General: That the Christians of the West may constantly increase their knowledge and appreciation of the spirituality and liturgical traditions of the Oriental Churches.
Missionary: That the Church in America,celebrating the Second American Missionary Congress in Guatemala,may be inspired to more generous evangelising activity even beyond her own frontiers.
WA’s
Perth: 13 November 2003 Price: $1
Archbishop Barry Hickey has publicly reaffirmed the Church’s teaching that life begins at the moment of fertilisation.
Archbishop Hickey made his public statement last week after Anglican Archbishop Peter Carnley addressed the annual meeting of the Fertility Society of Australia and once again advanced his theory that conception can only be said to have occurred after the embryo has been alive and developing for 14 days.
In a statement published the following day in The West Australian, Archbishop Hickey disputed Dr Carnley’s position.
“We have debated his contention in the media before and nothing has happened in the last few years to change the standard scientific and moral belief that life begins at the moment of conception,” Archbishop Hickey said.
“Long before the 14 days are up, scientists can tell whether the individual embryo is to grow into a boy or a girl and they can tell us a great deal about other characteristics, including the likely state of their health at birth.
“Some people want to be allowed to screen embryos much earlier than 14 days in order to be able to decide which ones will be given the chance to proceed to full development and which will not.
“In view of all this, it makes no sense to say that these recognisable individuals have not yet been conceived.
“In the natural course of life, the living embryo may or may not implant in the womb and then proceed to full development and birth, but it is absolutely certain that if it has not already passed through the earliest stages
of human life it could never implant in the womb or do anything else.
T
s p o s i t i o n w e r e t h a t I V F , a b o r t i o n b e f o r e 1 4 d a y s , d e s t r u c t i o n o f e m b r y o s a n d t h e m o r n i n g - a f t e r p i l l w o u l d a l l b e m o r a l l y j u s t i f i e d .
“The possibility of twinning is not a problem. Twinning is a form of natural reproduction where a second life appears with the spontaneous division of the live embryo.
“It would be entering the realms of the meaningless to say that because an embryo may divide and create a new human being it is somehow not human until the division takes place.”
Archbishop Hickey said it was crucial to establish scientific certainty about the beginning of life. The implications of Archbishop Carnley’s position were that IVF, abortion before 14 days, destruction of embryos and the morning-after pill would all be morally justified. Catholic teaching is that the full dignity of the human person must be accorded to each person from the moment of conception to natural death.
“Once we start to differentiate between people on whatever grounds – health, intelligence, usefulness, race, colour or creed – we deny the inherent dignity of the person,” he said.
“This removes the principle of the equality of persons which is the foundation of a just human society.
“Our laws already do this by permitting abortion and destructive research on embryos.
“We should not compound the problem by arguing that these mistakes of law are somehow morally justifiable.”
COMMENT by Peter Rosengren
Bad journalism, bad science, and prejudice that do the ABC proud
In the end we could only laugh after watching ‘Sex and the Holy City’, courtesy of ABC TV’s Foreign Correspondent on Tuesday night.
BBC journalist Steve Bradshaw’s charge: that after 25 years at the helm of the Church the Pope has caused mass death and misery throughout the Third World by relentlessly imposing his own personal belief in the wrongs of contraception on hapless under-educated, impoverished people throughout the world. Almost as bad, that John Paul II’s own naïve personal ideals of womanhood are forcing unwilling women everywhere into sacrificing their consciences to the Church’s cold and uncaring legalisms.
The oversight in the very first sentences of the documentary set a theme of general error and thoughtlessness compounded by self-right-
eousness wedded to moral blindness.
“Imagine a land,” Bradshaw’s voice intoned, “where ideal love is a reality, and ideal sex a reality, simultaneous climax a reality, and that in this land all couples are married: no barriers to perfect self giving, no barriers to childbirth, no condoms, IUDs or Pills. Abortion is illegal too.”
However, he continues: “This land does not exist, but these ideals do, in the work and thought of Karol Wojtyla, now Pope John Paul II.”
“This film,” he says as he ended his introduction on a more ominous note, “is about what happens when those ideals clash with reality.”
The key charge in Bradshaw’s larger lunacy was that the Church is helping to spread AIDS throughout the world by teaching the myth that condoms don’t work because the pores in the rubber are hundreds of times larger than the virus itself. Bradshaw assumed science was on his side. Archbishop Rafael A’Nzeki of Nairobi was told by Mr Bradshaw: "You are peddling superstition and ignorance." The proof? The World Health Organisation says so –according to Mr Bradshaw, that is, although no actual evidence was produced to prove this. Neat.
But go to the WHO’s Contraception WebPages (www.who.int/reproductive-health/index.htm). While there’s plenty of material regarding manuals
Continued page 2
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and useful procedures for aborting women there’s precious little on condoms. However under the heading ‘The effectiveness of combining condoms with emergency contraception’ you will find the following statement: “Although correct and consistent condom use is highly effective for preventing both pregnancy and HIV/STIs, condoms are less effective under conditions of typical use.”
Unfortunately someone at the WHO forgot to mention Russian Roulette to Mr Bradshaw.
That the ABC should be screening such crude propaganda is, by now, to be more or less expected because of its own interior politicisation in recent decades by anti-family new class elements who are philosophically hostile to the Church and the notion of personal moral responsibility. But it’s still objectionable. The error in Bradshaw’s opening is quite simple. Think of a documentary intro set in eastern Poland which goes this way, using the identical words to Bradshaw’s intro.
“Imagine a land where perfect relationships between people are a reality, no hangings, no lynch mobs, no pogroms, a land where the absence of genocide is a reality, and that in this land all peoples, no matter what their ethnic background, live in perfect harmony. Killing Jews is illegal too”
“This land does not exist, But it does in the thought and work of UN Secretary General Kofi
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Anan.” “This film is about what happens when those ideals clash with reality.”
A friend of mine, a Catholic who is also an academic lecturing in modern media and communications methods at a Perth university, watched the program with me.
As a work of propaganda, it was beautiful, he said. “It’s a perfect example of what we call ‘framing and priming for agenda-setting’” he said later.
But perhaps more annoying than the shoddy journalism was the patronising attitude towards the third world poor.
Together with Catholic nun Sr Victorine Akoth, Bradshaw visited a Nigerian man who has AIDS and is living with his wife and family although not engaging in sexual intercourse with his wife. In front of everyone Bradshaw turned subtly on Sr Victorine over the Church’s teaching and questioning her as to why this man should not be able to use a condom. Of course, our intrepid reporter missed the obvious point that out of love for his wife the man had heroically chosen celibacy rather than risk with the Bradshaw Method. It was actually a beautiful little vignette misreported in the scramble to verbal the Church.
The sad problem with media like Panorama and the ABC and journalists like Steve Bradshaw is that when they abandon journalism for incitement of hatred, the consequences really can be just awful. Awful for those who are innocent. Awful for what else can happen, as we’ve seen over and over in history. According to their line the Church is a living death, robbing people of meaning, repressive in almost every way.
But what neither of the above-mentioned organisations mentioned on this subject in their headlong rush to carry out yet another public lynching of the Church is that throughout the entire world it’s the Church which provides 25 per cent of the care for those living – and dying – with AIDS. This problem is easy to define. It’s called secondrate journalism.
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Raymond de Souza
By Debbie Warrier
The International Alliance of the Catholic Knights honoured Raymond de Souza’s contributions to the pro-life cause with a Michael Bell Award at a St Mary’s Cathedral Mass, on November 10. The Knights of the Southern Cross are a member of the Alliance. It was in the pursuance of the commitment to Pro-Life issues in 1992, that the Alliance decided to seek out and recognise outstanding initiatives in defence of the Right to Life. Archbishop Barry Hickey said the Mass and paid tribute to Raymond de Souza’s pro-life activities describing them as his “services to love.” and presented Mr de Souza with the Michael Bell award at the end of the Mass. Raymond de Souza describes himself as “A Brazilian by birth, Catholic by grace and Australian by choice.” Mr de Souza was given the Michael Bell Award because of a lifetime of initiatives for Life. His numerous achievements include being Chairman of the Perth Cathedral Branch of the KSC, the Coordinator of Human Life International, and the founder-director of St Gabriel Communications. The latter is WA’s first outreach program to promote Catholic apologetics. He travels all over the world promoting the Catholic truth and the Gospel of Life. In 2001-2002, Raymond de Souza started the first Catholic talk back broadcast in WA, ‘The Layman’s Hour.’ On Sundays they gave free airtime to services and organisations representing the Pro-Life Cause, like Pregnancy Assistance. Mr de Souza is married to wife Theresa and has eight children. Enquiries, contact 9202 1300 or search the website on: www.saintgabriel.com.au
Jewish actress from Romania plays Mary in Gibson's 'Passion'
Romanian actress Maia Morgenstern, who is Jewish and portrays Mary in the forthcoming Mel Gibson movie "The Passion of Christ," said she got the role after Gibson saw her play St. Edith Stein in a 1995 Romanian film known in English as "The Seventh Room."
Morgenstern said she initially ignored several voicemail messages from Gibson's casting director last year. She said she figured he wanted to find an East European actress to play a minor role, so she didn't take the messages seriously.
The casting director finally reached her about playing the part, but "I didn't think my chances were high" to get the part of Mary, she told the Jewish Journal, a Los Angeles Jewish weekly magazine.
Gibson mailed her the script and flew her to Rome to meet with him. She said her first impression of him was "of a man who was utterly enthusiastic and confident of his artistic vision."
Morgenstern, 41, who is the daughter of a Holocaust survivor, does not view "The Passion of Christ" as antiSemitic, as some critics have charged. Jewish high priest Caiaphas is the villain, she said, but he clearly represents the regime, not the Jewish people. "Authorities throughout history have persecuted individuals with revolutionary ideas," she said.
"The Passion of Christ" opposes such oppression and "is about letting people speak openly about what they think and believe," she said. "It denounces the madness of violence and cruelty, which if unchecked can spread like a disease."
Morgenstern has appeared in 30 European films. "The
Passion of Christ" is her first American movie, although it was shot in Italy and all of its dialogue is in Aramaic and Latin. She had a small role in a 2000 made-for-TV film, "Dark Prince: The True Story of Dracula," which featured Peter Weller, Jane March and rock singer Roger Daltrey.
For "The Seventh Room," Morgenstern shaved her head to play St. Edith Stein, who converted to Catholicism from Judaism and became a Discalced Carmelite nun. Her religious name was Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. She died at the Nazi death camp of Auschwitz in 1942 and was canonised in 1998.
During breaks in filming just outside the gates of a Nazi concentration camp, the actress looked over Nazi records and found out that her grandfather had died at Auschwitz; her father survived Nazi and Stalinist labor camps. Learning about her grandfather "greatly affected
my performance," she told the Jewish Journal. "It gave me a sort of motivation that I could somehow fight violence through the weapon of my art."
While filming "The Passion of Christ," Morgenstern said, she never felt any of the scenes were anti-Semitic.
Characters such as Mary and John are sympathetic Jews, she said, and Gibson, a Catholic, "allowed me to make suggestions based on my Jewish culture," she added. When Mary finds out Jesus has been arrested, Morgenstern noted, it was her idea to whisper the Passover question, "Why is this night different from all other nights?"
She said priests often visited the set and Gibson attended Mass, but the Catholic presence was "discreet," she added. "The Passion of Christ" is scheduled to be released on February 25, Ash Wednesday. -CNS
Apermanent reminder of the church's Year of the Rosary is blooming beautifully in the form of a special rose garden at Mary's Mount Primary School in Gooseberry Hill.
Comprising a rose bush for each class as well as one for the staff, The Mary Garden is the culmination of a range of activities held at the school throughout the month of October to commemorate the year and significance of the new Mysteries of Light. Throughout the morning each class gathered at the garden where the relevance of the event was explained, before three children were selected to plant the bush under the expert guidance of groundsperson, Di Forster. The schools attention to Waterwise practices was evident in the planting, with long life water crystals, soil wetting agents and mulch playing a big part in the process. The sharing of modern interpretations of the traditional Hail Mary concluded each class's participation in the project that will have a lasting impact for the entire Mary's Mount community.
Senior members of both major political parties paid tribute to former State Labor MP, Ted Cunningham, at a Funeral Mass at his parish church, Our Lady of Mercy, in Girrawheen last week.
The Police Minister, Michelle Roberts, praised Ted for his tough and principled stands to protect unborn children, and for drug dealers to be dealt with harshly. He regarded the dealers as “leeches who were killing our youth”.
Shadow Transport Minister Katie HodsonThomas, the Liberal MP for Carine, described him as a “man of the people” whose generosity was overwhelming.
Edward Joseph Cunningham, who was 66, died in Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital after a long illness linked with liver disease.
The Premier, Geoff Gallop, and two former Premiers, Richard Court and Brian Burke, as well as Cabinet Ministers and current and retired MPs, were among more than 400 mourners who packed the church for the Mass.
It was celebrated by parish priest Father Oliver Ryan, who was assisted by seven priests from surrounding parishes, while Bishop Don Sproxton presided.
Michelle Roberts recalled that Ted had entered State Parliament as the Labor member for Balga on St Joseph’s feast day in 1988. The day was significant because Joseph was also his second name.
He had quickly established a strong rapport with his electorate, which included many people from a vast range of ethnic backgrounds. Nothing was too much trouble for him and people who came seeking help always got his undivided attention.
The Labor MP for Ballajura, John D’Orazio said Ted became the champion of minority ethnic groups. Even though he had little understanding of their language, he had a clear understanding of the importance of the “language of life”.
Although Ted retired from Parliament at the 2001 State election, he continued to be active in the community.
Ted was born in Queensland and his early education had been at St Joseph’s Primary School in Brisbane. He qualified as a printing compositor and worked on the
newspapers in both Brisbane and Sydney,
Ted is
by Julie, his wife of 37 years, his brother and sister who came from Brisbane for his funeral, and a huge extended “family”.
“Come, ye blessed of my Father; for I was hungry, and you gave me to eat; for I was thirsty and you gave me to drink; I was a stranger and you took me in; sick and you visited me; I was in prison, and you came to me.”
(Matt. 25: 34-36).
Scripture passages such as this one formed the basis for the laity program called the Gethsemane Prison Ministry, said current coordinator Father David Shelton OMI.
The program provides formation for those wanting to support prisoners by participating in the Eucharist in prisons, visiting, writing letters and raising awareness about criminal justice issues.
Foundress Sr Bernadine Daly advertised in The Record in 1988 for lay people wanting to provide Catholic fellowship to prisoners.
Sr Bernadine said Father Robert McGregor’s services in those early days as Chaplain to the group, and Miss Bernadette Kennedy’s assistance establishing the group were very important. Sr Bernadine interviewed applicants for the voluntary work and finally came up with a group of 18.
Sr Bernadine said Gethsemane Prison Ministry took its name from the place where Christ was taken prisoner. Jesus’ awareness of his future imprisonment, his own prayers for strength at Gethsemane and his desire to have the apostles keep a prayer vigil with him, is the inspiration behind the program.
Semi-retired from her prison ministry, Sr Bernadine said she still kept in touch with some prisoners and their families.
Sr Bernadine said the program works on prison reform and she believed that prison should be the last solution.
“Only a few prisoners need to be separated from the community. If the money spent on keeping them in, was spent on crime prevention, it would be a better world,” she said.
Sr Bernadine is strong advocate of Aboriginal rights in the prison system and believes it is culturally inappropriate to subject them to confinement. She takes a stand against capital punishment too.
Sr Bernadine has personally known 13 deaths in custody, making her all too aware of the pressures in prison’s unnatural envi-
ronment. She taught the original group members not to judge the prisoners they meet. She said the group prays for victims of serious crime as well and she still keeps in touch with a few of those who have experienced this tragedy.
Acknowledging that not everyone is called to this ministry, she added “ If we can’t visit, we can visit prisoners in prayer or thought.”
Today about eight of the original members still make the weekly visits with Fr David to Casurina and Hakea prisons. They have become group leaders in the program. New members have joined and participated under Fr David’s spiritual direction. Group leaders meetings are held quarterly every year and one of those meetings is set aside for a group retreat.
Fr David attends all these meetings, as well as personally ministering to the spiritual needs of Kanet prison. His working week revolves around the three prisons, the prison chaplains in his role as chairperson of the Prison Chaplain Association WA and
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members of the Gethsemane Ministry.
Fr David believes lay formation is vital, especially when ministering in the prison settings.
“Some people try to be a ‘fix it’ and change the prisoners for what they see as ‘the better.’ We need to be accepting of them,” he said.
He teaches people who are on his prison ministry program to be good listeners, to show compassion towards the prisoners and be there for them.
“It’s only circumstances that make us different from them,” he said.
As well as a duty of care towards the prisoners, there’s a duty of care towards other members in the Gethsemane Ministry.
“You’ve got to respect the confidentiality of those within the group itself, not just the prisoners,” Fr David said.
Safety issues are discussed in the group and concrete strategies provided.
Sometimes people can mean well, but overstep their bound-
aries with the prisoners, he said.
Fr David encourages group members to be aware of any criminal justice issues concerning the inmates as a whole and highlighting these for the authorities. His appointment to the role came through the Oblates Order.
“In my line of work there needs to be a long term commitment in order to build up the confidence and trust of the prisoners,” he concluded.
Tess and Nimu are a two of the original group members. Tess said she felt called to serve others and wanted to volunteer for a ministry that met her ideals. She described the training as wonderful.
“In the beginning there had been so many people interested in the program we had to be told we couldn’t go weekly,” Nimu said. Currently, Tess added additional volunteers are needed to ensure the programs ongoing success.
Both valued the program’s instruction on the “do’s’” and “don’ts” of prison ministry. Rules like being sincere, praying before and after you enter a prison, and seeing Christ in each person.
Nimu’s family has learnt to work Christmas and Easter plans around her visits to inmates. The standard joke is “Mum’s gone to prison.”
Tess and Nimu spoke of what the prisoners had given them as group members. Rewarding experiences like the chance to witness conversions, the privilege of praying with inmates and the fellowship. Both agreed a day in the Church calendar should be set-aside for a Prison Sunday.
Des joined the group in 1991. During a previous trip to Singapore, he and his wife went to visit a prisoner’s family.
“It meant a lot to him. Little things mean a lot to prisoners,” he said.
Group members were taught never to ask why prisoners were in jail, and to keep any confidences shared strictly private, he said. He then spoke of the mission of the prison ministry.
“To bear witness to Christ. To show them the prisoners are not forgotten, no matter what they have done.”
For enquiries concerning the Gethsemane Prison Ministry, contact Fr Shelton on 9335 2268.
Six members of Newman Junior College’s Student Council attended the leadership sessions run by Caritas Global Education Leader Ms Janeen Murphy. They then showed the initiative of taking it back to the school community, and organised a day fundraiser with a slaves theme. Two of the main organisers were student councillors Rachel Lee and Ellen O’Connor, both aged 12. They then invited Ms Murphy to speak to the whole school community. Children at the Marist campus (Years 4 to 7) participated in dressing up for the day’s theme. Newman Junior College Assistant Principal Ms Dianne Grinbergs said many schools attend the sessions, which are held every school term. The Vice Principal said the sessions were intended to motivate student leaders to promote social justice issues in their school community. Ms Grinbergs added Year 7 Newman student councillor James Longson recently won the Penguin Speak Up competitions with his talk on child slavery for best researched topic.
The State’s biggest charity, the St Vincent de Paul Society, is receiving more and more requests for living materials including: single beds, single mattresses, lounge furniture and blankets. State president Brian Bull. stressed that due to health requirements, St Vinnies is unable to accept donations of soiled, torn or stained mattresses. “A new single mattress costs $42 and cash donations are needed to purchase them, if anyone can help us please call the Vinnies,” Mr Bull said. He said the mattresses would give a little warmth and comfort to those in need, and added “100% of donations received go directly to help those in need.” Donation Hotline (08) 9475 5416 or www.svdpwa.org.au
Pro-lifers were cheering on November 5 when President Bush signed the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act into law, but were also left wondering when the law would actually go into effect.
Multiple court challenges claiming the law is unconstitutional were filed within moments of the president signing the bill, and three injunctions were issued to block enactment of the law.
At the signing ceremony, Bush said, "The facts about partial-birth abortion are troubling and tragic, and no lawyer's brief can make them seem otherwise. By acting to prevent this practice, the elected branches of our government have affirmed a basic standard of humanity, the duty of the strong to protect the weak."
The president said a partial-birth abortion "involves the partial delivery of a live boy or girl, and a sudden, violent end to that life."
"Our nation owes its children a different and better welcome," he added.
Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Denver, chairman of the U.S. bishops' Committee on Pro-Life Activities, said the signing marked "the first time in three decades that our nation has placed any restriction on an abortion procedure." He called it "a vital step in the right direction for our nation."
"We commend the President for his action, and we pledge our prayers and support to see that this brutal procedure remains prohibited by law and intolerable
to the American people," the Archbishop added in a November 5 statement.
The new law defines partial-birth abortion as the partial delivery of a fetus from the womb "for the purpose of performing an overt act that the person knows will kill the partially delivered living fetus" and then performing that act, killing the partially delivered fetus instead of delivering it alive. Doctors who violate the ban could face a fine and up to two years in prison.
The legislation allows an exception to save the life of the mother but does not include an exception for the mother's health.
Pro-life members of Congress have been working since 1993 to ban the procedure. Bills barring partial-birth abortions were twice vetoed by President Clinton on
Well-known author, psychologist and priest Fr Benedict Groeschel draws on his own years of personal experiences in dealing with people’s problems, tragedies and “darkness” as he offers help and guidance for any Christian troubled or burdened by life. If you are struggling with fear, anxiety, grief, loss of loved ones, hurt, anger or anything that makes life difficult or the road through it dark, then this book was written for you. Fr Benedict offers practical suggestions on how to keep going and even grow with the help of God’s grace, even when this help seems remote.
“I would put this book high on anybody’s list; at the top of mine. A work to read and re-read. We are in Fr Benedict’s debt.”
C a r d i n a l J
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Constitution," he said. Kopf issued a temporary but indefinite injunction against the law's implementation but he limited the scope of the injunction to Dr. LeRoy Carhart of Bellevue, Nebraska, and three other abortion providers who had filed the suit.
It was Carhart's fight against a statewide Nebraska law banning partial-birth abortions that led to the U.S. Supreme Court overturning the law in 2000.
On November 6 a federal judge in San Francisco blocked the law. The ruling affects doctors at 900 clinics across the country run by Planned Parenthood.
The same day a federal judge in Manhattan also blocked the ban, granting a temporary restraining order to a network of abortion providers, the National Abortion Federation, which filed a lawsuit challenging the ban's constitutionality.
grounds that there was no health exception in them. A health provision would have rendered the legislation virtually meaningless because of the broad definition of maternal health given by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1973 in its decisions to legalise abortion.
But even as the president signed the legislation, U.S. District Judge Richard Kopf was hearing arguments in Lincoln, Nebraska, on whether he should block implementation of the law.
As the hearing began, Kopf, an appointee of President Reagan, said the law had "serious vagueness problems" and expressed concern that there was no exception for a mother's health.
"It seems to me that the law is highly suspect, if not a per se violation of the
In advertisements on November 5 in USA
Today and in a Capitol Hill political newspaper called Roll Call, the U.S. bishops' Committee for Pro-Life Activities and the Knights of Columbus congratulated Bush "and members of Congress on both sides of the aisle" for bringing the United States "one step closer to a culture of life." The ad was signed, "With gratitude, millions of Catholics across the United States."
Even while acknowledging that the new law faced court challenges, the ad said: "After eight years, you've made history. This marks the first federal restriction of an abortion procedure in 30 years."
In separate statements issued on November 5, numerous Catholic and other leaders praised the signing of the ban by the president.
“Duc in altum!” – “Put out into the deep”.
Pope John Paul II has chosen these words of Jesus as the watchword of the Church as she advances with a firm and confident step into the third millennium. Now he has shed new light on the Holy Rosary for us too, and has entrusted it to us as a priceless means of help as we venture forth into the “vast ocean” of the new millennium. By adding the five Luminous Mysteries the Holy Father has enriched our prayer life. The Rosary booklet contains all 20 mysteries as well as excerpts from the Holy Father’s apostolic letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae, scripture readings, meditations and prayers.
This booklet is intended not only for those who have already enjoyed a Christian upbringing, but also for all those who were deprived of this and are therefore unfamiliar with the great treasure that is the Rosary. This beautifully illustrated little booklet is now available fora donation of $3.00 (includes postage). Also available are the Papal Rosary beads. To obtain the Rosary booklet and the Vatican Rosary beads we ask fora donation of $15.00 (includes postage). All proceeds will go towards the work of Aid to the Church in Need for the persecuted and threatened Church worldwide.
Recently I was having lunch with a friend of mine. She spoke of some difficulty she was having and like all of us at times, life was not easy for her at that moment.
I said to her, ‘Remember where you are going. One day this too will pass. We are on our way to eternal life with God.’ This seemed to comfort her.
We all get bogged down and weighed down with the trials and tribulations of life and we may at times forget where we are going.
The readings today speak to us of the end of this present age. We know not that day or hour.
One thing I have discovered in my walk with God is this, I am in a hurry and God is not.
It has been so difficult for me. I want what I want when I want it and God usually has different ideas. This applies to every area of my life. I do not like waiting for anything.
God has had to deal with me over and over again.
The bottom line is this, I am not patient. Yet patience is one of the fruits of the Spirit (Gal 5:22) and it sure was one fruit I failed to show.
So how did God deal with me? He put me in situations where I had to wait. It is in times of trial and tribulation that the fruit of God’s spirit develops in us. St Paul says in Romans 5:3, ‘Suffering brings patience.’
To bring it down to everyday living, every situation in which you have to wait, if you don’t run away from it, is developing patience in you through the suffering.
The long line of people waiting to go through the check out before you at the grocery store. Waiting, waiting, waiting.
The traffic lights always turning red as you approach them. The slow driver in the outside lane who won’t move to the left so you can pass them.
The employer, employee, child, parent, spouse who is so slow to do whatever it is that you would do so quickly. Yep, no accident, sent by God. Waiting, waiting, waiting. Always waiting for something to change. Waiting to get well when you are sick. Waiting for a promotion or a salary increase. Waiting for the wet weather to pass so you can go out in the sun. Waiting for the hot weather to pass so you can be cool again. Waiting to retire. Waiting to get a job. Waiting for a special occasion. Waiting for the weekend when the week seems so long. Waiting for opportunities that are always around the corner, so it seems. Waiting for this and that to be over so you can move onto the next thing.
We spend most of our lives waiting.
Waiting purifies us and this is suffering. Waiting calls us to be patient and this may require an attitude change.
Waiting for God’s kingdom to come. The Gospel tells us that after the time of suffering, the Son of Man will come on the clouds of heaven with great power and glory.
We wait longingly for this.
I think what matters is how we wait. What is our attitude while we wait? St. Ephraem, Confessor and Doctor says on this scripture, Mark 13: 24-32, ‘Exercising patience you will discover hope, the source of every good …….. Expect the Lord, do manfully and let thy heart take courage and wait thou for the Lord.’
Yes our waiting will be worth it for God’s victory is being worked out in your life and mine, moment by moment, and one day this world will come to an end, transformed by the coming of our Lord.
Norma Woodcock is the Director of The Centre for Catholic Spiritual Development and Prayer. Website: www.normawoodcock.com
iven the wonderful success of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of The Rings, it is a great pity that he was never able to complete the work it sprang from, The Silmarillion, in satisfactory and publishable form. His son, Christopher, published some complete parts, and has published many volumes of Tolkien's drafts, notes and fragments, but Tolkien himself was well aware it was not in the form of an acceptable book. Some of the fragments are delightful to read and the whole is of the greatest interest to Tolkien scholars, but it is not a finished narrative.
One reason was probably that Tolkien never found a device to anchor it in the real world, as the Hobbits anchor The Lord of the Rings in the earth. Its high, mystic, generally Elvish, characters remain impossible to identify with, and, even more fatally in a narrative, difficult to tell apart.
This is a great problem for writers who wish, in our present mundane age, to deal with high, heroic, mystical themes. If, in The Silmarillion, this problem defeated so great a writer as Tolkien, what hope for the rest of us?
One writer who met the challenge of combining the high and heroic with the recognisable world is the late Poul Anderson, who died recently just after seeing into print what he believed was his greatest work, Mother of Kings. Based on the Icelandic sagas, it brings to life the magnificent but merciless world of the Vikings and the first probings of Christianity into the Norse lands. Since its publication the book has been gathering welldeserved critical acclaim. As author Greg Bear has said, Anderson showed himself in this book to be the true modern heir of those who wrote the sagas.
A great part of Anderson's genius is his gift of appealing to the senses, as Tolkien does so well in The Lord of The Rings. The book opens: Wind snarled and skirled. Smoke from the longfire eddied bitter on its way upward, hazing lamps throughout the hall. Shadows flickered. They seemed to bring the carvings on pillars and wainscots to uneasy life. Nightfall came fast at the end of these shortening days. Soon there would be nothing but night. Anderson was one of the
with Guy Crouchback
most prolific novelists, even by the standards of sciencefiction, with something like 100 novels and 400 short stories to his credit.
A n d e r s o n ' s
s t o r i e s a r e a l l i n t e l l i g e n t a n d m a n y h a v e a n u n d e r l y i n g m o r a l s e r i o u s n e s s
Tolkien's work and Anderson's share love of chivalry, romance, valour, colour and splendour. Anderson's The High Crusade, for example, is a delightful and comic tale of a medieval English baron and his people who capture an alien space-ship and by luck, shrewdness, and noble ideals spread a chivalrous, romantic civilisation through the galaxy. Inspired by their example, many alien races become "good Christian Englishmen." One closes the book feeling: "if only it could really be like that!"
Anderson's stories are all intelligent and many have an underlying moral seriousness. In the short story "The Season of Forgiveness" human traders on a distant world are ordinarily benevolent but believe in putting
Why do Catholics celebrate Mass on Sunday? Why is the Mass divided into the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist?
Why is the body and blood of Christ held up three times during Mass?
These may seem like questions all Catholics should be able to answer about how they worship, but a surprising number cannot.
To better inform the people of his parish — as well as other Catholics and even nonCatholics — about the significance and background behind the celebration of Mass, Franciscan Father John Pfannenstiel, pastor of St. Ambrose Parish in Baltimore, has developed a “stop-and-go” Mass in which he pauses to explain the different parts of the liturgy as they occur.
Father Pfannenstiel got the idea after hearing that a parish in Chicago had done something similar.
“I also noticed a lot of Catholics aren’t able to explain why we do what we do at Mass,” said the priest, who developed his own program for the “stop-and-go” Mass.
The first “stop-and-go” Masses were held earlier in the spring, he said, and although parishioners didn’t quite know what to
expect, the Masses were such a success that parishioners asked that they be held again. Three more were scheduled for a weekend in November.
“We’re doing it again because they got so much out of it,” said Father Pfannenstiel, who has led the 600-family parish for the past 12 years.
“There were things that they missed, and they wanted to bring their family and friends who had questions.
“It really helps us appreciate the Catholic tradition and beauty of our eucharistic celebration,” he added in an interview with The Catholic Review, newspaper of the Baltimore Archdiocese.
“It reaffirms that we are carrying on the commandment of Jesus when he said, ‘Do this in memory of me.’
“It helps people realise that what we do in Mass is very much based in Scripture, and they find that very reassuring,” the priest said. “When you can draw together the vesture, the movement, the actions and gestures, it really is quite a beautiful gift.”
Father Pfannenstiel said people paid close attention during his first explanatory Masses. “You could see on their faces that they were eager to know more and were hanging on every word,” he said.
“When they realise that we have been worshipping like this since the 100s, it blows their minds.
People treasure what they have more if they understand it better.” - CNS
business first. They present themselves to the locals as, their spokesman says:
“Tough but fair. We've come to build a trade that will pay off for us, and for no other reason. It's up to them to keep us interested in remaining, which we won't unless they behave. That attitude, that image, is clear enough, I hope for the most alien mind to grasp.”
In fact, it is not enough. The humans get nowhere with the locals, who cling to the remnants of a civilisation ruined by wars but who now desperately need help, until an incident at Christmas shows the humans to them in a new light. The human leader reflects:
“We seemed to offer them a fair, profitable bargain. But nothing else. We seemed to have no other motive than material gain. They could not understand this. It made us too peculiar.
They could never really trust us. Now that they know we have our own sacrednesses, well, they see we are not so different from them, and they'll heed our advice.”
Anderson was a great writer whose reputation is bound to grow beyond science-fiction.
Archbishop Barry Hickey officiated the blessing of the Grotto-Prayer-Garden of Canning Vale Parish and in celebration of the Churches' Year of the Child.
The celebration was attended by parishioners, the catholic school and friends of the parish followed by a fellowship BBQ.
The Canning Vale Parish has been a vibrant young community moving on together, comprising people coming from twenty three nationalities at present.
On Tuesday night, the ABC’s “Foreign Correspondent” program showed a puerile, pathetic attack on the Pope and the Catholic Church and pretended that it was a serious study of the problem of AIDS in Africa. The program even has the voyeuristic name “Sex and the Holy City”.
It was first aired by the BBC’s Panorama. It offers the extraordinary pretence that the Catholic Church’s refusal to put its faith in condoms as the way to combat AIDS is putting millions of lives at risk in the Third World, but especially in Africa.
Now, AIDS is a serious problem, particularly in Africa, and the causes of the problem and solutions to the problem deserve serious medical and journalistic examination.
The journalistic deficiencies in the Panorama program are appalling and it appears that nobody in the BBC has the journalistic skill or integrity to recognise or evaluate them.
But what of the ABC? In the weeks since the program was first aired and widely publicised, the journalistic deficiencies have been exposed and publicised around the world.
Has anyone at the ABC been listening? Or do the facts not matter when there is an opportunity for a juicy attack on the Catholic Church? Does “every one’s ABC” just ignore the facts when it is Catholics and their Church that are to be attacked by inadequate journalists.
In this particular case, the journalist, Steve Bradshaw, opened his story with two teenage mothers in Nicaragua holding their two young daughters, the result of the depredations of their step father. There was no attempt to examine the wrongs that had been done. Bradshaw’s
Although of the Protestant Persuasion of our faith, I write to publicly congratulate Archbishop Hickey on his stand and truths as to the actual moment when life begins. Life, God’s gift, does indeed begin at that moment of conception, and not as Dr Carnley has sadly presumed to envisage, dictate and declare! And no amount of theological misguided ‘twaddle’ will change that!
It’s just a pity that Church leaders of the ilk, power and status held by Dr Carnley, have failed not only in seeing the truth, but also have failed to see and realise the impact such ‘twaddle’ has on the flock he’s been anointed and appointed to serve (‘serve’ being the operative here)!
Thank you Archbishop Hickey for your courageous stand on such a sensitive but Godly principle. You’ve been a brick! BRAVO and God bless you.
Ben
LawsonRockingham
On reading the article on ‘Against Sexsells,’ I want to say I and I know many others, would join me and say Jing Ping would be admired for his stand against these ‘Sex sells ads.’ Congratulations to Jing and his mates. Keep up your good work for which you will be blessed.
N Mackenzie RedcliffeYour correspondent Peter Beeson (Letter, 30 Oct 2003) has excelled himself in providing a counter-balance to those ‘who
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one interest was to present the view that these two little girls should have been killed. Similarly when he went to a slum in Manilla, Bradshaw had no interest in the injustice that sees people living in these conditions.
His sole complaint was that a mother was not using contraception. Presumably, if she got rid of a few of her children, the slum would turn into an idyllic suburban subdivision.
The real deceptions, however, appeared when he went to Africa and tried to pretend that millions of people were dying because of the Church’s teaching.
The Church’s fundamental teachings concern chastity before marriage and fidelity in marriage. People who follow these teachings don’t die of AIDS or any other of the 50-plus sexually transmitted diseases spawned by the sexual revolution.
In Africa, the Church warns people that condoms are not 100 per cent safe, that the virus can pass through them. Bradshaw accused the Archbishop of Nairobi of “peddling superstition and ignorance” and went on to say:
“The most authoritative recent report is by the US National Institutes of Health which concluded “…the consistent use of
male condoms protects against HIV/AIDS transmission.” Actually, that authoritative report concluded that the consistent and correct use of the best condoms provides an 85 per cent reduction in HIV/AIDS transmission. There are holes in Mr Bradshaw’s condom argument.
Indeed, the US Food and Drug Administration reported that one third of condoms they tested leaked HIV-sized particles. The journalist also presented the World Health Organisation as not acknowledging any risk, but the best WHO has ever claimed is 90 per cent protection, and both WHO and the condom manufacturer Durex are on public record as recommending sexual abstinence for complete HIV protection.
Then there is the widely publicised 2002 report of the Tanzanian Government rejecting 10 million condoms provided by the UN – because when they tested them, they leaked.
How does Bradshaw’s view of the world work in practice? He presented the case of a married man who is dying of AIDS and argued that he and his wife should be using condoms instead of abstaining from sexual intercourse. Each act of intercourse, according to Bradshaw’s ‘most authoritative report’, would expose the
Mr Beeson’s ‘logic’ is followed to its conclusion), are clear evidence of a deep participation in the invincible strength of the One Who looked like the world’s biggest loser and most ineffective leader on Good Friday.
In terms of this invincible strength the ‘old and infirm’ Pope towers like a Colossus of Rhodes over all the world; and over all the midgets who think that they can replace the Papacy with themselves while Christ apparently sleeps in the Barque of Peter, capable neither of steering the ship nor rebuking the modern tempest of evil.
The other half of the scriptural saying referred to earlier tells us that ‘the foolishness of God is wiser than the wisdom of men’: a ‘foolish’ counter-balance to the ‘wisdom’ of would be Popes.
Frank Calneggia
Swan View
go way over the top respecting Pope John Paul II’.
I presume he is ignorant of the fact that honour and respect paid to Christ’s vicar is honour and respect paid to Christ. I further presume that he is likewise ignorant of the fact that the converse of this is also true when he makes issues out of the Pope being ‘an old and infirm man’.
Your correspondent mocks those who believe that Pope John Paul II ‘presently has control of the Church’ as Catholics who ‘are deluding themselves’.
Well both the ‘infirm’ Pope and his ‘deluded’ children are in good company.
Our Lord looked like and physically was, the most ‘infirm man’ in the world on Good Friday. According to a Scriptural saying ‘the weakness of God is stronger than the strength of men’.
On Good Friday that saying was held up and proved true in the most convincing and dramatic manner.
The Pope’s physical appearance, and ipso facto the physical appearance of the Papacy at this point of its 2000 year history (which makes it ‘old’ and proportionately ‘infirm’ if
Two letters critical of the Pope in your October 30 edition warrant a response.
The very serious Brian Coyne has a problem with certain statements from the Vatican regarding condoms and AIDS. He claims that these statements are “simply scientifically untenable,” without producing either the statements or any scientific evidence.
I am left wondering how this proves that the Pope is “losing control” as Mr. Coyne puts it. If the Vatican is saying that condoms do not prevent the spread of AIDS, then that is entirely consistent with both scientific fact and the teachings of Pope John Paul II over the last 25 years.
A study released last year in the US by The Medical Institute for Sexual Health entitled “Sex, Condoms, and STDs: What We Now Know,” reviewed the findings of all significant research and professional presentations about the ability of condoms to reduce the risk of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). It was authored by leading experts on STDs and condom research.
woman to at least a 15 per cent chance of contracting a fatal infection. That is the standard of respect for the health and life of women that Bradshaw, the BBC and the ABC represent. It is the condom and sex mentality that is at the heart of the African AIDS problem.
The Church, on the other hand teaches something better, and it was obvious to viewers (though not to Bradshaw) that the husband in this scene had too much love to subject his wife to that danger.
Do the Church’s teachings on abstinence and fidelity, with a proper understanding of human relationships, actually work on a large scale? In Uganda (which is in Africa even though Panorama couldn’t find it) in the early 1990s it was estimated that up to 30 per cent of the population was infected by HIV/AIDS – one of the highest rates in Africa.
Now its below 10 per cent, possibly as low as six per cent. The solution: a sustained program in support of abstinence before marriage and fidelity in marriage. The President and the King campaigned for a return to traditional Ugandan standards, and the campaign has worked.
They actually call it the ABC program –Abstinence, Be Faithful, and if you fail in these use Condoms.
Abstinence and fidelity are the keys: in 1989, 18.4 per cent of Ugandan women aged 15 years and older reported multiple sex partners. In 2001 it was down to 2.5 per cent.
Finally, has anyone at the BBC or the ABC noticed that Africa is awash with condoms and Africa is awash with AIDS?
We don’t mind that Panorama and the entire BBC are blind, ignorant fools, but we object when “our” ABC can’t pass the test of responsible journalism.
It found that even 100 percent condom use does not eliminate the risk of any STD including HIV. Further, there is no evidence of any risk reduction for sexual transmission of human papilloma virus infection even with 100 percent condom use.
Perhaps Peter Beeson, who draws attention to the Pope’s age and infirmity, is himself suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. Has Mr. Beeson already forgotten the role that John Paul II played in trying to prevent the war in Iraq? If that is not taking “issue with present world leaders,” I don’t know what is. We have had popes who were exiled from Rome and popes who have been held in prison by foreign powers; they were still popes. All this talk about John Paul II losing control over the Vatican is simply another excuse to dissent from the authentic teachings of the Church.
Ben O'Brien Deer ParkIt seems to me that Brian Coyne (October 30) has misinterpreted the Vatican.
Far from losing control over what is going on around him, the Pope is having the satisfaction of seeing his work bear fruit, as the Cardinals follow his example of not being politically correct.
For well over a decade I have been aware of warnings that the condom cannot protect against AIDS because of the minute size of this virus. Traces of the AIDS virus have been detected in archeological finds of ancient civilisations, which would suggest it has always been around, just like all sorts of venereal diseases. It shouldn’t take a genius to figure out why AIDS grew to epidemic proportions at the same time as the socalled liberating “Safe Sex” theory promoted the “safe” condom.
The tragedy is that people believe what they want to believe, and suffer the natural consequences.
G. Aquilina
The debate about when life begins has raised many questions about the morality and wisdom of interference by the medical profession and drug companies in human reproduction.
This interference specifically relates to the separation of sexuality from life-making (contraception) and the separation of life-making from sexuality (in vitro fertilisation).
Catholic teaching rejects both contraception and IVF, and consequently runs counter to popular belief and practice. The meaning of Catholic teaching is almost never acknowledged in the secular media and is given inadequate attention by public health officials throughout the world, including the UN’s so-called “reproductive health” programs.
However, Catholic teaching has motivated scientific research in human reproduction which has produced better results for couples, for women’s health in particular, for children, for society and for the integrity of medical practice. These results are counter-cultural, but are no less scientifically and medically valid for that.
The widespread introduction of oral contraceptives in 1960 meant that for the first time in human history a healthy condition (normal human fertility) was treated as a disease requiring suppression by drugs or surgery. The medical ethic “First, do no harm” was abandoned almost without a whimper as doctors prescribed a pill which, to this day, produces in women a clinical condition which, if it existed apart from the pill, would be regarded as requiring treatment.
The legalisation of abortion soon afterwards (1968 UK, 1973 Roe v Wade in the US, and on around the world) meant that not only fertility but now the unborn child were thought of as a disease that could be destroyed chemically or surgically.
Catholic doctors took a different approach and studied the human reproductive system to discover how people could learn to understand their fertility cycles and live their married relationship in the fullness of who they are. This is natural family planning – living naturally
without drug companies in the bedroom. Australian doctors, John and Evelyn Billings, were among world leaders in this field.
By the late sixties they had demonstrated to WHO and anyone else who would listen that their method could be used effectively by couples in large scale trials in third world countries. The only known “side effect” was that couples consistently reported that the greater intimacy involved in knowing and respecting the woman’s
their sexuality and their mutual relationship with life itself. After 40 years of this, our society still refuses to consider the possibility that basing the security and wellbeing of families on a drug might actually contribute to the development of a drug mentality.
In 1978, the first child was born as a result of in-vitro fertilisation, and in the face of a lovely baby girl it was hard for the world to see the enormous destruction of embryos, and now the desire to experi-
of Human Reproduction and the Creighton University School of Medicine, both of Omaha, Nebraska, USA.
NaProTechnology and its associated Creighton Model Natural Family Planning System, were brought to Perth by Dr Amanda Lamont, director of FertilityCare and President of the WA Catholic Doctors Association.
Dr Lamont said that NaProTechnology was based on the principle of working with the natural reproductive system, heal-
o r n a s a r e s u l t o f i n - v i t r o f e r t i l i s a t i o n , a n d i n t h e f a c e o f l o v e l y b a b y g i r l i t w a s h a r d f o r t h e w o r l d t o s e e t h e e n o r m o u s d e s t r u c t i o n o f e m b r y o s , a n d n o w t h e d e s i r e t o e x p e r i m e n t o n h u m a n e m b r y o s , t h a t i s t h e l e g a c y o f a r t i f i c i a l r e p r o d u c t i v e t e c h n o l o g i e s
reproductive cycle strengthened the marriage relationship.
This same outcome was reported when the Billings gained permission to teach their method in Communist China in the 1990s. Husbands and wives consistently reported that in the face of China’s onechild policy, natural family planning brought greater trust and fidelity to the marriage.
On the other hand, proponents of “The Pill” promised numerous benefits for family life, for couples, for children and for society. In practice we saw unleashed the sociological disease of widespread divorce and its associated dislocation of children from the security of two parents, and widespread promiscuity, drug-taking, violence and suicide among teenagers.
The pill fundamentally changes the relationship between men and women by their refusal to accept both the fullness of
Readers wanting a complete understanding of Catholic teaching on these and related subjects could read Pope Paul VI’s 1968 encyclical Humanae Vitae, Donum Vitae (see above) and Pope John Paul II’s reinforcement of both those teachings in his 1995 encyclical Evangelium Vitae (the Gospel of Life).
The staff at the L.J.Goody Bioethics Centre welcome inquiries on these subjects. The Centre is at 39 Jugan St,
ment on human embryos, that is the legacy of artificial reproductive technologies.
In 1987 the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith released “An Instruction on the Respect for Human Life in its Origin and the Dignity of Procreation (Donum Vitae)” which dealt with all the problems associated with IVF and other forms of early intervention in human life.
Basically, the Church rejects IVF because it separates conception from the union of husband and wife, and because it creates many embryos which will not be given the chance of full development.
Once again, Catholic doctors went in a different direction in order to bring the benefits of modern science to married couples without intruding on the sanctity of their union.
Known as NaProTechnology, it was developed primarily by Dr Thomas W. Hilgers of the Pope Paul VI Institute for the Study
Glendalough, phone 9242 4066, or e-mail ljbc@iinet.net.au
Occasionally parents with children born through IVF ask whether the Church’s rejection of the process of IVF has any bearing on the children. Archbishop Hickey has emphasised that the children are fully loved and accepted by God and the Church.
No one, not parents, not children, not family, not anyone may think otherwise and call it Catholic thinking.
ing the underlying subfertility problem, and opening the way for natural conception and birth. Where IVF aimed to create a pregnancy for the couple, NaProTechnology aimed to fix the problem so that a couple could create their own pregnancy.
It was not unusual for couples who have previously been through multiple unsuccessful cycles of IVF to achieve a pregnancy using FertilityCare and NaProTechnology. The Human Fertility and Embryology Association, the UK regulatory body for IVF clinics, reported that 42 per cent of patients going into IVF clinics in 2000 had “unexplained infertility”.
NaProTechnology was effective in identifying and treating these underlying causes, which was important not only for fertility but also for the overall health of the woman (and sometimes the man) in the short and long term. The system showed far greater respect for the health of women and their future fertility.
“The Pope Paul VI institute has shown that once the underlying problem is normalised, pregnancy can be achieved with a success rate higher than what can normally be obtained through the artificial reproductive technologies.
“The whole process is less intrusive, less painful, and more successful in terms of fertility and general health, as well as being totally in accord with Catholic teaching and natural intuition about the sanctity of human life.”
The following account of the beginning of human life is taken from Hilgers, T.W. “Reproductive Anatomy & Physiology.” A primer for FertilityCare professionals. Second edition. Pope Paul VI Institute Press, Omaha, Nebraska, 2002.
After ovulation occurs, the ovum is taken up by the fallopian tube and moves down toward the cavity of the uterus.
This movement takes place because the peristaltic action of the tube is in that direction and because of the presence of microscopic, hair-like projections (cilia) which also rhythmically beat in that direction.
If sperm are deposited in the vagina when the good cervical mucus is present around the time of ovulation, some of the sperm will escape the vagina, migrate through the cervix and go to the fallopian tubes where they encounter the fresh ovum. In many animal species, a process referred to as capacitation is known to occur.
This is a metabolic and enzymatic change which the sperm must necessarily undergo in order to make them capable of fertilising the egg.
It has been thought that the process of capacitation of the sperm occurs as the sperm travel through the female reproductive tract.
While it has been speculated that such a capacitation process occurs in the human, there is no convincing evidence to prove or disprove it. The ovum has an outer layer called the zona pellucida. This membrane is of vital importance. In its own way, it acts as a shell for the egg. As sperm approach the ovum, the zona acts to assure that only one sperm penetrates and enters the cellular matter of the ovum. After one sperm has entered the ovum, an enzymatic reaction occurs within the zona pellucida
which, in effect, locks out the entry of other sperm.
When a sperm has penetrated the ovum, there exists for a short period of time two pronuclei.
The 23-chromosome package of the sperm is separate from the 23-chromosome package of the ovum. When the two pronuclei fuse, the biologic qualities of an individual human life come into existence. This process is usually referred to as fertilisation or conception. Surely, the fusion of the pronuclei occurs within minutes to hours after the penetration of the sperm into the cytoplasm of the ovum.
O n c e c o n c e p t i o n h a s o c c u r r e d , a n i n d i v i d u a l h u m a n l i f e h a s c o m e i n t o e x i s t e n c e a n d i s a p r o g r e s s i v e o n g o i n g c o n t i n u u m u n t i l n a t u r a l o r a r t i f i c i a l l y i n d u c e d d e a t h e n s u e s . T h i s i s a f a c t s o w e l l e s t a b l i s h e d w i t h i n t h e r e p r o d u c t i v e s c i e n c e s t h a t n o i n t e l l e c t u a l l y h o n e s t p h y s i c i a n i n f u l l c o m m a n d o f m o d e r n k n o w l e d g e w o u l d d a r e t o d e n y i t
Once conception has occurred, an individual human life has come into existence and is a progressive ongoing continuum until natural or artificially induced death ensues.
This is a fact so well established within the reproductive sciences that no intellectually honest physician in full command of modern knowledge would dare to deny it.
There is no authority in medicine or biology who can be cited to refute this concept.
Immediately following conception, the single cell within the zona pellucida is called the zygote.
Within 24 hours, the zygote begins to divide into 2, 4, 8, 16 cells, etc. While this is occurring, the new human life moves down the fallopian tube towards the uterus.
The hormones progesterone and estro-
gen are increasing their levels preparing the lining of the uterus. At this stage, the solid mass of cells is called a morula. As cellular division continues, a fluid filled cavity appears within the morula. At this stage, it is called a blastocyst.
It takes approximately six to nine days for a new human life to make its way to the uterus.
The blastocyst divides into an inner and an outer cell mass. The inner cell mass is the early differentiation of the embryo and the outer cell mass is the early differentiation of the supportive structures, the placenta and membranes.
These structures then are uniquely created by the newly conceived individual for his or her ultimate survival.
Dr Amanda Lamont, President of the WA Catholic Doctors Association, has provided The Record with definitions of the beginning of life.
The following one is taken from a book Dr Lamont described as a standard text for embryology for medical students: Moore, Keith L: “The Developing Human; clinically oriented embryology”, WB Saunders, Sydney 1988, chapter one, page one:
“Human development is a continuous process that begins when an ovum from a female is fertilised by a sperm from a male. (Italics from text). Cell division, growth and differentiation transform the fertilised ovum, a specialised cell called a zygote, into a multicellular adult human being. Most developmental changes occur during the embryonic and fetal periods, but important changes also occur during the other periods of development: infancy, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood.”
Controversy in Italy over a local judge’s decision to order the removal of school crucifixes has died down, following intervention by higher authorities to guarantee their presence. Despite initial appearances, the matter was not a question of church-state conflict. Neither was it a simple Christian-Islam clash.
Crucifixes are present in Italian public schoolrooms, and in many other public buildings, including courtrooms.
The order to remove crucifixes from the classrooms of the nursery and elementary school in the town of Ofena came from a junior district judge of Aquila, Mario Montanaro. It followed a petition made by Adel Smith, president of the Union of Muslims of Italy.
Smith, who has publicly referred to crucifixes as “small cadavers,” is the father of two children who attend the school. Two years ago he had asked for the crucifixes to be removed, but his effort failed because of fierce opposition from other parents.
In his decision, Judge Montanaro claimed that Italy was undergoing a cultural transformation and that the Constitution requires respect for the followers of other beliefs. He declared as “anachronistic” the practice of displaying crucifixes in classrooms.
But constitutional expert Augusto Barbera explained in an interview published on October 29 in the daily Corriere della Sera that the judge was mistaken in his ruling, given that the law allows for crucifixes in classrooms.
A 1923 government decree, confirmed in 1928, and unaltered by the concordat between Italy and the Catholic Church in 1984, provides for crucifixes in Italian schools. Another Corriere article pointed out that the Constitution allows for public display of symbols that form part of the nation’s historical patrimony.
The next day the newspaper reported that the Council of State in 1998 declared that the 1923 law was still applicable and that the crucifix is a symbol of Christian culture with universal value that does not harm religious liberty.
Italy’s Constitutional Court also declared in a decision dated on October 13, 1998, that public display of the crucifix is not a violation of religious liberty.
A lone voice
Smith’s credentials to represent an Islamic objection to Christian symbols in public buildings were denied by Hmza Roberto Piccardo, secretary of the Islamic Communities in Italy. In an October 27 interview in the La Stampa newspaper, Piccardo said that his organisation represented more than 90% of the Islamic associations in Italy — and that they were not in agreement with Smith’s
actions. “We believe that this attack against a religious symbol is an attack against all Italian religious symbols,” declared Piccardo.
Italy’s Muslims favour a secular state, explained Piccardo. But he added that it is impossible to ignore the feelings of the great majority of citizens. Smith, he argued, represents no one but himself.
On a personal note, Piccardo said that he has five school-age children and has never had any problems with their attending schools that display crucifixes.
A l i A b u S h w a i m a , h e a d o f t h e I s l a m i c C e n t r e o f
M i l a n , c o m m e n t e d t h a t
S m i t h i s n o t c o n s i d e r e d a p a r t o f t h e I s l a m i c c o m m u n i t y a n d d o e s n o t a t t e n d a n y m o s q u e .
S h w a i m a t h i n k s t h a t S m i t h i s o n l y o u t f o r p u b l i c i t y .
Even Abdulkadir Fadlallah Mamour, an imam controversial for his declared support of Osama bin Laden, does not support Smith, the Corriere della Sera reported on October 27.
In fact, out of 20 Muslim figures interviewed by the paper, not one supported the removal of crucifixes.
Ali Abu Shwaima, head of the Islamic Centre of Milan, commented that Smith is not considered a part of the Islamic community and does not attend any mosque.
Shwaima thinks that Smith is only out for publicity.
Criticism of the judge’s anti-crucifix decision came from a wide spectrum of Italian political and public authorities, the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano noted in its October 27-28 edition.
“In my opinion the crucifix in schools has always been considered to be not only a distinctive sign of a particular religious belief, but above all a symbol of values that form the foundation of our identity,” declared Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi.
Interior Minister Giuseppe Pisanu said that the decision not only offended him as a Christian, but also as an Italian citizen.
“The crucifix is not only the symbol of my religion, but is also the highest expression of 2,000 years of civilisation that belong in their entirety to the Italian people,” he said.
Avvenire, Italy’s Catholic national daily, observed on October 29 that, with a few exceptions, support for the crucifix came from all the major political groupings. Even Giuseppe Vacca, a former member of Parliament for the Communist Party and current president of the Antonio Gramsci Institute, declared: “I don’t know of a higher symbol in the world than Christ’s cross.”
The crucifix, he said, goes beyond the boundaries of Christianity and embraces the whole of humanity. It also forms part of the Italian and European cultural identity, he affirmed.
Vacca explained that the controversy is not over the state’s secular identity or the rights of minorities. Rather, the case is an attempt to simply exclude a symbol that touches upon the deepest elements of cultural and national traditions, he said.
He also noted that in recent years John Paul II has managed to present to the world “an extraordinary resource of values and identity” to confront current problems. This has led to a strong relationship between values, faith and civil society, Vacca maintained.
Thus, the lay state no longer needs to fight for its independence from the Catholic Church, he said.
Nor does the search for public virtues need to be rigidly separated from the contribution that religion can make in this field, he added.
Support for the crucifix also came from other European politicians.
German Interior Minister Otto Schily, who was in Rome for a European Union meeting on interreligious dialogue, said he was “stupefied” by the judge’s decision, the Corriere della Sera reported on October 31.
Noting that Germany went through a similar dispute over schoolroom crucifixes, Schily contended that their presence is a genuine tradition in Europe that cannot be eliminated.
Naturally, the Catholic Church also raised its voice in support of the crucifixes. John Paul II spoke out on the issue at the October 29 general audience and again in a speech two days later to Interior Ministers of the Europe Union.
In his speech to the EU ministers, the Pope observed that interreligious and intercultural dialogue does “not exclude an adequate recognition, even legislative, of the specific religious traditions in which each people is rooted and with which they are often identified in a special way.” This recognition extends to religious symbols, he added. Social cohesion and peace are not achieved by removing the characteristic religiosity of a culture, the Holy Father affirmed.
At least on this issue the religious and secular worlds are at one. - Zenit
Is
JohnPaul II too liberal?
The question cuts against most conventional wisdom. If the man who said no to women’s ordination, gay marriage and decentralisation of power isn’t a conservative, many people would insist, then there’s no such animal.
But what if one has in mind not the sense in which Ted Kennedy is “liberal,” but in which virtually all Westerners are “liberals,” that is, the classic notion of liberalism as belief in democracy, human rights and free markets? If that’s the standard, then John Paul, though not uncritically, stacks up as a basically “liberal” pope.
Witness his proud claim in his August 17 Angelus address that Christianity actually shaped the core tenets of liberalism: “The Christian faith gave form [to Europe], and some of its fundamental values in turn inspired ‘the democratic ideal and the human rights’ of European modernity,” the pope said.
Not everyone in the Catholic world approves. Although the movement has largely flown under media radar, John Paul faces a growing conservative opposition to this embrace of liberalism, understood in the classic sense.
“I wish the pope were right,” said Catholic thinker Robert Kraynak of Colgate University in Hamilton, N.Y. “But I don’t think it’s working out the way he expected. Human rights are not being used to serve the whole truth about God and man, despite the pope’s continuous reminders.”
Who are these critics? In addition to Kraynak, they include influential Anglo-Saxon Catholic intellectuals such as Alasdair MacIntyre, David Schindler and Tracey Rowland, whose works are fast becoming required reading in conservative Catholic circles, even if they represent, for now, a minority view. Most AngloSaxon Catholics, as creatures of Western culture, tend to take its compatibility with their religious beliefs for granted. MacIntyre is a Scottish-born philosopher.
Schindler, an American, is the editor of Communio, an international theological journal that serves as a platform for this school of thought. Rowland is dean of the John Paul II Institute in Melbourne, Australia.
Members of the hierarchy such as American Cardinal Francis Stafford, president of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, Archbishop Angelo Scola of Venice, Italy, and Archbishop Marc Ouellet of Quebec, Canada, can also be loosely identified with this circle of opinion.
Make no mistake -- these are not “dissenters.” All are strong admirers of John Paul II. In fact, many teach at John Paul II institutes in various parts of the
world. All would pass the most stringent tests of orthodoxy. Yet all worry that the pope, and the bulk of the post-Vatican II Catholic church, have gone too far in assimilating the values and vocabulary of modernity.
The key figure is MacIntyre, one of the fascinating personalities in 20th century intellectual history.
Born the son of a doctor in Glasgow in 1929, MacIntyre studied at the University of London and other British universities, then began teaching. In 1947, he joined the Communist Party, and though he soon left, he continued to flirt with Trotsky-style socialism. In 1969, he moved to the United States where he taught at a succession of universities.
In 1981, MacIntyre published After Virtue, in which he posed his famous choice between Niezstche and Aristotle. Either ethics is the assertion of personal preference, as Nieztsche would have it, or it corresponds to something objectively real, as Aristotle believed.
I f t h e m a n w h o s a i d n o
t o w o m e n ’ s o r d i n a t i o n , g a y m a r r i a g e a n d
d e c e n t r a l i s a t i o n o f
p o w e r i s n ’ t a
c o n s e r v a t i v e , m a n y
p e o p l e w o u l d i n s i s t , t h e n t h e r e ’ s n o s u c h a n i m a l
In 1983, MacIntyre converted to the Catholic faith.
Through these twists and turns, the unifying constant in MacIntyre’s thought has been hostility to the bourgeois values of liberalism. MacIntyre tends to drive secular liberals crazy, since his point of departure is the same alienation from capitalism they feel, yet he arrives in a very different place: Thomism.
MacIntyre argues that when Thomists and secularists refer to human rights, for example, they sound like they’re saying the same thing, but this linguistic resemblance conceals radically different worldviews. Secularists emphasise rights because, having rejected the idea of an objective moral order, they exalt unfettered freedom. What freedom is for gets second shrift.
Kraynak, in his 2001 book Christian Faith and Modern Democracy, lists five reasons why Christianity should be resistant to the ideology of human rights:
• Duties to God and neighbour come before one’s own rights.
• Pronouncements of a hierarchically structured church grounded in divine revelation take precedence over individual conscience.
• Original sin implies distrust of weak and fallible human beings.
• The common good must come before the good of individuals.
• Charity and sacrificial love are higher goods than the potentially selfish assertion of rights.
Some of these thinkers believe the concept of human rights can be “redeemed” by giving it a Christian content, which is John Paul’s project. Others, such as
Kraynak and MacIntyre, believe it would be better to abandon the language of “rights” altogether.
John Paul is himself, of course, no unalloyed booster of liberalism. He coined the phrase “a culture of death” to describe its bioethics, and he has repeatedly criticised its rapacious capitalism. Most Communio-style thinkers are less concerned with the pope than with the penetration of the liberal worldview into the church’s bureaucratic structures, especially bishops’ conferences.
Lurking behind such debates is a broader analysis of the relationship between liberalism and Christianity. While “Whig Thomists” such as American writers George Weigel and Michael Novak see a basic consistency, reflecting their drive to reconcile Catholicism with American patriotism, thinkers associated with the Communio school are more dubious. They tend to believe that liberalism is actually toxic for authentic Christian living. The movement is so loosely organised it does not even have a name.
Rowland has proposed “post-
modern Augustinian Thomism,” though it’s hard to imagine that on a bumper sticker. Yet its scepticism about the compatibility between faith and culture has profound implications.
On social justice issues, it tends to push the church into sharper confrontation with economic, political and military policies based on the classic liberal worldview. Many observers were startled last spring, for example, when Stafford, known as a conservative, came out against the U.S.-led war in Iraq. Anyone familiar with the doubts he harbours about the values of contemporary America, however, should not have been surprised. In that sense, the anti-liberal instinct favours social causes dear to the left, such as pacifism and advocacy for the poor.
At the same time, it tends to side with the right in internal church debates. By accenting what makes Catholicism distinct, it favours traditionalism in liturgy, art and architecture, and theology. It is sceptical about the characteristic structures of liberalism,
Photo:CNS/Reuterssuch as bureaucracy and reliance on so-called “experts.” When the Vatican in April convened a symposium of non-Catholic scientific experts on sexual abuse, for example, the event played to generally good reviews as a sign that Rome was listening. Catholics steeped in MacIntyre’s thought, on the other hand, were dubious, wondering if “experts” who don’t share the church’s moral and metaphysical assumptions would end up doing more harm than good.
The fear is, as Swiss theologian Hans Urs van Balthasar once warned, “a mere mechanical adoption of alien chains of thought with which one can adorn and garland the Christian understanding externally.” This countercultural movement’s future is yet to be determined, but if nothing else, it illustrates the limits of “conservative” and “liberal” labels in sorting out the currents in the Catholic church. The perils of liberalism, like so much else, are in the eye of the beholder.
- National Catholic Reporter
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The church is made up of faithful who are bound together by charity and who reject modern culture's tendency to give value only to money, Pope John Paul II said after beatifying five European religious. During the November 9 Mass in St. Peter's Square, the pope beatified a Spanish priest and nun, a Belgian priest, an Italian brother and a French nun. The church, he said in his homily, is made up of "living stones, that is, of the those united by one faith, by participation in the sacraments and by the bond of charity." The saints are the particularly precious stones in this spiritual temple," he said.
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -Vatican Radio has given "The Matrix Revolutions" a thumbs down, saying the film represents a superficial commercialisation of Christian ideas and symbols. The movie, which completes the Matrix trilogy, engages in open looting of the Christian story, the radio said in a review on November 10. For example, toward the end of the film the messianic hero -- Neo -- stands against a cross and appears to turn into a Christlike figure. But Neo attains salvation for the human race "not with the heroism of the Beatitudes, but with the labour and blood of whirling and violent duels, in the oriental style so popular in today's cinema," it said. His sacrifice "has nothing to do with Golgotha and with the Christian path of redemption," it said.
The Vatican’s new rules and structures for translating the prayers and readings used at Mass aim to create a “sacred vernacular language” that is easy to understand but more formal than everyday speech, a Vatican official said.
The Vatican “contests the affirmations that do the rounds in certain circles to the effect that the language of the liturgy should slavishly reflect the development of local speech,” said Father Anthony Ward.
Fr Ward, an official at the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, wrote about Vatican rules on liturgical translations in the congregation’s bulletin, Notitiae.
The 32-page article was published in the March-April edition of the bulletin, which was distributed in early November.
Fr Ward’s article looked specifically at the congregation’s 2001 instruction “Liturgiam Authenticam” (“The Authentic Liturgy”).
Some English-speakers saw the document as a sharp criticism of the approach their bishops had taken toward translations, as an attempt by the congregation to take control over liturgical translations from bishops’ conferences and as a move to impose a style of English that does not reflect the way most people speak the language.
However, Fr Ward wrote, “The document takes a fundamentally positive tack, planning for the future rather than expending any great energy on criticising the past.”
A “fraternal and selfless spirit in which many gave their services to the enterprise” marked the initial translations of the Latin liturgy into vernacular languages after the Second Vatican Council, he said, but one must admit that “the results of the undertaking are perfectible.”
Father Ward also disputed the charge that the congregation
improperly had taken upon itself the bishops’ authority to oversee translations.
The 2001 document, he said, “aims at promoting a collaborative or a collegial model,” ensuring that bishops, and not the translators they hire, are directly responsible for the translations.
When a translation is being prepared for use by more than one bishops’ conference — as is common with Spanish, English and German texts — it is “necessary that some guaranteeing authority enter the scene, and the only candidate is the Holy See,” he said.
The Vatican, Father Ward wrote, is the proper authority for establishing translation commissions such as the International Commission on English in the Liturgy and for approving the commission statutes.
In addition, the Vatican must be involved in translations into the world’s major languages because those translations are used by the Vatican and its embassies around the world, he said.
The 2001 document’s rules for translation commissions and specific congregation interventions into the structure of the English commission, he said, were designed to promote efficiency, guarantee the involvement of bishops and ensure that translators are serving the church.
The commissions, he said, “do not exist to provide a career opening, nor are they a forum for theological reflection, but simply a practical instrument at the service of the bishops to help them in achieving the goal of good liturgical translations.”
Fr Ward said those bishops who saw the 2001 document as a Vatican discouragement of translating the Mass into every local language were correct. He said Mass prayers have been translated into about 350 languages since the Second Vatican Council.
However, many of these prayers are rarely used and many were designed for Catholic communities that lack the scholarly and financial resources needed to ensure
their accuracy, beauty and appropriateness.
While it may be correct to say all people have a right to express their prayers to God in their own language, “it makes no sense to attempt to transfer it to the strictly liturgical sphere where communities gather to pray the prayer of the church,” Fr Ward wrote.
Fr Ward said the challenge of translating liturgical texts is to find vernacular expressions that “respect the rich heritage” of Catholic liturgical tradition, remaining faithful to the Latin text’s beauty.
Just as a translation is not bound by “the conventions of everyday conversational language,” it should not be manipulated to reflect “commercial, political or ideological” concerns, he said.
Fr Ward said “Liturgiam Authenticam” made it clear the Vatican is opposed to attempts, particularly by English speaking countries to “deny certain masculine terms an ‘inclusive’ value”.
-CNS
Chaldean Archbishop-elect says fighting delays his consecration
By Cindy WoodenT he priest named to be the new Chaldean Archbishop of Kirkuk, Iraq, does not know when he will be ordained a bishop because continued fighting has made it difficult to schedule the ceremony.
Father Louis Sako was elected archbishop of Kirkuk by the
Chaldean bishops’ synod in 2002, and Pope John Paul II gave his assent to the election on September 29.
“I accepted in a spirit of service relying on grace at a difficult time,” the 55-year-old Iraqi told Vatican Radio.“We have so many problems,” he said in the November 1 interview.
“We do not even know how we will be able to celebrate the consecration because there are attacks everywhere.”
The archbishop-elect, a consultant to the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, had been
a pastor in Mosul and an elected member of the Mosul provincial civilian council, a group working under the U.S. civilian administration of Iraq to pave the way for a return to civilian rule.
The future Archbishop said he wants to be a force for “dialogue between Christians and Muslims, to bring the culture of peace and pardon.” The thing Iraqis need most, he said, is an end to the fighting, explosions, terrorist bombings and armed attacks on U.S. soldiers, on Iraqi police and on aid workers.
“We need to work with Muslim
intellectuals to teach the people to open themselves to others and to see the situation from another point of view,” he said.
Archbishop-elect Sako said fighters from outside the country are now working inside Iraq, claiming to be engaged in “jihad,” a holy war, but they are killing innocent civilians, fellow Muslims, he said.
“I think the Americans must be more severe and they must support the Iraqi police and give them a greater presence on the streets and in the market,” he said.
“The Iraqi army also must be formed again. There are 8 million Iraqis out of work; how are they supposed to live?”
The archbishop-elect said he and all the Christian leaders of the country are committed to educating their people to work for peace and the common good.
“At this point, Iraqis have a big pie before them, and everyone is trying to get the biggest piece without thinking of others,” he said.
Catholic news from around the world
Khmer priest who lived in Canada glad to be serving in Cambodia
ACambodian priest said he returned to his country from a “wonderful life” in Canada in response to his calling to serve Cambodians.
Father Song Un is one of only a handful of Khmer priests in Cambodia, reported UCA News, an Asian church news agency based in Thailand.
On a recent trip to Bangkok, Father Song Un, 42, spoke to UCA News about his life journey, Cambodian society and his ministry to marginalised people.
Based in Phnom Penh, Father Song Un works with AIDS patients in a centre staffed by three priests.
“I work with boys with HIV and teach them to understand and meditate on the Bible,” he said.
He said young people are thrown out of their family home if found infected with AIDS, and his role is to help care for them by ensuring they receive medical attention.
He said one of the special challenges of serving in Cambodia is confronting gender stereotypes, in which women are expected to marry young and forgo an education.
“I explain to parents and young girls that they can better prepare for life by getting an education,” he said.
“Many families are large and often have more girls than boys. With them, dialogue may not be easy, but I need to help them understand life today and encourage them to study,” he said.
Father Song Un lives at Phnom Penh’s only Khmer Catholic
parish, located in a neighbourhood surrounded by brothels. “A lot of families send their children into prostitution. We try to stop that,” he said. “With the influence of the church, attitudes have changed a lot.”
No Khmer priests survived the 1975-79 rule of the Khmer Rouge, a radical communist group responsible for the deaths of about 2 million Cambodians before Vietnamese troops forced it from power.
Father Song Un fled Cambodia into Thailand in 1975, about four months into Khmer Rouge rule. His parents stayed in Cambodia.
While in the refugee camps, he became a Buddhist monk.
“My teacher monk told me,
‘Pray for your parents,’” he said.
Father Song Un later went to Canada, and he said he became a Catholic because of the example of his sponsor family.
“When I was a refugee, they took care of me, loved me and took me into the family as one of their children and helped me understand life. Before, I had not received such care. I had no one to help me or educate me,” he said.
He said he was also influenced by reading about the lives of saints and missionaries, like Blessed Mother Teresa, “who were dedicated to helping the poor.” Their actions helped me reflect on my life,” he said. He returned to Cambodia in the early 1990s to help rebuild the church, he said.
After converting he felt a call to the priesthood, but his parents were intent on seeing him married and tried to arrange several marriages for their son.
“Each time, I rejected marriage with the girl they had found for me,” he said.
He spent five years in a seminary before being ordained with three other Khmer men in December 2001.There was one Khmer priest left in the world prior to their ordination.
Father Song Un said his duty as a priest is “to help those in difficulty.”
“When you are a priest, sometimes you think you should have chosen something else. Life is difficult, but I am happy because my life has value,” he said. - CNS
An international film festival on Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta packed two theatres and was the first event of its kind, organisers said.
In the past, “there has never been an international festival of films dedicated to a blessed soul or to a saint,” Salesian Father C.M. Paul announced at the opening.
The priest’s remarks were reported by UCA News, an Asian church news agency based in Thailand.
Father Paul, event coordinator, told UCA News November 4 that during four days beginning November 1, about 12,000 people watched 10 films screened in two packed theatres in Calcutta.
The priest described the public response as “overwhelming” and the festival as a “success beyond expectations.”
The Calcutta Archdiocese and the Missionaries of Charity, the congregation Mother Teresa founded, organized the event as part of ongoing celebrations to mark Mother Teresa’s beatification.
Pope John Paul II beatified the nun at the Vatican October 19. She based her mission to serve “the poorest of the poor” in Calcutta. Father Paul said the festival drew huge crowds from the opening day. It included international and national films. “We could not accommodate them in the hall,” he added.
“ T h e r e h a s n e v e r b e e n a n i n t e r n a t i
The priest, president of Signis India, the Indian unit of the World Catholic Association for Communication, said the “festival aimed to inspire people through
the life of Blessed Teresa, using the medium of films ... and that was achieved.”
During a Lebanese movie on Mother Teresa’s spirituality, “Calcutta: A New Evangelisation,” by Tony Nahnouh, people “sat there, captivated by the power of Blessed Teresa’s life” even after the movie was over, Father Paul said. The film had English subtitles. The opening film was “Mother Teresa: In the Name of God’s Poor,” a film Dominique Lapierre made in 1997. Following some public debate, the festival committee dropped the controversial “Hell’s Angel: Mother Teresa of Calcutta,” produced by Britain’s Channel 4 television company.
The film criticises Mother Teresa for accepting donations from people who gained the money illegally or unethically.
The festival was declared open when Sumana, an 8-year-old orphan from one of Mother Teresa’s homes, helped guests light the wicks of a two-foot bronze lamp with her lighted candle. - CNS
Pope John Paul II celebrated his name day with Polish compatriots, who entertained him with songs and poems — some written by the pontiff.
At an evening recital on November. 4, the Pope was the guest of honour before an all-star cast of Polish actors, singers and musicians. The Pope, whose frail health has prompted him to cut back on recent activities, arrived during the second half of the performance at the packed Vatican audience hall.
He listened as TV actors read selections from his recently published book of poems, “Roman Triptych,” in which the Pope reflects on the conclave that elected him and anticipates the conclave to come after his death.
At the end of the performance he thanked Poles for their prayers and for having come to the Vatican to help him celebrate.
Among those attending were U.S. Catholics of Polish background, including Cardinals Edmund C. Szoka, president of the Vatican City State commission, and Cardinal Adam J. Maida of Detroit.
The Pope also thanked financial supporters of the John Paul II Foundation, which helped sponsor the event.
The foundation was established in 1981 to document and spread the spiritual values ingrained in Polish culture. Many of the foundation’s donors are from the United States.
The pope was born Karol Wojtyla — “Charles” in English — and he celebrates the feast of St. Charles Borromeo on November 4 as his name day. The day was a Vatican holiday, and the Pope took it easier than usual. His schedule also included a lunch with top aides.
-CNS
M E D I T A T I O N S O N M A R Y b y K a t h l e e n N o r r i s P u b l i s h e d b y t h e P e n g u i n G r o
By Debbie WarrierWith names like da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael and Rubens on the index of artists, it’s easy to understand why Kathleen Norris’ book Meditations on Mary is such a visual feast.
However, beautiful illustrations aside, the author’s attempts to provide a contemporary spin on Our Lady are at times unbalanced.
For instance,’ Ms Norris indulges in a flight of fancy comparing herself to the character of Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz.
“It is the eve of the Assumption. Neither virgin nor mother, I lie by the vigil light of the electrical alarm clock and dream of a city of flowers, Dorothy on her way to the Emerald City. A crescent moon rides high in the East, and Orion lays down his sword.”
These mental meanderings are probably meant to be poetic, but seem at odds with her more profound observations on the Mother of Christ.
She quotes a Benedictine monk’s comments on
In a year where quirky comedies dominated the output of the Australian film industry, the Australian Catholic Film Office has given its Film of the Year to a poignant drama set in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.
Director of the Office and Jury Chair, Jesuit Priest, Fr Richard Leonard said it was a difficult film to nail down to any one genre.
“It’s part love story, part survival saga and part thriller. These parts, however,
Author Father John Winson SAC follows the vocational journey of five consecrated lives and illustrates how the will of God becomes visible in retrospect.
He starts with his own call to the priesthood. Fr Winson describes giving his friends a mock blessing with a crucifix won as first prize for his knowledge of Christian Doctrine.
At the time, he wonders if he will become a priest. At 24, he enters the seminary.
The Catholic perspective on popular culture
Michelangelo’s La Pieta, the older Madonna holding her lifeless Son.
“…She’s ageless, but she knows the cost of salvation; she sees it in the death of her son. Her serenity is hard won, and the wonder of the image is that even when she is looking straight at death, holding it, hers is not a grieving face, but one full of divine love and pity.”
Ms Norris’ meditative essays draw on the Gospels of the the King James Version of the Bible, as well as her own personal observations.
Towards the end of the book, the author lets the Gospels tell the story. The direct quotes complement copies of Old Master art. It allows for a stronger finish.
Ms Norris has also written Amazing Grace, The Cloister Walk and Dakota: A Spiritual Autobiography. She lives in South Dakota.
Highgate Court, Queen Street (Cnr. of High Street), Fremantle. (Tel: 08 335 1982) is currently offering The Record readers this book ‘Meditations on Mary’ normally $34.95 at a discount sale price of just $14.
combine for an engaging and powerful piece of cinema,” he said.
Japanese Story is about Sandy (Toni Collette), a geologist who unexpectedly has to accompany Hiromitsu (Gotaro Tsunashima), a Japanese businessman, on a field trip to the Pilbara. He needs her
Sister Susan Shannon OLSH wrote of her vocation. While a teenager she is sent to tidy up her messy room. In amongst the mess, she discovered a book called The Hero of Molokai.
The story of Belgian priest Father Damien de Veuster and his missionary work with a leper colony in the Hawaiian Islands, stirred the beginnings of a vocation in her.
Agnes Mead informed one of the nuns at her high school she too wanted to be a nun.
The reaction was friendly laughter, but Sr Mead recalls being undeterred at the time. “I was not offended, it simply did not matter what others thought.
I knew what the most profound desire of my heart was and that was that,” she wrote.
Sister Rose Mary Turner LSP felt a strong attraction to working with the poor. As a 12 year old, she and her
geological expertise to find the minerals. She needs his money to do the exploration. From the outset they dislike each other. Sandy finds Hiromitsu aloof and haughty. He finds her opinionated and arrogant, especially for a woman.
The trip is a disaster until the couple gets stranded in a remote part of the desert. To survive they need to appreciate and harness the gifts the other has, ones they have been previously been blinded to.
After an accident, the depth of feeling and the worlds they opened up for each become apparent. The time in the desert changes both of them forever.
“It has been often observed how in Australian film and literature the desert has figured as a motif of descent, decline and degeneration,” Fr Leonard said.
“David Tacey has argued that ‘Our greatest national figures and legends, Voss, Richard Mahony, Burke and Wills, Leichhardt; our greatest iconographic national sites, Uluru, Hanging Rock, Gallipoli, the Outback, are all places or figures of loss, sacrifice and ruin.’
“Japanese story is rooted in this tradition, but then moves beyond it to a much
mother would visit her an elderly Aunt. She believes this paved the way to a vocation with the Little Sisters of the Poor who specialise in aged care.
Fr Brian Traynor CP traces the beginnings of his calling to the priesthood to the tender age of seven.
Flexibility and adaptability are the two most important characteristics of a Passionist priest, he wrote.
Thuy-Linh Nguyen FMA novice moved from Vietnam to Australia in 1990.
She comes to a personal understanding of St Therese of Lisieux words “my vocation is love.”
Each person gives a personal account of their vocation from its beginning to the current year.
Fr Winson SAC collected these stories to be made available in October 2003 for the occasion of the “Hearts on Fire” Vocations Congress.
more biblical notion of the desert which holds that it can also be the place of revelation, transformation and recreation.”
“The jury felt that given the national conversation about outsiders in contemporary Australian society, Japanese Story helps us to unmask our prejudices, and highlights our common bonds of human dignity and interdependence.”
The physical and personal journeys upon which Sandy and Hiromitsu embark in this film are a microcosm of those being taken by communities all over the country.
Set in a place the majority of Australians would find hostile and inhospitable, both characters have to confront and move beyond their personal, historical and ideological fears about who and what constitutes “the other”.
While this film is not explicitly Christian, Japanese Story is a deeply spiritual tale about reconciliation, hospitality and letting go.
“Director Sue Brooks, writer Alison Tilson and producer Sue Maslin are to be congratulated on bringing to the screen such a gripping and poignant cinematic experience.”
The Uniting Church Bookshop
Wesley Arcade
Cnr Hay and William St, Perth
Tel: 9486 1577 Fax: 9486 1599
Email: resource@wa.uca.org.au
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 9am-5pm.
Auseful bookshop we omitted is the Uniting Church Bookshop, in Wesley Arcade, Perth, which expanded its Catholic when Pellegrini’s closed.
The Bookshop carries a wide range of Christian books, Bibles, candles, CDs, gifts and other items. The manager is Claire Palmer.
Books cover the gamut of theological literature – conservative, radical, Catholic, reformed and popular, academic, adult and children.
It specialises in OpenBook and Rainbow publications. Staff are willing to order any book requested by a customer. If unable to assist, they are happy to refer customers to appropriate shops that can meet their needs, often ringing ahead to ensure the shop has what the customer wants.
PENALUNA E.V. (Rhonnie Quirk)
Passed away peacefully in Melbourne 28-10-03.
Dearly loved wife of Alan (dec) and loving mother of Kenneth, Gregory and Elizabeth.First daughter of Edward and Annie Quirk (both dec), loved sister and sister in law of Mary (dec) & Colin Brown, Peggy and Jim Kendle (both dec.) and Norah and John Stewart.A dearly loved sister at rest.
LIC.PLUMBER
Please direct all panorama to: administration@ therecord.com.au
Thank you
• Private off-street parking
Contact:Phone:0418 650 661 or email:nsstorm@tpg.com.au
KALAMUNDA 3br, self contained house, fully equiped, $350pw.Ph:9293 2717
Bibles, Books, CD’s, Cards, gifts, Statues, Baptism & Communion Apparel, Albs, Vestments and much more.
RICH HARVEST,39 Hulme Court,Myaree,9329 9889 after 10.30am.
KINLAR Vestments, albs, copes, stoles, frontals, chasubles, coffin palls.altar cloths, graduation gowns. Ph:9378 4752
I AM LOOKING for a new or second hand copy of 3 volume set of Liturgy of the Hours (divine office) to buy.
Contact Greg Low on 9445 2193
Christ The King - Divine Mercy Pilgrimage.Program:11.30am - 12.30pm Holy Hour. 12.30pm - 1.30pm BYO Lunch.1.30pm Eucharistic Procession through the streets. 2.50pm Divine Mercy Chaplet & Three o’clock prayers 3pm Holy Mass, Rosary & Benediction.4.15pm.
Consecration/Veneration - Relic of Saint Faustina.4.30pm Afternoon Tea provided. Coaches depart:Mercedes College Car Park 9.30am.To book please phone Francis Williams 9459-3873 or Mob 0404 893 877.Transport cost $14.00 per person (Return).For more details phone Fr Paul 9571-1839, John 9457-7771 or Sheila 9575-4023.
14Opening of school buildings,St Clare's,LathlainArchbishop Hickey St Charles' Seminary End-of-Year - Archbishop Hickey
14-16Visitation and Confirmation,Nollamara - Bishop Sproxton
15Confirmation,Catholic Agricultural CollegeFr Steve Casey,Dean
Opening of Knights of the Southern Cross Triennial State Conference,Booragoon - Archbishop Hickey
16Confirmation,York - Fr Greg Carroll 100th Anniversary of former Mercy Sisters' Convent and School Reunion,Toodyay - Archbishop Hickey
18Evening for Priests with Fr Donal McIlraith,East PerthArchbishop Hickey
21Principals' Thanksgiving Mass,CEO ChapelArchbishop Hickey,Bishop Sproxton
24-28Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference,SydneyArchbishop Hickey,Bishop Sproxton
Sunday November 16
ETERNAL WORD TELEVISION NETWORK
1 - 2 pm on Access 31.The program for this week will be:The Conversion of Scott Hahn :eminent Bible scholar,and former anti-Catholic,interviewed by Marcus Grodi in The Journey Home Series.Catholic media is an easy and enjoyable means of responding to our Archbishop’s call to evangelisation,so desperately needed in our apathetic secular society! Inspiring videos are available in free lending libraries for use in homes,parishes and schools.Catalogues may be accessed on the web site http://www.cathworld.org/worlds/org/media/ Enquire by email: nona@cathworld.org, or by phone:9330 1170. For in-depth access to a wealth of information about EWTN visit http://www.ewtn.com/ Please send comments and donations to keep the programs on air to The Rosary Christian Tutorial Association,PO Box 1270,Booragoon 6954. Grateful thanks to those who have already contributed.
Tuesday November 18
BISHOP ROBERT HEALY RIP FIRST ANNIVERSARY MASS
His Grace,the Archbishop will celebrate the First Anniversary Mass of the Death of Bishop Robert Healy,Emeritus Auxiliary Bishop of Perth,in St Mary’s Cathedral,Perth. Commencing at 12.10pm.
Wednesday November 19
EMOTIONAL HEALING
Presenter:Kay Rosen.(Imago Relationship Therapist) $5 (donation unwaged) Multi-Purpose Room.John XXIII College.7.30-9.30pm.Details: Murray 9383 0444.
Wednesday November 19
HOLY HOUR
Every Wednesday at St Mary’s Cathedral we have a Holy Hour from 11am to 12noon for all sick people and especially for our young people including the drug addicted and street kids. Please come and join us in prayer.Those who wish to may also bring along a list of names of all the sick people they would like to pray for.
Thursday November 20
MOTHERS PRAYERS MASS
10am.Our Lady Queen of Apostles Church,57 Tudor Avenue South,Riverton.For all mothers and grandmothers coming together to pray for their children.Fathers,grandfathers welcome. This is a wonderful and necessary opportunity for God to hear and act upon the heart and mind of mothers joining together as one here on earth.Enjoy fellowship following the Mass over a cup of tea or coffee.Enq.Veronica Peake 9447 0671.
Friday November 21
CHAOS YOUTH RALLY
With guest speaker,footy star SHANE BEROS. $5 entry.6-10:30pm.Greenwood Parish,Ahern Centre on Illyarrie Street.All teens- bring your buddies.Contact Megan:0412 869 073.
Friday November 21
NEW DIVINE HOLINESS PRAYER GROUP
All night Eucharistic vigil at St Bernadette’s Church,Jugan St,Glendalough commencing 9pm.Readings on the Hours of the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ with hourly rosaries and hymns.Light refreshments available all night. Concluding with Parish Mass 7.30am Sat.followed by Rosary and benediction.All welcome. Enq:9342 5845 or 9444 6131.
Saturday November 22
TRANSFORMING OUR WOUNDS
(Ignatian Talk 5) Presenter:Murray Graham (Inigo Centre Director) Donation for Inigo.MultiPurpose Room.John XXIII College.7.30-9.30pm. Details:Murray 9383 0444.
Sunday November 23
BULLSBROOK SHRINE
Solemnity of Christ the King SACRI:Fervent Soldiers Of Christ The Immortal King warmly
invite you to celebrate the Solemnity Of Christ The King at the Pilgrim Shrine,Virgin of the Revelation,36 Chittering Rd,Bullsbrook ar 2.30pm.Bishop Quinn will preside over Concelebrated Mass,Eucharistic procession, Consecration to Christ the King.The bus departs from Barrack St at 12.30pm,cost $8.00 (return) For bookings contact Mrs Haddon 9277 5378 or 0409 296 810.Enquiries:Tel.SACRI 9447 3292
Sunday November 23
WHITE ELEPHANT SALE
11am to 2pm.St Jerome’s Parish Church,Troode St,Munster.Bargains galore:craft,toys,household goods,ornaments,books and much more. Devonshire teas available.
Thursday November 27
CHARISMATIC HEALING MASS
Celebrated by Fr Hugh Thomas,organized by the ‘Agape Praising Group’.To be held at Our Lady of the Rosary Parish Centre,Angelico St, Woodlands at 7.30pm.The Mass will be followed by a Christmas party.An invitation is extended to all those interested.Contact Celine 9446 2147 or email knight@wa1.quik.com.au
Saturday November 29
CHARISMATIC RALLY DAY
Presented by the Holy Spirit of Freedom Community,at the C.W.A.hall,Serpentine Road, Albany.9.30am – 4pm.Lunch,morning and afternoon tea provided.Enquiries:Han & Agnes Fleck 9841 7767,Sid & Sophie Ball 9826 1024.All welcome
Sunday November 30
CHRISTMAS ADVENT PILGRIMAGE
Prepare your heart and home with blessings at Christmas! Come and pray for an increase of the faith,family life and peace throughout the world. Mary’s Companion Wayfarers of Jesus The Way –Schoenstatt Shrine,Armadale Hills,a place of grace.11.45am assemble at Armadale train station.(Arrive by train or drive and utilise the ample train station parking).Commencing with Angelus at 12noon.Concluding at 3pm with Divine Mercy,Benediction and Rosary walk to the train station.Enq:Sr Lisette 9399 2349 or Fr Shelton 9325 2009.
Tuesday December 2 & Wednesday December 3
FULTON J SHEEN SOCIETY
Karen Fulte of the Archbishop Sheen Communications Room in El Paso,USA will be speaking at St Anne’s Parish Centre,Hehir St, Belmont between 12.30 and 2pm.Holy Mass to be Celebrated by His Grace Archbishop Hickey at St Bernadette’s Church,Leeder St, Glendalough on Dec 3 at 7.30pm.
Sunday December 7
ANNUAL ROSARY PROCESSION
With His Grace Archbishop Hickey,In honour of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception,St Joseph’s Parish Church,Hamilton St, Bassendean,2pm.Followed by Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.In preparation,a Triduum of Rosaries will be held on December 3, 4 & 5 at 7pm.Enquiries:Fr Bogoni 9279 1549, Colin 9279 9750,Vince 9279 4812 or Renato 9279 2163.
CATHEDRAL NOVENAS
In honour of The Infant Jesus of Prague.Every Tuesday at 11am and 1pm.In Honour of St Joseph.Every Wednesday at 1pm.Please join us in prayer for our Holy Father,priests and religious,holy vocations,the sick,the deceased and all your special intentions.
CROSS ROADS COMMUNITY
Healing Masses:at E.Frem.& Spearwood will resume May 2004 – Nov 2004.Term ends 19th December for:Family & Friends Support Groups on Wednesdays 7pm – 9pm,Substance Abusers Support Groups on Tuesdays 5.30pm – 7.30pm & Fridays 2pm – 3.30pm & All day Group for Substance Abusers on Fridays 10.30am –3.30pm,Spirituality:Tuesdays 7pm – 9pm & Healing Mass Fridays 12noon.
esuit Father Marko Ivan Rupnik goes to work in chapels and churches dressed in red overalls.
For a time, red also dominated his artwork, but he said maturity has brought a more balanced spectrum.
While vivid reds and rich blues stand out in his mosaics at the Vatican, they are tempered with creamy earth tones and sparkling gold highlights.
The results of his labors as an artist and as leader of an artistic team can be cyber-toured on the Vatican's Web site or studied in his new book, "The Colour of Light."
The 48-year-old Slovenian priest is director of Rome's Centro Aletti, a community of scholars and artists responsible for decorating the Redemptoris Mater Chapel in the Vatican's Apostolic Palace.
Unable to fulfil all of the requests to visit the chapel, which was dedicated in late 1999, the Vatican launched the initial stage of an online tour of the chapel in mid-October.
Access to the tour, which will be beefed up in December -- if Father Rupnik meets his deadlines for writing the descriptions the Vatican has requested -- is through a banner over the top of the main index on the Vatican site, www.vatican.va.
Photographs of Father Rupnik's mosaics from the chapel and his theological reflection on some of the details of the work also are given space in his new book.
The 285-page book includes close to 200 photographs of paintings, icons, mosaics and even liturgical vestments created by the Jesuit and by the Centro Aletti artists' studio.
Published by the centre's Lipa publishing arm, the book is available in English, Italian, Slovenian
and Spanish. While the centre seeks a U.S. distributor, the book can be purchased directly from Lipa in Rome.
The book includes some biographical reflections, original poetry, theological reflections, quotations from prominent theologians and the priest's reflections on art.
Acknowledging that the book shares some characteristics of a retrospective of an artist's career, Father Rupnik insisted he was not trying to give the definitive explanation for what he has seen, done and experienced.
"It is not the final summary, but what I have noticed so far," he
said. Two points are key, thus far, he said: God is light and the experience of light is colour; and his own movement from being a "solitary painter" to leader of a team engaged in liturgical art has been an important step in learning the Christian meaning of love.
"We are not created for self-affir-
mation," he said, "but for love; therefore, I cannot put myself, my will, my ideas first." Even facing the stones for making mosaics or the tubes of oil paints he squeezes on his palette is a lesson in giving way to something other than one's will, he said.
"In order to cut a stone it is necessary to feel it, necessary to be aware of it, not to be too forceful, simply imposing our will," he wrote.
"Keeping the stone in mind teaches us to how to keep the other in mind," Father Rupnik wrote in the book.
But the Jesuit also said he has learned that art cannot be just about himself and the material with which he works.
In his book, Father Rupnik wrote that "slowly I saw, ever more clearly, that my art found its reason for being" when it served the liturgy, "becoming a witness of human sorrow and of God's redemption."
Beneath the depictions of Christ, crucifixes, biblical personalities and ancient Christian symbols, Father Rupnik believes the colours artists choose communicate something of God and of the deepest conversations that take place between God and human beings.
A repeated image in Father Rupnik's paintings and especially in the mosaics he has done for churches and chapels in Italy, France and Slovenia is a depiction of Jesus reaching into an abyss and pulling out the dead.
Jesus, he wrote, is "not a hero who fights death," but is the one who "descends into our tombs in order to grab us by the wrist" and pull us from darkness into the light.
"The darkness collapses and colours are reignited," he wrote.
The artistic use of colour and shade is the most natural way to illustrate the religious imagery of light and darkness, Father Rupnik said.
"In the beginning, God created light. The world is understandable only in the light," he wrote.
His written assertion that "the experience of light is the celebration of colours" is echoed in the illustrations on every page of the book. - CNS
