The Record Newspaper 09 November 2011

BLUEPRINT FOR BEAUTY

Building churches as if God really matters - Page 10

Hollywood goes on pilgrimage

With a rapidly ageing population, priests are needed more than ever

When life comes to a close

By Juanita Shepherd

AS SOCIETY faces a myriad of issues associated with increasing numbers of ageing, the all important priestly services of accompanying the sick and dying are taking on a greater importance.

The ageing of the population has coincided with a shortage of priests, casting a shadow on visitations, comfort and administering the last rites. “The baby boomers of 1945

are well into their 60s now and the ageing of our population is going to become more critical. Then, of course, we are going to have to double our efforts to visit them,”

Father Anthony Maher OMI told The Record

Fr Anthony, an Oblate of Mary Immaculate, has worked in parish ministry around the country for 30 years. He is now the parish priest of St Patrick’s Basilica in Fremantle.

“When people get old they often

get very lonely,” he said. “Most of their friends and family have died, so to have the priest visit is very important to them, it reassures them of their faith.

“Sometimes you’re the first priest in their home and it’s amazing how much people appreciate it.”

He said many priests find it hard to visit the elderly because “it takes them out of their comfort zone” but they know the work is vital.

“My friend Fr Jeff Aldous, parish

priest at Baldivis, says ‘visitation in general is the Eighth Sacrament’,” he said.

For Fr Jeronimo Flamenco Castillo, Catholic chaplain at Royal Perth Hospital, visiting the elderly can be difficult or sad but it is also a privilege. “An 86-year-old lady died by herself recently as she had no family here in Australia,” he said.

When he was sitting by her bedside “the lady touched me and I felt like crying. We are responsible not

just for the young and energetic, but for everyone including the elderlysalvation is for everyone.”

Another experience of the 37-year-old El Salvadorian struck a similar chord.

“An elderly woman asked me, ‘Father, what did I do wrong?’ She came to Australia for her children, then they put her in a nursing home. I felt very sad,” Fr Castillo said. “But it inspired a homily – ‘how

Continued on page 4

Be very afraid...

PHOTO: P ROSENGREN

Chill of Coptic winter on a spring night in Perth

By Sarah Motherwell

TORCHES burned behind the St Mary and Archangel Michael Coptic Orthodox Church in East Victoria Park during the evening of Friday 4 November. The 27 flames symbolised the lives of those killed at a protest in Cairo on 9 October against the increasing persecution of Coptic Christians in Egypt. The candlelight vigil was interrupted as a car drove past the

church and a man leaned out the window to shout something in Arabic. Parishioners shook their heads and muttered “Muslim”.

It seems not even in Australia Coptic Christians can escape the ripples of the religious tensions in Egypt. Violence towards the country’s Christian minority has escalated over the past 10 months since the deposing of former strongman Hosni Mubarak.

Australian-born Steven Sawiros,

17, told The Record at the Victoria Park vigil that his extended family had fled Alexandria, Egypt’s second-largest city, to the United States on a tourist visa. They were now applying for refugee status.

He said if the US government rejected their application they would have no option but to return to face possible persecution in Egypt.

In Alexandria many Coptic girls had been kidnapped and made

to convert to Islam, he said. The church near his aunt’s house had been bombed and his cousin now carried a taser for protection when out in public.

Even in their homes, Coptic Christians were targeted. Christian homes and businesses are looted and burned.

The leader of the St Mary and Archangel Michael parish, Fr Abram Abdelmalek, said these were dark times. “It has been called the

Arab Spring that is supposed to bring the hope of a brighter future for Egypt. I’m sorry to say this Arab Spring has become a Coptic winter,” he said.

“The difficulty is grounded in an Islamic vision for society which affords a clearly defined place for non-Muslims and specifically including Christians. Not all Muslims are seeking to implement this vision but many are and there is

Sheen, Estevez team up on Camino - Page 12

Students at Good Shepherd Catholic Primary School spooked parents and friends when they performed at the school’s annual music night on Thursday 3 November. Performances under the direction of music teacher Diana Newman ranged from choral pieces to individual and collective instrumental pieces, impressing all.

Bike ride to return the favour

By Colin Wood

HAVING spent 10 years of his childhood in refugee camps, Mtima Maguru found himself homeless in Perth two years ago.

But St John of God Health Care’s Horizon House accommodation service for young people gave the youngster from Congo hope and he is now looking to raise awareness of the cause in the Santos Great Bike Ride for Charity.

The iconic cycling event, staged in Perth on 20 November, raises money for three vital charities: Horizon House, Heart Foundation WA and Hope for Children.

Mtima will be taking part in the event so more homeless young people are aware of the support available.

“When I moved into Horizon House I was very excited and thought ‘this is where I should belong, this is where I will find hope’, because before I had no hope,” Mtima said.

“When I moved there was when I started recovering.”

Living in a car meant Mtima’s studies had suffered and he struggled to speak English, with Swahili his first language.

As well as long term accommodation, Horizon House provided support for his education and extra English tuition to enable him to get on independently in Perth.

“Without the help of Horizon House I would not have been able to finish my Year 11 and 12 at high school,” Mtima said.

After two years in Horizon House, Mtima is now living independently, working full time, engaged to be married and plans to start further education in 2012.

Last year, Mtima and his fellow

Horizon House residents took part in the Santos Great Bike Ride for Charity.

He practised by cycling between Horizon House in Wilson and Fremantle.

“To ride in a group with thousands of other people was really something,” he said.

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Inspiration dinner to bolster Kukerin

A CATHOLIC family in Kukerin is hoping to host up to 220 guests at on 3 December as a way to boost morale in the country town. Dr Suzanne Nenke, 27, works in Perth but grew up as the youngest of six children in the town, about 300km south-west of Perth. Her family, who established the Cambinata Yabbies farm 20 years ago, started hosting the dinner at their function venue, The Shearing Shed, about six years ago when they realised many members of the community were leaving.

The Christian Inspiration Dinner is held around the start of the harvest season, to support farmers and inspire one another. Lawrence Cheng, 23 is this year’s guest speaker. Originally from Singapore, Lawrence moved to North Dandalup when he was seven. Dr Nenke said everyone was welcome to the free event. Guests can stay in local accommodation or camp in the paddock or shed. For more information, contact Mary on 9864 6054 or suznenke@yahoo.com.

Campion student in push for persecuted

Having left Horizon House earlier this year, Mtima will be borrowing a bike from a St John of God caregiver to take part on 20 November.

Even though he has had little time for training, he was keen to be involved in the family-focused event once again.

The Santos Great Bike Ride for Charity is looking for volunteers to provide a range of duties on the day of the event, with road marshals along the course.

If you can help or would like to take part in the event, please visit www.greatbikeride.com.au or call (08) 9382 5934.

Good Shepherd Kelmscott parishioner and Campion College student Matthew Biddle has helped fellow students in Sydney to raise funds to assist persecuted Christians around the world. The students raised $2,650 for Aid to the Church in Need through a variety of activities, including a costume party, motorbike rides and an ice cream stall. All the money raised went towards Mass offerings for priests operating in difficult conditions for the Church around the world. CAN representative said such stipends are often their only source of income.

11 Opening of Mandorla Art Exhibition – Archbishop Hickey

11-13 Parish Visitation, Embleton – Bishop Sproxton

12 Italo-Australian Apprentice of the Year Award – Archbishop Hickey Baha’i Community Dinner – Fr Peter Porteous OSM

13

15

30th Anniversary Mass for Vietnamese Catholic Community – Archbishop Hickey

Youth Mass, St Mary’s Cathedral – Archbishop Hickey

50th Anniversary Mass, Balcatta – Bishop Sproxton

LifeLink Spirit Award, La Salle College – Archbishop Hickey

Launch of Personal Advocacy Service Endowment Fund – Archbishop Hickey Archdiocesan Agencies Mass and Presentation of Mandates – Bishop Sproxton

LifeLink Spirit Award, St Columba’s – Bishop Sproxton

17 Mass for Canning Aged Care Group, St Mary’s Cathedral – Archbishop Hickey

Northern Zone of Priests, Ballajura – Archbishop Hickey

Blessing and Opening, Iona Presentation College – Bishop Sproxton

18 Gathering of Catholic Secondary Principals WA – Archbishop Hickey Ordination to Priesthood for Redemptoris Mater, St Mary’s Cathedral – Archbishop Hickey, Bishop Sproxton Principals’ Thanksgiving Mass – Mgr Michael Keating

19 Parish Mass at Lynwood - Archbishop Hickey

20 SACRI Mass – Archbishop Hickey

Schoenstatt 30th Anniversary Mass – Mgr Brian O’Loughlin VG

21-25 Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference – Archbishop Hickey, Bishop Sproxton

22 Consecration of St Matthew’s Chapel, Pearce RAAF Base – Mgr Brian O’Loughlin VG

Mtima Maguru, second from right, gears up for another year of fundraising for Horizon House. PHOTO: SJOG

Report reveals public value in private education

By tiM wallace

FAR FROM impoverishing the government school system, public funding for students in non-government schools has led to greater private investment in education, brought savings to the public purse and contributed to the public good of higher academic achievement, according to a report prepared for the Independent Schools Council of Australia.

Public funding had also ensured

the choice of non-government schooling was not just an luxury for a economic elite, with the main beneficiaries of growth in the nongovernment school sector being middle-income families, according the issues paper prepared by the Public Policy Institute of the Australian Catholic University. While the average level of per student funding in non-government schools is only marginally higher than in government schools, the report notes the focus on the

resources available to the small number of exclusive high-fee independent schools has been the basis of “decades of concerted public campaigns seeking to reduce the flow of public resources to nongovernment schools” in a bid to ensure the total level of resources to not exceed those in public schools.

On average, according to the 2008-09 figures cited in the report, the sum of state and federal public funding for a government school student was $13,544 and for a non-

government school student $6,850. When parental contributions were included, based on figure published on the My School 2.0 website, the total average spending on an independent school student was $13,000, on a government school student $11,100, and on a Catholic school student $10,000. Figures, though, could vary greatly between schools.

The proportion of private investment in non-government schools rose from about 34 per cent to 43

per cent in the two decades to 200809, the report says.

Parents contributed 58 per cent of funding to independent schools and 28 per cent of Catholic school. This compares to about 6 per cent from parents and communities for government schools.

“By creating incentives for private investment in schooling, governments increase the total pool of resources available for education and free up public funds for other purposes,” the report says.

A picture painted for LifeLink cause

By Sarah Motherwell

FOR Katelyn McCormack, Year 3 student at St Vincent’s in Parmelia, friendship and happiness are what came to mind when she drew her picture for the LifeLink 2011 Express Yourself Art Competition

Katelyn was the youngest winner of the competition, designed to encourage students to learn more about the work of the archdiocesan social services agencies.

LifeLink is an umbrella organisation of 13 welfare agencies in the Perth archdiocese.

The competition called for primary and secondary Catholic school students to submit a drawing depicting either the Archbishop’s goal for LifeLink Day or how LifeLink agencies help people in need throughout WA.

Each of the six winning schools was awarded $1,500 to be used for computing equipment, library resources or other special needs.

Winners celebrated their achievements at a casual morning tea attended by Archbishop Barry Hickey and Monsignor Michael Keating.

Consulting manager of LifeLink, Brett Mendez, encouraged students to make some noise and chair swap so everyone could have the opportunity to meet one another.

Year 9 winners from Santa Maria College, Jade Chow, Sophie Lucivero, Kathleen Sullivan and Amber Withers, said their drawing of what life is like before and after LifeLink was inspired from seeing strangers help homeless people living on the street.

The Santa Maria students said they were happy to have won, were enjoying the morning off school

and delicious food, and particularly happy because they didn’t have to go to math.

Other winners were Year 6 students Renee Lobban and Cynthia Toh from Queen of Apostles School in Riverton, Year 5 student Carly

Help beyond punishment

By Mark reidy

ONE of the world’s foremost convict criminologists will give a free talk at the Catholic Pastoral Centre in Highgate on 18 November. Dr Brian Steels will speak as part of Restorative Justice Week. “Restorative Justice sees crime as a fracture in relationships throughout the community, an act against

another that delivers harm. It asks the question of those involved, ‘how can we help’, rather than asking, ‘who must we punish?’,” Dr Steels said. His talk “Re-Visioning Justice”, will explore a number of restorative justice styles and reflect on how such an approach can be applied.

For more information contact reception@highgate-perthcatholic. org.au or phone 9422 7900.

Cope from Brighton Catholic Primary School in Butler, Year 11 student Sophie Matthews from Iona Presentation College in Mosman Park and the Year 6 Pastoral Care Ministry from Infant Jesus School, Morley Ministry.

Agencies supported by LifeLink are Samaritan Projects, The Shopfront, Ruah-Anawim Aboriginal Women’s Service, Natural Fertility Services, identitywa, Emmanuel Centre, Daydawn Advocacy Centre, Cross

Roads Community Addiction Counselling, Centrecare Inc, Djooraminda, Catholic Migrant Services, Centacare Employment and Training and Catholic Association for Deaf and Hearing Impaired.

Year 3 student, Katelyn McCormack, second from right, with her winning picture in the LifeLink Express Yourself Art Competition

PHOTO: RON TAN

Chill of winter on spring night

Continued from page 1

no coherent alternative vision being offered to Muslims in Egypt today.”

Fr Abram Abdelmalek told those at the vigil there had been 27 separate incidents of violence against Egypt’s Copts this year.

The same kind of international pressure that was exerted against the white apartheid regime in South Africa needed to happen again to save the Coptic Christians in Egypt, Fr Abdelmalek said.

“I wonder every day if I will ever hear the president of Egypt stand up in parliament and say sorry for the persecution of indigenous Copts,” he said.

“What happened a month ago was no less than crimes against humanity.”

Fr Luke Sorsok, of St Mark and St George Coptic Orthodox Church in Wanneroo, said Egypt’s economy was suffering due to the escalating violence. In his parish there were now three families who had escaped Egypt this year.

Many of those seeking asylum in Australia and elsewhere were qualified doctors, engineers and pharmacists, he said, who faced employment discrimination in Egypt.

Among those at Friday’s vigil was an ex-Muslim who converted to Christianity. He said he was “taught in school to kill Christians” and survived being poisoned by a Muslim for converting to Christianity.

The vigil was one of many held simultaneously around Australia, organised by the Coptic Orthodox Archdiocese of Melbourne.

In Melbourne, a vigil at Federation Square attracted an estimated 1500 people.

WA Coptic Appeal

The community of St Mary and Archangel Michael Coptic Orthodox Church launched an appeal in October to aid fellow Copts in Egypt. Donations can be made to the following account: Coptic Charities Commonwealth Bank

BSB: 063159

Account Number: 10246268

Neighbours ponder future

By RoBeRt Hiini

THE fruits of the ‘Arab Spring’ for Christians in Syria are also far from certain, according to a local Syrian Orthodox Church leader.

Standing in solidarity with Coptic Orthodox Christians at a prayer vigil in Victoria Park on Friday night, the Rev Deacon Theodore Issa prayed for the souls of Egyptian Copts killed in recent protests and persecutions.

The deacon recently returned from Jordan where he met the Patriarch of the Syrian Orthodox Church, His Holiness Moran Mor Ignatius Zakka. According to reports, he said, Christians in Syria were, for the moment, safe and free to worship.

“There is a lot at stake in countries like Syria and countries nearby if something goes wrong,” he said.

“What is the alternative (to the

current regime)? The only alternative we can see is what is happening in Egypt and the Christians are not in a better place than they used to be before this revolution.”

“We’re hoping that it’s not going to become a platform for persecution of Christians all over the world and in the Middle East, precisely,” Deacon Issa said.

“We’re hoping for a peaceful resolution for the sake of our people; for the sake of Syria.”

The Syrian Orthodox Church had established a substantial and dignified presence in Perth, Deacon Issa said.

He came to Australia from his native Jordan in 1989, where his father, the Very Reverend Fr Chorepiscopus Boutros Touma Issa, served for 31 years before being asked to establish St Ephraim’s Syrian Orthodox Church in Western Australia.

When life comes to a close, priests needed more

Continued from page 1 do you feel if someone rejects you?’ But God never rejects anyone.”

While stories of loneliness are common, there was also humour in pastoral care of the sick and dying, and some inspiration too, Fr Anthony said.

“I went to see someone who was dying so I gave him the sacraments. I went to see his wife afterwards and she said, ‘Father, you know my husband’s not a Catholic?’

“So I asked the man if he wanted to be Catholic and he said ‘yes’. I confirmed him and visited for 10 days. He died a very beautiful death. He was very happy.”

Without the fountain of youth, death is a certainty – and the reason the Church provides the last rites.

“The ‘last rites’ are the final preparation, moving from one life to the next. People like the comfort of receiving it, not just the sick person but family members too. It is a reminder of the presence of God,”

Fr Anthony told The Record

While it can bring particular solace to have a priest present at that time, a hello and chat over a cup of tea also provide joy and comfort.

“Not everyone has the calling to work with the elderly,” Fr Jeronimo says, “but the key is to listen.”

Norma Pizzino, 75, of Good Shepherd Parish, Kelmscott, said, “I was very happy for Fr Francis to visit and enjoy lunch with my family and me. Some priests don’t like to come because they are busy, then I feel sad.”

“Nowadays you’ve got one priest doing what three used to do, but even busy priests have to make time. I enjoy visiting the elderly,” said Fr Anthony.

Despite society’s ageing, priests continue to do their best, visiting with comforting words and making time so those they are visiting know someone does care.

“Life is so beautiful,” said Fr Jeronimo. “It is a gift from God and it goes back to God.”

Forum to talk abortion’s impact on men

ABORTION Grief Australia will hold a forum on ‘Men Impacted by Abortion’ on Monday 14 November.

“This is not a forum on ethics or rights,” AGA’s Julie Cook said, “but a recognition that we as a community

have a responsibility to give hope, help and healing to those wounded by abortion and to explore how we can better serve women and men experiencing pregnancy crisis.”

The organisation has also called

for “mature and compassionate” volunteers, who are “good listeners” interested in training.

The forum will begin at 7.30pm. More information can be obtained from AGA on (08) 9313 1784.

Perth Coptic Christians and supporters attend the candlight vigil on Friday 4 November in Victoria Park. PHOTO: R HIINI

A poster bears the words of St Paul outside the Coptic Orthodox Church in Victoria Park. PHOTO: R HIINI

Game on: sport a spiritual venture

By RoBeRt Hiini

WHEN it comes to evangelisation and fraternity, sport has proved it’s got what it takes to deliver the goods.

The first meet of the second annual Soccer and Netball Tournament at Mercy College, Mirrabooka on Sunday 6 November was, perhaps, the latest manifestation. Thirteen mostly parish-based soccer, and five netball, teams took to their respective theatres of battle, thrashing it out in a day of fun and fitness, punctuated with a little light

CHOGM’s gone but Paschal stays to sing

By RoBeRt Hiini

WHEN Paschal Obidile was asked to sing the Australian national anthem at a parish soccer and netball tournament last Sunday, he thought the priest who organised the event must have been joking.

Arriving in Perth on the 25 October as part of Nigeria’s official delegation to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, it was the first time the professional vocalist had been to Australia.

“I am so glad to sing your anthem. I love your country and I’m so pleased to have this privilege,” Mr Obidile told a crowd of keen soccer and netball players shortly before the official kick-off.

The Rome-based vocalist might have been a stranger to Australia up until recently, but he is no stranger to the Church.

Since 2009, he has been the permanent cantor at Chiesa Santa Susanna - the official American church in Rome - leading the choir and congregation in worship.

Before that, he was a member of a Vatican choir, the Cappella Guilia, singing Gregorian chant and polyphony in St Peter’s Basilica at solemn functions.

“Now I’m also a freelance vocalist. Most of my work comes from people who have heard me sing live,” Mr Obidile told The Record Born and raised in Onicha,

rain. It’s not the first time sport has been a draw card for the parish.

When organiser Fr Bonaventure Echeta’s soccer team began practising on the college grounds three years ago, male drivers and pedestrians would stop to see what was going on and how they could get involved.

Finding out the team was founded and coached by a priest, he said, proved a segue to many fruitful conversations about God and faith.

“It’s grassroots evangelisation,” Fr Bonaventure, 37, said of his soccer and netball ventures to date. “Most

times Christ wants us to be closer to one another ... and when people are close together they can pray together,” he said.

Shortly after becoming assistant priest at Mirrabooka, he founded and continues to coach the Westminster Angels - a soccer team for young Catholic men and last year’s winners of the inaugural Soccer and Netball Tournament soccer trophy.

Sunday’s meet was the first of two; an opportunity for every player to get a game before the real competition begins on Sunday

13 November. Archbishop Barry Hickey got the ball rolling with an official kick-off which also featured other dignitaries and netball organiser, Vanessa Franse. The Archbishop greeted each team before offering sporting words of encouragement.

Soccer matches were an almost entirely male affair while the netball competition was more mixed.

Teams hailed from as far away as Kwinana and Clarkson; Bateman and Whitfords and the Burmese Catholic Community fielded two teams each.

Nigeria, Mr Obidile moved to Rome to study music in 2007. He was contracted to sing during the CHOGM Business Forum at Burswood from 25-27 October in which government leaders met with local and international business representatives.

Mr Obidile stayed on in Perth after the conclusion of CHOGM specifically to sing the anthem at the tournament, taking place at Mercy College, Mirrabooka on Sunday 6 November.

An Australian-based priest he knew put him in contact with mutual friend, tournament organiser and assistant priest at Mirrabooka, Fr Bonaventure Echeta. Mr Obidile is in the process of recording an album in London which he hopes will showcase his talent to a wider audience, including future clients.

Schoenstatt shrine invites all to birthday celebration

By MaRk Reidy

AN OPEN invitation is being offered by the Schoenstatt Movement of WA to join them in celebrating the 20th anniversary of the blessing of their shrine in Armadale on 20 November.

Since it was officially opened by Archbishop Barry Hickey in 1991, the Shrine of the Mother Thrice Admirable, Queen of Schoenstatt, has received large numbers of visitors seeking to receive the graces promised by Mary to the movement’s founder, Father Joseph Kentenich in 1914.

The Armadale shrine is one of 200 replicas spread across 40 countries based on the original chapel in the Schoenstatt Valley in Germany. Each has become a spiritual centre for the movement, providing visitors with a place of prayer and pilgrimage and an opportunity to receive threefold graces - a home, inner transformation and

apostolic fruitfulness. “We are all pilgrims seeking peace and renewal”, said John Doherty, chairman of the coordinator’s committee for Schoenstatt’s WA branch.

“Through Mary’s intercession pilgrims to the shrines are provided with the opportunity to experience love and acceptance, become a new creation in Jesus Christ and then partake in her mission to lead soul’s home to the heavenly Father’s heart.”

Schoenstatt is a Marian and apostolic movement of renewal made up of people from all walks of life, nations and cultures.

Mr Doherty said members seek to live as a family of families within the Church, taking Christ into the world and restoring Him in His rightful place through “everyday sanctity”, which is one of their foundational principles.

Further details on the anniversary celebrations are available on page 4 of this week’s Record

CYM readies for WYD

WITH World Youth Day Madrid in the can, Perth Catholic Youth Ministry is gearing up for the next one, celebrating ‘World Youth Day Brazil’ this Sunday.

The ‘Sunday Sesh’ event will begin with a 5pm youth Mass celebrated by Archbishop Barry Hickey at Perth’s St Mary’s Cathedral.

Entertainment will follow at the Cathedral’s Presbytery Forecourt at 7pm including a live display of capoeira - the national martial art of Brazil.

Perth CYM are advising punters to “be prepared for the carnival atmosphere because you never know; you could go home with a burning desire to go to the next World Youth Day in Brazil.”

Fr Bonaventure Echeta.

PHOTO: R HIINI

Singer Paschal Obidile with Archbishop Barry Hickey at the Mirrabooka tournament.

PHOTO: R HIINI

Perth woman’s confessional tale up for award

By Bridget SpinkS

A PERTH Catholic woman’s gripping autobiography of how she overcame a traumatic childhood and deep marital problems through the power of prayer has been nominated a Bookseller’s Choice finalist in the Omega Writer’s Caleb Award.

From Fear to Faith is the story of Norma Woodcock’s spiritual growth in prayer, how she found God amidst the trials of life, including the avoidable loss of a child at birth and struggled to emotionally connect with her daughters.

To be nominated as one of three finalists in the nonfiction category of the Bookseller’s Choice gives Norma a great thrill.

“It’s a new space for me. I feel quite overwhelmed actually.

mented that he learnt much about contemplative and meditative prayer disciplines in the tradition of St Teresa of Avila, quotes from whom head each chapter, but was somewhat uncomfortable with the confessional nature of the book.

Norma said she wrote her story with the support and guidance of senior Perth priest, Monsignor Tim Corcoran.

Archbishop Barry Hickey wrote the foreword and encouraged her to write the book.

“There were 50 people on the shortlist who didn’t make it into the finals; there are another 50 people who are probably more experienced than me,” she said.

Born in India and a migrant to Western Australia at the age of five, Mrs Woodcock’s tale reveals how God worked in her life.

One Caleb Award reviewer com-

“Why hide? The Bible says ‘bring it to the light’,” she said. She hoped others could find hope for their lives by reading From Fear to Faith “If I can come from such a disadvantaged point and yet have peace in my life, then it has to be hope for them,” Norma said.

She wrote it, she said, so people could see no matter how bad things may have been in their lives, God will always be bigger than any problem.

The winners of the fiction, nonfiction and poetry categories, as well as the overall winner of the Caleb Award, will be announced at the Caleb Prize Awards Dinner in Brisbane on 11 November.

New parish blesses good ground

THE RAIN held off for the new Baldivis Catholic Parish as it celebrated an official blessing of the site for the planned school and church on Sunday, 9 October.

Parish Priest Father Geoff Aldous was assisted by Fr Daniel Chama in conducting a simple ceremony attended by more than 100 local parishioners.

The ceremony included a dedication to the proposed patron of Baldivis Catholic Church, Nobel Prize winner Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta.

A large handcrafted wooden cross built by parishioners Gerry Vink and Leo Hoogenbook has already been erected on the site at the corner of Eighty and Sixty Eight Roads in Baldivis.

Mass is currently celebrated on Sundays at 9.30am at Tranby College Chapel with entry from Arpenteur Drive, Baldivis.

Parish patron Blessed Mother Teresa was revered for her lifelong commitment to the poor and disadvantaged. She died in 1997 and a miraculous healing attributed to her intercession was recognised by the Vatican in 2003. She was beatified on 19 October 2003.

With construction works slated to commence in 2012 on the primary school, families are invited to register their interest in enrolment for the proposed commencement in 2013 by emailing baldiviscps@ cathednet.wa.edu.au.

Further information on the school and church is available from Fr Aldous on 0427 040 100.

Baldivis parish priest Fr Geoff Aldous and parishioners head towards the site where their new parish church will be built.

PHOTO: COURTESY BALDIVIS PARISH

Norma Woodcock’s book is a finalist for a Christian book prize.

Patriarch calls persecution ‘Islamist’

FRIBOURG – The patriarch of the Coptic Catholic Church in Egypt blamed Islamic fundamentalists for the increasing number of attacks on Christians and criticised a growing division between Muslims and Christians since the country’s February revolution.

Speaking on 30 October at St Nicolas Cathedral in Fribourg, Switzerland, during a day of prayer for persecuted Catholics, Cardinal Antonios Naguib, Coptic Catholic patriarch of Alexandria, said the links between Muslims and Catholics that were reinforced in the period just after the revolution

have deteriorated. “Today, Islamic fundamentalists have come out of the woodwork, and there are recurring attacks on Christians,” Cardinal Naguib said.

The attacks left dozens dead and “created a gulf between Muslims and Christians, which is being continually widened under the influence of fanatical leaders,” he said during the event organised by the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need.

The cardinal said the unity that existed during the revolution, which saw Christians and Muslims praying together in churches and

mosques for peace and a return to order, has virtually ended.

Cardinal Naguib pointed to the 2010 Synod of Bishops on the Middle East decision not to apply the word “persecution” to the plight of Christians in the region and said they have faced “prohibitions imposed by the Quran and Islamic Shariah law.”

Earlier, in an interview with the ACN news agency, Coptic Orthodox Bishop Estaphanos of Beba, Samasta and El Fashn said “daily vexations” have included demands for a boycott of Christian shops and refusal to employ peo-

ple “without veils over their heads.” He said he believed attempts were under way for a general expulsion of Christians.

“Christians in Egypt are experiencing their worst period in centuries - the Egyptian media are trying to cover up the attacks, so the international media won’t provide information about the real situation and there won’t be pressure from outside,” he told the news agency.

About three weeks earlier, 30 Christians were killed and more than 320 injured by security forces during a protest against discrimination in Cairo’s Maspero Square.

The attack was the latest against the mostly Coptic Christian minority, which makes up a tenth of the 81 million inhabitants of Egypt.

In his Fribourg homily, Cardinal Naguib said evidence suggested the October crackdown was planned.

He said television reporters had “incited attacks against peacefully demonstrating Christians” and that Egyptian authorities later “blamed the Copts” for the violence.

“Acts of violence are being committed against Christians and churches, without action by the authorities or sanctions against the guilty,” he said.

By Carol Glatz

VATICAN CITY – Christ’s resurrection is not a mere symbol of life and renewal but is the true source of a love that conquers the power of death, Pope Benedict XVI said.

“The abyss of death is filled by another abyss of even greater depth, that of God’s love, so that death no longer has any power over Jesus Christ nor over those who, through their faith and baptism, are tied to him,” he said during a memorial Mass on 3 November.

The Pope celebrated the memorial Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica in memory of the 10 cardinals and 118 bishops who died in the past year.

The 84-year-old pontiff walked from the sacristy, rather than down the entire length of the basilica.

In his homily, Pope Benedict said, “New and eternal life is fruit of the tree of the cross, a tree that blossoms and makes fruit because of the light and the strength that comes from the sun of God.”

To counteract the negative power of sin, an even greater power was needed, he said. The answer was the power of a love that comes straight from God’s own heart, reveals the ultimate meaning of creation, and renews and guides his children along the right path, the Pope said.

Latin mass society plays down UK priest’s remarks

By John thavis

ROME – The consensus among leaders of the traditionalist Society of St Pius X is that a “doctrinal preamble” presented by the Vatican is “clearly unacceptable,” according to the district superior of the society in Britain.

The comments, made by Father Paul Morgan in an online newsletter in early November, appeared to dim prospects for a Vatican reconciliation with the society.

The society’s headquarters moved quickly to downplay the priest’s remarks, saying he was unauthorised to make a response.

In mid-September, Vatican officials met with SSPX leaders and presented them with a doctrinal statement that listed several principles the society must agree with in order to move toward full reconciliation.

In October, Bishop Bernard

Fellay, the superior of the society, met with about 30 of the society’s officials in Albano, outside of Rome, to review the Vatican’s conditions.

Reporting on that meeting in his newsletter, Father Morgan said that, to the disappointment of the society, the Vatican’s doctrinal preamble “contained all those elements which the society has consistently rejected, including acceptance of the new Mass and of Vatican II as expressed in the new catechism.”

“Indeed, the document itself conveys the impression that there is no crisis in the Church,” he said.

“Hence the stated consensus of those in attendance was that the doctrinal preamble was clearly unacceptable and that the time has certainly not come to pursue any practical agreement as long as the doctrinal issues remain outstanding,” Father Morgan said.

He said it was agreed at the meet-

ing that the society should continue insisting upon doctrinal issues in its talks with Vatican officials, given “Rome’s persistence in the modern errors”.

Father Morgan said the recent interfaith prayer for peace encounter in the pilgrimage town of Assisi, hosted by Pope Benedict XVI, was a “scandal” that “replaces faith with religious liberty as the means to obtain world peace”.

The general house of the Society of St Pius X, in a statement issued on 2 November, said that since the October meeting in Albano, “several comments have been published in the press about the answer that Bishop Bernard Fellay should give to the Roman propositions of September 14”.

“It has to be recalled that only the SSPX’s general house has the competency to publish an official communiqué or authorised comment on the subject,” it said.

A woman pours lime on a grave in the Cemetery of Sumpango Sacatepequez, near Guatemala City, on 1 November. Around the world, Catholics marked All Saints Day by visiting cemeteries and graves of deceased relatives and friends.

PHOTO: CNS/JORGE DAN LOPEZ

No guns in church, US bishops request

MADISON – Wisconsin’s bishops have urged Catholics not to take weapons to church even though a new state law went into effect on 1 November allowing those with permits to carry concealed weapons.

In a statement issued to the US state’s Catholics, bishops said they were not mandating that parishes prohibit concealed weapons but advised parishioners to “seriously consider not carrying them into church buildings as a sign of reverence for these sacred spaces.”

The state’s five bishops wrote that natural law and constitutional tradition upheld individual freedom as an intrinsic human right.

“True freedom, however, is not a licence to do whatever we choose. Rather, it is the ability to do what we morally ought to do, to build a just society and to glorify God, who is the author of all liberty and the source of human dignity,” they said.

The right to bear arms, protected under the US Constitution, should be “exercised responsibly and in accordance with applicable laws”.

“We are obligated to use this particular freedom with due respect for others and for the desires of those who welcome us into their homes, places of business, and other public spaces, such as churches and religious institutions,” they added.

The bishops also urged Catholics to reflect on Catholic teaching, which is committed to nonviolence.

“While the Church has always upheld the right to self-defence, peaceful means of reconciling conflicts and differences, both as individuals and nations, is the preferred method,” they said.

The bishops asked Catholics to remember that churches and parish facilities are “sacred spaces” where all come to find peace.

Catholic Mutual Group, the insurance provider for more than 100 US dioceses, recommends that parishes and church facilities bar weapons from their premises.

With Wisconsin now having a concealed-carry law, Illinois is the only state where it is illegal to carry a concealed weapon in public.

In Georgia, gun rights advocates have filed a lawsuit against the state saying they should be allowed to carry firearms in churches, synagogues, mosques and other places of worship.

Currently, that state’s law bans firearms in places of worship as a violation of constitutionally protected religious freedoms. Other states with similar restrictions, according to The Associated Press, include Arkansas, Mississippi and North Dakota. CNS

Indigenous protest in Amazon

By BarBara J Fraser

LIMA – Most of the environmental battles Brother Paul McAuley fights seem endless, conflicts between indigenous communities and loggers or oil companies that have spilled toxic substances into their waterways.

Sometimes, however, there’s a victory. In mid-October, the Peruvian government overturned a law allowing water from one of the main tributaries of the Amazon River to be diverted to irrigate export agriculture operations on Peru’s desert coast.

“We’re not sure it’s dead, in the sense it will never come back, but for the moment it has been put on hold,” said Br Paul who works with indigenous students and founded the Loreto Environmental Network in Iquitos, in the Peruvian Amazon.

But he has his eye on other threats, especially a plan for 20 dams along the Maranon River that would flood three communities.

The world’s growing thirst for fossil fuels, electricity and minerals is squeezing indigenous people throughout the Amazon basin, who often inhabit lands rich in oil and gas, timber or minerals. Sometimes areas are slated for flooding by dams to produce hydroelectricity.

Increasingly, indigenous groups are demanding the right, often protected by their countries’ constitutions and enshrined in international treaties, to have a voice in decisions affecting their lands. But resources such as oil, gas and water are considered public property and political leaders argue they must exploit to ensure economic growth.

In September, the government of Bolivian President Evo Morales, of Aymara Indian descent, cracked down on Indians who live in Isiboro Secure National Park and Indigenous Territory in the Amazonian lowlands, who were marching over the Andes Mountains to the capital to protest plans for a highway through the

park. While not openly criticising the government, Bolivia’s Catholic bishops had urged people along the marchers’ route to help them by providing food and shelter.

One government minister resigned in protest over violent police action against protesters, and

farmers growing coca, the raw material used to make cocaine.

Brazil’s energy consumption grew by nearly 8 per cent in 2010, driven by industrial consumption, which was up more than 10 per cent over the previous year. With its eye on Asian export markets, Brazil

“... indigenous groups are demanding the right ... to have a voice in decisions affecting their lands.”

the interior minister was eventually forced to step down. Morales finally announced the highway would not go through the park, although he did not scrap the project altogether.

Protesters argued they had not been consulted about the highway construction, which they feared would bring illegal loggers to the forest and open up their lands to

is also financing the construction of highways to the Pacific coast through Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia.

One of the most controversial projects in the region is on the Xingu River in northern Brazil, where a large hydroelectric dam would reroute the river, reduce the flow and flood a number of villages inhabited by indigenous people

and fishing families. While courts decide a series of appeals over the project, construction has proceeded, bringing thousands of people to the area near the town of Altamira in search of jobs.

“Our communities are suffering,” said Sheyla Juruna, a Juruna Indian who lives in a tiny community near the river. “The social and environmental impacts are already being felt,” as forests are cleared and wild game becomes scarce, she said.

Although local residents want roads and jobs, the dam will ultimately create more environmental and social problems, said Bishop Erwin Krautler of Xingu, in the Brazilian state of Para.

“The Amazon is unique in the world, and development must be adapted to the region,” said Bishop Krautler. - CNS

Irish Catholics surveyed on Church

By Michael Kelly

DUBLIN – Almost half of Irish people now have an unfavourable view of the Catholic Church, according to a survey conducted for the Irish religious think tank The Iona Institute,. Of those with a negative view, three-quarters cite the abuse scandals, the abuse or its cover-up, as a cause. However, 23 per cent say their negative view is due to the Church’s history and structures.

Survey results showed that 28 per cent of those polled had a “very unfavourable” view of the Church, while 19 per cent said their view

was “mostly unfavourable.” Just 8 per cent reported their view of Catholicism was “very favourable,” with 16 per cent saying they had a “mostly favourable” view. A quarter had no view either way.

Fifty-eight per cent of those aged 45-54 hold the most unfavourable view, compared with 46 per cent of those aged 25-34.

Overall, 46 per cent of those surveyed believe Church teaching is still relevant; 55 per cent of those who self-identified as Catholics agreed that Church teaching is of benefit to Irish society.

John Murray, a theologian at the Mater Dei Institute in Dublin, told

Catholic News Service that “having an unfavourable view of the Church doesn’t necessarily mean that person is anti-Catholic per se.”

“The poll indicates around a quarter of the population can be put in this category. That is quite a high percentage, but given the huge amount of understandable anger at the Church because of the scandals, perhaps it is surprising the number isn’t higher than that,” Murray said.

Since 2005, the Irish Catholic Church and various dioceses have been the subject of four different independent inquiries into physical and sexual abuse and its coverup. Irish government officials had

BRAZIL

Brazilian parishes collect guns/ammo

Nineteen parishes in Sao Paulo opened their doors to collect guns and ammunition as part of a city-wide campaign that collected 271 firearms and 173 rounds of ammunition over nine days. The campaign was organised with the cooperation of a variety of religious houses of worship. In connection with the campaign, Cardinal Odilio Pedro Scherer of Sao Paulo called for tighter laws controlling the development of toys that push children toward violence. “We have seen the tragic use of firearms in our schools. This is certainly an imitation of adult attitudes,” the Cardinal said in a statement. He also said stronger action was needed to control the illegal entry of firearms into Brazil. “Arms trafficking is one of the most profitable illegal activities in the world today,” he said.

IRELAND

Irish embassy to Holy See closed to save costs

Ireland will close its embassy to the Holy See in what has been described by officials as a cost-saving measure. Irish foreign minister Eamon Gilmore said the move was not a result of a recent dispute between Ireland and the Vatican, which saw the papal nuncio to Ireland temporarily called back to the Vatican in July and later reassigned. He said the decision was made with “the greatest regret and reluctance” to close the Vatican embassy as well as Ireland’s diplomatic missions in Iran and East Timor. The decision, he said, followed a review that gave particular attention to the economic return from bilateral missions. While the embassy was one of Ireland’s oldest diplomatic missions, it yielded no economic return.

IVORY COAST

Pope encourages truth/ justice in Ivory Coast

People of the Ivory Coast have a right to know the truth about atrocities committed by both sides after disputed elections led to months of violence this year, Pope Benedict XVI said. Welcoming the Ivory Coast’s new ambassador to the Vatican, the Pope said the government and the people must commit to reconciliation after conflict in which hundreds were reported slain and tens of thousands fled the country. “Do not be afraid of the truth about all crimes and violations committed against human rights,” he said. “Peaceful coexistence will be possible only through the harmonious pursuit of truth and justice.”

VATICAN

Accountability called for to protect children

strong words about the Vatican, which recalled and reassigned its ambassador.

Irish Catholics are currently awaiting the report of an apostolic visitation ordered by Pope Benedict XVI. The Vatican says the report of the visitation, conducted by senior prelates, including Cardinal Sean P O’Malley of Boston and Archbishop Timothy M Dolan of New York ,will “assist the local Church on her path of renewal.”

The Vatican has announced it expects to publish an “overall synthesis indicating the results and the future prospects highlighted by the visitation” in early 2012. - CNS

Child abuse prevention policies will never work without accountability and an unwavering commitment to children’s welfare, said the Vatican’s top investigator of clerical sex abuse. “No strategy for the prevention of child abuse will ever work without commitment and accountability,” especially from the world’s bishops, said Mgr Charles Scicluna, promoter of justice for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith at an international forum on preventing child abuse. He said in his speech that the protection and respect of children must be paramount, and seeing them as a gift of God “is the true basis of prevention of child abuse.” Sex abuse of minors by clergy and pastoral workers caused “indescribably repugnant damage” to the child and inflicts “a tragic wound” on the Church community.

Bolivian indigenous people of the Isiboro Secure National Park and Indigenous Territory on the last leg of a protest walk of more than 480km last month.

PHOTO: CNS/DAVID MERCADO

By Cindy Wooden

VATICAN CITY – The challenge posed by the world’s population reaching seven billion people is not how to stop population growth but how to find ways to ensure continued growth can benefit all humanity, said an article in Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano

Based on estimates by the United Nations, the population reached seven billion on 31 October.

Population growth should privilege all, not few Justice group rejects prolife allegations

By dennis sadoWski

WASHINGTON - Officials with the US Catholic Campaign for Human Development rebutted a report that 55 agencies funded by the US bishops’ in 2010-11 were in conflict with church teaching.

Ralph McCloud, CCHD executive director, said the charges levelled in an American Life League study against all but one of the agencies were unfounded.

McCloud told CNS on 4 November funding was withdrawn from one named organisation.

That case involved the immigrant rights group Centro Campesino in Minnesota which was distributing condoms. McCloud acknowledged the league’s role in pointing out the organisation’s practice.

McCloud also said the 54 remaining agencies were found to be in compliance after a follow-up investigation by CCHD staff that involved contacting each group.

The 212-page report - completed in March but not made public until October - accused the grass-roots organisations of promoting abortion, homosexuality and Marxist ideology contrary to Catholicism.

Michael Hitchborn, director of the league’s Defend the Faith project and the report’s author, said his research showed that the organisations violated church doctrine through activities or coalitions.

The agencies in question received nearly $1.9 million in 2010-11, according to CCHD records. Overall, CCHD funded 229 organisations with national grants from a collection that netted about $9.5 million for both national and local diocesan distribution.

The report is the latest salvo from the American Life League and a small group of vocal critics, which, since 2008, have questioned the thoroughness of CCHD’s process for vetting grant applications.

It was released just weeks before the annual CCHD collection in parishes, which is set for the weekend of 19-20 November.

The persistent questions were among the factors that led CCHD to revise its review process in October 2010 in an effort to renew the grant-making program. McCloud referred to a 28 September memo-

At a time when people were talking again about overpopulation, “it’s worth asking which overpopulation we’re talking about,” author Cristian Martini Grimaldi wrote in the article published on the Vatican newspaper’s front page.

He said some talked as if population growth in some parts of the world or individual countries was so exaggerated it was akin to an “abnormal growth” on part of a diseased body or a form of gigantism.

“The problem is not demographic gigantism and never was, not even way back in 1968 when the best seller The Population Bomb disturbed the consciences of millions by predicting planetary catastrophe,” he wrote.

“Perhaps the point isn’t to stop growth, but how to continue to grow,” specifically by “emphasising development that does not privilege only a few, but all”.

The author said that in

discussions about excessive population growth, “the experts always and only indicate two places: sub-Saharan Africa and Asia,” particularly China and India.

But if one looks at population density, the number of people per square mile, Germany faces more of a population problem than China does. And India’s population density is “basically analogous to that of Japan,” he said.

Some people have been pro -

moting the idea of a sustainable negative growth campaign focused on convincing people in affluent industrialised nations to reduce their consumption of food and natural resources while simultaneously convincing people in the developing world to reduce their population growth rates, he said.

The underlying assumption was that, in the area of population growth, the West “has already done its part”, Mr Grimaldi wrote. - CNS

randum from Bishop Soto, chairman of the bishops’ Subcommittee on the CCHD, and Bishop Blaire, chairman of the Committee on domestic justice, to fellow bishops outlining concerns with the report.

The bishops said the League’s charges “are without substance.”

“CCHD staff has met repeatedly with representatives of the American Life League to explain CCHD’s mission, requirements and processes,” the memo said.

“They (league officials) simply do not agree with CCHD’s mission and how we apply our guidelines and requirements.” The memo also said the grant awards are based on

the judgment of local bishops and the vetting process of each diocese. McCloud said his staff discovered the charges were based on

“They issue a sweeping blanket dismissal of the report, never once addressing the specifics.”

information from outdated websites and without contacting most of the cited agencies for verification.

“We did several things. We contacted the diocese, contacted the group. We did due diligence on looking into what the complaints and allegations were,” McCloud said of the follow-up investigation.

Fourteen of the organisations, the report said, were involved in activities directly in opposition to church teaching, while the remaining 41 were part of coalitions in which some activities contradict Catholic moral and social teaching.

Hitchborn told CNS that CCHD officials have not adequately addressed the redearch’s concerns.

“They issue a very sweeping blanket dismissal of the report,

never once addressing the specifics. They don’t go into any of the information we have in our report. They just say, ‘It’s wrong,’” he said. McCloud and Hitchborn confirmed that the two parties met twice - in April and September - to review the report’s findings. The meetings began after American Life League sent its study through to Bishop Soto in March.

After the September meeting, the American Life League sent the report to all US bishops. A few weeks later, the document was posted on the league’s website promoting CCHD reform - www. reformcchdnow.com. - CNS

Grace of Christ will liberate abortion sufferers

By Tom JozWik

Post-abortion caregivers should see those who seek help “as the Lord sees them, beyond their weakness, and to call them to wholeness” a conference organised by the US National Office of Post-Abortion Reconciliation has heard.

Archbishop Naumann of Kansas City made the remarks during the Healing Vision Conference “of academics, medical professionals, mental health experts and caregivers gathered to share resources and research, and network.”

He employed personal stories and biblical passages as he urged his audience to help clients, “pained and in anger” after undergoing or otherwise involved in abortions to experience God’s mercy, be able to forgive themselves and others who were instrumental in abortions.

God was able to turn “terrible tragedy” into “a great grace.”

In 1985, the future Archbishop became priest-moderator of his archdiocese’s pro-life committee and visited parishes to preach “what we would call today the Gospel of Life.”

Following an early homily, he was approached by an “attractive, professional, single woman who seemed tense and perhaps angry.”

Unexpectedly, he said, “she encouraged me to speak boldly and often” about the sanctity of life and shared the tale of the “psychological and spiritual aftermath” of her own abortion a decade earlier. She was a student at the time, “overwhelmed and scared” by the prospect of single parenthood, and was revealing her secret for the first time.

Although successful in her career, the woman felt “empty,” the

Archbishop said. She’d had trouble relating to men, was sad in the presence of little children and found it difficult to visit doctors and hospitals, as such visits proved remindful of her abortion venue.

“She considered herself unworthy of love. Most difficult of all, she wondered if God could forgive her ‘unforgivable’ sin.”

The woman’s feelings of “postabortion grief and guilt,” noted the Archbishop, were “far from unique.” Her grief was “truncated”; she could not adequately mourn because of her shame, could not

reveal her secret even to her “natural support system of family and friends.” As for guilt, some who have abortions “are able to suppress (it) for many years,” he noted, only to have the guilt resurface with an occurrence such as a miscarriage.

“Jesus spends a significant amount of time healing,” the Archbishop told his audience and the Lord healed spiritually as well as physically. It is “not our skills, not our strategies that will liberate” persons suffering after being involved in abortions, but the grace of Christ. - CNS

A peak US Catholic justice group has responded to claims of funding “anti-life” organisations after several years of criticism.

PHOTO: CNS/EDGARD GARRIDO

THE

HOUSE

OF GOD

When it comes time for a parish to consider building a new church, the principle of beauty is of paramount importance, writes Elizabeth Bogoni

Since new plans have been drawn up for the building of a new parish church for our community of faith, and many have made their opinions known, I thought it would be appropriate to offer my own thoughts as someone who has a profound interest in and love for sacred art and recently completed a degree in graphic design. I would like to offer these observations with sincere good will, intending to offend no one. In particular, I would like to give voice to the thoughts of likeminded young Catholics of the “World Youth Day generation” who have at heart the great cause of the New Evangelisation.

A house of worship

A church is a house for divine worship and it is house to none other than the most holy, God almighty.

Divine worship is, of course, principally the Mass, which makes present the sacrifice of Calvary.

“This divine sacrifice which is celebrated in the Mass, the same Christ who offered himself once in a bloody manner on the altar of the cross is contained and is offered in an unbloody manner” (Catechism of the Catholic Church-1367).

The duty of a church is to accommodate this sacrifice; “the Church which is the body of

Outside of Mass it should maintain this solemn nature aiding our focus on our Lord present in the Eucharist, reserved within the tabernacle.

As this is the house of God, it should be fittingly shown that “the ornamentation should befit God and anything which is discordant with the sacred character of the place is excluded” (Canon

A church is a house for divine worship, and it is house to none other than the most holy, God almighty. Divine worship is, principally, the Mass.

Christ participates in the offering of her head. With him, she herself is offered whole and entire” (CCC-1368). The background of the Mass should therefore reflect this solemn sacrifice.

It should be an offering most worthy, and most beautiful, uplifting the minds of the faithful to the profound nature of the Mass and to the presence of our Lord.

1220). Any add-ons that are just there for the sake of ‘good taste’ do not have the right to be there.

“Everything should be truly worthy and beautiful and be signs and symbols of heavenly realities” (General Instruction on the Roman Missal 228).

Physical made real

As Catholics we believe that

the human person consists of both body and soul (CCC- 362), likewise the church is comprised of both the spiritual and material. Spiritually the church should represent and uphold the Catholic inculturation of the values of goodness, truth and beauty, the natural values on which the Church is founded.

Of these the one most accommodating to the ‘physical format’ is that of beauty, which in its essence holds both goodness and truth together in vital and harmonious unity.

An aesthetic of beauty gives us the ability to grasp “treasures from the heavenly realm of the Holy Spirit... clothing them in words, colours, forms” (Benedict XVI).

Although in today’s architecture we seem to avert our eyes from the treasures of the heavenly realm for that which is ‘practical’, in being practical we run the risk of discarding the spiritual, expressed in the beautiful. We are warned against straying from

beauty. As Hans Urs von Balthasar put it:

“We can be sure that whoever sneers at her [Beauty’s] name as if she were the ornament of a bourgeoisie past - whether he admits it or not - can no longer pray and soon will no longer be able to love”.

Beauty draws man out of himself, raising his mind to higher things, and a church should reflect this. It should act as a physical reminder of the spiritual. Beauty in itself is not subjective, nor is

Beauty aiding the spirit: details of the chapel of St Cecelia in Nashville, Tennessee, below and of the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, Diocese of West Missouri, at centre of page. The illustration at top of the page shows an artist’s concept for the Chapel of St Hugh of Grenoble. PHOTOS: MCCRERY ARCHITECTS, GRANDA LITURGICAL ARTS

it what the majority finds preferable or to their taste. Beauty stems from reason and “whatever is beautiful is also good and true, and expresses unity and harmony.” According to St Paul whatever is beautiful must fix our minds and our hearts on the things above.

And so it is only fitting that when building a church the practicality of the place be on par with the spiritual nature of the church, in order that we may strive to raise minds to the spiritual. How practical would a church devoted

to divine worship be if it failed to aid men in that very purpose of divine worship?

A means of evangelisation

We are living in the age of the “culture of the image”. Everything these days seems to be visual. People, whether they admit it or not, are affected by the external appearance of things.

If people therefore judge on the basis of looks, they will see a “modern” building as a merely functional building (like Bunnings or McDonalds) and a grander building to house something of importance.

This is why concert halls, which house the arts, tend to be more beautiful in their representation; they house what is a representation of beauty. How then should a church look if it is to house the most beautiful thing on earth?

What impression do we create in people’s minds of how important the life of faith is to us by the style we choose to employ in the

construction of buildings set aside for sacred worship?

Although many new buildings tend to be built in a functional style, as this is the ‘done’ thing, to offer someone the same thing they would expect everywhere else would run the risk of detracting from the special character of the sacred as something ‘set apart’ for the sake of the rest – not to

given the attention it should receive, then the rest of the body will suffer.

The utilitarian style runs against the message of faith, the reality of the spiritual, the irreplaceable value of the human person, and the beauty of God’s salvation offered in Christ.

How practical would a church devoted to divine worship be, if it failed to aid men in that very purpose of divine worship?

stand aloof from the world but to be at the service of the world.

If the beating heart of the life of faith is the Celebration of the Sacred Mysteries, we strive to give this the best expression possible by the character of the building in which it takes place because the health of the heart impacts on the body.

If, however, the heart is not

With beauty on our side we are better able to offer people this alternative to the materialistic and barren spirit of our postmodern culture, in which people are tired and overburdened, longing for rest, for “light, refreshment and peace” (Eucharistic Prayer 1). A mistake we commonly make in the Church is that we try to reach out to the post-modern world by watering down Catholic identity, trying to blend into the

culture, to make it ‘easier,’ if you will.

This actually has the reverse effect, leading to a weakening of faith. How can we have conviction and stand up to an often hostile postmodern world if the Church at the parish level cannot stand firmly by the evangelising power of beauty? For “without beauty the world would sink into despair” (Benedict XVI).

In today’s often ugly culture and society which thirst for real values, beauty is one of the greatest conveyers of the spiritual, of the reality of God and of the love of the Heart of Christ.

Beauty is so powerful that it “awakens the soul to act”. Without it, how do we hope to awaken the souls of those in whom faith lies dormant?

Perth graduand Elizabeth Bogoni has just completed a degree in design, majoring in graphics. This reflection was contributed to her parish’s discussion on the design for a new parish church.

The Chapel of the Immaculate Conception at Seton Hall, New Jersey, top, right and details of the parish Church of St Bernadette in North Carolina, below, including a statue of the Sacred Heart and the church’s baptismal font, crafted from natural woods. PHOTOS: GRANDA LITURGICAL ARTS ABOVE, MCCRERY ARCHITECTS BELOW

Spirituality on

The Way ....

Martin Sheen had long wanted to walk the El Camino de Santiago. Nancy Erikson describes the journey, taken with his son, Emilio Estevez.

PERHAPS one day, without a film crew or a movie script or an airconditioned trailer full of bottled water and prepackaged snacks, Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez will find themselves walking along Spain’s El Camino de Santiago - the way of St James.

The 800km historic pilgrimage trail, treaded upon by popes, saints and seekers from all faith traditions for centuries, will take father and son from the quaint French village of St Jean Pied de Port through the grandiose Pyrenees Mountains across the sun-drenched northern Spanish region of Galicia to the cathedral at Santiago de Compostela.

They will perhaps carry backpacks and scallop shells, the sign of St James and a pilgrim on El Camino, and follow the warm Galician sun by day and brilliant Milky Way by night.

They’ll sleep at the posadas (hostels) and have their credencials del peregrine (Camino passports) stamped at the spiritual stops along the way.

And just maybe, as Sheen explained, they’ll “go inside and hear the heartbeat and awaken the voice.”

“I’m determined to do it,” said the 71 year old Sheen during an interview in Cleveland with the Catholic Universe Bulletin, the diocesan newspaper. He and Estevez were in town as part of a cross-country bus tour to promote their movie The Way

“I long to do it. And seriously to have that time, that freedom, to make the journey physically but also to go inside and hear the heartbeat and awaken the voice and be ruled by that, the transcendent pilgrimage which is inside,” Sheen said. “That I long for. If I only had the time.”

“But you have to promise not

ABOVE: Emilio Estevez directs his father, Martin Sheen, along the Camino de Santiago de Compostela in Spain while filming The Way

PHOTO: DAVID ALEXANIAN/CNS

RIGHT: Emilio Estevez on location in Galicia, Spain. In the distance is the shrine of La Virgin de la Barca.

PHOTO: COURTESY EMILIO ESTEVEZ

FAR RIGHT: A pilgrim rests along the Way of St James in the northern Spanish town of Burgos

PHOTO: FELIX ORDONEZ/CNS

to sign any autographs or take pictures,” quipped Estevez to his father, who enjoys spending time with his fans, allowing them to take photos and get autographs no matter how long it takes or how tired he is after shooting a film.

The Way tells the story of four Westerners walking the 800km pilgrimage route from the French Pyrenees to Santiago de Compostela. It opened nationwide on 7 October.

Estevez wrote, directed and produced the movie which is about a widower doctor, Dr Tom Avery (Sheen), whose grown son (Estevez), his only child, is killed in a storm while starting to walk El Camino. The doctor decides to reconnect with his faith and express his grief by walking the Camino for his son, bringing his ashes with him. Along the way, he is joined by three other pilgrims who are struggling with their own life challenges and help each other find inner peace.

While placed in a Catholic setting, the film has universal appeal for not only fathers and sons but anyone searching for answers in their lives.

“This movie has the potential to address all the big life themes: grief, loss, family, faith, lapse in faith,” Estevez said.

Back in February, Estevez and Sheen were at Georgetown University in Washington for an interview and screening of the movie. At the time they announced they would be conducting a 30-day, 30-city crosscountry promotion bus trip from Los Angeles to New York. The tour brought them back to Washington at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.

In Cleveland, Estevez said in the interview that he has “always been a storyteller. I started out as a writer. ...The acting was somewhat of a vehicle that I used to get there. I really enjoy being on both sides of the camera. I like directing myself. I have a ball when I’m doing it.”

At the film’s LA premiere, Sheen and Estevez were among celebrities who strolled down the red carpet outside the Nokia Theatre, where the film was screened as part of the AARP’s Movies for Grownups Film Festival.

In a brief interview on the red carpet, Sheen told The Southern Cross, newspaper of the San Diego Diocese, that the film depicts “the spiritual journey all of us have to make.”

“We have to do our pilgrimages, and we have to carry all the things that we’ve accumulated along the

way,” he said. “Nobody else can carry that stuff, nobody else can go in our shoes. You have to do it alone, but you cannot do it without community.”

Sheen said he grew up hearing stories about “this sacred pilgrimage” from his father, who was born about 80km from Santiago

“We have to do our pilgrimages, and ... carry all the things that we’ve accumulated along the way.”

de Compostela, “and so, I had this kind of romantic image that someday I would do this journey.”

Raised a Catholic, Sheen fell away from his faith for a time but returned to it some years ago and today is active in social justice causes.

In the summer of 2003, while on a break from filming the televi-

sion series The West Wing, Sheen navigated the pilgrimage route by car with grandson Taylor and a close friend. At their first stop on the Camino, Taylor met the woman who would become his wife.

“That was the first miracle. That inspired me to want to do a story on the Camino,” said Sheen, who suggested Estevez write a screenplay.

In a separate red carpet interview, Estevez noted pilgrims have been walking the Way of St James since the 9th century. “Hollywood has had 100 years to make a movie about this and they haven’t,” he said.

“It was time.”

Estevez considers his film especially relevant today. “Our business doesn’t really celebrate faith, and family, and community, and meditation and prayer in a way that it should,” he said, “and I think there is a hunger now, especially in these economic times. People are banding together in ways they never have before and certainly leaning on family.” -CNS

Joseph, Mary and the miracle of their child

Dear Father, I have always wondered why St Joseph felt he had to send Mary away when he found that she was carrying a child. Couldn’t he simply have married her and accepted the child?

THE episode to which you refer is in St Matthew’s Gospel: “When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit: and her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to send her away quietly” (Mt 1:18-19).

We recall Mary had been away for three months attending to her relative Elizabeth as she awaited the birth of John the Baptist (cf Lk 1:39-56). Some time after her return it was clear Mary too was with child, but she felt obliged not to tell Joseph it was by the Holy Spirit. It is important to know betrothal for the Jews at that time was very different from today. Even though the formal wedding ceremony had not yet taken place, betrothal conferred the status of husband and wife, so the couple could have marital relations and might conceive a child, regarded as legitimate.

In view of that, there would have been no surprise if Mary was expecting a child. Others would simply have thought the child was Joseph and Mary’s. But Joseph knew the child was not his. What was he to do?

We can be certain Joseph did not suspect Mary had conceived by another man. He knew her too well for that; he knew how virtuous she was.

Even today there are some people who are so virtuous, so holy, we know they would not commit certain sins.

Joseph would thus have been completely bewildered by the fact that Mary was carrying a child not his own, nor that of any other man.

Could he not have accepted the child as his own and proceeded with the the wedding? He could have, but obviously decided against it, perhaps because it would have put him publicly in a false position.

In these circumstances, St Matthew tells us Joseph decided to send Mary away quietly rather than expose her to public shame.

That is, rather than take the matter to the local court to have the “divorce” recognised publicly, he would simply give her the required “bill of divorce” or “writ of dismissal” before two witnesses (cf Mt 19:7).

Theologians such as John Saward, René Laurentin and Ignace de la Potterie, basing

Q&A

By Fr John Flader

themselves on St Thomas Aquinas and St Bernard of Clairvaux, give an explanation of Joseph’s actions that makes great sense.

They say he was so overwhelmed by Mary’s holiness and the great mystery of the child of God she was carrying that he felt unworthy to be her spouse and decided to release her of any obligation to marry him.

His sense of unworthiness would have been similar to that of St Peter before Jesus’ divine power revealed in the miraculous catch: “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord” (Lk 5:8).

“They say he was so overwhelmed by Mary’s holiness and the great mystery of the child of God she was carrying that he felt unworthy ...”

St Bernard points out St Elizabeth expressed the same attitude when Mary visited her carrying Jesus in her womb: “And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” (Lk 1:43).

Everything depends on the Greek word customarily translated as “to send away” or “to divorce”. Apolysai also means “to withdraw from” or “to set free”.

Thus the passage could be translated: “… and her husband Joseph, being a holy man and not wanting to reveal her mystery, resolved to withdraw from her quietly”.

One can imagine the overwhelming joy of Joseph when the angel appeared to him in a dream and said: “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit” (Mt 1:20).

Joseph did take Mary as his wife and he assumed the father’s role of giving the child the name of Jesus (cf Mt 1:25; Lk 1:62-63).

It is one more example of the exceptional holiness of St Joseph.

RIGHT: Cathedral of Santiago De Compostela. PHOTO: MICHAEL CONNELLY/CYM

Martin Sheen answering questions before screening of the movie The Way at Georgetown University in Washington.

PHOTO: BOB ROLLER/CNS

Idolatry Market

Iof the

t has occurred to me that Europe doesn’t give a damn if Greece goes down. The Europian Union’s concern is not for Greece, but for all the banks that lent all those euros to Athens and now stand to lose them. The cradle of Western Civilisation is expendable, but the vaults of the bankers must be protected at all costs.

Of course, we imagine the banks as teeming with technicians, well able to tell a good loan from a bad one. But in fact they are teeming with people operating under a reward system that books its profits today and worries about its losses tomorrow – and tomorrow, as we all know, never comes.

The profit for selling a bad bond is as great as it is for selling a good one, and the profits are enormous. Even when tomorrow does come, the bankers – make that banksters – have sufficient political cover to insure that the public will pick up the tab.

In the United States, pro-life demonstrators can be prosecuted

Attempts to discredit the Vatican’s new document on the need for global financial reform shows something rotten in Catholic intellectual circles, writes John Médaille.

under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organisations Act, but there is no law capable of reaching the banksters; fraud and failure bring increased rewards. Their actions are perfectly rational, given the system they work with, a system that is largely “self-regulated”, which is to say, “The foxes are in charge of the hen-house.”

Into this environment of rationalised madness comes the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace document Towards Reforming the International Financial and Monetary Systems in the Context of Global Political Authority. Reading the reaction (and especially, it must be said, the reaction from the political right), you would think a Stalinist

cabal had taken control of the Vatican, or that the Pope was about to pass out free marijuana.

“Vatican Calls for One World Government” proclaimed one headline, and “Vatican sides with Occupy Wall Street” another.

People who are professionally ignorant of economics proclaimed that we don’t have to listen to the Church on economic issues.

Phil Lawler, whose expertise is in journalism, proclaimed that the Church should “leave economic analysis to the economists.” Well, even a journalist should know how well that has worked.

The main gist of the dissent is that this document is not “doctrinal”, and therefore we don’t have to heed it. And besides, it’s not from the Pope, but from Church

“bureaucrats”. True, it is not from the Pope, but neither is it from just some bureaucrats. It is from a group of bishops, appointed by the Pope specifically to give guidance to the People of God on prudential matters, such as the application of the Social Teaching to specific situations. And per the Catechism of the Catholic Church, we need to listen to the bishops when they are teaching in union with the pontiff, which I presume a pontifical commission is doing, or the note would not have seen the light of day.

That being said, Lawler and similar critics do have a point. For the Church is authoritative on such applications but not infallible; prudential statements may be discussed and critiqued when they fall within one’s area of expertise. But they may never be ignored nor may we encourage others to ignore them.

Such statements must be given respect even if – or especially if –they challenge our deepest political and economic ideologies.

In reading the document, it seems to me that far from being naïve or calling for “one-world government”, the document is sophisticated in its analysis, and modest in its recommendations. Its most contentious recommendation, for a world-wide authority to govern global transfers of goods and funds, is merely realistic. Indeed, this already happens; you do not move that much in goods and money without some institutional framework, both formal and informal. However, as the document points out, the existing framework is prejudicial to the interests of small and developing nations; they violate the principles of solidarity and subsidiarity.

This happens, the document notes, because we have surren-

dered to economic liberalism, which acknowledges no moral law, but only a utilitarian motive of individual interest. The money “made” in such pure finance is totally unconnected with the flow of real goods and services. The banksters multiplied the money faster than the growth of real goods, and multiplied it solely for the purpose of fueling speculative bubbles. The liberalist approach refused to accept any regulation. This is not quite true; all markets are regulated, “spontaneous order” being a mere Darwinian fantasy. The only question is, “Who gets to write the rules?” In this case, banksters wrote their own rules, with predictable results.

The most contentious recommendation, for a worldwide authority to govern global transfers of goods and funds, is merely realistic.

The Commission calls on us to take responsibility for the common good, as opposed to the purely utilitarian ethic that currently rules the world, and points to our ethical vocation to take the lead. It does acknowledge the efficiency of markets – under certain conditions – in allocating goods, but notes what should be obvious to anyone who understands how financial markets work. Namely, that financial markets do not work the same way, and easily become disconnected from real goods. So far, this analysis accords with all sound economic theory, whether

22 October; protesters gather in Nice, France, on 1 November to air grievances during the holding of the G-20 economic summit.

neo-classical, Keynesian, Austrian or institutionalist.

However, where sound theory fears to tread, ideology boldly ventures. This is precisely what the document means when it speaks of “apriorism” – ideologues who push economic abstractions without ever looking at actual results. The specific brand of apriorism it mentions is economic liberalism, which treats everything as a technical problem, unconnected with the moral order. As such, it is merely functional materialism. Far from being a “science” it is in fact a faith. Or rather, a superstition, “the idolatry of the market” of which John Paul II spoke.

The dominance of utilitarian thinking devoid of any connection to the common good makes this a moral crisis as much as a financial one, the commission notes, and it requires a moral approach, a recognition that the common good transcends particular goods – and indeed is the only thing that makes particular goods possible over any appreciable length of time. But the market makers are never in a position to fully appreciate the common good. Their claim to self-regulation is an invitation to corruption. This is simply realism.

As long as there is a globalised economy, there will be a need for some global authority. Or more accurately, there is a need to update the authorities that are already in place. The commission is not calling for innovation; it is calling for reform. It is realistic enough to note that the reform cannot be imposed by force, but must arise over time with agreements in support of sustainable development, free and stable markets within suitable legal frameworks, and a fair distribution of the world’s goods.

The immediate audience for this document is the G20 summit, and the commission reminds these leaders of the decline of the Bretton Woods agreements, which meant the world lost the ability to control the world-wide growth of the money supply. In its place, there must develop shared, minimum rules to manage financial markets that can grow faster than real goods.

In support of this, the commission offers three rather modest suggestions: a “Tobin Tax” on financial transactions, especially in secondary markets, to support a reserve fund for developing nations; making any public recapitalisation of the banks (“bailouts”)

The dominance of utilitarian thinking devoid of connection to the common good makes this a moral crisis as much as a financial one.

dependent on their good behavior; and a sort of world-wide “Glass-Steagall” act, to separate the domains of ordinary credit and investment banking, along with the management of “shadow” banking markets. These are hardly “revolutionary” suggestions. Indeed, one might better critique the commission for being too modest rather than too bold.

The commission notes that we need a reform not just of institutions, but of “lifestyles”; more is at stake than mere banking: there is the cure of souls, a cure that often takes it cues from the surround-

A short guide to Catholic thinking on economics

The ideas of Adam Smith, Karl Marx, John Maynard Keynes and Friedrich von Hayek have their place, but there is a spiritually richer tradition of economics to explore.

Wilhelm von Ketteler

The German theologian (18111877) and bishop of Mainz argued for the intervention of the Church to remove economic evils in the name of faith, morals and charity. The Catholic Church’s concept of property, he said, had nothing in common with the prevalent view which regards man as the absolute lord of that which he owns.

ing culture rather than from Holy Mother Church.

This is why it is important, particularly for Americans, to read this document with prayerful attention.  As (then) Archbishop George of Chicago noted in 1997, even American Catholics are culturally Calvinist, a culture which “is the civil counterpart of a faith based on private interpretation of Scripture and private experience of God”. Such a culture easily losses sight of the common good.The common good is always manifested in particular situations and it is these the Church and Catholics everywhere must address. The Church is both mother and teacher, to be heard not just on Sunday, but in the work day, and the work place, as well.

Certainly, one may critique such statements from within the ambit of one’s expertise, but to simply tell fellow Catholics to ignore it is to encourage a destructive disobedience, and a weakening of a Catholic culture that has to confront the predominant Calvinist individualism.

As long as the world is highly interdependent, there will be a need for global structures, but these structures must be guided by the principles of the common good, subsidiarity, and solidarity. There must be new “polyarchic” structures that respect the identity of peoples within a single humanity. As long as the world cares more for its bankers than for Greece, more for Goldman than for Ghana, there will not be peace. And that is just simple realism.

John Médaille is an adjunct instructor of Theology at the University of Dallas, and a businessman. His most recent book is Toward a Truly Free Market: A Distributist Perspective on the Role of Government, Taxes, Health Care, Deficits, and More. This article was first published on www.catholiclane.com.

Vincent McNabb

The Irish Dominican (1868-1943) was described as a 13th century monk living in the 20th century. Along with more than 30 books of an explicitly religious nature, he promoted a vision of social justice inspired by St Thomas Aquinas and Pope Leo XIII’s Rerum Novarum , becoming a guiding light of the distributist movement in England.

José María Arizmendiarrieta

Born in Spain’s Basque region, the priest (1915-1976) revolutionised the economically depressed town of Mondragon after Spain’s civil war by inspiring a co-operative worker movement that has grown into an interlocking network of more than 250 worker-owned companies providing employment to more than 80,000 people.

Heinrich Pesch

The German Jesuit (1854-1926) is arguably the most important Catholic economic thinker of the past few centuries. His rejection of ‘values-free economics’ and illumination of the key concepts of personalism, solidarity and subsidiarity have profoundly influenced recent social encyclicals, particularly those of John Paul II.

Dorothy Day

The American journalist, social activist and Catholic convert (1897-1980) co-founded with Peter Maurin the Catholic Worker movement, combining direct aid for the poor and homeless with non-violent activism. She defied stereotypes, being described as an anarchist and the first hippie, but was most accurately a distributist.

Ernst Friedrich Schumacher

The German-born economist (1911-1977) was increasingly influenced by Catholic ideas from the 1950s. His 1973 book Small Is Beautiful: a study of economics as if people mattered, which argued for human-scale, decentralised and appropriate technologies, is regarded as one of the 100 most influential books since World War II.

Clockwise from left: Cardinal Peter Turkson, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, holds up a copy of Toward Reforming the International Financial and Monetary Systems in the Context of Global Public Authority, at a press conference on 24 October; protesters in Berlin denounce current global banking and financial industry practices on

PHOTOS: PAUL HARING, THOMAS PETER, JEAN-PAUL PELISSIER

trumps big sister, Radio National

TO LISTEN to ABC Radio National can be, admittedly, often frustrating, especially when contrasting its usual mix of programming aimed at affluent middle Australian inner suburban elites with other radio programming from around the world available in Australia and on the internet. Of course, Radio National is certainly several notches above standard commercial FM. But its standard template seems mainly to consist of not very penetrating federal political gossip and dissection of all political minutiae treated as if all of it is of vital importance, arts and lifestyle programmes. The political programming hovers forever over carbon tax, global warming, boat people and internal Labor and Liberal party factional politics.

Its international roundup fits into predictable stereotypes. This problem can be sketched by choosing just one subject: the US. In ABC Radio National’s eyes, Hollywood is artistic and therefore fascinating and morally authoritative. Film stars are important people because they’re creative, directors even more so because they are intellectuals. The more obscure or shocking the film, if it’s done in the name of art, it must be respectable, courageous. Republicans are suspicious and against the environment, even more so their presidents, Democrats make occasional mistakes but are basically way cool.

If this character sketch is unfair, and it may well be, it is not terribly unfair and therein lies the problem of ABC Radio National. Its often bland programming appears to be a product of blandness in general. The contrast becomes clearer to the average listener when Radio National is contrasted with National Public Radio in the US. NPR, from which Radio National occasionally takes programmes, is regarded as representing the liberal or progressive end of the journalism spectrum, somewhere vaguely on the left of the spectrum of politics. But to listen to NPR is far more often an exercise in exploration of the variety of the world; there is always something interesting just minutes away.

If this character sketch of ABC Radio National is unfair, and it may well be, it is not terribly unfair, and therein lies the problem of the national radio broadcaster.

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In part, the problem is one of sheer mass. A nation like the US has much more history and a vaster palette of culture and topics from which radio programmes can be created. By contrast, Australia is young and much smaller, encouraging Radio National’s constant gazing at affluent inner suburban navels.

To listen to NPR is to enter into a world of variety where everything is not necessarily the urgent big picture perspective that Radio National seems to make the sole criterion. NPR member stations have the advantage of feeding local content into a national network of affiliated stations so that programmes on the small events of people’s lives or the dramas of daily life are treated as just as interesting and reflective as the big-issue stories, and often more so. Those who listen to podcasts should try listening to programmes such as This American Life and Planet Money, just to pick a couple, to see the remarkable difference between a culture of blandness and a culture of creativity in broadcasting.

Some of the qualitative differences can also be detected by listening to ABC News Radio, a 24 hour news broadcaster established over a decade ago as a broadcaster of parliamentary proceedings in Canberra. Because Parliament only sits a few weeks of the year, much of the rest of News Radio’s annual scheduling is taken from radio stations around the world including from the US, the BBC and the English language service of the German national broadcaster, Radio Deutsche Welle, to name just a few. ABC News Radio, which can be heard in Perth on 585 on the AM dial, is a vastly superior and far more interesting broadcaster than its better known and larger sister, Radio National. It casts its net wider, is interested in more things, provides a more interesting summary of the world and the difference is immediately noticeable. What this adds up to is that it would be quite reasonable to call for a thorough review of Radio National’s approach. It is not, in important ways, at the same standard as the rest of the world.

Good vibes worth listening to

IN PERTH a gem of a radio station will be holding its annual Radiothon. 98.5 Sonshine FM is the only Christian station in WA and one of the few that can be listened to (apart from ABC Classic FM) without being subjected to endless crudity, ridicule of others and coarseness. Its mix of contemporary pop, often infused with very good music inspired by the Christian faith, is an oasis in Perth. Other radio stations are often trashy and coarse; a family can turn on Sonshine FM without fear and enjoy it. For decades, it has filled an important role in Perth life and has survived and prospered with the support of its considerable listening audience. The Radiothon will air from 12-18 November and it is one event in the year certainly well worth supporting.

A duty to care can be a compass

MANY THANKS to Rob O’Connor, who wrote in response to my article on the proposed duty to rescue or notify amendment to the Civil Liability Act.

I agree with Rob that whether something is legal or moral are two different questions. I think the point I was trying to make is that as society becomes increasingly secular, people lose sight of the JudeoChristian principals on which our civil and criminal law is based.

If we have no compass based on these spiritual or religious precepts, the law becomes the only guide, so what is enshrined in law becomes for many the right thing to do. If something is permitted in law, it then becomes generally acceptable. With regard to morality being part of taxation law, I don’t know enough to comment, but I assume in taxation law, someone’s life is not in immediate danger.

I was motivated by my own case and that of Kalgoorlie man Grant Jesser in 2010. I didn’t lose my life due to failure to assist, but Grant did, in horrifying circumstances. This is why I hope any amendment will be known as Grant’s Law.

It is more productive to be a part of the process than stand outside and merely observe. Rob has obviously been part of the process in his career as a barrister. That’s the same reason I’m jumping in and having a go. Laws are made and governments elected by the people who show up, and the truly great thing about this process is that we have freedom of speech and human rights which allow topics as diverse as taxation and duty to assist to be debated and made law.

Melissa Kelly Redemptoris Mater Seminary MORLEY, WA

One decimal point matters a lot

I MUST point out a small error in Barry Morgan’s calculations (The Record, 26 October). If you multiply the population density of Europe (170 people per square kilometre) by the area of Australia (7.6 million square kilometres), you get 1.3 billion, not 13 billion.

This does not detract, of course, from the excellent point being made by Mr Morgan’s letter.

John Hibble SCARBOROUGH

Surprised by article on cardinal’s view

I WAS surprised to read the hostile article (The Record, 2 November) by the associate editor, criticising Cardinal Pell’s position in the climate change debate: “He continues to wager his intellectual credibility (and to a certain extent his spiritual credibility as a man committed to seeking the truth) on a long-odds bet that the small minority of climate-change contrarians are right and the overwhelming majority of scientists are wrong.”

It is worth pointing out that in 1931 a collection of essays criticising Einstein’s theory of relativity was published in Germany: “A Hundred Authors Against Einstein”. Einstein’s reported comment was: “If I were wrong, it would only have taken one.”

In 1620, Galileo made a similar comment about critics of his own theories, quoted in Galileo’s daughter by Dava Sobel, p 94: “I say that the testimony of many has little more value than that of few, since the number of people who reason well in complicated

matters is much smaller than that of those who reason badly. If reasoning were like hauling I should agree that several reasoners would be worth more than one, just as several horses can haul more sacks of grain than one can. But reasoning is like racing and not like hauling, and a single Barbary steed can outrun a hundred dray horses.”

Janet Kovesi Watt CLAREMONT, WA

Also surprised on climate change

BECAUSE he does not provide any new evidence, Tim Wallace (The Record, 2 November) fails in his attempt to demonstrate that Cardinal Pell’s view in the debate about climate change is lacking in prudence. His statement that the Cardinal “has all too readily accepted claims by sceptics without investigating the primary evidence” is laughable, and can just as easily be used to describe his own position: that he has all too readily accepted claims by proponents of AGW without investigating the primary evidence. Or is he of the opinion that those promoting the science, and in particular the IPCC, are incapable of getting it wrong?

Let’s check the record.

Did the British High Court find that there were nine errors of fact in Al Gore’s film An Inconvenient Truth? In case Tim has forgotten, perhaps he might refer again to Cardinal Pell’s address.

Does the ‘Hockey Stick’ graph, made (in)famous by Michael Mann, still appear in any IPCC papers? Such is the elegance of the programme which produced it that the same effect will be generated even if prices from a shopping docket are used as input.

Who informed the world that the Himalayan glaciers would be melted by AD 2045, and then retracted his statement? Tim might remember it was none other than Dr Rajendra Pachauri, the CEO of the IPCC and a railway engineer.

Is there any need to be concerned that temperatures are currently rising at an alarming rate? Dr Phil Jones of CRU at East Anglia University, on whom the IPCC relies for its research findings, admitted that global temperatures had risen 0.12 degrees C over the last decade. Cardinal Pell’s paper indicated that rises of 0.16 degrees C per decade had been achieved between 1860–1880,1910–1940 and 1976-2001.

Were all reviewers of papers, presented for inclusion in IPCC reports, experts in their fields?

Donna Laframboise, a journalist from Toronto, has provided evidence that approximately one third of reviewers had not even completed PhDs when called upon to review articles. Details are contained in her book The Talented Delinquent

Let me simply add one further example from the field of medical research. About ten years ago, medical scientists were convinced that cures for diseases such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s etc could be achieved principally through

embryonic stem cell research. They are still waiting for their first cure; while adult stem cell research – initially disdained by them – has gone ahead in leaps and bounds.

Dunstan Hartley DIANELLA, WA

Record was sadly CHOGM-lite

THE Commonwealth Prayer Initiative for CHOGM was one of the biggest cooperative interChurch events of the year, involving Christians around the world coming together to unite in prayer. The Catholic Church was one of the participants, hosting an event at St Mary’s Cathedral and assisting leading of the 24/7 prayers at Wesley Church during the week leading up to CHOGM.

We are dismayed that other than a small notice on the Panorama page of the event at St Mary’s Cathedral nothing before or after has been recorded by The Record Flame Ministries provided music for these two events and along with Christians from Perth prayed for our nation and the other Commonwealth countries. Both events were well attended, mainly by Christians not of the Catholic faith. We believe this is because of the very limited Catholic promotion by The Record or any other means.

CHOGM was the most significant international event Perth has ever hosted. The Commonwealth Prayer Initiative was likewise a major international Christian event. It is a disgrace that more Catholics were unable to participate due to lack of information.

David and Susan White RIVERTON

The dictatorship of the majority

RECENTLY, Pope Benedict XVI addressed the German Bundestag. He said justice shouldn’t take a back seat to success and that the majority principle is not always enough.

In Germany and much of the world, majorities rule, with laws passed according to party policy or how the wind is perceived by legislators to be blowing.

Perhaps addressing legislators about justice or ‘moral right’ could be a waste of time. There would be no better example than Perth, with abortion available since 1998.

This was achieved by pressure from vociferous ‘rights’ movements which subverted justice with subjective rhetoric and maximised the emotional pressure to achieve the greatest sympathy. The result: a law that declared a person was not a person until birth.

Many cases deserving of sympathy and care do exist, but is right served by not protecting the weak and defenceless?

When societies adopt moral relativism based on how an individual ‘feels’ about an issue rather than what justice dictates, eventually people become powerless to distinguish right from wrong, as Pope Benedict XVI pointed out. In this example, only injustice is served, hence abortion thrives.

The majority rule in WA and many other places can mean that what is right or wrong is effectively irrelevant. Adult rights rule because adults vote. By law, the developing non-person in the womb is not a person until fully born. Perhaps the only human right available or afforded to the non-person is to scream silently as forceps drag it from the womb.

Maurice Bradly ASHFIELD, WA

The secret of happiness is to embrace suffering

By refusing to accept suffering we might actually be closing ourselves off to an important gift that is offered to us alone.

ANYONE out there had any sufferings cross their path lately? Perhaps it’s something transitory like recently losing a job.

Perhaps it’s something long term like caring for someone with a disability. Maybe it’s the anxious wait to meet the right person or the heartache of dealing with marriage problems. Then, of course, there are the sufferings most of us will never have to encounter such as starvation or a lack of clean drinking water. Suffering is a strange thing; it surrounds us and all of us will meet it in some shape at various points through our lives, yet most people have no idea how to respond to it. I recall once being down about something and a friend said to me in all sincerity, “Just remember that there is always someone worse off than you.” I am sure many of you have given or received similar advice. At face value the logic is true: I am not living on a dollar a day in a third-world country; I

Foolish Wisdom “a foolishness

By Bernard Toutounji

have a car and a house and people who love me. Surely I would be better to consider the trials of others before getting all worked up about my own?

Of all the faith systems in the world, Christianity has the most profound understanding of suffering, after all its founder was put to death and the instrument of his death – the cross – has become the enduring Christian sign.

The call of Christ to “take up your cross” is a part of common speech. But what does it mean to take up our cross and how does

that play into our daily sufferings? Perhaps if we do not understanding suffering the best we believe we can offer is a consolation which compares sufferings. The crux of the matter though is that while God does not directly will for anyone to suffer, he does allow such sufferings and in ways that can be beneficial for us, if we embrace them in the correct spirit. Our crosses are actually specifically shaped for us; they take into account our strengths and weaknesses and what we need

even if it is objectively less than another. I do not need someone to tell me my cross is not the biggest cross; the fact is, it is my cross. If we believe Christ’s command to take up our cross then it would seem we actually have a duty to embrace the particular sufferings that fall our way. I am certainly not saying we have to desire suffering and pain but perhaps we need to look more deeply into our particular cross to see what good is within. If we live with an attitude

We might consider what would have happened if Christ decided not to embrace his cross.

(often very different from what we think we need). Perhaps the family with no food in Africa is objectively in a more desperate situation than I am but my particular cross is not one of starvation. It really does not matter what someone else is suffering because what is real to me is my particular suffering in this moment,

that refuses to accept suffering then we might actually be closing ourselves off to an important gift that has been offered to us alone. Every event we encounter is in a broad sense sacramental, that is, it is an external sign containing within it God’s action for us. We might consider what would

have happened if Christ decided not to embrace his cross. The cross of Christ is the source of salvation, it points to a love we will spend our lives aspiring towards. Our own crosses are our paths to salvation when taken up and united with the cross of Christ. You may know the phrase “offer it up”; often told to children who are complaining but it has a deep and lasting value we should probably all seek to embrace. To offer something up gives us an outlook that, quite simply, the world cannot give. It is not that one walks into the hospital room of a friend diagnosed with cancer and simply says “offer it up”. If, though, in our lives we have come to understand that our crosses can be the tools God gives to help us towards salvation, we will be in a far better place to truly be with the one who is suffering. Instead of trying to distract the sufferer, we can help them to see the cross before them with new eyes.

www.foolishwisdom.com

Religious intolerance is green-spirited

Protecting religious freedom would be aided by diminished political influence of the Greens, writes

IT WOULD be naive to believe Australia has an entirely unblemished record of religious freedom. To take one obvious example, for the first half of the 20th century social relations in this country were marred by a bitter sectarian divide between Catholics and Protestants. Until the 1960s, Catholics suffered religious discrimination, some job vacancy advertisements reading “Catholics Need Not Apply”.

That sectarian divide is now a thing of the past. However, new developments give rise for new cause for concern.

The Boycotts Divestment and Sanctions Resolution against Jewish businesses passed in December 2010 by the Marrickville Council in Sydney and, more recently, protests against Jewish businesses, in particular Max Brenner chocolate and coffee stores, are eerily reminiscent of pogroms of earlier times. The Marrickville Council resolution was championed by Greens mayor Fiona Byrne and supported by Lee Rhiannon, now a federal Greens senator.

During the 2007 parliamentary debate on human cloning, Cardinal George Pell was investigated by the NSW Upper House’s Privileges Committee for public comments to the effect that Catholic MPs voting in favour of human cloning would be acting contrary to Church teaching about the sanctity and dignity of human life and might be denied Holy Communion. He was to be investigated for contempt of parliament.

At the time, Lee Rhiannon boasted: “The President of the Upper House has agreed to my request the Privileges Committee investigate the appropriateness of Cardinal Pell’s comments.” The then member of the NSW Legislative Council made it clear her intention was to intimidate Cardinal Pell into silence in the human cloning debate, saying: “Hopefully this referral will act as a warning to Cardinal Pell that he should refrain from launching a fresh assault on upper house MPs who are yet to cast a vote on this important bill.”

In response to the inquiry, Cardinal Pell argued: “It is my submission it is essential that religious leaders, including myself, are free

to express the position taken by their Church or religion on matters of public interest and debate. To prevent religious leaders from doing so has the effect of stifling religious freedom and hampers effective and open debate on matters of public interest.”

Greg Smith

ethic of “traditional Western belief” which has “prevailed throughout virtually the entire history of Western Civilisation”. They declare there is “an alternative tradition” which puts trees and animals on a par with human dignity, and is conspicuously atheistic.

It would be fair to say if the Greens had their way, people with any religious beliefs would not have any role or say in public life. Lee Rhiannon made this plain in the Pell episode when she demanded two Christians on the Privileges Committee “leave their religious beliefs at home”.

Protection of religious freedom in Australia would be aided by the diminished political influence of the Greens. It can also be said from these examples that these threats are often mitigated by the ordinary democratic processes of our society. The disappearance of sectarianism in Australia had a number of causes, none of which related to legislative changes, such as discrimination legislation, which came later.

In 2008, the Victorian parliament passed legislation concerning abortion. Relevant to this discussion was section 8 of the Victorian Abortion Law Reform Act, eliminating the right to conscientious objection by compelling doctors either participate in the process or recommend a doctor who would do so.

with a conscientious objection by inserting an active compulsion for a doctor to refer to another doctor whom they know does not have a conscientious objection. Respect for a conscientious objection is a fundamental principle in our democratic country and doctors expect their rights in this regard will be

the clergy of any church or religious denomination is entitled to refuse to divulge to a court the contents of a religious confession made to that member of the clergy.

These examples demonstrate it is often the case, at least in Australia, that where there is an attempt to curtail the rights of reli-

It is often the case, at least in Australia, that where there is an attempt to curtail the rights of religious groups the Greens are not far away.

respected, as for any other citizen.”

Then president of the Victorian branch of the Australian Medical Association (AMA), Doug Travis, who generally supported the legislation, said in an open letter to then premier John Brumby: “The bill infringes the rights of doctors

The AMA’s code of ethics, of course, provides that when a personal moral judgement or religious belief prevents a doctor from recommending some form of procedure or therapy the doctor may inform the patient and decline to provide the procedure on that basis.

Senator Nick Xenophon recently announced he would introduce a private members’ bill in the Senate to, in effect, repeal section 127 of the Evidence Act, according to which a person who is a member of

gious groups, particularly Jewish or Christian ones, the Greens are not far away.

As the Greens have come to hold the balance of power in the federal Senate, and also to hold five seats in the NSW upper house, their policies and underlying philosophies have come under greater scrutiny. And that scrutiny has revealed a strong atheistic and anti-religious tendency.

In their book The Greens, Bob Brown and Peter Singer expressly reject what they refer to as the

In the case of the Marrickville Council boycott, it was a combination of democratic forces that caused the council to reverse its position: fierce local anti-boycott campaigns leading to Fiona Byrne failing to win the seat of Marrickville in the NSW election and the actions of politicians from mainstream parties showing solidarity with the Jewish community.

Arguably, Jewish groups might have availed themselves of remedies under the Anti-Discrimination Act for race discrimination, given that “race” is defined to include “ethnoreligious origin”. However, no group as far as I am aware sought any remedy under that act.

Similarly, in the NSW upper house, common sense prevailed and Cardinal Pell was cleared of contempt of the parliament.

These examples are evidence that the best form of protection for religious freedom is Australia’s system of representative and responsible democracy.

Greg Smith is the NSW attorneygeneral. This is an edited extract of his speech to the 13th Meeting of Experts of the International Religious Liberty Association at the University of Sydney in August.

WEDNESDAY

WEDNESDAY, 9 NOVEMBER

Council of Christians and Jews -

Commemoration Kristallnacht

4.30pm at Sylvia and Harry Hoffman Hall, Carmel

Primary School, Woodrow Ave, Yokine. Night of Broken Glass - guest speaker Professor Kenneth Chern, former US Consul General to Perth. Light refreshments. Enq: Marie ccjwa@aol.com.

FRIDAY, 11 NOVEMBER

Mandorla Art Award Retrospective Exhibition Opening

6-8pm at The Faith Centre, 450 Hay St, Perth. For more information about Mandorla Art Award, visit www.mandorlaart.com.

SATURDAY, 12 NOVEMBER

St Padre Pio day of Prayer

8.30am at St Anthony Parish, Dundebar Rd, Wanneroo. Begins with DVD. 10am – exposition of Blessed Sacrament, rosary, divine mercy, adoration and benediction. 11am – Mass with confession available. 12pm – bring a plate to share for lunch. Enq: Des 6278 1540.

Divine Mercy – Healing Mass

2.30pm at St Francis Xavier Parish, 25 Windsor St, Perth. Main celebrant Fr Marcellinus. Chaplet of divine mercy followed by benediction and veneration of first class relic of St Faustina Kowalska. Reconciliation available in English and Italian. Refreshments afterwards. Enq: John 9457 7771. St Columba’s School – Dinner Dance 7pm at St Columba’s School, 30 York St, South Perth. Tickets $100 including dinner, drinks and entertainment. Enq: Alison 9271 7181 or Martin ali@cathednet.wa.edu.au.

NEXT WEEK

SUNDAY, 13 NOVEMBER

Balcatta Parish 50th Anniversary Mass and Dinner 4pm at St Lawrence Parish, 392 Albert St, Balcatta. Begins with Mass followed by dinner at 5.30pm at the Sicilian Club, Fortune St, Balcatta. Cost: $70 pp. Enq: Office 9344 7066 or office@stlawrence. org.au.

“2013 WYD Brazil Extravaganza”

Sunday Sesh - CYM

5-6pm at St Mary’s Cathedral, 21 Victoria Sq, Perth. Begins with Mass celebrated by Archbishop Hickey followed by the ‘Sesh’ at 7pm in the presbytery. For young people of all ages. Enq and RSVP: admin@cym.com.au or CYM facebook.

FRIDAY, 18 NOVEMBER

Thanksgiving Mass in Honour of the Divine Mercy 2-4pm at St Jerome’s Parish, 36 Troode St, Munster. Celebrant: Fr Varghese. Includes: exposition of the Blessed Sacrament; divine mercy chaplet followed by Mass. Enq: Connie 9494 1495 or Edita 9418 3728.

FRIDAY, 18 TO SATURDAY, 19 NOVEMBER

Christ the King Retreat and Healing Rally 7.30pm at Karriholm, Pemberton. Presented by the Holy Spirit of Freedom Community. Enq: Jo 9776 1241 or hsofpemberton@gmail.com.

FRIDAY, 18 TO SUNDAY, 20 NOVEMBER

“Creation - The Web of Life”

Reflective Weekend

6pm at St John of God Retreat Centre, 47 Gloucester Cr, Shoalwater. This reflective weekend will provide you with an ethic of environmental sensitivity as you further develop the model of stewardship in God’s creation. Finishes 1.30pm

Sunday. Enq: Sr Ann 9310 8248 or 040 9602 927 or Sr Kathy 041 8926 590.

UPCOMING

SUNDAY, 20 NOVEMBER

Solemnity of Christ the King 2pm at the Shrine of Virgin of the Revelation, 36 Chittering Rd, Bullsbrook. Includes Eucharistic procession, Mass and consecration - confessions available before Mass. Main celebrant Archbishop Hickey. Enjoy a family picnic on the lawns after-

PANORAMA

What’s on around the Archdiocese of Perth, where and when

wards. Enq: Michael at SACRI 9341 6139. Christ the King Celebration and Procession 8.30am Sacred Heart Parish, Guppy St, Pemberton. Celebrating 10th Anniversary. Includes Mass and morning tea followed by Eucharistic procession to Karriholm. Light luncheon served afterwards. Enq: Jo 97761241 or hsofpemberton@gmail.com.

SATURDAY, 26 NOVEMBER

Love Ministry healing

6.30pm St Bernadette Parish, 49 Jugan St, Mt Hawthorn. Begins with Mass, Love Ministry healing team including Fr Hugh Thomas and other clergy. Come and be prayed over, healed from the past or present issues or stand in for a loved one who may be ill or facing problems at this time. Enq: Fr Hugh or Gilbert 0431570322.

TUESDAY, 29 NOVEMBER

Day of reflection

10.30am-2pm at St Bernadette’s Parish, Jugan St, Glendalough. Begin with Mass followed by talk. Celebrant and speaker: Fr Tim Deeter. Bring lunch to share. Enq: Secretary 9341 8082.

SATURDAY, 3 DECEMBER

Day with Mary

9am-5pm at St Mary Parish, cnr Franklin and Shakespeare Sts, Leederville. Day of prayer and instruction based on the Fatima message. 9am video; 10.10am Mass; Reconciliation, procession of the Blessed Sacrament, Eucharistic adoration, sermons on Eucharist and on Our Lady, rosaries and stations of the Cross. BYO lunch. Enq: Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate 9250 8286.

Retreat for Mothers

9am-5pm at Holy Family Parish, Lot 375 Alcock St, Maddington. A day for all mothers to re-discover the meaning of motherhood in the light of God’s world. The retreat is lead by the Vincentian Fathers. Free. BYO lunch. Enq and registration: Melanie 041 0605 743 or m.fonseca@curtin.edu.au.

SUNDAY, 4 DECEMBER

Celebrates 30 Years - Emmanuel Centre

4pm at Emmanuel Centre, 25 Windsor St, Perth. Celebrant: Bishop Sproxton. Emmanuel Centre is a self-help centre for people with disabilities and their families. 5pm BBQ. Please bring a plate of finger food to share. RSVP 30 Nov. Enq: Secretary 9328 8113 or 9227 9720 (fax) or 040 1016 399 or mailto:emmanuelcentre@westnet.com.au.

FRIDAY, 25 NOVEMBER

Medjugorje Evening of prayer

7-9pm at St Simon Peter, Prendiville Ave/ Constellation Dr, Ocean Reef. Begins with Eucharistic adoration, holy rosary, benediction and concludes with Mass followed by light refreshments. Free DVD give-away. Enq: Fr Bogoni 9402 2480 or 040 7471 256 or medjugorje@y7mail. com.

FRIDAY, 9 DECEMBER

Anniversary of Archbishop Fulton J Sheen’s death

7.30pm at St Bernadette Parish, Jugan St, Glendalough. Begins with a talk on the influence of Archbishop Sheen in respect to Eucharistic adoration by Fr Martin Lucia who met the Archbishop as a newly ordained priest. Followed by Mass. Enq Daniel 9291 8224.

NEXT YEAR

MONDAY, 9 JANUARY TO MONDAY, 16 JANUARY 2012

Summer School

The Royal School of Church Music in Australia (RSCM) will be hosting a summer school for all denominations next year. The programme will include workshops for church musicians and singers to help them to inspire their congregations towards a more enjoyable and meaningful participation in Church liturgy. Enrolments are now open and interested parties can find out more by going to www. rscmaustralia.org.au. Enq: Deirdre on 9457 4010.

SATURDAY, 25 FEBRUARY 2012

A Reunion for Holy Cross Primary School, Kensington

Any ex-students or family members, please contact Julie Bowles (nee O’Hara) on 9397 0638 or email jules7@iinet.net.au.

REGULAR EVENTS

EVERY SUNDAY

Gate of Heaven Catholic Radio

Join the Franciscans of the Immaculate from 7.309pm on Radio Fremantle 107.9FM for Catholic radio broadcast of EWTN and our own live shows. Enq: radio@ausmaria.com.

Pilgrim Mass - Shrine of the Virgin of the Revelation 2pm at Shrine, 36 Chittering Rd, Bullsbrook. Commencing with rosary followed by benediction. Reconciliation is available before every celebration. Anointing of the sick administered during Mass every second Sunday of the month. Pilgrimage in honour of the Virgin of the Revelation, last Sunday of the month. Side entrance to church and shrine open daily between 9am-5pm. Enq Sacri 9447 3292.

EVERY FIRST SUNDAY

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

St Mary’s Cathedral Youth Group –Fellowship with Pizza 5pm at Mary’s Cathedral, 17 Victoria Sq, Perth. Begins with youth Mass followed by fellowship downstairs in parish centre. Bring a plate to share. Enq: Bradley on youthfromsmc@gmail.com.

EVERY SECOND SUNDAY

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

EVERY THIRD SUNDAY

Oblates of St Benedict Meeting 2pm at St Joseph’s Convent, York St, South Perth. For all interested in studying the rule of St Benedict and its relevance to everyday life. Afternoon tea. Enq: Secretary 9457 5758.

EVERY FOURTH SUNDAY

Holy Hour for Vocations to the Priesthood, Religious Life

2-3pm at Infant Jesus Parish, Wellington St, Morley. The hour includes exposition of the Blessed Eucharist, silent prayer, scripture and prayers of intercession. Come and pray that those discerning vocations can hear clearly God’s call.

FIRST AND THIRD SUNDAYS

Latin Mass

2pm at The Good Shepherd Parish, Streich Ave, Kelmscott. Enq: John 9390 6646.

EVERY MONDAY

Evening Adoration and Mass

7pm at St Thomas Parish, Claremont, cnr Melville St and College Rd. Eucharistic adoration, reconciliation, evening prayer and benediction, followed by Mass and night prayer at 8pm. Enq: Kim on 9384 0598 or by email to claremont@perthcatholic.org. au.

The Life and Mission of St Mary MacKillop

9.30-11.30am at Infant Jesus Parish Centre, cnr Wellington Rd and Smith St, Morley. Cost: $15. Enq: Shelley 9276 8500.

LAST MONDAY OF THE MONTH

Be Still in His Presence –Ecumenical Christian Programme

7.30-8.45pm at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, cnr Lesmurdie and Glyde Rds, Lesmurdie. Begins with songs of praise and worship, silent time, lectio divina, small group sharing and a cuppa at the end. Enq: Lynne 9293 3848 or 0435 252 941.

EVERY TUESDAY

Bible teaching with a difference 7.30pm at St Joachim’s parish hall, Victoria Park. Exciting revelations with meaningful applications that will change your life. Bring Bible, a notebook and a friend. Enq: Jan 9284 1662.

Novena to Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal 6pm at the Pater Noster Church, Marmion and

Evershed Sts, Myaree. Mass at 5.30pm followed by benediction. Enq: John 040 8952 194. Norma Woodcock’s Teaching Session

7-8pm at St Benedict’s school hall, Alness St, Applecross. Be empowered by the Gospel message each week in a personal way. How can we live meaningful and hope-filled lives? AccreditedCEO: Faith Formation for ongoing renewal. Catholic Education staff: $10 for accreditation. Cost: donation. Enq: 9487 1772 or www.normawoodcock. com.

EVERY WEDNESDAY

Holy Spirit of Freedom Community

7.30pm at The Church of Christ, 111 Stirling St, Perth. We are delighted to welcome everyone to attend our Holy Spirit of Freedom praise meeting. Enq: 042 3907 869 or hsofperth@gmail.com.

Bible Study at Cathedral 6.15pm at St Mary’s Cathedral, 17 Victoria Sq, Perth. Deepen your faith through reading and reflecting on holy scripture by Fr Jean-Noel. Meeting room beneath Cathedral. Enq: Marie 9223 1372.

Holy Hour - Catholic Youth Ministry

5.30pm at Catholic Pastoral Centre, 40A Mary St, Highgate. Begins with Mass, 6.30pm holy hour of adoration, followed by $5 supper and fellowship. Enq: cym.com.au or 9422 7912.

EVERY FIRST WEDNESDAY OF THE MONTH

Holy Hour Prayer for Priests

7.30-8.30pm at Holy Spirit Parish, 2 Keaney Pl, City Beach. All welcome. Enq: Linda 9341 3079. Novena to St Mary of the Cross MacKillop

7-7.45pm at Blessed Mary MacKillop Parish, cnr Cassowary Dr and Pelican Pde, Ballajura. Begins with Mass, novena prayers and benediction. Followed by healing prayers and anointing of the sick. Enq: Madi 9249 9093 or Gerry 041 7187 240.

EVERY SECOND WEDNESDAY

Chaplets of the Divine Mercy

7.30pm at St Thomas More Parish, Dean Rd, Bateman. A beautiful, prayerful, sung devotion. It will be accompanied by exposition and followed by benediction. Enq: George 9310 9493 (h) or 9325 2010.

EVERY THURSDAY

Divine Mercy

11am at Sts John and Paul Church, Pinetree Gully Rd, Willetton. Pray the rosary and chaplet of divine mercy and for the consecrated life, especially here in John Paul Parish. Concludes with veneration of the first class relic of St Faustina. Please do come and join us in prayer. Enq: John 9457 7771.

St Mary’s Cathedral Praise Meeting

7.45pm every Thursday at the Legion of Mary’s Edel Quinn Centre, 36 Windsor St, East Perth. Includes praise, song and healing ministry. Enq: Kay 9382 3668 or fmi@flameministries.org.

EVERY FIRST THURSDAY OF THE MONTH

Prayer in Style of Taize

7.30-8.30pm at Our Lady of Grace Parish, 3 Kitchener St, North Beach. Includes prayer, song and silence in candlelight – symbol of Christ the light of the world. Taize info: www.taize.fr Enq: secretary 9448 4888 or 9448 4457.

Group Fifty – Charismatic Renewal Group

7.30pm at The Redemptorist Monastery, 150 Vincent St, North Perth. Includes prayer, praise and Mass. Enq: Elaine 9440 3661.

EVERY FIRST FRIDAY

Communion of Reparation - All Night Vigil

7pm-1.30am at two different locations: Corpus Christi Parish, Lochee St, Mosman Park and St Gerard Majella Parish, cnr Ravenswood Dr and Majella Rd, Westminster (Mirrabooka). In reparation for outrages committed against the United Hearts of Jesus and Mary. Enq (Mosman Park) Vicky 040 0282 357 and Fr Giosue 9349 2315 or John 9344 2609.

Healing Mass

7pm at St Peter’s Parish, Inglewood. Praise and worship, exposition and Eucharistic adoration, benediction and anointing of the sick, followed by holy Mass and fellowship. Celebrants Fr Dat and invited priests. 6.45pm Reconciliation. Enq: Mary Ann 0409 672 304, Prescilla 043 3457 352 and Catherine 043 3923 083.

Holy Hour for Vocations to the Priesthood and Religious Life 7pm at Little Sisters of the Poor Chapel, 2 Rawlins St, Glendalough. Mass followed by adoration with Fr Doug Harris. All welcome. Refreshments provided.

Catholic Faith Renewal Evening

7.30pm at Sts John and Paul Parish, Pinetree Gully Rd, Willetton. Songs of praise, sharing by a priest followed by thanksgiving Mass and light refreshments afterwards. All welcome to attend and bring your family and friends. Enq: Kathy 9295 0913, Ann 041 2166 164 or catholicfaithrenewal@gmail.com.

Healing and Anointing Mass

8.45am Pater Noster Church, Evershed St, Myaree. Begins with Reconciliation followed by 9am Mass of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, anointing of the sick and prayers to St Peregrine. Enq: Joy 9337 7189.

EVERY FIRST SATURDAY OF THE MONTH

Healing Mass

12.35pm at St Thomas Parish, cnr Melville St and College Rd, Claremont. Spiritual leader Fr Waddell. Enq: Kim 9384 0598, claremont@perthcatholic.org. au.

EVERY FOURTH SATURDAY

Voice of the Voiceless Healing Mass

12pm at St Brigid Parish, 211 Aberdeen St, Northbridge. Bring a plate to share after Mass. Enq: Frank 9296 7591 or 040 8183 325.

EVERY LAST SATURDAY

Novena devotions – Our Lady Vailankanni of Good Health 5pm at Holy Trinity Parish, 8 Burnett St, Embleton. Followed by Mass at 6pm. Enq: George 9272 1379.

GENERAL

Free Divine Mercy Image for Parishes

High quality oil painting and glossy print – Divine Mercy Promotions. Images are of very high quality. For any parish willing to accept and place inside the church. Oil paintings - 160 x 90cm and glossy print100 x 60cm. Enq: Irene 922 1247 or 9417 3267 (w).

Sacred Heart Pioneers

Is there anyone out there who would like to know more about the Sacred Heart pioneers? If so, please contact Spiritual Director Fr Doug Harris 9444 6131 or John 9457 7771.

St Philomena’s Chapel 3/24 Juna Drive, Malaga. Mass of the day: Monday 6.45am. Vigil Masses: Mon-Fri 4.45pm. Enq: Fr David 9376 1734.

Mary Mackillop 2012 Calendars and Merchandise

2012 Josephite Calendars with quotes from St Mary of the Cross and Mary MacKillop merchandise. Available for sale from the Mary MacKillop Centre. Enq: Sr Maree 041 4683 926 or 08 9334 0933.

Saints and Sacred Relics Apostolate Parish Missions - October change of dates Saturday, 5 to Sunday, 6 November - St Bernadette’s Parish, 49 Jugan St, Glendalough - all Masses. Enq: Giovanny 047 8201 092 or ssraperth@catholic.org.

Saints and Sacred Relics Apostolate – Latin Feast of all Holy Relics

SSRA Perth invites interested parties: parish priests, faithful association leaders etc to make contact to organise relic visitations to their own parishes, communities etc. We have available authenticated relics, mostly first-class, of over 200 Catholic Saints and Blesseds, including Sts Mary MacKillop, Padre Pio, Anthony of Padua, Therese of Lisieux, Maximilian Kolbe and Simon Stock. Free. Enq: Giovanny 047 8201 092 or ssra-perth@ catholic.org.

St Denis 60th Anniversary St Denis Catholic Parish in Joondanna will celebrate its 60th Anniversary on 16 December 2011. We are collecting photos, memorabilia and stories for display during the celebration. Enq and arrangements: Barbara on 040 1016 399 or emmanuelcentre@westnet.com.au or 9328 8113 (w).

Pilgrimage Paris, Lourdes and Medjugorje May 2012.

Bargain price. Spiritual director Fr Bogoni. Enq: Fr Bogoni 9402 2480 or 040 7471 256 or medjugorje@y7mail.com.

RELIGIOUS PRODUCTS

CATHOLICS CORNER Retailer of Catholic products specialising in gifts, cards and apparel for Baptism, Communion and Confirmation. Ph 9456 1777. Shop 12, 64-66 Bannister Rd, Canning Vale. Open Mon-Sat.

RICH HARVEST YOUR

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

KINLAR VESTMENTS

Quality handmade and decorated vestments: albs, stoles, chasubles, altar linen, banners, etc. 12 Favenc Way, Padbury. By appointment only. Ph Vickii on 9402 1318, 0409 114 093 or kinlar.vestments@gmail.com.

TAX SERVICE

Quality tax returns prepared by registered tax agent with over 35 years’ experience. Call Tony Marchei on 0412 055 184 for appointment. AXXO Accounting & Management, Unit 20/222 Walter Rd, Morley.

ACCOMMODATION

HOLIDAY ACCOMMODATION

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

SETTLEMENTS

ARE YOU BUYING OR SELL-

ING real estate or a business?

Why not ask Excel Settlements for a quote for your settlement. We offer reasonable fees, excellent service and no hidden costs. Ring Excel on 9481 4499 for a quote. Check our web site on www.excelsettlements.com.au.

MISSION ACTIVITIES

Learn how to make rosary beads for the missions and special rosaries for family and friends. Phone: (02) 682 2 1474 or visit our website: OurLadysRosaryMakers.org.au.

CLASSIFIEDS

Deadline:

11am Monday

BOOK BINDING

NEW BOOK BINDING, general book repairs; rebinding; new ribbons; old leather bindings restored. Tydewi Bindery 0422 968 572.

FOR SALE

CHEAP, VARIOUS CATHOLIC/ PROTESTANT Books new/secondhand DVDs/CDs 9440 4358.

WANTED

ONE TO THREE STATUES.

1-2m high of Our Lady, Jesus and saints. Crucifix available (same height). Contact: Brother John - Carmelite - professed hermit (08) 9853 3112 or johnw9765@ optusnet.com.

CONGRATULATIONS

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Michael

Azar: to my precious darling son, Michael. Wishing you Almighty God’s love, peace and every blessing on your 28th birthday –8 November 2011.

I’m thinking of you and Francis today and every day. I’m here for you and Francis and I wait with open arms to greet you both. I love you and Francis with all my heart. Holy Mass will be offered for you today Michael, on your special day. And also for Francis. My two darling sons. Your loving mother, Janet. “Jesus, I trust in You”

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Michael

Azar: wishing you a very happy 28th birthday, Michael – my darling Godson. Thinking of you and Francis today and everyday. My two precious grandsons. Take care and God bless you both. ‘Love you heaps’. Your loving Nanna, Doreen Lockyer.

FOR RENT

ROOM FOR RENT – Catholic female wanted for South of River accommodation. Enq: 93984447

TRADE SERVICES

BRENDAN HANDYMAN

SERVICES

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

PROPERTY MAINTENANCE

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

BRICK RE-POINTING Ph Nigel 9242 2952.

PERROTT PAINTING Pty Ltd

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

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

FURNITURE REMOVAL

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

RELATIONSHIP ED

HEALING THE HURTS

WE DON’T DESERVE The Psychology and Spirituality of forgiveness. Resolve past hurts and find peace. RESCHEDULED: 5 wks Thu, 10am-12pm; 18 Nov to 15 Dec. $12/hr. Bookings essential.

Call Paul on 0402 222 578.

COUNSELLING by donation also available till 1 Dec. 10am-12pm.

Call Eva 0409 405 585 The

FAITH Centre, 450 Hay St, Perth. Offered by The Association of Educational Counsellors and Relationship Educators of WA.

ACROSS

1 Number of times each day the soldiers of Joshua marched around Jericho (Josh 6:3)

4 Martyred Salvadoran, Bishop Romero

7 His Holiness

9 An end to repent?

10 NT book

12 First patriarch, to his friends?

13 Direction from Bethlehem to the Jordan

14 Enemies of ancient Israel

17 To do this is human, but to forgive is divine

18 “Do not put the Lord your God to the ___” (Lk 4:12)

21 Fish part for Jonah

23 Biblical animal of transport

24 The Church is the ___ of Christ

26 Our ___ of Lourdes

29 Opus ___

30 Days of fast and this

33 It burned without being consumed

35 The ___ Dolorosa

37 “…world without ___. Amen”

38 God is the Supreme Being who ___ all things and keeps them in existence

40 OT historical book

41 “Silent ___”

42 Novena number

DOWN

2 She takes vows

3 One of the prophets

5 A queen from this country came to hear Solomon speak

6 First NT epistle

7 Aaron was anointed to be this (Ex 30:30)

8 They fill the church

9 Balaam spoke to one (Num 22:28)

10 Paul says this is “the pride of a woman” (1 Cor 11:15)

11 “… at the name of Jesus every knee should ___ …” (Phil 2:10)

15 What the sea bottom became when Moses parted it

16 “… and there was no man to ___ the ground” (Gen 2:5)

19 “… ___ lema sabachthani?” (Mk 15:34)

20 “…the Lord is with ___.”

21 Angelus call

22 “…and ___ us not into temptation …”

23 Amos compared the women of Bashan to these animals (Am 4:1)

24 “Son of” in Hebrew

25 He left sad when Jesus told him to sell all he owned

27 Name of God

28 Number of loaves Christ had to feed the 5,000

29 Lifeless biblical sea

31 A non-coveting commandment

32 Holy day cusp

34 “___ to us a child is born”

36 Evil deed

39 Son of Jacob

my cry Lk 19:11-28 Well done!

17 Th St Elizabeth of Hungary, religious (M)

Wh 1 Macc 2:15-29 Ancestor’s covenant

Ps 49:1-2, 5-6, 14-15 God is the judge Lk 19:41-44 The message of peace

virgin (O) Gr 2 Macc 7:1, 20-31 A mother’s hopes

Ps 16:1, 5-6, 8, 15 Pay heed to

18 F The Dedication of the Basilicas of Ss Peter and Paul, apostles (O) Gr 1 Macc 4:36-37, 52-59 Altar dedicated 1 Chr 29:10-12 Strength and power Lk 19:45-48 A robber’s den 19 S 1 Macc 6:1-13 Acute disappointment Gr Ps 9:2-4, 6, 16, 19 Recount God’s wonders Lk 20:27-40 Those judged worthy

Advent and Christmas Wisdom from Henri JM Nouwen

A Redemptorist Pastoral Publication

RRP $18

The inspiring words of Henri JM Nouwen guide the faithful on a spiritual journey through Advent and Christmas in this book of waiting, hope, anticipation and celebration. Each day of the Advent season (28 days in all in the season) and each day of Christmas contains a pertinent excerpt from the writings of Father Nouwen, a related quotation from Scripture, a prayer for the day, and a suggested activity that offers a concrete response to mark the season.

Advent and Christmas Wisdom from Pope John Paul II

By John V Kruse

RRP

$18

Pope John Paul II continues to be remembered and loved for his closeness to all people around the world. Reflections for each day, from the First Sunday of Advent until the end of the Christmas feast, begin with selections from talks and statements of the late Holy Father, followed by Scripture, prayer, and a suggestion for an appropriate seasonal activity.

Advent and Christmas Wisdom from Padre Pio

By Anthony F Chiffolo

RRP

$16

Padre Pio was one of the most beloved and intriguing holy men of the 20th century. In this book, his own words lead readers to Christmas with a heightened sense of the sacred. Reflections for each day, from the first Sunday of Advent until the end of the Christmas feast, begin with selections from letters and messages of Padre Pio, followed by Scripture, prayer, a suggestion for an appropriate seasonal activity, and blessings.

Advent and Christmas Wisdom from St Thomas Aquinas

By Father Andrew Carl Wisdom

RRP $18

The holy season of Advent and feast of Christmas are a time to reflect on God’s infinite love for us all and how, through the birth of his son, Jesus Christ, Christianity was born. Advent and Christmas Wisdom from St Thomas of Aquinas guides readers on their spiritual journey to be closer to God and understand how to live the life of a Christian.

ADVENT AND CHRISTMAS WISDOM FROM ST BENEDICT

Judith Sutera RRP $18

For over 1,500 years, believers from all Christian traditions have looked to St Benedict, the patriarch of Western monasticism, for spiritual wisdom. And rightly so: his rule has shown how one may experience a simple, holy, and commonsense life, despite the increasingly busy pace of our daily existence. The latest addition to Liguori’s popular series of seasonal meditation books provides not only Scripture readings for the season of Advent and feast of Christmas, but pairs them with a daily selection from the cherished writings of St Benedict. This book encourages the reader to set aside time each day to reflect upon a specific Scripture passage and feel the words speaking to their heart. Accessible, direct and practical, this book will guide the reader through the season leading up to the celebration of Christ’s birth in an uplifting, spiritually refreshing way!