The Record Newspaper 09 April 2008

MARK REIDY’S I SAY, I SAY VISTA 4

Pope urges sensitivity to inner burdens

Benedict XVI urges women who have had abortions not to be overcome by discouragement and hopelessness.

■

By John Thavis

VATICAN CITY (CNS) - Pope Benedict XVI said the Church must bring the “Gospel of mercy” to those involved in abortion and divorce, showing sensitivity to the inner burdens they bear.

He made the remarks on April 5 in a meeting with participants of an international conference on the aftermath of abortion and divorce.

The Pope said both practices had created much suffering in modern society, particularly among innocent victims, leaving wounds that affect people’s lives permanently.

He said abortion in particular produces “devastating consequences” for the woman involved, for the family and for society, helping promote a materialistic mentality that shows contempt for life.

“How much selfish complicity often lies at the root of the painful decision that so many women have had to make alone and whose unhealed wound they carry in their souls,” he said.

The Pope urged women who have had an abortion not to be overwhelmed by discouragement and hopelessness and to open themselves to repentance.

The Pope said the Church’s ethical teachings about abortion and divorce are well known. Although they are of a different nature, both acts are considered grave offences to human dignity and an offence to God, he said.

In addition, he said, both abortion and divorce create innocent victims: “the child recently conceived and still unborn and the children affected by the breakup of family ties.”

Continued on Page -2

Pennies to - or is that fromHeaven?

■ By Matthew Biddle

St Bernadette’s parish in Port Kennedy has raised more than $5000 to fund the building of its new church by collecting five-cent pieces.

The small parish has been celebrating Mass in a school hall for the past 13 years, but within months will have its own brand new church.

To help pay for the new church, parishioners have been taking home small containers, filling them with five-cent pieces and returning them to the parish since May 2006.

Parish priest, Fr Gavin Gomez, described the amount raised by the five-cent piece collection as “astonishing”.

“This will certainly help to pay some of the costs of the new church,” he told The Record

“Maybe it will buy four chalices, it might go towards paying for pews, but certainly we’ll spread it around and use it wisely for the church.”

Parishioner Betty Burgoyne, who organised the collection, said she never expected the simple fundraising initiative to raise so much money.

“I don’t think anybody did really, everybody’s quite amazed,” she told The Record

“I think it’s been absolutely magnificent … for a small parish it’s been wonderful.”

Mrs Burgoyne said a number of small jars and containers are left at

Continued on - Page 3

It all adds up: Parishioners Mary Coton (left), Betty Burgoyne (centre) and parish priest Fr Gavin Gomez (right) with more than $50 worth of five-cent pieces which will go towards the new church.

PHOTO: MATTHEW BIDDLE

Saint for the week

Herman Joseph

c. 1150-1241

feast – April 7

Bishops consider a radical option

Born to poor parents in Cologne, Germany, Herman tried to join the Premonstratensians in Steinfeld but was rejected because he was only 12. However, the monks educated him in Friesland. Later he became a monk at Steinfeld. After serving in the refectory, he was made sacristan, which he liked better because he could spend all day in church. As a priest, his Masses took a long time because he was often in ecstasy. Because of his innocence, he was given the second name Joseph. A kind man and skilled mechanic, he repaired the monastery’s clocks.

“Those

Faced with sustained deChristianisation of large parts of Europe, bishops from that continent are now looking much more seriously at evangelisation springing from grassroots communities of the baptised, Archbishop Hickey has said.

Walking with Him Daily Mass Readings

15T

White Acts 11:19-26 God-given grace

in public. It was more a question of grassroots activity by faithful people, whether they did it in the name of a parish or did that evangelising in the name of their community.

The Archbishop spoke to The Record this week after returning from a meeting of around 160 European bishops on the Mount of the Beatitudes.

However, despite the seriousness of the problem which now sees areas of Europe where almost no-one has been to Church in two generations, the bishops had ended their meeting hopeful and with ideas on how to adress the situation, he said.

The meeting saw nine cardinals, including leading Cardinal Christoph Schonborn, and 160 European bishops gather from March 24-29 at the Domus Galilaeae International Centre on the Mount of Beatitudes in Galilee to reflect on the New Evangelisation in Europe.

“Cardinal Schonborn spoke of the anti-life mentality in secular Europe and how the numbers of people in European countries was declining rapidly, their places being filled with people from other countries,

For others: Visitors look out over the Sea of Galilee from the Mount of Beatitudes in Israel. The site was the focus for a meeting of European and Australian bishops, including Archbishop Barry Hickey, considering the challenge of the New Evangelisation. PHOTO: CNS/BILL WITTMAN

usually non-Christian, and in many cases, Muslim,” said Archbishop Hickey.

“He said there was almost a suicidal death wish in European nations that was undermining faith in God, that reflected a non-Christian mentality and was very widespread.”

“Many of the bishops discovered that the situation in Europe was worse than they had imagined - there were large areas in most European countries, except for Italy, of people who had been thoroughly deChristianised. “One or two or

three generations had grown up without any religion whatsoever, especially in nations that were under communism, but even in countries like France, there were areas where no one had been to church for two generations.”

“So they were dealing with the spread of paganism and they were at pains to see how they could turn it around. I think the general consensus was that they must establish more communities of faithful people who would evangelise rather than try to just speak out

“So they finished up hopeful, and with some idea of what to do about the paganism of Europe in the future.”

This number of European bishops and cardinals meeting in the Holy Land made the occasion quite historic, he said.

Archbishop Hickey said he and Bishop Eugene Hurley from Darwin had attended the meeting; they had been invited “because of the similarities between Europe and Australia regarding secularism and probably materialism.”

The setting for the meeting had been entirely appropriate.

“It was very powerful. It brought back thoughts of the Gospels all the time - one could almost see the apostles walking around and Jesus talking to them,” he told The Record

“And we went down to the lake of Galilee and saw a number of historic places there which brought back very forcibly the Gospel accounts of Jesus.”

Cardinal Schonborn speaks to the bishops – Page 10

Ps 86:1-7 The city of God Jn 10:22-30 I know my sheep

16W St Bernadette Soubirous, virgin (O)

White Acts 12:24-13:5 Prophets, teachers

17T

18F

Ps 66:2-3.5-6.8 May God bless us

Jn 12:44-50 To save the world

White Acts 13:13-25 God’s promises kept

Ps 89:2-3.21-22.25.27 Everlasting love

Jn 13:16-20 Welcoming Jesus

White Acts 13:26-33 The promise fulfilled

19S

Ps 2:6-11 Serve the Lord Jn 14:1-6 You know the way

White Acts 13:44-52 Message to the pagans

Ps 97:1-4 Truth and love

Jn 14:7-14 I am in the Father

20S 5th Sunday of Easter

White Acts 6:1-7 Cultural tensions

Ps 32:1-2.4-5.18-19 Praise is fitting

1 Pet 2:4-9 A chosen race

Jn 14:1-12 I am the Way

21M St Anselm, bishop, doctor of the Church (O)

White Acts 14:5-18 Zeus and Hermes

Crosiers VISITING SYDNEY

Ps 113:1-4.15-16 Glory to God’s name

Jn 14:21-26 The Holy Spirit

Ursula Frayne cooks up storm for Caritas

lives of those less fortunate who may not have adequate food, shelter, water or schools.”

He said that in recent years students and staff have conducted car washes and a chocolate drive.

On top of this, students and staff also donated Easter Eggs which were then distributed to women’s refuges, hostels, and to others who don’t always have the luxury of such a treat.

“The money raised will be used to make a difference in the

“With an average of 660 students over the last few years, this sum is a reflection of the generosity of heart that exists within the school community and we will be looking to raise our target to $6,000 in 2009,” Mr Armstrong said.

For others: Students from Ursula Frayne Catholic College serve up a storm during a sausage sizzle to raise money for Caritas’s annual Project Compassion appeal. This year they raised more than $5000 but have set their sights higher for 2009.

PHOTO: URSULA FRAYNE CATHOLIC COLLEGE

Pope calls for sensitivity towards women

Continued from Page 1

He said one of the Church’s pastoral priorities should be to help children of divorced parents, as much as is possible, to maintain ties with both parents and to be aware of their family origins.

At the same time, the Pope said, the church recognises that such decisions are often made in dramatic and difficult circumstances and that they also bring suffering to those who commit them. “Following the example of the divine teacher,

Peter

Anthony

Sylvia

Paul

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the Church always takes an interest in the concrete person,” he said. Many of the men and women involved in abortion and divorce are troubled by guilt and “are looking for peace and the possibility of recovery,” and the Church must approach them with love and sensitivity, he said.

“Yes, the Gospel of love and life is also always the Gospel of mercy, offered to the real and sinful people that we are, to raise them from any failing and repair any wound,” he

sdefendi@iinet.net.au

Mark Reidy reidyrec@iinet.net.au

said. The Pope quoted Pope John Paul II to emphasise that by showing mercy, the Church demonstrates its faith in the human being and in human freedom.

Although public opinion is often focused on the Church’s “no’s” in matters of morality, its teachings are really “a great ‘yes’ to the human person, to his life and his capacity to love,” he said.

The Pope said the public debate over issues like abortion and divorce is often purely

ideological, neglecting the real needs of those directly involved. This is where the Church is called upon to offer an attitude of merciful love, he said.

The Rome conference had as its theme: “Oil on the Wounds: A Response to the Aftermath of Divorce and Abortion.” It was sponsored by the Knights of Columbus and the John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and the Family.

The Institute has a campus in Melbourne; many of its students are from Perth.

Community floods Senate euthanasia inquiry

■ By Paul Gray

The Sydney Archdiocese’s Marriage and Family office has warned in a submission to federal parliament that legalising voluntary euthanasia would send the message that some patients’ lives have no value.

Legal euthanasia would also have a corrupting effect on the medical profession, by involving doctors and nurses, who are traditionally oriented towards healing, in the deliberate killing of their patients, the submission says. The Marriage

in brief...

Death penalty

A US appeals court decision to overturn the death sentence of Mumia Abu-Jamal, convicted of killing a police officer in 1981, is a victory for human life, said Cardinal Renato Martino, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. A panel of judges from the 3rd US Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia upheld

JOHN HUGHES

CHOOSE YOUR DEALER BEFORE YOU CHOOSE YOUR CAR

and Family Office submission was one of more than 700 submissions received by a Senate committee inquiring into a euthanasia Bill put forward by the Greens party.

The committee is examining the “Rights of the Terminally Ill (Euthanasia Laws Repeal) Bill 2008,” put forward by Greens Senator Bob Brown to overturn the Andrews law which in turn had torpedoed the Northern Territory’s legalisation of euthanasia in 1997.

The Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee called for submissions as part of the inquiry into the bill, which was

Abu-Jamal’s murder conviction on March 27, but also upheld a lower court ruling vacating his death sentence.

In an interview published on the front page of the Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, on March 28, Cardinal Martino said:

“Justice is not accomplished by punishing with another crime.

“For this reason, every death sentence not carried out is a victory for man and for life.” Cardinal Martino said the basis of all human rights is the right to life.

JohnHughes

introduced by Senator Brown earlier this year. The committee closed off public submissions in the middle of last week.

Pro-euthanasia groups such as the Northern Territory Voluntary Euthanasia Society were among the many interested parties who made submissions.

The chair of the committee, Northern Territory Senator Trish Crossin, was reported by the ABC as saying the bill is about territory rights, and not euthanasia.

“I have to stress this is not about whether or not people believe euthanasia should be allowed or not allowed. This is about whether or not the federal parliament should reconsider reinstating the Territory’s laws,” Senator Cross was reported as stating.

However this was not the view taken by many of the people who made submissions to the inquiry.

The first submission listed on the parliament’s website last week, for example, came from a member of the public and called for the parliament to overturn the Andrews euthanasia laws act. It mentioned death, death from cancer, disease and the problems of ageing but did not mention territory rights.

The Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee office told The Record last week that too many submissions had been received for them to be all published on the Senate website.

Instead a selection of submissions had been published, along with the names of many other people who

“Therefore, even the criminal who committed a crime has the right to live” and to have the possibility to make amends for his crime and to be rehabilitated, he said.

Pope Benedict XVI publicly has expressed his opposition to the death penalty on several occasions, the cardinal said.

“The death penalty does not fit into the concept of justice because the defence of life - which goes from conception to natural death - is preferred in every way by the Holy See,” he said.

I’m John Hughes, WA’s most trusted car dealer

Is it true that when people come to do business with me, they will be treated with courtesy, sincerity, professionalism and efficiency?

Is it true that “I want your business and I’m prepared to pay for it” and “I stand behind every car I sell”.

Is it true that I have over 40 technicians who are dedicated to getting my used cars in first class condition before sale?

Is it true that most of my sales are not from direct advertising but personal recommendation, repeat business and reputation?

Is it true I have my own finance company to assist good people with poor credit to buy cars from me?

Is it true I sell over 1,300 vehicles every month in Victoria Park and that is the biggest number from any one location in Australia?

Is it true that I have a warehouse selling cars under $10,000 and that I offer a full money back guarantee within one week?

made submissions which did not make it on to the web.

Even so, only 360 people and organisations - about half of the total number of submissions received by the inquiry – were entered on the parliamentary website early last week. The committee had received “that number again,” The Record was told.

The full array of public passions brought to the fore by the intense debate over the Northern Territory’s euthanasia laws in 1997 seem set to be reignited if the Brown bill is eventually put to a parliamentary vote. At this stage, the Senate com-

mittee intends to hold public hearings in Darwin and Sydney next week.

After that, it has discretion to call for more submissions, hold more hearings or finalise its report.

The date currently set for the committee report is June 23.

The largest number of submissions appear to have come from private individuals.

Meanwhile more pro-euthanasia pressure was promised in Victoria last week with a pro-euthanasia group announcing a public rally outside the state’s parliament house on April 16.

St Bernadette’s builds new church, coin by coin

Continued from Page 1 the back of the church for parishioners to collect and fill with coins if they wish to.

“People seem to like the film canisters because they soon get full and they can bring them back quickly, and I think the children enjoy that too,” she said.

The fundraising campaign started brightly and has steadily gained momentum as parishioners have started to make a conscious effort to save their little coins.

Mrs Burgoyne said there had been no distinct pattern in the weekly collection amounts, but rather a fluctuation.

“Every now and then we get a big surge … but it comes and goes, some weeks we only get a few dollars, and some weeks we get quite a lot,” she said.

Mary Coton, who is responsible for counting and banking the money, said it’s been a massive task but one she’s enjoyed.

Mrs Coton said most weeks it takes about half an hour to count the money, before it’s placed in a deposit bag and banked.

Each weekend the parishioners are informed of the collection’s progress by a detailed graph which appears in the parish bulletin.

The smallest collection was just $7.30, while the largest was a phe-

nomenal $253.55. One parishioner had been collecting five-cent pieces for a number of years and produced $36 worth of the tiny coins.

Fr Gavin said many people simply disregard the smallest Australian coin but the collection had certainly proved their value.

“You always find them lying around in cars, or gathering dust on shelves, or falling out of your pocket on the road,” he said.

“It’s ingenious really, to collect all of these five-cent pieces and put them to a good cause, it’s wonderful.” Although the majority of the money raised has been from fivecent pieces, other coins have also been collected occasionally.

But there have still been almost 100,000 five-cent pieces collected by the parish.

That’s enough coins to make a trail 18 kilometres long.

Fr Gavin said what the parish has achieved by collecting such an incredible amount of money from the smallest denomination has biblical connections.

“It’s like the multiplication of the loaves, you start off with something little and next thing you know there’s 100,000 of these five-cent pieces, it’s wonderful,” he said.

The new church for St Bernadette’s parish will be officially opened on June 8.

For others: Nurses help make a patient comfortable at Mount Carmel House, a home for the dying in New York in this 2006 photo. The Sydney Archdiocese’s Marriage and Family Office has warned against legalising euthanasia under a federal Bill put forward by Greens Senator Bob Brown.

PHOTO: CNS /MIKE CRUPI, CATHOLIC COURIER

the Parish

Morley columbarium a resting place of faith

■ By Anthony Barich

It has been a tradition for centuries for people to desire to be buried near the church where they spent much of their lives.

So when Auxiliary Bishop Donald Sproxton blessed Infant Jesus parish’s new columbarium on March 30 - a wall or series of walls in which the ashes of the cremated faithful are placed after death - and prayer garden, it was especially appropriate.

The word columbarium comes from the Latin word ‘columba’ meaning ‘dove’. More fully, it means a place where doves find rest at night and from the heat of the day.

In sacred Scripture the dove is symbolic of peace. In the Song of Songs, the ‘cooing of the turtledove’ indicates the beginning of spring and new life.

It is appropriate that Infant Jesus parish in Morley have a columbarium and prayer garden, as the parish has been run since 1956 by the Carmelite Friars, an Order that finds its origins and charism in contemplative prayer.

The Carmelite reform was established by St Teresa of Avila in 1562 in Spain. Six years later, St John of the Cross started the first house of the Discalced Carmelite Friars.

The word ‘Carmel’ means ‘Garden of God’, said Fr Paul Maunder OCD, Prior of the

Carmelite Friars’ Archdiocesan House adjacent to Infant Jesus Church. Morley’s eight columbarium walls are named after St Teresa

It’s a ruby 40 years for the well-known Fr Gatt

■ By Paul Calleja

Ahuge crowd of approximately 600 people, nine priests and Archbishop Barry Hickey attended Mass at St Kieran’s Catholic Church in Tuart Hill to celebrate the Ruby Anniversary of Fr Michael Gatt last Sunday.

Papal recognition of Fr Gatt’s achievement came in the form of a special papal blessing from Pope Benedict which was presented to Fr Gatt by Archbishop Hickey.

Mr Red Berson, Principal of St Kieran’s Primary School praised Fr Gatt for his devotion to his work, his sense of humour, warmth, knowledge and his way of imparting this knowledge to children.

He described Fr Gatt as a great friend in adversity, well liked and respected but with simple needs and wants.

Mr Berson said Fr Gatt was one who valued family; nevertheless he has lived most of his life fulfilling his vocation away

from his family in Malta. Parish representative, Mr Dan Hill, paid tribute to Fr Gatt’s life through a DVD presentation produced by parishioner, Derek Peters.

The presentation included scenes from the widely known and respected priest’s life: a Maltese Migrant Chaplain, RAAF Chaplain, Hospital Chaplain, parish priest for six parishes, and his work with the Christmas Help line and holidays in many diverse locations around the world.

The Maltese community also paid tribute to Fr Gatt through messages sent by the Maltese Professional and Business Association and a featured bulletin produced by the Maltese Association of Western Australia.

The St Mary’s Cathedral Singers, under the Direction of Mr Michael Peters, provided the music for the Mass.

Many of the congregation were non Catholics, converts received into the Church through Fr Gatt, former parishioners or friends, many of whom had travelled from rural areas to be present.

of Avila, St John of the Cross and St Paul (in homage to Morley’s original patron saint when located in Walter Road under its first

French Church receives Muslim converts

Between 150 and 200 Muslims convert to Catholicism each year in France, many of them the children of mixed marriages, reported a French daily.

According to the April 2 edition of Le Monde, the topic has been little discussed in recent years. But the Church is now affirming that religious liberty and reciprocity are

parish priest Fr George O’Leary). Its five other walls are named after St Therese of Lisieux, a favourite saint of the parish that hosted her relics; St Francis of Assisi as there are many Italians in the parish; Australia’s first Blessed, Josephite foundress Mary MacKillop; St Vincent de Paul as the Society is strong in Morley; and St Joseph, who has always been honoured in the Carmelite Order. He is also patron saint of the dying.

The columbarium includes a shimmering cross, with rays of the Resurrection glory. “By this cross Christ the Son of God conquered sin and death,” Bishop Sproxton said in blessing the columbarium and garden of prayer and spiritual recollection.

The ashes of four parishioners are already set to be interred in the columbarium, while plaques will be placed in the rose garden for those deceased from other areas who wish to be interred there.

Bishop Sproxton said the old tradition of parishes having columbariums is growing in the Archdiocese of Perth, with Lockridge and Bayswater also having one.

“It is hoped that those who come here will find inner peace in precious moments of solitude and inner communion with God and the saints,” the bishop said.

“May this memorial garden be a place of prayer for the dead and comfort for the living,” he prayed during the blessing.

essential. Bishop Michel Dubost of Evry is a determined participant in the dialogue with Islam. A dozen Muslims are baptised every year in his diocese. This year, one was baptised in private.

Le Monde said the situation of Catholic converts from Muslim is often dire. The majority face misunderstandings from those around them, it reported, and others reproach them for having “disowned their culture.” Some have hidden their conversion from

members of their family. Speaking of Magdi Cristiano Allam’s baptism at Easter by Benedict XVI, Mohammed Christophe Bilek, founder of Notre-Dame-de-Kabylie association, said: “I bless the Pope, who has put his finger there where it hurts... Everyone should be able to be baptised. That flows from human rights.”

In August of 2006, the French daily La Croix reported that some 3,600 people in France convert to Islam every year.

WWW.ZENIT.ORG

Teachers honoured on patron saint’s day

■ By Matthew Biddle

More than 300 teachers gathered on Monday for the annual Breakfast for Staff in Catholic Schools held at Burswood.

The event was held to coincide with the feast day of St John Baptist de la Salle, the patron saint of teachers.

Auxiliary Bishop of Perth, Donald Sproxton, and Monsignor Thomas McDonald also attended the event.

The breakfast provided an opportunity to honour the contributions of almost 100 teachers who had served for 30 years or more in Catholic education.

Although some weren’t present at the event, those who were received a framed certificate in recognition of their long service.

Director of Catholic Education in WA, Ron Dullard, expressed his appreciation of the efforts of all staff members of Catholic schools.

“Your community, the church community and society as a whole benefits from your contributions, so thank you,” he said in his address to the audience.

“This is a very important event on our calendar when we have staff from Catholic schools come together, to share stories and to talk to each other.

“But more importantly, for me,

to be able to thank you and to ask you to go back to your schools and thank the staff members at your school on behalf of the whole of Catholic education.”

St John Baptist de la Salle was born in France in 1651 and dedicated his life to educating the poor and underprivileged youth of his

The La Salle way

time. He began the Brothers of the Christian Schools in 1680 – which were free schools for the poor – and also trained thousands of young people to be teachers.

De la Salle died on Good Friday in 1719, was canonised in 1900 and in 1950 became the universal patron saint of teachers.

“To touch the hearts of the young and to inspire them with the Christian spirit is the greatest miracle you can perform, and it is the one that God asks of you; it is the purpose of your work with the young.”  ST JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE

A La Sallian prayer

In your providence, Lord God, you chose St John Baptist De La Salle, to educate the young in Christian Faith. Raise up, Lord, in the Church of today teachers who will devote themselves wholeheartedly to the human and Christian education of youth. Amen.

 FROM THE MASS FOR THE FEAST

A prayer for teachers

Lord Jesus Christ, imbue me with the knowledge of both secular and religious subjects that is necessary to my task on earth. Let me be equipped with suitable qualifications and also with a pedagogical skill that is in harmony with the discoveries of the contemporary world.

Help me to be closely united with my students by the bond of love, and work in partnership with their parents to stimulate the students to act for themselves.

Even after their graduation, let me continue to assist them with advice and friendship.

Bestow on me an apostolic spirit to bear witness, both by life and by instruction, to the unique Teacher - You, Jesus Christ. Amen.

A benediction: Auxiliary Bishop Donald Sproxton sprinkles holy water over the walls of the new Morley Parish columbarium. A colombarium holds the ashes of the deceased. PHOTO: ANTHONY BARICH

Honour: Archbishop Barry Hickey presents Fr Gatt with a papal blessing.

the Parish

Christ’s proposal won Maureen’s heart

A Perth woman has chosen to live an ancient vocation that is slowly but surely being recovered in the contemporary Church.

■ By Anthony Barich,

Bullied at Catholic primary school, falling into the wrong crowd of friends and sexually abused in her teens, Maureen Togher’s life was spiraling out of control, until Christ pulled her out of the mire.

Binge drinking on weekends was a coping mechanism to escape the pain of rejection; being aggressive and tough protected her.

The turning point was when she was arrested and charged with assault of a police officer (a charge later dropped to abusive language). She spent one night at the lockup in East Perth and realised she did not want to become an alcoholic like her father and end up in prison.

On March 25, however, she found her true vocation, becoming consecrated to a life of virginity for women living in the world.

As Bishop Donald Sproxton told The Record after he celebrated the Mass of her consecration, she is, by her very life, a sign of the power Christ has to make us new again, “to bring us to conversion and to offer the hope of conversion to others”.

“That’s what “consecrated to the Church” means – she is designated as a witness for her faith and the faith of the Church to other people,” he said.

“She’s made a vow to live a chaste life and Christ will give her the strength to do it.”

Bishop Sproxton told The Record that there are only two consecrated virgins in the archdiocese.

“It’s a fairly rare occurrence, a fairly new thing that is being recovered by people as they read about other people in other parts of the world making the same consecration.”

“Maureen had been considering this step for a considerable amount of time … she undertakes, through consecration, to live the celibate life and to serve the world through that particular consecration. She has also taken a promise to pray the prayer of the church, which is the

divine office.” Once upon a time, Maureen, now 45, was “a rebel”, as she describes it; she was baptised shortly after birth at Infant Jesus Church in Morley but fell away, like so many others, after finishing high school.

But for Maureen, it was more than just teenage apathy. What was supposed to be routine surgery on her kneecap as a teen did not work and she spent three years learning how to walk again, and was angry with the world and God.

At age 18 she was on a disability pension. She gradually gained weight as her knee deteriorated. Finally deciding to do something active she took up what she could with her injury – pool – and became a gun, rising to the number two ranking in Australia.

She practically lived in pubs for 20 years, working in the TAB and became addicted to gambling, especially the horses. She grew to hate her life surrounded by alcoholics, druggies and bikies, but it was the only world she knew, where everyone was familiar.

She befriended bikie gangs in these pubs but when a publican knocked her unconscious one day it reflected the world she was living in, and she wanted out.

Through all that time belief in God was there, but stagnant; she only called on Him when she needed something.

“He was a distant God, not a personal God,” she now reflects.

She got out and started work as a public servant. Her career was looking bright at age 38, but just when she was getting her life back on track, her mother suffered debilitating knee injuries and her father got prostate cancer.

As her brother was estranged and her sister was disabled, she became a carer, and her father’s illness in particular got her thinking about the value of life.

The day she celebrated her 41st birthday, she went to a Riverview church session with a friend, having been drinking and smoking pot.

Even so, she knew she wanted to know more about the Holy Spirit. Riverview leaders asked those who wanted the Holy Spirit to come into her lives to stand up. “Why not”?

She thought…“can’t hurt.”

She joined their Bible study course and found herself asking “Catholic questions”, like mentioning the Eucharist when they spoke about the Last Supper.

They didn’t like that, she said. She realised there was a Truth to be known and experienced, and she craved it. She returned to her local Catholic church in Morley, partly also through the friendship of Clare Pike, the founder of the Respect Life Office, the Archdiocesan prolife resource centre, which was just over the fence from her house, and also next door to Infant Jesus.

Clare became her confidant and, observing Clare’s life which replicated in many ways the “life of the Religious” – daily Mass, confession and adoration – she followed in Clare’s footsteps.

This association led her to Fr Don Kettle, then-Catholic Youth Ministry director, who became her spiritual director, along with Franciscan Friar of the Immaculate Fr John Joseph, who concelebrated her consecration Mass. Once she watched The Passion of the Christ movie, she knew she was on the right path.

“People talk about its violence, but that was nothing to me – I lived that violent life. To me, it was simply about a mother losing her only child. It was a story about love.”

Finally, she confessed 25 years of sins to Fr David Watt and she was back “in the fold”. Reading the life

of St Teresa of Avila, who was “spiritually attacked” by Satan, Maureen realised that she had undergone similar attacks in her life and she thought God was calling her to be a religious sister.

But with her age and disability, she discerned that her vocation was being a carer, and that was how she could continue to strive for union with the Triune God.

Four years of discernment led Maureen to the path of hearing God offer himself to her as her Groom and her Fiat was to accept the proposal as Consecrated Virgin living in the World.

Reclaiming her “spiritual Virginity”, is where she would find true happiness, married to Christ, in the mystical sense here on earth. She even had a veil of flowers at her consecration ceremony with a brown shirt, symbolising the Carmelites – St Teresa of Avila’s Order – the Priests and Brother who played such an important role in her life at Infant Jesus Morley parish.

Now, she hungers

only to be “intimate with God”, through the Sacraments of the Church. “To me, they are the greatest gifts God gives us,” she says.

“If you’re using the Sacraments with the right intention – doing everything out of love for God – and read His word meditatively – the more grace you will be given to live the life He wants you to live, no matter what that life is.”

“Life in the Church is not about ritual, it’s about the intention of the heart.”

“Doing things without complaining is a sacrifice of love. It’s trusting and surrendering to God, letting Him direct it by doing everything with love.”

Mater Dei College community celebrates Foundation Day

Students at Mater Dei College, Edgewater, celebrated their Foundation Day on Monday, March 31 in grand style.

Beginning with a College Mass in honour of Mary, the Mother of God, patroness of the College, celebrated by Fr Kenneth Osaba, Chaplain at Edith Cowan University, students gave thanks for all the gifts they have received.

A further focus was the contribution of the World Youth Day participants

The liturgy was followed by House activities and stalls,

the proceeds of which, some $6,000 in all will be allocated among the many charitable works which the College supports. Included in this outreach are Lifelink, Project Compassion, the Marist Brothers in Honiara, and the Benedictine Sisters in Africa.

After lunch students were able to choose between a Concert by the Rock Band ‘Sugar Army’; a football match between the College 1st XVIII and Clontarf Football Academy; the Mater Dei Idol Talent Quest and an Amazing Race.

A vow: Perth Auxiliary Bishop Donald Sproxton prays over Maureen Togher as he receives her vows as a Consecrated Virgin living in the World. Bishop Sproxton told The Record that while the vocation is reasonably rare, it is being recovered once again as people read about others who have discerned a vocation to their lives consecrated in this way. PHOTO: ANTHONY BARICH

the Nation

Youth ministry study offers ‘exciting’ possibilities

Churches know they are doing badly attracting or retaining young people. Can they learn anything from a new study carried out by the Australian Catholic University?

■ By Paul Gray

Differences have emerged between Catholic and non-Catholic approaches to youth ministry in a study by Australian Catholic University.

While many Catholic youth groups are run on a “top-down” model – where activities for youth are decided by grown-ups – other churches such as the Anglicans and Churches of Christ run their youth programs according to a “bottomup” model, says the university’s Professor Ruth Webber.

The differences seem to reflect different ways of thinking about the purposes of youth ministry, Prof Webber said in an interview.

A cross-denominational study called “Engagement of Youth in Churches” has been compiled by psychologists and sociologists under the leadership of Prof Webber.

Dr Marie Joyce and Mr Arrigo Dorissa from ACU were also involved in the project.

The purpose of the study was to find out reasons for the success of those youth programs which do succeed in maintaining a connection between young people and their church, Prof Webber told The Record.

This meant that the study had a different approach to other reports which focus more on the reasons why youth are leaving churches.

A small group of Catholic secondary schools and a deanery of the Archdiocese of Melbourne were involved in commissioning the study.

The group was concerned for the welfare of young people who are not linked in to youth ministry programs, and also wanted to be informed about what is happening youth ministry across other denominations as well as the Catholic Church, Prof Webber said.

They also wanted to know what could be done to encourage young people to stay connected to church life. Prof Webber’s study was based

on interviews with a wide range of youth ministry workers and leaders over a period of several months.

It uncovered a large number of youth ministry “models” in use around the churches, from the “social justice” model to the “liturgical initiation” model.

Social justice youth groups included such activities as building a well for poor people in the Philippines – a project requiring long-range planning, training and commitment from the participants.

Another “social justice” type group had been established in an urban area with high rates of imprisonment and homelessness. This group set up panel-beating

and mechanics’ training for young people.

By contrast, an Anglican Church set up two different youth groups: one was a choir for young people who wanted to learn singing in Latin, while the other focused on meditation to help reduce the stress from exams.

What all the groups had in common was that they started from the particular interests and wishes of young people in the group, rather than from church elders.

Prof Webber said this was a common theme amongst the nonCatholic churches, all of whom thought “you shouldn’t have an idea about a set program” for young people.

All churches were also agreed there was little point in conducting youth ministry that was purely designed to provide “fun” for young people.

While Catholic Church youth groups were strongly focused on participation in the liturgical life of the Church, this was another point of difference with the non-Catholic groups.

Non-Catholic denominations held the view that many young people who are involved in youth min-

Minister can’t say on website bans

■ By Paul Gray

A senior federal government figure with responsibility for multiculturalism says he is “disgusted” by the existence of websites promoting anti-semitic and racist hatred, but can’t predict whether the government will move to ban them.

Laurie Ferguson, who is the parliamentary secretary for Multicultural Affairs and Settlement Services, was responding to calls from a Jewish antidefamation group for the outlawing of websites that spread racial and religious vilification.

The B’nai B’rith Anti-defamation Commission said last week that Australia’s commitment to

enhancing multiculturalism and combating racism requires strong action to combat internet sites engaged in racial vilification.

“We have laws banning race hatred and we have laws for certain kinds of violent and pornographic material on the internet but we have no system to police race hatred on the internet,” said the Commission’s chairman John Searle.

“It’s inconsistent and leads to the abuse of minorities.”

The Commission had released details from several so-called “mission islam” websites which claimed Jews have distinctive characteristics such as liking to “spread mischief and corruption.” The sites said Jews “are people of indignity, disobedience

and transgression.” The websites also published as true a notorious Czarist-era forgery alleging an international Jewish conspiracy, the “Protocols of the Elders of Zion.”

Asked for the likelihood of government action against the websites, Mr Ferguson told The Record he was concerned, and “more than concerned, quite frankly, disgusted,” by the sites in question.

But he could not predict the course of the Government’s decision-making on the issue as it lay within the provinces of the Commonwealth Attorney-General and of the Communications Minister, and he could not foresee their actions.

centres. Prof Webber did not wish to praise one denomination over another, but said she was impressed by the “highly professionalised” approach shown by the Anglicans, Uniting Church and the Churches of Christ.

She said the central youth workers in these churches brought training manuals with them and used systematic approaches based on schemes such as the “40 Assets” program for healthy adolescent development.

“40 Assets” is a system devised by the Search Institute in the United States which aims to encourage resilience in youths aged 12-18 by developing “assets” in eight different categories such as support, empowerment, positive values and “social competencies,” including planning and decision-making and friendship skills.

Another impressive feature of the work being done in the three denominations is the efficient use of central databases, Prof Webber said. This enables newly established youth groups to link up with other groups which might be in nearby locations, or have similar interests and activities.

istry programs will not necessarily attend church as well, Prof Webber said. Their expectation was that young people from the group may attend church when the whole group goes to church, but are often unlikely to come on their own.

However, Prof Webber said this was not a counsel of despair. Rather, the philosophy of the non-Catholic groups was that it will be great if the kids come to church, but even if they don’t, they want them to stay connected to the church youth group so that there will a future link which might be activated in later years.

Another typical difference between the Catholic and nonCatholic youth ministry lies in central planning and co-ordination at the diocesan level, Prof Webber says.

There was a strong central role for professionals in each of the nonCatholic denominations, the study found. Often the central diocesan office had four or five youth workers who would go out and help set up groups on request.

In the Catholic system, by contrast, diocesan youth ministry offices acted more as advice and referral

In brief Lucre brings happiness

New research shows spending as little as $5 a day on someone else could significantly boost a person’s happiness.

A team from the University of British Columbia and Harvard Business School wanted to test their theory that “how people spend their money is at least as important as how much money they earn,” says psychologist Elizabeth Dunn.

They asked their 600 volunteers first to rate their general happiness, report their annual income and detail their monthly spending including bills, gifts for themselves, gifts for others and

Some of the problems the Webber study encountered within denominations included “demarcation issues,” where people from one church did not want their young people to be “poached” by youth groups from other churches.

She said it helps when a school can be connected with a youth group. This need not be a religious school.

In some cases there have been highly successful Christian youth groups set up in association with a local high school, particularly in rural areas. For example, in one town, a newly arrived Anglican minister established an after-school group for primary students.

He then found there were 20 or more high school students with nothing to do who would “hang around” outside during the sessions. In collaboration with other local churches, the minister then established a secondary school group as well.

Prof Webber says she began the study with a “low and depressed heart” about the future of youth ministry.

But through the study, she has become excited by what is actually happening, and by “what’s possible.”

donations to charity. “Regardless of how much income each person made, those who spent money on others reported greater happiness, while those who spent more on themselves did not,” said Dunn.

In another part of the study her team surveyed 16 employees at a Boston company before and after they received a bonus of between $3000 and $8000, and found that those who devoted more of the bonus to “pro-social” spending were happier.

Again, volunteers given $5 or $20 with instructions to spend it either on themselves or on others were happier if they spent it on someone or something other than themselves.

The researchers say the study may explain why, “although real incomes have surged … happiness levels have remained largely flat within developed countries”.

Full of life: Young people with beads and parasols make an entrance into a regional meeting of the National Catholic Youth Conference in the US in this 2005 photo. A new study reveals, in part, differences between the ways Catholic and non-Catholic organisations conduct youth ministry.

PHOTO: CNS/US NATIONAL FEDERATION FOR CATHOLIC YOUTH MINISTRY

Professor Ruth Webber

Remoteness obscures tragedy of outback abuses

The collapse of morals is causing problems everywhere, not only in Aboriginal communities, and is nationwide, a medic who has worked with Aboriginal communities for many years tells The Record.

■ By Paul Gray

A nationwide crisis in family and social values is engulfing Aboriginal children, as new evidence emerges of the prostitution of teenage girls in remote indigenous communities in the Northern Territory.

A north Queensland doctor who has worked for years in remote communities, Dr Lara Wieland, told The Record last week that she believes the collapse of social norms and morals is causing problems in all societies, not just Aboriginal ones.

But because of the obvious problems of dysfunction in remote Aboriginal communities, the problem is showing up most dramatically there.

Dr Wieland’s comments come in the wake of new allegations in the media last week that a rampant sex

trade in Nhulunbuy in the Northern Territory is continuing unabated.

This is despite a much-hyped multi-million dollar intervention by the Federal Government into the Territory’s remote indigenous communities last year.

Melbourne’s Age newspaper said Aboriginal girls between 12 and 15 are being prostituted in exchange for alcohol, cash, taxi-rides and other goods, and that Aboriginal leaders at Nhulunbuy have reportedly asked police to investigate a group of men they say have been abusing girls for years.

Among those who are angriest about the alleged sex trade is respected elder Galarrwuy Yunupingu, the former Australian of the Year and leader of the Northern Land Council.

“Everybody here knows what has been going on and the time has come for us to put an end to this once and for all,” Mr Yunupingu told the newspaper.

He said there were seven young girls at Nhulunbuy who are ready to give evidence to police.

Dr Lara Wieland, who has worked for eight years with indigenous people around Cape York peninsula in Queensland, is a commentator with close working knowledge of problems of abuse and dysfunction in remote Aboriginal communities

In the case of these latest reports from the Northern Territory, Dr Wieland told The Record, we are

seeing white Australian men who are probably “average working guys” – and not necessarily participants in an evil pedophile ring – who are “buying sex off young girls.”

“Then you have young Aboriginal girls who are probably vulnerable to these things because of their addictions and trauma and family and social breakdown in their communities,” she said.

Dr Wieland said this sort of phenomenon is becoming more widespread.

She said she suspects that across Australia, more white girls who are vulnerable because of dysfunctional backgrounds are also becoming involved in this kind of prostitution “trade.”

However, because of the particular problems of Aboriginal communities, the phenomenon is coming to light more regularly there than elsewhere, Dr Wieland suggests.

“Perhaps there are just more Aboriginal girls in this category in these places.”

Dr Wieland says she thinks the breakdown of family and moral standards, and an increase in “socalled freedoms” in these areas have “led us all down a destructive path.”

She adds: “I actually think that some Aboriginal people recognise this more than we do.”

In February, Dr Wieland called for Australia to “break the cycle of dysfunction” afflicting Aboriginal

people. She said during her years of working in the outback she has witnessed a rapid and tragic decline in the environment that Aboriginal children live in.

She described regular acts of sodomy and other sexual abuses perpetrated on young children by older ones, the widespread use of pornography and a prevalence of sexually transmitted disease.

Dr Wieland said there is little concept of what most Australians would consider “good parenting,” in most households in these communities.

Children are regularly not fed or cared for properly, and that parents who were abused themselves as children now abuse their own, apparently unaware of the wrongness of their actions.

She said these problems were compounded by illiteracy and poor levels of education.

Meanwhile a report put out last week by the Centre for Independent Studies in Sydney also highlighted woeful shortcomings in education for remote Aboriginal communities in the Northern Territory.

The report claimed that most indigenous primary school leavers, particularly in remote areas, are only at Year 1 level, and their schooling has effectively not been extended to secondary school.

The paper’s author, Prof Helen Hughes, says ineffective curriculums and poor teaching have led

to many Aboriginal students sitting in school for years without learning anything. She says the Territory’s Aboriginal schools, known as Learning Centres and Community Education Centres, frequently include secondary classes but most have not been equipped to the standard of modern primary schools.

The Centres frequently lack ablution blocks and electricity connections, have inadequate classroom space and lack teaching equipment and materials such as books, paper and writing and drawing materials, Prof Hughes reports.

The study, titled Indigenous Education in the Northern Territory, says the Learning Centres do not follow mainstream curriculums and children are initially taught in a vernacular language.

“Elementary addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division drills are not taught in maths classes. Children are not being taught history, geography or science.”

Prof Hughes also says Aboriginal schools rely heavily on teachers’ aides who are not articulate or literate in English and lack the qualifications to be an Assistant Teacher.

“These Teachers’ Aides are supported by qualified teachers who drive in or fly in to communities.

“This inefficient system benefits Homeland Association management as the teachers’ airfares are a source of income.”

Sports clubs back

Catholic drugrunner’s family

A Brisbane Catholic parish has been joined by a local under-70s touch football team and an over-35s rugby team, the Bullfrogs, in giving financial support to the parents of convicted Bali Nine drug mule Scott Rush to be with their son in Indonesia.

Rush’s mother Christine told a Good Friday prayer vigil at Christ the King church in Brisbane that her son’s time on death row is a period of “mental torture.”

Scott Rush, who was 19 at the time of his arrest, was a challenging teenager, said his mother. The parents opposed their son going to Bali and had informed police, Mrs Rush said.

“We had found out from a travel agent who called to tell him to pick up his plane ticket. We rang to say not to give him the ticket. This was not possible because of the privacy act.” Mrs Rush’s testimony was published by the Catholic Leader

Youth Day bishop urges mature to get involved

The bishop co-ordinating World Youth Day has appealed to older Australians to act as volunteers during the week-long event. “World Youth Day presents an opportunity like no other to inspire our younger generation,” Bishop Anthony Fisher said.

“In sharing their own wisdom and life experiences mature age Australians have a valuable contribution to make towards inspiring greater peace, compassion and understanding in young people.”

The bishop asked older Australians to pray for World Youth Day and the young people participating, and to support initiatives including sponsoring a loved one to attend, or to sponsor a pilgrim from Oceania or a remote Australian indigenous community through the pilgrim partnership support program.

Newcastle smokes over ecumenical agreement

More than 1000 people have attended the signing of an agreement between the Anglican and Catholic Churches in the NSW city of Newcastle. Catholic bishops Michael Malone and David Walker (dioceses of Maitland-Newcastle and Broken Bay) and Anglican bishops Brian Farran and Graeme Rutherford (diocese of Newcastle) led the ceremony. The event took place in Newcastle’s Christ Church Anglican Cathedral. Local Aboriginal elders also participated, with the congregation being called to prayer by the sound of the didgeridoo. A smoking ceremony followed. The bishops then signed a covenant which commits the Anglican and Catholic dioceses to a series of joint initiatives ranging from an annual bishops’ dialogue to the exploration of the possibilities for the sharing of church resources.

Let teens sleep in: Catholic principal

The principal of Edmund Rice College in Wollongong in NSW, a Catholic secondary school, has supported an academic’s call to start the school day later because of the sleeping patterns of teenagers. Young people do not just choose to play on the internet late at night, says Swinburne University academic Dr Greg Murray: “Our findings strongly suggest that if you took all that away, they’d be sitting on their beds twiddling their thumbs in extreme cases until 1am.” Since 1991, Edmund Rice College in Wollongong has allowed Year 11 and 12 students to start at 11.45am and finish at 5pm. “My feeling was the later start suited more of the older boys,” principal David Lear told the Sydney Morning Herald

Benedict XVI likely to address provocative themes during US visit

■ By John Thavis

VATICAN CITY (CNS)People speculating on what Pope Benedict XVI will say in the United States in April would do well to look at what he said at the Vatican on Palm Sunday.

In a sermon that lasted less than 15 minutes, the Pope touched on several important themes of his pontificate - themes that are likely to form the core of his pastoral message in the United States.

Naturally, the pPcific audiences, including educators, priests and seminarians, young people and bishops.

But rather than a laundry list of specific problems and solutions, his listeners in Washington and New York are apt to hear carefully reasoned arguments about the foundational values of Christianity.

On Palm Sunday, the pope posed a blunt question, one that caught people’s attention: “Is our faith pure and open enough?”

More questions quickly followed: Is the faith of today’s Christians pure enough to attract other spiritual seekers? Do modern Christians recognise that “greed is idolatry,” and is this awareness reflected in their lifestyles? Are Christians willing to let their own lives be radically shaped by Christ? The Pope’s

Prayer for Jews is ‘not a step back’

VATICAN CITY (CNS)- Pope Benedict XVI’s revised prayer for the Jews for use in the Tridentine-rite Good Friday liturgy does not indicate any form of stepping back from the teaching of the Second Vatican Council, the Vatican said.

“The new formulation of the prayer, which modifies certain expressions of the 1962 Missal, in no way intends to indicate a change in the Catholic Church’s regard for the Jews, which has evolved from the basis of the Second Vatican Council,” said an April 4 Vatican statement.

In early February, the Vatican published Pope Benedict’s revision of the Good Friday prayer, which is used only in the liturgy celebrated according to the Tridentine rite.

The new prayer removed language referring to the “blindness” of the Jews, but it prays that Jews will recognise Jesus, the saviour, and that “all Israel may be saved.”

The statement said some members of the Jewish community felt the new prayer was “not in harmony with the official declarations and statements of the Holy See regarding the Jewish people and their faith which have marked the progress of friendly relations between the Jews and the Catholic Church over the last 40 years.”

In particular, some Jews, and some Catholics, felt the prayer contained an explicit call to attempt to convert Jews to Christianity.

words echoed a famous Good Friday meditation he wrote in 2005, a few weeks before his election, when he acknowledged the failings of Christians and characterized the church as a boat “taking in water on every side.”

This call to self-examination in light of the Gospel is high on the pope’s pastoral agenda. It’s not about “Catholic identity” imposed from the outside, and it’s not about following rules; it’s about provoking people to reflect on what it means to follow Christ.

That led to the second point in his Palm Sunday sermon: that Jesus must be correctly understood by Christians today.

“He does not come as a destroyer. He does not come with the sword of a revolutionary. He comes with the gift of healing,” the Pope said.

“He dedicates himself to those who because of their frailty are pushed to extreme situations in their own lives and to the margins of society,” he said.

The appeal to meet the real Jesus is often the centre of Pope Benedict’s major homilies.

He wrote a book last year because he was convinced that the identity of Jesus, human and divine, was falling out of focus.

Even for Christians, he wrote, “intimate friendship with Jesus, on which everything depends, is

in danger of clutching at thin air.”

The Pope’s sermon continued to another of his hallmark themes: that Jesus reveals God as one who loves, and “his power as the power of love.”

It follows that healing and serving others always will be part of the proper worship of God, he said.

God Is Love was the title of the Pope’s first encyclical. No doubt many Americans have heard the phrase, but probably far fewer understand what it means. The answer is not complex, and the pope will no doubt enunciate it in April: that Christianity’s central mission is to help people accept God’s love and share it in their daily lives.

A final theme of the Palm Sunday sermon, perhaps the most urgent in the Pope’s view, is the tendency for modern men and women to push God out of the picture, “as if God were our competitor.”

The Pope sees this as the ultimate form of pride, one that poses real dangers in an era of scientific and technological progress.

“Isn’t this precisely the logic of the modern age, of our age? Let us declare that God is dead, then we ourselves will be God,” he wrote in his book, “Jesus of Nazareth.”

The exclusion of God from personal and social life, the pope

has argued, inevitably leads to the idea that “we ourselves are our only measure.” The resulting problems, he said, already can be seen, and include widespread alienation and unhappiness, diminished respect for human life, and environmental irresponsibility.

This is the bread and butter of Pope Benedict’s teaching ministry.

He relies heavily and creatively on Scripture, convinced that New Testament parables and Old Testament lessons can speak to the modern human condition.

He explores the relationship between truth and freedom in terms that are designed to be provocative, because he believes the faith should prod and challenge people. As he once said, the church should be teaching people that it’s not enough to be and think “more or less like everyone else.”

And he always draws these prescriptions back to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

As he said during his last foreign trip, to Austria in September, Christianity is “more than and different from a moral code, from a series of requirements and laws. It is the gift of friendship that lasts through life and death.”

The Pope’s U.S. audiences will no doubt hear a similar exploration of the roots of the faith.

Perspectives

letters to the editor

And then there was Saul

The secular press recently carried news articles and letters to the editor about the Resurrection.

The Anglican Church’s interpretation of the event depended on which side of the divide one sat – liberal or orthodox.

The orthodox took a literal understanding based on the New Testament accounts, whilst the liberals argued that it would be wrong to demand a specific interpretation of the resurrection, such as the physical reanimation of Jesus’ body and that the Bible should not be taken as an exact account of Jesus’ life and death.

I can imagine some Catholics too may be inclined to agree, that it can fairly be argued that the liberal position is a more plausible one.

Possibly, but I don’t think so.

Jesus’ gross body died on the cross and it was his subtle body that made its appearances.

Thankyou Mr O’Brien

What a beautiful photo WYD on March 18 from Jamie O’Brien and his sister but even more uplifting his edifying reply to journalist Mike O’Connor.

How wonderful to read such enthusiastic and heartfelt words of wisdom on how it is possible for young people to be fulfilled without dependence on the use of drugs, alcohol and sex.

Even to non-believers, Jamie’s points about WYD’s positive effect on the economy and the saving of taxpayer money if young people could only hear what is on offer - the love and dignity offered from Christ and His Church - must surely show its relevance.

It will be interesting to see if Mike takes up Jamie’s challenge. Let’s hope Jamie can contribute some follow up articles on WYD, maybe even in the Courier Mail!

Mary Burke Ferndale

Because his resurrected body was outside space and time, he was able to make appearances inside space and time.

This, to me, explains his “appearances” to the disciples who were gathered behind locked doors for fear of the Jews in a physical manner; likewise to the men on the road to Emmaus and the breaking of the bread, after which he “disappeared” and the eating of fish on the sea shore with the disciples.

To doubt the resurrection is perfectly understandable as Thomas did by insisting he place his hand in Jesus’s side.

That powerful incident must have opened the minds of other sceptics who must have stood around Thomas.

They might have previously taken the view that if it cannot

be seen then it is not true; which lead Jesus to reply to Thomas and to leave it extant for all posterity: “Blessed are those who do not see and yet believe.”

In this case, Thomas’ hypothesis would have satisfied the rigours of scientific scrutiny, given it was measurable, observable and repeatable.

By all means one is free to believe or disbelieve in the resurrection either totally or partially or in varying degrees in between; as did a man named Saul, later Paul, who not only totally disbelieved but also persecuted Christians and who, ironically, became the greatest messenger of Christianity besides Jesus Christ himself.

Tom Pavey Jandakot

Higher Education with Dr Clare Johnson - page 13

Mysterious ways

Derek Calunsag

Iwas born in the Philippines. My family migrated to New Zealand when I was 9 years old and we stayed there for five years. Then we migrated to Australia. I spoke very little English. Just words like, “Hello.” Now I am 21 and an apprentice chef at the Subiaco Hotel. It’s a four year apprenticeship and I am in my third year.

How I Pray Now

When I am at work I pray as I get nervous before functions. I say a short prayer like, “Dear God, please help me get through.” It comes really naturally to me. I also pray that there will be no mistakes by my colleagues. Hopefully at the end of the night we will go home happy. God will provide and He works in mysterious ways. Even if it doesn’t go according to plan sometimes, you still thank God because you know that He is there in the good and the bad.

with Debbie Warrier

I pray for the usual intentions, like family and friends. I also ask God for forgiveness. My faith brings me closer to God. I go to church weekly and pray every night. I pray in the car so I don’t get lost! I thank God each day when I wake up in the morning for the life I lead now. I am so grateful for all the good things that happen to me because of God. I thank God for the people who help me. Many times when a person comes up to help you, it’s not about luck. God is there.

The number one influence on my faith would be my parents. Number two would be the Missionaries of Charity nuns. The order was originally started by Mother Teresa of Calcutta. The nuns were my neighbours and gave a talk at my high school, St Norbert’s College. I was seventeen years old at the time and I was attracted to them. I asked my RE teacher for their contact number. I contacted them and have worked for them for a few years now.

Every Wednesday I go with the sisters to the city. We provide coffee, juice, biscuits and bread to unfortunate people or just people who pass by. I started going because I wanted to see what the people in the street are like. The sisters taught me that the work we do is about mingling and socialising with these people. To share stories about what happens in their daily life. I share stories about myself with them too.

The funny thing is most of the time we talk about faith. The sisters will talk about how good God is and how they have accepted God in their life. When I first came there I spoke to a young lady. She was just like a normal teenager. She was saying how good the sisters were to her and if there was one thing she could change it would be her attitude in life. She accepted God in her life and there was that glimmer of hope. I am really inspired by the street people. They open up to me.

I think that Mother Teresa said, “Love is faith in action.” The Missionaries of Charity nuns have opened my eyes to the people on the streets. They’ve taught me to see them with the eyes of God.

debwarrier@hotmail.com

April 9 2008

Vista Perth’s man for all migrants

As Perth’s former Episcopal Vicar for Migrants, Fr Anthony Paganoni, prepared to depart for Adelaide, Sylvia Defendi reflected on the legacy he leaves.

Surrounded by 1950’s communist ideology, a young Anthony Paganoni was advised by his father that should he decide to enter the priesthood he should make it his mission to ‘think first of the people, especially the working class and the migrants.’

And while many years have passed since those formative years in Bergamo, Italy, the now Fr Paganoni has certainly held his father’s advice very dear.

Many would have encountered the missionary priest serving the Italian community in Morley and Leederville, where he said weekly Mass; the Spanish community, who relied on him for Mass at St Brigid’s in Northbridge; or the countless others with whom he openly shared an insightful conversation or two.

In fact, aside from his pastoral duties to all Catholic ethnic communities of Perth, Fr Paganoni was known for his zealous academic interests in the social and spiritual effects of migration.

He published two books on the subject, countless articles in foreign journals and even a few series in The Record

“Study for mission and mission for study,” he would say.

And yet, for all those he would have left a mark on, very few would know the man himself who modelled his ministry on a favourite Latin quote calling the faithful to live their faith through actions, values and morals.

The genuine relationships he was able to forge with academics, youth, people of ethnic origins, Perth locals and many non-believers, were a testimony to his ability to live his faith in a non-threatening manner.

All this from a man, who describes his ‘calling’ to the priesthood as more a matter of circumstances than a ‘so called decision.’

As a young man of 16, Fr Paganoni attended a monthlong session at the local Scalabrinian seminary with a few other youth from the Italian town.

Having enjoyed his stay, he accepted the open invitation to continue, only to realise the difficulty of study and semi-

nary life. Seminary educators decided he lacked discipline and told his brother not to bring him back to the seminary after the holidays had ended.

“It’s important for the Church in Australia to understand and accept the gifts migrants bring to best turn this social phenomenon into an opportunity for enrichment.”

However, not knowing the seminary did not intend for him to return, Fr Paganoni made his way back at the conclusion of the holiday break. “Who knows what the superiors were thinking when I returned,” he now chuckles.

Later relishing the academic instruction and discipline of mind the seminary fostered, Fr Paganoni never regretted his decision to persevere towards ordination.

It was at the seminary that he developed a strong appreciation for his order’s founder Blessed John Baptist Scalabrini, a late 1800’s Italian bishop. “He is the embodiment of the best people the Church can produce. “He was very zealous, very committed to the cause of

migrants and a great communicator. “He was a bishop very much in touch with his own people and because of this had first-hand experience of the migration of people from his town to various parts of the world,” Fr Paganoni said.

But it was Scalabrini’s foresight and vision at a time when many lamented the exodus of the faithful, which really spiked Fr Paganoni’s admiration.

Scalabrini managed to see that in their own illiterate way those migrants would replace and reinstate Catholicism all over the world - a realisation Fr Paganoni has been focused on to this day with his work in the Australian Church.

“Statistics indicate that in terms of Church participation Catholics born overseas are leading the locally born-andbred by 21%,” he said.

And his work over the years within a host of nationalities has led Fr Paganoni to believe that the Church in Australia will become increasingly spiritually diversified with the experiences, cultures and spirituality migrants will continue to bring.

“It’s important for the Church in Australia to understand and accept the gifts migrants bring to best turn this social phenomenon into an opportunity for enrichment,” he said.

And he should know, his experience with migrants spans over 40 years - from a tumultuous New York in the early sixties, Britain in the late

sixties, Melbourne through the seventies and a changing Philippines throughout the eighties.

He witnessed the end of the Marcos era while living in the Philippines, and the peaceful revolution that followed in 1985, when two million Filipinos with Rosaries in hand halted soldiers.

Perhaps, as Fr Paganoni declares, there is too much of a focus on a slow and unavoidable decline in Church attendance, while a quiet resurgence is bubbling in the lay movements of the Church.

“The vibrancy that we don’t experience in parish life we experience through the lay movements,” he said.

And he is not the only one to have thought so, with the Pope declaring lay movements the ‘engine’ of the Church.

After five years in Perth, Fr Paganoni says he finds it difficult being transferred – always knowing well what he is leaving behind and not very much about where he is going.

“Leaving Perth will be particularly difficult because the Italian community remains a bit unattended and I’ll be leaving behind many friends,” he said.

No doubt Fr Paganoni will be bringing this life-time of study, friendship and mission to better involve the rich spiritualities of migrants, to the Church in Adelaide.

Those who had the pleasure to meet him in Perth, are just glad he managed to share some of it with them.

On a mission: Scalabrinian Fr Anthony Paganoni, formerly Perth’s Episcopal Vical for Migrants, left Perth on March 30 and now works from Adelaide. PHOTO: SYLVIA DEFENDI

WA students prepare for Days in the Diocese - Vista 2-3

Friars and volunteers seek help to keep G

Innovative radio show needs your support to stay on air

■ By Matthew Biddle

The only Catholic radio program broadcast in WA is in desperate need of funds as it struggles to remain on the airwaves.

The Gate of Heaven program requires $5000 each financial year to stay on the air – a target which is looking increasingly hard to reach.

With just three months remaining until the June 30 deadline, only $2000 has been raised.

Produced by the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate, the show is broadcast on Radio Fremantle 107.9FM every Sunday at 7.30pm until 9pm.

Program host Father John Joseph said it’s the first time the show had faced such a grave crisis.

“We’re coming to that point now – so we’ve been telling the people that we really need their support,” he said.

“It manages to survive by Divine Providence. We did have a major benefactor for most of the time that I’ve been here, but that major benefactor has since passed away.

“As long as we can afford to keep doing it, we’ll keep doing it.” Unlike most other programs on the station, Gate

of Heaven receives no external funding, forcing the Friars to beg for donations to keep the show going.

“We’re paying the full rate, they may be paying half or less,” Fr John Joseph said.

“Some of them open themselves up to commercial support … whereas we don’t, we’re not commercial, we just beg.”

The program has survived for more than five years on the back of donations from generous listeners and the help of several volunteers who assist the Friars.

Two such volunteers are Paul and Michele Carter, who assist in the show’s production.

Both are third-order Franciscans, who take on a religious name but continue to live as lay people in the world following the Franciscan way of life and observing a Marian vow of unlimited consecration to the Immaculate.

Mrs Carter (Sister Therese) presents most of the announcements on the show, while Mr Carter (Brother Joseph) works the control board with Friar Cyprian.

Sr Therese and Br Joseph have been involved in the program since it started in early 2003, when it replaced Raymond de Souza’s show, The Layman’s Hour, on Radio Fremantle.

The first program broadcast was a humorous occasion which became etched in the memory of all involved.

“There was a lady who was trying to help out because it

was the first show and they were not familiar with the radio controls and buttons,” Fr John Joseph explained.

“She knew what she was doing but she made a few mistakes … so what happened was the instructions as they were being given were actu-

ally live on air because the lady had forgotten to turn off the microphone. “One of the friars wanted to call the radio program and say ‘What are you doing?’”

The Gate of Heaven program usually consists of a one-hour broadcast of mate-

rial from the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN), followed by a half-hour live segment in which Fr John Joseph discusses specific topics. “Some of our material is also from the Fulton J. Sheen Society … and we have some of our own material that we’ve

got from our radio program in the States,” Fr John Joseph said. “If we didn’t have access to the EWTN stuff, we wouldn’t have enough material … that’s one of the great graces of EWTN – it’s made Catholic radio and television

WA schools band together as Days in the Dioces

100 Days until ‘Days in the Diocese’

Around the whole state of WA Catholic schools were hosting a World Youth Day (WYD) liturgy to mark the countdown to WYD08.

In solidarity together at 9am on March 28, both Primary schools and High schools celebrated a Mass or prayer service to pray for the success of WYD. Each school was encouraged to create a banner which will

be sewn together as a large mural to be displayed at the Perth Days in the Diocese events which will host the international pilgrims on their way to Sydney. March 28 marked 100 days until the Perth ‘Days in the Diocese’.

Mercedes College had 780 students parade down Hay St in the city to gather with another 1,200 Trinity College students for a combined Mass which was presided by Bishop Don Sproxton. The message shared by Bishop Sproxton is that WYD

is not just for the 2,500 pilgrims travelling to WYD from Perth, but it is an event to be celebrated by the whole Catholic Community including all of Perth. There are many ways locals will be engaged by the coming event. The WYD Cross and Icon, which is like the Olympic torch for WYD, will arrive in WA on the May 21 and will travel throughout the state for 4 weeks.

The events to follow will include a large scale ‘Youth Festival’ on the Esplanade

on July 10 and a Closing Ceremony and Commissioning Mass on July 12 as part of Days in the Diocese.

On March 28 a number of the other 158 Catholic schools gathered in their own school grounds or local parishes to celebrate and pray together for the Sydney event marking the visit of over 125,000 international pilgrims and the first visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Australia.

For more information on these events go to wydperth.com or wyd2008.org

On air: Fr John Joseph, left, Sister Therese, Friar Cyprian and Brother Joseph take the message of the Gospel to air weekly. But their Gate of Heaven radio program needs support to continue.

PHOTO: MATTHEW BIDDLE

Two of a kind: St Mary’s Primary School in Kalgoorlie managed to produce two banners for the WA schools mural project. Starry wonder banner.

All together now: Corpus Christi College huddle together in front of a miniature version of the WYD cross and Icon with their banner draped behind.

possible around the world.”

Fr John Joseph said one of the charisms of the Friars is to make use of all possible means that are legitimate to assist their mission of promoting Our Lady.

“It’s following a charism of St Maximillian Kolbe – to make use of all the modern media – so we use not only the printed words, but also radio and television if possible, if we can afford it.

“Promoting Our Lady, knowledge of Our Lady and devotion to Our Lady by all legitimate means is our number one focus in all our work and thus something which we all put a lot of time and effort into.”

Sr Therese said she had been receiving an increasing amount of positive feedback from listeners about the show.

“Because I’m on the book stall for the Day with Mary, I notice that more people now come and speak about the Gate of Heaven,” she said.

“There’s more comments, more positive feedback, which would indicate that our listening audience is starting to widen.”

Fr John Joseph said he thoroughly enjoyed sharing the faith with others over the airwaves but was concerned with the current crisis.

“I just find it a curious thing when I hear that Catholics are giving large sums of money to non-Catholic stations when they could be supporting a Catholic program,” he said.

“Pope John Paul II said

Catholics must get involved in the modern Catholic media – we need Catholic radio stations and we need Catholic television stations so we can get out there and be heard.”

Despite the fact there are many worthy charities people can donate to, Fr John Joseph said Catholics should support their media too.

“The number of people who can be reached by the Catholic media should certainly be considered in what we want to support,” he said.

If the show can somehow manage to raise the urgently required funds, Fr John Joseph said he had great plans for the program’s future.

“I would hope to be able to catholicise Perth more and more, to help it to deepen and grow in its faith, that’s certainly one of my goals,” he said.

“But we also need growth in knowledge, that’s the solid doctrine on which our faith is built and by which we grow.”

Sr Therese encouraged all people to support the program and especially Catholics to get behind the sole Catholic radio show in WA.

“We’re on the web, so if they can’t tune in by radio and they have a computer they can tune in there (radiofremantle. com),” she said.

“We want to evangelise every soul in Australia and the world.”

If you would like to help keep the Gate of Heaven program on air, donations can be sent to: Gate of Heaven, PO Box 1089, Bibra Lake, WA, 6965.

approaches

Mercedes, Trinity, join to boost WYD ‘08 pilgrims

Mercedes and Trinity prepare for World Youth Day

Around 800 Mercedes College students led a procession through the streets of Perth to a joint World Youth Day celebration with their Trinity College peers.

Reminiscent of the days of processions for St Patrick’s Day or the feast of Christ the King, the Mercedes girls made the mini pilgrimage to Trinity on the morning of March 28 to celebrate a combined college Mass and blessing of student pilgrims heading to Sydney for World Youth Day.

Police stopped traffic to allow the girls a safe journey.

The girls were met in true Celtic style by the Trinity Pipes and Drums which formed a guard of honour as the girls entered the College.

Chief celebrant Auxiliary Bishop Donald Sproxton spoke to students about the importance of WYD.

The celebration was regarded by organisers as an important team builder for the Sydney WYD pilgrims; during the morning fellow students, teachers, parents, Sisters of Mercy and Christian Brothers offered their blessings to those students who will be heading off to Sydney in July.

A huge crowd participated. Organisers later estimated there were about 2000 students, parents and staff from both colleges.

Students enjoyed the experience. “I loved the whole Mass, the walking down with the banners, the reverence of the students. I felt proud to be participating in the pilgrimage and to share it with fellow students from Trinity and Mercedes. I am extremely excited to be going to Sydney in July,” said Mercedes year 11 student Amy McCaffrey.

“I feel the experience will empower me to grow in my faith and strengthen my relationship with God. It will be something I will always remember. It will help me all my life.”

A year 9 Trinity student thought the event was good for young people. “It is great for youth to come together and to be happy and proud of their faith,” he said.

Fellow Trinity student Luke Geoghan said the event had buoyed those who would be in Sydney. “The day was inspirational to the people going to WYD. Even though I am not going I can feel how good it would be to go,” said the Year 9 student.

Alannah Manuk, a Year 11 Mercedes student said the morning was inspiring.

“It was an inspiration and a wonderful day to take my first steps in my journey to World Youth Day. Sharing the day with my friends made it even more special,” she said. “Walking down to Trinity was my favourite part. I felt proud to show my Mercedes heritage. I was proud to hold the Catherine McAuley banner and to walk through the bagpipes into the assembly area for Mass.”

Mercedes student Shanise Johnson, in Year 9, said she had enjoyed the morning as well.

“I have never been to a joint Mass before and it was a joyful and religious experience.

It is a good chance for Trinity and Mercedes students to join together. It’s fun to catch up with our friends.” All students at the Mass received a personal Celtic cross as a memento of WYD 2008. The crosses were engraved with an iconic image of Mary – to remind students of the WYD Cross and Icon. A combined choir contributed singing throughout the Mass.

Afterwards, students shared morning recess and enjoyed food served by Trinity and Mercedes College mothers.

Lady’s Assumption Primary School in Dianella proudly display their

Eyes on Sydney: Mercedes College students, above, walk to Trinity fto join in the World Youth Day preparatory celebration. They were welcomed by the Trinity College Pipes and Drums, below. Later, students had a chance to mix and catch up with friends.

PHOTOS: COURTESY LYN BARKER

WYD icon of Our Lady

By Fr John Flader

Recently I had the joy of seeing and venerating the World Youth Day Icon of Our Lady. I like icons in general but don’t know much about them. Can you tell me anything about this particular icon that will help me to appreciate it more?

The icon is a copy of the ancient and much loved image of Our Lady, Salus Populi Romani, kept in the Lady Chapel of the Basilica of St Mary Major in Rome.

The title Salus Populi Romani, which means literally “health” or “salvation” or “protectress of the Roman people”, takes its origin, according to a pious tradition, from the saving of Rome from the ravages of the plague during the pontificate of Pope St Gregory the Great (590-604).

According to the tradition, the plague was devastating Rome, moving Pope Gregory to carry the image in solemn procession through the streets of the city during the Easter season.

When the procession reached the Mausoleum of Hadrian, a choir of angels was heard singing the Resurrection hymn “Regina coeli” (“Queen of Heaven”).

The Pope immediately added, “Pray for us to God, alleluia”.

At that point an angel, believed to be St Michael, appeared above the Mausoleum putting his sword back into its scabbard, as if indicating that the plague would now cease, and in fact it did.

Undoubtedly for this reason, a document in 1240 referred to the image as “Regina Coeli”. The Mausoleum is now known as the Castel Sant’Angelo (“Castle of the Holy Angel”).

There is another tradition that associates the image with a snowfall on the Esquiline hill in Rome in 352, during August, the hottest month of the year. It moved Pope Liberius (352-366) to build a basilica in honour of Our Lady on that spot.

For this reason, the image is sometimes known as “Our Lady

of the Snows”. The Pope is said to have hung in the basilica an image of Our Lady brought to Rome by St Helen, the mother of the Emperor Constantine.

The Liberian basilica was restored and enlarged in the following century by Pope Sixtus III (432-44), following the declaration of Mary as Mother of God at the Council of Ephesus in 431. This is the present-day basilica of St Mary Major.

The actual origin of the image is uncertain. One tradition has it that it was painted by St Luke himself and was taken to Rome by St Helen, the mother of the Emperor Constantine.

Other dates range from the 8th to the 13th centuries. In any case, the icon is ancient and is one of the most popular images of Our Lady in Rome.

The icon is of the type known as hodegetria, a Greek word meaning “one who shows the way”.

In this type, Our Lady is ordinarily shown looking out at the viewer and pointing to her Son Jesus, who is “the way”.

In the Salus Populi Romani and WYD icons, Jesus rests on the left arm of Our Lady, his right arm slightly raised in blessing.

His index and middle finger are joined, probably indicating the divine and human natures in Christ, and the other three fingers are also joined, indicating the three divine Persons.

In his left hand he holds a book, presumably the book of the Gospels.

He is looking up lovingly at his mother, who in turn is looking out at the people.

Mary’s right hand is crossed over her left in a gentle embrace of the child. Mary appears to be drawing the viewer by her gaze to look at her divine Son.

Jesus blesses the people, including and particularly his mother, who shared most intimately in his Incarnation.

There are the traditional three stars on Mary’s shoulders and forehead, indicating her perpetual virginity, before, during and after the birth of Jesus. The letters at the top of the image refer to Mary as “Mother of God.”

Thus there is a rich history and imagery in this beautiful icon. It will do much to draw those who venerate it closer to Jesus, the Son of God and Redeemer.

Living the theology of our

Commentary on the intersection of faith, sex and culture.

This is the final installment of a three-part series on what John Paul II called the three “infallible and indispensable” means for living the theology of our bodies: prayer, Eucharist, and Penance (see TOB 126:5).

As we observed in the last column, to live the “theology” of our bodies means to recognise the plan of love that God has written into our bodies as male and female and to live in accord with it.

Christianity is the religion of the incarnation.

Ultimate Spiritual reality (God) has been manifested in the flesh: “The Word was made flesh and

Body Language

By Christopher West

dwelt among us” (Jn 1:14). We,

too, are called in Christ to manifest God’s love in the flesh. In fact, the call to love as God loves is stamped right in our bodies.

A man’s body does not make sense by itself, nor does a woman’s.

Seen in light of each other, we discover the unmistakable plan of the Creator – man and woman are designed to be a fruitful gift to each other.

“Be fruitful and multiply” is simply a call to live in the image of God in which we are made. “For this reason ... the two become one

flesh.” For what reason? To reveal, proclaim, and participate in the very love of Christ and the Church (see Eph 5:31-32). Such a love is called marriage.

Marriage, of course, is not the only way to live the “theology of our bodies.” Regardless of our state in life, we are all called to love as God loves.

Spouses do this in a very particular way by becoming “one flesh” and by devoting themselves to the natural fruit of their love – children.

Consecrated celibate men and women do this by devoting themselves entirely to the family of God. And single men and women imitate Christ in all the ways they make a gift of themselves to others.

The common denominator for us all is that, despite our sincere intentions, we fail in innumerable ways to “love as Christ loves.”

Gossip: death and life are in

I say I say

By Mark Reidy

You’ll never believe the scandal that I heard about our local priest... Now, analyse your first reaction to reading those words. Were you horrified, intrigued, or was it a mixture of the two?

We live in a society that is becoming increasingly obsessed with the phenomenon of gossip.

Billions of words are dedicated each day in glossy magazines, workplaces and over back fences

to rumours, fact, innuendo and slander about the lives of others. But why is there a fascination in absorbing ourselves in the lives of peers, colleagues or even complete strangers?

There are a number of leading psychologists who attribute this seemingly insatiable desire to the primeval instincts of survival. At the very core of the need to gather and pass on information about others is the self-serving need to out-survive those around us. If our early cave dwelling ancestors could gather information regarding the strengths and weaknesses of those around them, then they could use that information to enhance their own safety in an often hostile environment. These innate desires of self-protec-

tion and advancement have since adapted themselves to the environs of our twentyfirst century western world to form the foundations of the gossip mania that we see today.

We live in a society that is becoming increasingly obsessed with the phenomenon of gossip.

London based professor Nigel Nicholson suggests that there are three essential functions of gossip: networking, influence and social alliances.

As social beings Nicholson believes that we are vigilantly aware of our place in the order of society. The general perception is that higher ranking equates to

Consecrated: After making her first profession of vows, Sister Beatrice Clarke signs the document of profession near the altar during Mass. Called to love as God loves, spouses become “one flesh” and devote themselves to each other and their children. Consecrated men and women devote themselves entirely to the family of God. CNS PHOTO/THERESA LAURENCE

This means that in all human relationships, a large dose of mercy will be required.

Think about it: everyone of us is created for perfect love, but none of us receives it from the other people in our lives, and none of us is able to give perfect love to others.

This leaves us hurt and in need of mercy and healing.

Thank God for the Sacrament of Penance! The riches of this sacrament are inexhaustible.

Unfortunately, many Catholics have not been helped to appreciate this sacrament beyond the preparation they received in second grade.

We can tend to think that if we haven’t done anything “big, bad, and horrible” there’s no reason to go.

As the Catechism says, “Without being strictly necessary, confession of everyday faults (venial sins) is nevertheless strongly recommended by the Church.

Indeed, the regular confession of our venial sins helps us form our consciences, fight against evil tendencies, let ourselves be healed by Christ and progress in the life of the Spirit” (CCC 1458).

Progressing in the “life of the Spirit” does not mean we reject our bodies. Rather, it means we open our bodies to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit so that what we do with our bodies glorifies God.

This is the only way to live the theology of our bodies – by opening ourselves to the “life of the Spirit.” And regular reception of the Sacrament of Penance (even if we’re not committing serious sin) is an “infallible and indispensable” way of remaining open to the life of the Spirit.

As often as we are falling into serious sin, we should be going to Confession – every week if necessary. For those who, by God’s grace, are not regularly struggling with mortal sin in their lives, many wise spiritual directors suggest Confession at least once a month.

Living the theology of our bodies (that is, loving as Christ loves) engages us in a serious battle against sin.

Through this sacrament of mercy we are not only reconciled to God through the forgiveness of our sins.

We also receive “an increase of spiritual strength for the Christian battle” (CCC 1496). We should avail ourselves of this spiritual strength regularly. Why not go to Confession soon?

Perspectives

The wisdom of applying knowledge

Dr Clare V. Johnson, Senior Lecturer in Theology, School of Philosophy and Theology, The University of Notre Dame Australia (Fremantle)

Standing out from the crowd is not always easy. When a person applies for a job or admission into graduate school, or when they start to build their own business or enter into public service, any ‘edge’ they can gain over the rest of the field can be just what is needed to set them on the road to success and advancement.

Standing out from the crowd is something that comes naturally to graduates of The University of Notre Dame Australia (UNDA), because their tertiary education has required something more of them than just high-quality profession-specific knowledge and technical expertise.

At Australia’s only private Catholic university, UNDA students intentionally dedicate time in their academic programs to personal development of intellect, conscience and spirit.

Integrated into every degree program at UNDA, is the University’s unique Core

the gift of the tongue

increased benefits such as health, wealth and happiness.

Nicholson compares gossip with the practice of monkeys picking lice from the fur of another - the weak are usually the ones grooming the strong. In other words, people gather and supply information to those they are attracted to and to whom they wish to align themselves.

They are essentially telling the other that they are valuable enough to receive this information, with the underlying motive of forming an advantageous alliance and ideally enhancing their place in the social hierarchy.

Similarly, if we are able to bring down someone we perceive as being in a superior position to ourselves then we are also able to reduce the gap between us. These theories fit

into the context of the celebrity obsession that is driving a multibillion dollar media business.

Those behind this colossal industry openly acknowledge that it is the scandal and demise of these people that will ultimately draw the most attention.

It is because we consider the attributes of those continually in the spotlight, i.e. money, looks and fame, as advantageous in the context of survival. We do not want another to advance too far ahead of the pack because that will threaten our primal self-serving instincts.

We can also relate such thinking and behaviour to our relationships in the workplace, sporting and social clubs or even in our churches. There is often a tendency to share information about others and this

Curriculum of semester-long units in Philosophy, Ethics and Theology.

The Core teaches students how to think critically and argue logically, how to challenge the status quo on issues of morality and principle, and how to respect the role of faith and spirituality in creating a just, free and fair society.

In the spirit of the liberalarts tradition of Catholic higher education, UNDA’s Core helps students to step outside their intellectual comfort zones through a learning process designed to help them to deal intelligently with unexpected challenges, to exercise right social conscience and to be receptive to the positive role that Christianity can play in Australian society.

what is the point of praise for those actions that are worthy, or blame for those actions that are unworthy?

Higher Education

By Clare Johnson

But, if we do indeed have free will, are we not then accountable for all of our actions, accepting whatever praise or blame we deserve? Philosophy utilises the Socratic Method of posing a series of questions designed to elicit answers that together lead to a position of logical soundness on particular issues.

The Ethics Core unit challenges students to consider how we can ‘know’ which actions are morally right and wrong, and asks by what standards we judge those actions to be right or wrong. Ethics investigates why we act morally and whether this is a rational course of action.

outweigh individual good?

The Introduction to Theology Core unit studies key biblical texts, foundational questions of Christian history and theology, and the ongoing relevance of the Catholic Church today. This unit explores ‘ultimate’ questions like: How did it all begin? What is faith? Is there hope for sinners? What is the Kingdom of God and how can it be accessed? Can we believe in miracles? What purpose does suffering serve? What happens after we die?

Addressing these confronting questions in an academic context challenges UNDA students to explore faith issues at a deeper level and to become aware of the importance of a faith perspective in the world.

The Philosophy Core unit considers questions like whether we should take personal responsibility for our actions, asking: Do we truly have free will?

If our lives are determined by our environment, upbringing and genetics, how can we be held responsible for our actions? And if we are not responsible, then

in itself is neither right nor wrong; after all God created us to live communally. However, what is essential as Christians is that we remain constantly vigilant to our motivation for speaking about another person. Is our purpose to build them up or is it to bring them down?

Often our reference to others has become so habitual or socially acceptable that we are not even conscious of our intent... or perhaps we are acutely aware!

Either way, whether we choose to ignore the command of Jesus to always respond in love to one another, we should at least take heed of the ancient wisdom found in Proverbs, “Death and life are in the gift of the tongue, those who indulge it must eat the fruit it yields” (18:21).

Broader ethical theories are applied to practical case studies in which thorny real-world moral dilemmas are confronted, for example: under what circumstances can war be understood as a ‘just’ course of action?

How can the loss of human lives in war be justified morally? Does the common good

The Core Curriculum trains UNDA graduates to open their minds to new ideas and to consider real-life problems utilising not only their profession-specific skill sets but also a range of intellectual, moral and spiritual tools that enable them to comprehend the world with a wide-angle lens informed by classical philosophy, virtue ethics and Christian theology.

Employing the right knowledge at the right time is an act of applied wisdom, and this is what UNDA aims to train its graduates to do.

Something more: Standing out from the crowd comes naturally to graduates of The University of Notre Dame Australia.

the World

Schönborn says Way can make the difference

Movement sponsors meeting of prelates in Holy Land.

KORAZIM, Israel, APRIL 1, 2008 (Zenit.org) - After 40 years of Europe saying “no” to its future, the Neocatechumenal Way is leading the way to say “yes,” according to the Archbishop of Vienna.

Cardinal Christoph Schönborn said this at a meeting of nine cardinals and 160 European bishops who gathered on March 24-29 at the Domus Galilaeae International Centre on the Mount of Beatitudes in Galilee to reflect on the New Evangelisation in Europe.

The participants in the meeting, which was organised by Kiko Argüello, Carmen Hernández and Father Mario Pezzi, founders of the Neocatechumenal Way, were greeted by a telegram sent by the Pope’s secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, who sent greetings and the blessing of Benedict XVI.

“In the last 40 years,” said Cardinal Schönborn, “Europe has said ‘no’ to its future three times: in 1968 when it rejected ‘Humanae Vitae’; then, 20 years later, with the legalisation of abortion; and today with homosexual marriages.”

He continued: “It is no longer a moral question, but it is a fact. For example, in Germany today for every 100 parents there are 70 children and 44 grandchildren.

In two generations the population will be cut by half. “This is an objective ‘no’ to the future. The only

Relic cements a martyr’s vision

On the mountain widely believed to be the Mount of the Beatitudes, Christ will be present and worshipped in perpetual adoration in the place where he once preached. An adoration monastery will be built next to a retreat centre entrusted to the Neocatechumenal Way, it has been reported. The monas-

tery beside the Domus Galilaeae International Centre was inaugurated on March 29, at the bishops’ gathering.

The monastery is made up of 23 cells surrounding a circular chapel where the Blessed Sacrament is exposed.

On the roof there is a sculpture by Kiko Argüello, the founder of the Neocatechumenal Way, which

voice in Europe that has promoted and is promoting the future is the Catholic Church with Paul VI, John Paul II and Benedict XVI, and so many others.

“The Neocatechumenal Way is without a doubt an answer of the Holy Spirit to this situation and I have been able to see it as a bishop and as a shepherd. I have seen parents saying ‘yes’ to life in an encouraging and generous way; they are saying ‘yes’ to the future.”

At the end of the gathering, the bishops released a joint declaration to launch the re-evangelisation of Europe: “We, nine cardinals and 160

archbishops and bishops of Europe, have gathered during the octave of Easter to reflect on the new evangelisation in the place where Jesus proclaimed the Beatitudes, and from where he sent the Apostles for the universal mission.

“We, the bishops, recognise with gratitude that, among the many graces that the Holy Spirit has bestowed upon the Church in our times, the Neocatechumenal Way represents, with its itinerary of Christian initiation, a powerful charism to reinforce the missionary impulse that emerges from the baptismal regeneration and to give an answer to the dramatic situation of

depicts Jesus and the Twelve Apostles during the preaching of the Sermon on the Mount.

The monastery is also linked to Blessed Charles de Foucauld, founder of the Little Brothers, who almost a century ago, while in Nazareth, wished for a place that would enable perpetual adoration on the mountain where Christ preached. He was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 2005.

As a concrete sign of communion with the founder of the Little Brothers, a relic of Blessed Charles de Foucauld was placed under the altar of the circular chapel.

de-Christianisation of Europe. “We declare that the future of the Neocatechumenal Way will greatly depend upon the fatherly love with which we bishops welcome this charism, closely follow the Redemptoris Mater seminaries and encourage the precious families of the Neocatechumenal Communities, inserting them, more and more, into the life of the local Church.”

Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, archbishop of Kracow, underlined the importance of the gathering: “It is very important because morality is in a deep crisis in Europe, not just in an individual level, but in an

Faith, love overcome hatred, death: Benedict

Pope, honouring 20thcentury martyrs, says love is stronger than death.

■ By Cindy Wooden

ROME (CNS) - Even in the darkest situations of violence and oppression, the power of love for God and for others is stronger than hatred and death, Pope Benedict XVI said.

“In defeat, in the humiliation of those who suffer for the cause of the Gospel, there acts a force that the world does not know,” the Pope said on April 7 as he honoured men and women - Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican and Protestant - who were killed during the 20th century because of their Christian witness.

“It is the force of love, defenceless and victorious even in apparent defeat. It is the force that challenges and vanquishes death,” Pope Benedict said.

The Pope honoured the Christian martyrs and witnesses during a visit to the Basilica of St Bartholomew on Rome’s Tiber Island.

Pope John Paul II entrusted the basilica to the Community of Sant’Egidio and later designated it as a shrine to the Christian victims of 20th-century wars and persecution, including victims of the Nazis and the communists in Europe and of civil wars and military dictatorships in Africa and Latin America.

Pope Benedict’s visit to the church

also marked the 40th anniversary of the Sant’Egidio Community, which was founded in Rome and now has more than 50,000 members in more than 70 countries.

Bible reading, evening prayer and direct assistance to the poor and aged are the basic activities of the community, but they also are involved in ecumenical and interreligious dialogue, medical care for people with AIDS and peacemaking.

During his visit, Pope Benedict spoke of the side altars in the tiny Basilica of St Bartholomew.

Each little chapel contains reminders of modern individuals who died for their faith or their love of others: a Bible belonging to a Catholic murdered while hid-

ing in a church in Rwanda; a letter from Blessed Franz Jagerstatter, an Austrian beheaded for refusing to fight in Hitler’s army; a missal used by murdered Archbishop Oscar Romero of San Salvador; a chalice, paten and stole used by Father Andrea Santoro, an Italian priest killed in Turkey in 2006.

A large icon above the main altar also pictures German Lutheran theologian Dietrich Bonhoffer, executed by the Nazis; Russian Orthodox Patriarch Tikhon of Moscow, imprisoned by the communists in the 1920s; Father Giuseppe Puglisi, murdered by the Mafia in Sicily; as well as scenes recalling the Armenian genocide and religious persecution in Albania.

Pope Benedict asked the 400 people

institutional level as well. “We need to reflect and find a way out, and we, as shepherds, must do this. Here we have an important proposal, the proposal of the Neocatechumenal Way, which is to renew the life of the family.

“The crisis in Europe emerged because of the crisis of the families. For this reason, in renewing the life of the families, Europe herself can be renewed.”

The Neocatechumenal Way, whose statutes were approved for five years “ad experimentum” by the Holy See in June 2002, is a spiritual renewal movement at the service of diocesan bishops and pastors as a way of rediscovering the sacrament of baptism and promoting ongoing education in the faith.

The journey began in 1964 when Argüello left everything to go live with the poor in the slums on the outskirts of Madrid, Spain.

There are an estimated 20,000 communities of the Neocatechumenal Way in more than 6,000 parishes in 900 dioceses, which gather together around a million Catholics.

In January 2006, Benedict XVI sent more than 200 families of the Neocatechumenal Way on mission to dioceses around the world to areas where the Church is now absent and the number of the nonbaptized is reaching almost 90% of the population.

Vatican representatives included Cardinal Paul Josef Cordes, and Cardinal Stanislaw Rylko.

in brief...

crammed into the church and the thousands more watching on large screens outside to consider “why these martyred brothers and sisters of ours did not try to save the indispensable gift of life at all costs. Why did they continue to serve the Church despite serious threats and intimidation?”

The martyrs were following Jesus, who said there was no greater love than to give one’s life for another, he said.

“Every witness of the faith lives this greater love and, following the example of the divine master, is ready to sacrifice his life for the kingdom,” the Pope said.

Pope Benedict said that when Christians truly live the Gospel they risk becoming objects of persecution like Jesus.

“The fraternal coexistence, the love, the faith, the choices in favour of the smallest and most poor, which mark the life of the Christian community, sometimes give rise to violent loathing,” he said.

But the example of the martyrs and, especially, the resurrection of Jesus demonstrate that faith, love and concern for the poor are values stronger than hatred and death, he said.

Pope Benedict asked the members of Sant’Egidio to “imitate their courage and perseverance in serving the Gospel, especially among the poor. Be builders of peace and reconciliation... nourish your faith with listening to and meditating over the word of God, with daily prayer and by Mass attendance.

Grandparents are precious

VATICAN CITY (CNS)- Grandparents are a precious resource for families, the Church and society, Pope Benedict XVI said. “So-called new models of the family and rampant relativism” have weakened the core values of traditional families, and such societal ills need an urgent response, the Pope said. In order to overcome the crises and threats today’s families are facing, people could start by turning to “the presence and witness of their grandparents” whose visions and values have more solid foundations, he said on April 5. In the past grandparents played a more important role in the life and growth of the family, including sharing their memories and wisdom with others, he said.

Bishops deny drug money donations

MEXICO CITY (CNS) - Several Mexican bishops denied that the Catholic Church accepts donations from drug lords after the president of the Mexican bishops’ conference said drug traffickers have been “very generous” to the Church. Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera of Mexico City said the Church condemns drug trafficking as a social evil and that it never accepts drug money.

For others: Pope Benedict XVI talks with Sant’Egidio Community founder Andrea Riccardi at St Bartholomew Basilica in Rome on the community’s 40th anniversary on April 7.

PHOTO: CNS/ALESSIA GIULIANI, CATHOLIC PRESS PHOTO

the World

Blair defends Faith’s relevance to modern man

In Westminster lecture, Blair says faith can transform humanity.

■ By Simon Caldwell

LONDON (CNS) - Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has spoken of his “passionate” conviction that religious faith can transform humanity for the better.

Blair, 54, a former Anglican who was received into the Catholic Church just days before Christmas, said he wanted to promote the “idea of faith itself as something dynamic, modern and full of present relevance.”

He told 1,600 people gathered in London’s Westminster Cathedral on April 3 that faith had a “major part to play in shaping the values which guide the modern world and can and should be a force for progress.”

“But it has to be rescued on the one hand from the extremist and exclusionary tendency within religion today and on the other from the danger that religious faith is seen as an interesting part of history and tradition, but with nothing to say about the contemporary human condition,” he said.

“I see faith and reason, faith and progress, as in alliance, not contention.”

His remarks came in a lecture on the subject of “Faith and Globalisation,” the first in a series of six speeches hosted by the Archdiocese of Westminster on “Faith and Life in Britain.”

Blair, now the Middle East peace envoy for the quartet of the United States, the United Nations, the European Union and Russia, said that many British people shared the notion that “religion is divisive, irrational and harmful.” “For years it

was assumed that as humanity progressed intellectually and matured morally, so religion would decline,” he said.

“But in fact at no time since the Enlightenment has religion ever gone away,” he said. “It has always been at the very core of life for millions of people, the foundation of their existence, the motive for their behaviour, the thing which gives sense to their lives.”

Faith is not in decline, he added: “It isn’t disappearing inevitably under the weight of scientific and technological progress. It is still here with us, not just surviving but thriving.”

He said that since leaving office as prime minister in June, he had become more acutely aware of the dynamics of globalisation, and he said that it was in this context that the role of faith was especially important. He said that the world’s religion could transform

and humanise impersonal forces of globalization and shape the values of changing economic and political relationships of the early 21st century.

He said that power was shifting rapidly from the West to the emerging superpowers of China and India, and the role of faith was vital in the struggle for a world of peaceful coexistence. Blair said the world “will be immeasurably poorer, more dangerous, more fragile and above all, more aimless” without a spiritual dimension.

“Today is more than ever when we need to discover and rediscover our essential humility before God, our dignity as found in our lives being placed at the service of the source and goal of everything,” Blair said.

“I can’t prove that religious faith offers something more than humanism, but I believe profoundly that it does,” he added. “And since religious

faith has such a strong historical and cultural influence on both East and West, it can help unify around common values what otherwise might be a battle for domination.

“I am passionate about the importance of faith to our modern world and about the need for people of faith to reach out to one another,” he added.

Blair said he would commit himself to the cause of interfaith dialogue through the Tony Blair Faith Foundation, which he will establish in London this summer.

He said he hoped the foundation would bring together different Christians, Muslims, Jews, Sikhs, Hindus and Buddhists in working to alleviate global poverty by urging governments to meet the UN.Millennium Development Goals. These have the aim of halving the rates of world poverty - defined by the numbers of people existing on less than a dollar day - by 2015.

But he said the “broader objective” of his foundation would be to help more people to realise religion as a “positive force for good.”

“Faith is not an historical relic but a guide for humanity on its path to the future,” Blair said. “A faithless world is not one in which we want ourselves and our children to live.”

“If people of different faiths can coexist happily, in mutual respect and solidarity, so can our world,” he said.

Blair has accepted a post at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, and will give seminars on faith and globalisation, in which he will focus on how religion can be used to further international relations.

While he spoke, hundreds of protesters from the Stop the War Coalition, which held Blair responsible for taking Britain into the war in Iraq, tried to drown out his words with a “wall of sound” outside.

They used musical instruments, whistles, pans and alarms to make as much noise as possible. Some stood beneath the windows of the cathedral and howled at the tops of their voices.

Before the lecture, Pax Christi UK, the Catholic peace movement, held a silent prayer vigil on the square in front of the cathedral. Some of its members dressed in sackcloth and wore ashes and held banners quoting remarks made by Pope Benedict XVI and Pope John Paul II against war.

Bruce Kent, a former Catholic priest from London who joined the vigil, told Catholic News Service that he was protesting because “Blair launched an illegal war on false pretenses in violation of the UN charter.”

“I don’t think he has a good enough track record to be preaching on faith and globalisation,” Kent said.

Shanghai diocese launches 400th anniversary activities

SHANGHAI, China (CNS) - The Shanghai Diocese has launched a series of activities to mark the 400th anniversary of the arrival of Catholicism in the region.

The celebration will trace the development of Catholicism in the diocese, Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Xing Wenzhi told the Asian church news agency UCA News in March. He said the events would highlight the life of the first Catholic in Shanghai, Xu Guangqi, the values he embraced through his faith, and how he evangelised among family, friends and colleagues.

Bishop Xing, 44, said he hopes local Catholics will learn from Xu’s example of evangelising to his family first.

Catholics today are less spiritually fervent and family-oriented, he said, which poses a challenge for the Church.

When young Chinese Catholics seek a spouse, few make finding a Catholic partner their first priority, he said.

The bishop said he also hopes priests, nuns and laypeople will deepen their spirituality and intensify evangelisation efforts through the commemoration, which will

include a historical photo exhibition and seminar.

The diocese launched the celebration on March 1 with a thanksgiving Mass at St Ignatius Cathedral in downtown Shanghai, UCA News reported on March 27.

Bishop Aloysius Jin Luxian of Shanghai was the main celebrant,

and Bishop Xing and more than 70 priests concelebrated.

Seminarians of the Sheshan seminary, on the city’s outskirts, about 90 nuns and approximately 1,000 local and foreign Catholics attended the event.

A large banner depicting the 141 churches of the Shanghai Diocese

was displayed during the Mass. The banner, made by rural Catholics from the Chongming, Changxin and Hengsha islands and urban Shanghai parishioners, represented the 150,000 Catholics in the diocese.

During the homily, Father Thaddeus Ma Daqin introduced the diocese’s 400-year history, starting with Xu, a Shanghai native, who was baptised in 1603 by a Jesuit in Nanjing.

Xu became Shanghai’s first Catholic.

Father Ma said Xu’s father, wife and son were baptised in 1606, making them the first Catholic family in the area.

Two years later, at Xu’s request, Italian Jesuit Father Lazare Cattaneo came to Shanghai from Nanjing, where he had been based, to preach the Gospel.

Within two years, he baptised 200 people. The first church was built near the site of St Ignatius Cathedral.

The diocese already has boosted its evangelisation efforts with several programs.

In January, a group of 80 catechists received certificates after

completing one year of training in topics such as the Bible, church dogma and history, sacraments and liturgy.

More recently, Bishop Xing held discussions with diocesan priests about evangelisation work at the Marian Shrine of Sheshan in May, when many local and foreign pilgrims are expected to visit.

The diocese also plans to distribute pamphlets at the shrine and have catechists on hand to evangelise non-Catholic visitors during the Marian month of May.

Pope Benedict XVI, in his letter to Chinese Catholics last year, asked Catholics worldwide to pray with the Church in China on May 24, the feast of Our Lady Help of Christians, the title under which Mary is venerated at the Sheshan shrine.

In June, the priests will gather to review their evangelisation work and prepare for a seminar in September. The diocese also will ordain new deacons and celebrate Bishop Jin’s 92nd birthday in September.

The Diocese of Shanghai formally was set up in 1946, when the Chinese Catholic hierarchy was established.

For others: Britain’s former prime minister and Middle East peace envoy Tony Blair speaks to religious studies students at City Academy school in north London on April 3.

PHOTO: CNS/LEFTERIS PITARAKIS/REUTERS

For others: Visitors pass a model of St Ignatius Catholic Cathedral in a display at the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Hall in Shanghai in March 2007. The Diocese of Shanghai is launching a series of events this year to mark the 400th anniversary of the arrival of Catholicism to the region. PHOTO: CNS/ NANCY WIECHEC

Catholic Guy proves a hit as ratings soar

■ By Matthew Biddle

Ground-breaking television program ‘The Catholic Guy’ has proved to be a success already with impres-

Vatican Letter

By Carol Glatz of CNS

It’s being called the Sistine Chapel of calligraphy. The Saint John’s Bible will be the first handwritten and illuminated Bible penned with ancient methods since the invention of the printing press, according to its creators.

This Biblical work of art will contain some 160 illuminations woven into text covering 1,100 pages of calfskin vellum sheets.

A team of scribes led by a master calligrapher, Donald Jackson, has spent the last 10 years silently scratching out Biblical verses with turkey, goose and swan quills dipped in handmade inks. They and other artists also use hand-ground pigments and gold and silver leaf to illustrate and add contrasting colours to the texts.

The huge manuscripts will be bound into seven volumes that measure two feet tall and, when open, three feet wide. Five of those volumes are now complete.

US Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, retired archbishop of Washington and president of the US-based Papal Foundation, called the project “one of those special moments in the life of biblical art.”

He was part of a delegation that met with Pope Benedict XVI on April 4 to present him with a highquality, rare reproduction of the first volume of The Saint John’s Bible.

The Pope, a great lover of books and sacred Scripture, was awedhis eyes glistening “with great joy” as he said, “’This is a great work of art,’” the cardinal said at a press conference soon after.

Jackson said the Pope told him, “This is a work for eternity,” to which the artist said he replied, “It certainly feels like it sometimes.”

At the press conference, Jackson asked the question most people might pose: “Why do it? I mean it’s a crazy idea to turn the clock back 500 years” in this day and age of computers and laser-jet printers.

But he said the tools of the old medieval scribes “enable you to write the words of God from the heart.”

And by creating such a hefty, richly illustrated book whose pages look and even feel special, the reader is being told to “slow down, set this volume down carefully” and meditate over each and every word; it is not something to flip through casually, Jackson said.

In fact, one of the aims of this project, commissioned in 1998 by the Benedictine monks of St

sive numbers tuning in each week to watch the 30-minute show.

The program, which is broadcast on Channel 9 at 6.30am on Sundays, has attracted an average of almost 4000 viewers per episode since its debut on March 2.

Its ratings have gradually increased and on March 30 hit an all-time high of 10,000 viewers.

While the numbers are considerably lower than prime-time programs, ‘The Catholic Guy’ is

performing brilliantly for its early morning timeslot. The children’s program which ‘The Catholic Guy’ replaced on Channel 9, ‘Go, Diego! Go!’, was averaging an audience of about 3000.

Program host Bruce Downes said he was pleased with the popularity of the show so far.

“I’m pleased that increasingly more people are watching it and it will be good to know from week to week if that figure goes up or down,”

he said. Mr Downes said the internet has also enabled The Catholic Guy to reach more people.

“We have a lot of downloads on our podcast … so people are watching it but they are watching at a more reasonable hour than at 6.30 on a Sunday morning,” he said.

From its six-week history thus far, ‘The Catholic Guy’ has twice topped the WA ratings for its timeslot, outperforming its rivals on the other four free-to-air networks

A work for eternity

– including Hillsong. The program has also received plenty of excellent positive feedback according to Mr Downes.

“Most people who have called us so far have said its just so good to have a Catholic program on television,” he said.

“On the whole we’re very pleased with the ratings but its early days in terms of assessing whether the program is successful or not, so time will tell.”

John’s Abbey and University in Collegeville, Minnesota, is to glorify the word of God.

Jackson said modern technology has “solved the problem of dissemination. Every hotel room has a choice of one, if not two, Bibles in the nightstand.”

But often mass-produced Bibles are printed with small, cramped type on cheap “onion-skin” thin paper and put what should be thoughtprovoking passages of God’s word “in a straitjacket,” he said.

The Bible needs to also reach out to the human senses, not just the intellect, he said.

The Saint John’s Bible, with its large pages and creatively arranged text, “invites one to linger over phrases, words and even letters” and “presents the word of God as

something special,” said one of the project’s many press releases.

Even the artwork, which ranges from Byzantine icons to modern styles and botanically correct renderings of insects and plants, is meant to invite the reader toward greater reflection.

Jackson said he and his scribes have had “to let go of modern conceptions of perfection” and of creating a flawlessly copied text. They cannot, after all, hit the delete button or use correction fluid to cover up mistakes.

Small errors can be scraped away with a sharp knife-edge, he said, but a more common “occupational hazard” of accidentally omitting a line is not so simply corrected. But with the help of their artists they have been able to turn “what was a

have said they hope the meeting can address what is seen as a lack of appreciation and understanding of the Bible among Catholics.

Pope Benedict has said the Bible “requires special veneration and obedience” by all Christians, and he said he hoped the synod process would help Catholics “rediscover the importance of the Word of God in the life of every Christian.”

But while most people will not be able to afford the minimum $115,000 price tag of the specialedition sets, more affordable smaller, hardbound copies are for sale through www.litpress.org, or by clicking “gift shop” at: www.saintjohnsbible.org.

disaster into something charming,” Jackson said.

For example, an artist has drawn a small bird grasping a rope that holds a banner upon which is written the missing verse.

The bird is pointing its beak to where the line should go while appearing to be hoisting the forgotten line back where it belongs. A chubby bumblebee does the same thing in another volume, only she is using a pulley system copied from one of Leonardo da Vinci’s sketchbooks.

A limited number of high-quality, full-size, fine art reproductions have been produced for special benefactors. The Pope’s rare copy was a gift from St John’s University and Abbey purchased on behalf of a trustee from the US-based Papal Foundation.

The gift and its publicity come the same year the world Synod of Bishops is gathering at the Vatican this fall to discuss the importance of sacred Scripture. Synod leaders

The Saint John’s Bible uses the New Revised Standard Version and, when completed in 2009, will include volumes that include Gospels and Acts, Psalms, Pentateuch, Historical Books, Prophets, Wisdom Literature, and Letters and Revelation.

The finished original manuscript crafted by Jackson and his team will reside at a special museum on the St John’s University campus.

It is not the first time Jackson brought a piece of his “Sistine Chapel” to the Vatican; he also gave Pope John Paul II a limited-edition prototype of the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles at the Vatican in 2004.

While unique, these papal copies of The Saint John’s Bible are not the only rare specimens of sacred Scripture to grace the Vatican’s bookshelves.

The Vatican Library has a fourthcentury Codex B manuscript - a complete text of the Bible in Greek - as well as two copies of the Gutenberg Bible.

This Bible was one of the first books printed by the movable type process invented by Johann Gutenberg in 1455, and only about 60 copies remain.

Tradition: A project member prepares a calf vellum skin for use as a page, top; a detail from the Book of Wisdom, left, and Calligrapher Jackson inspects a page in progress. PHOTOS: CNS

Saturday April 12

ST PADRE PIO PRAYER GROUP

At Holy Spirit Church, Bent Street, City Beach. 9.30am St Padre Pio DVD at Parish Hall. 10.30am Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, Rosary, Divine Mercy, Silent Adoration and Benediction. 11.30am Holy Mass. 12.30 BYO lunch. Tea and coffee provided. Books and religious items for sale. All welcome. Enq: Des 6278 1540.

Saturday April 12

GREGORIAN CHANT WORKSHOP

Starting at 9.30am and finishing at approx 2pm. A one-day Gregorian Chant workshop will be held at the Good Shepherd Parish, 40-42 Streich Avenue, Kelmscott. Tea and coffee supplied, but BYO lunchtime snack. Cost is $10 plus any incidentals (photocopies etc). Please register your attendance by calling Patricia on 9390 7163.

Sunday April 13

ETERNAL WORD TELEVISION NETWORK : EVERY

SUNDAY, 1  2 PM ON ACCESS 31

World Youth Day 2008 [Rome Reports]; together with discussion of preparations for WYD with various speakers, including Bishop Anthony Fisher of Sydney, and Fr Paul Newton. Please participate in the new evangelisation by sending donations to help keep these inspiring programs on air to The Rosary Christian Tutorial Association, PO Box 1270, Booragoon 6954. Consider having a rooftop dish installed to receive EWTN free-to-air 24/7. Enqs: 9330 2467.

Sunday April 13

THE DAY OF THE UNBORN CHILD CELEBRATION

Come join in the annual celebration for the Day of the Unborn Child at St Joachim’s Pro Cathedral, starting at 11am. Mass, celebrated by Archbishop Hickey, followed by a Holy Hour led by Fr Paul Carey SSC. We celebrate the sacredness of every human life and the blessings of parenthood. We offer hope and healing for those who have lost a child. Enq: Helene 9402 0349.

Sunday April 13

ANNIVERSARY AT BULLSBROOK SHRINE

Starting at 2pm, 36 Chittering Road, Bullsbrook. The 61st Anniversary of the Apparition of the Virgin of the Revelation to Bruno Cornacchiola at Tre Fontane, Rome and the 60th Anniversary of the foundation of the SACRI Association. Rosary procession, followed by Mass and Benediction. The Sacrament of the sick will be administered during Mass. Enq: 9447 3292.

Tuesday April 15

CATHOLIC POLICE OFFICERS AND STAFF MASS & AGM

Police officers and staff, both serving and retired, and their families, are invited to attend Mass and AGM at Our Lady Help of Christians, 43 Camberwell Street, East Victoria Park starting at 7pm. Short AGM and light supper following Mass. RSVP Monday April 11 to Peter Browne 0409 290 169 or John Bouwman 9268 7507.

Wednesday April 16

TAIZE MEDITATIVE PRAYER

7.30pm to 8.30pm at St Thomas More Catholic Church, 100 Dean Road, Bateman. All are welcome to come and spend an hour in Group Prayer and relax after a busy workday in a candlelight atmosphere of prayer, song and meditation. Enq: Daisy/Barney 9310 4781.

Sunday 20 April

TAIZE MEDITATIVE PRAYER

7pm to 8pm at Sisters of St Joseph Chapel, 16 York Street, South Perth. Come and be still and pray with the community in the candlelit chapel. Song, Scripture and silence. Everyone welcome. Bring a friend and a torch. Enq: Sister Maree Riddler 0414 683 296.

Thursday April 24

CATHEDRAL PRAISE MEETING CPM

Starting at 7.30pm at 450 Hay Street, Perth. Meet JAMES “BUTCH” MURPHY who carried a 6ft wooden cross through America as a witness to Christ. It took 18 months and 14 pairs of shoes! Catch the excitement of Jim’s testimony - A Love Offering will be received. Enq: Flame Ministries International: 9382 3668 or email: fmi@flameministries.org.

Panorama

A roundup of events in the Archdiocese

Thursday April 24

SOLEMN MASS IN HONOUR OF THE FIRST VIEWING OF THE REMAINS OF SANTO PIO OF PIETRELCINA

Good Shepherd Church, corner Morley Drive and Altone Road, Lockridge. Mass at 8am followed by DVD of Santo Pio of Pietrelcina’s life. 10am there will be the praying of the Rosary followed by the Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament until 4pm. Lunch BYO, Tea and Coffee Supplied. Evening Mass 7pm. All Welcome. Enqs: Nick 0418 956 273 or Fr Hoang 9279 8119.

Friday April 25

HEALING FIRE BURNING LOVE

HEALING EUCHARISTIC SERVICE

Our Lady of the Missions, 270 Camberwarra Drive, Whitfords. 7.30pm to 9.30pm. Come and experience Jesus love for you and the healing power of the Holy Spirit in your life. This is a charismatic Healing Service and there will be the laying on of hands for those wanting to be prayed with. Enq: Jenni Young 9445 1028 or 0404 389 679.

Friday April 25

MEDJUGORJE  EVENING OF PRAYER

7pm-9pm an evening of prayer with Our Lady Queen of Peace at Our Lady’s Assumption Parish, 356 Grand Promenade, Dianella. Program: Adoration, meditation and Rosary, followed by Holy Mass. Enq: 9402 2480.

Saturday April 26

WORLD YOUTH DAY QUIZ NIGHT

Join the young people of Holy Spirit Church to make this quiz night an unforgettable one! Holy Spirit parish hall. 2 Keaney Place, City Beach, 7.15pm. Tables of 8. Tickets - $10. BYO drinks and nibbles. Tea and coffee available. Enq: Melissa 9446 9682.

Sunday April 27

HOLY HOUR

4th Sunday of the month, 2-3pm for vocations to the Priesthood and Religious Life. Infant Jesus Church, Wellington Road, Morley. Includes exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. “Let us continue to implore our God to rain down an abundance of new life into our Church, and to open our hearts and those of the young people of the world to really hear His Word for us now, today” (Religious Sister). Prayer works! All welcome! Enqs: 9276 8500.

Wednesday April 30

THE JULIAN SINGERS

7.30pm to 9.30pm at 36 Windsor Street, East Perth. The health benefits of singing are well recognised. It reduces stress, is mentally invigorating and improves your wellbeing and happiness. We are a liturgical choir and practise every Wednesday night. Second term commences 30 April. Enqs: Chris 9276 2736 or Shirley 93442105.

Thursday May 1

HEALING SERVICE

Alan Ames Ministry is holding a healing service, following 7pm Mass, at St Jude’s Catholic Church, 20 Prindiville Way, Langford. All Welcome.

First Friday May 2

ALLIANCE AND TRIUMPH OF THE TWO HEARTS

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

Saturday May 3

DANCING OUR JOYS

10am to 4pm. An Easter Retreat Day giving expression to gratitude and praise through creative movement and dance. St Catherine’s House of Hospitality, 113 Tyler St, Tuart Hill. Enqs: Shelley Barlow on 9217 3873.

Saturday May 3

DAY WITH MARY

9am to 5pm. St Gerard Majella Church, Cnr Ravenswood Drive & Majella Road, Mirrabooka (Westminster). A video on Fatima will be shown at 9am. Includes Sacrament of Penance, Holy

Mass, Eucharistic Adoration, Sermons, Rosaries, Procession of the Blessed Sacrament and Stations of the Cross. Please BYO lunch. Enqs: Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate 9250 8286.

Sunday May 4

THE 2008 BUSSELTON MAY ROSARY CELEBRATION IN HONOUR OF OUR LADY

12.30pm at Queen of the Holy Rosary Shrine, Bove’s Farm, Roy Road, Jindong, Busselton. Holy Concelebrated Mass led by Fr Tony Chiera commences at 1pm. Rosary Procession and Benediction following Mass. Afternoon tea provided. All Welcome! For bus bookings from Perth contact Francis 0404 893 877 or 9459 3873. Note: Roy Road runs off the Bussell Highway, approximately halfway between Busselton and Margaret River.

Sunday May 17

UKRAINIAN CATHOLIC CHURCH OPEN DAY

Starting at 1pm at 20 Ferguson Street, Maylands. The Ukrainian Catholic Church, Parish of St John the Baptist, is inviting everyone to experience in a practical way the faith of Eastern Catholics. Enq: email Peter on peter.valega@kbr. com or Nick 0401 232 894.

Thursday May 22

BE THE BEST PARENT YOU CAN

At 15 Cambridge Street, West Leederville. How to tackle parenting in this 21st century of enormous change and challenge. Build the healthy, nurturing family you want. A 6 week program providing tools and roadmaps for the way ahead. Survival Skills for Today’s Families is relevant to children of all ages and children over 8 years are welcome to attend. Cost $80 single parent/family or $120 couple/family. Enq: Relationships Australia on 9489 6322.

Sunday May 25

CORPUS CHRISTI PROCESSION

Holy Mass commencing at 10.30am. Procession starting at 12.30pm, at St John the Baptist Parish Church, 36 Stirling Terrace, Toodyay. The procession will honour the Blessed Sacrament with Prayers, Hymns and Benediction. A reception will follow. Please bring a plate. Bus services will be available: Contact Desmond 6278 1540, Nita 9367 1366, Chia 9337 3831. Enq: Franciscans of the Immaculate 9574 5204.

CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS

Jesuit Volunteers Australia calls for part time volunteers to respond to the needs of people in the community who live in marginalised circumstances. At the heart of this program is a reflective process, based on Gospel values, which underpins the work of the volunteers. To learn more: www.jss.org.au. Enq: Kevin Wringe 9316 3469 or email kwringe@iinet.net.au.

Every Sunday

LATIN MASS KELMSCOTT

The Latin Mass according to the 1962 missal will be offered on Sunday 13 April at 4pm, not 2pm, due to parish activities, at the Good Shepherd Parish, 40-42 Streich Avenue, Kelmscott, with Rosary preceding. All welcome. It will return to its normal 2pm timeslot on April 20 and thereafter.

Every Saturday

VIDEO / DVD NIGHT

Starting straight after the 6.30pm Vigil Mass at St. Joseph’s Church, 20 Hamilton St. Bassendean. A variety of Videos / Dvd’s will be shown. The Saints, Conversion Stories, Catholic Teaching etc. Each video is approx. 30mins. Want to learn more about our Catholic faith? Bring the family along. No charge. Saturday 12th April - presenting the final chapter of ‘Four Marks of the Church’. Saturday 19th April - ‘Gospa’ (Pt. 1).

First Three Mondays of the Month

THE WORLD APOSTOLATE OF FATIMA

Beginning at 7.30pm. Continued screenings of the Fr Corapi series on the Catechism of the Catholic Church at the Catholic Pastoral Centre in Harold Street, Highgate. All are welcome.

Every Sunday

SHRINE OF VIRGIN OF THE REVELATION

Sunday Pilgrim Mass is celebrated at 2pm with

Holy Rosary and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament at the Shrine, 36 Chittering Road, Bullsbrook. Reconciliation is available in Italian and English before every celebration. On the second Sunday of the month, anointing of the sick is administered during Mass. The side entrance to the church and the shrine is open daily between 9am and 5pm. Enq: SACRI 9447 3292.

CALLING PAST YCW MEMBERS

Were you a past member of the Perth YCW, or would you like to be informed about the actions and activities of the YCW today? The Perth YCW is in the process of creating a newsletter to “keep you in touch” with the movement, and we would like to hear from any past YCW members and/or supporters who would like to be kept on our updated mailing list. Please email the Perth YCW at perth@ycw.org.au or call Katherine or Vincent on 9422 7910 by Friday April 11th, 2008. We look forward to hearing from you!

CLUB AMICI

Club Amici aims to build community amongst Catholic singles, couples and families by organising social events for people (some events are specifically for people in their 20s and 30s). If you would like a copy of our latest calendar or to be on our mailout list please contact Therese 9405 6735 or email clubamiciwa@yahoo.com.

First Friday of the Month WITNESS FOR LIFE

Pro-Life Mass at St Brigid’s, Midland starting at 9.30am. Followed by Rosary, procession and prayer vigil at abortion clinic. Led by Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate. Enq: Helene 9403 2444.

Every First Friday

HOLY HOUR FOR VOCATIONS TO THE PRIESTHOOD AND THE RELIGIOUS LIFE

7pm Mass at Little Sisters of the Poor Chapel, 2 Rawlins Street, Glendalough. Celebrant Fr Albert Saminedi. 7.30pm Holy Hour Adoration with Fr Don Kettle. Refreshments to follow in the hall. All welcome.

Every Tuesday

THE GOSPEL OF ST MATTHEW

Exciting revelations into the Gospel of St Matthew are being offered in a free Bible course being conducted by Fr Douglas Rowe SFP St Joachim’s Parish Hall, Shepperton Road, Victoria Park. The course will be held every Tuesday at 7.30pm. Light refreshments will follow. Please bring your bible and a friend.

PERPETUAL ADORATION OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT

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

Third Sunday of the Month

OBLATES OF ST BENEDICT MEET

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

IS YOUR SON OR DAUGHTER UNDECIDED AFTER SCHOOL?

Is your son or daughter unsure what to do in 2008? Acts 2 College offers them a productive year discovering God’s purpose for their life while learning practical life skills. They will develop practical life skills in addition to learning more about the Catholic faith and deepening their own faith in God. Scholarships available. Contact Jane Borg on 9202 6859.

First Sunday of Every Month

HEALING FIRE BURNING LOVE MINISTRY

Celebrate the Sunday Mass at St Bernadette’s Church, Cnr Jugan and Leeder Streets, Glendalough commencing with praise and worship at 6.30pm and Mass at 7pm. We have healing

ACCOMMODATION

■ FAMILY/GROUP ACCOMMODATION

www.beachhouseperth.com Call 0400 292 100

■ TO LET

Mandurah furnished holiday apartment in resort complex. 3 bdrm, 2 bath. Phn 9381 3495 or email: valma7@bigpond.com.

■ TO LET

Room in Christian house in Secret Harbour. Single person occupancy (with use of 2 bedrooms and own bathroom) of a 4x2 brand new house $150 p/w plus utilities Keith 0448 862 130.

■ ROOM TO LET

SHARED ACCOMMODATION - M/F, mature/ non smoker to share lovely 3bdrm villa in Tuart Hill with mature person. $85p/w plus expenses. Contact 0402398541

■ ST ANNE’S CHURCH, BINDOON

Accomm for retreat/family/group or single tel 9576 0975.

BOOK REPAIRS

■ REPAIR YOUR LITURGICAL BOOKS

General repairs to books, old bibles & missals. 2ndhand Catholic books avail. Tydewi Bindery 9293 3092.

WANTED

Lady seeks female travel companion to share expenses and experiences of a 30-day trip to Italy.

Approximate date of holiday late September 2008. Ph: 9276 5054.

BUILDING TRADES

■ BRICK REPOINTING

Phone Nigel 9242 2952.

■ PERROTT PAINTING PTY LTD

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

■ BRICKLAYING

20 years exp. Quality work. Phn 9405 7333 or 0409 296 598.

■ PICASSO PAINTING

Top service. Phone 0419 915 836, fax 9345 0505.

FURNITURE REMOVAL

■ ALL AREAS

Mike Murphy 0416 226 434.

HEALTH

■ DEMENTIA REMISSION

Do you, or your loved one, suffer Dementia. Get into Dementia Remission like me! http://www. wgrey.com.au/dm/index.htm or (02) 9971 8093

CHRISTIAN GIFTS

OTTIMO

Shop 108 Trinity Arcade (Terrace Level). Hay Street, Perth Ph 93224520. Convenient city location for a good selection of cards, candles, statues, medals, apparel and gifts for baptism, reconciliation, communion, confirmation and weddings. We also stock a range of Monastique skin care product made by the Carmelite Sisters, fashion accessories, jewellery, handbags and Australian made gifts. Opening hours. 8.30am to 5.30am Monday to Thursday. 8.30am to 7pm Fridays.

life and have it to the full.” Pope John Paul II emphasised that carrying out any self-giving act contributes to the civilisation of love from which flourishes a culture of life in Christ for all. Our Catholic missionaries throughout the world are offering themselves each day to the poor and marginalised they serve. Their self-giving touches our lives too, each time we enter into the Eucharistic experience. Through their example we too are called to offer the same hope of life for all in Christ to those who suffer around us.

Every First Friday and First Saturday COMMUNION OF REPARATION ALL NIGHT VIGIL

RELIGIOUS PRODUCTS

■ CATHOLICS CORNER

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

■ RICH HARVEST  YOUR CHRISTIAN SHOP

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

■ KINLAR VESTMENTS

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

CHRISTIAN SINGLES

Meet other Christian singles over small group dinners or on individual dates. FigTrees is Perth’s ONLY genuine Christian dating agency. So, call 9472 8218 to make an appointment or check out our web site figtrees.com.au. 9-328 Albany Highway, Victoria Park. Open Tues-Fri 10am - 6pm.

PILGRIMAGE

Led by Fr Greg Donovan, 19 Day Pilgrimage to the Holy Land/Turkey 24th Oct - 11th Nov 08. The cost $5500, includes all flights, meals, entrance fees. Confirmation is required by 6th April to secure the booking. For more info pls contact Christina Tan 9332 9881 or Rosemary Yeo 9313 8983.

PROPERTY

■ PREMISES REQUIRED

We are looking for premises NORTH of Perth where we can hold daytime clinics for our clients. We require premises for a period of three to four hours during one day of the week; where we can see the clients privately and also has a waiting room. A Doctors surgery would be ideal. Similar offers would be appreciated. Our teachers are highly qualified in the field of Fertility education and management in the Billings Ovulation Method. Please contact Billings WA 0409 119 532 Marilena Scarfe.

FOR SALE

■ REED

ORGAN: MASON & HAMLIN 

LISZT

3 Manual (5 octave) & full pedals (2.5

octave). 18 stops including 32’ sub-bourdon, 5 couplers (one needs re-building), swell pedal. Includes stool, external electric blower (vacuum), set of ornamental pipes. Main bellows fully rebuilt, organ cleaned and restored to a working condition without changes to the original. Make an offer. Ph.9291 6785

■ CARAVAN

Cormal SEDA 475, CVN ’94, poptop, front kitchen, 3 way fridge, DBL bed, roll out awning, too many extras to list. Exl con. $19,090 ono. Phn: 9445 7479.

of Jesus. Enq: Jenni Young 9445 1028 or 0404 389 679.

Every First Friday of the Month

ST PIO FIRST FRIDAY MASS

7.30 pm honouring St Pio of Pietrelcina with Novena to the Sacred Heart and Prayer of Union. Join in every first Friday, St Joseph’s Parish, 20 Hamilton Street, Bassendean.

Starting Friday 7pm to 1am Saturday. Corpus Christi Church, 43 Lochee Road, Mosman Park. Prayers according to the booklet of The Alliance of the Two Hearts. Father Bogoni will say Mass and hear confessions all night concluding with Mass to honour the Immaculate Heart of Mary at 1am. Please join us even for an hour. Hymns, Rosaries and silent adoration included. Enq: Vicky 9364 2378 or Catalina 0439 931 151.

587 Newcastle

ph: 9227 7080

email: bookshop@therecord.com.au

THE R ECORD Bookshop

THE WORD IN SONG

Experience the beauty of Catholic and Christian hymns and songs for all

RECEIVE THE POWER: THE ALBUM

Songs of Faith and Love

Australia Idol winner Guy Sebastian leads a cast of talented singers on this WYD album.

Features include the popular song Receive the Power as well as timeless classics, such as Amazing Grace. Artists include Stacie Orrico, Mary Mary and Il Divo, as well as many more.

$29.95+postage

THE FREEDOM ALBUM Flame Music Ministry

The latest installment from the talented bunch at Flame Music Ministry, this album espouses a powerful vibe. And while decidedly a rock album, The Freedom Album isn’t missing its slow easy listening either. The album is fueled by a sense of journey and that is evident in each track.

$29.95+postage

CHOOSE CHRIST Contemporary Songs of Faith

A bargain 3 CDs in one, this album features almost 60 of the best-known contemporary hymns as sung by a host of talented artists. Perfect for youth Masses, praise and worship sessions or simply on the road.

$42.95+postage

CHERISHED HYMNS OF THE FOREFATHERS

2 DVD and 1 CD set

This special edition set contains a wealth of programs from the ABC TV series Hymns of the Forefathers series 1 and 2, presented by Christopher Lawrence. The set includes 6 halfhour episodes detailing some of the most powerful and emotive hymns ever written. A bonus CD featuring an outstanding orchestral and choral soundtrack from the series is sure to delight.

$34.95+postage

AVE MARIA

Gregorian chants Lucien Deiss,CSSp

A must for lovers of Gregorian Chant, this decidedly Marian album features such classics as Beata Es, Maria, Ave Regina Caelorum and Salve Regina among many others. With over 20 songs on the album it is sure to elevate any listener. Each song is performed by the multi-award winning Choir of the Holy Spirit Scholasticate of Chevilly in Paris.

$29.95+postage

MY WORD THE MESSAGE

Flame Music Ministry

Original songs from the renowned Perth Flame Music Ministry are compiled in this one-of-a-kind CD. The Album boasts a range of musical genres with something for everyone. Whether Reggae, African drums, pop or acoustic, this album has it all.

$29.95+postage

OBVIOUS

Sarah Hart

Young and much-loved Christian songstress, Sarah Hart has once again made a mark on the music world with this anticipated album. Described as a one of the best acoustic easy-listening albums of its time, Sarah’s new album is one not to be missed.

$29.95+postage

TOGETHER IN SONG

Australian Hymn Book II

Since its publication in 1977, The Australian Hymn Book has been widely used throughout Australia. Under its international title, With One Voice, it has also gained wide use in parishes and schools in the United Kingdom and New Zealand. This hard-bound edition features popular and classic hymns used throughout Australia.

$36.95+postage