The Record Newspaper 28 January 2009

“This is what I received from the Lord, and in turn passed on to you: that on the same night he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread and thanked God for it and broke it, and he said, ‘this is my body, which is for you; do this as a memorial of me.’ In the same way he took the cup after supper, and said ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Whenever you drink it, do this as a memorial of me.’ Until the Lord comes, therefore, every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are proclaiming his death.”

First Letter to the Corinthians: 11:23-26

THE R ECORD

Of all people in the world will it be Australians that begin...

Healing the Reformation’s fault lines?

“Be indefatigable in your purpose and with undaunted spirit resist iniquity and try to conquer evil with good, having before your eyes the

Historic talks are currently underway between the leaders of the Traditional Anglican Communion (its Prelate is Australian) and Pope Benedict’s representatives seeking to pave the way for the first successful re-unification of a Church touched by the Reformation with the Roman Catholic Church. Vista 1-3

Missionary: Paul is often portrayed, as at above left, holding his writings, while the sword represents his martyrdom by beheading.

OFFICIAL ENGAGEMENTS

FEBRUARY

1 Installation of Parish Priest, LockridgeArchbishop Hickey Chinese New Year Mass, ComoArchbishop Hickey

6 Launch of Resource for HomelessArchbishop Hickey

8 80th Anniversary Mass, St Brigid’s College, Lesmurdie - Archbishop Hickey

9 Opening Mass, Chisholm CollegeBishop Sproxton

10 School Staff Commissioning Masses: Western Region, Doubleview - Archbishop Hickey Northern Region, Whitford - Bishop Sproxton Central Region, Morley - Fr Brian O’Loughlin VG Eastern Region - Mgr Michael Keating

11 Opening Mass, Mercedes CollegeArchbishop Hickey School Staff Commissioning Masses: South Central Region, Aquinas CollegeArchbishop Hickey North Eastern Region, LeedervilleBishop Sproxton South Eastern Region, GosnellsFr Brian O’Loughlin VG South Western, SpearwoodMgr Michael Keating

12 Council of Priests Meeting, St Thomas More College - Archbishop Hickey, Bishop Sproxton

A LIFE OF PRAYER

... are you called to the Benedictine life of divine praise and Eucharistic prayer for the Church?

Contact the:

Rev Mother Cyril, OSB, Tyburn Priory, 325 Garfield Road, Riverstone, NSW 2765 www.tyburnconvent.org.uk

Archbishop in largely legal wedding

West Australian couple joined by legal practitioners, academics, for vows

NANA Howard, formerly of Darlington, married James Kolan from the USA, at St Joseph’s Church, Subiaco, at a wedding celebrated by Archbishop Barry Hickey with four concelebrating priests, on January 3.

The ceremony was followed by a reception at The Vines Resort.

Flying over to the West from Sydney for the wedding, were 21 barristers, solicitors, a former Supreme Court judge, three university deans, and a surgeon, all friends of the Bride.

Mrs Kolan has been living in Sydney for the past several years.

Nana originally lectured at the University of Notre Dame Australia’s Fremantle campus but was given the job of helping to set up the Law School at

the university’s Sydney campus. While in Sydney she was Assistant Dean and a senior lecturer of the university’s law school until she left in December to return to WA.

Nana, who has studied at six universities, holds four degrees, a Diploma of Education, and is currently undertaking doctoral studies at Sydney University, will now lecture at Notre Dame’s Fremantle campus. Her chief bridesmaid was her sister Justine, a Sydney based lawyer.

Her husband James Kolan, was accompanied by his family from the US and a long time priest friend who concelebrated along with Nana and Justine’s Parish Priest from Sydney.

Nana and Jim will settle in Perth and work in their respective areas of Law and academia.

Mrs Kolan often filed stories for The Record for many years before she began working at Notre Dame.

- COLLEEN MCGUINESS-HOWARD

Salesian youth celebrate on camp

Black Balloon gong

Leonard said, “This film is all about the extent of sacrificial love, what parents will do for their children, and how far a brother will go to carry his sibling,” a media statement from the office says.

WA Young Salesian Summer Camp – Celebrating 20 Years

IT was that time of the year again –time for the annual WA Young Salesian summer camp held at Nanga Bush Camp, Dwellingup for five days from January 5–9.

This year however, was extra special as we celebrated our 20th Anniversary!

With well over 50 campers aged from 12 to 15, experienced leaders, recruits in training and adult support, the camp was sure to be a success. We began our journey like any other, departing by bus to our destination but what was still to come was what sets this camp apart from others.

Over the five days, campers came to see each other as part of a bigger family, the Don Bosco family.

Many began the camp shy and reserved but as the days went by a transformation took place.

An assortment of games, experiences, team building exercises and activities designed to promote self esteem, confidence and belonging helped bring out the strengths of everyone.

The camp integrates the mission of Don Bosco: to cater to youth by blending Christian living via the Mass (presided over by Father Joseph Tran) with fun, laughter and games galore. The camp may be over but strong friendships were forged and the fun continues with many reunions throughout the year, held primarily in the school holidays. These reunions will enable campers to catch up and keep the flame burning bright.

In celebration of St John Bosco’s feast day on January 31, the WA Young Salesians will be having a disco at the Whitford Parish.

lives with severe disability can actually be.”

The jury was impressed by the “remarkable” performance of Luke Ford as Charlie.

The Australian Catholic Office for Film and Broadcasting has named Elissa Down’s Black Balloon as its film of the year for 2008. Director of the office and jury chair, Jesuit priest, Fr Richard

EDITOR

Peter Rosengren cathrec@iinet.net.au

JOURNALISTS

Anthony Barich abarich@therecord.com.au

Mark Reidy reidyrec@iinet.net.au

Director Elissa Down does not spare the audience much of the extremely challenging situations and issues this family has to face, the statement continues.

“This film shows us how complicated, tender, violent and chaotic a family who

Robert Hiini cathrec@iinet.net.au ADMINISTRATION

Bibiana Kwaramba administration@therecord.com.au ACCOUNTS Cathy Baguley recaccounts@iinet.net.au

“He is both lovable and demanding, but the stress he places upon the family is almost intolerable to watch. The sobering thought is to consider how many families live this all too rarely seen life every day,” Fr Leonard said.

Special couple: Their marriage was celebrated by Archbishop Barry Hickey.

Fun: Above and below left and right, young people participate in the annual WA Young Salesian summer camp at Nanga Bush Camp in Dwellingup.

PHOTOS: GRAHAM MAHER

‘Don’t beat youth into submission’

n By Anthony Barich

THE president of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference has told seminarians, post-graduate students and faculty at the Pontifical North American College in Rome not to “beat youth into submission” but to be “a student of the culture”.

Speaking on January 18, Archbishop Philip Wilson of Adelaide, in Rome with ACBC general secretary Fr Brian Lucas for a series of Vatican meetings, said that World Youth Day Sydney 2008 was successful because it engaged with people in their own lives, and the Church must do the same. While seminary numbers have risen slightly in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne and seven new students have enrolled at St Charles Seminary in Guildford this year, the prelate said that seminary numbers is not a true gauge of WYD’s success.

“The measure is a spike in the experience of faith in the lives of those who go. There is space for the Lord to act. It is an opportunity to come together and experience a common faith – to meet those who believe what I believe,” he said.

The prelate said that the event also acted as a counter-cultural agent, disproving the media-fed lie that young Christians are “on his or her own” and have no chance of living out their faith in a sustainable way. “The media give a message that if you believe you are

isolated. WYD counters this by showing that there are people who believe,” he said.

Fr Anthony Percy, Rector of the Seminary of the Good Shepherd in Sydney, does not expect tangible evidence from the success of WYD08 in terms of seminary numbers for at least two years. But he said WYDs tend to trigger decisiveness in young people’s lives – whether to join Religious life or not – primarily because they have experienced Christ in the Church.

“They begin to realise that the Church is actually alive,” he said. “Its primary function is not to be an institution, but to be a prophetic voice. It’s a profound community of believers, and young people are realising they need it if they want to go anywhere in life.”

He said the “tremendous breakdown” in the sense of community, especially within the Church – like parishes – has left youth profoundly influenced by the ‘tremendous experience of the mystery of the Church and they want to be a part of it”. He said that life in the Church is a “very distinctive brand of Christianity” – an ecclesial brand. This means, he said, that people are developing a love for the Church with the knowledge that Christ established it knowing that individuals can’t make it through life on their own.

The North American College has about 200 students from US dioceses and nine Australian students from Perth, Sydney, Adelaide, Melbourne and Lismore.

NATURAL FERTILITY MANAGEMENT & EDUCATION

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Newman College is a thriving Catholic Co-educational College from Kindergarten – Year 12, where students are encouraged in all areas of learning to reach their potential. From the commencement of 2009, Newman College will commence its new Middle School structure. The new Middle School, Years 7 – 9, will provide a planned transition for every child between a ‘Generalist’ primary school and a more specialised senior school.

Enrolments 2011 – Year 7

Applications are now invited for admission into Year 7, 2011

Limited places are available in some year groups for 2009 Newman College invites you to attend our Information Evening on Thursday 12 February, 2009 commencing at 7.30pm in the Champagnat Chapel (entrance via Empire Ave). This is an opportunity to meet staff as well as to discover more about the College, including its inspiring educational and community environment.

To register your attendance please contact Tamara Laurito (08) 9204 9405 laurito.tamara@cathednet.wa.edu.au

Enrolment Applications close for 2011 on Friday 13 March 2009 College Open Days www.newman.wa.edu.au

Seminarians go east

Neocats enhance ministry

n By Anthony Barich

Twenty-three Neocatechumenal Way students from Redemptoris Mater seminaries in Perth and Sydney are undergoing intellectual formation in Aboriginal anthropology to enhance their future ministry as priests in Australia.

Ten students from Perth and 13 from Sydney, plus Perth Rector Fr Michael Moore are in Melbourne attending a January 19-29 seminar run by Auxiliary Bishop Hilton Deakin of Melbourne at Croydon’s Sacred Heart monastery parish. Fr Moore told The Record that understanding anthropology is the key to helping seminarians in their future role of evangelisation as priests.

There are six priests of the

Neocatechumenal Way currently ministering in Aboriginal areas around Australia in desert, rural and city missions.

Aboriginal spirituality is “difficult to define” as it differs from people to people, Fr Moore said, so a study of anthropology is essential for priests’ training.

“We all have a natural desire to know God,” he said. “It’s about bringing them to a personal meeting with Jesus Christ.”

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”.

Is it true that I have over 40 technicians who are dedicated to getting my used cars in first class condition before sale?

Is it true that if somebody buys a used car from me, I will pay for a prepurchase RAC or similar inspection?

Raring to go: Students from Morley’s Neocatechumenal Redemptoris Mater seminary gather in the Melbourne parish of Sacred Heart, Croydon. Below, Perth Redemptoris Mater Rector, Fr Michael Moore, at left, with Sacred Heart parish’s Fr Len Size and Fr Gerry Prindiville, Rector of the Redemptoris Mater Seminary in Sydney.

Parishes up giving to Church’s global mission

Catholics of the archdiocese swung behind the Church’s annual appeal to support missionaries around the world

Forty-Five Perth parishes have increased the amount they donated to the archdiocesan Catholic Mission appeal from the previous year.

A total of $379,462.50 (see table at right) was raised from Propagation of the Faith and World Mission Sunday appeals held in almost every parish of the Archdiocese of Perth throughout the year.

“on behalf of all our overseas missionaries throughout the world, and the people they live with and serve, we offer our heart-felt thanks and blessings,” said Perth Catholic Mission office director Francis Leong.

As a result of the parish appeals and the inspiration offered by the various mission appeal speakers, his office received 31 calls during the year from parishioners interested in overseas missionary experience.

“ this level of interest seems to be on the increase with each passing year and is indicative of the growing need and yearning amongst parishioners both young and old to answer our baptismal call to Mission,” he said. the stories of Perth parishioners who have returned from such experience can be found on our recently established blogsite: missionstoriesoz@blogspot.com.

Pope appoints Aussie Schoenstatt sister

n By Anthony Barich

PoPe Benedict Xvi has, among others, appointed Sister M isabell Naumann, a member of the Secular institute of the Schoenstatt Sisters of Mary, as a Consultant to the Pontifical Council for Culture.

Sister Naumann is a Doctor of Sacred theology who lectures in systematic theology at the Catholic institute of Sydney, a member institute of the Sydney College of Divinity and is the Academic Dean of Sydney’s Seminary of the Good Shepherd.

Sister Naumann, who is also a member of the Pontifical international Marian Academy, sees in Mary a relevant model for the Church. She said that Mary’s “relational” qualities of openness, receptivity, readiness to dialogue are key values in the Church’s encounter with other cultures and the world’s religions.

Built into this openness and receptivity, she said, lies “an awe for the beauty and goodness that can be found in each person and culture”.

this Marian dimension is an essential ingredient for any inter-cultural and religious dialogue, said Sister Naumann, who is also an adjunct professor in theological anthropology at Melbourne’s John Paul ii institute for Marriage and Family Studies.

“Christ and the Gospel are above culture, and can never become prisoner of a particular culture, so a culture needs to be penetrated by Christ and the Gospel, by the Good News,” said Sister Naumann.

the Seminary of the Good Shepherd’s rector, Fr Anthony Percy, described the Schoenstatt Sister as “a woman of the Church” who brings great academic gifts and an ecclesial personality – a love for the Church. She is a gift to both the Pontifical Council for Culture and the Seminary, which she has served for two years.

Fr Percy has also this year taken on Sister Dawn Karey, a Sister of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart from Goulburn, to teach elocution and homily preparation.

He said having two such esteemed females in a seminary is important for the formation of priests, because “the priesthood is not a men’s club”.

Chaldean church must be moderating force: Benedict

vAtiCAN City (CNS) - Despite the dangers and difficulties iraqi Christians are facing, the Chaldean Catholic Church must take an active role in bringing peace and harmony to iraq by being a voice of moderation, Pope Benedict Xvi said. Christians have been present in iraq for thousands of years and as iraqi citizens they should be guaranteed full and equal rights with no distinctions made because of religion, he added.

Chaldean bishops from iraq, the United States and Australia met the Pope on January 24 at the end of their “ad limina” visits to report on the status of their dioceses. the Chaldean Catholic Church is one of the 22 eastern Catholic churches. Paying homage to churchmen killed in iraq in the past two years, the bishops presented the Pope with a cope that belonged to Chaldean Archbishop Paulos Faraj rahho of Mosul, iraq, and a stole used by Father ragheed Aziz Ganni, who was good friends with some Perth priests. Archbishop rahho was kidnapped and found dead in 2008, while Father Ganni and three subdeacons were shot by militants outside a church in Mosul in 2007. the Pope received the gifts “with emotion” and recalled the many victims of violence in iraq.

Pope urges youth to witness with Facebook

friendship by not forming real, face-to-face relationships.

"It would be sad if our desire to sustain and develop online friendships were to be at the cost of our availability to engage with our families, our neighbours and those we meet in the daily reality of our places of work, education and recreation," Pope Benedict said.

■ By Cindy Wooden

VATICAN CITY (CNS) - Pope Benedict XVI asked young Catholics to use their computers, Facebook accounts, blogs and Internet video posts to share with their peers the joy of faith in Christ.

"Be sure to announce the Gospel to your contemporaries with enthusiasm," the Pope told young people in his message for the 2009 celebration of World Communications Day.

"Human hearts are yearning for a world where love endures, where gifts are shared, where unity is built, where freedom finds meaning in truth and where identity is found in respectful communion," said Pope Benedict's message, which was released at the Vatican on January 23.

The theme for the 2009 World Communications Day, which will be celebrated on May 24 in most dioceses, is "New Technologies, New Relationships: Promoting a Culture of Respect, Dialogue and Friendship."

Releasing the message - which included e-mailing it directly to 100,000 young Catholics around the world and asking them to forward it or post it on their Web sites - the Vatican also announced that it would take a further step into the digital age by making video of the Pope available on YouTube, a video-sharing Web site.

In his message, Pope Benedict said that if used creatively and correctly new computer technologies can help people meet the human longing to connect with others and share the search for goodness, beauty and truth.

Of course, he said, people must "avoid the sharing of words and images that are degrading of human beings, that promote hatred and intolerance, that debase the goodness and intimacy of human sexuality or that exploit the weak and vulnerable."

And praising the way young people use the Internet to form and maintain friendships, he also cautioned against trivialising

"If the desire for virtual connectedness becomes obsessive, it may in fact function to isolate individuals from real social interaction while also disrupting the patterns of rest, silence and reflection that are necessary for healthy human development," the Pope said.

Still, Pope Benedict said, new technologies have an "extraordinary potential" to bring people together, to help them share information, to rally them to work for good causes and to educate.

"They respond to a fundamental desire of people to communicate and to relate to each other," he said.

"When we find ourselves drawn toward other people, when we want to know more about them and make ourselves known to them, we are responding to God's call - a call that is imprinted in our nature as beings created in the image and likeness of God, the God of communication and communion," Pope Benedict said.

Much of the Pope's message was addressed to the "digital generation," to young people who have grown up using computers and cellular phones, e-mail and text messaging.

He asked them "to bring the witness of their faith to the digital world" and to write openly about the joys of faith when they write their profiles on social-networking sites or blogs.

The first step in evangelisation is to understand the culture in which the Gospel will be proclaimed, he said, and young Catholics are the ones who have that understanding of their peers and of the Internet culture they use to communicate.

"You know their fears and their hopes, their aspirations and their disappointments," the Pope told young Catholics. "

The greatest gift you can give to them is to share with them the good news of a God who became man, who suffered, died and rose again to save all people."

Editor's Note: The text of the Pope's message in English is posted online at: http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/ messages/communications/documents/hf_ben-xvi_ mes_20090124_43rd-world-communications-day_en.html.

HARVEST PILGRIMAGES 2009

Looking for the Church? Benedict? From now, you can use YouTube

Vatican launches video news channel on YouTube

■ By Carol Glatz

VATICAN CITY - The Vatican launched a video channel on YouTube that will feature news coverage of Pope Benedict XVI and major Vatican events.

It marked the start of the Vatican's strategic vision of working "to be present wherever people are," said Archbishop Claudio Celli, head of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications.

The Vatican officially unveiled the new channel on January 23 during a press conference that presented Pope Benedict's message for World Communications Day, which was dedicated to new media technology.

Addressing pilgrims in St Peter's Square on January 25, the Pope said he hopes the YouTube channel "will enrich a wide range of people - including those who have yet to find a response to their spiritual yearning - through the knowledge and love of Jesus ChriSt"

The new Vatican initiative will make information and news about the Vatican more readily accessible on the Internet, the Pope said at the end of his midday Angelus address.

The wise use of online networking technology can help people form new communities "in ways that promote the search for truth, the good and the beautiful, transcending geographical boundaries and ethnic divisions," he said.

The Vatican channel is the result of a new partnership the Vatican Television Centre and Vatican Radio forged with the Internet giant Google and its video-sharing Web site, YouTube.

The Vatican's television and radio operations had been collaborating for the past year and a half to produce short news videos that are aired on the Vatican Radio Web site.

presence on the Web" made sense, he said, especially given that so much information on the Pope and the Vatican was already appearing in fragmented, out-of-context forms and scattered over multiple venues. By creating its own channel on YouTube - which boasts 70 million viewers a month - the Vatican is seeking to give people the opportunity to access information about the Pope and the Vatican from a regular and trustworthy source, said Father Lombardi. He said Pope Benedict "was personally informed about the project and sees it as a positive step" forward for the church.

The Vatican's ad-free YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/vatican, each day will offer one to three short video news clips of the Pope or major Vatican events with audio commentary in English, Italian, Spanish and German.

The footage is produced daily by the Vatican Television Centre, which works with Vatican Radio to produce the audio commentary.

Viewers will be able to leave comments, distribute the videos by e-mailing or messaging the links, and share the videos with friends on various social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook, as well as submit the Vatican video links to news aggregator sites like Digg.

Unlike many videos available on YouTube, which viewers can rate according to YouTube's one- to five-star grading system, the Vatican videos cannot be rated or embedded onto external websites or blogs.

The Vatican channel's home page, however, can be embedded elsewhere.

Just a few hours after its launch, the Vatican channel recorded more than 12,000 views and enrolled more than 500 free subscribers who will receive regular updates of new Vatican video uploads.

Henrique de Castro, a managing director for Google, said the company was honoured the Vatican chose to use YouTube to communicate with people around the world.

He said in a written press release that YouTube was pleased its online users "will have access to the words of the Pope on some of the most important issues facing the world today."

Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, head of the Vatican's television and radio offices, said during the January 23 press conference it only seemed natural to start offering the news clips "not only to a prevalently Catholic audience, but to a much larger, practically global audience."

He said it was important to offer these services to people who are looking for the pronouncements and position of "a highlevel moral authority like the Pope and, in general, the Catholic Church" concerning the major burning issues and problems in the world today.

"Therefore, choosing YouTube as an appropriate platform for establishing a

More people search on Google for "God," for example, than for many famous world figures and celebrities, he noted in written remarks.

Father Lombardi said the YouTube initiative was only the beginning of a long journey utilising some of the possibilities today's digital media and platforms offer. He said the Vatican hopes to expand the kind of video coverage it offers to include high-definition broadcasts and events without dubbed commentary, but in the original language and with "natural sound."

Online: The Vatican’s YouTube video news channel features news clips of Pope Benedict XVI and major Vatican events. The channel, www.youtube.com/vatican, was unveiled on January 23. PHOTO: CNS

in brief...

Catholics named in honours list

hobart Archbishop Adrian Doyle heads the list of Catholics who were honoured in the Australia Day list.

Archbishop Doyle publicly defended Pope Benedict XVI last month when the secular media misinterpreted his comments on calling for an “Ecology of the holy Spirit” as an attack on the same-sex attracted persons.

Archbishop Doyle, one of four Tasmanians named Members of the order of Australia, was honoured “for service to the Catholic Church in Australia and to the community, particularly as Archbishop of hobart and through Caritas programs supporting international aid to developing countries.”

Former South Australian education minister Greg Crafter of Norwood was also named for “service to the Parliament of South Australia, to education policy in the areas of curriculum development and improved opportunities for teachers, and to the community through social welfare and youth organisations.”

Bishop Peter Edward Stasiuk (pictured) of North Melbourne, Eparch of Australia’s ukrainian Catholics, was also honoured “for service to religion and to the community as Bishop for the ukrainian Catholics of Australia, New Zealand and oceania and through contributions to Catholic welfare, counselling and development programs.

Justice Kevin Hammond of Crawley, a member of the St Thomas More College Council and worshipping community, a member of the Perth Archdiocesan historical Commission and father of university of Notre Dame Australia Vice Chancellor Celia hammond, also made the honours list.

David Charles Scarf of Bellevue hill, NSW was also honoured for service to an Eastern rite Church, the Melkite Catholic Eparchy of Australia and New Zealand.

Salesian Father John Robert Briffa of heathcote, NSW was honoured “for service to the community through contributions to the establishment and support of educational and aged care facilities, and to the Catholic Church” while Josephite Sr Mary Cecelia of Lochinvar, NSW, received her award for “service to people with a hearing impairment through advocacy, training and leadership roles, and to the Catholic Church.”

Claudia Mary Smith of Bulli, NSW, was honoured for “service to the community, particularly through the Catholic Church, as an organist and a volunteer.”

Victorian Marlene Monahan was named for “service to education through the Catholic primary school system, and to the community. - Anthony BArich

‘Prayer diverted suburban killer’

Consecrated virgin spells out the saving power of the prayers of intercession

n By Robert Hiini

Though the forces of evil gather around us, the saving power of Jesus Christ has already defeated the enemy - so heard participants at this year's Flame Congress: The Word and Prophets of a New Age. held last weekend at John XXIII College, attendees heard Consecrated Virgin Maureen Togher of Morley talk about a tragic series of events and deaths that had occurred in her own family, the power of grace to convert sinners and its outpouring in response to intercessory prayer.

She said she believed a murderer on the run in WA three years ago - having in his possession a shotgun, ammunition and a "hit list" - had surrendered himself to police in response to prayers that were offered up specifically for that purpose at that year's congress.

She exhorted congress goers to "pray for prisoners who have committed heinous crimes everywhere because we're all children of god."

"The bigger message is for all of us, for those of us outside of prison who are imprisoned by bitterness and unforgiveness," Ms Togher said.

Archbishop Barry hickey and Vicar general, Fr Brian o’Loughlin also addressed the weekend gathering.

The Archbishop echoed Christ's words in Mark 14:50 (that the "Kingdom of god is near") explaining that we are called to participate in that kingdom now - personally and as a community, and to proclaim to the world that there is an alternative to the bondage of sin.

"Jesus came to bring about the Kingdom of god in you and around you. It's not of this world but it is here now and that is the source of our hope; that he has called us to enter that kingdom now," the Archbishop said.

"In community we see one another as children of god... People we don't like or have injured us, we

see beyond that. We see people that god loves and love them too.

“We see their hurt and their pain." he also said that it is only within the Kingdom of god that suffering has any meaning, helping us to ‘lean into’ god, to trust and depend on him more and more.

The Archbishop recalled that three politicians elected to the West Australian Parliament last year had referenced their love of god in their maiden speeches,

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adding that he had written them words of encouragement.

"There will be others who would laugh at them but they need words of encouragement. They were already possessed of the love of god and even in the cold world of politics they said that they saw their responsibilities through the eyes of Christ."

The Archbishop concluded by saying that, in the face of persecution, the best tool for evange-

lisation is the witness of our own lives.

"We don't condemn and we don't take up arms to fight these enemies,” he said.

“We already have the armour that Jesus has given us and that's the armoury of a transformed and good life; evidence of sins forgiven, grace received, the life of Jesus Christ in our hearts and the presence of the holy Spirit guiding us."

A full time person with a social work degree or relevant tertiary qualification is required to coordinate the support of a community of religious sisters in Perth and to manage the ministries of this community.

The person should have good communication and facilitation skills, and demonstrate an ability to relate and work well with elderly people and to manage a ministry centre efficiently and effectively.

For a position description, e-mail christine.wong@goodshep.com.au

Applications by 9 February 2009 to: The Province Leader, Sisters of the Good Shepherd, P O Box 182, Abbotsford Vic 3067 or e-mail:christine.wong@goodshep.com.au

Receiving the power: Flame Congress participants join in a praise and worship session at John XXIII College. Participants heard from a consecrated virgin of Perth who spoke of the enduring saving power of Christ at the charismatic congress, which this year drew both young and old faithful.

Spelling it out: Left, Archbishop Barry Hickey addresses the Flame Congress at John XXIII College, while, right, young men seek a blessing from Flame Ministries International’s own ministers during a praise and worship session.

Benedict XVI lifts excommunication of Lefebvrists

Pope lifts excommunications of Lefebvrite bishops.

n By John Thavis

VATICAN CITY (CNS)Pope Benedict XVI has lifted the excommunication of four bishops ordained against papal orders in 1988 by the late French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.

The move was considered a major concession to the archbishop’s traditionalist followers.

The Vatican said the decree removing the excommunication, signed on January 21 and made public three days later, marked an important step toward full communion with the Society of St Pius X, founded by Archbishop Lefebvre in 1970.

It said some questions remain unresolved with the society, including its future status and that of its priests, and that these issues would be the subject of further talks.

“The Holy Father was motivated in this decision by the hope that complete reconciliation and full communion may be reached as soon as possible,” a Vatican statement said.

The head of the Swiss-based society, Bishop Bernard Fellay, had requested the removal of the excommunication in a December 15 letter. Bishop Fellay wrote that he and the three other bishops illicitly ordained in 1988 were determined to remain Catholic and accepted the teachings of Pope Benedict “with filial spirit.”

The Vatican said the Pope had responded positively to the request in order to promote “the unity in charity of the universal Church and succeed in removing the scandal of division.”

In a letter published after the Vatican announcement, Bishop Fellay said his society was eager to begin talks with the Vatican about the causes of the “unprecedented crisis” shaking the Church.

“During these discussions with the Roman authorities we want to examine the deep causes of the present situation and, by bringing the appropriate remedy, achieve a lasting restoration of the Church,” he said.

The decree removing the excommunications, issued by the Congregation for Bishops, underlined the hope that this step would be followed by full communion and that all members of the Society of St Pius X would demonstrate “true fidelity and true acknowledgment of the magisterium and the authority of the Pope.” The move came after one of the illicitly ordained

bishops, British-born Bishop Richard Williamson, provoked Jewish protests with assertions that the Holocaust was exaggerated and that no Jews died in Nazi gas chambers. He spoke in a TV interview recorded last November but aired in mid-January.

Vatican spokesman, Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, said emphatically that the Vatican did not share Bishop Williamson’s views, but that it was a completely separate issue from the lifting of the excommunication.

“Saying a person is not excommunicated is not the same as saying one shares all his ideas or statements,” Father Lombardi said.

The removal of the excommunication was a key condition of the Society of St Pius X in its on-again, off-again talks with the Vatican over reconciliation. In 2007 the Pope granted another of the society’s requests, widening the possibility for use of the Tridentine rite, the form of the Mass used before the Second Vatican Council.

Archbishop Lefebvre rejected several important teachings of the Second Vatican Council, including those related to religious liberty, ecumenism and liturgy. The Vatican statements did not mention the council’s teachings, and Father Lombardi had no comment on whether the society was asked to adhere to them.

The Vatican action came the day before the 50th anniversary of Pope John XXIII’s announcement of the Second Vatican Council.

Father Lombardi said it would be wrong to see the lifting of the excommunication as a rejection of Vatican II. “On the contrary, I think it is a beautiful thing that the council is no longer considered an element of division, but as an element in which every member of the church can meet,” he said.

In addition to Bishops Fellay and Williamson, the decree removed the excommunication of French Bishop Bernard Tissier de Mallerais and Argentine Bishop Alphonso de Galarreta.

The Vatican said in 1988 that Archbishop Lefebvre and the bishops he ordained had incurred automatic excommunication for defying papal orders against the ordination.

Bishop Fellay called the Pope’s action a “unilateral, benevolent and courageous act” and described it as a victory for Catholic traditionalists worldwide. But he said he had made clear to the Vatican that the society still has problems with Vatican II.

He said, quoting from his December 15 letter: “We are ready to write the creed with our own

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blood, to sign the anti-modernist oath, the profession of faith of Pius IV, we accept and make our own all the councils up to the Second Vatican Council, about which we express some reservations.”

Bishop Fellay added in his communique that “we are convinced that we remain faithful to the line of conduct initiated by our found-

er, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, whose reputation we hope to soon see restored.”

Cardinal Andre Vingt-Trois of Paris, president of the French bishops’ conference, welcomed the Pope’s action as a “gesture of mercy and openness for strengthening church unity.” France is home to nearly half of the 200,000 mem-

bers of the Society of St Pius X. However, the cardinal rejected suggestions the move would make it easier for Catholics “to be Catholic while making selections in church teaching, doctrine and church tradition.”

French Cardinal JeanPierre Ricard of Bourdeaux said Pope Benedict knew “the drama a schism represents in the Church”.

Reconciled: Left, French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, a dissenter from Vatican II reforms, is pictured in a 1967 photo. Right, schismatic Bishop Bernard Fellay, superior general of the Society of St Pius X. Photo S : CNS

Family life - the hard way - for author

n By Geraldine Capp

Canberra business woman Karen Doyle knows what it is to live a joyless life – to be married and desperately lonely, to try to smile each day through a fog of despair. Through six years of infertility she carried the constant thought that her marriage may always be childless while carrying the burning desire to give birth to her own child.

Karen struggled through a series of health problems that lead to some dark months of questioning the meaning of her marriage to her business partner Jonathan. Karen suffered endometriosis, cysts on her ovaries, coeliac disease and a brain tumour. She is now expecting her second child but the path to motherhood certainly tested her faith.

Karen and Jonathan run Choicez Media, a business which provides values-based seminars, staff development, leadership training and digital media products on human sexuality to the education, churches and not-for-profit sectors. Each year the husband and wife team speak to thousands of young people and parents in Australia and overseas about the value of the gift of human sexuality.

Choicez Media had its genesis in the two years that the Doyles worked in a boarding school in northern Queensland. Many students were affected by pornography, sexually transmitted diseases, unplanned pregnancy and lack of awareness about how to properly relate to the opposite sex. They were strongly influenced by an over-sexualised culture.

As a trained oncology palliative care nurse, Karen became director of the school’s health clinic and saw how easily boys were affected by the impact of aggressively sexualised media and marketing culture. The easy availability of pornography on the internet was also a powerful force in the lives of many of the boys.

From these experiences, Karen and Jonathan realised that there was a dearth of appropriate sex education material to support teachers and a parents who wanted to inform young people about the Christian approach to relationships.

“We saw up close the pressure to be sexually active and the sexualisation of culture,” Karen explains. “Every day we would see children with sexually transmitted diseases, pregnancy and emotional and spiritual heart ache. We looked around for resources that were modern and Australian. There was nothing really suitable so we started writing programs there just for the kids about sexuality and sex in marriage.

“The Government is throwing so much money into safer sex education but despite the extra funding, rates of teenage pregnancy, abortion and sexually transmitted infections continue to increase.

“Our experience working with kids is that they want to know how to navigate relationships. They are not experienced with romance and falling in love and all those beau-

Pray with him

Pope Benedict’s prayer intentions

February 2009

tiful things that make up a real relationship.

“Our approach is to look at the whole person – not the one dimensional sexual approach. We show that people are made up of intellect, dreams, hopes and we show that fertility is a gift. Our message is so well received because it is the truth that strikes these young people in the heart. It really resonates with them because they know it is true.”

Karen grew up in Canberra, with a Catholic father and an Anglican mother. She attended Catholic schools and her family also had a lot of contact with the Pentecostal church. Her father ran a Christian bookshop and through that she was exposed to Canberra’s

General: That the Pastors of the Church may always be docile to the action of the Holy Spirit in their teaching and in their service to God’s people. Mission: That the Church in Africa may find adequate ways and means to promote reconciliation, justice and peace efficaciously, according to the indications of the Synod of the Bishops’ Special Assembly for Africa.

Karen’s tips on how to talk to your teenager

• Be involved in your teen’s life – know the music, television shows, movies and internet sites they like.

• Know who their friends are the their friend’s parents

• Be available to your child and make the time

• Listen to your child and understand their feelings

• Have a parenting plan and agree on the rules

• Apply boundaries early and stick to them

• Make your own marriage a priority because children learn from observing your own relationship

• Take responsibility for educating your teenager about sexuality and relationships. Don’t leave it to other people.

Karen’s favourite Bible verse

Proverbs 3 ver 5-6

• Trust in the LORD with all your heart; and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths.

Catholic charismatic movement. During their time in Queensland, Karen and Jonathan were a part of the Pentecostal church and their pastor was indigenous.

Karen has continued her studies through the John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family in Melbourne, where she and Jonathan are close to completing Masters degrees in Theology, Marriage and Family Studies, she is mother to one-year-old Olivia and she is expecting their second child in April. On top of this work load, last year Karen published her second book, The Genius of Womanhood In The Genius of Womanhood, Karen focuses of the four key components on what she calls “the

and spiritual motherhood, is every woman’s vocation.

“One of the big aspects of the feminine genius is that motherhood is our vocation whether we have children or not,” Karen explains.

“We are called to be spiritual mothers to people. I was a spiritual mother in our ministry but I always longed for our own children. My experience of infertility really tested my faith. I grew up with the dream I would get married and have children and live happily ever after. Some one said to me that the point of the cross was obedience through suffering and that really spoke to me. I had to pick up my cross every day and still follow Jesus.

“But as the years went on, there was a real extinguishing of the joy in my life. Birthdays and Christmas were awful. Mothers Day and Fathers Day were awful for us too.

“We had to celebrate with family while they did not understand the depth of our suffering because it is not like you have lost a child. It is not like we had a child who died.

“I found that it was a terribly lonely experience. You can be married and lonely. Each month of disappointment became more painful. At one stage, we went through fours months of utter despair. It put so much pressure on us because we had an idea of marriage and we had to go back and assess what our marriage meant. There was never a point were we would have left each other. We just had to adjust our thinking.”

To make things worse, in 2006 Karen was diagnosed with a benign tumour on her pituitary gland and was admitted to hospital for surgery. She decided not to proceed because of the risks. Then in 2007 the headaches got worse and she started vomiting. She thought the tumour had got worse, but as she was preparing for brain surgery, a blood test confirmed she was three months pregnant. She was stunned.

Karen sees the funny side of it because as a nurse and an accredited Family Life Educator with the Australian Council of Natural Family Planning, she has taught many people about pregnancy.

feminine genius” – reciprocity, sensitivity, generosity and maternity.

Reciprocity refers to a woman’s ability to receive Christ’s love. It is about being active and not in a passive state. It means a woman’s ability to stay receptive to God and all the people in her life. Sensitivity in the feminine personality is the ability to see and understand the longing is the human heart and respond with love.

But Karen writes in her book that this is only possible when a woman’s heart and mind are at peace before God. The qualities of reciprocity and sensitivity then give rise to generosity and selfless love. And finally, she writes that maternity, through physical

“The day I got engaged was one of the happiest days of my life and this day came in pretty close as well,” she laughs. “Jonathan and I just walked around with smiles on our faces. We were in shock.” Karen now says she thanks God for the experience of infertility because she can now empathise with others in the same situation.

The book also has a special significance for Karen because it features a photograph of her best friend Catherine, who died of a brain tumour, aged 32. Catherine died four hours before Olivia was born. In essence, Karen lost her best friend in the day she welcomed her first child into the world.

Karen’s priority now is motherhood but the Doyles still have big plans to expand Choicez Media. They plan to continue their speaking engagement and supporting teenagers and parents.

For more information: choicez.com.au

Fulfilment: Karen Doyle is combining motherhood, marriage and ministry. Her new book, The Genius of Womanhood, is available from The Record Bookshop.

Joy: Karen and her husband Jonathan with o livia, above. olivia was born after Karen suffered six years of infertility.

Vista

Meeting: Pope Benedict XVI greets Anglican Archbishop Rowan Williams of Canterbury during a private audience at the Vatican in late 2006. The Pope and archbishop signed a joint declaration noting the four decades of dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion while acknowledging current challenges to ecumenical progress. However the gap has continued to widen. In 2008 three senior Vatican representatives issued blunt statements to the wordwide Anglican Lambeth Conference on what they saw as the dimming prospects of unity chiefly caused by the Anglican Communion’s decisions to consecrate practising homosexual bishops and women clergy, among others. Meanwhile, nearly half a million members of the Traditional Anglican Communion may be poised to enter the Catholic Church, perhaps as a separate Anglican Rite or, as some speculate, as a personal prelature.

History may be in the making. It appears Rome is on the brink of welcoming close to half a million members of the Traditional Anglican Communion into membership of the Roman Catholic Church, writes Anthony Barich. Such a move would be the most historic development in Anglican-Catholic relations in the last 500 years. But it may also be a prelude to a much greater influx of Anglicans waiting on the sidelines, pushed too far by the controversy surrounding the consecration of practising homosexual bishops, women clergy and a host of other issues.

The Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has decided to recommend the Traditional Anglican Communion be accorded a personal prelature akin to Opus Dei, if talks between the TAC and the Vatican aimed at unity succeed, it is understood.

The TAC is a growing global community of approximately 400,000 members that took the historic step in 2007 of seeking full corporate and sacramental communion with the Catholic Church – a move that, if fulfilled, will be the biggest development in Catholic-Anglican relations since the English Reformation under King Henry VIII.

TAC members split from the Canterburybased Anglican Communion headed by Archbishop Rowan Williams over issues such as its ordination of women priests and episcopal consecrations of women and practising homosexuals.

The TAC’s case appeared to take a significant step forwards in October 2008 when it is understood that the CDF decided not to recommend the creation of a distinct Anglican rite within the Roman Catholic Church – as is the case with the Eastern Catholic Churches - but a personal prelature, a semi-autonomous group with its own clergy and laity.

Opus Dei was the first organisation in the Catholic Church to be recognised as a personal prelature, a new juridical form in

Historic Moment?

the life of the Church. A personal prelature is something like a global diocese without boundaries, headed by its own bishop and with its own membership and clergy.

Because no such juridical form of life in the Church had existed before, the development and recognition of a personal prelature took Opus Dei and Church officials decades to achieve.

An announcement could be made soon after Easter this year. It is understood that Pope Benedict XVI, who has taken a personal interest in the matter, has linked the issue to the year of St Paul, the greatest missionary in the history of the Church.

The Basilica of St Paul outside the Walls could feature prominently in such an announcement for its traditional and historical links to Anglicanism. Prior to the English Reformation it was the official Church of the Knights of the Garter.

The TAC’s Primate, Adelaide-based Archbishop John Hepworth, told The Record he has also informed the Holy See he wants to bring all the TAC’s bishops to Rome for the beatification of Cardinal Henry Newman, also an Anglican convert to the Catholic Church, as a celebration of Anglican-Catholic unity.

Although Cardinal Newman’s beatification is considered to be likely by many, the Church has made no announcement that Cardinal Newman will be beatified.

Archbishop Hepworth personally wrote to Pope Benedict in April 2007 indicating that the TAC planned a meeting of its world bishops, where it was anticipated they would unanimously agree to sign the Catechism of the Catholic Church and to seek full union with the Catholic Church.

This took place at a meeting of the TAC in the United Kingdom. TAC bishops placed the signed Catechism on the altar of the most historical Anglican and Catholic Marian shrine in the UK, the National Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham in Norfolk, before posting it up in the main street in an effort to gather public support.

Archbishop Hepworth, together with TAC bishops Robert Mercer and Peter Wilkinson, presented the signed items personally to Fr Augustine Di Noia OP, the CDF’s senior ecumenical theologian, on October 11, 2007, in a meeting organised by CDF secretary Archbishop Angelo Amato.

Bishop Mercer, a monk who is now

retired and living in England, is the former Anglican Bishop of Matabeleland, Zimbabwe. Bishop Wilkinson is the TAC’s diocesan bishop in Canada.

TAC’s Canadian Bishop Peter Wilkinson has close ties to the Catholic hierarchy in British Columbia, which has also met the CDF on the issue. He has already briefed Vancouver archdiocesan priests.

One potential problem for the Holy See would be the TAC’s bishops, most of whom are married. Neither the Roman Catholic nor Eastern Catholic churches permit married bishops.

Before he became Pope, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger discussed the issue of married bishops in the 1990s during meetings of the Anglican Roman Catholic International Commission exploring unity, before the Anglican Church’s ordination of women priests derailed it.

One former Anglican priest who became a Catholic priest told The Record that the ideal end for the TAC would be to become the 28th Rite within the Catholic Church, along with the Eastern Churches, which have the same sacraments and are recognised by Rome.

The TAC’s request is the closest any section of the Anglican Church has ever come to full communion with Rome because the TAC has set no preconditions. Instead it has explicitly submitted itself entirely to the Holy See’s decisions.

Six days prior to the October 11 meeting between TAC bishops and the Holy See – on October 5 – the TAC’s bishops, vicars-general of dioceses without bishops, and theological advisers who assisted in a plenary meeting signed a declaration of belief in the truth of the whole Catechism of the Catholic Church.

The declaration said, in part: “We accept that the most complete and authentic expression and application of the Catholic faith in this moment of time is found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church and its Compendium, which we have signed, together with this letter as attesting to the faith we aspire to teach and hold.”

Statements about the seriousness of the division between the Anglican Communion and the Catholic Church caused by issues such as the ordination of women priests were emphasised at the wordwide Lambeth Conference held in the UK in 2008.

At the conference, three Catholic cardinals – Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, the Archbishop of Westminster Cormac Murphy-O’Connor and the Prefect for the Vatican’s Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, Ivan Dias, the Pope’s personal envoy, all addressed the issue.

Waiting... Bishops of the Traditional Anglican Communion gather with Australian Prelate Archbishop John Hepworth in Canada in 2006.

The rocky path to Rome can be full of historical, personal and emotional challenges for Anglicans...

Coming home

One Australian Catholic Bishop is watching current developments in the Anglican Communion with great interest. He has a special reason for understanding the difficulties for all concerned. Anthony Barich reports.

Leaving Mother Church was not easy for Roman Catholic Bishop Geoffrey Jarrett of Lismore in northern NSW.

Born in Kyneton, Victoria, Bishop Jarrett worked for several years in the film unit of BBC Television in London before studying for the Anglican ministry at the Theological College of the Society of the Sacred Mission at Kelham, Nottinghamshire.

He was always attracted to the style of Catholic Cardinal Basil Hume, the former Archbishop of Westminster who accepted hundreds of Anglicans into the Catholic Church and ordained many as priests when they left the Anglican Church when it started ordaining women in the early 1990s.

“This could be a moment of grace,” the Cardinal said on his 70th birthday in 1993. “It could be the conversion of England for which we have prayed all these years.”

The Cardinal’s vision of a re-unified Catholic Church including former Anglicans seems identical to the model members of the Traditional Anglican Communion imagine – one which retains its strongly English heritage and liturgical beauty while being in communion with Rome. It’s also the same model that helped lead Bishop Jarrett to the Catholic fold.

However Archbishop John Hepworth, the Primate of the Traditional Anglican Communion currently seeking communion with Rome (see main story), says that many of the approximately 700 Anglican priests who became Catholic priests in the ‘90s found it too difficult emotionally, and eventually returned, begrudgingly, to Canterbury

“The spiritual gap was too great,” he said. “They felt they’d been stripped of their Anglican identity.”

“Many of them would’ve said that there was no unique Anglican ethos 20 years ago, but now there is, and we need to take that into account in conversion processes.”

The Primate says there is an Anglican spirituality which needs to be fused with the idea of Papal authority - an authority which the TAC fully respects and has submitted itself to in requesting communion with Rome.

“For that reason, thank God for the Catechism of the Catholic Church, as we can give it to our people,” Hepworth says.

“Many of our parishes have bought a hundred or more Catechisms and have weekly studies of it to more fully

understand what the TAC bishops have promised over the past 12 months.”

Bishop Jarrett, meanwhile, knows the pain of leaving Mother Church including the concern that friends and family will cut off or disassociate themselves from the Anglican who decides to become a Roman Catholic.

He also found himself compelled by his searchings to join the Catholic Church. But he also knows the joy and utter contentment once he found his “home” in the Catholic Church.

Therefore, he urges Catholics who encounter TAC faithful to welcome them as they would anyone who wants to join the Catholic Church.

“Like most converts, it’s a struggle to become a Catholic,” he says. “There are many very difficult questions that are not easy to resolve, and you come to the point, as I did, that you can’t do anything else but become a Catholic.

“When you come to believe what the Catholic Church says about itself, it’s still hard to go forward when it’s impossible to go back.

Bishop Jarrett believes a “re-alignment” is currently occurring within the Anglican Church. Despite many of the 77 million Anglicans worldwide still remaining technically in communion with the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Church also shows signs of threatening to unravel due to internal tensions over theological issues. The realignment has some notable features.

“What is most assertive in the Anglican Communion at the moment is a strong evangelicalism, and it’s very Biblebased, very much out to win people to Christ. That side of Anglicanism has a fair bit in common with Christian outreach people, that’s where the strength of Anglicanism seems to be at the moment,” he says.

Then, he says, there are ‘High Church’ Anglicans whose liturgy is very close to that of the Catholic Church, but having chosen to ordain and consecrate women as priests and bishops, “you couldn’t say they’re re-aligned with sacramental order, the teaching of the Church or respect for the authority of the Pope”.

He said he noticed a strong Anglo-Catholic side of Anglicanism - of which he also became part - while studying in England. Many of these are strongly ‘Catholic principled’ with many – both priest and lay – choosing eventually to become Catholic.

Then there are others, he says, who have ‘Catholic inclinations’ but prefer to stay where they are as it appears too great a hurdle to leave Anglicanism, especially when generations of their families have stayed.

“There are a number of Anglicans who are just hoping against hope that everything will turn out all right,” he says. “They’ll continue in their parish life and hope that somehow they’ll be able to continue as Anglicans even though they resist the ordination of women and other decisions.

“They are the ones who, if the Catholic Church was able

Beacon of hope: South Australian Archbishop John Hepworth, the Primate of the Traditional Anglican Communion, walks among a group of 400 of the faithful who he recently confirmed in Kenya. Below left, Bishop Robinson smiles after being installed as head of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire in Durham, New Hampshire, in 2003. He is the first openly gay bishop in the Anglican Communion. Controversy surrounded installation, with Anglicans threatening a worldwide split over the issue.

to bring about a reconciliation with a substantial group of Anglicans, could well also come across with that body. It could tip the balance for them.”

As these faithful are already familiar with everything the Church believes and teaches and have, in fact, suffered for their beliefs, Bishop Jarrett says: “Catholics can only be sympathetic towards these people.

“They often feel alone and isolated. They’ve left their mother Church due to matters of conscience that have been very painful for them, yet have not been able to enter into communion with the Catholic Church.”

Archbishop Hepworth also sees another realignment within Anglicanism coming out of the current “extraordinary ferment,” which is not necessarily sympathetic to the Catholic Church but which has strong traditional Anglican elements of missionary fervour.

“There’s extraordinary growth there, and with it comes growth of opposition to contemporary Catholicism, such as Catholic doctrines about the Eucharist and the Mass.

“Meanwhile, Catholic Anglicans like ourselves find we have no place within the Anglican Communion; there’s a high level of intolerance but we’re also finding it possible to communicate with the Holy See in a way we couldn’t have done previously.”

Much is riding on the Holy See’s hoped-for decision to welcome the TAC.

Archbishop Hepworth believes it likely some among the Eastern Orthodox churches are also waiting and watching to see what happens to the TAC.

“They will be asking how Rome will cope with these groups; and if it can, how it would cope with groups like themselves. We’ve posed problems Rome has not had to deal with for 400 years as nobody’s actually asked in this way for that period. There are unknowns and fears on both sides.”

Whatever the case, Bishop Jarrett urges Catholics to welcome Traditional Anglicans into the fold. He knows; being received into the Catholic Church was the best thing that ever happened to him. Being ordained a Catholic priest and later consecrated a bishop made the experience all that more special.

“When you actually have the courage of your convictions (to join the Catholic Church), it all opens out beautifully and you’re at home,” he says. “You’re never happier. “ When he first travelled to England at the age of 18 he was a “practising Christian,” while work often took him past the Catholic Westminster Cathedral where he frequently popped in to pray.

“I’d never at that time even thought about becoming a Catholic. This is the way the Lord guides you. I would never have even dreamt of being ordained a Catholic priest, let alone being consecrated a bishop, when I was 18.

“That’s why I’d do everything I could to help someone in a similar situation (of transition).”

Continued on Page 11

2008 was a year of test, but also of great hope: Trad Anglican Prelate

n By Anthony Barich

The Holy See’s openness towards the TAC’s request for full unity with the Roman Catholic Church has energised the TAC to embrace its own sufferings around the globe in anticipation of unity, the worldwide Communion’s primate has told The Record

Archbishop John Hepworth, the Adelaide-based Primate of the TAC told The Record: “The mere fact that we’ve asked (Rome for communion), has changed us. We are now looking on ourselves and other Anglicans in a quite different light.”

The TAC, which exists in 42 countries, has gone through many trials, especially in the Third World where their numbers are greatest, and sometimes at the hands of other Christian denominations. But it is all worth it, he says, as their eyes are on the ultimate prize – full, sacramental and corporate union with Rome.

“It has been a good year for our Communion,” Archbishop Hepworth told his faithful in a recent letter for Advent and Christmas.

“Sin and wickedness have touched us, but we have glimpsed greatness as we have seen our people respond. We are in a very real sense a people waiting ... as we ‘watch and pray’ for the unity, visible and Eucharistic, for which we have worked and prayed so long.”

Cardinal William Levada, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, wrote to Archbishop Hepworth on July 5, 2008 assuring him of the “serious attention which the Congregation gives to the prospect of corporate unity” raised in a letter signed by all TAC bishops and delivered personally to the Holy See together with a signed affirmation and copy of the Catechism of the Catholic Church in 2007.

As they await the Holy See’s expected announcement over the coming weeks, the TAC has endured considerable trials. A decades-long dispute stems from the creation of the Church of South India – an amalgamation of Protestant churches - when England granted India freedom from colonial rule in 1947. Many Anglicans refused to abandon traditional Anglicanism. These and their descendants have joined the TAC but are being legally challenged for their land by Protestants still running court cases against them.

In South America, where the TAC’s new Spanish Province is based, the violence of drug lords, poverty and crime has drastically affected domestic life. However some Episcopal Church [the name used for the Anglican Communion in many parts of the Americas] mission districts have disengaged from a Church they see as has intensely liberal and joined the TAC.

In many countries, Archbishop Hepworth told The Record, “we are adding new national groups as well as new parishes who in most cases are joining us from the Anglican Communion either due to the spread of women’s ordination and other liberal problems or because they are enthused by the prospect of unity with the Holy See.”

In Pakistan, where, he says, “to celebrate (Christ’s) birth except in secret will invite death”, the TAC has underground bishops. The Archbishop visits his fellow faithful using an identity that does not identify him as a priest.

The prelate also mentioned in his Christmas and Advent address the inspiration of the “sacrificial witness” in Japan of Bishop Raphael Kajiwara of Yokohama who, when the Japanese Anglican Church started ordaining women, eventually resigned. Bishop

Kajiwara now heads the TAC province in Japan and ministers to Anglicans who do not accept the ordination of women and other changes.

Signs of TAC growth include: l 11 new churches are being built in Kenya. Archbishop Hepworth visited 16 new parishes there, opening 11 new church buildings and confirmed 380 newly baptised people all of whom converted from paganism. “They have simply been evangelised by newly-energised clergy who have come to the TAC from Anglicanism,” Hepworth said.

l Traditional Anglicanism has prospered in Cameroon where Anglicanism has historically been strong because of British influence, but where it has now become increasingly liberal. The TAC has grown despite the profound poverty in many poor districts where its adherents often gather in ‘mud churches’.

l In the south of India, new ‘churches’ gather on flat rooftops and in unfinished buildings. In one area approximately 500km south of Mumbai near Bangalore, one congregation has been meeting led by a deacon on top of an eight-storey building, where they built a grass shelter. Mainly young families, they are studying to prepare to become Eucharistic Christians.

l In France and Switzerland the TAC is attracting Anglicans estranged from their faith. “We can form missions to minister to the English living in [the European Union] without stepping on Catholic toes,” Archbishop Hepworth said.

l In South Africa, despite being one of the more aggressively liberal Anglican regions, there are 90 TAC parishes and the number is growing. One TAC bishop has focused on gathering and educating TAC clergy who otherwise would spend most of their time “in lonely isolation from each other”. A new altar linen and vestmentmaking business has been established; profits will help make that Church less dependent on missionary giving.

l Canada has been a “powerhouse of support” to Hepworth’s work as TAC Primate, with three churches being overseen by three TAC bishops.

l In the US, where many developments such as the consecration of openly practicing homosexual clergy or women bishops have caused deep controversy within the Anglican Church the TAC provides havens “of peace and beauty” for alienated faithful in its parishes

l In New Zealand, “among the most abusively liberal Anglican environments anywhere, we at last have parishes emerging and ministries being developed, and two newly ordained deacons studying for the priesthood”, he said.

l In the Torres Strait, the tenth anniversary of TAC’s work is being celebrated with comprehensive planning for the future of its work in that region.

l In Australia, where “for 20 years, we have been sorely tested and richly blessed,” Hepworth said, the TAC had taken the “daring step” of basing three regional bishops – Harry Entwistle in Perth, David Robarts in Melbourne and David Chislett in Brisbane to serve both the TAC and Forward in Faith Australia, a group of traditionalists still in the Anglican communion.

The TAC has also cooperated in shared Lenten and Advent services with local Roman Catholic parishes, as in Rockhampton, where it also shares a Catholic church for Sunday services.

In Melbourne and Perth, the TAC uses Catholic convent chapels in the city, and Bishop Harry Entwistle has a good rapport with Catholic Archbishop Barry Hickey. TAC’s church school on the Gold Coast has just achieved 2000 enrolments from pre-school to university entrance. “We thank God for the places where we are being tried, and the places where we are being rewarded. We pray for the unity of His body, still at times seemingly that of a Child,” Archbishop Hepworth said.

Bishop Gene the bishop’s RTES y TAC, CNS

Hope, doubt: Above, Archbishop John Hepworth in Kenya recently. Below, a consecrated female bishop,. one of the key reasons thousands of Anglicans are leaving Canterbury and seeking communion with Rome.

Part of the problem: Protesters at the 1998 Lambeth Conference in Canterbury, where bishops confronted divisions in the Anglican Communion over the ordination of openly gay clerics, the blessing of gay unions and the ordination of women bishops. CNS

Finding the faith: a slow process of becoming Catholic Chivalry: virtue or contempt?

My children have always come from the assumption of God’s presence. I grew up in a very non- religious background. I did go to the Presbyterian Church from the ages of six to nine. My parents weren’t going. I just took myself along because it was the closest Church I could walk to! I stopped going because religion wasn’t viewed positively at home. Yet God has always been present in my life even before I had the grace to know it.

Why I became Catholic

with Debbie Warrier

My first contact with the Catholic Church was through the education system. For me it was about getting my eldest daughter into a Catholic school with a good reputation. I am sometimes a little ashamed that my reason was so material but God works in mysterious ways. I recognise that without that incentive I would never have had a reason to go to Mass in the first place, nor gained what I have from this spiritual journey. I was told by someone that Mass was long and boring! However, I found this wasn’t true. I think the thing that touched me first was the hymns. It wasn’t the hell, fire and damnation stuff I was expecting. Instead the hymns had beautiful words about love and peace. Then I read the Gospel which also touched me. Even though it had been written over 2000 years ago it seemed to speak to me personally. It taught me how to live my life.

After that I found that I really needed to have more information about the faith. However, I didn’t know where to look. At the time I was going to University and was doing a Graduate Diploma in Education. I chose to do three Religious Education Units.

The units were really helpful for me. I am a logical person and I appreciated the theoretical explanations on such topics as scripture and the sacraments. The lecturer was very supportive. I had a lot of questions and she answered them in a realistic way. My parish priest was also very good at this. His pastoral approach warmed me.

What I treasure about the Catholic Church is the room it has for so many people with different opinions. For example, take Creation. Some people believe that we are descended from Adam and Eve and the world was literally created in six days. Other people like me believe that the version of Creation found in Genesis was metaphorical. What we agree on is God made the world and I think that is beautiful.

I was received into the Catholic Church in 2005. I did that through an RCIA group. I now help to run that group. I am also very involved in my parish. I am a reader at Mass, a Eucharistic Minister; a coordinator of the children’s liturgy and help organise regular Children’s Masses. At present I am doing an adult faith education course at the Maranatha Institute.

I belong to a prayer group and also attend a regular ecumenical spirituality program. We’ve had talks on such topics as Ignatian spirituality and the Enneagram. Being exposed to other forms of Christianity doesn’t mean I’m going to jump ship. For me it’s the opposite. It actually makes me understand who I am as a Catholic. I guess my faith has pretty much become a part of my life!

debwarrier@hotmail.com

When the Titanic sank in 1912, many men went down with her. “Women and children first was neither the rule of captain nor of sea”, said one of the surviving officers later, “but of human nature”. Chivalry, the ideal of men choosing to respond to a situation with courage and self-sacrifice, was obviously still alive and well at the beginning of the 20th century. So what has happened since?

I found myself pondering the demise of this ancient practice after taking my six year-old son to see “The Tale of

Despereaux”, an animated story about a mouse who modelled his life on the Code of Chivalry that was born in the Middle Ages. Despereaux overcame many life-threatening obstacles and personal hardships in his quest to save the Princess in distress.

It was an inspiring tale that embraced and encouraged virtues such as: courage, honour, justice, mercy, truth, loyalty, nobility, and self-sacrifice. I came away with a deep yearning to teach my son these beautiful attributes and explain to him how the Knights of old lived and died by them. But then I had to check myself.

The very foundations of chivalry, the principle that men, with their stronger physical characteristics, would be the protectors of those more vulnerable, that is, women and children, is considered outmoded and sexist. What sort of father would I be if I filled my child’s head and heart with such “primitive” ideals?

Historically, chivalry reached its peak of practice and popularity between the 11th and 13th centuries when Muslim aggression inspired a Crusade-driven marriage between the Church and the feudal knights who where seconded to defend them. These resulting defenders of faith laid the foundation stones of honour and courage that morphed over the proceeding centuries into a less dramatic form of gentlemanly conduct that occupied western society in the earlier stages of the 20th century. Behaviours such as opening doors, offering seats and carrying heavy loads were hereditarily embraced by men and were seen as endeavours to protect and respect.

However in the latter half of last century things began to change. Such practices were interpreted as signs of dominance and superiority, indicative of a patriarchal desire to keep women

I say I say

By Mark Reidy

subordinate. US novelist and social commentator, Albert Guerard, went as far as describing chivalry as, “the most delicate form of contempt” and it seems that he had many supporters, as acts once described as gentlemanly became scarcer with each passing generation. So now I must decide whether I will continue this trend. Do I teach my son that any action that suggests that women are different in any way is an affront to the progress that has been made over the last fifty years? Or do I adhere to my belief that God has indeed created men and women differently and that, although we are equal, we have never and will never be the same; that each gender has been given specific qualities that are designed to complement one another, and that many of these are not transferable.

Eventually my son must make his own decisions, but I believe it is my responsibility to teach him that any action toward another should only ever extend from a heart of love, never superiority. I want him to understand that although actions can appear to be chivalrous on the surface, they can indeed be, “delicate forms of contempt”, if that is the attitude that dwells in the heart of the giver.

That is why I must also teach him to constantly gauge his motives towards others, particularly women, so that any interaction is guided only by honour, respect and self-sacrifice. I must let him know that to do anything less is to undermine the masculinity that God has bestowed upon him.

Present or not, thanks a good idea

Thanksgiving after Communion

When I was growing up many years ago we were taught that it was a good idea to spend ten minutes in thanksgiving after Mass, since Our Lord was still within us in the sacramental species for that length of time. Few people do that these days. Is it still a good idea?

There is no question that it is a good idea to spend some time in thanksgiving after Mass, and this even if one has not been able to receive Our Lord in Communion.

We should bear in mind, of course, that in many parishes there is a time of silence after Communion in which we can do part or all of our thanksgiving.

But I wouldn’t recommend focusing on the presence of Christ in our body, since we cannot be sure for how long he is present in the sacramental species.

It has always been taught that Christ remains in the Eucharist as long as the species, or appearances of the host, are those of bread. Thus if the host were left in the tabernacle for years, it would eventually disintegrate and would no longer have the appearance of bread, at which time the Real Presence would also cease.

When we receive Communion, the host dissolves on the tongue almost immediately, so it is doubtful that Christ is present sacramentally for any appreciable time after that.

But independently of that, there is every reason to remain for some time after Mass in thanksgiving.

The Mass is the high point of the week, or of the day, for those who

By Fr John Flader

are able to attend it more frequently. In it we are present at the sacrifice of Calvary, where Jesus offers himself to the Father for our Redemption in a sacrifice of infinite value.

We can unite our personal intentions with those of the priest, knowing that they are not only our personal prayer, but are now raised to the Father by Christ in union with his sacrifice. When we want to pray with special efficacy, the most powerful way is to unite our intentions with the Mass.

And before the sacrifice takes place, God speaks to us in the readings. It is as if we are with Jesus on the road to Emmaus, and he is explaining the Scriptures to us. (cf. Lk 24:27)

And then as the personal high point of the Mass, Jesus gives himself to us in holy Communion. As he explains in the synagogue of Capernaum, when we receive him in the Eucharist he lives in us and we live in him. (cf. Jn 6:56)

There is no more intimate union with Jesus on earth than Eucharistic Communion. Truly, we become “one flesh” with him.

For all of these reasons a lifetime would not suffice to thank God adequately for the great gift of participating in the Eucharist.

Pope John Paul II wrote in his encyclical Ecclesia de Eucharistia, “In the Eucharist we have Jesus, we have his redemptive sacrifice, we have his res-

urrection, we have the gift of the Holy Spirit, we have adoration, obedience and love of the Father. Were we to disregard the Eucharist, how could we overcome our own deficiency?”(n. 60)

Given the unparalleled importance of the Eucharist in our life, it makes sense to remain in thanksgiving once the Mass is finished, just as it makes sense to arrive at the church early in order to prepare ourselves for this most important activity.

When people are going to attend a “special” Mass, for example one celebrated by the Pope or a bishop or a Mass for a special occasion such as a wedding or funeral, they endeavour to arrive early and are in no hurry to leave afterwards. They want to reflect on the great mystery in which they are participating.

Well, every Mass is “special”. In every Mass we are with Jesus on Calvary, he speaks to us in the readings and he gives himself to us in holy Communion. It is only natural to want to pray beforehand and to give thanks afterwards. In the thanksgiving, apart from thanking God for what has just taken place and for the great gift we have just received, we can reflect on what we have heard in the readings or the homily and on how we are going to put it into effect. Also, we can pray for our loved ones and for all our other intentions.

And of course we can consider that we are now “other Christs” in a very special way, having become united intimately with Jesus in holy Communion.

When we leave the church to “go in peace to love and serve the Lord”, we should act in accordance with our great dignity so that we will be more effective in making Christ present to others.

-director@caec.com.au

Helen Vester

Young “New Wave” of the Holy Spirit Training “agents

of the New Evangelisation” at Youth Leaders Formation Course

At the end of 2008, Cardinal George Pell brought in the big guns to catechise 22 youth aged 18-32 at the aptly named Benedict XVI Centre to water the seeds of World Youth Day 2008. By all reports, it was a blast. Anthony Barich reports.

Webster’s Dictionary defines ‘cadres’ as “a cell of indoctrinated leaders active in promoting the interests of a revolutionary party”.

And make no mistake, Pope Benedict XVI chose Australia to host World Youth Day 2008 to instigate nothing less than a revolution. Not a revolution of the political sort, but within the hearts and minds of the Western world.

The course at the Benedict XVI Retreat Centre in Grose Vale from November 24-December 20 in the Blue Mountains of NSW was small. It cost $495, and was over in under a month.

Then again, the Church itself started with similar humble beginnings, albeit the price tag, in most cases, was their very lives.

But the Archdiocese of Sydney’s Youth Leaders Formation Course - a month-long live-in retreat of intensive Catholic community, spiritual, intellectual and mission formation – did nothing short of change the lives of the 22 18-32-year-olds who attended.

They are now called to change the lives of others, but not as ‘comrades’ or ‘employees’ of the Church, but in their own daily lives.

Based on the Emmanuel School of Mission which runs a similar intensive nine-month course in Rome, the course outline’s aims were clear. Each candidate will:

o Become a more enthusiastic witness to faith in Jesus Christ for youth, young adults and the wider Australian community,

o Be ready to be an agent for the New Evangelisation, a builder of a culture of life and an architect of a new civilisation founded on love,

o Increase their understanding of many aspects of the Catholic faith: beliefs, sacraments, Christian life and prayer,

o Develop skills in pastoral leadership, particularly in the service of young people,

o Be equipped to help young people to experience the power of the Holy Spirit, especially in the Word of God and the Sacraments.

The attendees, like Perth’s own Elise Keeley, are not youth ministry leadersthough she is active in her local Claremont parish. The aim was to form missionaries in whatever God has called them to be in their lives – wives, husbands, priests, street-cleaners, whatever.

... called to change the lives of others, not as ‘comrades’ or ‘employees’ of the Church, but in their own daily lives.

The retreat’s list of lecturers reads like a who’s who of the best Catholic minds Australia has to offer, including The Record’s own columnists Fr John Flader, Cardinal Pell’s director of Adult Education in his Sydney Archdiocese, and Anna Krohn, adjunct lecturer at the John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family in Melbourne. Then there was Cardinal Pell’s own private secretary Michael Casey; the prelate’s Auxiliary Bishop Julian Porteous, their Catholic Education Office evangelisation officer Anthony Cleary; Choicez Media founder, JPII Institute graduate and youth sex educator Jonathan Doyle; Fr Dominic Murphy OP, the young Dominican who, along with WYD08 organiser Bishop

Anthony Fisher OP, is leading young men back to the Order… the list goes on.

These are people of quality. They left Elise - and, according to organisers all 21 other participants - with no doubt that this was the “best time of our lives”. And that’s saying something, especially after WYD08. The program included a three-day silent retreat. Therese Nichols, 28, was its coordinator – a young person leading other youth who are the Church of today, not tomorrow, as Australia’s bishops keep saying. It was the second such course Therese has run. The first was a three-month preparatory course prior to WYD08 from March-June 2007 run in a similar vein. Therese is staggered at the results. If the early Church was moved by the Holy Spirit to change the lives of others through the love of the Holy Spirit, then this is nothing less than a renewal of that Spirit.

“The fruits of this post-WYD08 retreat have been so strong,” said Therese, who attended the Emmanuel School of Mission in Rome herself.

“It proves how important formation is and how much we need it. WYD08 was the springboard to continue with formation where people can go to deepen their understanding of the Catholic faith, so that it will be more considered and longerlasting.”

The mandate is clear. “Not everybody is called to work for the Church,” she says. “We need the knowledge of our faith and to develop personal relationship with Jesus. This retreat waters the seeds and encourages them to go out in whatever area of their lives.”

While she admits 22 is a small number to start with to evangelise a country with up to 20 million, it’s all part of the plan.

“To have more on a course like this would defeat the purpose. It develops a close-knit community, and helps form each heart on an intimate level. In Scripture, when Jesus went out to the Samaritan woman at the well, not speaking to thousands, she went off and told others. The effects of something like this snowballs,” she said.

The $495 price tag was actually very cheap. The Archdiocese of Sydney heavily subsidised it.

Resources are available to other dioceses to run similar programs, as Sydney has the template, and the Emmanuel School of Mission is well-known enough in Church circles as a quality producer of missionaries - that is, Catholics.

The retreat showed that being a Catholic is not just about going to Mass on Sunday, but to seek the Truth in the Gospels in a rational way and manifest it in one’s everyday life. Hence, the retreat covered a range of areas where faith can be more than just a nice feeling.

The retreat dealt with managing conflict, motivation, being called to holiness, the importance of prayer, Catechesis on the nature of Jesus Christ as truly God and truly man, the nature of the Church as the Body of Christ, Scripture, tradition, the sacraments and the life of the parish, relativism (which Benedict XVI has warned against) and how to appreciate the value of living a life in the Truth.

It also covered the Catechism, the place of Mary in Scripture and the Church, the Mass, moral Truths, Apologetics (the best way to explain and defend the Catholic faith), exploring how to live in a sex-saturated world, Theology of the Body made simple, love and marriage, the sanctity of human life and the feminine genius and the masculine spirit.

Discussing Catholic social teaching, lecturers formed the youth to be instruments of justice and peace (rather than focus on ‘social justice’) by teaching them to decipher the plan and desire of God for His people as revealed by the prophets and then by Jesus, and how a life of prayer and a sound spirituality is intrinsically linked to working for peace and justice.

...the remarkable street evangelisation, and ‘bus stop ministry’, striking up conversations and inviting people to Mass.

Participants were also exposed to Religious witness by Religious orders, and there was a “Vocations Expo” similar to that on display at WYD08.

Bishop Porteous spoke on being agents of the New Evangelisation that JPII referred to, exploring the variety of forms and media of the New Evangelisaton.

Mike Willesee, the prominent journalist who underwent a dramatic conversion and wrote a book on Eucharistic miracles, addressed the retreat on living as Catholics in public life, and, among other things, exploring the connection and contrast between Catholic values and other values in guiding public life.

Then, as the Emmanuel School’s Rome mission does, participants underwent a two-day parish mission at St Brendan’s at Annandale in conjunction with Credo, Bishop Porteous’ initiative, where they gave testimonies at the local secondary school and spent a day with students.

On the second day they did the remarkable street evangelisation, and – again, Bishop Porteous’ idea – ‘bus stop ministry’, striking up random conversations and inviting people to Mass.

Though admitting that just doing this randomly is “very difficult”, she said participants were strengthened by living in community, and had surprising success, with some retreat members praying with members of the public.

“It always blows me away how open people are on the street,” Therese says. “It’s clear that they’re thirsting for something.

The “best time of our lives”: Participants of the Archdiocese of Sydney’s Youth Leaders Formation Course (above), held late last year to build on the effects of the “new outpouring of the Holy Spirit”after World Youth Day 08.

Loads of fun: Friendship abounds between Natalie Ambrose, Susie Miechels, Therese Nichols and Megan Calabro (right) while Trent Prasser enjoys a moment above.

Youth leaders on a mission: The “new wave” of young Catholic leaders (above) gathering after Mass and Susan Miechels (right) honing her musical skills.

Pro-lifers denounce new President’s bailout of US aid groups promoting abortions in other countries

Obama OK’s financing abortion providers

n By Chaz Muth

WASHINGTON (CNS) - Prolife activists quickly denounced President Barack Obama’s January 23 signing of an executive order reversing the Mexico City policy, a move that clears the way for the federal government to provide aid to programs that promote or perform abortion overseas.

“It is clear that the provisions of the Mexico City policy are unnecessarily broad and unwarranted under current law, and for the past eight years they have undermined efforts to promote safe and effective voluntary family planning in developing countries,” Obama said.

He made the comments in a prepared statement on January 23, issued shortly after he signed an executive order reversing the ban first instituted by President Ronald Reagan in 1984.

“For these reasons,” he continued, “it is right for us to rescind this policy and restore critical efforts to protect and empower women and promote global economic development.”

Obama signed the order with no fanfare and with no news media in the room, a marked contrast to signings of executive orders earlier that week.

Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia, chairman of the US bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, called the reversal “very disappointing.”

“An administration that wants to reduce abortions should not divert US funds to groups that promote abortions,” Cardinal Rigali said.

“What a terrible way to begin

a new administration, with an abortion business bailout that will exploit women in developing countries for political ends,” said Charmaine Yoest, president of the Washington-based Americans United for Life Action.

“We should not export the tragedy of abortion to other nations, and we certainly shouldn’t do so via the hard-earned dollars of

American taxpayers,” she said. The policy banned US taxpayer money, usually in the form of funds from the US Agency for International Development, from going to international family planning groups that either offer abortions or provide information, counselling or referrals about abortion.

A federal law known as the Hyde amendment prohibits US funding

from being used directly to provide abortions.

The Mexico City policy was reversed by President Bill Clinton in 1993 and re-established under President George W Bush in 2001.

It is known as the Mexico City policy because it was unveiled at a UN conference there in 1984.

Cardinal Francis E. George of Chicago, president of the confer-

ence, had urged Obama shortly before his inauguration not to reverse the Mexico City policy.

News of the executive order also drew strong public criticism from Priests for Life, a group that calls itself the largest US Catholic prolife organisation dedicated to ending abortion and euthanasia.

“Here we have a black president taking money from the taxpayers in a time of economic crisis and giving it to organisations - many of which are anti-Catholic - so they can spend it on killing nonwhite babies in Third World nations,” said Bill Donohue, president of the New York-based Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights.

“This move is a significant step backward in respecting the sovereignty of nations, in empowering women and in protecting the unborn,” said Denise Burke, vice president of legal affairs for Americans United for Life Action.

“Pro-abortion organisations like the International Planned Parenthood Federation are actively working to impose radically pro-abortion laws on developing nations, showing no regard for the will of the people in these countries,” she said.

After signing the executive order, Obama said he planned to work with both sides on the issue of abortion to find a compromise.

“It is time that we end the politicisation of this issue,” he said. “In the coming weeks, my administration will initiate a fresh conversation on family planning, working to find areas of common ground to best meet the needs of women and families at home and around the world.”

The poster that saved a soul from the doctor

Ultrasound image for poster influences young woman to reject abortion.

ST PAUL, Minnesota (CNS)Bobbie Hallman was attempting to carry out a simple task - make a poster from an ultrasound image, and ended up saving the life of an unborn child.

The drama unfolded at a local print shop. She had agreed to make several posters for use in the Prayer Service for Life at the Cathedral of St Paul on January 22, which was the 36th anniversary of the US Supreme Court’s Roe v Wade decision legalising abortion.

About three weeks before the event, she brought in a handful of small ultrasound pictures that she received from the clinic where her husband, Dr Kevin Hallman, works in River Falls, Wisconsin.

She showed them to a woman working behind the shop’s counter and asked for help making the poster. As she would soon discover, the woman was struggling with an unplanned pregnancy.

“I could see her eyes well up with tears and she walked away,” said Bobbie Hallman, formerly of St Joseph Parish in West St Paul who now lives in River Falls with her husband and children. “The other lady (behind the counter) said, ‘Oh, you’ll have to forgive her. She’s 12 weeks along right now and she’s not sure if she’s going to keep the baby.’”

Just like that, Hallman was thrust to the front lines of the abortion debate. She chose not to try to talk the woman into keeping her baby.

Instead, she kept her focus on the poster. The woman eventually came back to the counter and the two continued looking at the ultrasound pictures Hallman had brought to pick some for the posters. One stood out - a picture of a fetus at 12 weeks.

“She said, ‘I think you have to use the 12-week one,’” Hallman said. “And, I said, ‘I think I do, too.’ And so, we worked it out and we blew it up (into a poster).”

In the meantime, people standing in line nearby began to look

at the ultrasound pictures, too. Eventually, the pictures found their way back into the hands of the pregnant employee.

“She looked at them individually again and she said, ‘I can’t abort this baby,’” Hallman said. “She said, ‘I was thinking about aborting this baby. I thought it was just a tissue. And, look at this.’ She was pointing to the fingers and the eyes.”

Then, the woman began to cry and the print shop fell silent. In an unpredicted encounter, a frightened pregnant woman saw the

truth about abortion and the truth about life.

“It was touching for me; it was a miracle for her,” Hallman said in an interview with The Catholic Spirit, newspaper of the Archdiocese of St Paul and Minneapolis.

“I remember once Mother Teresa said that she was nothing but a pencil in the hand of God,” she said. “And, sometimes, we forget that, I think - that we are his instruments and we have to listen and serve each other and help each other.”

Before she left the shop, Hallman gave the woman her husband’s telephone number and said he would be happy to give her a free ultrasound. She said she found out later that the woman did, in fact, come in for the free visit.

At the cathedral the prayer service drew a standing-roomonly crowd, and in the sanctuary was the poster that persuaded the print-shop employee to not abort her baby, along with a second poster.

In his remarks Archbishop John C. Nienstedt of St Paul and Minneapolis had special words of thanks to the young people in attendance.

“You are the bright promise of a new day in this country,” he said. “God is shining on you. He wants you to stand up, he wants you to stand up and be counted. In a world full of abuses and injustices, it is my belief that none stand so in need of our attention and prayerful opposition as the grave evil of abortion.”

Hallman is an example of what Archbishop Nienstedt said pro-life people need to be.

“We must be willing to be prolife people 24/7, not just when we are about the important business of marching or protesting or lobbying,” he said. “I solemnly challenge you to be a generation of radical love, the seed from which a new people can be born.”

Hallman said she is hoping to see the woman from the print shop next year at the prayer service, along with her newborn child.

“I just think it’s an absolute miracle that this happened,” she said. “This picture saved a soul.”

In prayer: President barack Obama attends the inaugural prayer service at the National Cathedral in Washington on his first full day as president on January 21. Pictured from left are, first lady Michelle Obama, President Obama, vice President Joe biden and his wife, Jill biden.

Looking on: two girls watch the proceedings during a Mass for young people at the verizon Centre in Washington on January 22. More than 20,000 people attended the Mass, which followed a pro-life youth rally at the arena. the events were held in advance of the annual March for Life.

Can we change? Yes we can, says new group opposing death penalty

Mother who lost daughter to rapist forgave her daughter’s killer, opposes executions.

n By Nancy Frazier O’Brien

The Catholic Mobilising Network to End the Death Penalty, launched by the US bishops on January 25, is not just another initiative of the bishops but instead represents lay Catholics at the grass-roots level “taking up the challenge” put forth in bishops’ documents, statements and actions over the past three decades.

That’s how John Carr, executive director of the Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, described the network at a news conference at the close of a training conference of the National Coalition to Abolish the

Cardinal urges dissent

ROME (CNA) - The Archbishop of Turin, Cardinal Severino Poletto, encouraged Italian doctors to resort to conscientious objection if they are ordered to let Eluana Englaroknown as the Terri Schiavo of Italy - die of starvation.

In an interview published in La Repubblica, Cardinal Poletto explained that “letting someone who is in a vegetative state starve to death is euthanasia, and the Church is against euthanasia as with any other form of taking a life.”

“The possibility exists of conscientiously objecting when the application of a law contrasts with his or her own principles. No human law can go against conscience,” he said. In 1992, Englaro, 38, fell into a vegetative state after a car accident.

Last November, a court authorised her parents to disconnect her feeding tube and allow her to die, but until now, Italian health care professionals have refused to carry out the sentence.

Death Penalty in Harrisburg. The network, which will operate independently from the USCCB, will be designed particularly to reach out to young people and Hispanic Catholics on the issue of capital punishment. It was begun with seed money from the Sisters of St Joseph of Medaille, whose bestknown member is death penalty abolitionist Sister Helen Prejean.

Sister Helen, the author of “Dead Man Walking” who speaks frequently at college campuses, said she has seen “how hungry” students are “to participate in substantive exchanges on important issues.”

Saying that many students are “looking for soul-sized activities,” she said they might be encouraged to visit prisons, write to death-row inmates and reach out to the family members of murder victims through the network.

“It’s about summoning people, educating them and moving people to action,” Sister Helen said.

Full communion ‘imminent’

Continued from Vista 1

Cardinal Dias, who favours welcoming traditionalist Anglicans into the Catholic Church, bluntly told the Anglican Communion’s 650 bishops that they are heading towards “spiritual Alzheimer’s” and “ecclesial Parkinson’s”.

“By analogy, (Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s) symptoms can, at times, be found even in our own Christian communities. For example, when we live myopically in the fleeting present, oblivious of our past heritage and apostolic traditions, we could well be suffering from spiritual Alzheimer’s. And when we behave in a disorderly manner, going whimsically our own way without any co-ordination with the head or the other members of our community, it could be ecclesial Parkinson’s.”

Cardinal Kasper warned Anglican bishops that Rome would turn to smaller ecumenical communities if the Anglican Communion at large proved unapproachable ecumenically.

This is bad news for the Anglican Communion, but good news for the TAC.

Catholic teaching opposes the use of the death penalty in nearly every circumstance, since society has other adequate means to protect its citizens.

Although the Catechism of the Catholic Church says that “the traditional teaching of the Church does not exclude recourse to the death penalty, if this is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the unjust aggressor,” it quotes Pope John Paul II as saying that “the cases in which the execution of the offender is an absolute necessity ‘are very rare, if not practically nonexistent.’”

Among the others speaking at the Harrisburg news conference were Marietta Jaeger Lane, a Catholic whose faith led her to forgive the man who kidnapped, raped and killed her 7-year-old daughter in 1973; Karen Clifton, who chairs the steering committee of the new network; and Diann Rust-Tierney, executive director of the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty.

Lane said that when her daughter Susie was killed, she “would have been happy to kill the kidnapper with my bare hands.” But she eventually came to realise that “however horribly he might have behaved with my daughter, he was a son of God too,” she added. “God calls us to say yes to life and no to death.”

Clifton said the network will have a page on the social networking site Facebook, as well as a cutting-edge Web site with educational materials on the death penalty and church teachings about it. Such tools as infomercials and podcasts also are planned, she said.

“It’s new urgency, new partners and new tools,” said Carr. But the message remains the same: “Human dignity is a gift from God, not something we earn by our good behaviour.” - cns

Bishops seek synod on exodus of Middle East’s Christians

n By Carol Glatz

VATICAN CITY (CNS)Iraqi Catholic bishops called on Pope Benedict XVI to convene a synod to address the mass exodus of Christians from the Middle East and the lack of full religious freedom there.

They also expressed hope that the new US administration under President Barack Obama would be able to bring peace and security to Iraq before withdrawing US-led troops.

The bishops, in Rome for their “ad limina” visits to report on the status of their dioceses, spoke during a January 22 press conference at Vatican Radio.

Chaldean Archbishop Louis Sako of Kirkuk said a general synod dedicated to the challenges Christians face in the Middle East would help the Church forge a clear plan of action for the present and future.

“We can’t do anything by ourselves that would be as wellresearched, prepared and analysed” as it would be during a two- or three-week synod, he said.

“We have no vision,” he said, so “a general synod would help us - all the bishops - to better see and study (the issues) together with the help of experts and the Holy See.”

A synod also would help the bishops come up with ways to tackle those problems and prepare for the future, he added.

“If there is no clear position or vision then Christians will no longer be present in the Middle East. Slowly they will leave this land that we call blessed but is now damned,” Archbishop Sako said.

He said topics of top priority for a potential synod would include the problem of Christians fleeing the Middle

East, paying Christian witness in a predominantly Muslim world, relations with Muslims, the role of Christians in civil and political life, lack of full religious freedom and Christians’ prospects for the future.

Syrian Archbishop Basile Casmoussa of Mosul agreed that church leaders need to forge a concrete and clear plan for the future.

“Otherwise we will always just be following our parishioners, and sooner or later we will be following them abroad as our churches and communities disappear from Iraq and transfer out of the country,” he said.

However, Chaldean Auxiliary Bishop Shlemon Warduni of Baghdad said a responsible withdrawal would not be easy because it would mean first bringing peace and security to Iraq, then withdrawing, with no strings attached.

“If the world and the major powers want to resolve the problem (of the war in Iraq) they can,” but they must do so with the best interests of the Iraqis in mind and give complete control of Iraq back to the Iraqis, he said.

He said that while Iraq is now in the hands of the US coalition “there are many other nations that want to have (control of) Iraq.”

Archbishop Casmoussa said that after the US occupation, “pre-existing) difficulties have become a hundred times worse.”

The real problem in Iraq is the lack of recognition and respect for ethnic or religious minorities, said the archbishop, who was abducted briefly in 2005 by unidentified gunmen. “The majority does not accept the existence of the other except to use as a tool; it’s the same problem all minorities have - not just in Iraq, but everywhere,” he said.

Australian bishop knows Anglicans’ pain

Continued from Vista 3

He’s had the joy of seeing many of his Anglican friends become Catholics and even become priests.

“The questions (he faced in converting) weren’t so much doctrinal questions; I didn’t find it hard to believe what the Catholic Church taught,” he says.

“The hardest thing in those days when I became a Catholic was the hurt that I knew I would do to my family and friends.

“When you join in a common cause, as I was with my classmates in the theological college, to become a Catholic was a pretty confronting thing to do in the mid-60s. But it’s become more common now.

“You tended to imagine [the suffering you would cause others], but it wasn’t as bad when it actually happened.

“People don’t cut you off. Some did, but they soon just nodded their heads and got over it.

“You have to keep going forward, the more you know about the Church and the more the truth takes hold of your mind, you can’t go back, you see the inevitability of where it’s leading and it seems

hard to face up to. But when you come in, a whole new vista opens up, because you’re home, so I’ve always been very sympathetic to the Anglican Church as it gave me both my faith in Christ and a very catholic tendency as a result of the Tractarian movement of 1833.

The Tractarian movement was an affiliation of High Church Anglicans at Oxford who sought to demonstrate that the Church of England was a direct descendant of the Christian church established by the Apostles.

The most famous figure to emerge form the movement was John Henry Cardinal Newman who looks likely to be beatified in the near future.

The remaining beliefs in the ideals behind this movement led the bishop towards the Catholic Church.

“They were tapping into exactly the same sources of the Catholic Church itself,” the prelate said. “So Cardinal Henry Newman (himself an Anglican convert who copped vitriol from Anglicans when he crossed over) then the vicar of the Oxford Church, said at the time that the Anglican Church, despite all the reformation and revolu-

tion, is actually Catholic. So the Anglican Church went through yet another doctrinal and liturgical renewal that lasted well into the 20th century, looking to Rome looking for its doctrinal and liturgical guidance, but always staying clear of the question of the Pope.

“It’s a version of Catholicism without the Pope,” Bishop Jarrett said, “but it’s what led me ultimately to the fullness of the truth in the Catholic Church.”

That’s the difference between countless efforts at reformation and re-unification with the Catholic Church and the current efforts by the TAC – the latter is willing to submit completely to the Holy See.

Its bishops, including its Primate, Bishop John Hepworth of Adelaide, even signed a copy of the Catechism of the Catholic Church to prove it.

They seek a communal and ecclesial way of being Anglican Catholics in communion with the Holy See, “at once treasuring the full expression of the Catholic faith and treasuring our tradition within which we have come to this moment”.

- Anthony BArich

Persistence: s ister h elen Prejean speaks at the Democratic n ational convention’s first-ever “Faith in Action” interfaith gathering in Denver last year.

Photo: cns /Jim m yers, c olor AD o cAtholic h er A

Dirty Harry: full circle in swansong

n By Joan Frawley Desmond

DURING the post-Vatican II push for more “relevant” religion classes, students in my high school “Theology of the Film” course trooped off to see Dirty Harry - the 1971 drama starring Clint Eastwood as the police lieutenant who violates the law, including the torture of suspects, to protect San Franciscans from a wily serial killer.

Afterward, we held the requisite classroom debate on whether Harry was justified in taking the law into his own hands. Most of us teenagers didn’t quite understand the point of the discussion -Harry did what he had to do, right? But our teacher, a Dominican nun, appeared to be quite torn up.

The memory of that futile classroom exercise surfaced again while I watched Gran Torino, the compelling new film that showcases Eastwood’s unique gifts as an actor and director.

Eastwood has vowed that his staring role in Gran Torino will be his final onscreen performance. Thus, filmgoers who savour his austere vision of the autonomous individual establishing his own code of morality may find themselves approaching Dirty Harry and Gran Torino as ideal bookends for his cinematic career. Indeed, as Eastwood surely intended, Dirty Harry’s moral dilemma is unexpectedly and memorably resolved in Gran Torino, the tale of Walt Kowalski, a retired autoworker confronting a violent gang and his own morality.

Taken together, the two films provide a compelling exploration of the impact of time and experience on moral action, both individually and collectively. This is a subject that deeply interests Catholics. Revelation provides us with the essential truths we need to properly navigate the world. Yet our interpretation of these truths is not fixed. The pilgrimage progresses and awareness deepens, opening up new vistas and opportunities for transcendence.

In Dirty Harry, the cocky police lieutenant charts his own course, disdaining a compromised judicial system tied up in knots over the civil rights of criminals. In Gran Torino, a grizzled misanthrope is seduced into a friendship with a Hmong immigrant family and haltingly pursues a dialogue with the Almighty.

The first film takes place in San Francisco, the Golden Gate destination for an exuberant counterculture, cushioned by the nation’s unrivaled prosperity. The second unfolds decades later in a tattered neighbourhood in Detroit, the toppled icon of America’s industrial preeminence. Dirty Harry is a flashy, American cop movie; Gran Torino is a small-scale film that provides an intimate vision of deeply important matters.

Like many of Eastwood’s films, Gran Torino documents the painful moral lessons meted out when ordinary, well-intentioned people are forced to deal with uncompromising evil. What do you do? And, after you make your choice, can you still live with yourself?

Directed by Eastwood and written by Nick Schenk, Gran Torino opens with a funeral that marks the end of an era. Walt’s wife has died, and he quickly loses all interest in the world. His wife’s absence underscores his failure as a father: His two sons rarely visit - duty alone brings them to his home for brief, angry exchanges. And Walt’s neighbourhood is going downhill, too: Immigrant households encircle his home, stirring his deeply racist sensibility to new depths of fury.

Things get worse when he catches Thao (Bee Vang), his young Hmong neighbour, stealing his vintage Gran Torino, just about the only surviving object of Walt’s affections. The teenager, under pressure from bad elements in the neighbourhood, was performing a gang initiation rite.

From his front porch seat, Walt begins to notice the comings and goings of his Hmong neighbours. Eastwood’s brilliant characteriation of this stiff-necked bigot is

deeply enjoyable and often riotously funny. Walt takes note of the Hmong family matriarch and spits over the porch railing; Grandma spits right back. But he’s a sharpeyed defender of his turf, and his protective instincts are engaged when gang members return to grab Thao, and a struggle ensues. Walt pulls out the M-1 rifle he used during the Korean War and forces the gang members to retreat.

Grateful for his assistance, the Hmong community showers Walt with gifts. Then the family presses Thao to make restitution for the

n

By Harry Forbes

NEW YORK (CNS) - “Revolutionary Road” (Paramount Vantage) is an impeccably filmed and acted adaptation of Richard Yates’ extravagantly praised novel - a searing indictment of conformity that had defied several attempts at filming in the decades since it was published in 1961.

This ironically named story - the ideals of the American Revolution now a “desperate clinging to safety and security” as Yates described them in an interview shortly before his death in 1992 - charts the marriage of unhappy suburban Connecticut couple Frank and April Wheeler (Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet), who live on the titular street. In the film’s opening moments, we observe their romantic first meeting, but

attempted robbery by working without pay for Walt Fatherless, and a bit of a wimp, Thao keeps Walt at arm’s length.

But the teenager opens up as the older man shares his knowledge of household repairs and the expert use of tools. Before long, Walt is instructing Thao on the proper etiquette for American males, and then helps him land a girlfriend and a construction job.

Walt’s friendship with Thao and his cheeky sister, Sue (Ahney Her), draws him further into the family’s increasingly violent struggle with

then flash forward to their married days where aspiring actress April’s less than rapturous opening night in community theatre unleashes harsh recriminations on the way home.

April’s implacable bitterness drives Frank - a New York commuter for the faceless Knox firm - to the bed of mousy secretary Maureen (Zoe Kazan), an encounter he almost immediately regrets, especially after he returns home to find a newly invigorated April eager to uproot and move to Paris, where she says he can pursue his youthful aspirations and find out “who he is.”

Frank, increasingly depressed by the numbing routine of his job, agrees. The decision causes almost seismic shock waves for their best friends, the Campbells (David Harbour and Kathryn Hahn), and Frank’s office mates.

They express surprise, then feigned pleasure at the Wheelers’ decision, but are actually devastated by the news: simultaneously bereft and envious.

Also deeply affected is real estate agent Helen Givings (Kathy Bates), who had sold the young couple their house and looked to them as bright lights in a sea of mediocrity. She asks the pair to meet with her mentally ill grown son, John (Michael Shannon), a mathematician, as she feels just being in their presence will have a beneficial effect. During the meeting, the hulking John nails the couple’s hang-ups with penetrating candour.

the gang. Walt defends the family with ferocious energy, implicitly underscoring the ineffectual role of the local police. But Walt’s vigilante justice also stirs up old memories of the Korean War, when he transgressed the moral law in the defence of a just cause. Half a century later, he neither regrets his wartime actions, nor can he dispel his sense of guilt.

Like Harry Callahan, Walt feels little need to seek the guidance of a minister - or anyone else, for that matter. He is antagonised by the repeated visits of his parish priest, Father Janovich (Christopher Carley). Father Janovich doggedly attempts to fulfill the final request of Walt’s late wife, who wanted her husband to go to confession.

Earnest and soft-spoken, the priest doesn’t command Walt’s respect, let alone his obedience. Rather, his burgeoning friendship with the Hmong family compels his grudging reassessment of his spiritual state.

Eastwood has described himself as an indifferent churchgoer who finds spiritual solace in nature. But as a director, actor, and screenwriter drawn to the moral dilemmas that define the human condition, he has employed the potent symbols of Catholic belief and authority as surrogates for civilisation. Christ adjured his disciples to turn the other cheek; democratic societies depend upon their citizens’ adherence to the rule of law. Yet in the thick of warfare - tracking a San Francisco serial killer, resisting a North Korean military assault, or battling a gang in Detroit - such assumptions appear dangerously naïve. Turn the other cheek, wait for the police to handle the bad guys, and leave the vulnerable undefended.

Harry Callahan tires of walking this tightrope and turns in his badge. Almost a half century later, Walt Kowalski takes a different path. Gran Torino proposes a radical response to the problem of evil in the world. Catholics may find themselves embracing Walt’s choice.

- Insidecatholic.com

But just when everything seems on track for their planned adventure, Frank finds unexpected success at Knox, and April suddenly learns she is pregnant. In desperation, April suggests, to Frank’s horror, that she might abort the pregnancy. (The film, by the way, never presents this in a positive light - quite the contrary, as events take their course.)

Director Sam Mendes takes much the same strikingly stylised approach to the repressed 1950s milieu as he did for the contemporary suburban landscape of 1999’s “American Beauty.”

DiCaprio and Winslet - reunited for the first time since “Titanic” - have certainly developed, and their performances are superb. Ditto for the supporting players. Beneath all the marital strife, Justin Haythe’s script takes pains to show how the story is really about the deep-seated yearning for unrealised dreams balanced against the fragility of human nature. And, as noted, the story speaks powerfully to the restrictive conformity of that era, but this bitter taleincluding the adultery and abortion story lines, and sporadically strong dialogue - may not be to every taste.

The film contains extreme domestic discord, rough language and profanity, adultery, brief upper female nudity, abortion references, two nongraphic sexual encounters and heavy smoking. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is L - limited adult audience.

One couple against the world and themselves

Together again: Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet team up again for the first time since 1997 in

Sam Mende’s Revolutionary Road, a film about human frailty and unrealised dreams. Photo: C n S

Children

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of the WeeK will receive a free gift from the Record Bookshop. All you need to do is post or email in a drawing, poem or colouring picture. please post

SPOTLIGHT ON SAINTS

St Scholastica

Scholastica (480543) was the sister of St Benedict, and possibly also his twin. Like her brother, her faith was very important to her.

She joined a religious order and eventually founded a nunnery not far from her brother’s monastery in Italy. She and Benedict saw each other once a year. Since she was not permitted to enter the monastery, they would meet at a house nearby. They would visit and spend time praying and praising God.

On one particular visit, Scholastica asked her brother to remain one more day so they could see each other again. Benedict said he could not spend the night away from his monastery. She could not change his mind, so she prayed to God to help her. A terrible storm descended shortly after, and Benedict could not leave the house. He spent the next day with his sister, who died three days later. We remember her on February 10.

PUZZLE

Fill in the blanks with the names from the list to make the statements true. Chapter numbers from the Gospel of Mark have been provided as hints:

Maria, 12 years from Chisolm Catholic College, is our Artist of the Week.

John the Baptist; 2.

and Andrew; 3. Jesus; 4. Moses; 5. Bartimaeus; 6. Judas; 7. Pilate.

Panorama entries must be in by 12pm Monday. Contributions may be emailed to administration@therecord.com.au, faxed to 9227 7087, 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 will be a put into classifieds and charged accordingly. The Record reserves the right to decline or modify any advertisment.

Sunday February 1 to Wednesday February 4

EUCHARISTIC MYSTERIES

9.30am February 1 at Our Lady’s Shrine Bullsbrook, 6pm February 1, at St Jerome Spearwood, 7pm February

2 at St Bernadette Glendalough, 7.30pm February

3 at Sacred Heart Mundaring, 9am February 4 at All Saints Greenwood, 11.45am February 4 at St Thomas, Claremont. All sessions with Fr Erasto Fernandez SSS. Enq: Pat 9375 2837 after hours.

Monday February 2

NOVENA TO OUR LADY OF LOURDES 7pm at Holy Trinity Church, 8 Burnett Street, Embleton. Holy Mass followed by Novena devotions, procession, hoisting Our Lady of Lourdes Banner. Preacher Fr J Carroll CSsR. Conclude with get-together. Bring Plate. Feast day 11 February, 7pm Mass followed by candlelight procession to Grotto, conclude with farewell for Fr Carroll. Enq: Office 9271 5528 or George 9272 1379.

Tuesday February 3 MMP CENACLE

10.30am at St Augustine Church, Rivervale, Rosary followed by Holy Mass celebrated by Fr Paul Carey. Enq: 9341 8082.

Monday February 2 to Wednesday February 4

FEAST OF OUR LADY OF LOURDES NOVENA AND MASS IN THREE PARISHES

7pm, 2 February at All Saints Catholic Church, 7 Liwara Place, Greenwood. Mass celebrated by Fr Vinh Dong PP, followed by Novena devotions, Rosary procession and Benediction. Bring a plate. 3 February at 7pm Novena devotions, Rosary, blessing of children and Benediction. 4 February at 7pm Novena devotions, Rosary, blessing of children and Benediction. Enq: 9447 6225.

Thursday February 5

CARITAS AUSTRALIA PPROJECT COMPASSION PARISH REPRESENTATIVES COMMISSIONING AND INFORMATION SEMINAR

10am-11.30am or 6pm-7.30pm, Catholic Pastoral Centre Seminar Room, 40A Mary Street, Highgate. Parking off Harold Street, light refreshments provided. Enq: 9422 7925.

Thursday February 5 to Saturday February 7

FEAST OF OUR LADY OF LOURDES NOVENA AND MASS IN THREE PARISHES

7pm, 5 February at St Peter’s Catholic Church, Wood Street, Inglewood. Mass celebrated by Fr Albert Saminedi, followed by Novena devotions, Rosary procession and Benediction. Bring a plate. February 6, 7pm Mass followed by Novena devotions, Rosary and Benediction. February 7, 6pm Vigil Mass, Novena devotions, Rosary, blessing of elderly and Benediction. Enq: 9271 3289.

Thursday February 5 to Sunday February 8

EUCHARISTIC MYSTERIES

9am, February 5 at St Gerard, Mirrabooka, 7pm February 5 at St Bernadette, Port Kennedy, 8.45am February 6 at Sacred Heart, Thornlie, 7pm February 6 at Star of the Sea Cottesloe, 9am February 7 at Infant Jesus Morley, 6.30pm February 7 and 8 February at Our Lady of the Missions, Whitford. All sessions with Fr Erasto Fernandez sss. Enq: Pat 9375 2837 after hours.

Friday February 6

PRO-LIFE WITNESS

9.30am at St Brigid’s Midland, Mass, followed by Rosary procession and prayer vigil at abortion clinic, led by the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate. Enq: Helen 9402 0349.

Friday February 6

THE ALLIANCE, TRIUMPH AND REIGN OF THE UNITED HEARTS OF JESUS AND MARY

5.15pm at St Bernadette’s Church, Glendalough. Confessions, 5.45pm Mass, followed by exposition of the Blessed Sacrament; hourly Rosaries, hymns and reflections etc throughout the night. Vigil concludes with midnight Mass in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Enquiries: Fr Doug Harris 9444 6131 or Dorothy 9342 5845.

Friday February 6

CATHOLIC FAITH RENEWAL EVENING

7.30pm at St John and Paul’s Parish, Pinetree Gully Road, Willetton; music and song, talk; Hope in Troubled Times by Fr Richard Rutkauska, followed by Thanksgiving Mass. Light refreshments after Mass. All welcome, bring family and friends. Enq: Kathy 9295 0913, Rose 0403 300 720 or Maureen 9381 4498.

Saturday February 7

CLUB AMICI WA GET TOGETHER

2pm at Secret Garden Cafe, 64 Angelo Street, South Perth. Club Amici WA is for anyone 18 and above who wishes to socialise with other Catholics in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere. RSVP by 5 February to Cathy on 0403 314 285 or clubamiciwa@gmail.com.

Saturday February 7

WITNESS FOR LIFE

8.30am at St Augustine’s, Gladstone Road, Rivervale, Mass, followed by Rosary procession and prayer vigil at abortion clinic, led by Fr Paul Carey SSC. Enq: Helen 9402 0349.

Saturday February 7

DAY WITH MARY

9am to 5pm at St Pius X Church, Ley Street and Paterson Street, Manning, 9am Video on Fatima. Day of prayer and instruction based upon the Fatima message. Reconciliation, Holy Mass, Eucharistic Adoration, Sermons on Eucharist and Our Lady, Rosaries, Procession of the Blessed Sacrament and Stations of the Cross. BYO lunch. Enq: Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate 9250 8286.

Sunday February 8

FEAST OF OUR LADY OF LOURDES ST CATHERINE’S CATHOLIC CHURCH, GINGIN

12 noon lunch BYO, 1pm Holy Rosary, Exposition, Hymns, Benediction and Blessing of the Sick; 1.30pm Procession; 2.30pm Mass at the Grotto; 3.30pm tea provided. Pickup points, St Joachim’s Pro-Cathedral, Maddington and Girrawheen Parishes. Bookings: Francis 9459 3873 or 0404 893 877 confirm by 1 February. Cost, $15 per person return. Enq: Sheila 9575 4023 or Fr Paul 9571 1839.

Sunday February 8 to Wednesday February 11

FEAST OF OUR LADY OF LOURDES NOVENA AND MASS IN THREE PARISHES

6pm, February 8 at Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church, Girrawheen Avenue, Girrawheen, Mass celebrated by Fr Vallis and Fr Fernandez followed by Novena devotions, Rosary procession and Benediction. February 9, 7pm Novena devotions, Rosary and Benediction. February 10, 7pm Novena devotions, Rosary, blessing of the sick and Benediction. February 11, 7pm, Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, Mass, candlelight procession and Benediction. Burning of petitions. Bring a plate. Enq: Jim 0411 615 239 or 9342 6049.

Thursday February 12

ST PEREGRINE HEALING MASS

7pm at Ss John and Paul Church, Pinetree Gully Road, Willetton; a Healing Mass in honour of St Peregrine, patron of Cancer sufferers and helper of all in need. The celebration will include Veneration of the Relic, and Anointing of the Sick. paddyjoe@iinet.net.au

Wednesday February 18

TAIZE MEDITATION PRAYER

7.30pm to 8.30pm at St Thomas More Catholic Church, 100 Dean Road, Bateman; all welcome to come and spend an hour in Group Prayer and relax in a candlelight atmosphere of prayer, song, gospel reading and meditation. Enq: Daisy/Barney 9310 4781.

Friday February 20

CATHOLIC FAITH RENEWAL

7.30pm at St John and Paul’s Parish Hall, Fr Greg Donovan will lead you through Scriptures, Genesis to Apocalypse. All welcome. Enq: Maureen 9381 4498, Rose 0403 300 720.

Friday February 20 to Sunday February 22

MARRIAGE ENCOUNTER

8pm at Safety Bay, a weekend for married couples. Take time out of your busy schedule, to invest in your most precious asset; Your Marriage! This is a unique opportunity to recharge your relationship batteries, refocus on each other and fall in love all over again. A few places still available. Enq: Joe or Margaret, WABookings@wwme.org.au or 9417 8750.

Saturday February 21

50 YEARS CELBRATION OF DOMINICAN EDUCATION

6.30pm at Holy Rosary School, Doubleview; Mass followed by picnic tea in the school grounds. Enq: www. holyrosarydblv.wa.edu.au, follow link to Golden Jubilee, or 9446 4558.

Saturday February 21

INNER HEALING RETREAT FOR COUPLES

9am to 5pm at Holy Family Church, Lot 375 Alcock Street, Maddington led by Vincentian Fathers. Prior registration required and is free. Lunch and tea provided. Enq: 9381 5383 or vcparackal@rediffmail.com.

Monday February 23

CATHOLIC PASTORAL WORKERS ASSOCIATION EUCHARISTIC CELEBRATION

5.30pm at St Catherine’s House of Hospitality, 113 Tyler Street, Tuart Hill, celebrant Fr Paschal Kearney followed by dinner. Cost $12. RSVP by February 12 to Margaret on 9390 8365 or Maranatha 6380 5160.

Thursday February 26

ALAN AMES HEALING MINISTRY

7pm St Bernadette’s Catholic Church, Jugan Street, Glendalough, Mass followed by talk and healing service. Enq: Loretta 9444 4409.

Saturday February 28

ST PADREPIO DAY OF PRAYER

8.30am at St Peter The Apostle, 91Inglewood Street, Inglewood; St Padre Pio DVD, 10am Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, Rosary, divine Mercy Adoration and Benediction. 11am Mass, using St Padre Pio liturgy, celebrant Archbishop Barry Hickey and attending priests welcome to concelebrate.12noon bring plate for shared lunch, tea and coffee provided. Enq: 6278 1540.

Saturday February 28

INNER HEALING RETREAT FOR YOUTHS

9am to 5pm St Aloysius Church, 84 Keightlely Road, West Shenton Park. Prayers for inner and physical healing led by the Vincentian Fathers. Prior registration required and is free. Lunch and tea provided. Enq: vcparackal@rediffmail.com or 9381 5383.

Friday March 6 to Sunday March 8

SEPARATED, DIVORCED, WIDOWED

7pm at Epiphany Retreat Centre, Rossmoyne, Beginning Experience is running a program designed to assist and support people in learning to close the door gently on a relationship that has ended in order to get on with living. Enq: Helen 6246 5150 or Maureen 9537 1915.

Every Sunday

DIVINE MERCY PRAYER AS NOVENA

3pm St Aloysius Church, 84 Keightley Road, West Shenton Park. An opportunity for all to gather once a week and say the powerful Divine Mercy, Eucharistic Adoration, healing prayers followed by Holy Mass at 4pm. Enq: 9381 5383.

Every 1st Thursday of the Month

PRAYER AND MEDITATION SERVICE USING SONGS FROM TAIZE

7.30pm at Our Lady of Grace, 3 Kitchener Street, North Beach. The service is a prayerful meditation in which we sing beautiful chants from Taize together, spend time in prayerful, meditative silence, bathed in candlelight reflecting upon themed readings. Enq: Beth 9447 0061.

Every First Friday and Saturday of month Every First Friday and Saturday of month MEMORIES OF AFRICA CHOIR

Calling all to come and join this small but vibrant group. Come let us sing and praise God with the African melody and rhythm. Enq: Bibiana, 9451 6602 after 6pm.

Every First Friday and Saturday of month

COMMUNION OF REPARATION – ALL NIGHT VIGIL 7pm Friday at Corpus Christi Church, Mosman Park, 47 Lochee Road. Mass with Fr Bogoni and concluding with midnight Mass. Confessions, Rosaries, prayers and silent hourly adoration. Please join us for reparation to Two Hearts according to the message of Our Lady of Fatima. Enq: Vicky 0400 282 357.

Every First Friday HOLY HOUR FOR VOCATIONS TO THE PRIESTHOOD AND RELIGIOUS LIFE

7pm at Little Sisters of the Poor Chapel, 2 Rawlins Street, Glendalough. Mass celebrated by Fr Saminedi. 7.30pm, Adoration with Fr Don Kettle. All welcome. Refreshments provided.

Every Sunday

LATIN MASS KELMSCOTT

The Latin Mass according to the 1962 missal will be offered every Sunday at 2pm at the Good Shepherd Parish, 40-42 Streich Avenue, Kelmscott, with Rosary preceding. All welcome.

Every 4th Sunday of the Month

HOLY HOUR PRAYER FOR VOCATIONS TO THE PRIESTHOOD AND RELIGIOUS LIFE

2-3pm at Infant Jesus Church, Wellington Road, Morley. The hour includes exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. Let us implore God to pour an abundance of new life into our Church, open our hearts and those of the young people of the world to hear His Word for us now, today. All welcome! Enq: 9276 8500.

Every Friday

EUCHARISTIC ADORATION

9am to 6pm at Holy Trinity Church, 8 Burnett Street, Embleton. Enq: Office 9271 5528 or George 9272 1379.

Every Monday and Tuesday

ADVENTURES IN EXODUS – 9 WEEK STUDY

Commencing 9.30am February 2 and 7.30pm February 3 at Church of St Emilie, 174 Amherst Road, Canning Vale. New and exciting study into the heart of the Bible - ‘Called To Freedom’ is also our story of what God calls us to be. Free. Limited places. Enq: Dominic celestialorchids@gmail.com, 6253 8041 or 0447 053 347.

Every Tuesday

NOVENA TO GOD THE FATHER

7.30pm St Joachim’s Parish Hall, Shepperton Road, Victoria Park; incorporating a Bible teaching, a Perpetual Novena to God the Father and Hymns. Light refreshments will follow. Bring a Bible and a friend. Enq: Jan 9323 8089.

Every Monday ADORATION, RECONCILIATION AND MASS

7pm at St Thomas, corner Melville and College Roads, Claremont. Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament with Evening Prayer and Benediction, spend 40 minutes quietly before our Lord for the health, faith and safety of yourself and your loved ones; Reconciliation 7.30pm, Mass and Night Prayer 8pm.

Every Thursday

EUCHARISTIC ADORATION

11pm to midnight at Holy Trinity Church, 8 Burnett Street, Embleton. Enq: Office 9271 5528 or George 9272 1379.

Every Saturday

HOLY SPIRIT OF FREEDOM CHARISMATIC PRAYER MEETING

10.30am to 12.30pm at St Peter the Apostle Church Hall, 91 Wood Street, Inglewood. All are most welcome. More Info: 9475 2554.

Every Sunday

MUSICIANS AND SINGERS

6pm at the Redemptorist Monastery Church, Vincent Street, North Perth; the Shalomites have been providing the music and singing for over thirty years. We are looking for new members. All interested singers and musicians welcome. Enq: Stephen or Sheelagh 9339 0619.

Every 1st Sunday of month

DIVINE MERCY

Commencing with 3 o’clock Prayer at Santa Clara Parish, Bentley, followed by the Chaplet, reflection and Benediction. All friends and neighbouring parishes invited. Tea and coffee provided. Enq: Muriel 9458 2944.

Every 2nd Wednesday of Each Month

CHAPLETS OF THE DIVINE MERCY

7.30 pm at St Thomas More Catholic Church, Dean Road, Bateman. All welcome to a beautiful, prayerful, and sung devotion. Enq: George 9310 9493 home or 9325 2010 work.

Every Sunday

PILGRIM MASS

2pm at Shrine of Virgin of the Revelation, 36 Chittering Road, Bullsbrook with Rosary and Benediction. Reconciliation is available in Italian and English. Anointing of the sick, second Sunday during Mass. Pilgrimage in honour of the Virgin; last Sunday of month. Side entrance and shrine open daily between 9am and 5pm. Enq: 9447 3292.

Every Thursday JOURNEY THROUGH THE BIBLE

7.30pm, Acts 2 College of Mission and Evangelisation, Osborne Park. Using The Bible Timeline, The Great Adventure can be studied towards accredited course or for interest. Resources provided. See www.acts2come. wa.edu.au/ or Jane 0401 692 690.

Every Last Saturday of Month

NOVENA DEVOTIONS TO OUR LADY OF GOOD HEALTH, VAILANKANNI

5pm at Holy Trinity Church, 8 Burnett Street, Embleton, followed by Vigil Mass at 6pm. Enq: Office 9271 5528 or George 9272 1379.

CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS

Jesuit 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 underpins the work of the volunteers. Enq: Kevin 9316 3469 or kwringe@iinet.net.au, www.jss.org.au.

CLASSIFIEDS

Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Moses told the people, ”The Lord will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own kinsmen.” God still provides among His people the gifts and talents necessary to continue the work of His Church. What gifts are yours to share?

See Deuteronomy 18:15

For further information on how Stewardship can build your parish community, call Brian Stephens on 9422 7924.

Walking with Him Daily Mass Readings

1 S 4TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

Gr Deut 18:15-20 Heed God’s prophets

Ps 94:1-2.6-9 Bow down before God

1Cor 7:32-35 Faithful devotions

Mk 1:21-28 I know who you are

2 M THE PRESENTATION OF THE LORD FEAST

Wh Mal 3:1-4 Proper offering

Ps 23:7-10 Let the king enter

Heb 2:14-18 Atonement for sin Lk 2:22-40 The Christ of the Lord

3 T ST BLAISE, BISHOP, MARTYR (O); ST ANSGAR, BISHOP (O)

Gr Heb 12:1-4 Run steadily

4 W Gr

Ps 21:26-28.30-32 God’s faithfulness

Mk 5:21-43 Make her better

Heb 12:4-7.11-15 No bitterness

Ps 102:1-2.13-14.17-18 Thank the Lord

Mk 6:1-6 Sabbath teaching

5 TH ST AGATHA, VIRGIN, MARTYR (M)

Red

Heb 12:18-19.21-24 Jesus the mediator

Ps 47:2-4.9-11 City of God

Mk 6:7-13 Many anointed

6 F ST PAUL MIKI AND COMPANIONS, MARTYRS (M)

Red

Heb 13:1-8 I fear nothing

Ps 26:1.3.5.8-9 My light, my help

Mk 6:14-29 Herod afraid of John

7 S Gr Heb 13:15-17.20-21 Share resources

Ps 22:1-6 The Lord, my shepherd

Mk 6:30-34 Rest for a while

ACCOMMODATION

■ NEEDED

Female overseas student, 23 yo, with 3 mth old baby, needs accomm and support with a family, preferably north of the river for approx. 12 mths.

Ph Lydia at Pregnancy Assistance, 9328 2929.

■ AVAILABLE

Willetton single room for female student in family home, on bus to Curtin or Murdoch uni.

$150.00 Ph: 0416 815 804.

■ DUNSBOROUGH

Beach cottage, 3 bedrooms, sleeps 7, 300m to Quindalup beach. Great price for Dunsborough! Tel: Sheila 9309 5071 / 0408866593 or email: shannons3s@optusnet.com.au.

BUILDING TRADES

■ BRICK RE-POINTING Phone Nigel 9242 2952.

■ PERROTT PAINTING PTY LTD

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

■ BRICKLAYING

20 years exp. Quality work. Ph 9405 7333 or 0409 296 598.

■ PICASSO PAINTING Top service. Phone 0419 915 836, fax 9345 0505.

BOOK REPAIRS

■ REPAIR YOUR LITURGICAL BOOKS

General repairs to books, old bibles & missals. 2ndhand Catholic books avail. Tydewi Bindery 9293 3092.

FURNITURE REMOVAL

■ ALL AREAS Mike Murphy 0416 226 434.

PERSONALS

■ CHRISTIAN SINGLES

Widowed, divorced or never married. All age groups. Meet-for-Drinks, Dinner Seminars and Individual Dates. Phone 9472 8218. Tues-Fri 10am - 6pm. www.figtrees.com.au

NOTICE OF INTENT

Notice is hereby given that Joanna Lisa Lawson of 6 Sewell Place, Hillarys, WA 6025, being duly authorised by the Branches Project intends to apply to the Commissioner for Consumer Protection on 9.02.2009 for the incorporation of The Branches Project Inc. The Association is formed for the purpose of educating, employing and empowering the exploited working poor.

RELIGIOUS PRODUCTS

■ KINLAR VESTMENTS

‘Modern meets tradition.’ Quality hand-made & decorated. Vestments, altar cloths, banners. Vickii Smith Veness. 9402 8356 or 0409 114 093.

■ 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 to Sat). We are here to serve.

■ OTTIMO

Shop 108 TRINITY ARCADE (Terrace Level) Hay St, Perth Ph 9322 4520. Convenient city location for a good selection of Christian products/ gifts. We also have handbags, fashion accessories. Opening hours Monday-Friday 9am-6pm.

SETTLEMENTS / FINANCE

EFFECTIVE LEGAL, family owned law firm focusing on property settlements and wills. If you are buying, selling or investing in property, protect your family and your investment, contact us on (08) 9218 9177.

FOR EVERYTHING FINANCE – Ph. Declan 0422 487 563, www.goalfinancialservices. com.au Save yourself time, money and stress. FBL 4712

TUITION

English/tutor, primary specialist, reading/writing, spelling and comprehension. Single/group, limit of four. Diagnostic placement test. Maggie 9272 8263 or 0438 946 621.

IN MEMORIAM

■ KIRKWOOD (MAUREEN)

In loving memory of my wonderful Mother, who died on February 3, 1985. Thank you so much, Mother darling, for a lifetime of loving care. So good, honourable and lovable, kind and generous. You are always in my heart and prayers, and dear Pappa also. May God be with you both, and may you rest in peace. - Moira

THANKSGIVING

We give God the praise and the glory. Thank you Mary, Joseph, St Jude, St Philomena, Blessed Teresa of Calcutta and all the Angels and Saints for prayers answered. - JH

Something for both the secure and vulnerable

Book Review

THE HUSBAND HANDBOOK

By William E Rabior and David Wachowiak

$16.95 + P/H

■ Reviewed by Mark

Reidy

“MARRIAGE is not just about finding the right person”, The Husband Handbook tell us, “it is about becoming the right person”.

This sense of evolution, which depicts the state of matrimony as being in a perpetually unfinished state, left me with a sense of relief and hope.

Don’t get me wrong, I have a wonderful marriage, but there is always the underlying sense that I can be a better, more attentive and more self-sacrificial husband.

Authors Rabior and Wachowiak have produced a compact, easyto-read and insightful “marriage maintenance book” that provides creative and practical advice on

The Last Word Bookshop

PAUL: CONTENDING FOR THE FAITH

DVD

Format: DVD Zealous for the God of Israel, Saul of Tarsus pursued murderous threats against the disciples of Jesus. But Saul’s zeal was turned upside down when he was knocked from his “high horse” and humbled by the hand of God. In this newest release in the Footprints of God series, join the adventure as Stephen Ray, best-selling author and popular Bible teacher, takes you on the road with St Paul through Israel, Syria, Turkey, Greece and Italy. Fall from a horse in the desert and dangle over the Damascus Wall in a basket. Cling to driftwood in the sea and stride along ancient Roman roads. You’ll better understand the life, ministry, and sufferings of Paul the Apostle. Comprehensive study guide included.

$59.95+postage

STATIONS OF THE CROSS ACCORDING TO SAINT PAUL

By Ronald Witherup

Inspired by Pope Benedict XVI’s declaration of the year of St Paul, Ronald Witherup has written a devotional book that will assist contemporary readers in reflecting on the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus in the context of St Paul.Because of Paul’s intense understanding of the cross of Jesus Christ, those who open themselves up to the work of the Holy Spirit, this exercise will lead readers both to spiritual richness and to a worthy reflection on certain parts of Paul’s letters that help us comprehend the power of the cross. The author shows readers the way in a concise, elegant manner, to a more multi-faceted application of Scripture than they may have experienced.

$14.95 + postage

how men can strengthen their marriages by becoming better husbands.

There is a distinct Christian flavour running throughout the book, with a chapter dedicated to prayer and the importance of understanding your spouse’s spirituality, but the majority of the handbook is filled with stimulating ideas and observations that are guaranteed to invoke at least some level of introspection.

Rabior and Wachowiak’s style is designed specifically for men, but women may well benefit from a read, as they would gain a unique insight in how differently their husbands may think from them. These men are both husbands and fathers and obviously understand the male psyche and the struggles that it can

invoke within a marriage. They offer sage advice as well as providing a series of questions after each chapter, which are well worth the discomfort that they may trigger.

There are chapters dealing with issues such as affirming, serving and never criticising your wife, as well as the importance of cooperation on child-raising and finances. These may seem obvious, but they encourage the reader to search deeper into what truly motivates them in these areas.

Topics such as sexual relating, the importance of physical touch and intimate, honest communication are also addressed. And for those who may not be imaginative or creative in their relating, the authors even offer practical and creative ways to induce passion

and spontaneity back into your marriage. This book is obviously targeted at men who desire to improve their relationships, but it has something to offer both the secure and vulnerable marriage. It is unpretentious in its simplicity and down-to-earth approach and addresses important issues in each of its concise chapters. The authors obviously want to see men improve their marriages, but how effective this impact will be will depend on how honest the reader can be with himself. While the writers can be challenging at times, one is left with a sense of optimism, knowing that no matter how good or bad one’s marriage is, the fact that it is in a constant state of evolution guarantees that, with effort, it can always get better.

SAINT PAUL THE APOSTLE FOR EVERY DAY: A VISION THAT INSPIRES, A MISSION FOR LIFE

By Michael Kerrigan

A perfect compendium for the Year of Saint Paul. St Paul the Apostle for Every Day is arranged into twelve thematic chapters, one for each month. From “Coming to Know God” to “The Hope of Resurrection,” Fr Kerrigan has arranged a type of “walk” with Saint Paul from his days as a persecutor of the incipient Christian faith, to his famous conversion, to his many travels and travails around the Mediterranean, to his final imprisonment and execution in Rome. The book is also the perfect introduction to Saint Paul’s thought and prose style, as well as his theology. Always spiritually charged, Saint Paul brings the light of Christ that blinded him and shares it with us so that we, too, may see.

$13.95+postage

A pilgrim’s guide to finding answers to life’s deepest questions

by Archbishop Barry J. Hickey

By Archbishop Barry Hickey

“The whole Bible points to Jesus as the one who saves, the one who tells us of God’s love and the one we are called to follow and the one who offers eternal life. My hope is that many lives will be changed by meeting Jesus in the pages of the Bible and that they will respond to his call without hesitation or compromise.”

$19.95+postage

SAINT PAUL: CALLED TO CONVERSION – A Seven Day Retreat

By Ronald Witherup

“Saint Paul is the most prominent personality of the New Testament, apart from Jesus himself. Thirteen of the twenty-seven books of the New Testament bear his name… Around the year AD 35 he had a remarkable experience on the road to Damascus…”

—From the Introduction

Paul’s conversion is as dramatic a turning point as any in history. Whatever happened on the road to Damascus, the experience was powerful enough to turn the infant church’s most passionate opponent into its champion.

Paul’s considerable knowledge of Jewish Law helped to explain how Jesus could be the Christ, and his familiarity with gentile culture made countless converts throughout the Roman Empire. His tireless preaching and writing, extensive travels and personal sacrifice offer a lasting testimony and guide to the church. His life is a witness that conversion is not a one-time event, but a lifetime of commitment.

$26.95 + postage

VATICAN COLLECTION 18” St Paul Gold Necklace

With great pride, we bring to you this breath-taking gold St Paul medallion necklace from the Vatican Library Collection! Incredible details, 18” chain, medallion is 1” diameter. The Vatican Library is accessible only to scholars as part of an effort to help preserve these rare treasures. It is with great pride and reverence that we bring to you this beautiful collection of Vatican Rosaries representing these historic inspirations. Each St Paul medallion necklace comes in a beautiful gift box with the Vatican Library seal imprinted in gold, and a Vatican Library Collection information card.

$59.95+postage