characteristics of her personality, her lovely singing voice, her musical ability, her keen intellect, her caring for others, especially those less well off, her integrity, her good looks, her sense of fun, her great work ethic and above all her prayerfulness and her patience in suffering during her many illnesses.

“She was indeed a true Sister of Mercy.”

Carmelite lived her prayer and love of community

The following article is taken from the eulogy for Carmelite Sr Katherine Doran (formerly of Kalgoorlie) at her funeral Mass at the Carmelite Monastery, Varroville, New South Wales. Sr Gemma of the Varroville Carmel delivered the eulogy.

Present at the Mass were Sr Katherine’s nieces from Western Australia, Kathleen, Margaret and Therese.

Ifeel very humble standing here to share something of the life of our beloved Sr Katherine with all of you, but I also feel deeply grateful to Sr Jennifer for inviting me to do so, even though I think she took a big risk in doing this for speaking at gatherings is not my charism as indeed my community knows only too well! However I attempt this because of the love I have for Sr Katherine and what she has meant to me during my life in Carmel.

Had Katherine lived only three more days she would have celebrated her 99th birthday on August 1, but God called her home to her eternal reward at a quarter past one on the afternoon of Friday July 29, bringing to a close the life of one who had been utterly dedicated and faithful to her Carmelite Vocation of prayer and sacrifice for the Church during the past 75 and a half years.

Sr Katherine, the third of four children (three girls and one boy) was born in Kalgoorlie to James John and Kathleen Margaret Doran and was given the same name as her mother – that is, Kathleen Margaret though after entering Carmel she was known as Katherine.

Sister was really shy by nature and we never knew a great deal about her childhood, but we know that Sister survived meningitis as a young girl.

Only recently during her last illness did she tell me that the doc-

tors and nurses at St John of God hospital where she was treated told her that God must have had some special work for her to do, because they considered it almost a miracle that she survived the illness especially in those early days. I suppose even at that early age Katherine was showing very definite signs of the great determination that was so characteristic of her during her later life.

Sr entered Carmel at Dulwich Hill, Sydney, (later relocated to Varroville) on February 11, 1930, having been accepted for the life of an Extern Sister.

She subsequently received the Habit and made her Profession, taking her Perpetual Vows in 1939.

Sister faithfully served the community in this capacity for 21 years after which she was granted an Indult from Rome to transfer inside the Cloister making profession of Solemn Vows in 1952.

In subsequent years Sister Katherine served the community in the office of Prioress, sub-Prioress, and Novice Mistress as well as being a member of the community council many times.

It was particularly as Prioress that Sr Katherine humbly served her community preferring always to be seen as simply a sister among her sisters, rather than a superior over her community.

Sister was also Sacristan for many years always going about her work quietly and without any great fuss. It was a big work then as there was not available at that time the variety of light and drip-dry materials which can make the work so much easier today.

There was no end of washing, starching and ironing sacristy linen, such as altar cloths and albs.

Katherine gave herself wholeheartedly to any work that was asked of her and it was for many years while occupied in these busy activities that she also cared for an elderly sick sister in the community devoting all her time and energy to her.

Katherine loved the garden and many novices learned to love gardening from working close to her and watching what her green fingers produced.

She also loved to study the planets and the stars and would often be found star-gazing on the flat-roof and imparting some of her knowl-

edge of these to anyone interested enough to listen.

Katherine also had a wonderful memory and even in her more recent years could still recite poems which had been learnt at school 85 years ago.

She retained her fine mind to the end of her life, though occasionally in the last stages of her illness she would sometimes lapse into patches of confusion, but never for long. She was really blessed in this way.

One of our present novices used the expression “living Gospel” as summing up Katherine’s life while the other thought of her as a “living Rule” seeing her as a guiding light, an inspiration, an example of the best that Carmel could produce.

I think these are very strong statements and coming as they do from sisters in formation today, they show what an impression Katherine made on them, yet she herself would laugh if she heard such comments about herself.

Though she was always very faithful to the Carmelite life and its Rule, nevertheless, she possessed a very free spirit and would never allow herself to be shackled by a whole lot of unnecessary laws and customs.

I think her novices at the time loved her for this quality too, because she tried to encourage their growth and freedom of spirit also.

Katherine had strong faith, though I believe she lived most of her life in great “darkness”. Her love for our Carmelite saints, especially St John of the Cross and St Therese of the Child Jesus was very evident in her life.

In my early years in Carmel I once

told her that even though I tried to read St John of the Cross, I couldn’t understand him and that worried me greatly. Her reply was swift: “Sr Gemma you love St Therese and try to follow her doctrine. You have nothing to worry about because St Therese’s doctrine is really a simplified version of St John’s teaching for those people who cannot read his writings.”

Her words gave me great peace and I never worried again about the matter. It was marvellous to watch the transformation that took place in Katherine, herself in the last months and weeks of her life.

It was wonderful to sit with her and be able to talk about her approaching death and be witness to the eagerness she showed at knowing that her life was gradually coming to its end.

“Come Lord Jesus, do not delay” was a little prayer that was often on her lips especially at times when she felt the burden of her illness. Not many days before she died I had gone into her a few times and she seemed to be asleep. The next time I went in I said

“Oh, you are awake now.”

“I haven’t been asleep” she replied

“Well, if you haven’t been asleep, what have you been thinking of” I asked her.

“Oh, I was just thinking of God, and how He is really Love, and He wants us all to love one another. That is all that matters that we love one another. You know, every sister in this community is different but that doesn’t matter. I know that each one is trying to live faithfully her Carmelite Vocation and that is all that matters. You can only try and do your best but we must all love each other, differences don’t matter.”

I then said to her, “Katherine, I think you are living more in Heaven now than on earth” and she replied quite spontaneously,

“Yes, He is preparing me now to be a beautiful Queen”.

I was deeply touched by this reply and I felt that I was right in what I had just said to her because this language was most uncharacteristic of our “down-to-earth” Katherine. For about four weeks or more before her death we used to gather each night in her room at 8.00 pm for Night Prayer around her bed.

It was wonderful to watch the way she greeted each sister as she came into the room with some words very special for herself.

And then you would see her lips praying the words of the psalms with us - if she could remember them. On the last night, Thursday, she said to Jennifer, “God bless you and your lovely community.” It was almost like a farewell message. On an earlier occasion she had

remarked on the “marvellous community.” She was just so grateful for all that was done for her no matter how small an act it may have been. We have cherished these words coming from sister as we all know that she only said what she meant.

All of this sums up for me a life of fidelity to prayer which is simply how Katherine tried to live and by that giving of herself to God He was able to touch her soul in its very depths and transform it, and we, her sisters, have been privileged to witness in some small degree this marvellous work of God. in her.

If I had to try and summarise the message that I felt Katherine most wanted to leave with us I think it could be said in the words of St Paul: “Try then to imitate God, as children of his that he loves, and follow Christ by loving as he loved you… always giving thanks to God Who is our Father, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Amen.

The World

Thousands honour Chinese Bishop

Thousands gather for funeral of underground Chinese bishop

Some 10,000 Catholics gathered at the funeral of Bishop James Xie Shiguang of Mindong, an underground bishop who encouraged communion within the Church.

Bishop Xie, 88, died of leukemia on August 25. His death came 20 days after the death of government-approved Bishop Peter Zhang Shizhi of Mindong, reported UCA News, an Asian church news agency based in Thailand.

Bishop Vincent Huang Shoucheng, 82, who served as Bishop Xie’s coadjutor, now heads the diocese in eastern China’s Fujian province. Bishop Huang presided at Bishop Xie’s funeral on August 27 at Luojiang church. Because of the large number of Catholics - from the underground and governmentapproved communities - the funeral was televised within the church compound. Bishop Xie’s body was cremated; his ashes were buried at a Catholic cemetery near the church.

A Catholic source in Mindong close to Bishop Xie told UCA News on August 29 that public security officers were stationed at the church for the August 27 funeral Mass . An underground priest from outside Fujian said that police did not allow

any clergy coming from beyond Fujian province to enter the church for the funeral.

Several mainland Catholic Web sites carrying news of Bishop Xie’s death were blocked as of August 28. Church sources said webmasters were warned sites would be closed if Bishop Xie’s obituary, as well as

condolences and photos, were not removed.

Even so, the Mindong source predicted that security officials were not likely to tighten controls or crack down on the underground community in Mindong at this time.

“They hope Bishop Xie’s death and the subsequent transition will not

have much impact, such as mass gatherings among local Catholics,” he said.

The same source also noted that security officers had been posted at the hospital to keep track of Bishop Xie’s health since May, when he was diagnosed with leukemia.

Although the government-

approved Church officially spurns ties with the Vatican, church sources say up to 85 percent of the government-approved bishops have reconciled secretly with the Vatican. An underground Church continues to exist, and in many sections of China there is some mingling of the two Churches.

Government-approved Bishop Zhan Silu of Mindong said that when he went from his cathedral in Ningde to Luojiang church to pay his respects, the underground Catholics allowed him to enter the church. However, Bishop Zhan said he left before the funeral Mass began.

“I respect and admire Bishop Xie,” he said. “Though he was born in Hebei province in northern China, he devoted his life to Fujian province. I pray for the eternal repose of his soul in heaven and thank him for dedicating his life to the Church.”

The 45-year-old prelate also said that he visited Bishop Xie once in the hospital.

“When Bishop Xie grasped my hand,” Bishop Zhan recalled, “he said that he was old, and now the young ones will lead the Church.”

All government-approved Catholic parishes had prayed for the late bishop in their Masses, said Bishop Zhan, one of five bishops ordained in Beijing without papal mandate on January 6, 2000.

Lower caste Christians supported Europe needs values

Polish prelate says values that led to Solidarity needed for Europe

A Polish archbishop said the same Christian values that led to the formation of the country’s Solidarity union movement in 1980 are needed to build a united Europe today.

“Solidarity was born out of concern for the human person and his spiritual and material needs and from a feeling of great responsibility for the nation’s common good,” Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz of Krakow told a congregation of 30,000 at a Mass in Gdansk’s Solidarity Square on August 31.

“Although it brought together various often diametrically different viewpoints, it appealed to national and religious traditions and awakened a patriotic awareness. It made people sensitive to the needs of others, especially the weak, sick and interned. This spirit of Christian values is needed today ... by a united and uniting Europe if it is not to share the fate of a castle built on sand,” said the archbishop.

Senior politicians and Church leaders from two dozen countries gathered in the northern port city to mark the signing of the Gdansk Accords, under which Poland’s communist regime accepted 21 demands by 17,000 striking shipyard workers from the newly formed Solidarity

union. Solidarity gained more than 9 million members in its first weeks and won freedoms unprecedented in communist-ruled Eastern Europe that included the right to free trade unions and industrial action as well as freedom of speech and media access for churches.

Although outlawed after the December 1981 imposition of martial law, the movement survived underground and re-emerged to negotiate the peaceful end of communist rule in 1989. After helping form several governments in the 1990s, Solidarity retreated from politics in 2003 and currently numbers 700,000 union workers, mostly in the state sector.

“In this place 25 years ago, in a new way and new context, working people spoke the word Solidarity,” said Archbishop Dziwisz, who served as the late Pope John Paul II’s personal secretary for nearly 40 years. “In the name of future humanity, it was spoken with full strength and determination, since it was no longer possible to tolerate a system that incited hatred and struggle between classes, of nation against nation, person against person,” he said. In his homily, Archbishop Dziwisz, who represented Pope Benedict XVI at the Mass, said it was right to “thank God for the gift of Solidarity,” which had become “not only a national value, but also a universal heritage” by helping bring down communist rule in Eastern Europe.

Indian Catholic leaders vow to step up campaign for dalit rights

■ By Anto Akkara

Following the Indian Supreme Court’s postponement of a decision on extending equal rights to low-caste Christians, Catholic leaders vowed to step up their campaign for such rights.

“We have no alternative but to intensify our campaign,” said Father Philomin Raj, executive secretary of the Indian bishops’ commission for dalits. “Dalit”- meaning “trampled upon” in Sanskrit - refers to low castes treated as untouchables under the caste system in India.

“The government has let down the Christians once again,” Father Raj said on August 26 after the Indian government sought yet another extension from the Supreme Court to clarify its stand on equal rights.

The next hearing is scheduled for October 18.

In 1950, the government made Hindu dalits eligible for free education and reserved a certain number of seats for them in legislatures and government jobs.

These statutory rights were extended to Sikh dalits in 1956 and Buddhist dalits in 1990.

However, the repeated demand for equal rights by the Christian dalits, who account for two-thirds of the approximately 26 million Christians in India, has been ignored by successive governments amid opposition from Hindu groups, which have said they fear mass conversion to Christianity if rights were extended.

Leading Christian activists thronged the Supreme Court on August 23, the deadline the court had set in April for the federal government to clarify its stand on why Christian dalits were being excluded from statutory rights and privileges.

After the extension, John Dayal, president of the All India Catholic Union, said, “This is not the kind of response that we had expected from the government after our intense lobbying.”

However, he said, “We have more time now to continue our campaign.”

“We hope the government will make a clear and positive stand on our demand in the next hearing,” added Dayal, one of the organisers of a high-profile public hearing in July on the discrimination against Christian dalits.

Meanwhile, church activists have procured pledges of support from two communist parties.

“We are also trying to meet the prime minister with our demand,” said Father Raj, who recently met several federal ministers, urging

them to impress upon the government the need for equal rights.

In an August 21 message for Justice Sunday, Archbishop Malayappan Chinnappa, chairman of the Indian bishops’ dalit commission, called for prayers for a favourable court judgment.

For more than half a century “our brothers and sisters of scheduled caste (dalit) origin are crying for justice,” he said.

Addressing a press conference in New Delhi on August 12, Cardinal Telesphore Toppo, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, said the ruling was “a question of justice and equal rights.”

Prashant Bhushan, a lawyer who has been pleading the Christian cause in the Supreme Court, said that “despite the clear discrimination” against Christians “the government is reluctant to take a clear stand on this, as it is a politically charged issue.”

The Hindu nationalist lobby, he said, has been opposing the Christian demand “vehemently as they want to use this discrimination as a deterrence” against dalits leaving the Hindu religion and embracing Christianity or Islam.

If the Christian demand is met, Bhushan said Muslim dalits also will demand the same, which would force the government to enhance the 15 percent quota for dalits in certain government jobs and offices.

Bishop James Xie Shiguang of Mindong, China, is treated for leukemia in a hospital in Fujian in this undated photo. Bishop Xie was an underground Catholic bishop who encouraged unity within the church. He died of leukemia on August 25 at the age of 88. PHOTO: CNS

The World

Priest rediscovers courage to talk

Priest who escaped Sudan recalls flight of despair, faith, redemption

■ By Michael C. Gabriele

Trapped by the insanity of civil war and murderous religious persecution in the African nation of Sudan, Father John Lugala Lasuba experienced a defining moment five years ago, when he had all but given up hope.

A fugitive in his homeland, who witnessed the vicious slaughter of his family and friends, the priest fled through various camps and villages in the Christian southern part of the country, while planes and helicopters from the Muslim-controlled government were systematically bombarding the region.

In the midst of this chaos, Father Lasuba encountered an elderly man named Lero, who for many years had been involved with the liberation movement in the troubled country. As planes buzzed overhead, Father Lasuba asked Lero what had sustained him in the long struggle.

“The moment you lose hope, you die,” Lero told him.

“Yes, I had nearly lost hope,” Father Lasuba confessed, speaking softly, “I felt forsaken. But each one of us carries his own cross.”

He never saw Lero again after that pivotal conversation. Fortified by Lero’s piercing words, Father Lasuba gathered himself that day and continued his quest for survival. Through faith and good fortune he managed to make critical connections to escape Sudan. Bishops in Uganda helped him obtain a passport. He met with US politician Frank Wolf, who was on a fact-finding mission for the US government.

He flew from Uganda to Rome to the United States in June 2004. Five months

later, he arrived at the Comboni Missionaries community in Montclair. Earlier this year, through the help of the Archdiocese’s Catholic Charities office and the group’s bureau in Washington, he won political asylum.

The asylum declaration from Father Lasuba documents the unspeakable horrors that he witnessed during his years in Sudan, including the gruesome murder of his father and brothers by members of the National Islamic Front Army.

“The soldiers dragged my father out from where we were hiding; they repeatedly hit him in the legs with an axe. They did this many times. Then they simply shot him and three of my brothers,” he testified in one chilling passage of the asylum file.

In 1992, while he was serving as the deacon

of St Theresa’s Cathedral Parish in Juba, “a government soldier warned me if I continued to teach English I would soon teach it from the grave,” he said in the file.

Because he spoke out in his homilies against human rights atrocities, he was harassed by government officials and placed under surveillance. While conducting a Mass in October 2000 in the Wonderuba area, he said Sudanese soldiers tried to capture him and fired into the church. “I escaped, but my catechist, Edward Gwero, was shot and killed,” he stated. Two years later, exhausted and traumatised by the war, he entered a retreat called Healing the Healers in Nairobi, Kenya. “My purpose as a priest was to guide my flock, but I could no longer deny that I needed help myself,” he admitted in the report. CNS

Church role praised

US official offers praise as Indian bishops unveil new AIDS program

The Indian bishops unveiled a new program for fighting HIV/AIDS, and a US.government official praised the Church’s commitment to fighting the disease.

“Catholic Church leaders are demonstrating bold leadership in addressing HIV/ AIDS as a serious health issue by codifying a plan to halt the spread of this deadly scourge,” said George Deikun, US Agency for International Development mission director in India.

“I praise your efforts to take up this critical health issue and formulate a standing HIV/AIDS policy,” Deikun said on August 31 at the ceremony to release “Commitment to Compassion and Care: HIV/AIDS Policy of the Catholic Church in India.”

India now has at least 5.1 million HIV/ AIDS cases, second only to South Africa. Indian organisations receive $30 million from the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, with a dozen church groups among the Indian recipients.

Deikun praised the Church’s extensive network of health care institutions as “a tremendous resource for India.”

Pointing out that “the war against HIV/ AIDS cannot be won by the medical community alone,” Deikun told the gathering of Church leaders, health care workers and government officials that “an enhanced level of faith-based engagement in the battle (against AIDS) would greatly reinforce prevention, care and treatment activities.”

When people with HIV are stigmatised, Deikun said, “they often remain silent out of fear.” “Religious leaders are uniquely poised to break this silence,” he said. “You have the influence to end guilt, denial, stigma and discrimination (as) faith-based organisations are grounded in their communities.” CNS

Zimbabwean refugees find little comfort in South Africa

Plight of Zimbabweans in South Africa alarms church officials

The plight of Zimbabweans who have fled to neighbouring South Africa to escape political and economic hardships has alarmed South African Catholic officials as well as a church delegation from Zimbabwe.

Those seeking asylum complain about ill treatment by South African

the world in brief

government officials and police, said Kabelo Selema, organising secretary of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference justice and peace department in Pretoria. He said most of the estimated 1.5 million Zimbabweans in South Africa are economic refugees and seek work on farms in northern South Africa or in Johannesburg.

A group of seven clergy representing the Harare-based Zimbabwe National Pastors’ Conference said Zimbabweans living in South Africa

Church responds to hurricane Catholic parishes and organisations across the country and particularly in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas are responding to emergency and long-term needs for Hurricane Katrina refugees by providing shelters, food, medicine and schooling.

Virtually all dioceses nationwide planned parish collections the first weekends of September and immediate assistance is coming from Catholic Charities agencies, St Vincent de Paul societies, Catholic schools, Catholic hospitals, parishes, retreat centres and families. The Archdiocese of GalvestonHouston has responded to a request from the American Red Cross to open one of its 21 available shelters to help with the flow

had jumped “from the frying pan into the fire” because of the squalid conditions in which they live and the failure of South African police to offer them protection against harassment.

“To say we are horrified by the conditions Zimbabwean immigrants here are living under is a huge understatement,” the Rev. Vimbai Mugwidi, a Methodist and spokesman for the pastors, said in a statement following the group’s mid-August visit to South Africa.

of refugees from Hurricane Katrina. The archdiocese is prepared to open as many of its shelters as needed, according to Annette Gonzales Taylor, director of communications for the archdiocese.

“We are just waiting for the American Red Cross to give us the green light,” Taylor told The Texas Catholic Herald, archdiocesan newspaper of Galveston-Houston.

Scripture and revelation

More than 400 biblical experts from 98 countries are expected to attend a Vaticansponsored conference in September to commemorate the Second Vatican Council’s document on Scripture and revelation.

The September 14-18 encounter in Rome will feature formal presentations and discussions on the theme, “Sacred Scripture in the

Zimbabweans living in South Africa illegally “are in a Catch-22 situation, because if they make official complaints about conditions and treatment they are exposing themselves to deportation,” Selema said in a telephone interview from Pretoria. Some immigrants say they fear being killed, even by police, he said.

“Especially if they are not working, people without documentation feel that they could be killed without anyone knowing,” Selema said.

Life of the Church.” In addition to Catholic experts, representatives of other Christian churches and other religions also have been invited, the Vatican said on September 1. Participants will attend an audience with Pope Benedict XVI, who attended the council as a theological expert and had a key role in the preparatory discussions on the revelation document. Published in November 1965, the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation (“Dei Verbum”) said the Church depends on both Scripture and Tradition as the one deposit of the faith.

It encouraged biblical reading for all members of the Church as an essential spiritual resource.

Irish seminaries increase

For the first time in years, numbers are up at Ireland’s national seminary, St Patrick’s

In the Lindela Repatriation Centre outside Johannesburg, “everything is documented, so many people feel safer there,” he said. The centre houses at least 4,000 asylum seekers - mostly Zimbabweansawaiting repatriation.

But two Zimbabweans, including a pregnant woman, died in the centre in July, bringing the total number of deaths there this year to seven. Another 21 inmates died this year at a nearby hospital where they were taken for treatment.

College in Maynooth. Nineteen first-year seminarians began their studies for the priesthood on August 27, bringing the total number of seminarians at St. Patrick’s at the start of the new academic year to 75, compared with 63 last year. Church officials say the small increase is good news for a country that has seen vocations shrink from thousands to dozens.

Since the 1940s, when Ireland was ordaining more than a thousand priests per year, Irish vocations have decreased steadily.

Today, only one diocesan college - St Joseph’s College in Belfast, Northern Ireland - continues to train priests; students study philosophy and earn a basic degree before completing advanced studies elsewhere. In the last decade, six Irish colleges have stopped serving as seminaries. CNS

A 4-year-old Sudanese boy lies on the ground after collapsing from hunger at a feeding centre run by Doctors Without Borders in the village of Paliang, Sudan.

PHOTO: CNS

Faith behind the Tolkien phenomenon

Two new books uncover Tolkien’s Catholic vision in “The Lord of the Rings”

The Power of the Ring: The spiritual vision behind The Lord of the Rings

by Stratford Caldecott, The Crossroad Publishing Company

(New York, 2005) 160 pp.

The Battle for Middle Earth: Tolkien’s divine design in The Lord of the Rings

by Fleming Rutledge. William B. Eerdmans Publishing (Grand

Rapids, Mich., 2004) 373 pp.

■ Reviewed by Jean Gonzalez

Astudent persuaded J.R.R. Tolkien to publish “The Hobbit,” a book he had written for his children. When adults unexpectedly embraced the 1937 book, his publishers called for a sequel. Almost two decades later, Tolkien presented his epic: “The Lord of the Rings.”

Too large for a single book, it was published as a trilogy and has had a large adult audience ever since. That audience was broadened in recent years by a film trilogy and video strategy games that took Middleearth into new mediums.

An online search finds more than 300 book titles commenting on the trilogy and its author. Now two new books look at the spirituality and Catholic influence in Tolkien’s works.

“The Power of the Ring: The Spiritual Vision Behind The Lord of the Rings is a relatively short, but

Movie briefs

The Brothers Grimm

Visually inventive, highly atmospheric adult fantasy that presents the fairy-tale authors - Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm (Matt Damon and Heath Ledger, with credible English accents) - as con-artist

jam-packed, offering from Stratford Caldecott, a Catholic lay scholar and director of the Chesterton Institute for Faith and Culture in Oxford, England.

Caldecott begins with a lesson on Tolkien’s history and love for the Catholic faith. Tolkien was raised by a Catholic priest, who was a friend of the family, after his mother died when he was 12.

characters in a story as fantastical as anything they might have written, incorporating familiar elements of many of their stories, as an autocratic French occupier (Jonathan Pryce) orders them to get to the bottom of strange happenings in a German forest involving missing children.

Tolkien discussed his epic novel in letters written to his son, Christopher, and in companion works about the history of Middleearth. Caldecott uses these writings to explain Tolkien’s spirituality in his own words. Caldecott identifies grace, marriage and a “sacramental universe” as elements in “The Lord of the Rings” that reveal a Catholic influence.

Director Terry Gilliam gets high marks for creating an evocative, 19th-century world, and whipping up a good deal of excitement as the story races to its conclusion, but the film is marred by a slow start and an uneven screenplay by Ehren Krueger. Intense action violence, frightening images, many

Caldecott’s book is not an easy read; it requires concentration and patience. That may not deter “Ring” enthusiasts. But the first page should read: “Heavy references ahead. No novices allowed.” This is not a book for a person hoping to gain background knowledge before picking up the trilogy. “The Battle for Middle-earth: Tolkien’s Divine Design in ‘The

involving insects, torture scenes, scattered profanity and crude language, brief sexual situations and brief irreligiousness. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-III - adults. - CNS

Lord of the Rings’” is a more gentle read. Its author, the Rev. Fleming Rutledge, an Episcopal priest with previously published works including “The Bible and The New York Times,” shows an obvious love for Tolkien’s work. Rev. Rutledge describes his own work as a “theological narrative” that seeks to “specifically identify the allusions to a transcendent agency that Tolkien has placed along the way.”

Like Caldecott, Rev. Rutledge refers to Tolkien’s letters to support his theories. He says it was part of Tolkien’s plan that the characters and setting of “The Lord of the Rings” do not demonstrate a religion. Using a letter Tolkien wrote to fellow author C.S. Lewis (who wrote “The Chronicles of Narnia”), Rev. Rutledge explains how Tolkien hoped to reach two types of readers: Christian believers and those who have no theistic faith.

Comparing the narrative structure of Tolkien to the narrative structures in the Old and New Testaments, he says Tolkien hoped to reach unbelievers through a majestic story that included a disguised theological design.

At 373 pages, Rev. Rutledge’s book is an enjoyable read that can be digested bit by bit. Readers should be familiar with Tolkien’s characters and settings to appreciate Rev. Rutledge’s book, although the book could inspire those who have not read the trilogy to pick up the masterpiece for themselves.

- CNS

Note: recently published in the US, these books may have to be ordered from overseas

PANORAMA a roundup of events in the archdiocese

Sunday September 11

ST THOMAS MORE BATEMAN PARISH

Welcomes all the World Youth Day Pilgrims of 2005 to celebrate Mass at 6pm. The main celebrant will be Bishop Don Sproxton.

Sunday September 11

FATIMA HOLY HOUR

Holy Hour in St Joseph’s Church, Attadale commencing 3pm. Let us spend an hour in the company of Mary to make Eucharistic reparation to her divine Son. Enq 9339 2614.

Monday and Wednesday September 12 and 14

REFLECTION DAYS FOR WOMEN

At the Schoenstatt Shrine from 9.15am to 2pm, 9 Talus Dve, Armadale. Conducted by Fr I Allies. Theme “Mary Our Queen, that all your ways and conduct in me each one can see.” BYO Shared lunch, cost by donation.

Wednesday September 14

REFLECTION EVENING FOR WOMEN

Commencing 7.30pm at the Schoenstatt Shrine. Talk by Fr I Allies on the above theme. Supper at 9pm cost by donation. Enq 9399 2349.

Friday September 16

ST VINCENT’S KWINANA HEALING MASS

Fr Paul Raj invites all to join in a Healing Mass from 7pm at 114 Parmelia Ave, Parmelia. Proceedings include Praise and Worship as well as Holy Mass at 7.30pm. There will be light refreshments and biscuits for those who choose to stay after the Mass. All Welcome. Enq Hugh 9419 1814.

Saturday September 17

DAY OF RETREAT

The Holy Spirit of Freedom Community is having a Charismatic Day Retreat from 9.30am to 9.30pm at St. Anne’s parish hall, 11 Hehir St, Belmont. This will include times for prayer, praise and worship, sharing and talks. There will be a Charismatic Mass at 4.30pm and the Retreat will conclude with an evening rally at 7.30pm. All welcome. Tea, coffee and evening sausage sizzle provided. Please BYO sandwich lunch to share. Enquiries: Glenn 9228 1800.

Friday September 16-18

ANNUAL RETREAT  SECULAR FRANCISCAN ORDER

All those interested in learning more of St Francis and the spirituality of his followers are welcome to attend. The annual Retreat will be held at the Redemptorist Retreat House. The retreat will be given by Fr Pat Collbourne OFM Cap. Registrations will be held on Friday evening from 6.30pm. Enq and bookings Mary 9377 7925 or Michael on 9275 2066.

Sunday September 18

FEAST OF THE HOLY CROSS

Volunteers are required to participate in carrying the cross from Midland to Gingin with 14 stations (or change of teams) along the way. The total distance is 69 km. The pilgrimage will begin in Midland 7.30 pm and arrive at Gingin 11am on Sunday. 12 noon lunch and refreshments at Gingin. For more details telephone Sheila 9575 4023 or Lucas at Catholic Youth Ministry on 9422 7914.

Thursday September 22

ONE DAY CONFERENCE ON EVANGELISATION IN MODERN AUSTRALIA

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the publication of Evangelii Nuntiandi.

Key note speaker is Fr Stephen Bevans SVD, a world renowned speaker and writer on the theology of evangelisation and missiology. The conference is to be held at the Willetton Parish Centre and will conclude with Archbishop Barry Hickey concelebrating the Eucharist with bishops and priests from around the state. To register as a participant, contact Sr Shelley at the Catholic Mission Office on 9422 7933 during office hours.

Thursday September 29

CATHOLIC POLICE OFFICERS MASS

Serving and former members of Police are advised that Mass will be celebrated at the Trinity College Chapel, Trinity Avenue, East Perth, at 7pm. This coincides with the feast day of St Michael the Archangel, Patron Saint of Police and is also National Police Remembrance Day, a day set aside to remember colleagues who died whilst performing their duties. A supper will follow the Mass. For catering purposes those wishing to attend are requested to contact Peter Browne (9321 2155), Inspector Paul Newman (9222 1474) or Des Noonan (9291 8641).

Friday September 30 - Sunday October 2

BROTHER ANDREW RETREAT

An encouraging spring-time weekend retreat for Brother Andrew’s fifth anniversary will be held at God’s Farm. Brother Andrew was co-founder with

Mother Teresa of the Missionary of Charity Brothers. Retreat Master is Father Brian Morgan, Christian Brother Kevin Paull will give a special presentation on Brother Andrew’s life. Daily Holy Mass celebrated plus Prayers of the Church. Enq Betty Peaker s.f.o PH/Fax 9755 6212. Young people most welcome

Saturday October 29

YOUTH WITH A MISSION OPEN DAY

Check out training and ministry opportunities... enjoy music, fun and games... feast on a free sausage sizzle... Youth With A Mission has existed in Perth for over 20 years equipping young and old alike with the knowledge and methods to impact this city and nations abroad with the Gospel. Please join and learn more about opportunities for you to become involved. This is a great event for a youth group. date: 29th October 2005... time: 10am - 4pm... location: 150 Claisebrook Road, Perth... contact: (08) 9328 5321... hope to see you there.

CROSS ROADS COMMUNITY TERM 3

JULY 19  SEPTEMBER 23

Family & Friends Support Groups of Substance Abusers are on Wednesdays 7-9pm, Substance Abusers Support Groups are on Tuesdays 5.307.30pm & Fridays All day Group for Substance Abusers is from 9.30am to 2pm including Healing Mass on Fridays at 12.30pm during term. Rosary is from Tuesday to Thursday at 12.30-1pm.

Every Sunday

BULLSBROOK SHRINE MASS PROGRAM

Shrine of Virgin of the Revelation, 36 Chittering Rd. Bullsbrook. 2pm Holy Mass, Exposition of the

BOOK KEEPING

■ SMALL BUSINESS BOOKKEEPING MYOB

Bulk rates negotiable. Ph: Margaret 9459 5866/0403 778 426

BUILDING TRADES

■ BRICK REPOINTING

Phone Nigel 9242 2952.

■ GUTTERS/DOWNPIPES

Need renewing, best work and cheapest prices. Free quote. Ph: Ad 9447 7475 or 0408 955 991 5008.

■ PERROTT PAINTING PTY LTD

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

■ PICASSO PAINTING

Top service. Phone 9345 0557, fax 9345 0505.

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 Road, Canning Vale. Open Mon-Sat.

CHANGE YOUR LIFE FOREVER

■ WORK FROM HOME

Around your children & family commitments. My business is expanding and I need people to open new areas all over Australia. Training given. Highly lucrative. www.cyber-success-4u.org

FURNITURE REMOVAL

■ AAA SLIPSTREAM

Piano removal, sales and hire. Special discount for schools. Contact Tony 0418 923 414

■ ALL AREAS

Mike Murphy 0416 226 434.

HOLIDAY ACCOMMODATION

■ BUSSELTON

Geog Bay, Park Home sleeps UP TO 6 winter rates apply.

Ph Elizabeth 0408 959 671.

■ DENMARK

Holiday House 3bdr x 2bth, sleeps up to 8. BOOK NOW. Ph: Maria 0412 083 377.

■ DUNSBOROUGH

3 bed cosy cottage, sleeps 7, available for holiday rental, quiet oasis 3 mins walk to beach. Sheila 9309 5071.

LEARN GREGORIAN CHANT

■ FOR BEGINNERS

Notation, vocal techniques, English modal chants, Latin Chants. 6 week course on Mondays starting 10 October. The only prerequisite is a willingness to sing. Jubilus Song School Australia. Making sacred music simple. Phone 1300 725 138.

OFFICIAL DIARY

REAL ESTATE

■ SHEILA SHANNON

Thinking of changing your address?

Selling or buying, please think of me!

Sheila Shannon, First Western Realty, ...hoping for your call 040 88 66 593.

TO LET

■ BOARD

Full board available in lovely Maylands, Opp. Park and near bus. Suit female student, backpacker or working person.

Ph Kath 0400 227 118.

■ ACCOMODATION

Fully furnished self contained accommodation for mature lady in quiet hills area, near bus stop, $100p/w. Post Reply to Po Box 10, Kalamunda, WA, 6076.

■ CLEANER

WANTED

Looking for a trustworthy,committed cleaner to do two houses in the Stirling + Duncraig areas. Day-Saturday, but can be negotiated. Please call Joan during the day on 9444 9366 or after 7pm 9344 3380.

SEPTEMBER

8 Mass celebrating the Birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 12.10 pm, St Mary’s CathedralArchbishop Hickey

South Perth - Bishop Sproxton

Chisholm College - Fr Brian O’Loughlin VG Priestly Ordination of Fra Oscar M Aguilera Acosta OSM, Joondanna - Bishop Quinn

9 Gathering of LifeLink Supported Agencies, Catholic Pastoral Centre - Archbishop Hickey

9 & 10 Confirmation, Lesmurdie - Bishop Quinn

10 Launch of “Music for Funerals”, Catholic Pastoral Centre - Archbishop Hickey

Silver Jubilee Mass of Religious Profession of Sr Josefina Maria LSP, Glendalough - Bishop Sproxton

10 & 11

Confirmation, Whitford - Mgr Thomas McDonald

11 10th Anniversary Mass and Procession for Feast of Madonna of Tindari, FremantleArchbishop Hickey

Mass, Maddington - Bishop Sproxton

Mass for World Youth Day participants, Bateman - Bishop Sproxton Confirmation, Bayswater - Mgr Peter McCrann

12 Final Concert of the Performing Arts Festival, Perth Concert Hall - Bishop Sproxton

Blessed Sacrament and Holy Rosary. Reconciliation is available in Italian and English before every celebration. A Monthly Pilgrimage is held on the last Sunday of the month in honour of the Virgin of the Revelation. Anointing of the sick is administered for spiritual and physical healing during Holy Mass every second Sunday of the month. The side entrance to the Church is open daily between 9am and 5pm for private prayer. For all enq SACRI 9447 3292.

ST CLARE’S SCHOOL, SISTERS OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD

A short history of St Clare’s School is being prepared to celebrate 50 years of its work in WA. Any past students, staff, families or others associated with the school - from its time at Leederville, at North Perth, at East Perth or at Wembley - are invited to contact us with photographs, or memories. Privacy will be protected, in accordance with your wishes. Please contact Nancy Paterson on 0417 927 126, (email npaters@yahoo.com.au) or St Clare’s School, PO Box 21 23 Carlisle North.6161. Tel: 9470 5711.

ALL SAINTS CHAPEL

CONFESSIONS: 10.30 to 11.45am and two lunchtime

MASSES: 12.10 and 1.10pm Monday through Friday. Easy to find in the heart of Perth , 77 ALLENDALE

SQUARE, St. George’s Terrace, Perth, WA. Let the peace of the Chapel surround you; let the hurry and worry of your many cares be left with the Lord. Visit with Him. Talk with Him. Give yourself time for Him! Exposition: 8am - 4pm. Morning Prayer: 8am (Liturgical hours). The Holy Rosary daily: 12.40pm. Divine Mercy Prayers and Benediction: Mondays and Fridays 1.35pm. St Pio of Pietrelcina Novena to the Sacred Heart and Benediction: Wednesdays 1.35pm. To help you know and appreciate your Faith, a Lending Library of a thousand books, videos, cassettes at your service. Tel: 9325 2009. The Chapel is closed weekends and public holidays. www.allsaintschapel.com

INDONESIAN MASS

Every Sunday at 11.30am at St Benedict’s church Alness St, Applecross. Further info www.waicc.org. au.

PERPETUAL ADORATION

Of the Blessed Sacrament Christ the King, Lefroy Rd, Beaconsfield. Enq Joe Migro 9430 7937, A/H 0419 403 100. Adoration also at Sacred Heart, 64 Mary St Highgate, St Anne’s, 77 Hehir St Belmont. Bassendean, 19 Hamilton St and Mirrabooka, 37 Changton Wy. “Jesus is there for you 24/7.”

THE PILGRIM CROSS

This wooden cross (2m length) will be carried by the group of 16 pilgrims to the Shrines at Medjugorje, Lisieux (St Therese Relic), Nevers (St Bernadette Relic), Lourdes, Fatima. Those who would like to have their name inscribed on the cross, can do so for a donation which will go towards Maddington Parish Fundraising. South Indian Breakfast Sunday 11 September 2005. This is another fund-raising event which will be held at the Church Hall from 10am. October Ball Saturday 1 October 2005. All donations are tax deductible. Donation forms can be obtained from Francis Williams, Enq 9459 3873, Mob. 0404 893 877.

PERPETUAL ADORATION AT ST BERN ADETT E’S

GLENDALOUGH

Chapel open all day and all night. All welcome, 49 Jugan St, just north of the city. The easiest perpetual adoration chapel to get to in Perth. Just off the Mitchell Fwy by car, near the Glendalough train station and on bus routes 15, 278 and 400.

EVENING MASSES AT ST BERNADET TE’S G LENDALOUGH

Every night at St Bernadette’s Glendalough, 49 Jugan St. 5.45pm Monday to Friday, 6.30pm, Saturday and the last Sunday Mass in Perth is at 7pm.

BLESSED SACRAMENT ADORATION

Holy Family Church, Alcock Street, Maddington.

13 Presentation of Youth Book to Year 12s at Clontarf Aboriginal College - Archbishop Hickey

Presentation for Priests and Coordinators of Catechist Service - Bishop Sproxton

14 Mass to celebrate 25th Anniversary of St Jerome’s Primary School, Spearwood - Bishop Sproxton

Confirmation, Willagee - Fr Brian O’Loughlin VG

15-19 Visitation of Goomalling Parish and Centres including Confirmation - Archbishop Hickey

16-18 Parish Visitation and Confirmation, Greenmount - Bishop Sproxton

17 Confirmation, Midland - Fr Brian O’Loughlin VG

17 & 18 Confirmation, Balcatta - Mgr Tim Corcoran

Confirmation, Bateman - Mgr Michael Keating

18 Mass and Procession for Feast of Maria SS Addolorata, Dianella - Fr Anthony Paganoni CS

Confirmation, Ballajura - Bishop Quinn

Confirmation, Lynwood/Langford - Fr Greg Carroll

20 McKillop Rural Network Committee, Safety Bay - Bishop Sproxton

21 Confirmation, Wanneroo - Mgr Peter McCrann

22 Celebrating 30 years of Evangelii Nuntiandi, Willetton - Opening by Bishop Sproxton, Closing Mass by Archbishop Hickey

Every Friday 8.30 am Holy Mass followed by Blessed Sacrament Adoration till 12 noon. Every first Friday of the month, anointing of the sick during Mass. Enq. 9398 6350.

SUNDAY CHINESE MASS

The Perth Chinese Catholic Community invite you to join in at St Brigid’s Church, 211 Aberdeen St (Cnr of Aberdeen and Fitzgerald) Northbridge. Celebrant Rev Fr Dominic Su SDS. Mass starts 4.30pm every Sunday. Enq Augustine 9310 4532, Mr Lee 9310 9197, Peter 9310 1789.

LITURGY OFFICE OFFERING EXCELLENT WORKSHOPS

Cantors for the Country: To give people confidence and practical skills to lead the singing in country parishes 22 October. Phone: 9422 7902.

CONFRATERNITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

The Confraternity of the Holy Spirit has been sanctioned in the Perth Archdiocese, our aim is to make the Holy Spirit known and loved, and to develop awareness of His presence in our lives. If you would like more information please call WA Coordinator Frank Pimm on 9304 5190.

CATHOLICS EXPERIENCING THE BIBLE PUBLIC LECTURES

An exciting opportunity to learn more about your faith. Public lectures Sept 13: Praying with Scripture (Fr Anthony Van Dyke, OP); and Sept 20: Praying through the heart of Jesus (Fr Jim Shelton). Cost $5 per lecture. Enquiries to Jane on 9202 6859 or 0401 692 690.

First Sunday of each month

DEVOTIONS IN HONOUR OF THE DIVINE MERCY

Fr Douglas Hoare and Santa Clara Parish Community welcome anyone from surrounding Parishes and beyond to the Santa Clara Church, Bentley. The afternoon commences with the 3 o’clock prayer, followed by the Divine Mercy Chaplet, Reflection, and concludes with Benediction.

THE DIVINE MERCY APOSTOLATE

St Mary’s Cathedral, Victoria Square, Perth – each first Sunday of the month from 1.30pm to 3.15pm with a different priest each month. All Saints Chapel, Allendale Square, 77 St George’s Tce, Perth - each Monday and Friday at 1.35pm. Main Celebrant Fr James Shelton. St Francis Xavier Church,

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The Last Word

A Catholic life

Tom O’Dwyer died in his sleep in the early hours of Thursday September 1, two months short of his 86th birthday. Archbishop Barry Hickey will preside at his Funeral Mass at Highgate at 2pm today (Thursday). The obituary that follows is an updated version of an article that appeared in discovery last year.

Tom O’Dwyer was the last cricketer to capture Don Bradman’s wicket in a first class match in Australia.

He performed the feat at the WACA ground in 1948 when the Australian team stopped off to play WA on their way to England for the tour in which they earned the name The Invincibles by becoming the only team in history not to lose a match on tour.

Tom O’Dwyer is also a man who, every day for the last 20 years, has walked from his home in Mt Lawley to Sacred Heart Church in Highgate for daily Mass and Communion.

In 2003, when perpetual adoration was introduced at Highgate, he began timing his walk to arrive at Sacred Heart about 10 or 11 at night and he would remain there in prayer until the 7am Mass, after which he would walk home. He maintained the practice until ther last few months of his life.

These are two features of a Catholic life that began when Tom was born in Bridgetown in the South West of WA on November 5, 1919. He had two sisters, Isabel and Imelda, and a brother Laurance, but he is the last survivor of the family. His father John was in charge of the Lands Department office in Bridgetown. His mother Isabel (nee Priest) was a convert to the Catholic Faith.

evision,” he said. “The family used to gather around the piano and sing for an hour or so before going to bed.”

He started to take cricket seriously when he was 15 and gained a place in the North Perth C Grade team. Some time later he was asked to “fill in” as a spin bowler for the B Grade team one Saturday. He made 18 not out batting at number 7, and took 5 wickets for 7 runs in the first innings and 5 for 46, including a hat trick in the second.

He played for Mt Lawley for a couple of years and then transferred to Subiaco.

He used to ride his bike from Mt Lawley to Subiaco for cricket practice, carrying his bat and other cricket gear with him and singing most of the way.

On Thursday nights after train-

In Queensland’s first innings he took 7 for 79, and in their second 2 for 46 as Western Australia claimed an historic Shield victory. There were no man-of-the-match awards in those days, but some of his teammates said Tom had won the final for them.

He was unlucky not be chosen in the 1948 Australian team that became known as The Invincibles.

When WA beat NSW at the WACA in 1948, with Tom taking six wickets and making 51 runs, Arthur Morris, a member of the ’48 team and one of Australia’s greatest opening batsmen said: “Tom O’Dwyer is the best bowler of his type in Australia and a better batsman than many imagine.”

When WA beat SA in their first ever Shield match at the WACA, with Tom taking 5 for 47 and 3 for 54, Dick Whitington, a cricket writer and former South Australian Shield player wrote: “Tom O’Dwyer is the best spin bowler in Australia and Colin McCool is a close second.”

ing he would ride his bike to the Redmeptorist monastery in North Perth to continue his education and experience in his faith.

“I consider myself very lucky; I was born into a good Catholic family,” he said, during an interview in 2004.

“The gift of faith is the great gift God has given us; we know where we are.”

Tom’s family moved to Perth when he was five and he lived most of his life in Mt Lawley and in the Highgate Parish.

After an education at St Pat’s he took up a successful career in the insurance industry, but in his early life his two main interests were cricket and singing. In fact, he became known as “the bowling baritone”.

All of the O’Dwyer family were good singers. Tom’s father led the choir at Highgate for many years and Tom himself spent the best part of 70 years singing in Church choirs. He also appeared in many musicals and concerts presented on stage at His Majesty’s Theatre and other venues.

“I thank God I was born pre-tel-

He soon gained a place in A Grade and had vivid memories of many of his early games, particularly one against Bassendean. They were none for 39 when the ball was tossed to Tom. He took a wicket with his first ball, another with his second and finished with 7 for 4.

It was not long before the left arm wrist spinner became one of WA’s leading cricketers, and eventually his talent was noticed elsewhere. When Wally Hammond brought the English team to Australia in 1947, their first game was in Perth and Tom O’Dwyer was in the Australian Combined Side for that match. He took the wickets of Bill Edrich and Joe Hardstaff.

In 1948, WA was finally admitted to the Sheffield Shield competition (now the Pura Cup) and Tom was in the thick of it. In the final against Queensland in Brisbane, he batted at No 7 and made 46 in the first innings and 11 not out in the second, but he really excelled with the ball.

Unfortunately for Tom, it was McCool, of Queensland, who got the nod for the tour of England. When the team stopped in Perth on the way to England (they travelled by ship) and Tom O’Dwyer took Bradman’s wicket in his final First Class game in Australia (caught by former Aquinian Tom Outridge for 115) he also took the wickets of Ian Johnson and Colin McCool. And he made 31 runs.

The selection did not bother Tom. He already had the philosophy he offered when asked what advice he would give to the young today: “Jesus said, ‘if you love me you will keep my commandments, and my Father will love you and we will come and make our abode with you’.

“The reality of this presence within you more than makes up for the disappointments and the humdrum of life,” he said.

“A lot of us don’t do what we want to do in this life, but if we miss out on heaven, our life would be a real tragedy, a complete waste.”

As well as his busy life of sport and later coaching and umpiring, his music, his religion and his work, Tom always found time to help those in need through the St Vincent de Paul Society. In 2001, the Society gave him an award for more than 55 years of faithful service.

In later years he became a Special Minister of the Eucharist and at 84 was still taking Holy Communion to people in their homes and in hospital.

“God has put himself at our disposal at Mass, in the Eucharist and in the tabernacle, and it is up to me to go there, and to take the Body and Blood of Jesus to those who can’t go there,” he said.

“Never be afraid to be a Catholic. Don’t hide it and don’t be afraid of your weaknesses and failings.

“In their moment of denial of God, the angels were buried in hell, but no matter how often we sin, Jesus is at our side ready to forgive.”

Tom also had a great devotion to the Rosary. He once told Brian Peachey he never went out to play cricket without his Rosary in his pocket.

He often greeted friends with “You got a Rosary last night,” referring to his practice of saying the Rosary frequently throughout the night hours.

Parental divorce appears to have long-term consequences on children’s socioeconomic attainment. While most children of divorce do not drop out of high school or become unemployed, as adults, children of divorced parents have lower occupational status and earnings and have increased rates of unemployment and economic hardship. They are less likely to attend and graduate from university, even after controlling for family background and academic and extracurricular achievements.

An inspiring life: Tom O’Dwyer, cricketer, singer and most of all faithful disciple of Christ.

Photo: Carole McMillen