The Record Newspaper - 21 August 2013 by The Record

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AUSTRALIA AND THE ASYLUM SEEKERS

How did we come

TO THIS?

Experienced and long-time migrant chaplain Fr Anthony Paganoni CS ponders what Australia’s latest attitude to refugees and asylum seekers says about us...

NE might take the view that, considering the accumulation of fears in Australia added to the complexities surrounding the refugee situation, we have moved to a situation that is definitely not “a many-splendoured thing” – indeed, quite the opposite. Yet the undeniable truth is that we live in this lucky and affluent island nation, Australia, which has been peopled by successive waves of migrants and refugees, not forgetting that the first inhabitants are believed to have originated in Africa. Through a simple search in the national and state archives, one can trace one’s origins, the forebears who arrived two centuries ago at the most. Our own or our ancestors’ relatively recent arrivals make us all a nation of immigrants, where identities and cultures have come together “Our daily conversation to shape and form the vast and rich collection of individual stories we about refugees has call Australia. As is so clearly shown been drained of any in the Encyclopedia of the Nation (subtitled The Australian People degree of rationality and edited by James Jupp), we are all brushing elbows with people of and replenished with different origins. catchphrases and just Australia is an island nation and because of its geographical plain, brazen lying...” setting, with its only residents being historically migrants or refugees, the ever-changing dissimilarities of its population resemble those of the ancient Roman legions which were successfully merged with local populations without causing major upheavals. Even up until very recent times, repeated struggles have served to convince new and old Australians that the island nation is indeed a ‘land of opportunity’, where a ‘fair go’ has been the maxim, shaping prevalent social and thinking patterns. I dare say, however, that moods are changing – and not only moods. Issues surrounding refugees have rapidly escalated and become exacerbated over the last decade or so. We speak about people who have not yet landed on Australian shores and yet have somehow become an almost incendiary substance (or made to appear as such?), in spite of Continued on Pages 10-11 A Libyan boy looks on during celebrations of World Refugee Day in 2012 at a UN refugee camp in Benghazi, Libya.

PHOTO: CNS/ESAM AL-FETORI, REUTERS

As Crispin is ordained to ministry of diaconate, everyone rejoices By Peter Rosengren HUNDREDS of members of Neocatechumenal communities across Perth – from the very young to the very old – joined together to celebrate the ordination to the Diaconate of Crispin Chanda Witika at St Gerard Majella Church in Westminster on August 14. Bishop Donald Sproxton, who ordained Crispin, said the occasion was a great moment, not only for the Neocatechumenal Way but also for the Church in Perth. Twenty-two priests, seminarians from St Charles’ Archdiocesan Seminary and Archbishop Emeritus Barry Hickey were among those who turned out for the occasion. Also present to support him were Deacon Crispin’s fellow seminarians from Morley’s Redemptoris Mater Seminary, together with St Charles Rector Monsignor Kevin Long and Redemptoris Mater Rector Fr Michael Moore SM.

Toto and Rita Piccolo, a married couple who are the Sydneybased responsibles for the Neocatechumenal Way in Australia, were also present. The evening, Bishop Sproxton said in his homily, was linked to two significant events in the life of the Archdiocese: it was the

The occasion was also significant as the 19th anniversary of the opening of Redemptoris Mater seminary... 19th anniversary of the establishment of the Redemporis Mater Seminary run under the auspices of the Neocatechumenal Way, but it was also 19 years since Archbishop Hickey had courageously re-opened St Charles as the Archdiocesan

seminary; it had been the regional seminary until 1975 and had been running since 1942. Both decisions had played an enormous role in the revitalisation of the priesthood for the Church in Perth and both bishops present for the evening were former students of St Charles. Meanwhile, the occasion, the eve of the Feast of the Assumption, was significant, said Bishop Sproxton. While non-Catholic Christians often have great difficulty with Catholic beliefs about Mary, Catholics firmly believe that the woman who is the Mother of God already enjoys the Resurrection. The feast was therefore an occasion for everyone present that evening to return to Mary in their own thoughts, reflecting on the experiences in their own lives they hold in common with her. The lessons Mary has to teach are vital, he said. “One thing she has taught us is Continued on Page 3

Bishop Donald Sproxton prays over Deacon Crispin Witika, moments after ordaining him to the diaconate at St Gerard Majella Church on 14 August. PHOTO: PETER ROSENGREN

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Ukrainians to join in celebrating freedom

Round-Up JUANITA SHEPHERD

Bolly good night for student charity Hands on India, a Murdoch University chiropractic student initiative where students travel to India to provide chiropractic care to the people of Silguri, North West Bengal, held its annual fundraising ball on Saturday, August 17 at the Rendezvous Hotel in Scarborough. The ball included a three-course meal, Bollywood dancers, henna artists, a silent auction and a raffle. All money raised will go to Seva Kendra, a Catholic mission with which the Murdoch University chiropractic students have an established relationship. “It was a lot of fun,” Sarah Seddon, a Murdoch student, said. “The ball was well put together and it is for a beautiful cause.”

Craigie Parish gears up for Spanish Camino A local group has put together a 2014 itinerary for anyone interested in walking the Camino, a 9th century Catholic pilgrimage leading to Santiago De Compostella, a city in north-western Spain and home to the remains of St James the Great enshrined in the city’s Cathedral. The walk will commence on September 1, 2014 in the French Pyrenees and finish in San Rago, Spain around early October. An information session will be held at Our Lady of the Mission Catholic Church, located at Camberwarra Drive, Craigie on Saturday, August 17 at 10am. For more information, email Shirley Ann from Whitford Parish on shirleyann. poulton@gmail.com or call 9407 8156.

Murdoch University Chiropractic students and friends celebrated Bollywood style at their fundraising ball in support of the Seva Kendra, a Catholic mission in India, on August 17. PHOTO: SUPPLIED

Willetton to host Silva Mind Control method The Willetton Catholic Parish is holding a parish retreat led by Friar Justin Belitz OFM from September 1 till September 5 at 7pm each day. Friar Justin Belitz OFM is a Franciscan

that goal by integrating mind, body and spirit. The results include control of pain, rapid healing, cure of headaches, sleep disorders and even cancer. Sessions are also repeated at 9.30 am from Monday – Thursday; for more information and further enquiries, call the parish on 9332 5992.

priest and an international and inspirational speaker with over 30 years’ experience who will host the retreat entitled Success; Full Living. Friar Justin hopes to help people of every age, race or religion to find their way to a full, happy life. He shares how relaxation, meditation and prayer are keys to achieving

Blessed Junipero Serra 1713-1784 August 28

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Accounts accounts@therecord.com.au Journalists Mark Reidy m.reidy@therecord.com.au Robert Hiini r.hiini@therecord.com.au Matthew Biddle m.biddle@therecord.com.au Juanita Shepherd j.shepherd@therecord.com.au Advertising/Production Mat De Sousa

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A Spanish missionary who is buried in California, Miguel Jose Serra was born on the Mediterranean island of Majorca. He entered the Franciscans in 1730, taking the name Junipero to honor an original companion of St. Francis of Assisi. He taught after being ordained, but in 1749 volunteered for mission work among the Indians of Mexico and Texas. In 1767, the Franciscans under Father Serra took charge of the missions in Baja California, and in 1769 he accompanied a military expedition into Alta (upper) California, where he founded nine of the 21 missions stretching from San Diego to Sonoma. Beatified in 1988, he is the inspiration for Serra International, which encourages and affirms vocations.

Saints

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Monday 26th - Green 1st Reading: 1 Thess 1:1-5,8-10 Thank God for you Responsorial Ps 149:1-6,9 Psalm: Sing a new song Gospel Reading: Mt 23:13-22 Blind leaders Tuesday 27th - White ST MONICA (M) 1st Reading: 1 Thess 2:1-8 God gave us courage Responsorial Ps138:1-3,4-6 Psalm: You know me Lord Gospel Reading: Mt 23:23-26 Straining gnats Wednesday 28th - White ST AUGUSTINE, BISHOP, DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH (M) 1st Reading: 1 Thess 2:9-13 Life worthy of God Responsorial Ps 138:7-12 Psalm: You are there Gospel Reading: Mt 23:27-32 Alas for you Thursday 22nd - Red THE PASSION OF ST JOHN THE BAPTIST, MARTYR (M) 1st Reading: 1 Thess 3:7-13 Praying always Responsorial Ps 89:3-4,12-14,17

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READINGS OF THE WEEK

SAINT OF THE WEEK

Editor

On July 16, 1990, the Declaration of State Sovereignty of Ukraine, establishing the economic, political and social structure of the Ukrainian nation, was signed - the first step in the process of gaining independence from the grip of the Soviet Union. Known as the August Putsch, The Declaration of State Sovereignty of Ukraine was further enacted in the aftermath of the coup d’état attempt by hard-line members of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union on August 19 to take control over the country out of the hands of Mikhail Gorbachev. Following the failed attempt of the coup d’état, on August 24, 1991 the Ukrainian parliament adopted the Act of Independence in which it declared Ukraine as an independent and democratic state. Ever year, Ukrainians celebrate their Independence Day with concerts, festivals and hosting of the Ukrainian flag. This year, on Sunday, August 25 from 12pm till 3pm, the Ukrainian Association Perth WA, in conjunction with the Ukrainian Catholic Church and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, is hosting the Ukrainian Independence Day concert and lunch at the Inglewood United Soccer Club. The three-course catered lunch includes entrée, main course, dessert, tea and coffee. The tickets are priced at $35 for adults, $20 for children up to the age of 15 and $5 for infants and children up the age of five. For more information and booking queries, contact: Jamie Duff on 0419 855 750, Bodhan Mykytiuk on 0403 301 079, Peter Mowczan on 0410 331 731, David Marunczyn on 0400 572 647 and Michael Levytskyy on 0468 644 924.

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Psalm: Wisdom of heart Gospel Reading: Mt 24:42-51 Stay awake Friday 30th - Green 1st Reading: 1 Thess 4:1-8 Holiness of life Responsorial Ps 96:1-2,5-6,10-12 Psalm: The Lord is King Gospel Reading: Mt 25:1-13 All fell asleep Saturday 31st - Green 1st Reading: 1 Thess 4:9-11 Greater progress Responsorial Ps 97:1.7-9 Psalm: The Lord comes Gospel Reading: Mt 25:14-30 Faithful servant Sunday 1st - Green 22ND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME 1st Reading: Sir 3:17-20,28-29 Behave humbly Responsorial Ps 67:4-7,10-11 Psalm: Exult and dance 2nd Reading: Heb 12:18-19,22-24 Heavenly Jerusalem Gospel Reading: Lk 14:1,7-14 Humble exalted

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Catholics celebrate difference at Marriage Mass By Matthew Biddle ALMOST 200 people gathered at St Mary’s Cathedral in Perth to celebrate a special Mass to mark National Marriage Day on August 13. Despite protestors planning a rally against the event, only about a dozen same-sex marriage advocates stood outside the Victoria Square Cathedral gate handing out flyers for a rally supporting same-sex marriage next month. While the gathering attracted a reasonable crowd, there was a marked absence of Catholic married couples younger than the age of 50. One of the protestors, Andrew Markey, told The Record that, numerically, there was far more public support for same-sex marriage than for traditional marriage. “From what I’ve seen, there really aren’t hundreds of people here,” he said. “The day equal marriage rights pass through parliament there will be thousands of people on the streets celebrating.” The notional popularity of samesex marriage in the wider community seemed to also prompt Archbishop Emeritus Barry Hickey after the Mass, when he emphasised the importance of giving witness to traditional marriage. “We must give public witness to our faith; we must give public witness to the sanctity of marriage,” he said. “In these last few years, we’ve seen our society move away from [marriage]. It is the witness of a truly committed relationship in marriage and family life that our society needs.” In his homily, Bishop Donald Sproxton told the congregation there is much work to be done to defend marriage. “National Marriage Day is an occasion for us to gather and to pray… for the work that needs to be done to bolster the truth about marriage in our society… and to fight the odds that may seem overwhelmingly large,” he said. He also reminded those present to be charitable when contending with any opposition. “It is with love that we continue to proclaim the truth and we do so with respect for those who oppose us,” he said. “Give that message to our society patiently but decisively, give that

message that marriage is unique… it’s not something that can be changed to accommodate another type of relationship.” Bishop Sproxton also warned against the use of language such as “partner” when speaking of one’s husband or wife. “We need to be very careful too that the word ‘marriage’ is not

It is with love that we continue to proclaim the truth and we do so with respect for those who oppose us. degraded and given new definitions,” he said. President of the Australian Family Association John Barich announced at the conclusion of the Mass that Ron and Mavis Pirola would be the ambassadors for marriage for the next 12 months. The couple, who have been married for 54 years, were members of the Pontifical Council of the Family from 1985 to 2010.

Pro same-sex marriage protestors, top, at St Mary’s Cathedral on August 13. Above, the scene inside at Perth’s National Marriage Day Mass where Archbishop Emeritus Barry Hickey and Bishop Donald Sproxton spoke. PHOTOS: PETER ROSENGREN

Community shows ‘The Way’ it’s done at ordination Continued from Page 1 the ability to become the humble one, to ponder on our mission, to give herself completely to the call God had given her, not knowing what it might lead to,” he said. So also, Deacon Crispin must follow in the footsteps of Mary’s example, he said. Meanwhile, being able to reveal his own fragility and weakness through his ministry as a deacon would be a great encouragement to all the members of the Church, Bishop Sproxton said; people everywhere would be able to see that, like Deacon Crispin, their own failings and weaknesses can be overcome and healed by God’s grace. The distinctive liturgy was celebrated according to the permission given by the Church to the Neocatechumenal Way. Vibrant singing nearly lifted the roof on several occasions, while everyone present joined in the reception held later at St Gerard Majella school next door where Deacon Crispin ceremonially cut a cake and thanked all those who had supported him. The Neocatechumenal

Deacon Crispin Witika celebrates following his ordination. P ROSENGREN

Way is one of the fastest growing of what are usually described as the new movements in the Church. Founded in the slums of Madrid in 1968 by Spanish artist Kiko Aguello, the Way is regarded as one manifestation among many of what is called the new evangelisation. It seeks to assist Catholics already baptised but often not practising their faith to rediscover the nature and meaning of baptism. Thousands of small Neocatechumenal communities exist in parish settings around the world. Members follow an ongoing path of immersion in Scripture and the major themes of salvation history.

Just over the Causeway on Shepperton Road, Victoria Park. 9415 0000 D/L 6061

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Coeliacs in the Church rejoice By Matthew Biddle CARMELITE NUNS in Nedlands have discovered a way to make Communion hosts that have almost all gluten content removed. The low-gluten hosts are now available to parishes to allow coeliac disease sufferers to receive Holy Communion without fear for their health. Sr Joanne told The Record she has been making a small amount of the altar breads since March. “Basically, I started it when I saw how expensive it was for people to buy [low-gluten] hosts,” she said. “By luck, chance, but I’d say providence, we found a way to do it. I really want to let people know that it’s very low gluten and it’s safe without actually worrying anyone that it’s not approved by Rome.” Canon Law states that the altar bread used for Holy Communion must be made from wheat and water. Furthermore, in 1994, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, led by the then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, issued a decree stating that Communion hosts must contain enough gluten to attain the “confection of bread”. It also stated that using “glutenfree” hosts made of rice, corn, or tapioca starch would constitute “invalid matter” for consecration and therefore transubstantiation would not occur. Sr Joanne said the hosts made by the Carmelites in Nedlands have a “trace” of gluten content. She said the mixture was tested and the amount of gluten present was less than five parts per million - the minimum amount detectable. Considering the average weight of a Communion host is one-fifth of a gram, the amount of gluten is

Low-gluten hosts approved for Mass are handmade at the Benedictine Convent of Perpetual Adoration in Clyde, Missouri. PHOTO: CNS

miniscule. Technically, such a small amount can be classified as “glutenfree”; however, the “trace” of gluten present means the hosts fulfil the Vatican’s requirements.

The Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code defines “glutenfree” as containing “no detectable gluten”. Benedictine nuns in the US have

Many don’t consider it serious, but coeliacs do because they’re the ones suffering. Earlier this month, in America, the Food and Drug Administration defined “gluten-free” as containing less than 20 parts per million of gluten content.

made low-gluten hosts for the past decade, but Sr Joanne said she does not follow the same recipe. “The way we do it is quite different from the way they do it, because

the end product is quite different, it’s more like the ordinary altar breads,” she said. “I found I could make altar breads with pure wheaten starch, [which] is wheat flour with almost all the gluten extracted. But it’s pure wheat, it’s nothing else, wheat and water, but very, very low-gluten.” The process itself is both timeconsuming and difficult, Sr Joanne said. “By a few accidents I actually found by doing this first stage... which I call preparing the dough, I can then put it on the iron and bake it and it comes out very nicely. I’ve had very positive responses about the quality of it,” she said. With up to 250,000 sufferers of coeliac disease in Australia, Sr Joanne said she felt it was important to assist them. “I feel myself that the Lord wants it done so that these people can go to Communion,” she said. “It’s very difficult if the Church insists on this [rule], so I think the solution is if people can make [the hosts] from wheat starch… it’s a way out of the conundrum.” Fr Robert Cross, who suffers from coeliac disease and uses a low-gluten host when he celebrates Mass, said while consuming gluten would not be fatal for him, it could result in numerous “nasty things”. “I think a lot of priests think that being a coeliac is all in the mind, but it’s not,” he said. “It’s basically an allergic reaction that happens in your intestines.” “A lot of priests don’t consider it serious, but coeliacs do because they’re the ones suffering. “I think every parish should make it known that the low-gluten bread is available for those who wish to receive it.”

Vatican talks with LCWR continue Members of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious announced on August 19 at the close of their assembly and national board meeting in Orlando that they were pleased with dialogue they had with the Church official appointed to oversee their organisation. During the August 12-16 annual gathering in Orlando and a three-day national board meeting afterward, women religious met with Archbishop Peter Sartain of Seattle, appointed by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to oversee a reform of LCWR. Last April, the CDF said a reform of LCWR was needed, citing infidelity in areas including abortion, euthanasia, women’s ordination and homosexuality. In a statement, the sisters said the discussion with the Archbishop gave them “hope that continued conversations of this depth will lead to a resolution of this situation that maintains the integrity of LCWR and is healthy for the whole Church”.

Correction Last week, we incorrectly reported Archbishop Clune’s date of death as occuring in 1835, and not 1935 - the result of a typographical error. In an article about Fr Wayne Bendotti’s fundraising efforts for PMH, the web address was incomplete. It should have read: https://chevroncity2surf2013. everydayhero.com/au/wayne

Archbishop Hickey to sing for F J Sheen By Mark Reidy

For further information please email: wavnsm@gmail.com

EXPECTATIONS are high for this year’s “An Hour for Sheen Concert” with three outstanding Perth artists joining Emeritus Archbishop Barry Hickey in his first performance since 2009. Daniel Tobin, Secretary and co-founder of the Fulton J Sheen Society, is excited at the talent that will be on display at Trinity College on September 4 for the 13th edition of the annual event. “This year’s concert will be the first appearance for two wonderfully gifted individuals, Ry Charleson and Chris Waddell,” Mr Tobin said, “and it will be the third performance for Yan Kee who has won numerous vocal awards both here and in Malaysia.” Yan Kee majored in Vocal Performance at the University of WA and her talents have been acknowledged at the North Perth Music Festival and the WA Music Teacher’s Association. She has performed with the Australian Opera and currently teaches singing at Perth College and Corpus Christi College. Nineteen-year-old Ry Charleson is currently training in classical voice at the WA Academy of Performing Arts, winning the Michelle Robinson Award for Most Outstanding Vocalist in 2012. Also making his debut will be Chris Waddell, whose voice has been a part of the St Mary’s Cathedral choir over many years. Trained in London, Mr Waddell spent 20 years as a professional singer, including periods with the WA Opera Company, WA Symphony

Orchestra and the Australian Opera in Sydney. Mr Waddell told The Record he had been born into a musical family and had spent his first three years within a “golf shot” of the Sydney Conservatorium where his father attended. “He was there at the same time as Joan Sutherland so it was likely I was exposed to her singing in those early years,” he laughs. Mr Waddell said that he still felt nervous before performances but was looking forward to returning to his “old turf ” of Trinity where,

My father was there at the same time as Joan Sutherland so it was likely I was exposed to her singing in those early years. as a student, he had developed his love for singing. Since the concert’s inception in 2000, the Fulton J Sheehan Society has raised tens of thousands of dollars for missions within Australia and overseas and a percentage of this year’s funds will be used for the training of priests at the St Charles’ Seminary in Guilford. An Hour for Sheen Concert. Wednesday, September 4, 7.30pm. Gibney Hall, Trinity College, East Perth. Cost: $30 including supper (concession for Seniors and Pensioners). Bookings and Enquiries: 9291 8224 or sheensociety@globaldial.com.

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Netball titan launches her academy at Aranmore YEAR 9 students involved in the Specialist Netball Program at Aranmore Catholic College, along with West Coast Fever players Josie Janz and Courtney Bruce, helped netball great Liz Ellis launch the Foxtel All-Stars Liz Ellis Academy recently at the College’s new stateof-the art Sports Science centre. Foxtel has teamed up with Ms Ellis, one of the most respected names in netball, to create an innovative netball academy that will give 500 netball players aged 12 – 16 the chance to participate in a free one-day clinic led by Academy ambassador Liz Ellis and her team of expert coaches. “My passion and dedication to the sport has opened up some incredible opportunities for me. I look forward to sharing my experiences with a new generation of netballers and encouraging more kids to get out on the courts playing sport,” said Ms Ellis. Fifty lucky WA netballers will win a place at the Perth Academy. To apply, visit: www.foxtelallstars. com.au. Each winner is encouraged to bring a friend who is new to netball to experience an inspirational introduction to the sport. For Aranmore Specialist Netball Program students (and staff!), the opportunity to meet and talk to an athlete of Liz Ellis’ calibre was an incredible opportunity. Said one netball student: “I can’t believe that this morning I woke up and came to school and stood on court with my all-time favourite athlete in the world!” The highly reputable Aranmore Specialist Netball Program has been offered at the College for over 15 years. The Netball Program, together with the equally successful Specialist Rugby and Specialist Music Programs, are run by highly qualified specialist staff with the aim of developing and challenging students with a keen interest in these areas. - ARANMORE

Australian netball great and former Diamonds captain Liz Elliz (centre) launching the Foxtel All-Stars Liz Ellis Academy at Aranmore Catholic College in Leederville surrounded by Aranmore students. The academy will have 500 places for children aged 12-16. PHOTO: ARANMORE CATHOLIC COLEGE

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Islamists target churches in Egyptian blame game ATTACKS on Christian churches and institutions in Egypt appeared to be the result of Islamist extremists’ anger over what they perceived as Christian support for the ouster of former President Mohammed Morsi. In mid-August, three days after the military crackdown on Morsi supporters, Egypt’s Catholic Church published a list of 58 destroyed or damaged Christian churches, as well as a commentary by the country’s leading Jesuit criticising the West’s characterisation of “poor persecuted Muslims”. On August 18, after five days of “terrorist attacks, killings and the

burning of churches, schools and state institutions”, Coptic Catholic Patriarch Ibrahim Isaac Sedrak, president of the Council of Catholic Patriarchs and Bishops in Egypt, thanked “our honourable Muslim compatriots who have stood by our side, as far as they could, in defending our churches and our institutions”. The Associated Press reported on August 19 that nearly 1,000 people had been killed in violence between security forces and Morsi supporters. The violence began on August 14, when security forces raided camps of Morsi supporters conducting protests in various

cities around the country. In the ensuing days, stories began emerging of attacks against Christian institutions. As far back as December, Islamists had been accusing Christians of being the predominant

emerging under Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood. Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II and Egypt’s grand imam, Sheik Ahmed el-Tayeb, appeared alongside General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi during his televised announce-

Islamists have accused Christians of being the predominant force behind Morsi’s ousting. force behind the protests against Morsi, Egypt’s first democratically elected president, who took office in mid-2012. Some observers said Christians were uncomfortable with the politicised Islam that was

ment on July 3 that Morsi had been removed from office, increasing the impression of Christian involvement in what some termed a military coup and others described as the military enacting the will of the

What it takes to make it in the Big Apple

Notre Dame students to foster great gift in kids

AN EXCITED group of staff and students has recently returned from Iona Presentation College’s inaugural New York Tour. Director of Performing Arts, Matthew Aris, said 11 drama and six dance students were accompanied by two staff members on a trip that was 12 months in the planning. “The idea of the tour was not only to absorb the New York culture but to gain exposure to workshops, auditions and make contact with people who are currently working in productions and to gain an insight on what it takes to make it in the business,” Mr Aris said. “Our students had the privilege of working with Donna MarieAshbury, a 15-year veteran from the Broadway hit Chicago. The girls learnt a dance routine with her, before seeing the stage performance a couple of days later.” Other highlights included the Dance students having three workshops at the Alvin Ailey Dance Company before having the unique opportunity to audition for the New York City Ballet. Concurrently, the Drama students studied improvisation and the Meisner Technique with Ted Bardy, and a workshop on Shakespeare with director Andrew Goldberg. “One of our students reflected after the workshops that ‘this is more than talent – it is about attitude and persistence. If you want this then eventually you can achieve your goal. No question. It’s a matter of time’ and we hope that this snippet of New York they have seen may well set the scene for bigger and brighter things to come,” Mr Aris said. The girls also, of course, loved walking across the iconic Brooklyn Bridge, watching Perth born actor and composer Tim Minchin’s Matilda – The Musical as well as taking in the views from the Empire State Building and visiting the Metropolitan Museum.

St Charles welcomes Anglican visitors ST CHARLES’ archdiocesan seminary was the site of ecumenism in a shared love of learning earlier this month. On Wednesday, August 7, the Rev Dr Peter Llewellyn, Dean of Ministry at John Wollaston Anglican Theological College and 12 students for the Anglican ministry visited St Charles in its picturesque surrounds of Guildford. The afternoon of fellowship started with afternoon tea, followed by four seminarians sharing their vocational story with their Anglican visitors. Vespers was then celebrated together in the seminary chapel

people. After the August 14 military crackdown, angry extremists throughout Egypt seemed to target Christians and police, although some moderate places of Islam were also targeted. Internet photos of two Christian churches attacked in Mallawi, in Minya, a province south of Cairo where Christians make up around 35 per cent of the population, showed decapitated statues, burned courtyards and door frames, sacked and burned church offices and piles of rubble. Photos of people praying in burned-out churches have been posted and shared online. - CNS

led by seminary rector Monsignor Kevin Long and Father Peter from Wollaston. A lovely meal, much conversation and further sharing concluded the visit. All agreed that St Charles and Wollaston College should hold an annual meeting. St Charles currently has 17 fulltime students, with around half being in their first four years of formation. Seminary formation averages seven years. Seminarians usually study at Notre Dame University in Fremantle although several seminarians for the Archdiocese of Perth are currently receiving formation in Rome.

St Charles’ Seminary rector Kevin Long, right, with several St Charles seminarians. and guests from the John Wollaston Anglican Theological College. ST CHARLES

EDUCATION students at The University of Notre Dame Australia’s Fremantle Campus will have the unique and rewarding opportunity of teaching the valuable lesson of reading to children in foster care through a groundbreaking program developed to improve literacy outcomes. The Discovery Book Club, launched by the Minister for Mental Health, Disability Services and Child Protection, The Honourable Helen Morton MLC, at the University in July, will see Notre Dame’s pre-service teachers spend at least one hour each week reading with children in care. Often, many children who come into foster care arrive with few or no possessions, have had little exposure to books or being read to, and received minimal schooling. The purpose of the Discovery Book Club is to establish a sustainable community partnership and resource model to support the development of positive reading relationships and literacy skills of children coming into care. As part of the project, each child entering care will receive an individual and specially-selected parcel of books every six months for a two year period. These new and pre-loved books have been supplied and donated by several project partners. “This is a project that we hope will play a significant role in increasing the literacy skills of our most important resource – our children,” Mrs Morton said. “For many children coming into the care of the Department, their previous home environment may not have exposed them to adequate reading and writing resources. This can be a significant deterrent to the development of literacy skills which would otherwise greatly enhance life prospects. “The Discovery Book Club project provides immediate education inter vention, encouraging reading and a lifelong love of learning. “The University of Notre Dame Australia is an important partner and has played a pivotal role in the initiation and development of this project. Through this partnership, tomorrow’s teachers are getting first-hand insight and understanding into how trauma affects learning.” Foundation Year Education student at Notre Dame’s Fremantle Campus, Aisha Dixon, spoke at the project launch. “One of the lessons that reading has taught me is that imagination is one of the biggest weapons and productive tools that anyone can possess,” Ms Dixon said.

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Faith no saccharine confection: Pope FAITH isn’t something decorative one adds to life, but is a commitment that involves making choices that may require sacrifice, Pope Francis said. Faith “is not decorating your life with a bit of religion as if life were a cake that you decorate with cream,” the Pope said on August 18 before reciting the Angelus with visitors in St Peter’s Square. Pope Francis’ Angelus address included an explanation of a passage from the day’s Gospel reading from Luke in which Jesus tells his disciples: “Do you think that I have come to establish peace on

the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.” Jesus was telling his disciples that loving and serving God had to be the “basic criteria of life”, Pope Francis told thousands of people gathered under the midday sun to pray with him. “Following Jesus means renouncing evil, selfishness and choosing goodness, truth and justice even when that requires sacrifice and renouncing our own interests.” Living a truly Christian life can lead to division, even within families, the Pope said. “But attention: It’s not Jesus who divides. He sets

out the criteria: Live for oneself or for God and others, ask to be served or serve; obey one’s ego or obey God - it is in this sense that Jesus

Faith is not decorating your life with a bit of religion as if life were a cake that you decorate with cream. is a ‘sign of contradiction.’” When Jesus told his disciples he had come

to “set the world on fire”, the Pope said, he was not authorising the use of force to spread the faith. “Rather, it is the exact opposite: The true force of the Christian is the force of truth and love, which means renouncing the use of violence.” “Faith and violence are incompatible,” he said. At the same time, Pope Francis said, “faith and strength go together. The Christian is not violent, but is strong. And with what strength? That of meekness - the strength of meekness, the strength of love.” - CNS

Patriarch thanks his Muslim compatriots

How much do Iona students care? Heaps!

Students with some of the 1,000 items of food and clothing that Iona Presentation College raised for Catholic outreach agency Shopfront recently.

Pope Francis blesses the crowd at Castel Gandolfo on August 15. CNS

IONA

SPEAKING on behalf of Catholics in Egypt, Coptic Catholic Patriarch Ibrahim Isaac Sedrak said the violence and unrest in his country are “not a political struggle between different factions, but a war against terrorism.” In an August 18 statement, the patriarch said the country’s Catholics strongly support “all state institutions, particularly the armed forces and the police for all their efforts in protecting our homeland”. The violence in Egypt began at dawn on August 14 when the Egyptian military and police used bulldozers and tear gas to clear out camps of people protesting the ouster of President Mohammed Morsi in early July. Morsi was supported by the Muslim Brotherhood, which wants Egypt to have an Islamic inspired government. In addition to the fighting at the camps, mobs began attacking Christian churches, schools and convents, claiming the Christians supported Morsi’s ouster. Yet there also were reports of Muslims forming cordons around Christian churches to protect them from the mobs and of Muslims offering shelter to their Christian neighbors. Patriarch Sedrak’s statement thanked “our honorable Muslim compatriots who have stood by our side, as far as they could, in defending our churches and our institutions.” The leader of the country’s Orthodox community, Coptic Pope Tawadros II, warned those engaging in violence in Egypt that God would judge them for their actions. - CNS

New trading hours push a threat to the good life By Matthew Biddle EXTENDING Sunday trading hours may cause “significant damage to society” according to a spokesman for the Archdiocese of Perth. State Commerce Minister Michael Mischin is considering extending working hours on Sundays in Perth by an additional two hours last week. Sunday trading in Perth has operated from 11am for the past year, but the Minister is weighing up whether shops should open their doors at 9am. In a statement, the Archdiocesan spokesman said the change would have a major impact on families. “People, and especially families, need time to rest and relax together in order to nurture and sustain strong family bonds,” he said. “The gradual whittling away of a common

time when the majority of people are able to attend to this important dimension of their lives may enable the retail sector to increase its profits, but this may come at a significant cost to our society. “Extending Sunday trading hours has in places also diminished the rights of employees, some of whom have experienced penalties by their refusal to work longer hours.” Full-time university student Chitalu Kapambwe, who has worked in a nursing home on weekends for the past three years, told The Record her working hours are problematic. “It is difficult for me to attend Mass… I have university the whole week and I only get to work over the weekend,” she said. “I had to talk to my manager to drop one Sunday so I can go to church every alternate week.” With her family in Zambia, Ms

Kapambwe has to work on weekends in order to pay for her living expenses. State president of the National Civic Council Frank Lindsey said an extension of Sunday trading would have several undesirable effects. “The extension to trading hours, on a Sunday in particular, would further the destruction of common time, by which I mean the time which is available to the community to participate in collective activities such as sport,” he said. “Collective activities are, by definition, dependent upon participants having common time away from work in order to participate in them and are important to the development of social capital, especially in children.” But Mr Lindsey said it was almost inevitable that Mr Mischin would decide in favour of extending Sunday work hours.

Full-time university student Chitalu Kapambwe says working on weekends has made it difficult to get to Mass. PHOTO: ROBERT HIINI

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Students, teachers go hungry for 40 Hour Famine By Leanne Joyce AN EAGER group of 30 students and three teachers from Kolbe Catholic College were involved in the 40 Hour Famine this year. The famine started on the evening of August 15 and students struggled through the next day before coming together as a group to stay overnight at the college. Hungry and tired, students participated in many ice-breaker activities and games to help take their minds off the famine experience. Representatives from World Vision visited the students on their overnight stay to talk about the importance of the cause and the benefits of the 40 Hour Famine. They showed students evidence of change and brought hope and inspiration to the group. Courtney, Ella, Dain and Esmera led a game where students represented the tribes of Africa, including face painting and tribal dancing. This game helped students understand the importance and use of scarce resources. It wasn’t about profits, it was about the students trying to create a sustainable and efficient living. A talent quest where students showed their weird and wacky skills soon followed. A cool-down session of movies and fruit juice was definitely needed towards the end of the night. The next morning, students watched a documentary on Hugh Jackman’s involvement with Ethiopian children and the impact he has made. Gambling barley sugars and other activities made students realise the importance of food in their lives. Various film clips played throughout the stay reminded students of the positive change they were making. It was an amazing experience with amazing people and one none of the students will forget. Working together as a group made the famine much easier than everyone thought it would be. The group have been given much inspiration to do more and also have a sense of hope that they are able to give the children in Malawi a sense of freedom. It made the participants realise how fortunate and lucky they are to have been born into a prosperous country such as Australia.,

Students from Rockingham’s Kolbe Catholic College took part in World Vision’s 40 Hour Famine last week.

PHOTO: LEANNE JOYCE

Volunteers to shake a tin for Vinnies’ Annual Street Appeal THE St Vincent de Paul Society is calling for volunteers to assist by “shaking a tin” at the Annual Street Appeal on Friday, September 13 from 7am to 6pm in the Perth CBD and Subiaco. Money raised in the Annual Street Appeal goes straight back into the community, helping the Society to provide emergency relief to struggling individuals and families across WA. Volunteers can assist at the Street Appeal for as little as one hour or stay for the whole day, and the Society hopes that around 100 volunteers will join staff and conference members to fundraise on the day. The St Vincent de Paul Society can also provide infor-

mation to people who are interested in organising a fundraiser for Vinnies in their office on September 13 to coincide with the Street Appeal. In previous years, office-based fundraising activities have included free dress days, office morning teas or lunches and raffles. Anyone interested in volunteering or organising a fundraising event for the 2013 Vinnies Street Appeal can contact the St Vincent de Paul Society’s Events Coordinator Stephanie Rullo on 9475 5414 or email fundraising@ svdpwa.org.au. For more information on the work of the St Vincent de Paul Society visit www.vinnies.org. au.

Students from Santa Maria College in Attadale have regularly assisted the St Vincent de Paul Society’s Annual Street Appeal. PHOTO: SUPPLIED

Healing Marist priest returns to Perth bringing By Matthew Biddle

Marist priest Fr John Rea will lead several healing services at various parishes in Perth over the next three weeks. PHOTO: PETER ROSENGREN

RENOWNED healing priest Fr John Rea is back in Perth for the fifth time and is set to help people suffering from physical and mental afflictions once again. Scores of people around the world have attributed miraculous healings to the prayers of New Zealand’s Marist priest over the past 40 years. Several remarkable cases have been well documented, including cures of cancer and infertility, the repair of broken bones and restoration of sight. Despite the large number of healings that have occurred, Fr Rea says each individual case still brings him great joy. “When I hear of a healing, I get a great surge of joy every time,” he says. “It’s a mystery of course, because it’s in the Lord’s hands, I just see myself as a kind of catalyst. It’s not me, it can’t be. “What I believe the Lord is doing with me is replicating his own public life. I’m a professional preacher as a priest, and the preaching is accompanied by signs and won-

ders. Why signs and wonders? To make the truth more acceptable to people who are perhaps in some doubt. Also the signs and wonders draw a crowd.” And crowds will indeed flock to the healing Masses that Fr Rea will lead at various parishes over the next three weeks.

“I usually spend about an hour praying before the Blessed Sacrament, asking the Lord to tell me some of the things he’s going to heal that night.” He says before he prays with individuals after Mass, he makes a general prayer for healing as part of the thanksgiving after Communion. After the prayer he prophetically announces some of the conditions or illnesses that will be healed. “[The Lord] gives me some insight

into some of the things he’s going to heal,” he explains. “It might be ‘There are three people here with arthritis, one of these is a lady, she’s in her fifties, the arthritis is in her hips, she’s wearing a green dress.’ So it’ll be detail like that.” When asked where these insights come from, Fr Rea says he doesn’t get visions or hear voices, but simply gets an “impression”. “I usually spend about an hour in the afternoon praying, preferably before the Blessed Sacrament, asking the Lord to tell me some of the things he’s going to heal that night, and that’s when the impressions come and I jot them down,” he says. Sometimes Fr Rea will also specify a time frame within which the healing will take place. “This comes from something I picked up from reading a book by a Korean evangelical pastor, in which he spoke about the importance of being exact in what you’re asking for,” he says. “I give the Lord a deadline to make the prayer more exact.” Fr Rea has been the “catalyst” for healings since attending a charis-

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Perth volunteer dines with the Pope By Juanita Shepherd TWELVE young people chosen from five continents had lunch with Pope Francis at the Sao Joaqim Palace in Brazil during World Youth Day (WYD) in July. Among them was a young Perth woman, Josephine Yustira, who told The Record the memory of having lunch with the Pope would stay with her forever. Before lunch the 12 volunteers, together with the Bishop of Rio de Janeiro and Pope Francis, prayed the Rosary followed by the Angelus. Lunch began with grace and Miss Yustira compared the occasion of having lunch with the Pope to having lunch with her grandfather. “The Bishop of Rio De Janeiro was there and he is like your dad,” she said. “You see him all the time but the Pope is like your grandfather, you don’t see him so often.” Miss Yustira described the lunch as “interactive”; even though the Pope cannot speak English, he understands the language and with the aid of translators the language barrier was not an issue. However, it wasn’t the language barrier that halted conversation, but the fact that no one could believe they were having lunch with the Pope. “The first 15 minutes was quite awkward,” Miss Yustira said. “Everyone was stunned and nervous, you don’t get to see the Pope every day, let alone have lunch with him but the Pope was joking with us. He said, ‘Please say something,’ and we were joking back and saying it’s not ever yday we have lunch with the Pope.” Pope Francis asked each individual about their involvement in the Church. Miss Yustira told the Pope she was part of the Indonesian Youth Catholic Charismatic Group in Perth, also known as the Turrist Ministry, as well as a special minister at St Thomas Moore Parish in Bateman. The Pope’s questions even made the volunteers around the table cry. “He asked us why young people suffer,” Miss Yustira said. “He also told us that God loves us so much and he wants to use us to spread the love God has for us and that we are the future of the Catholic Church.” Pope Francis told the group to pray to Mary by using a story to convey his message to the volun-

teers. “He said if a young child has a problem he always runs to his mother,” Miss Yustira said. “The child asks for her comfort, so like the child the Pope told us to go to Mother Mary and say the Rosary more.” The lunch was a big surprise for Miss Yustira, who had had doubts

“I didn’t have any friends and I didn’t speak Portuguese or Spanish, only English,” she said. “I thought, God if you want to use me as it is than here I am.” Miss Yustira was assigned to the information centre at the Ganto Gallo Station at the Metro. She was given food, accommodation and

Pope Francis told us that God loves us so much and that we are the future of the Catholic Church. about WYD. “When Pope Benedict resigned my faith was shaken,” she admitted. “I thought to myself were we going to have a Pope for World Youth Day?” While Miss Yustira’s fears were settled with the election of Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio as Pope, her arrival in Brazil was not without its obstacles.

transportation and credits her position as a volunteer for bringing her out of her comfort zone. She recalls Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB saying in his homily at the commissioning Mass to be open, be ready for surprises and to expect nothing. “Having lunch with the Pope was the best moment throughout my volunteer work,” she said.

Top, Josephine Yustira - left at far end - enjoyed lunch with Pope Francis during WYD. Above, Miss Yustira displays the Rosary, commemorative gold coin, and box of cookies she received as mementoes. PHOTOS: CNS; MATTHEW BIDDLE

hope for sufferers of physical and mental pains matic retreat in 1973. It was during this retreat that he was suddenly asked to take over the prayers for healing when the retreat director became unwell. Some time later, Fr Rea was informed that a man whom he had prayed for who was unable to focus his eyesight due to a stroke had been miraculously healed. But Fr Rea says lay Catholics have an even greater ability than priests to be instruments of healing. “The Lord gives his charisms to whomever he wants,” he says, adding, “Lay hands and see what happens.” “You need the charism of healing, which is one of the charismatic gifts the Lord gives. And the usual way to get charismatic gifts is to be baptised in the Holy Spirit.” He describes this baptism as an “adult consecration and dedication of oneself to God”. “It enables the spirit that has been living inside us since we were baptised in water to come out and act through us, and it acts through what are called charismatic gifts,” Fr Rea says. But being a part of the charismatic movement is not the only

way to be an instrument of healing. “You don’t have to be in charismatic renewal, it’s just a movement that helps the whole thing along,” Fr Rea says. “If you are baptised in the spirit, and a lot of people are without realising it, they’ve made some sort of adult commitment of themselves, the Lord can flow through them.” Fr Rea, who considers himself a preacher rather than a healer, says while God uses him mainly for physical healings, inner healings are often more important. “A lot of the things we pray for we may not see any visible sign of, like praying for the conversion of people,” he says. “There can be a profound change and they’ve turned away from a life of sin to a life of virtue and you don’t even know about it.” The only things Fr Rea says he can’t do anything about are curing people of the seven deadly sins. “You can’t be healed from pride, envy, greed, anger, gluttony, lust or sloth,” he says. “You’ve got to die to those things… people have got to practise self-denial in order to get rid of

the roots of sin, you can’t be healed from them.” The 81-year-old priest prays daily for the inner conversions of many people, including celebrities and media personalities. “I pray every day for Madonna, I pray for Sinead O’Connor, Shirley MacLaine... and a number of peo-

“You can’t be healed from pride, envy, greed, anger, gluttony, lust or sloth. You’ve got to die to those things... people have got to practise self-denial.” ple on radio and television in New Zealand,” he says. But it’s not only the rich and famous who need healing, in fact, everyone needs healing of some sort, Fr Rea asserts. “For example, everybody in their lives has experienced rejection, so

they need to be healed from rejection,” he says. “They need to be healed from fears. Some people have a spirit of rebellion, they need to be healed from that, so there are a lot of interior things.” The healings that Fr Rea has witnessed generally occur anytime between at the instant the prayer is recited to three weeks later. But there have also been cases where Fr Rea has prayed for years before the healing occurs. Although some people are never healed, Fr Rea says that’s not up to him to decide. “Everybody will be healed ultimately... but nobody can give a full answer to [why some people are healed and other’s aren’t], it’s a big mystery,” he says. One may wonder if Fr Rea uses a particular format for his healing prayers, but he says he leaves that to the Holy Spirit. “The prayer’s always brief, I don’t want to get my own personality intruding on God’s work,” he says. There is, however, one common denominator present in a healing – faith.

“Someone has to have faith, and it doesn’t seem to matter very much who it is,” Fr Rea says. “It can be the person doing the praying, it can be the person who’s being prayed with, or it can be a friend, and there are examples of all three in the New Testament.” While Fr Rea is constantly amazed at the miracles he witnesses, doctors and sceptics remain doubtful even when presented with an unexplainable healing. “Doctors find it very hard to think outside the frame of their medical science, most of them find it very hard to accept a physical healing,” he says. “I suppose we’ve got to confront them with many healings for that to happen. If they’re honestly seeking truth, eventually they’ll have to accept that this is the hand of God.” And Fr Rea intends on doing just that, by helping the healing of as many people as possible. “I’ve got a number of conditions that may come to people as they age, but I’ve got no intention of giving up what I’m doing,” he says.

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How did we ever come

TO THIS?

A reflection on Australia, boat people, asylum seekers – and what we have become. By Fr Anthony Paganoni CS

Syrian protestors climb the border fence between Syria and Israel during a demonstration near the northern Druze village of Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights weeks after the Syrian uprising commenced. Then-Pope Benedict XVI renewed his appeal for an end to bloodshed in Syria. Casualties from the Syrian conflict are expected to surpass 200,000. PHOTO: JALAA MAREY, REUTERS, CNS

A Thai policewoman holds a Hmong child refugee at the Ban Huay Nam Khao camp in Phetchabun province, Thailand in December 2009. The Thai army began the forced repatriation of thousands of ethnic Hmong asylum seekers to Laos, defying international concerns that some Hmong would be persecuted back home. PHOTO: ROYAL THAI ARMY, REUTERS, CNS

Continued from Page 1 the fact that those who have previously been processed and resettled in Australia have not been reported as being disrespectful to the Australian way of life. The call to “stop the boats” (a simple slogan hiding deep complexities) coexists with various interpretations of the push factors in their countries of origin, and of the Geneva Convention, which is subjected to various legal and para-legal interpretations – as if we didn’t know how to put it into practice anymore or are very reluctant to do so. All of these arguments and the existing asylum models seem to annoy everyone involved: first and foremost the refugee families trying to save their relatives hopelessly living in camps, then the Australian workers forced to act as jailers for people they are supposed to be helping and the Australians invited, almost day in and day out, to embrace a 'get tough' stance. Why is it that a few thousand totally unknown people have, in recent times, become responsible for infringing our sovereignty by violating our national bor-

A boy looks out from his family's tent at al-Mazraq refugee camp near the Yemeni province of Saada in October 2009. At the time, scores of Yemeni civilians were straggling daily into this scorching, sandblown camp near the Saudi border, fleeing battles between the army and Shiite rebels in northern Yemen. PHOTO: KHALED ABDULLAH, REUTERS, CNS

pictures of their anguish at being told so. Has the suffering of others become an opportunity to exploit? What is this spectacle implying for the island nation peopled by successive waves of migrants and refugees? Our steady and sad decline into the abject victimisation of a vulnerable group of people goes on unabated. We are now at the point where it seems that the truth of the people’s lives counts for almost nothing. Yet the truth of the matter is that these people – boat people – have been fenced off, barred from any access to any rule of law, outlawed, significantly deprived of contact with other human beings and duped – as we suspect they have been – by the so-called people smugglers. The accusing finger is severely and disdainfully pointed at these shadowy entrepreneurs: “merchants of the flesh”, as Blessed John Baptist Scalabrini used to call them. But even people smugglers fall into two categories, argues former ALP President Barry Jones: Some are evil, some are not. Jews were smuggled out of Germany in 1938 as

Syrian refugees rest after they crossed into Jordan with their families from Syria near Al Mafraq in February this year. PHOTO: MUHAMMAD HAMED, REUTERS, CNS

Politicians can say and do almost anything, trump up lies and easy labels without being held to account, simply because there is no way facts can be checked.... ders? The irony of it all is that we know that many more people in Australia are already staying illegally, such as those who have overstayed their visa or gained illegal access through airports. Have we unknowingly resurrected an attitude of rejection similar to that acclaimed in Terra Nullius which was culpable for inflicting marginalisation and suffering on the traditional owners of this land – an attitude which in today’s version is culpable for fencing out thousands of defenceless men, women and children in order to prop up a perilously false sense of national safety and security? Not only are we denying asylum seekers arriving by boat any hope of settling in Australia, but we are publishing

human cargo – and many died because they were turned back from Britain, the United States and Palestine. Were people smugglers involved? You bet. Were they to be condemned? You bet. And the people who smuggled Jews from Denmark to Sweden or from France to Switzerland? Waves of refugees don’t depend on the sales pitch of people smugglers – they depend on the degree of desperation in the countries of origin. Our daily conversation about refugees has been drained of any degree of rationality and replenished with catch phrases and just plain, brazen lying spread by ideological and political winds of the moment to the far corners of our country. Politicians can say and do almost any-

An internally displaced Somali refugee girl waits for her turn to collect water from a tank at a refugee camp in Dadaab, Kenya, near the border with Somalia in July 2011. More than three million Somalis were then at risk of starvation in the country, where a deadly mix of drought and conflict had caused mass movements of people seeking help. PHOTO: THOMAS MUKPYA, REUTERS, CNS

thing, trump up lies and easy labels without being held to account simply because there is no way facts can be checked – or the truth revealed about lives lost at sea or in refugee camps. Among so many winds blowing in all directions, the wind of fear is pervasive. I must add, at this point, that the winds of fear are not confined to Australia. The 'Fortress Europe syndrome' has dictated

the political agenda of a number of parties in Europe, particularly in Spain, Italy and Greece where human cargoes, notwithstanding thousands of known deaths in the Mediterranean, are definitely not figments of the imagination. The wall across the US/Mexican border, built to stop Latinos from crossing into the rich Norte, the Eldorado, is equally responsible for the death of hundreds, possibly thou-

sands, of young people who, after having been abandoned by traffickers, have tried unknown routes, only to die of dehydration and exhaustion in the Texan desert. South Africa's electrified borders are likewise the setting for numerous painful and tragic dramas. And these are by no means the only stories. I alluded earlier to the push factors. Fear has become the greatest motivation and the most obvious negative factor influencing large segments of popular opinion in developed nations, aided by a mix of compassionfatigue and xenophobic feelings towards strangers, even when these are known to represent welcome additions to depleted segments in the labour market of the G8 nations. Comparing our own national record with that of other similarly placed national communities leads one to conclude that Australia's attitude smacks of arrogance. Developed nations, including Australia, have forgotten the simple fact that, according to UNHCR reports, most of the world's refugees, the victims of enormous economic imbalances and often fratricidal civil wars, are being hosted in third world countries. Up until recently, the Geneva Convention, as amended by the 1967 protocol, has been hailed as the norm – one which safeguards humanitarian principles and considerations against the dangers of suppression in the inter-

ests of short-term political advantage. Particularly over the last decade, populist politics in Australia have promoted an ill-informed debate about refugees. The rhetoric, fanned by both sides of politics, advocates tough action to stem the flow of refugees and smash the operation of people smugglers, so as to save the sovereign right to safeguard national frontiers. But it has turned the nameless, faceless, stateless and homeless refugees into a public enemy – to be feared, above

sion, what alternative is viable and worth pursuing? In the insistence that “we decide who comes to this country and the circumstances in which they come” (as former Prime Minister John Howard famously asserted), I sense a one-sided approach to sovereignty – as if our way of life is ours by right, and so within our right to share or withhold as we see fit. A gift, after all, cannot be demanded. It is and must be given freely. Above all, it must be ours to

It seems to me that, somehow, the ethical and moral assumptions at the basis of the Geneva Convention, in its different phases of drafting and final resolution, have been relegated to the dustbins of history... all. It seems to me that, somehow, the ethical and moral assumptions which were at the basis of the Geneva Convention, in its different phases of drafting and final resolution, have been relegated to the dustbins of history. This is a loss, sad and unforgivable, in our secularised world where the phrase “human dignity” has become like an indispensable household appliance, yet maintaining its practical relevance has become an uphill battle. If we fear the boats because we have drowned a sense of fairness and compas-

give for we can only give what we have. But have we really earned that entitlement, as philosopher Patrick Stokes of Deakin University asks? It is nice to be lucky, but it is not a merit. Who decides that our nice dessert is only ours to enjoy? Accepting such a radical contingency can appear disquieting, but it can turn out to be liberating. And inclusive. According to St Thomas, misericordia (mercy) implies a real grief as if the others’ suffering were our own, a ready responsiveness to the distress of others,

the kind that we would normally offer to those in our family and community. But misericordia cannot be activated unless the climate of fear, the strong currents of obtuse selfishness, is sidestepped. Fear must be replaced by trust and faith with encounters that convey sanity and humanity. Refugees, both in their transit facilities and places of resettlement, have often testified to the value of the informal friendship offered to them through church-related groups. The offer of simple and direct advice, the organisation of activities and outings, the sharing of celebration, the teaching of a new language, money for the bus ticket, clothes and toys for children and the opportunities for volunteering that churches present can help to counter the isolation, fear, disempowerment and enforced passivity experienced by people on the move. In fact, personal relationships providing emotional, informational and tangible support are vital and essential. But even more crucial is the type of relationship: there is a way of helping people that fills their hands but breaks their hearts: what is kindness to the helper can be cruelty to the helped. Mutuality needs to be at the heart of all encounters between refugees and supporters. Christians must go beyond an approach that is only about duty, towards one which is definitely a source of reciprocal enrichment, guarding against imposing assumptions about what best assists re-settlement. Refugees, like migrants, need to be allowed to be themselves, to be real. Webs of uncertainty, fear, joy and hope need to be honoured and friends should avoid suffocating or absorbing the ‘otherness’ of strangers. All this and more will go a long way towards transforming lives of fear and uncertainty into something entirely different. What is the role of churches and nongovernment organisations in the political football of constantly changing rules and moods? I believe there is an inescapable political role. Political engagement may take a variety of forms from publishing responses to government decisions,

to awareness-raising and lobbying. The human identity of strangers needs to be represented in circles where their own voices are rarely, if ever, heard. Given that forced migration and the climate of fear it breeds are transnational, paths out of fear are also likely to be transnational. And churches, particularly the Catholic Church, are well placed in the international arena to lift refugees and migrants from their predicament onto another level compared to that sponsored by various bodies struggling for dominance and access. The Church must simply offer a radically different imaginative landscape, in which people can discover possibilities of change. The real miracle of the kingdom of God is to become like children again – beginners again, perennial students, true scholars, that is. Above all, never to take exclusive possession of anything, not even the insights about our own answers.

Those we keep out

n the last six months of 2012, a typical update on Syria from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees consisted of about 2,300 newly registered refugees. In the first six months of 2013, an average update had 7,300 refugees. By July 2013, the UN had registered more than 1.6 million refugees and acknowledged more than 200,000 still awaiting registration. Now, the UN expects the number to rise to 3.5 million Syrian refugees by the end of 2013 and that a further 1.9 million people in the region will need help as a result of Syria’s crisis. Estimated fatalities currently run between 80-100,000 persons. - THE GUARDIAN

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A house of

LOVE

Perth Deacon Trevor Lyra recently visited Vietnam with his wife Deirdre. There, the couple came across a remarkable situation: Vietnamese Religious Sisters who care for the poor and the disabled with few resources adequate to the needs surrounding them. Deacon Lyra penned this report for The Record. Meanwhile, the Sisters will visit Perth in mid–September and Perth Catholics will have a great chance to support their work...

HEN we went to Vietnam in October last year for a holiday just to see the country, we were told about a Redemptorist monastery in Ho Chi Min city, formerly known as Saigon. So when we went there and met the Rector, we donated some clothes for orphans that his order looked after; and he told us about another orphanage which we tried to get in touch with but had no luck. When we returned to Perth, an Infant Jesus parishioner told us that a couple of Sisters from that very same orphanage had visited the parish to raise money to build a new orphanage that a Religious order called Sisters of the Lovers of the Cross are building. We tried to contact them and eventually managed to track them down on email when they had returned to Vietnam. From then on, we were in contact and wanted to be benefactors. So, to satisfy ourselves that things were OK, because we were told a lot of stories about Vietnam, we asked if we could come and live with them, to take in the whole story – how they sleep, wake up, how they are fed – not just to say we visited and came back. We did the whole ‘investigation’ ourselves. When we returned in August (this month), we were extremely surprised by what we saw and

learned in this remote part of Vietnam. We are supporting two other missions in India, and we found this particular mission different in the sense that the work that we are doing in India is in a democratic country. The challenge in Vietnam is under a Communist regime often hostile to the Catholic faith. So there is total dependence on sponsors. We had to dodge the Communist system to live with the Sisters. According to their legislation, foreigners can’t live within religious institutions, so we had to find ways of virtually slipping away from the

foetuses three times a week. I asked them what do they do with them the other days? They said they’re taken away for research to be conducted on them. The Sister said that when she started doing it, she asks these unborn children to intercede for her in her ministry, and since then she has found that she has received enormous and unexpected help – pointing to us as one such example. The Sisters also go to the local hospitals where patients are not provided any meals or facilities to make meals. So every morning she and her Sisters provide soup and hot water,

Once a month the sisters provide 300 or so of these disabled people with milk and rice... probing eyes of ‘the faceless men’ what the locals call the police who are spies to the government interior ministry. Apart from the orphanage, the Sisters look after the aborted foetuses – they go into the abortion clinics, collect the foetuses, put them into separate capsules and give them a proper burial. They have proper tombs, made of bricks with eight pockets where they deposit the capsules. They tile them so they look respectable, and to date they have buried 21,000 foetuses. They only get access to these

which they use for their tea, coffee etc. She also visits the disabled in their homes – the ones unable to come out – and supplies them with what little assistance they can – that is, home visitation, taking vegetables, dry fish and whatever they receive themselves. Once a month, the Sisters provide 300 of these disabled people with milk and small quantities of rice, depending on what the Sisters can afford. We gave money to buy 100 10kg bags of rice, which they distributed to 100 people for their families. The Sisters started the orphan-

Deirdre Lyra helps to feed disabled children at the orphanage run by the Vietnamese Sisters she and her husband stayed with in August, above. Deacon Lyra, at right, with a Sister, visits the graves of aborted, unborn children for whom the Sisters have taken responsibility for providing burials. PHOTOS: TREVOR AND DEIRDRE LYRA

age seven years ago and, to date, have 93 children ranging from two weeks to seven years old. The Sisters feed, clothe, bathe and educate them, including art and music, and ensure they are prioritised over the adults. Out of the 93, 13 are handicapped. It is believed that they are victims of the infamous Agent Orange episode, where the local crops were

sprayed with the chemical by the US during the Vietnam War, and today it’s now leaking into the food chain and large numbers of children are born severely deformed. The premises at the moment that they use are too small for all the children and, due to the range in their age group, they need to separate them for their own safety. They find it very difficult to

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therecord.com.au August 21, 2013

Eternity really a continuation of the destiny we choose The idea that God ‘sends’ us to either heaven or hell really misses the point that it is much more we who choose where we are to go...

Orphaned infants, above, cared for by the Vietnamese Sisters of the Lovers of the Cross. While the Sisters care for them, they cannot afford nappies or matresses for the cots used during the day. PHOTO: TRVEOR AND DEIRDRE LYRA

accommodate them so they sleep on the verandahs, and the infants don’t sleep on mattresses during the day, just the hard steel of the cots, as the Sisters can’t afford nappies for the babies’ daily needs. So the big problem facing the Sisters at the moment is accom-

modation because the numbers are increasing virtually on a daily basis. They are keen to see the completion of these new premises; and the initial stages of construction have started. When they first told me about their order, I told them they have to love the cross in what they’re doing, as it’s such a challenging mission – and she smiled when I explained it that day. In the same village where the orphanage is, we met a blind old woman with five children, four of whom are severely disabled, whose

When I looked back at the photos we took while there, it brought tears to my eyes. Their situation is poignant and touching. husband left her when she went blind. Her daughter – her only child who is not disabled – is now married with four of her own children. She comes daily and is a carer to her mother and her disabled sibling brothers, all whom are over 20. The woman and her sons are totally incapacitated. The boys crawl, they can’t toilet themselves, and live in a house infested by rats. When it rains heavily, the floor floods. The house is about the size of a bedroom in the average house

in Australia – more like a shack. I asked the Sisters to give me an estimate of what it would cost to bring the shack up to some sort of respectable standard, given their desperate situation. They managed to get me a price and I’ve asked her to go ahead and put a proper roof over their head, re-do the walls that are currently rotting timber, and fix the floor. It needs to be said, we’re not exactly rich. My wife and I are what I’d call an average middle class family. But what we consider spare change quite literally changes the lives of these people, who live in conditions that we can’t even comprehend until we see it for ourselves. When I looked back at the photos after the trip, preparing this article for The Record, it brought tears to my eyes again. It brought their reality into focus. The situation in Vietnam almost beggars belief. While we visited in August, the Sisters and the children at the orphanage put on a concert for us, even performing an Indian skit, as they knew we were originally from India. It must be said, their musical skills and synchronisation to the music was astounding – though we’re no experts on music… The Sisters will be visiting Perth and the Vietnamese Catholic Community is hosting a fundraiser for them on September 14 at 52 Albert St, North Perth at 7pm, where they will have a dinner and talks by the Sisters on their mission. For details, contact Trevor on (08) 9453 6847.

EATH, Judgement, Heaven and Hell. No matter who we are, where we live or what we do, we will get to experience three of these four options, with heaven or hell being the final destination. Interestingly, in any poll that is taken, belief in heaven always rates higher than belief in hell, but I wonder if most people have a slightly skewed understanding of both locations. I was reading a small devotional book the other day and in the section on eternity it stated that those who have done their best in life will be “rewarded” with heaven, and those who have disregarded God’s laws would be “condemned” to hell. That is, of course, the most basic way to explain these destinations, the good go to heaven and the bad go to hell. I have no problem with belief in either place. The founder of Christianity spoke at great length about both so to disregard them is to really disregard the faith in general. However, I fear this simplistic way of describing eternity is sticking around far too long in the faiths of those who haven’t been to Sunday School for many years. It also makes belief in eternity seem even less believable to those who profess no faith. When we use these terms of reward and punishment, sceptical modern man easily conceives of God as some great police officer and humanity as no more than a bunch of individuals perpetually ‘on parole’, walking a fine line between eternal happiness and eternal misery. Under the gaze of this all-consuming being, we can respond like good children appearing to follow all the rules, or we eventually fall too many times and begin to believe that nothing we do will be good enough for the allperfect judge. Understandably, a God like this is not going to rate very highly. Even for the believer there has to be more to faith than acting a certain way in order to be rewarded with heaven. Thankfully, humanity is greater than a pack of trained dogs and eternity more than the bone that inspires us one way or the other. In its simplest, heaven is the eternal state of existence for those who choose to be in relationship with God and hell is the eternal state of existence for those who choose to separate themselves from God. Contrary to popular belief, God sends no one to hell. Individuals send themselves to ‘hell’ by living a life that is

Foolish Wisdom BERNARD TOUTOUNJI

contrary in every way to truth, beauty and goodness. It might be said similarly that God sends no one to heaven, that is, God does not force anyone into an eternity with him. An individual chooses ‘heaven’ by living a life that responds correctly to truth, beauty and goodness. At our death, the judgement we receive is actually the moment when for the first time we see perfectly clearly who we are and it is that reality that points us to our eternal destination. God is goodness and those who respond to goodness as best they know are responding to God. Edith Stein, a Jewish intellectual who became a Christian and Carmelite Nun before being killed by the Nazis in World War II, said rather beautifully, “All those who seek

Edith Stein, the Jewish Carmelite nun killed by the Nazis, once said that all who seek truth seek God – even if they don’t realise it at the time. truth, seek God, whether this is clear to them or not”. In other words, God is truth himself and one cannot participate in truth without participating in some aspect of God. It is why as human persons we pursue truth at all costs, created in the image of the one who is the truth our entire beings seek out. In fact, our whole lives are really an ongoing struggle between truth and untruth. Some truths we find easy to accept – that two and two equals four. Other truths we will struggle with our whole life. God observes this struggle and cheers us on, offering us all the assistance that we are willing to accept but we must choose freely as it is only in freedom that we can truly love. Heaven is more an invitation than a destination; it is an invitation to walk in the ways of righteousness and those ways begin now, in this life. The Eastern Christians, especially, call the process divinisation, that is, our life of heaven or hell begins on earth. Where we end up in eternity is merely a continuation of the life we have lived in time.

FUN FAITH With

AUGUST 25, 2013 • LUKE 13: 22-30 • 21ST SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME

CROSSWORD

TODAY’S GOSPEL Luke: 13:22-30

JESUS SAVED WHERE NARROW MASTER Across 4. Someone said to him, ‘Sir, will there be only a few ____?’ 5. ‘Once the ____ of the house has got up and locked the door, you may find yourself standing outside knocking on the door...’ Down 1. But he will

answer, “I do not know ____ you come from.”

Through towns and villages Jesus went teaching, making his way to Jerusalem. Someone said to him, ‘Sir, will there be only a few saved?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Try your hardest to enter by the narrow door, because, I tell you, many will try to enter and will not succeed. Once the master of the house has got up and locked the door, you may find yourself standing outside knocking on the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us’ but he will answer, ‘I do not know where you come from’. Then you will start saying, ‘We once ate and drank in your company; you taught in our streets’ but he will reply, ‘I do not know where you come from; away from me, all evil doers!’ Then there will be weeping and grinding of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrown out. And people from east and west, from north and south, will come and sit down at the feast in the kingdom of God. ‘Look, there are those now last who will be first, and those now first who will be last.’

2. Through towns and villages ____ went teaching, making his way to Jerusalem. 3. Jesus said to them, ‘Try your hardest to enter by the ____ door, because, I tell you, many will try to enter and will not succeed’.

WORD SEARCH HOW MANY WORDS FROM THE CROSSWORD CAN YOU FIND?

‘Try your hardest to enter by the narrow door, because, I tell you, many will try to enter and will not succeed.‘

VISTA

therecord.com.au August 21, 2013

From snow-bound UK to WA heatwave

O THE delight of family and friends, John Rogers and Mary (nee Roebuck) celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary on August 15. They first met in 1948 in a technical college physics class at what is now Wolverhampton University in England. After Mary finished Teacher’s College they married at the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour in Wolverhampton. They lived in Wolverhampton for seven years, having three children over that time – Anthony (dec), Philippa and Anne-Marie. John’s work with the Electricity Board then meant a move to Newark-onTrent. Another daughter, Sarah, was born, followed by the adoption of a much-awaited son, Paul. With their four children, Mary and John made the decision to migrate to WA and were one of the first families to make the migration journey by plane. The trip was eventful, leaving from a snow-bound England, with a stopover in Singapore due to problems with the plane, finally arriving in the midst of a heat wave in Perth in February 1969. Once in WA, John’s work took the family to Collie and then Bunbury, working at the local power stations whilst Mary returned to teaching. The family was extended with the birth of Rebecca in Collie and Kerina in Bunbury. Mary became Deputy Principal at Carey Park in 1975 but, when John became Station Engineer at South Fremantle Power Station, the family moved to the metropolitan area, with Mary becoming Deputy Principal at Safety Bay Primary School. She continued her studies and eventually became a lecturer at Edith Cowan University. Following John’s retirement in 1987, the family moved to Kallaroo. Retirement has been busy for them with John enjoying many games of golf – and at the age of 85 he was, not for the first time, able to

score a hole in one. His woodworking skills have brought much pleasure to his children, grandchildren and children visiting Cockman and Buckingham Houses.

She has served on the Parish Councils of St Brigid’s in Collie, Our Lady of the Mission in Craigie and at St Simon Peter Parish in Ocean Reef.

These days, Mary excels in genealogy, John at hitting holes in one on the golf course... Mary has spent years in family history research, not only doing her own but also as President of the WA Genealogical Society and now volunteering to help others at the cities of Wanneroo and Joondalup.

From meeting at night schoo,l their family now comprises not only the six surviving children and their partners, but also a total of 18 grandchildren and three greatgrandsons.

John and Mary Rogers enjoy the scenery of Victoria’s south west coast. The couple married in 1953 at Wolverhampton in the UK. PHOTO: SUPPLIED

‘Shrewd’ former Vatican ambassador dies at 97

ORINNE “Lindy” Boggs, a US woman who blazed a trail from birth in 1916 on a sugar plantation in New Roads to being an eight-timeselected member of the US House of Representatives for Louisiana and US ambassador to the Vatican, was “a strong and loud and constant voice for life”, Archbishop Gregory Aymond said at her funeral Mass on August 1 at St Louis Cathedral. Boggs, who died on July 27 at age 97, left a legacy to be admired as a dedicated and genteel wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, faithful Catholic and public servant by whose example everyone could use to learn to live their faith, Archbishop Aymond said at the Mass. Calling her a humble leader and a faithful friend, the Archbishop said Boggs “believed [that] in the darkest moments in life, God loved her and led her. She placed her life in the hands of a loving God”. “Lindy lived her faith and was guided by this faith in her family, life in Congress and all her political life,” Archbishop Aymond said. “She was a strong and loud and constant voice for life, calling on the equality of women in the workplace and in the community.” Through her words and deeds, the Archbishop said, Boggs gave witness that “we are created equal by God. ... We must rid our society of racism and prejudice and hatred and become the family of God that he calls us to be.”

Lindy Boggs, at right, receives an award in 1998 for living out the ideals and practices of the Catholic faith. PHOTO: NANCY WIECHEC, CNS

Before she left New Orleans for her final resting place at St Mary of False River Cemetery in her hometown of New Roads, where her parents and son William Robertson Boggs (who only lived 39 hours after birth in 1946) are buried, the roll of the drums was heard as the Battle Hymn of the Republic, Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory, was sung as her casket was carried down the aisle of the cathedral. Outside, in Jackson Square, the Treme Brass Band led her hearse in front of the cathedral down Chartres Street. Being a politician in Washington

might not have been an original goal in life for Boggs. But she learned her way, beginning at age 24 when husband Hale Boggs from Louisiana was first elected to Washington. She took cues from her heroine Eleanor Roosevelt, who was integral to her husband President Franklin Roosevelt’s career. Boggs was her husband’s right hand, running his congressional campaigns, his Washington office and serving as a consultant throughout his years as a Democratic Louisiana congressman until he was lost in a plane crash in Alaska

in 1972 while campaigning for fellow Democrat Nick Begich. She also learned how to manoeuvre the minefield of Washington politics and cajole the media and politicians alike through her involvement in the Democratic Congressional Wives Forum and as president of the Women’s National Democratic Club. She chaired the National Democratic Convention in 1976 and was aptly described as having “a steel grip in a velvet glove”. She won a special election to finish her husband’s term and then won reelection eight times. She was the first woman elected to Congress in Louisiana history. The decision to succeed her husband wasn’t an easy one for her: She considered herself more the “consensus builder” and “peacemaker” among those who didn’t agree with her husband’s votes. Boggs said she always believed that “civil rights and human rights are intertwined”, something that compelled her to fight for issues that were important to her and her husband. Those issues included voting rights for all Americans and help for women and those in need. At the top of her list was the Equal Credit Opportunity Act of 1974 that barred discrimination in lending based on age, race, creed, gender or marital status. Even after she retired from Congress in 1990 to care for her daughter Barbara Boggs Sigmund

- the former Princeton, New Jersey mayor who was dying of cancer - she was a gracious host to many non-profit fundraisers at her townhouse on Bourbon Street. One cause was Lindy’s Place, which provided temporary housing and supportive services to help homeless, unaccompanied women gain self-reliance. New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, who sang Ave Maria at the August 1 Mass, heralded her as an oak tree with roots as deep as the nation itself who provided branches to rest on, shade to protect and bountiful fruit. He also said she followed the Blessed Mother’s example when she accepted being the mother of Jesus in the words, “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord”. “Her entire life fits into the notion ... of serving others in the image of God,” Landrieu said. “The one clear message that came out of all the remembrances of Lindy was not just what she did but how she did it. This was a righteous woman. She was tough. She was smart. She was shrewd. She was persistent, but she was also gracious ... loving and kind, and she was patient.” He added, “She served and did it in a way that dignified every human being that she ever had in her life. There is a lesson there for me and for all of us in how we can remember Lindy and conduct ourselves ... in our private and public affairs.” - CNS

OPINION

EDITORIAL

Paid parental leave is fine – sort of...

s The Record goes to press, debate in the federal election has been made slightly more interesting by the arguments over paid parental leave. This is a good thing. It helps to focus some attention on a vital yet largely-ignored area in Australian political life: the needs of women who are mothers and the needs of their families, but most of all the needs of children. The Record does not endorse candidates or parties at elections, respecting the rights of readers to make their own choices. But neither is The Record afraid of endorsing good ideas from any quarter - nor of addressing reprehensible policies such as, for example, the current common position of both Labor and Liberal parties on asylum seekers which is the subject of this week’s excellent reflection by long-time Record contributor Fr Anthony Paganoni CS (See pages 1, 10 and 11). However, the ideas advanced by Opposition Leader Tony Abbott on paid parental leave are, in the view of this paper, laudable in some respects – if only on the grounds that they are a small step towards economic justice for mothers and their families. As many readers will be aware, Mr Abbott’s paid parental leave scheme promises, if the Coalition is elected, to expand current maternity leave provisions for mothers who have given birth to six months, full-time, paid parental leave. We feel this is laudable on the grounds that it is a small – albeit insufficient – step in the right direction towards recognising what Australian political life and the media who endlessly dissect it have failed to either recognise or consider over decades: the vital contribution that mothers and motherhood make not only to the economic life of Australia but also to the common good of our society. The paid parental leave policy announced by Mr Abbott therefore acknowledges what should be a consistently primary focus of Australian life and treats with relative seriousness what should be regarded as among the most important issues of Australian politics on an indefinite basis. Labor has, somewhat predictably, objected that Mr Abbott’s policy is unaffordable. The federal government scheme being backed by Mr Rudd, it should be acknowledged, is somewhat similar but more modest in comparison, with Labor’s election website stating that “new mums can get up to 18 weeks’ pay at the national minimum wage while getting to know their PO Box 3075 baby... Under Labor’s Dad and Adelaide Terrace Partner Pay, eligible dads and PERTH WA 6832 same-sex partners can receive an additional two weeks’ of government paid leave at the office@therecord.com.au minimum wage to spend more Tel: (08) 9220 5900 time at home with their partFax: (08) 9325 4580 ner and baby”. It has been reported that there is some disquiet within the National Party, the other party in the Coalition, on the grounds that a significantly higher percentage of women in rural and regional areas are unemployed, stay-at-home mothers who will therefore miss out on the payments that their relatively more affluent and employed contemporaries in suburban settings would receive under Mr Abbott’s policy. This objection seems entirely reasonable and it seems indicative of the wider philosophical problem on which The Record has editorialised in previous editions that relatively little serious thought within Australia has gone into the importance of motherhood to the life and welfare of the nation. At the very least, one would have thought that Mr Abbott’s policy drafters would have considered the situation and needs of women in rural and regional Australia. If the policy is instituted as announced it will be an injustice to fulltime mothers. The answer could be that full-time mothers in rural and regional Australia receive – at the very least – something along the lines of Labor’s national minimum wage figure of (approximately) $622 per week before tax for the six months of their maternity leave. However, given that Mr Abbott’s policy is capped at the level of those who earn $150,000 per annum, it would seem more just to calculate a national average figure which is not merely based on a minimum wage for women who are already devoting themselves on an unpaid, full-time basis to their children and their families. The message that full-time mothers can only receive the minimum wage compared to their already-employed contemporaries is that their full-time commitment is of merely minimal value. The principal which should be driving policies on both sides of politics is that, of all occupations in the nation, motherhood is of maximal value - not merely economically but also socially and culturally. The essential problem with both Mr Abbott’s and Mr Rudd’s respective policies is that they do not address the central philosophical principles at stake. Neither goes far enough at all. Both leaders clearly believe that they are in the process of building a stronger nation but, while temporary six-month payments to mothers are a small step in the right direction, it is clear that what Australia should be considering are real and long-term measures which concretely support the primacy of the family and the vital contribution of (overwhelmingly) mothers. As a nation, we should not so much be considering according some recognition to mothers over the relatively short term as considering how the nation can support mothers over years. Our politics has treated motherhood all too often as a second-class occupation. It is time to recognise it as vital on a long-term basis to all of us.

The Coalition policy is better, but neither the Coalition nor Labor goes far enough for mothers...

THE RECORD

therecord.com.au

August 21, 2013

LETTERS

UNDA VC to address Dawson on feminism I WAS pleased to read Mark Reidy’s article in the most recent edition of The Record, ‘The Men We Are Meant To Be’. His insights are wonderfully well received, and perhaps would be complemented by the upcoming lecture for Speakers Forum organised by The Dawson Society for Philosophy and Culture titled ‘Catholic Feminism: An Oxymoron?’ The presenter this time around will be the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Notre Dame in Fremantle, Prof Celia Hammond, and will surely be a thoughtprovoking presentation on the Church’s enlightening teaching in this increasingly contentious area. The Dawson Society for Philosophy and Culture hosts its regular speaker’s forum at Rosie O’Grady’s bar in Northbridge. The next session is on Tuesday, September 3 at 6.30 pm. RSVP to Tom Gourlay at thomas@dawsonsociety.com.au. Tom Gourlay President The Dawson Society for Philosophy and Culture NORTH PERTH WA

Indigenous Catholics have needs, too... THE NATIONAL Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Catholic Council (NATSICC) has recently launched a consultation to deal with the inculturation of faith by Indigenous Catholics in Australia. The background to the consultation is the inspirational address of Pope John Paul II in Alice Springs, 1986. The late Pope said: The Church herself in Australia will not be fully the Church that Jesus wants her to be until you [Indigenous Australians] have made your contribution to her life and until that contribution has been joyfully received by others. NATSICC itself proposes that the consultation focus on three key areas: liturgy, symbols and involvement of the laity. I think a few points are worth making in the hope of a good consultation. Liturgy and symbols are readily

enough linked to the inculturation of faith. For example, there is the now well known Aboriginal Our Father, of Tiwi Islands provenance, which is incorporated into the Missa Kimberley, a text developed by the late Fr Kevin McKelson, SAC. The third area, involvement of the laity, presumably will take up faith inculturation as the comprehensive living of Catholic values which are sourced beyond or, better, beneath liturgy and its symbols. It was the renowned philosopher and anthropologist, Paul Ricoeur, who said that language as metaphor was but the foam at the surface of life. In fact, the way we live in our communities of faith has to be the source of our rituals, just as the way we then prayerfully celebrate has to inform the stuff of our beliefs. Summing up the latter is the mantra-like lex orandi, lex credendi of our tradition. To take up the Aboriginal Our Father again, its rendering of your kingdom come – so crucial to Christian commitment – seems to be in the words: we believe your word, Father, we are your children, give us bread today. If this is an accurate reading of the text, it leaves untouched a vital praxis, which is clearly prior to any occasional celebration and confession of creed. Praxis here is the day by day, week by week grappling with what it might mean to be an Indigenous Catholic in the contemporary world. Indeed, all of us, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, need to get beyond looking at liturgy and symbols as the first target of the inculturation of faith. As the well respected Jesuit missiologist, Aloysius Pieris, often remarked, the inculturation of faith needs to be in life before rite and creed. I would hope that Indigenous women and men seeking to live the Catholic faith can give priority to lived Christian values as they join the consultation. Areas to address would be guided by the phrase, your kingdom come, and include the maintenance, or retrieval, of stable family relationships, the development of relevant education that links culture with humanising work, and a mature approach to the entrenched ideology of welfare. As Indigenous folk go about this, the non-Indigenous role would be to appreciate the importance of being their partners in Christian

faith instead of patrons too easily naive and/or romantic in the crosscultural context. Noel McMaster HALLS CREEK, WA

Religious ed, crucifixes and Catholic men... OVER THE years The Record has proven to be a prolific and fertile source for material that exhorts a comment from her readers, none more so than the edition dated August 8, 2013. I refer to the comments attributed to Bishop Peter Elliot of Melbourne in the report, ‘Religious education takes digital path in Melbourne’. The Bishop’s remarks suggest at least a slight concession in respect to the inadequacy of the substance and quality of Religious Education of our children in Catholic Schools for the last 40-odd years. He states that “... while past Catholic graduates may have [had] little doctrinal knowledge and experience in religious practice, they did have a great fondness for the concept of social justice”. The same can be said, however, for atheists, humanists and most other secular organisations. What he appears to be saying is that Religious Education in our Catholic schools has made no discernible difference that would mark our graduates as being any different from any others – all this from Catholic schools, whose prime and core function was to impart Catholic doctrine to their students. Can anyone still wonder at the increasing prevalence of “Catholic parents who choose to home school”? I, for one, feel that the costs expended in this regard for my own children’s Catholic education were a waste. By the way, another great report from Mark Reidy on the men we are meant to be. I also support the importance of religious symbolism with regard to some of the letters in recent weeks on crucifixes in churches. Sometimes, it seems that more and more Catholic churches are deciding not to exhibit anything that would symbolise or memorialise that supreme Redemptive Act made by their founder. G Kiernan MILLENDON, WA

The future of young people affects the whole of society

N HIS WAY to lead up to two million enthusiastic young people from all around the globe at World Youth Day festivities in Rio de Janeiro from July 23-28, Pope Francis sounded a sombre note about their future – and everyone else’s too. By using the economic hard times of recent years as an excuse not to hire young people, the Pope said, the world risks tossing them aside and, in so doing, endangers its own future. “I think we run the risk of creating a generation that has never worked,” he said, speaking to journalists aboard the papal plane. What the world needs, the Pope said, and what he hoped to demonstrate on his Brazil visit, is “a culture of inclusion and encounter” to make sure everyone’s place and potential contribution to society is welcomed - from the young people without jobs to the elderly who are pushed aside.

With young people in particular, we’ve run across far too many talented individuals in recent years who have graduated and are either unemployed or underemployed, working at low-paying, part-time jobs or no-pay internships while they wait for the tide to turn.

We’ve run across far too many talented individuals recently who have graduated but are unemployed. Some of them go on to pursue graduate degrees, piling on more student debt in the hope that having an MBA or a PhD will give them a leg up. Others take part-time jobs in fast food restaurants or keep busy with occasional babysitting or pet-watching gigs. No matter which route they take,

these young people are by and large postponing marriage, parenthood and even independent living outside their family home. The question, of course, is how does a society turn this around – and there are no easy answers. By acknowledging the problem publicly and engaging the world’s young people in a week-long encounter with the Catholic faith, Pope Francis emphasised their value to God and to the world splendidly doing his part. “A people has a future if it goes forward with bridges, with the young people having the strength to bring it forward,” the Pope said, “and the elderly because they have the wisdom of life, the wisdom of history, the wisdom of a nation, the wisdom of a family.” “We need this,” Pope Francis said. Indeed we do. This edited editorial titled “Future of youth is ours, too” is from the July 25 issue of Catholic New York, the archdiocesan newspaper.

OPINION

therecord.com.au August 21, 2013

Honestly? The St Thérèse hand puppet a step too far Small group sharing at church events is well-intended, but all too often becomes a gormless forum for the apparently simple...

ne doesn’t wish to harp excessively about Wacky Church Things Proceeding from the Seventies, but hey, it’s cathartic; thanks in advance for bearing with the healing process. Today’s topic is the fallout from the Sixties and Seventies-style Encounter Group. It has metastasised over the decades into “small group sharing” in the church, and shows no signs of abatement any time soon. I loathe this activity: when I’m at a conference, workshop, or retreat, almost nothing makes my skin crawl like the announcement: “We will now break into small sharing groups.” This is due to decades of negative, embarrassing, or just plain pointless experiences with these discussion groups. Whenever possible, I now try to avoid church events that include them. I remember one adult catechesis meeting where the small groups were supposed to discuss The Fall (of man, not the season after summer). Two or three people dominated the group arguing about whether the forbidden fruit was

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an apple or a pomegranate. Thank goodness the time ran out, or the debaters might have moved on to something doctrinally significant, like whether the leaves Adam and Eve sewed together were really fig or not. Sometimes (frequently, actually), group participants reveal that they disagree with this or that Church teaching—in the olden days, that might have been called ‘leading others astray’ or ‘giving scandal’, but I guess it’s shorter and less judgemental to call it “sharing”. When discussion groupies move beyond their own emotions and opinions, and make declarations (say, on theology or canon law) that are completely erroneous, no one is allowed to correct or contradict them, because (as instructed): “We’re all just sharing: no one is ‘teaching’ and no one is ‘learning’”. You can say that again.

Then there is inappropriate sharing, aka Too Much Information. The very first time I meet someone in a church/retreat setting, I don’t need to know that she was once on drugs, sexually promiscuous, and bore three children out of wedlock. Or you attend a Marriage Enrichment function, and come away with the intimate details of the conjugal lives of everyone there, including the diocesan facilitators.

...or you attend a marriage enrichment function and come away with TMI - Too Much Information... Enrichment, not so much—more likely: mental images that will haunt me for the rest of my life. I did not attend the following women’s workshop (my friend ‘Bea’ did), but it’s just too good not to include. Not only was Bea enjoined

to partake in small group sharing, but the session facilitator visited each group in turn so that participants could “speak their pain” to a hand puppet of St Thérèse of Lisieux, worn by the facilitator. Words fail. Group therapy may have its place in specific and limited situations, but it is used far too often, and haphazardly, in church and retreat settings. The Encounter Group mentality has baptised former evils such as idle/morbid curiosity, imprudence and gossip. In the name of counterfeit ‘honesty, openness, and inclusion’, this mentality has abetted the destruction of things like delicacy, discretion, privacy, good taste, and personal dignity. Discussion facilitators solemnly admonish: “what is shared in the group stays in the group”. Good luck with that. Unlike your local priest—indeed every priest on the planet—Sally Sharer and Dick Blather (neither of whom you may have met before) are not bound by the Seal of the Confessional. Indeed, here we hit the crux of

the matter: as private sacramental confession declines, various forms of public confession continue to gain ascendancy. It’s incredible that some people fear, or scorn, the former, while readily accepting the latter, even when it doesn’t include 15 minutes of TV fame and a pay cheque from Oprah. Millions are plugged in 24/7 to social media; relatively fewer read Scripture daily, pray the Divine Office, or avail themselves of flesh and blood Spiritual Direction. Overall, I much prefer Christ’s forgiveness in the Sacrament of Penance to the sort of Facebook absolution that consists of nothing more than the miserable knowledge that everyone else is doing it too. Never before has there been so much chatter and access to information, yet so little nuts-and-bolts knowledge of the faith and participation in sacramental life. Prayer, Confession and the Holy Eucharist, the ultimate forms of small group sharing: facilitators, moderators and sock puppets not required.

A new vocations springtime A forthcoming vocations seminar to be held in Perth in September is well worth attending, writes Sr Kathy Kettle rsm...

he Second Vatican Council proclaimed that growth in faith is the path to understanding one’s calling, and it is the path urged for all believers. What are the paths for us today? How does reading the ‘signs of the times’ regarding vocations challenge us? Since 1997 in Western Australia, there has been a network group whose objectives highlight these pathways. The Western Australian Vocations Network (WAVN) is an organisation of men and women who affirm the baptismal call to holiness of all members of the Catholic Church. Today, WAVN not only focuses on priesthood and consecrated life but also on the call to married and single life, as God calls each person to discern his or her vocation. Wherever we are on our faith journey, we are always engaged in the lifelong process of conversion. The faith journey is never a straight line but a spiral one with twists and turns. The goal is to stay on the path. However, in her article ‘The New Evangelisation is interwoven with Vocation Ministry’ (Horizon Spring 2013), Sr Theresa Rickard OP points out a consideration: the challenge is to understand if we are “either on the way or in the way”. Over the last two years, WAVN has been committed to developing a vocations culture for parishes. To kick start the process, Brother Paul Bednarczyk CSC, a member of the Congregation of Holy Cross, was sponsored by WAVN to assist with that vision. Since July 2002 he has held the office of the Executive Director of the National Religious Vocation Conference, USA and continues to serve as a consultant to the US Bishops Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations. In September 2012, Br Paul presented a series of lectures in Perth which included sessions on “The Call to Leadership”, “Unpacking the Baptismal Call” and “The importance of Call” that encompassed the Religious Orders, parishes and Religious Education educators.

WAVN is excited that Br Paul will be returning to Perth to further develop these themes. In conjunction with Catholic Vocations Ministry Australia (CVMA), an organisation sponsored by the Australia Catholic Bishops, WAVN will host the Biennial Conference at the St John of God Retreat Centre, Shoalwater between September 22-28. The format for this year’s conference is quite unique as it consists of a three-day retreat preceding the conference proper. The theme of the retreat is “Beatitudes from a Vocational Perspective: Different Ways of Loving”.

The three keynote retreat/conference presenters are: Br Paul Bednarczyk CSC, Sr Margaret Scharf OP and Perth’s own Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB. The keynote topics are: Br Paul’s presentations The World Perspective – what is happening in our world? Current Church Documents Understanding the Different Generations My Vocation: Making Good Decisions Self-Care of the Vocation Director Applying the Beatitudes to the Vocations Culture Creating a transformative and life giving Vocations Culture

Sr Scharf ’s presentation Jesus’ Vocation: A gradual unfolding. Archbishop Timothy Costelloe The value of Religious Life in the age of the Laity The conference also includes four workshops: Religious Life and the Larger God. Sr Shelley Barlow RNDM - a member of Our Lady of the Missions, lectures at the Marantha Institute of Adult Faith Formation, Perth Archdiocese, and offers retreats and workshops in creation spirituality. Becoming One – Marriage in an ‘i’ Generation. Mr and Mrs Derek and Karen Boylen - Derek is Director for Catholic Marriage

and Fertility Services in the Perth Archdiocese. Together, Derek and Karen have six children and are the National Co-ordinating Couple for Ministry to the Newly Married. My Vocation and the iGeneration. Miss Anita Parker (Director of Catholic Youth Ministry, Perth Archdiocese) Embodying the Priestly Vocation. Fr Jean Noel Marie - Archdiocesan Priestly Vocations Director and St Mary’s Cathedral Assistant Priest. Seemingly, the more sophisticated a society becomes, the greater the challenge for the Church and vocations. One of the perennial issues for the Church is to be relevant in every age to all peoples. There are some who express a desire to return to the familiar and there are others who have embraced the essence of Second Vatican Council, to read the ‘signs of the times’, and respond with “new eyes”. Even though we are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council this year, the documents written decades ago have a timeless truth for any generation and culture. The imagery portrayed in Lumen Gentium engenders hope among the People of God; it affirms that each person has a role to play in the divine life and universal mission of the Church as given by Jesus. The threefold call of ministry, Prophetic, Priestly and Kingly, means all are called through baptism to contribute in building up the Body of Christ. This is a conference not to be missed. People are able to attend single or multiple sessions. The efforts of WAVN are very much directed to assisting individuals to discover a deeper understanding of their unique vocation gifted by God. Interested persons can read more details on the WAVN website at www.wavocations.com or email at wavnsm@gmail.com to register. I warmly encourage you to put aside some time to hear one or two of these eminently gifted international and local presenters. Sr Kathy Kettle rsm is Chair of the WA Vocations Network.

PANORAMA

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 21 TO THURSDAY, 22 AUGUST The International Pilgrim Virgin Statue Comes To Perth 9am at St Gerard Majella, Ravenswood Dr, Mirrabooka. Holy Mass, Rosary, talks, Veneration. Also at the following parishes: Aug 21, 12.10pm All Saints Chapel, 77 St, Georges Tce and 7pm St Francis of Assisi, Lilian Rd, Maida Vale; Aug 22, 11am St Mary’s Cathedral Perth, Holy Mass and 7.30pm Solemn Holy Mass, Most Rev Timothy Costelloe SDB. Enq: Yolanda 0413 707 707. SUNDAY, AUGUST 25 AND SEPTEMBER 1 Latin Mass 8.15am at The Good Shepherd Church, Streich Ave, Kelmscott. Enq: John 9390 6646. SUNDAY, AUGUST 25 International Food Fair at The Little Sisters of the Poor 10am to 3pm at 2 Rawlins St, Glendalough. All welcome to eat or take away great varieties of Asian and continental food - Satay, Char Kway Teow and more. Live music to entertain. All proceeds are for upgrading the Marian Centre in the home. Enq: Francis Lim 0437 562 263. MONDAY, AUGUST 26 TO FRIDAY, AUGUST 30 Fr John Rea - Five-Night Healing Mission, Gosnells 7.30pm at the Catholic Church, 175 Corfield St, Gosnells. Catholic Charismatic Renewal presents Fr John Rea SM, a New Zealand priest gifted in the healing ministry who will conduct a five-night Healing Mission, includes holy Mass. Teaching builds over five nights, so try to attend all. Cost: collection. Enq: Dan Hewitt on 9398 4973 or daniel.hewitt5@bigpond.com. TUESDAY, AUGUST 27 Spirituality and the Sunday Gospels 7-8pm at St Benedict’s school hall, Alness St, Applecross. Presented by Norma Woodcock. Everyone is welcome. Cost: collection. Accreditation recognition by the CEO. Enq: 9487 1772 or www.normawoodcock.com. FRIDAY, AUGUST 30 Medjugorje Evening of Prayer Group 7-9pm at St Bernadette’s Parish, 49 Jugan St, Mt Hawthorn. It is reported Our Blessed Mother has been appearing daily in Medjugorje since 1981 with messages for all her children. In thanksgiving, the Medjugorje evening of prayer group meets monthly in a different parish to spread Our Blessed Mother's messages. Free DVDs on Medjugorje. NEWSFLASH Pilgrimage. Oct 8-24 Rome/Italy/ Medjugorje. $3,999. Enq: 9402 2480 or 0407 471 256; medjugorje@y7mail.com. FRIDAY, AUGUST 30 TO SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 8 Novena to Our Blessed Mother and Retreat on Marian Healing 7.30-8.30pm at Holy Family Parish, 34 Alcock St, Maddington. Also Sept 7: 9am-1.30pm one day Retreat on Marian Healing: Praise and worship, preaching, confessions Mass, Eucharistic Adoration and healing prayers, morning tea and lunch provided, then from 7.30-8.30pm Novena; Sept 8: 6.30-8.30pm, Feast Day Novena. Enq: 9493 1703 vincentiansperth@yahoo.com. FRIDAY, AUGUST 30 TO SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 8 30th Novena to Our Lady of Good Health, Vailankanni with Fr Leo Spicer OSM 7pm at Holy Trinity Church, 8 Burnett St, Embleton. Mass, procession and supper. Aug 31 and Sep 1, 6pm Mass and blessing of fathers. Sep 2-5, 7pm homily, Benediction, Exposition, children’s blessing, the sick and the elderly. Sep 6, 6pm, Exposition, Divine Mercy, Adoration, 7pm holy Mass, anointing of the sick, Benediction; Sep 7, 6pm Mass and Benediction; Sep 8, Our Lady’s Nativity, concelebrated Mass, procession, raffle draw. Enq: 9271 5528, 0417 185 203. Novena to Our Blessed Mother and Retreat on Marian Healing 7.30-8.30pm at Holy Family Parish, 34 Alcock St, Maddington. Also Sep 7: 9am-1.30pm one day Retreat on Marian Healing: Praise and worship, preaching, Confessions, Mass, Eucharistic Adoration and healing prayers, then from 7.308.30pm Novena. Morning tea and lunch provided. Sep 8: 6.30-8.30pm, Feast Day Novena. Enq: 9493 1703 vincentiansperth@yahoo.com. SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 1 An Afternoon with Jesus and Mary 1.30pm at St Francis Xavier Church, 25 Windsor St, East Perth. Homily on the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady. Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, holy Rosary and Divine Mercy Chaplet, Reconciliation offered. Refreshments afterwards. Enq: John 9457 7771. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 2 TO TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10 Fr John Rea - Public Healing Ministry 7.30pm, 67 Howe St, Osborne Park. Healing service for women. 6.45pm Sep 4, Healing Mass at All Saints Parish, 7 Liwara Pl, Greenwood; 7.30pm Sep 5, Healing Mass, St Mary’s Cathedral, Perth; 7.30pm Sep 7, Healing Service for Marriages and 3pm Sep 8, Healing Service, both at 67 Howe St, Osborne Park; 10am Sep 10, Healing Mass at Holy Spirit Parish, City Beach. Enq: Disciples of Jesus 9202 6868.

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4 TO FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6 48-Hour Perpetual Rosary Bouquet for Our Lady’s Birthday The roster sheets are available in all parishes. Pledged times can be mailed to: The Legion of Mary, 36 Windsor St, East Perth. Ph: 9328 2726 or emailed: rosarybouquet13@gmail.com by 6pm Friday, Sep 6 for inclusion on the scroll. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5 TO SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 8 Feast of Maria Santissima del Tindari with Street Procession 7.30pm at St Patrick’s Basilica, 47 Adelaide Tce, Fremantle. Begins with a Tridiuum (ThuSat) celebrated by Fr Leo Spicer. Sep 8: 9.45am concelebrated Mass, principal celebrant Emeritus Archbishop Barry Hickey. The procession through the streets of Fremantle will commence from the Basilica at 2pm. Enq Joe 0404 801138, 9335 1185. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7 Day With Mary 9am-5pm at St Brigid’s Church, 69 Morrison Rd, Midland. Day of prayer and instruction based on the Fatima message. 9am Video; 10.10am holy Mass; Reconciliation, Procession of the Blessed Sacrament, Eucharistic Adoration, Sermons on Eucharist and on Our Lady, Rosary, Divine Mercy Chaplet and Stations of the Cross. BYO lunch. Enq: Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate 9250 8286. 25th Anniversary of the 48-Hour Perpetual Rosary Bouquet Mass 10.30am at St Joachim’s Church, Shepperton Rd, Victoria Park. Begins with a meditative Rosary, followed by holy Mass celebrated by Archbishop Emeritus BJ Hickey at 11am. The scroll with pledges will be presented during the Mass. A light finger food luncheon will follow. Please bring a plate to share. All welcome. Enq: to rosarybouquet13@gmail.com or 0478 598 860. SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 8 Eucharistic Hour – World Apostolate of Fatima 3pm at St Joseph Pignatelli, Davidson Rd, Attadale. All welcome. Enq: 9339 2614. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 13 TO SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 15 A Live-in/Live-out Retreat - Faith and Grace Held at the Redemptorist Retreat House, North Perth. Fr Carl Schafer OFM from Sydney, National Spiritual Assistant to the Secular Franciscan Order in Oceania, will lead the retreat. Fr Carl’s ministry to the Secular Franciscans spans 48 years, 12 of those in Rome. Enq: Angela 9275 5658, or angelmich@bigpond.com. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 14 Fundraising Jumble Sale - Myaree Parish 10am–4pm at Pater Noster Parish grounds. Wide range of all pre-loved items. Entrance Evershed St. Enq: Margaret 9330 3848. Divine Mercy Healing Mass 2.30pm at St Francis Xavier’s Church, 25 Windsor St, East Perth. Main Celebrant is Fr Marcellinus Meilak, OFM. Reconciliation offered in English and Italian. Divine Mercy prayers followed by Veneration of First Class Relic of St Faustina Kowalska. Refreshments afterwards. Enq: John 9457 7771. SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 15 Auslan Cafe 10.30am-12 noon Emmanuel Centre hall next to St Francis Xavier Church, Windsor St, Perth. Ever thought about learning how to communicate with profoundly Deaf people through Auslan (Australian Sign Language)? Now you can and it’s FREE. Come and learn in a relaxed and fun way. There is always an interpreter at St Francis Xavier Church for the 9.30am Sunday Mass. Lunch provided. Enq: Emma or Barbara emmanuelcentre@westnet.com.au or 9328 8113. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19 TO SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 22 Inaugural Zimbabwe Catholics Australia and New Zealand Congress Starting Afresh In Jesus Christ. 7pm at Swanleigh, 58 Yule Ave, Middle Swan. Drums have been warmed. The Zimbabwe Catholics Perth community will host this inaugural congress. Two dynamic priests from Zimbabwe will be guest speakers supported by local priests. Various activities have been lined up to make this congress spiritually uplifting. Come, let us journey together in the Year of Faith. Enq: Bibiana 0458 945 444, Jane 04240 667 819. SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 22 AND THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 26 Small Group Emmaus Walks 2.30pm at Bardon Park carpark, cnr Fourth Ave East and Bardon Pl, Maylands. Sunday and Thursday, 10am. 10 minutes walk from the carpark to Friendship 2000 Townhouse on the Swan River walkway. With Gospel reading and reflection session on life’s Emmaus experiences. Refreshments, donation to Mission Partners Morley outreach. Bookings Essential. Enq: margaretbox7@icloud.com or 9272 8263.

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August 21, 2013

Liturgy. Confession available in English and Italian. Enq: Des 6278 1540. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 4 TO SUNDAY, OCTOBER 6 St Francis of Assisi and Brother Andrew’s 13th 7.45pm at God’s Farm, 94 Woodlands Rd, Wilabrup, 40km south of Busselton. Marist priest Paul Glynn from NSW, outstanding author and Retreat Master, to give one retreat here commencing with holy Mass. Map sent if requested. Bookings/Enq: Betty Peaker Tel/Fax 9755 6212. Bus reservations Yvonne 9343 1897. SUNDAY, OCTOBER 6 TO SATURDAY, OCTOBER 12 Individual Silent Directed Retreat 4.30pm at St Catherine’s House of Hospitality, 113 Tyler St, Tuart Hill. Meet daily with your retreat directors, Celia Joyce or Fr Stephen Truscott SM, to explore the movement of God within your life. The retreat unfolds at your own pace. (Limited to 10 retreatants.) Enq: 9485 8980 or www.fullnessoflife.org. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 11 TO SUNDAY, OCTOBER 13 Inner Healing Live-In Retreat 7.30am at Epiphany Retreat Centre, 50 Fifth Ave, Rossmoyne. Come and receive Jesus’ embrace and healing through his Word and Sacraments during this retreat. Led by the Vincentian Fathers. Enq: Melanie 0410 605 743 or vincentiansperth@ yahoo.com.

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

Cathedral Cafe Cathedral Cafe is now open every Sunday 9.30am1pm at St Mary’s Cathedral parish centre, downstairs after Mass. Coffee, tea, cakes, sweets, friendship with Cathedral parishioners. Further info: Tammy on smcperthwyd@yahoo.com.au or 0415 370 357. Pilgrim Mass - Shrine of the Virgin of the Revelation 2pm at Shrine, 36 Chittering Rd, Bullsbrook. Commencing with Rosary followed by Benediction. Reconciliation available before every celebration. Anointing of the sick administered during Mass every second Sunday of the month. Pilgrimage in honour of the Virgin of the Revelation last Sunday of the month. Side entrance to church and shrine open daily between 9am-5pm. Enq Sacri 9447 3292. Praise and Worship 5.30pm at St Denis Parish, corner Osborne St and Roberts Rd, Joondanna. Followed by 6pm Mass. Enq: Admin on admin@stdenis.com.au. EVERY FIRST SUNDAY Singles Prayer and Social Group 7pm at All Saints Chapel, Allendale Sq, 77 St Georges Tce, Perth. Begins with holy hour (Eucharistic Adoration, Rosary and teaching) followed by dinner at local restaurant. Meet new people, pray and socialise with other single men and women. Enq: Veronica 0403 841 202. EVERY SECOND SUNDAY Healing Hour 7-8pm at St Lawrence Parish, Balcatta. Songs of praise and worship, Exposition of Blessed Sacrament and prayers for sick. Enq: Fr Irek Czech SDS or office Tue-Thu, 9am-2.30pm on 9344 7066. EVERY THIRD SUNDAY Oblates of St Benedict’s 2pm at St Joseph’s Convent, York St, South Perth. We welcome all who are interested in studying the Rule of St Benedict and its relevance to the everyday life of today for laypeople. Vespers and afternoon tea conclude our meetings. Enq: Secretary 9457 5758. Divine Mercy Hour 3pm at St Pius X Church, 23 Paterson St, Manning. There will be Exposition of the Most Blessed Sacrament, Divine Mercy Prayers, Rosary and Benediction. Please join us in prayer. Enq: Mrs K Henderson 9450 4195. EVERY FOURTH SUNDAY Shrine Time for Young Adults 18-35 Years 7.30-8.30pm at Schoenstatt Shrine, 9 Talus Dr, Mt Richon; Holy Hour with prayer, reflection, meditation, praise and worship; followed by a social gathering. Come and pray at a place of grace. Enq: shrinetimemtrichon@gmail.com.

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 23

Holy Hour for Vocations to the Priesthood, Religious Life 2-3pm at Infant Jesus Parish, Wellington St, Morley. Includes Exposition of Blessed Sacrament, silent prayer, scripture, prayers of intercession. Come and pray that those discerning vocations can hear clearly God’s call.

St Padre Pio Feast Day 6pm at Infant Jesus Church, 47 Wellington Rd, Morley. Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, Rosary, Divine Mercy, Silent Adoration and Benediction; 7pm holy Mass, main celebrant Emeritus Archbishop Barry Hickey, St Padre Pio

EVERY LAST SUNDAY Filipino Mass 3pm at Notre Dame Church, cnr Daley and Wright Sts, Cloverdale. Please bring a plate to share for socialisation after Mass. Enq: Fr Nelson Po 0410 843 412, Elsa 0404 038 483.

EVERY MONDAY For You My Soul is Thirsting (Psalm 62:1) 7pm at St Thomas Parish, 2 College Rd, Claremont. Tend to your thirst for God. Begins with Adoration, then 7.45pm - Evening Prayer; 8pm - Communion Service and Night Prayer. Come to the whole thing, or just to a part! Enq: Michelle: 0404 564 890.

LAST MONDAY Be Still in His Presence – Ecumenical Christian Program 7.30-8.45pm at St Swithun Anglican Church, 195 Lesmurdie St, Lesmurdie (hall behind church). Begins with songs of praise and worship, silent time, lectio divina, small group sharing and cuppa. Enq: Lynne 9293 3848 or 0435 252 941. EVERY TUESDAY Novena to Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal 6pm at Pater Noster Church, Marmion and Evershed Sts, Myaree. Mass at 5.30pm followed by Benediction. Enq: John 0408 952 194. Novena to God the Father 7.30pm at St Joachim’s parish hall, Vic Park. Novena followed by reflection and discussions on forthcoming Sunday Gospel. Enq: Jan 9284 1662. EVERY FIRST TUESDAY Short MMP Cenacle for Priests 2pm at Edel Quinn Centre, 36 Windsor St, East Perth. Enq: Fr Watt 9376 1734. EVERY WEDNESDAY Holy Spirit of Freedom Community 7.30pm at Church of Christ, 111 Stirling St, Perth. We welcome everyone to attend our praise meeting. Enq: 0423 907 869 or hsofperth@gmail.com. Bible Study at Cathedral 6.15pm at St Mary’s Cathedral, Victoria Sq, Perth. Deepen your faith through reading and reflecting on holy Scripture with Fr Jean-Noel Marie. Meeting room beneath Cathedral. Enq: 9223 1372. Holy Hour - Catholic Youth Ministry 5.30pm at Catholic Pastoral Centre, 40A Mary St, Highgate. Mass followed at 6.30pm with Holy Hour. Enq: 9422 7912 or admin@cym.com.au. EVERY FIRST WEDNESDAY Novena to St Mary of the Cross MacKillop 7-7.45pm at Blessed Mary MacKillop Parish, corner Cassowary Dr and Pelican Pde, Ballajura. Begins with Mass, novena prayers and Benediction. Followed by healing prayers and anointing of the sick. Enq: Madi 9249 9093 or Gerry 0417 187 240. EVERY SECOND WEDNESDAY Chaplets of Divine Mercy 7.30pm at St Thomas More Parish, Dean Rd, Bateman. Accompanied by Exposition, then Benediction. Enq: George 9310 9493 or 6242 0702 (w). EVERY THURSDAY Divine Mercy 11am at Sts John and Paul Church, Pinetree Gully Rd, Willetton. Pray the Rosary and Chaplet of Divine Mercy and for consecrated life, especially in our parish. Concludes with veneration of the first class relic of St Faustina. Enq: John 9457 7771. St Mary’s Cathedral Praise Meeting 7.45pm at the Legion of Mary’s Edel Quinn Centre, 36 Windsor St, East Perth. Includes praise, song and healing ministry. Enq: Kay 9382 3668 or fmi@ flameministries.org. Group Fifty - Charismatic Renewal Group 7.30pm at Redemptorist Monastery, 150 Vincent St, North Perth. Includes prayer, praise and Mass. Enq: Elaine 9440 3661. EVERY THURSDAY IN AUGUST Introduction to the Study of Contemporary Christian Spirituality Course 7-9pm at St Catherine’s House of Hospitality, 113 Tyler St, Tuart Hill. Presented by Fr Stephen Truscott SM PhD; course examines contemporary Christian spirituality as both lived experience and academic discipline, combining reading, discussion, lectures and reflective exercises. You will build the capacity to develop beyond yourself in relationship with others and with God in understanding, liberty and love. Enq: 9485 8980 or www.fullnessoflife.org. EVERY FIRST THURSDAY Holy Hour Prayer for Priests 7-8pm at Holy Spirit Parish, 2 Keaney Pl, City Beach. All welcome. Enq: Linda 9341 3079. Prayer in Style of Taizé 7.30-8.30pm at Our Lady of Grace Parish, 3 Kitchener St, North Beach. Includes prayer, song and silence in candlelight – symbol of Christ the light of the world. Taizé info: www.taize.fr. Enq: secretary 9448 4888 or 9448 4457. EVERY SECOND THURSDAY Life in the Spirit Seminar 6pm at 2 King St, Coogee. The Resource Centre for Personal Development and Catholic Charismatic Renewal will hold seven sessions every second Thursday until October. Enq: Eva 0409 405 585. FIRST AND THIRD THURSDAY Social Dinner (Young Adults aged up to 35) and Rosary Cenacle 6.30pm at St Bernadette’s Church, 49 Jugan St, Mt Hawthorn. Begins at 6.30pm with dinner at a local restaurant, followed at 8pm by a Rosary Cenacle,

short talk and refreshments at the church. Great way to meet new people, pray and socialise! Enq: 9444 6131 or st.bernadettesyouth@gmail.com. EVERY FRIDAY Eucharistic Adoration at Schoenstatt Shrine 10am at Schoenstatt Shrine, 9 Talus Dr, Mt Richon. Includes holy Mass, Exposition of Blessed Sacrament, silent adoration till 8.15pm. Join us in prayer at a place of grace. Enq: Sisters of Schoenstatt 9399 2349. Healing Mass 6pm at Holy Family Parish, Lot 375, Alcock St, Maddington. Begins with Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, Rosary, Stations of the Cross, Healing Mass followed by Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. Enq: admin 9493 1703 or www.vpcp. org.au. EVERY FIRST FRIDAY Mass and Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament 11am-4pm at Little Sisters of the Poor Chapel, 2 Rawlins St, Glendalough. Exposition of Blessed Sacrament after Mass until 4pm, finishing with Rosary. Enq: Sr Marie MS.Perth@lsp.org.au. Healing and Anointing Mass 8.45am Pater Noster Church, Evershed St, Myaree. Begins with Reconciliation, then 9am Mass of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, anointing of the sick and prayers to St Peregrine. Enq: Joy 9337 7189. Pro-life Witness – Mass and Procession 9.30am at St Brigid’s Parish, corner Great Northern Hwy and Morrison Rd, Midland. Begins with Mass followed by Rosary procession and prayer vigil at nearby abortion clinic, led by the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate. Please join us to pray for an end to abortion and the conversion of hearts. Enq: Helen 9402 0349. Catholic Faith Renewal Evening 7.30pm at Sts John Paul Parish, Pinetree Gully Rd, Willetton. There will be songs of praise, prayer, sharing by a priest, then thanksgiving Mass and light refreshments. Enq: Ivan 0428 898 833 or Ann 0412 166 164 or catholicfaithrenewal@gmail. com. Communion of Reparation All Night Vigils 7pm-1.30am at Corpus Christie Church, Loch St, Mosman Park or St Gerard Majella Church, corner Ravenswood Dr/Majella Rd, Mirrabooka. Vigils are two Masses, Adoration, Benediction, prayers, Confession in reparation for outrages committed against the United Hearts of Jesus and Mary. Enq: Vicky 0400 282 357, Fr Giosue 93492315, John/ Joy 9344 2609. EVERY SECOND FRIDAY Discover Spirituality of St Francis of Assisi 12pm at St Brigid’s parish centre. The Secular Franciscans of Midland Fraternity have lunch, then 1-3pm meeting. Enq: Antoinette 9297 2314. EVERY SATURDAY Teachers, parents and friends mission outreach 10am at Morley Parish Centre, 47 Wellington Rd, Morley. Meet during school terms. Primary English teachers and prospective aides offer their services for a small remuneration and donations from the tuition are distributed to missionaries. “Come and See” sessions are offered. Enq: Maggie 9272 8263, margaretbox7@icloud.com. Children’s Religious Education Program (Pre-Primary and Year One): 11am–12.30pm at Our Lady Queen of Poland Parish, 35 Eighth Ave, Maylands. The official Perth Archdiocese Parish Religious Education Program gives an opportunity to children attending non-Catholic schools age-appropriate religious education in a creative and fun environment. Families outside of Maylands welcome. Enq: Hayley 0423 008 500. EVERY FIRST SATURDAY Vigil for Life – Mass and Procession 8.30am at St Augustine Parish, Gladstone St, Rivervale. Begins with Mass celebrated by Fr Carey, followed by Rosary procession and prayer vigil at nearby abortion clinic. Please join us to pray for the conversion of hearts and an end to abortion. Enq. Helen 9402 0349. Mission Rosary Making at the Legion of Mary 9.30am-2pm at 36 Windsor St, East Perth. All materials are supplied. The Rosaries made are distributed to the schools, missions and those who ask for a Rosary. Please join us and learn the art of Rosary making on rope and chain. Enq: 0478 598 860. EVERY SECOND SATURDAY Novena to Our Lady of Perpetual Help (Succour) and Divine Mercy Chaplet (Chant) 8.30am at Our Lady of the Mission Parish, Whitford, 270 Camberwarra Dr, Craigie. Holy Mass at 8.30am followed by Novena. Enq: Margaret 9307 7276. EVERY FOURTH SATURDAY Voice of the Voiceless Healing Mass 11.30am at St Brigid’s Parish, 211 Aberdeen St, Northbridge. Bring a plate to share after Mass. Enq. Frank 9296 7591 or 0408 183 325.

GENERAL Free Divine Mercy Image for Parishes High quality oil painting and glossy print – Divine Mercy Promotions. Images of very high quality. For any parish willing to accept and place inside the

CLASSIFIEDS

therecord.com.au August 21, 2013

CLASSIFIEDS Deadline: 11am Monday BEAUTY

SERVICES

RELIGIOUS PRODUCTS

LOOK YOUNGER. The Younger You Mobile Clinic for facial rejuvenation. We come to you. Visit: www.youngeryouclinic.com.au or call 0478616781.

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

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

RURI STUDIO FOR HAIR Vincent and Miki welcome you to their newly opened, international, award-winning salon. Shop 2, 401 Oxford St, Leederville. 9444 3113. Ruri-studio-for-hair@ hotmail.com.

BOOKBINDING RESTORATION BOOKBINDING and Conservation; General Book Repairs, Bibles, Breviaries and Liturgical. Tel: 0401 941 577. Now servicing the South-West @ Myalup.

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

MENALIVE WEEKEND MENALIVE MEN’S WEEKEND. Saturday, September 14 from 8am-9pm and Sunday, September 15 from 8.30am1.30pm at Holy Spirit Parish hall, 2 Keaney Pl, City Beach. Cost $50 includes workshops, morning/afternoon tea, also lunch and dinner on Saturday. RSVP Wed, Sep 12. Register/Enq: Alex 0417 184 288, Jon 0409 800 841 or menalive-citybeach@live. com.au.

PAINTERS IN PERTH since 1933. AJ Cochrane & Sons 08 9248 8211. BRICK RE-POINTING Ph Nigel 9242 2952. PERROTT PAINTING Pty Ltd For all your residential, commercial painting requirements. Ph Tom Perrott 9444 1200. BOB’S PAINTING Registered and insured. Free quotes 0422 485 433 www.bobthepainter.com. au. WRR PEST & WEED CONTROL PHD 1690. Pre treatment, full treatment, inspection for Termites. General Pests Control: spiders, ants, cockroaches, bugs etc. On time, fully licensed, fully insured, work guaranteed. Contact: 0402 326 637 or 6161 3264, william. rao@optusnet.com.au.

PILGRIMAGE Oct 8-24. Rome/Italy/Assisi/ Loretto/Eucharistic Miracle (Lanciano)/Cave of St Michael the Archangel/San Giovanni Rotondo (Padre Pio) plus 6 nights Medjugorje. Overnight Dubrovnik. Spiritual Director Fr Joseph Asnabun. Cost $3,999 includes flights, transfers, tipping, guides, bed, breakfast, and evening meals in Italy, and Medjugorje. Enq: 9402 2480, 0407 471 256 or email medjugorje@y7mail.com.

FURNITURE REMOVAL

RICH HARVEST - YOUR CHRISTIAN SHOP Looking for Bibles, CDs, books, cards, gifts, statues, Baptism and Wedding candles, etc. Visit us at 39 Hulme Ct (off McCoy St), Myaree. Ph 9329 9889 (after 10.30am Mon to Sat). We are here to serve. KINLAR VESTMENTS www.kinlarvestments.com.au Quality vestments, Australianmade, embroidered and appliquéd. Contact Vickii for a quote - 08 9402 1318, 0409 114 093 or kinlarvestments@gmail.com.

TAX SERVICE QUALITY TAX RETURNS PREPARED by registered tax agent with over 35 years’ experience. Call Tony Marchei 0412 055 184 for appt. AXXO Accounting & Management, Unit 20/222 Walter Rd, Morley. Trade services.

IN MEMORIAM PASKOV, Maria. Sister, on August 25, seven years will have gone by since you passed away but it feels like only yesterday. Love always, Blaza and family

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

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Continued from Page 18 church. Oil paintings: 160 x 90cm; glossy print - 100 x 60cm. Enq: Irene 9417 3267 (w). Sacred Heart Pioneers Would anyone like to know about the Sacred Heart pioneers? If so, please contact Spiritual Director Fr Doug Harris 9444 6131 or John 9457 7771. St Philomena’s Chapel 3/24 Juna Dr, Malaga. Mass of the day: Mon 6.45am. Vigil Masses: Mon-Fri 4.45pm. Enq: Fr David 9376 1734. Mary MacKillop Merchandise Available for sale from Mary MacKillop Centre. Enq: Sr Maree 041 4683 926 or 08 9334 0933. Financially Disadvantaged People Requiring Low Care Aged Care Placement The Little Sisters of the Poor community is set in beautiful gardens in the suburb of Glendalough. “Making the elderly happy, that is everything!” St Jeanne Jugan (foundress). Registration and enq: Sr Marie 9443 3155. Is your son or daughter unsure of what to do this year? Suggest a Cert IV course to discern God’s purpose. They will also learn more about the Catholic faith and develop skills in communication and leadership. Acts 2 College of Mission and Evangelisation (National Code 51452).Enq: Jane 9202 6859. AA Alcoholics Anonymous Is alcohol costing you more than just money? Enq: AA 9325 3566. Saints and Sacred Relics Apostolate Invite SSRA Perth invites interested parties, parish priests, leaders of religious communities, lay associations to organise relic

visitations to parishes, communities, etc. We have available authenticated relics, mostly first-class, of Catholic saints and blesseds including Sts Mary MacKillop, Padre Pio, Anthony of Padua, Therese of Lisieux, Maximilian Kolbe, Simon Stock and Blessed Pope John Paul II. Free of charge and all welcome. Enq: Giovanny 0478 201 092 or ssra-perth@catholic.org. Enrolments, Year 7, 2014 La Salle College now accepting enrolments for Year 7, 2014. For prospectus and enrolment, please contact college reception on 9274 6266 or email lasalle@lasalle. wa.edu.au. Acts 2 College, Perth’s Catholic Bible College Is now pleased to be able to offer tax deductibility for donations to the college. If you are looking for an opportunity to help grow the faith of young people and evangelise the next generation of apostles, please contact Jane Borg, Principal at Acts 2 College on 0401 692 690 or principal@ acts2come.wa.edu.au. Divine Mercy Church Pews Would you like to assist, at the same time becoming part of the history of the new Divine Mercy Church in Lower Chittering, by donating a beautifully handcrafted jarrah pew currently under construction, costing only $1,000 each. A beautiful brass plaque with your inscription will be placed at the end of the pew. Please make cheques payable to Divine Mercy Church Building fund and send with inscription to PO Box 8, Bullsbrook WA 6084. Enq: Fr Paul 0427 085 093. Abortion Grief Association Inc A not-for-profit association is looking for premises to establish a Trauma Recovery Centre (pref SOR) in response to increasing demand for our services (ref.www. abortiongrief.asn.au). Enq: Julie (08) 9313 1784. RESOURCE CENTRE FOR PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT - 2013 COURSES Holistic Health Seminar The Instinct to

Heal (begins July 25) Thursday 11am-1pm; RCPD2 Internalise Principles of Successful Relationships, and Use Emotional Intelligence and Communication Skills, now on Thursdays 11am-1pm. 197 High St, Fremantle. Bookings essential. Enq: Eva 0409 405 585 or www.rcpd.net.au. Drop-In Centre and Op Shop - Volunteers urgently needed at RCPD, 197 High St, Fremantle. 1) RCPD6 ‘The Cost of Discipleship’ This course combines theology with relationship education and personal/ spiritual awareness by teaching selfanalysis. 2) ‘The Wounded Heart’ Healing for emotional and sexual abuse promotes healing and understanding for the victim and the offender. Holistic counselling available - http://members. dodo.com.au/~evalenz/. Would You Not Watch One Hour with Me? Adoration - St Jerome’s, Spearwood We have been able to add Sunday night/ Monday morning to our Adoration Roster. It is now continuous from Wednesday, 6am through to Monday, 10pm. Please pray for new Adorers to keep Jesus company on the two nights (Monday and Tuesday) which still finish at 10pm. Adorers needed urgently: Thursday, 10am, 11am and 12 noon. Please see the roster for other times Adorers are needed. Enq. Mary 0402 289 418. Pilgrimage: Following Christ and His Saints Fr Tim Deeter and Fr Michael Rowe will lead a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and Italy, Jan 6-31, 2014. Israel and Jordan, Rome, Subiaco, Genazzano, Norcia and Cascia in Italy. $7,850 from Perth is allinclusive except your drinks and souvenirs. Enq: casapgf@iinet.net.au or 9271 5253.

PANORAMA Friday at 5pm.

C R O S S W O R D ACROSS 4 Biblical measure from the elbow to the end of the middle finger 9 Pope (II) who called for the Crusades 10 Where Vatican City is 11 Mass apparel 12 The Sacred ___ of Jesus 13 Some houses 14 He left sad when Jesus told him to sell all he owned 17 Split in the Church 19 “___ the vine…”(Jn 15:5) 21 Sr Prejean 22 David is their patron saint 23 Abbr for two NT epistles 25 Chosen People 26 Server 29 Patron saint of farmers 31 Catholic physicist, Marie ___ 33 The ___ of Galilee 34 Catholic pastime? 35 “Cheer, cheer for old ___…” 36 They were found in Juan Diego’s cape at Guadalupe

7 8 15 16 18 20 23 24 27 28 30 31 32

under heaven” (Eccl 3:1) Small separate building or part of the church “___ eleison” One of Paul’s epistles Desert food Augustine was bishop here First word of a Latin trio Jesus met him on the road to Emmaus (Lk 24:13–35) Pharaoh of the Exodus, perhaps Brothers of Joseph A queen from this country came to hear Solomon speak NT epistle Biblical city ___ of Christian Initiation

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION

DOWN 1 He wrote the 95 Theses 2 Jesus’ name for the Father 3 Exodus pest 4 First United States saint, Frances ___ 5 First sacrament received 6 “…and a ___ for every matter

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W O R D S L E U T H

therecord.com.au August 21, 2013

LOCAL

Ave on the Hill

Hundreds gathered at Holy Cross Parish in Hamilton Hill on August 18 to celebrate the feast of Our Lady of the Mount. The feast orginated in the late 15th century on Madeira Island, Portugal where numerous miracles occurred in connection with an image of Our Lady. The feast was celebrated with Holy Mass, a procession through the streets and Benediction...

Hundreds of devotees, above and left, process throught the streets of Hamilton Hill on August 18 praying the Rosary in honour of Our Lady of the Mount. The statue of Our Lady was taken to the streets after Mass and held high for all passers-by to see. PHOTOS: MAT DE SOUSA Holy Cross Parish was a beacon of beauty as it was filled with bright blue fabrics, colourful banners and thousands of flowers. Fr Johnny Aguiar (below) from the Diocese of Ponto do Sol, Madeira celebrated Mass and gave the homily which reflected on the importance of Our Lady in our lives. PHOTOS: MAT DE SOUSA

Devotees walked in procession behind their groupâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s banner, left, to the sounds of the Victoria Park Brass Band which marched behind playing traditional hymns and music pieces. PHOTOS: MAT DE SOUSA