The Record Newspaper 11 August 2010

THE R ECORD

IN CYPRUS, WITH BENEDICT

In June, Kelmscott parishioner Lara Malin found herself on mission in the Mediterranean when the Vicar of Christ flew in - Page 6

Pastoral underscores primacy of Marriage

Archbishop Hickey has issued a pastoral to coincide with National Marriage Day emphasising the vital importance of marriage to individuals and society. Flying in the face of political correctness he also talks frankly about the long-term damage done to children by marriage breakdown, and why marriage can only be between a man and a woman.

UNTIL RECENTLY, most people thought of marriage as a lifelong union between a man and a woman exclusive of all others and open to the possibility of children, Archbishop Barry Hickey has written in his latest pastoral letter. But no longer, he points out in the document he has entitled Pearl of Great Price which he also timed to coincide with National Marriage Day on 13 August.

Increasingly, it is seen as simply one of numerous ‘valid’ options; among the factors trivialising its serious nature has been the culture of entertainment which dominates in the media.

“The much publicised romances and brief marital unions of so-called “idols” of screen and television only contribute to the trivialisation of marriage,” he wrote this week. But it’s not all one-way; he was also heartened that Sikhs, Muslims and Jews, among others, support traditional marriage. Full text - Pages 9

PADRE PIO’S MAN PADRE MAN

Capuchin Franciscan FR ERMELINDO saw and knew one of the most remarkable modern saints as few others ever can. This week he was in WA to tell his story. PAGE

Ordinations continue Perth’s remarkable Priesthood success story

Archbishop Barry Hickey ordains Deacon Benny Calanza to the priesthood, to be followed moments later by Deacon Rodrigo Tomala. Both men were formed through their studies at the University of Notre Dame Australia in Fremantle and the Redemptoris Mater Archdiocesan Missionary Seminary in Morley, run under the auspices of the Neocatechumenal Way. They bring to 83 the number of priests ordained by Archbishop Hickey since he became Archbishop in 1991 - a remarkable diocesan figure for Australia. Story, photos - Pages ???

SAINT OF THE WEEK

Hyacinth

Born in Silesia, now in Poland, Hyacinth was already a priest when he joined the Order of Preachers in Rome. In 1221 he was sent to Krakow, where he established the first Dominican house in Poland. He also founded friaries at Danzig and Kiev, though the latter did not last long. His later activities and travels are unknown, but his biographers gave him a reputation for working miracles and far-flung missionary journeys. His name was Jacko or Jacek, a Polish diminutive of Jacob, which was transformed into Jacinthus, then Hyacinth.

AT A GLANCE

Forthcoming events around the Archdiocese

Our

Lady of Mt Carmel, Hilton

Silver Jubilee of Priesthood - Fr Patrick Lim will celebrate the 25th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood with a Thanksgiving Mass. The parish has organised a celebration to follow. All welcome, including priests.

When: 5pm Mass on 22 August at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, Hilton.

True Love Waits

waitswa@yahoo.com.

When: 7-9pm every Tuesday starting 24 August at St Mary’s Parish Centre, 40 Franklin Street, Leederville.

Mary MacKillop Ballajura

Six ordinations to the Diaconate - Five St Charles’ Seminarians: Daniel Boyd, Emmanuel Dimobi, Cyprian Shikokoti, Anibal Leite da Cunha, and seminarian from the Diocese of Broome Francis Birrell will be ordained this month. Remember them in your prayers and all welcome to attend the ceremony to show your support.

When: 7pm on 20 August at Mary MacKillop Catholic Community Parish, Ballajura

and Beyond. All welcome. Registrations essential. To RSVP, contact Renato on 0428 106 481 or admin@scta.org.au.

When: 9.30-1.30 on 28 August at the Catholic Education Office, Leederville.

Natural Family Planning week

Mass to celebrate NFP Week - In celebration of Natural Family Planning Week 13-21 August, Auxiliary Bishop Donald Sproxton will celebrate Holy Mass which will be followed by wine and cheese. RSVP to Mandie Bowen from Billings LIFE WA on 0407 577 435 or bnfpwa@ westnet.com.au.

When: 3.30pm on 21 August in the Chapel at the Catholic Pastoral Centre, Highgate.

Mary MacKillop

Canonisation

Planning

Want to discover the Master Plan for your life? - In collaboration with True Love Waits, St Mary’s Leederville, St Bernadette’s Glendalough and St Paul’s Mt Lawley will jointly host a nine week course on John Paul II’s Theology of the Body. The first night will be an introductory DVD presentation of The Gift with subsequent weeks delving deeper into this sophisticated, yet simple exploration of Catholic teaching on sexuality. The course features DVD presentations followed by opportunities for discussion and fellowship. 18-35 year olds welcome. Registrations essential. Contact truelove-

Society of Catholic Teachers Australia

Papal Authority: In the light of past and present, is there a future? - The SCTA will host a half-day seminar for all those seeking to learn more about the papacy. University Chaplain and Perth parish priest Fr Tim Deeter will speak and lead the discussion on topics relating to the papacy: the Keys and Chair of Peter in Apostolic and Patristic Times; and Papal Authority: Pre-Reformation to Today

Send your parish bulletin for At a Glance to baspinks@therecord.com.au.

Correction

In last week’s Record the full text of Archbishop Hickey’s statement on encroaching secularism in Australian politics and public life was accidentally omitted. It can be found in full on The Record’s website: www.therecord.com.au

The Parish. The Nation. The World. Find it in The Record

Official Engagements

AUGUST

Opening and Blessing of Mercy College facility – Bishop Sproxton

Opening and Blessing of Kolbe Catholic College facility – Mgr Michael Keating

18 Vespers, Redemptoris Mater Seminary – Archbishop Hickey Heads of Churches meeting – Bishop Sproxton

21 Mass for Natural Family Planning Week, Catholic Pastoral Centre – Bishop Sproxton

22 Mass, Lesmurdie Parish –Archbishop Hickey Cathedral Fundraising Lunch, Northbridge – Archbishop Hickey Confirmation, Palmyra – Bishop Sproxton

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13-15 Parish Visitation, Queen’s Park – Archbishop Hickey Parish Visitation, Hilton – Bishop Sproxton

17 Angelico Art Exhibition – Mgr Brian O’Loughlin VG

On the move...

Clergy movements

Fr Elver Delicano, recently priest-in-charge of Mundaring, has been appointed parish priest of St Francis of Assisi parish, Maida Vale, following the death of Fr Steve Durkin

Fr MC Arulraj, formerly Chaplain at Mater Dei College, has been appointed parish priest to Our Lady Help of Christians parish, East Victoria Park.

Fr Dominic Savio CSsR has been appointed assistant priest at Our Lady of the Mission parish, Whitford, until Christmas this year at least.

Newly ordained Fr Benny Calanza has been appointed assistant priest in Our Lady of Lourdes parish, Rockingham.

Newly ordained Fr Rodrigo Tomala has been appointed assistant priest at St Mary Star of the Sea parish, Cottesloe.

Principal appointments

19 Confirmation, Myaree – Mgr Brian O’Loughlin VG

20 Ordination to Diaconate, Ballajura – Archbishop Hickey Confirmation, Karrinyup – Bishop Sproxton

Term 3, 2010. Lina has worked at the Catholic Education Office of WA since 2005, where she was Team Leader, Mission and Governance. Prior to this, Lina was Principal at Yidarra Catholic Primary School, Bateman and Mary MacKillop Catholic Community Primary School, Ballajura.

Gabrielle Doyle was appointed Principal at Good Shepherd School, Kelmscott which she commenced at the beginning of Term 3, 2010.

Gabrielle was the Assistant Principal at Liwara Catholic Primary School, Greenwood and prior to that was a Curriculum Consultant at CEOWA and Assistant Principal at Holy Spirit School, City Beach.

Silver Jubilee Mass of Fr Patrick Lim, Thornlie – Archbishop Hickey, Bishop Sproxton

22-27 Clergy Retreat – Archbishop Hickey

Wanted: gladiators, slaves and Christians

IF you’re keen to don sandals and armour as a soldier in Ancient Rome’s Imperial Army, appear as a persecuted Christian or show off your fitness as one of the first century AD’s courageous gladiators, now is your chance.

A casting call has gone out for 15 paid roles and another 180 roles as extras in the $15 million Ben Hur: The Stadium Spectacular - to be narrated by Oscar winning actor, Russell Crowe and staged at Sydney’s ANZ Stadium on 22 and 23 October.

Announcing the casting call last night, Executive Producer Andrew Guild said he was looking for local men and women to play villagers, toga-clad Romans, slaves, hapless Christians or soldiers of Rome’s great army. With Gladiator star Russell Crowe at the helm as narrator and charioteers and horses already in training for the live event, when Australians will have a chance to see a live recreation of the Roman Chariot race, the hunt for locals to plays key roles as well as back up parts in the Spectacular is now under way.

Touted as Sydney’s biggest live theatrical event ever, auditions begin on 28 August and will be followed by rehearsals at the ANZ Stadium which will commence from the first week of October and continue until the live Spectacular makes its dazzling debut before a crowd of thousands on the fourth Friday in October.

Ben Hur, a Biblical epic which has already spawned two blockbuster movies as well as a mini series, is based on the 19th century novel by Lew Wallace and tells the story of Judah Ben Hur, a Jewish prince and merchant whose life and fall from grace parallel that of the life of his contemporary, Jesus of Nazareth.

Lina Bertolini was appointed Principal at Majella Catholic Primary School, Balga which she commenced at the beginning of

Kevin Sheehy has been appointed Principal at St Joseph’s School, Northam which he commenced at the beginning of Term 3, 2010. Kevin was the Deputy Principal at Mercy College, Koondoola.

Prior to this he taught at a number of metropolitan and Geraldton-based Catholic schools.

To take part in the auditions, log on to www.benhur.com.au/casting/ and register, giving your name and details.

You will also be required to give your height, weight, colouring and to nominate whether you would like to play a slave, villager, gladiator or other type of role.

The producers are also keen to hear why you would like to take part.

Successful applicants will be contacted by the producers and then take part in the full audition process which begins on 28 August to be followed by rehearsals for the show just over a month later.

Seminarians enjoy retreat on the other side of the country

Abbot leads seminarians from St Charles and Parramatta for retreat

NINE seminarians from Holy Spirit Seminary from Sydney’s Parramatta diocese joined local seminarians from St Charles, Guildford for an annual silent retreat last month.

Holy Spirit Seminary’s Rector, Fr John Hogan, thought it would be a good experience for the seminarians to build a fraternal spirit while preparing for the priesthood, Monsignor Kevin Long, Rector of St Charles Seminary, told The Record

Newly appointed Bishop of Parramatta, Bishop Anthony Fisher OP, Perth Archbishop Barry Hickey and Mgr Kevin Long were supportive and agreed to the suggestion.

The silent retreat conducted by Benedictine Abbott John of New Norcia consisted of community Mass, Morning and Evening Prayer, a Holy Hour and shared meal.

Abbott John led a daily morning conference which was followed by silent reflection and the opportunity to have one-to-one chats with the Abbott.

The talks covered many topics including discernment and how

to listen with the ear of the heart; humility and obedience; peace within hearts and people; prophetic witness and the inexpressible delight of prayer.

One of the visiting seminarians from Holy Spirit Seminary, Anthony Saliba, said that he felt

welcome at St Charles and that the “whole experience was fantastic”.

“Abbott John is a humble and wise man whose words gave us insight and food for reflection,” he said.

Mgr Long said his seminarians “have also been enriched by the

presence and friendship of the Parramatta seminarians”.

“The interaction and fellowship between the two seminaries was a great gift for both communities,” he said, adding that further meetings are planned.

- with CJ Millen

Port Kennedy makes a lot of cents

BY MARK REIDY

WHEN St Bernadette parishioners in Port Kennedy began donating five cent coins on 28 May 2006 in an effort to fundraise for their new church, they had no idea that the venture would still be going 216 weeks later and would raise over $11,000.

“Eleven thousand, three hundred and seventy six dollars and sixty five cents, to be exact”, Parish Secretary, Margaret Gunn, proclaims proudly. The original idea, she told The Record, came from parishioner Betty Burgoyne’s daughter, Anne, Mrs Gunn, but was passionately embraced by fundraising stalwart, Mary Colton, who has since overseen the ongoing project.

“Mary has collected many old film canisters and leaves them out for parishioners to take home and gradually fill with their five cent pieces”, Mrs Gunn explained. “They then return them and Mary counts up the donations and keeps the parish updated with a graph in the weekly newsletter.”

The donations initially began as a way for parishioners to contribute to the building of the church, which was dedicated on 8 June 2008, and has consistently provided fifty dollars each week.

“It has been such an unexpected success,” Mrs Gunn said of the long-running campaign.

Waroona CD a hit throughout south-western parishes

Recording comes from a musical parish

Father Robert Romano and parishioner Patrick Leahy of Waroona Parish have produced a collection of hymns for Mass and use at home.

The CD Do This in Memory of Me was composed and recorded by both Fr Romano and Mr Leahy.

Since its release two months ago they have sold over 1,000 copies, mainly in locations south of Perth and extending as far as Albany.

It has been approved by Fr Tony Chiera, Vicar General of Bunbury diocese.

“I have been playing guitar and singing at Mass in Waroona for many years,” Mr Leahy said.

“Several of my compositions have been played in Catholic churches in the south west since 1996. When Fr Robert Romano came to our parish four years ago we knew he would be a very popular priest. He has filled our church again. He is also a guitar-playing hymn writer with a wonderful voice.

“He sings six songs on the album and I do the other nine. We also join in harmonies. Fr Robert sings three of his songs in his own language.

“We have a vibrant Filipino community in Waroona and they are so proud to have one of their countrymen as parish priest.”

Mr Leahy said although he had been very ill in recent years following a bone marrow transplant, he was delighted he had been able to fulfil his promise to Fr Robert to record the hymns with him.

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Bruce McGinn, joined us on the CD. Jeff did all the production and keyboard sounds. Jeff, like myself and Fr Robert, was an altar boy when he was young.

“The name of our little trio is 3 Kaibigan ng Diyos which in the Filipino language means ‘3 Friends of God’.”

Do This in Memory of Me sells for $20 plus postage and handling. Concessions are available. It can be ordered from Mr Leahy by contacting him on 08 9733 1201 or via email: leahyspd@bigpond. com.

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Getting together: New Norcia’s Abbot John Herbert OSB led the joint retreat for students from St Charles, the Archdiocesan Seminary, and students from Holy Spirit Seminary in Parramatta, New South Wales. PHOTO: COURTESY CJ MILLEN

Getting

The friar who translated for Pio speaks

Exclusive: A visiting Capuchin Franciscan was a witness to an astonishing saint

BY BRIDGET SPINKS

Three pieces of dried blood from St Pio of Pietrelcina’s 50-year stigmata and one of the mittens the saint used to cover his stigmata arrived in Perth on 4 August in the care of a priest who was among the few people to be close on a daily basis to one of the greatest mystics of the Church.

Fr Ermelindo, who was ordained a Capuchin friar in 1958, brought the relics to Perth, the first stop of his tour around Australia and New Zealand from 6 August - 5 September.

The relics have already travelled to various schools and churches in Perth including Aquinas College and Divine Mercy Secondary School Yangebup as well as Geraldton Cathedral and St Mary’s Cathedral Perth.

These relics are the same as those that toured the US in 2009 and the Philippines and Singapore in 2008.

Fr Ermelindo had first hand experience with the mystic but said he prefers to speak of the holiness of Padre Pio rather than the numerous and extraordinary spiritual and physical miracles of the saint, saying that these came from God through Padre Pio’s intercession.

“The centre of Padre Pio’s spiritual life was God, the crucifix, Our Lady and St Francis of Assisi, our founder and father,” Fr Ermelindo said.

The superior appointed Fr Ermelindo to stay at San Giovanni Rotondo as Padre Pio’s English secretary from 1965 until his death on 23 September 1968. His task was to introduce Padre Pio to the many English-speaking visitors from abroad and to answer the many letters that Padre Pio received in English.

“Padre Pio was a man of prayer and suffering,” Fr Ermelindo said.

“He suffered all the time during his life. He used to repeat all the time, ‘Who is Padre Pio? He is a poor Capuchin Friar, praying and suffering.’ He would say that every day. ‘I am a sinner myself,’ he also said.”

Fr Ermelindo said that Padre Pio had a great love for the Rosary and would pray it countless times throughout the day.

“I saw him praying all the time especially in front of Jesus in the tabernacle. And saying the Rosary to Our Lady. The crown of the Rosary was his weapon against the devils and the prayer to obtain all the grace from Our Lady for him and for those who asked him to pray for them,” Fr Ermelindo said.

Fr Ermelindo said that Padre Pio encouraged people to pray the Rosary every day - “Padre Pio said, ‘I would like to have a voice so strong to tell everyone, especially sinners love and love Our Lady and pray the Rosary every day’.”

Padre Pio was ordained to the priesthood a century ago this month on 10 August 1910.

“On that occasion, Padre Pio renewed his promise to God to offer himself as victim on the altar for the salvation of humanity as Jesus Christ did on Calvary,” Fr Ermelindo told The Record

During his priesthood, Padre Pio would begin Mass very early in the morning, at 4am, and the church would be “overcrowded”, Fr Ermelindo said.

“During the Mass, Padre Pio considered the altar as Calvary and he meditated on the passion and death of Jesus Christ,” said Fr Ermelindo. Eight years after ordination, on 20 September 1918, Padre Pio received the Stigmata that he would wear for 50 years on his hands, feet and chest while he was praying in front of a Crucifix.

“He became a real image of the crucified Christ,” Fr Ermelindo said.

The wounds weren’t bleeding all the time, but they were bleeding. “We know they were bleeding

because we have signs. For example, on some linen that he used to dry the blood and the crusts,” Fr Ermelindo said.

Fr Ermelindo described his confrere’s heart as “a furnace, burning with love for God and humanity”.

With offerings that he received from people the world over, Padre Pio built a hospital for the sick and the suffering. The hospital, Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza, (Home for Relief of the Suffering) was inaugurated on 5 May 1956.

“He was a man of charity towards the poor, the sinners and

the sick,” he said.

In his final years, Fr Ermelindo said that Padre Pio continued to work spiritually by hearing confessions, saying the Holy Mass and meeting the people, even though he was “old, sick and a little tired”.

He met a lot of people of all kinds and in all conditions during his life - the poor and the sick, the powerful and the weak, politicians and singers, Fr Ermelindo said.

Beniamino Gigli, a world-class opera singer and famous tenor, visited the future saint often.

Fr Ermelindo described him as “one of the best singers of that time” and “a good friend of Padre Pio”.

“Padre Pio asked him to sing the song ‘Mama’ because Padre Pio was very fond of his mama,” Fr Ermelindo said.

Padre Pio loved music, musicians and singers and Fr Ermelindo said that he saw many singers came to visit Padre Pio.

Padre Pio also met the future Pope John Paul II when he “was a simple priest in Rome” who went to San Giovanni Rotondo to ask Padre Pio to hear his confession. From that point on, Fr Ermelindo said, he became a “very close” friend of Padre Pio.

Fr Karol Wojtyla wasn’t the only one who asked Padre Pio to hear his confession.

Many people came to San Giovanni Rotondo to ask Padre Pio to hear their confession and as a result, Padre Pio spent many hours in the confessional box.

“During the confession, Padre Pio was a father and a judge. He converted a lot of sinners to return to God and to the Church,” Fr

McCormack students visit St Mary’s

Ermelindo said.

Padre Pio was not only a confessor but a director of many souls, and wrote many letters giving them spiritual counsel, Fr Ermelindo said.

Fr Ermelindo told The Record that in general Padre Pio told them how to love and serve God and to love and respect each other; to read spiritual books and especially to attend the Holy Mass and say the Rosary and to take up the daily cross and follow Jesus Christ and to pray to Our Lady.

“In general, to do God’s will,” Fr Ermelindo said.

Padre Pio Relics and Fr

Ermelindo tour dates:

Saint Padre Pio’s first and second-class relics will be touring Australian and New Zealand

6 August to 5 September. Fr Ermelindo will be preaching the homilies and giving the blessing.

PERTH: 6 - 15 August (Contact Des Scully - scully8@optusnet. com.au)

13 August: 11.30-2.30pm at All Saints Chapel, Allendale Square, Perth

13 August: 6.30pm at Our Lady of the Mission Church, Whitford

14 August: (Italian speaking day) at Infant Jesus Church, Morley 8.30am- Padre Pio DVD; 10am- Adoration; 11am- Mass followed by BYO lunch in Parish Hall

14 August: 6.30pm Mass at St John & Paul Church, Willetton

15 August: 10.30am Matt at St John & Paul Church, Willetton

ADELAIDE: 16-18 August

(Contact David & Sue O’Dwyer08 8384 4581

17 August: 6pm Adoration and 7pm Mass at Newton Parish.

18 August: 6pm Adoration and 7pm Mass at Morphett Vale Parish

All evenings will include Holy Mass followed by: Talks from Fr Ermelindo then veneration of St Padre Pio’s Relics.

MELBOURNE: 19-21 August

(Contact Angela & Frank Iacono03 9315 9300)

19 August: 6.30pm Rosary, 7pm Mass at National Shrine of St Anthony’s, 182 Power Street, Hawthorn. (Contact Fr Bernard 03 9819 3775)

20 August: 6.30pm Adoration, 7.30pm Mass and Homily and blessing with first class relic at St Francis of Assisi Church, 290 Childs Rd Mill Park.

21 August: 10.30am Rosary, 11am Mass and Homily and blessing with first class relic at St Patrick’s Cathedral, Cathedral Place, East Melbourne

SYDNEY: 22-24 August (Contact Michael Sandrussi - 0404 794 134)

22 August: 2pm-4pm at St Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney

22 August: 7.30pm at Good Shepherd Parish, 136 Hyatts Rd Plumpton.

23 August: 6pm talk in Italian at St Fiacre’s Church Leichardt, 96 Catherine St Leichardt 6pm.

NEW ZEALAND

Auckland: 25-26th August (Dennis Augustine)

Wellington: 27-28th August (Ted Jordan)

Christchurch: 29-30th August (TBC)

BRISBANE: 3-4 September (Fr.

John Spiteri- 0401 937 780)

3 September: 2-4pm with Adoration, Rosary, Benediction, Mass and light refreshments at Our Lady of Graces, 100 Mayfield

Year 7 students from Perth’s northernmost Catholic secondary school visited the newly completed St Mary’s Cathedral on Monday as part of a class excursion to the city.

The students, from Irene McCormack Catholic College in the northern Perth Suburb of Butler, visited the cathedral after going to the Pompeii exhibition currently showing

at Perth Museum. The class had travelled by train, and when The Record caught up with them they were happy to give a big wave for the camera. The visit to St Mary’s and the Museum was part of the school’s Integrated Studies Programme and was led by Year 7 Coordinator Mitchell Bristow and teachers Sarah Blackburn and Lauren Beckham.

Fr Ermelindo with the relics of an extraordinary mystic: Saint Padre Pio. PHOTO: BRIDGET SPINKS

MacKillop Cross starts Aussie pilgrimage

ACross made from timbers taken from the original floor of the WoodsMacKillop schoolhouse in Penola began a pilgrimage across Australia on 8 August, the 101st anniversary of Mary MacKillop’s death and the day that from next year will become the Feast Day of Australia’s first Saint.

After keeping watch over Mary MacKillop’s tomb at North Sydney, the Cross is to be brought to St Mary’s Cathedral for the Solemn 10.30am Mass on Sunday, when the Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell will invoke a blessing upon the Cross and its upcoming pilgrimage.

Then, accompanied by members of the Knights of the Southern Cross, the MacKillop Cross as it is known will begin a journey that will take it to every dioceses and Cathedral in NSW, Victoria and SA as well as the nation’s Military Ordinariate.

“We hope to take the Cross to as many schools and establishments which are run by the Josephite Sisters of Mary MacKillop as we possibly can,” says Greg BriscoeHough of the Sydney Chapter of Knights of the Southern Cross and organiser of the pilgrimage.

At present the pilgrimage is set to cover only Australia’s south eastern states, but the Knights are hoping an airline will step up and offer to carry the Cross and its guardians to the Northern Territory and Western Australia as well.

Much of Mary MacKillop’s work was with isolated communities and embraced Australia’s Indigenous people. The Order of Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart, which she co founded with Father Julian Tenison Woods, continues her work across WA and the Northern Territory and for this reason the Knights would love to see the Cross make a tour through the towns and communities of Australia’s North West.

“It would also be wonderful if an airline offered to carry the Mary MacKillop Cross to East Timor where the Josephite Sisters of Mary MacKillop are actively helping the new nation as well as establishing much needed schools,” said Greg Briscoe-Hough, pointing out that while not really designed for air travel, the tall wooden Cross is nevertheless light in weight and could comfortably be put somewhere outside the hold on flights to WA, NT and East Timor.

The Pilgrimage of the MacKillop Cross marks the start of celebrations for the canonisation of Mary MacKillop by the Knights of the Southern Cross, and also signals the lead up to the Knight’s biennial Festival of Faith which will coincide with the events in Rome on 17 October when Australia’s first saint will be canonised.

Normally the Knights’ Festival

to celebrate Catholic Culture, is held in May during Pentecost. But as a tribute to their patron, Mary MacKillop, this year the Festival has been deferred until October.

“We made the decision to hold the festival in October after close consultation with the Dean of St Mary’s Cathedral, Fr Paul Hilder and the Archbishop of Sydney,” says Greg Briscoe-Hough who promises this year’s Festival of Faith is all set to be bigger and better than ever with a jam-packed program of art displays, music competitions, a food fest, a series of concerts, a Catholic Men’s Forum, and a grand festival dinner.

As with the World Youth Day Cross

which toured Australia in the lead up to Sydney’s big event in July 2008, the Knights are inviting everyone to take part in the pilgrimage whether it is just for a few blocks or for the distance between suburbs or even towns.

The pilgrimage will slowly wend its way south and for the Knights possibly the most moving experience will be when they carry the MacKillop Cross into Penola in South Australia, where a Thanksgiving Mass has been planned at St Joseph’s Church which adjoins the WoodsMacKillop schoolhouse, and where Fr Julian Tenison Woods, co founder of the Sisters of St Joseph was once the parish priest.

Not only does Mary MacKillop have strong associations with Penola but so too does the MacKillop Cross which is made from 19th century timber taken from the original schoolhouse when its floor was lifted and had to be replaced.

“When the new floor was laid in 1985, the Sisters of St Joseph presented the Sydney chapter of the Knights of the Southern Cross with four pieces of the original timbers,” Greg Briscoe Hough explained.

Two of the timbers measured nine feet (274.3cm) with the other two measuring 4 feet 6 inches each (137.2 cm).

From these four pieces, the Knights fashioned two crosses which were lovingly French polished by one of the Chapter’s members. One was then presented to Pope John Paul II during his Open

Air Mass at Randwick in 1986, and the other dubbed the Mary MacKillop Cross was given to St Mary’s Cathedral.

The Cross remained in the Cathedral for many years and played a key role in the Beatification ceremonies for Mary MacKillop of 1995.

Then for several years it appears to have been mislaid, only resurfacing late last year when it was refurbished and presented by the Knights to the Sisters of St Joseph.

The presentation was made on 8 December 2009, less than two weeks before the Vatican announced Mary MacKillop would be canonised.

The ceremony attended by Sydney’s Knights began with the Cross being carried as part of a procession into the historic Mary MacKillop Memorial Chapel and was followed by a Midday Mass.

Now the Cross is on the move again and, as with the World Youth Day Cross, will be seen, touched and celebrated by thousands as it makes its journey from Mary MacKillop Place on 8 August to the dioceses of Broken Bay, Wollongong, Wagga Wagga, Bathurst before heading south to Victoria and then across the border to South Australia.

The 2010 pilgrimage will end back at Mary MacKillop Place when the Knights of the Southern Cross will launch their Festival of Faith and join in the celebration of their patron’s canonisation with art shows, music, concerts, promising a bigger and more exciting programme than ever before.

Democratic Labor Party

The World Youth Day cross and icon are carried through a crowd of pilgrims in Sydney on 14 July, 2008. PHOTO: CNS

In Cyprus on mission, healed within

When Kelmscott parishioner Lara Malin visited Cyprus in June, she found herself in the middle of a papal visit and discovered the healing power of God through the Pope’s words

‘Like an eagle that watches its nest, that hovers over its young, so he spread his wings; he took him, placed him on his outstretched wings.’ Deuteronomy 32:11

I’d never really compared Jesus to an eagle, but that was before He decided to sweep me off my feet and take me for a ride. I knew His eagle eyes had been watching me when He opened a way for me to go on mission as a single mother with my ten year old son. Opening this door to mission was a big enough miracle in my books, but discovering that the mission was to be in Cyprus and would coincide with the Papal visit was unbelievably awesome.

Cyprus? From suburban Perth?

To my surprise, I instantly fell in love with the island’s great beauty, character and free-spirited atmosphere.

The unruly traffic, people riding bikes without a helmet, the smell of souvla wafting through the air, stray cats and kittens roaming endlessly on every street, a piano accordian playing outside the corner shop, white chiffon drapes against a blue Grecian sky, a punnet of home-made olives left sitting on your door-step by a kindly neighbour ... a real feast for my senses.

I was amazed to discover the wealth of ancient Christian remains and reminders. Cyprus is considered to be the first place evangelised, St Barnabas was himself a Cypriot, his tomb lies here along with the tomb of Lazarus, and one of my most treasured

icons by Kiko Arguello is based on one found here at the Kykkos Monastery, believed to be painted by St Luke.

I certainly didn’t know enough about the history of Cyprus.

The recent Turkish invasion became very real to me as I spoke to people who were living on the North side when the war was raging. They spoke of having to flee with nothing but the shoes and clothes they were wearing, their

eyes spoke of a delayed grief and of an effort to rebuild their lives. I can only guess that there is many a hardened, grieving heart in Cyprus. Today, a ‘Green Line’, guarded by UN troops, separates the North from the South, the Turks from the Greeks. I’m living close to this ‘Green Line’ on the Greek side, within the capital Nicosia and attending The Holy Cross Catholic Church (where the Pope lodged) which sits directly on this Green

Line. The church sits in ‘no man’s land’ like a reminder of how Christ wants to bring unity in the midst of division (it can only be used on the proviso that the back door remains firmly locked as this opens out onto the Turkish side).

Surrounded by razor wire, UN troops on guard duty, derelict buildings that haven’t been used for over 30 years, left over sand bag bunkers and bullet holes in the walls, it resembles a movie set to me, yet in truth, remains a reminder of a history that now results in Nicosia being the last remaining divided capital.

In the days leading up to the Papal visit, pilgrims from Egypt, Italy, Lebanon, Jordan and Israel travelled through Cyprus. I joined these pilgrims at Pafos to meet our dear Pope Benedict XVI amidst the archaeological ruins where St Paul and St Barnabas preached and St Paul’s pillar stands as a reminder of his great zeal to spread the gospel.

It was an intimate crowd and a rare opportunity for me to sit with pilgrims in the midst of our Pope who radiated the love of Jesus. I followed Il Papa to a gathering with the Maronite church and then met for a beautiful prayer meeting with the Greek Orthodox Church Ayia Sophia (Engomi).

On Sunday 6 June I attended the Papal Mass at Nicosia Stadium. As Pope Benedict XVI entered the

stadium dressed in brilliant gold yet still radiating humility, I was overwhelmed by the love of Jesus. Though not in close proximity to the Pope, I felt like I was touching the hem of Jesus’ garment just by being there and I could imagine how the woman with the hemorrhage had felt.

God had really done a work to bring me all the way to Cyprus, to heal me, to cure me, to let me touch Him.

Later that evening, I attended a vocational meeting with the pilgrims and Archbishop Jules (Greek Catholic Patriarch from Jerusalem). I had the great honour of helping to decorate the Kykkos icon of the Virgin Mary with flowers and watch it being carried in procession via many seminarians through the open air of Lakatamia Ampitheatre.

Jesus had been busy calling many hearts during these few days and from this small group of pilgrims, 20 men stood up for the seminary and 12 women stood up for the convent.

I couldn’t help but think again of the 12 years that the woman bled with the hemorrhage, and the little girl who was 12 years old when Jesus resurrected her, saying Talitha Kum, “Little girl stand up”.

My time in Cyprus has been a gift from my Lord Jesus Christ. He has sought to heal my heart in places that were broken, just as He has sought to heal the places where His church has been divided.

I know I will return to Australia with a newness of heart (where Jesus has done some patchwork), a great love for Cyprus, a great love for The Greek Orthodox Church, a great love for the Maronite Church, a great love for St Paul and St Barnabas and a greater love for remains and reminders (relics and icons) that help to keep me focused on my risen Lord in the TODAY of my life.

Pope Benedict XVI brought many people together during his visit and gave a strong message of love and peace to the people of Cyprus and the world, a message of rebuilding relations, of unity.

He provided refreshing rain in the form of Jesus’ loving word and presence whilst here, and even more cleansing rain from heaven once he had left.

It never rains in Cyprus in June, it’s unheard of, just ask any Cypriot but it surely rained down the following week.

May Cyprus and the Church continue to be blessed and built up in the love of Jesus.

Finn and Lara were present at the Papal Mass in the Eleftheria Sports Centre in Nicosia, capital of Cyprus on 6 June.

Above: Pope Benedict XVI entering the stadium and captured on camera by 10 year old Kelmscott parishioner, Finn Malin. PHOTOS: ABOVE BY FINN MALIN; BELOW BY LARA MALIN

Finn Malin,10, joining in the festivities surrounding Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to Cyprus on 4-6 June. His mother, Lara, was in Cyprus on mission for the Neocatechumenal Way. The mission happened to coinicide with the Papal Visit.

Brown ‘trying to redefine Catholic faith’

BY ANTHONY BARICH

BOB Brown wants to redefine Catholic beliefs, Cardinal George Pell has countered after the Greens leader claimed the Archbishop of Sydney is “out of touch” with mainstream Christian thinking and that Catholics support samesex marriage.

In his weekly Sunday Telegraph column on 8 August, Cardinal Pell said the Greens are “sweet camouflaged poison”, and that while he won’t tell people who to vote for, he said that the “Green ethic” that claims humans are simply another, smarter animal is designed to replace JudeoChristianity.

He cited Brown co-authoring a 1996 book The Greens with philosopher Peter Singer, who rejects the unique status of humans and supports infanticide, as well as abortion and euthanasia.

The prelate also said that one wing of the Greens is “like watermelons – green outside and red inside”; adding that the Greens are opposed to religious schools, would destroy the rights of those schools to hire staff and control enrolments and would bring funding for non-government schools back to the levels of 200304.

“Already in Canberra, Green pressure was one factor in the attacks on Calvary Hospital, because they were not providing abortions,” the Cardinal said, referring to the proposed sale of Canberra’s Calvary Public Hospital to the ACT Government, which Archbishop Mark Coleridge opposed.

“Naturally, the Greens are hostile to the notion of the family, man, woman and children, which they see as only one among a set of alternatives. They would allow marriage regardless of sexuality or gender identity,” Cardinal Pell said.

“We all accept the necessity of a healthy environment, but Green policies are impractical and expensive, which will not help the poor.”

In response, Senator Brown was reported on 9 August as saying the Greens are much closer to mainstream Christian thinking than Cardinal Pell - “that’s why he’s not standing for election and I am”, he said.

The Catholics he spoke to support an end to discrimination, Senator Brown said, along with compassion to asylum seekers and the BER (Building the Education Revolution) scheme, “like the Greens do. Cardinal Pell opposes those things”.

Senator Brown also said the Cardinal’s views on gay marriage were “discriminatory and biased”.

“Cardinal Pell’s column on Sunday has brought out another side of Bob Brown. It seems he wants not only to save the environment, but also to re-define Catholic beliefs. It is a pity he is better at spin than at checking his facts,” Cardinal Pell’s Archdiocesan communications office said in a further statement on 9 August.

The statement called Senator Brown’s comments regarding the Cardinal’s lack of support for the BER “bizarre”, as the prelate has welcomed it publicly for both

Australia’s Bishops want paid parental leave, more overseas aid

BY ANTHONY BARICH

public and private schools, and expressed gratitude to the Federal Government for the school improvements that the BER has made possible.

“Also contrary to Brown’s claims, Cardinal Pell’s support for asylum seekers to be treated more compassionately is a matter of long-standing public record,” the Pell’s Archdiocesan statement said.

Further, Senator Brown’s claims that the Cardinal is out of touch with mainstream Catholic and Christian majority and that they favour homosexual marriage “would be news to most Australians”, it said.

“If this really were the case it is unlikely that both major parties would have gone to the lengths they have to rule it out as an election issue,” it said.

“It is telling that the Greens have no dedicated family policy on their website.”

The economic consequences of the Greens’ policies will increase the cost of living, making food and energy more expensive, which will make the situation of the poor and the battlers even harder, the statement added.

Cardinal Pell’s Archdiocesan statement said that while Senator Brown used ‘compassion’ and ‘commonsense’ to describe the Greens’ policies, “nothing could be further from the truth - like most of what he said yesterday”.

“He is a master of spin, expert at camouflaging his basic aims, distracting attention,” it said.

“Australians thinking of voting Green as a kind of protest against the major parties, especially in the Senate where the Greens could hold the balance of power, owe it to themselves and their families at least to study the Greens’ policies.”

AUSTRALIA’S Catholic Bishops have urged both major political parties to increase the country’s overseas aid to 0.7 percent of gross national income (GNI), the target set by the United Nations 40 years ago.

Labor Treasurer Wayne Swan announced $135 million for Non Government Organisations (NGOs) such as Caritas Australia in the 2010-11 Budget announced in May, and said Australia will be on track to boost overseas development aid to 0.5 per cent of GNI by 2015.

When queried on the Government’s commitment at the time, Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said the aid budget would reach 0.42 of GNI by 2013-14 and was on target to reach 0.5 percent – between $8 billion and $9 billion - by 2015-16, despite the fact it will have to find two thirds of this amount in the goal target’s final two years.

Last week Mr Smith said that Labor would progressively increase Australia’s foreign aid to 0.7 per cent of GNI if economic and fiscal conditions permitted.

Opposition Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Julie Bishop told AAP last week that the government’s foreign aid budget had included about $300 million in aid to help poorer countries tackle climate change – “which is in breach of the Copenhagen climate change adaptation guidelines which state it not be put in foreign aid budgets”.

She said that the question of whether the Coalition would increase foreign aid to 0.7 per cent would depend on the Australian aid office’s report into the foreign aid budget.

She added that there were serious concerns about the delivery and effectiveness of aid and the “highly paid technical consultants who were paid higher wages than in most major OECD countries”.

Addressing specific issues pertinent to national debate over the past year, the Bishops mentioned foreign aid in their 9 August statement as one of 11 issues they urged people to judge political parties by when voting in the 21 August federal election.

Others included healthcare, migrants and refugees, women, indigenous Australians, disability, environment, education, religious liberty and human dignity.

Paid parental leave is an “important step forward” for women to improving pay equity, they said, urging for women’s dignity to be respected, adding that “steps must be taken to protect women from all forms of violence”.

Regarding indigenous Australians, the Bishops said that “until the most disadvantaged of our indigenous citizens move beyond third world living conditions, all Australians must feel ashamed and work together to change their conditions”.

Regarding “climate change”, they said the debate about the environment “must shift to consideration of the needs of future generations, not just to avoiding present inconveniences”.

Caretaker Prime Minister Julia Gillard listed climate change last month as among her top three priorities, while Opposition leader Tony Abbott said the Coalition is the only party with a clear policy on the issue, as Labor had shelved the emissions trading scheme.

The Bishops addressed human

dignity regarding both the issues of sanctity of life and migrants and refugees, saying that all those seeking to live in Australia should be treated with dignity and in accordance with international law, while “the value of human life must be respected at every stage”.

“Human dignity demands that a wealthy country such as Australia define its priorities so that those who cannot cope in society are helped through government spending by those who can,” the Bishops said.

They appealed for equitable funding and respect for parental choice regarding schools policy, a healthcare system that is “efficient and accessible for all”, properly funded mental health services and an improvement in aged care services.

“People with a disability are entitled to a quality of life equivalent to that of other Australians,” the Bishops said, adding that “serious effort must be made to improve

access to services for people with disabilities and their carers,” the Bishops said. This comes after the close of submissions, at the end of July, to the Productivity Commission inquiry into a Lifetime Disability Care and Support Scheme, or pension.

Barbara Harris - coordinator of the Perth Archdiocesan Emmanuel Centre, a self-help centre run for and by people with disabilities, their families and carers – told The Record that with the exorbitant costs involved, “people with disabilities need more choice and more opportunities”.

“You don’t know you’ll have a child with a disability, but the impact financially on you is enormous”, she said, hence the proposal for a national insurance policy.

While people with disabilities get a pension or child support, Ms Harris said “it’s a pittance when you consider the added cost of having a disability”.

Cardinal George Pell

Bob Brown

People line up for the distribution of emergency supplies by Caritas Internationalis in the Haitian city of Leogane in January. Hundreds of families in the town are homeless following a 12 January earthquake and are being helped by Caritas, one of the Non Government Organisations helped by Australia’s overseas aid, which Australia’s Bishops want raised to 0.7 per cent of the country’s gross national income.

PHOTO: CNS/PAUL JEFFREY

A policy free zone

There is one set of policies waiting to be announced by one or other of our political parties this 2010 election season but it is doubtful that any will, and that would be a policy addressing the thing that Australia does to its children by facilitating easy divorce. If political parties thought about it, they could initiate an election-winning policy by addressing the gaping hole in our society’s life represented by the lack of marriage preparation and the accompanying divorce rate. As it is, Australia’s support for easy divorce appears embedded at every level of government and throughout our legal and social welfare systems, a cornerstone of our culture.

The adoption of no-fault divorce laws in the 1970s was, of course, supposed to solve a problem, that of people who just can’t get on with each other enough to stay married. It was roundly regarded at the time as such a very progressive thing and, besides, it made us (we hoped) more like the terribly sophisticated other people that we saw around us in the world who we desperately wanted to walk, talk, look and sound like. But like so many other similar ‘progressive’ things, it proved to have a cost, and a dirty and nasty one at that.

Setting aside the very serious problems that do afflict some marriages such as a violent or abusive spouse who is a danger to their spouse or children where divorce may very well be the best legal solution, there is little doubt that cereal packet divorce laws in Australia have done nothing other than to destroy individual lives and erode our social fabric. More important are the effects on those who are the first victims: children.

When a couple has reached the point of contempt, anger and hatred for each other to such a degree that they feel it is impossible to go on, it would do both great good to reflect on the consequence of their choices. Their first mistake is to assume the situation is irretrievable. It matters little whether they are, in effect, sending themselves into some kind of hell by their inability to remain faithful to their children, because, by separating, it can legitimately be argued, now that we know what divorce really does, that the only thing a couple agree on in their hatred for each other is that they are willing to send their children into an emotional hell from which it will take decades to recover, at best. To call this ironic is simply not strong enough. If anyone is in any doubt about the effects of divorce upon children, who are given no real voice in the matter by anyone, one only has to turn to the reams and reams of social research that has repeatedly demonstrated the devastation of divorce, decade after decade. One of the most disturbing, saddest and heart-wrenching accounts of the effects of divorce is the multi-decade long-range study carried out by US academic Judith Wallerstein.

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From 1966 to 1992, Dr Wallerstein was Senior Lecturer at the School of Social Welfare at the University of California at Berkeley. She is widely regarded as probably the foremost authority on divorce’s real effects. Wallerstein, a psychologist and researcher, followed and extensively interviewed the children from divorcing families in California over three decades, rather as the popular British Seven Up documentaries revisited children every seven years.

Her findings, published in 2000 as The Unacknowledged Legacy of Divorce, should be required reading not only for every married couple but every judge, lawyer, mental health professional, counsellor and aspiring politician or social policy maker. They destroy the myth that divorce enables individuals to rebuild their lives, that it is good for families, good for society, good for children.

For her book, Wallerstein selected a number of children from the larger study group whose experiences were representative of those of their peers. Readers follow their struggles and fears, especially that their own relationships will fail like those of their own parents. Lacking an internal template of what a successful relationship looks like, they must invent their own codes of behaviour in a culture that offers many models and few guidelines. Wallerstein shows how some overcame their dread of betrayal to find loving partners and become successful, protective parents determined not to inflict upon their own children the suffering they have experienced - and how most others are still struggling to find their heart’s desire without knowing why they feel so frightened. For the first time, using a comparison group of adults who grew up in the same communities, Wallerstein shows how adult children of divorce essentially view life differently from their peers raised in intact homes where parents also confronted marital difficulties but decided on balance to stay together. In this way she sheds light on the question so many parents confront - whether to try to rebuild the relationship, even though this may be extremely difficult in the beginning, or to divorce.

As one commentator noted, Wallerstein’s most significant finding by far is that the effects of divorce on children are not short-term and transient. They are long-lasting, profound, and cumulative. The children in Wallerstein’s study view their parents differently, and they have lingering fears about their ability to commit to relationships that affect their own marriages and their own children. One of the saddest and commonest experiences that she has uncovered is that for decades afterwards it is the children who believe they were to blame for their parents’ divorce. The children Wallerstein studied were more likely to struggle with drugs, alcohol, and sex. Fully half the children she studied were involved in serious abuse of alcohol and drugs, some as early as age 14. And they tended to become sexually active early, particularly the girls. Addressing the state of marriage - and divorce - in Australia today is a matter of urgent national interest. And one could ask why we should bother at all worrying about whether the globe is warming or cooling if, in the end, we have become a society in whose hearts concern and love for our children has really gone stone cold.

senate and one for Fremantle in next week’s election, for which we have inserted a paid political advertisement. All three candidates are long term, pro-life people. We have placed paid advertisements in The Record for four elections now.

In a separate paper, I have stated that you can attend as many rallies as you like, but the only way to get the abortion laws repealed is by having a pro-life majority in parliament. For a Catholic to even think of supporting the Greens shows a lack of knowledge of what the Greens really stand for.

The best

Iregularly read The Record. It is the best Catholic weekly in Australia because of the variety of topics and sources used, in my opinion.

Last week I missed my copy. Could you please send me the copy on the Carmelites due last week. Thanking you.

Barbara Shea Monash University, Melbourne

Political advertisements

Thank you for accepting and publishing advertisements for the Christian Democratic Party. There is a real risk that the Greens will win the balance of power and be able to advance their anti-Catholic agenda.

The Greens are opposed to the Christian idea of marriage as being a union between a man and a woman, support legalised abortion and increased availability of injecting rooms for illegal drugs.

The CDP has pro-Christian and pro-Catholic positions on all these issues. We have a choice as to which party we wish to hold the balance of power. We can vote for the Greens and their culture of death and nihilism, or the CDP which (though not a Catholic party) still advocates policies which truly respect the family and offer Christian compassion to the unborn, children, drug addicts and other vulnerable members of society.

Suryan Chandrasegaran

Nerrena VIC

Voting

Brother Joe Murphy’s letter regarding political advertising needs to be answered. As a prior member of the CDP and current WA Secretary of the DLP, I must point out that we are not politicians in the normal sense, as few of us have any political ambitions.

Most, if not all, are pro-life Christians who have reacted to the actions of various secular governments to erode human rights, particularly the God-given right to life.

When WA Premier, Richard Court, permitted the fast-tracking of the abortion bill, I protested, advising that in future I would be supporting the Christian Democratic Party, which I did. At the time I was, and still am, a member of the Helpers of God’s Precious Infants, the pro-life group which has prayer vigils outside abortion clinics, rain or shine.

I helped the CDP as booth captain at the following Federal and State elections and was asked to stand as a CDP candidate in 2004. In 2007, I was asked to stand for the revived DLP in the 2007 senate elections, which saw us come fifth, due to the support of those who remembered what the DLP was about.

The re-formed WA Branch has nominated two candidates for the

Eric G Miller Lesmurdie

Eucharist

I’m not sure if John Raynor’s masterful piece (letters, 4 August) was edited or whether he had a typographical error.

I refer to the word ‘substantially’ where it needed to be ‘Substantively.’ Otherwise, a masterful piece.

I had some ignorance reduced by a senior Anglican cleric in St Paul’s Cathedral Melbourne when he told me in unequivocal terms that at the consecration during the Mass which he had just finished concelebrating, which was identical to the vernacular Catholic Mass, the substance of bread is changed into the substance of Christ.

I verified that the consecration was not a remembrance or reenactment of the Last Supper but was indeed the actual Act of the Last Supper.

The cleric patiently repeated his advice that the True Presence of Jesus Christ, literally and physically, exists ontologically within the form of bread after the consecration during the Anglican Mass I had just witnessed.

P Clune Roleystone

Denial’s not a river

‘Denial’ is not a river in Egypt, it’s a coping mechanism. Brian Peachey’s letter (2 June) suggests a denial of the greatest current scandal afflicting our Church since the Reformation. As I know him to be an intelligent, politically astute, socially aware and faith-filled Catholic, I am sure that his motive would be to protect Holy Mother Church.

However, this letter requires the same response that Pope Benedict gave in chastising a recent Bishop who had denied the “Holocaust”. I believe this ‘Denial’ of the Church clergy sex abuse has the same ramifications as denial of the Holocaust.

Let us follow the money trail if you think the problem is miniscule, Brian, commencing with just three examples: Ireland $2.3 billion Trust Fund for victims; Canada $1.83 billion; America $6.25 billion and it goes on ...

The following outlines an example of the size and scope of the ‘abuse of power’ in one country.

The German Bishops created a Helpline last April 2010 for victims who suffered physical, emotional and sexual abuse by priests and Religious. On the first day they received over 4,459 calls. One hundred and sixty people were helped before they closed the Helpline. Andrew Zimmer, the head of the project, said he was “not prepared for that kind of onslaught.” At least though, they tried and showed some courage in facing this “systemic cancer” and “lack of governance” in the corporate Church.

Since you indicated that sexual abuse does not occur to this magnitude, Brian, you might read

Geraldine Willesee’s recent article in The West Australian on this subject. Furthermore, in her interview, it also shows the crippling side effects of party politics within our Church, which you do know a lot about, as I’ve read many of your letters over the years.

Geraldine said:

Those men [priests] we treated as mini-gods had hung trust out to dry. And the women were no better. My Father was a Labor Party MP and Labor-hating Nuns freely abused me as a consequence, physically, verbally, psychologically, emotionally.

I can personally and professionally say that this was not an isolated case, in the period 1950s to 80s. On a happier note, though, we thank Barry Hickey our Archbishop, for appropriately dealing with Geraldine’s allegations within days, where he suspended the priest immediately and he was removed from his parish.

As we are in the middle of a Federal election, it is fitting to recall Jesus’ words, “I am the way, the truth and the life” (John 14.6).

That indicates very clearly to me that no one party owns God or his “Good News”. We need faith-filled Catholics in every political party, in every union, at every level of local government, and in every professional organisation.

Guido J Vogels

Willetton Catholic Community

Emily’s List

Whilst many priests may feel that they cannot appear to be supporting one political party over another, their moral obligation to guide their parishoners in matters of voting has been greatly facilitated by Julia Gillard’s membership of Emily’s List. And just in case some people have not yet heard about this organisation, it shouldn’t take more than a few minutes to aquaint everyone with the facts.

Meanwhile, congratulations to Mr Jing Ping Wong - your letter to the Editor (4 Aug) says it all. I throughly agree with you that we deserve to have clear guidelines from the Church on the stances we should adopt for life issues and compare the different party policies against these.

Margaret O’Hagan Applecross

Unjust portrayal

John Rayner does Guido Vogels an injustice by taking out of the whole context of his letter the passage “The Eucharist therefore is not a magic ritual or an object to be adored or worshipped.”

As Guido pointed out, the commemoration of the Last Supper is a call and commitment to action in union with Christ, not a command to fall on our knees in adoration.

The liturgical custom of raising the consecrated host and chalice following the consecration has its origin in a Parisian church around the year 1200. Communion for the participating community had long ceased to be an integral part of the celebration of the Eucharist; adoration of the elevated host and chalice became the central point and meaning of the Eucharist- adoration replaced the action of uniting with Christ in this sacrificial moment. In the early Church,

The Body of Christ was preserved solely to be given as communion to those prevented from participation in the Eucharist. It wasn’t until around the 11th century that the emphasis shifted to adoration which in turn evolved into such practices as exposition, benediction, processions and holy Letters continued on Page 19

BY ARCHBISHOP BARRY JAMES HICKEY, ARCHBISHOP OF PERTH

Pearl of Great Price Great Price

Here is the Pastoral Letter

issued by Archbishop Barry Hickey this week

National Marriage Day is supported by a number of likeminded community groups that have joined together to support and promote the uniqueness of marriage and its benefits for husband and wife, for the children of the marriage and for society itself.

They seek to reinforce the firmly held belief that marriage is a lifelong union of a man and a woman, exclusive of all others and open to children.

Only a few years ago one could safely assume that this understanding of marriage was commonly accepted.

Not so today. Things have changed radically.

Increasingly, marriage is being promoted as only one of the many options in human sexual relationships. Recent years have witnessed a sharp rise in cohabitation before marriage. These so-called partnerships are even taking the place of marriage.

Adding to this is the pressure to change the very definition of marriage from a union of a man and a woman to a union of two persons of the same sex. The ideal of Christian marriage is under great threat.

The much publicised romances and brief marital unions of so-called “idols” of screen and television only contribute to the trivialisation of marriage. The availability of easy divorce undermines the strength of commitment that true marriage requires.

Our own Federal laws, which allow a marriage to be dissolved after a short period of separation, has re-educated Australians to believe that marriage is no longer a permanent contract. At the same time it is comforting to know that not only committed Christians but Sikhs, Muslims and Jews support traditional marriage.

Consider the children

One must be concerned about the increasing number of children in Australia who are born out of marriage and those who grow up in single parent families, now over a million, often without a father. When the relationship breaks down the father is generally the one who has to live away from the children. While such a situation calls for compassion and understanding, it is not ideal.

Given the stresses on modern marriage, many children are sadly caught in the crossfire of hostility between their parents. This often does not cease if the marriage or relationship breaks down.

In the search for happiness in a second marriage or in a ‘partnership’, success is not guaranteed either for the spouses or for the children. The breakdown rate of second and subsequent marriages is higher than for first marriages. Children are the victims of adult behaviour.

Large numbers of children are taken into care by the State today because the family unit can no longer cope. The tragic damage to children who grow up in dysfunctional families affected by violence or drugs has been catalogued many times. Sadly, too, fostering does not always succeed.

Children manifest their distress in forms of mental illness, anti-social behaviour and too often, tragically, in suicide.

Studies have shown that cohabitation before marriage contributes to the early breakdown of marriage.

This worsening situation is all around us, yet it is rarely the subject of political debate. It calls for urgent action at all levels of society.

The family is under threat because the institution of marriage is being undermined. The philosopher Santayana said, “The family is one of nature’s masterpieces”. It should be supported by society and governments.

It is not enough to provide assistance to those who suffer from family dysfunction, important as that assistance is. We must also, as a nation, seek to stabilise family life and

strengthen marriage itself. This is a responsibility shared by government, the churches and the community. All have a distinct contribution to make.

Unfortunately, some people are so ideologically blinded as to applaud this appalling state of affairs as a victory of choice and individual freedom. This is grossly misguided thinking. Marriage has no satisfactory alternatives. History alone clearly shows that.

21 reasons why Marriage matters

1 Marriage increases the likelihood that fathers have good relationships with their children.

2 Cohabitation is not the functional equivalent of marriage.

3 Growing up outside an intact marriage increases the likelihood that children will themselves divorce and become unwed parents.

4 Marriage is a virtually universal human institution.

5 Divorce and unmarried childbearing increase poverty for both children and mothers.

6 Married couples seem to build more wealth over a longer period than singles or cohabiting couples.

7 Married men earn more money than do single men with similar education and job histories.

8. Parental divorce (or failure to marry) appears to increase children’s risk of school failure.

9 Parental divorce reduces the risk that children will graduate from university and achieve high status jobs.

10 Children who live with their own two married parents enjoy better physical health, on average, than do children from other family forms.

11 Parental marriage is associated

Research continually finds that married people are more contented and healthy, and that children from stable families do better in all indices of education, psychological health and self-image. The Church must continue to lead and assert the importance of marriage for society and for the spouses and their children. The Church will provide for them nurturing parish communities as a source of strength and affirmation.

with a sharply lower risk of infant mortality.

12. Marriage is associated with reduced rates of alcohol and substance abuse for both adults and teens.

13. Married people, especially married men, have longer life expectancies than do otherwise similar singles.

14. Marriage is associated with better health and lower rates of injury, illness and disability for both men and women.

15. Children whose parents divorce have higher rates of psychological distress and mental illness.

16. Divorce appears significantly to increase the risk of suicide.

17. Married mothers have lower rates of depression than do single or cohabiting mothers.

18. Boys raised in single parent families are more likely to engage in delinquent and criminal behaviour.

19. Marriage appears to reduce the risk that adults will be either perpetrators or victims of crime.

20. Married women appear to have a lower risk of experiencing domestic violence than cohabiting or dating women.

21. A child who is not living with his or her own two married parents is at greater risk of child abuse.

Source: 21 Reasons why marriage matters by the National Marriage Coalition

Christian Marriage

Let us reflect at this time on the vision of marriage that comes to us from Jesus Christ, upheld over the centuries by the Catholic Church.

Marriage is part of God’s plan for the happiness and future of the human race. It is a natural institution raised to the dignity of a Sacrament.

As a Sacrament, the union of man and woman signifies the union of Christ and the Church. It is based on a faithful and mutual love, an image of the everlasting love of God for humankind. Marriage, therefore, is for life.

Marital love is fruitful. Couples who marry are to be open to new life. Children are the fruit of their love for one another. Even if the parents do not have children their very openness is a desire to share their love.

Although marriage was from the very beginning part of the order of creation, it has become, under Jesus Christ, a vocation and a source of personal salvation.

With the assurance of grace both husband and wife are given the strength to renounce their own personal goals for the unity of the marriage.

They go forward in joyful hope and trust to fulfil their vocation as married people in the world, to be a sign of the power of selfsacrificing love.

Marriages are often under stress through circumstances beyond control, like unemployment, poverty and accidents.

Nevertheless, wrong behaviour or sinfulness can threaten marriage far worse than unforeseen disasters.

Adultery, selfishness, neglect, violence and the withdrawal of love can fatally damage marriage and family life. Couples are urged to turn to prayer and call on the grace promised to them in the Sacrament.

They should seek help from wise people who respect their beliefs. They also have a right to support from their local Christian community. Most important of all, they themselves should renew their commitment to each other, “for better or for worse”.

Christian couples are to resist the world’s way of divorce and re-marriage. However, should the marriage completely collapse, they may turn to the legal processes of the Church where a declaration of invalidity may be given if a serious defect in the marriage is found to have existed from the very beginning.

Conclusion

As a Catholic community we will often be called on to be a sign of contradiction.

The ways of the world are not the ways of God.

We must hold firm to our beliefs and the high standards that Christ calls us to live by. We must be faithful to the truth.

Compromise with the ways of the world will weaken our faith and our witness and draw us into ways of thinking and living that make us indistinguishable from the rest of society.

We have a distinctive vision of the dignity of every human being and of the sanctity of human life from the womb to the grave, and we have a Christian understanding of human sexuality and marriage that is a unique gift not to be watered down.

In every age the Church has had to confront error and remain faithful to the truth, even to the point of martyrdom.

This age is no different. We can only face the errors of secularism by living what we believe, courageously and joyfully.

The gift we give to a world of broken relationships and unloved children is the beauty of Christian marriage and the desire to reach out to the victims of broken marriages. Jesus has entrusted to us this pearl of great price. Care for it as it is a rare treasure.

Ordinations continue a remarkable Perth success st

Story by BRIDGET SPINKS ● Photos by FR ROBERT CROSS and PETER ROSENGREN

The “paradox” of the ministerial priesthood is that a priest must be a “dispenser of the divine” while also being human, “subject to faults and failings,” Archbishop Hickey said, addressing the congregation present to witness the first two ordinations in the newly completed St Mary’s Cathedral on 6 August.

In the nearly 20 years as Archbishop from 1991 to 2010, Archbishop Hickey has ordained over 80 priests, a remarkable number for any diocese in Australia.

The two new priests the Archbishop ordained for the Perth Archdiocese, Rodrigo Tomala from Ecuador and Benny Calanza from the Philippines, were the 82nd and 83rd deacons upon whom Archbishop Hickey has conferred priesthood.

During the ordination, both candidates were examined by the Archbishop and questioned on their intentions and resolve to carry out the duties of the priesthood.

Archbishop Hickey focused his homily on the fourth test of the candidates’ intentions for the priesthood:“Are you resolved to consecrate your life to God for the salvation of His people, and to unite yourself more closely every day to Christ the High Priest, who offered Himself for us to the Father as a perfect sacrifice?”

What is being asked of the deacons in this question is whether they are willing to consecrate themselves totally to God

and God’s people and whether they are going to seek to become one with Christ in their priesthood, he said.

Archbishop Hickey said that this call is “almost impossible to fulfil perfectly” but it is the way God works; “He takes human beings and gives them the special permission to reflect Jesus”.

“The Son comes to us through the Word, through the Holy Spirit, through the priest in his ministerial vocation,”

Archbishop Hickey said.

At the Transfiguration, the divinity of Christ was revealed to Peter when a voice from the cloud that came and overshadowed Jesus said ‘This is my Son, my Chosen, listen to Him!’

“We see a glimpse of the divinity of Jesus of Nazareth. His humanity was already evident but this showed there was more to Jesus than meets the eye. He is the Son of the Father. His divinity and humanity are there for us to see,” he said about the Transfiguration.

Archbishop Hickey said that while each priest is expected to reflect Jesus’ divinity and humanity, at some point that vision will be blocked through the priest’s own human faults and failings.

“God forgives and we must forgive,” he said, encouraging the two new priests to remember the way St Peter fell when he denied Christ three times, despite seeing Christ’s divinity revealed in the transfiguration.

“He was reinstated, but not only that, He was made Head of the Church,”

Archbishop Hickey said. He concluded by encouraging the new priests to “Rely on the grace of Jesus, the forgiveness of God and the strength of the Holy Spirit”.

After the homily, the ordinands moved forward to the sanctuary to stand before the Archbishop. Then they promised obedience to the Archbishop and his successors. While they prostrated themselves on the sanctuary, a litany of the saints was sung in the style of the NeoCatechumenal Way.

The Archbishop then stood alone and invoked the Holy Spirit, praying that the Lord would bless these two men whom He had chosen for the priesthood. After

this, he laid his hands on the two - the outward sign that symbolises the conferral of the Sacrament. All 45 priests who were present for the ordination, including Auxiliary Bishop Donald Sproxton, then came forward to pray over the newly ordained.

Then the new priests knelt before the Archbishop as he prayed the Prayer of Consecration and invested them with the stole and chasuble and anointed their palms with the Oil of Chrism.

After the presentation of the gifts to the newly ordained, the new priests were welcomed to the presbyterate with a kiss of peace. At the conclusion of the

Mass, Archbish the appointment Tomala.

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Following the ceremonies, Perth Auxiliary Bishop Donald Sproxton kisses the hands of newly ordained Fr Benny Calanza, watched by Vicar General Monsignor Brian O’Loughlin, at left, Sydney Redemptoris Mat Skruzny and Master of Ceremonies Damian Gorian as Fr Tomala looks on.

Brothers: Morley Rector Fr Michael Moore SM and Vicar General Monsignor Brian O’Loughlin pray over their new brothers in the priesthood, Fathers Benny Calanza and Rodrigo Tomala.

CHOSEN BY GOD: Fr Benny and Fr Rodrigo

He takes human beings and gives them the special permission to reflect Jesus.” “

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Fathers Tomala and Calanza vest after being ordained, above, assisted by relatives and fellow clergy. Fr Tomala, at left, greets family to give them the sign of peace shortly before he concelebrates his first Mass.

Fr Tomala is presented with the chalice as a sign of his priestly office, at left, after being ordained. Earlier, he and Deacon Calanza had prostrated themselves as the congregation and clergy prayed the Litany of the Saints for them.

Archbishop Hickey kisses the newly ordained Fr Tomala’s hands after the ceremony which recognises the special work to which every priest’s hands are consecrated. Deacon Calanza, left, stands as he is presented to the Archbishop.

Archbishop Barry James Hickey in his homily at St Mary’s Cathedral last Friday night

Church struggles to help Pakistan flood victims

Church aid workers slowly reaching Pakistanis affected by recent floods

BY ANTO AKKARA Catholic News Service

BANGALORE, India

- Church aid workers in Pakistan were gradually reaching hundreds of thousands of people displaced and rendered homeless by the rain and floods that had claimed more than 1,200 lives in Pakistan’s mountainous northwestern region.

“The biggest challenge before us is how to (get) relief to the needy. Bridges have collapsed and roads have been washed out,” Carolyn Fanelli, Catholic Relief Services’ acting country representative in Pakistan, told CNS in a 2 August telephone interview.

Eric Dayal, national coordinator for disaster management of Caritas Pakistan, said his agency was faced with the same difficulty.

“Access to the affected people is the biggest problem confronting us now,” he told CNS.

“Most of the roads in the affected (area) are gone and even telephone links are broken. With electric supply also disrupted, communication remains a big headache.”

Fanelli said CRS was in touch with its 40 staff in the field through satellite phones, even though in the most devastated areas they had vacated their offices. She quoted staffers as saying that the Karakoram Highway passing through Besham is “like a river.”

From Besham, Fanelli said, CRS staff reported they had already cleared land and purchased building material for a school for the victims of the 2005 earthquake that claimed nearly 100,000 lives.

“But, now everything has been washed away,” she said.

Fanelli said the unprecedented rains in the mountainous region have had a crippling impact on the people, who “have no roof and are struggling in the open without food or even drinking water.”

“Our immediate concern is to

PHOTO: CNS/FAISAL MAHMOOD, REUTERS

provide shelter and hygiene kits for these affected people,” she said, noting that the initial aid donation would help 20,000 and more aid would be sent after assessments from field workers.

Dayal said that Caritas Pakistan already moved tent material to be distributed through Multan Diocese and plans to take care of about 2,500 families in emergency response.

He warned about the potential for epidemics if people did not get aid, including clean water. Said Mehmood, senior field engineer for CRS in Besham, reported that staffers walked along

muddy roads blocked by landslides and had to cross a temporary bridge made of electrical utility poles to reach some of the villages.

In an effort to get food from the market in Besham, Mehmood said, “people are coming toward Besham from different affected areas after continuously walking through dangerous and irregular hilly areas for eight to 10 hours.”

Caritas Pakistan reported that it had finalised plans to provide much-needed relief to 2,500 families hard hit by one of the worst floods in Pakistan’s history, reported the Asian Church news agency UCA News. “Our assess-

ment teams have submitted their reports. We shall start providing food items, non-food items, tents and medical aid next week,” said Anila Jacolin Gill, national executive secretary of Caritas Pakistan, in a 4 August press statement.

The most seriously affected areas include Islamabad-Rawalpindi and Multan dioceses as well Quetta vicariate.

“There is a desperate need to alleviate the considerable suffering without any distinction of caste, creed or ethnic origin,” said Bishop Victor Gnanapragasam of Quetta.

Fr Amir Yaqub in the Nowshehra district in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa

province said people are encamped along the main highway in the region.

“Hundreds of Christians and Hindu families have moved to safer places. A group of nuns has also left the area,” he said from his parish house in Nowshehra.

Pakistan’s government said on 2 August that it has already deployed more than 30,000 troops to rescue marooned people and to deliver aid to them. With more than a million people already affected by the floods and meteorologists predicting heavy rains in the monsoon season, aid workers fear tougher times ahead.

Haiti at crossroads in recovery from earthquake

WASHINGTON DC (CNA) - A delegation sent by the US Catholic Bishops just returned from Haiti after observing relief efforts for the 12 January earthquake say the country is at a “crossroads” and must not lose hope.

Archbishop of Miami Thomas Wenski and Bishop of Brooklyn Nicholas DiMarzio led a delegation from the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in a visit from 26 July to 2 August.

According to a USCCB press release, the delegation also travelled to the Bahamas and the Dominican Republic to assess problems Haitians face there.

“This is a pivotal moment in Haiti’s history which requires cooperation and patience,” Archbishop Wenski said.

“Haiti is at a crossroads and it is crucial that the international community not lessen its commitment to the rebuilding process.

“It is clear that efforts to clean up and recover from the earthquake are progressing slowly.

“However, the international community must remain steadfast in working with the Haitian government to reconstruct the country and strengthen its institutions.

“The survival and long-term future of the Haitian people are at stake.”

The delegation met with members of Haiti’s government, community leaders and business lead-

ers to discuss long-term development. Delegation members visited orphanages and refugee camps in Port-au-Prince and other countries. They also visited a number

of emergency, transitional and development programmes run by Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and its local partners.

“Children, especially those who have lost parents or are separated from them, remain at grave risk,” stated Bishop DiMarzio.

“Without a more concerted effort to protect them and find long-term solutions for their care, they will become even more vulnerable to criminal elements, including smugglers and human traffickers.”

The delegation found that in some camps women remain vulnerable to violence and sexual assault even as they try to feed and protect their families.

Delegation member Maria Odom, executive director of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc (CLINIC), said women need better security against “gender-based violence.”

The delegation recommended providing “humanitarian parole” to the family members of Haitians evacuated to the United States for medical treatment. It advised streamlining the process for those who want to work in the US and send remittances back to Haiti.

It also advocated more focus on vulnerable children in shelters, such as increasing efforts to trace their families.

Discussing cooperation between the US and the Haitian governments, delegation members urged that the US help increase the government’s ability to finish reconstruction efforts and to provide security.

The governments should work together to ensure “sustainable agricultural development” and to ensure civil society and business sectors are included in efforts to provide access to jobs, health care and education.

In consultation with the Bishops of Haiti, CRS and the USCCB’s Secretariat for the Church in Latin America are helping administer US$80 million collected from US Catholics to aid the recovery effort.

The funds are being used to meet human needs and to restore infrastructure such as churches, schools and clinics.

“It will take time to make Haiti whole again, but it is important that the Haitian people and the children of Haiti - its future leaders - do not lose hope,” Archbishop Wenski remarked.

A man carries belongings on his shoulder while wading through receding flood waters in Nowshera, Pakistan on 2 August. Floods caused by a week of heavy rain in northwestern Pakistan left more than 1,200 people dead. Aid workers are scrambling to help those desperate for food and shelter.

A woman carries 10 year old Rose Michel in Leogane, Haiti, in this 29 January file photo. The girl lost both her legs when the orphanage she was living in collapsed in the 12 January earthquake.

PHOTO: CNS/PAUL JEFFREY

Theology of Body combats secularist threats on life, marriage

Theology of the body combats secularist threats, Cardinal Rigali says

BY CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

BLUE BELL, Pennsylvania - The theology of the body outlined 30 years ago by Pope John Paul II helps the world combat threats to the dignity of the human person and the sanctity of marriage, Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia said at a national conference.

The Cardinal celebrated Mass on 30 July for about 450 people at the National Theology of the Body Congress, held over 28-30 July at Normandy Farm in Blue Bell. Participants came from 11 countries and 111 US dioceses, while others who did not travel to Pennsylvania could see the keynote addresses live-streamed on the Internet.

In his homily, Cardinal Rigali said the theology of the body represents “God’s plan for humanity,” in which “authentic love, always and everywhere, takes the form of a gift of self, modelled on Christ’s gift of Himself to His Father.”

He said society today has reinterpreted human sexuality as “the absolute right to satisfy every craving. Embracing consumerism, materialism, individualism, entitlement autonomy, relativism and hedonism, the one thing that the abiding secularistic culture appears unable to tolerate is religion”.

“The secularistic culture ... has paved the way for numerous errors and distortions resulting in promiscuity, cohabitation, divorce, contraception, direct sterilisation, adultery, abortion, domestic violence, sexual abuse and the attempt to deconstruct marriage as the union of one man and one

woman,” he added. He urged participants to continue the congress with “a campaign of human and catechetical formation,” in order that “the next generation can continue to access and comprehend it.” The congress was sponsored by the Theology of the Body Institute, based in Exton. In addition to Cardinal Rigali, speakers included author Fr Richard Hogan; Helen Alvare, associate professor of law at George Mason University and an advisor to Pope Benedict XVI’s Pontifical Council for the Laity; Fr Brian Bransfield, executive direc-

tor of the US Bishops’ Secretariat for Evangelisation and Catechesis; and Richard Fitzgibbons, director of the Institute for Marital Healing outside Philadelphia.

Maria Stumpf, director of operations and programming for the institute, said she hoped the congress would serve as an impetus for evangelisation at the parish level across the region, nation and abroad.

“This was an action-packed programme,” she told The Catholic Standard & Times, newspaper of the Philadelphia Archdiocese. “We

are hoping people leave invigorated, renewed and passionate for this.

“We hope they become vehicles in the service of the Holy Spirit to do the work of spreading this message.

“Now that they have gained new knowledge, it is hoped that they will talk about it with a renewed Spirit-filled and heart-filled desire to come together with others to share,” Stumpf added. “After all, this conference is about sharing this important gift with others.”

Mexico Cardinals ok drug legalising debate

BY DAVID A GREN Catholic News Service

MEXICO CITY - Two Mexican Cardinals have endorsed a proposal by President Felipe Calderon to open a debate on the merits of drug legalisation in a country beset with violence attributed to narcotics-trafficking cartels.

Cardinals Norberto Rivera Carrera of Mexico City and Juan Sandoval Iniguez of Guadalajara did not express support for drug legalisation but called for the issue to be studied and for Mexico to learn from the experiences of other countries.

“It’s a question of health, and from that perspective it has to be studied,” Cardinal Rivera said on 4 August at a national dialogue on public security convened by Calderon. Cardinal Sandoval echoed those comments: “There must be a lot of thought, a lot of study. It’s not easy.”

The vice president of the Mexican Bishops’ conference, Archbishop Rogelio Cabrera Lopez of Tuxtla Gutierrez, also agreed with the idea of a debate but made clear that legalisation “would be imprudent and harmful,” and “not resolve the problem of narcotics trafficking and ... criminality.” Calderon made his proposal

to debate legalising drugs on 3 August. He later clarified he did not favour legalisation, but he was open to the debate.

Mexico decriminalised the possession of small quantities of drugs in 2009 in an effort to focus enforcement activities on detaining drug dealers instead of drug users.

Some political observers interpreted Calderon floating the legalisation idea as a potential backup plan for dealing with an ever-growing wave of organised crime vio-

lence that has claimed 28,000 lives since he took office in December 2006. The newspaper Milenio reported that July was the most violent month of Calderon’s term, with 1,234 recorded deaths attributed to organised crime. In his 4 August meeting with the country’s religious leaders, Calderon called on them to exert moral authority in the areas they serve and to promote the law and denounce crimes and wrongdoing.

“Your intervention facilitates the repairing of the social fabric

Attempted theft of Padre Pio reliquary thwarted

ROME, Italy (CNA/EWTN News) - A gold reliquary containing Padre Pio relics was the apparent object of thieves’ interest on 8 August.

Sacrilege has been ruled out by a Capuchin spokesperson, as the attempt was likely for the gold, not the relics themselves.

Embedded in the altar of a chapel in the San Giovanni Rotondo cemetery in Italy is a glass and gold reliquary that contains some hair, wrappings that would have covered the saint’s pierced side, and a pair of gloves, reported Italy’s La Repubblica newspaper.

St Pio bore the wounds of Christ in the stigmata for 50 years, the same wounds that also afflicted the likes of St Francis of Assisi and St Catherine of Siena.

According to Italian news reports, the only thing stopping the thieves from making off with the relics was the strength of the reinforced glass in which they are encased.

Teleradio Padre Pio director Stefano Campanella told Italy’s TGCOM that thieves were likely not interested in the relics, but had probably mistaken the reliquary for a piece of solid gold.

and not only keeps children and adolescents within a framework of positive values for society, but also keeps them away from the scourge of delinquency,” Calderon said.

Cardinal Rivera spoke of a sense of hopelessness felt by many Mexicans because of their lack of information on what the government is achieving in its cartel crackdown. He added the federal government must address social issues such as the lack of educational and employment opportunities for young people in order to combat crime and violence. “We can’t stay with our arms crossed. We have to help out so that these young people and children have better opportunities, because otherwise they will be easy prey for organised crime,” he said.

The violence engulfing regions of the country has directly impacted on the Church. In July, Archbishop Constancio Miranda Weckmann of Chihuahua ordered his priests to only celebrate services in authorised places of worship because of security concerns. The dioceses of Nuevo Laredo and Matamoros recently cancelled evening Mass because many residents of the violent cities on the Texas border fear going out at night.

Brazil Congress considers rejecting abortion

Brasilia, Brazil (CNA)Brazil’s Congress is considering accepting a motion that would free the country of any obligation to adhere to the Brasilia Consensus, a 16 July document which proposes that abortion on demand be allowed in Brazil and throughout Latin America.

The document, promoted by Nilceia Freire, Brazil’s Minister for Women’s Affairs, was signed at the conclusion of the 11th Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Congress, in Brasilia in July, was promoted by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, an entity linked to the UN. Freire hosted the event and was an enthusiastic promoter of the final document, which calls on countries in Latin America to review their own laws that impose punishment on women who undergo abortions.

A couple in St Peter’s Square reads a copy of L’Osservatore Romano following the death of Pope John Paul II on 2 April 2005. The late pontiff’s Theology of the Body continues to have a lasting impact, not only on helping married and Religious embrace their vopcation, but in helping the faithful combat the destructive influences of secularism, Cardinal Justin Rigali said. PHOTO:

Mexican Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera.

PHOTO: CNS/REUTERS

St Padre Pio

North Korea executes Christians

NORTH Korean authorities have arrested 23 members of an underground Christian community and executed three of them, AsiaNews reported.

The arrests and executions, which took place in May, have only now become known in the Western world. The secretive regime of North Korea allows no freedom of religion.

The 23 Christians were discovered and arrested in a house church in Kuwal-dong, Pyungsung County, in Pyongan Province.

After their arrest, they were interrogated at length. Eventually, the group’s “ringleaders” were sentenced to death and executed. The others were sent to Kwan-li-so (Penal labour colony) No 15 in Yodŏk.

UN pressures Africa to consider abortion for maternal mortality

THE African Union, under heavy pressure from UN officials and international organisations, has approved a statement suggesting that abortion offers a way to address the problem of high maternal mortality.

The statement was approved despite pleas for the African Union to concentrate on less controversial options, such as support for maternal nutrition and skilled medical personnel to care for women during pregnancy and childbirth.

Bulgaria claims discovery of St John the Baptist’s bones

A BULGARIAN government minister claims that the skull and other bones of St John the Baptist have been discovered in the ruins of a fifth-century monastery.

“We found the relics of St John the Baptist - exactly what the archaeologists had expected,” said Bozhidar Dimitrov. “It has been confirmed that these are parts of his skeleton.”

In 1910, the Catholic Encyclopedia noted that the head of St John the Baptist “in whole or in part, is claimed by several churches, among them Amiens, Nemours, St-Jean d’Angeli (France), S Silvestro in Capite (Rome).”

Prelate opposes release of abuser

ARCHBISHOP Edwin O’Brien is joining survivors of sexual abuse in opposing the possible release of John J Merzbacher, a former teacher at Catholic Community School in Baltimore who is serving four life terms for child rape. Judge Andre M Davis, a federal appeals court judge, issued an opinion on 30 July stating that the Baltimore Circuit Court must give Merzbacher the opportunity to accept a 10 year plea deal that Davis said should have been offered in 1994.

Accepting the deal would result in Merzbacher’s release since he has already served 15 years in prison.

In a 3 August e-mail to The Catholic Review, Raquel M Guillory, a spokeswoman for the Maryland attorney general’s office, said her office will appeal the ruling.

In a 30 July statement, the Archdiocese of Baltimore noted that Archbishop O’Brien wrote to Davis in 2008, urging him to deny a request for Merzbacher’s release. In that letter, the Archbishop asked the judge to “consider the destructive consequences that a ruling in favour of Merzbacher will have on many individuals.”

“The substance of his actions, whether he was convicted by a jury or pleads guilty as he now seeks, remains the same - abhorrent and criminal,” Archbishop O’Brien wrote, “and justifies the judgement and sentence already rendered.”

Christian relief workers slain for alleged proselytising

AFTER 10 members were killed in Afghanistan, a Christian relief group has denied that its members are engaged in efforts to convert Muslims.

Leaders of the International Assistance Mission, responding to reports that 10 staff members were killed by the Taliban, said that their mission in Afghanistan is humanitarian. “Our faith motivates and inspires us, but we do not proselytise. We abide by the laws of Afghanistan,” insisted Dirk Frans, executive secretary of the group.

‘Iraq post-war extinction prevention plan needed’

Cardinal urges postwar plan to address humanitarian concerns in Iraq

BY CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

WASHINGTON - The ancient Christian communities that once thrived in Iraq “now face potential extinction,” said US Cardinal Theodore E McCarrick, urging the United States to develop a postwar plan to help Iraq resolve the humanitarian consequences of the seven year war.

The fact that US combat forces are expected to leave by 1 September “is good news for our American servicemen, their families and the nation,” the Cardinal said. “But this departure should not be accompanied by a withdrawal of our support for the Iraqi people, particularly for the millions of displaced Iraqis.”

After 1 September, there will still be 50,000 Americans in Iraq - noncombat troops - who will “help maintain the peace and support the Iraqi army and police force,” the Cardinal pointed out, but said that as combat forces leave, violence could increase against those who have been displaced, including Christians.

The Cardinal, who is the retired Archbishop of Washington, made the comments in a recent op-ed piece that appeared on PoliticsDaily.com. He is a consultant to the US Conference of

Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Migration and Catholic Relief Services, the Bishops’ overseas relief and development agency.

Although the international community, led by the United States, has provided basic assistance and resettled a small number of Iraq’s refugees, he said, a long-term solution to such massive displacement “has proven elusive.”

Many Iraqi families have been left stranded because they are afraid of returning to Iraq and unable to permanently settle in their host country, he explained.

Cardinal McCarrick said a postwar plan, such as the Marshall Plan that restored Europe after World War II, should be developed in cooperation with the Iraqi government and the international community to find solutions for Iraqi refugees and displaced people. Another example of such outreach was the programme that brought many Vietnamese to the United States and other countries in the late 1970s.

“These are examples of American resourcefulness and willingness to repair, to the extent possible, the ravages of war,” the Cardinal said.

He said the United States has a moral responsibility to figure out how to handle “the humanitarian challenges that could follow withdrawal.”

Of special concern are Iraqi Christians and other minorities who he said continue to be the targets of systematic violence.

“Even now,” Cardinal McCarrick wrote, “Christians continue to flee Iraq at levels comparable to the rate near the beginning of the war, a deeply troubling sign.”

He said withdrawing from Iraq without a restoration plan will not only affect Iraq but neighboring countries - Jordan, Syria and Lebanon as well, with many Iraqis fleeing to these countries and causing a strain on those populations and their resources.

Currently, he said the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, which is responsible for addressing the refugee crisis, is more than 60 per cent short of funding needed to help people. The agency also said 10,000 refugees who were supposed to be resettled this year have no place to go.

According to the Cardinal, the UN agency is particularly concerned about displaced women and children, many of whom could become victims of human trafficking.

Leaving a large number of displaced Iraqis unsettled within Iraq and throughout the Middle East is a moral issue first, he said, but the situation could potentially create long-term social and political problems, hindering the ability of the United States to achieve other important policy goals.

“Abandonment of Iraqi refugees and internally displaced cannot be an option,” Cardinal McCarrick wrote. “We cannot leave behind a humanitarian crisis in the hope that it will correct itself.”

Kenya result prevents violence but Cardinal wary

NAIROBI, Kenya (CNS) - After spending months urging voters to defeat Kenya’s new constitution because it loosens restrictions on abortion and allows for the entrenchment of Islamic courts, Catholic Church leaders have accepted the results of the 4 August referendum on the document, which two-thirds of voters approved.

Despite its acceptance of the outcome, Cardinal John Njue of Nairobi, chairman of the Kenya Episcopal Conference, pledged during a 5 August news conference that the Church would continue to

work for legal reform that would guarantee the rights of the unborn and people of all faiths.

“We respect the outcome of the referendum, where the larger numbers of Kenyans have voted to accept this proposed constitution. However, truth and right are not about numbers. We, therefore, as the shepherds placed to give moral guidance to our people, still reiterate the need to address the flawed moral issues in this proposed constitution. That voice should never be silenced,” Cardinal Njue said.

Kenya’s election commission reported that 67 per cent of the

8.6 million voters who cast ballots supported the new constitution.

The document replaces a British colonial-era document dating to 1963, the year of Kenyan independence from Britain; that document gave broad powers to the president. The new constitution limits the powers of the presidency and includes sections on judicial reform, land reform and an end to impunity.

The margin of victory likely prevented violence from flaring as it did after the disputed 2007 presidential election that claimed more than 1,000 lives.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il

Head of St John the Baptist

Archbishop Edwin O’Brien

Residents carry the coffin of Iraqi Christian student Sandy Shabib during funeral services in Mosul, Iraq, in May. The 19 year old biology student died from head wounds she sustained in a bus attack in May. Bombers that day struck three buses carrying Christian university students on their way to classes.

PHOTO: CNS/REUTERS

Altar servers urged to jealously safeguard friendship with Jesus

Altar servers bring Jesus closer to the people: Pope

BY CAROL GLATZ Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) - Pope Benedict XVI thanked tens of thousands of young altar servers for their important service to the Church and urged them to “jealously safeguard” their friendship with Jesus.

“Tell your peers about the gift of this friendship with joy, with enthusiasm and without fear,” he said after being flown to the Vatican by helicopter on 4 August to give his first general audience since beginning his summer vacation on 7 July at the papal summer residence in Castel Gandolfo, south of Rome. More than 80,000 pilgrims cheered and waved at the sky as an Italian military helicopter carrying the Pope circled over St Peter’s Square.

The pilgrims in the square and along the top of the colonnade included more than 53,000 female and male altar servers, mostly from the Pope’s native Germany, but also from 16 other European countries.

The altar servers were taking part in a two day pilgrimage to Rome organised by the European-based association “Coetus Internationalis Ministrantium,” which was celebrating its 50th anniversary.

Upon his arrival in the square, the Pope was presented with a white pilgrim bandana, which he wore draped over his shoulders; he said the gift reminded him of his own years as a young altar server.

He told the altar servers, aged 14 to 25, that they were very fortunate to be able to take part in the mystery of the Eucharist.

The Eucharist “is a precious good, a priceless treasure and the bread of life” with which Jesus nourishes and sustains his flock, giving people the love and strength they need in their daily lives.

By assisting priests at the altar, the servers help bring Jesus closer to the people and make him ever more present in the world, the Pope said in German.

Dedicating their time and hearts to God will bring altar servers “true joy and more complete happiness,” he said.

As part of the international pilgrimage, a four and a half ton, 16 foot tall bronze statue of St Tarcisius, the patron saint of altar servers, was temporarily placed in St Peter’s Square. The statue made a two year pilgrimage of its own, travelling from Switzerland to Hungary and finally to Rome. It was to be moved on 5 August to its final destination outside the Catacombs of St Callistus, where the young 3rd century saint is believed to have been buried.

According to tradition, the young man, who was perhaps an acolyte or a deacon, was killed by a mob while defending the Eucharist he was carrying to prisoners and the homebound.

Pope Benedict said the young martyr exemplifies “the deep love and great veneration that we should have toward the Eucharist.”

While martyrdom will probably not be asked of most young people in Europe today, he said, Jesus is calling everyone to be faithful “to the little things, to everyday duties and to witnessing His love by going to church” and spending time with people who help deepen your faith.

‘Allowing altar girls ended prejudice, inequality’

BY CAROL GLATZ Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY - Permitting girls to serve at the altar marked the end of a form of inequality in the Church and allowed girls to experience the formative power of directly assisting with the mystery of the Eucharist - the core of the Christian faith, said the Vatican newspaper.

Assisting the priest during Mass is both a service and a privilege and represents “a deep and responsible way to live one’s Christian identity,” said an article published on 7 August in L’Osservatore Romano.

“The exclusion of girls from all of this, for the sole reason of their being female, has always weighed heavily and represented a deep inequality within Catholic education,” it said.

Even though there may have been many parishioners who begrudgingly accepted the presence of girls as servers only when there were no boys to fill the role, “overcoming this barrier was very important for young women,” it said.

Permitting girls to assist at the altar “has meant the idea they were impure because of their gender came to an end” and has meant girls, too, “could live out this extraordinarily important formative experience,” it said.

The article came the same week Pope Benedict XVI met with more than 53,000 altar servers from Europe during his 4 August weekly general audience

Young men and women lead a procession at the start of Mass to mark a Catholic school celebration in Indiana. A 2004 Vatican document on the liturgy said that while it was “laudable” to encourage boys and young men to be altar servers, girls and women can be altar servers if the local Bishop permitted the practice. The document, Redemptionis Sacramentum (“The Sacrament of Redemption”), written by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, addressed liturgical abuses and said Mass norms must be followed exactly to ensure reverence. PHOTO: CNS

in St Peter’s Square. The majority of young pilgrims aged 14 to 25 were female - 60 per cent -, according to organisers.

The Pope thanked the young people for their important service to the Church and said by assisting priests at the altar, they were helping bring Jesus closer to the people and helping to make him ever more present in the world.

In 1994, the Vatican’s

Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments issued rules officially stating that local Bishops could allow women and girls to be altar servers. The Vatican clarified in late 2001 that Bishops could not require priests to use altar girls and that the use of male servers should be especially encouraged, in part because altar boys are a potential source of priestly vocations.

Lower first Communion age as kids mature quicker: Cardinal

BY CINDY WOODEN

Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY - Children today are maturing so quickly and are exposed to so many different influences that it might be time to consider allowing them to prepare for and receive their first Communion even before their seventh birthdays, said the head of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments.

“A child’s first Communion is like the beginning of a journey with Jesus, in communion with Him: the beginning of a friendship destined to last and to grow for his entire life,” wrote Cardinal Antonio Canizares Llovera.

Today, he said, “children live immersed in a thousand difficulties, surrounded by a difficult environment that does not encourage them to be what God wants them to be.”

“Let us not deprive them of the gift of God,” the Cardinal wrote on 8 August in the Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano

The Cardinal’s article marked the 100th anniversary of the decree of Pope Pius X, Quam Singulari Christus Amore (“How Special Christ’s Love”), which reversed the decades old practice of delaying first Communion until a child was 10 or 12.

St Pius said delaying the recep-

tion of Communion until long after the child reaches “the age of reason,” generally accepted to be about seven years of age, was the result of the erroneous belief that “the most holy Eucharist is a reward rather than a remedy for human frailty.”

The late Pope pointed out that the ancient tradition of the Church, still kept by many of the Eastern Catholic Churches, was to give babies Communion immediately after their Baptism. The practice died out in the West, largely because of concerns that the baby would spit out the consecrated bread and wine.

“This practice of preventing the faithful from receiving, on the plea of safeguarding the august sacrament, has been the cause of many evils. It happened that children in their innocence were forced away from the embrace of

Mexican court ruling on marriage ‘absurd’

MEXICO CITY (CNS)Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera of Mexico City denounced a recent Mexican Supreme Court decision upholding the constitutionality of a same-sex marriage law in the nation’s capital as an “aberrant judgment.”

The Church “cannot stop calling evil, ‘evil,’” he said in a statement read after his 8 August homily in the city’s Metropolitan Cathedral.

“The absurd approval of this law that can be legal, but never moral, allows us to be conscious of the unequaled value of family ... and is an opportunity to continue raising our prayers to God for our leaders,” he said. “Even though we are called to be respectful of the civil laws, we have a moral duty to not make vain God’s commandments and avoid falling into permissiveness that damages the fundamental principles of our faith and the precious value of family.”

Other Catholic leaders outside of Mexico City also criticised the ruling. “We strongly condemn the approval of civil weddings between men and women of the same gender, and we make a call to faithful Catholics so that ... what’s civil doesn’t dominate what’s moral,” Fr Raul Villegas, spokesman for the Archdiocese of Leon, said on 5 August in comments to the newspaper AM Leon

Christ and deprived of the food of their interior life,” Pope Pius wrote.

In his article, Cardinal Canizares said that Pope Pius’ insistence on the careful preparation of children to receive first Communion still stands, but so does his concern that children have access to the grace that will help them be good and to mature into strong Christians.

“The encounter with Jesus is the strength we need in order to live with happiness and hope,” he wrote.

“We cannot, by delaying first Communion, deprive childrenthe soul and the spirit of children - of this grace,” he said.

The Cardinal said he wanted to use the anniversary of St Pius’ decree to remind pastors that children should receive first Communion when they have “the use of reason, which today seems to be even sooner” than age seven.

A recent trend of delaying Communion, he said, is not recommended; “on the contrary, it is even more necessary to anticipate.”

The sacrament “is the guarantee of their growth as children of God, generated by the sacraments of Christian initiation in the bosom of holy mother Church,” he said.

The court ruled 8-2 against a constitutional challenge launched by the attorney general’s office. Some of the judges supporting the law said states were free to write their own marriage rules - a similar reasoning they used to uphold a 2007 law decriminalising abortion in Mexico City. Other judges spoke of promoting equality and said the constitution did not specifically define family. The court convened again on 9 August, when it was expected to debate the constitutionality of same-sex couples adopting children and if other states must recognize the legality of gay marriages performed in Mexico City.

The National Pro-Life Committee - known locally as Pro-Vida - held a small protest outside the court in anticipation of the deliberations.

“The fear is that this court decision is going to impact all of the country,” Pro-Vida director Jorge Serrano Limon said on 8 August.

David Razu, sponsor of the same-sex marriage bill, told CNS that Mexico City is generally more Left-leaning in social matters than the rest of the county and that other states would follow suit over the coming decade. Polls taken in Mexico City at the time of the bill’s approval in December showed the public split 50-50 on gay marriages and generally not in favour of same-sex couples adopting children. Razu accused detractors of the samesex marriage law of focusing their protests on discomfort with the adoption issue.

The Mexico City government said that 320 marriage licenses had been issued to same-sex couples.

Cardinal Antonio Canizares Llovera

New release

The emergence of the new ecclesial movements must be seen within the context of the whole Church and within the context of our times. What is often said of them is that they are not simply human efforts to do something in and for the Church, but they have emerged as a work of the Spirit of God. They are testimony that the Holy Spirit poured out on the Apostles at Pentecost is still a present and active force in the Church, blowing where He will. The new movements are one of the “surprises” of the Spirit. This extraordinary action of God in our time confirms the words of the Prophet Isaiah: “Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” (Is, 43:19-21) Many ask about the place of the new movements in the Church. Are they a completely new reality or is there an historical precedent? How does the Church view the movements? This book examines the emergence of the new movements in the Church in recent times and their significance for the life and mission of the Church.

“This is the most complete, best researched, and most up to date presentation of the New Communities I have read. In a few pages Bishop Julian manages to introduce us to this new springtime for the Church in a worldwide perspective, giving a pastoral vision of the strengths and of the points of attention he has observed. The book helps us to discover a wonderful hope and a great trust in the Holy Spirit who constantly renews the Church.”

- Jean-Luc Moens,

Emmanuel Community, Paris

“In his reflection on the Ecclesial Movements in the life of the Church, Bishop Porteous opens a window on the creative and transforming power of the Holy Spirit working in the Church in our day. In many different and unique ways, the message is the same – lives are transformed and in the process a new missionary energy is ignited.”

- Ralph Martin, a founder of Word of God Community, Ann Arbor

“This is the book for those wishing to understand the significance of the emergence of “ecclesial movements” in the Church. Bishop Julian has a profound grasp of the international scope of this development and provides a remarkably helpful description of the main movements as well as a nuanced historical, theological and pastoral interpretation.”

- Shayne

Bennett, Moderator of Emmanuel Community, Brisbane

“Bishop Porteous has done us a great service. This book explains well how the new ecclesial movements are a precious gift to the Church, and shows clearly their significance for the Church’s mission today. His insights will help us all reflect more deeply upon the grace of the movements, and will assist the members of the movements to situate themselves confidently within the whole life of the Church.”

-

Fr Ken Barker, Founder of Missionaries of God’s Love

“There is little doubt in my mind that the New Movements are from the Holy Spirit. The unique feature seems to be the lay inspiration and leadership. The Church will be renewing itself from below.”

-

Archbishop Barry Hickey, Perth, Western Australia

Finding surety in midst of an earthquake

Confronting the crisis

Dissecting the issue which has brought the Church to its knees.

By Anthony Paganoni CS

In a new column for The Record, Scalabrinian priest and Perth’s former Vicar for Migrants gives a personal view of recent events in the Church.

A remedy?

The word ‘crisis’ has been mentioned so often in relation to the phenomenon of abuse that it is difficult to avoid mentioning it again.

How often have I seen on television or read the statement following a formal apology by Church authorities that a response “…has not gone far enough, that more has to be done…” etc. Worse still, the recent headline While Rome is under siege, the Cardinals quarrel. But altercations and quarrels are

not only confined to members of the Church.

How wrong or right was William McGurn when, writing in The Wall Street Journal (6 April, 2010) in response to a New York Times article a few days before, he stated: “Back in 2002, he (Mr Anderson, a lawyer), told the Associated Press that he’d won more than US$60 million in settlements from the Church, and he once boasted to the Twin Cities weekly that he’s ‘suing the s-t out of them everywhere’? He’s now trying to sue the Vatican in US federal court.”

How often has the ‘independent’ media highlighted the Church’s backwardness, its monolithic culture?

Lisa Miller, for example, Newsweek’s religious editor, recently wrote: “The problem is that the Bishops and Cardinals who manage the institutional Church live behind guarded walls in a preEnlightenment world”.

When uttered by “outside” sources such statements hold, in several cases, an unmistakable crusading tone aimed at demolishing the moral and spiritual authority of the Church.

But can the Church be reduced to the same standards used to determine progress or regress as for any other human organisation?

In spite of its assumed religious or divine roots, its fate and destiny would be downsized to and decided by purely human criteria, drawn from the many lessons of human history.

It is well known, after all, that

Are we dumb bunnies?

@ home

with Catherine Parish

There was a great deal of interest sparked by our Prime Minister’s recent profession of atheism, and a good deal of subsequent debate. This is an important question and one that deserves consideration: Does atheism make a difference to the performance of a head of government, or is it a side issue?

I have to admit I would have been happier to hear the PM admit she was agnostic. At least agnosticism allows for the possibility that all of we Christians, Jews and Muslims out here may be right after all, she just doesn’t know, but is prepared to have an open mind about it. There is a certain openness, even a humility, in an admission of agnosticism.

Atheism, on the other hand, bears many of the hallmarks of the settled certainty of a religion itself, especially in its more aggressively vocal proponents. It implies that the atheist believes that the majority of people on this planet who hold theistic views are wrong. Not only that, but that we are deluded and duped by empty promises and are quite stupidly prepared to believe preposterous things. Also, that we incomprehensibly are happy to give up many nice and enjoyable things now on the expectation of a nebulous great reward sometime in the never never. Basically that theists are pretty dumb bunnies.

Which sounds quite uncannily like the way some politicians have treated the voting public in the

entire civilisations have disappeared as their spirit collapses and as their inner organisation, cultural, social and religious heritage is disregarded, sidestepped or fiercely destroyed.

That a crisis that is a significant turn-around in the history of the Church and of the world has been recently gaining some momentum in intensity and geographical spread is by now well documented.

While confined for several decades to some nations, particularly the US, Canada and also Australia, it has now spread to many European countries.

A recent blitz by Belgian police

resulted in the confiscation of all documents held by the diocese of Malines-Bruxelles and the unnecessary violation of the tombs of two Cardinals (Josef-Ernest Van Roey and Leon-Joseph Suenens) which were allegedly hiding documents. The operation was nicknamed “Church(!) Operation”.

According to media reports, the Church’s involvement has also reached the highest echelons of its hierarchy, with the present Pope featuring prominently in stories in print or broadcast news, according to the Pew Research Center in the US.

During the last few months par-

ticularly, and most notably during the last Lenten season, there was a remarkable acceleration of reports, accusations and counter-accusations which tended to create the impression that, unlike any other human or civil entity, the Catholic Church is riddled at all levels by chronic misbehaviour towards minors and adolescents.

In the process of scanning the shady world of pedophilia or the lesser known ephebophilia (homosexual attraction to adolescent males) through various reports from many sources, I felt one had to confront the task, perilous and at times rather unpleasant though it might be, to make any sense of what has been happening.

Suddenly, the Church, usually regarded by the media as an irrelevant and decrepit institution, was appearing in the media, orchestrated in such a way that it would quickly be forced to forget about being salt and leaven today’s world.

Under a barrage of continual negative reporting I felt challenged to find a personal understanding that might give some measure of confidence and steadiness in the midst of a mild earthquake: new cases constantly being unearthed, and calls (as in the case of Auxiliary Bishop Pat Power of Canberra) for immediate total reform of the Church, particularly in the field of human relationships.

I found some answers in recent statistical data and within the inner niches of the history of the Church.

To be continued...

Was Jesus dying while weeping in the garden?

not too distant past, doesn’t it?

Now this is quite different from political pragmatism. That essentially means that politicians will try to enact their agenda while attempting to please the majority most of the time in order to win their votes, while keeping as many of their own principles as intact as possible. But where does that leave us when the politician has no bottom line? I would far rather a Christian pragmatist who at least has a bottom line reasonably clearly drawn in his or her Christian principles than an atheist pragmatist who has no compulsion to stick to any bottom line.

Further, an atheist, somewhat disturbingly, essentially denies the truth of the Judeo-Christian ethic on which our whole legal and parliamentary system is built. This invites the serious question of whether they then feel free to subvert this system into a travesty that benefits some vocal minorities simply because it appears to be only dumb deluded theists that believe differently, even if they are in the majority? If there is no understanding or belief in the basis of our western civilised society, this does not bode well for its continued existence as we know it. If atheists think there is no God, then do they really regard as important the sensibilities and beliefs of those who believe in God?

These are hard questions, and challenging ones. As is right and proper in a free country like Australia, we all have to make the ultimate decision for ourselves. This makes it all the more vital that we all look very carefully at our national leadership in the coming weeks and make a very careful decision about what we want our country’s future to be.

By Fr John Flader

The Agony in the Garden

Q: In two different foreignlanguage translations of the Bible, Jesus’ agony in the garden is referred to as his dying moments. I know he sweat blood and said “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death”, but was he really dying then?

It is clear that Jesus died only once, on the Cross on Good Friday. But His suffering in the garden the night before was so intense that it was almost as if He were dying. When He said that His soul was “sorrowful, even to death” (Mt 26:38), He meant His suffering was so overwhelming, so overpowering, that He was practically dying.

St Luke describes it graphically: “And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down upon the ground” (Lk 22:44).

St Luke uses the Greek word agonia, meaning struggle, and Jesus was struggling inwardly very intensely. When we use the word agony in English we mean not only suffering but extreme suffering or struggle.

Why was He suffering so much? It is customary to think that because Jesus was God and knew the physical suffering he was about to undergo, including

the scourging, the crowning with thorns, and His death by crucifixion, He suffered at the very thought. He did, and this suffering would have been very great. But there is much more to it than that.

We recall the words of Isaiah: “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted.

But he was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with His stripes we are healed” (Is 53:4-5).

St Paul takes up this idea, writing to the Corinthians: “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor 5:21).

Jesus, who was without sin, perfect God and perfect man, took upon himself all the sins of humankind, every sin that every human being – you and I – would commit from Adam and Eve until the end of the world.

He came before the Father as a great sinner, burdened with all our sins. It was as if he were the thief, the murderer, the adulterer, the liar… all at once.

The love He had for the Father, contrasted with the weight and filth of the sins he had taken upon himself, made him suffer so intensely that it caused him to sweat blood.

This was truly an agony of sorrow, a sorrow unto death.

Compounding this sorrow was the fact that he was bearing it alone. Peter, James and John, whom he had called to be with him to support him in his agony, had fallen asleep. As we so often do, when we should be comforting him in our prayer. In contrast,

Judas wasn’t asleep in his treachery. In addition, in taking our sins upon himself, Jesus knew that so often we would not even be sorry for them. We would blame others, or circumstances, or our nature for our sins. We would not be aware how much these sins offended him.

Only God truly understands this – and Jesus was God. This was an added cause of his intense suffering in the garden.

But that is not all. Jesus knew that in spite of the love that led him to suffer unspeakably for our sins, many souls would reject him at the end of life and be lost forever.

He wanted all to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth (cf 1 Tim 2:4), and for that reason he became man and suffered and died for us. In spite of this outpouring of love, the fact that many souls would be lost must have made him suffer especially intensely in the garden.

We should not forget either that a special cause of Jesus’ suffering was the sins down the ages of those he had called to be closer to him, from Judas and the other apostles to consecrated souls, to all those who at least try to love him more.

The offences of a loved one are always a motive of greater sorrow.

Finally, Jesus suffered intensely for Mary his mother. Because she had such a refined soul and so much love for him and the Father, Mary would suffer more than any other human being in the Passion. This increased Jesus’ suffering all the more.

Since mental suffering is often harder to bear than physical suffering, it is possible that Jesus suffered more in the garden than he did on the Cross. Truly, it was a “sorrow unto death”.

Cardinal Godfried Danneels, retired archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels, Belgium, arrives at Belgian federal police headquarters in Brussels on 6 July. Police questioned Cardinal Danneels as part of an investigation into alleged priestly sexual abuse in the Archdiocese.

PHOTO: CNS/STRINGER VIA REUTERS

MONDAY, 9 AUGUST TO SUNDAY, 15 AUGUST

Fr Ermelindo Di Capua Perth Tour

Relics of Saint Padre Pio

6.30pm, 10 August, St Mary’s Cathedral, Adoration, later Mass celebrated by Archbishop Hickey. 13 August, 11.30am, All Saints Chapel, Allendale Square and 6.30pm, Our Lady of the Mission Church, Whitfords. 14 August, Italian day, Infant Jesus Church, Morley, 8.30am Padre Pio DVD, Adoration, Mass and lunch (BYO) and St John and Paul Church, Willetton, 6.30pm. 15 August, St John and Paul Church, Willetton 10.30am.

FRIDAY, 13 AUGUST TO SUNDAY, 15 AUGUST

Beginning Experience Weekend Programme

Separated, Divorced, or Widowed

7pm at Epiphany Retreat Centre, Rossmoyne. Beginning Experience is designed to assist and support people in learning to close the door gently on a relationship that has ended, in order to get on with living. Enq: Maureen 9537 1915 or Bev 9332 7971.

SATURDAY, 14 AUGUST

Divine Mercy

2.30pm at St Francis Xavier’s Church, Windsor St, East Perth. Healing Mass, main celebrant Fr Marcellinus Meilak OFM, followed by veneration of First Class Relic of St Faustina Kowalska. Reconciliation in English and Italian will be offered. Refreshments afterwards. Enq: John 9457 7771.

SUNDAY, 15 AUGUST

Divine Mercy Pilgrimage - Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary 12 noon BYO lunch, Divine Mercy Church site, Muchea East Rd and Santa Gertrudas Dr, Lower Chittering. There will be Exposition, Rosary, Benediction, blessing of grounds and Divine Mercy image. 2pm Holy Mass, Chaplet of Divine Mercy followed by Br Stanley’s talk and veneration service. Tea provided. Transport bookings, Francis 9459 3873, 0404 893 877 or Fr Paul 9571 1839.

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Bullsbrook Shrine

2pm at 36 Chittering Rd, Bullsbrook. The pilgrimage commences with a Marian Procession and Rosary followed by Mass. Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. All are most welcome. Enq: 9447 3292.

The Associates of the Sisters of St Joseph of the Apparition - 20th Anniversary

2.30pm at Christ the King Parish Hall, Lefroy Rd and Moran St, Beaconsfield. Relatives, friends, colleagues and past students are invited to attend. Later, tea with the Sisters to celebrate and to launch our Commemorative Project; The Klong Lan Educational Project – Thailand. Bring a plate. RSVP by 10 August. Enq: germaine.m@ optusnet.com.au. Germaine 9335 1639 or Wendy 9330 1723.

SUNDAY 15 AUGUST TO THURSDAY 19 AUGUST

Brother Stanley Villavicencio Perth Visit Br Stanley’s powerful testimony on Divine Mercy, being pronounced clinically dead and his amazing spiritual encounters with Jesus. Check Record and church notices for venues and dates. Enq: Paulyne 9364 4228.

TUESDAY, 17 AUGUST

Past Pupils and Friends of Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart 9am at St Joseph’s Convent, York St, South Perth. Mass in the Chapel for those who wish to attend followed by tea. Limited numbers. Enq: Betty 9246 0302 or Maureen 9447 2346.

Council of Christians and Jews WA Inc.

7.30pm at St Peter’s and Emmaus Church, 56 Green St, Joondanna. Lecture on The Spiritual Quest of Two Artists, Marc Chagall and Anselm Kiefer by Simon Blond. Cost $5 members and $10 non-members. Art or Theology Students free entry. Enq: ccjwa@aol.com.

WEDNESDAY, 18 AUGUST

Lesmurdie Mental Health Support Group

6-8pm at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish Hall, 207 Lesmurdie Rd, Lesmurdie. Laughter Yoga workshop conducted by Fr Paul Pitzen and Ann Page. Group session consisting of breathing exercises, playful handclapping and laughter exercises designed to relax the participant. Please bring a plate to share. Enq: Ann 9291 6670 or Barbara 9328 8113.

PANORAMA

A roundup of events in the Archdiocese

THURSDAY, 19 AUGUST

Healing Mass

7pm at St John and Paul Church, Willetton. Mass in honour of St Peregrine, patron of cancer sufferers and helper of all in need. There will be veneration of the Relic of St Peregrine and anointing of the sick. Please note change of date from 12 August 12.

THURSDAY, 26 AUGUST

Morley Mental Health Support Group

7pm-8.30 pm at Infant Jesus Parish Hall, 47 Wellington St, Morley. Guido Vogels will talk about dealing with conflict and how to identify triggers and defences. The meeting will be conducted as a workshop. Enq: Thelma 9276 5949, Darren 9276 8500 or Barbara 9328 8113.

FRIDAY, 27 AUGUST

Medjugorje - Evening Of Prayer

7-9pm at Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament Church, 175 Corfield St, Gosnells. All welcome to an evening of prayer with Our Lady Queen of Peace, with Adoration, Rosary, Benediction and Holy Mass, celebrated by Fr Bogoni. Free DVD on Donald Calloway’s life of drugs, crime, jail term, sexual promiscuity through to his conversion and priesthood available on night. Enq: Eileen 9402 2480.

St Peregrine - Healing Mass

7pm at Pater Noster Church, Evershed and Marmion Sts, Myaree. Sacrament of Reconciliation with Healing Mass. Sacrament of Anointing and Veneration of the relic of St Peregrine, Patron Saint of those suffering from cancer. Light supper provided. Enq: Father Roy Pereira 0417 936 449.

FRIDAY, 27 TO SUNDAY, 29 AUGUST

Post-Abortion Hope, Reconciliation and Healing Weekend Retreat

The Rachel’s Vineyard Retreat is for anyone suffering the spiritual and psychological effects of a past abortion experience. The Retreat starts at 5pm. The Archdiocese of Perth sponsors this confidential and beautiful healing ministry. Enq: Jenny (08) 9445 7464.

SUNDAY, 29 AUGUST

Annual Saint Dominic Commemorative Lecture

3pm at Our Lady of the Rosary Church parish hall, Angelico St, Woodlands. Initiative of the Dominican Laity of Our Lady of the Rosary Chapter, presentation by Sr Maree Riddler on Blessed Mary MacKillop. Enq: Jeff 9446 3655.

SUNDAY, 5 SEPTEMBER

Divine Mercy

1.30pm at St Francis Xavier Church, 25 Windsor St, Perth. An afternoon with Jesus and Mary. Main celebrant (to be decided) will give homily on the Birth of Our Lady. Enq: John 9457 7771.

SUNDAY, 5 SEPTEMBER TO TUESDAY, 7 SEPTEMBER

48 Hours Perpetual Rosary Bouquet

Commencing 6pm, Rosary can be said anywhere during the 48 hours. Birthday Gift to our Lady, phone or e-mail your time for saying Rosary, or fill in roster from Record, 4 August. All intentions are for Her. Scroll to be taken up during Mass at St Mary’s Cathedral on 8 September at 12.10pm, Celebrant Archbishop Hickey. Meditative Rosary, 11.30am led by Fr Paul Carey. Enq: Magaret 9341 8082, bowen@iinet.net.au, Legion of Mary 9328 2726, perthcomitium@bigpond.com.au.

WEDNESDAY, 8 SEPTEMBER

The Birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary –Pilgrimage to Bindoon 9am bus departs at St Jerome’s Church. All Divine Mercy Groups, other Religious groups and everyone invited. Fr Paul Fox will be Mass celebrant and guide the day retreat, Exposition and Benediction. Tea provided, lunch BYO. Enq: Connie 9494 1495 or Edita 9418 3728.

THURSDAY, 9 SEPTEMBER TO SUNDAY, 12 SEPTEMBER

Feast of Our Lady Maria Santissima Del Tindari 7.30pm at Basilica Saint Patrick, Adelaide St, Fremantle. Triduum celebrated by Fr Giovanni Gandini. Sunday at 9.45am concelebrated Mass, principal celebrant, Fr Gaetano Nanni, followed at 2pm with procession through the streets of Fremantle. Enq: Joe 0404 801 138 or 9335 1185.

FRIDAY, 17 SEPTEMBER TO SUNDAY, 19 SEPTEMBER

Annual Secular Franciscan Retreat - The Spirit of St Francis for Today

6.30pm at the Redemptorist Retreat House, North Perth. All those interested in learning more of Franciscan spirituality are invited. Fr John Spiteri OFM will conduct the retreat. Enq: Angela 9275 2066 by 31 August.

SATURDAY, 18 SEPTEMBER

Feast of the Stigmata of St Francis of Assisi

2.30pm at Redemptorist Retreat House, North Perth. All are invited to join the Secular Franciscan Order in celebrating the Feast with the readings of the Stigmata of St Francis. Tea provided. Enq: Angela 9275 2066.

FRIDAY, 24 SEPTEMBER TO SUNDAY 26

SEPTEMBER

Inner Healing Retreat

7.30am at the Redemptorist Retreat House, North Perth. A live in retreat for a closer encounter with Jesus and experience spiritual, physical and emotional healing. Enq: Holy Family Church Maddington 9493 1703.

GENERAL NOTICES

Perpetual Adoration

Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is in its seventh year at Christ the King Church, Beaconsfield. Open 24 hours except at Mass times. All welcome.Enq: Joe 9319 1169.

Perpetual Adoration

Sacred Heart Church, 64 Mary St, Highgate. All that is needed is for each one of us to be willing to spend one hour a week with Jesus so that all the hours are covered with one person in the Chapel. Available times, Monday 2-3am, 4-5am, Saturday 11am-12 noon, Tuesday 11am12 noon, Sunday 2-3pm, 3-4pm; Thursday 7-8pm. Enq: Helen 9444 7962.

Pilgrimage to the Holy Land

The Church of St Jude in Langford is seeking to put together a visit to Jordan, the Holy Land and Egypt, leaving 8 September 2010. The duration of pilgrimage is expected to be 15 days and could accommodate 28-30 people. Fr Terry Raj will be the Spiritual Director. Enq Matt 6460 6877, mattpicc1@gmail.com.

EVERY SUNDAY

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

EVERY SUNDAY AND MONDAY

Extraordinary Form of Latin Holy Mass

11am Sunday and 7.30pm Monday except 3rd Monday of the month, at St Joseph’s Parish, 20 Hamilton St, Bassendean.

EVERY 3RD SUNDAY OF THE MONTH

Oblates of St Benedict

2pm at St Joseph’s Convent, York St, South Perth. Oblates affiliated with the Benedictine Abbey New Norcia welcome all who are interested in studying the rule of St Benedict and its relevance to the everyday life of today for lay people. Vespers and afternoon tea. Enq: Secretary 9457 2758.

EVERY FOURTH SUNDAY OF THE MONTH

Holy Hour for Vocations to the Priesthood, Religious Life

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

LAST MONDAY OF EVERY MONTH

Christian Spirituality Presentation

7.30-9.15pm at the Church hall behind St Swithan’s

Anglican Church, 195 Lesmurdie Rd, Lesmurdie. Stephanie Woods will present The Desert Period of Christianity, 260 to 600AD. From this time period came the understanding of the monastic lifestyle and contemplative prayer. No cost. Enq Lynne 9293 3848.

EVERY TUESDAY NIGHT

Novena and Benediction to Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal

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

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 9475 0155 or hsofperth@gmail.com.

EVERY THURSDAY

Catholic Questions and Answers

7-7.30pm at St Joseph’s Parish Centre, 20 Hamilton St, Bassendean. Catechesis learned easily with questions and answers. The Catechism of the Catholic Church. Adult learning and deepening of the Catholic Faith, with Fr John Corapi DVD series, 7.30-9pm.

Divine Mercy

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

EVERY FIRST THURSDAY OF THE MONTH

Taize Prayer and Meditation

7.30-8.30pm at Our Lady of Grace Church, 3 Kitchener Street, North Beach. All are warmly invited to prayer and meditation using songs from Taize. In Peace and Candlelight we make our pilgrimage. Enq: Joan 9448 4457.

FIRST FRIDAY OF THE MONTH ANNOUNCEMENTS

BIRTHS

BAPTISMS

HOLY COMMUNION

Congratulations to Anthony Stout and his classmates who made their First Holy Communion in June at the Basilica of St Patrick, Fremantle. Well done, love from Mum and Dad x

IN MEMORIUM

KIRKWOOD (Arthur)

In loving memory of my dear father, who departed this life on 11 August 11 1991. At this sad time and always, you remain in my heart and prayers, O my Pappa! May God be ever with you and with Darling Mother also. I love and miss you both so much. May perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace.

Prayer to St Jude O Holy St Jude, apostle and martyr, great in virtues and rich in miracles, near kinsman of Jesus Christ, faith intercessor of all who invoke your special patronage in the time of needs. To you I have recourse from the depth of my heart and humbly beg to whom God has given such great power to come to my help (make your request). In return, I promise to make your name known and cause you to be invoked. Recite three Our Fathers, three Hail Marys and three Glorias. St Jude, pray for me and all who invoke your aid. Amen. Thanksgiving for request received. Jude Rodrigues

Text only: $10.00 Text with photo: $20.00 Limit of 30 words per announcement.

To place an announcement in next week’s issue, please contact production@therecord.com.au.

MONDAY, 9 AUGUST TO SUNDAY, 15 AUGUST

Fr Ermelindo Di Capua Perth Tour

Relics of Saint Padre Pio

6.30pm, 10 August, St Mary’s Cathedral, Adoration, later Mass celebrated by Archbishop Hickey. 13 August, 11.30am, All Saints Chapel, Allendale Square and 6.30pm, Our Lady of the Mission Church, Whitfords. 14 August, Italian day, Infant Jesus Church, Morley, 8.30am Padre Pio DVD, Adoration, Mass and lunch (BYO) and St John and Paul Church, Willetton, 6.30pm. 15 August, St John and Paul Church, Willetton 10.30am.

FRIDAY, 13 AUGUST TO SUNDAY, 15 AUGUST

Beginning Experience Weekend Programme

Separated, Divorced, or Widowed

7pm at Epiphany Retreat Centre, Rossmoyne. Beginning Experience is designed to assist and support people in learning to close the door gently on a relationship that has ended, in order to get on with living. Enq: Maureen 9537 1915 or Bev 9332 7971.

SATURDAY, 14 AUGUST

Divine Mercy

2.30pm at St Francis Xavier’s Church, Windsor St, East Perth. Healing Mass, main celebrant Fr Marcellinus Meilak OFM, followed by veneration of First Class Relic of St Faustina Kowalska. Reconciliation in English and Italian will be offered. Refreshments afterwards. Enq: John 9457 7771.

SUNDAY, 15 AUGUST

Divine Mercy Pilgrimage - Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary 12 noon BYO lunch, Divine Mercy Church site, Muchea East Rd and Santa Gertrudas Dr, Lower Chittering. There will be Exposition, Rosary, Benediction, blessing of grounds and Divine Mercy image. 2pm Holy Mass, Chaplet of Divine Mercy followed by Br Stanley’s talk and veneration service. Tea provided. Transport bookings, Francis 9459 3873, 0404 893 877 or Fr Paul 9571 1839.

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Bullsbrook Shrine

2pm at 36 Chittering Rd, Bullsbrook. The pilgrimage commences with a Marian Procession and Rosary followed by Mass. Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. All are most welcome. Enq: 9447 3292.

The Associates of the Sisters of St Joseph of the Apparition - 20th Anniversary

2.30pm at Christ the King Parish Hall, Lefroy Rd and Moran St, Beaconsfield. Relatives, friends, colleagues and past students are invited to attend. Later, tea with the Sisters to celebrate and to launch our Commemorative Project; The Klong Lan Educational Project – Thailand. Bring a plate. RSVP by 10 August. Enq: germaine.m@ optusnet.com.au. Germaine 9335 1639 or Wendy 9330 1723.

SUNDAY 15 AUGUST TO THURSDAY 19 AUGUST

Brother Stanley Villavicencio Perth Visit Br Stanley’s powerful testimony on Divine Mercy, being pronounced clinically dead and his amazing spiritual encounters with Jesus. Check Record and church notices for venues and dates. Enq: Paulyne 9364 4228.

TUESDAY, 17 AUGUST

Past Pupils and Friends of Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart 9am at St Joseph’s Convent, York St, South Perth. Mass in the Chapel for those who wish to attend followed by tea. Limited numbers. Enq: Betty 9246 0302 or Maureen 9447 2346.

Council of Christians and Jews WA Inc.

7.30pm at St Peter’s and Emmaus Church, 56 Green St, Joondanna. Lecture on The Spiritual Quest of Two Artists, Marc Chagall and Anselm Kiefer by Simon Blond. Cost $5 members and $10 non-members. Art or Theology Students free entry. Enq: ccjwa@aol.com.

WEDNESDAY, 18 AUGUST

Lesmurdie Mental Health Support Group

6-8pm at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish Hall, 207 Lesmurdie Rd, Lesmurdie. Laughter Yoga workshop conducted by Fr Paul Pitzen and Ann Page. Group session consisting of breathing exercises, playful handclapping and laughter exercises designed to relax the participant. Please bring a plate to share. Enq: Ann 9291 6670 or Barbara 9328 8113.

PANORAMA

A roundup of events in the Archdiocese

THURSDAY, 19 AUGUST

Healing Mass

7pm at St John and Paul Church, Willetton. Mass in honour of St Peregrine, patron of cancer sufferers and helper of all in need. There will be veneration of the Relic of St Peregrine and anointing of the sick. Please note change of date from 12 August 12.

THURSDAY, 26 AUGUST

Morley Mental Health Support Group

7pm-8.30 pm at Infant Jesus Parish Hall, 47 Wellington St, Morley. Guido Vogels will talk about dealing with conflict and how to identify triggers and defences. The meeting will be conducted as a workshop. Enq: Thelma 9276 5949, Darren 9276 8500 or Barbara 9328 8113.

FRIDAY, 27 AUGUST

Medjugorje - Evening Of Prayer

7-9pm at Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament Church, 175 Corfield St, Gosnells. All welcome to an evening of prayer with Our Lady Queen of Peace, with Adoration, Rosary, Benediction and Holy Mass, celebrated by Fr Bogoni. Free DVD on Donald Calloway’s life of drugs, crime, jail term, sexual promiscuity through to his conversion and priesthood available on night. Enq: Eileen 9402 2480.

St Peregrine - Healing Mass

7pm at Pater Noster Church, Evershed and Marmion Sts, Myaree. Sacrament of Reconciliation with Healing Mass. Sacrament of Anointing and Veneration of the relic of St Peregrine, Patron Saint of those suffering from cancer. Light supper provided. Enq: Father Roy Pereira 0417 936 449.

FRIDAY, 27 TO SUNDAY, 29 AUGUST

Post-Abortion Hope, Reconciliation and Healing Weekend Retreat

The Rachel’s Vineyard Retreat is for anyone suffering the spiritual and psychological effects of a past abortion experience. The Retreat starts at 5pm. The Archdiocese of Perth sponsors this confidential and beautiful healing ministry. Enq: Jenny (08) 9445 7464.

SUNDAY, 29 AUGUST

Annual Saint Dominic Commemorative Lecture

3pm at Our Lady of the Rosary Church parish hall, Angelico St, Woodlands. Initiative of the Dominican Laity of Our Lady of the Rosary Chapter, presentation by Sr Maree Riddler on Blessed Mary MacKillop. Enq: Jeff 9446 3655.

SUNDAY, 5 SEPTEMBER

Divine Mercy

1.30pm at St Francis Xavier Church, 25 Windsor St, Perth. An afternoon with Jesus and Mary. Main celebrant (to be decided) will give homily on the Birth of Our Lady. Enq: John 9457 7771.

SUNDAY, 5 SEPTEMBER TO TUESDAY, 7 SEPTEMBER

48 Hours Perpetual Rosary Bouquet

Commencing 6pm, Rosary can be said anywhere during the 48 hours. Birthday Gift to our Lady, phone or e-mail your time for saying Rosary, or fill in roster from Record, 4 August. All intentions are for Her. Scroll to be taken up during Mass at St Mary’s Cathedral on 8 September at 12.10pm, Celebrant Archbishop Hickey. Meditative Rosary, 11.30am led by Fr Paul Carey. Enq: Magaret 9341 8082, bowen@iinet.net.au, Legion of Mary 9328 2726, perthcomitium@bigpond.com.au.

WEDNESDAY, 8 SEPTEMBER

The Birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary –Pilgrimage to Bindoon 9am bus departs at St Jerome’s Church. All Divine Mercy Groups, other Religious groups and everyone invited. Fr Paul Fox will be Mass celebrant and guide the day retreat, Exposition and Benediction. Tea provided, lunch BYO. Enq: Connie 9494 1495 or Edita 9418 3728.

THURSDAY, 9 SEPTEMBER TO SUNDAY, 12 SEPTEMBER

Feast of Our Lady Maria Santissima Del Tindari 7.30pm at Basilica Saint Patrick, Adelaide St, Fremantle. Triduum celebrated by Fr Giovanni Gandini. Sunday at 9.45am concelebrated Mass, principal celebrant, Fr Gaetano Nanni, followed at 2pm with procession through the streets of Fremantle. Enq: Joe 0404 801 138 or 9335 1185.

FRIDAY, 17 SEPTEMBER TO SUNDAY, 19 SEPTEMBER

Annual Secular Franciscan Retreat - The Spirit of St Francis for Today

6.30pm at the Redemptorist Retreat House, North Perth. All those interested in learning more of Franciscan spirituality are invited. Fr John Spiteri OFM will conduct the retreat. Enq: Angela 9275 2066 by 31 August.

SATURDAY, 18 SEPTEMBER

Feast of the Stigmata of St Francis of Assisi

2.30pm at Redemptorist Retreat House, North Perth. All are invited to join the Secular Franciscan Order in celebrating the Feast with the readings of the Stigmata of St Francis. Tea provided. Enq: Angela 9275 2066.

FRIDAY, 24 SEPTEMBER TO SUNDAY 26

SEPTEMBER

Inner Healing Retreat

7.30am at the Redemptorist Retreat House, North Perth. A live in retreat for a closer encounter with Jesus and experience spiritual, physical and emotional healing. Enq: Holy Family Church Maddington 9493 1703.

GENERAL NOTICES

Perpetual Adoration

Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is in its seventh year at Christ the King Church, Beaconsfield. Open 24 hours except at Mass times. All welcome.Enq: Joe 9319 1169.

Perpetual Adoration

Sacred Heart Church, 64 Mary St, Highgate. All that is needed is for each one of us to be willing to spend one hour a week with Jesus so that all the hours are covered with one person in the Chapel. Available times, Monday 2-3am, 4-5am, Saturday 11am-12 noon, Tuesday 11am12 noon, Sunday 2-3pm, 3-4pm; Thursday 7-8pm. Enq: Helen 9444 7962.

Pilgrimage to the Holy Land

The Church of St Jude in Langford is seeking to put together a visit to Jordan, the Holy Land and Egypt, leaving 8 September 2010. The duration of pilgrimage is expected to be 15 days and could accommodate 28-30 people. Fr Terry Raj will be the Spiritual Director. Enq Matt 6460 6877, mattpicc1@gmail.com.

EVERY SUNDAY

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

EVERY SUNDAY AND MONDAY

Extraordinary Form of Latin Holy Mass

11am Sunday and 7.30pm Monday except 3rd Monday of the month, at St Joseph’s Parish, 20 Hamilton St, Bassendean.

EVERY 3RD SUNDAY OF THE MONTH

Oblates of St Benedict

2pm at St Joseph’s Convent, York St, South Perth. Oblates affiliated with the Benedictine Abbey New Norcia welcome all who are interested in studying the rule of St Benedict and its relevance to the everyday life of today for lay people. Vespers and afternoon tea. Enq: Secretary 9457 2758.

EVERY FOURTH SUNDAY OF THE MONTH

Holy Hour for Vocations to the Priesthood, Religious Life

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

LAST MONDAY OF EVERY MONTH

Christian Spirituality Presentation

7.30-9.15pm at the Church hall behind St Swithan’s

Anglican Church, 195 Lesmurdie Rd, Lesmurdie. Stephanie Woods will present The Desert Period of Christianity, 260 to 600AD. From this time period came the understanding of the monastic lifestyle and contemplative prayer. No cost. Enq Lynne 9293 3848.

EVERY TUESDAY NIGHT

Novena and Benediction to Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal

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

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 9475 0155 or hsofperth@gmail.com.

EVERY THURSDAY

Catholic Questions and Answers

7-7.30pm at St Joseph’s Parish Centre, 20 Hamilton St, Bassendean. Catechesis learned easily with questions and answers. The Catechism of the Catholic Church. Adult learning and deepening of the Catholic Faith, with Fr John Corapi DVD series, 7.30-9pm.

Divine Mercy

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

EVERY FIRST THURSDAY OF THE MONTH

Taize Prayer and Meditation

7.30-8.30pm at Our Lady of Grace Church, 3 Kitchener Street, North Beach. All are warmly invited to prayer and meditation using songs from Taize. In Peace and Candlelight we make our pilgrimage. Enq: Joan 9448 4457.

FIRST FRIDAY OF THE MONTH ANNOUNCEMENTS

BIRTHS

BAPTISMS

HOLY COMMUNION

Congratulations to Anthony Stout and his classmates who made their First Holy Communion in June at the Basilica of St Patrick, Fremantle. Well done, love from Mum and Dad x

IN MEMORIUM

KIRKWOOD (Arthur)

In loving memory of my dear father, who departed this life on 11 August 11 1991. At this sad time and always, you remain in my heart and prayers, O my Pappa! May God be ever with you and with Darling Mother also. I love and miss you both so much. May perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace.

Prayer to St Jude O Holy St Jude, apostle and martyr, great in virtues and rich in miracles, near kinsman of Jesus Christ, faith intercessor of all who invoke your special patronage in the time of needs. To you I have recourse from the depth of my heart and humbly beg to whom God has given such great power to come to my help (make your request). In return, I promise to make your name known and cause you to be invoked. Recite three Our Fathers, three Hail Marys and three Glorias. St Jude, pray for me and all who invoke your aid. Amen. Thanksgiving for request received. Jude Rodrigues

Text only: $10.00 Text with photo: $20.00 Limit of 30 words per announcement.

To place an announcement in next week’s issue, please contact production@therecord.com.au.

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LAST

SOLUTION

ACCOMMODATION

HOLIDAY ACCOMMODATION

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

GUADALUPE HILL TRIGG www.beachhouseperth.com

Ph 0400 292 100.

Holiday Rental – Scarborough Self contained unit. Sleeps 6. Walk to beach. Ph 0402673409.

HEALTH

PSYCHOLOGY and PSYCHOTHERAPY

www.peterwatt.com.au

Ph 9203 5278.B

BOOK BINDING

BOOK REPAIR SERVICE

New book binding, general book repairs, rebinding, new ribbons; old leather bindings restored. Tydewi Bindery 9377 0005.

TRADE SERVICES

BRENDON HANDYMAN

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

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.

LAWN MOWING

WRR LAWN MOWING & WEED

SPRAYING Garden clean ups and rubbish removal. Get rid of bindii, jojo and other unsightly weeds. Based in Tuart Hill. Enq 9443 9243 or 0402 326 637.

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.

OTTIMO Convenient city location for books, CDs/DVDs, cards, candles, statues, Bibles, medals and much more. Shop 108, Trinity Arcade (Terrace level), 671 Hay St, Perth. Ph 9322 4520. Mon-Fri 9am-6pm.

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.

Unjust portrayal

CLASSIFIEDS

Deadline: 11am Monday

KINLAR VESTMENTS Quality hand-made and decorated vestments: Albs, Stoles, Chasubles, altar linen, banners etc. 12 Favenc Way, Padbury. By appointment only. Ph Vicki 9402 1318 or 0409 114 093.

SETTLEMENTS

ARE YOU BUYING OR SELLING

real estate or a business? Why not ask Excel Settlements for a quote for your settlement. We offer reasonable fees, excellent service and no hidden costs. Ring Excel on 9481 4499 for a quote. Check our website on www. excelsettlements.com. SINE

FURNITURE REMOVAL

ALL AREAS. Competitive Rates.

Mike Murphy Ph 0416 226 434. FOR SALE

PEEKABOO CORNER Good quality & affordable branded kids’ clothing. For boys & girls 0 to 6 years. Don’t miss out 20% discount for first 20 customers.

Errina: 0401 454 933. Email: peekaboo.corner@gmail.com or visit www.peekaboo-corner.blogspot. com.

ORGAN FOR SALE Old fashioned chamber organ. Wilcox and White. Meridian Gonn USA. Photo and details email:gschaefer@ amnet.net.au or call George on 08 9386 1695.

ART FOR THE CATHEDRAL www.margaretfane.com.au.

CHURCH KNEELERS

Pair of splendid jarrah three metre kneelers. Photo and details email: gschaefer@amnet.net.au or call George on 08 9386 1695.

MAZDA 626 TURBO 1990

229,000km, regularly serviced, $2,700, Hamilton Hill. Tel 9418 7497.

WANTED

“The Woman Shall Conquer” by Don Sharkey.

Photograph of Pope John Paul celebrating Mass in WA. Contact: email rodway@iinet.net. au.

THANKSGIVING

Thanks to infant Jesus of Prague, Our Lady of Perpetual Help and St Jude for a special favour granted. I.O.

ACCOUNTING

Acland Accounting Services

Registered Tax Agents, Tax

Returns, Bookkeeping, GST, BAS, etc. NOR, Reasonable Rates. Mob 0411 377 137, 0466 872 587 After Hrs: 64013844.

OPPORTUNITY

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY

Work from Home - P/T or F/T, 02 8230 0290 or visit www.dreamlife1.com.

NOVENA

27TH NOVENA TO OUR LADY OF

GOOD HEALTH,VAILANKANNI

30 August to 8 September 2010 Holy Trinity Church, 8 Burnett St, Embleton

Day 1: Mon, 30 August 7pm Mass, Novena, and procession. Social get together. Please bring a plate.

Day 2: Tue, 31 August 7pm Novena and blessing of children.

Day 3: Wed, 1 September 7pm Novena and blessing of sick and elderly.

Day 4: Thu, 2 September 7pm Novena.

Day 5: Fri, 3 September 6pm Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, 7pm Mass, anointing of sick and Novena.

Day 6: Sat, 4 September 6pm Vigil Mass and Novena. Food Fete.

Day 7: Sun, 5 September 6pm Novena.

Day 8: Mon, 6 September 7pm Novena.

Day 9: Tue, 7 September 7pm Novena.

Day 10: Wed, 8 September 7pm Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin MaryConcelebrated Mass and candle light procession. Social get together. Please bring a plate.

Enquiries: Church Office 9271 5528

Gordon Davies 9377 4472

Continued from Page 8 hours. A distinct theology of the “Real Presence” with its emphasis on individual adoration developed on a different track from the biblical theology of the Eucharist with the emphasis on ‘full, conscious, active and fruitful’ participation by the celebrating community in union with the Risen Christ.

There are not two distinct meanings of Eucharist. The word applies solely to the sacramental re-enactment of Christ’s last meal with His apostles: “This is my Body … take and eat: this is my Blood ... take and drink.” Eating of Christ’s Body and drinking His Blood and all that this implies is the essence of the Eucharistic celebration.

A truer theology of the “Real Presence” in our tabernacles would have us make the connection with the Eucharistic action of the Mass and in our visits our worship take the form of a sacrificial commitment to action in union with Christ.

Christ present in the Eucharist is not an object to be examined, analysed and defined. The theory of transubstantiation (it is not a teaching of the Church) was developed by medieval theologians musing on the philosophical definitions of ‘substance’ and ‘accidents’ propounded by Aristotle. The priest cannot be described as “another Christ” with the power to transubstantiate bread and wine. Christ is the agent of any sacrament and it is He who assumes the appearance of bread and wine to make His full presence available.

To quote John Paul ll: “The ministerial priest, acting in the person of Christ brings about the Eucharistic sacrifice. The phrase in persona Christi means more than offering “in the name of Christ” or place of Christ. “In persona means a specific sacramental identification with the eternal High Priest who is the author and principal subject of this sacrifice of His” (Ecclesia Eucharistia).

Neil K Smith Bull Creek

References:

1 - Address to the members of the European People’s Party, March 30, 2006

2 - Labor Party Platform, Chapter 6, http://www.alp.org.au/australian-labor/our-platform/

3 - Australian Green Policy, Women, http://greens.org.au/sites/greens.org.au/files/policydownloads/D5%20Women%20June%202008.pdf

4 - Address to the National Press Club, July 2010, http://greensmps.org.au/content/speech/senator-bob-browns-address-national-press-club-july-2010

5 - Coalition response to Australian Coalition for Equality election 2010 survey, http://www.movingforward.org.au/coalition.html

6 - Labor Party response to Australian Coalition for Equality election 2010 survey, http://www.movingforward.org.au/labor.html

7 - Australian Greens response to Australian Coalition for Equality election 2010 survey, http://www.movingforward.org.au/greens.html

8 - Australian Green Policy, Drugs, Substance Abuse & Addiction, http://greens.org.au/policies/care-for-people/drugs-substance-abuse-and-addiction

9 - Labor Party Platform, Chapter 5, http://www.alp.org.au/australian-labor/our-platform/

10 - Australian Greens Policy, http://greens.org.au/node/771

11 - http://greens.org.au/policies/care-for-people/sexuality-and-gender-identity

Federal Election 2010: The policies of the major political part ies relating to some life, marriage and family issues

The Life, Marriage and Family Centre invites you to carefully c onsider the following issues prior to exercising your vote on 2 1 August 2010 (information as at 6 August 2010)

“ As far as the Catholic Church is concerned, the principal focus of her interventions in the public arena is the protection and promotion of the dignity of the person, and she is thereby consciously drawing particular attention to principles which are not negotiable:

• protection of life in all its stages, from the first moment o f conception until natural death;

• recognition and promotion of the natural structure of the fam ilyas a union between a man and a woman based on marriageand its defence from attempts to make it juridically equivalent to radically different forms of union; and

• the protection of the right of parents to educate their child ren. These principles are not truths of faith, even though they rece ive further light and confirmation from faith; they are inscrib ed in human nature itself and therefore they are common to all humanity. ”

Greens

“The Greens will ensure that all women have access to legal, fr ee and safe pregnancy termination services including unbiased counsell ing.”

(3)

Pope Benedict XVI , 30 March 2006 (1)

Labor

Greens Leader Senator Bob Brown tried in 2007 and 2008 to intro duce legislation to legalise Euthansia. They are still hoping to hav e this put into law "provided we Greens are returned in stronger numbers.” (4)

“The Greens want the legalisation of marriage regardless of sex ual orientation or gender identity. Without universal access to mar riage for all, we do not have relationships equality. The Greens also sup port the introduction of civil unions as an alternative to marriage. The Greens have tabled a private members bill for same-sex marria g e in Parliament and have used every opportunity to campai g n for same-sex marria g e in the media and community.” (7)

Labor “support[s] the rights of women to determine their own reproductive lives, particularly the right to choose appropriat e fertility control and abortion” (2), but has allowed its members a consci ence vote in the past.

No party policy. Conscience vote.

“Labor does not support same-sex marriage. Labor has, in the pa st, supported the introduction of provisions in the Marria g e Act which state that Marria g e is 'the union of a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life' and, in office, we w ill maintain this provision.” (6)

Liberal/National Coalition

No party policy.

Conscience vote.

No party policy.

Conscience vote.

At the ALP National Conference in 2009, the party platform on m arria g e was amended to remove specific reference to ‘a man and a woman’ , and replaced with "Labor's commitment to maintaining the defini tion of marriage as currently set out in the Marriage Act".

“The Coalition believes overwhelmingly in the institution of ma rriage and, in 2004, acted to define in legislation the common underst anding in our community of marriage which is 'the union of a man and a woman, to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life'.” (5)

Abortion Euthanasia Marriage

The Greens support a national approach to "the regulated sale o f Xrated material.” (Points of sale are currently limited to the Northern Territory and the ACT.)

The Government is committed to introducing a mandatory ISP filt ering system, following a review of the classification system that is currently underway.

The Coalition will not introduce a mandatory ISP (Internet Serv ice Provider) filtering system and instead supports the use of home PCbased filters.

The Greens are opposed to mandatory ISP filtering.

The Greens will “increase the availability of harm reduction pr ograms, including needle and syringe exchanges and medically supervised injecting rooms and implement a rigorous scientific trial of pr escribed heroin to registered users in line with the proposed 1996 ACT government heroin trial.”

Labor will focus on prevention, early intervention and reducing harm through a comprehensive strategy of education, health and suppo rt services and law enforcement.

The Coalition’s National Illicit Drugs Strategy focuses on redu cing supply through law enforcement, reducing demand through educati on and healthcare, and strengthening and supporting families.

Pornography Drugs

(8)

(10)

The Greens will "abolish the Commonwealth Government's inequita ble schemes for funding private schools... including the socioecono mic status (SES) and 'funding maintained' formulae."

The Greens will “extend to private schools the anti-discriminat ion measures that apply in public schools.”

“The right of families to choose non-government schooling shoul d be supported by public fundin g that reflects need and is consistent with the creation of a diverse and inclusive society.”

(Current law enables reli g ious schools to preferentially employ staff who are willing to support the school’s religious ethos).

(9) The Governme nt has committed to continuin g indexation of fundin g for Catholic schools until the end of 2013.

Coalition policy is to provide a choice of government or non-government schools. The Coalition has promised to conti nue indexation of fundin g for Catholic and other nong overnment schools.

Religious Schools

“The Greens want…the education system to provide age-appropriat e information about the diversity of sexuality.”

(11)