The Record Newspaper 28 September 2011

Pilgrimage home

Papal visit to Germany becomes a teaching moment

SPECIAL REPORT - Pages 9-12

Church will cancel registration to conduct legal marriages if hand forced on same-sex unions

Marriage licences warning

By RoBeRt Hiini

IF THE state forced the Perth archdiocese to officiate at samesex unions, the archdiocese would cancel its registration to celebrate legal marriages, Archbishop Barry Hickey said last Sunday. His comments came as he spoke to parishioners of the Traditional Anglican Church parish of St Ninian and St Chad in Maylands.

However, whether or not the Church would bury deceased Catholics who had entered into same-sex unions was something of which he was less certain, he said.

Notre Dame’s new equation: one plus one equals one

By MaRk Reidy

THE official blessing and opening of the new Notre Dame Primary School in Cloverdale on 9 September represented much more than a building project.

Principal Paul Hille told students, parents, dignitaries and other guests the $10.08 million endeavour, amalgamating two local primary schools – Holy Name in Carlisle and Notre Dame – required not only creating a new physical infrastructure on the Cloverdale site, but also the integration of two school communities.

“The school needed a whole new identity”, he said, “a new logo, motto, vision and mission statement, a new set of core values to be articulated and shared, a new school uniform to be designed and that was just the easy part! Then there was the critically important task of uniting two populations of students, staff, parents, school boards, school infrastructures, two different school cultures and two

Continued on Page 4

Answering a question from a member of the congregation, the Archbishop said he had “very, very serious concerns” about recent moves to amend the Marriage Act.

“We can’t celebrate them”, the Archbishop said.

“The ban on sodomy is still there. We can’t bless a relationship with an inbuilt defect in it ... We’ve got nothing against people loving one another; it’s the sexual content that makes it difficult for us”.

The Archbishop said he thought the Australian Constitution would have to be changed before samesex marriage could be passed.

Nevertheless, if the push for samesex marriage succeeds, the Church will continue to celebrate marriage as it always has.

“We might be back to the ghetto.

“We cannot do those marriages at all.”

We cannot do those marriages at all. And if the law forces us to, we cancel our registration as marriage celebrants. We just don’t do it.

“We continue to perform Church marriages but we can’t perform the marriage where there is a basic

objection”, the Archbishop said. The Church would survive, he said, because the Holy Spirit is stronger than the law, providing strength to withstand persecution.

The other major issue raised by the possibility of same-sex marriage was whether or not the Church could bury people who enter what it regards as morally illicit unions.

“Do we bury them? I haven’t worked that out yet”, he said.

“It is the Christian duty to bury the dead, to forgive sins, and to say it’s all in the hands of God.

“It might be case by case - I just don’t know”, the Archbishop said.

The Tasmanian Parliament passed a motion earlier this month supporting same-sex marriage and calling on the federal government to amend the law.

It passed with the support of Labor and the Greens and puts pressure on federal Labor to change its stance.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has expressed her support for marriage as currently defined in the Marriage Act. In August, only 30 of Australia’s 150 lower house MPs chose to consult constituents on same-sex marriage, with responses reported both for and against.

Men find fatherhood focus a breath of fresh air

By RoBeRt Hiini

THE CHURCH needs men and men need the Church, according to local MenALIVE coordinator, Kim Metcalfe.

Mr Metcalfe and 12 other men spent the weekend of 10-11 September at a MenALIVE retreat at St Joseph’s, Queens Park, discerning what it meant to be a son of the Father and how to be good, godly men in the world.

The men heard talks and testi-

monies and participated in group discussions and prayer, culminating in Sunday mass celebrated by parish priest, Fr Peter Stiglich OPraem.

“It’s about giving men time and space to reflect on their relationship with God”, Mr Metcalfe said.

“It’s not a new club you join, it’s about encouragement”, he said of his organisation.

Men often have a very skewed picture of God, he said, based on their own relationships with their fathers. “They can often see God as

up there and perfect. MenALIVE is about reconnecting with the true, loving God.”

“And if you can reach the man then you can reach the marriage, the Church and the world”.

With the Sacrament of Reconciliation offered at their retreats, the sight of men going to Confession for the first time in five, ten or 15 years was “very powerful”, Mr Metcalfe said.

Participant Andrea Zappacosta said the retreat was “a breath of

fresh air” in his “busy, fulfilling and, at times, challenging life”. It was his first time at a MenALIVE event, following a friend’s invitation.

Mr Zappacosta and his fellow participants have formed a monthly Scripture journalling group on the back of the retreat.

Mr Metcalfe said planning for next year’s events is well under way with retreat weekends scheduled for All Saints, Greenwood and St Denis’, Joondanna. According to the organisation, the MenALIVE

movement began in Brisbane in 2003 “to bring men together, renew their faith in God and encourage them to become an active force for renewal in the Church”.

MenALIVE has run more than 100 events in the past eight years in Australia and New Zealand.

Mr Metcalfe said he is open to other parishes booking MenALIVE weekends and can be contacted on 0414 537 023, with more information available at their website, menalive.org.au.

Notre Dame students Gabrielle Fitzpatrick, left, Samara D’Monte and Chiara Lembo enjoy their new school’s surrounds. PHOTO: COURTESY NOTRE DAME PRIMARY

Sister returns from stateside

By RoBeRt Hiini

THE PORT CITY of New Bedford, Massachusetts is a long way away from the land-locked southern suburb of Spearwood, WA where Sr Simona Pia grew up.

And yet, 11 years after entering the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate here in Perth, Sr Simona finds herself serving as the local superior in that far away American city.

Encountering her future religious spouse and the universality of the Church at World Youth Day 2000 had a lot to do with it.

She left for Rome a primary school teacher with several Catholic friends of about the same age, but returned to enter the order’s now-closed Swanbourne house.

“I didn’t really think about religious life before the age of 25. I didn’t really know what religious life was about,” Mother Superior Simona Pia FMI said.

“It was in travelling that I met many young religious who seemed to love their vocation.”

The youngest of four children, she was “really enjoying” her teaching career and said it cost her a great deal to give it up but the call to religious life was greater.

“It’s a relationship of love between a husband and a wife so I’ve left everything.

“I go wherever he wants me to go and do what he wants me to do and I love doing it”, Sr Simona said.

She was made a superior on the day she made her final vows in 2006 and has been able to use her teaching ability in several unexpected places.

After years of formation in Italy, she was sent to Nigeria to

the order’s leprosy mission in 2007. Sr Simona and her fellow sisters looked after 80 girls while the friars looked after the boys. Some time later, she also worked in the east of the country where the order looks after 200 orphaned children. While spreading devotion to Our Lady via modern media remains a focus for the FMIs, meeting basic needs takes priority, especially in places where media isn’t as widespread.

In Massachusetts, her work is also suited to the context. Their

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house is annexed to the parish of St Anthony of Padua in New Bedford.

Their main apostolate is evening prayer, a holy hour and vespers in the parish church, as well as maintaining an emergency food pantry and website. She lives in community with five professed sisters and three aspirants with another set to enter soon.

She came back to Perth in 2008 for a short visit to raise funds for some 80 FMI seminarians studying in Rome. For her recent visit

to WA, she brought four young, aspiring sisters with her, hailing from the Lebanese Maronite community in Punchbowl, Sydney.

Eleven years after beginning a formally religious life, is it what she expected?

“It’s not about something, it’s about someone. It’s living a relationship with him, day in and day out, to save souls and to try and become a saint”, she said.

“It’s not what I expected but at the same time, its everything I expected”.

Castledare residents visit Schoenstatt Shrine

Although it was mainly a congregation of retirees joining Fr Denis Sudla on a visit to the Schoenstatt shrine in Armadale in early August, one young pilgrim was 94 years younger than one of the older pilgrims. Jayden Ashdown, aged three, and Kathleeen Lawrence, 97, were two bookends of the happy group of pilgrims from Castledare Village who were also accompanied by bus driver Den Dalais. Fr Denis celebrated Mass in the picturesque shrine, after which the happy group enjoyed a picnic lunch in the semibush setting of the shrine’s grounds at the foot of the hills.

We reget the error 1

Due to a production error, the final line was missing from last week’s story “Case casts cloud over the Adelaide process” about the Adelaide archdiocese’s handling of a sexual abuse complaint lodged by Archbishop John Hepworth. The paragraph should have read: “A spokeswoman for the Adelaide archdiocese was unable to elaborate on how archdiocesan statements squared with the process laid down in the Towards Healing guidelines, or how the archdiocese’s investigation could be “well under way” and “in its closing stages” when it did not yet appear to have reached the assessment stage. She said she would need to consult the archdiocese’s lawyers.”

We reget the error 1

Our headline on last week’s Page 9 picture should have read “Wilkommen zuhause, Heiliger Vater”, not the grammatically incorrect and unmannered “Wilcommen zu Hause Papst”. The mistake was made after the newspaper’s in-house Germanlanguage specialist, Eugen Mattes, had left the building.

Keating

29/30 Bishops’ Commission, Sydney – Bishop Sproxton

30-2 Parish Visitation, York – Archbishop Hickey

1

2 Evensong, St George’s Cathedral –Bishop Sproxton

16 Adult Confirmation, St Mary’s Cathedral, 11am – Mgr Michael Keating

During the month of October, Archbishop Hickey and Bishop Sproxton will be in Rome for the Australian Bishops’

A long way from Spearwood: Sr Simona Pia, right, visits Perth with aspiring sisters from Sydney.

PHOTO: ROBERT HIINI

Site to show funding as it happens

A PROPOSAL to fund schools according to a base level standard is ‘interesting’ but also ‘concerning’ in leaving out system costs, the National Catholic Education Commission (NCEC) has said.

The NCEC made the remarks on its relatively new ‘Catholic Schools into the Future’ website (fundinginfo.catholic.edu.au) which provides the commission’s take on funding issues.

The remarks were in response to the release of four reports commissioned and released by the federal Gonski funding review.

Filipino festival of all sorts

FILIPINOS celebrated their national saint, San Lorenzo Ruiz, in a truly inclusive way last Sunday, with a multicultural extravaganza of performance, food and general festivity.

The Filipino Chaplain, Fr Armado Carandang, kicked off the third annual Filipino Grand Fiesta with an invocation of the Holy Spirit before politicians and Bayswater mayor Terence Kenyon congratulated organisers on the vibrancy of their community.

The fiesta included cultural performances from Chinese, Vietnamese and Australian performers. Mass was held at 3pm. San Lorenzo Ruiz was born in Manila but fled to Japan after being falsely accused of murder. He was martyred there in 1637.

One of those reports, authored by the Allen Consulting Group, proposed a ‘resource standard’ as the basis of a base funding grant to individual schools.

Using testing data from the National Assessment Programme –Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN), the standard would be an average of costs for those schools where at least 80 percent of students were achieving minimum standards.

“One immediate concern ... is that the consultants recommend system costs are not included in the calculation of what it costs to

run a school,” the NCEC said on its fundinginfo website.

The NCEC will continue to deliver updates relating to the review on its fundinginfo website.

The site was launched earlier this year to raise awareness of the facts and figures surrounding Catholic school funding also provides the latest updates on the current federal government review into the overall school funding system.

The NCEC, established in 1974 by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference to maintain effective liaison with the commonwealth

government, initially designed the website to provide families associated with Catholic schools across the nation specific details of funding procedures as well as outlining the Catholic ethos associated with their implementation.

The website points out that no child is refused entry into the Catholic school system because of the financial constraints of their parents, but emphasises that this practice is underpinned by the current level of government funding support.

The current review, the first since

South Perth blessings aplenty for those about to wed

ONE of Perth’s most popular Catholic wedding churches is offering engaged couples a blessing of themselves and their engagement rings in early October. Perth Vicar General Mgr Brian O’Loughlin, also parish priest of St Columba’s in South Perth, will offer the blessings at the parish vigil Mass on Saturday, 8 October at 6.30pm and at the Sunday, 9 October 9.30am

Mass. Those who are to marry at St Columba’s are not the only ones who can attend. All other couples planning a Catholic wedding are personally invited to take advantage of the blessing on their most important proposal.

Pope Benedict XVI blessed engaged couples on his recent visit to the Italian Adriatic seaside town of Ancona. Free copies of his spe-

cial address to engaged couples which appeared in last weekend’s edition of The Record will also be available to those who participate in the South Perth blessings.

In October, the parish will celebrating marriage in a special way with couples invited to renew their wedding vows on the weekend of 29-30 October. The renewals will take place at the 6.30pm vigil Mass

on Saturday, 29 October and at the 9.30am Mass on Sunday, 30 October. Both events are part of the lead up to the 75th anniversary of laying of the foundation stone of the church which will take place on Sunday, 11 December at the 9.30am Mass. A morning tea and display of parish artefacts will follow. For further information, contact Mgr O’Loughlin on 9367 3950.

1973, has been considering submissions tendered by a wide variety of individuals and groups.

The NCEC submission draws attention to what it describes as deficient resourcing of Catholic schools in relation to government schools and the need for extra assistance for indigenous students, those with disabilities, new arrival and refugee children and schools in regional and remote schoolsareas in which the Catholic system is deeply committed.

The website can be found at www.fundinginfo.catholic.edu.au

PM chaplain backflip, lobby claims

THE AUSTRALIAN Christian Lobby fears PM Julia Gillard has failed to deliver an election commitment that the National School Chaplaincy Programme would not be secularised. According to the ACL, funding for new secular workers announced by Education Minister Peter Garrett must come from a separate programme, not from the same pool of money funding chaplains.

ACL Managing Director Jim Wallace said, “There is no problem with the federal government offering schools the choice between a secular worker and a faith-based chaplain but the government’s commitment was that the chaplaincy programme would retain its unique faith-based pastoral care emphasis”.

Lyle Shelton, chief of staff for the ACL, said, “the pastoral care ethos emanates the Christian faith, it is an incredibly popular programme; if there was a problem with faith based chaplaincy, schools wouldn’t clamour for it”.

While any large programme was likely to experience some problems, the ACL was concerned the move to introduce secular welfare workers on top of existing secular school counsellors was responding to a small number of aggressive secularists and the anti-chaplaincy Greens.

“The complaints come from a noisy minority”, Mr Shelton said.

Kung Fu practitioners showcase their skills for the crowds at the 3rd Annual Filipino Festival. PHOTO: ROBERT HIINI

Notre Dame celebrates its winning formula

Continued from Page 1

charisms – Mercy and Presentation Sisters – who were the orders that first founded Holy Name School and Notre Dame School originally.”

The project was funded by a $5.95 million capital development grant from the federal government, a contribution from the Building the Education Revolution programme (BER) and a $4.13 million low-interest loan from the WA government.

Among those celebrating the new chapter in the school’s history was the federal Minister for Tertiary Education, Senator Chris Evans, and the Director of Catholic Education in Western Australia, Ron Dullard.

“It’s fantastic to be here to see the new school up and running – this was a major project for the Catholic Education Commission,”

said Senator Evans, who has been overseeing the BER programme since 2010. “To have completed all this without disrupting the daily running of the school is an exceptional achievement.”

Mr Hille, assigned in 2009 to oversee the development of the school, said the experience had drawn all involved closer together.

“After the initial concerns were aired, the board and parent community got behind the project and have supported me in my decisions all the way”, he said.

Mr Dullard acknowledged the enormous size of the project and shared his satisfaction with the final outcome.

“It was a complex project and one of the more ambitious amalgamations we have embarked upon, particularly in terms of resources and time frame,” he said.

Cloverdale marks Mary’s birthday and parish milestone

By RoBeRt Hiini

AS THE amalgamated Catholic school next door celebrated its own new beginnings, Notre Dame parish in Cloverdale was rejoicing in well-laid foundations.

The parish celebrated the feast day of the birth of its patron, Our Lady, and the 40th anniversary of its church with Mass on 8 September.

Current parish priest Fr Nelson Po was joined by eight priests and

several deacons at the celebration.

These included one of his predecessors in the role, Fr Brian McKenna, as well as former seminary rector Fr Don Hughes OMI and Wanneroo priest Fr John Daly whose family hails from the Belmont/Cloverdale area.

Other distinguished guests included the mayor of Belmont, Cr Glenys Godfrey, whom Fr Po described as “a very active parishioner”. Archbishop Barry Hickey

told the congregation he was present at the church’s opening in 1971, but in a very different capacity; the then Fr Hickey was leading the choir.

Fr Po, an Australian citizen who migrated from the Philipines, said he was pleased there was continuity between the church’s celebrations – between its opening and its 40th anniversary. Patterned on a shamrock, the church is an exact replica of another Catholic church in

Ireland. The first two parish priests, now deceased, were Irish but subsequent clergy have been Australian. Notre Dame church was designated a war memorial church and was 11 years coming after the parish was founded in 1960.

Children attending Notre Dame Catholic Primary were present at Mass and helped with food preparation for the supper that followed the Mass.

Children are accompanied by a staff member as they walk across a courtyard at Notre Dame Catholic Primary School.

The new amalgamated school was officially blessed on 9 September.

PHOTO: COURTESY NOTRE DAME PRIMARY SCHOOL

St Francis Xavier celebrates 75 years

AS BISHOP Donald Sproxton celebrated Mass on the 75th Anniversary of St Francis Xavier Church in East Perth on 18 September, he reflected with great affection on his own time spent within the community.

Concelebrating with Monsignor Michael Keating, dean of St Mary’s Cathedral, Fr Paul Pitzen and Fr Mars SJ, Bishop Sproxton told those gathered the celebration was the culmination of a wonderful history that began in 1936 when Archbishop Redmond Prendiville laid the foundation stone.

The St Francis Xavier school attached to the parish closed its doors in 1971 but the building was renamed the Emmanuel Centre a decade later and is a self-help facility, run for and by people with disabilities.

Past and present parishioners. joined representatives from the Sisters of Mercy who ran the school until its closure and later remained active within the community.

St Francis Xavier Church is currently a part of the cathedral parish and spiritually cared for by Frs Jean Noel Marie, George James and Mgr Keating.

The parish has proven to be a fertile ground for the WA Church with four of the priests who have ministered there moving on to become bishops: John Rafferty, William Foley, Justin Bianchini and Donald Sproxton.

In his homily, Bishop Sproxton said whilst families and faces might change, the spirit of this beautiful community would always remain the same.

Speaking to The Record, Mgr Keating said the occasion had been a wonderful celebration of a parish that has been a great part of the Cathedral’s history.

Mary MacKillop parish celebrates its patron saint

By RoBeRt Hiini

THOUSANDS of hearts have opened to Australia’s first saint but the parish bearing her name figures there is always room for more. St Mary MacKillop parish, Ballajura will shortly begin a monthly novena at 7pm on Wednesday, 5 October and for every first Wednesday thereafter.

Parish priest Fr John Jegorow believes the down-to-earth saint deserves a down-to-earth novena. There will be no chain-mail type demands placed on participants. “I don’t think prayers should be tied to contractual sort of bargains with God. That’s piffle,” he said. “Yes, God wants us to promote prayer but not for people to go around superstitiously.”

Instead, there will be novena prayers, benediction and anointing of the sick – something Fr Jegorow is keen to offer regularly throughout the year. As a remembrance, the parish will use an image of the saint painted by Fr

Jegorow’s friend and Adelaidebased artist, Carmel Clohesy. The parish is replete with reminders of their saint’s patronage including a small book dating back to 1870 with a dedication in the saint’s own hand, signed, “Mary MacKillop of the Cross”.

Ballajura parish also has the painting that took out the people’s choice award in a 1995 competition run by Josephite nuns in honour of the visit of Pope John Paul II. The brooding landscape, painted by Chinese artist Huihai Xie, shows Mary MacKillop among the destitute children she cared for.

Then there are the statues, both by WA scultor Gerry Darwin Outside the adoration chapel, Mary MacKillop is depicted teaching three children, in her early, pre-Josephite life in Penola. Inside the church foyer is a bust of Mary MacKillop, one of only six made by Mr Darwin. The first two were given to Pope Benedict XVI and the Josephite Order; Mary MacKillop Ballajura got the third.

Claremont celebrates parishioners

By RoBeRt Hiini

FR CHARLES Waddell has a novel idea: Catholics who worship together and call themselves community should know each other’s names.

It’s not such a novel idea in his own parish of St Thomas the Apostle in Claremont.

In late August, the parish released a directory, Our Heritage ... and Us: 1936-2011, with 16 fullcolour pages of parishioners with their names.

“We wanted to have as many

Art for La Salle’s sake

LA SALLE College’s annual art sale will take place on 14-16 October. Now in its 26th year, it will feature artworks by masters and developing artists at the Patricia Rodrigues Centre, located on school grounds.

The work of well-known figures in the Australian art world such as Robert Juniper, Ron Gomboc and Greg Baker will feature alongside that of aspiring WA artists.

For the opening on 14 October, organis-

photographs of parishioners as we could fit in there”, Fr Waddell said. “It’s so important that we can know each others’ names.”

The directory also celebrates the 75th anniversary of St Thomas church, 135 years after the parish was founded. Built in 1936, the original section of the church was designed to hold 250 people.

The cost of the site, building and furnishings was 6500 pounds, according to the directory’s potted history of the church, written by parishioner Valerie Jackson. As the

ers have secured the musical services of Tres Classique, a classical music ensemble who have supported other well known acts such as The Seekers.

Continuing the Swan Valley theme, wines from seven estates throughout the valley will be available. Tickets to the opening cost $25 and include food and entertainment. Entry to the exhibition on Saturday and Sunday, from 10am-4pm, is free.

number of parishioners increased, the parish decided to expand the church in 1963.

With an historically AngoCeltic population base, Ms Jackson said the parish’s ethnic mix began to change in the 1980s with both school and parish welcoming Timorese and Vietnamese refugees.

From 1944 to 1970, the parish had a long succession of Irish-born priests. More recently, Perth’s Vicar General for Clergy, Mgr Brian O’Loughlin, was with the parish for seven years before Fr Charles

was appointed parish priest in 2007.

In 2009, he welcomed an African choir to sing at Mass once a month. According to parishioner John Cranfield, he also introduced more opportunities for socialising after and outside Mass, including sausage sizzles and “spectacular” Indian dinners.

Fr Waddell wrote in the directory: “Seventy-five years from now, our future brothers and sisters will thank us for preserving our heritage and enabling our parish of St Thomas to thrive for them.”

Fr John Jegorow with Carmel Clohesy’s painting of Mary MacKillop. PHOTO:

Anglicans will bring ‘great gifts’

By RoBeRt Hiini

THE impending establishment of an Anglican Ordinariate was both “timely” and “welcome”, Archbishop Barry Hickey said during a visit to the Traditional Anglican parish of St Ninian and St Chad Church in Maylands last Sunday.

Under the Pope’s leadership, Archbishop Hickey told those said, Catholics and Anglicans could worship and share their treasures with one another.

“You will bring enormous gifts into the Church which will be recognised and prized,” he said.

“I think the beauty of the Anglican liturgy will attract some of our traditional Catholics because they get a bit sick of guitars and things.”

When the ordinariate is formally established, members of the Traditional Anglican Communion (TAC) will be able to join the Catholic Church while retaining their own traditions under a process established by the Pope in 2009.

Giving an address entitled “Living Biblically”, the archbishop said in worship and preaching, Jesus needed to be inculturated into the immediate context while the basics of the faith remained the same.

In changing to the vernacular after Vatican II, he said, he was conscious that Anglicans had, for over 400 years, developed English hymns and liturgy while retaining many great, Catholic traditions from a shared past.

TAC Bishop Harry Entwistle said his congregation had already made moves to integrate with the local Church in advance of the formal establishment of the ordinariate.

Members of his congregation had been attending Catholic institutes and events, and reading The Record, for some time, he said.

In response to Archbishop Hickey’s news that he would soon open an evangelisation centre, Bishop Entwistle said he was also committed to reaching out to the wider world.

“The ordinariate is not in existence to be the Anglican preservation society or the prayer book society,” he said. “If we don’t evangelise we will simply die out. We

will be absorbed, which is what some people fear... We must be part of that evanglisation.”

Archbishop Hickey was asked if the mainstream Anglican Church had tried to dissuade him from welcoming TAC members and if he was aware of any opposition from Catholics. He said he had been visited by an Anglican archbishop who told him he had done everything within his power to allow TAC Christians to remain in the mainstream Anglican Church.

That drew guffaws from many among the 50 people who were present. Archbishop Hickey said he was sure the archbishop sincerely believed what he had said.

He said he thought Catholics knew little about the Ordinariate and expected most would not be opposed but would instead trust the bishops “to do the right thing”.

There was some opposition from “hardened feminists” who “wrongly” thought the TAC’s move was simply about opposition to ordaining women as priests, he said.

If a media firestorm rages, bunkering down won’t help

Comment: tim WallaCe

WHEN confronted by a firestorm there are two courses of action: fight or flight. The latter is the most prudent; the former tenable only with advance preparation, including a fire-proof bunker to save your life when all else is lost. A media firestorm, on the hand, requires a different response.

The archdiocese of Adelaide is now dealing with the outbreak, on two separate fronts, of criticisms of its past and present handling of sexual abuse allegations. Though the cases are very different, a number of parallels might be drawn. First, the role of lawyers in shaping official responses. Second, the skills of the archdiocese’s vicar-general, Monsignor David Cappo, in handling complaints.

Third, a bunker-down approach to media management.

In the case of the complaint by the Adelaide-based global primate of the Traditional Anglican Communion, Archbishop John Hepworth, it would take more than the wisdom of Solomon to reconcile the contradictions between his and the archdiocese’s version of the events that have led, four years after he raised his claims of being raped four decades ago by a priest (still working in an Adelaide parish), to the archdiocese’s investigation being at a “preliminary” stage just weeks ago.

Early on, Archbishop Hepworth expressed gratitude for the sensitivity demonstrated by the archdiocese’s vicar-general. His view has clearly changed – especially since his complaint was made formal,

according to the Church’s national Towards Healing protocols, in February. The archdiocese, for its part, has placed responsibility for the delay firmly on Archbishop Hepworth’s shoulders.

What the archdiocese is finding hard to explain is exactly where its investigation is now, and on what basis it is being conducted.

The archdiocese’s few public statements rebutting Archbishop Hepworth’s criticisms have raised as many questions as they answer.

As Cardinal George Pell noted: “Public confidence in the integrity and proper implementation of the Catholic Church’s procedures in dealing with sexual abuse is vital in obtaining justice for complainants and all concerned.” Not only must the right thing be done, it must be seen to be done.

ABC dusts off criticisms of Adelaide archdiocese

By tim WallaCe

THE ADELAIDE Archdiocese’s defence against criticisms of its response to a sexaul abuse complaint by Anglican Archbishop John Hepworth has been complicated by the airing of separate allegations regarding a 20-year-old case involving abuse of intellectually disabled children.

The ABC’s Four Corners program has broadcast criticisms of the Church’s response to parents of students allegedly abused by convicted pedophile Brian Bertram Morris Perkins, who worked as a bus driver at St Ann’s Special School in Adelaide from 1986 to 1991.

Perkins was dismissed after police informed the school naked photos of three students had been found in his home. While the parents of those students were informed, and the police and school authorities had reason to believe up to 30 children had been abused, other parents were left in the dark. It was only in 2001, after a chance meeting, they learned of the possible reason their children had developed behavioural problems.

Four Corners revealed 20-yearold documents indicating lawyers advised Catholic Education South Australia to avoid mentioning in writing the charges against Perkins. A severance letter to him should be “neutral”, it said. A draft severance letter said his “contribution as a volunteer bus driver for disabled students has been appreciated”.

In an interview with Four Corners, Adelaide’s Archbishop Philip Wilson said: “I don’t think there was any intent to cover it up. I think that people were offering legal advice about these matters in the context in which they did; that is a context that no longer applies now.”

“When I became archbishop and started asking questions about what happened ... the conclusion that I came to was that there wasn’t any evidence of a cover-up, but it seemed to me that people just didn’t act in a proper way, they didn’t seem to respond to this sort of situation in the way they should have.

“Now I know then that the response was complicated in the 1990s by the fact there was a police investigation going on, and of course that means then that you are hampered in what you can do because the police want to have a free hand to do their work.”

Perth’s Archbishop Barry Hickey with Bishop Harry Entwistle of the Traditional Anglican Communion in Western Australia.

PHOTO: R HIINI

African elections need faith, virtues

ACCRA, Ghana – The Catholic Church must strengthen its role in observing and monitoring elections in African countries where electoral violence prevails, said Church representatives from 20 African nations. Noting that 12 African countries are scheduled to hold elections before the end of 2011 and 14 others in 2012, participants in a conference organised by Catholic Relief Services and the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar said poor governance was often the source of intimidation, violence or conflicts in Africa during and after elections.

“More often than not”, elections in Africa have been manipulated “to satisfy selfish or partisan interests to the detriment of the common good”, participants said in a statement signed by Archbishop Charles Palmer-Buckle of Accra.

Other signers included chairs of national bishops’ justice and peace commissions: Bishop Paul Bemile of Wa, Ghana; Bishop Alexio Churu Muchabaiwa of Mutare, Zimbabwe; and Bishop Gbaya Boniface Ziri of Abengourou, Ivory Coast.

Among the main causes of electoral violence were “lack of political will to implement reforms that

support democratic principles and practices,” partisan administration and control of electoral bodies, ignorance, illiteracy, poverty and “manipulation of ethnic identities and inadequate training of polling officials”, the statement said.

Participants resolved to make resources available to support good governance and peace-building initiatives and to ensure that these resources are “effectively, transparently and judiciously used.”

Urging Christians to “bring to bear on politics their Christian faith and virtues”, participants said it was sad that, “after more than

a century of Christianity in many African countries, some Christians still use ethnic identities in politics to the exclusion of others”.

The conference looked at issues of justice, reconciliation and peace, in line with the 57 pastoral proposals bishop delegates offered to Pope Benedict XVI at the October 2009 Synod of Bishops for Africa.

The Church “has not always engaged effectively with political leaders for the cause of peace and development”, said the final statement, noting this “is contrary to the example of our Lord Jesus Christ”.

Participants said legal frame -

works to guarantee Africans the freedom to exercise their democratic rights need to be put in place.

Archbishop Palmer-Buckle said the Church must speak out against electoral abuses and other malpractices “on behalf of the voiceless”.

“We have to speak out and defend what is right and just, even at the risk of our lives”, he said.

He appealed to experts in good governance to help Catholic universities and other institutions in Africa “to establish faculties of political science for the understanding and implementation” of the Church’s social teaching. CNS

Damaged but still a sanctuary for homeless Indian quake could delay relief efforts

By Anto AkkArA

BANGALORE – An Indian bishop has expressed concern landslides will block relief efforts in the mountainous border region of India and Nepal that suffered a magnitude 6.9 earthquake.

“We still do not have a complete picture of the tragedy. Though the death toll is low, the devastation is very high”, said Bishop Stephen Lepcha of the diocese of Darjeeling. The diocese includes the Indian state of Sikkim, where the quake was centred. The Himalayan state borders Bhutan, China and Nepal.

The bishop said “25 percent of the common-people houses are fully damaged and 60 percent of their houses are partially damaged.”

More than 110 people were killed and hundreds were injured in the quake. When it struck, Bishop Lepcha was on a pastoral visit to a church centre at Kurseong, an hour’s drive from Darjeeling, with Canadian Jesuit Father Joseph Abraham, 86.

Bishop Lepcha said he remained with the priest and started praying “Lord have mercy on us” until other priests rushed in looking for them after the 40-second earthquake.

The biggest worry now, he said, was widespread cracks on hillsides and roads.

“This is likely to lead to landslides when rainwater goes in. It will displace many more families”, the bishop said. CNS

Conductor: Margaret Pride

St Patrick’s Basilica, Adelaide St, Fremantle Sun Oct 16th 2011, 2.30pm

Bookings: 9252 0002 Or book on-line at www.trybooking.com/TDI

Latino leaders share ideas to put social encyclical into practice

By CArol GlAtz

VATICAN CITY - A group of American Catholic Latino business leaders has presented detailed reflections to Vatican officials on how laypeople can fulfill Pope Benedict XVI’s call to make today’s societies and economies more just.

Four members of the San Antoniobased Catholic Association of Latino Leaders (CALL) and Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez presented a written reflection Caritas in Veritate –Charity in Truth: Our Response in Faith to a number of Vatican dicasteries last week.

The written reflection is meant to provide a way for all people of faith to consider what the 2009 social encyclical “is asking us to do differently in our business and profession, in economic and public life and in our role as faithful citizens” as well as “provide a US-Latino perspective of Caritas in Veritate” the document said.

It is also meant to be a resource and

tool for the Vatican because CALL’s mission “is to assist our priests, bishops, Church and the Holy Father,” the organisation’s president and CEO, Robert Aguirre, said.

The reflection was the result of a series of meetings the group held with Vatican officials in April 2010 in an effort to let the Vatican see that the face of the Church in the US was rapidly changing with the huge growth of Hispanic Catholics, Aguirre said.

“We wanted to let them know how this could raise everybody up in the Church” by showing what a vibrant Catholic identity looked like when faith and culture are in harmony, he said.

The group also wanted to suggest that new episcopal appointments in the US be reflective of those changes, he added.

He said it was Cardinal Turkson who encouraged the group to forge a response in faith to the Pope’s most recent teaching in Caritas in Veritate and show how the encyclical could be lived out by today’s professionals.

The document outlines key themes in the encyclical, following which readers are asked to consider how the Pope’s words encourage or challenge one’s current mindset and behaviour and how the text calls on people to act differently.

For example, the document summarises and pulls an excerpt from the encyclical on workers and unemployment in which the Pope talks about the need to safeguard the most important asset of any economy: the human being.

It is followed by the question, “To what extent are you able to bring together your role as a business or professional person with your responsibility to honour and dignify employees while recognising their rights as real stakeholders in your enterprise?” as well as a reminder that workers are not things “to be tolerated and managed,” but respected in their inherent human dignity.

The first printing of 600 copies sold out before the group landed in Rome, Aguirre said.

People displaced by Haiti’s 2010 earthquake sleep inside the damaged St Ann’s Church in Port-au-Prince. Haiti’s government is focused on developing the countryside to relieve strain on the over-crowded capital, hoping the lure of jobs and housing will help to evenly distribute the population. PHOTO: CNS

Religion, not politics, for Iran solution

By Dennis saDowski

WASHINGTON – A delegation of Christian and Muslim leaders returned to the United States from Iran hoping their six-day visit will improve relations between the two squabbling countries in a way diplomatic channels have not.

The delegation hoped to be accompanied home by a pair of American hikers incarcerated by Iranian authorities on charges of espionage and entering Iran illegally, but their release was sidetracked because a judge who could approve their release was on vacation.

Addressing reporters at Dulles International Airport upon the delegation’s return, Cardinal McCarrick said he planned to call the mothers of the hikers as soon as he could to assure them “their sons are on the way, so hang in there”.

The trip to Iran was the most recent for the Cardinal and Bishop John Bryson Chane. Cardinal McCarrick began visiting Iran under the administration of

President Mohammad Khatami between 1997 and 2005. Bishop Chane has visited Iran since 2006. Cardinal McCarrick said he believed discussions among Iranian and American religious leaders would deepen trust where diplomacy has failed. He said the idea of establishing a bilateral commission of religious and academic leaders from both countries was offered during a meeting with Iran’s president. “The political channel doesn’t do too well right now. There should be another channel. The other channel is the religious channel”, he said. Bishop Chane said the delegation met with families and friends of about 60 Iranians being held by the US government on unspecified charges. He said the families as well as Iranian officials asked them to press the US government to review their cases on humanitarian grounds.

“It would be appropriate if our government responded in kind,” the Bishop said. “It would open significant doors.” CNS

Chinese religious suffer poor health

BEIJING – Unhealthy lifestyles make Chinese clergy vulnerable to disease, says a doctor-priest.

The health of the clergy and religious in China has become a source of concern since the deaths of a young bishop and bishop candidate, both in their 40s, earlier this year. Asian church news agency UCA News quoted a priest identified only as Father Joseph, a doctor

Diocese and bishop up on charges

KANSAS CITY – Bishop Robert

Finn of the diocese of Kansas CitySt Joseph has testified before a grand jury as part of an investigation into the diocese’s response to child abuse charges against a priest.

“We’re doing the best we can to cooperate with law enforcement”, he told reporters after testifying in the case of Father Shawn Ratigan, a Catholic priest charged with child pornography offences in Clay County and in the US District Court.

Fr Ratigan was arrested in May on state charges of possessing child pornography. In August, prosecutors charged him with producing child pornography. He is also facing accusations made against him in two separate lawsuits.

Both the diocese and Bishop Finn have also been named in the civil suits, which accuse both of failing to keep Fr Ratigan away from children, apparently after learning disturbing images were found on the priest’s computer and being warned of the priest’s inappropriate behaviour.

In early September, an independent report commissioned by the diocese to examine its policies and procedures on assessing abuse allegations said “diocesan leaders failed to follow their own policies and procedures for responding to

in northern China, as saying priests did not get enough exercise.

“Some priests have little sense of evangelisation. After the daily Mass, they go straight to their computers,” he said. “By and by, even a healthy body cannot stand it.”

He said mainland clergy were most vulnerable to cardiovascular disease and diabetes which, along with cancer and chronic respiratory

illnesses, are the leading diseases. Fr Joseph said diets had improved but, without proper exercise, priests could develop high blood pressure and other adverse health conditions contributing to cardiovascular disease. He suggested that better health education among Church workers about common and chronic diseases would help improve the

situation. Fr Paulus Gan said he exercised regularly but other clergy and nuns “seldom do exercises because they are busy, unaccustomed to it or are already sick and cannot do so”.

China’s health minister Chen Zhu told the UN General Assembly that noncommunicable diseases are responsible for about 85 percent of all deaths in the country.

Heady heights and company for worker

Miraculous healing of baby James Fulton

ILLINOIS - That James Fulton Engstrom celebrated his first birthday is amazing. In fact, some would call his life a miracle. He was considered stillborn a year ago, without a pulse for the first 61 minutes of his life. Only when doctors at OSF St Francis Medical Centre in Peoria, Illinois were ready to call the time of death did his heart started beating.

His parents, Travis and Bonnie, believe James is alive because of the intercession of Archbishop Fulton J Sheen, a candidate for sainthood. Peoria is the late Archbishop’s home diocese. His cause was officially opened in 2002. On 7 September a tribunal of inquiry was sworn in to investigate the tot’s alleged miraculous healing.

Archbishop Sheen is a native

Church-state relations jeopardy

PRESIDENT of the US bishops’ conference Archbishop Timothy Dolan has told President Barack Obama in a letter his administration’s fight against the Defence of Marriage Act will create a serious breach of Church-state relations. The law, known as DOMA, defines marriage as between one man and one woman. “It is especially wrong and unfair to equate opposition to redefining marriage with either intentional or wilfully ignorant racial discrimination, as your administration insists on doing,” the Archbishop said, noting the Church recognised “the immeasurable personal dignity and equal worth of all individuals, including those with same-sex attraction” and “we reject all hatred and unjust treatment against any person.”

BANGLADESH

War crimes protests cause injuries

ARCHBISHOP Paulinus Costa of Dhaka was struck by a stone when several hundred supporters of Bangladesh’s largest Islamist party went on the rampage during a protest to demand the release of several of their top leaders arrested on war crimes charges dating back to the 1970s. The archbishop was exercising in Ramna Park next to the cathedral as the clash began. While he was unharmed, more than 100 other people, including two dozen policemen, were injured. “I haven’t seen clashes like this for 20 years,” said Father Kamal Corraya, the Dhaka archdiocesan communications spokesman. “We’re lucky no church buildings were affected, even though the road outside the cathedral looked like a battlefield.”

VATICAN

Cardinal to oversee Legionaries of Christ

POPE BENEDICT XVI has accepted the resignation of Italian Cardinal Velasio De Paolis as head of the Vatican’s economic affairs office but is keeping him on as papal delegate to the Legionaries of Christ. Bishops are required by canon law to submit their resignations when they turn 75, but the Pope only accepted Cardinal De Paolis’ request to step down as president of the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See. He appointed Italian Bishop Giuseppe Versaldi to be the prefecture’s new president, elevating him to archbishop. Cardinal De Paolis was appointed in 2010 as the Pope’s personal delegate with broad powers of authority over the Legionaries of Christ while the order undergoes a Vatican-led reform and reorganisation.

MEXICO

Police attack and threaten priest

of El Paso, “down the road” from Germantown Hills where Bonnie Engstrom grew up. “I always heard people say he was going to be a saint,” she told The Catholic Post When their son was born in crisis at home, Travis baptised him James Fulton before the ambulance came. “I have a memory of watching the midwife perform CPR and praying to Sheen”, Bonnie said. CNS

A PRIEST in Mexico, known for his outspoken defence of undocumented workers arriving from neighbouring Guatemala, has reported being detained for several hours and threatened by soldiers and state police. Father Tomas Gonzalez, pastor of the Crucified Christ Parish in Tenosique, was travelling with two migrants and Ruben Figueroa, an activist with Amnesty International. A state police officer struck Figueroa and told him, “We’re going to teach you to respect”, Amnesty International said in a statement. Another official wearing military clothing called Fr Gonzalez a “devious Indian”, and said “There are no witnesses here and I’m going to bust this guy’s head”.

Iraqi girls pray in front of a statue of Mary in Irbil, Iraq. While most sectarian fighting since the 2003 invasion has been between Sunni and Shiite Muslims, attacks on Christians have increased in recent years. PHOTO: CNS

A worker walks across scaffolding on the colonnade at the Vatican. Several sections of the colonnade are being restored after centuries of battering by nature and pollution. The four-year restoration project began in 2009. PHOTO: CNS

POPE IN GERMANY

Message of hope amid gloom

By John Thavis

ON HIS four-day visit to Germany, Pope Benedict XVI warned that godlessness and religious indifference undermined society’s moral foundations and left its weakest members exposed to new risks.

He repeatedly mentioned the duty to protect the unborn, and proposed this as an area where Catholics and non-Catholics could co-operate to resist ethical erosion.

The Pope, making his first official state visit to his homeland, said he had come “to meet people and to speak about God”.

Pope warns that success can be seductive

ADDRESSING the lower house of Germany’s parliament, Pope Benedict XVI encouraged politicians to seek justice over success, and to launch an “urgent” debate about right and wrong.

Speaking to the Bundestag on the first day of his visit, the Pope delivered a discourse titled “The Listening Heart: Reflections on the Foundations of Law”.

Framing his address within the context of the biblical figure of King Solomon, who asked God for a “listening heart” so as to be able to discern right from wrong, the Pope told politicians in attendance that seeking justice shouldn’t take a back seat to success.

“Naturally, a politician will seek success”, the pontiff explained, “without which he would have no opportunity for effective political action at all. Yet success is subordinated to the criterion of justice, to the will to do what is right, and to the understanding of what is right.”

Benedict XVI warned that success could be “seductive” and lead one to not do what is right, and to destroy justice.

Alluding to the rise of Adolf Hitler and the atrocities committed by the Nazis, he recalled that his country saw “how power became divorced from right, how power opposed right and crushed it, so that the state became an instrument for destroying right.”

He described the Nazi regime as “a highly organised band of robbers, capable of threatening the whole world and driving it to the edge of the abyss.”

“To serve right and to fight against the dominion of wrong is and remains the fundamental task of the politician”, he said. “At a moment in history when man has acquired previously inconceivable power, this task takes on a particular urgency.”

Benedict XVI then took up the topic of the foundation for law, stating that for most matters that require regulation, the democratic system is “sufficient.”

“Yet”, he continued, “it is evident that for the fundamental issues of law, in which the dignity of man and of humanity is at stake, the majority principle is not enough”.

“Everyone in a position of responsibility must personally seek out the criteria to be followed when framing laws,” the Pope added.

Continued on Page 12

He took that message to political leaders, to the Church’s ecumenical partners, the Catholic faithful and, through the mass media, to the German people.

The 84 year old Pope at times looked tired during the heavy programme of events but generally held up well.

He beamed when Catholics in central and southern Germany chanted his name and waved banners with the trip’s slogan, “Where there is God, there is a future”.

When he stepped off his plane in Berlin, he was greeted by President Christian Wulff, and Chancellor Angela Merkel.

At a welcoming ceremony at the presidential palace, the Pope strongly defended the Church’s voice in public affairs and said to dismiss religious values as irrelevant would “dismember our culture”.

Mr Wulff agreed the Church’s message was needed in modern society.

But Ms Merkel, a 52 year old Catholic who is divorced and civilly remarried, said the Church also faced challenges: “How will it approach points of rupture in its own history or the wrongdoing of members of its clergy?”

The Pope’s speech to the German

parliament was the first time he has addressed a legislative body. Philosophical in tone, he argued that belief in God was the foundation for Western progress in law, social justice and human rights through the centuries.

Today, he said, with unprecedented opportunities to manipulate human beings, the threat was even more dramatic.

He pointed to Germany’s ecology movement as a step in the right direction, but said an “ecology of man” was needed to protect human dignity.

Celebrating Mass in Berlin’s Olympic Stadium for 70,000 peo-

ple, the Pope appealed for a better understanding of the Church, going beyond current controversies and the failings of its members.

At a prayer vigil in Freiburg, he was greeted by screaming teens. His talk emphasised that human efforts to make a better world were never enough, and that only faith in God cuts through the “darkness and gloom” of suffering and evil.

At a Mass on his final day in Freiburg, he told an estimated 100,000 people that agnostics who are troubled by the question of God are closer to the kingdom of God than “routine” Catholics whose hearts are untouched by faith. CNS

Sex abuse victims hear papal regret

THE Pope met with five victims of clerical sexual abuse in Germany, expressing his deep regret and the Church’s commitment to preventing such crimes in the future.

The Vatican said the 84 year old Pope was “moved and deeply shaken by the suffering of the victims”. He met with the group, two women and three men, in the seminary in Erfurt on the second day of a four day visit to his homeland.

The victims had suffered sexual abuse by priests and other Church personnel, the Vatican said. They were accompanied by Bishop Stephan Ackermann of Trier, who has helped draw up new measures to deal with abusive priests.

“The Holy Father expressed his deep compassion and regret over all that was done to them and their families”, said the Vatican statement. “He assured the people present that those in positions of responsibility in the Church are seriously concerned to deal with all crimes of abuse and are committed to the promotion of effective measures for the protection of children and young people,” the statement said.

The Church in Germany has been shaken over the past two years by revelations about clerical sex abuse and how cases were handled by Church officials. On the plane going to Germany, the Pope told reporters he understood the feelings of those who have left the Church because of the abuse cases, but appealed to Catholics to work against such crimes “from the inside”.

The German Pope has met previously with sex abuse victims during his visits to the United States, Malta, Australia and Britain. CNS

Saints witnesses of enduring Church

SAINTS were “living witnesses” of faith and shining examples of courage, the Pope said at a Mass where more than 50,000 honoured Erfurt’s patron, St Elizabeth of Thuringia.

“God’s presence is always seen especially clearly in the saints”, he said. “Their witness to the faith can also give us courage to begin afresh today.” The Pope offered short histories of the patron saints of Erfurt diocese including Elizabeth of Thuringia, Boniface, Kilian and Severus. St Elizabeth, he said, “can help us all to discover the fullness of the faith, its beauty, its depth and its

transforming and purifying power and to translate it into our everyday lives. Elizabeth led an intense life of prayer, linked to the spirit of penance and evangelical poverty.

“She regularly went down from her castle into the town of Eisenach, in order to care personally for the poor and the sick. Her life on this earth was only short, she was just 24 when she died, but the fruits of her holiness have endured across the centuries.”

The Pope pointed to Germany’s Catholic roots, in part put down in 742 with the foundation of the

diocese of Erfurt by St Boniface.

“Missionary bishop Boniface had come from England and it was characteristic of his approach that he worked in essential unity and close association with the Bishop of Rome, the Successor of St Peter; he knew the Church must be one around Peter”, he said. “We honour him as the ‘Apostle of Germany’; he died as a martyr.” St Kilian, the Pope said, “an itinerant missionary from Ireland, was at work in Thuringia. Together with two companions he died in Würzburg as a martyr, because he

criticised the moral misconduct of the Duke of Thuringia who resided there.” He also mentioned St Severus, namesake of the church built next to the Cathedral of Erfurt: “He was Bishop of Ravenna in the 4th century and his remains were brought to Erfurt in 836 in order to anchor the Christian faith more firmly in this region. From these saints,” the Holy Father said, “though they were dead, came forth the living witness of the Church that ever endures, the witness of faith that makes all times fruitful and shows us the path of life.”

Benedict xvi’s pilgrimage to his homeland.

A giant front page of German Bild newspaper announces Pope Benedict’s election in 2005.

PHOTO: CNS

Lighting the Way

Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to Germany highlighted two closely connected challenges for the Church: how to re-evangelise traditionally Christian countries in the West and how to regain a credible voice in modern society, writes

John Thavis

In a sense, the Pope’s German homeland was a test case for the “new evangelisation” project that has taken centre stage in his pontificate.

As the Pope pointed out repeatedly during the 22-25 September visit, modern Germany is a highly secularised country where atheism or religious indifference is widespread, where traditional moral values are eroding and where the Church’s message seems to have less and less impact.

And yet Germany has a native son as Pope - still a point of pride for many Germans - and a tradition of intellectual debate. At the very least, the Pope hoped for a fair hearing, and at some levels, he got one. His address to the German parliament, in which he argued that social justice must be grounded in morality, prompted reflection and discussion in German media. The normally critical weekly Der Spiegel called the speech thought-provoking and “courageous”.

It was a classic Pope Benedict speech, a philosophical exposition that ranged from the biblical account of King Solomon to the positivist world view of modernity. He showed that he can connect with the intelligentsia, and at this rarified level he gets respect.

The Pope also clearly connected with the Catholic faithful who turned out by the tens of thousands for his Masses and prayer services. Praying before a statue of Mary at a shrine in Etzelsbach or kneeling in Eucharistic adoration at the Freiburg cathedral, the Pope heard behind him the sound of silence - music to his ears, because it was a sign of intense participation. His appeal to return to the Christian roots of Germany met with enthusiastic approval from what one woman called his “base” - the Catholic families who have tried to maintain their religious traditions in the face of decades of communism and more recent years of social fragmentation.

Other audiences appeared less

in sync with the Pope’s message and his single-minded focus on the “return to God” theme.

To Germans who have left the Church or those who have pushed for a “dialogue” within the Church on issues like priestly celibacy and the role of women and lay people, the Pope had some pointed words.

First, he said the root problem was a misunderstanding of the nature of the Church: it’s not just a social organisation that people opt in or out of, but a community of believers that belongs to Jesus Christ. He blamed internal dissatisfaction on Catholics’ superficial notions of a “dream Church” that has failed to materialise.

In a meeting in Freiburg with officials of Germany’s central lay Catholic committee, the Pope

understand. It sounds like what he’s saying belongs to the past,” said Magda Hilmers, a Protestant from Freiburg. Inga, a 46 year old woman who comes from a Catholic family but said she is “not religious”, thought the Pope should have spoken more about social issues, including war and economic imbalances. She said she was put off by the cost and showiness of the papal visit.

For Andres Capriles, a young Bolivian immigrant to Germany, the Pope’s words were important but did not address what’s on many Catholics’ minds.

His appeal to return to the Christian roots of Germany met with enthusiastic approval.

bluntly described the German Church as “superbly organised” but lacking in spirit. Rather than relying on big Church structures and programmes, he said, “new evangelisation” will depend more on small Catholic communities and individuals able to share their faith experiences with co-workers, family and friends.

The Pope’s visit was also designed to reach a wider audience, the millions of Germans who have drifted away from the Church or religion. At the first event at Berlin’s presidential palace, Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Munich told Catholic News Service he was convinced these Germans would be listening to the Pope - even the sceptics, he said. The sceptics were not at the papal venues, however. They followed the visit through the media, if at all. And their reactions were mixed.

“His speech to parliament showed he is a man with high intellect. But for most people, it is too high. The talk about needing to rediscover God - this I didn’t

“People are not just disillusioned about God and religion, they are disillusioned about the Church and the direction the Church is moving, which seems to be away from the Second Vatican Council”, he said.

Petra Kollmar, a 57 year old Catholic from Freiburg, said the problem with the Pope’s visit was “what he did not talk about

- the ‘no’ to women priests, the Church’s attitude toward homosexuals and divorced people in the Church, the abuse of children that has occurred.”

Many of those interviewed said these are issues that have left the Church with less influence and credibility among Germans. Such attitudes are not uncommon throughout Europe, and they complicate the “new evangelisation” plan, making it much harder for the Pope to reach his target audience of the indifferent and disaffected.

But the Pope’s approach in Germany was not to make concessions. In Freiburg, he said that rather than launch a “new strategy”, the Church needs to “set aside its worldliness” and stop adapting itself to the standards of secular society. Faith lived fully is always counter-cultural, he said, but history has shown its the only way for the Church to regain credibility for its mission.

As evident in Germany, the Pope sees “new evangelisation” as a long and uphill process that starts with a clearer understanding of the Church’s own nature and purpose, and not an attempt to find middle ground with critics. CNS

BELOW LEFT:

BELOW CENTRE: Girls wait for the arrival of Pope Benedict XVI before he celebrates Mass at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium

BELOW: Choir members wait for Pope Benedict XVI to celebrate Mass

PHOTO: CNS

Exposing the crisis of faith within Germany

Here is the edited address Benedict XVI delivered on 24 September when meeting with the council of the Central Committee for German Catholics at the seminary of the Archdiocese of Freiburg im Breisgau

For some years now, development aid has included what are known as “exposure programmes.” Leaders from the fields of politics, economics and religion live among the poor in Africa, Asia or Latin America for a certain period and share the day-to-day reality of their lives. They are exposed to the circumstances in which these people live, in order to see the world through their eyes and hence to learn how to practise solidarity.

Let us imagine that an exposure programme of this kind were to take place here in Germany. Experts from a far country would arrive to spend a week with an average German family. They would find much to admire here, for example the prosperity, the order and the efficiency. But looking on with unprejudiced eyes, they would also see plenty of poverty: poverty in human relations and poverty in the religious sphere.

We live at a time that is broadly characterised by a subliminal relativism that penetrates every area of life. Sometimes this relativism becomes aggressive, when it opposes those who say they know where the truth or meaning of life is to be found.

And we observe that this relativism exerts more and more influence on human relationships and on society. This is reflected, among other things, in the inconstancy and fragmentation of many people’s lives and in an exaggerated individualism. Many no longer seem capable of any form of self-denial or of making a sacrifice for others. Even the altruistic commitment to the common good, in the social and cultural sphere or on behalf of the needy, is in decline. Others are now quite incapable of committing themselves unreservedly to a single partner. People can hardly find the courage now to promise to be faithful for a whole lifetime; the courage to make a decision and say: now I belong entirely to you, or to take a firm stand for fidelity and truthfulness and sincerely to seek a solution to their problems.

Dear friends, in the exposure programme, analysis is followed by common reflection. This evaluation must take into account the whole of the human person, and this includes, not just implicitly but quite clearly, the person’s relationship to the Creator. We see that in our affluent western world much is lacking. Many people lack experience

of God’s goodness. They no longer find any point of contact with the mainstream churches and their traditional structures. But why is this? I think this is a question on which we must reflect very seriously. Addressing it is the principal task of the Pontifical Council for the New Evangelisation. But naturally it is something that concerns us all. Allow me to refer here to an aspect of Germany’s particular situation. The Church in Germany is superbly organised. But behind the structures, is there also a corresponding spiritual strength, the strength of faith in the living God?

Others incapable of committing themselves unreservedly to a single partner.

We must honestly admit that we have more than enough by way of structure but not enough by way of Spirit. I would add: the real crisis facing the Church in the western world is a crisis of faith. If we do not find a way of genuinely renewing our faith, all structural reform will remain ineffective.

But let us return to the people who lack experience of God’s goodness. They need places where they can give voice to their inner longing. And here we are called to seek new paths of evangelisation. Small communities could be one such path, where friendships are lived and deepened in regular communal adoration before God.

There we find people who speak of these small faith experiences at their workplace and within their circle of family and friends, and in so doing bear witness to a new closeness between Church and society. They come to see more and more clearly that everyone stands in need of this nourishment of love, this concrete friendship with others and with the Lord.

Of continuing importance is the link with the vital life-source that is the Eucharist, since, cut off from Christ, we can do nothing (cf Jn15:5).

Dear brothers and sisters, may the Lord always point out to us how together we can be lights in the world and can show our fellow men the path to the source at which they can quench their profound thirst for life. I thank you.

The full text of this address is available at www.vatican.va.

ABOVE: Pilgrims hold candles as Pope Benedict leads a prayer vigil with young people in Freiburg in Breisgau, Germany

LEFT: Pope Benedict XVI waves to the crowd as he arrives in his popemobile to celebrate Mass at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium

Youth gather before the arrival of Pope Benedict XVI for a prayer vigil in Freiburg in Breisgau, Germany

at the Stadium

Ecumenism not a negotation: Pope

ECUMENISM was not an exercise in negotiation, in which benefits and drawbacks were weighed in search of a consensus, Pope Benedict XVI said at an ecumenical celebration in Erfurt. He noted that prior to his visit, there was talk of “an ‘ecumenical gift’ expected from this visit”. Such talk reflected “a political misreading of faith and of ecumenism”.

He explained: “In general, when a head of state visits a friendly country, contacts between various parties take place beforehand to arrange one or more agreements

Dialogue to strengthen common hope in God

ADOLF Hitler was a “pagan idol”, Pope Benedict XVI said during an address to a small group of Jewish representatives in Berlin.

The Pope said his visit brought him to a “central place of remembrance, the appalling remembrance that it was from here that the Shoah, the annihilation of our Jewish fellow citizens in Europe, was planned and organised.”

Though the third trip to his homeland since being elected Pope, this was his first state visit. He spoke of the “Nazi reign of terror” as being based on a “racist myth, part of which was the rejection of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of Jesus Christ and of all who believe in him”.

“The supposedly ‘almighty’ Adolf Hitler was a pagan idol who wanted to take the place of the biblical God, the Creator and Father of all men”, he said. He warned that “refusal to heed this one God always makes people heedless of human dignity as well.” Images from concentration camps at the end of the war showed “what man is capable of when he rejects God, and what the face of a people can look like when it denies this God.”

Benedict XVI went on to highlight some of the signs today of a “real blossoming of Jewish life in Germany.” He also praised a “deepening dialogue of the Catholic Church with Judaism.” Christians must become increasingly aware of their inner affinity with Judaism, he said. “For Christians, there can be no rupture in salvation history. Salvation comes from the Jews.” He called for dialogue between the reading of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. “This dialogue should serve to strengthen our common hope in God in the midst of an increasingly secularised society,” he proposed. “Without this hope, society loses its humanity.” ZENIT

between the two states: But the faith of Christians does not rest on such a weighing of benefits and drawbacks. A self-made faith is worthless. Faith is not something we work out intellectually or negotiate. It is the foundation for our lives. Unity grows not by the weighing of benefits and drawbacks but only by entering ever more deeply into the faith in our thoughts and in our lives.”

Benedict XVI offered a reflection on Christ’s prayer for unity found in John 17. “[Jesus] intercedes for coming generations of believers.

He looks beyond the Upper Room, towards the future. He also prayed for us. And he prayed for our unity. This prayer of Jesus is not simply something from the past. He stands before the Father, for ever making intercession for us,” he said.

The Pope then asked the searching question: “Did Jesus’ prayer go unheard?” “The history of Christianity is in some sense the visible element of this drama in which Christ strives and suffers with us human beings”, he said. “Ever anew he must endure the rejection of unity, yet ever anew

unity takes place with him and thus with the triune God.” The Holy Father invited his listeners to see both these things: human sin and God’s triumphs. “In an ecumenical gathering, we ought not only to regret our divisions and separations, but we should also give thanks to God for all the elements of unity which he has preserved for us and bestows on us ever anew”, he said.

“And this gratitude must be at the same time a resolve not to lose, at a time of temptations and perils, the unity thus bestowed.”

The Pope also considered the question of whether man needs God. He suggested that in a first instance, it might appear that things can function without him.

“But the more the world withdraws from God, the clearer it becomes that man, in his hubris of power, in his emptiness of heart and in his longing for satisfaction and happiness, increasingly loses his life.

“A thirst for the infinite is indelibly present in human beings. Man was created to have a relationship with God; we need him.”

ZENIT

Room for Muslim and Christian collaboration

RECOGNISING inalienable rights rooted in human nature was the common ground needed for a pluralistic society, Benedict XVI told Muslims in Germany. He noted the importance Muslims gave to life’s religious dimension was “thought provocative” given a “society that tends to marginalise religion or at most assign it a place among the individual’s personal choices”.

He affirmed the Church, too, was a firm advocate of “due recognition” for the “public dimension of religious adherence.” “In an overwhelmingly pluralist society, this demand is not unimportant”, he said. “Care must be taken that others are always treated with respect. Mutual respect grows only on the basis of agreement on certain inalienable values proper to human nature, in particular the inviolable dignity of every single person.”

Referring to the constitutional law of Germany, he noted it is still valid some 60 years later even though the nation has gone from a majority Christian one, to a religiously pluralistic society.

“The reason for this seems to be that the fathers of the Basic Law at that important moment were fully conscious of the need to find particularly solid ground with which all citizens would be able to identify”, he reflected. “In seeking this, they did not prescind from their own religious beliefs ... But they knew they had to engage with followers of other religions and none: common ground was found in the recognition of some inalienable rights proper to human nature.”

The Pope said this foundation points out the limits of pluralism: “It is inconceivable, in fact, that a society could survive in the long term without consensus on fundamental ethical values.” In this context, he suggested Muslims and Christians have room for “fruitful collaboration”. ZENIT

Nature and reason are true sources of law

Continued from Page 9

Those who stood up to the Nazis, he said, did not follow the law of the ruling majority: “For these people, it was indisputably evident that the law in force was actually unlawful.”

The Pope acknowledged it was not always easy to know what is right or wrong. To this end, he offered some points of reflection on the development of natural law, and its place in modern society.

“Unlike other great religions”, he said, “Christianity has never proposed a revealed law to the state

and to society, that is to say a juridical order derived from revelation. Instead, it has pointed to nature and reason as the true sources of law – and to the harmony of objective and subjective reason which naturally presupposes that both spheres are rooted in the creative reason of God.”

Benedict XVI noted that Christian theologians, building on the political thought of Stoic philosophers and Roman politicians, laid the foundation for the “juridical culture of the West [...], which was and is of key significance for

the juridical culture of mankind”.

“This pre-Christian marriage between law and philosophy”, he explained, “opened up the path that led via the Christian Middle Ages and the juridical developments of the Age of Enlightenment all the way to the Declaration of Human Rights and to our German Basic Law of 1949, with which our nation committed itself to ‘inviolable and inalienable human rights as the foundation of every human community, and of peace and justice in the world’”. Christian theologians, he continued, “aligned themselves

against religious law associated with polytheism and on the side of philosophy”, and “acknowledged reason and nature in their interrelation as the universally valid source of law.” Due to the rise of “the positivist understanding of nature”, concepts of natural law are deemed as part of “a specifically Catholic doctrine”, the Pontiff noted. Positivism is the current of thought asserting that only what can be seen, experienced, proven or touched can be considered true.

“Anything that is not verifiable

or falsifiable, according to this understanding, does not belong to the realm of reason strictly understood”, the Pope explained. “Hence ethics and religion must be assigned to the subjective field, and they remain extraneous to the realm of reason in the strict sense of the word.”

“Where positivist reason dominates to the exclusion of all else ... the classical sources of knowledge for ethics and law are excluded,” he lamented. “This is a dramatic situation which affects everyone, and on which a public debate is necessary.”

Pope Benedict XVI in prayer next to Bishop Joachim Wanke of Erfurt, inside St Mary’s Cathedral, where Martin Luther was ordained a Catholic priest in 1507.

PHOTO: CNS

Parenthood can bring perplexity – or fear – at the prospect of introducing children to the delicate subject of human sexuality. But a new program draws on the richness and beauty of the Church’s theology and teaching to bring help to nervous parents, writes

Mark Reidy.

Answering your child without Birds, Bees or Storks

Throughout the history of the Catholic Church, and even in today’s climate of liberalism and openness, the very thought of sex education can still induce knots in the stomach, feelings of intense nervousness, awkward sideway glances and a stumbling of words … and that’s just the parents! But parents across the country can now breathe a collective sigh of relief with the release of a book that can not only successfully guide them through this “trau-matic” phase of their lives, but do it while remaining faithful to the Church’s teachings.

Dr Gerard O’Shea, senior lecturer at the John Paul II Institute of Marriage and Family in Melbourne, is the author of a groundbreaking programme that has finally packaged Church wisdom in the area of sexuality and presented it in a practical and child-friendly format. In an interview with The Record, O’Shea confessed one of the primary motives for producing As I Have Loved You was his own difficulty trying to convey the true beauty of Catholic understanding within a framework that could be effectively received by his five children. As his oldest boys were approaching teenage years, he began studying at the JPII Institute, hoping to find some answers. There, he was introduced to the Truth and Meaning of Human Sexuality (TMHS), a 1995 document produced by the Pontifical Council for the Family, intended to guide parents in the

education of their children in human sexuality. The culmination of ten years’ research by leading professionals and incorporating insights espoused by Pope John Paul II in his Theology of the Body series, the document confirmed to O’Shea the Church did have all the answers he was looking for. However, it did not provide him with practical skills to effectively transfer this knowledge to his sons. “I knew I had already made some big mistakes with my oldest boy and I wanted to get it right for

Despite the TMHS document emphasising the need for parents to become primary educators of their children in human sexuality, he knew most of them did not possess the confidence to even attempt this. Enduring his own difficulties, O’Shea set about producing a programme he could utilise personally. “It was more out of a personal duty to my own children, rather than conviction about its broad appeal, that I proceeded with this task”, he admitted. But he soon realised

priate to the individual child.

As the course evolved, O’Shea became more determined to return responsibility for sexual education to parents. “For over a century, Catholic parents had been in the habit of delegating their educative role to the Catholic school”, he said. O’Shea believes only parents can accurately determine the physical, mental and emotional stages of development of their child and, accordingly, only they can successfully deliver the required

Convey the true beauty of the Catholic understanding within a framework that could be effectively received by ... children.

the younger ones”, he explained.

By this stage O’Shea was teaching at the Institute and increasingly concerned with the absence of an appropriate parental vehicle to deliver the Church’s profound wisdom. Driving his concern was the increasing flow of sexual information filtering into schools, including Catholic, throughout the 80s and 90s and introducing sexual concepts and information in a “one size fits all” package.

“In the area of sexual education”, O’Shea explained, “students were being treated with a herd mentality. This wasn’t being done within other subjects, where individual perceptions were taken into account and catered for”, he said.

But with 15 years’ teaching experience behind him, he was also aware the Church was not offering a practical alternative.

the wider benefits of equipping Catholic parents with knowledge, means and confidence.

He began to construct the outline of his programme and refined it through parental focus groups, including non-Catholics, as well as fine-tuning its application with his own children. O’Shea founded his programme on the four principles established in the TMHS document:

1 Each child is unique and should be formed individually.

2 Moral dimensions always to be included in explanations.

3 Formation in chastity and timely information about sexuality to be provided in the broadest possible context of education for love. It cannot be neatly fitted into any single curriculum area.

4 Information should be provided clearly and at a time appro-

education within the moral, ethical and spiritual framework in which it is intended.

O’Shea revealed that the question of timing on when to introduce the course is one of the most frequently asked. He responds by referring to the format he has presented in his book, where he divides childhood into Years of Innocence and Puberty. He describes the Years of Innocence as a stage when children are incapable of integrating sexual information with moral responsibility and therefore must never be disturbed by unnecessary information.

It is at this pre-pubescent stage, he states, parents must take extra care to protect children from any attempt to violate their innocence or to compromise their moral, emotional or spiritual development which, he acknowledges, is

very precarious in today’s society. He is adamant parents are the appropriate people to gauge when to introduce the programme as intimate knowledge of their child ensures they will recognise physical signs, personality changes and curiosity levels which, he says, are the most accurate measuring sticks for readiness. One of the beauties of this course is that it can be tailored to meet needs of all levels of understanding; however, O’Shea is quick to point out in order to maximise programme benefits, it is essential it is delivered within the context of a loving, trusting relationship.

“It is a relationship-based programme”, O’Shea shares, “One that I finally got right with my youngest son. We went through the course over several years and by the time he was ready to hear about intimate details of sexual intercourse, he said to me, ‘I think I know what you’re going to tell me’ … and he was right! It all becomes a natural and beautiful revelation and is very bonding. In fact, he still chooses to regularly meet with me despite having completed the programme.” O’Shea says he is yet to meet anyone who has not been empowered in some way by their introduction to this course. “As parents come to understand the principles of the programme and grasp the context on how it should be conveyed”, he says, “They soon realise they are indeed the best ones to pass on this beautiful gift to their child.”

As I Have Loved You is available from The Record bookshop for $22.

A Gateway

History through

Superb restoration by Israelis of the ancient Damascus Gate reveals layer upon layer of history and culture, writes Judith Sudilovsky

At the Damascus Gate of Jerusalem’s Old City, history is literally etched in stone. From its monumental Roman base to the top of its newly restored Ottoman crown and its stones scarred by bullet holes, the city’s most elaborate gate has been witness to the comings and goings of centuries of conquering soldiers and rulers and remains the main gate into the Old City.

In August, Israeli archaeologists completed restoration work on the Damascus Gate, the last stage in a project begun in 2007 to restore and conserve the city’s 2.5 miles of ancient walls, said conservation architect Avi Mashiah of the Israel Antiquities Authority, who directed the work.

The Damascus Gate was the last of the gates to be restored, not only because of its architectural complexity, but also because of its role as the social and commercial hub for the Old City in East Jerusalem, he said.

The Israeli restoration of the Damascus Gate took 10 months, Mashiah said, and was conducted in coordination with the Palestinian merchants whose busy shops line the entrance into the old city. Work time was limited to evening hours at their request, he said, and no water was used to clean the stones so their merchandise and stores would not be damaged.

During Roman times, the gate consisted of three monumental arches flanked by two unique still-standing towers built at an angle to the arches. It was an important symbol of the Roman Aelia Capitolina city founded on the ruins of Jerusalem by Emperor Hadrian in 135 AD, said Italian Franciscan Father Eugenio Alliata, professor of

Christian archaeology at the Studium Bibilicum Franciscanum of Jerusalem and director of the school’s museum. It was atop of the Roman ruins that the Crusaders built their gate. The ancient Hebrews, the Fatimid, the Mamluk, Ottomans, British, Jordanians and Israelis have also laid claim to the city and its wall.

“This was the most important monument of Jerusalem, the most important entrance to Jerusalem”, said Fr Alliata.

He said that, except under Ottoman rule, the Damascus Gate has always served as the main entrance to Jerusalem. In the time of Jesus there was only

This was the most important monument of Jerusalem, the most important entrance

a minor entrance at the site but no remains of it have been found, he said. Reaching up with his hand to touch the remains of the Roman pillars that bordered the arches, the priest marvelled at the towering height they must have reached.

“When you look at them from above they do not look that big. Only when you come down here to the Roman level do you realise how big they were”, he said.

He pointed out the six feet long base stones and said they were said to have been taken from the ruins of the Jewish temple built by King Herod.

Inside the gate stood an impressive plaza with a marble pillar which, in ancient times, served as a platform for a statue of the Roman emperor, he said.

Though the pillar no longer stands at the gate, the Arabic name for the Gate - Bab al Amud, or Gate of the Pillar - still retains its memory. Also no longer standing is the small Crusader chapel of St Abraham which was built just outside the gate, though faint traces of paint can still be seen on the stones where archaeologists believe the chapel once stood.

Some stones still bear the signs of marks by master stone masons during the Crusader period as a claim on their finest work. Today, the uncovered site of the chapel is strewn with horse manure and street garbage tossed by passersby and street vendors on the upper level of the gate.

An Orthodox Jewish woman, her hair covered and eyes cast down on a book of psalms held open in her hands, walks up the steps of the gate as she leaves the Old City. An Ethiopian priest passes by on his way inside the gate. The steps and entrance to the gate were gradually uncovered by excavations over the last century after having been almost completely covered up by dirt, said Fr Alliata.

The Jordanians were the last to conduct an excavation at the site in the 1950s he added. Inside the gate, the road leads to holy sites for three different faiths: the Western Wall, the Via Dolorosa, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the al-Aqsa Mosque, he noted.

It was through this gate that all pilgrims to the city, early Christians, Jews and Muslims, came to pray, Fr Alliata said. “(The Israelis) did good work in maintaining and preserving the character of the gate,” said Fr Alliata. “They preserved all the history of the wall and you can see all three levels very clearly.” CNS

TOP: A Franciscan priest walks along the top, inner side of the Damascus Gate

RIGHT: Palestinians buy food from vendors outside Gate

FAR RIGHT: An UltraOrthodox Jew walks outside the Gate in the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem

BELOW: This is a 1920 photocopy of the Gate in the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem.

PHOTOS:CNS

The only gods read on palms are false

Dear Father, I know people who sometimes go to psychics, clairvoyants or palm readers to find out things they cannot know naturally. Is this acceptable for a Catholic?

Q&A

By Fr John Flader

Today there is a booming business of psychics, some of whom advertise themselves as Catholics, purporting to reveal information that cannot be obtained naturally. Their television programmes, books and counselling sessions rake in millions, especially in the United States. What should be the attitude to this of a Catholic, or of any Christian, for that matter?

To begin with, we should accept our human limitations and realise we cannot know everything. We cannot know with certainty how our health is going to hold up, whether our deceased uncle is in heaven or whether our latest investment is going to be successful.

We must simply put all our trust in God, who made heaven and earth and watches over all that he has made with his fatherly providence. Indeed, he invites us to do that in the first commandment: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me” (Deut 5:6-7). To have recourse to a psychic or palm reader, or to tarot cards for that matter, is in some way to worship a false god, to put our trust in human means that cannot reveal what only God knows. God’s love for his people and his desire that they worship him alone made him very firm in forbidding recourse to mediums and fortune tellers in the Old Testament: “There shall not be found among you any one who ... practises divination, a soothsayer, or an augur, or a sorcerer, or a charmer, or a medium, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord; and because of these abominable practices the Lord your God is driving them out before you” (Deut 18:10-12).

In the passage immediately following, Moses explains that the people should rather listen to those whom God himself sends: “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brethren – him you shall heed” (Deut 18:15). That prophet will of course be none other than Jesus Christ, the very Word of God made flesh. Jesus himself tells us to trust our heavenly Father and not be “anxious

about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor about your body, what you shall put on ... But seek first [God’s] kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well” (Mt 6:26-33).

But can God not reveal certain truths, including the future, to human beings? He can and he sometimes does, to his loved ones. We recall, for example, the revelation made through Our Lady to the three children of Fatima that a great miracle would be worked several months later on 13 October 1917. Or the revelation to them that a certain woman who had died was in Purgatory. But normally God does not reveal these things and we have to learn to abandon ourselves completely into his hands, knowing that whatever happens will be for the good: “We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him” (Rom 8:28).

As the Catechism of the Catholic Church puts it, “a sound Christian attitude consists in putting oneself confidently into

To have recourse to a psychic or palm reader, or to tarot cards for that matter, is in some way to worship a false

the hands of Providence for whatever concerns the future, and giving up all unhealthy curiosity about it” (CCC 2115).

The Catechism goes on to say that all forms of divination ie seeking to know what cannot be known by natural means, are to be rejected: “recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up the dead or other practices falsely supposed to ‘unveil’ the future. Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omens and lots, the phenomena of clairvoyance, and recourse to mediums all conceal a desire for power over time, history, and, in the last analysis, other human beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers. They contradict the honour, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone” (CCC 2116).

It should be remembered, too, that any unnatural powers of knowledge come either from God or from Satan. Therefore those who seek such knowledge from the wrong sources may be playing into the hands of Satan and may find themselves subject to demonic influences.

Benedict’s message to his countrymen is also for us

THE four day visit of Pope Benedict XVI to his homeland which concluded on Sunday was surprising in many ways, but paradoxically for factors that by now have become almost routine in this particular pontificate. Above all, while the happiness of visiting his native land was certainly part of the experience for him, at a personal level, those reporting and watching the visit unfold detected a clear sense of purpose and method to the numerous speeches and homilies delivered during the Holy Father’s four busy days. This particular Pope was on a mission, and there was nothing obscure about what the mission was, and is. An intellectual by inclination and training who is usually described as shy, gentle and retiring, he took command by turning the four days of his visit to his countrymen into a superb teaching moment where he spelled out repeatedly the importance of Jesus Christ as the saviour of the world and the validity of religious faith, specifically Christianity, in modern societies such as Germany which have to all intents and appearances largely divested themselves of belief in God.

In a very real sense the elderly academic was taking the battle for a society that has rejected God to its own heart. The visit was therefore, above all other things, a papal pilgrimage – not to a shrine but to a people. But the ripples created by the Pope’s message will not stop at the borders of Germany. Because an increasingly globalised culture has created significant similarities between all modern developed societies, there are lessons for Australia from the Pope’s visit to Germany as well.

Among the objectives of what has come to be termed Project Benedict, the particular effort by the Pope to proclaim the new evangelisation to modern societies everywhere, was a reconnection with ordinary Germans and their families. However, the new evangelisation, in the case of societies like Germany, Europe in general and in places such as Australia, is really a re-evangelisation of societies that have abandoned both Christianity and the all-important moral principles which sprang from the Christian inheritance.

It would be impossible for the media to discuss such a speech in Australia, where journalists would be likely to think the Pope was talking about electrical charges.

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It is clearly a difficult job, but not one that is impossible to history, as he well knows. The difficulty comes in the shape and form of highly secularised society where a practical kind of atheism, a daily indifference to whether God exists or loves individuals, is the powerful informing spirit of millions of lives. However, the Pope has some things working in his favour. Unlike Australia, Germany has a high European intellectual tradition which can be engaged. The Holy Father was clearly hoping to do just this when he delivered a remarkable address to the Bundestag on the essential nexus between social justice and morality. While his comments on the philosophical influence of positivism would have flown over most people’s heads, it was clear that Benedict was speaking not only to the politicians but also to the nation’s intellectuals. While it would be impossible for the media to discuss such a speech in Australia, where journalists would be likely to think the Pope was talking about electrical charges, it is possible in a country with intellectual traditions such as Germany and throughout much of Europe. Pope Benedict’s highly reasoned and courteous argument undoubtedly won him listeners and generated reflection.

Unlike not a few theologians in the Christian world in the last half century or so, it is clear that for Pope Benedict the way forward depends entirely on faith in Christ and his Gospel, not in compromise with contemporary fashionable attitudes in an approach to Christianity that has been described as cafeteria Catholicism where one takes what one wants (the easy bits) and discards what one doesn’t emotively like (the hard bits). This is because Benedict believes in the concept of truth and sees clearly the problem of superficiality in Christianity. It dissolves.

The Holy Father’s remarks to the Central Committee of lay Catholics were heartening because he did not avoid speaking frankly in a spirit of communion with his fellow German Catholics. On this point especially, Australian Catholics should take note of the resonances with the situation here. The Holy Father noted the superb organisation of the Church in Germany but said it was lacking in spirit. He pointed his fellow Catholics’ attention to what he clearly sees as important probabilities for the future, such as that the new evangelisation will depend greatly on small Catholic communities who are willing to share their faith with all those around them. This is called being the light of Christ.

With every such national visit conducted by the Holy Father it becomes harder and harder for the proponents of the culture of modernity, in which moral relativism is prized above all other things as a licence to do whatever one wants, to argue that Christ, Christianity and the Catholic Church are no longer relevant to modern life. Every time Pope Benedict visits another country, a gentle, scholarly voice of extraordinary strength and power can be heard speaking.

Indignant and ...

THE RECORD’S article “Anglican dean goes for laughs” (7 September) signified the lack of anything of lasting worth in the dean’s remarks.

For anyone who can recall, in his Easter message of a few years ago, the dean’s profession of disbelief in the Incarnation and Resurrection, it would have come as no surprise to read of his light-hearted brush-off of the Christian doctrine of damnation as “poppycock”.

I am writing to express my indignation that he was given the opportunity to express an opinion which is so radically anti-Catholic.

I left the Anglican Church in 1988 when I could no longer put up with the worldly undermining of traditional Christian beliefs. There is no place in the Catholic Church for the propagation of heresy, and I should hope there are many other Catholics who share my dismay that an individual of such opinions should have been given the opportunity to speak in a Catholic cathedral.

Hugh Clift LESMURDIE

Appalled by ...

I AM appalled that Anglican Dean Dr John Shepherd was invited to preach at St Mary’s Cathedral given his “controversial views” are already known.

On a different level, that the West Coast Eagles’ flag would fly at St Mary’s from Monday onwards during finals season did not impress me either.

E McHugh FREMANTLE

The invitation to the Dean

THE West Australian reported that Dean John Shepherd was the first Anglican cleric to preach in St Mary’s Cathedral, which was true. But The Record was incorrect in saying that ‘Dean Shepherd’s visit was the first time an Anglican cleric had ever preached in St Mary’s Cathedral in living memory.’

He also preached at St Mary’s on Pentecost Sunday, 11 June 2000. I led our cathedral choir to St George’s to sing Evensong with their cathedral choir. Mgr Thomas McDonald, then dean of St Mary’s, preached. After the Magnificat, the two choirs processed together, singing all the way down St George’s Terrace and up Victoria Avenue, along with a throng of the faithful of both denominations, to continue the liturgy by singing Compline in our Cathedral, which was crowded from the door to the sanctuary steps. It was a glorious service, with some 65 men and boys singing music from both the Catholic and Anglican traditions, concluding with Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. I had the task of conducting Dean Shepherd to the pulpit for his sermon and, as we passed the exposed Sacrament on the altar, I genuflected, and the Dean did likewise. Afterward, St George’s music director, Simon Lawford, commented wryly, “Occasionally we have Benediction at St George’s, and the Dean never genuflects.” I responded, “But he did at St Mary’s, because we have the Real Presence.” We both laughed – but, of course, it is true.

I remember Dean Shepherd’s sermon well, because he didn’t fail to be controversial. Whilst praising the joint choirs’ ecumenical venture, he said that it didn’t go far enough because it wasn’t a Eucharist. He strongly inferred that we should not wait for ecumenical dialogue to run its course, but force

the issue and receive communion in each other’s churches.

Apparently both The Record and the Cathedral have short memories of that event. I wasn’t present for the Vespers this month, but your reporting comments that “the only heresy Anglican Bishop John Shepherd was guilty of was supporting Essendon” has two gross errors:

John Shepherd is not an Anglican bishop; secondly, his oft-repeated beliefs (printed in his annual columns in the West Australian nearly every Christmas and/or Easter) that the virgin birth and bodily resurrection of Christ are only symbolic, and the crucifixion of Christ was not necessary for our redemption, are certainly heterodox from the Catholic viewpoint, and are roundly decried by faithful Anglicans. I don’t think this fact should be lightly glossed over; it doesn’t really help ecumenical relations. Bl John Paul II often reminded us that church unity will never be achieved by watering down our core beliefs.

I might add that I myself have preached in St George’s on at least two occasions – but that’s another story. I’m just happy to know that my own ‘living memory’ reaches back at least eleven years. Research your own archives – you reported on the service in 2000.

Fr Timothy E Deeter

Former Director of Liturgy and Music at St Mary’s Cathedral MT

LAWLEY

Disappointed at The Record

I WAS very disappointed when reading this week’s Record that no mention was made of Social Justice Sunday. Surely a Catholic newspaper would be expected to carry a story on this important event in the Australian Church’s calendar.

This year’s social justice statement by the Catholic Bishop’s entitled “Building Bridges, Not Walls Prisons and the justice system” raises important questions for all discerning Catholics. All too often we have lopsided reporting by the secular press on law and order.

This annual event is a golden opportunity for Catholics to obtain a balanced view on what is a contentious issue. I encourage all to obtain a copy from their parish, or find it online at www.socialjustice. catholic.org.au

Ray Lowe BUNBURY

Great paper, but not on boat people

ONCE again I wish to admire your contribution to Catholic life in Australia as without The Record we would have no real news of what goes on, and particularly the fact that you open up discussion from all points-of-view, not just a narrow, ‘this is what Catholics should think’ approach.

Tim Wallace wrote (14 September) an historical account of our earliest migrations being affected by religious bigotry. I have

first-hand knowledge of this as my father had to self-fund his own migration from Ireland in 1912 due to dire straits on the family farm and got absolutely no help whatsoever when he arrived here.

For the education of his children he had to rely on the dedication and integrity of the clergy and religious education freely given.

Tim might be dismissive of numbers arriving by boat and is critical of the necessary protection of our borders. He should go back a bit further in history and wonder why many nations, including China, had to protect their borders from uninvited arrivals.

People who are unidentifiable have chosen to come here paperless and arrogantly demanding “special treatment”.

The honest refugees, accepted by Australia, languish for years in squalid Asian camps getting further and further behind in full processing for settlement. On a happy note: 15 year old Grace’s thoughts on feminism were great. Go Grace, you are quite a savvy girl.

Maureen Federico FRANKSTON STH, VIC

Marriage the best place for children

ALL societies have defined marriage as the voluntary union for life of a man and a woman to the exclusion of others, for self-fulfilment and open to the begetting of children.

Nature and history have abundantly shown that marriage is the bedrock of society and must be protected for the proper birthing, bonding, nurturing and the best security, identity and education of children.

Without this exclusive definition of marriage we soon find all sorts of civil unions wanting to claim “marriage” for their normal acceptance and for the benefits they can get from society. In Canada, some are already campaigning for legalisation of polygamy.

Those clamouring for samesex marriage are not claiming the right to marry but rather to redefine marriage. Marriage is the fundamental social institution which exists for the common good of society and the welfare of all, especially children. The true rights of children and society are the real issue, not the claims of adults to pursue their private desires.

A prolific local letter-writer claims that any sort of “love” or “marriage” is good for children and that those who don’t agree are discriminating, prejudiced bigots. But the overwhelming evidence of research from the social sciences is that children do better in every measure when reared by their biological mother and father in an intact family.

Bigots are those who stubbornly refuse to change their view despite the evidence that they are wrong.

The problem for today’s real bigots is accepting the truth of biology.

Brendan Keogh EAGLEHAWK, VIC

Dignity and respect in asylum debate

The High Court of Australia was right in its judgement on the Malaysia solution, writes Dr Martin Drum

IN ONE of its most publicised decisions in recent times, the High Court ruled that the federal government’s ‘Malaysian solution’ is unconstitutional. Naturally, the decision attracted much comment. It has been praised by a range of organisations, including the CEO of St Vincent de Paul’s National Council, Dr John Falzon.

Dr Falzon said, “Right across Australia, the grassroots members of the St Vincent de Paul Society will be warmly welcoming the High Court decision”.

Why would the CEO of a major Catholic organisation make such a comment? Why would St Vincent de Paul members welcome this decision? The answer lies in Dr Falzon’s next statement: “This is a victory for human rights. We now need to turn this into a new direction for the government; a direction based on dignity and respect for asylum seekers rather than demonisation and repression.”

Two words from Dr Falzon’s statement resonate in particular: dignity and respect. The principle of treating every person with dignity and according them respect

is an essential element of Catholic Social Teaching.

It is repeated frequently in such papal encyclicals as Rerum Novarum , Pacem in Terris and Populorum progressio, amongst others. In the Gospels, Christ treated people of all backgrounds with dignity and respect, especially those who were treated with disdain by sections of the community. We have a right to dignity and respect, and a responsibility to look after the rights of others.

Where do such values sit in the contemporary asylum debate?

Every person who arrives in Australia seeking protection has value and deserves kindness and compassion. This doesn’t mean we have to accept them all as refugees, but we at least have to treat them with decency.

We have had a number of poor policy responses to the asylum seeker issue in the past, but the Malaysian solution is perhaps the worst we have seen. Sending asylum seekers, including unaccompanied children, to a country which hasn’t even the slightest human rights protections in place is appalling. It amounts to a complete abrogation

of our duty to consider their application for asylum. That is why we have seen Church leaders condemn offshore processing in the past.

Likewise, holding asylum seekers in detention for long periods of time amounts to a failure to treat other human beings with the respect they deserve. There are now

Why would the CEO of a major Catholic organisation make such a comment? Why would St Vincent de Paul members welcome this decision?

numerous studies providing very clear evidence of how such practices are leading to depression and severe mental illness.

Ways need to be found to process people who arrive here faster, so that certainty on their future can be provided in a timely fashion. This would also prevent overcrowding in our detention centres. Can we

eliminate the need for people to seek asylum? The refugee problem is a complex one, ultimately originating in a myriad of global social and political conflicts.

To expect Australia to solve such challenges on its own is difficult, although increasing sustainable development assistance in a range of target areas would undoubtedly help. This is a long term approach which will take time to produce real dividends.

What about stopping people smuggling? Yes, we do need to tackle this issue, especially as this is a trade which profits out of other people’s misery. But our policy approach has been to punish their human cargo rather than address the trade itself.

People smuggling is a product of the social and political circumstances it originates from, a fact which is continually overlooked in this debate. Security experts will tell you that one of the underlying causes of this policy debacle has been a failure of border protection. But the failure I am talking about is not Australia’s.

Aside from the sad tragedy at Christmas Island, our security ser-

If you want justice for all, turn to God

Prayer and working for justice are inextricably linked, says Mike Cassidy

MY involvement in social justice began at university when I was invited to join the Knights of the Southern Cross. I had the privilege of being the order’s national president from 1997-2000. I am a retired airforce Education Officer and ex-public servant. My wife and I have four surviving children (one passed away) and nine grandchildren.

With my wife, I have custody of a few hectares of regenerating bush land south of Canberra. I am able to walk through this bush and feel the presence of God: if you like, a conversation without words. But the praying that brings me the greatest sense of being with God is the Eucharist. I may or may not know those I am celebrating with but their mere presence adds to the sense of harmony with God’s will that Christ came to bring to us. Recently I have discovered lectio divina as a mode of conversation with God to open the scriptures for me and the rosary has always been a constant in my life.

In 1981, Bishop Alo Morgan introduced me to the prayer to the Holy Spirit, used to open each session of Vatican II.

For the Archdiocsesan Catholic Social Justice Commission, which I chair here in Canberra-Goulburn, Archbishop Mark Coleridge composed a prayer to the Spirit for justice: we ask, “Giver of life and hope, bring us to conformity with your will as we reach out to the world in justice and charity …”

This, coupled with the way Bishop Frank Carroll helped by opening me to decision making through discernment in the Holy Spirit, has changed the way I participate in and influence groups like the Knights and our archdiocesan commission. The process leads to decisions with which all members of the group can live gracefully. This, for me, is faith in action.

The role of the commission is to promote and enable the living out of justice in accordance with the Gospel and the social teachings of the Church. The commission recognises the dignity of each person and looks to the respect and love

given by Jesus to others, especially the poor, marginalised and disadvantaged. It works for the empowerment of the oppressed. The commission stresses the importance of humankind’s trusteeship of the

knowledge of the Church’s teachings, grounded in Scripture, and join debate.

Too often, we allow others to hijack the language of debate and push our society into opposition to

Jim Bishop. The author described crucifixion as a slow process of asphyxiation caused by the weight hanging from the arms preventing breathing. The crucified person attempted to relieve this by raising

Reading how Christ asphyxiated profoundly affected prayer for me. Some would describe this as my faith moving from my head to my heart.

earth and its resources and urges preservation. Occasionally, the commission recommends to the local Church the making of public statements on social justice issues.

In preparing articles for our archdiocesan Catholic paper, The Voice, we pray, discuss and identify authors and submit articles under a “Justice Matters” banner. Our aim is to foster awareness of social justice in the community. Our greatest challenge is to engage with the secular world. We must first arm ourselves with

God’s will. One example is asylum seekers and their God-given dignity. Two phrases masking the truth are: “people smuggler” and “border protection”. Helping people (for a fee) find a boat to seek refuge is no different to taking their airfare and flying them here. Smuggling involves secrecy in violation of the law. Asylum seeking is not done in secrecy nor does it violate any law: persecuted people have a recognised right to seek asylum.

Some time ago I read a book titled The Day Christ Died by

vices have picked up boats coming into our waters and escorted them to the appropriate facilities.

The problem lies in countries to our north. It is well known that Indonesian authorities, whilst making strong advances in governance in recent years, nevertheless lack the ability to control everyone who enters or leaves their vast archipelago of islands.

A range of people smugglers, Islamic militants, and even pirates continue to operate without adequate policing.

Last week, friends of mine on a cruise were fortunate to survive an attempted pirate attack off the Indonesian coast. These attacks are frequent, and damage the local economies in which they occur.

Indonesia knows it has a problem and would welcome additional financial support and strategic advice to fix it. This is where our government should start; help Indonesia improve border protection and help ourselves whilst we’re at it.

Dr Martin Drum is Senior Lecturer, School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Notre Dame Australia

The world’s praise is fleeting and ephemeral

By Fr Sean Fernandez

IRESOLVE not to do so, but continually fail, and my eyes wander down the web article to the comments. People vent their spleen and there is frequently the most appalling bigotry, including nasty things about the Church. And it isn’t just fringe elements; the mainstream media is full of it - people assuming the worst about the Church we love (with all her failures) and ignorance and bigotry pass for informed commentary.

Not even the ABC gives us a fair go. I am fond of Aunty, but when it comes to Church matters, her

When ignorance and bigotry pass for informed commentary ... even Aunty is guilty

journalistic integrity fails her badly.

So what can we do? Start by acknowledging that the Church is made up of people just like us - frail and sinful.

We must continually repent, as individuals and institutionally, and seek to be more transparently faithful to the Gospel.

their weight on their feet; hence the breaking of legs to prevent this and so hastening death.

Reading this, I experienced a personal connection with this suffering Christ which awakened the personal relationship with God I had been taught and accepted but now felt.

It profoundly affected the meaning of my prayers to me. Some would describe this as my faith moving from my head to my heart.

As told to Debbie Warrier

We must continue to bear witness to its truth. The world’s praise is fleeting. It is Christ whom we serve and to whom we are accountable for our stewardship.

The times are not easy, but I am reminded of a conversation between Frodo and Gandalf.

“I wish none of this had happened”, Frodo says. “So do I”, says Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”

Fr Sean Fernandez is parish priest of Attadale

Proud as Punch: Mike Cassidy with one year old grandson Ryan Cassidy.

PHOTO: COURTESY MIKE CASSIDY

PANORAMA

What’s on around the

Archdiocese

of Perth, where and when

FRIDAY

FRIDAY, 30 SEPTEMBER

Medjugorje evening prayer

7-9pm at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish, 82 Collick St, Hilton. Includes thanksgiving for Our Blessed Mother, followed by Eucharistic adoration, rosary, benediction and holy Mass. Free DVDs available. Enq: Eileen 9402 2480 or 0407 471 256, medjugorje@y7mail.com.

FRIDAY, 30 SEPTEMBER TO SUNDAY,

2 OCTOBER

‘Firm in the Faith’ - CYM Young Adult retreat Awesome retreat which is based on the theme of WYD11 “Planted and built up in Christ, firm in the Faith’ (Col 2:7). Weekend of fun, activities, music and spiritual talks from fantastic speakers. Retreat cost $80. Ends lunchtime on Sunday. Download registration forms: cym.com.au. Enq: admin@cym. com.au or 9422 7912.

SATURDAY

SATURDAY, 1 OCTOBER

Day with Mary 9am-5pm at St Catherine of Siena parish, 3 Fraser St, Gingin. Day of prayer and instruction based on the Fatima message. 9am video; 10.10am holy Mass; Reconciliation, procession of the Blessed Sacrament, Eucharistic adoration, sermons on Eucharist and Our Lady, rosaries and stations of the Cross. BYO lunch. Bus contact: Nita 9367 1366. Enq: Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate 9250 8286.

Vigil for Life

8.30am at St Augustine’s parish, Gladstone St, Rivervale. Begins with holy Mass, followed by rosary procession and vigil at nearby abortion clinic, led by Fr Paul. Weekly prayer vigils: Monday, Thursday and Saturday 8-10am at Rivervale. Enq. Helen 9402 0349.

“Let’s talk about St Therese” Formation

8.30am at Infant Jesus parish, cnr Wellington Rd and Smith St, Morley. Begins with Mass at 9am. Light refreshments and fellowship. 9.30-11am: Talk – Where is Therese coming from? 10.30am: morning tea. 11-12pm: Talk 2 – What would Therese say to us today? Cost: donation. Wheelchair access. Registration and Enq: Secretary 9276 8500.

COMING

SUNDAY, 2 OCTOBER

Divine Mercy

1.30pm at St Brigid’s parish, 211 Aberdeen St, Perth. Main celebrant: Fr Alphonsus. Homily: ‘Saint Faustina’. Mass followed by exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and divine mercy prayers with veneration of first class relic of St Faustina. Enq: John 9457 7771.

MONDAY, 3 OCTOBER

Transitus of St Francis of Assisi

6.30pm at Edel Quinn Centre, 36 Windsor St, East Perth. The secular Franciscans celebrating vigil feast of the extraordinary life and death of their founder. Reflection on your life path and personal happiness in God. Begins with holy Mass with Fr Michael followed by refreshments. Enq: Anthony 0449 864 287.

TUESDAY, 4 OCTOBER

Blessings of animals

9.30am at Infant Jesus Parish, cnr Wellington Rd and Smith St, Morley. Custom conducted in remembrance of St Francis of Assisi’s love for all creatures. Enq: Fr Sunny 9276 8500.

FRIDAY, 7 OCTOBER

Pro-Life Witness

9.30am at St Brigid’s Parish, cnr Great Northern Highway and Morrison Rd, Midland. Begins with holy Mass followed by rosary procession to nearby abortion clinic led by the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate. Weekly prayer vigils: Fridays 9-10.30am at Midland and 10am-12pm at Balcatta. Enq Helen 9402 0349.

SATURDAY, 8 OCTOBER

Annual Mass at Grotto

10.30am at Richard Priestly’s farm, Wariin Rd, Wooroloo. Please bring chair and picnic. BBQ meat at no cost. Farm is located 2.2km from corner of Wariin Rd. Allow 45 minutes from Midland. Enq: Richard 9573 1247 or 0428 502 749.

Divine Mercy Healing Mass

2.30pm at St Francis Xavier parish, Windsor St, East Perth. Main celebrant: Fr Marcellinus. Begins with Mass followed by prayers and veneration of first class relic of St Faustina Kowalska. Reconciliation available in English, Maltese and Italian. Refreshments afterwards. Enq: John 9457 7771.

Padre Pio day of Prayer

8.30am at Good Shepherd Church, cnr Morley Dr and Alton Rd, Lockridge. Begins with Padre Pio DVD (parish centre), 10am exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, rosary, divine mercy, silent adoration and benediction. 11am Mass, St Padre Pio liturgy and confession. 12pm lunch, bring a plate to share. Enq: Des 6278 1540.

SATURDAY, 8 TO SUNDAY 9 OCTOBER

“Finding God in everyday life”

Holy Trinity Community Seminar

9am at St Benedict’s Hall (St Benedict’s primary school), Alness St, Ardross. Speakers: Fr Revi Tanod and other international speakers. Cost: free and food provided. Registrations close 3 October (spaces limited). Enq: Bryan 0406 671 388, Christina 0412 624 998 or David htc_figel@yahoo.com.au.

SUNDAY, 9 OCTOBER

Eucharistic Reparation – World Apostolate of Fatima

3pm at St Emilie de Vialar parish, Amherst Rd, Canning Vale. Pilgrim Virgin statue present. Enq: 9339 2614.

THURSDAY, 13 OCTOBER

Mother’s Prayers Mass

10am at Our Lady Queen of Apostles parish, Tribute St, Riverton. For mothers, fathers and grandmothers, grandfathers coming together to pray for their children and grandchildren. Fellowship afterwards. Enq: Veronica 9447 0671.

Healing Mass in honour of St Peregrine, Patron Saint of cancer

7pm at St John and Paul, Willetton. Holy Mass followed by veneration of the relic of St Peregrine and anointing of the sick. Enq: Jim 9457 1539.

SATURDAY, 15 OCTOBER

Seminar by Alan Ames

6pm at Our Lady of Mount Carmel parish, 82 Collick St, Hilton. Begins with Mass followed by talk and healing service. Enq: Katherine carver1@ iinet.net.au.

SUNDAY, 16 OCTOBER

Lord of the Harvest Parish

50th Anniversary

10.30am at St Michael parish, Lindsay St, Beacon. Begins with Mass, followed by lunch at Beacon Country Club. All past and present parishioners and ex-locals invited. RSPV and enq: Michelle 9686 6056 or bingarra@bigpond.com.

Vocations Inquiry day – St Charles’ Seminary

9.30am at St Charles’ Seminary, 30 Meadow St, Guildford. Begins with morning prayer and seminarians’ testimonies over morning tea. Mass celebrated at 11.30am. St Charles’ traditional Sunday lunch will be provided. Website: www.stcharlesseminary.org.au. Please register by 9 October. Enq: Helen 9279 1310, admin@seminary-perth.org.au.

SATURDAY, 22 OCTOBER

Fifteenth Anniversary - Immaculate Heart of Mary Group

3.30pm at Sts John and Paul parish, Pinetree Gully Rd, Willetton. Includes: procession of Our Lady, rosary and benediction. Followed by supper in church hall. Enq: Anna aab610@hotmail.com.

SATURDAY, 29 OCTOBER

Mercedes College Perth - graduating class of 1990 reunion

7.30pm Rosie O’Grady’s, Northbridge, cnr James and Milligan Sts. Enq: kathleen.bryce@yahoo.com. au.

Disciples of Jesus celebration Ball

7.30pm at Rendezvous, Scarborough. Annual ball - beautiful food, live music. Cost: $70. Enq: Janny 0420 635 919 or Margaret 0408 689 873.

NEXT YEAR

MONDAY, 9 JANUARY TO MONDAY, 16 JANUARY 2012

Summer school

The Royal School of Church Music in Australia (RSCM) will be hosting a summer school for all denominations next year. The programme will include workshops for church musicians and singers to help them inspire their congregations towards a more enjoyable and meaningful participation in Church liturgy. Enrolments are now open and interested parties can find out more by going to www.rscmaustralia.org.au. Enq: Deirdre 9457 4010.

SATURDAY, 25 FEBRUARY 2012

A reunion for Holy Cross Primary School, Kensington

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

3 TO 5 FEBRUARY, 2012

’SET FREE’ CCR Inner Healing retreat

At SSJG Retreat Centre, Shoalwater. Catholic Charismatic renewal 3-day live-in retreat conducted by international presenters Mrs Diana (India) and Fr Ellias (Malta). Set yourself free from life’s hurts, and get ready to live a wonderful future. Cost: $350. Registration and Enq: Martha 0419 242 172 or martha.kalat@doir.wa.gov.au.

REGULAR EVENTS

EVERY SUNDAY

Gate of Heaven Catholic Radio

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

Pilgrim Mass - Shrine of the Virgin of the Revelation

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

EVERY FIRST SUNDAY

Divine Mercy chaplet and healing prayer

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

St Mary’s Cathedral youth group –fellowship with pizza

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

EVERY SECOND SUNDAY

Healing hour for the sick

6pm at St Lawrence parish, 392 Albert St, Balcatta. Begins with Mass, exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and prayers. Enq: Fr Irek 9344 7066 or ww.stlawrence.org.au.

EVERY THIRD SUNDAY OF THE MONTH

Prayer in style of Taize during September

7pm at Sisters of St Joseph’s Chapel, 16 York St, South Perth. Chapel doors open at 6.30pm. Everyone welcome to come along for prayer, using songs from Taize in the stillness of a candlelit chapel. Mary MacKillop merchandise and books for sale in the Mary MacKillop Centre. Enq: Sr Maree Riddler 0414 683 926.

Oblates of St Benedict Meeting

2pm at St Joseph’s Convent, York St, South Perth. For all interested in studying the rule of St Benedict and its relevance to everyday life. Afternoon tea.

Enq: Secretary 9457 5758.

EVERY FOURTH SUNDAY OF THE MONTH

Holy hour for vocations to the priesthood, religious life

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

EVERY MONDAY

Evening Adoration and Mass

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

EVERY TUESDAY

Bible teaching with a difference

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

Novena to Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal

6pm at the Pater Noster Church, Marmion and Evershed Sts, Myaree. Mass at 5.30pm followed by benediction. Enq: John 0408 952 194.

Norma Woodcock’s Teaching Session

7-8pm at St Benedict’s school hall, Alness St, Applecross. Be empowered by the Gospel message each week in a personal way. How can we live meaningful and hope-filled lives? AccreditedCEO: Faith Formation for ongoing renewal. Catholic Education staff: $10 for accreditation. Cost: donation. Enq: 94871772 or www.normawoodcock. com.

EVERY WEDNESDAY

Holy Spirit of Freedom community

7.30pm at The Church of Christ, 111 Stirling St, Perth. We are delighted to welcome everyone to attend our Holy Spirit of Freedom praise meeting. Enq: 0423 907 869 or hsofperth@gmail.com.

Holy hour at Catholic Youth Ministry

6pm at 40A Mary St, Highgate, Catholic Pastoral Centre. 5.30pm Mass followed by $5 fellowship supper. Enq: Stefania 9422 7912 or www.cym. com.au.

Bible study at Cathedral

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

Holy Hour - Catholic Youth Ministry

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

EVERY FIRST WEDNESDAY

Holy hour prayer for priests

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

SECOND WEDNESDAY OF MONTH

Chaplets of the Divine Mercy

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

EVERY THURSDAY

Divine Mercy

11am at Sts John and Paul Church, Pinetree Gully Rd, Willetton. Pray the rosary and chaplet of divine mercy, and for the consecrated life, especially here

Panorama Editorial Policy

The Record reserves the right to decline or edit any items submitted for publication in Panorama. Deadline: 11am every Monday.

in John Paul parish. Concludes with veneration of the first class relic of St Faustina. Please do come and join us in prayer. Enq: John 9457 7771.

St Mary’s Cathedral praise meeting

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

FIRST THURSDAY OF THE MONTH

Prayer in style of Taize

7.30-8.30pm at Our Lady of Grace parish, 3 Kitchener St, North Beach. Includes prayer, song and silence in candlelight – symbol of Christ the light of the world. Taize info: www.taize.fr Enq: Secretary 9448 488 or 9448 4457.

FIRST FRIDAY OF THE MONTH

Communion reparation all-night vigil

7pm-1.30am at two different locations: Corpus Christi parish, Lochee St, Mosman Park and St Gerard Majella parish, cnr Ravenswood Dr and Majella Rd, Westminster (Mirrabooka). In reparation for outrages committed against the United Hearts of Jesus and Mary. Enq: (Mosman Park) Vicky 0400 282 357 and Fr Giosue 9349 2315 or John 9344 2609.

Healing Mass

7pm at St Peter’s parish, Inglewood. Praise and worship, exposition and Eucharistic adoration, benediction and anointing of the sick, followed by holy Mass and fellowship. Celebrants: Fr Dat and invited priests. 6.45pm Reconciliation. Enq: Mary Ann: 0409 672 304., Prescilla: 0433 457 352 and Catherine: 0433 923 083.

Holy hour for vocations to the priesthood and religious life

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

Catholic Faith Renewal Evening

7.30pm at Sts John and Paul parish, Pinetree Gully Rd, Willetton. Songs of praise, sharing by a priest followed by thanksgiving Mass and light refreshments afterwards. All welcome to attend and bring your family and friends. Enq: Kathy 9295 0913, Ann 0412 166 164 or catholicfaithrenewal@gmail.com.

Healing and Anointing Mass

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

EVERY FIRST SATURDAY

Healing Mass

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

EVERY FOURTH SATURDAY

Voice of the Voiceless Healing Mass

12pm at St Brigid parish, 211 Aberdeen St. Northbridge. Bring a plate to share after Mass. Enq: Frank 9296 7591 or 0408 183 325.

GENERAL

FREE DIVINE MERCY IMAGE FOR PARISHES

High quality oil painting and glossy print –Divine Mercy promotions

Images are of very high quality. For any parish willing to accept and place inside the church. Oil paintings - 160 x 90cm and glossy print -100 x 60cm. Enq: Irene 922 11247 or 9417 3267 (w).

Sacred Heart pioneers

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

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

MARY MACKILLOP 2012 CALENDARS AND MERCHANDISE

2012 Josephite Calendars with quotes from St Mary of the Cross and Mary MacKillop Merchandise. Available for sale from the Mary MacKillop Centre. Enq: Sr Maree 0414 683 926 or 08 9334 0933.

Deadline: 11am Monday

RELIGIOUS PRODUCTS

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

RICH HARVEST YOUR

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

KINLAR VESTMENTS

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

ACCOMMODATION

HOLIDAY ACCOMMODATION

ESPERANCE 3 bedroom house f/furnished Ph 08 9076 5083.

TAX SERVICE

Quality tax returns prepared by registered tax agent with over 35 years’ experience. Call Tony Marchei on 0412 055 184 for appt. AXXO Accounting & Management, Unit 20/222 Walter Rd, Morley.

WEIGHT LOSS

LOSE WEIGHT safely. Ongoing follow-up. Michael 0412 518 318.

SETTLEMENTS

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

FURNITURE REMOVAL

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

TRADE SERVICES

BRENDAN HANDYMAN

SERVICES

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

PR OPERTY MAINTENANCE

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

BRICK RE-POINTING Ph Nigel 9242 2952.

PERROTT PAINTING Pty Ltd

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

PICASSO PAINTING Top service.

Ph 0419 915 836, fax 9345 0505.

FOR SALE

CHEAP, VARIOUS CATHOLIC/ PROTESTANT Books New/2nd hand/DVDs/CDs 9440 4358.

BOOK BINDING

NEW BOOK BINDING, General Book Repairs; Rebinding; New Ribbons; Old Leather Bindings Restored.Tydewi Bindery 0422 968 572.

ACROSS

2 Saucer for the Eucharist

7 Book containing calendar of Masses

8 “…the Father ___”

9 Church assn for kids

10 Biblical river

12 Solemn holy day

13 A dove brought back this branch back to Noah

14 One of the judges

15 Vestment worn under the alb

16 “Angel of God, my guardian ___…”

18 This king allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem (Ezra 1:1–4)

20 Brother of Ishmael

22 Exodus pest

23 “Ite, ___ est”

24 One of the Twelve

26 The heart of fools is in this (Eccl 7:4)

28 “___ Regina”

29 ___ for the poor

31 Israel ending

32 Companion of Paul and Silas

33 Roman emperor who persecuted Christians

34 Letter by which a priest is released from one diocese and accepted into another

DOWN

1 Jesus slept in one

2 St Martin de ___

3 Diocese in Arizona

WALK WITH HIM

2 S 27TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY

TIME

Gr Isa 5:1-7 The Lord’s vineyard

Ps 79:9, 12-16, 19-20 Protect this vine

Phil 4:6-9 The peace of God

Mt 21:33-43 The vineyad leased

3 M Jon: 1:1-2:1-2, 11 Escape from the Lord

Gr Jon 2:3-5, 8 I cried to the Lord Lk

4 Mother-in-law of Ruth

5 Saint of Loyola

6 The Infant of Prague, for one

11 Where Vatican City is

12 ___ of the Lord

16 Tribe of Israel

17 “Our Father who ___…”

19 Member of an order of St Angela Merici

21 Catholic United States Supreme Court justice

22 Favourite food of Isaac (Gen 25:28)

23 Prayer book

24 Paul mentions her in Romans 16:1

25 An element of moral culpability

27 “I will ___ up for David a righteous branch” (Jer 23:5)

30 Angelus time

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTION

Lives of Sinners who became Great Saints

Fr John Rizzo

RRP $27.95

Is there any religion on the face of the earth that has seen greater and more profound transformations of human beings than the Catholic religion? Throughout history and in every age, male and female, old and young, the ordinary and the extraordinary conversions of individuals from sinners to saints has never ceased to amaze us. This presenation, which goes through some of the lives of sinners who became great saints, promises to be enjoyable and inspirational for all to see and be moved to imitate the saints.

The Devil: A Force ... or a Person?

Raymond De Souza

RRP $13.95

If there is any figure hiding from the headlines and still in the forefront of fascination, it is the dark and ancient character called Satan. Modern man, with all his progress and ‘enlightenment’, continues to be gripped by the reality of possession, exorcisms and pagan ritual. Is the ‘Devil’ a real person, hell-bent on our damnation and the destruction of the kingdom of God? Or is he a negative force in the universe, a black energy flowing in contrast with positive energy? Or is he a figment of common consciousness, something we’ve created to account for the confusing darkness in our own souls? Raymond de Souza lays the matter to rest with an investigation of the Devil’s existence, powers and action.

To Hell & Back Divine Love & the Cross

Anne Marie Schmidt

RRP $30.95

Anne Marie Schmidt grew up in a world that now seems almost like a story book. It was a small village in a devoutly Catholic corner of Czechoslovakia, a village filled with loving people, people who knew that God was their Father and they called him Abba. It was good that she grew up in that village with her family, because only by knowing Jesus was Anne Marie Schmidt able to cope with the events that began as a storybook, and soon turned into a nightmare of horror. In this series, Anne Marie Schmidt shares her incredible experience as a prisoner in both the Nazi prison camp at Auschwitz and the salt mines of Siberia.

Biblical account of the Birth of Jesus Christ

Fr Christopher Sharah RRP $27.95

Christmas is truly a beautiful time of the year. No greater joy on earth is there, than to celebrate the coming of the Messiah into this world and into our lives. The Church asks us to prepare for Christmas in the same way God was preparing the Jews for the coming of the Messiah. How did God prepare the Jews? He sent the greatest and last of the Old Testament prophets, John the Baptist, to prepare a repentant people, turned away from sin and the world in order that God may find hearts receptive to wis words, example and Kingdom.

What every Catholic needs to know about HELL

Dr Scott Hahn, Steve Ray, Fr Bill Casey, CPM and more

RRP $30

Has Hell gone out of fashion? Is it really the fiery fate of unrepentant sinners, or has this once-daunting doctrine become an embarrassment to Christians in the modern world? Many of today’s religious leaders seem unwilling or unable to conceive of a loving and merciful God visiting anyone with perpetual punishment. But the question remains, “What must Catholics believe about Hell?” Is it a physical place or merely a “state of being”? How does the Church reconcile eternity in flames with an all-merciful God? And, if there really is a Hell, who goes there and why? Separate fact from fiction. In the fascinating new full-length video, What Every Catholic Needs to Know about Hell, St Joseph Communications consults Scripture, Tradition and some of the most influential voices in Catholic apologetics today, in order to discover the truth about authentic Church teaching on this absolutely essential, but often misunderstood, doctrine.