The Record Newspaper 26 July 2007

IN A

Fr Flader

Youth can be mystics, engaging the media

President of Australian Bishops Conference offers youth an unlikely - but powerful - way to take control of the hostile forces seeking to seduce them and their lives

■ By Anthony Barich

The president of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference hasn’t been in a nightclub lately.

Even if he convinced the bouncers he was younger, they probably wouldn’t let Archbishop Philip Wilson in, wearing a clerical collar.

Archbishop Wilson

But, making it a point to keep in touch with the vibrant Catholic youth community he has at his disposal in his Adelaide Archdiocese, he has a pretty good idea what goes on. The nightclub, then, seemed as good a place as any to start his talk on “The media in 2028: Globalisation and the Gospel of Life” when he addressed up to 400 youth in Canberra at the Australian Catholic Students Association’s Congress discussing their role in the future of the Church.

Archbishop Wilson said that the impression given to him by young people – and he’s not far off the mark – is that

Continued on - Page 8

ANTHONY BARICH’s roundup of 2028 - Pages 2-5

BISHOP TAKES ON ABBOTT

THEOLOGY OF THE BODY: On offer for youth in Whitford Parish Page 13

Real Girls

Author reports ‘good girls’ speaking out about promiscuity

PILGRIMAGE: NeoCatechumenals ask the question in rural streets Page 16

Federal Health Minister Tony Abbott used the 2028 youth Congress to make a partypolitical speech, questioning a Bishop in passing. But that Bishop begs to differ. Page 6

■ By Andrea Slivka

Some girls are choosing to be mild, rejecting the wild. And mild doesn’t mean passive - these girls are standing up to pressures

to be promiscuous, rejecting the “Girls Gone Wild” culture, according to author Wendy Shalit (pictured), a 1997 graduate and an author based in the US.

Shalit interviewed girls and young women from

Women reject UN male role model of partnership

NEW YORK (Zenit.org) - The leader of the World Union of Catholic Women’s Organisations says the theme for the UN World Population Day, as understood by UN Secretary General Ban Kimoon, promotes the death of innocent children.

In Australia, the most wellknown WUCWO affiliate is the Catholic Women’s League. Karen Hurley made the statement in a letter written on July 12 to Ban in response to his message regarding the July 11 World Day, with the theme “Men as Partners in Maternal Health.”

Ban’s message for the event focused “attention on the fundamental role of men in supporting women’s rights, including their

Continued on - Page 13

St Patrick’s Day shifts for 2008

MAYNOOTH, Ireland (Zenit. org) - Permission has come from Rome to celebrate St Patrick’s Day two days earlier next year.

The decision to move the Irish patron saint’s feast day came about because the traditional March 17 festivities will clash with Monday of Holy Week, the Irish Times reported.

across the country for her new book, Girls Gone Mild, which profiles young women who stand up to social pressures to embrace promiscuity.

Her title is a takeoff on the sexually graphic videos of Continued - Vista 1

Under the Catholic Church’s General Norms for the Liturgical Year and Calendar, St Patrick’s feast day does not rank as high as the Monday before Easter. Therefore the decision from Rome is that it will be moved.

The last time St Patrick’s Day was moved was in 1940 when it coincided with Palm Sunday, the first day of Holy Week.

eugenic fixation.

Abbott takes on Bishop, defends WorkChoices

“Thou shalt not conduct wage negotiations without a union” hardly ranks with any of the 10 Commandments, says Tony Abbott

■ By Anthony Barich

Federal Health Minister Tony Abbott has lashed out at criticism from Catholic quarters of the government’s workplace relations laws, saying economic issues are a matter of prudential judgement rather than adherence to doctrine.

Mr Abbott, a former seminarian, told upwards of 400 youth at a national Catholic students congress earlier this month: “There is a good reason why Christians should speak with one voice on life issues but not on economic ones. The sanctity of life is a “higher order moral issue than the promotion of social justice. Besides, the best way to help the poor is a matter of prudential judgement to be determined by analysis rather than recourse to doctrine,” he said.

At “2028 Congress: The Next generation and the Church in Australia” organised by the

Australian Catholic Students Association, he was given the topic, “Brave new world: Life and death in 2028” to speak on.

But instead the outspoken Catholic parliamentarian apologised for dodging the topic and for making a “political speech”, before proceeding to defend the government’s workplace relations reforms using Church documents, prefacing his speech with: “For politicians, elections are about life and death”.

He said the “acceptable face of religion” was too often being used for Leftist attacks on the Federal Government.

In doing so, he also attacked “progressive” Catholics who use arguments that “add nothing but moral fervour to the Left’s standard critique”.

“When Cardinal (George) Pell reminds Catholic MPs of the Church’s standard teaching on the sanctity of life he is investigated for alleged breach of parliamentary privilege,” Mr Abbott said.

“On many social issues, by contrast, what’s said to be the Catholic position invariably corresponds to the position of the most Left-wing mainstream political party.

“As an ethical imperative, ‘thou shalt not conduct wage negotiations

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without a union’ hardly ranks with any of the 10 Commandments.”

He defended the government against the Bishop of Parramatta, Kevin Manning, who said the government’s workplace relations legislation was “spectacularly inadequate when tested against the principles of Catholic social teaching”, and also accused the government of “putting the economy before people where wages are reduced and conditions reduced for the sake of the economy”.

Mr Abbott questioned whether

Bishop Manning’s criticism was based on political or religious grounds.

“The Church is certainly entitled to speak its mind and to disagree with the positions taken by governments, oppositions or individual MPs,’ Mr Abbott said.

“The key question is not: ‘Do Catholics have a right to be heard?’ - of course they do - but: ‘Which views, on what topics, are entitled to be called Catholic?’.”

Testing the government’s reforms on “basic moral tests for

workplace relations laws” like “does it boost overall employment and pay, protect individuals from harsh treatment and are any disadvantages that it might impose on people short-term rather than permanent”, Mr Abbott said the Coalition had been “spectacularly successful”, with 2.1 million more jobs since March 1996 and unemployment having fallen to a 32-year low.

He said Catholic critics of the government often invoke Pope Leo XIII’s 1891 Encylical, Rerum Novarum, which stated: “Let the working man and the employer make free agreements… Neverthelesss there underlies a dictate of natural justice…namely that wages ought not to be insufficient to support a frugal and wellbehaved earner.”

But he went on to say that “as political manifestos buttressing middle-of-the-road against radical workers’ leaders, the social justice encyclicals helped to preserve moderate unionism and mixed economies against revolutionary tumult”.

“But,” Mr Abbott said, “as intellectual arguments, they are less than compelling which is why almost everyone can find something to quote in them.”

Common ground to be found: Cassidy

Cardinal says that in monotheism there is a way forward with Muslims

■ By Anthony Barich

Monotheism is the common ground that Australia’s Catholic youth can use to work with Islam to build a cohesive society, according to Cardinal Edward Cassidy.

With Islam on the rise in Australia, Cardinal Cassidy, the Emeritus President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, said that when inheriting the world, youth should strive for a “dialogue of life” that starts off with a friendly coexistence and develops through listening, working and speaking together on questions of common interest and justice.

He said tolerance is not the key to brotherhood with Islam, “sharing and forgiveness is”.

“Much more effort is needed at the local level to inform, educate and bring together members of different religions and cultural groups if a cohesive Australia is to be fostered and built up,” Cardinal Cassidy told over 400 youth at a gathering in Canberra earlier this month called “2028 Congress: The Next Generation and the Church in Australia”.

Speaking on the theme, “Faith in the future: Christianity, Islam and Secular Australia”, Cardinal Cassidy said that nuclear conflict is the greatest threat to mankind – a threat “my generation has

left you” – but challenged youth not to lose hope in the future with the strength of faith.

But he warned against complacency, and not to “simply sit back and allow God to find the solution to all our evils and difficulties”. He said God requires of His children obedience to the laws that make for a better world and cooperation in building such a world.

While conceding that Christianity has not always been dedicated to such a task, the Cardinal said that developments over the past 60 years that will help Christians to “base on solid ground our attempts to promote peaceful and fruitful coexistence between people of different cultural backgrounds”.

These developments were led by the Second Vatican Council, which placed the emphasis on what religions have in common to draw them to fellowship: that there

is one God who made the whole human race and holds all His children in His love, then surely any child of that one God should similarly treat the other with loving respect.

“The Council has given us Catholics a challenge in these words: ‘We cannot truly call on God, the Father of all, if we refuse to treat in a brotherly way any person, created as he or she is in the image of God’.

“Finally, the Council reproved, as foreign to the mind of Christ, any discrimination against people because of their race, colour, condition of life or religion.”

He said the sea-change that has taken place over the past 40 years since Vatican II is that people of other religions or no religion at all are looked upon as “fellow citizens of God’s great family to be respected, befriended and loved”.

Cardinal Cassidy said that after speaking with the Melkite Catholic Archbishop of Galilee, Elias Chacour, Muslim scholar and respected government advisor in Lebanon Dr Muhammad Sammak and Australian Jeremy Jones, the past president of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, he left the meeting with a renewed faith in the future of the world.

“There was significant agreement between these representatives of the three main religious societies in the Middle East,” Cardinal Cassidy said.

“They set out principles that correspond to those I have been explaining, beginning with the statement, ‘we are created in God’s image, so love the image of God in each other’.”

He speaketh: Tony Abbott addresses Australian youth. PHOTO: ANTHONY BARICH

Influential: Cardinal Edward Cassidy.

Brain drain conundrum

Global poverty to worsen, warns Burke

■ By Anthony Barich

The flow of tertiary-educated graduates out of poor countries is set to eclipse market forces as the driving force behind poverty if the problem is not fixed in the next 15 years, according to Tony Burke, the Catholic Federal Labor Member for Watson, NSW.

Mr Burke, addressing up to 400 young Catholic professionals and students at the “2028 Congress: The Next Generation and the Church in Australia” earlier this month, was presenting a major challenge that today’s young people face.

“The boom that comes from China will continue to exacerbate a skills shortage in wealthy nations, who will continue skilled migration programs through bipartisan agreement on both sides of politics in every nation that’s doing well,” Mr Burke said.

“We have to find a way of wealthy nations investing sufficiently in their own training and poorer nations being sufficient in training their own people, so that while emigration will always occur from poor to rich nations, we don’t end up with the situation where our prosperity is riding on the back of essentially taking advantage of some of the poorest nations in the world.”

Mr Burke, who helped coordinate the “Euthanasia no” campaign when the Federal Government overturned the Northern Territory legislation, said there is no serious data or modelling being done on a global basis on the effects of the movement of people on poverty.

Poorer countries that are educating professionals in key areas like medicine are losing them to the more attractive, wealthy first-world countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. But while many leave their poor home country for a better life – which Mr Burke stressed

was a good thing – their qualifications are not being recognised by their adopted country. And the incidence of this is increasing.

He said 21,000 doctors have left Nigeria for the US, but there are fewer than 2000 doctors from Nigeria practising in the US.

“So not only is the medical expertise being invested by the poorer nations and lost to them, it’s actually being lost to humanity,” he said.

“The wealthy countries are using the immigrants’ skills as a reason to allow entry to get around political debate in their own country.”

He said that in Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Nigeria and Sierra Leone, 25 per cent of tertiary educated people now live elsewhere.

In Gambia, the Seychelles and Somalia, the figure is over 50 per cent of the people they train who live overseas.

In the Caribbean, two-thirds of nationals with a tertiary education now live in OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) nations.

“Compare the flow of people to the flow of aid and you realise the depths of problems we’re facing with global poverty are being seriously exacerbated,” Mr Burke said.

In Africa, in 2000, 3.6 per cent of Africans had a tertiary education, he said. Of those emigrating from Africa, 31 per cent had a tertiary education.

The countries that export the products normally are producing more than they need, he said, but immigration, “crudely referred to as the movement of human capital”, all goes in the opposite direction of how it should. He said the UK is a prime example, as a “health importer”, due to a shortage of nurses. It has 600 people for every position, Mr Burke said, while Ghana, an “exporter of health professionals”, has 16, 129 people for every position. The UK has

Join Pope Benedict XVI in prayer - July

200 people for every nurse and are importing. Ghana has 1389 people per nurse.

Kenya has 600 doctors working in the public sector, and 20 emigrate every month, he said, while in Malawi, 28 per cent of their established nurse posts were filled in 2003. In 1998 they had 47 per cent filled. “By now, on that trend, they’d be below a quarter,” he said. Mr Burke admitted he does not know what the answer is, but warned the Catholic youth at the 2028 Congress that the “brain drain” from poorer countries looms as a potential major catastrophe over the next 15 years

Catholic Pastoral Workers Association

Join us for a retreat, a day of prayer & reflection, a time to revive our spirits & share with other parish pastoral workers.

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Saturday August 4, 9am - 3pm Catholic Pastoral Centre 40a Mary St, Highgate Contact: Margaret - 9390 8365, Tracy6380 5160 or email maranatha@ceo.wa.edu.au

RSVP: Friday 27th July, Lunch is at 12.30 - BYO

Mission intention: That, aware of their own missionary duty, all Christians may actively help all those engaged in the evangelisation of peoples.

Newman College is a Catholic Co-educational School Kindergarten – Year 12 located at 216 Empire Avenue Churchlands Middle School 2009 – Years 7 – 9

From the commencement of 2009, Newman College will be enrolling Year 7 students as part of its new Middle School structure. The Middle School, Years 7 – 9, will provide a planned transition for every child between a ‘Generalist’ primary school and a ‘Specialist Senior’ secondary school. Applications for student entry to Year 7, 2009 should now be lodged as interviews are currently being conducted.

For all enquiries please contact Mrs Gay Carroll, on telephone (08) 9204 9405 or email carroll.gay@cathednet.wa.edu.au www.newman.wa.edu.au

Compliment your spouset

General intention: That all citizens, individually and in groups, may be enabled to participate actively in the life and management of the common good.

A compliment is more than just words and its power in a marriage is significant. Compliments do three things; they increase the selfconfidence of our spouse, they increase our own self-worth and they strengthen the friendship between the spouses. Take the time to compliment often and meaningfully.

I’m John Hughes, WA’s most trusted car dealer

Is it true I have my own finance company to assist good people with poor credit to buy cars from me?

Is it true I sell over 1,300 vehicles every month in Victoria Park and that is the biggest number from any one location in Australia?

Is it true that I refuse to sell any vehicle that has had previous major accident damage?

Is it true that when people come to do business with me, I guarantee they will be treated with courtesy, sincerity, professionalism and efficiency?

Is it true that “I want your business and I’m prepared to pay for it” and “I stand behind every car I sell”.

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No answers: Catholic MP Tony Burke says Australian youth face a great challenge to combat poverty. PHOTO: UNDER THE CREATIVE COMMONS SHARE

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Supernatural warfare to launch in universities

‘A chance to do something heroic for Christ and His Church’

■ By Anthony Barich

Wollongong priest Fr Mark De Battista is on a mission to find soldiers for the “supernatural war that has real casualties”, starting with university campuses.

Until recently Fr De Battista was the national chaplain for almost three years of the Fellowship Of Catholic University Students (FOCUS) in the United States, which sent evangelists into universities to train disciples with the aim of “spiritual multiplication”.

Spiritual multiplication occurs through small-group Bible studies of up to eight people and oneon-one mentoring by following St Paul’s advice to Timothy: “Teach teachers who can teach others also (2 Tim 2:2).

Now, the Australian Catholic Students Association Towards 2008 Planning Committee, that organised the recent “2028 Congress: The Next Generation and the Church in Australia” in Canberra, and its chaplain Fr De Battista have proposed to send out several teams of at least four young adults (two men and two women) onto university campuses to evangelise students from FebruaryDecember 2008.

“ The Australian Catholic Students Association Towards 2008 Planning Committee and its chaplain Fr De Battista have proposed to send out several teams of at least four young adults (two men and two women) onto university campuses to evangelise students from February-December 2008.

The proposal is based on the FOCUS model that was founded by Catholic layman Curtis Martin.

The missionary year is open to any Catholic man or woman in their final year at university or TAFE or who has been working in their respective career for a number of years and wants to “do something heroic for Christ and the Church”. There is an interview process that discerns a way forward that is fraught with peril. Fr De Battista said Jesus Himself reminded us that “in the world you have tribulation. But be of good cheer, I have conquered the world” (Jn 16:33). “I’ll tell you now it’s not for the faint-hearted,” Fr De Battista said. “Evangelising on a university campus is one of the toughest places to share the Catholic Faith. But from my experience there are very few things in life which give more joy and fulfilment than the privilege of seeing someone come to life in Christ.”

Once recruited, there will be an intense five weeks of spiritual formation from mid-November including courses in apologetics, spiritual theology, deep character formation, instruction in developing a life of prayer, etiquette training plus how to conduct a Bible study group and mentoring.

Each missionary will be mentored throughout the year, and taught how to fund raise enough to provide for life as a missionary in a first-world country.

Also addressing the Congress, Jesuit scholar and Visiting Professor at the JPII Institute in Melbourne, Fr Paul Mankowski, encouraged the hundreds of youth to be strong in the face of persecution in their evangelical work when talking on the subject, “Faith in the future”, quoting St Paul’s letter to the Corinthians:

“We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed. Perplexed but not in despair. Persecuted, but

PRINCIPALSHIP XAVIER CATHOLIC SCHOOL

Xavier Catholic School is a single stream, co-educational Kindergarten to Year 7 school with an enrolment of 177 students. It is located in Brookdale, a developing suburb south of the river. Xavier was initially opened by the Mercy Sisters in Armadale in 1938 and relocated to new premises in 2005. It is set in attractive, well maintained grounds which are shared with the parish of St Francis Xavier.

With the southern corridor development plan about to see the provision of 30,000 residences in the surrounding hinterland, Xavier is poised to see the development of a second stream in the near future.

Strong emphasis is placed on the development of Literacy and Numeracy skills with Early Intervention programs firmly established. There is a part time School Psychologist and a RAISe (Raising Achievement in Schools) support teacher. Specialist programs in Physical Education, Music and LOTE (Italian) operate and the school is a member of the regional Success for Boys initiative.

There is a strong commitment to extra curricula activities, including instrumental and dance programs, and an after school Healthy Lifestyle Physical Education program.

The school has a vibrant and committed staff and has strong links with the parish. There is an active Parents and Friends’ Association and a supportive School Board which ensure that pastoral care and best educational outcomes are the foci of the school community. The successful applicant for this position will be required to commence on 1 January 2008.

Applicants need to be practising Catholics and experienced educators committed to the objectives and ethos of Catholic education. They will have the requisite theological, educational, pastoral and administrative competencies, together with an appropriate four year minimum tertiary qualification, and will have completed Accreditation for Leadership of the Religious Education Learning Area or its equivalent. A current WACOT registration number must also be included.The official application form, referee assessment forms and instructions can be accessed on the Catholic Education Office website www.ceo.wa.edu.au

Enquiries regarding this position should be directed to Helen Brennan, Consultant, Leadership Team on 6380 5237 or email sch.personnel@ceo.wa.edu.au All applications, on the official form, should reach The Director, Catholic Education Office of Western Australia, PO Box 198, Leederville 6903 no later than 14 August 2007.

not forsaken. Struck down, but not destroyed, always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus might be made manifest.” (2 Cor 4:7-9)

“And as for our ‘faith in the future’? Fr Mankowski continued, “We know it won’t end in death, because we know that Christ has died the only death that really matters.”

Fr De Battista told the students that the key to evangelisation through mentorship is “genuine and sincere” friendship, as “true friendship lies at the heart of deep and lasting evangelisation”.

“If we are to be effective apostles of Jesus Christ, then it’s simply not enough to know all about the Catholic Faith,” he said.

“We need to know how to communicate the very art of teaching it to others in a way that the link will not be broken.

“The student realises that the missionary is interested in him/her

Fired up: Fr Mark De Battista wants to launch supernatural warfare at the toughest place of all - university campuses. PHOTO:

as a person and not as some kind of ‘apostolic trophy’.”

This process takes time, he said, but even if, at the end of the first year, the missionary has found two disciples, by the end of the second year there may be four because each one goes out and finds two more disciples.

This is the reality of ‘spiritual multiplication’.

Church, State compatible

Bioethicist draws battle lines on attacks on Catholic faith

■ By Anthony Barich

The term “separation of Church and State” is a term adopted from the United States that has no foundation in either the Australian Constitution or in the history of State aid for Christian schools, says Campion College president Fr John Fleming.

Addressing the “2028 Congress: The Next Generation and the Church in Australia” in Canberra earlier this month, Fr Fleming also urged some 400 youth to join political parties and to be activists for the truth in their chosen profession to counter what has been dubbed the “new magisterium” of Australian politics that amounts to “crude anti-Catholicism”.

In saying this, Fr Fleming was responding to recent criticisms of Cardinal George Pell of Sydney and Archbishop Barry Hickey of Perth who came under fire for reminding local Catholic politicians of their obligations regarding Holy Communion if they voted for “therapeutic” cloning that involved the destruction of human embryos in their respective States.

They were both accused of crossing the line between Church and State – a line, Fr Fleming says, which does not exist in any form. Fr Fleming, formerly the Southern Cross Bioethics Institute director who exposed the therapeutic cloning-embryonic stem cell research push as a charade of the IVF industry, said Australia does not have a legally entrenched principle, or even a vague set of conventions, of the separation of Church and State.

“From the appointment of Rev Samuel Marsden as one of the first magistrates in

colonial NSW, to the adoption of explicit policies of State aid for denominational schools during the 1960s, Australia has had a very consistent tradition of cooperation between Church and State,” Fr Fleming said.

“(The term) ‘separation of Church and State’, along with ‘the separation of powers’ or ‘pleading the Fifth’ are phrases that we have learned from the US, and which merely serve to confuse once they are taken out of the context of the American Constitution.” He said the Australian Constitution itself recognises the legitimacy of religion in the public square when, in its Preamble, it says that we, the Australian people, are “humbly relying on the blessings of Almighty God”. This is further supported, he said, by the custom of the Parliament starting each day with prayer including the ‘Our Father’.

He said that rather than a perceived separation of Church and State, Australia, in reality, has a principle of State neutrality, or equal treatment, when dealing with Churches – which is a Convention and not a legal prescription.

Defending the right of Church leaders to speak out on moral issues and dismissing claims that religion and politics do not mix, Fr Fleming attacked the “hubris of secularist politicians” who accused Cardinal Pell of “meddling in politics” when he reminded NSW Catholic politicians of their obligations when voting for “therapeutic” cloning.

“What I am hearing at the moment in Australia is a crude anti-Catholicism, a suggestion that if you hold a particular religious stance, your right to free speech, freedom and assembly, freedom to influence is denied you – and particularly if you’re a politician,” Fr Fleming said.

“The political and anti-democratic arrogance of the current liberal critique seems to know no bounds, as politician after politician simply denies fundamental democratic truths.”

ANTHONY BARICH

Conversion must occur at every level

WYD can revolutionise Australia if youth let Holy Spirit empower them

■ By Anthony Barich

Every corner of the Catholic Church must be “activated” so that conversion occurs at every level of human existence in the months leading to, during and after World Youth Day next year, Sydney Auxiliary Bishop Anthony Fisher said.

Bishop Fisher, who handles the WYD portfolio in Sydney, urged youth last month to appeal to the senses and perceptions, imagination and memory, faith and reason, passions and emotions, individuality and relationships, culture and subcultures of young adults.

Bishop Fisher, a Dominican, addressed up to 400 young Catholics in his Mannix Address at the MacKillop Ball at Parliament House in Canberra during the national youth gathering called, “2028 Congress: The Next Generation and the Church in Australia”.

He said a whole range of liturgical and catechetical activities, concerts and art exhibitions, debates, lectures, forums, street evangelisation, celebrations and devotions will be deployed in service of Christ during WYD.

“But much of this can be done on a different scale before and after WYD itself,” he said, also revealing plans for how youth can use available technologies to evangelise pre and post-WYD.

After listing several positive fall-out effects in the life of the Church in Germany post-WYD 05 (see below), he said research suggests that, if these effects are to be widespread, deep and enduring, “it is crucial this WYD experience is confirmed and deepened in various ways after WYD, and this throws a responsibility onto all of us, including

the Australian Catholic Students Association (that co-hosted the 2028 Congress with the Australian Catholic Young Adults Network)”.

Describing a hypothetical Australia circa 2028, Bishop Fisher envisaged a country

World Youth Day’s phenomenon

Sydney Auxiliary Bishop Anthony Fisher OP reported a remarkable faith renewal in Germany post-World Youth Day 2005

During a recent trip to Germany Bishop Fisher said he was repeatedly told about the “atmospheric change” that occurred at WYD and has so far endured there after WYD:

- Religion is more openly discussed in public

- The Catholic religion is taken more seriously by the media

- There is less Church bashing

- Young Catholics are less embarrassed and even proud about being ‘out’ as Catholic and some say it is the ‘new cool’

- Even if they have not (yet) taken to weekly Mass attendance, many of the returners from WYD Cologne are willing to take part in events and programs that have a post-WYD name

- Many pre-existing programs now have more energy and a more ‘Catholic’ feel or content

In the City of Bonn in the Archdiocese of Cologne Bishop Fisher met a woman who has founded a movement called ‘Saturday Night Fever’, which she said could never have happened pre-World Youth Day.

It started in the city of Bonn after World Youth Day and now occurs month-

ly on Saturday nights in many Germany cities. It involves Eucharistic adoration in a central city church, with ‘animation’ and ‘street evangelisation’.

- In this ‘Saturday Night Fever’, the Eucharistic adoration is a contemporary style of many of the new ecclesial movements.

- A large central monstrance sits on the altar with bolts of cloth flowing from it like the rays of the Divine Mercy image. There are ‘thousands’ of candles on the altar, the sanctuary steps and pews in a darkened church

- Taize chants and other contemporary and traditional music are sung

- Passages from Scripture are read and short spontaneous prayers offered

- Attendees can bring their candles up close to the altar as they pray

- Some drop in for a few minutes, leave a candle and go, others stay for the night until they are kicked out at midnight after Benediction

- Street evangelists tour streets, bars and discos inviting young people to drop in for a quick prayer in the evening and many actually do

- Many confessions are heard, some for the first time in years.

where strong and visionary Church leadership and a new, more apostolic generation of lay Catholics had brought about social, cultural and spiritual renewal as a “natural reaction to the decadence that went before”.

“People were hungry for an alternative to consumerist agnosticism and cafeteria spirituality,” the Bishop said of his ideal Australia, circa 2028, if WYD works as the Church desires.

“Despite the best efforts of modernity to inoculate them to the real thing by giving them small doses of dead or nearly-dead religion, Augustine was proved right: the human soul is restless until it rests in God – and His Holy Church.”

The work to bring about this realisation of the Kingdom of God on earth, Bishop Fisher said, is already under way using the latest technologies to spread the word about WYD.

A WYD08 email and phone list is now being collected so the WYD office can use email and sms-texting for announcements, evangelising, youth ministry and logistic purposes before, during and after WYD.

Developments in the near future include: - A WYD08 online forum where pilgrims

can initiate or join an online conversation on the topic of their choice.

- Video and sound for podcast on the Internet

- Links to reliable people and websites where specific difficult questions can be addressed more privately or in greater depth.

All this will continue long after WYD.

Bishop Fisher said that all WYD events will be broadcast on radio, free-to-air TV and cable TV and even flagged the possibility of a dedicated 24-hour-a-day channel, plus continuous Internet and mobile phone streaming.

He called on Australia’s youth to build on the national awareness that is gathering as the WYD Cross and Icon tour Australia, expressing trust that they will visit university campuses.

“You should all be asking what new things you can do and what old things you can do better on campus to harness this new interest and energy,” he said, suggesting to take the school and parish programs that the WYD offices provide and modify them for use in discussion groups for university students and young adults.

Great hope: Sydney Auxiliary Bishop Anthony Fisher chats with WYD communications director Jim Hanna during the 2028 Congress. PHOTO: ANTHONY BARICH

Bishops take abortion stand

The bishops of Victoria have sent a letter to the State’s Parliament calling on it to reject efforts to decriminalise abortion. Candy Broad, a member of the upper house, is introducing a bill that would allow women unfettered access to earlyterm abortion services. Victoria has one of the highest abortion rates in the world. One in four pregnancies end in abortion under the 1969 Menhennitt ruling, which allows the procedure if a woman’s mental or physical health is at risk.

In the letter dated July 24, signed by Archbishop Denis Hart of Melbourne, Bishop Peter Connors of Ballarat, Bishop Jeremiah Coffey of Sale, and Bishop Joseph Grech of Sandhurst, the prelates said that the “move to decriminalise abortion would be a backward step for women and their families.”

The bishops explained: “Removing abortion from the crimes act cannot make something so unethical acceptable.

“Our political leaders should be trying to find new ways to reduce Victoria’s high abortion rate rather than risk taking any steps which might make abortion more widespread.” The prelates called for alternatives to abortion to be offered to women with unplanned pregnancies.  ZENIT

Holocaust connected to Vatican II: Cardinal Cassidy

The former head of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity, Cardinal Edward Cassidy, came out of retirement this week to address a Melbourne seminar on the Holocaust. Rabbi Fred Morgan from the Victorian Jewish community and Rev Tim Costello of World Vision Australia also spoke at the meeting at the Jewish Holocaust Museum and Research Centre. Commenting before the seminar, Cardinal Cassidy said great strides have been made in understanding and respect between Christians and Jews since the time of the Holocaust, and that the postHolocaust need to build bridges with the Jews was one of the reasons which motivated Pope John XXIII to call the second Vatican Council.

Judeo-Christian values in citizenship test

A senior Immigration Department official, Andrew Metcalfe, confirmed that new Australian citizens will need to be aware of the “Judeo-Christian background” which lies behind the values of the Australian nation. Mr Metcalfe was speaking about the soon-to-be-released citizenship resource manual, which prospective Australian citizens will need to study to pass a compulsory citizenship test. Mr Metcalfe told a federal parliamentary committee that questions in the citizenship test will concern “Australia, our values, our history, our geography, our political system and our national symbols.” He said that “our belief system” forms part of the values and the history of Australia.

Power speaks out on abuse

Abuse of any kind is damaging, but is “even more reprehensible” when carried out in a religious environment, said Canberra auxiliary bishop Pat Power. Bishop Power was speaking in response to media reports of new abuse allegations involving two Catholic colleges in Canberra, Daramalan and Marist Colleges. The bishop appealed for the colleges to be judged in the light of the positive contributions they have made to thousands of students over their 40year history, but also said that “even one instance of abuse is to be deplored.”

I’m not playing politics: Bishop Manning’s rejoinder to Abbott

■ By Paul Gray

Parramatta Bishop Kevin Manning has hit back at Federal Health Minister Tony Abbott, who earlier attacked him for being “political” over his criticism of the Government’s workplace legislation.

Bishop Manning, who has described the Government’s workplace legislation as “spectacularly inadequate” when tested against the demands of Catholic social teaching, was described by Mr Abbott as making “political” rather than “moral” comments.

The Health Minister had said: “The challenge for Manning and his supporters is to explain why there is more justice in unemployment at 10.9 per cent than at 4.2 per cent.”

Mr Abbott’s comments were an unprecedented departure from the longstanding appearance of unity between conservative members of the Catholic hierarchy and conservative elements within the Howard Government.

“There is no way in the world he can accuse me of (playing) politics,” the Bishop told The Record

“All I’ve done is advise people to compare what the Government has done with the teachings contained in the Compendium of Social Teaching.”

Bishop Manning suggested the Health Minister wants to move away from the Church’s teachings on justice in the workplace.

“He’s trying to say Rerum Novarum and Laborem Exercens are outdated,” Bishop Manning said, referring to Pope Leo XIII’s 1891 papal encyclical on workers’ rights, and Pope John Paul II’s 1981 encyclical on the same theme.

“Well, Australia’s legal system is also over 100 years old. Should we now get rid of it?”

Bishop Manning said one of the things Mr Abbott had challenged him on was the Bishop’s alleged preference for high unemployment over low unemployment.

“I’ve never said anything like that,” the Bishop said.

“Mr Abbott is saying that the first moral test on workplace legislation is the statistics on unemployment. But statistics on unemployment are no measure of morality.

“For me the emphasis always has to be on the human person. You cannot put profit before people. People must always come before the economy.

“The reason is that the human person is made in God’s image, and redeemed by Christ, and has a special dignity because of that.”

He said this was not the way the Government seemed to view the matter. “I think the Government is making a God of the economy,” he said. Bishop Manning said

that in all of his comments on workplace legislation he had stuck to Church teaching, and that he would do the same in relation to any party’s policies, whether it be the Greens, Labor or anyone else.

Bishop Manning also challenged the unemployment statistics referred to by Mr Abbott and said the Government should explain the unit being used to derive its low unemployment figures.

“There’s something dicey about those figures,” he said.

“I know some people who are getting one hour a week’s work. That is not employment.

“The Government needs to give us an indication of what their employment figures mean.”

Poverty battle starts at home

■ By Anthony Barich

Caritas Australia chief executive Jack de Groot has warned the nation’s youth that the fight to end poverty must begin with its closest neighbours who face absolute poverty.

He said infant mortality and life expectancy rates of Papua New Guinea and Timor are significantly worse than regional averages.

Addressing the gathering of some 400 youth at “2028 Congress: The Next Generation and the Church in Australia” in Canberra, Mr de Groot said poverty will not be history by 2028, but our ignorance and apathy about it must be.

As the Congress focused on how youth can renew the Church in Australia through 20 years of faith action after World Youth Day in Sydney next year, Mr de Groot says being witnesses to charity and builders of peace is a key part of this mission.

He called global poverty “abominable” and “sinful” as it contributes to conflict and terror.

“Our faith and WYD, if it is to be a sign of sustainable faith and witness to God, ourselves and our world then need to be one where we demand to know the reality of poverty and that our leaders in faith expect us to be agents of charity to redress poverty,” he said.

According to the United Nation’s latest report released last month on progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) - adopted by all UN Member States in 2000 - our own region is lagging behind the rest of the world, Mr de Groot said.

The MDGs are to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger; achieve universal primary education; promote gender equality and empower women; reduce child mortality; improve maternal health; combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases; ensure environmental sustainability; and develop a global partnership for development.

Mr de Groot said that AusAID’s research concludes that economic growth among Australia’s Pacific neighbours has consistently been slower than both its own region and other low-income economies across the globe.

Between 1990 and 2004, average annual growth rates in real GDP (gross domestic product, the market value of all goods and services produced by labour and property in the region) per person across the group of the world’s poorest nations was 2.6 per cent.

While this represents “modest progress”, growth per capita GDP was significantly lower in many countries in Australia’s own region – one per cent in PNG and 1.6 per cent in Fiji.

Mr de Groot said that while globally we

are seeing progress in reducing absolute poverty – as measured by the international poverty line of income of less than US$1 a day – in the South Pacific we are seeing increases in absolute poverty.

The World Bank’s estimates suggest that around 2.2 million people in PNG – once an Australian colony - are living in absolute poverty.

A similar disturbing picture, he said, is emerging in key health indicators in Australia’s region. In Australia, life expectancy averages 70 years, while in PNG and Timor it is 55 – though that is an improvement on 40 years three decades ago. Infant mortality in these two nations, he said, are more than treble the regional average.

Meanwhile, most alarming for Australia, he says, is the fact that some 1.8 per cent of PNG’s population aged 15-49 are now infected with HIV/AIDS – about 100,000 people; while there are also indications that education outcomes are going backwards in parts of the region.

According to the latest data from around the region, East Timor, PNG, Vanuatu, Fiji, Onga, Nauru, Kiribati, Tuvalu, the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, Samoa, Tokelau and the Cook Islands are all on track to fail at least one of the eight MDGs and on track to fail to meet all eight.

On the front foot: Bishop Kevin Manning, who found himself being questioned by outspoken Catholic Federal Health Minister Tony Abbott, responded when interviewed by The Record this week.

Barely a week after over 1000 youth celebrated a year to go till the big event, more gather at Bateman as...

Holy Hour of Power fires up World Youth Day passion

Over 200 clergy, religious, laity and youth turned up at St Thomas More parish in Bateman to join the nation in a holy hour of power for the success of World Youth Day 2008.

After Mass, a holy hour of prayer launched the national campaign to encourage all parishes to dedicate one hour of adoration a week to praying for the success of WYD 08. Matthew Hodgson, representing the Perth WYD office, encouraged young people to develop a personal relationship with Christ through regular prayer and adoration.

“Prayer is important, however a balance of prayer and mission work must be maintained to ensure that the work gets done,” he said.

A message from Pope Benedict XVI was screened to open the night’s prayers. This message was taken from the Vatican Papal audience on July 4, where the Pope encouraged the world’s youth to join him in Sydney for WYD.

“I want to encourage you to prepare well for this marvellous celebration of the faith,” Pope Benedict XVI said.

“Enter fully into the life of your parishes and participate enthusiastically in diocesan events. Bring your friends to World Youth Day too! Strive to spread Christ’s guiding light, which gives purpose to all life, making lasting joy and happiness possible for everyone.”

The night also marked the opening of WYD registrations on-line. Pope Benedict was the first pilgrim to register for WYD. Individuals can now register their attendance at WYD on the Sydney WYD website: www.wyd2008.org, however individuals are encouraged to join with a group based at a parish, community or organisation to travel to Sydney.

On July 20 the nation marked the ‘One Year To Go’ anniversary for WYD 08. WYD is an international gathering of the Catholic Church, expected to have 500,000 young people from around the world on 15-20 July 2008, in Sydney.

Last weekend the Perth WYD office also ran a private advance screening of the movie ‘Amazing Grace’ to inspire young Christians to put their faith into action.

The Sunday celebration of the Mass and commissioning of the Perth WYD tree ceremony gathered together 1000 young people from the diocese.

On July 20, the Perth WYD office rounded off a week of events to celebrate this exciting countdown with an evening of prayer dedicated to WYD 08. That same day, young and old alike united in one of the oldest churches in Sydney for what the coordinator of WYD 08, Auxiliary Bishop Anthony Fisher, dubbed “a holy hour of power.” The evening began with a stunning rendition of the already

in brief...

Yakkety-Yak: The stereotype of men as being strong and silent and women as talkative and gossipy has been overturned by a detailed study of how many words they utter every day.

According to Dr Matthias Mehl of the University of Arizona, reporting in the journal Science, both men and women use around 16,000 words a day.

Reverence: Fr Thai Vu holds the monstrance holding the Blessed Sacrament during the Holy Hour of Power at Bateman.

popular WYD theme song, “Receive the Power,” performed by young Catholic performing arts students.

Those gathered witnessed a screening of Benedict XVI’s most recent audience emphasizing his encouragement in the Australian mission.

However, following some more song, Scripture and a personal testimony from ex-professional football player-turned WYD director of evangelisation and catechesis, Steve Lawrence, it was really Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament who took centre stage.

To enquire about joining a group contact the Perth WYD office wydperth@highgate-perthcatholic.org.au or 9422 7944. Check out: www.wydperth.com.

Autism: Academics at Cambridge University’s Autism Research Centre, after studying children at local primary schools, have concluded that autism is far more common that previously thought. Rather than occurring in one child in 100, the incidence may be as high as 1 in 58.

News of their findings come as three doctors who published research purporting to show a link between autism and the MMR vaccine face being struck off the medical register.

Individual registrations for WYD are now available

SYDNEY (Zenit.org)- Individual registration for World Youth Day is now available.

Previously, registration had been open only to groups. Now individuals can register and purchase accommodation and meal packages for the six-day event on July 15-20, 2008.

July 20 marked one year until Benedict XVI celebrates the final Mass of the international youth event for an expected 500,000 people at Randwick Racecourse.

Danny Casey, the event’s chief operating officer, said: “These events will be open to the public, but registered pilgrims will have priority seating wherever places are limited.

“So those who want to get the best view possible should complete their registrations early.”

Casey said 125,000 international pilgrims are expected to attend the event, with the United States and Italy expected to send the largest contingents.

Two-child policy: Single child families in the city of Guangzhou are being encouraged to have a second child, to counter the effects of an ageing population. By 2010, the city will be home to more than 1 million people aged 60 or over, but its homes for the elderly will be able to accommodate only 40,000.  LONDON TELEGRAPH

Feel what the Apostles felt: Receive Power

This is Pope Benedict’s WYD message given on July 24

Dear young people,

One year from now we will meet at World Youth Day in Sydney! I want to encourage you to prepare well for this marvellous celebration of the faith, which will be spent in the company of your bishops, priests, Religious, youth leaders and one another. Enter fully into the life of your parishes and participate enthusiastically in diocesan events! In this way you will be equipped spiritually to experience new depths of understanding of all that we believe when we gather in Sydney next July.

“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). As you know, these words of Jesus form the theme of World Youth Day 2008.

How the Apostles felt upon hearing these words, we can only imagine, but their confusion was no doubt tempered with a sense of awe and of eager anticipation for the coming of the Spirit. United in prayer with Mary and the others gathered in the Upper Room (Acts 1:14), they experienced the true power of the Spirit, whose presence transforms uncertainty, fear, and division into purpose, hope and communion.

A sense of awe and eager anticipation also describes how we feel as we make preparations to meet in Sydney. For many of us, this will be a long journey.

Yet Australia and its people evoke images of a warm welcome and wondrous beauty, of an ancient aboriginal history and a multitude of vibrant cities and communities.

I know that already the ecclesial and government authorities, together with numerous young Australians, are working very hard to ensure an exceptional experience for us all. I offer them my heartfelt thanks.

World Youth Day is much more than an event. It is a time of deep spiritual renewal, the fruits of which benefit the whole of society.

Young pilgrims are filled with the desire to pray, to be nourished by Word and Sacrament, to be transformed by the Holy Spirit, who illuminates the wonder of the human soul and shows the way to be “the image and instrument of the love which flows from Christ” (Deus Caritas Est, 33). It is this love - Christ’s lovefor which the world yearns. Thus you are called by so many to “be his witnesses”.

Some of you have friends with little real purpose in their lives, perhaps caught up in a futile search for endless new experiences.

Bring them to World Youth Day too! In fact, I have noticed that against the tide of secularism many young people are rediscovering the satisfying quest for authentic beauty, goodness and truth. Through your witness you help them in their search for the Spirit of God.

Be courageous in that witness! Strive to spread Christ’s guiding light, which gives purpose to all life, making lasting joy and happiness possible for everyone.

My dear young people, until we meet in Sydney, may the Lord protect you all. Let us entrust these preparations to Our Lady of the Southern Cross, Help of Christians. With her, let us pray: “Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful, and enkindle in them the fire of your love”.

Pouring in commitment: Parish and community representatives pour soil into the WYD Tree symbolising their commitment to the growth of WYD in Perth.

Archbishop Barry Hickey has begun a series of short talks on his website explaining the Beatitudes and their application in daily life. All the talks may be found on Archbishop Hickey’s website at www.perthcatholic.org.au

The poor in spirit

Welcome to our examination of the first of the beatitudes:

“How happy are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” From Chapter 5 of St Matthew’s Gospel.

Poverty of spirit is the gift of putting our trust in God instead of in things. It is a preference for being instead of having. It is related to our instinct for survival and security which is naturally very powerful, but which tends to focus our desires and actions on things as the source of happiness and security. A consumerist society like ours increases the problem because it expands the range of things we are attracted to and think we need. We do, of course, need things. That is why the Church works so hard to help the poor. But we don’t need to be addicted to things. The accumulation of things does not bring peace, but brings instead a nagging fear of scarcity in all aspects of life. To place our faith, hope and love in things instead of in God is the ultimate distortion of the human call to eternal life with God.

It is also the denial of the First Commandment: “I am the Lord your God, you shall not put other gods before me.” If we empty ourselves of the attachment to things, like little ‘gods’, we create space for the gifts of God to come into our life – whether they be our daily bread or the gifts of the Holy Spirit. This is a radically different way of being human, and enables us to see the world in a different light. Indeed, it enables us to live in a different world – the kingdom of God, which is promised to the poor in spirit.

One sure sign of the development of this beatitude is that we are no longer driven by the fear of scarcity ... and another is that we become more generous in our love and service to others.

Next week - Blessed are they who mourn.

The effects of wealth on piety

In a recent edition of the Daily Reckoning; a financial letter, one of its founders Dan Denning waxed philosophical about the current state of the financial world and its likely consequences. Writing about the seemingly endless good times we have been experiencing for the last decade or so and the accompanying rampant inflation he wrote, “... excesses in personal behaviour are also the sign of a kind of inflation in the animal spirits of people in boom times. The Jazz Age was the Jazz Age partly because the 1920’s were awash in rising stock prices and global travel. ...Maybe inflation causes a sort of moral vertigo.”

Which is the high priest?

Global warming again seems to be the hot topic of the week (The Record 19th July 2007). Suggestions were made that it has become a new religion. Carbon emissions were also mentioned. Politicians have been vocal regarding global warming and carbon capture.

The media have devoted space to the possibility that climate change is caused by human activity. With the information available it is not easy to decide which of the two groups is the high priest of the new religion.

Both are ominously silent about laws relating to other serious pollutants, which are detrimental to human health.

Two such spring to mind namely mercury and micro-particles.

John McKay Swan View

of the Sacred Heart recently quoted Cardinal Manning who lived in the 19th century, dying shortly before the 20th. Coming from an impeccable establishment background, blessed with a towering intellect and great oratorical ability he was a foundation member of the influential Oxford Movement and one of the most influential figures of that era.

and the like, if we are not careful, choke up all the avenues of the soul, through which the light and breath of heaven might come to us.” Recently Benedict said, “In dialogue with Christians of different denominations, we should commit ourselves to taking care of creation, without depleting its resources and sharing them in solidarity.”

Editorial

The case is proven, but not understood

Just as Archbishop Hickey launched his series of talks on The Beatitudes (appearing weekly on his website www.perthcatholic.org.au), the morning newspaper produced an opinion piece last Saturday demonstrating that aggressive capitalism results in more mental illness than societies with less aggressive forms of capitalism. Writing in his aptly named column ‘The Moral Maze’, Hugh MacKay reported that recent worldwide research by the World Health Organisation and others showed that highly materialistic people are more likely to suffer depression, anxiety, substance abuse and mental disorder. This information is not new. The inadequacy of materialism as a foundation for healthy human life has been demonstrated many times – spectacularly in countries ruled by totally materialistic philosophies such as communism or other forms of socialism or dictatorship.

There is little doubt that individuals are affected by the prevailing philosophy and structure of the society they live in, but, as the front page story in this issue of The Record demonstrates, there are more factors at work than the particular brand of capitalism.

PO Box 75, Leederville, WA 6902

Tel: (08) 9227 7080, Fax: (08) 9227 7087

cathrec@iinet.net.au

More important than all the negative factors, however, is the fact that the information, the inspiration, and the support mechanisms to enable people to protect themselves, their families and their communities are readily available. Much of it is contained in The Beatitudes and all of it in their Author.

Sadly, most of it is not so much ignored as simply unknown. With the declining commitment to Christianity among nominal Christians, and the modern fad of being ‘spiritual’ but not ‘religious’, the wisdom of Christ is but poorly recognised. Many people who will not believe that Christ is God answer the question “Who do you say that I am?” by identifying Him as a wise teacher. Identifying his teaching is a much more difficult task, and having even an unspoken commitment to behaving according to his teaching is not considered at all. Today there is a strong tendency to prefer the moral maze of whatever we feel like, and a totally undemanding spiritualism that provides no guidance and demands no discipline.

Governments can change the structure and emphasis of our society, but even if the fruits of those changes are more employment and greater wealth, the quality of our lives will always depend on the choices we make in the moral and spiritual realm. Materialism, in any or all of its forms, is not a reliable guide to human happiness.

Mention of the twenties brings to mind the writer Evelyn Waugh, who in novels such as Vile Bodies, The Loved One, Decline and Fall, mercilessly parodied his generation of that era as the Bright Young Things; the Mayfair set, morally vacuous, promiscuous, self absorbed, flitting from party to party, affair to affair, with little or no thought for tomorrow, endlessly deferring such tiresome concepts as responsibilities.

Coincidentally the little magazine of the Missionaries

On the subject of wealth and its effect upon piety he said, “I must say plainly this, that the comforts of life are the main cause of our want of love of God; and, much as we may lament and struggle against it, till we learn to dispense with them in good measure, we shall not overcome it. Till we, in a certain sense, detach ourselves from our bodies, our minds will not be in a state to receive divine impressions, and to exert heavenly aspirations. A smooth and easy life, an uninterrupted enjoyment of the goods of Providence, full meals, soft raiment, well furnished homes, the pleasures of sense, the feelings of security, the consciousness of wealth – these

Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew also recently wrote, “...Each of us is called to make the crucial distinction between what we want and what we need. Only through such self denial, we will discover our true human place in the universe.” It seems that the more things change the more they stay the same. Whether it be from decades ago or currently; whether from a great writer, a cardinal, the pope, a patriach or one of the more philosophical members of the financial community they all warn against the excesses of materialism. At the moment it seems few are listening.

Barry Morgan Samson

Youth called to halt current situation

Continued from page 1 when they enter a nightclub they are bombarded with darkness, penetrating lights and sporadic sounds so loud you can’t effectively conduct a conversation. They also see people ‘communicating’ in very personal ways in dancing, and the whole package is sometimes enhanced – if that’s the right word - by drugs. This, Archbishop Wilson says, leads to a pattern of communication that renders the youth of today unable to communicate what’s in their hearts.

Here, he says, is that which exemplifies the experience of living in the world, circa 2007.

His point – and the point of the whole congress – is that it will only get worse by 2028 unless the youth of today arrest the situation in the world they are already inheriting.

He says that despite the bombardment of noise and all the ways we have to communicate through modern media, there is a “chilled silence” that is wrapped around our hearts.

The great challenge as we draw towards 2028, the Archbishop said, is to establish relationships of love and life with God and

one another; to listen and communicate with God and each other. He admitted that prayer being the key seemed like a long bow to draw as a way to deal with the media, and in the process, save the soul of the world, but once he finished speaking, the link proved crystal clear.

With Internet, e-mail, text messaging, cameras, digital video recording and – wait for it – the ability to make phone calls, anyone with a mobile phone these days is a walking media centre. The media can reach us anywhere. We can’t escape it, but we are also the commanders of it, if only we realise our power. Archbishop Wilson says that the key is to teach people how to deal with the power that is in their hands.

Like any other relationship, communication is the key. We understand people better when we spend time with them. We learn to understand what they desire, and what makes them tick. It is the same with God.

The Archbishop said that if we are to cope as disciples of the Lord and have a big influence on the media, we must pay attention to the formation of those

in the Church in prayer. For it is in prayer that we learn God’s will. The Archbishop raised a few eyebrows when he first suggested they become mystics as part of this process.

“I’m not saying have an outof-body experience – although that has happened. Just be deeply in love with Christ and express that love in prayer,” he said.

“The habit of prayer and the skill of creating space in life for communication with the Lord is the key to forming people so they are at peace in their own body, so they can then communicate with love to those around them.”

“It’s not about working out new ways to express ourselves,” he said. “More fundamental things face us – the ability to relate to one another in a healthy way that realises how we are fully human in body and spirit. The media isn’t something that’s done to you, it’s something you respond to,” he said.

It’s no secret that the power of the media is what’s in the new – what grabs our imagination now. So the key, the Archbishop says, is to be able to express what we are looking for in the media.

Vista

Are young women reclaiming... Self respect?

Continued from Page 1

university students. “It’s about how people misunderstand the ‘good girl,’” she told Catholic News Service in an interview in Washington in early July.

She believes society often ostracizes these girls or views them as “people pleasing.” Instead, she said they are actually “rebels” in choosing to go against teachers and parents to live a chaste lifestyle.

Shalit wants to provide an opportunity through her book for these young women to share their stories and become role models for other young women.

Shalit began doing research for the book after noticing a trend in reactions to her previous book, A Return to Modesty: Discovering the Lost Virtue, published in 2000 when she was 23.

“I perceived a generational differencethat the people who attacked me were usually the baby boomers, and the people who sent me fan mail were from a much younger generation,” she said, referring to teenagers.

She also found a third category of women who tend to be in their early to mid-30s and try to raise their children differently.

As part of the research for her book, she interviewed more than 100 girls and young women from the ages of 12 to 28, and communicated with more than 3,000 other young adults who responded to her Web site, www.modestyzone.net, according to the author’s note in the book.

Some described themselves as liberals and others as conservatives. She also interviewed young men and parents.

“She believes society often ostracises these girls or views them as “people pleasing.”

Instead, she said they are actually “rebels” in choosing to go against teachers and parents to live a chaste lifestyle.”

She traces the current norm for female sexuality back to the 1960s. Emotionally detached sex became the ideal form of sexuality, while repression and prudishness were seen as the only other option, she said.

“Today we seem to have this allergy to wholesomeness where no one wants to be the goody-goody,” Shalit told CNS.

What’s needed instead, according to Shalit, is to expand the options for young people, to rediscover “our capacity for innocence, for wonder, and for being touched

profoundly by others,” she said in the preface of the book. “My goal is not to attack those who want to be ‘wild,’ but rather to expand the range of options for young people, who I believe are suffering because of the limited choices available to them.”

She said the current “bad girl” mentality isn’t working, and young women are looking for new role models. She hopes her book will

Christ the Redeemer is voted one of the seven modern wonders of the world. Over 100 million online voters requested the title for the famous statue in Brazil.

VISTA

provide vibrant alternatives to the example set by socialite Paris Hilton. She includes the story of about 20 teen girls between the ages of 13 and 16 who organised a “girlcott” against US retail giant Abercrombie & Fitch in 2005 when the company sold women’s shirts that said across the front of them: “Who needs brains when you have these?” The teens’ actions led the company

to eventually pull the shirts from their stores. Another girl profiled in the book complained to her school board about sexually explicit material read aloud in her 11th-grade class, while another felt pressured by her mother to lose her virginity.

In her book, Shalit reports on an increasing number of religious and secular studentrun college organisations that encourage their members to wait for sex until marriage and invite speakers to discuss the topic.

In contrast to the young women’s stories, she also included sex advice to teenagers from parents and Web sites.

“Try the shoes on before you buy them,” she said some parents tell their daughters. She said other parents wonder if their daughter is a lesbian if she is still a virgin in college. Shalit said she has heard from some young women with complaints that no one understands them.

“I think they (the parents) have flawed notions about what liberation and empowerment is,” said Shalit, who was born in Milwaukee and lives in Toronto.

Because the book quotes some of the graphic advice given to teens, she said the book is not for younger teens but for parents and university students and “perhaps 15to-18-year-olds who have been exposed to a lot.”

She hopes the book will encourage parents to be good role models for their children, to empower their daughters with a sense of dignity and to cultivate loving relationships with their children.

She has found most young women who are able to stand up to the promiscuous culture have a close, loving relationship with at least one parent.

While she is not writing to a religious audience, she said her views are influenced by her Jewish background. In Orthodox Jewish communities, men are not allowed to look lustfully at women. As a result, she sees how women trust and help one another instead of having a sense of sexual competition and mistrust, which she sees as a result of the “sexual free-for-all” of the secular culture.

Whatever her readers’ backgrounds, she said she hopes women can build an atmosphere of trust with each other by valuing virtue over promiscuity.

 CNS

The world’s smallest country goes on-line with the creation of the Vatican’s state website. Previously it could only be electronically accessed via the Church website.

Bucking the sheep: This is the cover to US author Wendy Shalit’s latest book “Girls Gone Mild.” Shalit’s book charts a counter-cultural trend among young women - counter to their parents’ generation many of whom who grew up believing and preaching promiscuity in line with the prevailing messages they were receiving from television, movies and popular culture in general. PHOTOS: CNS

Rebel with style: Shalit’s book will challenge many of today’s teachers and parents. Can they take it?

Escaping from Peter Pan’s prison

“Only someone like me who has lain in a cot year after year hoping that someone would give her a chance can know the horror of being treated as if you were totally without conscious thought.”

■ By Anne McDonald

Doctors thought I had an IQ of 20. You know what? They were wrong.

Three years ago, a six-year-old Seattle girl called Ashley, who had severe disabilities, was, at her parents’ request, given a medical treatment called “growth attenuation” to prevent her growing. She had her uterus removed, had surgery on her breasts so they would not develop and was given hormone treatment. She is now known by the nickname her parents gave her - Pillow Angel.

The case of Ashley hit the media in January after publication of an article in a medical journal about her treatment. It reappeared in the news recently because of the admission by Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center that the procedures its doctors had performed to stop Ashley from growing and reaching sexual maturity violated state law.

In Canada (as in Australia), a child can be sterilised only with the consent of a court.

At the time of the initial publicity about growth attenuation, Ashley’s parents wrote on their blog: “In our opinion only parents of special needs children are in a position to fully relate to this topic.

“Unless you are living the experience, you are speculating and you have no clue what it is like to be the bedridden child or their care givers.”

I did live the experience. I lived it not as a parent or care giver but as a bedridden growth-attenuated child. My life story is the reverse of Ashley’s.

Like Ashley, I, too, have a static encephalopathy. Mine was caused by brain damage at the time of my breech birth.

Like Ashley, I can’t walk, talk, feed or care for myself. My motor skills are those of a three-month-old.

When I was three, a doctor assessed me as severely retarded (that is, as having an IQ of less than 35) and I was admitted to a state institution called St Nicholas Hospital in Melbourne, Australia. As the hospital didn’t provide me with a wheelchair, I lay in bed or on the floor for most of the next 14 years.

At the age of 12, I was relabelled as profoundly retarded (IQ less than 20) because I still hadn’t learned to walk or

talk. Like Ashley, I have experienced growth attenuation. I may be the only person on Earth who can say, “Been

there. Done that. Didn’t like it. Preferred to grow.”

Unlike Ashley, my growth was “attenuated” not by medical intervention but by medical neglect.

My growth stopped because I was starved. St Nicholas’ offered little food and little time to eat it - each staff member had 10 children with severe disabilities to feed in an hour.

That was the roster set by the state and accepted by the medical profession. Consequently my growth stopped shortly after admission.

When I turned 18, I weighed only 35 pounds. I hadn’t developed breasts or menstruated. I was 42 inches tall.

My life changed when I was offered a means of communication.

At the age of 16, I was taught to spell by pointing to letters on an alphabet board.

Two years later, I used spelling to instruct the lawyers who fought the habeas corpus action that enabled me to leave the institution in which I’d lived for 14 years.

In the ultimate Catch-22, the hospital doctors told the Supreme Court that my small stature was evidence of my profound mental retardation.

I’ve learned the hard way that not everything doctors say should be taken at face value.

After I left the institution, an X-ray showed that I had a bone age of about 6, a growth delay almost unheard of in an 18-year-old in the developed world.

I was not only tiny but lacked any

secondary sexual characteristics (a significant difference from people with naturally small stature).

I was a legal adult, but I couldn’t see over a bar, much less convince anyone to serve me a drink. I didn’t see small stature as desirable.

My new doctors said that presumably I had the growth potential of a 6-yearold, so my new care givers and I worked on increasing my size. My contribution was to eat everything I was offered. It worked.

I started growing immediately, reaching a final height of 5 feet and weight of 120 pounds. That is, I grew 18 inches after the age of 18. Along the way I lost my milk teeth and reached puberty. At the age of 19, I attended school for the first time, eventually graduating from university with majors in philosophy of science and fine arts.

Annie’s Coming Out the book about my experiences that I wrote with my teacher, was made into a movie (Best Film, Australian Film Institute Awards, 1984, called Test of Love in the US).

Unlike Ashley, I’m now an ordinary height and weight - but I don’t get left out, nonetheless.

Though I still can’t walk, talk or feed myself, I’m an enthusiastic traveller.

My size has never got in the way, though my hip flask of Bundy rum often causes alarm at airport security.

I love New York for its galleries, its shops and its theatres; hearing Placido Domingo at the Met was one of the highlights of my life. Interestingly,

Ashley is also reported as enjoying opera - maybe it goes with the turf.

Many otherwise reasonable people think that growth attenuation was an appropriate treatment for Ashley.

In an Op-Ed piece in the New York Times for example, moral philosopher

Peter Singer wrote: “there is the issue of treating Ashley with dignity... But why should dignity always go together with species membership, no matter what the characteristics of the individual may be? ... Lofty talk about human dignity should not stand in the way of children like her getting the treatment that is best both for them and their families.”

Ironically, I’m a friend of Peter’s, and I’ve discussed ethics and disability with him previously.

Despite this, he obviously didn’t call me to mind when he wrote about Ashley.

This may be because Ashley is described as having static encephalopathy, a rather uncommon name for a rather common condition.

Static encephalopathy just means “brain damage which isn’t going to get worse.”

It’s occasionally used as a euphemism for brain damage caused by maternal intoxication, but the most common form of the condition is cerebral palsy unrelated to maternal intoxication.

Ashley and I both have cerebral palsy.

Ashley’s doctors may have used the term static encephalopathy to avoid the outcry that would have followed if people realised that it was being

suggested that girls with cerebral palsy should have surgery to stunt their growth and prevent puberty.

When Singer wrote that, “Ashley is 9, but her mental age has never progressed beyond that of a 3-monthold. She cannot walk, talk, hold a toy or change her position in bed. Her parents are not sure she recognises them. She is expected to have a normal lifespan, but her mental condition will never improve,” he has accepted the doctors’ eyeball assessment of Ashley without asking the obvious questions. What was their assessment based on? Has Ashley ever been offered a way of showing that she knows more than a 3-month-old baby?

Only someone like me who has lain in a cot year after year hoping that someone would give her a chance can know the horror of being treated as if you were totally without conscious thought.

Given that Ashley’s surgery is irreversible, I can only offer sympathy to her and her parents. For her sake, I hope she does not understand what has happened to her; but I’m afraid she probably does. As one who knows what it’s like to be infantilised because I was the size of a 4-year-old at age 18, I don’t recommend it.

My ongoing concern is the readiness with which Ashley’s parents, doctors and most commentators assumed they could make an accurate estimation of the understanding of a child without speech who has severely restricted movement.

Any assessment of intelligence that relies on speech and motor skills cannot conceivably be accurate because the child doesn’t have any of the skills required to undertake testing. To equate intelligence with motor skills is as absurd as equating it with height. The only possible way to find out how much a child who cannot talk actually understands is to develop an alternative means of communication for that child.

An entire new discipline of nonspeech communication has developed since I was born in 1961, and there are now literally hundreds of non-speech communication strategies available. Once communication is established, education and assessment can follow, in the usual way. No child should be presumed to be profoundly retarded because she can’t talk. All children who can’t talk should be given access to communication therapy before any judgments are made about their intelligence. Ashley’s condemned to be a Peter Pan and never grow, but it’s not too late for her to learn to communicate. It’s profoundly unethical to leave her on that pillow without making every effort to give her a voice of her own. ■

Anne McDonald lives in Melbourne, Australia. She works on disability issues. She has a website with more information about her story, which can be found at: http://www.members.optusnet.com. au/~anne.mcdonald/Anne_files/AnneHome.html - Mercatornet

A new wonder of the world - down Rio way

What if the Samaritan

were Palestinian?

Here is a translation of a commentary by the Pontifical Household preacher, Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa, on the parable of the Good Samaritan. Fr Cantalamessa offers a provocative suggestion about identifying our neighbour.

We have been commenting on some of the Sunday Gospels taking our inspiration from Benedict XVI’s book Jesus of Nazareth. A portion of the book treats the parable of the Good Samaritan. The parable cannot be understood if we do not take account of the question to which Jesus intended to respond: “Who is my neighbour?”

“Four notes in a certain sequence and every listener immediately exclaims: “Beethoven’s Fifth: destiny is knocking at the door!” Many of Jesus’ parables share this characteristic.”

Jesus answers this question of a doctor of the law with a parable. In the music and literature of the world there are certain phrases that have become famous. Four notes in a certain sequence and every listener immediately exclaims: “Beethoven’s

Fifth: destiny is knocking at the door!” Many of Jesus’ parables share this characteristic. “A man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho ... ” and everyone immediately knows: the parable of the good Samaritan! In the Judaism of the time there was discussion about who should be considered an Israelite’s neighbour. In general it came to be understood that the category of “neighbour” included all one’s fellow countrymen and Gentile coverts to Judaism. With his choice of persons (a Samaritan who comes to the aid of a Jew!) Jesus asserts that the category of neighbour is universal, not particular. Its horizon is humanity not the family,

ethnic, or religious circle. Our enemy is also a neighbour! It is known that the Jews in fact “did not have good relations with the Samaritans” (cf. John 4:9).

The parable teaches that love of neighbour must not only be universal but also concrete and proactive. How does the Samaritan conduct himself in the parable? If the Samaritan had contented himself with saying to the unfortunate man lying there in his blood, “You unlucky soul! How did it happen? Buck up!” or something similar, and then went on his way, would not all that have been ironic and insulting? Instead he did something for the other: “He approached the victim, poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them. Then

he lifted him up on his own animal, took him to an inn, and cared for him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper with the instruction, ‘Take care of him.

If you spend more than what I have given you, I shall repay you on my way back’.”

The true novelty in the parable of the Good Samaritan is not that Jesus demands a concrete, universal love. The novelty stands in something else, the Pope observes in his book. At the end of the parable Jesus asks the doctor of the law who was questioning him, “Which of these [the Levite, the priest, the Samaritan] seems to you to have been the neighbour of the one who was attacked by the brigands?” Jesus brings about an

unexpected reversal in the traditional concept of neighbour. The Samaritan is the neighbour and not the wounded man, as we would have expected. This means that we must not wait till our neighbour appears along our way, perhaps quite dramatically. It belongs to us to be ready to notice him, to find him. We are all called to be the neighbour! The problem of the doctor of the law is reversed. From an abstract and academic problem, it becomes a concrete and living problem. The question to ask is not “Who is my neighbour?” but “Whose neighbour can I be here and now?” In his book the Pope proposes a contemporary application of the parable of the good Samaritan. He sees the entire continent of Africa symbolised in the unfortunate man who has been robbed, wounded, and left for dead on the side of the road, and he sees in us, members of the rich countries of the northern hemisphere, the two people who pass by if not precisely the brigands themselves. I would like to suggest another possible application of the parable. I am convinced that if Jesus came to Israel today and a doctor of the law asked him again, “Who is my neighbour?” he would change the parable a bit and in the place of the Samaritan he would put a Palestinian! If a Palestinian were to ask him the same question, in the Samaritan’s place we would find a Jew! But it is too easy to limit the discussion to Africa and the Middle East. If one of us were to pose Jesus the question “Who is my neighbour?” what would he answer? He would certainly remind us that our neighbour is not only our fellow countrymen but also those outside our community, not only Christians but Muslims also, not only Catholics but Protestants also. But he would immediately add that this is not the most important thing. The most important thing is not to know who my neighbour is but to see whose neighbor I can be here and now, for whom I can be the Good Samaritan. - Zenit

for people with disabilities at St Frances de Chantal Church in New York in this 2005 photo. People with Down Syndrome and other disabilities, such as writer Anne McDonald, often suffer from the superior attitudes of others, not the least of whom is the medical profession. Anne’s inspiring story is a lesson

Opinion

Man looks stupid when he misuses authority

■ Mark Reidy

Arecent survey conducted by US organisation Fathers and Husbands indicated that men in prime time television,

both cartoon and human, were overwhelmingly depicted as stupid, corrupt, inadequate parents and the source of marital discontent.

While these shows may raise a few chuckles, I believe that lying beneath the humour of the inept husband/ father lies a spiritual disorder that serves to undermine the divinely appointed responsibility of men.

The seed of this negative portrayal was conceived in the accumulated and often justifiable fury of women throughout the twentieth century.

Tragically, however, in some quarters, the anger driving this movement carried it beyond the goals of political and social equality to the attitude that we see today, which seems to prioritise a pulling down of men rather than a building up of women.

There is no doubting that the flame of women’s discontent was fanned by the realities of some men’s

misuse of their social and political positions, but unfortunately the role of men as protecters, providers and decision-makers, which was foundational to the Christian concept of marriage, also became tarnished with this brush of ignorance and exploitation.

But men must take a proportion of responsibility for this distortion. Had they truly grasped the concepts of marriage as taught by St Paul then perhaps women, in turn, would have been open to recognising the wisdom and beauty of their intent.

But instead, men’s abuse, neglect and indifference to their biblical authority has combined with some women’s overreaction to create these erroneous interpretations of spiritual truth.

A trend began, and still continues today, that wrongly links the misguided and deliberate misdeeds of some husbands, as a true reflec-

tion of St Paul’s teaching. This has resulted in many people taking out of context the words, “Wives, be subject to your husbands...” (Eph 5:22) thus forsaking the richness that they hold.

Subsequently the quest for equality, which has confronted and righted many injustices, has also inadvertently abandoned a priceless ally. It is only through the wisdom of the late Pope John Paul II that these misconceptions are finally being addressed. He recognised that some men had indeed twisted and manipulated God’s word to satisfy their own selfish desires and he sought to reclaim their essence. He knew that St Paul’s words of women being subject to their husbands could not be separated from those that followed, “Husbands love your wives, as Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her...” (Eph 5:25). JPII

understood that the life of a hus-

band was intended to reflect the love and self-sacrifice of Christ; that he is called to put aside his own desires and lay down his life for his wife. The role of a husband, therefore, is not to dominate or control his spouse, but to serve her. As head of the family he is called, in the words of St Paul, to “love”, “nourish”, “cherish” and “sanctify” the woman that God has blessed him with.

This does not mean that he is to be the figure of weakness and subservience, as is often portrayed today, but rather a model of spiritual strength motivated by unconditional love and self-giving. JPII has illuminated what has for so long been overshadowed by abuse and misunderstanding. He has reminded us that marriage is a gift from God designed, not to suppress, but rather to magnify the wonderful and unique qualities of both men and women.

Teach kids to make good choices about family

Catherine Parish

@ home

The family is the most marvellous preparation ground for later life.

It seems to me that what we really need to concentrate on is teaching our children to make good choices, especially about the kind of personal and family life they choose.

So much of what used to be conventional wisdom has been lost in the last 40 or 50 years; young parents

Can you please explain what is meant by an ex cathedra statement of a Pope? Is it the same as the declaration of a dogma, and is it always infallible?

The name ex cathedra comes from the Latin words meaning literally “from the chair”, that is, from the chair of the bishop. It is from the same word that we derive the word cathedral, meaning a Church with the chair of the diocesan Bishop. An ex cathedra statement is one made with the supreme teaching authority of the Pope. The phrase ex cathedra was used

of today are having to learn afresh what was common knowledge previously, passed from mother to daughter and father to son. There are many reasons for this, but one of them is the current trend for smaller families or no children at all. A sense of social continuity has been lost.

If childbearing is limited to three or four years out of a married life then older siblings do not have the advantage of seeing babies coming into the family.

There is almost no time for parents to really deeply learn lessons about pregnancy and early childhood and to apply learned wisdom and experience to later births – there is really no time to begin to enjoy and benefit from the experience of early parenthood rather than to merely feel the stress of it all.

Children also miss out on the wonderful experience of having

a baby in the house and parents deprive themselves of the contagious joy and outpourings of tenderness and love that spring from the hearts of older siblings to the baby (most of the time, anyway!)

There are marvellous practical lessons for older children about how to manage a baby and small child and what a baby’s physical and emotional needs are, and spiritually about generosity, responsibility, sharing the load, helping the weaker, as well as the emotional aspect that cannot be explained but must be experienced to really understand the joy babies in the house bring in spite of the difficulties that also attend their presence.

I still remember the first time I held my youngest sister when I was eight, the wonder of such a tiny, vibrant creature (she is still the same!).

And I have seen my own older children responding to our youngest son in the most heart-warming, lovely ways, forming a special bond that I hope will always be there.

There is not the wide age differential between eldest and youngest that there often used to be in larger families, so there is no learning to get on with much younger or older siblings and no learning to recognise ‘pecking order’, so important in life!

There is also no experience of younger children seeing their older siblings growing up, marrying and beginning families of their own, bringing the invaluable experience of being a ‘hands-on’ aunty or uncle.

It is our own example that will inform the choices of our children – how much love, generosity and positivity we bring to the consequences of our own life choices.

We chose to go into marriage with

little more than love and plans and our own abilities – and our shared faith in God and in life and in each other.

We didn’t know, any more than anyone else does, what the future held for us but we made a choice to be open to life and to make children, if they came, integral to our married life from the very beginning. Our children came unplanned but not unexpected and we look on each of them as a complete and wonderful gift.

It continues to be a wonderful, exciting, adventurous journey together, still into the unknown. I thank God daily that we made the decision to be parents of a larger family if that was what God chose to give us and whatever happens in the future, we have the first sixteen years to look back on with joy, pride and satisfaction.

‘Cathedra’ and infallibility - more than meets the eye

by the First Vatican Council (1870) in defining the infallibility of the Pope: “Therefore, faithfully adhering to the tradition received from the beginning of the Christian religion we teach and define that it is a divinely revealed dogma that the Roman Pontiff, when he speaks ex cathedra, ie, when exercising his office as pastor and teacher of all Christians he defines, by his supreme apostolic authority, a doctrine of faith or morals which must be held by the universal Church, enjoys, through the divine assistance, that infallibility promised to him in blessed Peter and with which the divine Redeemer wanted his Church to be endowed in defining doctrine of faith and morals; and therefore that the definitions of the same Roman Pontiff are irreformable of themselves and not from the consent of the Church.” (Dogm. Const. Pastor aeternus, Ch. 4 11)

The Second Vatican Council quoted this passage in its Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen gentium, number 25.

In summary, for a papal statement to be considered ex cathedra

it must have three characteristics. Firstly, it must be universal; ie made by the Pope as supreme pastor and teacher of the whole Church, not of only a part of the Church.

Secondly, it must be on a matter of faith or morals, which is the area within which the Church has authority to teach.

And thirdly, it must be taught in a definitive way; ie stated in absolute terms that admit of no exceptions, to be accepted by all the faithful.

When the Pope teaches in this way, his teaching is considered infallible. That is to say, it cannot be in error, since it is made with the assistance of the Holy Spirit.

In the words of the Second Vatican Council, “For that reason his [the Popes] definitions are rightly said to be irreformable by their very nature and not by reason of the assent of the Church, in as much as they were made with the assistance of the Holy Spirit promised to him in the person of blessed Peter himself.” (Dogm. Const. Lumen gentium, 25)

In other words, all ex cathedra statements of the Pope are infallible. But not all ex cathedra statements

involve the declaration of a dogma, which is a more formal declaration of a truth to be held by all. In the last century and a half, there have been only two new dogmas defined by Popes: the Immaculate Conception of Mary, defined by Pope Pius IX in 1854, and the Assumption of Mary into heaven, defined by Pope Pius XII in 1950.

Over that same time, however, there have been many other ex cathedra teachings that did not involve the declaration of a dogma. For example, all canonisations of saints are considered to be infallible declarations that the saint is in heaven and can be the object of the veneration of the whole Church.

In addition to numerous canonisations, Pope John Paul II made several ex cathedra statements. Among them, by way of example, was the declaration in 1994 that the Church does not have the authority to ordain women to the priesthood. It was couched in terms that left no doubt that the Pope was exercising his teaching role as supreme pastor in a definitive way: “Wherefore, in order that all doubt may be removed

regarding a matter of great importance, a matter which pertains to the Church’s divine constitution itself, in view of my ministry of confirming the brethren (cf Lk 22:32) I declare that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church’s faithful.” (Apost. Lett. Ordinatio sacaerdotalis, 4)

A year later, in order to clarify that this statement was indeed infallible, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith declared, in a response signed by Cardinal Ratzinger and approved by Pope John Paul II: “This teaching requires definitive assent, since, founded on the written Word of God, and from the beginning constantly preserved and applied in the Tradition of the Church, it has been set forth infallibly by the ordinary and universal Magisterium (cf Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen gentium 25, (Response of the SCDF, 28 October 1995)

Questions for Fr Flader should be directed to administration@therecord.com.au or mailed to The Record, PO Box 75, Leederville WA 6902.

The World FEATURE

Bertone sets the record straight

In the wake of the Los Angeles Archdiocese paying out hundreds of millions of dollars to settle sexual abuse claims; renewed criticism over perceived attacks on Jews in the 1962 Roman Missal and a papal letter to Chinese Catholics in the Communist State, the Pope’s right hand man Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone sets the record straight.

PIEVE DI CADORE, Italy

(CNS) - Pope Benedict XVI’s closest aide said the Pope was pained and concerned by the “devastating scale” of clerical sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Vatican secretary of state, held a wide-ranging press conference on July 18 in Pieve di Cadore, near where Pope Benedict is vacationing in the northern Italian Alps.

Even if the percentage of priests who have sexually abused children “is a minority,” he said, just one instance “clashes with the identity and mission we are called to undertake.”

“The problem of paedophile priests is one that pains all churchmen,” he said, adding that the problem “in the diocese of Los Angeles was on a devastating scale.”

Cardinal Bertone also was asked about concerns over the prayer for

the conversion of the Jews in the Good Friday liturgy of the 1962 Roman Missal.

After Pope Benedict issued his letter allowing greater use of the Tridentine Mass according to the 1962 missal, several Jewish leaders and Catholics involved in dialogue expressed concern over the missal’s prayer for the conversion of the Jews, which asks God to remove “the veil from their hearts” and help them overcome their “blindness.”

Since the Second Vatican Council, in the Good Friday prayer approved by Pope Paul VI in 1970, the Jews are referred to as “the first to hear the word of God” and the prayer asks that “they may continue to grow in the love of his name and in faithfulness to his covenant.”

Cardinal Bertone said “the problem can be resolved” either by closely following Pope Benedict’s limits on using the 1962 Missal during Holy Week “or through a reflection that would lead to a decision valid for everyone - for the traditionalists and for those who want to celebrate the Mass according to the reforms of the Second Vatican Council” - that only the 1970 prayer be used at any Good Friday liturgy.

The Good Friday prayer for the Jews is one of a long set of prayers for various intentions, including prayers for the Church, its ministers, other Christians, other believers in God and those who do not believe in God. “It is a formula,”

Cardinal Bertone said. “The prob-

lem can be studied, and it could be decided that all those celebrating the Mass in the Catholic Church, according to the old missal or the new missal, recite the same formula of the Good Friday prayers, which were approved by (Pope) Paul VI; this can be decided, and it would resolve all the problems.”

Cardinal Bertone also said the exact meaning of the limits Pope Benedict put on using the 1962 missal may need to be clarified.

The papal document said, “In Masses celebrated without the people, any priest of Latin rite, whether secular or religious, can use the Roman Missal published by Pope Blessed John XXIII in 1962 or the Roman Missal promulgated by Pope Paul VI in 1970, on any day except in the sacred triduum,” which includes Good Friday.

But referring to those who have criticised in general Pope Benedict’s decision to allow wider use of the Tridentine Mass, Cardinal Bertone said: “There is nothing worse than despising something you do not

know.” Asked about the mid-July election in China of Father Joseph Li Shan as the new Bishop of the Beijing Diocese, Cardinal Bertone said: “The bishop chosen is a very good and suitable subject, and this certainly is a very positive sign.”

The vote by a group of priests, nuns and laypeople must be confirmed by the government-recognised Bishops’ Conference of the Catholic Church of China before it is final.

It was the first election of a bishop in the registered Church community since Pope Benedict’s letter to Catholics in China was released on June 30.

“We have not had an official communication about this election,” Cardinal Bertone told reporters. Normally, he said, a Bishop elected by a government-registered community would later “enter into contact with representatives of the Holy See and ask for approval; we hope this will happen.”

Cardinal Bertone also was asked if there was any possibility for a

greater involvement of women in decision-making positions in the Catholic Church.

He told reporters there could be some surprises in the coming months.

“We are working on new appointments,” he said.

“Considering the possibilities, the gifts and the feminine potential, I think there could be some positions that will be assigned to women,” the cardinal said.

Currently inside the Vatican, the highest-ranking woman is Salesian Sister Enrica Rosanna, undersecretary of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.

The prefects, secretaries and undersecretaries of the eight other Vatican congregations are all bishops, cardinals or priests.

Of the 11 pontifical councils, two - the Pontifical Council for the Laity and the Pontifical Council for Social Communications - have laymen serving as undersecretaries.

Vaticanstate.va: Navigating the world’s smallest country

■ By Cindy Wooden

VATICAN CITY (CNS) - Seven weeks after Pope Benedict XVI praised Vatican civil servants for their work in “our little state, from the most visible to the most hidden,” the state unveiled its own Web site.

The site - www.vaticanstate.va - is linked to and works closely with the Vatican’s main Web site, www.vatican. va, but provides more information about the offices that help run the state, as opposed to the Church.

Officially launched on July 19 in Italian, English, French, German and Spanish, the site includes live pictures from five webcams.

With a click on their computer, Internet users can join pilgrims praying at Pope John Paul II’s tomb in the grotto of St Peter’s Basilica.

A camera high on the Vatican hill points toward the dome of St Peter’s Basilica.

And three webcams have been set up on the dome itself: one looking at St

Peter’s Square, another at the Vatican Gardens and the third at the home of the new Web site, the Vatican governor’s office.

The site is set up for e-commerce, but online shoppers will have to wait until sometime in 2008 to order their Vatican stamps and coins or books, posters and reproductions from the Vatican Museums. In an July 18 email, the new webmaster said, “An exact date for the shopping has not been set,” but the governor’s office is working with the Vatican bank, formally the Institute for the Works of Religion, to make sure the site is user friendly and secure for credit-card transactions from around the world.

Oddly enough, the highly efficient Vatican postal service, which presumably would ship the goods, does not have its own section on the site, but the Vatican Telephone Service and the Vatican Pharmacy do.

The site includes a brief introduction to the government of Vatican City State, explaining that it is “an absolute monarchy. The head of state is the

Pope, who holds full legislative, executive and judicial powers.”

Between the death of one pope and the election of another, the powers are assumed by the College of Cardinals, it says. And the cardinals who have not yet reached their 80th birthdays are responsible for electing the new pope.

The man chosen by the cardinals “becomes sovereign of Vatican City State the moment he accepts his election as Pope,” it says.

The site also explains how the Pope generally delegates a portion of his powers to ensure the smooth governance of the state and the promulgation of laws regulating life for its 800 residents, its employees and visitors.

Like most official government Web sites, the Vatican City State site also includes an explanation and history of the Vatican flag and Vatican national anthem.

Of course, there are links to sound files, giving visitors the option of hearing the anthem in its standard marching-band version or the much slower, fancier orchestral track.

Look who’s passing by: Pope Benedict XVI runs into members of the Fontanive family while walking in Stabie, Italy while on holiday on July 12. The Pope’s personal secretary, Mgr Georg Ganswein, is seen at left. The Pope is spending his July 9-27 vacation in the Alps of northeastern Italy. The Pope is gravely concerned with the “devastating scale” of clerical sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

PHOTO: CNS

The World Italian missionary finally freed

Al-Qaida links suspected of gang who held missionary priest captive

Italian missionary priest faced 39 days of horror and lost 15 pounds as the Pope prayed for his release

ROME (CNS, Zenit) - Italian missionary Father Giancarlo Bossi, held by kidnappers in the southern Philippines, was released on July 19 after 39 days of captivity.

The 57-year-old priest, a member of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions, was unharmedbut quite thin upon being released.

“I am well,” he told AsiaNews, a Rome-based news agency sponsored by his order. “I’m happy because I just spoke to my family.

“Before returning to Italy, I would like to go and greet my parishioners in Payao,” the town where he was seized on June 10.

Fr Bossi spoke to AsiaNews from Zamboanga City before being taken to a military hospital for a quick checkup. He then spoke at a news conference.

Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, said, “The Pope prayed each and every day” for Fr Bossi. “The news of his release brings great joy to the entire Church and also for the Holy Father,” he said.

Fr Bossi said his captors claimed they had kidnapped him on behalf of the Abu Sayyaf terrorist group, which is believed to have ties to al-Qaida, adding that he was told that the kidnappers were hoping for a large ransom. “I never had the feeling they wanted to kill me,” he said, and he was never threatened with death “or violence of any kind.” The priest said he lost about 15 pounds in the 39 days on a diet of rice and dried fish.

According to Jaime Caringal, who says he mediated with the abductors, Father Bossi was freed Thursday evening in the city of Karumatan, AsiaNews reported.

“Fr Bossi was released without any payment of any ransom. What the Church in the Philippines did was pray for a positive outcome,” said Monsignor Pedro Quitorio, spokesman for the Filipino bishops’ conference. Speaking about his captivity, Fr Bossi said: “During the 39 days, I was constantly moved from place to place. I prayed for my capturers every evening.”

“I used to smoke a lot prior to the abduction,” Fr Bossi confessed.

“Then one day when I was climbing a mountain together with the abductors I felt very weak, so I said to myself, if I want to survive I should not smoke anymore!”

Jesus was ‘stupefyingly free’ from ego - learn from Him

■ By Beth Griffin

Ego the deepest problem in today’s world, says Dominican theologian

MARYKNOLL, NY (CNS)Egotistical self-centeredness is the deepest problem of our day and Jesus’ own spirituality is the remedy. In fact, Jesus’ spirituality is more relevant today than it was in his time.

This was the message of Dominican Father Albert Nolan, a South African theologian and author, who addressed 225 people at Maryknoll on July 18 on the topic of “Jesus Yesterday and Today.” “If we do not do something about self-

centeredness, new forms of social injustice will keep cropping up as fast as we try to eliminate older forms of social injustice because we have not eliminated their root causes,” Fr Nolan said.

“In South Africa today, our hardwon freedoms are often undermined by greed, corruption, crime, hypocrisy and power-mongering,” he said.

“In the struggle for justice and liberation during the second half of the 20th century, we neglected the needs of the individual to love, to forgive, to affirm and to overcome personal selfishness.”

Fr Nolan said selfishness and self-centeredness are distinct from sin. “Sin imputes guilt,” he said. “The issue is not how guilty one is. The selfishness itself destroys us.

Jesus did not blame people, point fingers or impute guilt, although he was critical of the system and challenged its hypocrisy.”

Fr Nolan’s first book, “Jesus Before Christianity: The Gospel of Liberation,” was published in 1976 in response to requests from Catholic university students living in South Africa under apartheid, the country’s official system of racial segregation.

“I wanted to teach theology,” he said, “but the highly politicised students wanted speakers in social science and politics. They thought that theology was irrelevant to the struggle for democracy and equality.” He describes the book as a popular treatment that focuses on the humanity of Jesus without denying his divinity.

“I related Jesus’ experiences to what they were living,” he said. “I emphasised the social dimensions of Jesus’ teaching and life. Justice and social liberation were important for Jesus, even though” those concepts “weren’t called that.”

Fr Nolan said the title reflected his interest in writing about Jesus “in the context in which he lived, before he was enshrined in dogma and doctrine.”

Fr Nolan’s latest work, “Jesus Today: A Spirituality of Radical Freedom,” is his effort to explore Jesus’ personal spirituality, distinct from what he taught or how he is seen as an object of others’ spirituality.

“I wanted to look at what inspired Jesus to do what he did and to die, and to see what that tells

us about how we should be living as Christians,” the priest said. “Saying that he did it all because he’s divine is not the answer. I tried to see what other scholars said and get to the parts that were absolutely certain,” he added. “I read between the lines and relied on the experience of those who took Jesus seriously in the past, the great saints and mystics. Jesus’ spirituality transcended division, conflicts and separations. He was happy to be the person God wanted him to be. He struggled, but had oneness, unity and harmony. It’s not an optional extra.”

Fr Nolan said that “Jesus was stupefyingly free”.

“He was free from ego and from all attachments, even the attachment to his own life, and that’s what enabled him to love,” he said.

Joy: Fr Bossi speaks with reporters after meeting with Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo at the presidential palace in Manila on July 20.

Looking pale: Italian missionary Fr Giancarlo Bossi speaks to the media at police headquarters in Zamboanga City, in the southern Philippines, on July 20. Father Bossi, held by kidnappers in the southern Philippines, was released on July 19 after 39 days of captivity. Before returning to Italy, he wants to visit his parishioners in Payao, the town where he was seized on June 10.

PHOTOS: CNS

The World Mugabe taunts Church agitator

Zimbabwe dictator mocks Archbishop on ‘trumped up charges’

Catholic Archbishop Pius Ncube, an outspoken critic of the Mugabe regime, is up on charges of adultery that his lawyer says are fabricated to discredit him

n By Bronwen Dachs

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (CNS) - The lawyer for Zimbabwean Archbishop Pius Ncube of Bulawayo says his client will deny in court allegations of adultery that are part of a “well-orchestrated campaign” to discredit him.

The lawyer, Nicholas Mathonsi, said the fact that at least 12 people - including state newspaper reporters and television crews from the capital, Harare - accompanied court officials to serve the charges against the archbishop on July 16 indicates “a big operation that involves the State.”

Charges in Zimbabwe “are never served like this, in the presence of the media,” Mathonsi told CNS in a July 18 phone interview from Bulawayo.

Archbishop Ncube, an outspoken opponent of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, told CNS by telephone that the allegations of a two-year adulterous relationship with a parish secretary have caused “a lot of sensation.”

He said he has been advised not to comment on the allegations. Mathonsi, who filed a notice to challenge the charges in Bulawayo’s civil court, said: “The judge will

preside when the case is heard in court. If the matter is tried in the press, with this kind of publicity, there will be no fair trial.”

According to Zimbabwe’s state media, Onesimus Sibanda is claiming $182,000 in damages from Archbishop Ncube for the alleged affair with his wife, Rosemary Sibanda.

The documents handed to Archbishop Ncube at his office in St Mary’s Cathedral in Bulawayo call Sibanda a “railway technician attached to” the National Railways of Zimbabwe, with no other details about him or his employment, said Mathonsi, noting that he filed a request at the court on July 18 for “particulars of the allegations.”

The scandal has dominated Zimbabwe’s state-owned television and radio news.

TV broadcasts showed Archbishop Ncube speaking to reporters outside the cathedral on July 16.

“We are human beings, and we are all sinners,” he was shown saying,” he said.

“I will not answer those questions which concern my private life.”

State-run newspapers published photos they said were of Archbishop Ncube and a woman, taken with a concealed camera placed in the Archbishop’s bedroom by a private investigator hired by Sibanda.

Doubts have been expressed that a State-employed railway technician could have paid for the sophisticated operation.

For years Mugabe, 83, has singled out Archbishop Ncube for condemnation.

But the president extended his antagonism toward the nation’s Catholic Church after an Easter pastoral letter in which Zimbabwe’s bishops said the country was in “deep crisis” and “extreme danger” because of its “overtly corrupt” leadership.

In early July, Mugabe accused Archbishop Ncube and other Church leaders of “peddling falsehoods about Zimbabwe’s govern-

ance.” “Where is the godliness? Don’t listen to what they say,” The Associated Press quoted Mugabe as telling supporters.

“One cannot tell the difference between a bishop and a layman any more. Some of them have sworn to celibacy but they sleep around.”

In March, Archbishop Ncube urged Zimbabweans to take to the streets in protest against government oppression and said he was

willing to risk his life by leading them. Zimbabwe is crippled by the highest rate of inflation in the world, unemployment of more than 80 per cent, and shortages of foreign currency and fuel. Food shortages are acute, large numbers of people are migrating to the neighbouring countries of South Africa and Botswana, and, with elections scheduled for March, political violence has intensified.

US bishops, Catholic Democrats work to end Iraq war

WASHINGTON (CNS) - The US bishops have agreed to meet with a group of Catholic House Democrats to discuss how to pursue the goal of a “responsible transition” to end the war in Iraq.

They also reiterated their call for members of Congress and the Bush administration to break the political stalemate in Washington and “forge bipartisan policies on ways to bring about a responsible transition and an end to the war.”

“The current situation in Iraq is unacceptable and unsustainable,” wrote Bishop Thomas G Wenski of Orlando, Florida, chairman of the bishops’ Committee on International Policy, in a July 17 letter to Representative Tim Ryan from Ohio. A copy of the letter was released on July 18 by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Bishop Wenski’s letter was a response to a June 28 letter Ryan wrote to Bishop Wenski and Bishop William S Skylstad of Spokane, Washington, USCCB president. Ryan’s letter, sent on behalf of himself and 13 other Catholic House Democrats, urged the bishops to increase their involvement in efforts to end the war in Iraq.

In the July 17 letter, Bishop Wenski said the bishops “share your deep concern for the dangerous and deteriorating situation in

Iraq,” and would welcome the opportunity “to meet with you and other policymakers to discuss ways to pursue the goal of a ‘responsible transition’ to bring an end to the war.”

“Too many Iraqi and American lives have been lost,” he wrote. “Too many Iraqi communities have been shattered. Too many civilians have been driven from their homes.”

He also added that the “human and financial costs of the war are staggering” and that church and government officials should use their “shared moral tradition” to guide their dialogue with other leaders in seeking a way to “bring about a morally responsible end to the war.”

The Bishop noted that, prior to the war in Iraq, when “too few members of either party in Congress opposed authorising the use of force,” the US bishops, along with Pope John Paul II, “repeatedly raised grave moral questions about military intervention in Iraq and the unpredictable and uncontrollable negative consequences of an invasion and occupation.”

“Sadly,” he added, “many of the tragic consequences we and others have feared have come to pass.”

In his letter, Bishop Wenski also pointed out that the bishops’ conference had hoped that the report of the bipartisan Iraq Study

Group would “lead to candid assessments and honest dialogue that our nation needs to find a responsible way to end US military engagement in Iraq.”

He also said the bishops have expressed concerns for the Iraqi population and in particular for Christians and other minority groups who have suffered in the aftermath of military action in Iraq.

“Our conference is under no illusions regarding Iraq,” he added. “None of the alternative courses of action are without consequences for human life and dignity. There is no path ahead that leads to an unambiguously good outcome for Iraq, our nation and the world.”

But he added that the United States must “have the moral courage to change course in Iraq and to break the policy and political stalemate in Washington so that we can walk a difficult path that does the most good and the least damage in human and moral terms.”

Stephen M. Colecchi, director of the US bishops’ Office of International Justice and Peace, said Bishop Wenski’s response was part of an “ongoing effort to work with members of both parties” in looking for a bipartisan approach for a transition to end the war.

In a July 19 email to Catholic News Service, he said the bishops’ international policy committee has been “encouraging the administration and members of both parties in Congress to forge a bipartisan consensus to address the situation in Iraq for some time.” He added that in a letter to House Minority Leader John Boehner, from Ohio, the committee also has sought a similar meeting with House Republicans.

Ryan’s June 28 request for a meeting with the bishops sought their help to “mobilise Catholic opinion” on “one of the most critical issues of our time.”

“We have taken great comfort in the prophetic words of many Catholic leaders, relied on them for inspiration during our deliberations and welcomed them in helping shape policy,” he wrote.

Ryan said that he and the other House members requesting the meeting understand that “peace cannot simply exist as an idea” but that efforts must be “accompanied by actions as we embrace teachings of peace and justice.” “Throughout our nation’s history Catholics have been at the forefront of the fight for social justice. Now, at another critical moment, we respectfully urge the USCCB to join with us in mobilising for Congress’s efforts to end the war,” he wrote.

Tirade: Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe speaks at the burial of a senior army officer in Harare, Zimbabwe, on July 18. At the burial, Mugabe mocked Archbishop Pius Ncube of Bulawayo, calling for prayers for the Archbishop, who is being sued for adultery.

PHOTO: CNS/PHILIMON BULAWAYO, REUTERS

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Formation grows towards WYD

Created and Redeemed series continues formation for young and old as parishes build up to WYD 2008.

As diocesan preparations for World Youth Day pick up pace, so too have parish ministry initiatives with the coming of the Created and Redeemed series to Our Lady of the Mission Parish, Whitfords.

The DVD series focusing on God’s plan for sex and sexuality consists of talks given by internationally acclaimed Catholic theologian and author, Christopher West, and will be held on Thursday nights over eight weeks from August 16.

The series is a joint initiative of True Love Waits, the archdiocesan youth agency Catholic Youth Ministry and several young leaders from the Whitford’s parish and is open to young and old alike.

Steven Gorddard, the coordinator of True Love Waits WA, says he is excited about the prospect of offering the Created and Redeemed experience to locals in the northern suburbs. ‘So many people I know have been surprised to learn that God has some powerful things to say to them about the most relevant of issues, such as sex and sexuality,” he said.

“In experiencing this teaching, God ceases to become a distant idea and instead is known for who He is; the Creator with intimate knowledge of His creation and the loving Redeemer who comes to get us back on track.”

Whitford’s local, Konrad Gagatek, is keen on sharing a message that has had such a positive impact on his own life.

He first experienced the Created and Redeemed series last year with 120 other young people when True Love Waits convened it in Highgate.

“I think that if you’re not giving your faith then you’re not living

your faith and so I’m really happy to be part of this initiative,” he said.

Catholic Youth Ministry director Robert Hiini says that their involvement is part of a broader desire to work with parishes and local leaders, particularly in the lead-up to WYD and beyond.

“Our core mission over the next year is to help parishes become

post-WYD ready as young people, powerfully affected by WYD, come back to parishes to find out more; about Jesus Christ and about themselves,” he said.

Created and Redeemed will be held at Our Lady of the Mission Parish, 270 Camberwarra Drive, Craigie and is open to all Catholics throughout Perth. For more information contact Robert on 9422 7912 or at cym@highgate-perthcatholic. org.au.

Population problems refused

Continued from page 1 right to sexual and reproductive health.”

Hurley wrote in her letter: “While the theme of your message on World Population Day 2007 is admirable, the costs of the partnership described therein are the lives of countless innocent children.”

She continued: “Spouses seal their love and commitment through their sexual union which embodies the promises of marriage.

“The use of contraception or sterilisation allows one spouse to treat the other more like an object than a person, and ultimately, leads governments to impose laws limiting family size. “Abortion injures the health and dignity of women at the same time that it ends the life of the unborn child.”

Hurley concluded that “a far more compassionate response is to provide support and services for pregnant women and their families, advance women’s educational and economic standing in society, and eliminate all forms of violence and discrimination against women, including abortion and infanticide.”

The World Union of Catholic Women’s Organisations was founded in 1910.

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United: Konrad Gagatek, TLW coordinator Stephen Gorddard, Jen Grout and Whitford parish priest Fr Joseph Tran.

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Saturday July 28

MEDJUGORJEMORNING OF PRAYER

PANORAMA a roundup of events in the archdiocese

A morning of prayer with Our Lady, Queen of Peace at St Bernadette’s Church, Glendalough, commencing 10am. Adoration, Meditation and Rosary. 11.30am Holy Mass. Celebrant Rev. Fr. Tiziano Bogoni. Concluding with shared lunch at LJ Goody Bioethics Centre, 39 Jugan St. Bring plate, tea/Coffee supplied. Enq: Margaret 9341 8082.

Sunday July 29

CATHOLIC DOCTORS’ ASSOCIATION WA

Annual Day of Reflection. Directed by Dr Peter Hung Tran CssR. All Catholic health care professionals are welcome. LJ Goody Bioethics Centre, 39 Jugan Street, Glendalough, 10am start, concluding at 3pm with Mass. Bring own lunch. Hot & cold drinks provided. RSVP 24 July 9242 4066.

Tuesday July 31

MMP TUESDAY CENACLE  DAY OF REFLECTION

Please join us at Villa Terenzio Chapel, Cabrini Road, Marangaroo for a Day of Reflection. Commencing 10.30am with Rosary, followed by Holy Mass and Talks. Celebrant and Speaker Rev F Gabriel (Pauline Fathers, Marian Valley, Canungra, Queensland) Concluding 2pm. Bring lunch to share. Tea/Coffee supplied. Enq: 9341 8082.

Thursday August 2

TAIZE MEDITATION AT OUR LADY OF GRACE

7.30 – 8.30pm. A monthly service for over 18 months now. 3 Kitchener St, North Beach. Enquiries 9448 4888 or 9447 0061.

Thursday August 2

GROUP FIFTY CHARISMATIC PRAYER GROUP

Redemptorist Monastery, North Perth. Meetings recommence Thursday August 2nd, 7.30pm in the church. Praise and Mass. Anointing of the sick first Thursdays of the month during Mass.

Friday August 3

PROLIFE PROCESSION  MIDLAND

The first Friday Mass, Procession and Rosary Vigil will commence at 9.30am with Mass celebrated at St Brigid’s Church, Midland. The Franciscan friars of the Immaculate will lead us. All are invited to witness for the sanctity of life and pray for the conversion of hearts. Enquiries Helen 9402 0349.

Friday August 3

CATHOLIC FAITH RENEWAL  PRAISE AND WORSHIP

7.30pm St John and Paul’s Church, Pinetree Gully Road, Willetton. A talk will be given by Fr Richard Rutkauskas followed by Thanksgiving Mass. Light refreshments after Mass. All welcome to attend and we encourage you to bring your family and friends to this evening of fellowship. We look forward to seeing you there. Enq: Rita 9272 1765 or Rose 0403 300 720.

Friday August 3

ALLIANCE OF THE TWO HEARTS

Communion of Reparation All Night Prayer Vigil First Friday and First Saturday devotion, in honour of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary conducted by the Alliance of the Holy Family International and ADORE, will be held in Corpus Christi Church, 47 Lochee Road, Mosman Park 7pm, finishing at 1am Saturday morning. Mass, Confession, Rosary, Prayers and Saturday Office of Readings. Contact: Catalina 0439 931 151 or Vicky (08) 9364 2378.

Friday to Sunday August 3 to 5

WEEKEND RETREAT FOR WOMEN 1935

Theme: Finding the Treasure; Discovering the Gift Within. How do we discover where God is calling us? By taking time out, listening to God’s call in the quiet and reflecting on Scripture. Commencing 7pm Friday concluding with Eucharist 10am Sunday 5th. Further Details 9527 2101 (between 9-5) Sr Anne 0409 602 927.

Saturday August 4

DAY WITH MARY

9am – 5pm St James Church, 69 Lagoon Drive, Yanchep. A video of Fatima will be shown at 9am followed by a day of prayer and instruction based upon the messages of Fatima. Includes Sacrament of Penance, Holy Mass, Eucharistic Adoration, Sermons, Rosaries, Procession of the Blessed Sacrament and Stations of the Cross. Please BYO Lunch. Enq: Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate 9250 8286. Bus available. Contact Nita 9367 1366.

Saturday August 4

WITNESS FOR LIFE PROCESSION

The next first Saturday Mass, Procession and Rosary Vigil will commence with Mass at 8.30am at St Anne’s Church, Hehir St Belmont. We proceed prayerfully to the Rivervale abortion centre and conclude with Rosary led by Fr Paul Carey SSC. Please join us to pray peacefully for the conversion of hearts. Enquiries Helen 9402 0349.

Sunday August 5

30TH ANNIVERSARY DONGARA

Celebration of the 30th Anniversary (July 17, 1967)

Our Lady Star of the Sea Church in Dongara will begin with Mass at 9.30am with the blessing of the font followed by a brunch/luncheon in Rachel Hall. Past parishioners and friends are all welcome. RSVP July 30. Contact Mary Sterry on: 9927 1705.

Saturday and Sunday August 4 and 5

LA SALLE COLLEGE

The year 11 drama production of Shakespeare’s Much Ado will be held in the Nicholas Barre Auditorium at La Salle College, 5 La Salle Avenue, Middle Swan. Bookings have opened and tickets can be purchased from the college administration office or call: 9274 6266 for ticket bookings. Tickets are: $9 adults and $7 concessions. Family tickets are available.

Sunday August 5

DIVINE MERCY

An afternoon with Jesus and Mary will be held at St Joachim’s Church, cnr Shepperton Rd and Harper St, Victoria Park at 1.30pm. Program: Holy Rosary and Reconciliation. Sermon: Fr Michael Rowe, followed by Divine Mercy Prayers and Benediction. Afterwards refreshments in parish hall then video with Fr John Corapi. Enq: John 9457 7771 or Linda 9275 6608.

Wednesday August 8

BLESSED MARY MACKILLOP’S FEASTDAY

Mass will be celebrated at 6pm Sisters of St Joseph Chapel, 16 York Street, South Perth. Followed by a light supper. Everyone Welcome. Enq: Sr Margaret 9334 0995.

Thursday August 9

HEALING MASS

7pm A Healing Mass in honour of St Peregrine, patron of Cancer sufferers and helper of all in need, will be held at the Church of SS John and Paul, Pinetree Gully Rd, (off South St) Willetton. There will be Veneration of the Relic and Anointing of the Sick. For further information, please contact Noreen Monaghan on 9498 7727.

Thursday August 9

CATHOLICS AND THEIR FUTURE HEALTH CARE

Presented by Fr Joe Parkinson at St Thomas More Parish 100 Dean Rd, Bateman. 7.30-9pm in the parish hall. Enq: Marianne 9310 1747.

Sunday August 12

FATIMA DEVOTIONS

The World Apostolate of Fatima Aust Inc invites you to attend Fatima Devotions to mark the 90th Anniversary of Fatima, in the Holy Rosary Church, Thomas Street, Nedlands at 3pm. Confession and Enrolment in Brown Scapular available. All are very welcome. Enq: 9339 2614.

Sunday August 19

REFLECTIONS ON THE TEACHINGS OF MEISTER ECKHART

The Annual St Dominic Commemorative Lecture will be presented by Fr Tom Cassidy OP at 3pm in the Parish Hall of Our Lady of the Rosary Parish, Angelico St, Woodlands. Entry will be by gold coin donation. Fr Cassidy will discuss Eckhart’s teaching on how we become one with God.

Tuesday August 21 – Sunday December 2 SET MY PEOPLE ON FIRE

7.45 pm St Anthony’s Parish, 96 Innamincka Rd, Greenmount. 15 weekly Bible sessions for building a faith building community called “Set My People on Fire.” Presented by Perth Catholic organisation Flame Ministries International, featuring international speakers and the Flame Music Ministry. Each Tuesday evening with a Friday to Sunday weekend every 5th week. Free admission - Information: 9382 3668 - Email: smpof@flameministries.org - Program: flameministries.org/smpof.html.

Thursday to Sunday September 13-16

CURSILLO FOR WOMEN

7pm to be held at ‘Penola by the Sea’, 27 Penguin Rd, Safety Bay. For application forms and/or further information please phone Jeanie Hoff on 95313842 or 0421 725 508

Friday to Sunday September 14-16

RETREAT  PRAYER IN THE FRANCISCAN TRADITION

All those interested in learning more about St Francis and prayer in the Franciscan tradition are welcome to attend. The retreat will be held at the Redemptorist Retreat House. The retreat will be given by Deacon Dick Scallan SFO. For information and bookings please contact Mary on 9377 7925 by August 31.

First Sunday of each month

DEVOTIONS IN HONOUR OF THE DIVINE MERCY

The Santa Clara Parish community welcomes anyone from surrounding parishes and beyond to Santa Clara Church, cnr of Coolgardie and Pollack Sts, Bentley. The afternoon commences with the

3 o’clock prayers, followed by the Divine Mercy Chaplet, reflection and concludes with Benediction.

YCS PAST MEMBERS

Have you ever been involved in YCS and interested in what YCS is doing in 2007? Or would you like to regain contact with friends from your YCS days? If so please email Vicky Burrows at the YCS office at: perth@ycs.org.au or call: 9422 7911 so that we can put you on our database to receive updates about YCS and past members.

Last Sunday each month HEALING FIRE BURNING LOVE

Charismatic Mass celebrated at the Holy Spirit Chapel, 85 Boas Avenue, Joondalup at 5.45pm.

Every Saturday

PERPETUAL HELP DEVOTIONS

4.30pm. The half hour perpetual novena devotions to the Mother of Perpetual Help continue each Saturday at the Redemptorist Monastery Church, 190 Vincent St, in North Perth. Reconciliation available before and after the devotions. All welcome.

Every Sunday

BULLSBROOK SHRINE

Sunday pilgrim Mass is celebrated with Holy Rosary and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament 2pm at the Shrine of the Virgin of the Revelation, 36 Chittering Road, Bullsbrook. Reconciliation is available in Italian and English before every celebration. Enq: 9447 3292.

Every Sunday

RADIO GATE OF HEAVEN

7.30-9pm. 107.9FM. 1. Getting God’s Help w/Fr Benedict Groeschel - “The Gift of Fear of The Lord” Episode #8. Life on the rock w/Fr Francis Mary“Activists & Participants in the Walk for Life on the West Coast” Episode #156.

Every Sunday

LATIN MASS

The Latin Mass according to the 1962 missal is offered every Sunday at Our Lady of Fatima, 10 Foss St, Palmyra at noon. All welcome.

Every fourth Monday

SCRIPTURAL PRAYER PROGRAM

7.30-9pm. Venue: St Mary’s Parish Centre, 40 Franklin St, Leederville. The Council for Australian Catholic Women (CACW) is offering a scriptural prayer program developed in the Jesuit tradition. This form of prayer can lead to more reflective living, greater spiritual depths and promotes lay spiritual leadership in the Church. Led by Kathleen Brennan (ibvm). Enq: Michelle Wood 9345 2555.

Every Tuesday

WEEKLY PRAYER WITH MARY’S COMPANION WAYFARERS OF JESUS THE WAY

7pm, St Mary’s Cathedral Parish Centre, 450 Hay St, Perth. Personal healing in prayer, Rosary, scripture, meditation, praise in song, friendship and refreshments. Appreciate the heritage of the faith united with others asking Jesus and Mary to overcome burdens in life. Prayer is powerful. Come, join us!!

Every Wednesday

HOLY HOUR, BENEDICTION, EVENING PRAYER

Holy Hour 4.30 – 5.30pm, St Thomas’ Church, 2 College Rd, Claremont. Followed by evening prayer and Benediction. Personal prayer before the Blessed Sacrament is adoration of Jesus’ gift of Himself, of His love for you, for your loved ones and for our world. Come and thank Him.

Every second Wednesday FORTNIGHTLY BIBLE REFLECTIONS

Workers in the Garden of the Holy Family are conducting Bible Reflections at St Mary’s Church, Parish Centre, 40 Franklin Street, Leederville. Commencing 7pm with Rosary, refreshments provided afterward.

Dates: August 8, 22, September 5, 19, October 3, 17, 31, November 14, 28, December 5. Enq: 9201 0337.

EUCHARISTIC ADORATION

Holy Trinity Church, 8 Burnett Street, Embleton. Every Monday to Thursday after the 8.30am Mass till 10am. Every Thursday night from 11pm to midnight. Every Friday Eucharistic Adoration after the 8.30 Mass til 6pm. Enquiries: Mons P McCrann 9271 5528 or George Jacob 9272 1379.

Every 1st and 3rd Friday of the month

CATHOLIC FAITH RENEWAL

Every 1st Friday - Praise and Worship evening held at St John and Paul’s Church, Pinetree Gully Rd Willetton at 7.30pm. Every 3rd Friday Catholic Faith Education by Fr Greg Donovan, LJ Goody Bioethics Centre, 39 Jugan Street, Glendalough at 7.30pm. All are welcome. Enq: Rita 9272 1765 or Rose 0403 300 720.

Every Fourth Sunday SECULAR FRANCISCAN ORDER

The Perth Fraternity of the Secular Franciscan Order assembles every fourth Sunday at 2.30pm in the Chapel of RSL Care, 51 Alexander Dr, Menora. Enquiries John 9385 5649.

Every Fourth Sunday WATCH AND PRAY

A Holy Hour is held at Infant Jesus Parish, Morley from 2-3pm with exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. The hour consists of some prayers and Scripture but mostly the hour is silent prayer for Vocations. All are welcome. Please encourage others to come and pray. Prayer - it works! Enq: 9276 8500.

Every Monday WEIGHT MANAGEMENT FOR THOSE WITH MENTAL ILLNESS

The Emmanuel Centre are offering to help people who gain weight because they are using medication for their mental illness. The group helps participants to manage their weight safely and healthily. MindBody-Life meets at the Emmanuel Centre on Mondays from 12.30-2.30pm. Free. The group starts with a weigh-in, then a talk on nutrition and healthy eating tips, goal setting and then half an hour of exercise. Enq: Amanda - Emmanuel Centre, 9328 8113.

EVERY SATURDAY

After an almost unanimous verdict from the parish, City Beach has changed its Saturday evening Mass from 6.30pm to 6pm as of June 30. While Saturday Confession is now from 5-6pm, all other Mass times stay the same. Holy Spirit parish priest Fr Don Kettle said that a recent parish census revealed that 94 per cent wanted to move it to 6pm as 6.30pm was deemed too late, especially in the winter months.

BOOK DONATIONS

We still seek donations of books and thank you and bless you for your kind, generous contributions of Bibles, Missals and Catholic books on the faith. We are now able to offer a selection of second-hand, pre-loved books to the community in return for a small donation. Enq: 9293 3092.

WINDOW FUND DONATIONS WELCOME

St Catherine’s Catholic Church, Gin Gin Parishioners are currently fundraising to restore the church windows. The cost of each window is $1500. If anyone is able to assist our fundraising efforts please telephone Fr Paul 9571 1839.

CLUB AMICI

Club Amici aims to build community amongst Catholic singles, couples and families (aged 25 and up) by organising social events. If you would like a copy of our new calendar of events or would like to be on our mail out list please contact Therese 9437 5349 or email clubamiciwa@yahoo.com.au.

CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS

Ignatian Volunteers Australia calls for part-time volunteers to respond to the needs of people in the community who live in marginalised circumstances. At the heart of this program is a reflective process based on Gospel values, which supports the volunteers in their work. To learn more: www. volunteers.jesuit.org.au Contact Kevin Wringe, Perth Coordinator (08) 9316 3469 kwringe@iinet.net.au . REUNION

John and Marie Acland are planning to hold a reunion later this year of all past and present members of the Apostles of Christ Prayer Group Willetton and all other persons who took part in their Meetings, Fellowship Nights, Life in the Spirit, and supplementary Seminars, the Alpha Course and other group activities. Further details will be advised when full numbers are known. Enq: Marie Acland. Tel/fax 9537-3390. Email jmacland@bigpond. com or Dianne McLeod 9332-0829 Email danielmcleod@bigpond.com

Panorama entries must be in by 5pm Friday. Contributions may be faxed to 9227 7087, emailed to administration@therecord.com.au or mailed to PO box 75, Leederville, WA 6902. Submissions over 55 words will be edited. Inclusion is limited to 4 weeks. Events charging over $10 constitute a classified event, and will be charged accordingly. The Record reserves the right to decline or modify any advertisment. Please do not re-submit Panoramas once they are in print.

ACCOMMODATION

■ BEACH HOUSE ACCOMMODATION

South Fremantle Beach House F/F & equipped. Short or long term $95per/n at min of 5 nights 0409 405 585.

■ DENMARK

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

■ FAMILY GROUP ACCOMMODATION

Visit http://www.beachhouseperth.com

Call 0400 292 100

■ HOUSE FOR LEASE

South Fremantle large 3x2, close to beach. Furnished or unfurnished Short or long term $450 p.wk. 9336 3330.

BLINDS

■ BLINDS SPECIALIST

Call AARON for FREE quotes 0402 979 889.

BUILDING

■ BRICK REPOINTING

Phone Nigel 9242 2952.

TRADES

■ PERROTT PAINTING PTY LTD

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

■ PICASSO PAINTING

Top service. Phone 0419 915 836, fax 9345 0505.

EMPLOYMENT

■ RECEPTIONIST/ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT

The Redemptorist Monastery in North Perth is establishing a new permanent part time position as a Receptionist/Administrative Assistant. The successful applicant will be required to work approx 15-20 hours pw between the hours of 9am and 1pm on most weekdays. The position is ideally suited for a mature aged applicant and individuals who are able to demonstrate an understanding and commitment to the Catholic Church ethos and values will be highly regarded.A job description document can be obtained from the Business Manager by phoning on 9328 6600 or by visiting www.themonastery.org.au Please forward applications by 5pm Friday 24 August 2007.

Double Blessing

Carmela and Giuseppe Spiccia of St Joseph’s parish in Bassendean have recently had double reason to celebrate. They celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary with a blessing from Parish Priest Fr Jim Shelton, and were blessed by the birth of a great-grandson, Joshua Ragallo.

Carmella and Giuseppe were married on 24 April 1947 at Matrix Church, Sinagra, Province of Messina in Sicily. Giuseppe came to Australia in November 1954.

Elio Franco, their son, arrived in Australia in March 1967 at the age of 17 to join his Dad.

Carmella and daughter Grazia Tindara came to join Giuseppe in September 1967 to live in Bassendean.

Classifieds

EMPLOYMENT

■ BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY

Extra income from your own home-based business. Work part-time without disturbing what you are doing now. Call: 02 8230 0290 or 0412 518318 www.dreamlife1.com

EVENTS

■ RETREAT IN DAILY LIFE 1ST  22ND SEPTEMBER

2007.

A non-residential, one to one, retreat suited for those who need to continue their daily routine while seeking to deepen their relationship with God. The retreat is conducted over 3 weeks, meeting with a Director twice weekly. For more information contact Sr Una O’Loughlin (92051623, email unaol2002@yahoo.com.au) or Maureen O’Toole (9279 9219, email beaudoire@iprimus.com.au).

■ CHRISTIAN BROTHERS REUNION

Christian Brothers “Old Boys” Reunion.

All past students, staff and friends of all Christian Brothers Schools are invited to a unique reunion to celebrate the contribution by Christian Brothers to Education in Western Australia.

Date August 26th

Time: 4.30pm

Venue: Burswood Theatre

Cost: $25

Drinks and canapés will be served in the Grand Ballroom from 6.00pm. All seats must be registered and ticketed. Children free, however must be ticketed. For further information please contact: Maureen Colgan on 9317 2753 (all hours)

Michael Perrott: 9474 1799 (business hours) or Download a Registration Form on: www.edmundricecelebration.com

FURNITURE REMOVAL

■ ALL AREAS Mike Murphy 0416 226 434.

HEALTH

■ ACHES, PAINS, STRESS???

Indian mature male masseur offers Reflex, Relax Massage. Not had a massage before? Try my massage in a caring warm environment and experience the benefits to your health. $30 for 60 mins. Phone Jai 0438 520 993.

If you’re celebrating your 50th, 55th, 60th or so on, and would like to share your good news for publication, write to us at: The Record, PO Box 75, Leederville, 6902; or email: administration@therecord.com.au; or fax: (08) 9227 7080. Carmela and Giuseppe Spiccia

HEALTH

■ DEMENTIA REMISSION

Do you, or your loved one, suffer Dementia. Get into Dementia Remission like me! http://www. wgrey.com.au/dm/index.htm or (02) 9971 8093.

■ HEALTH AND WELLNESS

A FREE Sample Pack of wellness, weightloss, and energy products. DVD and product brochure also enclosed. (Only while stocks last - hurry!!) Call 02 8230 0290 or 0412 518 318.

HELP WANTED

■ VOLUNTEERS WANTED

The Christian Democratic Party (CDP) is looking for volunteers who support Christian values and want to improve Australia to work at polling booths at the coming Federal election. If you can help, please contact Paul Connelly (CDP’s Perth Candidate) on 0414 247 286 or pmjconnelly@hotmail.com

Authorised by Gerard Goiran 4/294 Gt Eastern Hwy Midland

■ BUSINESS SUPPORT WANTED

The Christian Democratic Party (CDP) is looking for businesses in all areas that support Christian values and want to improve Australia to place CDP Candidate campaign posters (various sizes available) in the shop windows of their businesses for the coming Federal Election. If you can help, please contact Paul Connelly (CDP’s Perth Candidate) on 0414 247 286 or pmjconnelly@hotmail.com.

Authorised by Gerard Goiran 4/294 Gt Eastern Hwy Midland

MIGRANTS

■ MIGRATE TO AUSTRALIA

For guidance and visa processing, Skilled or Family Visas and Study visas. Call Michael Ring or Ajay Trehan Registered Migration Agent – (MARN # 0212024). Phone: (02) 8230 0290 or 0412 518 318 for a no-obligation assessment, please call or email: michael.ring@bigpond.com

PERSONAL

■ GROOM WANTED

Loving, Smart, Fair, PG in Commerce, 31yo, Anglo Indian Bride living in India, seeks home-loving Catholic groom. Please phone father on: 011-919396 286 495.

PERSONAL

■ FAMILY MINDED GUY SEEKING CATHOLIC LADY FOR COMPANIONSHIP

A caring man 36 yrs of European descent is looking for a similar lady with same interests between 26 - 33 yrs. I enjoy going to the cafes, walks, going to the beach, playing soccer, homely life and enjoying the simple pleasures of life. Phone Robert 0403 878 805.

RELIGIOUS PRODUCTS

■ APARACIDA’S EMPORIUM

Florist, retailer of Catholic Products (all occasions), giftware, wedding and special events planner. Just opened, Shop 11, Cinema Arcade Perth. 9439 6539 or 9525 4679.

■ CATHOLICS CORNER

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

■ RICH HARVEST  YOUR CHRISTIAN SHOP

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

TAX RETURNS

■ GOSNELLS/ARMADALE

PHOTOGRAPHY

Terence on (08) 9227 7080.

On the road again: Clockwise from the top - Youth from the Neocatechumenal Way process in Morley in honour of the Virgin Mary as part of their pilgrimage in preparation for World Youth Day in 2008; Morning prayer outside Pinjarra Catholic Church as part of the pilgrimage; Deacon Manoel Lopez-Borges stands with youth outside Margaret River parish where they announced their intention to attend WYD ‘08; Gerard O’Brien, Tommaso Trentin, Kelly-Anne Herbu, Victor Lujano, Manuele Ruggieri, Elena Sala, Marco Ceccarelli, Andrew Lotton and Paulo Sala in Albany; Liam Ryan, 22, of Mirrabooka parish talks about his pilgrimage experiences. PHOTOS: JAMIE O’BRIEN.