The Record Newspaper 25 January 2012

the R ecoRd

Demeaned, abused, second-class citizens in their own society, permanently under threat – and it’s worse if they’re Christians. Enter the world of ...

Pakistan’s women and girls

- Pages 10-11

Neocatechumenal liturgy approved but, the Pope reminds its members, as ...

A step to Parish liturgy

By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service

AS the Vatican approved the Neocatechumenal Way’s unique rite, Pope Benedict XVI underlined that its celebrations were not “strictly liturgical” and that their aim must be to encourage members to partake fully in the liturgical life of the parish.

The Pope encouraged the movement’s members to continue “to offer your original contribution to the cause of the Gospel,” and he urged them to always make sure their “precious work” was in “profound communion with the Apostolic See and the pastors of the local church in which they’re inserted.”

“Unity and harmony of the ecclesial body are an important witness to Christ and his Gospel in the world we live in,” he said during an audience on 20 January with some 7,000 members of the Neocatechumenal Way, a parishbased faith formation programme.

A number of top curial officials and the Neocatechumenal Way’s Spanish founders, Kiko Arguello and Carmen Hernandez, were also in the Vatican’s Paul VI hall.

The Pontifical Council for the Laity approved a decree that said, with the approval of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, the council “grants the approval of those celebrations contained in the Catechetical Directory of the Neocatechumenal Way, which are not, by their nature, already regulated by the liturgical books of the Church.”

The decree, dated 8 January and released by the Vatican on 20 January, was signed by the laity council’s president, Cardinal Stanislaw Rylko. The decree also

mentioned the Vatican’s approval of the organisation’s statutes in 2008 and its catechetical directory in 2010.

In his audience talk, the Pope said that while the celebrations described in the directory had been approved, the celebrations “are not

strictly liturgical, but are part of an itinerary of growth in the faith.”

“The celebrations in the small communities, regulated by the liturgical books - which are to be followed faithfully, and with the particularities approved of in the Statutes of the Way, are tasked with

helping those who follow the neocatechumenal itinerary be aware of the grace of being part of the salvific mystery of Christ,” he said.

The celebrations are a kind of steppingstone to the parish Mass as a way to help form and reintroduce lapsed or ill-prepared Catholics

into “the richness of sacramental life,” the Pope said. For that reason “the neocatechumenates can celebrate the Sunday Eucharist in their small communities after the first Sunday vespers according to the arrangements of the diocesan

Continued on page 2

Unstoppable teenagers learn power of prayer

By Sarah Motherwell

TEENAGERS walked in the footsteps of St Paul at the Catholic Youth Ministry Unstoppable retreat from 16-18 January at Eagles Nest in Gidegannup.

A group of 10 participants attended the retreat with a number of volunteers and St Charles seminarians.

Fr Roman and Fr Giles also attended the camp.

Youth Minister Michael Connelly said the whole retreat was based on the life of St Paul moving through session to session with a certain environment set up for each one.

“We had a session that was looking at his trial that he faced so we got an inflatable raft and made a bit of a shipwreck scene up the front,” he said.

The whole retreat, moving from session to session, was based on the life of St Paul.

The participants came from a number of parishes across the metropolitan area including Lockridge, Ocean Reef, Bateman and Bentley

parishes. Team building activities and prayer played a big part in the retreat as participants were helped by volunteers to become “unstoppable” in their faith.

Catholic Youth Ministry will be running another teenage retreat from 13-15 July and is currently organising more young adult activities to be held throughout the coming year.

You can register for these events by emailing admin@cym.com.au or phoning 9422 7912.

More information on Catholic Youth Ministry can be found on their Facebook page or at their website www.cym.com.au

Kiko Arguello, co-founder of the Neocatechumenal Way, walks near an image of Mary before Pope Benedict XVI’s audience on 20 January.

PHOTO: CNS/PAUL HARING

The retreat band, left to right: Roger O’Neill, Anita Parker, Stephen Palmera.

PHOTO: MICHAEL CONNELLY

Don’s love lives on in WA youth

By RoBeRt Hiini

SOME young people may have been apprehensive about going away for the first time on the West Australian Young Salesian Camp from 9-13 January but by camp’s end, good times were had and strong friendships forged.

Campers aged 12-15 from around Perth’s suburbs took to the Nanga Bush Camp in Dwellingup for five days of experiences, games, team and self-esteem building exercises as well as two Masses invoking the prayer of Salesian founder, St John Bosco.

“Many began the camp shy and reserved but as the days went by a transformation took place,” camp organiser Graham Maher said.

“Over the five days, campers came to see each other as part of a bigger family,” Mr Maher said; “the Bosco family”.

The Salesian Summer Camps have been running in WA since 1989 and are different from others, Mr Maher said, because of the special mission of their spiritual patron, John Bosco.

John Bosco was an Italian priest in the 19th century who spent his life educating street children and disadvantaged youth in the wake of the industrial revolution.

Fr John Bosco pioneered a kind of pastoral care of children, called the preventative method, based on love rather than punishment.

“The camp integrates the mission of Don Bosco: to cater to youth by blending Christian living via the two Masses held during the week with fun, laughter and games galore,” Mr Maher said.

“An assortment of games, experiences, team building exercises and activities designed to promote self esteem, confidence and belonging

helped bring out the strengths of everyone. Father Clayton Mitchell, a former camper and now diocesan priest from the Thornlie Parish and Fr William Matthews, a Salesian priest from South Australia, presided over the first Mass.

Fr Dariusz Basiaga, a Salvatorian priest from the Gosnells parish, celebrated the second.

Over the year there will be several camp reunions, primarily over school holidays, to enable campers to catch up with each other and keep the flame burning bright.

The WA Salesian’s first reunion will be in less than a week with a quiz night on March 23 with all welcome to attend.

For more information, visit www. wayoungsalesians.com.

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Liturgy approved as step to parish life

Continued from Page 1 bishop,” he said. But the pope reemphasised that every eucharistic celebration “is ultimately directed by the bishop” and must be open to all Catholics, not just members of the Neocatechumenal Way.

“The progressive maturation in the faith” of each member and small community “must favour their insertion in the life of the greater ecclesial community, which is found in the liturgical celebration of the parish,” he said.

But during the neocatechumenate’s journey of formation “it’s important not to be separated from the parish community, precisely in the eucharistic celebration, which is the true place of unity for everyone, where the Lord embraces us in our different stages of spiritual maturity and unites us in the one bread that makes us one body.”

The Pope said the latest oversight measure reflected the way in which the Church “accompanies you with attention in a patient discernment, understands your richness, but looks, too, toward the communion and harmony of the whole ecclesial body.”

The papal audience was an annual event in which the Pope blesses families who, responding to the request of a local bishop, agree to go off as missionaries to assist with evangelisation efforts.

Of the 18 groups being sent as missionaries and accompanied by a priest, three families were heading to Boston. The majority were heading to European cities.

READINGS OF THE

Sunday 29th - Green (SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME)

1st Reading: Deut 18:15-20

Heed God’s prophets

Responsorial Ps 94:1-2, 6-9

Psalm: Bow down before God

2nd Reading: 1 Cor 7:32-35

Faithful devotion

Gospel Reading: Mk 1:21-28

Authoritative teaching

Monday 30th - Green

1st Reading: 2 Sam 15:13-14, 30; 16:15-13

David is cursed

Responsorial Ps 3:2-8

Psalm: The Lord upholds me

Gospel Reading: Mk 5:1-20

The Gerasene demoniac

Tuesday 31st - White ( ST JOHN BOSCO, PRIEST (M))

1st Reading: 2 Sam 18:9-10, 14, 24-25, 30-19:3

David in mourning

Responsorial Ps 85:1-6

Psalm: Have mercy on me, Lord!

Gospel Reading: Mk 5:21-43

Have faith

Wednesday 1st - Green

1st Reading: 2 Sam 24:2, 9-17

David’s Census

Responsorial Ps 31:1-2, 5-7

Psalm: The Lord forgives

Gospel Reading: Mk 6:1-6

This is the carpenter

Thursday 2nd - White ( THE PRESENTATION OF THE LORD (FEAST))

1st Reading: Mal 3:1-4

The Lord is coming

Responsorial Ps 23:7-10

Psalm: Let the king enter 2nd Reading: Heb 2:14-18

Overcoming slavery to death

Gospel Reading: Lk 2:22-40

Salvation for all nations

Friday 3rd - Green ( ST BLAISE, BISHOP, MARTYR, ST ANSGAR, BISHOP (O))

1st Reading: Sir 47:2-11

David’s love for the Lord

Responsorial Ps 17:31, 47, 50-51

Psalm: God’s ways are perfect

Gospel Reading: Mk 6:14-29

John’s execution

Saturday 4th - Green

1st Reading: 1 Kgs 3:4-13

A decerning heart

Responsorial Ps 118:9-14

Psalm: Let me not stray

Gospel Reading: Mk 6:30-34

Rest for a while

This year’s WA Young Salesian Camp was as lively as ever with camps running every year since 1989. PHOTO GRAHAM MAHER

Gunk galore: Cleaner activities such as rafting were accompanied by “mucky” ones at the Nanga Bush Camp, Dwellingup.

PHOTO : GRAHAM MAHER

Tricky figures fuel faux school funding debate

By elizaBeth dunn

CLAIMS Catholic schools are better funded than state ones are a misrepresentation, according to Therese Temby of the National Catholic Education Commission.

Ms Temby was responding to reports in The Australian newspaper and on the ABC suggesting Catholic schools were better funded per student than state ones. Those

reports were in part sparked by the imminent release of the Federal Government’s Review of Funding for Schooling (the Gonski review).

The National Report on Schooling in Australia 2009, to which the media reports actually refer, shows recurrent government funding per student is increasing in government schools over non-government schools, Ms Temby said.

The source of the reports was

the work of a lobbyist based on the 2009 National Report data. That lobbyist admitted, Ms Temby said, that he “converted” and “adjusted” the official data.

In that data Catholic schools were said to be either ‘at least as well resourced’ or ‘significantly better resourced’ than government schools. Mr Ron Dullard, WA’s Catholic Education director concurred that the reports were

“fundamentally incorrect” and that government school funding was increasing over private schools.

The 2010 data from the Australian Government’s MySchool website showed that nationwide, government schools receive over $10 000 per student in state and commonwealth funding while Catholic schools receive just over $7000.

The NCEC’s own submission to the Review of Funding for

Schooling called for increased funding for Indigenous students; students with disability; regional and remote schools; and the new arrival or refugee students. With one in five students educated at a Catholic school the NCEC argued: “the maintenance of existing funding levels in real terms is essential if Catholic Education is to continue to provide a high quality and high equity education.”

Patrist founder in his Father’s arms

B

ARCHBISHOP Hickey said he had no reason to suspect foul play in the death of Perth priest Father Douglas Rowe, 69, whose body was found floating in a river on the Philippine island of Cebu on 16 January.

The Archbishop was responding to media speculation suggesting there were suspicious circumstances surrounding his death.

Fr Rowe, founder of the Patrist Societies of the Sons and Daughters of God the Father, was in Cebu inspecting land with community member, Sr Jan Rebutaso and a real estate agent.

Archbishop Hickey said that Fr Doug had sent the other two across the river before him, however upon reaching the other side they turned around to discover he had disappeared.

They found his body floating in the river and he was taken to hospital but could not be revived.

“The most logical explanation seems to be that Fr Doug had a heart attack as he entered the strong current”, the Archbishop said.

According to reports in the Philippine newspaper Tempo police officer Rosendo Binondo stated:

“We have not seen any visible injuries on the body or any sign of commotion or struggle in the area, but we are waiting for the result of the autopsy.”

Archbishop Hickey said Fr Rowe’s remains would be brought back to Perth for burial.

“Father Rowe’s sudden death has come as a shock,” he said.

“Fr Douglas Rowe was a former

ATTENTION!

Jesuit priest in India,” he said. “He left in order to respond to a special call to promote the worship of God as Father. To this end, he founded the Patrist Society of men and women to spread this message.

“He claimed that the spiritual-

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ity of God the Father was Jesus’ own spirituality in so far as He was always in communion with His father and instructed his followers to accept Him as their father in the famous Lord’s Prayer, the Our Father. “He founded communities

in Canada, the Philippines and Perth and was seeking to establish them also in Uganda when he was taken from us unexpectedly.

“Fr Douglas had a reputation for dynamic preaching,” he said.

“I am sad for the members of his

community and his friends. May he rest in peace.”

Fr Rowe was based in Midland at the Patrist House and prior to that, was chaplain at All Saints Chapel in Allendale Square from late 2005 to January 2008.

Fr Douglas Rowe, photographed in Midland in 2009, surrounded by the-then members of the Patrist society he founded.

PHOTO: ROBERT HIINI

Spirit hits right pitch as faithful are set aflame

By RoBeRt Hiini

TWO advertising men heard the pitch of their lives at around the same time.

One of those men, Pentecostal Pastor Russell Sage was a special guest speaker and prayer leader at the 22nd Annual Flame Congress.

The other, was Flame Ministries International founder Eddie Russell.

They were both hedonists more than 20 years back, Eddie said, and both began feeling God’s call to faith at the same time.

The clincher for Pastor Russell came when he was leaving Eddie’s studio one day, making his way down the stairwell.

Eddie remembers standing on his balconey saying “Russell Sage,

Jesus loves you,” having felt the prompting of the Holy Spirit.

“We were jouneying at that same moment. His life has not been the same since,” Eddie said.

“He’s been to places I wouldn’t want to go. He’s doing marvellous work and I admire the man for that.”

Pastor Russell was present at Flame’s first congress back in the ministry’s inaugural year, 1990.

Both men are living tomes of the theme of the congress “Acts of the Apostles in the 21st Century: Change the World you’re in”.

The congress kicked off with praise and worship led by Flame’s music ministry team followed by an exhortation to evangelise from Archbishop Barry Hickey.

The archbishop handed out

prayer cards from the archdiocesan evangelisation agency The Faith Centre after a well-received address, featuring a “how to” for Lectio Divina - an ancient method of reading Scripture.

Among the many speakers of the three day congress, Catholic school teacher and apologist Stephen Spiteri made a big impact of Flame’s music leader, Patrick Carre.

“I haven’t really seen him before and I thought he was a very good speaker,” Mr Carre said.

“[His talks] were all about defending the Catholic Church which is very relevant today.”

Flame Ministries International is a Perth-based Catholic charismatic organisation evangelising locally and throughout Europe, Asia and Africa.

Evangelisation is our job: Archbishop

By RoBeRt Hiini

WHEN Archbishop Barry Hickey helps his many destitute friends around Perth’s streets most evenings, he knows the majority won’t give up the lifestyles that are slowly destroying them.

“What did Jesus say we should do if we can’t do anything else? To love them so that when they die they will know that Jesus loves them because they’ve heard it from people whose lives are filled with Jesus love,” the archbishop said.

The archbishop was speaking at the annual Flame Ministries International Congress about evangelisation and his experience, over many years, walking Perth’s streets.

“I see drugs being passed around in the centre of the city [causing] huge harm; some dying lonely deaths.

“I walk past three brothels within half a kilometre around the cathedral and the Court Hotel,” he said, adding that he “prayed for people in that whole scene.”

What really struck him, however, was how many Christian churches and groups were present in the area.

“They are just humble ordinary people but they’re moved by compassion and love for people who have had a hard life.”

To proclaim the kingdom of God, the archbishop said, was not

just the job of priests but of every baptised Christian.

He also made special note of Pope Benedict’s “great friend”, the UK’s Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, who gave an address to the Pontifical Gregorian University on

12 December last year.

“The two sat down and talked about Europe...They want to restore Judeo-Christian values to reconvert Europe back to belief in God, for people to open their heart,” he said. In that December address, Rabbi

Sacks said Europe was in danger of losing its soul, quoting the words of Jesus: “What does it profit a man if he should gain the whole world but lose his soul.”

“I thought that was a beautiful touch,” the archbishop said. “I’ve

Agnes a model of total dedication

By SaRaH delaney Catholic News Service

POPE Benedict XVI held up the life of a young virgin and martyr as an example to seminarians of the total commitment to Christ required by young men seeking to enter the priesthood.

The Pope also said that a solid cultural background and intellectual understanding of faith was essential in the formation of priests as spreaders of the word of God.

The Pope spoke to a 20 January audience with students from one of Rome’s oldest and most prominent seminaries, the Almo Collegio Capranica.

He told them that while martyrdom marks a final and heroic act, the “informed, free and mature” choice of virginity is rather the “fruit of a long friendship with Jesus” developed through close knowledge of his words and constant prayer.

Legend says St Agnes died in 304

or 305 at the hands of the suitor she spurned so she could remain faithful only to Christ. Pope Benedict said the saint faced her fate with exemplary courage. Her martyrdom illustrates “the beauty of belonging to Christ without hesitation.”

The path to the priesthood requires a similar level of commitment, the pope said, as well as integrity, well-roundedness, ascetic exercise and “heroic faith.”

He reminded the seminary students that “faith has its own rational and intellectual dimension, which is essential to it,” and that it is the student’s responsibility to assimilate the “Christian synthesis of faith and reason.”

A thorough cultural and intellectual grounding will make priests more effective as educators of the faith, the Pope said.

St Agnes is a popular Roman saint. The church of Sant’Agnese in Agone is dedicated to her and is located at Rome’s Piazza Navona, where she was martyred.

never heard a Rabbi do that apart from him. But he and the Pope are together on this.”

Secularising forces, the breakdown of marriages and families, alternative sexual lifestyles and the “pernicious damage” done by drugs had devasated European culture, the archbishop said.

“We can look around Australia and see a lot of those things are happening here. Today let us see what we can do about our culture. To restore belief in God; restore the worth of every human being: rich and poor, young and old, abled and disabled, and restore our [Christian] culture to this coutnry.”

The archbishop also spoke of his regular visit to Bandyup Women’s Prison at Christmas.

At a post-Mass get together for prisoners, one of the women he knew got up to speak.

“She’s rough ... and she had never made a speech in her life. But she stood up and said “I want to thank the archbishop for coming here and telling us about God’s love. Thank you.”

“And then she sat down. It was perfect and she got the message. I was there to talk about God’s love.”

For more information regarding evangelisation contact The Faith Centre on 6140 2420 or info@thefaith.org.au or visit their website, www.thefaith.org.au

Archbishop addresses hot topics

By BRidget SpinkS

ARCHBISHOP

Barry Hickey has released the first episode in a series of weekly online broadcasts of good news talks.

In his first episode, Archbishop Hickey comments on the public hostility to Christianity shown by some some high-profile figures in 2011.

In the series the archbishop encourages those that came to Mass at Christmas to stay close to their faith throughout the year as well as speaking on matters spiritual and topical, the latter being potentially controversial.

He will release a segment each Friday via The Faith Centre for Evangelisation and Catholic culture online at www.thefaith.org.au.

The series of talks is titled A Word for Today’s World

The opening night of the 22nd Flame Congress was a time of great praise for many with vital music and teaching.

PHOTO: ROBERT HIINI

Archbishop Barry Hickey hands out prayer cards at Flame Ministries’ Congress.

PHOTO: ROBERT HIINI

Spearwood to mark patron’s big day

By RoBeRt Hiini

ST JEROME Emiliani (1481-1537) was no plastic saint - fallen one day and holy the next.

When Our Lady visited him in prison and freed him from captivity, his ascent to sanctity was anything but immediate, Somascan priest Fr Johnson Malayil CRS told The Record

St Jerome’s Parish, Spearwood, will celebrate their saint’s feast day on 11 February, inviting the whole archdiocese to a 6pm celebration of his life and the Somascan’s ongoing work in his charism.

Favoured with noble birth and rising to govern a stronghold of the Venetian army, Jerome had led a Godless life up until the city’s defeat at the hands of German aggressors; drifting away from the faith of his childhood.

Bound in chains and languishing in the bowels of a dungeon, no one stepped forward to pay his ranson.

Dejected and alone, the Blessed Virgin appeared to St Jerome and loosed his chains, securing his mystical escape.

But liberation of a spiritual kind took years of stumbling prayer, Fr Johnson said, and it was some time

before St Jerome knew God was calling him to care for orphaned children and the desititute.

In some ways, the task was simply visited upon him, as the city

Basilica to host concert full of passion for music, season

PASSION for classical music, passion for Christ, Pipe Organ Plus’s first concert of the season this year is aptly named.

Passion Concert will take place Sunday 18 March, and will focus on the most important period of the religious calendar, Easter.

Pipe Organ Plus has captivated Perth audiences for more than a decade with some of the finest performers from the classical music community and WA’s largest and grandest pipe organ.

The spiritual performance, led by artistic director and organist, Dominic Perissinotto, follows

Christ’s journey through suffering and death to his joyous resurrection.

The concert will be held in Fremantle at the Basilica of St Patrick, at 2:30pm, and will run for two hours including an interval with complimentary refreshments.

Tickets are available through BOCS Ticketing (08) 9484 1133, Toll Free 1800 193 300, www.bocsticketing.com.au and at the door one hour prior to the concert. The Record has five double passes to give away, please send in a selfaddressed envelope to 21 Victoria Square, Perth, 6000.

suffered famine and then plague in relatively quick succession.

Like his saintly contemporary St Ignatius of Loyola, St Jerome was a harbinger of the counter-Reforma-

tion, but one that starts, Fr Johnson said, with personal reformation and conversion.

“It was a counter-Reformation from within, to that state of sanc-

tity that was characteristic of the Church of the apostles,” he said.

“He realised that reformation takes place individually and that by reforming himself he took part in reforming the Church.”

More than 400 years before the Second Vatican Council, St Jerome’s life integrated two streams which have been seemingly divergent ever since - those of justice and sanctity.

It is an integration the Somascan’s strive to maintain today in their pastoral care in the developed and developing world.

“Our aim is not just to provide young people with food and accommodation but showing them the paternity of God; the face of God the Father,” Fr Johnson said.

“In that way we help them to develop a relationship with God and reformation from within.”

“If we are just secularised and only care for human beings’ earthly life then we diminish their dignity which is open to eternal life. But if you are concerned only about their spiritual life you diminish the value of human life here,” he said.

“St Jerome Emiliani was both: caring for people’s earthly life but knowing they were meant for eternal life.”

A royal summer of song

ST MARY’S Cathedral opened its doors to 100 delegates this month as the Royal School of Church Music (RSCM) National Summer School was held in Perth for the second time in five years.

The summer school was to be held in Christchurch, New Zealand. However due to the severe destruction the city suffered as a result of the February earthquakes the school was moved to Perth.

RSCM is an international organisation based in the United Kingdom and supports a worldwide network of an estimated 8,500 churches, schools and individuals.

The Christian organisation’s mission is to educate and promote church music to the wider community.

On Saturday 14 January 100 Australian and New Zealand summer school delegates toured the newly completed St Mary’s cathedral before enjoying an afternoon tea and evening Mass.

Following the summer school’s tradition, the delegates formed a Mass choir and sang at various ser-

Prelate warns against three enemies of ecumenism

A BRITISH cardinal encouraged Christians to overcome the “three enemies of ecumenism” and to pray for the progress of closer unity.

Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, retired archbishop of Westminster, said “suspicion, inertia and impatience” had damaged the ecumenical project.

The former cochairman of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission also told about 500 worshippers in the Anglican cathedral in Chester that prayer and grass-roots initiatives were the best means of keeping the ecumenical dream alive.

“To mend the ruptures of the past is a task that devolves on each one of us here this evening,” the cardinal said at the 22 January service.

“For too long we have lived, as it were, apart, and one of the joys of my years as a priest and bishop

has been the growing friendship that has come amongst us,” he said.

“For when we meet together and pray together, the suspicions of the past dissolve, and we reach the heart of the ecumenical movement, which is a spiritual movement focused on Jesus Christ, the Son of God, to whom we pray and in whom we reach the Father,” he said. “And, of course, we overcome inertia by what we do together,” he added.

“We can have many notional ideas of what we want to do, but do we actually do them? In every village and every town, everywhere, there ought to be some things which Christians are doing together. It may be a prayer group; it may be an expression of social concern for the poor and needy; it may be joint services, especially at key times such as today,” he said.

course.

Qualification wins further registration

The University of Notre Dame Australia’s Bachelor of Medicine/ Bachelor of Surgery degree at the Sydney School of Medicine had its accreditation renewed by the Australian Medical Council (AMC) until 31 December 2013.

Additionally, the Medical Board of Australia confirmed the university’s Bachelor of Medicine/ Bachelor of Surgery had been registered as a qualification for the purposes of registration in the medical profession, also to 31 December 2013.

UNDA’s Vice Chancellor, Professor Celia Hammond, said the announcements were an important milestone in the development of the Sydney school.

“I’m delighted that the AMC has identified such positive progress at the School,” she said.

Prof Hammond said the decision “is a reflection of the hard work of staff and students alike in developing the Medicine course.”

vices in major Perth churches over the course of the summer school

For more than 400 years, Somascans have been caring for disadvantaged children. Pictured above: Children at Casa Miani, a residential facility in the Phillipines taking care of the basic needs for 56 children. PHOTO: ONLINE SOURCE

Dominic Perisinotto at the St Patrick’s Basilica organ. PHOTO: SUPPLIED

RSCM choir sings during Mass at St Marys Cathedral.

PHOTO: JACINTA JAKOVCEVIC

Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor

MILESTONES

moments past, passing and to come

Send your milestones to editor@therecord.com.au

Faith the gold standard for Carmelo

‘LOVE the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’ – the first of Jesus’ two great commandments. When I hear these words I think of the way my Granddad Carmelo loved God. To say that he loved God would even be an understatement. He worshipped God and made sure people knew of God’s existence.

As a father, grandfather and great-grandfather, Carmelo lived out his vocation very seriously. He knew the responsibility given to him by Christ to share the Gospel by word and example. He knew he had been entrusted with a mission by God to fulfill his married vocation – to get his family to Heaven. He was not perfect – no one is. He did however strive for perfection in his own broken, humble way. He never missed Sunday Mass, he fasted religiously every Wednesday and Friday from meat and alcohol. He prayed the Rosary, daily. He passed on the living flame of love lit in his heart by the Divine Lover.

Growing up I remember, at times, being cared for by Nanna and Granddad. I remember the shed at the back of their High Wycombe house that he had turned into a chapel. I used to think that it was a bit strange.

What a witness he gave me going in there and praying. I remember his advice to never start smoking and if people call me a chicken for not taking a cigarette that I should tell them that they are the chicken. I remember the list of injuries and

Obituary

Carmelo Marsala

Born: 26 Sept 1919

Slimea, Malta

Entered eternal life: 29 November 2011

near death experiences he carried around in his pocket only to pull this out mid conversation at a family BBQ and read each event oneby-one with the correct date scribbled next to each. He was proud he had survived all these, particularly getting hit by a car.

Granddad’s time of suffering prior to passing away was difficult for all of us. All of those days my mum and uncle Bob were called back to the hospital because granddad had been sent there by ambulance yet again – all of those efforts were not in vain.

God knows that the greatest tragedy on earth is a broken family, and he had a plan. In his absolute mercy, God united this family back together. He broke the hardened hearts and enabled forgiveness to reign. God used the sufferings of Granddad to reunite him to his children.

On Tuesday afternoon, there I was sitting, looking at granddad’s lifeless body. All I could see was peace. He had run the race and fought the good fight. As I was thinking of his life, I was suddenly interrupted by my mum saying, “It looks as though he is breathing.” Well, mum, I have good news – he is. Right now, he is more alive than

you and I. Right now he is free from the sufferings and anxieties this life can bring. Right now, he knows he is either going to heaven or he is in heaven already. We must not forget to pray for him. The souls in Purgatory need our prayers. If he is in heaven, then our prayers are not in vain, there are plenty of other people in need of them. Another thought occurred

to me as I was sitting next to granddad after he had died. I realised how simple life is. This man came into the world with nothing and left with nothing. It does not matter how attached anyone is to anything in this world, we leave it empty handed. However, this is partially untrue. Granddad did not leave empty handed, he left with all of the love he shared, with all

of the relationships he developed, nurtured and restored, and with the faith he had in God. He left with all of these good things and gave them to our Lord. God asks for nothing but love, and that is what granddad gave in return.

This is an edited version of the eulogy given by Josh Stock, a teacher at Santa Maria College in 2012, for his grandfather Carmelo.

Spreading devotion to Mary an honour for Keith

By Bridget SpinkS

KEITH Gordyn, the late president of the Servants of Mary centre for administration and Catholic bookshop in Sydney’s inner-west, had a lot of good sayings.

“The superannuation is pretty good if you work for Our Lady,” was one.

Another was one of joyful anticipation for the next life that his family recall him saying when he was diagnosed in October last year with acute myloid leukaemia and chose not to have chemotherapy: “I know where I’m going; so be it”.

Keith Gordyn was third eldest in a family of 10 children who all migrated to Australia from Holland in 1954 and settled in Sale, Victoria.

In 1962, he married Barbara and together, they also had a family of 10 children – nine sons and a daughter.

Over the next 20-odd years, Keith supported his family by working as a dairy farmer, a sheet metal worker and as a labourer and then operator on the oilrigs in Bass Strait.

Keith loved his family and would often spend his evenings staying up late playing pool with whoever was still up.

In 1987, however, Keith became separated from his family.

By this time he had already become convinced of the need to promote devotion to Our Lady under the particular title Help of Christians, Patroness of Australia.

In the late 1980s, he started putting his energies into volunteering with Melbourne Marian organisations, first with the Blue Army and then with Fr Frank Maher SJ at the Hampton Marian Centre.

When he turned 55 in 1994, Keith gave up full time work and would spend his retirement serv-

ing Mary. In 1998, Keith came to work with the late Brian Burgess, who was managing the Servants of Mary Help of Christians Centre in Sydney at the time.

They travelled extensively together to various parishes to help facilitate the parishes’ consecration to Mary, Help of Christians.

But in July 1999, Brian was diagnosed with a brain tumor and passed away the following year.

Brian’s generosity and way of operating the Marian centre had a profound impact on Keith.

Keith remembered asking Brian one day much earlier whether he could buy a few holy cards of Mary, Help of Christians. Brian replied that he couldn’t sell him any because he was afraid he would not have enough for the next feast day.

Despite this, Keith placed a small order at the time, and when his order arrived, he was surprised to find five extra holy cards enclosed free of charge. “I got this silent mes-

sage that he didn’t have enough to sell, but he had enough to give away,” Keith said.

Without a captain at the helm when Brian passed away, Keith stepped up to manage the Marian centre, which he understood to be the reason in hindsight as to why he had retired six years earlier.

“It was a matter of rolling up your sleeves and getting into it,” he said. “You might as well say I had a 12-year apprenticeship with all the places I’ve volunteered at.”

The Servants of Mary, as it is simply known, is a centre for administration for the apostolate of spreading devotion to Mary, Help of Christians and the Rosary with a Catholic bookshop.

From the Centre’s offices in Lewisham, next to the parish of St Thomas Becket, Keith and a number of volunteers spread devotion to Mary “using all the sacramentals she has given us to use as aids to get to Heaven”.

Obituary

Cornelius (Keith) Stephanes Gordyn

Born: 27 May 1939, Ryswyck, Holland

Entered eternal life: 10 January 2012

These include the Rosary, the Scapular, the Miraculous Medal and other devotions such as the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Given it was 10 years ago in 2001 that Australia was consecrated to her as patroness, Keith felt it was time to have the nation re-consecrated.

He organised for all 65 Australian bishops, 120 religious houses listed in the Catholic Directory and all 1360 parishes including the Maronite, Coptic, Melkite, Chaldean and Ukrainian Catholic parishes to receive a “Making Her Known” package.

This package of promotional materials, which cost $15,000 to mailout, included a request to reconsecrate the diocese, parish or religious house to the Immaculate Heart of Mary through Mary Help of Christians, Patroness of Australia on her feast day, 24 May 2011.

Keith was also good at leading Marian processions. He coordinated the procession in honour of Our Lady Help of Christians annually, leading the faithful through Sydney’s CBD streets, starting at St Patrick’s Church Hill and ending at St Mary’s Cathedral.

He organised the eleventh procession last year on 28 May, which drew 250 people.

When Keith moved to Melbourne to be with his family in what turned out to be his last few weeks, his

friend and also the parish priest for St Thomas Becket’s in Lewisham, Fr Michael Butler, rang him every day for a short talk and shared prayer.

This was a continuation of a simple morning Catholic practise they had practiced since Keith used to live in the presbytery for about six years where, every morning after breakfast, they would have a short prayer of blessing for each other.

Fr Michael said Keith told him that he was feeling “better and better,” while his doctors were saying he was getting “worse and worse”.

This reminded Fr Michael of St Paul in 2 Corinthians 5:1-9 – “Here indeed we groan and long to put on our heavenly dwelling … For while we are still in this tent, we sigh with anxiety; not that we would be unclothed but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life … We are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.”

Fr Michael said that while Keith’s body was getting weaker and weaker, he was getting closer to the Lord within his spirit.

Keith’s son Jeremy Gordyn said that his dad always made time for family and friends and just days before he died, Keith attended a family day on 2 January at his brother and sister-in-law’s, Laurie and Katie’s, home in Belgrave South.

“This day will go down as one of the happiest of his life; a day that he enjoyed and a day that all cherish,” Jeremy said.

Keith Gordyn is survived by nine of his 10 children and 12 of his 13 grandchildren.

For more information about Mary Help of Christians, contact the Servants of Mary Help of Christians by mail at PO Box 698 Petersham NSW 2049 or phone 02 9560 3212.

Carmelo Marsala was an outstanding witness to God’s love, writes his grandson, Josh Stock. PHOTO: COURTESY JOSH STOCK

Keith Gordyn pictured last year in the Servants of Mary Help of Christians Centre in Sydney.

PHOTO: BRIDGET SPINKS

By Francis X. rocca and sarah delaney

POPE Benedict XVI warned visiting US bishops that “radical secularism” threatens the core values of American culture, and he called on the Church in America, including politicians and other laypeople, to render “public moral witness” on crucial social issues.

The Pope spoke on 19 January to a group of US bishops who were in Rome for their periodic “ad limina” visits, which included meetings with the Pope and Vatican officials, covering a wide range of pastoral matters.

Opening with a dire assessment of the state of American society, the Pope told the bishops that “power-

Radical secularism threatens values Lunar blessings for brand new year

Migrants and refugees are not numbers

THE millions of refugees and migrants in the world are not numbers but people in search of a better life for themselves and their families, Pope Benedict XVI said.

“They are men and women, young and old, who are looking for a place they can live in peace,” the Pope said on 15 January, which the Vatican marked as the World Day for Migrants and Refugees.

The Pope welcomed migrants living in Rome to his recitation of the Angelus in St Peter’s Square and told the thousands of people gathered for the midday prayer that migrants and refugees are not only recipients of the Church’s outreach, but also can be agents of evangelisation in their new communities.

In his main Angelus address, Pope Benedict spoke about the day’s Scripture readings at Mass and how Samuel in the Hebrew Bible and Simon and Andrew, James and John in the New Testament recognised the Lord’s call with the help of a wise guide.

“I would like to underline the decisive role of a spiritual guide in the faith journey and, in particular, in responding to the vocation of special consecration in the service of God and his people,” the Pope said.

“The call to follow Jesus more closely, to give up forming one’s own family in order to dedicate oneself to the larger family of the Church, normally passes through the witness and suggestion of a ‘big brother,’ usually a priest,” he said. He also said parents help prepare children using genuine faith and conjual love to demonstrate that is is possible to build your entire life on the love of God.

ful new cultural currents” have worn away the country’s traditional moral consensus, which was originally based on religious faith as well as ethical principles derived from natural law.

Whether they claim the authority of science or democracy, the Pope said, militant secularists seek to stifle the Church’s proclamation of these “unchanging moral truths.” Such a movement inevitably leads to the prevalence of “reductionist and totalitarian readings of the human person and the nature of society.”

The Pope drew an opposition between current “notions of freedom detached from moral truth” and Catholicism’s “rational perspective” on morality, founded on

the conviction that the “cosmos is possessed of an inner logic accessible to human reasoning.” Using the “language” of natural law, he said, the Church should promote social justice by “proposing rational arguments in public square.”

Coming at the start of an election year, Pope Benedict’s words were clearly relevant to American politics, a connection he made explicit by mentioning threats to “that most cherished of American freedoms, the freedom of religion.”

The Pope said that many of the visiting bishops had told him of “concerted efforts” against the “right of conscientious objection ... to cooperation in intrinsically evil practices” - an apparent reference to proposals by the US Department

of Health and Human Services, opposed by the US bishops, that all private health insurance plans cover surgical sterilisation procedures and artificial birth control.

In response to such threats, Pope Benedict said, the Church requires an “engaged, articulate and well-formed Catholic laity” with the courage and critical skills to articulate the “Christian vision of man and society.” He said that the education of Catholic laypeople is essential to the “new evangelisation,” an initiative that he has made a priority of his pontificate.

Touching on one of most controversial areas of church-state relations in recent years, the Pope spoke of Catholic politicians’ “personal responsibility to offer public

witness to their faith, especially with regard to the great moral issues of our time,” which he identified as “respect for God’s gift of life, the protection of human dignity and the promotion of authentic human rights.”

The Pope was not specific about the bishops’ relationship with such politicians, merely encouraging the bishops to “maintain contacts” with them and “help them understand” their duty to promote Catholic values.

While acknowledging the “genuine difficulties” facing the Church in the United States, the Pope concluded on a hopeful note, pointing to a growing appreciation for “Judeo-Christian” civic values, and a “new generation of Catholics”.

Vatican calls for China to release bishops

By Francis X. rocca

THE Vatican’s highest-ranking Chinese official called on Beijing to release nine arrested Catholic bishops and priests, saying their continued detention “damages China’s international image.”

Archbishop Savio Hon Tai-fai, secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, made his remarks in an interview published on 17 January by AsiaNews, a Rome-based missionary news agency.

“We need to pray for these bishops and priests ... but we must also appeal to those who are holding them”, Archbishop Hon said, endorsing a public campaign recently launched by AsiaNews.

Eight of the arrested clergy are members of the so-called “underground” or clandestine Catholic community, whose leaders refuse to register with the Chinese government.

China requires bishops to register with the government, but many refuse, believing registration forces them to operate within certain limits. Those who, for decades, refused to register and suffered persecution at the hands of communist authorities have sometimes felt resentment toward those who opted to register and cooperate; initially they were forced to keep their loyalty to the Vatican secret.

The government’s refusal to acknowledge the Church leaders’ detention shows that the priests and bishops “disappeared for religious reasons,” Archbishop Hon said. “If these people have done something wrong, please send them to court, not to prison or isolation.”

Bishops urge unity prior to presidential election

AS THE presidential election year begins, Venezuela’s bishops urged people to come together for the common good, “based on mutual respect and appreciation,” to close the country’s political and social divides.

In a pastoral letter covering topics ranging from human rights to crime and prisons to politics, the bishops acknowledged that “building unity among Venezuelans is not an easy task,” but said, “the progress and welfare of this country can only be achieved with the participation of all citizens.”

The bishops issued the letter in mid-January at the end of their annual assembly, when they elected Archbishop Diego Padron Sanchez of Cumana president of the Venezuelan bishops’ conference. Venezuela has been highly polarised for years, with little room for negotiation between the government of President Hugo Chavez and the political opposition. The bishops often have taken stands at odds with the controversial chief executive, a former military officer who has been in office since 1999.

The polarisation between the

president’s supporters and opponents is likely to come to the fore in October, when voters choose a president. It is not clear whether Chavez, who underwent treatment for cancer last year in Cuba, will be a candidate.

Calling on Catholics to pray for and promote the common good, the bishops wrote that the election should be viewed “from the human and Christian standpoint of national reconciliation.”

The election “will be especially important, given the magnitude of the problems the country faces and

the opposing social models presented as ways of solving them,” wrote the bishops, urging Venezuelans not to go to the polls “like two sides facing off in a war.”

Among the problems the bishops highlighted are rising crime rates and violence in the country’s overcrowded prisons.

“Crime is a multifaceted problem that is not resolved with partial measures or the militarisation of society,” they wrote.

“It is necessary to attack the causes of the problem, eliminating poverty not with handouts, but

with jobs and high-quality education.”

While the government has not released official crime statistics for several years, a United Nations report recently ranked Caracas as the sixth-most-violent city in the world, with more than 3,000 homicides in 2011.

Praising the efforts of prison chaplains and volunteers from the church’s prison ministry, the bishops called for “humanising” the prison system “through respect for life, education for work and the transmission of values.”

A calligrapher paints while waiting for customers on a street in Hanoi, Vietnam, on 13 January. Calligraphy paintings are used for decoration during Tet, the Vietnamese lunar new year, which began on 23 January. PHOTO: CNS/KHAM, REUTERS

Presidential candidates spark “Mormon moment”

By Carol Zimmermann

MORMONS in the United States might be getting more attention because of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney these days, but they have mixed views on what this attention means.

According to a new Pew Forum poll, most members of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints feel that Americans do not know enough about their religion, but they also think the public perception of them is becoming more positive.

The study, “Mormons in America: Certain in Their Beliefs, Uncertain of Their Place in Society” was conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life and released on 12 January. It was inspired by recent articles about

Mormons, the facts and the faith

MORE than 14 million people belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which has its headquarters in Salt Lake City. Members are referred to as Mormons. About five million live in the United States, making the faith group the fourth largest in the country.

The church was established on 6 April 1830 by Joseph Smith who is considered to be a prophet.

According to information on the church’s website, Mormons describe themselves as a restoration of Christianity. The site notes that the church is not Protestant, Evangelical, Catholic or Orthodox but espouses values of morality, civility and family similar to those of most other Christian faiths.

According to a recent Pew Forum poll, six in 10 Mormons think Americans are uninformed about their religious beliefs. The study showed that a number of tenets central to the teachings of the Mormon faith are not shared by other Christian traditions including beliefs that:

- God the Father and Jesus Christ are separate, physical beings.

- The Book of Mormon was written by ancient prophets.

- Families can be bound together for all eternity in temple ceremonies. The church’s website addresses possible misconceptions about the faith and its practices in the “frequently asked questions” section. The site also explains the following practices:

- The Bible is the word of God and the Book of Mormon is also

the religion being in the spotlight dubbed the “Mormon moment.”

This spotlight refers to two Mormon Republican presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman; a Broadway musical about Mormons called “The Book of Mormon”; the recent HBO series “Big Love” about a fundamentalist Mormon family, and the hype over the “Twilight” vampire series written by Mormon author Stephenie Meyer.

A Newsweek article last summer said that despite the “sudden proliferation of Mormons in the mainstream, Mormonism itself isn’t any closer to gaining mainstream acceptance.”

That statement struck a chord with the Pew researchers who told reporters in a 12 January teleconference that they were determined

to figure out what Mormons - who make up two percent of US population - think about their place in

American life, what they think about other religions and what they find essential to leading a good life.

And in their 125-page report they found some answers: Forty-six percent of US Mormons say they face a lot of discrimination and six in 10 Mormons think Americans are uninformed about their religious beliefs.

Sixty-three percent of Mormons think Americans are “becoming more likely to see Mormonism as part of mainstream society,” and 56 percent feel the country is ready for a Mormon president. Mormons also overwhelmingly expressed satisfaction with their lives and contentment with their communities.

The survey of more than 1,000 Mormons was conducted between 25 October and 16 November 2011, by landlines and cellphones and has

Shackles loosed as Burmese go free

considered Scripture. The two are used side by side in preaching and personal study.

- Temples are used only by Mormons in good standing.

- Women are not ordained to the priesthood but serve as leaders.

- Polygamy is strictly forbidden. The practice was part of the group’s past in the 19th century but was discontinued in 1890.

- Mormons place a strong emphasis on missionaries and currently have more than 52,000 missionaries around the world.

- Alcohol, tobacco and caffeine are forbidden because of their addictive and harmful effects based on a health code spelled out in the “Word of Wisdom” written in 1833.

- Mormon leadership includes the church president, who is con-

sidered a prophet, and his two counselors. These three leaders are assisted by the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, who are in turn assisted by leaders called seventies who serve in various areas throughout the world. Local congregations are led by bishops and assisted by lay leaders. A strong emphasis is placed on families, education and charitable efforts.

a margin of error of plus or minus five percentage points.

The poll noted that the general public commonly chooses “cult” as the word to describe Mormonism, but researchers were quick to point out that other words were also used such as family, family values and committed.

Although 97 percent of Mormons say their religion is Christian, about one-third of Americans disagree and 17 percent of Americans “don’t know” how to answer that question. Half of evangelicals do not believe that Mormons are Christian.

The poll shows that Mormons share many of the religious practices and beliefs of traditional Christianity and their numbers are even higher in terms of church participation than members of some other faiths.

Bishops back Californian ballot

THE Catholic bishops of California are backing proposed ballot measures to require parental notification before a minor’s abortion and to end use of the death penalty in the state.

The endorsement, contained in a statement posted on 10 January on the website of the California Catholic Conference, marks a departure from the bishops’ longstanding policy of not taking a stand on potential initiatives until they have qualified for the state ballot.

But the “convergence” of the two proposed initiatives presents “a unique teaching moment on life and family,” the bishops said.

“These two initiatives have appeared at the same time on the political landscape and bring into sharp focus important moral issues, namely our society’s treatment of nascent life, family life and even a sinful or errant life,” they added. “In keeping with our fundamental principles, we believe that social policy should respect and support the role of parents in caring for their children. Justice should uphold human dignity as it protects the community.”

The bishops said both initiatives were “responsible efforts to bring common sense, compassion and prudent justice into California’s public policy.” The organisers of each initiative drive must collect 504,760 valid signatures of registered voters in California in order for the issue to be placed on the ballot. As of February 2011, there were an estimated 17.2 million registered voters in the state.

Romney claims Vatican ambassadors’ support

By mark Pattison

FIVE former US ambassadors to the Vatican have endorsed Mitt Romney in his campaign to win the Republican nomination for the presidency.

The Romney campaign released the ambassadors’ statement on 7 January, three days before the New Hampshire primary, customarily the first such primary in the nation every presidential election year.

“We believe it is important to support the one candidate who is best qualified by virtue of experience, intelligence and integrity to build on all that is best in our country’s traditions and to lead it to a future where every American has the opportunity to reach his or

her highest potential. That candidate is Mitt Romney,” said the former ambassadors, all of whom are Catholics.

Thomas Melady, who was Vatican ambassador during the presidency of George W. Bush, told Catholic News Service in a 10 January telephone interview that the statement was “very positive” and “didn’t bring up the religious question.” Some Grand Old Party (Republican) activists have voiced their concerns over Romney because of his Mormon faith.

Melady, now a senior diplomat in residence at the Institute of World Politics in Washington, had been at the forefront of a statement issued in November by several Catholics urging that “all inclinations to raise

the issue of personal religious affiliation be avoided” in the presidential campaign. He said at the time of the earlier statement’s release that it was prompted by a Dallas megachurch pastor’s remarks at the Values Voters Summit in October that Mormonism was a “cult” and Romney was not a Christian.

The ambassadors, in their statement, said they were “united in our wholehearted support for the candidacy of Mitt Romney for the presidency of the United States because of his commitment to and support of the values that we feel are critical in a national leader.”

They called Romney’s “superior understanding of America’s key role in our increasingly interdependent world and his appreciation of the

fact that sound economic and social policies must rest on a healthy culture” as the basis for their decision.

“We are confident that he understands the importance of strong families as pillars of a vibrant economy and a flourishing polity,” the ambassadors said. “Romney is a staunch defender of the principle that every human being should be welcomed in life and protected by law from conception to natural death.”

Melady told CNS that Harvard University law professor Mary Ann Glendon, who was ambassador to the Vatican 2008-09, crafted the statement and sent it to Melady for his consideration. Glendon had also backed Romney’s 2008 bid for the GOP presidential nomination.

“I liked it,” Melady said of the statement. “It didn’t attack the president. ... It didn’t call (Barack) Obama bad names.”

He added the group of ambassadors who signed were “very balanced and ecumenical.”

“I’m hoping we’ll look at other values in the United States” when selecting candidates, Melady said.

“If you run for president, you’re subject to total scrutiny,” he said. “I would hope that includes how that you’ve been as a family man. Have you carried out your civic responsibilities? Have you paid your taxes?”

Melady said the Romney endorsement was not meant to disparage Catholic Republican nominees Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich in their nominations.

A girl awaits the release of her relative, who was a political prisoner, in front of the prison in Pa-an, Burma, on 13 January. Burma freed some well known political prisoners, sparking jubilation among their supporters and signaled the government’s readiness to meet Western demands for lifting economic sanctions. PHOTO: CNS/SOE ZEYA TUN, REUTERS

US Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

PHOTO: CNS/REUTERS

Intelligence of faith is a reality in New York

By Beth Griffin

ORGANISERS of the 2012 New York Encounter said the event takes its lead from Pope Benedict XVI’s comment that “the intelligence of faith has to become the intelligence of reality.”

More than 1,000 people attended the fourth annual encounter, a three-day public cultural festival designed as a witness to faith. The 13-15 January event was organised by the Catholic lay movement Communion and Liberation and the Crossroads Cultural Centre and held at the Manhattan Centre.

Carlo Lancelotti, one of the organisers, said the gathering is significant, because “it’s important to have a Catholic cultural proposal in the city, a place where you can look at reality from a Catholic perspective and invite others to share the interest.”

Lancelotti said, “Christianity appeals to human reason. There is no division between faith and every other aspect of reality. The faith reawakens our humanity and, by reawakening our humanity, makes us interested in everybody and everything.”

Mindful of St Paul’s exhortation to “test everything and retain what is good,” New York Encounter envisions itself as “a meeting point for people of different beliefs, traditions and cultures striving for reciprocal understanding, mutual building and true friendship.”

The programme included a keynote speech, “Politics as a Vocation,” by Harvard Law School professor Mary Ann Glendon; presentations on the life and work of Father Luigi Giussani, founder of Communion and Liberation; a discussion about the role of religion in the 2011 Arab Spring; and live music and dance performances.

Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin recounted stories from the life of Blessed John Paul and celebrated Mass on 15 January.

Chris Bacich, US leader of Communion and Liberation, led a conversation on “Infinite relationship vs. constantly connecting: the ideals and struggles of the ‘online’ generation and the role of education.”

The other speakers were New York Times columnist Ross Douthat, and Matthew Kaminski, a member of The Wall Street Journal editorial board.

“The primary function of education must be utilitarian, to give people the skills they need to function in the world,” Kaminski said. “But that doesn’t mean you turn your back on higher values.”

He said a liberal arts education, classically defined, is “utilitarian in the sense of producing critically thinking people. An educational institution is not the place to impart values; it is where you are trained to enter the world.”

Douthat said there must be a balance between lofty goals and the realities of the modern educational system.

“Perhaps the best education is detached from the grubby necessity of getting ahead, but if we believe education is for the many, we have to accept the grubbiness of No Child Left Behind testing mandates,” he said.

In aiming for aristocratic goals, “we must not turn up our nose at the more basic, workmanlike aspects of a democratic education,” Douthat said. “If everyone deserves an education, you have to condescend as well as elevate.”

Mystery of Christ will bring guidance

By Dennis saDowski

FATHER

Julian Carron, the Spanish priest who leads the ecclesial Communion and Liberation movement, has one piece of advice for Catholics in this 21st-century world.

Accepting the mystery that is Christ, he explained, will help to shape and guide one’s life and bring about new relationships and a new understanding of what it means to live life fully.

It is a simple premise, he said, but one he knows that people have difficulty accepting or understanding.

“(If) we have met Christ, this introduces something new in our life,” he told Catholic News Service prior to his presentation at The Catholic University of America on 17 January. “In the way we’re dealing with everything, we can convey that there is another way in dealing with everything.”

Father Carron, who has led Communion and Liberation since 2005 after the death of the movement’s founder, Father Luigi Giussani, said people often seek complex answers to help face the difficulties posed by everyday life. Christ can, he said, “make everything different.”

“Christianity for us is the most interesting that happens in our life,” he said. “We don’t want to lose this treasure that we have met.” Father

Carron, 61, first became aware of Communion and Liberation after serving as a priest for years after his 1975 ordination.

He taught, researched and wrote in various academic settings in Jerusalem, Washington and Madrid and along the way discovered the movement.

In 2004, he was invited to move to Milan, Italy, by Father Giussani to share the responsibility of leading the movement.

Prior to his discovery, he explained, emptiness still existed in his heart despite serving the Church. That changed when he began to understand what Communion and Liberation espoused to people from all walks of life.

“I thought that I knew Christianity, but there was something in my life that didn’t work. There was something in my relationship with my students that didn’t work.” he recalled. “But the moment I encountered Father Giussani something started to change in my relationship with myself, in my relationship with my students. My classes became more interesting for me, for my students.

“It was a fantastic journey, an adventure,” Father Carron said of his acceptance of the mystery of Christ: his life on earth, his crucifixion and his resurrection. “I could understand what this means ... this charism for my life and for the life

of the Church.” Communion and Liberation has been heralded by Pope Benedict XVI and Blessed Pope John Paul II as the kind of movement that can help people find meaning in life in a complex world.

The organisation was founded by Father Giussani in 1954 in a Milan high school. Then known as Gioventu Studentesca, or Student Youth, the organisation is built upon the conviction that Christian life, lived in communion, is the

“foundation of the liberation of humanity.” The name of the movement evolved into Communion and Liberation in 1969.

It claims to have more than 100,000 members in more than 70 countries.

Father Carron said young people remain the primary focus of the movement because they are the generation most often longing for direction and meaning in life. At times, he admitted, young people are skeptical of the message that Christ is the answer.

“I want to show them there is another possibility of living,” Father Carron explains.

During his address to the university, Father Carron demonstrated that the question of the meaning of life has been explored by philosophers, theologians, poets and authors throughout recorded history. Quoting Jewish philosopher Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, he said that no one can ever accept the idea that “life is hollow and devoid of meaning.”

Father Giussani, he said, offers a solution: “Christ proposes himself as the answer to what I am, with all my desire and only an attentive tender and impassioned awareness of my own self can make me open and lead me to acknowledge, admire, thank and live Christ. Without this awareness, even Jesus Christ becomes just a name.”

Occupy Vatican: protesters on St Peter’s doorstep

Door closes forever on Rockford clinic

A US abortion clinic that opened in 1973 has closed its doors for good.

The Northern Illinois Women’s Centre, which was closed by the state on 30 September because of conditions that the state said violated public health and safety standards, announced on 13 January that it would not reopen.

“Please say a prayer of thanksgiving for all those souls saved by this latest news,” said a note on the website of the Diocese of Rockford, which had no direct role in the clinic closure.

The Illinois Department of Public

Health had said the clinic could reopen on 4 January if its leaders paid a $9,750 fine and agreed to the immediate revocation of its license if further violations were found. Instead the clinic chose the state’s second option; payment of a $1,000 fine, relinquishing of its operating license and closure.

Eric Scheidler, executive director of the Chicago-based Pro-Life Action League, called the decision “a great victory for public health and women’s safety” and said the Rockford clinic had been “one of the most infamous in the country.”

“The entire state should thank the pro-life community for calling attention to the deplorable conditions at this abortion facility and demanding that authorities step in and enforce the law,” he added.

But Scheidler said many other abortion facilities in the state have not been inspected for years.

“It’s not enough for officials to step up and enforce the weak laws we already have,” he said. “It’s time for the General Assembly to close the loopholes that keep public health officials from ensuring other abortuaries

aren’t similarly violating the law.” During its nearly 40-year history, the Northern Illinois Women’s Centre had been the site of protests by Operation Rescue, the Northern Illinois Coalition for Reproductive Choice and other groups and individuals.

In 2000, Father John Earl, then pastor of St Patrick Parish in Rochelle, pleaded guilty to two counts of criminal damage to property after he drove his car into a closed garage door at the clinic, and then used an axe to open other doors and got inside the building.

Members of the International Indignados movement clash with Italian police outside St Peter’s Square at the Vatican on 14 January. The protesters, chanting slogans against the Vatican and Pope Benedict, tried to set up their tents inside the square, causing the clash with the police, according to local media. The movement decries the concentration of much wealth in the hands of relatively few.

PHOTO: STRINGER VIA REUTERS

Father Julian Carron, leader of the worldwide ecclesial movement Communion and Liberation PHOTO: CNS

Voice Victims of the

When rape happens in Pakistan it is always the woman’s fault. The increasing threat of rape and violence towards women in Pakistan is something Sister Nazreen Daniels witnesses every day but she is determined to continue supporting the victims of abuse, writes

Eva Maria Kolman

SISTER Nazreen Daniels of the Loretto Sisters is an educated woman.

A native of Pakistan, she wrote her doctoral thesis in Holland. Now, back in the land of her birth, she works in the Diocese of Faisalabad to support girls and women who have been the victims of violence.

“Just recently, a 13-yearold girl came to me who was already in her fifth month of pregnancy after rape,” recounts Sister Nazreen. One can tell that the sister is moved by the fate of every individual. Kiden – that was the girl’s name – went to work as a cleaner in the homes of other families. (Child labour is a topic in its own right). One day she was called into a house to perform her duties. One of the sons of the family raped her. This happened several more times. Finally she became pregnant. “It was not until she was in her fifth month that she revealed herself to us. We took care of the girl, and took her to a doctor and a psychiatrist.” When the baby was born, fate dealt the 13-year-old mother a

further blow. The child – a little boy – died. “What kind of future awaits a girl who has been raped? Perhaps she can be married off to an old man,” said Sr Nazreen.

Not long ago, she cared for another raped girl who was only eight years old. In a society in which virginity plays an important role, such girls have reached the end of the road before their lives had even begun. “It still often happens that after the first night the sheets of the marriage bed with their spots of blood are openly displayed. If it turns out that the bride was no longer a virgin, she is sent back to her family.”

“Rape victims cannot expect justice. Rape can only be proved if there are numerous eye-witnesses. But naturally, such crimes are not committed in public, so the woman has no chance. How is she supposed to prove that she is telling the truth?” said the religious sister, outraged. Victims are often also threatened with the blasphemy law. They are told: “If you do not keep quiet, we will say you have insulted the Prophet.” Since everybody knows that insulting

Islam in Pakistan is punished with life imprisonment or even the death penalty, the victims do not speak out.

Whatever happens, it is always the woman’s fault. It is her fault when she is raped, and it is also her fault when a marriage fails to produce children. It never occurs to anybody that the male might

In a society in which virginity plays an important part, rape victims have reached the end of the road before their life has even begun

also be infertile. “If a woman fails to become pregnant, the husband takes a second wife. The first wife is then treated like a slave in the household,” the sister reports. She even knows of a case in which the wife was locked in the stalls with the cattle. Nobody spoke with

her for years on end. Moreover, in Pakistan, nearly a thousand women are murdered every year in the name of so-called “honour”. Deliberate mutilation, too, is not an infrequent occurrence. Women have their nose cut off or their face burnt with acid because they refused a marriage, for example, or fell in love with an undesirable person. Domestic violence is the rule, not the exception. There are no reliable statistics because it takes place behind closed doors, but Sister Nazreen points out: “Women learn from childhood that the male has the right to beat them and mistreat them. They perceive themselves as the man’s property. If their husband gives them water to drink, they drink it. If he gives them none, they go thirsty. Sometimes I ask them: ‘What do you think?’ They reply: ‘Sister, we do not think’”

In the women’s refuge in Faisalabad which is supported by Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), a poster is on display: “We fight against rape! Show no one your bare shoulder!” Sr Nazreen knows only too well how many

men in Pakistan look at women. “They rape us with their eyes,” is her summary. A few centimetres of visible female skin ought not to be interpreted as an invitation to rape – but it will be a long time before the males in this society understand this. Until then, women must protect themselves by covering up and, if possible, never going anywhere alone. This also protects them against kidnapping, which is another danger faced by women. In some districts, even religious sisters wear a veil over their face.

The growth of extremism in Pakistani society also threatens those few things that women have already accomplished. Bishop Joseph Coutts of Faisalabad reports to ACN: “For Islamic extremists, women’s education is a thorn in the flesh. In the northwest of the country, dozens of schools for girls have already been attacked in order to stop girls from attending school and ensure that they stay at home.”

It is above all the Catholic Church that stands up for the dignity of women in Pakistan. School

Lifetimes of memories destroyed as

No warning was given to poverty-stricken families in the Pakistani province of Punjab when their homes, local church

THE Punjab government in Pakistan stands accused of “brutal injustice” for sending bulldozers into a Church-owned site and demolishing homes for poor, elderly and homeless people, a school for poor girls and a church.

Poverty-stricken families living on the two-acre site in Lahore were woken at 6.30am and were asked to evacuate their homes.

All the buildings on the site were destroyed including a small church and at least seven houses.

With nowhere to go, a number of families and people working in the school camped out overnight on the demolished site, in Allama Iqbal Road, in Lahore’s Garhi Shahu district, and the following morning, on 11 January, a protest march was held.

Stating that the Church had proof of ownership of the site dating back to 1887, Catholic Bishop Sebastian Shaw of Lahore condemned the state government

of Punjab, accusing it of “carrying out a criminal act of landgrabbing”.

Speaking from Lahore in an

interview with Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need, he said he had summoned priests of the diocese to a crisis meeting

to prepare a High Court writ to reclaim the site. Condemning the demolition job, Bishop Shaw said, “what the

state government of Punjab has done is a very, very brutal act of injustice.

“How can they do such a thing, just to come in, wreck a charitable institution and ruin the lives of people living there? They do not listen to anybody,” he said. “This is a criminal act of land-grabbing by the government functionaries.”

Warning of further government action to seize Church-owned property, he said, “everybody is worried now that the state government and especially the ruling party in the Punjab Province [the Muslim League ‘N’] have their eye on our buildings and land.”

One of those who lost their homes was 62-year-old Zoniba Richard.

She said her belongings were destroyed, that she was homeless and without family to go to.

Mrs Richard said she slept out in the cold on the first night after the demolition.

Asked about her plans for the future she said, “I don’t know.

Local men with ACN’s Dr Pieter Omtzigt standing in the ruins of the church-owned site.

PHOTO: ACN

education for girls, sewing courses for women in the urban slums, concrete aid for rape victims, but also working to spread an awareness that women, too, are persons created by God and possessing their own dignity – the Church does all these things.

ACN supports Pakistani religious sisters by providing vehicles so that they are not required to go on foot or by public transport to visit the places where the poorest of the poor live – an extremely dangerous activity, exposing them every day to the risk of being harassed, attacked, raped or kidnapped. - ACN

Aid to the Church in Need supports the faithful wherever they are persecuted, oppressed or in pastoral need. ACN is a Catholic charity helping to bring Christ to the world through prayer, information and action. The charity undertakes thousands of projects every year including providing transport for clergy and lay Church workers, construction of church buildings and help to train seminarians. For more information or to make a donation to help the work of Aid to the Church in Need, please contact the Australian office of ACN on (02) 9679-1929. E-mail: info@aidtochurch.org or write to Aid to the Church in Need PO Box 6245 Blacktown DC NSW 2148.

government makes a grab for land

and school were demolished by the state government while their belongings were still inside.

I can only trust in God.” She was interviewed on site by Joris van Voorst tot Voorst, National Director of Aid to the Church in Need (Netherlands). He happened to be in Lahore at the time on a fact-finding exercise and was on the scene within hours of the incident alongside Dr Pieter Omtzigt, also from the Netherlands.

Dr Omtzigt said, “the rights of minorities are being trampled upon.”

Dr Alexander John Malik, Anglican Bishop of Lahore, also condemned the demolition and demanded that the Punjab government rebuild what had been destroyed.

He said that a Blasphemy Law case should be registered for the desecration of the Bibles, crosses and the church without prior ecclesiastical permission.

In a message from the (Anglican) Church of Pakistan, the bishop stated that the demolition “manifests unaccounted

power and explains grave injustice and cruelty towards non-Muslims/ religious minorities in Pakistan”.

Saying the Church had not received prior warning of the demolition plans, Fr Emmanuel

State government of Punjab condemned for

“carrying out a criminal act of land-grabbing” as they bulldoze church and homes of the poor.

Yousaf Mani, National Director of the Catholic Church’s National Commission for Justice and Peace spoke to ACN from the site.

He said, “people are very sad. They are very angry. They are still sitting in the place that they call home.”

The priest added, “we have the

papers to show who the rightful owners of the site are.

“The government must have done something which was not correct to change the facts of the case.”

Fr Yousaf said that the site is still registered in the name of the Lahore Charitable Association, a trust made up of clergy and lay people from different Christian denominations with the Catholic Bishop of Lahore presiding as chairman.

He said that controversy over the ownership had arisen a few years ago when the main building on the site was used as a refuge for destitute women run by religious Sisters.

One of the women given refuge converted to Islam and began harassing the Sisters and querying the rightful ownership of two rooms which she had occupied.The state authorities were notified and their subsequent discussions with the Church broke down.

According to local newspaper

reports, local government officials claim the site was declared state land by the authorities in 2007.

Since then, he said, the government had notified the owners

of the centre several times. It is understood that the site is very valuable and that the state government is anxious to obtain it for its own profit. - ACN

Above left: The daughters of convicted Pakistani Christian woman Asia Bibi hold a photo of their mother who is facing the death penalty for blasphemy. Above right: A Christian woman shows a charred Bible, written in Urdu, that was burned outside her house in Gojra, in Pakistan’s Punjab province. Right: Siblings wait to return to their homes in Pakistan’s Swat Valley region from a bus terminal in Karachi. PHOTO: CNS

Shahbaz Bhatti at the US Conference of Bishops headquarters in Washington in 2009. He was killed by gunmen in Islamabad on 2 March last year.

PHOTO: CNS

What Makes

orman

N Rockwell Possible?

In a world where art has become nothing more than splatter on a canvas, Anthony Esolen writes of the haven Catholics can find in the paintings of Norman Rockwell.

Iknow I’m not supposed to do this. As a college professor, I have a duty to pretend to others that I derive real satisfaction from poems whose sentences cannot be parsed, from sculptures that look like green blobs from a bad space-alien movie, from spattered canvases, from photographs of sullen people doing things with their bodies that even machines shouldn’t have to suffer, and from philosophies that propose the justice of letting a baby die to save a certain number of dogs, the number determined by precise calculation. I’m supposed to nod appreciatively as all these emperors pass by.

The truth is, I can’t stand the lot of them. But as I said, I delight in the paintings of Norman Rockwell. I don’t pretend to be able to judge their technical mastery. They sure seem to me to be subtle and complex as compositions, but I’ll have to defer to others who know the business better. But if they’re accused of sentimentalism, that’s a charge I’ll flatly deny. The sentimentalist uses cheap tricks to elicit a superficial feeling. Usually we think, in this regard, only of the mawkish, like the ghastly Precious Moment cherubs, or the jingoistic, like a harmless but tasteless patriotic song - “She’s a Grand Old Flag,” perhaps.

But there’s a sentimentalism of the vile and the nasty, too. Almost any contemporary television show will suffice for an example. The jokes are not really clever. They employ a gimmick, like a snide allusion to sexual perversion, to elicit the laugh, regardless of whether it fits the human situation.

But I don’t believe that Rockwell uses cheap tricks. That’s not to say that he doesn’t intend to elicit genuine feeling. His famous painting of the young lad going off to college, waiting in the train station with his hardworking father and the family collie - Rockwell seems to have loved painting dogs - is moving just because it probes feelings that we recognise but don’t always want to acknowledge. We see the weariness of age, and the cheerful heedless-

ness of youth. The boy has the world before him, and his face is filled with brightness, but also a touch of ingenuousness and folly, while the old man cannot even bear to lift his head up. We don’t know for certain whether he already misses his son, or whether he thinks his son is too full of himself, or whether he is resigned to giving the boy over to a life that will never be like his own. It’s a great painting. If Picasso had painted it, I daresay there would be learned articles written on how revolutionary the thing really was. Norman Rockwell didn’t want to be revolutionary. Though he wasn’t a regular churchgoer, he seems to have beheld the world with a sensibility that, in the history of the world, has only devel-

Sculptures that look like green blobs, spattered canvasses, photographs of sullen people ... I’m supposed to nod as all these emperors pass by.

oped within a Christian civilisation. It is what made his art conceivable. Consider the art of the ancient Greeks. You will see, on a vase, a lovely etching of a typical scene from the gymnasion. This youth over here is slicking himself up with oil. The boy over there is handing his cloak over to the slave. The two there are stretching their limbs. They are engaging in activity that is central to the Greek ideal of citizenship. The gymnasion was the place for nurturing those male bonds whereon the Greek city was founded. It was also the training ground for intellectual endeavor and, of course, war.

What are they not doing?

I’m looking at a triptych by Fra Angelico, of the Last Judgment. While the saints are beholding Christ with rapture, and embracing one another, a ring of small children are dancing in a ring, hand in hand,

with angels joining them, child and angel, child and angel. Again, this is not sentimental. It is instead profoundly theological. “Suffer the little children to come unto me,” said Jesus, “for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven.” The children are delighting in one another’s company. They are playing. And it is play, not work, that brings us closest on earth to the child’s spirit of rapt contemplation. One cannot work at wonder.

And that sense of wonder, especially at what is but small or homely or unregarded, is everywhere to be found in Rockwell’s paintings.

For the Christian world, properly understood, is the only real haven for man, because in it we learn not only that man is made in the image of God, but that God so loved the world that He gave us His only begotten Son, born of a virgin and laid in a manger. Every man we meet bears within himself the mysteries of Christmas, and Good Friday, and Easter, whether he is aware of it or not, and we find these mysteries most clearly manifest in the meek and the lowly.

On some level I believe that Norman Rockwell understood this. Some critics try to shore up his reputation by pointing to the “serious” political paintings he executed: the small black girl escorted to school in the midst of National Guardsmen, or the man standing up in a town meeting to exercise his freedom of speech. I don’t wish to deny the success of those works. I think they are very good. But Rockwell’s heart lay elsewhere.

I have before me, for instance, his illustrations of the four seasons. All four feature a boy, his whiskered grandfather, and a spaniel mutt. Now this already is peculiar. Why should we care about an old man who probably doesn’t do anything important anymore, if he ever did, and a small boy, and a tag-along dog? The Greeks didn’t care for them; the piety-mouthing Romans never cared for them. The modern intellectual ignores them, as does the modern poet. But Rockwell lavishes them with attention. In spring, we see them going fishing. The old man is carry-

ing the tackle over his shoulder and is looking into the distance, while the boy is almost bent double as he races, barefoot, with eagerness, and the dog scampers along. In summer, the three of them are on the grass. The old man is on his back, dozing peacefully, while the boy is sitting and plucking the petals off a wild daisy, maybe thinking about a pretty girl he likes. In autumn,

there’s a pile of leaves, and the boy leans over it intently, about to light the leaves on fire, while the grandfather, leaning on the rake, pretends not to be watching too closely, and the dog crouches, fascinated by what’s about to happen. Then at last in winter, of all times, when one might expect that age would finally wither for good, our three heroes are on a frozen pond, and the boy

Above: Norman Rockwell’s 1963 painting ‘The Problem We All Live With,’ - which depicts the walk of a 6-year-old black girl, escorted by US marshals, to an integrated school. Below: Norman Rockwell’s ‘After the Prom’ (1957), and the photograph taken beforehand which was a planning stage crucial to Rockwell’s creative process. PHOTO: ONLINE SOURCE

in the background, his hands on his knees and his skates askew so he can stand still, gapes with glad surprise while the old man, like a real athlete, executes a perfect figure eight, and cocks his head with pride. He’s a boy again, he is! And the dog barks, his silly legs slipping sideways out from under him. What do I find here, that is so lacking in the pagan world, whether

old or new? The delight in being, first of all. It’s as if the boy and the old man could cry out to the ordinary natural world of ponds and fields and leaves, “How good it is that you exist!”

They would therefore agree with the philosopher Joseph Pieper, except that no doubt they don’t read philosophy, having better things to do on a hot summer afternoon.

The facts on whether Genesis is fiction

I have occasionally heard that the first chapters of Genesis are myth. I always thought we must regard the account of the creation of the world as real. Who is right?

THIS is indeed a frequently asked question. Common sense and a little understanding of science already tell us that Genesis cannot be just a myth. After all, the world had to begin somehow – it was not always there with the marvellous order and harmony we see in it. Scientists, mathematicians and philosophers are coming to the conclusion that the universe had a beginning in time – that it could not always have existed (cf. R. Spitzer, New Proofs for the Existence of God, Eerdmanns 2010).

Q&A

By Fr John Flader

But it isn’t only the natural world that moves them. They delight in one another, too. And just as the landscapes that Rockwell paints are never “picturesque,” but rather any good old place in a city or town or countryside, so the people he paints are rarely possessed of classical beauty.

It’s a rather rakish old grandpa on those skates, and a big-eared boy plucking away at the flower. They don’t merit our attention because they are important in any worldly sense. We’re not memorialising a young Alexander, or an Einstein.

They merit our attention because they are human beings, and that already is mystery enough to fill the universe. One thing more. They are children, these three. They are all of them young, in the sense that they occupy themselves not with schemes of power for dominating the world, but just with those things that are nearest to them and worthy of their attention.

They have fun, it is true, and there’s not much innocent funhaving in modern paganism. But their whole attitude toward the world is open. The old man looking off into the distance in spring, or falling asleep in the summer, is a man capable of contemplation, as is the boy, lost in thoughts of love; and even the humble dog accepts things cheerfully as they come.

This is a world capable of great sorrow - we know that the old man will die, and the boy will grow up and know his share of disappointments - but also, and more important, a world of great beauty and joy. It is a world in which the adult may aspire to the condition of the child, not in sentimentality, but in fundamental openness to the gifts of God. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given. Whether Norman Rockwell meditated upon that revelation, I don’t know. What I do know is that without the Christ Child, there would be no Norman Rockwell, nor many other good things we are apt to overlook or toss away. This article first appeared on: www.crisismagazine.com

And human beings had to begin somewhere too. Somewhere, somehow there had to be a first pair of human beings from whom all of us are descended, since the human family is clearly one (cf. J. Flader, Question Time, Connor Court 2008, q. 4).

So, is Genesis just a myth?

No it isn’t. The Pontifical Biblical Commission, established by Pope Leo XIII in 1902, has issued several statements on the matter. On 30 June 1909, the Commission issued a long statement replying to various questions on the historical character of the first three chapters Genesis.

In answer to the first question it stated that the various exegetical systems defended under the guise of science to exclude the literal historical sense of those chapters do not rest on a solid foundation. That is, in principle one cannot reject the literal historical sense.

The Commission went on to answer “in the negative” to the question of whether it may be taught that “the aforesaid three chapters of Genesis contain not accounts of actual events, accounts, that is, which correspond to objective reality and historical truth, but either fables derived from the mythologies and cosmogonies of ancient peoples and accommodated by the sacred writer to monotheistic doctrine after the expurgation of any polytheistic error; or allegories and symbols without any foundation in objective reality proposed under the form of history to inculcate religious and philosophical truths; or finally legends in part historical and in part fictitious freely composed with a view to instruction and edification.”

It answered “in the negative” too to the question of whether the literal historical sense may be called in doubt in particular as regards facts “which

touch the foundations of the Christian religion”, including “the creation of all things by God in the beginning of time; the special creation of man; the formation of the first woman from the first man; the unity of the human race; the original felicity of our first parents in the state of justice, integrity, and immortality; the command given by God to man to test his obedience; the transgression of the divine command at the instigation of the devil under the form of a serpent; the degradation of our first parents from that primeval state of innocence; and the promise of

Somewhere, somehow there had to be a first pair of human beings from whom all of us are descended, since the human family is clearly one.

a future Redeemer.”

The Commission said “each and every word and phrase” need not be understood in the literal sense when it is obvious that a “metaphorical or anthropological” sense is intended, and that certain passages may be interpreted in an “allegorical and prophetic sense.”

A later declaration of the Commission on the historicity of the first eleven chapters of Genesis came in the form of a letter to Cardinal Suhard of Paris dated 16 January 1948. It began by saying that the question of the literary forms of these chapters is obscure and complex, and that it is agreed that they are not “history in the classical and modern sense”. Rather, “they relate in simple and figurative language, adapted to the understanding of mankind at a lower stage of development, the fundamental truths underlying the divine scheme of salvation, as well as a popular description of the origins of the human race and of the chosen people.”

The first chapters of Genesis do fall into the general category of history, and therefore they cannot on any account be called “myth” or “legend”.

MARRIAGE

The union between between a man and a woman known as marriage is unique. Efforts to rewrite its meaning in accord with popular sentiment, opinion polls or ideologies will do a disservice to children and will only result in a caricature, says Senator Eric Abetz .

The topic I want to address today is not workplace relations but marriage relations. For “better or for worse” is part of the deal when entering the marriage contract. There is no doubt that marriage has its “better” and “worse” moments for the two individuals in the marriage. There is also no doubt that marriage from society’s point of view is overwhelmingly, if not totally, for “the better”.

The institution of marriage and family as correctly understood is the bedrock institution of our society. Sure, it provides – all things being equal – stability, security, comfort, a haven from the rest of the world. It provides an avenue for the expression of love.

Whilst all these characteristics are unequivocally good and necessary, these are not the full essence of marriage and ultimately not what makes it unique. People can find those benefits in other relationships as well, indeed all the benefits I’ve just outlined are “individual” or “self” focused.

Marriage is different, it’s more than just “love” – with apologies to the Beatles – it’s not as easy as “love is all you need”.

Indeed, it was the recognition that marriage meant more that led to the most vicious and strident attacks on the institution of marriage while I was at university. The Left was forever condemning marriage as “paternalistic”, “chauvinistic”, “sexist”. Marriage was the ‘antithesis of freedom’especially for women. Marriage was “the subjugation of women.” It was ‘legalised, forced prostitution’. According to the Left, the institution was one of unmitigated oppression.

That campaign was a spectacular failure. Marriage withstood the barrage. So, in one of the great about-faces of our time these same forces now tell us that the institution of marriage has somehow transformed itself, no longer is it this oppressive, sexist construct. It’s now such a wonderful institution it should be available to all. What a metamorphis.

Indeed, the Greens website trumpets “marriage for all”. Whatever that may mean.

Marriage is the pre-eminent institution for the rasing of the next generation. Society’s interest in the relationship is because of children. Marriage is a bedrock institution because it is the best environment in which to raise children. Marriage has been part of society for millennia. It has been the coming together of a man and a woman to the exclusion of others for thousands of years.

Marriage was important enough a subject to be referred to in our Federal Constitution. As an aside, for the Federal Parliament to have legislated in 2004 what

marriage meant was not, on reflection, a necessarily smart tactic. It’s like a leader being given a vote of confidence – it’s only called for when the confidence is actually in question. Similarly, the defining of marriage gave regrettable credibility to the suggestion marriage could mean whatever you would want it to mean.

As another aside, I believe the Commonwealth’s power relating to marriage is limited to what was actually meant, namely the joining of a man and a woman. When the Family Court was given powers to deal with defacto relationships, it was by way of referral of state powers therefore the marriage power in the Constitution was deemed not to cover heterosexual defacto relationships.

If the marriage power cannot deal with defacto heterosexual relationships, how on earth can it deal with same-sex relationships?

Learned opinion on this suggests the High Court should have difficulty with this proposition but hopefully it won’t come to that. But the fact the current debate has progressed to the extent it has, without this constitutional consideration is indicative of the overall lack of rigour in the public debate.

But not only does our Constitution uphold the importance of marriage as an institution in which society has an interest. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Article 16 deems it necessary to refer to marriage.

Why? Because to quote Article 16, subclause 3: “the family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the state”.

A close examination of the Declaration reveals that every single article starts with the words ‘everyone’, ‘no-one’ or ‘all’ apart from Article 16. Article 16 specifically begins with “Men and women... have the right to marry and found a family”.

The meaning and intent could not be clearer. It is a heterosexual construct and relates to the founding of families. Marrying and founding a family in the same breath, in the same sentence puts up in lights the universal importance of marriage and the family.

That marriage, between a man and a woman, is specifically mentioned in the Declaration should not surprise. Marriage has been a fundamental stabilising institution in civilised societies for over 6,000 years of recorded history. This long lasting tradition has stood the test of time and for good reason – it’s got some very cogent, rational arguments in its favour.

A long lasting relationship in which children are nurtured, exposing them to the benefits of the unique differences of a father and a mother provides the best environment for raising children.

Be it their academic achievements, social skills, individual social stability, emotional stability,

sporting prowess – you name it – the kids from a married, heterosexual couple win out. Study after study has confirmed this to be the case.

So to deliberately and unnecessarily deprive a child of the diversity of a mother and a father experience is not in the child’s best interests.

I recall the heady days when I was the Parliamentary Secretary for Defence responsible for the Defence Cadets. Around the country, single mums in particular

Several decades ago marriage was attacked as paternalistic, chauvinist, sexist. The same forces now say marriage is for everyone.

would confirm to me that Defence Cadets was providing a stable, male role model in their son’s life.

A role they simply could not fulfil, try as they might.

Put simply, two men or two women with the best will in the world can’t provide the diver-

sity and vital experience that a mother/father home provides. Obtaining a good understanding of how to interact with the opposite sex is vital for the perpetuation of society. As the progressive research institution Child Trends has found “research clearly demonstrates that family structure matters for children and the family structure that helps the children most is a family headed by two biological parents in a low-conflict marriage.

“Children in single parent relationships, children born to unmarried mothers and children in step-families or co-habiting relationships face higher risks of poor outcomes. There is thus value for children in promoting strong, stable marriages between biological parents. It is not simply the presence of two parents but the presence of two biological parents that seems to support children’s development”.

This 2002 research has been replicated many times in other studies and it is because of these that governments have positively discriminated in favour of the married family unit for the benefit of society and its next generation.

In recent times, we have regrettably diluted this positive discrimination in the name of equality.

In doing so, we have reduced the importance of marriage and the consequences are there for all to see with the greater rates of delinquency and other negative social scores.

We deprive the next generation and thus society if we diminish the role of marriage.

Let me turn to discrimination. Marriage, by its definition and purpose, is highly specific. It always has been heterosexual specific. That does not make it unequal or discriminatory. To try and make it into something else will change its very definition. The sex of the spouses is determinative of marriage just as the sex of the person is determinative of discussing motherhood.

Us blokes can assert discrimination all we like but, guess what? Blokes aren’t mothers. Never have been, never will be.

We can change the definition of motherhood but then motherhood won’t mean and be motherhood anymore. The same, of course, applies to fatherhood. It would then be diminished to something nondescript such as ‘parenthood’ and the important role of motherhood and fatherhood and their distinct yet complementary roles would simply be diminished in a sea of meaning-

the foundation raising the next generation

less political correctness to the detriment of the next generation.

There are many restrictions on marriage: you can’t marry under a certain age; you can’t marry a close relative; you can’t marry a married person; you can’t marry more than one person at a time; and yes, you cannot marry a person of the same sex.

If the same sex disqualification is to be addressed as ‘discrimination’, it begs the question: Can it be asserted that the other qualifications are also inherently discriminatory and indicative of ageism, family-phobia or polyamorous-phobia?

Interestingly, the polyamorous cohort in our community are celebrating the ALP conference’s vote on homosexual marriage as they see the breaking of marriage as an exclusive heterosexual monogamous institution as their opening to recognition.

Allow me to paraphrase and quote Terri Kelleher, who has written extensively. She says: “Resisting the push for same sex marriage does not rely on religious grounds, it does not rely on fundamentalism, it does not rely on bigotry, it does not rely on hatred. The argument rests on the proposition that, regardless of what we may wish it to mean, marriage is

a reality with certain indispensable elements; that the legal institution of marriage only makes sense in relation to that unique human relationship which is characterised by the comprehensive joining of two bodies as one in a common biological purpose; that this common purpose requires both a male and a female element in order to be complete, and therefore must be heterosexual in nature, and that

If the same sex disqualification is discrimination, are other qualifications ‘ageism,’ ‘family phobia’ or ‘polyamorous phobia’?

as distinct from any other kind of interpersonal human relationship, the comprehensive heterosexual union alone is oriented to childbearing and rearing children and is consequently oriented to permanence and exclusivity.

“Redefining marriage would

remove it from the only context in which its essential features make sense. However popular such a move might be, this would be contrary to the common good and the antithesis of good public policy. For although public policy should not disregard the desires or needs of individuals, it must primarily serve the common good. Marriage law currently does so by fortifying the unique relationship which is naturally oriented towards bringing forth children.

“Redefining marriage would undermine the very significance of the indelible biological bond between man, woman and child. At a time when family dislocation weighs with increasing severity on families we need public policy which reinforces, rather than undermines, the importance of mums and dads sticking together in a spirit of service to one another, to their children, and to the communities in which they live. Marriage, as it stands makes a lot of sense. Let’s keep it that way.”

Thanks.

This is an edited version of the speech given by Senator Eric Abetz, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, to the Young Liberals National Conference in Sydney on 14 January.

Welcome to the new age of fear and uncertainty

Is it my imagination or is the world really becoming less, rather than more, stable? Paradoxically, many now seem to believe in less, but to fear much more in their lives.

THERE’S a four letter word, beginning with ‘F’ that has so comfortably made its home within our culture that we are no longer consciously aware of its presence. It has stealthily and systematically pervaded our houses and our psyche to such an extent that we accept it as a very part of ourselves - FEAR.

With the twentieth century punctuated by two world wars and culminating in a nuclear arms race, even peace itself became delicately balanced on a knife-edge of fear.

The new century then began with an act of terrorism that penetrated even deeper into an already fragile construct. Modern communication was able to transpose the dark cloud that descended across New York that day in 2001, into the hearts and minds of the majority of the world’s population.

The charade of peace that had masked the previous decades was ripped away and the underlying anxiety was forced to the surface. The seeds of fear began to firmly take root.

In a western world that was already becoming victim to the self-absorption of consumerism, a rejuvenated instinct of self-preservation was added. It became a lethal and fertile ground for the tentacles of fear to spread. If we can’t control the world around us, we told ourselves, then we could at least find security within our own domain.

As a result, countries became more insular and billions of dollars were spent in a defensive response.

The financial ramifications reverberated throughout their economies, causing them to become more unstable and unpredictable and drawing resources away from the most vulnerable and powerless within their borders.

On an individual level people’s hearts also became more insular and guarded and it was increasingly perceived that danger was lurking around every corner.

It is this prevailing attitude

I say I say

By Mark Reidy

of imminent danger that has infiltrated its way into many areas of our lives. We have become sponges that soak up fear daily as we absorb all that is proffered by the media. We fear war, other religions, refugees and financial vulnerability.

We have adopted a mindset of negativity that is being transferred to our children. We won’t let them out of our sight; we protect them within the walls of our self-created sanctuaries and instil in them a perception that the world is not a safe place.

We are forming a genera-

On an individual level, people’s hearts also became more insular and guarded, causing them to become more unstable and unpredictable.

tion of future leaders and lawmakers who will be driven by the fear that we are currently instilling within them.

We may have been taught that hate is the opposite of love, but in the context of the world today, it would be more appropriate to view fear as love’s opposite. In any case, it is far more dangerous.

Most people would never allow their children or themselves to be guided by hate and naturally desire to create a society that is moulded by love, however by embracing fear in our hearts we are subtly and inadvertently steering ourselves away from this reality.

Perhaps that is why, in His Word, Jesus made more effort telling us not to fear, than he did telling us not to hate.

Marriage is more – much more – than two people attracted to each other making a commitment, says Senator Eric Abetz. PHOTOS: CNS

The persecuted: meet the real People of the Year

The fastest growing religion on the planet is Christianity. This explosive growth is on particularly clear display in Africa and Asia, where churches and seminaries can’t be built fast enough to accommodate the need. It is especially important that we in the West become cognisant of this state of affairs, for with the rise of secularism and the fall-off in church attendance in Europe, Canada, Australia, and America, we can far too easily assume that Christianity is in a state of permanent decline. Au contraire.

But other studies carry the dark truth that the fastest-growing religion in the world is also the most persecuted. Again, this might surprise many in the post-September 11th West, who presume that Islam is the religion most in danger and hence most in need of special protection. But all over the world, and particularly in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, Christians are, by far, the most threatened religious group. Indeed, Vatican research shows that 75 per cent of those killed around the world for religious reasons are Christians.

Who can forget the horrendous attack on a Catholic Church in Baghdad last Spring? Islamist militants burst into the church while Mass was in progress and proceeded to open fire indiscriminately on men, women and children. As they finished up their grisly work, the killers found themselves trailed by a toddler who asked plaintively, “Why are you doing this?” In time, they turned on the child and killed him.

Estimates are that in the last 10 years somewhere between 600,000 and 1,000,000 Christians have been forced to flee Iraq. In Saudi Arabia, no Christian is allowed to worship publicly, and no church of any kind can be built. Many were cheered by the “Arab Spring,” but Christians in those countries are far from encouraged. The secularist proclivities of the dictators at least allowed for a rough toleration of non-Islamic religions; thus the collapse of the tyrants has made possible the tyranny of the Islamic majority and an aggressive campaign against Christianity.

Recently, Egyptian Copts — members of one of the oldest Christian communities in the world — were publicly assaulted in the streets of Cairo by representatives of the Islamic brotherhood. The Wall Street Journal recently reported that an Egyptian Christian mother of two young girls was blithely informed by her Muslim physician that, according to the prescriptions of Sharia law, her daughters would have to be circumcised. Convinced that the government would no longer protect them, mother and children fled the country.

Persecuted Christians are walking in the footsteps of the great martyrs, such as Saints Peter, Paul and Edith Stein.

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Days ago, Nigeria’s president declared a state of emergency in sections of his country, due to unprovoked attacks on Christian churches. Boko Haram, a militant Islamist sect, has claimed credit for the assaults.

One of the most troubling stories of Christian persecution comes out of Pakistan, where fierce anti-blasphemy laws are in effect. A Christian woman named Asia Bibi was imprisoned on trumped-up charges of speaking against the prophet Muhammad. Despite protests from around the world, she was tried, convicted, and sentenced to death. Currently she languishes in prison, awaiting her execution and praying for her jailers.

God knows that Christians have far from a spotless record when it comes to tolerating religious diversity, but the fact remains that as the year 2012 commences, Christians are, by far, the most victimised religious group in the world. From Pakistan to Nigeria, from Egypt to Iraq, ordinary Christians routinely risk their lives simply by declaring their faith. They are walking in the footsteps of great martyrs of the tradition, from Stephen, Peter and Paul to Charles Lwanga and Edith Stein.

This leads me to declare persecuted Christians as people of the year.

At this point, I will make a confession. This reflection was prompted by a piece published by the editors of the US Catholic paper, the National Catholic Reporter. In their lead article, they declared Sr Elizabeth Johnson, a theologian from Fordham University, as the “person of the year” in the Catholic Church. What was the reason for this designation? Sr Johnson had been unfairly “persecuted” by the US bishops who dared to question the theological integrity of one of her many books. The bishops did not excommunicate Sr Johnson, or strip her of her teaching position or declare her not to be a Catholic theologian. They simply were critical of aspects of one of her books. And for this, a tenured professor at Fordham, a woman lionised by the academic establishment, is declared a persecuted victim. Give me a break.

The nineteen-seventies era narrative of brave progressive theologian fighting against the repressive Church is tired and utterly un-illuminating. Far more compelling is the story of the truly brave souls who are risking livelihood, life, and limb in order to declare their faith in Jesus Christ.

This edited guest editorial is by Fr Robert Barron, founder of the global ministry, Word on Fire, and a Professor at the University of St Mary of the Lake in the US. He is the creator and host of a new 10 episode documentary series called “Catholicism” and also hosts programmes on Relevant Radio, EWTN and at www.WordOnFire.org.

Tim set bar of diplomacy high

TIM Fischer’s relinquishment of his appointment as Australia’s Ambassador to the Holy See raises a number of interesting issues for the Australian Government.

The initial question relates to the then decision of Kevin Rudd to appoint Tim Fischer solely as Australia’s ambassador to the Holy See to the exclusion of any other ambassadorial appointment. Previously the Ambassador to the Holy See discharged the role in conjunction with an appointment to another country (Ireland appeared to be a favourite co- appointment).

This necessitated the purchase of an embassy building in Rome for the ambassador to the Holy See. The additional expense involved attracted the ire of staff within Foreign Affairs at a time when cost cutting measures have been introduced. Accordingly, will Tim Fischer’s replacement be allocated solely to the Holy See or will the post be latched on to another existing Ambassador?

If the decision is made to appoint another ambassador solely to the Holy See, should the appointee be a career diplomat or another distinguished Australian Catholic like Tim Fischer? A protocol has been developed in some other countries to appoint a distinguished Catholic from that country as that nation’s Ambassador to the Holy See.

Hopefully the Australian government will continue the practice commenced by the appointment of Tim Fischer and appoint another distinguished Australian Catholic as the ambassador to the Holy See to the exclusion of any other appointment.

If the Australian government follows this approach who should they appoint? An excellent appointment which would be applauded by the whole Australian community would be that of General Peter Cosgrove, AC, MC General Cosgrove is a Catholic who has served his country extremely well in times of both war and peace.

A diplomatic appointment to the Holy See would be a fitting tribute to the General’s outstanding contribution to our country and would

no doubt be warmly welcomed by the Holy See.

Jeff Ahern CARINA, BRISBANE, QLD

Exploitation versus waste

VERONICA Studham ( The Record 21 December 2011) is to be commended on her letter asking that we become more serious about conserving the planet’s resources and eliminating waste.

In Genesis, Adam and Eve were instructed to “subdue the earth”. The word ‘subdue’ has a very different meaning to the word ‘exploit’ which, in a sense, is covered by the word ‘waste.’

There are innumerable obstacles to be overcome before her suggestions can become reality. The matter of employment appears to be major. Many, or even most of us, own no income producing assets.

Therefore employment, here, means working for wages, because some money is needed to obtain the bare necessities of sustenance.

The mention of wages raises the old question of what is a just wage? This question, in turn, raises more general questions such as what is justice and how do we obtain it?

In his encyclicals Pope Benedict, appears to have something to say regarding justice. In his third encyclical, Spe Salvi (On Christian Hope), he points out that “there is a God and God can create justice.” He later explains that “faith gives the certainty that He does so” (#43-44).

CARTOON: MAT DE SOUSA Who is Mary? A Short Catechism on the Blessed Virgin Mary New and Exclusive to

In his first encyclical, Deus Caritas Est (God is Love), he insists that justice is the “central responsibility of politics” (#26-29).

As Benedict wrote, it is “here politics and faith meet.” Faith “is an encounter with the living God; It is also a ‘purifying force’ which liberates reason from its blind spots.”

Beware, there are many blind spots in politics.

John McKay COTTESLOE

Strange meaning to ‘inciting hatred’

I REPEATEDLY hear about ‘homophobes’ in our society, and those who ‘incite hatred’, especially against ‘gays’. One-time tennis star, Margaret Court, has now been accused. What really incites hatred? I would think that statements like “So-and-so tortured and killed my mother” or “He raped my sister” or even “This person is responsible for my current financial ruin” would incite anger, and, if repeated often enough, hatred.

Hitler and Goebbels incited hatred. They inflamed people violently against others, eventually leading to murder.

How has Margaret Court allegedly incited hatred? She has, in her role as a church leader [she is pastor of her own denomination], stated her belief that “homosexuality is a choice and often a product of childhood trauma.”

She has opposed homosexual activity, and states that she is “merely expressing God’s word, as taken literally from the Scriptures.”

“I have nothing against homosexual people ... we have them in our church,” she has said. She makes a stand for marriage and the family.

Only an extraordinary interpretation of the concept of ‘inciting hatred’ could be applied to her attitude and comments.

Those who accuse others of inciting hatred and intolerance in instances such as this are distorters of the facts for their own political ends.

To pit science against religion is a pointless battle

The divide between the two, causing prejudice against one or the other, that so many believe in is actually quite false.

THE other night I was watching a documentary on the ‘debate’ between intelligent design and evolution. The program captured the turmoil in 2005 that tore apart the community of Dover, Pennsylvania in a battle over teaching evolution in public schools. A pointless debate, if ever I heard one.

The debate around creation vs evolution did not begin in Dover, Pennsylvania; in part we could trace it back to Rene Descartes, the 17th century French philosopher who is famous for his phrase “I think therefore I am”. Descartes posited that all we could really know was in the mind and his legacy was a split between the physical world and the spiritual world. Prior to this, people understood the supernatural to be more real than the physical space they inhabited.

The other split was the Protestant Reformation. The reformers who objected to the doctrines and structure of the Catholic Church held as their foundation principle that

Foolish Wisdom

“a foolishness wiser than human wisdom” (1 Cor 1:25)

By Bernard Toutounji

of sola scriptura – [the authority of the] Bible alone. No longer would all of Christianity believe that the bible should be interpreted by the Church (which actually compiled the book) but rather it would become something that could allegedly be perfectly interpreted by anyone who wanted to read it. This reading of scripture divorced from tradition led to a literal fundamentalism among some Protestant denominations (and this is where the good people of Dover fit in).

These splits in the world of philosophy and religion contributed to the 18th century ‘Age of

Enlightenment’ where the world was to finally cast off the infantile belief in God and see in a new era based on science and intellectual interchange. “God is dead” is a widely quoted statement that came out of that same period. (Never mind that some of the most foundational scientific discoveries were made by Catholic clergy).

The end result has been that many, if not most people in the modern world see a split between body and soul, faith and reason, scripture and tradition, science and God.

These splits have seeped into the consciousness of many Catholics even though the Catholic Church has proclaimed over and over the unity of all these aspects. Too many people now think that all Christianity is Protestant Fundamentalism. Too many Catholics disregard their faith because they think they have to choose between science and faith.

The reality is that science and faith are two sides of the one coin;

both look to discover the truth. Science can do a great many things. Science is able able to clone sheep and grow embryos in petri dishes. What science is unable to do is consider whether or not these things should be done.

Similarly, faith can do a great many things. Faith is able to lead a person to understand their deepest desires and emotions for love and truth. Whereas science tells us what we are, faith tells us who we are; one cannot exist without the other. When science tries to play God it oversteps its boundaries. When faith tries to play science it oversteps its boundaries.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church makes the point well: “There can never be any real discrepancy between faith and reason. Since the same God who reveals mysteries and infuses faith has bestowed the light of reason on the human mind, God cannot deny himself, nor can truth ever contradict truth. Consequently, methodical research in all branches of knowl-

Forged in suffering’s crucible

Inaam Abiad tells Debbie Warrier how she experienced the pain – and liberation – of the Cross.

Iam originally from Lebanon and worked as a nurse there until I met my husband who is an Australian. We married, and I migrated here with him. My first few years in Australia were tough, as I was trying to adapt to a new culture while missing my family and trying to adjust to motherhood for the first time. After an extended trip back home with my husband and child, I made the choice that Australia is my new home and I have never looked back.

I made friends and joined a parish group of ladies who pray the rosary for our children. These ladies are my extended family. My husband and I now have three children who are 18, 16 and 9. After raising the children I returned to casual work as a nurse and to teach for the Billings Life Leaders in Fertility Education in Melbourne.

I attend Mass, pray the Rosary and the Divine Mercy Chaplet daily. I spend whatever time I can get in Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. I also pray novenas to the saints. Most importantly I offer every second of my day to the Lord in little prayers and conversation. I have always been faithful, praying and worshipping and, most importantly, believing in the good Lord to whom we owe everything, but my faith took a sharp turn a few years ago when I learnt that my 33 year old sister was diagnosed with incurable cancer. My world crashed.

I turned to God all the more and started going to Mass every day, attending Adoration and praying in front of the Blessed Sacrament begging with all my being for her healing. I knew my only hope was in the Lord.

They say to watch your loved one suffer is harder than to suffer yourself. This is so true and being away physically from them makes things even worse.

Little did I know that with all the suffering I endured, I was being purified myself and my soul was being lifted up to a new level of faith I never knew existed; I have never felt closer to Jesus and Mary. I experienced an illumination of my soul in a way I never felt before. I thought I was faithful and that I knew my Lord until I really got

close to Him in suffering on the cross. At times I would feel my heart physically aching and my shoulder physically feeling the weight of the cross. The more I suffered the closer I got to the cross until, at the

other guardian angels in human form praying for us constantly. My sister sadly died but today I can only imagine what all her suffering would have done for her soul and the place she now occupies and

glory of the resurrection. I became a teacher of the Billings Ovulation Method because I felt as if our Lord and our Blessed Mother wanted this of me. I am still learning but I feel that I am at home.

I can only imagine what all her suffering did for her soul and the place she now occupies and enjoys in heaven.

climax of all this pain it seemed as if I felt and experienced what our Blessed Mother could have felt at the foot of the cross.

Amidst all this, our Lord has sent me different Simons of Cyrene, so to speak, to help me on the way – namely my beautiful husband and children who were so understanding and supportive – and

enjoys in heaven.

I now see things differently; I listen and trust in God in a different way. I don’t waste any suffering, big or small; I offer it up and unite it to the cross. The scripture comes alive to me now in a new way. I know now that suffering does not just take you to the cross but way beyond that. It takes you to the

edge, provided it is carried out in a truly scientific manner and does not override moral laws, can never conflict with the faith, because the things of the world and the things of faith derive from the same God”

(Paragraph 159).

Ahh, the joy of Catholicism… faith and reason! So if science tells me that the world is 3.7 billion years old, who am I to argue with that?

Even Pope John Paul II publicly stated that there was no in principle conflict between evolution and the doctrine of the faith, and he was not the first pope to do that. Those who believe that the bible is a geology text book have gravely misunderstood the bible. Someone needed to tell the folk of Dover that scientific evolution does not do away with the need for God.

They would have done the school children a much better service to not set one against the other. I fear all they achieved was another generation that will reject religion because of a false dichotomy.

www.foolishwisdom.com

It’s true: to err is human, but to forgive is divine

It is divine forgiveness that we need, since no sinner knows the full malice of sin, writes

Mgr Robert Hugh Benson

ONE man is a slave, let us say, to a sin of the flesh, and seeks to reassure himself by the reflection that he injures no one but himself; ignorant as he is of the outrage to God the Holy Spirit whose temple he is ruining. Or a woman repeats again every piece of slanderous gossip that comes her way and comforts herself in moments of compunction by reflecting that she “means no harm”; ignorant as she is of the discouragement of souls of which she is the cause and the distrust and enmity sown among friends.

In fact it is incredible that any sinner ever knows what it is that he does by sin. We need, therefore, divine forgiveness and not the human, the pardon that descends when we are unaware that we must have it or die; the love of the Father who, while we are yet a great way off, runs to meet us, and who teaches us for the first time, by the warmth of his welcome, the icy distances to which we had wandered. If we knew, anyone could forgive us. It is because we do not that only God, who knows all things, can forgive us effectively.

It is a place where I can apply my faith to my work and this is where today I see my sister in heaven guiding me also to the Billings door; having had fertility problems herself, wants me to help other women in a natural and simple way. Faith is a gift given only by Divine Grace to which we should always be open.

And it is this divine forgiveness that we ourselves have to extend to those that sin against us, since only those who so forgive can be forgiven. We must not wait until wounded pride is made whole; until the debt is paid and we are complacent once more in the knowledge that justice has been done to us at last. On the contrary, the only forgiveness that is supernatural, and which, therefore, alone is meritorious, is that which reaches out to men’s ignorance and not their knowledge of their need.

Mgr Robert Hugh Benson (1871-1914), son of the Archbishop of Canterbury, became a Roman Catholic priest, a popular novelist and a prominent apologist.

Inaam Abiad thought she knew what faith was about – until a devastating crisis engulfed her life.

PHOTO: DEBBIE WARRIER

25 January 2012,

PANORAMA

NEXT WEEK

TUESDAY, 31 JANUARY

Spirituality & The Sunday Gospels

7-8pm at St Benedict’s School Hall Alness St, Applecross. How can we open to the power of God in our lives, our relationships, our families and our workplace? Presenter: Norma Woodcock. Accredited- CEO- Faith Formation for ongoing renewal. Cost: collection. Enq: 94871772 or www. normawoodcock.com

UPCOMING

THURSDAY, 2 FEBRUARY

Divine Mercy

1.30pm at St Francis Xavier Church, 25 Windsor St, Perth. Main Celebrant Fr Johnson Malayil CRS. Homily will be on St Jerome Emilani. Refreshments will follow. Enq: 9457 7771.

FRIDAY, 3 FEBRUARY

Catholic Faith Renewal Evening

7.30pm at St John and Paul’s Parish, Pinetree Gully Rd, Willetton. Songs of Praise & Prayer, Teaching by Fr Ted Miller: “ Vatican II changes Catholic worship”. Followed by Thanksgiving Mass and light refreshments afterwards. Enq: Kathy 92950913 or Ann 0412 166 164 or catholicfaithrenewal@ gmail.com

SATURDAY, 4 FEBRUARY

Day with Mary

9am-5pm at Holy Spirit Church, 2 Keaney Pl, City Beach. A day of prayer and instruction based on the Fatima messages. 9am video; 10.10am holy Mass; reconciliation, procession of the Blessed Sacrament, Eucharistic adoration, sermons on Eucharist and on Our Lady, rosaries and stations of the Cross. BYO lunch. Enq – Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate 9250 8286.

Eucharistic Healing Experience

9.30-5pm at Holy Family Parish, Lot 375 Alcock St, Maddington. One day retreat focused on the Blessed Sacrament. Teachings on Holy Eucharist and prayers for inner and physical healing and deliverance. Enq: Melanie 0410 605 743

SUNDAY, 5 FEBRUARY

Saint Brigid’s Day Celebration

3pm at Irish Club Theatre, 61 Townshend Rd, Subiaco. Annual celebration of Ireland’s female patron saint, feast day 1 February, presented by The Australian-Irish Heritage Association. Writer, poet and artist Mary O’Byrne presents a discourse on Women and the Trinity in an examination of the relationship between the male and female idea of Trinity, with music and an Irish afternoon tea. Admission $10. Enq: 9367 6026.

TUESDAY, 7 FEBRUARY

Rosary Cenacle - MMP

10.30am at St Paul’s Parish, 106 Rockwood St, Mt Lawley. Confessions available followed by Holy Mass. Celebrant: Fr Deeter. Bring lunch to share. Enq: Margaret 9341 8082

THURSDAY, 9 FEBRUARY

Healing Mass in Honor of St Peregrine

7pm at Sts John and Paul Parish, Pinetree Gully Rd, Willetton. St Peregrine patron Saint of cancer. Enq: Jim 9457 1539

FRIDAY, 10 FEBRUARY

Lake Monger Rosary Procession for Our Lady of Lourdes

7pm starting from the Dodd St carpark. All are welcome to attend. An altar for those who are unable to do the walk will be set up and the rosary prayed. Further enquiries to Judy Woodward 9446 6837.

SATURDAY, 11 FEBRUARY

St Padre Pio Day of Prayer

8.30am-12pm 69 Morrison Rd, Midland. Begins with DVD in parish centre; 10am Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, Rosary, Divine Mercy and Benediction; 11am Holy Mass: St Padre Pio liturgy – confessions available. 12pm Lunch – bring plate to share/ Enq: Des 6278 1540

Divine Mercy

2.30m at St Francis Xavier’s Parish, Windsor St, East Perth. Divine Mercy Healing Mass. Main Celebrant: Fr Doug Harris – Reconciliation in English and Italian offered. Followed by Divine Mercy prayer and Veneration of First Class Relic of St Faustina Kowalska. Refreshments afterwards. Enq: John 9457 7771

SUNDAY, 12 FEBRUARY

The Sisters of Our Lady of the Missons 150th Anniversary Celebration

Our Lady of the Missions High School/Sacred Heart School, Tuckfield St, Fremantle. As part of celebrations for the 150th anniversary of the foundation of the Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions, an inaugural reunion for all women who attended the Tuckfield St school will be held on Sunday, 12 February 2012 at Melville Bowling Club, Canning Hwy, Alfred Cove from 2-6pm. Cost: $10 per person. Contact: Christine Binks (Martinovich) 9331

What’s on around the archdiocese of Perth, Where and When

3886 or Veronica Stratton (France) robnron@ optusnet.com.au or 9354 5023.

SATURDAY, 25 FEBRUARY

A Reunion for Holy Cross Primary School, Kensington

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

Thanksgiving and Healing Mass

12 noon at Holy Cross Parish, 1 Dianne St, Hamilton Hill. Archbishop Hickey will be celebrating Mass for all VOV and new members. As usual, bring a plate to share. Enq: Frank 9296 7591, 0408 183 325.

SUNDAY, 26 FEBRUARY

SECULAR FRANCISCAN ORDER

2pm at Maylands Parish, 75 Seventh Ave, Maylands. We are lay people who live a life in Christ inspired by the life of St Francis of Assisi, the first recorded stigmatic. We are called to live simply, humbly and peacefully, recognising God in creation. We are inviting you to the monthly fraternity meeting to discover the richness of Franciscan Spirituality for life today. Enq: Angela, 9275 5658.

FRIDAY, 23 TO SUNDAY, 25

MARCH

Inner healing retreat (Live-in)

7pm at St John of God Retreat centre, 47 Gloucester Cres, Shoalwater. A time to be healed and renewed. The retreat is led by the Vincentian Fathers. Registration and Enq: Melanie 0410 605 743 or vincetiansperth@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.

EVERY FOURTH SUNDAY

Holy Hour for Vocations to the Priesthood, Religious Life

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

EVERY MONDAY

Evening Adoration and Mass

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

The Life and Mission of St Mary MacKillop

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

LAST MONDAY OF THE MONTH

Be Still in His Presence –Ecumenical Christian Programme

7.30-8.45pm at 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 a cuppa at the end. Enq: Lynne 9293 3848 or 043 5252 941.

EVERY TUESDAY

Bible Teaching with a Difference

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

EVERY FIRST TUESDAY

Short MMP Cenacle for Priests

2pm at Edel Quinn Centre, 36 Windsor St, East Perth. Enq: Fr Watt 9376 1734.

Novena to Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal

6pm at the Pater Noster Church, Marmion and Evershed Sts, Myaree. Mass at 5.30pm followed by benediction. Enq: John 040 8952 194.

EVERY WEDNESDAY

Holy Spirit of Freedom Community

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

EVERY THURSDAY

Divine Mercy

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

St Mary’s Cathedral Praise Meeting

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

EVERY FIRST THURSDAY OF THE MONTH

Prayer in Style of Taize

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

Group Fifty – Charismatic Renewal Group

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

Priest Cenacle

Every first Thursday at Legion of Mary, Windsor St, East Perth. Enq: Fr Paul 0427 085 093.

EVERY FIRST FRIDAY

Communion of Reparation - All Night Vigil

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

Healing Mass

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

Holy Hour for Vocations to the Priesthood and Religious Life

7pm at Little Sisters of the Poor Chapel, 2 Rawlins St, Glendalough. Mass followed by adoration with Fr Doug Harris. All welcome. Refreshments provided.

Catholic Faith Renewal Evening

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Pilgrim Mass - Shrine of the Virgin of the Revelation

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

EVERY FIRST SUNDAY

Divine Mercy Chaplet and Healing Prayer

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

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

FIRST AND THIRD SUNDAYS

Latin Mass

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

EVERY THIRD SUNDAY

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

Bible Study at Cathedral

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

Holy Hour - Catholic Youth Ministry

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

EVERY FIRST WEDNESDAY

Holy Hour Prayer for Priests

7.30-8.30pm at Holy Spirit Parish, 2 Keaney Pl, City Beach. All welcome. Enq: Linda 9341 3079.

Novena to St Mary of the Cross MacKillop

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

EVERY SECOND WEDNESDAY

Chaplets of the Divine Mercy

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

Panorama Editorial Policy

The Record reserves the right to decline or edit any items.

Notices which charge readers more than $10 must be advertised as either classified or display advertisements.

Catholic Saints and Blesseds, including Sts Mary MacKillop, Padre Pio, Anthony of Padua, Therese of Lisieux, Maximilian Kolbe and Simon Stock. Free. Enq: Giovanny 047 8201 092 or ssra-perth@ catholic.org.

Financially Disadvantaged People requiring Low Care Aged Care Placement

The Little Sisters of the Poor community - 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.

Resource Centre for Personal Development

The Holistic Health Seminar ‘The Instinct to Heal’’, every Tuesday 3-4.30pm; and RCPD2 “Internalise Principles of Successful Relationships and Use Emotional Intelligence and Communication Skills’, every Tuesday 4.30-6.30pm, 197 High St, Fremantle - Tuesdays 3-4.30pm. Beginning 21 Feb. Enq: Eva 0409 405 585. Bookings are essential.

Group Fifty – recess for January

No events until 2 February 2012. Enq: Elaine 9440 3661.

Our Lady of Grace Parish – Taize nights

Just a reminder there is no TAIZE service in January. There will be NO service in January; we look forward to gathering again on Thursday, 2 February.

Courses held at the Faith Centre 2012 450 Hay St, Perth

1. Christian Foundations - This course is designed to guide you to a greater understanding and deeper appreciation of the foundational beliefs of our Catholic faith. (Maranatha Lecturer: Sr Philomena Burrell pvbm). Thursdays: 1.00–3.30pm, from 16 Feb – 22 Mar. For enquiries or bookings ph 9241 5222.

2. RCPD2 - Internalise Principles of Successful Relationships and Use Emotional Intelligence and Communication Skills - This course provides knowledge of principles that if applied, will improve all relationships. Skills of self-analysis are taught as well as communication skills. Mondays: 5-7pm, from 20 Feb – 10 Dec. For enquiries or bookings ph Paul 0402 222 578.

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

Healing and Anointing Mass

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

EVERY FIRST SATURDAY OF THE MONTH

Healing Mass

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

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EVERY LAST SATURDAY

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

GENERAL

Free Divine Mercy Image for Parishes High quality oil painting and glossy print – Divine Mercy Promotions. Images are of very high quality. For any parish willing to accept and place inside the church. Oil paintings - 160 x 90cm and glossy print - 100 x 60cm. Enq: Irene 9417 3267 (w).

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

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

Mary Mackillop 2012 Calendars and Merchandise

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

Saints and Sacred Relics Apostolate – Latin Feast of all Holy Relics SSRA Perth invites interested parties: parish priests, faithful association leaders etc to make contact to organise relic visitations to their own parishes, communities etc. We have available authenticated relics, mostly first-class, of over 200

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3. RCPD4 – Increase Personal and Spiritual Awareness and Improve Relationships - This course promotes self-awareness and spiritual growth. Emotional development is explained in order to improve understanding between persons. Study of Psychology and Theology. Mondays: 10am–12.30pm, from 20 Feb–10 Dec. For enquiries or bookings ph Eva 0409 405 585.

4. Higher Certificate in Biblical Studies - The Higher Certificate of Biblical Studies is a distance education programme that can be followed in your own home at your own pace with periodic face-to-face contact workshops. Tutorial assistance is available as required. It is equivalent to a one-year tertiary course, although it is recommended that you aim to complete it in two years. For enquiries and enrolment, ph The Faith Centre on 6140 2420.

Is your son or daughter unsure of what to do this year?

Suggest a Certificate IV course to discern God’s purpose for their life. They will also learn more about the Catholic faith and develop skills in communication and leadership. Acts 2 College of Mission & Evangelisation (National Code 51452). Enq: Jane 9202 6859

February Latin Mass 2pm at Good Shepherd, Streich Avenue, Kelmscott. Wednesday15 and Wednesday 29. Enq: John 9390 6646.

RELIGIOUS PRODUCTS

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

RICH HARVEST YOUR

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

KINLAR VESTMENTS

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

FOR SALE

OPPORTUNITY TO BUY

SHARES in a West Australian based (international), business. Has a worldwide patent for people and animal health products, new innovative products for which export grant has been accepted. First shipment has already been sent to Dubai. Interested? For more information: licebustersrd@optusnet.com.au or Tel 08 9258 5233, Mob 0408 474 520, Veronica.

MISSION ACTIVITIES

LEARN HOW TO MAKE

ROSARY BEADS for the missions and special rosaries for family and friends. Phone: (02) 6822 1474 or visit our website: OurLadysRosaryMakers.org.au.

POSITIONS AVAILABLE

TARIS ENGINEERING is a family run and owned business situated in Malaga. We have been operating for over 15 years specialising in servicing the mining, oil and gas industry. We are looking for experienced machinists and fitters who are willing to join our expanding business. Above award rates and extended hours available. Please contact Patrick Talbot on 0438 306 308 or send your resume through to sales@ tariseng.com.au.

SECRETARIAL ASSISTANT

REQUIRED: 4 hours/week in North Perth for a registered charity. Secretarial experience with a working knowledge of Microsoft Word and Desktop Publishing or equivalent. Must be willing to attend to filing and photocopying. If interested, please post a copy of your resume to PO Box 104 North Perth by 8 February.

BOOK BINDING

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

THANKSGIVING

THANKSGIVING TO THE HOLY SPIRIT for favours granted

SETTLEMENTS

ARE YOU BUYING OR SELLING real estate or a business?

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

TRADE SERVICES

BRENDAN HANDYMAN SERVICES

Home, building maintenance, repairs and renovations. NOR.

Ph 0427 539 588.

PROPERTY MAINTENANCE

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

BRICK RE-POINTING Ph Nigel 9242 2952.

PICASSO PAINTING Top service.

Ph 0419 915 836, fax 9345 0505. 9440 4358.

PERROTT PAINTING Pty Ltd

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

LAWNMOWING AND WEED

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

CHARISMATIC RENEWAL

FRIDAY, 3 TO SUNDAY, 5 FEBRUARY CATHOLIC CHARISMATIC RENEWAL

SET FREE Inner Healing Retreat. A 3-day live-in Inner Healing Retreat conducted by international presenters Diana Mascarenhas and Fr Elias Vella OFMc. An opportunity through prayer and ‘Christo-therapy’ to be ‘set free’ from the bonds and baggage of life’s hurts and addictions. Held at airconditioned St John of God Retreat Centre, Shoalwater Bay. All inclusive cost of $350/person. Queries and registration to Martha 0419 242 172 or Martha. KALAT@dmp.wa.gov.au.

MONDAY, 6 FEBRUARY CATHOLIC CHARISMATIC RENEWAL

Inner Healing Workshop 9am–5pm, conducted by international guest Diana Mascarenhas (Dip Spiritual Formation and Counselling). Participants will be ministered to, and receive healing prayer for various issues of inner conflict and past wounds. Held at the Holy Family Church, Thelma St/Canning Hwy, Como. Cost for the day is $25. Bring your own lunch. Please register to Martha, 0419 242 172.

FURNITURE REMOVAL

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

TAX SERVICE

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

PILGRIMAGES

PILGRIMAGE TO PARIS (3) NIGHTS LOURDES (5) NIGHTS

MEDJUGORJE (7) NIGHTS.

Leaving Perth end April/May. All flights (Emirates) accommodation, bed/breakfast, evening meals, transfers and guides. Spiritual Director Rev Fr Bogoni. Cost approx $5,395. Contact Eileen 9402 2480, mob 0407 471 256, email medjugorje@y7mail. com.

PILGRIMAGE TO OUR LADY OF VELANKANNI, ST FRANCIS XAVIER, ST PHILOMENA, ST MOTHER THERESA OF KOLKATA. The tour covers all the main cities in India like Chennai, Pondicherry, Velankanni, Bangalore, Mysore, Cochin, Goa, Delhi, Thaij Mahal, Kolkata, Darjeeling and many more places. For more details contact Charles Donovan 0400 216 257 or F Sam 0426 506 510.

OPTION ON 25 DAYS –PILGRIMAGE TO HOLY LAND - ROME - COLLAVALENZA - DUBLIN (IRELAND FOR EUCHARISTIC CONGRESS) KNOCK AND MEDJUGORJE.

Departing 22 May, from $7,790, includes flight transfers, bed, breakfast, evening meals, guide and taxes. Spiritual Director Fr Ronan Murphy. Leader Yolanda Nardizzi. Tel: 9245 2222, Mob 0413 707 707.

OPTION 2: 19 DAYS, PILGRIMAGE TO ROMECOLLAVALENZA – DUBLIN (IRELAND FOR EUCHARISTIC CONGRESS) KNOCK AND MEDJUGORJE. Departing 29 May, from $5,990, includes flight transfers, bed, breakfast, evening meals, guide and taxes. Spiritual Director Fr Ronan Murphy. Leader Yolanda Nardizzi. Tel: 9245 2222, Mob 0413 707 707.

PILGRIMAGE DEPARTING

PERTH 30 APRIL, RETURNING 17/18 MAY (early hours) for Paris (3 nights) visit Lisieux (St Therese), Notre Dame for Relics of The Passion, Sacre Coeur, Miraculous Medal Shrine, St Vincent De Paul. Flight to Lourdes for 5 nights stay, flight to Split for 7 nights stay in Medjurgorje. Spiritual Director Fr Bogoni. Costs $5,395 which includes all flight transfers, bed, breakfast, evening meals, guide, tipping and taxes. Contact: Eileen 9402 2480 Mob 0407 471 256, or medjugorje@y7mail.com.

MISSIO IMMACULATAE

THE FRANCISCAN FRIARS OF THE IMMACULATE MARIAN CATECHETICAL MAGAZINE

$36 for 5 issues Ph 08 94372792 or ffimunster@gmail.com. All for the Immaculate.

12 Monk’s

16

17 OT book

19 Protection or liberation from the power of the devil

21 Spiritual program

22 “…my brother, co-worker, and comrade in ___.” (Phil 2:25)

23 One of the Magi

24 Catholic singer, Bing ___

25 Catholic star of “Samson and Delilah”

27 Commandment that directs us to keep holy the Lord’s Day

30 Last word LAST

WEEK’S SOLUTION