The Record Newspaper 29 June 2011

We’ve got some new stock in for July, you’ll have to pop in and have a browse.

Australia’s first Asian-born Bishop consecrated

By Anthony BArich

AUSTRALIA’s first Vietnamese-born Catholic Bishop was ordained at St Patrick’s Cathedral in Melbourne on 23 June - the latest in what will be a string of major episcopal appointments that need to be made around the country.

Bishop Vincent Long Van Nguyen arrived in Australia as a refugee crammed into a 17-metre boat with 147 people, fleeing the Communist country that shut down the seminary he was studying at.

Bishop Long said his ordination is a radical call to “risk all for Christ” as a Bishop, and asked for prayers for himself and all Bishops of Australia. His ordination brings Melbourne’s Auxiliary Bishop count to four, while moral theologian Bishop Peter Comensoli was also ordained as an Auxiliary Bishop of Sydney on 8 June. Bishop William Wright was also ordained Bishop of Maitland-Newcastle on 15 June after Bishop Michael Malone resigned early saying he felt “battered” and worn out after dealing with sexual abuse cases for most of his episcopal reign.

A successor is also yet to be announced for Archbishop Barry Hickey, who submitted his retirement to Pope Benedict XVI prior to his 75th birthday in April. The Holy Father accepted Archbishop Hickey’s offer in principle but asked him to stay on until a successor is announced. Brisbane Archbishop John Bathersby and Hobart Archbishop Adrian Doyle were also due to submit their resignations this year as they turn 75.

Bishops also need to be found for the dioceses of Sandhurst, WilcanniaForbes, Armidale NSW and Toowoomba. Turn to Page 3 for full story.

Greenmount celebrates half a century of parish life

Melbourne Archbishop Denis Hart, right, congratulates his new Auxiliary Bishop Vincent Long Van Nguyen.

PHOTO: CASAMENTO PHOTOGRAPHY/KAIROS CATHOLIC JOURNAL

Salvatorian priests line the front pew at St Anthony’s Church in Greenmount on 26 June for the 50th anniversary of the Parish’s establishment in 1961. The next day, Salvatorian clergy and Perth archdiocesan clergy gathered to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Salvatorian presence in Australia.

PHOTO: BRIDGET SPINKS Greenmount story, photos - Page 12; Salvatorian story, photos - Page 5

SAINT OF THE WEEK

Blessed

Seminarians take another step on the journey of discernment

Ceremonies recognise, affirm the stages of a seminarian’s life

WITH recent news of Archbishop Barry Hickey’s resignation being officially accepted by the Vatican, new candidacies and ministries were recently bestowed upon seminarians at St Charles’ Seminary in Guildford.

These may be among the last during Archbishop Hickey’s time in office.

THE R ECORD Contacts

In a special service celebrated on 3 June of Midday Prayer followed by Mass, the Archbishop exhorted the seminarians to be faithful witnesses to Christ in serving the Church. During midday prayer, Conor Steadman and Natale Florio were admit-

ted to Candidacy. This recognises their eligibility and willingness to be ordained Deacons and ultimately priests in the near future. The admittance of Candidacy is an important step that signals the start of the ordination process.

During the celebration of Mass the ministries of Lector and Acolyte were conferred on nine seminarians.

Indifferent to the secular culture surrounding them, young men continue to desire to give their lives to Christ. With many prayers being offered for vocations around the world, these events represent more than just mere ceremonies.

Beyond the seriousness, ministry of service and commitment involved, these men are indeed the response of the Holy Spirit in calling forth young men to serve Christ in such a radical way that enables

Pro-life students obtain funding for NY trip

The Perth Archdiocese and the University of Notre Dame support students trip to New York to learn about the pro-life movement in the US

BY BRIDGET SPINKS

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ARCHBISHOP Barry Hickey has donated $1000 towards Pregnancy Assistance’s initiative to sponsor three students’ trip to New York to attend a retreat to be led by the founder of the Helper’s of God’s Precious Infants, Monsignor Philip Reilly.

Archbishop Hickey celebrated Mass in the East Perth Pregnancy Assistance chapel on 20 June to farewell the students.

He told The Record that sending the three young people from Western Australia would “send a message to other young men and women of their age of the importance of standing up for life”.

“I think it’s a blessing for the Archdiocese and for Australia that we are sending many young people to learn from the experience of Mgr Reilly and his close collaborators about the pro-life mission,” the Archbishop said.

“Mgr Reilly has inspired those around the world to pray and act on behalf of unborn children and their mothers.”

Chris Paynter, 23, an fourth year Italian and economics student at University of Western Australia; Daniel Matthys, 19, a third year history student also at UWA and Kelly Clark, 19, a second year Theology student at Notre Dame flew out of Sydney bound for New York on 23 June.

The students said they were looking forward to meeting the renowned Mgr Reilly.

The University of Notre Dame Australia

has also thrown its support behind sending Kelly Clark, one of its own students, to New York and has contributed $1000 towards her expenses.

Kelly hoped that upon her return, she would be able to better express her prolife views in conversations and be able to explain the political situation in other parts of the world.

Because of globalisation, she said, other countries’ policies - particularly US policy - influence our own.

Daniel too hoped to be able to learn from the pro-life movement in the States.

“They’re 20 years ahead,” he said. “We’re still liberalising our laws whereas they are going back the other way ... and they have the youth onside,” he said.

Sydney based pro-life organisation Family Life International organised an Australian contingent of 30 to go to New York for the retreat with Mgr Reilly.

Paul Hanrahan of FLI asked Perth’s 40 Days for Life campaign coordinator Helene Sawyer whether any West Australian students would be interested in attending.

Pregnancy Assistance director, Brian Peachey asked Kelly, Daniel and Chris to attend because they had prayed outside the abortion clinic in Rivervale during Perth’s first 40 Days for Life Lenten prayer campaign.

“It’s a big thing for them to do; a lot of people are afraid to pray publicly like that, it takes a lot of courage,” Brian said.

The Archbishop also blessed a 10-bead chaplet for each of the students that Brian Peachey had made out of homegrown Job’s tears; the same kind of beads Bl Mother Teresa of Kolkata would use to pray.

Archbishop Hickey said Australia would receive back a large number of young people from the experience with great energy for this “difficult and daunting work”.

the Holy Spirit to vitalise the Church. Please remember to pray for the St Charles Seminarians as they discern their vocation call.

Journey: New Lector, Mariusz Grzech, above, with Archbishop Hickey as seminarians took steps in their progress towards possible ordinations at St Charles Seminary in Guildford on 3 June. New Acolytes, top right, are (from left to right): Grant Gorddard, Stephen Gorddard, Louis Lwin, CJ Millen, Israel Quirit, Renald Panimaya, Conor Steadman and Simeon San. Conor Steadman, below at left, and Nathan Florio were admitted to Candidacy.

PHOTOS: COURTESY ST CHARLES SEMINARY

Archbishop Barry Hickey with the three West Australian delegates (l-r), Chris Paynter, Kelly Clark and Daniel Matthys.

PHOTO: BRIDGET SPINKS

Bishop to risk all for Christ

MELBOURNE’S newly-ordained Auxiliary Bishop, a Vietnam-born refugee, has described his 23 June consecration as a call to “risk all for Christ”.

Bishop Vincent Long Van Nguyen OFM Conv is a former refugee from Communist Vietnam, and Australia’s first Vietnamese-born prelate. Bishop Long - who, prior to his election as Bishop was Superior of the Franciscan Conventuals in Australia – referred to his ordination as “a new way of giving myself” and asked for prayers for himself as he undertakes his new role, the swath of newly ordained Bishops on Australia’s east coast and all Australian Bishops.

“A Bishop must not be afraid to walk with his people in the new exodus to the fullness of life and love. It’s the place we can only reach with unwavering and undying love for Christ and His people. I humbly ask you to pray for me, your newly ordained Bishops and all Bishops to walk this path with fidelity and perseverance,” said Bishop Long, who at 49 is the second-youngest Bishop in Australia.

Over 4,000 packed St Patrick’s Cathedral in Melbourne for the ordination ceremony including the new Bishop’s parents, some of his brothers and sisters and many from the Vietnamese community around Australia.

The ordination was also streamed live for relatives and friends over-

seas who couldn’t get to Melbourne for the historic occasion.

After his election last month, Bishop Long told The Age that his election was a recognition of the significant contribution of Vietnamese Catholics to the life of the Church in Australia.

The Vietnamese are disproportionately represented in Catholic seminaries. ‘’Because of their hardships, because of their experience they have a particular way of adhering to the Catholic faith. It means much more to them than just a Sunday service. Where they are, there is more vitality and dynamism than the typical AngloCatholic parish,’’ Bishop Long told The Age

Melbourne Archbishop Denis Hart was the principal consecrator and Archbishop Giuseppe Lazzarotto, Apostolic Nuncio to Australia and Cardinal George Pell, Archbishop of Sydney, were co-consecrators.

In his homily Archbishop Hart referred to Bishop Long’s life journey and spiritual growth. “From his birth forty-nine and a half years ago in Gia-Kiem, Vietnam, the love of Jesus Christ has always filled Bishop Vincent with hope. The Spirit of Christ and attendant sufferings accompanied him as he entered the Minor Seminary, faced its closure and escaped to Australia.”

Bishop Long’s parents, Mr and Mrs Van Quang, assisted with

Theologian to offers ways Biology can be aid to Church as Teacher

AMERICAN theologian Dr John Norris will discuss how the Church might retain its doctrinal authority through insights of theology and biology on 8 July.

Dr Norris, Professor of Theology at the University of Dallas, will give the Slattery Lecture at the University of Notre Dame Australia’s Tannock Hall in Fremantle at 7.30pm, speaking on The Church as Body of Christ: Insights from Science into the History and Identity of the Church. Dr Norris, whose primary field of research is Augustinian exegesis, is developing courses that link faith and science.

He will discuss how the analogy of the Church as the Body of Christ features in the letters of St Paul, Pius XII’s Encyclical Mystici Corporis Christi and the Dogmatic Constitution of the Church from Vatican II, Lumen Gentium

Dr Norris believes that taking this analogy seriously and com-

bining it with the insights of modern biology, one can see how the Church can maintain her individual and essential identity yet develop in time in such a way that determines her historically. His Slattery Lecture will combine the insights of modern biology with the biological study of embryological development and evolution.

In doing so the analogy of the body, brought into dialogue with modern science of the body, shows a way in which we can comprehend how the Church might retain the constancy of its doctrinal authority despite the historical witness to change in the formulation of her teaching,” a UNDA statement said.

Dr Norris, a native of Albuquerque, New Mexico, received his Bachelor’s degree in Theology from the University of Dallas and a PhD in Historical Theology from Marquette University, studying under Fr Joseph Lienhard SJ.

the Offertory Procession and his four brothers and two sisters were present, some having arrived from Holland and Vietnam for the occasion.

“I have taken many leaps of faith before, but perhaps none as profoundly life changing as this one,” Bishop Long said. “Nevertheless, I make bold to venture head, trusting in the sustaining power of God and the support of many.”

One leap of faith for the new Auxiliary Bishop of Melbourne was back in 1980 when he left the Minor Seminary and with his parents and some siblings he fled the war and poverty of the Vietnamese communist regime and boarded a small fishing boat for Malaysia.

He eventually arrived in a Melbourne refugee camp. A couple of years later he became a Conventual Franciscan friar and was ordained a priest in 1989.

He has been a parish priest in both Sydney and Melbourne but since 2008 has been in Rome serving as Assistant General of his order. Some 200 diocesan priests, 16 Bishops, five Archbishops, seminarians from Corpus Christi Seminary and a number of Vietnamese priests from around Australia attended the ordination.

Bishop Long’s parents, four brothers and two sisters, some of whom came from Holland and Vietnam, sat quietly proud and very moved, remembering those great

leaps of faith of which their Bishop son and brother spoke.

When Bishop Long spoke following his ordination, it was partially in Vietnamese, punctuated throughout by spontaneous applause from the congregation.

Bishop Long expressed both a sense of personal inadequacy but at the same time a profound confidence in his new role.

“I feel small above all before the enormous task that lies ahead of me, the obligations that are part of the Episcopal ministry. Yet in the midst of these uncertainties, I am

at peace knowing that no one else is more responsible for me being a Bishop than the One who formed me in my mother’s womb.”

He thanked all those who had been part of his formation including the Vietnamese community in Melbourne saying: “It has been remarked that we are the new Irish of the Catholic Church in Australia.”

He also thanked the civic leaders present saying: “In a way, I, a former refugee, stand before you as a testament to the fair go mentality that has shaped this great nation.”

Melbourne Archbishop Denis Hart presents newly consecrated Auxiliary Bishop Vincent Long Van Nguyen with his crosier during his ordination at St Patrick’s Cathedral on 23 June. Left, Deacons hold the Gospels above the Bishop-elect’s head during the ceremony, symbolising that which he must teach, govern and sanctify by. PHOTOS: CASAMENTO PHOTOGRAPHY/KAIROS

CATHOLIC JOURNAL

Shopfront benefits from generous spirit

BY BRIDGET SPINKS

WHEN Lifelink agency The Shopfront received a cheque in early May for $10,000 to buy a second-hand ute, The Shopfront director, Christian Brother Peter Negus, was overcome by the generosity.

The benefactor wishes to remain anonymous, but Br Peter said the lady was “in no way rich in money, but ever so rich in sheer goodness and concern for others”.

When he tried to talk her out of giving so much, he said, she replied saying, “Peter, the Shopfront does so many good things for others, you will now be able to collect and deliver furniture.”

By the end of May, The Shopfront had signed the contract for a used Holden Rodeo Tray-Top, which will serve them for a number of years to come.

The donation also sparked generosity in others including the previous owner of the Holden tray-top Sam Agostino.

Warren Lethridge from the Perth Archdiocesan Finance Office - on the Shopfront’s behalf - approached a few dealers but it was Sally Orsi, the fleet account manager at DVG Morley City, who found the vehicle.

Only Sam had previously owned the ute and it was in very good condition.

When told about The Shopfront and the work they do, Sam dropped the price from $11,000 to $9,500.

The new Shopfront ute is in good shape for many more years of service.

Before he passed it on he also gave it a full 110,000km service ahead of time - as it had only clocked up 105,000km in seven years.

Sam - who owns S&A Smash Repairs in Osborne Park - also replaced the bonnet, which had just one or two marks on it; spray painted the undercarriage; put on a new aerial for the radio and replaced two tyres.

But that was not all.

“Not content with all that had been done, Sam told me when I came to pick up the ute, that if I

had any trouble at all, he would fix it up at no cost,” Br Peter said. “What a marvellously generous, good man.”

Br Peter thanked Sam and Sally and “of course our special anonymous donor.”

The Shopfront is a drop-in centre and agency of the Perth Archdiocese that provides friendship and practical support for the homeless. The Shopfront, established in 2001, provides a place for people requiring assistance, fellowship and hospitality, and is run predominately by volunteers.

• Sit in on classes and rehearsals.

• Meet with staff and students.

• Take a backstage tour and discover a whole new world behind the scenes.

• Explore the brand new scenery and props construction workshops.

57 confirmed at Our Lady of Lourdes, Rockingham

Our Lady of Lourdes Parish celebrated the Sacrament of Confirmation on 11 June and 18 June with 57 young people confirming their faith.

Rockingham parish priest Fr Michael Separovich conferred the Sacrament.

A statement from the parish said: “We congratulate our newly confirmed and commend them for the way they embraced their journey of preparation and the great maturity they displayed at the celebrations. Star of the Sea School choir sang beautifully at both Masses and we thank them for sharing their gifts at these joyous occasions.”

• Check out the superbly equipped lighting and sound studios and music technology labs.

• Find out what goes into designing a show. Attend information sessions on the wide range of courses offered at WAAPA.

• Enjoy lots of mini concerts and performances.

• Experience a son et lumière and marvel at a costume parade.

• Roam the ECU campus and visit the new student village.

Come and see what really happens at WAAPA

Tuesday 5th July

Sam Agostino, Christian Brother Peter Negus and Sally Orsi with the utility for The Shopfront. PHOTOS: WARREN LETHRIDGE

Rockingham parish priest Fr Michael Separovich confirms Sabrina Beal at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Rockingham.

50 years of Salvatorians down under

BY BRIDGET SPINKS

THREE West Australian Bishops and 61 priests from around Australia and the world turned out in force to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Salvatorian presence in Australia on 27 June at St Anthony’s in Greenmount, the parish entrusted to the community in 1961.

The Mass was part of a two-day celebration for the parish which included a Mass celebrated by Archbishop Barry Hickey the previous day for the 50th anniversary of St Anthony’s.

Perth Auxiliary Bishop Donald Sproxton, Bunbury Bishop Gerard Holohan and Geraldton Bishop Justin Bianchini concelebrated the 5.30pm Mass together with Salvatorian Provincials from England and Poland, Salvatorian Superiors from Australia, the Philippines and Taiwan as well as several more Salvatorians and diocesan and Religious clergy from Perth and other parts of Australia.

Bruce Rock parish priest of three years Fr Francis Kot SDS gave the homily, and announced “with joy” the news that the Church has declared that their founder Fr Francis Mary of the Cross Jordan lived a holy life, thereby making him a Venerable.

In 1880, when Fr Francis Jordan was travelling through the Holy Land, he took a break in Lebanon where he had a profound religious experience, Fr Kot said.

Fr Jordan “meditated on the words of Our Saviour at the Last Supper: ‘Eternal life is this: to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent’ and these words became the inspiration for his new society and its primary mission,” Fr Kot said.

On 8 December 1881, Fr Francis Jordan and two other priests took private vows of poverty, chastity and obedience in the chapel of St Brigid in Rome and so it was that the Society of the Divine Saviour or Salvatorians was founded. Eighty years later, Fr Paul Keyte SDS from the British Province arrived in Perth with the mission of proclaim-

ing Christ the Saviour to the people of Australia, Fr Francis said.

When the British passed their ministry in Australia to the Polish Salvatorians in 1987, Greenmount parish became “a home for most of us arriving from Poland,” Fr Francis said. He added that the Salvatorians experienced the parishioners’ “loving support and friendship, which you continue to provide today”.

But, Fr Francis also used the occasion to beg the congregation on behalf of all Salvatorians, to pray fervently for vocations to the priesthood and religious life from Australia. “Perhaps most of you already know that we face a shortage of vocations to the Salvatorian order also here in Australia,” Fr Kot said. “If we are to continue our mission among you we desperately need more open minded men, who will answer the Lord’s invitation to follow Him and serve in the Church.

“Talk to your children and grandchildren about the beauty of priesthood, pray for them so they make the right decisions in life. The priests and Religious of tomorrow need to be born in your families today.” There are 21 priests in the Australian region of the Salvatorians, providing pastoral

OFFICIAL ENGAGEMENTS 2011

JULY

1 Mass, 12.10pm, Cathedral – Archbishop Hickey

Opening and Blessing of building project, St Vincent’s School, Parmelia – Bishop Sproxton

Opening and blessing of building project, St Emilie’s School, Canning Vale – Mgr Brian O’Loughlin VG Swearing-in to Office of Governor of WA –Archbishop Hickey, Bishop Sproxton

2 Malaysian Community Fundraising Event –Archbishop Hickey

2 & 3 Confirmation, Wanneroo – Bishop Sproxton

3 Confirmation, Bassendean – Archbishop Hickey Aboriginal Mass, Embleton – Archbishop Hickey Confirmation, Manning – Fr Greg Carroll

4 Catholic Moral Theology Conference Dinner, NDA –Archbishop Hickey, Bishop Sproxton Visit Vinnies School Sleepout, WACA – Archbishop Hickey

6 NADOC Week Mass, St Mary’s Cathedral – Archbishop Hickey

7 Australasian Mercy Secondary Education Conference Mass –Archbishop Hickey

8 Slattery Lecture, NDA – Mgr Brian O’Loughlin VG

8-10 Centacare 25th Anniversary celebrations, Geraldton –Archbishop Hickey Parish Visitation, Corrigin/Kulin – Bishop Sproxton

11 Mass, Pregnancy Assistance – Archbishop Hickey

care in 10 parishes including three in the Sydney Archdiocese. Some Salvatorians in Australia serve as school chaplains and in ministry to the Aboriginal people.

After Mass, Bishop Sproxton also said he was very grateful for the long priestly presence the Salvatorians have given the Perth Archdiocese. He said he first encountered the Salvatorians when Fr Laurence Murphy SDS would bring a very good soccer team of school students to St Charles Seminary, which he said was a good way to bring the youth to the seminary.

Bishop Sproxton added that he remembered his experiences in school chaplaincy assisting Salvatorian priest, Fr Paul when the prelate was a newly ordained priest. He added that the Salvatorian chaplaincy presence in schools makes a noticeable difference; those students can easily relate to priests.

“We value that pastoral leadership they’ve given in the diocese. We pray the work will continue among us,” he said.

For related coverage, see page 12

Geraldton Bishop Justin Bianchini, Auxiliary Bishop Donald Sproxton and Bunbury Bishop Gerard Holohan join Salvatorians in the front row at St Anthony’s Greenmount on 27 June to watch a powerpoint presentation on the Salvatorians in Australia. Right, jubilant Salvatorians share joy of anniversary with parishioners.

PHOTOS: BRIDGET SPINKS

Fr Karol Kulczycki SDS, Salvatorian Superior of Australia, above left, welcomes the Bishops, Religious and clergy attending the the Salvatorian’s Golden Jubilee Mass at St Anthony’s parish in Greenmount on 27 June; Clergy greet each other with the Sign of Peace, above middle right; Two Salvatorians who grew up in the same village in Poland in Wodzislaw Slaski, Balcatta parish priest Fr Irek Czech, above right, with Fr Roman, who is living in the provincial house in Krakow, and who is also a professor in the Salvatorian Fathers’ Seminary; Fr Francis Kot SDS, left, proclaims the Gospel. In his homily, he called for prayers for vocations to the priesthood and Religious life.

Heavens open for Franciscans

BY BRIDGET SPINKS

SIX young men from around Australia and one from Singapore will begin arriving in Perth in July to begin a 12-month period of aspirancy and postulancy with the Fransciscan Friars of the Immaculate in Toodyay.

“It’s good news for us,” said Fr Sharbel Hayward FI, Superior of the Australian apostolate. “It’s like the heavens have opened.”

This first, formal stage of discernment to this newest branch of Franciscan ordersfounded in 1973 - will involve simply “living the life,” Fr Sharbel said, including five hours of daily prayer, as well as periods of work and a time of reflection in the afternoon.

“They’ll get into the rhythm of it and find out if it’s for them,” he said.

The aspirants will also have a few weekly classes in Franciscan history and theology as well as the particular Marian/Franciscan charism of the order.

Perth born Fr Giles Atherton FI who was ordained a priest on 25 March in Rome this year has also been assigned to the Marian Friary of Our Lady Help of Christians in Toodyay.

After almost 10 years in America and Italy, he is expected to arrive in late July.

Living in the moment

THE recent Catholic Outreach Co-ordinators conference Live in the Present Moment offered a variety of topics offered over two daysat St John of God Retreat Centre in Shoalwater.

Celia Joyce and Stephen Truscott from The Fullness of Life Centre presented the concept of the Lifeframe - a simple and effective way to attend to four dimensions of a person’s story: individual, interpersonal, social-structural and environmental.

Participants left behind their daily concerns and indulged in some inner work designed to illustrate how to live more fully in the moment which enhances our capacity to be present to others.

Jim Smith shared the work of Catholic Earthcare Australia which is mandated, through the activities of research, education, advocacy and outreach, to give leadership in responding to Pope John Paul II’s call for an “ecological conversion” of the world’s Catholics.

Catholic Outreach chair Brian Parry presented Responding to the needs of a changing Church, evoking interest and comments about the contemporary Church in the Perth Archdiocese.

Participants suggested that it would be advantageous to revisit this topic again at a later date.

The Live in the Present Moment conference reiterated what many know to be true - that variety adds to new experiences that make life delightful.

Vinnies Nollamara urgently needs members: president

Catholic charity needs manpower to help the poor in our midst

BY BRIDGET SPINKS

THE Nollamara St Vincent de Paul Tuesday Conference is in urgent need of members, acting Nollamara president Vincent Barry said.

Each week the SVDP Society is able to assist about 15 people in Nollamara with food vouchers, bills and furniture or with finding counselling.

However, due to dwindling membership numbers in the conference, some calls get knocked back and passed on to other charitable organisations.

But they “don’t get the same help we would give,” Vincent Barry said.

Members from North Beach and Woodlands conferences are looking after the needs in Nollamara two days a week but with the help of the current Osborne Park regional president, Jeff Trew, Vincent will do another membership drive in the parish very soon.

This is not the first time the Nollamara conference has needed members to reach out to their neighbours-in-need.

In 2006, Vincent sought volunteers to re-establish the conference, speaking at various Masses with the help of Colleen Williams, then working at the Society’s State headquarters at Ozanam House, Belmont. The conference had been closed down for lack of members for a few years prior to 2006 – the

year Vincent became the Society’s Osborne Park Regional President.

“I wanted to do something about it,” Vincent said. “I knew there was a pretty big need in Nollamara, so I found out if it was okay to do a membership drive, which it was and it went along quite well.”

The conference restarted with eight members responding to the call for help, but since then numbers have “dwindled off with people getting ill and old”.

Vincent, who goes out on Mondays to visit people in Mirrabooka who need the help of the SVDP, said he can’t remember how long he has been a member of the Society.

He got his sister to join 20 years ago, he said, so he must have been involved longer than that.

“There’s a lot of people out there

that need help and you’re a person that could give that help,” he told his sister at the time. “And she is.”

“She’s very good as far as talking to people; she always lets people know we’re from the St Vincent de Paul Society who are a charitable organisation under the cloak of the Catholic Church.”

But society has changed since he first joined and the need “wasn’t like it is today. We just used to take out a few food parcels,” he said.

But with the high cost of rent; alcohol and drugs; the increase in single parent households and the introduction of the credit card, he said, everyone’s under the thumb with big debts and big rents.

To offer assistance with home visitations in Nollamara by becoming a member of the St Vincent de Paul Society Conference, phone Vincent on 9344 1125.

Mt Lawley helps loneliness

CONCERNS about social isolation and loneliness prompted the creation of St Paul’s Community Care in the parish of Mt Lawley recently.

Parishioners John and Kristyn Ryan, plus Gerry and Bernadette Taylor were concerned about the plight of some elderly people as well as identifying a growing number of households where separation, imprisonment, death and other stress have caused family breakdown. “Loneliness can become a mental health problem when it is in your life for a long time as it can escalate into anxiety, depression, self harm, substance abuse and suicide,” Mr Ryan said.

With the support of parish priest Fr Tim Deeter and pastoral worker Sr Regina Naisbitt, concern has blossomed into firm commitment with 22 parishioners volunteering for service.

Inaugural St Paul’s Community Care Parish commitment meetings took place after Masses several months ago. Volunteers provide practical support for people in need undertaking tasks such as visiting, providing emergency meals, gardening, handyman work, home help, transport and bereavement support. “We can help ourselves by helping others,” Mr Ryan said.

“One way of overcoming loneliness and reducing social isolation is to be more conscious of other people’s needs and less focused on ourselves. Move out of your comfort zone and improved quality of life will follow naturally.”

In welcoming the parish volunteers of St Paul’s Community Care, Peter McMinn, executive officer of Catholic Outreach, said there was an increasing recognition of the beneficial pastoral work undertaken by care programmes in parishes.

WA students offered skills to fight poverty

BY ANTHONY BARICH

PERTH students are being encouraged to attend a Canberra conference that will equip them with knowledge and skills to help tackle global poverty.

Caritas Australia and Young Christian Students are facilitating part of a unique conference in Canberra in September that will help youth consider how global poverty might be drastically reduced.

The two social justice organisations will facilitate the Youth Stream – which commenced in 2007 - for up to 60 youth from across the country aged between 15 to 17, as part of the 17-20 September Voices for Justice conference in Hughes and Parliament House.

The conference has been organised by the Micah Challenge, a global coalition of Christians including churches, Christian aid agencies and individuals speaking out against poverty and injustice and encouraging Australia’s leaders to halve global poverty by 2015.

Micah Challenge is offering a group of students, including some from WA, the chance to participate in its annual Voices for Justice

programme that seeks to enhance students’ awareness and empower them to take action around the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in the Australian political context. Students will need to fund themselves, or fundraise through their school to attend the conference.

The conference includes campaign training to acquire skills and confidence in taking action against global poverty. Participants then meet various politicians in Parliament House to campaign on issues surrounding the MDGs.

The MDGs, adopted by world leaders in 2000, focus on eradicat-

ing extreme poverty and hunger; achieve universal primary education; promote gender equality; reduce child mortality; improve maternal health; combat HIV/ AIDS, Malaria and other diseases; ensure environmental sustainability; and develop a global partnership for development.

The 12,000 names on the scroll were handwritten by a group of around 30 volunteers over a 1 month period The scroll was presented to the Prime Minister Rudd on 22 June 2010 at a key public event of Voices for Justice. The 12,000 names on the scroll were of people who have signed the Micah Call – a statement of faith in support of the aims of Micah Challenge (to Make Poverty History). Over time more than 113 000 Australians have signed the Micah Call.

Last year, 320 youth held over 140 appointments with MPs and Senators while 67 politicians signed the campaign’s 40m scroll including then-Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott, who also addressed the Signature Event.

For more info go to www.micahchallenge.org.au.

John Ryan, Jane Cleary, Michaela McCarthy, Emma Gregory, Kristyn Ryan and Peter McMinn, who were involved in the creation of St Paul’s Community Care.

The Micah Challenge scroll, signed by then-Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott. PHOTO: COURTESY MICAH CHALLENGE

Sister discomforted by OAM

When Good Samaritan Sr Anna Warlow, discovered earlier this month she was receiving a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for her commitment to the community, she felt shocked and a little uncomfortable

BY STEPHANIE T HOMAS

SISTER Anna Warlow, one of 376 Australians to be recognised in this year’s Queen’s Birthday honours list, received the award for her service to the Catholic Church and to St Paul’s Community House of Welcome, a community outreach initiative that provides care and support for Indigenous, rural and mining families in the remote WA town of Three Springs, south of Geraldton.

Now, having adjusted to the idea a bit more, Sr Anna feels happy to receive the award, but she is at pains to explain that it is not for herself.

“There have been so many people involved in all my work,” she said.

“I’m terribly grateful to all the people who are part of it and they are the ones who should be acknowledged … I receive [the award] on their behalf and in gratitude to my Good Samaritan Sisters.”

Sr Anna paid tribute to Loreto

Sr Ellen Moran, who lives with her at the House of Welcome.

Together they received the 2010 Australia Day Community Group

Award for “their outstanding work”. She praised the many Good Samaritan Oblates and associates from Wollongong and Canberra, the teachers from schools where she has worked over the years, and the members of various religious congregations who have supported her ministry at Three Springs. She says many have spent time in the community as volunteers or helped through fundraising efforts.

“The steps we’ve taken [here] have been a credit to them … They’ve been fantastic. I can’t speak highly enough of them,” she said.

Anna also acknowledges her Good Samaritan Sisters in Geraldton and Mount Magnet (her closest geographical Good Sam communities about 200 and 400km away, respectively), the local Aboriginal elders, and the many regional community service organisations, especially Centacare Family Services.

She said she couldn’t do her ministry without their support and collaboration.

After many years of ministry in primary school teaching, teacher training and adult faith education, Anna arrived in Three Springs in late 2004 to engage in full-time ministry.

However, before this, she had visited regularly for a few weeks

at a time. Outreach to rural and outback communities has formed a significant part of Anna’s ministries. As an educator of teachers in Catholic schools in the Parramatta and Wollongong dioceses, she and her colleagues also provided support to communities in the vast Wilcannia-Forbes Diocese.

Based in Sydney they would often travel outback for six to eight weeks at a time.

While St Paul’s House of Welcome is a parish initiative, Sr Anna says it is broader than the Catholic Church and engages all kinds of people. In a remote rural area, where isolation, few services and the burdens of drought have taken their toll, it has played an important support role.

The House of Welcome offers a community garden, a choir, a food bank in partnership with the WA government, weekly gatherings, monthly and annual events, and a link with regional social services.

A few years ago, while the community was suffering heavily from an eight-year drought (there were several suicides), Sr Anna (who also happens to be the older sister of opera singer Anthony Warlow) and a former colleague and musician from Wollongong, Jen Charadia, began a community choir. Modelled on the ABC’s “Choir of

Schools tackle ageing population

Schools meet the challenge of an ageing population

A PARTNERSHIP between local schools and aged care providers in the south-east metropolitan area is providing young and enthusiastic new workers to an industry feeling the pressure of skill shortages.

The training programme offers students vocational pathways leading to enrolled nursing, business administration and community services.

Employers have embraced the Aged Care Partnership and the introduction of school based trainees as a welcome addition to their industry.

The aim of the Aged Care

Partnership is to raise awareness of the aged care sector and to address a growing skill shortage exacerbated by the ageing population and competition from other industries.

The partnership has been developed with the support of Aged and Community Services WA (ACSWA) and the Community Services, Health and Education Training Council.

Braemar Presbyterian Care, The Bethanie Group, Brightwater Care Group, Catholic Homes Inc, SwanCare Group and Uniting Church Homes are at the forefront in engaging with local schools and bridging the gap between the generations.

Maureen Williams, Executive Manager Organisational Development at Braemar

Presbyterian Care said it is a “great opportunity to not only implement training programmes that directly reflect the needs of our sector, but to build partnerships and pathways for students wishing to explore career opportunities in the aged care sector”.

Year 11 students from Kent Street Senior High School, Como Secondary College, Ursula Frayne Catholic College and Lumen Christi Catholic College commenced the programme at the beginning of the year with training at Central TAFE, with many being offered school-based traineeships, which will continue into 2012.

A celebratory event is scheduled for 5 July at 6pm at the State Tennis Centre, Burswood. Employers and school represent-

atives will sign a Memorandum of Understanding to confirm their ongoing commitment to the partnership moving forward.

The partnership, brokered by Canning Coalition Inc, a School Business Community Partnership Broker funded by the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, will be launched in the presence of Peter Collier, Minister for Training and Workforce Development, Margaret Collins, Regional Director, South Metropolitan Education Region, Department of Education, representatives from Catholic Education Office, the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, schools and participating students and their parents.

Eucharist resource for students goes online

AN online teaching and learning resource on the Eucharist has been launched for Catholic schools around Australia.

Together at One Altar is sponsored by the National Catholic Education Commission (NCEC) and developed by a team of writers from Catholic Education Offices in Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sale and Brisbane.

The resource was launched on 8 June at Parramatta Marist High at Westmead, NSW.

WA-based NCEC chair Therese Temby said the launch coincided with the first instances of introducing the new translation into Australian parishes.

“A major project for NCEC at the moment is to ensure that Religious Education and the religious dimension of the whole curriculum is properly recognised in the rollout of the new national Australian Curriculum. NCEC also believes that the creation of e-learning materials for RE is an urgent resource priority,” she said. The online resource

Hard Knocks”, Anna believes it was a great community builder and gave people a great sense of pride.

She explained: “I was supposed to be over here trying to build up the Church. Well there’s no way you can build up the Church unless you build up the people.

“[The choir was established] to build a community and to give the people a sense of pride and build their self esteem. And I think that’s what it did.”

Like the “Choir of Hard Knocks”, the “St Paul’s House of Welcome Choir” also produced a CD.

She feels passionate about the support of women in remote and rural communities. Working collaboratively with the Josephite Rural Network, Anna brings women together for a range of activities. She says some Aboriginal women have been joining this group too.

“We give [these women] the opportunity for personal development and spiritual renewal and faith education and just good care for themselves because they live in very isolated places,” she explained.

“It’s a very key element of what we do over here and it’s grown. It wasn’t on the agenda when I first came.”

* Stephanie Thomas is editor of The Good Oil, the e-magazine of the Good Samaritan Sisters.

Bishops back youth ministry

THE Australian Catholic Bishops Conference has shown its ongoing support for youth ministry after Sydney’s 2008 World Youth Day (WYD) with the confirmation of an ongoing position focused on young people in the Conference’s Secretariat for Pastoral Life.

In November 2008, the Australian Bishops created a temporary role within its Bishops Commission for Pastoral Life (BCPL), which aimed to support the work of the newly established Australian Catholic Youth Council and build upon the graces of WYD 2008 in Sydney.

With the trial period ending later this year, the Conference has resolved for this position become an ongoing role.

Bishop Christopher Prowse, Bishops’ Delegate for Youth, said the Conference had re-enforced the Bishops’ commitment to youth in the Church and to continuing the work by their late brother Bishop Joseph Grech in youth ministry.

Malcolm Hart, a long term diocesan youth minister, has been fulfilling the position of Senior Youth Ministry Projects Officer within the Secretariat for Pastoral Life for the past two years. Building upon his work and successes in the role, the BCPL has invited Malcolm to continue in this position on an ongoing basis.

Last year’s Australian Catholic Youth Ministry Convention in Melbourne and a coordinated national approach to sending over 3000 pilgrims to WYD Madrid are just some of the large initiatives coordinated by Mr Hart over the past two years.

Sr Anna Warlow

for Catholic students around Australia that was launched on 8 June in Parramatta.

First, create the village

The supreme duty of Christian families in Australia today is to be countercultural. This is not to seek to reduce the vocation of Christian family life to a political value or expression, nor to seek to understand Christianity, and, explicitly, Catholicism, as filling a primarily cultural or political role in the life and history of Australia. Christianity is always about Christ. What it does recognise, however, is that to be be faithful to Christ and the Church He established, has become a supremely counter-cultural task. This is the task facing Catholic marriage today.

This is so because Catholic families, Catholic individuals, face an unprecedented assault on the legitimacy of their faith from almost every quarter of Australian society and culture, with indifference to the validity of the experience of faith being a deeply entrenched and negative aspect of Australian life. This situation contrasts strongly with other countries around the world such as Russia or the US, where despite real problems, a deep swathe of religious faith continues to run through these societies. Australian Catholics and their families, by contrast, are forced to confront a social landscape where their faith is usually treated as abnormal. Usually, key points of contention in social and political debate are used to reinforce the message that only hopelessly out-of-touch individuals such as Catholics or evangelical Christians could ever believe in outmoded moralities such as the primacy of marriage or the sanctity of human life from the instant of conception. It is this cultural reality that has played a powerful role in isolating and separating generations of children of Catholic families from the faith of their parents. The peer pressure it has created in the lives of young people from Catholic backgrounds has had an enormous effect in attracting or discouraging them away from Christianity. The roots of this deeply ingrained indifference and-or hostility to Christianity can be traced back, in a sense, to a new world order which emerged with increasing force in the 19th century, but what really matters is its fruition in the cultural revolution of the 1960s and 1970s. While some tend to look back to the 1960s as the moment of the eclipse of an era where Christianity had generally been regarded as normality, probably the real turning point was the period from 1965 to 1975 when numerous radical changes to law in key areas of Australian life (such as abortion and no-fault divorce) were enacted. None of the above should be taken as grounds for pessimism, but it can be taken as a reasonably realistic depiction of the state of affairs faced by Catholic families in Australia who seek to lead their children towards an experience of Christ and the Church, but above all an experience of Christ and the Church which young people see in their own thoughts as normality. It is therefore also a statement about the nature of a crisis in society which is real, which confronts the Church (all of us) and which has undoubtedly impacted on it.

THE RECORD

PO Box 3075

Adelaide Terrace

PERTH WA 6832

office@therecord.com.au

Tel: (08) 9220 5900

Fax: (08) 9325 4580

What this means is that Catholic marriage and Catholic family life require a radical revision in conduct and outlook and an enlightenment as to their meaning. This does not mean that the Church is not doing enough. On the contrary, Catholics have everything that they need already available from the Church to successfully live their marriages and raise their families. But what is definitely needed is a radical change in the consciousness of Catholic spouses, an enlightenment, regarding - firstly - the crucial nature of their own Baptismal vocation and what this means for them.

What is happening at the present moment, and has been for decades, is that Catholics marrying and forming families have allowed, without realising it very much at all, institutions such as the media and the internet to be the main communicators to, and formators of, their children. Even the best efforts of believing Catholic spouses to counter this have been more and more likely to not succeed given the pervasive nature of the pressure ranged against their values.

In order to succeed as Catholic families who follow Christ, Catholic spouses must radically re-evaluate the main influences which form their children’s consciousness and attitudes towards the world around them. They also need to enter more deeply into the meaning of their own marriages and the promises they made when they married and when they had their children baptised. In fact, what Catholic marriages need is ongoing practical and spiritual Professional Development. Without seeking to be unpleasant or unfair to anyone, it seems overwhelmingly true to state that the problem with Catholic families has often been that they had little real idea of what they were meant to be doing either as parents or as spouses. Ignorance about their own vocation has become an enormous problem in the life of the baptised, and this at a time when possibly the most important duty Catholic parents have towards their children is to lead them to experience Christianity as normality.

A powerful factor which will help Catholic parents and families but which usually does not exist anywhere much in the Church in Australia is an understanding of the vital importance of the Christian community centred around serious belief in Baptism, prayer, the sacraments and the Church. Because a main corroder of faith within family life has often been peer pressure - when young people experience their Catholic family background as being off-putting or ridiculous in the eyes of their contemporaries - what parents and spouses clearly need to do is to ensure their children receive an experience of Christianity as normality.

To do this children from Catholic families need to see their parents praying, and they need their parents to teach them to pray. They need to see that other families they know, or who are within the orbit of their own family’s friendships, also regard prayer (grace before meals, night prayers before bed, and so on) as completely normal. They need to see that their parents regard the Sacrament of Reconciliation as not only normal but liberating, something to be approached regularly in joyful anticipation. They need to see that the families within their own sphere of family friendships also regard this as completley normal. They need their parents - both of them, but especially fathers - to be at Mass and to treat Mass as expected and normal. They need to see the families who their families are friendly with also at Mass. They need to see that when their family and other families gather together for social occasions that parents and children from other families regard being Catholic and being Christian as absolutely normal.

To do this is not difficult either, but it starts with Catholic spouses who see more in the meaning of their own marriage than a mere set of vows made distant years in the past. This is a work that Catholic parents need to contemplate starting in their own parishes, with strong support and formation from their parish priests. The old saying that it takes a village to raise a child has never been more profoundly true than at the present moment. The most immediate task facing Catholic families, however, is to begin by creating the village.

Disabilities in Catholic schools

Iread with interest Barbara Harris’s article on inclusive schooling for children with disabilities in the Catholic school system, and the letter from a parent who had a positive school experience with her child. Unfortunately, many parents have negative experiences, especially if their child has behavioural problems which make inclusivity difficult. Your readers may be aware of the rise in the number of children diagnosed on the autism spectrum in the past ten years.

Recent PhD research I’ve been involved with shows the incidence of schoolchildren in WA with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is as high as 1 in 150 and girls are still notoriously underdiagnosed. Research shows that school staff believe the type of the child’s disability is related to how difficult they will be to teach. Students with emotional/ behavioural; language and literacy problems; general learning difficulties; ASD and intellectual disability are regarded as the most challenging and therefore least desirable to teach. In some cases, staff are willing but inexperienced, and lack support staff who are experienced and capable.

It’s also true that the divorce rate for families with autism is between 70-80 per cent, which is an appalling figure. As many mothers struggle to manage financially on the Carer Pension, they congregate in the more affordable outer suburbs which consequently have a higher number of students with disabilities than others. These schools and parishes should not have to bear the financial and professional burden of welcoming into their school the sibling of a child who is already a student. Neither should the education of existing students be compromised by a classmate with disruptive behaviour. As the numbers of learning disabilities are now so high and only increasing, I agree with Barbara Harris that we as a Catholic community have to find the funds, expertise and willingness to be financially and professionally able to accept Catholic families who desire a Catholic education for all their children, problems notwithstanding.

Melissa Kelly

Redemptoris Mater Seminary Morley

Papua New Guinea and the missions

Ienjoyed reading your article (Life of sacrifice scares young Franciscan missionary) as I spent some years working in Papua New Guinea mostly in the remote areas so I understand the task ahead of Fr Lukasz Kwiatkowski. At times I was the only white man within four hundred square miles.

I cringe, however, whenever I see the people referred to as “New Guineans” as you did a couple of times. Out of respect for its people please refer to them as “Papua New Guineans” at all times as the country comprises two groups of people: Papuans and New Guineans. The Papuan people take offence whenever their name is left out. However both groups are Melanesians. Papuans occupy the large area centered on Port Moresby. Australia originally occupied

Papua and Germany occupied New Guinea until after WW1 when the now defunct League of Nations entrusted the administration of New Guinea to Australia following the defeat of Germany.

Incidentally there is a third group i.e. the coastal people of that part of the country which was originally named “New Guinea”. These people are of a much slighter build, a lighter skin colour and markedly different facial features from those in the highlands.

About 400-500 years ago an enormous volcano island off the Northeast coast, said to be much greater than Krakatoa, erupted and the subsequent tsunami wiped out all the villages along the New Guinea coastline and virtually no-one survived. This eruption was recorded in the logs of the Portuguese explorers at that time and remains known by the Papuan New Guineans as the year of the long night as it remained dark, day and night, for over 12 months.

It is unknown from where the present day coastal people came. The island volcano was totally destroyed in the explosion.

Some 900-1000 languages or Ples Tok (Place talk – village language) are spoken in PNG with English and Tok Pisin the official languages. Tok Pisin, as did the other Pidgin languages of the South Pacific Nations such as the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, originated in the canefields of Queensland. In a period in the 1880s the young men were ‘blackbirded’ (kidnapped or volunteered) from the islands of the South Pacific by marauding ship captains. They all spoke so many different languages and to get things organised and done a common language “Pidgin” emerged. So when these men and their families eventually returned to their home villages they took this new language back with them.

So for a brief period Australia had its own slave trade.

However many of them stayed and today we have a large community of these people in the Mackay-BundabergMaryborough regions of Queensland.

You may well know that Eddie Mabo succeeded in obtaining the legal title to his home of Murray Island. The peoples of these islands in the Torres Strait are also Melanesians. The Melanesian people have always had a tradition of land ownership with the titles in some cases

Catholic clarity for complex times

passing down only from mother to daughter, not through the male lines.

Whilst the Melanesian people occupied and cultivated their land (village and surrounding area) permanently, the unrelated Australian Aborigine, an entirely different race and culture, did not. So in effect the decision to return the title of the land to Eddie Mabo was legally and morally correct, it was wrong to extend it to the Australian Aborigine. In their culture they did not own the land – the spirit of the land owned them. In addition, unlike the Melanesians, they never formed a permanent village nor cultivated the land. As their culture did not permit them to own land there was no system (tradition) of passing the title from one generation to the next.

Prior to the white man arriving in North Queensland the Melanesians were systemically wiping out their enemies, the Australian Aborigine, and it was the arrival of the white settlers which prevented a genocide.

Incidentally, the Aboriginal race is not one nation as some advocates promote. One need only read of the aggression, viciousness and cannibalism of the Kalkadoon tribe of the Northwest region of Queensland (Mount Isa) towards other clans. They were absolutely feared by other Aboriginals.

Further, one needs to read about the Bunya nut ceremony held every three years by the Aboriginal clan who occupied the Bunya Mountains area near Kingaroy in the Burnett District of South East Queensland.

At this time it was a tradition to call a truce on all fighting to share and enjoy the fruits of this marvellous tree. Tribes walked some 300 miles or more from as afar as Northern NSW to participate in this feast. At these times they made a weak alcoholic drink which enhanced their months’ long celebration.

At the Palmer River goldfields in North East Queensland the gold prospectors endured attacks by the local Aborigines who practised cannibalism. The white fellows were generally avoided in this regard as their staple diet was salted beef. The Chinese were favoured as they were mainly vegetarian in their diet so their meat (flesh) was less salty and more sweet. The Chinese were strung alive up by their ponytails on a tree branch to keep them fresh until “dinner time”.

The liver was the favourite choice on the menu.

The Melanesians also were cannibals. In 1992, I worked with a fellow from Rabaul in East New Britain, PNG who unashamedly told me that his grandfather was a headhunter and a cannibal. The fellow who told me this was a Catholic.

I refer to the genocide by the Melanesians. As they islandhopped and progressed down from PNG and along the northern Queensland coastline (Cape York) they encountered the aborigine whom they slaughtered with their superior weapons i.e. bow and arrows etc. As well as this, the Melanesians were genetically of a larger build and stronger than the Aborigine.

Finally, with respect to the Melanesian families who remained in Queensland I mention that the well-known ex-NRL footballer and now Queensland NRL State of Origin coach, Mal Meninga, is a proud descendant of these Melanesian people.

John McMahon Burnett District, Qld

DEALING WITH THE DARK SIDE

Recent years have seen a rise in the number of people approaching Catholic authorities seeking the healing ministry of exorcism in Australia. Clergy involved in this ministry attribute the pehnomenon, in part, to the decline of Christian faith...

BY ANTHONY BARICH

Australian clergy involved in carrying out exorcism, an ancient ministry in the Church regarded as overwhelmingly about liberation and healing, take extremely seriously the words of St Paul to combat Satan, who has “been given a particular foothold” in the country due to a decline of faith.

“Satan is a defeated enemy, but he is still able to conduct guerilla warfare on humanity”, said Sydney Auxiliary Bishop Julian Porteous, who received national attention for his efforts to highlight the importance of the Rite of Exorcism that was once part of priests’ basic training.

“As St Paul said: ‘Our battle is not against human forces but against the principalities and powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places’” Bishop Porteous said, quoting the Letter to the Ephesians.

Bishop Porteous - who stood in as the Archdiocese of Sydney’s exorcist until another priest was recently appointed – sees an urgent need for preaching that alerts people to the reality of temptation, sin and Satan.

He also wants to boost the numbers of exorcists – and not just because of rising requests for exorcism.

Canon law requires every diocese to have an exorcist but it is estimated there are only 20 or so exorcists among Australia’s 30 dioceses and two eparchies.

A number of gatherings for those who carry out the ministry of exorcism have been organised in recent years, offering not only spiritual formation and fraternity, but opportunities to exchange information among practitioners.

When Father Jose Fortea, the exorcist of the diocese of Alcalá de Henares in Spain and author of several books on demonic possession and exorcism, visited Australia in March, Bishop Porteous organised a two-day conference in Sydney that drew about 20 priests and a number of psychologists. Fr Fortea also addressed audiences in Melbourne and Brisbane.

In November 2009, former medical doctor Father Jeremy Davies visited Australia for a forum on the subject, attended by 27 clergy. He co-founded the International Association of Exorcists with the Vatican’s chief exorcist, Father Gabriele Amorth, who claims to have performed the rite 70,000 times over the course of his career.

Jesuit Father Gregory Jordan, an exorcist in Brisbane for the past eight years, also addressed over 100 students at Sydney University in May.

Father Jordan told the Sydney

University students that while “some clergy don’t believe in the devil – evil personified … (the need for exorcism) has come back full force; there’s a real turn around (in interest), and it had to happen”.

“Look at Christ’s words sending out the 72 Disciples on a missionary journey; every time he says three things: you must preach the kingdom, you are to cure the sick and you are to cast out demons –yet I don’t know if it’s ever admitted,” he said.

Bishop Porteous agrees that avoiding subjects like sin and temptation have been to the detriment of the faith in Australia, and are among the factors that have led some to search for answers in all the wrong places.

“This is an important area. We haven’t talked enough about the devil or temptation, or even the possible spiritual causes of addiction. We talk about addiction as a social problem but not as a spiritual problem,” he said.

“We went through a period where people doubted the existence of Satan, and tended to relate everything to psychological causes, so people basically discounted the area of demonic activity.

“As the Christian vision of life receded into the background, people have uncertainty in their life and get curious for something of a spiritual nature that gives meaning, direction and purpose, so they’re attracted to fortune tellers or various practices like Yoga and Reiki.”

“The general rise of interest in the ‘New Age’ has become a significant source for people coming under the influence of the powers of darkness. Even what may appear innocuous can become the doorway to entry into a dark and dangerous world.

“Yoga can be utilised as a physical exercise. If someone has a strong faith then it may have no detrimental effect.

“But if they don’t and they want to find out more about the spiritual underpinnings of Yoga and (its associated) meditation, it involves suspending or emptying the mind and then it is opened to other spiritual influences.”

Exorcism has always been part of the liturgy of the Church, he said.

“The Lord talks about the power to cast out demons as integral to the mission of the Church. It’s never been seen otherwise,” he said.

While there is a place for the formal Rite of Exorcism to expel demonic spirits who have taken a serious foothold in a person’s life, there is a need to recognise the more common needs of people suffering under various forms of spiritual affliction.

An exorcist must “very carefully discern” whether the problem is psychological or a genuine demonic attack.

Sometimes it can be both. There are also varying levels of spiritual

suffering. One level, temptation, comes from the world (rejecting God), the flesh (concupiscence, or being attracted to what is inappropriate) and the devil (“a subtle whispering in our ear suggesting how we can satisfy our cravings”, as the Bishop said in his instruction to Sydney priests).

Another level, oppression, includes addictions - like pornography, binge drinking, smoking or stealing – and can have a psychological dimension, but they can have a demonic dimension as well, the bishop said.

A minor exorcism is traditionally used for oppression, for which a priest does not need his bishop’s permission.

“When you’re really struggling with oppression, some people can manage it with the help of grace and the sacraments; but for others, the normal means of dealing with it just aren’t sufficient, then either it’s a psychological issue and/or a strong demonic element,” Bishop Porteous said.

“People who maybe don’t have much faith before but come under demonic influences have no doubt about the absolute reality of evil, of the devil and demons, and often they become quite devout.”

Though exorcism is a confrontation with real demons, both Father Jordan and Bishop Porteous say they are not afraid.

“Christ has already won the victory,” Father Jordan said.

“Generally speaking I don’t have any fear (during exorcisms) as I’m standing under the protection of Christ and the priesthood, acting in the name of the Church,” Bishop Porteous said.

“Most exorcisms don’t have to be terribly dramatic, most I do aren’t.”

While many exorcisms are a far cry from Hollywood’s sensationalist portrayals in movies like The Exorcist, Father Jordan told The Australian’s national magazine in December last year that some of his battles with possession cannot be explained by science.

“It is nothing to do with mental illness when you see a household where the dog refuses to go into the room where there is a problem; where it is distinctly cold for no reason; where physical contact is made by night visitors and where the cat jumps right through the wire door at the back,” he told The Australian Magazine

Speaking to Melbourne’s Archdiocesan journal Kairos in April during his visit to Australia, Father Fortea said “we (exorcists) are a sign that Jesus is working in the world – not only in His teaching but also in His words of power”.

“For me, this work has been a gift because it has allowed me to see clearly the action of God, the power of prayer, the power of priesthood and the reality of the spiritual world. This is evidence that God is with us.”

Exorcism on the silver screen

The Exorcist (1973)

Based on the 1971 novel by William Peter Blatty. When a teenager is possessed by a mysterious entity, her mother seeks the help of two priests to save her daughter.

Verdict: Considered a realistic depiction of exorcisms, except for the priest agreeing to save the girl by taking her place at the end, which is impossible. The movie deepened the public’s awareness of the reality of evil and actually increased church participation in the US.

Exorcist II - The Heretic (1977)

Fr Lamont is sent by his Cardinal to investigate the death of Fr Lankester Merrin and also to see why Regan was possessed by the demon Pasuzu. When Fr Lamont returns to New York were Regan lives he discovers the demon has reached Regan through Dr Gene Tuskin’s hypnosis machine. Fr Merrin’s spirit returns to help.

Verdict: Mixed response. Some said it was too long and a tad nonsensical, others thought it profound.

The Exorcist III (1990)

Ignoring Exorcist II: The Heretic, this one deals with a serial killer who was executed the same night of the exorcism in the first film with the girl Regan.

Verdict: Again mixed reviews. Some said ‘a houseof-cards plot that constantly collapses’, others thought it an improvement on The Heretic.

Exorcist: The Beginning (2004)

Years before Fr Merrin helped save Regan MacNeil’s soul, he first encounters the demon Pazuzu in East Africa and rediscovers his own faith in the process.

Verdict: Noisy, tries too

hard to out-do the original Exorcist. Saving grace is Stellan Skarsgård’s portrayal of Fr Merrin.

Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist (2005)

At an archaeological dig in Africa, Fr Merrin has his first encounter with the devil incarnate having lost his faith. When a church buried beneath the sand is excavated he finds signs of devil worship. When the devil occupies the body of a young patient in the village hospital, Merrin risks his life to save him.

Verdict: Does a better job of addressing Fr Merrin’s backstory and faith issues.

The Last Exorcism (2010)

Filmed documentary style a la Blair Witch Project, a troubled evangelical minister agrees to let his last exorcism be filmed by a documentary crew.

Verdict: Method and subject well-worn, but stellar cast does well to again deal with priest’s faith issues.

The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005)

A lawyer takes on a negligent homicide case involving a priest who performed an exorcism on a young girl.

Verdict: Sympathatic towards the Catholic Church; considered a faithful depiction of good and evil.

The Rite (2011)

Inspired by true events, a sceptical American seminary student travels to Italy to take an exorcism course. Based on Matt Baglio’s book

The Rite: The Making of a Modern Exorcist.

Verdict: Considered an education in the reality of evil, but suffers from inevitable comparisons to its many predecessors.

Queensland ‘Marian Valley’ Sh

Paul Maughan reports on a three-day Lenten retreat at the aptlynamed ‘Marian Valley’ Monastery and Shrine. Maybe Marian Valley could be on your spiritual itinerary next year?

It’s Lent, and I’ve decided to give the old halo a bit of a polish up for the occasion.

“Long overdue,” says the wife. In fact, she reckons if my halo slips any further there’s a fair danger it will choke me. Wives can really stick the knife in can’t they!

My daughter is even more direct: “Its too late Dad ... you’re beyond redemption”, says she with a wicked grin.

Well, sounds like a spiritual scrub down is called for, so I’ve decided to pack myself off to the Pauline Fathers’ monastery at Canungra for a few days retreat. Oh yeah, seeing she is giving so much cheek, I’m dragging the wife along too.

Just a little over an hour south of Brisbane, and even closer to the Gold Coast, the monastery sits in prime sub-tropical bushland nestled in the foothills of S-E Queensland’s blockbuster tourism destination ... the world-acclaimed Lamington National Park. It would be hard to imagine a more appealing location from which to escape the rat-race and wallow in peaceful serenity.

Characterised by rugged mountain scenery, majestic widescreen panoramas, and sub-tropical forest, the Park proper is only a couple of kilometres from the monastery and readily accessible from Marian Valley.

About 8km from the village of Canungra, climbing up the steep hillside to the Park (and the internationally recognised tourism hub of Binna Burra), a somewhat dilapidated sign announces the Marian Valley Monastery.

As we stop to enter we’re somewhat overcome with trepidation. Oh dear, this all looks a bit desperate and run-down. However, after a 200metre descent into the property, we are gob-smacked as we tumble out of rough bushland into a pristine environment of manicured lawns, gardens, mature shady trees, and handsome modern buildings.

We are immediately greeted by a magnificent statue of Our Lady Help of Christians (the patroness of the site) atop a towering column. Simultaneously, a delightful floralshrouded shrine, dedicated to our newest saint, Mary MacKillop, welcomes us.

To our distant left is the opensided main church of the Black Madonna, while to our immediate right is the monastery itself: a fashionable, low-set ranch style dwelling in perfect harmony with its surroundings.

Wow! This is really impressive and quite unanticipated.

In front of us, a little way off, is our accommodation for the next few days, the Retreat Centre: a collection of simple but sturdy huts clustered in a bushland setting adjacent to a starkly modern adoration chapel.

After making ourselves known and shown our quarters we unpack,

and then set off to explore the property. Our first impression is that the place is immense; and it is – a whopping 200 acres.

For an hour or so we trawl through a myriad of attractive shrines and chapels discretely scattered around the manicured grounds. Most are dedicated to Our Lady, and nearly all are sponsored by various ethnic communities from within Queensland. Some are simple, some are spectacular; all are inspiring. A well maintained gravel roadway borders the grounds, along which are set fourteen life-size sculptures

that form the super impressive Way of the Cross. In what is a visually stunning, attention-arresting experience, it is difficult to walk this pathway and not be spiritually moved by these evocative stark white figures.

Combined with the seductive bird-call tumbling from the towering gums on the surrounding towering hills, the whole Shrine ‘package’ fills me with wonder. This place has power; it’s imbued with spiritual energy.

Only fifteen years old, funded by donations, and with all the work involved in maintaining and improving the property provided by volun-

teers, I realize that Marian Valley is more than a spiritual site ... indeed, it’s part of the fabric of the local community here.

Generally daily life at Marian Valley is relaxed and peaceful; a place where you can experience solitude, prayer and spiritual renewal. The pace here is unrushed; it’s a spot to enjoy reading, reflecting and walking through the beautiful grounds of the monastery.

Interestingly, retreatants are left very much to themselves and you can be as involved or detached in daily proceedings as you please. Organised liturgies begin around

Order ‘saddened’ by Father Corapi’s decision to leave priesthood as mystery

BY MARK PATTISON

WASHINGTON - The Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity said it was “saddened” that Father John Corapi, one of the most visible members of its Order, has decided to leave the Order and the priesthood.

Father Corapi, 64, declared on 17 June in a YouTube video and a blog posting on one of his websites, that he was leaving because he could not get a “fair hearing” on misconduct allegations that were lodged against

him in March and which included what the priest said were sexual abuse charges.

The Order, commonly referred to as SOLT, was in the midst of investigating the allegations when Father Corapi made his announcement. “Although the investigation was in progress, the SOLT had not arrived at any conclusion as to the credibility of the allegations under investigation,” said the statement, issued on 20 June by Father Gerry Sheehan, the Order’s regional priest-servant and Father Corapi’s superior. Father Sheehan said the order’s last communication with Father Corapi took the form of a 3 June letter from him “indicating that,

because of the physical, emotional and spiritual distress he has endured over the past few years, he could no longer continue to function as a priest or a member of the SOLT.”

When Father Corapi made his public announcement he was definitely leaving the priesthood, “we heard it just like everyone else did, from YouTube,” Father Sheehan told Catholic News Service on 20 June before the Order released his statement. “We’re as surprised as everyone else is.”

The allegations first surfaced on 16 March, according to Father Sheehan’s statement, when the Order and Bishop William Mulvey of Corpus Christi, Texas, the diocese

where the society is based, received a letter from a woman alleging “conduct not in concert with the priestly state or his promises as a member of a society of apostolic life.” Father Corapi was suspended until an investigation into the charges could be completed.

Father Corapi had been highly visible for several years as a speaker and preacher, including a programme on the Eternal Word Television Network. EWTN had taken his show off its schedule shortly after his suspension, saying it would not knowingly put on the air a priest whose faculties had been suspended.

The National Catholic Register, which is published by EWTN,

The Divine Mercy Eucharistic Adoration Chapel, top, is one of the many features of the Marian Valley retreat centre in Queensland. The beautiful shrine to Our Lady of F of Christians reaffirms the specdial role opf Mary in God’s plan for salvation; it offers a place of quiet for prayer and reflection. The outdoor life-size Stations of the Cross

The approach to the Black Madonna Chapel, above, underscores the Marian character of both the Order of St Paul First Hermit, who have established Marian Valley an Adoration Chapel, third photo, while a statue of Mary watches over the monastery where the Fathers live.

Father John Corapi blesses a woman

hrine - a spiritual extravaganza

8.45am with Rosary in the main church, followed by Mass.

The Adoration Chapel is then opened at 10am and the Blessed Sacrament is exposed till 3pm. Retreatants are quietly encouraged to spend time here. This is no ordeal though, as the peace and serenity of the chapel’s silence is numbing. I found myself drawn back here time and again.

Reconciliation is available (more or less) at demand, while the five Pauline Monks (two priests and three brothers) who live here are approachable should you need their services, counselling or spiritual

direction. On the other hand “Br Angus”, the Pauline dog, is available for a bit of TLC anytime.

Wearing hooded, cream-coloured robes, the Monks are a semi-contemplative Order devoted to a life of prayer and service to Jesus through Mary. There is a sense of the traditional Church here that I very much like.

At times however Marian Valley can be a busy place as pilgrims, sometimes in their hundreds, descend on this spiritual powerhouse of devotion, and where people of all faiths are welcome. Literally thousands visit the Shrine in the course of a

year, while occasionally even just the idle curious drop in for a bit of a sticky-beak. While here it would be a sin not to slip up the hill to Binna Burra, a place that Lonely Planet commends as - ‘a magical spot with the most stunning views you’ll possibly ever see’. I agree, and would add that not only will it give you a renewed appreciation of nature; it will also enhance your Marian Valley spiritual experience.

For me, our few days at Marian Valley allowed me a time of real connection with God, well away from life’s usual distractions. I left spirit-

ually refreshed and renewed. As we departed, I reckon that old halo of mine was sparkling like the morning dew. My wife however remains unconvinced ... and I suspect that the monks thought I was a bit of a handful too. Oh well, there is always next time – and as far as I’m concerned there certainly will be.

Marian Valley is an atmospheric destination; there is a spiritual heartbeat here that is felt by all who visit. It’s also a place of extraordinary beauty and considerable charm. Come and try it yourself, I think you’ll be impressed (and don’t forget to pack your halo). ■

FACT FILE

Marian Valley is around 90km south of Brisbane and is under the care of the Monks of the Order of St Paul the First Hermit (the Pauline Fathers).

It is open to all Faiths and day visitors are welcome. Picnic facilities are available. Weekend Liturgies differ from the weekday timetable.

The Retreat Centre caters for individuals or groups up to a limit of 20 people. The cabins comprise two twinbedded rooms each with an ensuite and private veranda. They are equipped with a refrigerator, microwave, toaster, electric jug, crockery and cutlery. It’s a BYO food and drink destination. The tariff is a modest $25 p.p.p.d. Linen and towels are available for an extra $5 p.p.

For more information try www.marianvalley.org or phone (07) 5533 3378 or (07) 5533 3617.

contiues to grow over TV priest’s sudden decision to quit all public activities

reported on 19 June that a complicating factor in the investigation was a breach-of-contract lawsuit filed by Father Corapi against his presumed accuser, forbidding her to reveal details of her tenure at Santa Cruz Ministries, the company owned by the priest that sells his CDs, DVDs and books.

“The SOLT is deeply saddened that Father Corapi is suffering distress. The SOLT is further saddened by Father Corapi’s response to these allegations. The SOLT will do all within its power to assist Father Corapi if he desires to seek a dispensation from his rights and obligations as a priest and as a professed member of the SOLT,” Father

Sheehan’s statement said. “We request your prayers and the intercession of the Blessed Mother for the healing of Father Corapi and for any who have been negatively affected by Father Corapi’s decision to end his ministry as a priest and a member of the SOLT.”

In his blog posting, Father Corapi said, “For 20 years I did my best to guard and feed the sheep. Now, based on a totally unsubstantiated, undocumented allegation from a demonstrably troubled person I was thrown out like yesterday’s garbage. I accept that. Perhaps I deserve that.”

Father Corapi had complained from the outset, and he reiterated on 17 June, that the process used

to investigate the allegations means “you are for all practical purposes assumed guilty until you can prove you are innocent.” He said he would continue his radio work, but his website indicated his last radiocasts were only online, and the most recent of those were in mid-April, before Easter.

“Father Corapi had not been determined guilty of any canonical or civil crimes. If the allegations had been found to be credible, the proper canonical due process would have been offered to Father Corapi, including his right to defense, to know his accuser and the complaint lodged, and a fair canonical trial with the right of recourse to the Holy

See,” Father Sheehan said. It was not immediately clear whether the investigation would continue.

“They can’t prove I’m guilty of the things alleged because I’m not, and they can’t prove I’m innocent because that is simply illogical and impossible,” Father Corapi said in his statement.

“I accept moving on, but I am not ready to be altogether extinguished just yet.”

Father Corapi’s Facebook page, which has nearly 53,000 followers, was filled with posts reacting to his announcement, with many people supporting him and denouncing the allegations and the Church, although some lamented his decision to leave

the priesthood and others suggested caution in interpreting the events that led to his decision to leave the priesthood.

Santa Cruz Ministries was still offering a 50 per cent discount on his CDs, DVDs and books in recognition of the 20th anniversary of his ordination.

One of Father Corapi’s lawyers said in March the business - which was not under church controlwould continue, with proceeds helping pay lawyers’ fees.

The business has its headquarters in Kalispell, Montana, where Father Corapi has a residence, although he did not have priestly faculties in the Diocese of Helena, Montana.

Fatima, top at centre, is a place of refuge, silence and contemplation for the person seeking answers to life’s questions and God’s will for them. The Chapel of Mary Help s, at right of page, are a remarkable feature of Marian Valley. Jesus is nailed to the Cross, at top, and greets his mother.

PHOTOS: PAUL MAUGHAN

nd the centre itself. So does the Shrine to Our Lady Help of Christians where a visitor kneels in prayer. Another visitor sits immersed in contemplation in the Eucharistic

Golden Jubilee of unity for St Anthony’s

BY BRIDGET SPINKS

ARCHBISHOP Barry Hickey celebrated 10am Mass for the 50th Anniversary of the Salvatorian parish of St Anthony’s in Greenmount on 26 June.

Several Salvatorian priests concelebrated Mass including Superior of the Australian province, Fr Karol Kulczycki; St Anthony’s parish priest, Fr Adam Babinski; Salvatorian Provincial of England, Fr Alex McAllister and Fr Bronislaw Jakubiec from the Salvatorian Generalate in Rome.

Several more Salvatorian priests from Poland, the Philippines, Taiwan, Canada and the Australian region concelebrated Mass.

Archbishop Hickey consecrated the new parish altar, blessed the new lectern and the new baptismal font during the Mass.

He said he could remember clearly the parish opening 50 years ago; he had been ordained a priest two years earlier and the Salvatorians had built the church ‘down the road’ in Belleview.

The 50th anniversary was a time of joy, he said, because it meant the celebration of the sacraments have continued all that time.

The reason for the parish is to provide that unity and continuity, he said, and that in 50 years time, while people pass through, the Church would remain constant.

On the feast of Corpus Christi, the Archbishop preached on the centrality and importance of the Eucharist to our faith.

“We ought to reflect long and hard on the mystery of this feast,” he said.

“We become sharers in Christ by sharing His Body and Blood.”

The Archbishop also acknowledged and thanked the Salvatorians for their long presence in the parish and encouraged people to pray for more vocations to the priesthood and Religious life.

The Society of Our Divine Saviour came to Australia because Perth Archbishop Redmond Prendiville wrote to Fr Bonaventure Schwiezer in Rome to invite him

to establish the Order in Perth and offering pastoral charge of a new parish on the outskirts of Perth.

Fr Bonaventure sent Fr Paul Keyte SDS of the British Province who arrived as the first Salvatorian in Perth in 1961.

He was asked to take pastoral care of the new parish of Belleview, in the foothills of Perth. But there was no church, no presbytery nor any office facilities.

The parish school, built in 1957, was the centre of parish activities and was still in the parish of Midland under the Franciscans.

Fr Paul raised funds with the help of parishioners - who came from Midvale, Belleview, Koongamia, Boya, Helena Valley, Swan View, Greenmount and Darlington - to build a church, which was blessed and opened by Auxiliary Bishop Myles McKeon on 8 December 1966.

Fr Laurence Murphy SDS joined the parish on 11 October 1966 to serve as assistant parish priest. After nine years he became the parish priest of St Anthony’s in November 1975 and served the parish for another nine years.

Long time St Anthony’s parishioner, Geraldine Rees, 70, has watched the parish grow around her.

When the Roe Highway was proposed and expected to cut the parish boundaries in half, Geraldine said, Fr Laurence Murphy had the “huge job of moving the church up to Greenmount”.

St Anthony’s Greenmount was built on Blackboy Hill, which had been used as a training ground for soldiers that went to the First and Second World Wars.

Fr Laurence blessed the site before building started in 1981 and built the church and presbytery.

The new church was blessed and opened by Perth Archbishop Sir Launcelot Goody on 5 February 1983.

During his 18 years in the parish of Belleview/Greenmount, Fr Laurence was on the school board at La Salle College for nearly 10 years; had a youth group going for

15 years and started the parish netball and basketball teams.

The first Polish Salvatorians started to arrive in the parish of Greenmount in 1979. They worked in tandem with the British Province until the Polish Province formally took responsibility for the Greenmount parish and the Australian region in 1987.

Fr Adam Babinski SDS has been the parish priest of St Anthony’s Greenmount for the last two years and part of the Salvatorian community since his profession of First Vows 18 years ago.

He said the Salvatorian community is like “one family”.

“So for us it is natural to have people from every corner of the world here,” he said.

The parish was like family too, he said.

“You see this in the parish as well, we have everyone from everywhere and different ways of life as well.”

Greenmount parish marks 50 years

Hundreds of parishioners attended the anniversary Mass, including a cohort of La Salle students who helped serve morning tea afterwards. Parishioners who have watched their family grow up in the parish also attended, including Geraldine who can remember attending Mass in the 40s and 50s in a shop in Helen St, Belleview. This was before the parish

school was built in 1957 and became the new site for Mass.

In 1973 Geraldine was married to Stephen Rees in St Anthony’s Belleview. Their first two children Alex and Ellen were baptised in Belleview in 1977 and 1979. Their third daughter Caroline was baptised in Greenmount in 1983 and their children also received the sacraments in the parish.

Now the parish archivist, Geraldine prepared a feature wall of the parish’s history for the occasion. It dated back to the parish’s foundation and included photos of past Jubilees and celebrations as well as newspaper clippings about members of the parish and netball team photos.

Archbishop Barry Hickey prays the prayer of consecration on the new altar after annointing it with chrism at St Anthony’s parish church in Greenmount on 26 June.

PHOTOS: BRIDGET SPINKS

Clockwise from left: Hundreds attend St Anthony’s parish in Greenmount Golden Jubilee Mass on 26 June, the feast of Corpus Christi; Salvatorian clergy line the front pew; Archbishop Hickey censes the new Font as part of the ritual of Blessing the Baptismal Font; lifelong parishioners (l-r) Pat Maher, a long time St Vincent de Paul volunteer with parish archivist Geraldine Rees, who both used to attend Mass “in the shop” before the Belleview and later Greenmount parish was formally established; Wooroloo resident, Stan, 89, comes to Mass at St Anthony’s Greenmount every Sunday.

NY decision ‘undermines marriage’

Same-sex marriage approval undermines families: New York Bishops

ALBANY, New York (CNS)Following passage of legislation to allow same-sex marriage in the state, the Catholic Bishops of New York expressed concern “that both marriage and family will be undermined by this tragic presumption of government.”

In a 24 June statement, the heads of the state’s eight Catholic dioceses said they were “deeply disappointed and troubled” at approval of a bill that will “alter radically and forever humanity’s historic understanding of marriage.”

The state Senate passed the measure 33-29 in an evening vote on 24 June, and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat and a Catholic, signed it into law later that night. Unless it is delayed by legal challenges, it will take effect in late July.

New York would then become the sixth state to permit same-sex marriage. It currently is allowed in Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont, in addition to the District of Columbia.

The Bishops said the true definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman “cannot change, though we realise that our beliefs about the nature of marriage will continue to be ridiculed, and that some will even now attempt to enact government sanctions against Churches and religious organisations that preach these timeless truths.” The statement was signed by Archbishop Timothy M Dolan

of New York and Bishops Howard J Hubbard of Albany, Nicholas DiMarzio of Brooklyn, Edward U Kmiec of Buffalo, Terry R LaValley of Ogdensburg, Matthew H Clark of Rochester, William F Murphy of Rockville Centre and Robert J Cunningham of Syracuse.

But in a separate statement, Bishop DiMarzio said both Republicans and Democrats had “succumbed to powerful political elites” with their votes, and Cuomo had “opened a new front in the culture wars that are tearing at the fabric of our nation.”

He directed Catholic schools in his diocese “to refuse any distinction or honours” bestowed by Cuomo or by any legislator that voted for same-sex marriage and

told pastors and principals “not to invite any state legislator to speak or be present at any parish or school celebration.”

Bishop DiMarzio said the request was intended “as a protest of the corrupt political process in New York state.”

“More than half of all New Yorkers oppose this legislation,” he said. “Yet the governor and the state Legislature have demonised people of faith, whether they be Muslims, Jews or Christians, and identified them as bigots and prejudiced” if they opposed changing the fundamental definition of marriage, he added. A last-minute amendment to the legislation exempts any clergy members who decline to perform

Psalms show Catholics how to speak with God: Benedict

VATICAN CITY (CNS) - Pope Benedict XVI said that the Book of Psalms from the Old Testament is a timeless and powerful “prayer book” that teaches Christians how to communicate with God.

The 150 “inspired songs” were originally gathered by the Jewish people, but were prophetic of the coming of Jesus Christ, the Pope said on 21 June at the weekly general audience in St Peter’s Square.

Indeed, he said, the prayers from the Book of Psalms were used by Jesus himself, “thus revealing their full and profound meaning.”

The Pope recently has discussed the importance of prayer in his weekly catechism talks, concentrating on Old Testament figures and the relevance of their stories to contemporary Christians.

Pope Benedict said the prayers, or songs, manifested all the shades of human nature, emotions and faith, making them particularly relevant today for their ability to “teach us how to pray.”

Everyone can relate to the complex and often contradictory expressions of the human condition found in the Psalms, Pope Benedict said, citing “joy and suffering, desire for God and feelings of unworthiness, happiness and sense of abandonment, faith in God and painful solitude, fullness of life and fear of death.” The Pope said that the prayers in the Book of Psalms showed the insepa-

rable intertwining of supplication, laments and praise. Believers pray to God lamenting a condition but asking for intercession, knowing they will be heard by a good and merciful God, the Pope said.

Prayers of praise are offered when supplications have been answered or confessions received with forgiveness, he said.

Many of the Psalms are attributed to David, the king of Israel who, the Pope said, “was a complex figure, an indefatigable seeker of God” and was someone who foreshadowed the coming and mystery of Christ.

King David, he said, “knew the value of supplication and of praise”

Eucharist is ‘antidote’ to individualism

BY JOHN T HAVIS Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY - Pope

Benedict XVI said the Eucharist is the heart of Church life and an “antidote” to the increasingly individualistic global culture.

Addressing pilgrims on 26 June, the feast of Corpus Christi, which commemorates the institution of the Eucharist, the Pope said the Eucharist was like the “pulsing heart” that gives life and meaning to everything the Church does.

As the sacrament of Communion, it is able to transform people’s lives, leading them to God, he said. “In a culture that is more and more individualistic - a culture in which we are immersed in Western society, and that tends to spread itself throughout the world - the Eucharist constitutes

same-sex weddings and protects any employee “being managed, directed or supervised by or in conjunction with a religious corporation, benevolent order or a not-forprofit corporation.”

It also says failure to provide same-sex ceremonies would not “result in any state or local government action to penalise, withhold benefits, or discriminate against such religious corporation, benevo-

a type of ‘antidote,’” the Pope said.

“It works in the minds and hearts of believers and continually disseminates in them the logic of communion, of service, of sharing - in short, the logic of the Gospel,” he said.

The Pope said this spirit, nourished by the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, was evident in the lives of the early Christians, who lived fraternally and shared their worldly goods in common, so that no one was impoverished.

“And even in later generations through the centuries, the Church, despite human limits and errors, continued to be a force of communion in the world. We think especially of the most difficult periods of trial: what it meant, for example, in countries ruled by totalitarian regimes, to be able to gather at Sunday Mass,” he said.

Against the emptiness produced by a false sense of freedom, the Pope said, the Eucharist is like a medicine that helps people regain an attachment to the truth and the common good.

lent order, a not-for-profit corporation operated, supervised or controlled by a religious corporation.”

Bishop DiMarzio said the amendment showed that “our political leaders do not believe their own rhetoric.”

“If they did, how in good conscience could they carve out any exemption for institutions that would be proponents of bigotry and prejudice?” he asked.

Vatican, biotech firm promote adult stem cell therapy

BY CAROL GLATZ Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY - The Vatican will host an international congress to promote the use of adult stem cells as a safe, effective and ethical means to fight degenerative diseases.

The 9-11 November congress will also feature speakers who support embryonic stem-cell research, to give proponents an opportunity to “explain the reasoning behind their position,” said Fr Tomasz Trafny, an official with the Pontifical Council for Culture. The Church is opposed to the use of embryonic stem cells since it involves the destruction of the human embryo.

in expressing his prayers. Vatican Radio said that Pope Benedict would elaborate on some of the better-known Psalms during future weekly audiences.

At the end of the audience, the Pope looked pleased when a young boy in a white cap gave him three goldfish in a bowl.

The boy was a member of a Don Orione youth group that gave 60 goldfish to Pope Benedict to mark the 60th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood.

The goldfish will find a home in the fountains of the Vatican gardens, according to the website of the group, Piccoli Orioni.

The congress, organised by the Vatican’s councils for Culture and Health Care Ministry as well as the Pontifical Academy for Life, is being held in conjunction with the international biopharmaceutical company, NeoStem and will be the Culture Council and the biotech firm’s first major collaborative project since they forged an agreement in 2010 to work together to educate people about the benefits of adult stem-cell research. The collaboration is between NeoStem’s Stem for Life Foundation and the culture council’s foundation - called STOQ International, for Science, Theology and the Ontological Quest. The interdisciplinary congress, Adult Stem Cells: Science and the Future of Man and Culture, will feature expert speakers from the fields of medicine, health and ethics.

Fr Trafny said that proponents of embryonic stem-cell research will have an “opportunity to defend their position” and give their reasons for pursuing a field that is not only unethical, but has not yet produced any concrete benefits. He said some governments may be investing money in embryonic rather than adult stem-cell research because most government officials making these decisions are not medical experts and are influenced by others to choose which path to take.

That is why it is important to increase people’s understanding about the concrete beneficial results coming out of adult stem-cell therapies, he added. That is also why the target audience for the congress will be people “who do not have a real scientific background” such as policymakers, lawyers, government representatives, Bishops and journalists.

People march in the Gay Pride Parade in New York on 26 June. Following passage of legislation to allow same-sex marriage in New York, the Catholic Bishops of the state expressed concern “that both marriage and family will be undermined by this tragic presumption of government.” PHOTO: CN S/MARY KNIGHT

A painting of King David - by Pedro Berruguete (15th century) - who wrote the Psalms as his prayer to God in times of struggle and joy, are integral to the lives of Catholics and teach them how to speak to God, Pope Benedict XVI said.

St Petersburg allows first Corpus Christi procession in 93 years

THE mayor of St Petersburg, Russia, granted permission for the first Corpus Christi procession to take place in the city since 1918.

The announcement was confirmed by the Archdiocese of the Mother of God in Moscow, reported Vatican Radio.

The procession took place on 26 June through the Prospettiva Nevsky Avenue, the city’s main street.

The avenue has traditionally been called the “way of confessional tolerance,” as it is lined with Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran and Armenian churches. According to archdiocesan officials, the last time a Corpus Christ procession took place on the avenue was in 1918.

Now, 93 years later, Catholics returned to the Prospettiva Nevsky Avenue led by Archbishop Paolo Pezzi of Moscow.

Colomban criminals seek Church help to turn themselves in

ABOUT 5,000 individuals involved in organised crime in Colombia have expressed a willingness to turn themselves in to police. They have asked for the assistance of the Church to do so.

“There are some 5,000 individuals, and this requires some logistics.

The government needs to assure them that certain rights are going to be respected: where this will take place, who will take custody of them, where they will be going once they surrender,” Bishop Julio Cesar Vidal of Monteria, Colombia said. He noted that the persons in question are not interested in negotiations but rather that the Church finds a way for them to discuss surrendering. According to EFE news agency, among the large group wanting to surrender to authorities are two of Colombia’s most wanted men who have been key leaders of the drug cartel, Javier Antonio Calle and Maximiliano Bonilla.

“Many of these individuals have told me they know that people won’t believe there are so many, but that their surrender would be great news and a surprise for the world, although they acknowledge that ‘this is not easy.’ They say, ‘We are at war but we are working toward our goal of surrendering’,” Bishop Vidal said.

Conscientious objection violations brought to Europe Council

THE Council of Europe has received a report denouncing the attacks on the right to conscientious objection of health care professionals who do not wish to perform abortions.

“The report lays out in detail the causes of the violation of this fundamental right, and it gives precise examples by name of health care professionals who have been forced to participate in abortions. It also provides information on ‘genetic screening’ used for eugenic purposes,” the Association for the Defense of the Right to Conscientious Objection announced.

The report, presented on 22 June, was drafted in conjunction with the European Centre for Law and Justice and focuses on the discrimination suffered by health care professionals who seek to exercise this fundamental right which is recognised under European and international law but has been violated “in an organised way” since Spain’s new law on abortion went into effect on 5 July 2010.

It also criticised the requirement of health care workers who refuse to perform abortions to register as conscientious objectors with the government.

“This results in the creation of a registry of names of conscientious objectors and is a tool for pressuring health care personnel,” it said.

JPII relic in Krakow church

A RELIQUARY of Blessed Pope John Paul II’s blood has been placed in the altar of a new church in Krakow named for him.

Leading churchmen placed the relic in the new sanctuary of Bl. John Paul II in Krakow, the city where he rose from being a parish priest to Archbishop. Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz of Krakow said in a Mass that the blood recalls the sacrifice John Paul II made in serving Christ when he was shot by a Turkish gunman in 1981.

He also invoked Pope John Paul II’s slogan “Be not afraid!”

Leading churchmen in attendance at the ceremony included apostolic nuncio Archbishop Celestino Migliore, Archbishop Kazimierz Nycz of Warsaw, Cardinal Franciszek Marcharski and Cardinal Stanslaw Nagy, according to the John Paul II Institute.

Other attendees included Polish officials from all levels of government. University leaders, students, youth leaders and teachers representing schools named for the late Pope also attended.

Archbishop Migliore said that the relics of saints are particularly important for Christians because they testify that not only the spirit but the body and all worldly life has its share in the holiness of God.

Prayer, family at heart of the Church

BY JOHN NEWTON ACN

FAMILIES sharing meals, praying together and going on regular retreats provide a recipe for a strong faith-filled Church, according to a Bishop from Ukraine.

Speaking to Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need, Bishop Stanislav Shyrokoradiuk, Auxiliary Bishop of Kyiv-Zhytomyr diocese, revealed how work with young families was paying dividends.

“We see that our Church is very young – when you look into the church it is full of young people and young families – it’s a sign for our Church,” he said.

The Bishop went on to describe how families are signing up for an ongoing programme of formation.

Bishop Shyrokoradiuk said: “Once a month, six families meet with their priest to pray and discuss – like a house group for those families – and every family has their own programme of activities.”

He explained that families were also expected to participate in certain activities together between their meetings with the priest.

He said: “One condition that every family has to agree on is family meals with their children every night, because it gives the opportunity to look each other in the eyes and have a proper discussion.

“In the meal they find time for each other.”

As part of each family’s programme of activities they also commit to reading the Gospel for a minimum of five minutes each day – and once a week they have a family dialogue where parents and children can talk with each other about any issues they want to address.

Annual retreats are key in the ongoing formation of families. Bishop Shyrokoradiuk said: “We see how much hope they bring, we have seen great results from these.”

“Every year we have at least two weeks set aside for these family retreats – and the families come with their children. So we have a programme for parents, and nuns come from different congregations to run the programme for the children – but they are always with their parents,” he said. These retreats allow spouses to find time to be together that can sometimes be squeezed out with the hectic pace of modern life, he said. “Families are busy and have little time for each other, but they can find that time on the retreat,” he said.

Stressing the importance of supporting family life, he described how a man wrote to thank the Bishop after one retreat saying: “It’s the first time I’ve had so much time

Big Brother is watching me: Ukrainian Rector

BY JONATHAN LUXMOORE Catholic News Service

OXFORD, England - The US-born rector of Ukraine’s Catholic university said his country is “living in dark times” and accused state security services of placing him under surveillance.

“Our telephones are tapped - the stationary ones probably, the mobile ones certainly. Lists of my telephone conversations have been shown to colleagues, and an assistant was followed through the city,” said Fr Borys Gudziak, rector of the Lviv-based Ukrainian Catholic University. “I have seen fundamental change some in hopeless situations - from Communism to an independent Ukraine, from growing authoritarianism to the Orange Revolution.

Although I believe we’re living in dark times, I’m convinced the spirit and human dignity will prevail,” he told Austria’s Die Presse daily on 16 June. He said the university students and faculty were “not a nest of radical revolutionaries. But we do try to be free.”

The priest told the daily that other university staffers had received calls from the state security services asking about his activities.

“These are the occurrences I know about - I’m also certain some UCU colleagues are under

with my spouse, my children, my family”.

He described how these programmes were also fostering vocations in Ukraine, as the family was the primary source of vocations.

“It’s a very good method of formation, and these families then bring forth vocations,” he said.

“We have to keep working on formation – and where this work does not take place you will not see vocations either.”

Noting the growth of vocations in his diocese, he told ACN there are more than 50 women’s congregations and all of them have new vocations. “It is very important

pressure to collaborate with the security services out of fear,” said Fr Gudziak, whose university has around 1,400 full and part-time students.

In a May 2010 memorandum, Fr Gudziak said he had identified “planned actions to circumscribe civic freedom, democracy and the basic dignity of human beings” in Ukraine, adding that he had “reliable testimony and audible evidence” of efforts to intimidate staff and students at the Catholic university, using “methods well-known in Soviet times.”

However, the claim was rejected by the security services director, Valeriy Khoroshkovsky, and criticised by Bishop Marian Buczek, secretary-general of Ukraine’s Catholic Bishops’ conference, who said two months later that there was no evidence of an anti-Catholic campaign.

In his Die Presse interview, Fr Gudziak said current government reforms were undermining university autonomy in Ukraine, adding that he believed other rectors had received “visits” from the security services and were afraid to speak out.

“In view of these developments, one has to ask whether the Orange Revolution hasn’t been ineffective,” the priest said, in a reference to December 2004 mass protests that helped bring a pro-Western president, Viktor Yushchenko, to power.

as their prayers are helping us. In the world today we especially need their spiritual help,” he said. “The spiritual life is important.”

Aid to the Church in Need is providing subsistence help for 20 Benedictine Sisters and 12 Carmelites in the diocese, as well as a number of vital projects building and repairing churches and convents. He also paid tribute to the charity’s supporters, saying that they always remember them in their prayers.

ACN (Aid to the Church in Need) is a Catholic charity that supports the faithful wherever they are persecuted, oppressed or in pastoral need.

Fr Borys Gudziak, Rector of Ukraine’s Catholic university, pictured at St John the Baptist Ukrainian-Greek Catholic Church in Maylands.

PHOTO: BRIDGET SPINKS

Bishop Stanislav Shyrokoradiuk

Seminarians part of solution for future

Seminarians want to be ‘part of the solution’ in addressing abuse issue

BY PATRICIA ZAPOR Catholic News Service

WASHINGTON - Most of them weren’t born yet when the events occurred that came to define the US crisis of sexual abuse by priests. But for men who entered the seminary in the past decade, a point of commonality seems to be that they want to prove that priests are good people.

A decade after the US Catholic Church scandal about clergy sex abuse exploded in the news, several seminaries contacted by Catholic News Service reported the same motivation among the men who have entered the schools in the past decade: “They all said they want to be part of the solution,” as Father Thomas Baima, vice president and provost at Mundelein Seminary in Illinois put it.

Seminaries have adapted their admissions process and their curriculum somewhat to reflect an increased emphasis on understanding the role and demands of celibacy and on what is called “human development” in academia. But the common theme voiced by seminary administrators asked about what has changed was that applicants say they want to counteract the negative image of the priesthood that the abuse scandal created.

“More often than not they say they come because they want to prove that there are good priests,” said R Scott Woodward, dean at the Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio. “They want people to know that religious life, the priesthood, are still valuable. They feel that’s a part of their mission.”

Fr Peter Drilling, Rector of Christ the King Seminary in East Aurora, New York, said he also has noticed a marked change in attitudes in the 25 years he has been associated with the seminary. More recent applicants are much more aware of and willing to discuss the problems behind the abuse scandal.

“Just yesterday,” he said, one of the five men interviewed as part of the admission process said “one reason he wanted to pursue the priesthood is that he has had good experiences with priests and he wants to show that priests are good and that priests are part of the solution.”

All three administrators said their seminaries didn’t add material to the curriculum related to celibacy and appropriate behavior so much as they began emphasising it more, and in more parts of the course of studies.

In a “causes and context” report on sexual abuse released by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops in May, the section on seminaries described a slow evolution in the emphasis on chaste celibacy in the curriculum at seminaries.

The report: The Causes and Context of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Catholic Priests in the United States, 1950-2010, was conducted by a team of researchers at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice of the City University of New York and commissioned by the National Review Board, a lay consultative body created in 2002 under the Bishops’ Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People

It said that in the five editions of the Programme of Priestly Formation published between 1971 and 2005, the section devoted to formation for chaste celibacy grew from “four relatively brief paragraphs on celibacy,” in the first edition to a few more paragraphs in 1976 and up to 11 paragraphs in the third edition. It noted substantial changes in the 1992 fourth edition, but still described the depth in terms of paragraphs, 33 in this case. Though it also described “a clear delineation of behavioural expectations appropriate to a life of celibacy.”

By the fifth edition in 2005, the publication noted, the programme greatly expanded the topic of celibacy and the integration of “human formation” into all other aspects of formation. It was described as discussing “in clear terms sexuality and the expectations for education and behaviour relative to the concerns surrounding children.”

“High standards and vigilance are urged pertaining to sexuality, affective maturity and capacity to live celibate chastity,” the report found. It also commented on expanded norms for admission, with reference to “psychosexual development, capacity to live a celibate life and a minimum of two years of continent living before entry.”

Franciscan Sr Katarina Schuth, a professor of religion at the University of St Thomas in St Paul, Minnesota, and an expert on seminary education who consulted on the John Jay study, told CNS that the early and mid-1990s was when seminaries first started putting more emphasis on healthy devel-

Investigator slams sloppy journalism of abuse report

opment of relationships and on the role of celibacy.

Human development instruction also focuses on the role of self-respect.

“Self-respect translates into respect for others,” she said.

Like the seminary administrators, Sr Katarina said the subjects of celibacy and appropriate behaviour have long been addressed in seminaries but perhaps without the understanding of the psychology of those topics and appropriate education about how they affect one.

“You won’t avoid problems with humanity simply by prayer,” she said. “There’s nothing wrong with pious practices, but pious practices can’t make up for not understanding how to behave.”

By the time an applicant gets to a seminary these days, he’s already been thoroughly vetted by the diocese or religious order which he hopes to join.

All three administrators said recent seminary students have had background checks and more psychological screening than previous generations ever received.

The students are also more open to discuss topics such as sexuality, celibacy and appropriate relationships, they said.

Underwood said that 20 years ago, “you would mention the word ‘celibacy’ and everyone froze. It was like you took all the air out of the room.”

Even 15 years ago, said Underwood, “it was as if they had never heard the word, as if it had not been mentioned as a part of the job description, even though we know it had been.”

Fr Drilling said at Christ the King, which is now the seminary of the Diocese of Buffalo, New York (it was administered by the Franciscans’ Holy Name Province until 1990), all seminarians receive the Virtus training about sex abuse. That includes receiving and responding to monthly updates, just as do all the priests of the Buffalo Diocese.

Fr Baima, who has been at Mundelein for 11 years, said that as the abuse scandal exploded a decade ago, “the worry was that it would destroy vocations. We’ve found the opposite.”

Not only do the men who come emphasise that they want to be a part of the solution, “it’s a theme that cuts across all types of students,” no matter whether they’re young or older.

“They say, ‘We want to serve the Church and we want the Church to be proud of us,’” he said.

NEW YORK (CNS) - Many

news stories about the recently released report on “The Causes and Context of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Catholic Priests in the United States, 1950-2010” tried - and failed - to capture its complex findings in a sound bite, according to the principal investigator for the study.

Karen Terry of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York said researchers who prepared the report have received “malicious and even threatening calls and letters” from some people who criticised the findings based on overly simplistic and sometimes factually inaccurate news reports.

Writing on 23 June in The Crime Report, an online publication of the Centre on Media, Crime and Justice at John Jay and the Criminal Justice Journalists organisation, Terry said some media wrongly said the report attributed the clergy sex abuse crisis to social attitudes attributed to Woodstock or the “swinging ‘60s.”

Instead the report concluded that “the factors associated with the sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church were complex,” she said. “Another fallacy contained in the early media reports included the ‘fact’ that we did not address the problematic actions of the Bishops,” Terry wrote. “Critics suggested that since we relied only on data from the dioceses, the Bishops influenced the study findings.”

But she said the data in the report came from “seven unique sources - a fact overlooked in most media reports.

The data were derived from Bishops and priests, victim assistance coordinators, victim advocates, survivors, clinicians, seminaries, historical and court documents.”

Noting that the study was commissioned by the lay-led National Review Board and not by the Bishops, Terry said “the Bishops did not influence our findings in any way.” She added that she is not Catholic and has never had any personal ties to

the Catholic Church.

The John Jay investigator expressed concern that “the one-dimensional headlines have obscured some of the healthy responses” to the report’s findings.

Among these Terry cited serious discussions among academics about the response to sex abuse, actions by the Vatican and the National Review Board to improve current policies to prevent child sex abuse and a “strong and broadly based commitment to address the gaps in current policies of prevention and oversight that allowed these unhealthy patterns of abuse to continue for so long in the US and elsewhere.”

“These should not be overlooked,” she said.

● Meanwhile, a United Nations-mandated report on compliance with international obligations regarding the protection and rights of children will be ready for submission this autumn, a Vatican diplomat said. Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, the Vatican’s representative to UN agencies in Geneva, told Catholic News Service that the report was nearing completion and would probably be presented in September or October.

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child calls for governments of signatory countries of the Convention on the Rights of the Child to submit a comprehensive review of how convention regulations are being implemented, as well as progress reports every five years. The Vatican is party to the convention and did not send its report when first due in 1997.

The Vatican’s report is awaited with particular interest, especially by some human rights groups, because of report of the sexual abuse of minors by clergy and other church figures.

Amnesty International named the Vatican in its annual report released in May for failing to comply with international obligations regarding the protection of children, including from sexual abuse.

US seminarians sing during Mass at the Pontifical North American College in Rome in this 2010 file photo. A new report on the context and causes of clergy sexual abuse in the US cites among its recommendations that seminarians and priests be educated in the findings of the study and about the harm done to abuse victims. PHOTO: CNS/GREGORY SHEMITZ

Karen Terry, principal investigator for the John Jay College report on the causes and context of clergy sexual abuse, speaks during a press conference at the headquarters of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington on 18 May. PHOTO: CNS/NANCY WIECHEC

US mums more likely to be homeless

A mum with two kids now more likely to be counted among the homeless

BY DENNIS SADOWSKI Catholic News Service

WASHINGTON - Out of work and living in a shelter, Jasmine, a single mother, has one thing on her mind: reuniting her family.

Son Emanuel, 3, is staying with Jasmine - who asked that her last name not be used - at the Ozanam Family Shelter in Edison, New Jersey, run by Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Metuchen. But 5 year old daughter Monet is not; she’s with her grandmother, the mother of Jasmine’s former boyfriend.

“It’s difficult because she wants to see him all the time and he wants to see her,” Jasmine said about her kids.

“It’s difficult to find transportation to get up there or so she can get here.”

Jasmine turned to the shelter in mid-June, after she and her boyfriend decided it was time to go their separate ways.

For Jasmine, Emanuel and Monet, finding even a modest apartment in northern New Jersey is out of the question. Rent for a one-bedroom apartment typically runs $900 a month; a two-bedroom place runs $1,500.

“Two kids and an adult can’t live in a one-bedroom apartment,” Jasmine said. “It’s either live on the streets or come to a shelter.”

Jasmine’s predicament illustrates a growing trend across the country: Families are making up a growing proportion of homeless people.

Shelter providers told CNS they are seeing more families who have been forced to abandon stable living arrangements and thrust into the uncertainty of life on the streets.

Wesley R. Moore, division director for housing and social concerns for Catholic Charities in Metuchen, told CNS that many parents landing in the Ozanam Family Shelter - single or married - are facing unemployment or underemployment, making it difficult for them to make ends meet.

The 2010 Annual Homeless Assessment Report by the Department of Housing and Urban Development found that since

2007, the number of people in families who are homeless has increased by 19.8 per cent.

Based on reports from shelter providers nationwide, HUD estimates that people in families now make up 35.6 per cent of the country’s homeless population on any given night. That compares with 29.8 per cent in 2007.

Homelessness among individuals declined 6.4 per cent during the same period.

Overall, HUD estimated that nearly 1,593,150 people were homeless in 2009-10, with 567,334 being from families. That compares with an estimate of 1,581,595 homeless people in 2006-07, with 473,541 from families.

Neil Donovan, executive director of the National Coalition for the Homeless, said his organisation believes that the federal government’s count may be off by as much as 20 percent because not all shelters report their statistics on homelessness every year and that people who stay out of shelters are not part of any count.

He urged HUD and the US Census Bureau to do a better job of identifying who’s homeless and why they are homeless so that the reasons people are without a home can be better addressed.

HUD’s data are not meant to downplay the size of the traditional homeless population: men.

In fact, 62 per cent of all sheltered homeless people in 2010 were male. The largest group - 37 per cent - were men 31 to 50 years old.

HUD found, however, that a growing number of single men were homeless because of a lost job than because of alcohol or drug abuse.

The typical homeless family, HUD reported, is a mother with two children.

The report also cited a growing number of two-parent families experiencing homelessness as victims of layoffs and real estate foreclosures.

Jean Beil, senior vice president of programmes and services at Catholic Charities USA, sees the movement of people from homeownership into the rental market as a primary reason for the increase in homelessness among families.

With more people seeking to rent, prices move upward, forcing some at the low end of the market into the street, she explained.

In markets where housing costs are high, shelters are feeling particularly pressed.

Characteristics of Homelessness

Gillian Parke, director of the Sacred Heart Shelter of Catholic Community Services of Western Washington in Seattle, has seen more two-parent families seeking help.

“Definitely we’ve seen an increase in the desperation of people calling,” Parke said.

Karen Wallensak, executive director of the Catholic Charities Housing Resource Centre in the Archdiocese of St Louis, said her agency has seen homelessness on the rise in suburban and rural areas, especially among two-parent families.

“This is due primarily because of the economic crisis and the foreclosure crisis,” she said.

The new wave of homelessness has prompted shelter providers to develop new programmes to move families into more stable environments.

Transitional housing programmes that help families return to independence are developing rapidly, but the need still exceeds the number of slots available across the country.

At shelters, case managers increasingly are focusing on helping residents improve skills in resume writing, interviewing techniques and networking.

“Ultimately, we want the clients to be self-reliant,” explained Lindsay Cuomo, case manager at the Ozanam Family Shelter.

“We try to point them in the right direction. We want them to secure these things on their own.”

For Jasmine, the search for a home begins with a job. During the past four years, she said she has been employed for only three months, and then as a personal shopper taking home $60 to $70 a week. She knows that’s not going to go far in paying the rent.

Most of the jobs Jasmine has found, however, pay the minimum wage. In New Jersey, that’s $7.25 an hour.

“It’s very difficult to find work because everybody wants you to have experience and if you don’t have experience, they won’t hire you. And everybody wants you to find a job. It’s been very difficult to find a job. I’ve been looking for four years,” she said.

“Everybody in the same area basically sees the same jobs. So everybody who’s not working is looking at the same jobs. With the way the economy is now ... I’m like one out of 50 or one out of 100.”

37% are men

BETWEEN 2007 and 2010

78% are adults 62% are men

31-50 years old

The typical homeless family: single African-American mother with two children

the number of people using homeless shelters in cities has decreased 17 percent but increased 57 percent in suburban and rural areas

of emergency shelter stays lasted 60% 42% 58%

37% have a disability LESS THAN 30 DAYS with one-third lasting LESS THAN ONE WEEK

white men minority groups

Source: Department of Housing and Urban Development ©2011 CNS

THE NUMBER OF HOMELESS PEOPLE in families has increased by 20 percent since 2007. Families now make up a larger proportion of the U.S. homeless population. INDIVIDUALS

MEMBERS OF FAMILIES

2006-20072007-20082008-20092009-2010

Source: Department of Housing and Urban Development ©2011 CNS

Brazil’s ‘Mother Teresa’ beatified

SALVADOR, Brazil (CNS) - Despite intermittent rain, 70,000 people gathered in a park for the the beatification of the nun sometimes called Brazil’s Mother Teresa.

Born as Maria Rita de Souza Brito Lopes Pontes in 1914, she was known to Brazilian Catholics as simply Sr Dulce, the mother of the poor. Cardinal Geraldo Majella Agnelo of Salvador celebrated the Beatification Mass with more than 500 Archbishops, Bishops and priests in attendance.

Claudia Cristiane Santos Araujo, the woman whose miracle cure was attributed to Sister Dulce’s intercession, also attended. Araujo prayed to Sister Dulce while suffering from a massive hemorrhage minutes after giving birth. At an early age, Pontes would open her family’s modest house in Salvador to those in need of food and shelter. In 1933, she entered the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God and received the name of Sister Dulce, in honor of her mother.

In 1936, Sr Dulce founded the first Catholic workers’ organisation in the state of Bahia and started a health clinic for poor workers. She opened a school for workers and their children in 1939.

That same year, Sr Dulce, with nowhere to turn, invaded five abandoned houses on Rat’s Island in Salvador Bay to house the sick and homeless. After getting evicted, she searched for a haven for the poor until 1949, when she settled in an old chicken coop structure beside the convent. That old chicken coop, said her followers, became the largest hospital in the area.

LaShonda Burton, 20, holds her 10 day old daughter, Dejique, at the Kalamazoo Gospel Mission in September. Burton, who has two other children, is among the growing number of single mothers in West Michigan who are homeless.

Exploring human origins through philosophy

My vocation

with Debbie Warrier

Fr Brendan Purcell

Iwas born in Dublin, Ireland in 1941. I think I always wanted to be a priest, as far back as I can remember. I can remember thinking that I’d like to help people on their way to God. I never spoke about it with my parents, but I’m sure that their own devout lifestyle had a lot to do with it.

I joined the seminary in 1960, got a BA at University College Dublin and was sent to do theology at the Lateran University in Rome. I’d done well in Philosophy, so after ordination found myself teaching philosophical anthropology (what a human being is) back at the University College Dublin. I enjoyed the nearly 40 years teaching I did there. Along the way I picked up a PhD in psychology on the theory of human relationships.

The courses I was teaching led me to finally finish a book due out this year called From Big Bang to Big Mystery: Human Origins in the light of Creation and Evolution. In it I explore where human beings come from and trace the material part of our origins from the Big Bang through to evolution, including the almost 7 million year hominid sequence up to the first humans in Africa over 150,000 years ago. I also try to explain what paleontologists and archaeologists call ‘the Big Bang of Human Consciousness’ by exploring human origins from a philosophical perspective.

I focused on a few things, like what I called ‘boundary questions’ - the issues that are raised by the natural sciences but can’t be answered by them. The Big Bang is the best example, since astrophysics makes it hard to avoid

the ‘why is there something rather than nothing?’ question. And I’m suggesting there’s an even bigger boundary question when we come to the origins of human beings. So I’ve four chapters on what makes humans different from animals (in terms of our genetic origins, our brain and vocal tracts, our use of language and symbolisation, and our capacity to understand and make free choices).

The book’s come out not just from courses I have taught, but also from a look at how some modern philosophers - in Europe and sometimes in the US - have focused on the person as the source of their philosophy. (Karol Wojtyla’s The Acting Person and his famous series of reflections on the theology of the body are a great example of this kind of approach in the contemporary Church).

Underlying this immense Odyssey of the human spirit lies a common thirst for transcendence, and often accompanying that awareness is the sense that it’s not only the human in search for the divine, but that the divine is seeking out the human.

While still living in Ireland I was very often involved in radio and TV interviews. What I was interviewed on included my awareness that while the West has had plenty of ‘liberty,’ and the former Eastern bloc countries and still China, enforced ‘equality,’ we got rampant individualism in the West and totalitarian dictatorship in the East and in China. But without the third element in that famous French Revolutionary slogan, ‘fraternity,’ liberty and equality are

unbalanced. I criticised both overemphases, and suggested a different, fraternity-based paradigm for doing politics.

A Christian alternative it seems to me must take two well known principles of Catholic Social Teaching. (1) Subsidiarityencouraging each person to fulfill his or her capacities in the market place and in political life as fully as possible. (2) Solidarity - being aware that your neighbour, who can be the least of your brothers and sisters, is Jesus, so you’re acting in such a way as to build up communion between persons, and not just for your own personal profit. Those two principles taken together are a beautiful realisation of the Unity-Communion of God (solidarity) and the unique individuality of each Person (subsidiarity). When I had to retire at 65, I thought I’d rather grow old disgracefully rather than gracefully, and since we’d had Cardinal Pell over in Ireland to give a few talks, I asked him if I could work in his archdiocese and maybe do some philosophy teaching as well, both of which I’m very happy to have been doing since I came to Sydney in September 2010.

I’ve never felt anything other than enormously helped by our faith and our theology. My vocation deepens my philosophical outlook, and that outlook also supports and underpins my faith and my vocation. It’s an experience of the wonderful complementarity that Pope John Paul II underlined with the title of his encyclical Faith and Reason - with an emphasis on the ‘and’.

Who helped Jesus with His Cross?

By Fr John Flader

Simon of Cyrene

Q: In the account of the Passion of Our Lord, the Gospels say that Simon of Cyrene helped Jesus carry his cross but they don’t say any more about who he was. What else do we know about him?

As you say, the Gospels are very sparing in their reference to Simon of Cyrene. The three Synoptic Gospels tell us that as Jesus was carrying his cross to the place of execution the soldiers forced a man from Cyrene by the name of Simon to carry his cross (cf. Mt 27:32; Mk 15:21; Lk 23:26).

Mark adds that Simon was coming in from the country and that he was the father of Alexander and Rufus. This implies that when Mark wrote his Gospel, some thirty years after the event, Alexander and Rufus were well known to the Christian community, and were undoubtedly Christians themselves. The Christian writer Papias, who died around 130, tells us that Mark wrote his Gospel for the Christian community in Rome. This suggests that Alexander and Rufus were probably part of the Christian congregation in that city.

Indeed, although we cannot be sure that this is the same person, in his letter to the Romans St Paul sends greetings to Rufus, “eminent in the Lord” and also to “his mother and mine” (Rom 16:13).

An Alexander is mentioned in several of St Paul’s writings (cf. Acts 19:33; 1 Tim 1:20; 2 Tim 4:14) but again there is no assurance that this is the son of Simon. Cyrene was a city in North Africa in modern-day

Libya. It was founded as a Greek colony in 631 BC and from 96 BC on it was closely tied to Rome.

It obviously had a sizeable Jewish community as evidenced by the fact that among those present in Jerusalem on the day of the Jewish feast of Pentecost was a group of people from Libya around Cyrene (cf. Acts 2:10; also Acts 6:9).

Simon was thus a North African and because of this some have thought he might be black or at least of dark complexion, in which case he might be identified with Simon Niger (the Latin word for black) mentioned in Acts 13:1.

In any case, he was most likely a Hellenistic Jew going to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover. He seems to have been entering Jerusalem at the same time as the procession to Calvary was leaving it, so that he is described as coming in from the country.

When it was clear that Jesus was so weak that he could no longer carry the cross, the Roman soldiers decided to act. It was unthinkable that a soldier would carry it, and to ask a local Jew to do it would have stirred up more trouble. So it seemed natural to ask a stranger coming in from the country to carry the cross.

Although we do not know Simon’s attitude at the beginning, and we can expect that he would have felt put out and embarrassed, we do know that some years later Simon’s sons had become Christians, and probably Simon and his wife too. Thus great blessings came to Simon and his family through this encounter. As St Josemaría Escrivá writes, “It all started with this unexpected meeting with the Cross” (The Way of the Cross, Fifth Station). God used a seemingly unfortunate event to bring about the conversion of a family. We too should be willing to be generous and to take up the crosses that come our way unexpectedly.

We never know what God will bring about as a result.

The greatest gift one can give children is... brothers, sisters

Foolish Wisdom

“a

By Bernard Toutounji

The ‘Perfect’ Sized Family

Why is it that everyone does what everyone else does? Yes, we all carry iPhones and drink Coca Cola but what I find most intriguing is why everyone stops at two children? Why is Mum, Dad, Johnny and Jenny considered the perfect sized family in advertising and in reality?

It is no great revelation to note that the current total fertility rate in Australia is around 1.9 children

per woman compared to the 3.4 children that was the case only fifty years ago.

We are not even replacing ourselves anymore.

The most obvious reason for this significant drop would have to be the introduction of the contraceptive pill in 1960.

The main function of ‘the pill’ is to disturb a woman’s normal cycle of fertility by confusing her body into thinking it is pregnant thus suppressing ovulation. (If ovulation does occur the pill’s second line of defence is to make the mother’s womb inhospitable to the newly created embryo and the little guy is eventually flushed out, most often without anyone knowing).

However, the pill’s less obvious but more subtle effect has really been to fundamentally change the way that husbands and wives look at themselves, their sexuality and their families.

The pill subliminally causes us to separate love-making from child-making and when that happens human beings can begin to

see love as less to do with the other and more to do with the self.

One doesn’t have to look far to see an advertisement that will make it clear who the most important person in the world is (if you are not sure, it is you).

We are told that the less inconvenience we live with the better our lives will be but is that really true?

I am actually writing this on an airplane to London to go to a conference.

And can I say that this trip has caused me a fair bit on ‘inconvenience’, I had to rearrange my schedule while I am away, I had to pack a bag (I hate packing) and I had to get up at 5am this morning to get to the airport at 6.30am so I could sit around for three hours waiting to fly out.

However, I would have been labelled a fool if I declined the trip so I did not have to pack a bag. Why? Because the greater good of travelling to a new place and encountering new people is an obvious good.

So I can’t help but wonder why

we view children differently? Are not the difficulties of raising children outweighed by a new life?

Every child in the world is a source of joy and the greatest gift we can receive.

Children are the visible sign of the love of a couple, so why stop the sign of our love at only a couple of children?

There is a two year old on this plane who has been wandering up and down approaching strangers and saying “I’m Dante, what’s your name” and everyone he encounters smiles and interacts with the little boy.

This is why it surprises me that so many couples choose to have two or three children and stop there.

Have we all become so subservient to contraception, as if it is our master? Why are there not more people who think outside the contraceptive square?

And I don’t only mean those Catholics who heed the Church’s vision for life and love and reject contraception for what it is. I also mean average married couples who

might say to each other “hey we love children, let’s have lots!”

We really need to get out of our heads that two children are normal. It is only ‘normal’ in a post-industrialised world and in the scheme of things, across time and culture, that is fairly insignificant.

One friend made the point to me recently that perhaps our obsession with two children is partly thanks to the motorcar; after all, to go from a Commodore to a Tarago can be a big deal.

Perhaps the concept has merit, but even so, where are the people who don’t care about the mould, who just love life and want to surround themselves by it?

Pope John Paul II once said that the greatest gift that parents can give their children is the gift of brothers and sisters.

Children are good for each other, good for parents, good for marriages and good for society. So if you are reading this and feel like breaking out of the 1.9 children mould, may this be a small encouragement. b_toutounji@optusnet.com.au

Panorama entries must be in by 12pm Monday.

Contributions may be emailed to office@therecord.com.au, faxed to 9325 4580, or mailed to PO Box 3075, Adelaide Terrace, Perth WA 6832.

FRIDAY, 1 JULY

Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus 11am at St Mary’s Cathedral, Victoria Sq, Perth. Holy Hour and Benediction. 12.10pm Mass and consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary followed by Rosary and Litanies. Main celebrant: Archbishop Hickey. Enq: Beatrice 9409 6473.

Pro-Life Witness

9.30am at St Brigid’s Church, 69b Morrison Rd, Midland. Begins with Mass followed by Rosary procession and prayer vigil at nearby abortion clinic, led by the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate. Join us to pray for an end to abortion and the conversion of hearts. Enq: Helen 9402 0349.

SATURDAY, 2 JULY

Day with Mary

9am-5pm at St Brigid Church, cnr Fitzgerald and Aberdeen Sts, Northbridge. 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. Enq: Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate 9250 8286.

Vigil for Life

8.30-10.30am at St Augustine’s Church, Gladstone St, Rivervale. Begins with Mass followed by Rosary procession and vigil at abortion clinic, led by Fr Paul Carey. Weekly prayer vigils: Monday, Thursday and Saturday, for the conversion of hearts and an end to abortion. Enq. Helen 9402 0349.

SUNDAY, 3 JULY

Divine Mercy

1.30pm at St Francis Xavier Church, 25 Windsor St, Perth. Main celebrant: Fr Hugh Thomas. “Our Lady of Perpetual Help” homily. Exposition of Blessed Sacrament, Holy Rosary and Chaplet of Divine Mercy followed by Benediction and Veneration of First Class Relic of St Faustina Kowalska. Reconciliation available. Refreshments afterwards. Enq: John 9457 7771.

TUESDAY, 5 JULY

7-8pm at St Benedict’s School Hall, Alness St, Applecross.

Jesus says, “Come to me all you who labour and are overburdened ...” Come and touch the healing heart of Jesus. Presenter: Norma Woodcock. Collection to cover costs. Enq: Norma 9487 1772 or www.normawoodcock.com

FRIDAY, 8 TO SUNDAY 10 JULY

M.M.P. Annual retreat

7pm at Redemptorist Monastery, 190 Vincent St, North Perth. Enq and bookings: Ron 9300 8389.

SATURDAY, 9 JULY

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.

“Biblical Women You Haven’t Met Yet” Catholic Women’s Group Seminar

9.30 -11.30am at the Edel Quinn Centre, 36 Windsor St, East Perth. Discover women from Old Testament starting with Eve and how much these women have to tell us about the true nature of discipleship, suffering, redemption and true freedom. Presenter: Dr Philippa Martyr. Enq and registration: Lydia 0413 993 987, register by Wed 6 July: catholicwomen.perth@gmail.com.

Divine Mercy Healing Mass

2.30pm at St Francis Xavier Church, Windsor St, East Perth. Main Celebrant: Fr Marcellinus Meilak, OFM. Begins with Mass followed by Divine Mercy prayers and Veneration of First Class Relic of St Faustina and prayers for an end to abortion. Reconciliation in English, Maltese and Italian. Refreshments afterwards. Enq: John 9457 7771.

SUNDAY, 10 JULY

Secular Franciscan Order WA - Day of Reflection

10am at the Edel Quinn Centre, 36 Windsor St, East Perth. All welcome. Come and join our members in our discussions of how to live the Gospel life in the spirit of our seraphic father, St Francis of Assisi. Enq: Angela on 9275 5658.

Eucharistic Reparation

3pm at Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish, Cnr Milroy and Drury Sts, Willagee. The World Apostolate of Fatima Aus. Inc invites you to attend a Eucharistic Hour for reparation. Enq: Diana 9339 2614.

WEDNESDAY, 20 TO FRIDAY 22 JULY

I Stand Anchored Youth Camp

6pm at Advent Park Campgrounds. Young people high school years 9-11. Fun times, great food, games, music, talks, and friendships. Enq: Marty 0417 637 040 or perth@ymt.com.au

THURSDAY 21 TO SUNDAY 24 JULY

Encounter Youth Convention

6pm at Advent Park Campgrounds. For young people ages 17-30. Each day is packed full of fun, friendship, music, learning and exploration of a life lived to fullness. Enq: Mario 9202 6868 or mario.borg@disciplesofjesus.org

FRIDAY, 22 TO SUNDAY 24, JULY

“Finding the Rhythm” - A Reflective Weekend for women in the health profession

4pm at St John of God Retreat Centre, 47 Gloucester Crescent, Shoalwater. How can one manage the endless changes in life and keep a balance? Assists women in finding the rhythm of good discernment in life and ministry. Concludes Sunday at 1pm. Enq: Sr. Ann 0409 602 927, ann_cull@y7mail.com or Sr. Kathy 0418 926 590, kkettle@mercy.org.au

FRIDAY, 29 JULY

‘An Evening of Prayer with Our Lady Queen of Peace’ - Medjugorje prayer group 7-9pm at St Vincent’s Parish, 114 Parmelia Ave. Kwinana. Includes Eucharistic Adoration, Rosary, Benediction, Holy Mass. Free DVD of Don Calloway’s testimony and conversion from drugs, alcohol and crime to priesthood and DVD of Ivan’s talk at St Mary’s Cathedral. Enq. Eileen 9402 2480, 0407 471 256 or medjugorje@y7mail.com

PILGRIMAGE TO PRAGUE, POLAND AND AUSTRIA

St Jude’s Parish, Langford is organising a 13-day pilgrimage departing 1 October. It will include visits to the Shrines of Divine Mercy, Infant Jesus, the Black Madonna, St Faustina, the birthplace of Pope John Paul II and the Museum at Auschwitz. Total cost per person $5,800. Spiritual Director, Fr Terry Raj. Enq: Co-ordinator John Murphy 9457 7771, Matt 6460 6877, mattpicc1@ gmail.com.

WEDNESDAY, 5 TO THURSDAY, 20 OCTOBER

Pilgrimage to Rome, San Giovanni Rotondo and Medjugorje

Includes 3 nights in Rome, 2 nights in San Giovanni Rotondo (Padre Pio); visit to Monte Gargano and Lanciano (Eucharistic Miracle); 7 nights in Medjugorje (Alleged daily appearance of Our Lady). Spiritual Leader: Fr Ronan Murphy. Cost: $3,990, includes Emirates flight, bed, breakfast and evening meals, transfers, guide, taxes and tipping. Enq: Eileen 9402 2480 or 0407 471 256 or medjugorje@y7mail.com.

FRIDAY, 11 TO TUESDAY, 22 NOVEMBER

Pilgrim Tour To The Holy Land Jordan, Israel and Egypt. Spiritual Director: Fr Sebastian Kalapurackal VC from St Aloysius Church, Shenton Park. Enq: Francis – Coordinator, 9459 3873 or 0404 893 877 or Skype ID: perthfamily.

EVERY SUNDAY

Gate of Heaven Catholic Radio

Join the Franciscans of the Immaculate from 7.30-9pm 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 the 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.

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

Oblates of St Benedict Meet

2pm at St. Joseph’s Convent, York St, South Perth. Study the rule of St. Benedict and its relevance to the everyday life for laypeople. Followed by Vespers and afternoon tea. Enq: Secretary 94575758

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 to the priesthood or Religious life hear clearly God’s loving call to them.

EVERY MONDAY

Evening Adoration and Mass

7pm at St Thomas Parish, Claremont, cnr Melville St and College Rd. Begins with 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, Shepparton Rd, Victoria Park. Exciting revelations with meaningful applications that will change your life. Novena to God the Father, followed by refreshments. 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.

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.

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 THE 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. The next devotion is to be held on Wednesday 13 July. 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 in John Paul Parish. Conclude 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

Due to renovations at 450 Hay St Perth, CPM now meets at 7.45pm every Thursday at the Legion of Mary’s Edel Quinn Centre, 36 Windsor Street, East Perth. Includes Praise song and healing ministry. Enq: Kay 9382 3668 or fmi@flameministries.org.

Fr Corapi’s Catechism of the Catholic Church

7.30pm at St Joseph Church, 20 Hamilton St, Bassendean - parish library. Enq: Catherine 9329 2691.

FIRST THURSDAY OF THE MONTH

Taize Prayer and Meditation

7.30-8.30pm at Our Lady of Grace Parish, 3 Kitchener St. North Beach. Prayer, song and silence in candle light –symbol of Christ light of the world. Next service: Thursday 7 July. Taize info: www.taize.fr. Enq: Beth 9448 4457 or 9448 4888.

FIRST FRIDAY OF THE MONTH

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’s Parish, Pinetree Gully Rd, Willetton. Songs of Praise, sharing by a priest followed by Thanksgiving Mass and light refreshments after Mass. All welcome to attend and bring your family and friends. Enq: Kathy 9295 0913, Ann: 0412 166 164 or catholicfaithrenewal@gmail.com.

Communion of Reparation All Night Vigils

7pm-1.30am at Corpus Christi Church, Lochee St, Mosman Park. Enq: Vicky 0400 282 357 and at St Gerard Majella Church, Ravenswood Dr and Majella Rd, Mirrabooka. Enq: Fr Giosue 9349 2315, John or Joy 9344 2609. The Vigils consist of two Masses, Adoration, Benediction, Prayers and Confession in reparation for the outrages committed against the United Hearts of Jesus and Mary. All welcome.

Healing Mass

7pm at St Peter’s Parish, Wood Street, Inglewood. Reconciliation, praise and worship, Eucharistic Adoration, Benediction, Anointing of the Sick, special blessings and fellowship after the Mass. Celebrants, Fr Dat (parish priest) and specially invited priests. All welcome. Enq: Priscilla 0433 457 352, Catherine 0433 923 083 and Mary-Ann 0409 672 304.

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.

16

ACROSS

1 The Mass is both a sacrifice and a ___

4 From the ___ of Peter

7 Influential Catholic Hollywood costume designer

9 What we abstain from

10 Mass apparel

12 The Dead ___

13 The Wise Men came from here

14 Reception of Holy Orders

17 “Our Father who ___…”

18 St. ___ de Beaupre

21 “Fort” diocese

23 The Friars ___

24 Communion wafers

26 Catholics Ted Kennedy and Alec Guinness

29 OT historical

40

41

7

8

11

31

32

34 Husband of 2D

36

39

LAWN MOWING

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

OPPORTUNITIES

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY

Work from Home - P/T or F/T, 02 8230 0290 or visit www.dreamlife1.com.

FURNITURE REMOVAL

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

EDUCATION SERVICES

ENGLISH TUTOR Using whole word, word in context and phonics programme. Teacher with Master’s degree 7 years experience. Police cleared. PH: Tom 0449 979 637.

ACCOMMODATION

HOLIDAY ACCOMMODATION

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

FOR SALE

BUSINESS FOR SALE

DONGARA PIZZA BAR

PH: 08 9927 1389 after 3.30pm or MOB: 0400 579 117.

Deadline: 11am Monday

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.

THANKSGIVING

DEAR HEART OF JESUS, in the past I have asked You for many favours. This time I ask You for this special favour (mention it). Take it, dear Heart of Jesus and place it within Your own broken Heart where Your Father sees it, then in His sorrowful Eyes it will become Your favour not mine. Amen. Say this prayer for 3days. oriAm

TRADE SERVICES

BRENDAN HANDYMAN

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

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

BRICK RE-POINTING Ph Nigel 9242 2952.

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.

BOOK BINDING

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

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 hand-made 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.

OTTIMO

Convenient location for Bibles, books, cards CD/DVDs, candles, medals, statues and gifts at Shop 41, Station St Market, Subiaco. Fri-Sun, 9-5pm.

3

5 Tu St Anthony Zaccaria, priest (O)

Gr Gen 32:23-33 I have seen God

Ps 16:1-3, 6-8, 15 Hear My words

Mt 9:32-38 Harvest is rich

6 W St Maria Goretti, virgin, maryr (O)

Gr Gen 41:55-57; 42:5-7, 17-24 Called to account

Ps 32:2-3, 10-11, 18-19 Give thanks

Mt 10:1-7 Authority given

7 Th Bl Peter To Rot, martyr (O)

Gr Gen 44:18-21, 23-29; 45:1-5 I am Joseph

Ps 104:16-21 Joseph a slave

Mt 10:7-15 Give without a charge

8 F Gen 46:1-7, 28-30 Jacob and Joseph

Gr Ps 36:3-4, 18-19, 27-28, 39-40 If you do good

Mt 10: 16-23 Harmless as doves

9 S Ss Augustine Zhao Rong, priest and companions, martyrs (O)

Gr 49:29-33; 50:15-26 Evil turned to good

Ps 104:1-4, 6-7 Proud of God’s name Mt 10:24-38 Disciple not superior

“Get us out of here!!”

Maria Simma RRP $31

In “Get Us Out of Here!!”, Maria Simma speaks with the poor souls. They reveal secrets hidden since the dawn of man. It is not often that a book touches the soul so deeply. “Get Us Out Of Here!!” is such a book. When Maria Simma was twenty-five, she was graced with a very special charism - the charism of being visited by the many souls in Purgatory - and being able to communicate with them! In her own words, Maria shares with us some amazing secrets about the souls in Purgatory.

101 Questions and Answers on The Prophets of Israel

Victor H. Matthews

RRP $28

101 Questions and Answers on the Prophets of Israel by Victor H. Matthews is a paperback book that was released on 30 September, 2007 and published by Paulist Press. It is part of the Responses to 101 Commonly Asked Questions that will help readers to more quickly gain a basic understanding of the biblical world and the role of the prophets.

God’s undertaker

Has science buried God?

John C. Lennox

RRP $28

Intended to provide a basis for discussion, this book evaluates the evidence of modern science in relation to the debate between the atheistic and theistic interpretations of the universe. Written like a scientific detective story, this excellent introduction to the current debate grew out of the author’s lengthy experience of lecturing and debating on the subject.

The Monks of Tibhirine

John W. Kiser

RRP $37

The Monks of Tibhirine is the true story of Christians willing to die serving a Muslim flock during the political nightmare that unfolds in Algeria during the 1990s. The decapitation of seven French Trappists kidnapped from their monastery in the village of Tibhirine provides the thread for this real life drama of sacrificial love of Christians who put their lives at risk for their Muslim friends, and Muslims who risk death for Christians.

Two books all teen and young adult Catholics must have...

The Catholic Teen Bible

New American Bible

RRP $35

Featuring 650 lively, youthfriendly articles in the “Pray It!” “Study It!” “Live It!” model, The Catholic Teen Bible brings biblical topics to life and engages youth to reflect on the Scriptures, Catholic Tradition and beliefs, biblical history and figures, and contemporary issues. By drawing teens into the text, this inclusive Bible gives voice to young people of all cultures and nationalities and provides tools to make biblical messages relevant to teens.

Youcat

Youth Catechism of the Catholic Church

RRP $43

YOUCAT is short for Youth Catechism of the Catholic Church, which will be launched on World Youth Day. Developed with the help of young Catholics and written for high-school age people and young adults, YOUCAT is an accessible, contemporary expression of the Catholic Faith. The appealing graphic format includes Questions-and-Answers, highlyreadable commentary, summary definitions of key terms, Bible citations and inspiring and thought-provoking quotes from Saints and others in the margins. The questions are direct and honest, even at times tough; the answers straightforward, relevant, and compelling. YOUCAT will likely become the “go-to” place for young people to learn the truth about the Catholic faith.