The Record Newspaper 20 October 2005

‘TEEN’ DOESN’T HAVE TO MEAN ‘HELL’

New cathedral vote

Bunbury wants ‘old and new’ for St Patrick’s

A survey has revealed that a new Cathedral for the diocese of Bunbury should be built on the same site as St Patrick’s, have a traditional exterior and a modern interior.

The survey revealed that 54 per cent of people want a traditional style for the new Cathedral, while 15 per cent want a modern open spaced interior with semi-circular seating around the sanctuary and altar. Only 6 per cent said that they would like the same interior as St Patrick’s. Bishop Gerard Holohan of Bunbury revealed the results of the survey on October 17, which was conducted to find out people’s views on the future Catholic Cathedral for Bunbury.

Hundreds of people expressed their views verbally and in writing. In his statement for the release of the survey, Bishop Holohan said that further consultations on various questions would be held in the near future.

“Let me say from the outset how grateful I am to all who went to the trouble of answering the questionnaire,” Bishop Holohan said.

“The result took longer than expected to analyse because of all that people wrote and we did not want to lose any ideas.”

Continued on page 3

Handmade with lots of love and affection

Perth women choose new path

Perth nuns are (a) married and (b) first in Australia

■ By Jamie O’Brien

Two women from Perth have become the first Australians to join a new ecumenical order of religious sisters.

Sr Vedette, from Good Shepherd parish Lockridge and Sr Teresa, from St Anthony’s Greenmount were last year received as Postulants in the Sisters of the Servants of the Sacred Cross.

Archbishop Hickey officially blessed the two women at a Mass at

Good Shepherd Parish on October 9.

The order is an international ecumenical congregation of religious sisters who feel they have been called to take up their cross and follow Christ in a life of prayer and service.

Based in Novia Scotia, Canada, the order is open to women, single or married, who are baptised and confirmed members of the Anglican, Catholic or Orthodox Churches.

So far nine women from around the world have joined.

The Code of Canon Law of the Catholic Church allows the faithful to enter such ecumenical communities.

FAILING OUR MIGRANTS?

Are

Sisters carry out a variety of ministries in their parishes and local communities, using their individual gifts and talents but are also allowed to live a more contemplative expression of service in a life of solitude and prayer, should they so choose.

Married sisters live in their own homes and communities while pursuing their vocation of obedience to their vows and the congregation.

Sr Vedette and Sr Teresa are both married with children and work at Mercedes College in Perth.

Formation of the sisters begins with postulancy, lasting for six months to a year as a period of discernment and training while

professing a promise to live in the spirit of the vows of simplicity, purity and obedience.

This is followed by the novitiate, a further two years of training, study and time to live their vows.

Only then are the clothed in the habit of the order.

Finally, the vows of simplicity, purity and obedience are made and the sister is referred to as Professed.

Sisters renew their vows every five years.

Obedience is followed firstly to discerning the will of God and then to the rule of the congregation.

The rule of the congregation

Continued on page 4

A new approach to

Students win priest’s gratitude

■

By Jamie O’Brien

He’s a Parish Priest for nearly 50, 000 people, 43 primary schools, three junior high schools and three orphanages - and he’s the only one.

Fr Marcos De Olivera sdb, couldn’t be busier, but he wanted to thank Australians, especially students from Chisholm Catholic College in Bedford, for donating funds to his lonely work.

Fr Marcos, a priest from Laga, 150km north of Dili, in East Timor, visited Year 10 students at the school last week to thank them for the donation which they raised during an annual fundraising day earlier this year.

Fr Marcos explained that Timor is one of the world’s newest countries and one of the poorest in Asia, with most people surviving on meagre rations.

“Our schools receive no help from the government,” he said.

Most schools are small and based in local villages, said Fr Marcos and if they did not exist the children would have no education: it would be too difficult to go to school in another village, because of Timor’s mountainous geography.

Continued on page 5

Gospel of life anniversary

■ By Jamie O’Brien

Pope John Paul II’s encyclical Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life) provided us with a Christian approach to life, Auxiliary Bishop Don Sproxton said in his homily at St Mary’s Cathedral last Sunday.

Bishop Sproxton was speaking about The Gospel of Life, which was released on March 25 1995, in order to promote the encyclical in the year of its tenth anniversary.

The encyclical covered all aspects of the value of human life, and was dedicated to all in the Church and all people of good will who value human life.

Continued on page 2

HELP FOR THOSE HANGING ON

Busy hands do saintly work: Clare Alexander, left, and Margaret Anthony put together their handmade rosaries for sale at their parish, Our Lady of the Missions in Whitfords. See story on page 2

Photo: Jamie O’Brien

Mother’s Rule emerged

As a home-schooling mother of five, Holly Pierlot felt like she had three full-time jobs: mother, homemaker and teacher.

She reached her breaking point on New Year’s Day 2000, but was brought back from the brink by a new way of ordering her life and answering God’s call.

Pierlot, 44, outlines her plan of saving grace in A Mother’s Rule of Life: How to Bring Order to Your Home and Peace to Your Soul (Sophia). She shared with ZENIT how others can reprioritise and revitalise their vocations.

Like many mums, I felt like my life was in overload - I had too much on my plate and not enough time to do it all.

As a home-schooling mum, I felt like I had three full-time jobs: my

Hand-made

■ By Jamie O’Brien

Hand-made rosary beads are being sold at every Mass during the month of October at the parish of Our Lady of the Missions Whitfords.

The rosary beads have been handmade by Clare Alexander and her mother, Margaret Anthony, with the help of a number of other parishioners. The idea came from Parish Priest Fr Joseph Tran, who, seeing that Mrs Alexander was coming regularly to have the rosaries blessed, requested that she sell them during the month of October.

Funds raised from the sales will go towards upkeep of the parish grotto. Parish Priest Fr Joseph said the sale of the rosaries has also been an initiative to encourage families to pray the rosary, as well as teach-

mothering, my housework and the schooling - and that there wasn’t enough of me to go around. I am sure mothers who work in and out of the home can relate to this too!

Such a situation meant quite a bit of personal frustration with life, as not only were my daily duties allconsuming and often never completed, but I never seemed to have time to myself, nor enough time to pray.

If I did do something just for me, I did it in rebellion, meanwhile watching the housework pile up and my spirits sink simultaneously.

I felt like I was in a maze with no way out, but realised at a certain point that God is a God of order - and that it probably wasn’t in his plan for me to be strung out all the time.

I was looking for the illusive “peace” promised in the Gospel, and through grace, realised that perhaps I needed to change the way I approached my life.

One evening I realised that I had

to apply myself to my vocationthat it was a calling from God, a job, and that he wanted me to devote my attention to this job to the best of my abilities with the same attention and care and solicitude that a CEO ran a company.

That understanding led me to adopt a Rule of Life, which is a conscious fulfillment of the responsibilities of one’s vocation, worked out in a reasonable fashion.

I based my Mother’s Rule on the wise words of a priest who told me about the five “Ps” or priorities of the married vocation - Prayer, Person, Partner, Parent and Provider - in this hierarchical order.

I analysed what these priorities involved and worked them into a basic schedule that would ensure I was doing all my jobs well!

A Rule of Life differs from a schedule in two main ways.

First, it deals with the essential responsibilities of one’s vocation, determined by the charism and apostolate of my specific calling.

chaos

But secondly, the difference lies in the intent. I can follow a schedule to get things done, or to please myself. But to follow a Rule is to live one’s life as a response to the call of God with the intent of saying “Yes” to all God asks of me, just like the Blessed Mother when she said “Behold the handmaid of the Lord.”

In my Rule, it is God himself who asks “Will you go put on a load of laundry” and my “Yes” to him thus makes all that I do holy and supernatural, no matter how mundane it appears on the surface.

I tried to present in “A Mother’s Rule of Life” basic questions that each woman can ask herself to tailor-make a Rule suited to her unique personality, family situation and circumstance. By asking herself simple and essential questions, any woman can work out her own Rule, whether she has many or few children, or works in or outside of the home.

A Rule of Life is applicable to all lay persons, dads and single persons

too, as well as religious and priests.

A Rule of Life has so many benefits: Life calms down; my work gets done; my home is in order. The family is more peaceful. I have time for prayer and personal time. My spiritual life takes on a deeper meaning. God comes.

I believe living a Mother’s Rule is as God intends motherhood to be lived - for the fruits of happiness and peace are gifts he wants to give us. A Rule helps us access those gifts.

Being human, I do fall from time to time, and often without being aware that I have slacked off or gotten off track. But all of a sudden I notice the overwhelmed feelings are back and I think, “Hey! I’ve slipped!”

Fortunately, with a Rule of Life, getting back on track can begin immediately - for it’s only a decision away - and I begin to feel the joy and peace of orderly living once again.

- Zenit

for Mary Gospel of Life shines bright 10 years on

ing young children what it is about. “They have been selling well,” Mrs Alexander said.

Mrs Alexander said she learnt to make the rosaries while living in Jakarta. “When I came to live in Australia, I found out that friends were making rosaries to send to overseas missions in Africa and Asia where they do not have rosaries.”

“Most of the beads come from Jakarta and each set of rosary beads takes about half an hour to make.”

Continued from page 1

Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life) represents John Paul’s lifelong mission to bring all to a comprehension of God’s love and intent for human persons, enfleshed and fulfilled in Christ the Redeemer, even in the midst of the pain and desolation caused by contrary forces.

“The gospel of this week speaks of the trap being laid for Jesus,” Bishop Sproxton said.

“The devout Jews question whether they should pay taxes to Caesar.

“Nothing that belongs to Caesar has not been given to him by God.

“This is an important word for

us. The gospel this week is at the very heart of this encyclical letter.”

“Everything we have been given comes from God, and we are called as disciples of the Lord to preach this message in season and out of season,” the Bishop said.

Respect Life Officer Robert Hinii went on to say that John Paul II seeks to point us to ‘the splendour of the truth which enlightens consciences’; to God’s truth written on every human heart; ‘the clear light which corrects the darkened gaze’. John Paul II first sought to identify and assess the violations against the human dignity that was a result of the cultural outlook of our times and most particularly, the evil that is done

to the most fragile of persons. “He goes on however to state that ‘man is in no way predestined to evil’ (no. 8) and that God, in the goodness of creation, made all human life sacred,” Mr Hinii said.

“John Paul II then affirms that crimes committed against the dignity inherent in human life remain offensive to the authority and fidelity of God but can be overcome in realising that authentic humanity stems not from selfishness and materialism but from the giving of ourselves to others,”

“John Paul II in no way suggests that we are doomed to our own self-destruction but instead shows that in the redemptive power of Jesus Christ, ‘nothing is definitively lost.”

‘Old and new’ cathedral poll

Continued from page 1

The diocese has also been flooded with expressions of interest from architects around Australia.

“The architect eventually chosen will need to be experienced in large scale buildings, including churches if we are to avoid cost blow outs due to architectural inexperience,” the Bishop said.

Fr Russell Hardiman has been appointed as liturgical consultant as part of the building procedures.

Several research projects are also needed for the project, including a

contour study because of the geographical nature of the site, a site structure plan and a site master plan, all of which it is hoped will be completed before Christmas. Initial drawings for the renovation of the new diocesan centre, the former parish house have also been completed.

“Building a Cathedral for the future is a major responsibility for any generation. What is needed from all of us is the realisation that the new Cathedral can never just be ours, for it must belong to each generation to come,” Bishop Holohan said.

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40 years of family

■ By Kerry Connelly

The first parish priest and former Bishop of Bunbury Peter Quinn celebrated Mass for more than 300 parishioners at St Gerard’s Mirrabooka to celebrate the parish’s 40th anniversary.

Parishioners of all ages and ethnic backgrounds packed the Church in honour of St Gerard Majella, the patron saint of expecting mothers.

Another former parish priest, Mgr Michael Keating, was also present along with present parish priest Fr Abraham Martin.

In his homily for the occasion, Bishop Quinn said the name of St Gerard was chosen for the parish because of the large number of young families living in the area at

the time. During the day’s events it was evident the theme of children and family unity was present, with numerous children coming up at the start of Mass to receive scripture education sheets.

Many parishioners of St Gerard’s have been attending the parish for years, hailing from surrounding areas, including Westminster and Balga.

All speak very warmly about their experiences within the church.

Irish couple Tom and Anne Mooney have been attending Mass in the parish since 1975, making them among the oldest parishioners who attended the anniversary.

They have seen the congregation change somewhat over the years, with families growing and the succession of parish clergy.

PRINCIPALSHIPS

LUMEN CHRISTI COLLEGE

The couple said they had all four of their children confirmed at St Gerard’s, and regard it as the friendliest place of worship they have attended.

They also spoke with much regard for former parish priest Mgr Michael Keating, who they say has a great sense of humour, and gathers much respect from parishioners.

Mother of four Kerry Casley also regards St Gerard’s as a wonderful place of worship.

Together with husband Ben, she has been attending the parish since 1990, and said it has great activities that involve the family.

Choir director Pedro Acedo, said since his involvement began in 1989, he has seen an increase in the amount of ethnic groups who attend Mass, and believes the

Lumen Christi College, Martin, is a Catholic coeducational secondary college that was opened in 1984. It is situated in the foothills of the Darling Ranges and its facilities are spaced over approximately 20 hectares of land for sporting and recreation activities.

The College offers a comprehensive curriculum providing opportunities for each student to develop fully as an individual within a Christian environment of care and respect.

The College Board, the Parents’ Forum and Friends of Lumen are representative bodies through which parents help the College to fulfill its education responsibilities by contributing to the policies, practices and activities of the College.

STAR OF THE SEA PRIMARY SCHOOL

Star of the Sea Primary School, Rockingham, is a triple stream coeducational primary school with an enrolment of 730 students. The school was opened in 1972 by Our Lady of the Mission Sisters. Rockingham is 45 kilometres south of Perth and is situated on the coast. The school and parish work together to maintain a strong emphasis on Gospel values. Star of the Sea Primary School offers a variety of specialist learning experiences such as Physical Education, Information Technology, Music, a Gifted and Talented program and Literacy Support. Parents are actively involved in the school community through the School Board and Parents and Friends’ Association.

ST JUDE’S CATHOLIC SCHOOL

St Jude’s Catholic School, Langford, is a single stream coeducational primary school with an enrolment of 212 students. The school was opened in 1979 by the Sisters of Mercy and is located in the suburb of Langford.

St Jude’s is a caring multicultural community that fosters the education and development of the whole person.

The school provides a variety of specialist learning experiences such as Languages Other Than English, Sport and Physical Education, the Arts and Technology and Design.

A strong, supportive School Board and Parents and Friends’ Association are actively involved in the educational program of the school.

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

A current Federal Police Clearance/100 Point Identification Check must also be included. The appropriate Police Clearance Consent Form is available from the Department of Education and Training website www.eddept.wa.edu.au/teaching/downloads/ policeClearance.pdf

The official application form, referee assessment forms and instructions can be accessed on the Catholic Education Office website www.ceo.wa.edu.au

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

All applications, on the official form, should reach The Director, Catholic Education Office of WA, PO Box 198, Leederville 6903 no later than 27 October 2005.

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“A

public involvement in the church is “wonderful.”

Mr Acedo leads a group of seven who sing every first and third Sunday of the month at the 9.30am Mass. After morning Mass, many who

attended made their way luncheon festivities, where a celebratory bbq and entertainment had been organised. Many parishioners brought food to share reaffirming the meaning of coming together as friends, family and a community.

Sisters desire deeper bond

Continued from page 1 encourages the Sisters to attend Mass daily, pray the daily office of morning prayer, have periods of silent prayers, as well as weekly fasting and confession.

The sisters also seek guidance through a spiritual director.

After five years of annually renewing their vows they then will be eligible to make their life vows as religious sisters.

Sr Vedette first found out about the order nearly two and a half years ago when it was still a traditional Anglican order.

In September 2003, the Superior had been meeting with her local Archbishop in Canada and in a vote at the congregation’s next Chapter meeting was given permission to accept

Catholic women. Since then, two of the already professed sisters converted to Catholicism earlier this year.

Sr Vedette says that prior to joining the order, she had been searching for where God was calling her.

Having been a member of the third order of the Carmelites, she believes that joining the order has become a fuller expression of that experience.

Sr Teresa wanted to develop a deeper spiritual bond with God and believes that to be able to help people she needed to be a more visible sign “I knew it that this is what God was calling me to,” said Sr Teresa, in describing the moment when she was received into the order.

Men and women can also join the order as associates, but they do not profess any vows.

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For further details and an application form please contact:

Mr Kerry Purcell

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

email: secretary@broomediocese.org

PO Box 76 Broome WA 6725

A new mission: Archbishop Hickey congratulates Sr Vedette and Sr Teresa.

Old blood: St Gerard’s parishioners Anne and Tom Mooney have seen many changes during its 40 years.

Photo: Kerry Connelly

Expect JPII beatification

Former secretary says he expects late pope’s beatification in June

■ By Jonathan Luxmoore

Pope John Paul II’s former secretary has said he expects the late pontiff to be beatified in June, when Pope Benedict XVI is expected to make his first visit to Poland.

“I hope it can happen as early as next year. A lot of people yearn for him to be proclaimed a saint straight off,” said Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz of Krakow, who began serving as Pope John Paul’s secretary in 1966, when the late pontiff was archbishop of Krakow.

“No one doubts his sanctity, not only here in Krakow or in Poland. The whole world saw and knew him and has already canonised him in practice. The current beatification process serves to gain moral certainty,” Archbishop Dziwisz said in an interview before John Paul II Day, celebrated on October 16 as a public holiday in the late Pope’s homeland.

In an October 16 interview with Italy’s Avvenire daily, Archbishop Dziwisz said he personally knew of “many miraculous healings” through Pope John Paul’s intercession and believed the pontiff’s beatification awaited “only official confirmation” by his successor.

Meanwhile, the chairman of a tribunal set up to cross-examine Polish beatification witnesses who told the Catholic information agency KAI on October 14 that he

expected the work to be limited to “a few months only.”

“I think the work should be done very quickly, so we don’t waste time. The priority should be to hear people who can really say a lot,” said Bishop Tadeusz Pieronek, whose tribunal begins work in Krakow on November 4 and will cover the years up to the late pontiff’s 1978 election.

“We’re talking about a life which was very harmonious and consciously devoted, from its first years, to God. It’s an exceptional case, especially since Benedict XVI has dispensed with the five-year period from the death of a candidate to the start of the process. This has already speeded it up by at least five years.”

John Paul II Day, declared by the Polish Parliament in July, included a Mass for the late Pope and a collection by 100,000 volunteers to help a bishops’ conference fund for poor

Fr Marcos visits Oz to say thanks

Continued from page 1

“If the youngsters don’t start school at a the age of six or seven, they will never go to school because they won’t commence at 12 or 13 either.”

Fr Marcos explained the region of Laga has had bad drought over the past few years.

“We noticed a good number of the youngsters were coming to school hungry, not having had breakfast,” he said.

So with the help of the Australian Salesian Missions Office, an appeal was launched.

The donations have enabled Fr Marcos to start a school luncheon program in some schools, catering for nearly 1500 children.

“When the program started, we arranged for a group of mothers in each of the villages to cook the food, either rice or a thick corn based soup,

“Some of these women began to ask for payment but unfortunately we didn’t have any funds to give them,

“As time went on these mothers, seeing how successful it was, started to bring a few vegetables from home to add to the soup, “I soon discovered that the Luncheon program was a means of the women working together for the benefit of their children.”

This, continued Fr Marcos, was a great step forward as the Timorese people were not that great at working together.

Health is also a serious issue, said Fr Marcos.

Malaria and Tuberculosis are rife.

“Our Government, because it is young and inexperienced, lacks the skills and know-how to make real inroads into these problems,” Fr Marcos said.

However, the Church, especially through the religious orders, is making some effort to respond effectively to the needs of Timor and to stand alongside the people in their struggles.

“We are constantly trying to help the people to believe in themselves and to be self-reliant.”

students. The Krakow Archdiocese unveiled plans for a new John Paul II Park at the former Solvay stone factory where then-Karol Wojtyla was a labourer during World War II. The park will include a hospice, museum and documentation centre. Meanwhile, city councillors in Warsaw announced plans for a monument, featuring eleven 50-foot sandstone columns, on the site of the Pope’s 1979 Mass in the capital’s Pilsudski Square.

Several statues were dedicated to the Pope, and John Paul II Day was marked nationwide by concerts, exhibitions and theatrical performances, as well as processions and prayer vigils.

In an exclusive prerecorded Polish TV interview, Pope Benedict paid tribute to his predecessor, whose beatification process was inaugurated by Rome on May 13, and confirmed that he hoped to visit Poland in June.

Underground bishop dies

Many converts had been exorcised

HONG KONG (CNS) - Chinese underground Bishop Petrus

Zhang Boren of Hanyang died of heart ailments on October 12. The bishop, also known by the name Chang Bai Ren, was 90.

His funeral was held on October 15 in his native Zhangjiazhuang village, near Xiantao city, reported UCA News, an Asian church news agency based in Thailand. Both Hanyang Diocese and Xiantao are in Hubei province.

A Catholic source in mainland China who requested anonymity told UCA News on October 13 that Bishop Zhang was “a holy man” who had converted many people - especially those he exorcised - through his enthusiasm

and spirit of evangelisation. When UCA News spoke with Bishop Zhang in 1998, he told stories of how he drove “evil spirits” away from sufferers, some of whom later were baptised.

A church source in Hong Kong told UCA News on October 13 that Bishop Zhang had lived in the government-recognised church for a period of time in the 1980s.

Later, he decided to return to Xuwan village, near Xiantao, to live with underground Catholics until he died.

According to the mainland source, Bishop Zhang, who “listened to the advice of the Holy See,” later reconciled with government-recognised Bishop Bernardine Dong Guangqing of Hankou in the 1990s. The two prelates visited and occasionally sent messengers to each other.

POSITION VACANT OFFICE

MANAGER, THE RECORD

The Record has a vacancy for an office manager with responsibility for administrative and financial duties. An important part of this position is management of The Record’s financial operation, which is maintained and operated using MYOB software on a Mac computer platform. Experience in using MYOB is a definite advantage.

Interested applicants should forward a letter and curriculum vitae setting out relevant experience to:

The Editor

The Record PO Box 75 Leederville WA 6902

Closing date: 28 October, 2005

Food for all: Salesian Priest Fr Marcos De Olivera has started a luncheon program.

Pope John Paul II blesses children during Mass in St Peter’s Basilica. Photo: CNS

letters to the editor

Perspectives Around t he tabl e dnuorA t eh lbat e

A true account

Seeing the article about the “Lion of Munster” being beatified prompts me to offer these few words.

One of the Luftwaffe’s finest pilots was Werner Mölders. He was the youngest ever to be given the rank of General. He had over 100 enemy kills and he was also the youngest to be decorated with the Iron Cross with oak leaves and diamonds. He was a hero of superstar status.

He was also a very devout Catholic.

At the decoration ceremony in which he was given this Iron Cross, he took the opportunity of making a speech, not of thanks for the deco-

Getting priorities right

All the attention focussing on the Synod in Rome with regard to married clergy is, from my perspective as a family man with a wife and young children, quite amusing.

If I was a married priest and my child had a fever of 40-plus degrees, while at the same time someone is dying in a hospital and needs me to give them the last rites, I wonder who would be my priority.

And even if I tore myself away from my seriously ill child to tend the seriously ill patient, where would my thoughts and prayers really be?

Marriage is a vocation, holy orders is another vocation. Both can exist in the same person but exist best when all of one’s dedication to one or the other is total and unconditional.

R Holli Kambunda West

ration, but to make an attack on those who were pillorying Cardinal von Galen.

To say that his speech caused a stir is putting it mildly.

The Gestapo were especially incensed and wanted him arrested.

Hitler himself defended Mölders saying that he was a true and honourable Catholic gentleman and that he expected no less of him, knowing the kind of man he was and his Catholic background.

General Mölders had been disposed of without much trouble and his status as a hero still stood.

I had a friend, now deceased, who was in Germany at that time and he told me that there was a very strong opinion in Germany that this accident was no accident. It was simply a pay-back for Mölders’ defence of Cardinal von Galen.

I feel sure that this is a true account of those events at that time and I am equally sure that both Cardinal von Galen and Werner Mölders are together in heaven.

John Rayner Hillarys

The hatred which Mölders engendered simmered on amongst the Nazi ranks and when Milch committed suicide, Mölders was ordered to attend his funeral. He went in an aircraft piloted by a personal friend of his, but on the return journey this aircraft mysteriously ran out of fuel and all on board were killed. Both Mölders and his friend were far too experienced as pilots to take off in an aircraft which did not have enough fuel for the flight. But

Join Pope Benedict XVI in prayer - October

“For all Christians facing the threat of secularism: may they trust in God and be courageous witnesses of faith and hope.”

Mission intention: “For all Christians: besides praying for the missions may they also support missionary activity with material offerings.”

CORRECTION

It was reported in last week’s Record that Fr Jim Shelton will be serving as assistant Priest at Bassendean. Fr Shelton will in fact be priest-in-charge at Bassendean with a view to becoming Parish Priest.

Record crowds flock to see Benedict

VATICAN CITY (CNS)

- Pope Benedict XVI’s public appearances are drawing huge crowds of pilgrims to the Vatican - even more than those of his beloved predecessor, Pope John Paul II.

According to Vatican statistics, more than 1 million people have attended the Pope’s weekly general audience or his Sunday blessing since his election in April.

That’s more than twice the number of pilgrims who attended the same events in 2004 which were presided over by an infirm Pope John Paul.

Observers cited a “new pope” effect, saying people want a personal look at Pope Benedict.

Interest may have broadened after the global media attention to the papal transition.

Many of the pilgrims say they are coming to see two popes, including visiting the tomb of Pope John Paul in the Vatican grottoes. - CNS

Archbishop on air

For those who missed Archbishop Hickey’s address on Channel Nine the text is below:

Welcome.

This is anti-poverty week.

All over the world millions of people struggle under conditions of dire poverty that deny them and their families any chance of a decent life. Poverty also exists here in Australia. Despite our good network of social support for people, some never seem able to get free from the trap of poverty that makes them constantly

dependent on someone else’s charity. For the dignity of every human person we need to be aware of the extent of poverty and what we can do about it.

As individuals and as a nation we need to develop our generosity, especially in anti-poverty week.

God’s peace be with you.

I’m Barry Hickey, Catholic Archbishop of Perth.

Next: The presence of God. For current and past talks visit www.perthcatholic.org.au.

Year of the Eucharist

Before you approach the altar, note well what you say: “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” If you forgive others, God will forgive you.

– St Augustine

It took Solomon seven years to build the Temple. Its dedication was celebrated for eight days with a thousand peace offerings. If only I could spend just one half-hour adoring You as I ought!

– Thomas à Kempis

Pius the Righteous?

A fresh look at the evidence has convinced a Jewish rabbi that the controversial Pius XII should be honoured as a “righteous Gentile”

The Myth of Hitler’s Pope

By Rabbi David G Dalin Regnery Publishing

History in the short term can be fickle with the reputations of good men. Until 1963, Pope Pius XII was always regarded as a defender, even a champion, of the Jews during the Fascist period. Then, in 1963, Rolf Hochhuth, a German playwright, wrote “Der Stellvertreter” (The Deputy), a play attacking Pius for his alleged “silence” when the Jewish Holocaust was taking place. Other writers have followed suit, not least John Cornwell to whose recent, muchpublicised book, Hitler’s Pope, the title of this volume alludes.

The author, an ordained rabbi, is a professor of history and political science at Ave Maria University, Florida. His book, which is robust, polemical and argumentative, deploys much documentation to show that the notion of the Holy Father being a Nazi sympathiser and anti-Semite is at best grotesque, at worst deliberately false and mendacious. Given the wealth of evidence he assembles to the contrary, it seems strange that such a fantastic notion should ever have been taken seriously. Rabbi Dalin argues persuasively that it has been used by Western liberals to further their own hidden agenda: an attack on Judaeo-Christian civilisation itself and in particular the bastion of this civilisation, the Catholic Church.

Professor Eamon Duffy, medieval Church historian at Cambridge, has referred to the “repellently illiberal” stance of “angry liberals”. In their attacks on the reputation of Pius XII the ugliness and illiberal nature of this stance is revealed in all its twisted rhetoric and selective evidence. For example, the notorious jacket cover to Cornwell’s book seems to show Pius XII grandly sweeping out of Hitler’s chancellery and being saluted by Nazi guards; in fact the photo was taken in 1927, during the Weimar Republic, when the Pope was papal nuncio; it was deliberately selected by Cornwell for its malign subliminal “message” and the caption given the wrong date of 1939.

Dalin begins by giving an historical survey of the Papacy’s attitude towards the Jews. Compared with the often lamentable record of other Christians, the Popes through the ages appear to have been philo-Semites. Beginning with Gregory the Great in the seventh century, successive Popes promoted enlightened attitudes towards Jews, so that Cecil Roth, the Jewish historian, was to write: “Only Rome… is free from having been a place of Jewish tragedy.” Indeed, Alexander Borgia, better known for his moral laxity, created the first chair of Hebrew at the University of Rome and during his tenure of office the Jewish population of Rome almost doubled. It was also the Popes who consistently defended the Jews from the scurrilous accusations of ritual murder. In more modern times, Pope Pius X observed: “As far as charity is concerned, the best Christians are the Jews”. In 1916 Pope Benedict XV published

a condemnation of anti-Semitism, which was drafted by Archbishop Eugenio Pacelli, later to become Pius XII. Pius XI, who succeeded Benedict, studied Hebrew with a local rabbi. It was he who made the famous remark: “Spiritually we are all Semites”. John XXIII (1958-63) blessed Jews leaving a Rome synagogue; John Paul II visited Rome’s chief synagogue - the first Pope ever to do so - and made a moving pilgrimage to the Western Wall in Jerusalem in 2000. On his first foreign visit as Pope, in August, Benedict XVI visited a synagogue in Cologne. On inauguration he greeted his “brothers and sisters of the Jewish people.”

Nazi fear of Pius XII

These, then, are the gestures and attitudes of Pius XII’s papal forbears and successors. What of the life and pontificate of this deeply controversial figure of the modern liberal establishment? He, too, studied Hebrew and had many Jewish friends, notably the conductor Bruno Walter, whom he met in 1917 when he was Papal Nuncio to Bavaria. Of 44 speeches he made as Papal Nuncio between 1917 and 1929, forty denounced some aspect of the emerging Nazi ideology. Indeed, the Nazis viewed Pacelli as a “Jew-loving” cardinal. Heydrich, the Nazi SS commander, wrote that “in the long run the Pope in Rome is a greater enemy of National Socialism than Churchill or Roosevelt”. There is evidence of a Nazi plot to kidnap the pontiff, only frustrated by Wolff, the German commander in Rome.

When Pacelli was elected Pope in 1939, Dalin cites a huge amount of evidence for his implacable opposition to Hitler, National Socialism and the anti-Semitic attitude of the Nazi party. The Nazis, the Pope said, were “diabolical” and of Hitler he commented, “This man is capable of trampling on corpses”. When Mussolini’s Fascist laws forbade Jews to teach in Italian schools or universities, Pius XII promptly appointed several Jewish scholars to posts in the Vatican library. The Times newspaper of London commented on the Pope on 1 October 1942: “He condemns… the persecution of the Jewish race” and the New York Times described the Pope’s Christmas address of 1941 “a lonely voice in the silence and darkness enveloping Europe”.

Notwithstanding this, the overwhelming historical record of the Pope’s concern for the Jews comes from Jews themselves. It is perverse how who those who perpetuate the “myth” ignore the overwhelming documentation in Pius XII’s favour by the very people he is supposed to have despised.

Setting the record straight

Rabbi Dalin puts the record straight. His best-known source is Three Popes and the Jews by the Jewish diplomat and historian, Pinchas Lapide, which was published in 1967. Weighing all the evidence at his disposal, Lapide calculated that “Pius saved at least 700,000 but possibly 860,000 Jews from death” - more than all the other relief agencies put together. This enormous effort was achieved largely through the Church’s own religious houses in Italy and through the Papal nunciatures in other European countries such as Hungary and Bulgaria.

Both Archbishop Roncalli, later to become Pope John XXIII, and Archbishop Continued on page 10

Unkind history: Pius XII is known more today for the suspicion that he was some kind of collaborator with the Nazi plan to exterminate the Jews than for what he really was - the organiser of efforts which may have saved at least 700,000 Jews from the Holocaust.

The ‘Mission’ continues

In one of the last documents he wrote before his death earlier this year, Pope John Paul II spoke with intense love and mercy of the necessity of a Church that follows Christ to the end. This Sunday October 23 is Mission Sunday. It’s also a chance to give and help struggling Catholic parish communities throughout the world.

Few topics energised the late Pope John Paul II more than evangelisation and the importance of the Eucharist. How poignant, therefore, that perhaps the last document he signed before his death on April 2 should have been a message in which he set out his vision for a Church committed to mission as an implication of its foundation on the Eucharist.

Pope John Paul must have suspected that his message, prepared for next weekend’s World Mission Day but signed on February 15 this year, would be his last. For a man who devoted his papacy to mission, travelling to more than 120 countries to preach the Gospel, and who wrote his final encyclical on the importance and centrality of the Eucharist, it may have been his failing health that led him to reflect on the vital relationship between the Eucharist and mission in such an intensely personal way.

In the document John Paul wrote forthrightly and movingly about the necessity to follow Jesus to the end and to offer our lives for our brothers and sisters, as Christ did. His message set out a program intended to create “authentically Catholic” communities unafraid to engage in mission as an implication of the nature of the Mass and the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.

In a plea for Catholics to re-discover their thirst for mission, we can almost feel Pope John Paul’s strength of feeling when he wrote: “Present in the Eucharist is the same Redeemer who saw the needy crowds and was filled with compassion ‘because they were harassed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd’. In his name, missionaries travel unexplored paths carrying the ‘bread’ of salvation to all; they are spurred on by the knowledge that, united with Christ, it is possible to meet the deepest longings of the human heart. Jesus alone can satisfy humanity’s hunger for love and thirst for justice; he alone makes it possible for every human person to share in eternal life.”

The encounter with Christ, constantly intensified in the Eucharist, issues in the Church and in every Christian an urgent summons to testimony and evangelisation.

For Pope John Paul, the love lavished upon us by Christ in the Eucharist spurs us on to spread the message of this love and compassion to everyone. In our day human society appears to be shrouded in dark shadows, shaken by tragic events and shattered by catastrophic natural disasters,” he writes. “Nevertheless, today, as on the night he was betrayed, Jesus breaks the bread for us in our Eucharistic celebrations and offers himself under the sacramental sign of his love for all humankind.”

The late Pontiff went on to expound the implications of his profound conviction that the Mass is celebrated for all people and so entails a commitment to evangelise. He writes: “When the Church celebrates the Eucharist, especially on Sunday, it is deeply aware that

the Sacrifice of the Eucharist is ‘for all’. We, who are nourished with the Body and Blood of the crucified and risen Lord, cannot keep this gift to ourselves; we must share it.”

The universal relevance of the Eucharistic sacrifice, which unites all men and women in one family, also entails a commitment to social justice, and so John Paul writes: “The Eucharist leads us to be generous evangelisers, actively committed to building a more just world. I sincerely hope the Year of the Eucharist will inspire every Christian community to respond with compassion to the many forms of poverty present in our world because, by our mutual love and our concern for those in need, we will be recognised as true followers of Christ. Thus will the authenticity of our Eucharistic celebrations be judged.”

Passionate love for Christ in the Eucharist leads to a courageous proclamation of the Christian Gospel, and indeed, as the Pope explains, true devotion to the Eucharist means following Christ’s example of selfgiving, even to the extent of witnessing with one’s life. He reminds his readers that, even today, “there are many missionary martyrs”, and writes: “May their example draw numerous young men and women to tread the path of heroic fidelity to Christ! The Church needs men and women willing to consecrate themselves wholly to the great cause of the Gospel’

I sincerely hope the Year of the Eucharist will inspire every Christian community to respond with compassion to the many forms of poverty present in our world because, by our mutual love

and our concern for those in need, we will be recognised as true followers of Christ.

Finally, Pope John Paul extols the work of the Pontifical Mission Societies, for whom a collection will be taken on Mission Sunday, and expresses the hope that “our parishes and communities may become authentically Catholic; families where missionary spirituality is closely bound to Eucharistic spirituality”.

This year’s Mission Sunday on October 23, the first in the new pontificate of Benedict XVI, marks a new beginning that builds on the old. Our new Holy Father has already made it clear that the dual theme of Eucharist and Mission is one he intends to build on and develop. During his inauguration homily in St Peters Square on April 24, Pope Benedict described the Eucharist as “the heart of Christian life and the source of the evangelising mission of the Church” and went on to declare: “The Church today must revive within herself an awareness of the task to present the world again with the voice of the One Who said, ‘I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life.’

In undertaking his ministry, the new Pope knows that

his task is to bring the light of Christ to shine before the men and women of today: not his own light, but that of Christ.”

This same concern with mission was evident only last week when, during his Sunday Angelus address on October 9, the Pope reminded the pilgrims gathered in St Peter’s Square that the current Synod on the Eucharist would end on World Mission Sunday and quoted from his predecessor’s apostolic letter Mane Nobiscum Domine: “The encounter with Christ, constantly intensified and deepened in the Eucharist, issues in the Church and in every Christian an urgent summons to testimony and evangelisation.”

The centrality of the Eucharist in the life of the Church is usually taken for granted, but the place of mission is often downplayed, especially in the West, where secularisation, political correctness and moral relativism have infected even the Church to the extent that Catholics are generally embarrassed by

the idea of mission, or even deny its place altogether in the modern world in which “my truth” is not necessarily “your truth”. What

Pope John Paul II is telling us in his last message for World Mission Sunday is that Jesus Christ is for everyone, and that the implication of the Eucharistic sacrifice, which makes Christ’s saving death on Calvary present here and now at every Mass, demands not only a missionary zeal but also a respect for the dignity and wellbeing of all members of our human family.

Our new Holy Father, building on the legacy of his revered predecessor, is clearly committed to this vision.

As Pope John Paul II wrote at the end of his message: “May our communities always be open to the voice of the Spirit and to the needs of humanity, communities where believers, missionaries in particular, do not hesitate to offer themselves as ‘bread. broken for the life of the world. - Catholic Herald

Affirming

the Year of the Eucharist and Pope John Paul II’s last message to the Church

World Mission Sunday

What is it? The day when every Catholic across the world prays for and contribute towards the universal Mission of the Church. The day which brings life and hope to Catholic communities in countries where the Church is new, young or poor.

When is it? This Sunday 23 October. Money collected on World Mission Sunday goes to: schools, hospitals, churches, seminaries, catechists, practical community programmes to help children and adults overcome poverty and injustice. Training leaders, especially young people, to serve the Church of today and of the future, Supporting missionaries in isolated regions of the world.

Your support is vital for the Church of today and of tomorrow. Please give generously.

Through giving we celebrate and affirm our Eucharistic identity and solidarity with impoverished Catholic parish communities throughout the world, especially those afflicted or devastated by earthquakes, floods, civil war, famine and terrorism.

If you haven’t already contributed to the Missions this year please contact the Catholic Mission Office on (08) 9422 7933 or email us at: catholicmissionperth@bigpond.com

US author and educator James Stenson takes a look at what makes a child into an adult.

Maketh the man

Preparing for Peer Pressure

A guide for parents of young children

By James Stenson

Published by Scepter Publishers

Available from The Record $7 plus postage

■ Reviewed by Mark Reidy

“Give me a child until he is seven and I will give you the man”, said Jesuit founder St Ignatius of Loyola in the 16th century. A similar philosophy is advocated by US educator and author James Stenson in his parenting book, “Preparing for Peer Pressure”. He has observed over his 20 years as a teacher that it is parents who take their faith seriously, and from an early age are actively concerned about the formation of their children’s conscience and character, which are more likely to produce responsible, considerate, self disciplined, confident and deeply religious adolescents.

Stenson believes that the most common trait amongst troubled youth today is that their parents either ignored or underestimated the magnitude of peer and societal influences and consequently many enter adolescence with a character vacuum waiting to be

filled. It is only those teenagers who have been given a powerful inner strength of will who are able to resist the seductions of materialism and self-gratification when they inevitably face them. One of the key principles of Stensons’ concise 55-page book is the need for fathers and mothers to parent with the future in mind. They must establish a picture of the character of the adult they would like to produce and work backward to the detail of their current family life. Such long term strategy ensures that parents will not fall into the trap of instructing and disciplining for their own convenience, but will be guided by their children’s future well being. He says it is imperative that parents understand that children are naturally ego centric and pleasure seeking and if the virtues of faith, hope, charity, prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance have not been instilled in them before the onset of puberty, then the final result will be a self centred adult. It is a parents’ role to transform them from takers to givers. Stenson believes that severe difficulties throughout adolescence can usually be predicted. He offers a list of signs for parents to be aware of when relating to their young children and emphasises that parents should be aiming to win their children’s respect, not their affection. It is vital that they do not give in to

children’s whims and desires, that they help them learn that ‘No’ can be a loving word and that they allow them the opportunity to solve their own problems. These lessons of self-discipline, along with a strong family identity, will empower young people to resist the temptations of sex, drugs and alcohol later in life. “Children who’ve always respected their parents moral strength remain virtually untouched by the drugsex culture”, Stenson claims. The author also warns of the pitfalls of expecting institutions outside the family, such as schools, to formulate children’s character. He believes that these cannot be relied upon, as they once were, to reflect traditional family values and suggests that parents seek out families that they respect and admire to learn from.

Stenson recognises the difficulties of parenting and acknowledges that there are no easy solutions. He emphasises that the formation of young adults begins from a very early age and conveys an understanding that raising children requires discipline, patience and self-sacrifice. He acknowledges that it is not realistic to expect that children can be protected from negative influences outside the family home, but he believes that they need to be prepared. “Your task is not to shield the children from evil” he concludes, “but rather to form in them the strengths to combat it effectively all their lives.”

Seeking hope: Nigerian children pray at a makeshift shrine inside St Paul’s Church in the city of Lagos, Nigeria. Photo: CNS

Does faith make a difference to society?

■ With Paul Gray

Is it Catholic doctrine to believe that religion improves society?

The question arises because of a controversial new American study.

The study has an eminently forgettable title: “Cross-National Correlations of Quantifiable Societal Health with Popular Religiosity and Secularism in the Prosperous Democracies: A first look.”

But the atrocious English of the study has not stopped eager ideologues in the press and academia from seizing on it with anti-religious zeal.

The study claims that Christianinfluenced societies like the USA have more immorality and related problems than societies that are barely influenced by Christianity, like Japan.

Secularist columnists in Britain and Australia have exploded with joy at news of the study, taking it

diversity matters

as virtual proof that religion is all nonsense.

For example, Guardian commentator George Monbiot opined: “If you want people to behave as Christians advocate, you should tell them that God does not exist.”

In similar vein, Emily Maguire argued in the Sydney Morning Herald that “societies which have largely discarded religion are not hotbeds of sin and iniquity.”

“Rather, they are often highly functional, safe and prosperous,” Maguire said. She smugly concluded: “Consequently, relying on religion to fix social problems is irrational.”

These expressions of anti-religious zealotry in certain selective parts of the media may have been a case of premature celebration, however.

In fact, the anti-religious rhetoric inspired by the new study is built entirely on a straw man type of argument, not Christianity’s actual claims.

The study’s author, Gregory Paul, makes the claim that believers “often assert” that popular belief in a creator is needed for a healthy society.

But despite Paul’s claim, it has long been an emphasised teaching of mainstream Churches that Christian initiation does not necessarily lead to more moral behaviour.

The central doctrine of “original sin,” shared by all main Christian

(contemporary human mobility and the stand of the Church)

denominations, holds that the human tendency towards immorality is not automatically destroyed by churchgoing.

One may become a baptised, seven-day-a-week churchgoer, for example, and still commit sin, including serious sin, on a regular basis.

Ongoing individual human effort, in other words, is needed for our inbuilt weaknesses to be overcome. Christianity claims to teach this, not deliver it.

This mainstream Christian position is summed up in the popular evangelical slogan that churches are “hospitals for sinners, not havens for saints.”

Heroic efforts by some Christians – missionaries ministering to AIDS victims in Africa, for example – prove that individuals can find religious inspiration to improve the world.

The fact that the moral record of Christianity is mixed is not logical proof, one way or the other, of whether God exists or not.

Its mixed record is, however, perfectly consistent with Christian teaching on original sin. This undermines claims that religious belief is essentially a psychological fantasy.

Rising rates of venereal diseases in many prosperous countries, including Japan and the United Kingdom, can also be turned into an argument against secularism.

Belief in traditional Christianity

has certainly declined as syphilis and Chlamydia rates have increased in the First World. This may not ultimately prove

in brief

Humility defeats Devil, says Vatican’s Vicar

ROME - The devil exists, but his power is not equal to God’s, assured the opening speaker of a course on exorcism and Satanism.

Archbishop Angelo Comastri, the Pope’s vicar general for Vatican City, was speaking at the inauguration of a course entitled “Exorcism and the Prayer of Deliverance,” offered by the Regina Apostolorum Pontifical University in Rome.

The course runs until February 9.

“The devil exists, but omnipotent evil does not exist. There is only One who is infinite and he is infinitely good,” stated Archbishop Comastri.

“There can be no doubt of the devil’s existence,” he continued, addressing 120 students, priests and seminarians, as well as students from other cities worldwide via a teleconference link.

“More than in the lives of sinners, his existence is seen in the

that Christianity is good for your sexual health. But surely, the blame for all our ills cannot rest with God.

lives of saints,” the prelate said. The prelate referred to a dialogue that St John Vianney, the Curé of Ars, said he had with the devil.

The latter said: “I can do everything you do, I can also do your penances, I can imitate you in everything. There is one thing, however, that I cannot do, I cannot imitate you in humility.”

The saint answered: “That’s why I defeat you.”

“Humility,” continued the archbishop, “is the best bulwark against the devil and humility always ends in prayer and adoration. …

“[It is] a power that is obtained continuously from the cross, because the whole of salvation stems from that event of infinite love with which Jesus entered history as Saviour.”

On the first day of the course, the doors were opened to journalists. One of them asked why evil exists.

Archbishop Comastri answered: “Pride is the root of all evil because pride separates [one] from God and, when one separates from God, all the other consequences ensue.

- ZENIT

Ethnic ministry comes to the crossroads

■ With Fr Anthony Paganoni, CS

The increasing geographical diversification of the smaller ethnic communities has made it more difficult for newcomers to organise themselves. But it has, above all, meant that no religious congregations from their countries of origin have heeded the call to follow their own faithful emigrating to foreign lands. The simple fact is that most of the newer countries in Asia, Africa, Central and South America are still dependent on foreign personnel to cater for the religious needs of Catholics living in those areas. European migrants relied either on locally born and bred religious congregations or on Australian church personnel who had completed their training in one of the European countries, many of them in Italy. Regrettably, today’s migrants will not be able to receive the same support from their local parishes and are therefore completely dependent upon the good wishes of the host Church.

Over the last three decades, the Australian Church has had to contend with a sharp decline in vocations to the priesthood and religious life. Dioceses are literally bending over backwards to devise ways and means of filling the gaps which, with the decline of local vocations, are becoming more and more obvious. The amalgamation

or twinning of parishes, the recruitment of overseas-trained personnel, the closing of existing parish or school facilities are only some of the

For several years now, some dioceses have embarked upon importing priests and religious from some of the migrant source countries.

But these have been immediately snapped up to fill existing vacancies on the list of parishes needing the services of a priest. Significantly, the increased ethnic and religious diversification of the Catholic population in Australia is not being reflected in diocesan programs. Neither is it being reflected in the training of seminarians for the future. Their ethnic make-up seems to be reflecting the demographic base and shifting sense of loyalty and belonging among the Catholic population in Australia. Note for instance the great contribution of the Vietnamese community to the priesthood in Australia.

To be realistic, ethnic ministry in Australia looks set to follow one of these two scenarios in the years ahead. In the case of the more established migrant chaplaincies a gradual, slow and natural disappearance will result from a process which appears to be by and large inevitable. In the case of the more recent waves of Catholic migration, a variety of attempts being undertaken and supported by some benevolent bishops, priests and lay people – but without much institutional support - will remain terribly vulnerable in terms of providing continuity of services.

As ever, the renewal of the Church and its ministry in an everchanging society remains a mystery which can only throw us back upon the mercy and wisdom of God confronting our human limitations.

strategies being applied to counter a process which appears irreversible. And things are bound to get worse before they get any better.

Migrants Moving: by Jacob Lawrence.

MAKING SENSE

The place of Belief in explaining Faith

The great improvement in apologetics in recent years is to see it as a theological discipline, done from within the perspectives of faith, says CARDINAL AVERY DULLES.

That’s a view offered by the revered Professor of Religion and Society at Fordham University in an updated version of his book A History of Apologetics (Ignatius).

What have you learned firsthand about the strengths and weaknesses of Christian efforts - both Catholic and Protestant - to make the case for Christianity, especially in recent years?

The strongest apologists in recent years have been conservative evangelicals.

Arguing from the Bible alone, they defend some essentials of the faith, but their individualist, biblicist Christianity is insufficient for Catholics.

Anglicans often engage in a rather mild apologetics, leading to the conclusion that theism or Christianity is probably true. But they do not make a good case for the full commitment of faith.

Catholics in recent years have been uneasy with apologetics, perhaps in reaction to a hypertrophy of apologetics in recent centuries.

But it is not enough to say, as many do, that faith is a gift. We have to show why it is reasonable to make the commitment of faith.

Much of the best Catholic apologetics comes from authors who are not primarily known as apologists, for example: Karl Rahner, Hans Urs von Balthasar and Pope John Paul II.

What, if anything, have you changed your mind about concerning apologetics since you wrote the first edition?

So far as I can judge, my views on apologetics have remained substantially unchanged since I wrote my Apologetics and the Biblical Christ, first published in 1963. That book is based on lectures I gave in 1961, ten years before the first edition of my “History of Apologetics.”

I should add, however, that some of my assessments of the past have changed. In the 1971 edition of my History of Apologetics, for example, I did not pay enough attention to the Scholasticism of the 18th century, which does not lack merit even though it has gone out of fashion.

The new edition fills in some lacunae in the old and makes use of new literature. In particular, the 20th century had to be thoroughly reworked to bring the book up to date.

How has apologetics evolved in both substance and form in recent years? What have been the factors behind this needed change?

From my perspective, I would say that the great improvement is to see apologetics as a theological discipline, done from within the perspectives of faith.

Apologists should not be trying to explain how we reason ourselves into faith, because they should know that we do no such thing. The apologist should be a believer because only the believer can accurately say what the Christian believes and why.

For people to come to faith, they must have heard the Christian message credibly proclaimed. God brings them to assent to his word because he draws them from within by his grace and at the same time surrounds his message with signs that authenticate it as his word. Faith is a reasonable act, not a blind leap into the dark.

Apologetics seeks to identify the signs and help people to grasp the joint mean-

ing of all the signs, taken together. They are, so to speak, God’s signature.

What are the chief objections Christians encounter in defending their faith?

The answering of objections is only a part of the apologetical task. By themselves, such answers will never produce faith. But to win a hearing for faith it may be important to show that the objections are not conclusive. I will mention three sets of difficulties.

“Regarding the problem of evil, we can only conjecture what reasons God has for permitting so much suffering, especially on the part of persons who seem relatively innocent.

The cross of Jesus does not give a theoretical answer, but it helps us to cope with evil. If God allowed his beloved Son to suffer so much at the hands of wicked men, suffering must not be an absolute or ultimate evil.”

First, there’s the problem of evil. Already in biblical times the Psalmist and others asked God why the ways of the wicked prosper while the righteous suffer. Almost since the dawn of Christianity, adversaries have taunted Christians with the contention that God cannot be all-powerful and at the same time good, for if he were, he would not permit the world to be so full of evil.

A second set of objections focuses on the supposed unreliability of the Bible. People say that it is full of myth and legend.

Thirdly, some object that the world has not been much improved by Christianity, as it should have been if Christianity were true.

And so there is no lack of stumbling blocks.

How should apologists go about addressing these objections?

Regarding the problem of evil, we can only conjecture what reasons God has for permitting so much suffering, especially on the part of persons who seem relatively innocent.

The cross of Jesus does not give a theoretical answer, but it helps us to cope with evil. If God allowed his beloved Son to suffer so much at the hands of wicked men, suffering must not be an absolute or ultimate evil.

The Resurrection shows that even the worst suffering and injustice, patiently borne, can be redemptive and can lead to glory.

As for the Bible, it does not purport to be scientific history. Although it contains much solid history, it is above all else a testimony to the faith of the authors, who indicate some of the grounds of their own faith.

The first Christians obviously had strong reasons for being convinced of the resurrection of Jesus and his divinity.

As for the effects of Christianity, it can at least be shown that if people lived up to its ideals the world would be a far better place. Christianity has never promised to make this world into a paradise. Christian hope focuses on the world to come.

There is widespread rejection of many central Catholic/Christian tenets among professional Catholics/Christians. To what extent do apologists need to address the people within Christianity?

Christians are in need of apologetics not only to help them spread their faith but also to overcome their own doubts and temptations to unbelief.

When addressing Christian believers, apologetics adopts a different style than when directed to unbelievers. It can argue from those revealed truths that the believer does accept, whereas in the case of unbelievers, apologetics must abstain from basing its arguments on revealed truth.

John Paul II challenged Catholics to engage in a new evangelisation. What is the relationship between evangelisation and apologetics?

Evangelisation is a confident proclamation of the Christian message. The evangeliser does not always have to spell out reasons for holding that the message is true. Some people will spontaneously see its credibility without requiring any demonstration.

Others, however, may need something like apologetics before they can credit the message. Therefore apologetics may have a place in the process of evangelisation.

Some people - including some Catholics - would hold that interreligious dialogue and ecumenism preclude apologetics. What is your view of the matter?

In interreligious and ecumenical dialogues the objective is to find or extend common ground rather than to convert the dialogue partner to one’s own faith, which is the purpose of apologetics.

But honesty requires us not to conceal our true convictions where they differ from those of the partner. It may be that in dialogue we have to explain why we cannot accept the positions of the other party. If so, dialogue will contain an ingredient of apologetics.

How do you think apologetics needs to continue to evolve in the future?

I always hesitate to predict the future. But I would say that the most promising developments of apologetics in recent years are in the direction of personalism.

Faith is seen as a personal commitment to a personal God, who discloses himself and his will for us out of love. To believe is to accept the testimony of God as a loving response.

We do not have to prove the truth of what he tells us, but we must have reasons for believing that the word we accept in faith truly comes from God.

God’s word commends itself to us by its beauty, its majesty, its profundity, and its power to effect conversion. Apologetics calls attention to these wonderful properties.

- Zenit

Lifelong achiever: In recent years it is the evangelical Protestant Christians who have made the strongest contributions to the neglected art of apologetics, says Cardinal Avery Dulles, convert and Jesuit priest, who was honoured by Pope John Paul II with elevation to the rank of Cardinal for his lifelong contributions to theology. Cardinal Dulles is also the son of John Foster Dulles, who also served as US Secretary of State to President Dwight Eisenhower in the 1950s.

The World

Pope recalls his own first communion

Pope Benedict encourages children to go to confession regularly as a form of ’soul

■ By Carol Glatz

cleaning’

Pope Benedict XVI urged children to cultivate a lifelong friendship with Jesus because he would guide them, help them make the right decisions in life and help them become better people.

“We need this friendship with God, who helps us make the right decisions, to mature as human adults,” he said on October 15. The crowd of nearly 150,000 people, mostly young children, had just celebrated their first Communion earlier this year.

During a colourful, festive ceremony in St Peter’s Square featuring clowns, people on stilts, singers and dancers, the Pope led eucharistic adoration as well as a warm and informal catechesis based on the questions posed to him by several children.

One by one, seven children came up to the Pope and asked him questions on the microphone about why it is important to go to Mass and to confession and what their teachers mean by the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.

“But how can that be?” asked one boy. “I can’t even see him.”

With a polite laugh, the Pope smiled and explained that there were lots of important things that exist even though they cannot be seen. Intelligence and reason, for example, as well as electricity are all things that are invisible, but one knows they are there because one can see their effects, the Pope said.

“We don’t see electrical current, but we see the light”, he said.

Just as people cannot see Jesus with their eyes, they can see him through what he effects.

“We see that where Jesus is, people change, they become better, they become a bit more open to peace and reconciliation,”

he said. In the Eucharist, he said, “we meet up with this invisible but strong Lord who helps us live well.”

The Pope was visibly delighted at the children’s questions, which in some cases drew a hearty laugh from the pontiff and his audience for their poignancy and sincerity.

“Do I have to go to confession every time I go to Communion,” one girl asked the Pope, “even when I commit the same sins because I’ve started to realise they’re always the same ones?”

Pope Benedict assured her that while it was good to make a habit of going to confession as a sort of “soul cleaning” it was not necessary to go to confession every time, given that her sins were probably not grave.

Synod affirms priestly celibacy

Renewed efforts for increasing priestly vocations and a better distribution of the world’s priests were the leading suggestions for how the Church should respond to priestless parishes in the first drafts of propositions presented by the Synod of Bishops on October 14.

While the idea of ordaining “viri probati” or men - including married men - of “proven virtue” had been suggested by some at the synod, it failed to reach majority approval in order to be included in the first round of reports coming out of the synod’s 12 working groups.

Most reports, which were read in the presence of Pope Benedict XVI, reaffirmed the value of priestly celibacy. One French-language working group report said its members were “unanimous in stating the priceless value of priestly celibacy for the Latin Church.”

The French report said “vocational pastoral care” should be “more energetic, positive and open to the gifts of God” and noted that better training for priests to help in the missions for a fixed period would “help to gradually overcome

this shortage.” One of the three English-language working groups said mandatory celibacy was “not the principal and certainly not the sole reason” for the shortage of priests. Today’s culture shows “a lack of lifelong commitment” to most things, even marriage, it said.

The working group also said “local churches should be open to sharing priests” and that the permanent diaconate could free the priests from “many administrative, educational and service ministries.”

Another English-language working group said in its report that “the value of (the) Liturgy of the Word” could serve “as sustenance for those who are deprived of access to the Eucharist.”

The reports, summaries of which were released by the Vatican on October 15, represent summaries of priorities and suggestions that came out of each working group’s discussions.

They will serve as a starting point for a final list of propositions the synod fathers will deliver to the Pope. - CNS

Going to confession before Communion “is necessary only when one commits a truly grave sin that has deeply offended Jesus in such a way that the friendship has been destroyed and one must start all over again,” he said.

However, just as people clean a house or children pick up their room “at least once a week, even if the mess is always the same,” the faithful should make a habit of going regularly to confession, he added.

“If I never go to confession, my soul becomes neglected to the point at which I am always pleased with myself and I no longer understand that I also have to work at” becoming a better person, the Pope said.

“This soul cleaning ... helps us have a conscience that’s more alert, more open”

and it helps one “mature spiritually and as a person,” he said.

In the hour-and-a-half meeting with children, the Pope told them about his first Communion in which he understood that “God himself was in me.”

The Pope said from that first moment on “a beautiful Sunday in March 1936” when he received this “gift of love” it marked “the beginning of a common journey” together with God who “always took me by the hand and guided me even through difficult situations.”

One girl told the Pope that she was happy to go to Mass every Sunday, but she asked how she could convince her parents to go, since they used Sunday as a day to “sleep in” or visit grandparents out of town.

Pope Benedict cautioned the child to be very loving and understanding of her parents, “who certainly have a lot to do.”

“Nonetheless, with respect and love,” a child could tell her parents that “meeting Jesus is enriching and offers an important element to everyone’s life,” he said.

He suggested the family work together to find how to go to Mass and make it “a sweet Sunday for the whole family.”

In response to other questions, the Pope explained what Jesus meant when he said he was the bread of life, saying, “Jesus is food for the soul.” Both the body and spirit need nourishment in order to both “grow and reach fullness.”

He also explained eucharistic adoration as “recognising Jesus as my Lord who shows me the life to follow.” Adoration is a time to tell Jesus, “I am yours and I pray that you, too, will always be with me,” he said.

Some of the prayers offered by the children included an appeal to the faithful and to government leaders to remember and respond in some way to “all the children of the world who suffer from war, disease and a lack of food, education, medicine and affection.”

Another child asked God “to grant us holy priests who can celebrate the Eucharist in your name and give to everyone the Word and Bread of Life.”

Magazine criticises ‘intended murder’

An influential Jesuit magazine has condemned professional boxing as “a form of legalised attempted murder,” saying it has left more than 500 boxers dead over the last 100 years.

The magazine, La Civilta Cattolica, said in an editorial that the moral judgment on boxing can only be “gravely and absolutely negative.” In addition to suffering tremendous violence, boxers are first exploited, then abandoned by huge economic interests and often finish their days punch-drunk and impoverished, it said.

The magazine’s articles are reviewed before publication by the Vatican Secretariat of State and are thus thought to reflect Vatican opinion. The editorial against boxing appeared in the October 15 issue, about three weeks after US boxer Levander Johnson died from brain injuries suffered in a lightweight title fight.

The magazine called Johnson the latest victim of a sport that seems to accept the death of boxers.

“The dead don’t count for any-

thing in boxing. Instead, what count are the enormous interests that lie behind boxing matches,” it said.

The magazine said boxers typically absorb more than 1,000 punches in an average fight, many of them to the head, provoking the certain death of brain cells that are not replaced. Victory consists in striking the opponent with such

violence that he falls to the ground or loses consciousness, it said. A knockout is often the direct result of damage inflicted to the brain, it said.

Unlike other sports that also include an element of risk, the violence of boxing is intended and inevitably provokes physical damage, the magazine said.

Warm embrace: Pope Benedict XVI hugs a boy as he leads a ceremony with children in St Peter’s Square at the Vatican on October 15. The pope answered questions at the event, telling children to cultivate a lifelong friendship with Jesus.

Photo: CNS

Murder: Thailand’s champion Pongsaklek Wonjongkam, right, lands a punch in the face of Japanese challenger Daisuke Naito during their World Boxing Council flyweight title bout in Tokyo on October 10. Photo: CNS

The World

The Church in quake centre

200 people were killed, including doctors and nurses when quake hospital collapsed

When the magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck northern Pakistan on October 8, Archbishop Lawrence Saldanha of Lahore “saw the birds flying away in alarm.”

The quake’s epicentre was Pakistan-administered Kashmir, about 220 miles north of Lahore, and the Archbishop noted that 75 percent of the region’s capital, Muzzafarabad, was destroyed.

In a first-person account written for UCA News, an Asian church news agency based in Thailand, Archbishop Saldanha recounted receiving the news of the quake and relief efforts of the Church.

“Scores of villages reportedly were wiped off the map by landslides,” he wrote. “An entire 12story luxury apartment block in Islamabad collapsed like a house of cards, killing hundreds.

“Within four days, the death toll rose,” he wrote. By October 17, Pakistani officials put the official death toll for all of Pakistan at 53,000, including at least 40,000 in the Pakistani portion of Kashmir. Precise death tolls have been hard to determine because bodies remain

buried under rubble. “So many schools near the epicentre reportedly collapsed and buried hundreds of children (that) one commentator said, ‘The next generation has been wiped out,’” the archbishop wrote.

“Roads have been blocked, so the only evacuation route to Islamabad hospitals - and for only a few at a time - has been by helicopter. Many have died for lack of medical attention,” he wrote.

“When the hospital in Muzzafarabad collapsed, 200 patients, as well as doctors and nurses, were killed. Only one wing remains standing. Ayub Hospital in Abbotabad was not destroyed, but it soon ran out of medicines and drugs,” he added. The archbishop said rescue teams from England, France and Turkey arrived rapidly.

“By the fifth day after the quake, however, hope was fading for those

still buried,” he wrote. “There also is fear of an epidemic breaking out because so many dead bodies are lying around.” Reuters, the British news agency, reported that Pakistani Health Minister Mohammad Naseer Khan said on October 17 that there are no signs of epidemics breaking out in the northern region of Pakistan, where people have started receiving vaccinations against deadly diseases.  CNS

‘Don’t send religious refugees back to tragedy’

Chaldean Patriarch EmmanuelKarim Delly appeals for help

Iraqis fleeing violence and terrorism in their country should not be turned away by other nations and sent back to face an unfolding tragedy, said the leader of Iraq’s Chaldean Catholics.

“I pray that Western governments, including the United States, take pity on these Iraqis and at least offer them a stay permit for those who are already there and, if possible, a visa” for those wishing to arrive legally, said Chaldean Patriarch Emmanuel-Karim Delly of Baghdad, Iraq.

He told Catholic News Service on October 17 that it was extremely

the world in brief

Pope welcome in Cuba

difficult for Iraqis wishing to leave the country to obtain visas. Many travel to Syria or Jordan with the hope of eventually joining relatives in the United States, Australia or Europe. But “the way out is blocked,” he said, “with thousands of lies.”

Patriarch Delly, who was in Rome for the October 2-23 Synod of Bishops on the Eucharist, said officials at foreign embassies in charge of issuing visas tell applicants “that the war is over, that Saddam (Hussein), the dictator, is finished, now Iraq has a democracy.”

“What democracy” he asked, “when I can’t leave my home and I’m afraid to leave my house,” because of the daily violence and bloodshed?

The patriarch said he had no

Cuban President Fidel Castro said Pope Benedict XVI has the face of “a good angel” and would be welcome to visit Cuba, according to an Italian cardinal. Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone of Genoa met with the Cuban leader in Havana in early October. He said Castro paid tribute to the late Pope John Paul II as a “prophet of peace” and said he was favourably impressed by the new Pope. “Castro asked me to transmit an invitation to visit Cuba to Pope Benedict, who he said inspires in him friendship and trust,” Cardinal Bertone told the Italian Catholic newspaper Avvenire. The cardinal quoted Castro as saying: “This Pope is a good person, he has the face of a good angel. I know, because I’m a scholar of faces.”

information about the final results of the October 15 referendum to approve an Iraqi constitution. Although initial results indicated the constitution was approved, some areas, such as the city of Fallujah, recorded an overwhelming “no” vote.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said on October 17 the constitutional referendum had not unified the country, and violence could be expected to continue.

Some Christian leaders estimate that that just in the period from August to October 2004 between 10,000 and 40,000 Christians left Iraq.

Patriarch Delly said he would love for the Iraqi people to be able to stay and live in their home coun-

Pope John Paul visited Cuba in 1998. Pope Benedict has not said whether he intends to make foreign travel a regular part of his papal ministry.

Dialogue will continue

As Muslims prepared to celebrate the end of their month-long Ramadan fast, Archbishop Michael Fitzgerald assured them the Catholic Church’s commitment to dialogue would continue under Pope Benedict XVI. The Archbishop, president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, sent written greetings to Muslims around the world about to celebrate the November 3 feast of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan. In the message, released on October 14, the Archbishop said many

try, “but when your children get kidnapped or killed, when there’s no security, no peace, well, of course (people) will want to spend the 20 or 30 years they have left to live on this earth abroad.”

“We pray that governments let those who are living in their countries - to not send them back to Iraq and to have pity on them,” he said.

The patriarch said he was enormously grateful for the solidarity shown by the Chaldean communities abroad who generously give aid to those in Iraq.

“If it weren’t for our Chaldean immigrants in Detroit, in Chicago, California, and elsewhere, the situation for our faithful would be much worse than what it is now,” he said. - CNS

Muslims joined Catholics in following news about Pope John Paul II’s illness and death in April. “Many had appreciated deeply the Pope’s constant efforts on behalf of peace,” he said. “It was faith in God and confidence in humanity that impelled the late Pope to engage in dialogue,” the archbishop said. “He constantly reached out to brothers and sisters of all religions with respect and a desire for collaboration.” Archbishop Fitzgerald said the Catholic Church’s commitment to dialogue was encouraged by the Second Vatican Council, which concluded 40 years ago.

Seminary turns 75

Pope Benedict XVI met with the bishops of Ethiopia and Eritrea at the Ethiopian College, marking the 75th anniversary of

Church backs chocolate

Grown in Ghana and manufactured in England, a socially responsible brand of chocolate is now available in the US through Catholic Relief Services.

In October, the Baltimorebased CRS, the US bishops’ overseas aid agency, began selling cases of Divine chocolate bars online and over the phone.

Touted as fair-trade chocolate, Divine is made with cocoa grown by the 47,000 members of a cocoa farmer’s association in southern Ghana called Kuapa Kokoo. Members are paid a price that covers the cost of producing the cocoa, and they have the security of a long-term trading contract, according to Divine Chocolate’s Web site at www. divinechocolate.com.

In addition, farmers receive a $150 “social premium” for every ton of cocoa sold, which goes toward improving the farmers’ living standards and farming productivity.

Divine, a brand made by the Day Chocolate Co. in London, is the world’s first and only farmerowned chocolate brand, according to Michael Sheridan, director of the CRS Fair-Trade Chocolate Program. In addition to the fair-trade prices they are paid for their cocoa, Kuapa Kokoo’s members own one-third of Day Chocolate and participate in the company’s profit-sharing plan.

“What makes the Divine model so exciting from an economic justice perspective is the fact that the farmers themselves own part of the company,” Sheridan said. That enables small-scale farmers to gain a stronger position in world markets.

“By contrast, most of the world’s cocoa farmers sell their annual harvest on local markets, capturing none of the wealth created by the lucrative global chocolate trade,” CRS noted on its site.

CRS also supports fair-trade coffee and crafts through its fairtrade program. CRS communications officer Jeffrey Griffith said selling fair-trade products helps the organisation connect US Catholics to ways they can make a difference. - CNS

the inauguration of the seminary inside the Vatican walls. Ethiopian candidates for the priesthood moved into the Vatican in 1919 at the invitation of Pope Benedict XV.

The current building, with its Easternrite chapel and iconostasis, opened in 1930 under Pope Pius XI. “The location of the college here inside Vatican City is an eloquent sign of the close bonds of communion linking the Church in your countries with the see of Rome,” the Pope told the bishops on October 17 in the college on the hill behind St Peter’s Basilica. The bishops were in Rome for their “ad limina” visits, which the heads of dioceses make every five years. Normally the Pope meets with bishops in the Apostolic Palace. Pope Benedict praised the Eastern- and Latin-rite Catholics of Ethiopia and Eritrea for “the united witness that you give.”

Survivor: A young Kashmiri earthquake survivour lies in a ward at a hospital in Karnah, India, on October 12. Human and dog excrement, disposable needles, bloody bandages and garbage litter the compound outside the main hospital in the earthquake-ravaged region. Photo: CNS

Book Review

Rabbi vindicates record of Pius XII

Continued from Vista 1

Montini, later to become Pope Paul VI, were charged by Pius to do what they could to save Jewish lives. The theologian Henri de Lubac SJ, was similarly directed, as were countless other priests and senior members of the Church’s hierarchy. Convents, monasteries and presbyteries all over Europe opened their doors to Jewish fugitives; more than 1,000 found asylum at the papal summer residence at Castel Gandolfo and hundreds were hidden in the Vatican itself. It is estimated that more than 80 per cent of Rome’s Jews were saved by the intervention of the Pope.

Albert Einstein paid tribute to Pius XII as early as 1940, saying that in Germany “only the Catholic Church stood squarely across the path of Hitler’s campaign for suppressing the truth”.

When Pius died in 1958 he was deeply mourned by the Jews. Golda Meir, then Israel’s foreign minister, wrote to the Vatican: “When fearful martyrdom came to our people in the decade of Nazi terror, the voice of the Pope was raised for the victims.”

One telling detail is omitted from this well-researched book: after the war the Chief Rabbi of Rome, Israel Zolli, converted to Catholicism; in a personal tribute to the Holy Father, he took “Eugenio” as his baptismal

name. So how could the slur of Pius’s “silence” ever gain the slightest credibility?

Although the Pope was not silent in his actions, in his directives to Church personnel and in his communications with Allied diplomats, he deliberately refrained from making public statements attacking Hitler during the war. Was this silence culpable? His reason, heavily influenced by Jewish and diplomatic advice, was that not only would a public protest not help the Jews but that it would actually increase their persecution.

The former chief rabbi of Denmark, Marcus Melchior, a Holocaust survivour, argued that “it is an error to think that Pius XII could have had any influence whatsoever. If the Pope had spoken out, Hitler would have massacred more than six million Jews.”

When the Dutch bishops did courageously protest against the rounding up of Dutch Jews, the Nazis instantly retaliated by harsher measures. To have excommunicated Hitler - a former Catholic - would, as historical examples demonstrate, have had a similar effect.

Such an imposed silence must have caused the Holy Father great inner agony.

His critics have further attacked the Holy See’s 1933 concordat with Nazi Germany, not accepting, as the author indicates, that is was “a mor-

ally defensible diplomatic measure to protect German Catholics… against a dangerous regime”. It was in no way an endorsement of National Socialism. During the negotiations preceding the concordat, Hitler arrested 92 priests and closed down nine Catholic publications. As the British ambassador to the Vatican, Ivone Kirkpatrick, commented, “A pistol… had been pointed to his [Cardinal Pacelli’s] head.” Reporting to the Foreign Office on 19 August 1933, Kirkpatrick reported that the Cardinal “deplored the action of the German government at home, their persecution of the Jews…”

Nazi links with Muslim extremists Dalin has done an excellent job in defending the wartime record of Pius XII. But perhaps the most interesting and significant section of his book is the evidence he produces for a quite different and sinister scenario: the close relationship between Hajj Amin al-Husseini, the grand mufti of Jerusalem from 1922, and Hitler’s Nazi party. He suggests that Pius’s critics have deliberately deflected blame from pro-Nazi Islamic fundamentalists onto Pius XII. Certainly this thread of the argument was news to me and, I suspect, to many others, but Dalin produces disturbing evidence to support his case. Hajj Amin alHusseini was known to have met Hitler privately on a number of

occasions. He was a friend of Adolf Eichmann and visited Auschwitz. An implacable enemy of the Jews, he supported the destruction of European Jewry and did all he could to prevent the establishment of a Jewish state. He made frequent broadcasts on German radio, displaying virulent anti-Semitism with statements such as that the Jews “live as parasites among the nations, suck out their blood, embezzle their property…” Most telling of all in this disturbing and little-known aspect of history: in Egypt in 1946 Hajj Amin al-Husseini met the young Yasser Arafat, who became his protégé and who later went on to lead Palestinian terrorists in the PLO for 40 years.

The cause for Pius XII’s canonisation is under way. It has been held up by unsubstantiated and malicious accusations over his wartime record. According to Rabbi Dalin, the Pope should be honoured as a “righteous Gentile”, the term given to Christians who risked their own lives to save Jews from the Holocaust. Because of the author’s scholarly research it is to be hoped that history in the long term will be kinder to the reputation of a great and good - and much-maligned man.

-Francis Phillips, who is married with eight children, lives in Bucks, in the UK. Her reviews often appear in British Catholic publications.

PANORAMA a roundup of events in the archdiocese

Parish Mass at 7.30am. 94446131/93425845.

Thursdays during October

WORLD APOSTOLATE OF FATIMA AUST INC.

During the month of October, the Australian National Pilgrim Virgin statue, of the Apostolate will be present in All Saints Chapel, St George’s Terrace, Perth. Each Thursday in October, there will be a Holy Hour in the Chapel commencing at 1.45pm and concluding with Benediction. All are cordially invited.

Sunday October 23

ETERNAL WORD TELEVISION NETWORK

1 - 2 pm on Access 31: The Holy Eucharist / Fr Charles Connor [Sacraments through the Ages]. Spiritual journey of C.S. Lewis / Walter Hooper interviewed by Marcus Grodi at Oxford [The Journey Home. British series] Please help to keep these inspiring programs on air at Access 31, by sending donations to The Rosary Christian Tutorial Association, PO Box 1270, Booragoon 6954. Tapes and DVDs available on request. Enquiries: 93301170

Wednesday October 26

DISCOVERING YOUR CATHOLIC ROOTS

Come and hear Athol Bloomer, a very gifted Hebrew Catholic speak on Judaism. Scriptures, both the old and new testament will come alive with this deeper and greater depth of knowledge and understanding. A series of evening talks; on Wednesday evenings from 7.30pm – 9pm at Casa Di Luisa Piccarreta, 59 Newton St, Spearwood. Enq: Jenny 9494-2604.

Saturday October 29

NOVENA TO OUR LADY OF GOOD HEALTH

The monthly novena to Our Lady of Good Health, Vailankanni will be held on the last Saturday of every month at 5pm followed by the 6pm Vigil Mass, at the Holy Trinity Church, Embleton. Enq: 9271 5528 or 9272 1379

Friday October 28 til Sunday October 30

CATHOLIC FAITH RENEWAL

Retreat by Fr Gino Henriques CSsR. Contemplate the Face of Jesus. See him more clearly, love him more dearly and follow him more closely. Fr Gino is a Catholic Priest of the Redemptorist Congregation.

He is an international speaker who has preached to Bishops, Priests, Religious and laity through retreats, seminars and conferences. For more information contact Maureen on 9381 4498, or Rose on 040 330 0720.

Saturday October 29

YOUTH WITH A MISSION OPEN DAY

Youth With A Mission has existed in Perth for over 20 years equipping young and old alike with the knowledge and methods to impact this city and nations abroad with the Gospel. A great event for a youth group. Date: 29th October 2005... time: 10am - 4pm... location: 150 Claisebrook Road, Perth... contact: (08) 9328 5321... hope to see you there.

Sunday October 30

INTERNATIONAL FOOD FESTIVAL

To be held at 5pm, at Sts John and Paul Church grounds, Cnr Pinetree Gully Road and Ingham Court. Everyone is Welcome.

Sunday October 30

51ST ROSARY RALLY, DIOCESE OF BUNBURY

St Bernard’s school grounds Kojonup. Program: 11am Mass with Bishop Holohan, 12.30pm BYO lunch (tea/ coffee provided), 1.30pm Rosary Procession, homily Rev. Brian Doro CSsR, Benediction concluding with afternoon tea. All welcome. Enq 9821 4675.

Friday November 4

GIANT SCHOOL FAIR

Fun for all ages. International Foods for a sit down meal or take-away, side show amusements, sumo wrestling, fire engine rides, lolly land, licensed bar, tea and coffee, craft, plants, cakes and preserves, silent auction, trash and treasure and many more stalls and activities at St Benedict’s Primary School, Cnr Canning Hwy and Alness Streets, Applecross. 4pm-9.30.

Friday November 4

ALLIANCE AND TRIUMPH OF THE TWO HEARTS

Eucharistic Adoration at St. Bernadette, 49 Jugan Street, Glendalough. First Friday Mass 9pm followed by hourly rosaries, hymns, prayers and silent adoration. Please visit Jesus in reparation to His Sacred Heart and to the Immaculate Heart of His Mother. All are welcome to visit for any length of time. Saturday

Friday November 4 – Sunday November 6

SILENT RETREAT

The retreat will be directed by Fr Anthony van Dyke OP, at St Joseph’s Retreat House, Safety Bay, for men and women 18yrs and over. For bookings and cost enquires please call Justin 9341 6139.

Saturday November 5

DAY WITH MARY

Holy Trinity Church, 8 Burnett Street, Embleton 9am – 5pm. A video on Fatima will be shown at 9am. A day of prayer and instruction based upon the messages of Fatima. Inc: Sacrament of Penance, Holy Mass, Eucharistic Adoration, Sermons, Rosaries, Procession of the Blessed Sacrament and Stations of the Cross. Please BYO. Enquiries – Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate 9250 8286.

Sunday November 6

PILGRIMAGE FOR MARRIAGE AND FAMILY LIFE

You are warmly invited to come along to a pilgrimage for marriage and family life at the Schoenstatt Shrine, 9 Talus Rd, Armadale. The day begins at 10.30am with Adoration, the rosary, Mass, a BYO picnic lunch, a talk on the life of Bl. Maria & Luigi Quattrocchi, activities for the children and concluding with a special consecration to the Holy Family (3pm). For further details please contact Cathy or Lucas Cavuoto on 9343 6213.

Sunday November 6

DIVINE MERCY

An afternoon with Jesus and Mary at St Mary’s Cathedral, Victoria Square, Perth, at 1.30pm. Program: Holy Rosary and Reconciliation. Sermon: with Fr Tim Shelton on All Saints and holy souls followed by Divine Mercy prayers and Benediction. Enq: John 9457 7771 or Linda 9275 6608.

Wednesday to Sunday November 9 - 13

CATHOLIC FAITH RENEWAL

Retreat by Fr Vincent Lee. Come and experience the power of the Holy Spirit. A retreat, accompanied by St Jude’s Choir, on Sin and Repentance. Fr Lee, from Singapore, is currently on mission in Africa and is well known for his evangelical mission around the world. He has conducted many spiritual and

healing retreats and Life in the Spirit Seminars in Singapore, Malaysia, Korea, China, India and Kenya. His zeal and love for spreading the good news have touched and reached the hearts of many who have come to listen to him. For more information contact Maureen on 9381 4498, or Rose on 040 330 0720.

Saturday November 12

AFTERNOON REFLECTION

You are warmly invited to an afternoon reflection on the Word of Life “...to possess the only life that is real,” (1Tim6:19). Commencing1.30pm at the L.J. Goody Bioethics Centre, (39 Jugan St, Glendalough) for Rosary and Reflection. Followed by a short walk to St Bernadette’s Church, Glendalough (cnr Leeder and Jugan Sts) for Adoration and Benediction at 3pm. Concluding with Mass at 3.30pm celebrated by His Grace, Archbishop Hickey and Fr Doug Harris. Afternoon Tea will be served at the Bioethics Centre. All welcome. Please RSVP by 10 November to Rosa on 9378 3044 or Bernadette on 9275 7765.

Sunday November 20

FEAST OF CHRIST THE KING

The Divine Mercy Apostolate invites everyone to celebrate the Feast of Christ the King at St Anne’s Church in Bindoon. A coach will pick up passengers from Our lady of Mercy Church, Girrawheen at 9am, then to St Bernadette’s Church, Glendalough at 9.30am then on to Sts John and Paul Church, Willetton at 10.15am and then to St Anne’s Church Bindoon. Tea and coffee will be provided during the day and after the afternoon’s celebrations. Coach will depart Bindoon at approx. 5.30pm. For general or program enquiries please call: John 9457 7771 (SOR) or Charles 9342 0653 (NOR).

CROSS ROADS COMMUNITY

Term 4 – 11th October until 16th December for:

Family & Friends Support Groups of Substance

Abusers are on Wednesdays 7–9pm, Substance

Abusers Support Groups are on Tuesdays 5.30 to 7.30pm & Fridays All day Group for Substance

Abusers is from 9.30am to 2pm including Healing Mass on Fridays @ 12.30pm during term. Ladies Group’s are on Tuesdays 11am to 1.30pm. Rosary is from Tuesday to Thursday at 12.30 to 1pm.

BUILDING TRADES

■ BRICK REPOINTING

Phone Nigel 9242 2952.

■ GUTTERS/DOWNPIPES

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

■ MJP PAINTING & DECORATING 

REG: 6197

“South of the River” quality work guaranteed. Phone Michael - 041 796 8802

■ PERROTT PAINTING PTY LTD

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

■ PICASSO PAINTING

Top service. Phone 9345 0557, fax 9345 0505.

CATHOLICS CORNER

■ RETAILER OF CATHOLIC PRODUCTS

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

CHANGE YOUR LIFE FOREVER

■ WORK FROM HOME

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

ENTERTAINMENT

■ FIRE ENGINE PARTIES

Children of all ages. Child care, kindy and Santa visits includes rides and squirting. Discount to readers. Call fire Chief David 0431 869 455.

FOR SALE

■ LUMEN CHRISTI HOMES

Augusta Life Time Lease. Enquiries Catholic Diocese of Bunbury 9721 0500.

FURNITURE REMOVAL

■ AAA SLIPSTREAM

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

■ ALL AREAS

Mike Murphy 0416 226 434.

HOLIDAY ACCOMMODATION

■ BUSSELTON

Geog Bay, Park Home sleeps UP TO 6, winter rates apply. Ph Elizabeth 0408 959 671.

■ DENMARK

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

■ DUNSBOROUGH

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

IN MEMORIAM

■ MORAN, NE: MONAGHAN

Magadalene, Joan. Dearly loved sister and aunt of Bill and Tess and family. A.C.T.

■ CANNY, BRIAN JOSEPH

Remembering Brian Joseph Canny on his third anniversary October 18. Dearly loved husband, dad and pa of Janet, David, Janine, Paul, Greg and their families. May his soul RIP.

OFFICIAL DIARY

POSITION VACANT

■ MEDICAL PRACTICE MANAGER

Part-time medical practice manager required. Previous medical reception/ practice management experience desirable. Please send CV to 8/10 McCourt St, West Leederville 6007. Applications close 27 October. Please call 9388 1334 for more information.

■ PARTTIME SECRETARY

Applications are invited for the position of a part-time secretary at St Joseph Pignatelli parish, Attadale. Computer skills are required, and applications IN WRITING with CV should be addressed to: Fr Geoff Beyer, 35 Davidson Road, Attadale, 6156 by 28 October. Enq: 9330 3727.

REAL ESTATE

■ SHEILA SHANNON

Thinking of changing your address?

Selling or buying, please think of me! Sheila Shannon, First Western Realty, ...hoping for your call 040 88 66 593.

RELIGIOUS PRODUCTS

■ HUMBLE MESSENGER

Shop 16/80 Barrack St (Inside Bon Marche Arcade) Perth WA 6000.

Trading Hours: Monday-Closed,TuesFri-10am-5pm, Sat-10am-3pm, Ph/Fax 9225 7199, 0421 131 716.

■ RICH HARVEST  YOUR CHRISTIAN SHOP

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

THANKS

■ THANKSGIVING TO THE HOLY SPIRIT For prayers answered. MPB.

■ ST JUDE FOR PRAYERS ANSWERED For those in need or distress, pray to St Jude. TP

OCTOBER

21 40th Anniversary Mass for Parish of Karrinyup - Archbishop Hickey Confirmation, Woodvale - Bishop Quinn

21-23 Parish Visitation and Confirmation, Osborne Park - Bishop Sproxton

22 Vigil Mass followed by Blessing of Memorial Wall, Bayswater - Archbishop Hickey

22 & 23 Confirmation, Clarkson - Mgr Thomas McDonald

23 Mass and Induction of Fr Quadros as Parish Priest, Dianella - Archbishop Hickey Confirmation, St Mary’s Cathedral - Archbishop Hickey Confirmation (2), Lockridge - Fr Greg Carroll

24 Bible Ceremony, Cottesloe - Archbishop Hickey

26 Children’s Mission Mass, Greenwood Parish - Archbishop Hickey Visit Confirmation candidates, St Michael’s School, Bassendean - Archbishop Hickey

TUESDAYS WEEKLY PRAYER MEETING

7pm at St. Mary’s Cathedral Parish Centre, 450 Hay Street, Perth, WA. Take time to pray and be united with Our Lord and Our Lady in prayer with others. Appreciate more deeply the heritage of the Faith. Overcome the burdens in life with the Rosary, Meditation, Scripture, praise in song, and friendship over refreshments. Come! Join us! Mary’s Companion Wayfarers of Jesus the Way Prayer Group. Experience personal healing in prayer.

DIVINE WILL RETREATS

Two weekend retreats revealing the wonders and richness of the “New and Divine Holiness” as the Holy Spirit gave it to Luisa Piccarreta, the retreat will be held at God’s Farm, Gracewood, 40k’s south of Busselton. Both retreats will be presented by Fr Hugh Thomas CSsR. Retreat No. 1 “Introduction to living the divine will” 14-16 Oct. Retreat no. 2 “Our Lady and the divine Will” 21-23 Oct. Retreats begin on Friday at 7pm and conclude Sunday at 2pm. We can meet buses by arrangement. Enq Michael after 12pm 9434 6331 or Betty 9755 6212.

BULLSBROOK SHRINE SUNDAY PROGRAM

Shrine of Virgin of the Revelation, 36 Chittering Rd. Bullsbrook. 2pm Holy Mass, Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and Holy Rosary. Reconciliation available in Italian and English. A monthly pilgrimage is held on the last Sunday of the month in honour of the Virgin of the Revelation. Anointing of the sick is administered for spiritual and physical healing during Holy Mass every second Sunday of the month. All enq SACRI 9447 3292.

SCHOENSTATT FAMILY MOVEMENT: MONTHLY DEVOTIONS

An international group focussed on family faith development through dedication to our Blessed Mother. Monthly devotions at the Armadale shrine on the first Sunday at or after the 18th day of the month at 3pm. Next event: October 23. 9 Talus Drive Armadale. Enq Sisters of Mary 9399 2349 or Peter de San Miguel 0407 242 707 www.schoenstatt.org.au

ST CLARE’S SCHOOL, SISTERS OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD

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

ALL SAINTS CHAPEL

CONFESSIONS: 10.30 to 11.45am and two lunchtime MASSES: 12.10 and 1.10pm Monday through Friday. Easy to find in the heart of Perth , 77

ALLENDALE SQUARE, St. George’s Terrace, Perth, WA. Exposition: 8am - 4pm. Morning Prayer: 8am (Liturgical hours). Holy Rosary daily: 12.40pm.

Divine Mercy Prayers and Benediction: Mondays and Fridays 1.35pm. St Pio of Pietrelcina Novena to the Sacred Heart and Benediction: Wednesdays 1.35pm. Lending Library of a thousand books, videos, cassettes at your service. Tel: 9325 2009. www. allsaintschapel.com

INDONESIAN MASS

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

PERPETUAL ADORATION

Christ the King, Lefroy Rd, Beaconsfield. Enq Joe Migro 9430 7937, A/H 0419 403 100. Adoration also at Sacred Heart, 64 Mary St Highgate, St Anne’s, 77 Hehir St Belmont. Bassendean, 19 Hamilton St and Mirrabooka, 37 Changton Wy.

PERPETUAL ADORATION AT ST BERNADETTE’S

Adoration: Chapel open all day and all night. All welcome, 49 Jugan St, Glendalough, just north of the city. Meanwhile, Masses every night at 5.45pm Monday to Friday, 6.30pm, Saturday and the last Sunday Mass in Perth is at 7pm.

Liturgical Launch of Archbishop’s LifeLink Christmas Appeal, Catholic Pastoral Centre - Archbishop Hickey, Bishop Sproxton

27 Diaconate (Redemptoris Mater) at St Gerard’s Mirrabooka - Archbishop Hickey, Bishop Sproxton

28 State Reception to farewell Governor of Western Australia - Archbishop Hickey

Opening and blessing of renovations at St Augustine’s School, Rivervale - Mgr Michael Keating

Opening and blessing of new buildings at St Benedict’s School, Applecross - Mgr Michael Keating

28-30 Parish Visitation, North Beach - Bishop Sproxton

29 “Live Mass for You at Home” - Archbishop Hickey

30 Confirmation, Bassendean - Archbishop Hickey

Confirmation, Catholic Agricultural College - Mgr Thomas McDonald

Confirmation, Maida Vale - Mgr Peter McCrann

NOVEMBER

2 Novena Mass for Holy Souls, St Mary’s Cathedral - Archbishop Hickey

BLESSED SACRAMENT ADORATION

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

SUNDAY CHINESE MASS

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

CONFRATERNITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

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

First Sunday of each month

DEVOTIONS IN HONOUR OF THE DIVINE MERCY

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

THE DIVINE MERCY APOSTOLATE

St Mary’s Cathedral, Victoria Square, Perth – each

first Sunday of the month from 1.30pm to 3.15pm with a different priest each month. All Saints Chapel, Allendale Square, 77 St George’s Tce, Perth - each

Monday and Friday at 1.35pm. Main Celebrant

Fr James Shelton. St Francis Xavier Church, 25 Windsor Street, East Perth - each Saturday from 2.30pm to 3.30pm, main celebrant Fr Marcellinus

Meilak, OFM. Saints John and Paul Church, Pinetree

Gully Drive, Willeton - each Wednesday from 4pm to 5pm. All Enq John 9457 7771.

of the Federation to a Memorial Mass for our late Treasurer & former President

Raymond Kennedy PETERSON (15 November 1945 - 5 September 2005)

Catholic Pastoral Centre Chapel Mary St, Highgate

6pm Monday 31October 2005 Ph: 9271 5909 for details

Please Note

The Record reserves the right to decline or modify any advertisment it considers improper or not in unison with the general display of the paper.

Last Word

Light expresses faith

Ocean Reef parish has installed new stained glass windows depicting scenes from the life of its patron, St Simon Peter. The scenes begin with

Jesus calling Peter to follow him, Peter walking on the water (and sinking), the washing of the feet (a symbol of service and priesthood) and Peter

given the keys of the kingdom as head of the Church. Funds are needed for four post-resurrection scenes on the other side of the altar.

14.

Both married men and women enjoy better health on average than do single or divorced individuals. Selection effects regarding divorce or remarriage may account for part of this differential, although research has found no consistent pattern of such selection. Married people appear to manage illness better, monitor each other’s health, have higher incomes and wealth, and adopt healthier lifestyles than do otherwise similar singles.

A recent study of the health effects of marriage drawn from 9,333 respondents to the Health and Retirement Survey of Americans between the ages of 51 and 61 compared the incidence of major diseases, as well as functional disability, in married, cohabiting, divorced, widowed, and never-married individuals. “Without exception,” the authors report, “married persons have the lowest rates of morbidity for each of the diseases, impairments, functioning problems and disabilities.” Marital status differences in disability remained “dramatic” even after controlling for age, sex, and race/ethnicity.

A major study conducted by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare in 1994 found that married people have less insomnia and are less nervous than previously married or never married people. It also found that married people have less ulcers than the previously married, although about the same amount as the never married. Married people also smoked less and used less alcohol than never married or previously married people.

A National Health Survey of 19,000 Australians released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in October 1997 found that separated, divorced and widowed people think they are in poorer health than their married and de facto contemporaries.

Finally, an Australian study found that cancer, diabetes and heart disease are all about 40 per cent higher among previously married men and women.