The Record Newspaper 31 October 2007

THE R ECORD

WW2 martyr beatified

Soldier who chose death before advice from his Bishop becomes shining example of lay vocation for whole Church

Cardinal beatifies Austrian killed for refusing to fight for Hitler - 94 yearold widow attends ceremony

By John Thavis

VATICAN CITY (CNS) - A Vatican

Cardinal beatified Franz Jagerstatter, an Austrian farmer who was beheaded in 1943 after he refused to fight in Hitler’s army.

Presiding over the beatification Mass in Linz, Austria, on October 26, Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins said Blessed Jagerstatter offered an example of how to live the Christian faith fully and radically, even when there are extreme consequences.

Blessed Jagerstatter was beatified as a martyr, which means he was killed out of hatred for the faith.

Many Austrian Church leaders attended the beatification liturgy, and the Austrian bishops’ conference recently called Blessed Jagerstatter “a shining example in dark times.”

In 1943, however, his refusal to serve in the Nazi army was not supported by his priest, his bishop or most of his Catholic friends.

Particularly because he had a wife and three daughters, many advised him to think of his family and put aside his conscientious objection to the Nazi war machine.

Cardinal Saraiva Martins, head of the Vatican’s Congregation for Saints’ Causes, said in his beatification sermon that Blessed Jagerstatter’s decision represents “a challenge and an encouragement” for all Christians who want to “live their faith with coherence and radical commitment, even accepting extreme consequences if necessary.”

Continued - Page 10

MIXED EMOTIONS

Child migrants who came to Western Australia 60 years ago look back with sadness and joy, writes SYLVIA DEFENDI

Vista 2-3

400,000 traditional Anglicans seek communion with Rome

Traditional Anglicans ask for full communion with Catholic Church

By Catholic News Service

DUBLIN, Ireland (CNS)Parishioners from three Church of Ireland parishes have joined traditional Anglicans from 12 other countries in requesting

that the Catholic Church receive them into full communion.

If approved by the Vatican, the move would allow 400,000 traditional Anglicans worldwide to be admitted into the Catholic Church.

The decision to petition for the move “seeking full, corporate, sacramental union” was made during an early October plenary meeting of the Traditional Anglican Communion, the

THE JAPANESE WAY

The Japanese have long been a secular society. Are they now taking religious faith, including Christianity, a little more seriously?

Vista 1

umbrella organization for traditional Anglicans, in Portsmouth, England. The move, requested in a letter to the Vatican, would see the entire parish communities received into the Catholic Church.

It is extremely rare for entire Anglican communities to seek corporate communion with the Catholic Church whereby every member of the parish becomes Continued - Page 8

Pope calls on pharmacists not to ‘anaesthetise’

consciences

VATICAN CITY (Zenit.org)

- Benedict XVI told a group of pharmacists that they must avoid anaesthetising consciences, and emphasized that drugs should be used to help human beings, not to take the life of unborn children or the elderly.

The Pope affirmed this on October 29 when he received in audience a group of participants attending the 25th international congress of Catholic pharmacists, under way in

and the possibilities they offer.

He asked the pharmacists to consider the “ever broader functions they are called to undertake, especially as intermediaries between doctor and patient.”

He recalled their role in educating patients “in the correct use of medications” and in informing them of “the ethical implications of the use of particular drugs.”

“In this context,” the Pontiff said, “we cannot anesthetise consciences as regards, for example, the effect of certain molecules that have the goal of preventing the implantation of the embryo or shortening a Continued - Page 7

ELVIS’ LEADING LADY

Dolores Hart starred with Elvis in his famous movies like King Creole. But she gave it all away

Spousal joy: Franziska Jagerstatter, the 94-year-old

widow of Blessed Franz Jagerstatter, attends her husband’s beatification ceremony at St Mary’s Cathedral in Linz, Austria, on October 26. The Austrian farmer was beheaded on August 9, 1943, for refusing to serve in the Nazi army. He was beatified as a martyr. PHOTO: CNS/REUTERS

Blessed: Jagerstatter

Pope Benedict XVII

Bunbury unveils plans for new cathedral

‘The

Catholic Package’

“T

hey’re not coming for a rock concert, they’re not coming for a sporting contest, they’re coming as pilgrims as people have done so for thousands of years in all the great religious traditions, that is, tourists with a religious purpose…

“We will offer the Catholic package to everyone. First of all to young Catholics but especially to young Australians, and there’s a significant number of them, who are looking for a set of principles, looking for something, searching for meaning”

A LIFE OF PRAYER

TYBURN NUNS

Diocese combines old and new for St Patrick’s Mark II

Plans for Bunbury’s new Catholic Cathedral have been released by Bishop Gerard Holohan of Bunbury.

The new Cathedral forms part of the rebuilding of the Cathedral precinct which was extensively damaged by a tornado that ripped through Bunbury on May 16 2005.

Bishop Holohan said the design is a reflection of extensive community consultation undertaken following the demolition of the former St Patrick’s Cathedral.

“The overwhelming community call was for an iconic Cathedral

centred on the same axis as Victoria St, Bunbury’s main thoroughfare, with a traditional exterior and modern interior. The design reflects the wishes of the community and will be a fitting replacement for the former St Patrick’s Cathedral”

Bishop Holohan said.

“I am very pleased to be able to say that the new Bunbury Catholic Cathedral design reflects faithfully the wishes of the general community of the South West, and of the Catholic community” he said as he released artist’s impressions and the model of the Cathedral for public comment.

“The general call was for a building with a traditional exterior and a modern interior. The Architect, Mr

in brief

Most Aussies not angry atheists: Pell

Some elements in Australia’s political parties would like religion excluded from public discussion in this country – but the pragmatism of Australians overrules them.

So said Cardinal George Pell at the Sydney launch of his new book God and Caesar. The Greens, some Australian

Marcus Collins, has designed a simple but beautiful building with very simple materials” the Bishop said. In May 2005, a tornado destroyed or damaged the buildings that form part of the Cathedral precinct. The old Cathedral and two other buildings had to be demolished; the historic Parish House building can be renovated. The Bishop said: “The tornado caused us a tremendous problem in knocking out the whole precinct. Now we have to rebuild and restore.”

Because the new Cathedral will affect the landscape of the City, the Bishop invited the whole community to have input into the new design. Hundreds responded.

“It will be an inspiring landmark and include a prominent and welcoming entrance, a bell tower and glass spire, which will be illuminated at night” said Bishop Holohan.

“‘Its prominence will give the Cathedral a graceful presence overlooking the greater Bunbury region.”

Commenting on the design by award winning architect Marcus Collins, Bishop Holohan said “It is a spectacular piece of architecture that will be recognised, appreciated and respected by the whole community.”

“Marcus has extensively researched cathedrals and church architecture from around the globe. This is the culmination of almost two years of painstaking research and thoughtful planning” he said.

“He has designed a Cathedral that will assert fortitude and permanence, reminding everyone who looks toward it that faith remains ever hopeful, especially in testing times.”

“Like most magnificent Cathedrals it will be a tourist attraction, a monument to the spirit of Bunbury and a beacon of spiritual guidance for millions of people during its 300 year plus life.”

Democrats and a minority group within each of the main parties hold strong anti-religious views, the Cardinal said. But Australians are “pragmatic rather than ideological” about church-state relations, he argued.

Cardinal Pell said many Australians might never darken a church’s doors, but most still expect the churches to help pass on the values essential for a decent, prosperous and stable society.

The Cardinal-Archbishop of Sydney said the main public task facing all Christians today is to “make the case for Western

civilization and to replenish the sources from which it takes life and strength.”

Firing a barb at militant atheists, Cardinal Pell said the anti-religious anger of authors Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens is disproportionate.

“Why be angry at an absence? It leads me to wonder if some atheists are angry with God precisely because, by their lights, he does not exist.

“It is, after all, not unheard of for children to grow up angry at a father who is remote, absent or unknown.”

The model of the Cathedral is on display for public comment in the foyer of the City of Bunbury Administration Centre 4 Stephen St Bunbury.

Unveiled: Here are some artist’s impressions of the interior and exterior of the new Bunbury Cathedral and its precinct.

ILLUSTRATIONS:

Lay director for Catholic Mission

A layman has been appointed for the first time as national director of Catholic Mission, the Australian arm of the Pontifical Mission Societies. Mr Martin Teulan, a former teacher, takes over the role from November 1. He has previously worked for Church Resources, Wesley Mission and the Catholic diocese of Parramatta.

- Paul Gray

Cardinal George Pell, speaking to the National Press Club in Canberra about World Youth Day, October 10.

■ By Sylvia Defendi

Dubbed by many in Europe as today’s Padre Pio, revolutionary Italian friar, Brother Elia is set to bring the powerful message of Pope John Paul II’s new evangelisation to Perth.

Since becoming a Capuchin friar almost 15 years ago, Brother Elia has become increasingly renowned across Europe and will be making his first visit to Australia in mid November, with visits to Perth and Melbourne.

Brother Elia was drawn to join a Capuchin monastery in Lombardy during his mid twenties, when he reportedly received the stigmata.

At first scared by the mysterious occurrence, Brother Elia kept the incident to himself.

As the years passed, Brother Elia suffered the wounds of Christ each Lenten season, and was later studied by neurophysiologist Professor

Marco Margnelli, up until December, 2004. Professor Margnelli certified the stigmata and Brother Elia has since gained the full support of his Bishop, Monsignor Vincenzo Paglia of the diocese of Terni.

youth who have been abandoned by their guardians,” Brother Elia said, adding that he is particularly focused on evangelising the family.

After more than ten years as a Capuchin friar, Brother Elia discerned his vocation to form a new religious order under the spiritual direction of the Capuchins.

The Apostles of God, as the order is now known is based in an old abandoned convent at Calvi Dell’ Umbria, close to Assisi, where many have joined Brother Elia in his mission of evangelisation.

As the order’s name professes, Brother Elia describes their vocation as one that involves travel in order to spread the Word of God as the Apostles had done.

Yet the old convent is also used as a refuge for those living on the margins of society, where many have found solace and care. “Many of those, who come to the convent, are

“There are many parents who do not pray for their children, except for a wish that they do well financially, in their studies or careers.” Brother Elia once said during an interview.

Described as ‘one of the rare visionary-charismatics, who is trusted by their bishop and brotherhood community,’ Brother Elia will be welcomed by eight parishes across the Archdiocese of Perth.

“The Church is a home for all, yet most people only visit on Easter, Christmas or to receive the Sacraments,” Brother Elia said during an interview in early 2006, adding that what is needed is God’s mercy through healing and a newfound deep spirituality.

For further information on Brother Elia’s visit see the advertisement below.

Brother Elia visits Perth

Founder of The Apostles of God, Brother Elia is a 44-yearold gifted mystic/stigmatist of our times, whose gifts are to bring the presence of God and His Mercy through His healing and deep spirituality.

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Stigmatist visits Perth Whatʼs The Weight of a Mass?

The Weight of A Mass: A Tale of Faith

By Josephine Nobisso

Catholic Press Association Award

“One of The Best Childrenʼs Books of the Year”

Josephine Nobissoʼs touching story is of a poor devout widow who begs for a scrap of bread from a rich faithless baker. In return she promises to participate in the kingʼs wedding Mass as payment for the bakerʼs generosity. The baker writes “One Mass” on a scrap of paper and places it on his scale to determine how much bread it is worth. To his and the entire townʼs surprise, nothing in the shop, not even the gigantic wedding cakes made for the king, outweighs the simple piece of paper representing the true worth of a Mass.

The bookʼs luminous watercolor paintings and passionate story will help children understand the true worth of the Catholic faith.

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Former head of Caritas advocates in Perth

By Sylvia Defendi

After eight years as Secretary General of Caritas Internationalis, anti-poverty crusader, Duncan MacLaren will be visiting Perth in mid November.

Speaking at a range of venues across the state, previous Secretary General Duncan MacLaren will shed light on the evolving work of Caritas Internationalis and his experiences as the head of a confederation of 162 Catholic relief, development and social service agencies working in over 200 countries and territories.

In a recent interview with The Tablet, Duncan spoke of one such experience in Nairobi.

“We bought cats for people suffering from leprosy…because at night rats were gnawing their limbs. So we bought cats to chase the rats away.

“That kind of poverty is immoral. It’s sinful that kind of poverty happens in our world,” he said.

No stranger to intense poverty and need, Duncan was once the director of the Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund, a position he held for 12 years.

During that time he was also Vice President of CIDSE, the Catholic development network, and active in a range of issues from campaigning for a free South Africa to HIV/AIDS.

He moved to Rome as head of international relations for Caritas Internationalis in 1995 and was elected Secretary General in 1999.

Earlier this year, Lesley-Anne Knight, was elected to take over from Duncan as the first female Secretary General of Caritas Internationalis.

As Secretary General Duncan implemented the strategic plan that introduced advocacy, peace building, gender awareness and new mechanisms for emergency coordination into the Caritas confederation.

Duncan’s experiences span over the 70 countries he has visited over the last 24 years, in his work for the Church in humanitarian and development activities.

Duncan’s experiences span over the 70 countries he has visited over the last 24 years, in his work for the Church in humanitarian and development activities.

Those wishing to meet Duncan can join him for ‘Conversations on

Activist: Duncan MacLaren as MC in Sydney for the National Inter-faith Day of Prayer for Burma, held on October 21. Duncan introduced the event by saying, “Prayer leads us to discern what is the right path

out of inhuman ones”.

Tap,’ hosted by the University of Notre Dame, on November 13, at Fremantle Hotel (Cnr Cliff & High Streets) from 7 to 9pm.

Duncan will also be a guest speaker at Caritas Australia’s annual get-together on November 19 where he will be joined by CEO of

Caritas Australia, Jack de Groot, from 5.15pm at the Catholic Pastoral Centre Seminar Room, in Highgate.

Bunbury will also be invited to hear Duncan speak on social justice and the Millennium Development Goals at a public forum on

make

November 14 from 7.30 to 9pm at Our Lady of the Bay Community Centre, West Busselton. Anyone interested in attending is encouraged to RSVP.

For more information or to RSVP contact, Caritas in Perth on: 9422 7925.

to

human conditions

PHOTO : COURTESY OF CARITAS AUSTRALIA.

Sponsors jump ship on sleazy TV show

Californication becomes a thorny problem for commercial TV station, and costs it thousands of $$

By Paul Gray

More than 56 companies, including some of Australia’s best-known commercial enterprises, have withdrawn their advertising from network Ten’s Californication TV series.

The advertising boycott follows written complaints to the network and to the Australian Communications and Media Authority by individuals offended by the program’s treatment of the Catholic religion.

Adelaide-based Festival of Light representative Roslyn Phillips said she knows of 56 companies nationwide who have told Channel Ten they do not wish their products and services to be advertised during the program. Holden, Arnott’s, Ikea, Spotlight, Nestle, Cash Converters, Woolworths and the Royal Perth Show are among the companies who have boycotted Californication.

Several more companies - including a well-known food chain - have informed Ten they do not want their ads placed during the show, but do not want this fact to be publicly known, Mrs Philips told The Record. Mrs Philips said the

Australian Communications and Media Authority had informed her that their investigation of the Ten program would take up to three months. She described the show as beyond the pale.

“Really, it’s just the most implausible storyline, which is designed to show as many sexually extreme things as possible,” Mrs Phillips said.

The program has two weeks left to run, according to the network’s schedule.

A Catholic group has organised a prayer vigil outside Ten’s Sydney studios every Monday night for the duration of the series.

Mrs Phillips based her written complaint to Channel Ten and the ACMA partly on Section 1.8.6 of the Commercial Television Industry Code of Practice.

This states: “A licensee may not broadcast a program, program promotion, station identification or community service announcement which is likely, in all the circumstances, to …. provoke or perpetuate intense dislike, serious contempt or severe ridicule against a person or group of persons on the grounds of age, colour, gender, national or ethnic origin, disability, race, religion or sexual preference.”

Mrs Phillips said later episodes of Californication have featured sexual fetishes. The fetish element was significant, Mrs Phillips said, because it was precisely the broadcasting of a song about a fetish which led

Federal Communications Minister Senator Helen Coonan to launch an earlier inquiry into reality TV show Big Brother. All broadcasting of fetish material should be off-limits on free-to-air television, Mrs Phillips said.

“Holden, Arnott’s, Ikea, Spotlight, Nestle, Cash Converters, Woolworths and the Royal Perth Show are among the companies who have boycotted Californication.”

The Californication controversy parallels controversies over the promotion of unhealthy food and other products through the media.

This week the director of consumer organisation Choice slammed a multinational drug company for producing advertisements that promote a sleeping drug aimed at children starting school.

Choice chief executive Peter Kells said the sleeping drug advertisement, screened recently in America, is “the sort of irresponsible action that has led to consumer groups joining together in a global campaign against unethical drug marketing.” Mr Kells says consumer organisations, who represent the interests of ordinary citizens who

The Liberal Government:

are subjected to the promotion of unhealthy and dangerous products through mass marketing, should band together to fight corporate irresponsibility.

“Companies now operate across borders as a matter of course, and consumer organizations must do the same,” he said. The connection between anti-pornography lobbying and health campaigning by consumer groups was recently highlighted by American author and journalism professor Robert Jensen.

“When we criticize McDonalds for its unhealthy food, environmentally destructive business practices and targeting of children through manipulative advertising, does anyone ask, are we anti-food?” Jensen wrote. “Of course not, because no-one conflates McDonalds’ with food; we recognise that there are many ways to prepare food, and it’s appropriate to critique the more toxic varieties.

“The same holds for pornography. Pursuing a healthy sexuality does not mean we have to support toxic pornography.”

Jensen, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin, made his remarks in an article titled A Call for an Open Discussion of Mass Marketed Pornography, published on the website alternet.org

Jensen’s article provoked debate in left and progressive circles about the dangers of pornography.

Jensen says that the pornography industry is currently creating

a steady stream of “relentlessly sexist and racist films and websites that undermine attempts to build a healthy sexual culture, while filling pornographers’ pockets with substantial profits.”

Mrs Phillips says she wrote to Network Ten twice to complain about Californication, and after receiving what she considered an unsatisfactory response, wrote to the ACMA. Others, she says, have written to Ten but have not yet received a response. Under the communications authority’s operating guidelines, it is not possible for these people to lodge a further complaint until a response is received from the network.“It takes a lot of perseverance to put a complaint through,” she said. “It’s not the sort of thing the average man in the street is able to do.” Mrs Phillips says Californication was originally devised for a cable (pay for viewing) television network in the USA, and not for free to air TV as it has been screened in Australia.

It would never be allowed to screen on free to air television in the USA, she believes.

“It is like a second hand smoke effect,” Mrs Phillips said. “Parents are tired of being told by television executives just to ‘turn it off,’ but that doesn’t help their children.

“Their kids are being exposed at school to blow-by-blow accounts of Californication – foul language included – from peers whose parents are more permissive.”

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Bells will soon ring in re-named Myaree

Forty seven years after forming a community, the parish of Corpus Christi, Myaree is to have a church.

But with a twist.

The new church is to be consecrated on Sunday 23 December 2007 at which time the parish name will change to Pater Noster Myaree.

The finishing touches are now being applied to the new church.

A special feature will be the two new church bells.

On Sunday, October 28 the parish celebrated the blessing of the bells in preparation for their installation in the bell tower the next day.

Parish priest Fr Larry Reitmeyer was assisted by Fr Tim Foster in

leading the congregation in the blessing of the bells.

Also at hand to sprinkle Holy Water were Sophie and Giacomo Lucivero, two students from Corpus Christi Myaree school.

The bells, one in the key of C sharp the other in E, were made to order from the Whitechapel Bell Foundry Ltd, London.

The Foundry lists Big Ben and the Liberty Bell among its achievements as well as the Carillon Shopping Centre bells in Perth city and the new smaller bells in the bell tower overlooking the Swan River.

The acquisition of the bells was made possible by a generous donation from a parishioner.

Vatican official says Iran’s nuclear program no worries if it’s peaceful

ROME (CNS) - A leading Vatican official expressed support for the development of a nuclear energy program in Iran, as long as it serves peace-

“Nuclear energy is something that can do good for humanity” - a principle that “is certainly valid for Iran, too,” said Cardinal Renato Martino, president of the Pontifical

Pharmicists have crucial role: Pope

Continued from Page 1 person’s life. Pharmacists must seek to raise people’s awareness so that all human beings are protected from conception to natural death, and so that medicines truly play a therapeutic role.”

Turning his attention to therapeutic experiments, Benedict XVI recalled that individual persons may not be treated as objects.

Such experiments “must be carried out following protocols that respect fundamental ethical norms,” he said, emphasising that “all attempts at cure or experimentation must be undertaken while bearing in mind the well-being of the person concerned, and not only the pursuit of scientific progress.”

“The quest for the good of humanity cannot proceed at the expense of the well-being of the people being treated,” the Pope affirmed.

The Holy Father also made a firm defence of conscientious objection. He said the federation of pharmacists “is called to face the question of conscientious objection, which is a right that must be recognized for people exercising this profession, so as to enable them not to collaborate directly or indirectly in supplying products that have clearly immoral purposes such as, for example, abortion or euthanasia.”

The Pontiff further affirmed that pharmaceutical organizations should practice “solidarity in the therapeutic field so as to enable people of all social classes and all countries, especially the poorest, to have access to vital medicines and assistance.”

“The biomedical sciences are at the service of man,” he concluded. “Were it otherwise they would be cold and inhuman. All scientific knowledge in the field of health care...is at the service of sick human beings, considered in their entirety, who must have an active role in their cure and whose autonomy must be respected.”

Council for Justice and Peace.

Cardinal Martino’s October 23 remarks at an interreligious gathering in Naples, Italy, reported by the Italian news agency ANSA, came as Iranian and European officials met in Rome to try to resolve growing tensions over Iran’s nuclear capability. Cardinal Martino defended the right to develop a peaceful nuclear energy pro-

gram, and said any risks of improper use of nuclear technology “depend on the intentions of those who manage the program.”

“Anything is possible, in the sense that I can use a knife to cut bread but also to kill someone,” he said.

In dealing with such questions at a global level, the Cardinal said, the international

community must balance the need for peace and security with the necessary development of populations. The key figures at the Rome meeting were European Union envoy Javier Solana and Iran’s new nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili. Solana called the meeting constructive, and Jalili reportedly pledged Iran’s commitment to dialogue with the West. The

Iranian government, however, has not changed its basic position: it will proceed with a uranium enrichment program for what it says are strictly civilian uses. The US and other countries including Australia suspect Iran is using the technology to develop nuclear weapons, and have called for tougher international sanctions against Iran.

Ready to go: Fr Larry Reitmeyer with Giacomo and Sophie Lucivero, above. Fr Tim Foster, right, presides at the blessing of the bells. PHOTOS: COURTESY MYAREE PARISH

OK: Nuclear energy can be good for humanity: Cardinal

Perspectives

Belief no optional extra

Archbishop Barry Hickey has started a series of talks on Belief and the Catholic faith. The first appeared on his website last week and the second will go up today. The new series and all his previous talks are available on www.perthcatholic.org.au. He will also appear on Channel 9 during the Test Cricket on November 9 during the news on November 10 and during Who Wants to be a Millionaire on November 19.

It is common these days for people to talk about a “crisis of faith” in the Church. It appears that some think the Church herself is suffering a crisis in faith. Let me assure you this isn’t so. The faith of the Church is rock solid because it was founded by Jesus, is protected by his presence, and is guided by the Holy Spirit. When we pray in the Mass “look not on our sins but on the faith of your Church” we know we are calling on a faith that even the gates of hell cannot prevail against.

The other meaning of the “crisis of faith” – the one I understand - is that a great many people have given up their belief in God, their belief in Jesus, and their belief in the Church and all her teachings. More than that, some people find it hard to believe in this modern scientific world.

This is a matter of deep sorrow for the Church because it means the great truths of the faith are not being enjoyed and not being passed on by many people who have had the chance to experience them.

Over the next few talks I will look at the mystery of personal belief and look at some ways people might go about recovering and strengthening their faith.

Belief is a mystery because it is a gift God has freely given to us. It has pleased God in his goodness to reveal himself to us.

It is a gift that we are free to accept or reject. One could say that belief in God is optional because we do have a choice about it.

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But it is not an optional ‘extra’. Without it we will never come to the truth about ourselves because the truth about ourselves is that God loves us and we are made in His image and likeness. It is a free choice, but the result of acceptance is wonderful and the result of rejection is blankness – emptiness.

For those struggling to believe, the best starting point is prayer. Ask God to reveal himself to you because you want to know him.

In subsequent talks I will discuss other aspects of belief and how we can grow in it.

Belief and full assent

Belief is the free assent of our mind and will to a proposition, in this case the existence of God. Once we enter the realm of belief in God, it follows naturally that we give our free assent to the whole truth that God has revealed. Only God can deserve such free and total assent. Human reason on its own can lead us to the knowledge that God exists, but it could not lead us to the wonderful revelations of the nature of God as the Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and the presence of God among us through His Incarnation in Jesus Christ.

Although these things are beyond the power of reason to discover, it is a truly human act of reason and will to believe them because of the one who revealed them.

Having received the gift of this belief it is up to us to accept and obey all that has been revealed to us about God and ourselves. It makes no sense to believe in God and then pick and choose what we’ll believe about him. It is equivalent to saying, “I believe in God, but my ideas are better than his”. Nevertheless, I think this is the cause of so much of the “crisis of faith” that has occurred recently. We have many examples of complete faith from Abraham onwards, but the greatest of all is Mary, the Virgin Mother of God.

When told by the Archangel Gabriel, God’s messenger, that she was to be the Mother of Jesus, Mary assented and in that act of her will she gave her whole life to God.

In this act, Mary did what Jesus later described when he said: “He who seeks only himself brings himself to ruin, whereas he who brings himself to nought for me discovers who he is.” (Matthew 10.39)

In our human frailty we are terrified about surrendering our self, but when Mary, an insignificant Jewish country girl, surrendered her self she discovered who she is – the Mother of God, Queen of Heaven, Mother of the Church and Help of all Christians.

That is an example to believe in and to follow.

We will discover that we are not quite so splendid as she was – but we can still go a long way.

letters to the editor Around t he tabl e dnuorA t eh

Call to arms targets Watson

As followers of Jesus and in His name, we ask for your urgent support in advising and encouraging the members of our faith community to actively become involved in the campaign against the Prostitution Amendment Bill currently before the Upper House in the Western Australian Parliament.

The Bill has already been passed by the Lower House of the Parliament. It appears that it will soon be debated and passed in the Upper House unless the two members of the Greens (WA) Party can be persuaded to vote against it. In particular the leader of the Greens (WA), Ms Giz Watson.

We believe that the laity has a responsibility and an obligation to be a strong voice on this issue. The State Council of The Knights of the Southern Cross of WA, and the members of the Order’s “Faith in Action” Branch, has been one of, if not the driving force behind the formation of the “The Prostitution Law Amendment Working Committee”, that brought Gunilla Ekberg to Australia.

This Committee and the Order are actively campaigning against

Oh, and by the way...

Further to my last letter, I have since learnt that the Christian Democrats also have a realistic policy for assisting first home buyers which offers tax deductions for mortgage interest, although in this case it is means tested.

GeoffTaylor

Riverton

the Bill with the aim of stopping the legalisation of brothels. The passing of the Bill will turn prostitution into a job like any other and brothels into legitimate businesses like any other. I think you will agree that a business that feeds off the degradation of its employees and even contributes to and encourages it, is totally unacceptable under any circumstances.

We already have a brothel madam teaching ‘sex education’ at a local state senior high school in Perth, she may know a lot about sex, and that women/ girls are commodities who can be bought and sold; but surely, very little about sexuality, the intrinsic dignity of every person and/or spirituality.

The Bill has far reaching implications for local communities. Local Government will not have the powers to stop the proliferation of brothels within their area of jurisdiction. Decriminalisation in both Victoria and New South Wales brought with it rapid expansion [300% in Victoria] in the number of legal and illegal brothels. In NSW alone 750 illegal brothels, without local government approval, have opened since the legalisation of brothels in that State. The residents in the communities affected have been powerless to prevent their spread.

Through our Baptism and Confirmation, Christ himself asks us to protect and uphold the God given dignity of every woman and child. We ask and encourage all readers of The Record and their families and friends not only to give witness to a sense of Christian values and morality but to also send a strong message to the WA Parliament by contacting [by letter /phone or in person] Ms. Watson in particular and other members of all parties in the Upper House, expressing their concerns on the impact of this atrocious Bill on the whole community, if it is passed.

In closing we would like to acknowledge the expert and professional way in which the editor and the staff of The Record have campaigned on the issue of prostitution and the proposed legislation. They have been true advocates for and supporters of both the Laity and the Official Church. I am sure that they would greatly appreciate your help in bringing about the defeat of this Bill.

Joe Palandri State Chairman Knights of the Southern Cross WA

Guido Vogels Director, Social Apostolate KSC, WA

Anglicans defect en masse

Continued from Page 1

Catholic and the parish effectively becomes part of the Catholic Church.

At the Vatican, officials would not comment on the letter, although they confirmed the doctrinal congregation had received it.

While the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity is the Vatican’s lead office for official unity talks with the Anglican Communion, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith deals with the situation of former Anglican priests who want to become Catholic priests and with groups of former Anglicans who want to become Catholics together.

The situation of individual Anglicans wanting to become Roman Catholics is considered a matter of conscience and not primarily an issue in the

Briefly...

ecumenical dialogue. Pope Benedict XVI and top Vatican officials have expressed their hope that the Anglican Communion would find a structure able to keep Anglicans united while strengthening the faith and doctrinal heritage they share with the Roman Catholic Church in order to continue moving Roman Catholics and Anglicans toward full unity.

The Traditional Anglican Communion describes itself as a worldwide association of orthodox Anglican churches, working to maintain the faith and resist the secularisation of the church.

The traditional rite of the Church of Ireland (Anglican) emerged in 1991 after the House of Bishops of the Church of Ireland decided to start ordaining women.

Traditionalist Anglicans decried the move as a “defiance of both Scripture and tradition.”

Who needs parents? Pre-teens can get Pill at school without their knowledge

Children aged 11 to 13 in an eastern United States middle school will be able to get birth control pills and condoms from the school health centre without their parents’ knowledge, following a 10-2 vote in favour by the Portland school board. The highly controversial proposal, from the Portland Division of Public Health, was passed at a meeting packed with parents, students and television cameras. Staff at the clinic of King Middle School said it was necessary to provide birth control for students who were experimenting with sex. However, only five of the school’s 500 students had identified themselves as being sexually active in the last school year.

Vista

After fatalism, Japan opens to faith

Nearly 500 years since Christianity won its first adherents in Japan, conversions are increasing again. But is there any real reason to be surprised, writes Jennifer Van-House Hutcheson.

When asked about her religious beliefs, a Japanese friend and co-worker of mine replied with a smile and the standard, well-rehearsed explanation, “We [Japanese people] aren’t religious; we don’t really believe anything.” In the same vein, I vividly recall an esteemed college professor and Asian expert stating that Japan and religion, specifically Christianity, are quite simply incompatible.

An extensive 2006 Gallop poll in which a mere 30 per cent of Japanese avowed a religion seems to confirm the widely-accepted understanding of an agnostic and even fatalistic Japan.

Of this 30 per cent of believers, 75 per cent considered themselves Buddhist and 19 per cent considered themselves Shinto. Yet today, both of these traditional religions have become mainly ceremonial and do not play an active role in the daily life or moral outlook of most Japanese.

At first glance, Japan is one of the most secular nations in the world. This is evidenced by a disturbing trend in suicides, abortion used as birth control, rampant pornography that businessmen shamelessly read in supermarkets and on subways, and a general lack of hope.

Bill McKay, research director for the 2006 Gallop Poll, explains: “There is a degree of fatalism in [the Japanese people’s] sombre mood.

Teens’ perspectives on life tend to a sense of nihilism to an alarming degree. A note of hopelessness is found in the responses to a number of questions.

And there is little evidence of eternal hope, although a considerable number do believe in some form of life after life.”

Masaaki Suzuki, founder of the Bach Collegium in Japan, once said (First Things, 2000) that the Japanese language “does not even have an appropriate word for hope. We either use ibo, meaning desire, or nozomi, which describes something unattainable.”

“Do a lack of hope and low numbers of believers mean that Japan and Christianity are indeed mutually exclusive?”

A brief review of history indicates otherwise. In 1549 the great Jesuit priest Francis Xavier and fellow missionaries arrived in Japan with their sights set on evangelization. Remarkably, 10 per cent of the Japanese

population became baptised, believing Christians. This mass conversion began to make Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the ruler of Japan, afraid that the missionaries were paving the way for colonisation.

Consequently, he outlawed Christianity under pain of death. Many of the new converts risked their lives, taking their beloved religion underground.

In 1597 Toyotomi made an example of 26 Christians - six missionaries and twenty Japanese - by cutting off their ears and marching them from Kyoto to Nagasaki in the dead of winter.

Upon their arrival in Nagasaki he had them crucified. During the underground years countless Christians were tortured and thousands were martyred for their faith.

But when Christianity was legalized in 1873 a small but dedicated community of believers remained.

Nevertheless, in the 21st century Christianity often seems little more than a blip in Japanese history. Materialism attempts to fill the void of religion and the hope that traditionally accompanies it.

The recently popularised tradition of Christmas in Japan poignantly illustrates this. For most Japanese, Christmas consists of a date with a lover, fried chicken, Christmas cake, and presents.

Opposed to bowing to the Christ child, Christmas enthusiasts bow to materialism, completely ignoring all religious origins and implications.

Another instance of the adoption of a Christian tradition hollowed of its religious significance is the prevalence of Western “church” weddings.

It is estimated that as many as 90 per cent of Japanese weddings are conducted in this style.

The bride wears a white wedding dress and is escorted down the aisle to her groom; rings are exchanged; a cross adorns the front of the chapel; Christian hymns are sung; Bible verses are read; and a “minister” - frequently a Caucasian English teacher earning some extra cash - presides. The vast majority of these newlyweds, however, are not Christians.

“Is the adoption of Christmas and Christian-style weddings simply a superficial result of Japan’s interest in Western culture? “

While for many this is the case, for others the outward imitation of Christian holidays and sacraments seems to create an inward feeling for the faith and an attraction to it.

This may help to explain a recent discovery. Since the legalization of Christianity in the late 1800s, the number of believers had stubbornly hovered around one percent.

The 2006 Gallup poll, however, disclosed that an astounding 12 per cent of Japanese who claim a religion are now Christian, making six per cent of the entire nation Christian.

However, there is no inherent reason why that should surprise us. Other Asians have taken to the Christian faith. The Philippines - thanks to a lot of help from Spanish colonizers - is the stand-out example with over 90

per cent of its population Christian, but South Korea is a substantial 26.3 per cent Christian, Vietnam 7.2 per cent, and even China has been reported to be approximately 5 per cent Christian.

It is impossible to determine the exact percentage in China because many Christians there remain underground in fear of the communist security forces.

Yet, like Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s attempts to stifle Christianity in 16th century Japan, modern China’s attempts are also in vain: thousands are said to convert daily.

Confronting, as it does, the problems of an advanced industrial society - a critically low birth rate, an ageing population and the unravelling of family ties that once bound society together - Japan has every reason to look for sources of hope beyond its old traditions.

The Christian faith that won so many staunch converts nearly five centuries ago is an obvious candidate.

Jennifer Van House Hutcheson is a freelance writer who recently returned from Okayama, Japan, to Atlanta, Georgia..

Former child migrants recall the past

By Sylvia Defendi

Sixty years ago, front-page priority in The Record Newspaper was given to the news that 147 British orphans had arrived at Fremantle’s port to help populate the nation.

“The West Australian Catholic Child Migrant Scheme was initiated in May, 1938, when His Grace the Archbishop Redmond Prendiville announced the completion of negotiations between the State and Federal Governments of Australia and the British Government,” it stated.

Over 350 orphans ended up in WA as more ships arrived over the ensuing year.

These days, many are in their 60s, and speak of the hard life that followed the harsh break from their culture, relatives and even families. Yet, amongst the years of heartache, many said there was much to celebrate as they recently gathered for the 60th anniversary of their arrival in Australia, on September 22.

A fitting setting, Fremantle’s Maritime Museum was packed that day with more than 350 guests, 150 of whom were child migrants, who pulled into Fremantle port aged between five and 13 all those years ago.

These orphaned children came from institutions all over England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, many of them with the excitement of a holiday in the sun that they later realised would last a lifetime. Upon arrival, the boys were bused to Clontarf College, in Victoria Park, as well as Tardun and Bindoon, where the Christian Brothers took charge. Meanwhile, the girls were received by the

Sisters of Mercy and Nazareth Sisters at St Joseph’s Orphanage in Subiaco and Nazareth House in Geraldton. Most never received proper education, although many child migrants report that the boys endured more hardship and received the less education.

There are also others, however, who spoke of the hardships of living in a post-war British orphanage, where intense poverty ensured many regularly went cold and hungry.

“The Church wanted to bring out their flock, the British Government wanted to give starving orphans a better life after the war and Australia wanted to be populated,” child migrant Laurie Humphries said of the scheme.

“However, while intentions may have been ‘pure,’ the harsh reality of a scheme based on the future, with no recognition of the past, damaged many of those orphans later in life,” he added.

Sixty years later, many have travelled the hard road towards discovering their past; yet still consider the other child migrants as their family. And this is why, Mr Humphries said, the recent 60th anniversary reunion was so successful. “A few migrants said they thought no one would recognise them after 60 years, but we are a family of sorts. We still keep in touch, especially the girls,” he said.

Each child migrant who attended the anniversary celebration was awarded a certificate of recognition from Attorney General, Jim McGinty, who together with Fremantle Mayor, Peter Tagliaferri, Federal Minister for immigration, Kevin Andrews and Archbishop Barry Hickey recognised the trials and tribulations of coming, as children, to an unknown country and congratulated each child migrant on their contribution to the state of Western Australia.

An unexpected find

By Sylvia Defendi

As a former child migrant who came to Western Australia in 1947 aboard the Asturias, Michael Madigan was more than surprised to find a model of the ship in a Perth antique shop not long ago. Michael was one of 147 children who embarked on a voyage to an unknown land as part of a migration scheme set up by the Australian and British Governments, with assistance from Christian churches.

Sixty years later, Michael donated the model (pictured left) to the Fremantle Maritime Museum as part of the sixtieth anniversary celebrations for all former child migrants, which was held on September 22. Holding the replica are former child migrants, Laurie Humphries, Michael Madigan and Bill McGrath.

PHOTO: SYLVIA DEFENDI

Reminiscing: Juanita Miller dances with Laurie Humphries at the 60th anniversary of the controversial child migrant scheme of 1947.

Good old time: Members of the Silver Threads Band entertained guests at the 60th anniversary of child migration into Western Austarlia at the Fremantle Maritime Museaum.

Old friends: Eddie Cogan and his wife (left) pose for a photo with organiser of the 60th anniversary celebrations, Laurie Humphries.

past they never had in the land of plenty

By Sylvia Defendi

For former child migrant Eddie Butler, the best thing about the 1947 child migration scheme, that saw 350 children arriving on the shores of Western Australia, is that those mistakes of the past will never be repeated.

Eddie was placed in an English orphanage at the age of three, where he suffered the poverty of a post-war economy until the age of 10 when he was chosen to travel to Australia.

Without any idea of the travel that would be required to reach this unknown land, Eddie said he enjoyed his time on the ship.

“We often starved in the orphanages, so to finally get good meals aboard the ship was fantastic,” he said. All Eddie recalls of his first moments at Fremantle’s port was the intense heat and the throngs of people who waved him off as he was bused of with many other boys to Bindoon.

Eddie was faced with six years of intense labour as he and the other child migrants built and maintained the Agricultural College that stands there today, under the supervision of the Christian Brothers.

“It was hard work and the brothers were very hard on us all. Unfortunately, we didn’t receive any education either,” he recalled.

When he turned 16, Eddie left Bindoon to begin his carpentry apprenticeship, which he interrupted to join the army.

While other servicemen returned to their families during the holidays, Eddie simply stayed at the barracks, having nowhere else to go.

This nostalgia for a past he never knew, prompted Eddie to search for his family. “I didn’t get very far that time,” he said of his mission, “because I didn’t even know where to start.”

The responsibilities of marriage and fatherhood did not allow for very much investigation, until an innocent query from his young daughter prompted Eddie to continue his search. “One day my

Orphan

By Sylvia Defendi

“I vaguely recall them asking who wanted to go to Australia. I didn’t even know where Australia was,” child migrant Mary Armstrong said.

As one of the 350 children who were shipped to Australia postworld war II, Mary was only 13 when she arrived at Fremantle in 1947.

She had been placed in an orphanage in Northern Ireland at the age of five after her mother died and father became ill.

Like many other child migrants, Mary said she greatly enjoyed the month-long voyage by ship, that is, apart from feeling sea-sick.

“Only five of us felt sea-sick and I was one of them,” she recalled.

Upon her arrival Mary was sent to St Joseph’s orphanage in Subiaco, were the Sisters of Mercy looked after her. A few years later, Mary

daughter was asked to complete a family tree for school. My side was blank and it saddened me to tell her I could not help to fill it,” he said.

After many years of intense investigation Eddie discovered that he had been given the wrong name and date of birth when he left Bindoon all those years ago.

“For so many years I searched for my mother to no avail - I almost gave up because it was so hard to come across records in England,” he said. However in 1985, a chance meeting with author of Empty Cradles, Margaret Humphries, finally shed some light on Eddie’s past. “I spoke to her of my troubles and she took all my details and searched for me,” Eddie said.

It was not until 1999 that Eddie was called into the offices of the Child Migrant Trust of WA. “They told me they had finally found my

mother, but that she had died two years earlier,” Eddie said, still saddened by the news.

Since that day, Eddie has been to visit his sister in America, where his mother had lived.

“I think it is one of the worst things not to know your mother,” Eddie said sombrely, adding that at the time of his migration no one seemed to think about how what they were doing would impact on a child’s future.

Sixty years on, Eddie’s lost past still affects him, but he has also found some form of closure and finds the time to write often to the families of those child migrants who passed away without being able to search for their family members.

“I’m just glad that what they did to us will never happen again,” he said.

was the first migrant to pass her Junior exam and went on to study nursing in Geraldton.

However, it was during the nursing college’s annual holidays that Mary began feeling the pain of being an orphan away from home.

“Each holiday I went and stayed

at the orphanage in Subiaco. I had no home to go to as my friends did,” she said. Yet, it was not until

1997, after getting married and raising six children, that Mary was finally able to fully discover her past. A group of 50 child migrants joined Mary as they too embarked on the sentimental journey.

When she arrived in Ireland Mary reunited with her sister who lived in England and discovered her brother had died during WWII.

Perhaps most devastating, however, was the discovery that her father had passed away merely a year after her arrival in Australia.

While many former child migrants have struggled with the discovery of a past they had long been denied, Mary said that 60 years later she is still grateful for the education and care she received as an orphan. “When I lived with my father as a young child there were many times when we went hungry. Our family really struggled.

“So, while I have often wished for the family I never had, I don’t know if my life would end up as pleasant

as it is now, without the intervention of the sisters,” she said.Mary has been back to her hometown a few more times since her sentimental journey in 1997 and said each time was as indescribable as

the last. And as for the family she never had, Mary says that the girls she grew up with in the orphanage over the years are still her friends today, although she considers them more sisters.

Old times: Serviceman Murray Bryant (left) with child migrant Eddie Butler (right), who joined the Australian army when 19. PHOTO: COURTESY OF EDDIE BUTLER.

Full circle: 60 years after leaving England, Eddie Bulter has discovered that the past is too important to leave behind. PHOTO: SYLVIA DEFENDI.

All the crew: Child migrants at Bindoon.

PHOTO: COURTESY OF EDDIE BUTLER.

Young lives: A young Eddie Butler (left) poses for a photo with friend and former child migrant Johnny Brady (right). PHOTO: COURTESY OF EDDIE BUTLER.

Memories: Mary Armstrong looks over some old photographs of herself and a few new ones of her ‘sister’ orphans. PHOTO: S DEFENDI.

Opinion

Forget the bandaid, uproot the evil

i say, i say

By Mark Reidy

In July 2002, 71 people - mainly Russian children - were killed when two planes collided over southern Germany. Later, a man who had lost his wife and two children in the accident murdered the air traffic controller who was on duty at the time.

The bereaved husband and father, it seems, had been blinded by a desire for vengeance and had channelled his anger toward the individual whom he perceived to be responsible. His actions, I believe, are symptomatic of a society that has become accustomed

to responding emotively to a given situation, without stepping back to evaluate the less conspicuous factors that may have contributed.

During the trial relating to the airline disaster it was revealed that the murdered controller was not, in fact, solely responsible for the accident and that a communication breakdown, technical malfunction, pilot error and staff shortage had all played a role.

Experience has led the aviation industry to an understanding that tragedies are the result of a combination or alignment of diverse system failures and can rarely be pinpointed to an individual.

It is a shame that the wider community has been unable or unwillingly to embrace this evolution of thought. Instead, our time, energy

and resources have become fixated on observable problems and little energy is directed into investigating the causes.

Individually, socially and politically we have become driven by an insatiable desire for the “quick fix”.

We respond to the growth in crime by building more jails, we respond to an increase in sexual diseases by handing out condoms, we respond to an escalation of unplanned pregnancies by legalising abortions, we respond to increasing family breakdowns by providing alternatives to marriage and we respond to a rise in drug use

with decriminalisation. And within this framework of expediency we are content to lay exclusive blame on the shoulders of individuals and condemn their families, but we are reluctant to look beyond these parameters to analyse the culture and laws in which they exist. We find it easier to continually snip off the bad fruit rather than uproot the diseased tree.

Like the grieving man who chose to murder, we as a society are willing to be satisfied with a scapegoat.

But we need to learn from aviation investigators who delve into every aspect of an organisation in their efforts to learn from a tragedy and improve the safety for future generations.

From federal regulators to airline executives to workers on the floor,

A marriage that is open to the Holy Spirit

By Derek and Karen Boylen

Arecurring theme of John Paul II’s pontificate when it came to marriage and family was that “married couples are called to open their hearts ever more to the Holy Spirit, whose power never fails and who enables them to love each other as Christ has loved us”.

One of the reasons the late Pope urged couples to be open to the Holy Spirit is that the fruits of the spirit are love, joy, peace, patient endurance, kindness, generosity, faith, mildness and chastity (Galatians 5:22).

All of these qualities constitute the character and nature of healthy Christian families.

Pope John Paul II thought of these as the “rule of life” or “program for personal development” for healthy Christian couples and families.

“From such love Christian families are born. In them children are welcomed as a splendid gift from God.”

Sadly, in our personal, work and family life, we notice many couples who are completely caught up with the struggle of acquisition.

The struggle of acquisition is the mistaken idea that the purpose of life is to acquire things.

People struggle to acquire things for many reasons such as a mistaken belief that having things will somehow make us happier or that people

will be able to tell how successful we and our families are when they see all the things that we have.

It’s very easy to get caught up in the struggle of acquisition.

Our society idealises the rich and famous.

These are the people we should strive to be like.

Being like them will make us happy.

People don’t often, consciously, decide to be like that, it happens in small steps.

I (Derek) don’t have air-conditioning in my car.

As the weather warms up I find myself often thinking about how I’d love to have a car with air-conditioning... and maybe an mp3 player so I can listen to lectures on the way

to work... it would be nice if it came with... and before you know it without much effort at all I’m caught up in the mindset of the struggle of acquisition.

John Paul II makes the wonderful observation that “man is more precious for what he is than what he has... Christian families exist to form a communion of people in love.”

We mistakenly think that things or the lack of them will make us happiest or most miserable in life.

The truth, which we know from our own experience though, is that it is people who make us the happiest or saddest in life.

It is the quality of our relationships that has the greatest influence on our own happiness. John Paul

each element is seen as a cog in a single machine and it is understood that the malfunction of any part will affect the performance of the rest. Human error is not seen as a cause, but as a symptom of failure.

With an increasing number of young people being destroyed within a culture of violence, sex and drugs it is vital that, as a society, we adopt this attitude of communal responsibility.

While we must never deny the need for individuals to take responsibility for their choices, it is essential that we simultaneously analyse the environment in which these choices are being made.

Much can be learnt from the wisdom of an ancient Ethiopian proverb: “It takes a village to raise a child”.

II’s words echo those of Jesus. Christ tells us so beautifully in the parable of the rich fool (Luke 12:13-21) that “a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

As Christian families we need to take refuge and be strengthened by the sacramental nature of our relationship.

The challenge is for us to be open to the gifts of the Holy Spirit and through them resist the struggle of acquisition.

The call, as John Paul II so beautifully puts it, is that “like the Church, the family ought to be a place where the Gospel is transmitted and from which the Gospel radiates to other families and to the whole of society.”

derek.cmes@perthcatholic.org.au

An indie icon on a personal search for Christ

BEING HEARD

By John Heard

Sufjan (Pron. SOOF-YAN)

Stevens is an extraordinary musician - an indie-folk pinup boy, one of the beloved sons of Pitchfork Media and also something of a composer.

Next month his new work for orchestra, based on the sounds of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway in New York, will premiere at Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM).

Stevens is best known, however, for two albums Michigan (2003) and Illinois (2005) that were part of an ambitious project based on

the United States of America. That project is now apparently on hold, but in the meantime (especially on Seven Swans 2004 and in some interviews) Stevens has intensified already powerful religious elements in his music.

For Stevens is not exactly a Christian Music artist, his work does not slavishly conform to a preconceived set of expectations, but he is a Christian and much of his work touches on his faith.

He often sings about, for and to Christ.

Happily enough, he does so in a deeply convincing, fascinating way.

From Flannery O’Connor, the Catholic author from the American South (A Good Man Is Hard To Find), to those left behind by late-Capitalism (Flint - For the Unemployed and Underpaid) Stevens’ songs feature motley characters.

He has meditated on outsider artist Henry Darger (The Vivian Girls Are Visited In The Middle Of The Night By Saint Dargarius), serial murderer John Wayne Gacy Jr (John Wayne Gacy Jr), novelist Saul Bellow (Saul Bellow) and

Polish-American general Casimir Pulaski (Casimir Pulaski Day). This is a truly Catholic collection, trending oddball perhaps, but Stevens only holds these subjects up - and their lives and quirks are pressed close against the glass of a very thoughtful, musical think tank – to treat them as human beings.

In Stevens’ re-telling, these individuals are not mere ornamentation then, they are not ironic ciphers and they are not dealt with under that dismissive category, ‘freak’.

The descriptions ‘callous killer’, ‘famous writer’, ‘immigrant worker’, ‘crazy old man’, etc. don’t make sense in Stevens’ world, if they make sense anywhere.

It is a credit to Stevens’ writing talent (he studied literature in college) that he can merge his relatively simple lyrics into rich, at times meditative incantations that conjure real people with all their attendant weaknesses and nobility.

On a remarkably schmaltz-free Christmas album, Stevens even managed to craft intense new holiday songs (Sister Winter is the stand-out) and re-animate limp classics. Like the best Christian cul-

tural witnesses, however, Stevens’ music appeals first to something fundamental about the human person.

He doesn’t adopt religious clichés and musical shortcuts. He sings about our dreams and our disappointments.

This is, of course, something that cannot help but be wrapped up in Christ and fulfilled in Him, but Stevens does not force his listeners into any particular sort of religious box.

His lyrics are never preachy. Instead, he invites listeners, in the best way, and gestures beyond the limits of human agency in an open, honest and profound manner.

Stevens is so successful at this sort of thing that there is a large group on Facebook, the online social networking tool, set up by his self-described ‘atheist and heathen’ fans. As the group’s description states:

“So maybe Sufjan’s lyrics are all loaded with Christian allegory.

“We, humble non-aligners with the New Testament God (sic), don’t mind. Sufjan sings about things even condemned souls like ours

can appreciate, like Abe Lincoln the ‘Great Emancipator’; memories stirred by a wasp spreading its wings; ancient jazz musicians; rural history, urban mystery; sympathy for serial killers; being young, unemployed, and in love; broken cars; and America”.

All those things, indeed, that the wide sweep of human experience brings into view and the kind of teeming chaos that only Christ can knit together into light and love and peace.

When Stevens sings, then, he points to God. In doing so, he redirects the attention of those who either do not know God, think they cannot love Him, or else worry that He does not want them. Stevens reminds us, to paraphrase St Augustine, that God made us for Himself, and that our hearts find no rest until they rest in Him. At his best, Stevens becomes a conduit for something greater than himself.

This makes his music inherently compelling, a site of hope in contemporary culture.

John Heard is a Melbourne writer.

The World FEATURE

The King’s leading lady... now prioress

ABC TV has just aired a documentary on the experiences of everyday Australian women living in a Benedictine abbey in NSW. In this interview with Zenit, A Benedictine nun who was one of Elvis Presley’s leading ladies discusses the history of her monastery, her own personal journey from Hollywood film star to nun, and the personality of the abbey’s founder.

Adherence to the Benedictine tradition of work and prayer is the key to the success of the Abbey of Regina Laudis in the US, according to its prioress, Mother Dolores Hart.

The Abbey of Regina Laudis is the topic of the recently released book Mother Benedict, written by Antoinette Bosco and published by Ignatius Press.

Mother Benedict Duss founded the Benedictine monastery 60 years ago, after the Second World War. She died in 2005.

Q: Mother Benedict, the founder of the first contemplative Benedictine Abbey for women, is described in the book as strong and determined, but also a gardener, both of flowers and of souls. What was she able to accomplish through this unique set of personality traits?

Mother Benedict loved to garden. She said her ideal monastic life was gardening and studying.

God had other ideas, however, and she was driven to establish a foundation because she could see that is was what God wanted.

Mother Benedict was also a very creative, intelligent woman who cultivated many friendships and who always had time for a crisis.

Q: Can you explain the connections between General George Patton and the Abbey of Regina Laudis at the end of World War II?

General George Patton, liberated France as the commanding general of the Third Army. His was the army that liberated Jouarre, the abbey where Mother Benedict was in hiding.

Years later his granddaughter, the daughter of General George Patton, Mother Margaret Georgina Patton, found her way to the Abbey of Regina Laudis, and that began the conscious connection between the liberator and Mother Benedict.

This connection continues through the whole Patton family to this day.

Q: Many convents, during the turbulent time after the Second Vatican Council, were forced to close for one reason or another. What do you think kept Regina Laudis not only stable, but flourishing during that time?

Regina Laudis suffered its own turmoil during those years. What kept Mother Benedict going was

her adherence to Benedictine tradition in work and prayer and a dedicated program of renewal, engaged in by the whole community.

For Mother Benedict this did not mean throwing everything out, but taking on perennial values with a new dedication.

Q: Your own life could be a story, going from a movie star, in roles opposite Elvis Presley and George Hamilton, to a cloistered Benedictine nun. In what way were you drawn from your Hollywood lifestyle, to the quiet, contemplative life at Regina Laudis?

My life will soon become a story by the good grace of my long time friend and collaborator, Dick DeNeut, who headed Globe photos in Hollywood for many years.

My good fortune was to have him as a professional contact who

made certain that my reputation in the press never went the way of becoming a “starlet.” I learned very early in my career that good complements held your life intact, and I was indeed graced.

“Hal Wallis signed me to a seven-year contract when I was only 17. In those seven years to follow, I was the leading lady for Elvis Presley, Montgomery Clift and Stephen Boyd, and I learned my trade from such greats as Karl Malden, Anthony Quinn and Cyril Richard.”

Hal Wallis signed me to a sevenyear contract when I was only 17. In those seven years to follow, I was the leading lady for Elvis Presley, Montgomery Clift and Stephen Boyd, and I learned my trade from such greats as Karl Malden, Anthony Quinn and Cyril Richard.

To experience the fullness of my profession through the gifts of these artists and many more who came my way in the short years of my time in Hollywood was a gift from God that I never had dreamed possible.

Yet it was one I had prayed for since I was a small girl, watching the films on Saturday afternoons in my grandfather’s movie projection booth.

I was watching for my Daddy who was an actor and had been whisked off to Hollywood by a talent scout because he looked like

Clark Gable. I vowed that I would do this too.

But God had other plans for me. I had to acknowledge the vocation I had been trying to run from for years. I knew this the first time I came to Regina Laudis. I was finally home.

Q: In the preface of the book, you discuss Mother Benedict’s wisdom on living out one’s sexuality even under the vow of virginity. Can you describe her thoughts on this?

There is no contradiction between virginity and sexuality. To be truly virginal is to be fully oneself. To be fully a woman, one’s sexuality must be integrated and expressed in all that one does.

This integration should lead to the ability to collaborate with men or women, lay or religious, in creative movements within the community or with laity, according to one’s mission.

Sexuality is not limited to genital expression but pervades all we do. In a life dedicated to virginity the genital expression is sacrificed, but not the total giving of oneself to the mission.

Q: The book ends shortly after the death of Mother Benedict. Now, after nearly 60 years since the abbey’s founding, how do things look today at the Abbey of Regina Laudis?

Today, the Abbey of Regina Laudis is blessed in a number of ways.

On July 11, the feast of St. Benedict, we were privileged to receive the archbishop of Hartford, His Excellency Henry Mansell, for an unprecedented ceremony of monastic consecration in which the archbishop consecrated five members of our community who had been married before they entered religious life. This was an enormous blessing for all of us.

We are also planning for the November release of our new CD, “The Announcement of Christmas,” that celebrates our work in chant covering the season of Christmas from the beginning of Advent through the close of the season at Epiphany.

This will allow listeners to enjoy the musical treasures of the church’s liturgy that are often hidden from the ears of everyday churchgoers.

These time-honoured chant melodies for centuries have so beautifully expressed the glory of Christ’s continual coming through the ages in the Flesh of Humanity.

There is also our own birth, in August, as the community celebrates the ceremony of “clothing,” which welcomes the entrance of a postulant into the novitiate, reminding us that Our Lady’s gift of fecundity is ever-present in the growth of our own community.

And Regina Laudis remains hopeful for continuity as a new postulant has arrived to fill the new novice’s place in the ranks.

We are reminded in Romans 5 that it is through faith that we are in grace and so we pray for this gift continually, that we may be worthy of him to whom we have pledged our lives

Scenes from a career

From leading lady to Prioress: Now Mother Delores Hart stared with Elvis Presley as the leading lady in the film ‘King Creole’ (top), and in ‘Loving You’ (third from top). Mother Hart poses with some friends at a recent fundraiser (bottom).

Widow sees her husband’s beatification

Continued from Page 1

His courage of faith, the cardinal said, is an important example in modern times, when people face “conditioning and manipulation of consciences and minds, sometimes through deceitful means.”

Cardinal Saraiva Martins emphasized that Blessed Jagerstatter was quite a normal person, someone with faults and who for a period seemed to take his faith lightly.

According to biographies, he was a fun-loving youth who chased after girls and rode a motorcycle, and once fathered a child out of wedlock. After marrying, however, his religious faith deepened.

Lay, clergy must be model teachers

Parishioners who model Christ are most effective teachers: Benedict XVI

■ By Carol Glatz

VATICAN CITY (CNS) - Clergy, lay catechists and parishioners who model their lives according to Christ represent the most effective tools for teaching the word of God, Pope Benedict XVI has said.

“Whoever teaches the faith cannot risk appearing like a sort of clown who just performs a role for one’s job,” the Pope said on October 24 at his weekly general audience in St Peter’s Square.

The catechist should not go through the motions, but “must be like the beloved disciple who rests his head on the heart of his Master” to hear and learn how to think, speak and act, he said.

Continuing a series of audience talks about early church theologians, Pope Benedict focused his remarks on St Ambrose, a fourthcentury bishop of Milan, Italy, and a doctor of the Church.

St Ambrose would prepare his catechumens by going over the moral teachings of sacred Scripture “until they were following in the footsteps of divine laws,” the pope said.

Reading sacred writings is crucial for learning “the art of living well,” which is “living in conform-

ity with divine revelation,” he said.

St Ambrose was a model catechist, he said, as his teaching was inseparable from how he prayed and lived.

The way he and his parishioners “prayed and sang close knit like one single body” amazed a young St Augustine, a professor of rhetoric in Milan still searching for the truth, he said. In fact, seeing the word of God being concretely lived by its believers marked the turning point which finally convinced St Augustine to convert to Christianity and be baptized by St Ambrose, the Pope said.

He said St Augustine learned from St Ambrose the importance of reading and listening closely to the word of God so that it is lived.

This is especially important for clergy, deacons and catechists so that none of them will become “an empty preacher of the word of God outwardly, who is not a listener to it inwardly,” the Pope said, citing a quote by St Augustine in the Second Vatican Council’s Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, “Dei Verbum.”

This inward listening and attentive reading of Scripture can be done through the practice of “lectio divina,” a form of prayerful meditation on the word of God which St Ambrose introduced to the West, said the pope.

This prayerful reading will lead the reader to truly absorb the word of God into his or her own heart and bring one to Christ, he said.

In 1940, at the age of 33, he was conscripted into the German armed forces and underwent basic training. After returning home in 1941 on an exemption as a farmer, he began examining closely the religious reasons for refusing to carry out military service. About that time, he became a lay member of the Third Order of St. Francis.

He studied the issues in detail, and at one point wrote a series of questions about the morality of the war that he discussed with his bishop. He emerged from that conversation saddened that the bishop seemed afraid to confront the issues.

In 1943, after being called to active duty, he reported to his army base and stated his refusal to serve. A military court rejected his assertion that he could not be both a Nazi and a Catholic, and condemned him to death for undermining military morale. His offer to serve as a military paramedic was ignored.

A priest from his home village visited him in prison and tried to talk him into serving in the army, but to no avail.

Blessed Jagerstatter was beheaded by guillotine on August 9, 1943. “I am convinced that it is best that I speak the truth, even if it costs me my life,” he wrote before his execution. In a final letter to his wife, he asked her forgiveness and said he hoped his life would be accepted by God as “atonement not just for my sins but also for the sins of others.”

A chief question raised in Blessed Jagerstatter’s writings is how much obedience a good Christian owes to civil authorities when their demands conflict with Gospel teachings.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, published in 1992, addresses that issue, stating: “The citizen is obliged in conscience not to follow the directives of civil authorities when they are contrary to the demands of the moral order, to the fundamental rights of persons or the teachings of the Gospel.

Snapshot Church on the move...

A 750-year-old church is transported on a special trailer from the eastern German village of Heuersdorf on October 25. Emmaus Church was being relocated to the neighboring town of Borna to make way for the extension of a mining operation. The church was to be placed into Martin Luther Square in Borna on Reformation Day, when Lutherans traditionally recall the 16th-century founder of the Protestant church.

Gospel needs to infect us all 1962 Missal of Tridentine

VATICAN CITY (Zenit.org)

- Pope Benedict XVI says the Gospel message needs to affect the way people think, judge and act, and thus, the world needs masters of faith and well-trained heralds.

The Pope affirmed this as he greeted students of the Roman pontifical universities gathered in St Peter’s Square last week.

The students’ meeting with the Holy Father followed a Eucharistic concelebration presided over by Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski, prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education to mark the beginning of the academic year.

Benedict XVI encouraged the students and professors to “establish a climate in which commitment to study and fraternal cooperation enable you to enrich one another, not only in what concerns cultural, academic and doctrinal aspects, but also on a human and spiritual level.”

He told them that the chance to study in Rome, “see of Peter’s Successor and thus of the Petrine ministry,” a city “rich in historical memories, in masterpieces of art and culture, and above all in eloquent Christian testimony…will help you to reinforce the sense of belonging to the Church and of fidelity to the universal magisterium of the Pope.” And “the presence of students from every

saints and illustrious men of the Church.”

Referring to Pope John Paul II’s apostolic constitution “Sapientia Christiana,” which calls for a consideration of new problems in the light of Christian revelation and a presentation of truth “in a man-

that awaits you in the various fields of apostolic activity,” the Pope said.

“In our own time, the Church’s evangelising mission requires, not only that the Gospel message be spread everywhere, but...the entire culture of modern man must be permeated by the Gospel.”

has republished the missal for liturgical use. Missals and other books of prayers and rituals designed exclusively for liturgical use have a special cover and binding and do not include commentary.

PHOTO: CNS/ARND WIEGMANN, REUTERS

At last: A portrait of Blessed Franz Jagerstatter hangs in St Mary’s Cathedral during his beatification in Linz, Austria on October 26. PHOTO: CNS/REUTERS

Hello: The Holy Father greets pilgrims in Rome. PHOTO: CNS/REUTERS

The World

498 Spanish martyrs beatified in Rome

Onslaught begins: 498 beatified, 2000 more to come

VATICAN CITY (Zenit.org)

- The 498 Spanish martyrs proclaimed Blessed on October 28 marked the largest number to be beatified simultaneously in the history of the Church.

Some 50,000 people gathered in St Peter’s Square for the celebration of the martyrs who died in the 1930s in Spain.

“The message of the martyrs is a message of faith and love,” affirmed the Pope’s representative, Cardinal José Saraiva Martins, prefect of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes.

In contrast to the practice of celebrating beatifications in the home country of the blessed, today’s ceremony was held in the Vatican, as 15 dioceses were home to the new blessed, and 23 of their causes of beatification were based in Rome.

The martyrs came from almost all the Spanish territory, as well as Cuba, France and Mexico.

Several hundred of those in St Peter’s Square were family members of the martyrs. The official Spanish delegation was presided over by the minister of foreign affairs, Miguel Ángel Moratinos.

After Cardinal Antonio Rouco Valera, archbishop of Madrid, the diocese to which the largest number of martyrs belonged, asked the Pope to add the martyrs to the number of the blessed, Cardinal

For

Saraiva Martins read the apostolic letter of beatification. The letter sets the feast day of the martyrs on November 6.

“What message do the martyrs transmit to each one of us here present?” asked Cardinal Saraiva Martins. “That we should examine ourselves boldly, and make concrete

resolutions, in order to discover if this faith and love show themselves heroically in our lives. To be coherent Christians implies that we not fail in our duty of contributing to the common good and molding society according to justice.”

This means, he added, defending the dignity of the person, life from

conception until natural death, the family founded on the sacramental and unbreakable union between a man and a woman, and the right and primary duty of parents in educating their children.

With today’s celebration, the Catholic Church has already beatified almost 1,000 people martyred

Verbatim

“Their example gives witness to the fact that baptism commits Christians to participate boldly in the spread of the Kingdom of God, cooperating if necessary with the sacrifice of one’s own life. Certainly not everyone is called to a bloody martyrdom. There is also an unbloody ‘martyrdom,’ which is no less significant, such as that of Celina Chludzinska Borzecka, wife, mother, widow and religious, beatified yesterday in Rome: It is the silent and heroic testimony of many Christians who live the Gospel without compromises, fulfilling their duty and dedicating themselves generously in service to the poor.”

- Pope Benedict XVI, speaking to pilgrims in St Peter’s after the beatifications of the Spanish Martyrs

during the religious persecution that took place in Spain in the 1930s. According to the secretary of the Spanish bishops’ conference, Jesuit Father Juan Antonio Martínez Camino, there are still many more cases that could be recognised in the future.

Of these 2000 are already in process.

some issues, Hollywood is decidedly uncomfortable

Hollywood said to treat abortion themes with ‘trepidation’

■ By Mark Pattison

WASHINGTON (CNS) - The treatment of abortion themes in movies made in the US may seem to some skewed against a pro-life viewpoint - if they’re presented at all - but the issue is much rarer in films than many might think.

Forty years ago “the Production Code forbade touching abortion in Hollywood movies,” said Henry Herx, retired director of the US bishops’ Office for Film & Broadcasting. Also known as the Hays Code and put in place in 1930, it regulated all manner of content.

“It’s all changed since 1968 with the dropping of the Production Code,” he said, and the institution of a ratings system by the Motion Picture Association of America that didn’t evaluate content until after it was committed to celluloid.

But even so, the abortion issue is still approached “with great trepidation” by filmmakers, said Harry Forbes, the current director of the film and broadcasting office.

“For all of the liberalness of Hollywood - the reported liberalness of Hollywood - when it comes to depicting that sort of thing on screen, the filmmakers are very, very careful not to offend,” he said. Noting, as did Herx, there was a

taboo about presenting abortion for the 40 years the self-imposed Production Code was in effect, Forbes added: “I almost can’t think

Film’s lead actor considered Catholic role model

HOLLYWOOD, California -

The film “Bella” is destined to have an extraordinary impact on people’s lives, said the chairman of the US bishops’ conference committee on pro-life activities. Cardinal Justin Rigali, archbish op of Philadelphia, said the film, released last weeek in the US, “has a message that is so connected to life: to the problems of life, the challenges of life, the value of life.” The cardinal wrote to his fellow bishops encouraging them to host advanced screenings of “Bella” with the hope of spreading the film’s message.

of an instance where a character has had an abortion in the film and the script has let her get off lightly for whatever reason. So I think it’s still

somewhat taboo, and, hopefully, will remain so.”

“Almost universally, things are presented from the view of ‘the

The film, which won the 2006 People’s Choice Award at the Toronto Film Festival, is about a young pregnant woman who loses her job, and a man who is unable to recover from a tragic accident in his past. Their friendship changes their lives and brings new hope to both. It features actors Eduardo Verástegui, Tammy

Ponderous: Tammy Blanchard and Eduardo Verastegui star in a scene from the movie “Bella.” PHOTO: CNS/ROADSIDE

Blanchard, Manual Pérez and Ali Landry. Verástegui, a teen heartthrob during his years as a professional musician and actor, is now known as a Catholic role model. After a spiritual conversion that brought him back to Catholicism, he is now an outspoken defender of the right to life, chastity and his faith.

In a Spanish-language interview with the Eternal Word Television Network in July, Verástegui noted that he has clear “the purpose of my life, of our lives - I was not called or born to be an actor, nor created to be famous, nor rich, nor an engineer, a doctor, a success. I was called to be a saint.” -Zenit.org

woman’s right,’ ‘not such a big deal,’” said Susan E Wills, assistant director for program development in the US bishops’ Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities. “There’s no portrayal of the reality of the abortion aftermath,” she added. “Men who impregnate these women are portrayed as uncaring boors.”

“In recent times,” Forbes said, “probably the benchmark for abortion movies was ‘Vera Drake,’ which was about a middle-class English housewife who performs abortions on the side unbeknownst to her husband and children, and she believes she’s doing these girls who are ‘in trouble’ a good turn.

“What was interesting about the film was you could walk away from it feeling - feeling rightly - that what she was doing was very wrong,” he

Thomas Grenchik, executive director of the pro-life secretariat, spoke about the new movie “Bella,” in which a pregnant woman contemplates an abortion but ultimately decides against it.

“It’s not a happy, made-up ending,” Grenchik said. “It’s not kind of a Disney-type ending but more of a real-life ending.”

In “Bella,” which opens at cinemas nationwide next year, an unwed restaurant waitress gets fired from her job the morning she confirms she’s pregnant, only to have the restaurant’s best cook abandon his own duties and hang out with her throughout the day in a subtle attempt to persuade her to not have an abortion.

Celebration: Spanish students hold portraits of clergy members killed during the 1936-39 Spanish Civil War during the beatification ceremony for 498 martyrs at the Vatican on October 28.

PHOTO: CNS/CHRIS HELGREN, REUTERS

Reviews

Dark corporate drama forges character

‘Truth can be adjusted’ runs this movie’s tagline - but for how long? A tale of corporate crisis which forges character, writes Leticia Velazquez

Michael Clayton is a gritty, divorced, 40something gambler, who works for one of New York’s most prestigious law firms as a fixer. When one of the high-priced clients of his law firm gets into trouble, Clayton, son of a cop and brother to another, cleans up the mess. How did a Catholic school graduate, and former criminal prosecutor come to use his skills to cover up corporate evils? He seems immune to his distasteful job, which he calls “the janitor”, as he dispassionately conspires with a wealthy client who is guilty of a hit and run. Michael calmly weighs his client’s options, and having covered for another scoundrel, winds his way home through the wooded hills at dawn. Why does the sight of three horses looking out over a hilltop cause him to leave his car, and approach them, with a look of dreamlike wonder?

George Clooney’s riveting performance as the man who keeps everyone’s secrets, and covers their sins, keeps you watching his every move, wondering just how he got stuck in the role of fixer. Is it the $75,000 he owes the bank for the bar he opened with his junkie brother, or his shady back-alley card game partners?

Kenner, Bach, and Leeder, the firm he works for is in trouble, as we see in the opening scene. A six billion dollar class action lawsuit against their client, U North - a

Twisted character: George Clooney, who has been proud in the past to be known as a “dissenter” of the Left-leaning kind, has prided himself on producing thoughtprovoking pieces, including Good Night and And Good Luck, which he directed: the tale of newsman Edward R Murrow’s on-screen battle with Senator Joseph McCarthy. In Michael Clayton however, we have a dark corporate tale in which Clooney plays a man who keeps everyone’s secrets.

chemical company which made a weed killer blamed for the death of hundreds of farmers - is about to collapse because KBL’s representative is suddenly willing to settle the case. U North’s in-house counsel, Karen Crowder, is desperate to save her company’s reputation, but just how far is she willing to go? Tilda Swinton plays a ruthless Karen, a woman who sacrificed a personal life for a high powered position. Michael receives an emergency call to fly to Milwaukee, where attorney Arthur Edes, played by Tom Wilkinson, has “lost it” in a depositions hearing, stripping down to his socks and siding with

the plaintiffs of the U North lawsuit. He calls himself a “conspirator”, and is putting his firm’s high profile case into a tailspin, Michael is sent to quell his symptoms and keep the scandal from spreading. Why does Arthur suddenly snap after handling this despicable case for years without a qualm, and just what keeps him in intense conversation one night with Michael’s tenyear-old son?

A tale of corporate crisis which forges character, Michael Clayton resembles but falls short of the superb craft of a similar film, The Devil’s Advocate. It is told out of order, with flashbacks, which serves

to keep the audience on their toes, adding up the clues till the conclusion. It tweaks the consciences of corporate types who have lost touch with the real-life ramifications of their wheeling and dealing. I watched it in a theatre packed shoulder to shoulder with retired Wall Street types.

A solitary view of a pristine Midwestern farmhouse in the fresh snowfall, and an ordinary policeman’s home seem places of peaceful solace in contrast with the darkness of corporate wrangling. The simplicity of the people there imbue this dark world with hope that the answer is simply one of righting

the harm done. But is it too late for fixer Michael Clayton to be able to see this?

A dark corporate drama with a masterful Sydney Pollack as Marty Bach, senior partner of the firm, Michael Clayton is a morality tale for Wall Street. Powerful cimematography and a tense soundtrack lend a gothic ambiance to the film. The R rating is for the adult nature of the movie, and a graphic sexual reference, brief scene with a woman in her underwear.

Leticia Velasquez is a homeschooling mother of three, part time college professor of English as a Second Language and writes in her spare time. - Mercatornet

Confession a key ingredient in World Youth Day

Delegates receive a taste of what’s to come

Whenthe almost 200 international World Youth Day delegates arrived in Sydney last week, many were happy to see the successful logistical coordination of the event some nine months out.

The attendees of this international youth day preparatory meeting included representatives from global episcopal conferences, diocesan youth coordinators and key individuals from the Pontifical Council for the Laity. The delegates received briefings on current WYD ‘08 planning and operations, and provided organisers with advice and feedback.

They also had the chance to partake in a sightseeing extravaganza as they were bused around the host city visiting the event venues, from Darling Harbour, where the Stations of the Cross will be held July 18, to Randwick Racecourse, the venue selected for the vigil and concluding Mass, which will be celebrated on July 20 by Benedict XVI.

The head of the youth section of the Vatican dicastery for the laity, Monsignor Francis Kohn, described his time here as impressive and

exciting. “This is a gorgeous city that offers many possibilities,” he told me during his visit to Sydney, “and of course it’s a great chance for the local population and the world to witness the Catholic Church, which is in a minority here, in all her impressive glory.”

Mgr Kohn was accompanying Cardinal-designate Stanislaw Rylko, president of the Pontifical Council for the Laity. Both Vatican officials remained unfazed by the commotion being made by some members of the Australian media regarding whether the racecourse was a real possibility as the final venue.

Mgr Kohn insisted that in his decades of experience with international World Youth Days, he had never seen a case where the location for the final papal Mass was locked-in with the government so far ahead of the event itself. During the meetings, Cardinal-designate Rylko expressed his sincere gratitude not just to the Church in Australia for its logistical feats, but also to the civil authorities in the country, saying “both the federal [officials] and those of New South Wales that have, right from the beginning, been very open and supportive of this initiative.”

The prelate’s comments came

after an official NSW government reception with the state’s premier, Morris Iemma, at the Australian Museum.

During the trip, the dignitaries and international delegates partook in daily liturgies at St Patrick’s Cathedral -- the oldest church in Sydney. They were offered an insider’s glance at the program of events for next year, and discovered all the current logistical planning details from transport, security and meal distribution, as well as prayer and evangelisation possibilities. Mgr Kohn reflected the general enthrallment of the visitors with not only the beauty of the land but the openness of its people, particularly the ones they met within the ranks of the WYD office.

“Sydney is taking on a great task that many youth are enthused about across the world,” he said. “Being here this time has underlined for us just how the freshness and the multiculturalism of the nation offer a true welcome and genuine interest and concern for the other, regardless of his/her background. ... You can see how this is a country which is used to adapting itself to welcoming a massive influx of cultures over the years.”

He noted how well this attitude

coincided with the WYD message composed by Benedict XVI: “The Pope speaks of this being a new Pentecost, a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit in this new land ... and I’m confident that this place will be one of great spiritual exchange as youth bring their faith and cultures to this party that celebrates Jesus Christ our saviour to enrich each other.”

“It seems that Sydney,” Monsignor Kohn said, “just by its very distance from the ancient world of Europe, will be able to rejuvenate the face of the Church for the people of Oceania and the world through this event. It will provide a strength of mission ... encouraging youth to hold onto the joy of the original faith of the early Church in an age where it’s very difficult for young people to live Christianity.”

One of the key elements of every WYD gathering are the long lines of young people waiting to go to confession.

But why is this? In a day and age where there is a decline in Church attendance, even more are opting out of the sacrament of penance, perceiving it in the same vein they might a trip to the dentist.

Fr Michael de Stoop of the Archdiocese of Sydney, which will

host WYD ‘08, has unwrapped this mystery in his new book “The Gift of Confession: A Positive Approach to the Sacrament of Reconciliation.” Fr de Stoop spelled out 25 benefits of the sacrament for all of us who may have a more standoffish approach. The book has been so popular that just weeks after it hit the bookshops and the Internet, it’s already going into its second print.

“In earlier years much emphasis has been placed on the consequences of not going to confession, so it’s understandable that there are a lot of anxieties in relation to reconciliation,” the 35-year-old dean of St Mary’s Cathedral said. “Fear can often blind us from the positive realities of the sacrament. The book and its pocket-sized edition contain doctrinally accurate answers to popular questions about confession, which the author hopes will act as an important resource for laypeople and religious alike. I think it could have a good impact on families too, and I hope parents won’t have to do much more than just leave it on the table, as curiosity may get the better of their children ... especially with its cover motif of gift-wrapping that my brother Richard so brilliantly designed.” -Zenit.org

PHOTO: CNS

Reviews Failure of human rights a legacy of Holocaust

Aftershock: Anti-Zionism and Antisemitism

By David Matas

Publisher: Dundurn, Toronto

by Hal Colebatch

■

This book, by a noted Canadian human rights lawyer, begins with a statement by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Elie Wiesel to the United Nations in 2004: “Naively, I was convinced antisemitism had died in Auschwitz.”

We know better now. We are in the midst of a resurgence of anti-Semitism in Europe and elsewhere. Many of us have seen the children’s TV program of a character got up in imitation of Mickey Mouse being kicked to death by a brutal Jew, and it is not exactly rocket-science to work out what this leads to.

A letter I received recently from a relative in Britain, a retired (and non-Jewish) technical college lecturer, remarked on “The vileness of the anti-Semitism sweeping this country.”

At about the same time that I received this I read that the BBC had suspended commentator and former Labour MP Robert KilroySilk for having written an article in the Sunday Express critical of punitive amputation, the oppression of women, suicide-bombing and other aspects of Arab culture.

It was reported that Kilroy-Silk might face criminal prosecution with a possible prison-sentence of up to seven years.

Meanwhile Tom Paulin, a “poet and Oxford don” continued to be a regular contributor of BBC2’s Newsnight Review arts program,

despite being quoted in the semiofficial Egyptian newspaper AlAhram as saying that Jews living in the Israeli-occupied territories were “Nazis” who should be “shot dead.”

He added that “I never believed Israel had the right to exist at all.”

Although repudiated strongly by many individual members, organizations of academics, journalists, some unions and other organisations have all approved various boycotts of Israel.

Even while writing this review I received the following on leading British journalist Melanie Phillips’s weblog:

A reader has sent me deeply disturbing evidence of the indoctrination into hatred and lies being perpetrated in at least one of our schools.

This is a questionnaire that was distributed to pupils at a large mixed comprehensive school in Britain (the reader has asked me not to identify the school for personal reasons)…

clearly is completely ignorant of international law, within which Israel acts, and is merely recycling the ideological equivalent of saloonbar bigotry …

I recently read a book by a wellknown highbrow British journalist writing ostensibly on British politics

to a Parliamentary group in regard to WA’s proposed human rights legislation, has here provided an analysis and documentation of contemporary anti-Semitism which, though published in Canada, draws material from all over the world.

He demonstrates how easily alleged “anti-Zionism” merges into antisemitism.

“Only three days after the conference ended, terrorists hijacked four planes, crashed into the Pentagon and world Trade Centre and killed three thousand people.

“You know that Israel’s actions against Palestinian civilians go against international law. Which of the following do you decide?

a) People like us in Britain should stop buying goods made in Israel, to help put pressure on Israel to stop attacking the Palestinians (3); b) This conflict has nothing to do with us and there is nothing we can do (1); c) Our government should put pressure on Israel to do what international law says, and cut down its occupation of Palestine (2); d) We need to find out more about the conflict between Israel and Palestine before we say what we can do (3)”

The numbers in brackets indicate the score students would receive for their answers – the higher the better.

The week before they had a number of photos they had to group together – one was an Israeli tank and a Palestinian boy that was put under ‘Oppression.’

“This travesty is being perpetrated in ‘citizenship’ lessons. The teacher who devised this question

who on Page 1 reacted with pained outrage to the fact Israel had made a military response not only to continual suicide-bombing attacks of civilians but also rocket-attacks on its cities which killed thousands of its people.

In the 21 months from September 2000 to May 2002, more than 470 Israelis were killed by suicide bombers alone, and more than 3,000 injured – before the death-toll from rocket attacks and other murders is considered.

Saddam Hussein’s Iraq paid US$10,000, later increased to US$25,000, to the family of each suicide bomber (This despite the fact suicide is absolutely forbidden by the Koran and terrifying and eternal punishments in the Afterlife are prescribed for it).

Iraq showed its priorities by paying less to those who died in combat with Israeli soldiers than those who died murdering civilians.

Author David Matas, who visited WA recently and gave evidence

He writes: “Anti-Zionists, whose primary goal is destruction of the state of Israel, use accusations of the worst forms of human rights violations against Israel to delegitimise the state.

These accusations crminalise the Jewish population worldwide for actual or presumed support of the state of Israel.

“The contemporary international human rights system and the existence of the State of Israel are twin legacies of the Holocaust. The failure of the human rights system to prevent attacks on Israel and the Jews is an aftershock of the Holocaust.”

Certainly, the record of history shows the world has paid little attention to the scores of thousands of Jews driven out of Arab countries, often without out any possessions, and racist laws in force in a number of countries which, for example, make it a capital offence to sell land to a Jew.

The book, which largely details how many international government and non-government organizations have been hijacked by Jewhatred, begins with a description of the notorious non-governmental organisations’ Forum Against Racism in Durban in AugustSeptember, 2001, and how this was dominated by anti-Semitism and anti-Americanism, with Jewish and-or pro-US speakers and delegates howled down and attacked:

On hearing the news, thousands of Palestinians poured into the streets of the West Bank and Gaza to celebrate, chanting ‘God is great’ and distributing candy to passersby. Matas comments:

“While those at Durban could not have anticipated the terrorist attacks on the United States, no-one [there] would have been surprised at the Palestinian reaction of joy.

Some parts of the world have developed a culture of hatred against Israel and American support for Israel as fierce as the Nazi hatred of Jews before the Second World War.”

The World Council of Churches, infamous during the Cold War for its support of anti-Western terrorists and tyrants including Robert Mugabe, did not die with the end of the Cold War though it has become more circumspect.

However in 2004 it reverted to form by issuing a statement virtually inciting violence against the population of Israel, lauding the “right for resistance against the Israeli occupation.”

Such rhetoric diminishes the possibility of peaceful negotiations with the Palestinians.

However, as is documented in detail here, even more reputable groups and international organisations, have also displayed glaring anti-Israel/anti-Jewish prejudice and moral double-standards.

This book contains a wealth of facts and references, and its often shocking quotations are meticulously sourced.

It also offers some positive suggestions for countering antiSemitism.

Although it is published in Canada and not easily obtainable locally, it is well worth anyone concerned with human rights and the present threat to Israel’s existence taking the trouble to purchase.

Confession: a testimony to God’s unfailing mercy

Sisters of Mercy and the Christian Brothers in the 1940s we were encouraged to go to Confession at least fortnightly.

+ Postage

Available from The Record Bookshop

■ by Brian Peachey

This is a very good book which it is long overdue.

For more than a quarter of a century the practice of regular reception of the Sacrament of Penance has declined. Too many good people do not partake of benefits of the Sacrament at all.

During my education by the

Later as a member of the Sodality, the Holy Name Society, it was the norm to go to Confession at least before the monthly reception of the Eucharist. Today there are no longer rows of penitents seeking reconciliation in churches on Saturdays. One could doubt whether encouragement may have been given at schools in the recent past.

This is born out by a disturbing 2004 doctorial study by Marist Brother Luke Saker of students who had attended Catholic High Schools and were at the time 1st and 2nd year students in the School of Education at Edith Cowan University. It showed that only 1.5 percent in the survey went to Confession in a month, 16.5 percent a few times a year‚ and 82 percent rarely or never.

Fr Michael de Stoop’s book will be a valuable help to parents, priests and teachers to explain that the

Sacrament is not only for the forgiveness of sins, it is also an aid to living and a source of Sanctifying

Grace.

Fr Michael is a priest of the Archdiocese of Sydney. He is currently an Assistant to the Dean at St Mary’s Cathedral, the Archdiocesan Director of Vocations and Chaplain to the Catholic Youth Services.

The book has 25 chapters or, as the publisher refers to them, 25 benefits. It is both entertaining and informative with some analogies, true stories and answers to questions.

It has a comprehensive index, quotes extensively from Sacred Scripture and the saints and often draws from the writings of the late Archbishop Fulton Sheen.

My only criticism of what is a most valuable work is that in chapter 21, Psychological Benefits, it fails to mention how beneficial it can be to Catholic women suffering from post-abortion syndrome.

Many women who have had an abortion, often through ignorance

or coercion, can spend years in a wilderness of grief, anxiety and depression, some turning to alcohol or drugs and tending to self harm and suicide.

Some women so afflicted can relate to how God’s mercy and forgiveness in the Sacrament of Reconciliation has restored them to sanity. I can confidently recommend it especially to religion teachers, and support what Archbishop Hickey said of the work: Given the fall off in recent years it is refreshing to find a book that urges people to take up again the practice of confessing their sins. Readers will be moved and convinced by the real spiritual benefits of Confession.

These benefits go beyond the forgiveness of sins to the wider and perhaps, today, the more fundamental matter of reorienting ones life towards Christ. This is a book about God’s unfailing mercy.

Saturday November 3

DAY WITH MARY

PANORAMA a roundup of events in the archdiocese

Holy Family Church, Lot 375 Alcock Street, Maddington at 9am to 5pm. A video on Fatima will be shown at 9am. A day of prayer and instruction based upon the messages of Fatima. Includes Sacrament of Penance, Holy Mass, Eucharistic Adoration, Sermons, Rosaries, Procession of the Blessed Sacrament and Stations of the Cross. BYO lunch. Enq: 9250 8286.

Saturday November 3

PINNAROO VALLEY ALL SOULS MASS

Mass to commemorate the souls of all the faithful departed will be celebrated at Pinnaroo Valley Memorial Park Crematorium Chapel starting at 1pm. All welcome. Enq: Our Lady of the Mission Parish Office 9307 2776.

Saturday November 3

WITNESS FOR LIFE PROCESSION

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

Saturday November 3

CATHOLIC EDUCATORS SEMINAR WITH ARCHBISHOP HICKEY

Archbishop Hickey and Anthony Cleary from the Sydney CEO will be speaking on the New Evangelisation and Generation Y at the Catholic Pastoral Centre in Highgate, from 9am – 1pm. For Catholic educators (all sectors), student teachers, catechists, home schoolers and apologists. Cost: $10. RSVP by October 31. Enq: Renato 94375349 or admin@scta.org.au

Sunday November 4

DIVINE MERCY

An afternoon with Jesus and Mary will be held at St Joachim’s Church, on the corner of Shepperton Road and Harper Street in Victoria Park. Starting at 1.30pm. Holy Rosary and Reconciliation, Sermon ‘Holy Souls in Purgatory’ with Fr Doug Harris followed by Divine Mercy prayers and Benediction. Afterwards refreshments in the parish hall followed by a video/dvd “A Priest prepares to meet Jesus”. Enq: John 9457 7771 or Linda 9275 6608.

Sunday November 4

ETERNAL WORD TELEVISION NETWORK : Every Sunday, 1 - 2 pm on Access 31 November 4: The Communion of Saints / Fr Benedict Groeschel [Sunday Night Live]

Many thanks to our supporters for enabling us to keep the program on air for the remainder of the year. We have 100 members, who provide $1 a week. 200 more are needed if we are to continue throughout 2008. To join, please send a donation of $50 (annual) to The Rosary Christian Tutorial Association, P.O. Box 1270, Booragoon 6954. When our goal is reached, names of members are to go into the draw for an opportunity to win a free installation to receive EWTN free-to-air 24/7. Enq: 9330 2467

Sunday November 4

SPRING AFFAIR - SCHOENSTATT

Start 10am to 3pm, at 9 Talus Dve, Armadale. Morning and Afternoon Teas, Lunches, Cold drinks, Plants, Cakes, Books, Chocolate Wheel, Teddy bears, Woodwork. A fun family atmosphere. Enq: Denise 0427 097 447

Thursday November 8

KRISTALLNACHT ‘NIGHT OF BROKEN GLASS’ - MEMORIAL SERVICE

In the presence of: His Excellency The Hon. Dr Ken Michael AC Governor of Western Australia. Guest Speaker: Rabbi Dovid Freilich (Perth Hebrew Congregation). Perth Modern School Auditorium 90 Roberts Road, Subiaco, 5.30 pm -7.00 pm Thursday. 8 November 2007

November 10 – 11

ART EXHIBITION TO RAISE FUNDS FOR THE CATHEDRAL RESTORATION

Oils by Margaret Fane to be held after Mass Saturday night and after Sunday Mass 9am to 4pm. Bateman Catholic Parish Church Hall, 100 Dean Road, Bateman. Enq: 0432 834 743 or 9443 1853.

Saturday November 10

WOMEN OF WITNESS REFLECTION DAY

Women are invited to a day of down to earth teaching and pampering as we explore how we can be women of witness and a light to the world. For registration and information contact Therese 9437 5349 by November 2. First 30 registrations receive a free gift. Cost $20 for morning tea and lunch.

Saturday November 10

THE ANNUAL HOLY MASS AT THE GROTTO ON RICHARD AND JUDY PRIESTLEY FARM

Starting at 10.30am. Please bring a chair and hat. BBQ meat will be provided for lunch. All welcome. Directions: Take Great Eastern Highway to El Caballo Blanco, turn south into Wariin Road and go 1.8km. Turn east into Chinganning Road and go 2.2km (allow 40min from Midland)

Saturday-Friday November 10 - 16

THE 2007 BUNBURY CATHOLIC COMMUNITY RENEWAL

Success Full: Relationships will be the subject for Fr Justin Belitz OFM during the week-long Renewal at St. Mary’s Church beginning with the Parish Masses November 10 and 11, followed by sessions on November 11 to November 15, beginning at 9.45 to10.45am each morning and 7.30pm to 8.30pm each evening. All welcome. Enq: Dick 9721 4651.

November 12 – 15

MISSION AND HEALING MASS

St Bernadette’s Parish invites you to a Mission and Healing Mass. The theme of the Mission is “Peace at any Cost” and the main presenter is Norma Woodcock. Come and join us on this exciting spiritual journey at the Parish Centre, Grand Ocean Boulevard, Port Kennedy, 7pm. The Mission will conclude with a Healing Mass. Enq: Val Hilton 9537 1038.

Tuesday November 13

CONVERSATIONS ON TAP

An event hosted by the University of Notre Dame Australia, Guest speaker Duncan MacLaren past Secretary-General of Caritas Internationalis 19992007, accompanied by Liz Stone (Caritas Australia Community Engagement Manager) Venue: Fremantle Hotel (cnr Cliff & High Streets), 7pm9pm.Cost $10 Light snacks & beverages included, RSVP on 94330611. Unable to make it? Duncan will also be guest speaker at Caritas Australia’s Annual Get Together on Monday November 19.

Wednesday November 14

CHAPLETS OF THE DIVINE MERCY.

A beautiful, prayerful, sung devotion to be held at St Thomas More Catholic Church, Dean Road Bateman on the second Wednesday of each month commencing at 7.30 pm. All are welcome. Enq: George Lopez 9310 9493

Wednesday November 14

CARITAS AUSTRALIA BUNBURY PUBLIC FORUM

Guest Speaker Duncan MacLaren past SecretaryGeneral of Caritas Internationalis 1999-2007, accompanied by Liz Stone (Caritas Australia Community Engagement Manager), Hear Duncan’s thoughts on “Social Justice and the Millennium Development Goals”, 7.30pm - 9pm at Our Lady of the Bay Community Centre, College Avenue, West Busselton. Enq: Caritas 9721 0500

Wednesday November 14

FREE PUBLIC LECTURE

“Archaeology of Biblical Texts” by archaeologist & historian Dr Jennifer Carroll 7:30pm – 9pm. Lecture (45 min) followed by Q & A session and tea/coffee.

Acts 2 College of Mission and Evangelisation, 67 Howe Street, Osborne Park Enq: Jane 0401 692 690 November 15 – 22

BROTHER ELIA VISITS PERTH

This 44-year-old mystic/stigmatist of our times, visits Perth. November 15, St Jerome’s church, Spearwood, 5.30-8pm. November 16, St Joseph’s church Bassendean, 5.30-8pm; and Indonesian Community, Corpus Christi church, Mosman Park, 9.30am-12.30pm. November 17, Holy Spirit church, City Beach, 9am-12noon. November 18, St Brigid’s church, West Perth, (Italian only) 4pm7pm. November 19, St Lawrence’s church, Balcatta, 9.30am-12 noon. November 20, St Bernadette’s church, Glendalough, 9.30am-12 noon. November 21, St Mary’s church, Leederville, 9.30am-12noon and St Simon Peter church, Ocean Reef, 6pm8.30pm. November 22, Legion of Mary, East Perth, (priests only), 9.30am-noon (lunch included) – RSVP: Joan: 9447 3711. Please contact: Kathe: 9356 3722 or George: 9440 3371 for more information.

Friday November 16 and Sunday November 18

WEEKEND RETREAT: DANCING THE PSALMS

Friday November 16 starting at 7.30pm and Sunday November 18 starting at 2pm. St Joseph’s Retreat Safety Bay Enq: Evelyn Tierney 9370 2541 or 043 245 1171

Saturday November 17

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS CELEBRATES 60TH

ANNIVERSARY IN WA

Perth Town Hall starts at 7.30pm. Public awareness meeting. All welcome. Enq: AA Central Service Office 9325 3566.

Friday November 17

INTERCESSION FOR WORLD YOUTH DAY 2008

All night prayer vigil. St Bernadette’s, Jugan St, Glendalough. 8pm-6am. Begins with Mass ends with Breakfast. All are welcome to come to pray and intercede for World Youth Day 2008. Come for an hour, stay the night.

Sunday November 18

OPENING AND BLESSING OF THE NEW HOLY SPIRIT

PARISH CENTRE

By Bishop Don Sproxton, with Holy Mass at 9.30am, blessing at 10.30am. Address: 2 Keaney Place, City Beach . Old and new parishioners all welcome.

Monday November 19

CARITAS AUSTRALIA PERTH ANNUAL GET TOGETHER

Guest speakers Duncan MacLaren past SecretaryGeneral of Caritas Internationalis (CI) 1999-2007 and Jack de Groot (CEO Caritas Australia), 5.15pm (Registration) – 7.30pm, Catholic Pastoral Centre Seminar Room, 40A Mary Street Highgate (Entry off Harold St), No charge, Refreshments provided, Hear up-to-date information on Caritas Australia’s work and its role as a member of CI, RSVP: Essential by Thursday 15 November Tel 9422 7925.

November 23 - 24

CHRIST THE KING: RETREAT & HEALING RALLY

A Retreat & Healing Rally presented by the Holy Spirit of Freedom Community will be held in the Sacred Heart Church, Pemberton. Bookings and Information: Marcelle 9776 1542

Sunday November 25

CHRIST THE KING: EUCHARISTIC PROCESSION

The Sacred Heart Parish Pemberton, in conjunction with the Holy Spirit of Freedom Community, invite you to join the 10.30am Parish Mass followed by a Eucharistic Procession to Karriholm-God’s Sanctuary, Benediction and a light lunch.

Friday December 7

SILVER JUBILEE OF PRIESTLY ORDINATION: FR PETER STIGLICH O PRAEM

The Norbertine Canons and the Parishioners of East Cannington/ Queens Park invite past parishioners, friends and supporters to celebrate with them, Fr Peter Joseph’s Ordination Anniversary at 7.30 pm, with Solemn Mass in St Joseph’s Church, 135 Treasure Rd, Queens Park, followed by Supper at St Norbert College. RSVP 9458 2729 ext 238 by November 30.

Saturday December 8

SINGLES CHRISTMAS PARTY

Three course meal. Inc wine, tea and coffee. $25/ head $20 conc. Venue: Integrity House, 67 Howe Street, Osborne Park. Run by disciples of Jesus Catholic Community Reach Out Ministry. Come along & meet new friends. RSVP Barbara 9341 5346 by 18 November.

Sunday December 9

GOLDEN JUBILEE CELEBRATIONS - OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL HELP, WILSON

The Catholic Parish of Our Lady of Perpetual Help (formerly Castledare Boys’ Chapel), 14 Castledare Place, Wilson, will be celebrating its Golden Jubilee with a Mass at 9.30am, officiated at by Archbishop Hickey, followed by a morning tea in the Community Centre of Castledare Retirement Village. All past and present parishioners, and anyone with any association with our community over the years, would be most welcome at attend our celebrations.

JOSEPHITE 2008 CALENDARS

Calendars available with Blessed Mary MacKillop’s inspirational sayings $5.00 each plus postage or can be collected at the Mary MacKillop Centre South Perth Enq: Sister Maree Riddler 0414 683 926

Every First Friday and First Saturday of Each Month

COMMUNION OF REPARATION ALL NIGHT VIGIL

Corpus Christi Church, Mosman Park 7pm-1am. 46 Lochee Rd, Mosman Park. Mass, Rosary, Prayers, Confessions and silent adoration. Contact: Catalina 0439 931 151.

First Sunday of each month

DEVOTIONS IN HONOUR OF THE DIVINE MERCY

The Santa Clara Parish community welcomes anyone from surrounding parishes and beyond to Santa Clara Church, cnr of Coolgardie and Pollack Sts, Bentley. The afternoon commences with the 3 o’clock prayers, followed by the Divine Mercy Chaplet, reflection and concludes with Benediction.

Last Sunday each month

HEALING FIRE BURNING LOVE

Charismatic Mass celebrated at the Holy Spirit Chapel, 85 Boas Avenue, Joondalup at 5.45pm. Worshipping the Father in Spirit and in truth John 4:23-24. St Bernadette’s, 6.30pm – 8.00pm. Cnr Leeder and Jugan St Glendalough.

Every Saturday

PERPETUAL HELP DEVOTIONS

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

Every Sunday

BULLSBROOK SHRINE

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

Every Sunday

LATIN MASS

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

Every fourth Monday

SCRIPTURAL PRAYER PROGRAM

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

Second Wednesday of Each Month

CHAPLETS OF THE DIVINE MERCY

A beautiful, prayerful, sung devotion to be held at St Thomas More Catholic Church, Dean Road Bateman commencing at 7.30 pm. The next devotion is to be held on Wednesday 14 November 2007. All welcome. Enq: George Lopez 9310 9493

Every second Wednesday

FORTNIGHTLY BIBLE REFLECTIONS

Workers in the Garden of the Holy Family are conducting Bible Reflections at St Mary’s Church, Parish Centre, 40 Franklin Street, Leederville. Commencing 7pm with Rosary, refreshments provided afterward. Dates: October 17, 31, November 14, 28, December 5. Enq: 9201 0337.

EUCHARISTIC ADORATION

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

Every First Friday

HOLY HOUR FOR VOCATIONS TO THE PRIESTHOOD AND THE RELIGIOUS LIFE

At Little Sisters of the Poor Chapel, 2 Rawlins Street, Glendalough. 7pm Mass with celebrant Fr Albert Saminedi. 7.30pm Holy Hour Adoration with Fr Don Kettle. Refreshments to follow in the hall. All welcome.

Second Friday of each Month

GENERAL PRAYER ASSEMBLY

The Couples for Christ and its Family Ministries welcome all members who now reside or are visiting Perth to join the community in our monthly general prayer assembly 7.30pm, St Joachim Parish Hall, Shepperton Road, Victoria Park. Enquiries: Tony & Dolly Haber (08) 9440 4540.

Every Fourth Sunday

SECULAR FRANCISCAN ORDER

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

Every Fourth Sunday

WATCH AND PRAY

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

WEIGHT MANAGEMENT FOR THOSE WITH MENTAL ILLNESS

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

PANORAMA continued

CLUB AMICI

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

CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS

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

OUR LADY QUEEN OF PEACE HOUSE OF PRAYER

Archbishop Hickey, at the end of 2006, approved a House of Prayer in the Archdiocese of Perth. The house must be fully purchased or donated and operational by the end of November 2007. All donations may be deposited at the CDF (Catholic Development Fund), 61 Fitzgerald Street, Northbridge. Ph: 9427 0333 Fax: 9427 0379 Email: cdf@archdiocese-perth. org.au. All donations will be fully refunded in the first half of December 2007 should a suitable house not be found and purchased. Please enquire about Tax Deductibility and General Enquiries: 9444 1940.

DONATION WANTED: THE CHAIN OF MARY

From 2004 up until now the Chain Of Mary has had a positive response throughout Australia and is now making its way overseas. We are now looking for anyone who can help with donations towards the continued printing and distribution of these Booklets. If you can assist Please call Rose on 0437 700 247.

FIRST EDITION MULTICULTURAL COOKBROOK

Published by St Lawrence Parish, Balcatta - Easy family recipes only $15. To purchase a copy, call Luciana Bailey 9344 7066 during office hours: Tuesday to Friday 9.30am to 12.30pm.

BOOK DONATIONS WANTED

We are seeking donations of Catholic books, Bibles, Missals and Divine Office books any age, any condition. If you can help, please tel: 9293 3092

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Every Wednesday HOLY HOUR, BENEDICTION

Holy Hour 4pm to 5pm. Held at St Thomas, 2 College Road, Claremont. Followed by Evening Prayer and Benediction. Personal prayer before the Blessed Sacrament is Adoration of Jesus’ gift of Himself, of His love for you, for your loved ones and for our world. Come and Thank Him.

Spend some time with Him

What is the Eucharist?

The faith of the Church, Pope Pius XII tells us, is this: that one and identical is the Word of God and the Son of Mary who suffered on the Cross, who is present in the Eucharist, and who rules Heaven. This beautiful little book looks at the Eucharist as exemplified in the lives of the saints, those who have followed their Creator with all their heart and all their will. In its pages you can find inspiration to begin to discover the real meaning of your life.

Available from The Record

$6.95 + postage

Call Natalie on (08) 9227 7080 or via bookshop@therecord.com.au

Panorama

Panorama entries must be in by 12pm Monday. Contributions may be faxed to 9227 7087, emailed to administration@therecord.com.au or mailed to PO box 75, Leederville, WA 6902.

Events charging over $10 constitute a classified event, and will be charged accordingly. The Record reserves the right to decline or modify any advertisment. Please do not re-submit Panoramas once they are in print.

BLINDS

BLINDS SPECIALIST Call AARON for FREE quotes 0402 979 889.

BUILDING TRADES

BRICK RE-POINTING Phone Nigel 9242 2952.

PERROTT PAINTING PTY LTD

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

PICASSO PAINTING

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

BUSINESS OFFER

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY

Extra income from your own home-based business. Work part-time without disturbing what you are doing now. Call: 02 8230 0290 or 0412 518 318 Events

EMPLOYMENT

AUTOMOTIVE PARTS SALES PERSON We sell Auto Parts – Second hand. Recycled from insurance damaged motor vehicles. An experienced Auto Tradesperson would be ideal. We deal with the Trade and DIY customers. We welcome any enquiries. Phone Kevin McAuliffe 9459 4111

FURNITURE REMOVAL

ALL AREAS Mike Murphy 0416 226 434.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

THE JAMES CROFTS HOPE FOUNDATION INC. seeks volunteers for the following positions. 1) Treasurer - with accounting experience. 2) Events Manager Please contact Helen on 9445 7661

THE CHRISTIAN DEMOCRATIC PARTY Volunteers required for Polling Day. Paul Connelly 0414 247 286 or pmjconnelly@hotmail.com Health

IMMIGRATION

MIGRATION TO AUSTRALIA Guidance and visa processing for Skilled, Family or Study Visas . Call Michael Ring or Ajay Trehan Registered Migration Agent (MARN # 0212024) - Phone: 02 8230 0290 email: michael.ring@bigpond.com

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

BOOK REPAIRS

REPAIR YOUR LITURGICAL BOOKS

FUTURE OF PARISHES COMMITTEE

EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

This committee is seeking to appoint new members who will contribute to its work of supporting new growth and pastoral opportunities within the Archdiocese by: Working with parish priests and parish pastoral councils. Making recommendations to the Archbishop on parish matters. Members are appointed by the Archbishop on a voluntary basis. The committee meets six times yearly. For expressions of interest or further details please contact Julie Williams on 9422 7900 or email: padperth@highgate-perthcatholic.org.au <mailto:padperth@highgate-perthcatholic.org.au> by November 9, 2007.

PREMISES REQUIRED

We are looking for premises either North or South of Perth where we can hold daytime clinics for our clients. We require premises for a period of three to four hours during one day of the week; where we can see the clients privately and also have a waiting room. A Doctors surgery would be ideal. Similar offers would be appreciated. Our teachers are highly qualified in the field of Fertility education and management in the Billings Ovulation Method. Please contact Billings WA 0409 119 532 Marilena Scarfe.

THANKSGIVING

O Holy St Jude Apostle and Martyr great in virtue rich in miracles. Near Kinsman of Jesus Christ faithful intercessor of all who invoke your patronage in time of need. I have cause from the depths of my heart to humbly beg you to whom God has given such great power to come to my assistance. Help me now in my urgent need and grant my earnest petition. In return I promise to make your name known and cause you to be invoked

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Classifieds must be submitted by fax, email or post no later than 12pm Monday. For more information contact 9227 7778.

Bannister Road, Canning Vale. Open Mon-Sat. TO LET

Mogʼs Place, Guilderton. Self contained cottage available for holiday rental. Sleeps 6. Contact Mog 0419 926 280.

Baby Brandon at 3 weeks age as photographed by Justine Stevens

The Thought of Pope Benedict XVI: An Introduction to the Theology of Pope Benedict XVI

By Aidan Nichols

Theologian Aidan Nichols presents a detailed and accurate explanation of the major theological teachings of Pope Bendict XVI, including the Church, History, Christian Brotherhood, the Creed, Eschatology and the Liturgy, A must for those who seek a deeper understanding of this great theologian of our times.

$45+postage

The Apostles

By Pope Benedict XVI

OPEN FOR SATURDAY

CHRISTMAS TRADING

10am-2pm, Saturdays, November 3 - December 22

The Yes of Jesus Christ: Spiritual Exercises in Faith, Hope & Love

Without Roots: The West, Relativism, Christianity and Islam

“The Church was built on the foundation of the Apostles as a community of faith, hope and charity. Through the Apostles we come to Jesus Himself.” The Holy Father takes readers through a. fascinating and inspirational journey with the chosen disciples of Jesus, showing their profound place in the life of the Church today.

$24.95+postage

By Pope Benedict XVI

“We are not allowed neutrality when faced with the question of God. We can only say yes or no.” Secular thought has failed to answer the great questions of human existence. Genuine faith, hope and love and the transformation of evil through the power of love is found only in Christ, and our ability to say yes to ourselves and one another can only come from God’s yes in Christ.

$33.95+postage

By Pope Benedict XVI

In his highly popular book, Pope Benedict XVI pierces through the curtain of reticence and timidity which impedes a clear discussion of our future and the great issues of our time – the state of the West, Christianity, Islam, war and bioethical questions. Readers will see that the Church has something very valuable to offer the world and its future.

$44+postage

Let

Edited by Robert Moynihan

This book presents an introduction to the life and work of Pope Benedict XVI, who through His Pontificate, aims to bring the world to understanding the true, good and beautiful Holy Trinity, the fount of all life, and lead us to a deep relationship of love with God, in order to fully become who we were created to be.

$17.95+postage

Contact Natalie at the Bookshop on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays on (08) 9227 7080 or via bookshop@therecord.com.au

God’s Light Shine Forth: The Spiritual Vision of Pope Benedict XVI