The Record Newspaper 10 November 2005

DANGER AHEAD: Bishop Saunders warns on anti-terror laws Page 3

Death row prayer push

■ By Paul Gray

A25-year-old Australian facing the death penalty for drug smuggling in Singapore is the subject of a growing prayer campaign around Australia which has drawn strong support from leading members of the Catholic hierarchy.

Tuong Van Nguyen has been convicted of attempting to smuggle 396 grams of heroin through Singapore’s Changi airport. The crime carries a mandatory death sentence in Singapore.

The penalty is carried out by hanging, usually on a Friday. Mr Nguyen may be executed this month.

Cardinal George Pell, supported by Sydney Anglican bishop Peter Jensen, has led calls from Christian churches to have Mr Nguyen’s death penalty reduced to a lesser sentence such as life imprisonment.

And last weekend in Melbourne, permission was granted for a multi-faith prayer service, held in Melbourne’s St Patrick’s Cathedral, to pray for the same intention.

Public prayers have also been offered in some churches in Western Australia for the sparing of Mr Nguyen’s life.

Cardinal Pell has also undertaken to raise the issue of saving Mr Nguyen’s life directly with Pope Benedict XVI.

“I think the punishment to the crime is disproportionate,” Cardinal Pell told The Australian newspaper while he was in Rome late last month. “This case has been explained to me and I think there are special circumstances in this case.”

Mr Nguyen is the son of a Vietnamese refugee. He was born in a refugee camp in Thailand.

It is believed that Mr Nguyen undertook the drug smuggling operation which has landed him on death row as a way to pay back $25,000 owed by his twin brother to an illegal drug syndicate.

Last weekend’s multi-faith service in Melbourne’s Catholic Cathedral was jointly led by a Catholic priest, Rev. Peter Hansen, and a Buddhist monk, the Venerable Thich Phuoc Tan.

Continued on Page 2

A ROCKING CHRISTMAS

This week the Vatican beatified an ‘ordinary’ Italian housewife and mother. The honouring of this wonderful woman contrasts with Italy – and much of Europe’s - immediate future. By the year 2050 – 35 years from now – 42 per cent of Italians will be over the age of 60. On current trends, which have been increasing over decades, approximately 60 per cent of the Italian population by that time will have no brothers, sisters, cousins, aunts or uncles. It is hard to find a clearer contrast in views of who we are.

Mother

The majority world: child labour

don’t have problems: A young boy in the Philippines recycles batteries, opening them by hand in this April 2005 photo. Many children throughout the world are not able to go to school and are forced to work dangerous jobs. The United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals seek to improve the status of children by achieving universal primary education.

VICENZA, Italy (CNS) - An Italian woman who raised 11 children was beatified and held up as a model of sainthood for all mothers.

Eurosia Fabris, known simply as “Mamma Rosa” throughout her adult life, was beatified on November 6 in the northern Italian city of Vicenza, not far from the farming town where she was born.

Pope Benedict XVI has stopped presiding over beatification Masses, but a decree was read in his name by Cardinal Jose Maria Saraiva Martins, head of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes. Beatification is the last major step before sainthood.

Fabris was born in 1866, and as a young woman was known for her deep sense of faith. She taught religious education and sewing to children in her parish. At 18, she began caring for two babies whose mother had died. After marrying, she had nine children of her own; three of them became priests. After a life dedicated to homemaking and charity work, she died in 1932.

“Mamma Rosa should be seen as a model of holiness for everyone,” said Archbishop Cesare Nosiglia of Vicenza, who celebrated the Mass.

“As a wife and mother, she lived the evangelical simplicity of self-sacrifice for love. She accepted daily family life with all its troubles and sufferings, joys

Continued on Page 5

Premier fades when he should lead

Record Comment

The annual school leavers tragedy is looming ominously for thousands of students and their families and for a number of communities in WA and it is making news headlines already, although it has not started yet.

The real tragedy lies in the attitude of allegedly responsible adults, but the consequences will be suffered by the young now and later in their lives.

Take, for example the State Government’s grant of $3,458 to the

A Murdoch University student, and friends, have put together a rock musical which takes the Christmas story as its starting point. It will open to the public later this month.

WA AIDS Council so it can hand out free condoms to students at various party locations.

The council’s justification for the program is “teenagers will always have sex.”

When Opposition Leader Matt Birney rejected this approach, Premier Geoff Gallop described him as “irresponsible, backward, and narrow-minded”.

“The health and safety of our teenagers is priceless,” the Premier said.

“The AIDS Council of WA does an excellent job and we support

their initiative.” An excellent job! Perhaps the Premier wasn’t listening when the AIDS Council told him that our teenagers have the sixth highest pregnancy rate and the third highest abortion rate in the world, and that a quarter of them – one in four – already has a sexually transmitted disease.

That is the outcome after 25 years of public education pushing the “condom view” of intimate human relationships. Today’s teenagers have been brainwashed by the half-mad entertainment industry (films, television,

parasitical magazines and an internet dominated by pornography) about casual, meaningless sexuality throughout their lives, and it is an impressive testimony to their good sense that so many have not succumbed.

Unfortunately, our educators gave up decades ago and stubbornly refuse to learn from their mistakes. Let us examine the statement “teenagers will always have sex”. The truth is that most of them

Continued on page 4

Studies find thinking on teens and sex is back to front - VISTA 1

PERTH GIRL WINS UK VOTE

Western Australia’s Award-winning Catholic newspaper

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Women win the Goody

■ By Jamie O’Brien

Musician Angela Bendotti, of St Pius X Parish Manning, and Mental Health Worker Amanda Olsen, of St Francis Parish Maida Vale, have won the Archbishop Goody Awards for 2005.

Former Archbishop Sir Launcelot Goody established the award on his retirement in 1983.

Archbishop Goody recommended the award be used for the formation, education and training of lay people in the Archdiocese.

The fund has been dormant since 1991 and has been reactivated in May this year by a Board of two priests, two laity and a religious appointed by Archbishop Hickey.

Both women said they were

delighted to be a recipient of the award.

Receiving the award enabled Miss Bendotti to attend three music ministry workshops in the United States. Miss Bendotti runs her own business, Shine Creations, which facilitates music ministry workshops, staff faith development days and special liturgy preparations for the Perth diocese.

With more than 15 years experience, she says her passion and for music ministry comes from her love for the liturgy of the Church, and desire to know why it is done the way it is.

She hopes to be able to record a CD with her own music early next year. Mrs Olsen, who has seven children, two with a mental illness, works in collaboration with the

Emmanuel Centre in East Perth.

In work with mental health, Mrs Olsen has established support groups in the Lesmurdie and Gosnells parishes.

There are four other groups of similar nature in the Perth Archdiocese.

The award has allowed Mrs Olsen to devise a program called Unconditional Love, which focuses specifically on assisting married couples where one of the couple has a mental illness.

“Spouses feel helpless and are not always aware of the help available,” Mrs Olsen said.

She designed the program to enable those with a mental illness to utilise the assistance of family and friends. “Government agencies are not open 24 hours and people with

a mental illness need something to fall back on,” Mrs Olsen said.

“Everybody has mental health, just as they have physical and spiritual health,” Mrs Olsen said.

“What matters is how they nur-

ture and look after it. Just as people can get physically ill they can also get mentally ill.”

Persons interested in either Miss Bendotti’s or Mrs Olsen’s programs are welcome to contact them via The Record on 9227 7080.

Prayer campaign grows for Singapore prisoner

Continued from Page 1

Fr Hansen, who is fluent in Vietnamese and knows the family of the condemned man, spoke passionately in favour of preserving Mr Nguyen’s life.

Fr Hansen endorsed reports that Mr Nguyen has converted to Catholicism and now ministers to fellow prisoners inside his Singapore jail. “He is fully repentant and is now full of love,” Fr Hansen said.

“We pray that his life will be given the value that life deserves, that he be spared.”

Fr Hansen’s work at Melbourne’s Mary of the Cross Centre is devoted exclusively to helping the victims of drug addiction and their families.

Also in attendance at last weekend’s service was former Pentridge prison chaplain Fr Peter Norden SJ, who is also parish priest of St Ignatius Church in the inner suburban parish of Richmond, an area of high drug abuse. Fr Norden told The Record that

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the Catholic Church has had a longstanding belief in the sacredness of all human life. However the application of that belief to the specific situation of the death penalty only became completely clear during the pontificate of Pope John Paul II, he said.

Asked what he would say to Catholics who suggest that the Church’s teaching for or against capital punishment is still open to debate, Fr Norden replied: “I think it’s clear-cut. The Church has said that it opposes capital punishment. That’s in the Catechism.”

“Where I think there can be confusion for some Catholics is over the question of ‘innocent life,’ as in the case of an unborn child,” Fr

Norden said. “People may think that the Church only holds that innocent life is sacred, but that’s not the case.

“It’s not ‘innocent’ life, it’s all human life that’s sacred according to the Church.

“It’s possible for some people to make a mistake between these two things, and then sit in judgment on others who are guilty of wrongdoing.” Marcia Riordan, executive officer of Melbourne’s Respect Life Office – an office attached to the Catholic archdiocese of Melbourne – also attended last weekend’s service for Tuong Van Nguyen.

“The crime of drug trafficking can be dealt with by imprisonment,” she told The Record. “There is no

need for Singapore’s government to take Van Nguyen’s life.

“Killing by the state diminishes the life of every person and should only be a last resort. They should limit themselves to bloodless means as they are more in keeping with human dignity.”

Right to Life campaigner Margaret Tighe has also supported calls for Mr Nguyen to be spared. “All human life is sacred and punishment should never extend to the taking of a human life,” she said. Separate candle-lit public meetings to support Mr Nguyen’s plea for life have also been organised in Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide, the ACT and Tasmania by Amnesty International.

Fr Peter Norden SJ Marcia Riordan

Goody award winners: Amanda Olsen, standing, and Angela Bendotti with Subiaco Parish Priest Fr Joseph Walsh, one of the award’s administrators.

Bishop warns against sell-off of liberties

Danger for nation in antiterror rush, Bishop warns

■ By Paul Gray

An impassioned Bishop Christopher Saunders warned against Australians selling away their civil liberties, as police in two states this week made a series of spectacular arrests of terrorism suspects.

Bishop Saunders, chairman of the Australian Catholic Social Justice Council, issued a strong statement reiterating the Church’s condemnation of terrorism.

But at the same time, he told The Record that Australia risked dark days ahead if the nation surrenders hard-won legal rights in the name of the fight against violence.

“It is far too early to comment on the raids in Sydney and Melbourne today, except to say that we need to be very careful whenever we sell away our civil liberties,” Bishop Saunders said. “We have to be very careful of the price we pay as a community.

“Our civil liberties have been built up over hundreds of years of democracy. We’ve got to be very careful before we just knock them down in a minute.”

Bishop Saunders’ comments came as federal parliament continued to examine new anti-terrorism measures proposed by the Federal Government, and on the same day that police launched raids in Melbourne and Sydney which resulted in 16 people being arrested.

One man was shot by police after reportedly firing on them dur-

ing the raids. Melbourne Magistrates court was told by police that another of the arrested men had expressed an intention to be a suicide bomber.

Bishop Saunders

Speaking a few hours after these arrests, Bishop Saunders cited the Church’s categorical condemnation of terrorism.

“At this time Australians have a heightened awareness of the potential threat of a terrorist attack,” he

The Nation In Brief

said. “It is important to reiterate that the Church condemns terrorism in the strongest of terms.”

The Bishop quoted from official church teaching documents, which state that terrorism “is one of the most brutal forms of violence traumatising the international community today.”

The same documents state that terrorism “sows hatred, death and an urge for revenge and reprisal” and “shows complete contempt for human life and can never be justified” Bishop Saunders commented: “The Church recognises the right of individuals and states to defend against terrorism. The response,

Cardinal to speak on migrant issues

The head of the Rome-based Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, Cardinal Stephen Hamao, will open a national conference at Randwick Racecourse in Sydney on November 17-18.

The Pontifical Council last year presented a new pastoral document on migrants, Erga Migrantes Caritas Christi (The Love of Christ towards Migrants) which addressed emerging challenges associated with multiculturalism and tensions between the West and Islam. The increased rate of international migration is reflected in Australian population statistics, which show that about 40 per cent of Australians were born overseas or have a migrant parent.

This makes “people on the move” a key part of the Church’s evangelisation mission in the years ahead, according to Monsignor John Murphy, director of the Australian Catholic Migrant and Refugee Office, which is organising the Sydney conference. Cardinal Hamao will address this theme in his opening remarks.

however, must be carried out with respect for human rights and the rule of law.

“The new powers sought for Federal authorities in response to the perceived risk of terrorism must be balanced so as not to undermine the very civil and political rights that characterise the Australian way of life.”

In the week before the raids in Sydney and Melbourne, the Australian Catholic Social Justice Council had issued a statement cautioning against hurrying the new anti-terrorist legislation through parliament. “This legislation will be complex and it could have far-reach-

Vic Vinnies to build units for mentally ill

The St Vincent de Paul Society in Victoria has announced that it will build six independent living units for people with mental illness in Melbourne.

The units, loated in Meadow Heights, will cost $1.2 million. At present there is no government support.

State President Syd Tutton said mental Health is a problem that the whole community must respond to.

“Each and every welfare agency should be helping government address this problem,” he said.

“Our 7000 voluntary members and a small number of professional staff, have assisted more than 700,000 people in the last financial year, and have seen first hand the brokenness of peoples lives, caused by emotional and financial stress.”

Meanwhile Vinnies Victoria has engaged Jesuit Provincial Fr Mark Raper to launch its annual Christmas Appeal.

Mr Tutton said the Victorian branch of the Society urgently requires funds to assist families, homeless people and the mentally ill this Christmas.

“The target for the Appeal in Victoria is $1.5 million. The growing need of people who are disadvantaged and marginalised in our community places great demand on the voluntary and professional services that the Society provides.” - CathNews

ing consequences for the civil and political rights that all Australians presently enjoy,” the statement said.

“To push for the approval of the Bill before Christmas will undermine proper parliamentary review and rule out the possibility of adequate public input.”

The Council is preparing a submission to a Senate enquiry being held over a very short period to consider the provisions of the AntiTerrorism Bill (No 2) 2005.

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New home for ashes Trinity re-union

■ By Jamie O’Brien

The building of a columbarium at St Columba’s Parish Bayswater the true spirit of the parish community, said Parish Priest Fr Huynh Nguyen.

Numerous parishioners, including an architect, electrician and bricklayers devoted their time to building the feature for free.

Archbishop Hickey visited the parish recently to bless the columbarium after the 6pm Mass.

The columbarium consists of 850 niches as a resting place for the remains of parishioners who have been cremated.

In his blessing of the feature, the Archbishop said that Columbarium is a Latin word that is connected with the word for a dove and so has the connotation of being a symbol of peace.

“It is, we trust, the visible reminder and sign to us, who are left behind, that our loved ones now share eternal peace.”

A large statue of Jesus in white stone stands at one end of the feature.

Parishioners were invited to buy a memorial brick for those who have died and these have been arranged around the top of the wall.

The idea to build the columbarium was developed by the parish council after an insurance assessment found that a safety rail was needed where the wall of the columbarium now stands.

Former chairman of the Parish Council Tony McAlinden said the generosity of the parish has been wonderful.

“There is a general feeling that people would like to get involved with Church matters and all it takes is someone to ask them.” Parish Priest Fr Huynh Nguyen said the feature would be used not only as a

place where the dead are laid to rest but also for quiet prayer and contemplation. Columbariums are becoming an increasing feature of parishes in Western Australia, said Fr Vinh Dong, Parish Priest at Good Shepherd Lockridge. The parish opened a similar feature three years ago.

Trinity Old Boys Association is having its annual dinner on Friday November 18.

The Dinner will be held at Trinity College from 7pm till 12am and costs $90 per person, which includes a three-course meal, beer, wine and soft drinks.

The event will feature a sports panel of Trinity’s finest sportsmen hosted by Old Boy and Channel Nine sports commentator Mark Readings.

For more information, contact Anna Gingell on 9223 8132

Archbishop to sing live

Archbishop Barry Hickey will appear as the vocal soloist at the Archbishop Fulton Sheen Christmas Concert at Trinity College next month.

Although he is widely known for his rich singing voice, extending back to his days as a choir leader in seminaries here and in Rome, the Archbishop rarely appears in concert.

He was approached by the organisers of the Fulton J Sheen Society to appear in their annual concert and accepted.

Other feature items on the program are violinist Paul Wright both as a soloist and with piano accordionist Miroslav Gutej, and prize-winning poet and public speaker June Glen who has performed at previous concerts with great success.

Sheen Society secretary Daniel Tobin said that about 60 per cent of tickets had already been sold for the concert at Gibney Hall, Trinity College on Monday December 12.

Bookings are available on 9291 8224, or sheensociety@globaldial.com

Educators must abandon throw-away mentality

Continued from page 1

won’t. The AIDS Council and the Health Department know very well that more than half of all high school students will not have engaged in sexual intercourse by the time they leave school. Of those who have, a great many do not repeat the experience.

The continuous use of this false mantra by health authorities undermines the wisdom and character of those students who choose abstinence. Instead, it increases the pressure available to those predatory individuals who try to push others into their ways. It is official support for peer group pressure going in the wrong direction.

The Health Department dominated the preparation of the Education Department’s “Growing and

Developing Healthy Relationships” curriculum, just as health “experts” dominated the Federal government’s guidelines on sex education, and the results are the same in both documents.

There is no education in support of abstinence before marriage and fidelity in marriage. In fact, one has to read both documents very carefully to find the words ‘chastity’, ‘abstinence’, ‘fidelity’ or ‘marriage’.

High School students are forced to listen to infinitely more nonsense about homosexuality, which is of no use or benefit to them, than they will ever be given guidance about marriage, which is the union in which the vast majority of them will express their sexuality for most of their life.

Random sexuality and “longterm relationships” averaging three

months are the worst possible preparation for marriage and family life, but they are given greater encouragement and support in public education. More than almost anyone else, the health department knows the dangers and consequences of irresponsible sexuality. They know the effects on young people, they know the effects as people get older, and they are almost alone in knowing how deeply inappropriate sexual experiences are associated with mental health problems in middle and later life. They also know how much harm has been done to adults and children and succeeding generations since marriage was converted into a transient experience. They know more than enough to do better.

Deeper down, the problem is that in public affairs it is forbidden these

days to consider that there might even be such things as spiritual and moral values, much less think about what they might be and how they might be taught.

Spiritual and moral values are related to the permanent things of life, even to eternity. Material matters are almost totally transient.

Human sexuality belongs to the realm of the permanent. The way it is presented as a public entertainment these days certainly makes it look transient and trashy, but it properly belongs in the realms of the permanent and the valuable.

It is at the heart of what enables us to marry for life, and it is an integral part of the bonding process that keeps us together. It is also the means by which couples reproduce life, giving permanence to family, society, and ultimately the species.

It is, in fact, the means by which couples cooperate with God in the creation of a new immortal soul, and one cannot get more permanent than that.

Unfortunately, our current addiction to the transient in almost all walks of life leads to shallow responses to serious needs. In the case of human sexuality our educators reach for a condom, the ultimate in throw-away values, and in the process they encourage our children to believe that their own sexuality is of no real value and can easily be thrown away.

If Premier Gallop really believes that the health of our teenagers is priceless, it is time for him to throw away the condom mentality and find ways to draw out the permanent values of the human person and their links to human sexuality.

Open arms: A statue of Christ stands in the midle of the new Columbarium at St Columba’s Parish Bayswater. Photo: Jamie O’Brien

Diocese gives women priority Mother lived an extraordinary life

CatholicCare the charitable arm of the Bunbury Diocese will this year raise funds for Pregnancy Assistance in the South West Diocese.

Announcing the launch of his 2005 Christmas Appeal for CatholicCare, Bishop Gerard Holohan said the proceeds of this year’s appeal will go towards Bunbury Pregnancy Assistance.

“This service provides initial crisis contact and a variety of support and referral services to women who are distressed by an unplanned pregnancy. It provides a safe, secure place to grieve, heal, and learn to live again,” he said. CatholicCare was established in 2003 to provide for current and planned Church assistance for social needs throughout the Bunbury Diocese. The funds raised through CatholicCare remain within the Diocese.

“The Bishop’s Christmas appeal for CatholicCare is the only appeal made each year for the needs of people within our own Diocese. This makes the annual CatholicCare appeal special” Bishop Holohan

said. The Bishop’s Christmas appeal letter, to be distributed next weekend, tells two stories. One is of a young teenage girl who’s mother wanted her to have an abortion but now realises the enormity of what she was asking her daughter to do. The other is of a mother who was raped but continued with her unplanned pregnancy and the joy she now receives from her daughter daily supersedes the pain of her conception.

“Thousands of women who face an unplanned pregnancy believe that abortion is the only solution. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Through education, emotional support, practical and material assistance to women, Bunbury Pregnancy Assistance proposes alternatives to abortion. It also provides assistance to partners, siblings, other family members, and close friends who have been distressed as a result of the unplanned pregnancy.”

“As individuals we can do little. However, by supporting CatholicCare, we give Bunbury Pregnancy Assistance the ability to

Fr Quadros takes over

■ By Jamie O’Brien

The new parish priest of Our Lady’s Assumption Dianella says he hopes to build a faith community by making his parishioners aware of their dignity as human beings and that God is present in each one of them.

Archbishop Hickey installed Fr Benedict Quadros at Our Lady’s Assumption Parish last weekend.

Fr Quadros is the third priest appointed to the Dianella Parish, after Fr Patrick O’Mara and Fr Ossie Lewis.

Since then, the parish has been ministered temporarily by Frs Anton Hesse and Albert Saminedi and Catholic Youth Ministry Director Fr Don Kettle.

More than 150 people were present for the occasion,

including parishioners from Fr Quadros’ former parish of Our Lady of Good Counsel Karrinyup.

Fr Quadros has been priest-in-charge at Our Lady’s Assumption since June and was Parish Priest at Our Lady of Good Counsel for six years.

Born in Mangalore, South India, Fr Quadros completed his seminary studies in North India.

He was ordained Priest at Gwalior for the diocese of Jhansi in March 1976.

After arriving in Australia in July 1990, he was appointed as assistant priest at Sacred Heart Highgate for one year and later took up appointments in Kalgoorlie, Bencubbin and Maddington.

He also spent one year in Geraldton before becoming Parish Priest of Our Lady of Good Counsel.

Caring Lady Funerals

save the life of an unborn child and enhance support to women facing an unplanned pregnancy” he said.

From 2005, CatholicCare will also offer the alternative to make donations into the CatholicCare Foundation. Donations into the CatholicCare Foundation will be invested in perpetuity with the resulting interest earned used to fund the various needs of people within the Bunbury Diocese.

Bishop Holohan called on all people in the Bunbury Diocese to give generously to this year’s appeal.

“CatholicCare needs your financial support, and so I appeal to your generosity during the lead-up to Christmas, to help to bring financial support to the people who need our help” he said.

Donations received by CatholicCare are tax deductible and will be used exclusively within the diocese. All donations will be quarantined from, and accounted for, independently of other diocesan and parish funds. Distribution of funds will be under the control of the Bishop of Bunbury.

“A

Continued from page 1

and hopes, in a continual search for God’s will,” he said.

The vice postulator of her sainthood cause, Father Fabio Longo, told Vatican Radio that her life was “extraordinarily ordinary” and said that sainthood is accessible to everyone.

The beatification underscored concern by Italian church leaders about the small size of modern families in Italy, which has one of the lowest birthrates in the world.

In early November, Pope Benedict urged the Italian gov-

ernment to adopt policies and tax laws to help bigger families, which he called “a richness and hope for the entire country.”

“In today’s social context, family groups with numerous children are a witness of faith, courage and optimism, because without children there is no future,” the Pope said.

He was speaking to the Italian Association of Large Families, a group formed by couples with at least five children, which was lobbying for additional tax breaks for larger families.

- CNS

COMMITTEE FOR FAMILY AND FOR LIFE

Archdiocese of Perth

PROJECT OFFICER

Applications are now invited for the position of PROJECT OFFICER for the Committee.

The main role of the Committee is to encourage and promote the vocation and spirituality of marriage and the family; to encourage and promote respect and love for human life from conception to death; to work with the bishops and leaders of the Archdiocese on the challenges and issues of family and of life; and to help develop networks and dialogue with diocesan leaders in family and life ministries, family oriented movements, pro-life organizations and other agencies.

The successful applicant will be able to demonstrate:

● Full support of the objectives and ethos of the Catholic Church

● Excellent interpersonal and written and verbal communication skills

● Confidence and competence in using a wide range of computer software and internet research

● Ability to produce newsletters, flyers, brochures

● Understanding of Church and local community resources

● Flexibility in working hours

Salary is consistent with SACS Award on a casual basis of up to 20 hours per month with additional hours.

A full Job Description, Selection Criteria, and Application details are available by contacting: Natalie Tarkka, Administrator, L J Goody Bioethics Centre, 39 Jugan Street, Glendalough, 6016. Tel: 9242 4066 or Email: ljgbc@iinet.net.au

Closing date for applications: Monday, 21th November 2005

Join Pope Benedict XVI in prayerNovember

“For married people: may they grow in holiness in everyday life following the example of so many Christian spouses.”

Mission intention: “For Bishops in missionary territories: may they fulfill their duty to provide permanent formation for their priests.”

CATHOLIC MISSION would like to wish all readers a very Merry Christmas and all of God’s Blessings for the New Year. For a free copy of the 2006 Catholic Mission Diary , shown above, or Wall Planner, freecall 1800 257 296. While stocks last.

letters to the editor

Others see celibacy’s value too

Irefer to the recent letters in your columns regarding priestly celibacy.

It may interest your readers to note that celibacy is an ideal shared by the Buddhist and Hindu faiths, not only by their priesthood, but indeed by some lay members of their religion.

Many would have heard the term “prana” or “chi” or “the life force”. Eastern wisdom suggests that the seat of prana is in the head and that it governs all cerebral activities – mind, memory, thought and emotions. The psychological functioning of the heart is also governed by prana, it being responsible for compassion, love, peace and creativity.

Thankyou, Record

Congratulations on your editorial in the Record of November 3. It is the only sensible article I’ve read about this absolute farce concerning Paul Omodei and his son. His conviction and subsequent criminal record after the accidental shooting, is only one more proof of a “justice” system gone mad. As well, the secular media loves to demolish anyone who’s halfway decent. May his appeal be upheld and put an end to this rot.

Thankyou, Editor, for your sane words.

Jocelyn Stanley, Applecross

Truer than fiction

Police have often suffered from being unfairly portrayed in fiction as dull, unimaginative and not very bright individuals but I was surprised to see that in real life the portrayal came true.

Congratulations on your editorial last week about Paul Omodei and his criminal conviction for an accidental shooting - which he reported.

It just goes to show how bizarre our legal system is becoming.

Will we soon be prosecuting fishermen who are swept off rocks and die as a result? A cynic might say

Through “pranayama”, meaning spiritual discipline, a person grows in spiritual strength. This most powerful spiritual energy, creates an aura or halo around the “charka” or crown of the head, without the person knowing it, except of course to those others who may make the observation. At the same time, the person becomes attractive, with clear and lustrous eyes and a spontaneous and calming smile. Such an individual is full of energy and power and is then able to guide others along the path to holiness.

Tom Pavey Winthrop

yes, but only if they are high profile members of the community, or politicians.

In light of Mr Omodei’s conviction this and other bizarre prosecutions would seem completely logical.

T Rorke Canning

Vale

Omodei nonsense

Iwholeheartedly agree with your editorial in the Record of November 3, 2005.

I have followed the Paul Omodei case with interest from the first news report.

This was a most unfortunate family accident. The man reported the incident himself, as a law abiding citizen.

This family has my support and I sympathise with them. Mr Omodei is awaiting sentence! Was this a set up? Perhaps we should all be petitioning the ‘powers that be’, our judicial system, the Police

Archbishop on air

For those who missed Archbishop Hickey’s address on Channel Nine the text is below:

Welcome. Senior school students tackle their exams this month - and then go on to tackle the rest of their lives.

Young school leavers, our prayers are with you once through the exams, you will move into the world of adults where you are expected to become more self-reliant.

You still have many important choices to make, but remember, it is more impor-

tant to establish your character than your career. Your character will determine the quality of whatever you do throughout the rest of your life.

Commit yourselves to personal integrity and honesty, and develop an awareness of the needs of others and whatever you do will be done well.

May God go with you.

I’m Barry Hickey, Catholic Archbishop of Perth.

Next: Mental Health. For current and past talks visit www. perthcatholic.org.au.

ties belonging to humans, worship of gods, and the great achievements of Michaelangelo, Shakespeare and Mozart, therefore disprove evolutionary theory. The fact is, these capacities are not superfluous, but essential to humanity, particularly our unique ability to worship God, which of course is often done through music. The birds too celebrate Creation when they ‘sing’, though not being made in the image of God, they lack the one aspect necessary for fuller worship. Interestingly, not all animal behaviour can be related directly to survival strategy; even some bird singing seems to be performed solely for singing’s sake, just as not all human behaviour can be directly related to our final end with God.

Darwin put forward a scientific theory, this theory was soon hijacked by atheists who were searching for a scientific proof of their philosophy/ideology that things just happened by chance, after their original ‘Enlightenment’ scientific proofs had fallen apart. This is why atheist scientists are so adamant that religion should be kept out of science, it gives atheism, which isn’t a scientific theory either, the field to itself.

Darwinian accidental mutations are, as common sense expects, more likely to be a danger than an asset.

Commissioner, whoever, in a valiant attempt to have some sense made from a nonsensical situation.

Bernise Reid Karrinyup

Hidden danger

With Harry Potter still very much in the news, I thought I would send in some comments attributed to our present Pope, which he wrote in a letter to a German lady, Gabriele Kuby in 2003. In this letter, he thanked Kuby for her “instructive” book “Harry Potter – good or evil?”, in which Kuby apparently says the Potter books corrupt the hearts of the young, preventing them from developing a properly ordered sense of good and evil, thus harming their relationship with God while that relationship is still in its infancy.

The actual letter is as follows:

“Esteemed and dear Ms. Kuby!

Many thanks for your kind letter of February 20th and the informative book which you sent me in the same mail. It is good, that you enlighten people about Harry Potter, because those are subtle seductions, which act unnoticed and by this deeply distort Christianity in the soul, before it can grow properly……”

It is signed: “+ Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (March 7, 2003)”

Food for thought.

Deacon Frank Feain Pemberton

ID and evolution 1

I am very concerned with those Catholics who promote views against evolution. This is not because their beliefs will necessarily hinder their own faith, but what it does to hinder that of others. One of the strongest reasons why people today do not have faith is because they believe that it stands in opposition to science. This unfortunately is fostered by other Christians who attack science when they do not understand it.

Guy Grouchback’s article, Evolution still doesn’t explain Mozart (Record, October 27) is a case in point. His final argument attacks the principle that ‘animals do not evolve capacities in excess of what they need for species survival;’ hence, those unique capaci-

Karl Rahner, the great theologian says that if St Thomas Aquinas was alive today, he would believe in evolution. The reason for this is that he built his theology upon the Aristotelian axiom that the good is that at which everything aims. Evolution too, works by the same principle by selecting what is good for it. The fact that this occurs ‘blindly’ only demonstrates its incredible power. Considering that God was the first mover, then even Faith makes inroads into scientifically understood reality.

The problem we have is that many scientists and an increasing number of the laity believe that science and particularly evolution disproves the existence of God, or have views that promote such a belief. It is a mistake for us though to attempt to refute this by rejecting particular aspects of science that we have difficulty in comprehending; do not throw out the baby with the bath water. Science has the possibility to explain everything that ‘physically’ exists, and has no ability to explain those things that belong to heaven. Facts and values are two different faces of Creation, best understood through science and religion respectively. However, Christianity should realize that they are two faces of the same coin, so that only Faith can unite them as such.

Intelligent Design is a poor mismatch of the two and should be absolutely rejected. Let us recall the prayer of St. Anselm: ‘I do not seek to understand that I may believe, but I believe in order to understand. For this also I believe, that unless I believed, I should not understand.’ Considering this in light of science, I suggest that those who do not understand science yet as Christians desire to do so, should first consider their Faith.

Luke Tickner

Undergraduate: philosophy/theology, University of Notre Dame

ID and evolution 2

R egarding Tony Evans’ letter on evolution in the Record of November 3, I agree with the stance taken by the ID people on the origin of life; I too believe in an Almighty Creator, I too see ‘design’ written all over the earth and the heavens.

But I disagree with them about the ID-argumentation being a scientific exercise that proves design. It is a philosophical approach, valid in itself, but not science.

But the whole argument about Darwinism being science and ID being a religious ideology is getting rather tedious because it misses the main point, which is that, whereas

The big problem that atheists have to overcome is that what they put forward as scientific proof of random development, can be explained much better in the context of the ‘design’ theory of Lamarck. We are told that Lamarck was disproved by Darwin. But nothing could be further from the truth; they ‘disproved’ Lamarck by ignoring him.

The last three decades have seen the development of strong arguments that are in favour of the Lamarckian theory, a development that, if it proceeds on the path it has trodden so far, will prove design scientifically and in a much more telling manner than the philosophical attempts of the ‘ID people’ can produce.

To keep the length of my reply reasonably short, I have to proceed in a fragmentary way.

● In the 1980s Joseph LeDoux set himself the task of tracing the neural pathways and storage patterns of the sensory activities of biological entities. He found that they are indeed stored away for future reference, mainly in the limbic area where they lead ‘a life of their own’ and affect our behaviour, largely independent of the conscious brain.

● A German-American team discovered recently that the sperm cell actively seeks out a suitable egg cell by smell, by means of the same macromolecular entity that resides in our noses.

● Some time ago, scientists noticed that ‘junk DNA’ is sometimes activated (RNA). Could this be an indication that junk DNA segments must be considered to be part of an evolving system and not just useless leftovers from dead-end mutations? Maybe junk-DNA is the ultimate storage medium of partly composed new forms, which will be activated when they are viable in their own right (or replace part of the ‘functioning’ DNA when sensory perceptions have become bearers of urgent messages.)

It is obvious, even to a rank amateur like me that much work still needs to be done but Lamarck may yet be proven to be correct.

Putting fast-breeding animals in environments that are significantly different from their normal environment, keeping track of changes in their conditions and observing whether there are DNA changes that tally with it, may be one way to proceed. But I am no expert in these fields and I am happy to leave such things to the boffins.

But my money is on the activities of some smart researcher who will succeed in the synthesis of such researches (and possible related research developments that are unknown to me) and prove, scientifically, that sight, feeling, smell, taste, hearing, are very much involved in biological changes.

Matt Bruekers Lesmurdie

Vista

Studies confirm abuse of sexuality contributes to emotional trouble for teens, not the other way around

The symmetry of sex

The idea that teenagers become sexually active to compensate for depression has been challenged by research that shows depression came after substance abuse and sexual activity. Denise Dion Hallfors of the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation led the study of data from a national survey of more than 13,000 teenagers in grades seven to 11, who were interviewed in 1995 and again a year later.

Boys who engaged in binge drinking were nearly five times more likely to become depressed than abstainers.

Depression did not influence risky behaviour among boys. With girls things were different: depression reduced the likelihood of high-risk behaviour among girls who abstained from drug and alcohol use, but increased the risk of these behaviours among girls already experimenting with drugs and alcohol.

The study, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, showed differences between girls and boys. Both drug use and sexual activity were linked to an increased risk of future depression in girls, whereas in boys, only highrisk behaviours such as binge-drinking predicted future depression.

Girls who had experimented with drugs and sex were two to three times more likely to become depressed than those who abstained. Boys who used marijuana were more than three times as likely to become depressed as non-users.

localnews

“For females, even modest involvement in substance use and sexual experimentation elevates depression risk,” write the researchers.

Violence trend among girls linked with sex and drugs

Meanwhile, brazen and streetwise teenage girls are responsible for an increasing share of violent crime in New Zealand, says one of the country’s senior judges. Principal Youth Court Judge Andrew Becroft said 20 per cent of youth crime was now committed by females compared

with 15 per cent two years ago. Girls mainly aged between 14 and 16, often involved in prostitution and drug abuse, are attacking people on the street to rob them of cellphones, make-up, clothing and other items. In one case a group of six older girls stalked two 13-year-olds from the suburbs into the city and then viciously attacked them. In another, an older man died when he was bashed over the head with a hammer by three teenage girls and then dumped in a river.

A police youth aid officer said the girls often came from violent homes and had experienced sexual abuse. The crime figures showed “the girls catching up with the boys”, he said. “Women have become stronger in general, which is a good thing, but with positive parts of equality also come some negative ones.” However, girls tended to grow out of violent crime faster than boys“they get some more responsibilities like having a baby or get some more common sense.”

– FamilyEdge webzine

Singing his way to the top Students get health conscious

■ By Jamie O’Brien

M ercy College Koondoola student Ryan Leckie has won the Australian Junior Idol competition.

Ryan (13) went to Sydney last weekend where he competed against 11 other finalists from across Australia.

The keen vocalist, who hopes to pursue a career in music, won the competition by singing, “Climb every mountain.”

Australian Idol judges Marcia Hines, Kyle Sandilands and Mark Holden honoured him for his performance.

“You’re the complete package,” said Kyle. “You’ll be bigger than Hugh Jackman,” said Mark Holden.

“What can I say Ryan, you know how I feel,” said Marcia Hines.

Ryan said family and friends were still finding his win hard to believe, while a website with comments congratulating Ryan shows his friends are very happy for him. The

Alexander Heights teenager has performed in other music contests before, but has only ever been placed third or fourth.

Ryan will go to Sydney in a few weeks to perform at the Sydney Opera House when the Australian Idol winner for 2005 is announced.

■ By Jamie O’Brien

Clontarf Aboriginal College students have embarked on a new venture that includes an annual breakfast.

The venture has been a whole school approach to Healthy Living, encompassing significant educational and lifestyle outcomes of the students.

Principal Donella Brown said the school intends to give a number of courses a reallife perspective by using them as vehicles to operate a variety of services within the College Community.

“We will be utilising in particular the educational outcomes in the Small Business, Food Production and Physical Education courses to improve the students’ skill, knowledge and values in those areas of health and diet that have a lifetime importance,” Ms Brown said.

Ryan Leckie with Music teacher Linda Gefken

Clontarf students serve themselves breakfast

Teaching real sex to the British

Like many people who move to London without a job or accommodation, Perth nurse Nicole Syed ended up walking the seedy streets of Soho. Shortly after arriving in the city, she took shelter in the dilapidated cellar of a large church. But before her family in Perth, Western Australia, contact their nearest consulate, Nicole is quick to add: “Soho’s sex district was the first place I was offered an office.” JAMES HASTINGS in the UK reports for The Record on how a young woman is making the difference.

Hard road: But it’s paying off. Perth doctor Nicole Syed, right, now living and working in London, was voted UK Catholic Woman of the year in October. Dr Syed discovered the Church’s understanding of God’s plan of life and love for every person through the Disciples of Jesus in Perth, studied the Creighton Method of fertility care and Pope John Paul II’s Theology of the Body in the US, and is now offering assistance to clients from across Europe from her London office. There is another Perth angle to the Syed success story: both Dr Syed and fellow Perth-based Creighton fertility practitioner, Dr Amanda Lamont have worked closely with the Perth archdiocese’s LJ Goody Bioethics Centre. Fr Walter Black MSC, former director of the Centre, told The Record this week that the archdiocese and the Catholic Doctor’s Association had been so imrpessed with her that they contributed to her travel and accomomodation costs to enable her to study in the UK.

■ By James Hastings

“Since I’d come to London to teach about natural family planning and sex education, where better to start?” asks Nicole.

“Every day walking to work, I’d pass the dingy sex shops and chat to the prostitutes. Some of my friends were horrified but Soho seemed an ideal base for me.”

Nicole, 35, moved to London to set up a ministry she felt God had called her to, even though it meant leaving her family and friends in Australia.

In October, that call was recognised when she was unanimously named the UK Catholic Woman of the Year at a gala dinner in London.

It marked two years of determination, struggle and a lot of prayer to establish the London Fertility Care Service.

When she launched the project in the cellar of St Patrick’s Catholic Church in Soho, she barely had money to publicise the opening. Today, Nicole’s clients fly in from as far away as Germany and Spain.

“There have been huge obstacles getting off the ground and at times it looked totally impossible,” she confesses.

“Yet I had a core group of friends telling me to keep praying, keep trusting in God.

“He really made it clear to me that this was where He wanted me, so I stayed.”

Nicole Syed grew up in a happy Catholic family. She attended Catholic schools and prayer groups but despite her cradle Catholic background, she felt there was one issue on which the Church needed to improve its PR – sex.

“It wasn’t really explained and we weren’t given any guidelines or formation on how to live out chastity practically,” she says.

“I think it was expected we’d just learn as we went along, but none of us had a clue. I questioned the whole thing. Was what the Church calling me to do even possible?”

Listening to Nicole, it’s easy to see she has a love of the Church and her criticism was less a rebellion and more a search for answers. She has a natural wit and charm and no-one could be further from the stereotypical image of a prudish sex education teacher.

While looking for answers, Nicole came across a charismatic community called The Disciples of Jesus in Perth, where she heard a dynamic teaching about the Church’s views on contraception, sex before marriage and chastity.

“It was what I’d been looking for all my life,” she smiles.

“For the first time, I met people who were truly living out their faith in every area of their lives, including relationships and sexual lives. I met young people who set boundaries in relationships and I could see the fruits in the families of married people who were embrac-

ing the teachings of the Church.” She became friendly with a doctor who told Nicole about a Fertility Care Practitioners course run by the Pope Paul VI Institute for the Study of Human Reproduction in America.

Nicole had a background in nursing and education and at the Institute, she met students from across the world. The 13 month course was taught by doctors and nurses, some of whom had once championed artificial contraception and even abortion.

“Through the course and my own reading of John Paul II’s Theology of the Body, I found the holistic way of life that I had been looking for, integrating every aspect of our lives, physical, sexual, emotional and spiritual,” she says.

quick to spot a gap in the market. On a local parish level, she acknowledges many priests simply don’t address the issue anymore, and many Catholics regard it as “religious mumbo jumbo.”

“I wanted to use my faith to help deepen the understanding people have of the gift of their fertility and the potential for incredible relationships and fantastic marriages,” she explains.

“Natural methods have been shown by independent assessment to be more reliable than artificial contraception. The scientific evidence is there.”

“I realised then that promoting this message was what I wanted to do to help transform the lives of those around me. Because of my nursing background, I could see how the contraceptive pill was physically destructive and that the whole contraceptive mentality was equally damaging to couples at another level.

“Wives can feel they are sexually available all the time and the husband lacks respect for his spouse and the natural system God has created. Using natural methods, a couple cooperate with God’s plan, rather than over-ride it with artificial means.”

Nicole provides marriage preparation for Christian couples, as part of her work at the London FertilityCare Centre. A major problem she feels, comes down to what Catholics and others think sex is about.

Without a clear theology of sex, we are in danger of having our views shaped by the world rather than by Christ, she argues.

“We should look at how we are preparing Christian couples for marriage. Are we teaching that sex is an awesome act of self-giving to your spouse rather than about self-gratification?

It’s a message the Church has been telling for some time, but Nicole was

Basically the Christian idea of sex within marriage is that you give yourselves completely to each other, as Christ gave himself to us, freely and unconditionally. Sex is one way of showing the unity of marriage, of renewing the promise you have made to each other of unconditional giving on your wedding day.”

She is baffled that while consumers embrace natural and organic methods when it comes to food and clothes, they remain largely ignorant of natural family planning.

“On the one hand, we reject GM crops, artificial sweetners and colourings but we’re quite happy to put chemicals into our bodies when it comes to fertility,” she explained.

“Of course, the pill manufacturers have massive advertising and promotional budgets. Its difficult to take them on, but I think we’re seeing people recognising there’s an issue here.”

Nicole teaches the Creighton Method, a natural system of fertility management.

This involves couples charting the woman’s cycle daily and recording the body symptoms that indicate when they will be fertile each month – a time which varies monthly. To avoid pregnancy the couple abstain from sex during the fertile period, and use the days of infertility for sex, which is most of the cycle. It is an empowering system for women and couples Nicole adds and it can utterly transform a couples’ relationship: “This is about self-giving with a degree of self-denial but the result is that you learn to respect each other.”

“For those suffering infertility, we teach the wonderfully sounding Naprotechnology which is a new reproductive science. It works with a woman’s procreative cycle and assists men with sub-fertility, pinpointing and treating underlying problems.

“We can enable couples to conceive natu-

rally through an act of love-making rather than resort to laboratory reproduction of which the Church doesn’t approve. This form of infertility treatment is actually more effective. We have a success rate of between 40-60 per cent, compared with IVF which is only about 10 to 25 per cent effective.”

Likewise, the Creighton Method System teaches women and couples, whatever their age, about their reproductive cycles, helping them to better understand how their bodies work.

“Experience shows that when girls understand their fertility, they also better understand the importance of chastity and how it fits in with their emotional, physical and spiritual development.”

As well as speaking to parish groups, Nicole also gives talks to clergy and seminarians helping them to understand what the Church teaches and how to use that knowledge in their everyday parish lives.

Despite the struggle to get started in London, Nicole has no regrets about forsaking Australia’s sunshine for London’s damp summers.

“A friend of mine gave me some great advice at the beginning when I was complaining about the problem,” she explains.

“He said if I really had a vision, I should just go and do it. This was a catalyst for me. I realised it was true. I am the Church too and I should just go ahead and start, trusting God will provide all that is necessary along the way.”

Families and fathers, cars and wheels

■ With Mark Reidy

Anumber of years ago, when a gadget was invented to remove tight lids from jars, I became concerned that need for the male of the species was threatened. When science then theorised about creating a child without masculine intervention, I felt that my fears were soon to be realised.

However an emerging worldwide fatherhood movement has since allayed my concerns of expendability. One of the leading advocates of this push is US psychologist and a senior bureaucrat in the Bush administration, Dr Wade Horn, one of the most knowledgeable social scientists on the issues surrounding fatherhood. He equates a family without a father to a car without one of its front wheels and is adamant that many of society’s woes

can be healed as men reclaim their rightful role. The difficulty in trying to steer this incomplete vehicle, he says, has been reflected in the alarming statistics of the past four decades. With increased rates of divorce and single mothers, unprecedented numbers of children are growing up in father-absent homes.

The toll of this breakdown has had devastating social, psychological,

emotional and financial repercussions. Horn believes that the growing number of children being raised without a committed, responsible and loving father is the greatest single threat to the long-term wellbeing of entire nations.

In research conducted in 2001 it was estimated that problems associated with fatherlessness cost Australia over $13 billion per year.

Numerous studies around the western world have indicated that fatherless children were statistically more likely to be affected by poverty, physical and sexual abuse, lower educational performance, crime, drug abuse, suicide, mental health problems, violence and imprisonment. They found that half of all children born today would live apart from a parent before they

reach 18 and on 85% of occasions that parent will be the father. The studies overwhelmingly conclude that the best environment for children is a two heterosexual-parent household. But it seems that the tide is turning. In Australia, the Fatherhood Foundation was officially incorporated in May 2002, with a vision to inspire men to a greater level of excellence as fathers. This was followed by the National Fathering Forum and the National Strategic Conference on Fatherhood in 2003, both held at Parliament House in Canberra, which united delegates and politicians through the common goal of strengthening and supporting fathers.

The fruit of this renewed recognition has been the creation of an array of political, social, educational and economical strategies designed to initiate a cultural transformation in regard to fathering in Australia.

It appears that the adage, “you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone” rings true. The understanding is now emerging, even among the secular world, that the completeness of a child’s, development is significantly enhanced by the presence of a loving father.

The impact of this revelation will be beyond measure…both on earth and in heaven.

Information on the Fatherhood Foundation can be found at www.fathersonline.org

No wonder God needed a break on the seventh day

■ With Guy Crouchback

Iwrote recently on Evolution and Intelligent Design, about which latter I have a somewhat agnostic position. Holidaying at Rottnest a few days later, I took some time off from collecting the beautiful little shells that wash ashore at Thompson’s Bay and found some interesting books in the island store, including Bill Bryson’s A Short History of Nearly Everything. I don’t know whether or not Bryson is a religious believer, in fact I suspect he is not (God isn’t mentioned in the index). But his book - a history of life arising on Earth - emphasises in innumerable ways just how fantastically remote, in the light of modern scientific knowledge, is the possibility that life and in particular human life arose by chance.

It is commonly said that amino acids are the basic building-blocks of life. These can be created quite easily in experiments replicating primordial conditions of Earth, as the atheist Isaac Asimov pointed out with some triumph. But the next step, proteins, are not quite so easy to produce. Bryson points out that just one of possibly millions of human proteins, and not

the most complex, collagen, needs 1,055 amino acids of a certain type (22 types have been discovered) arranged in precisely the right sequence. The odds against this happening by chance are expressed in a number written out as 1, followed by 260 zeros - a larger number than that of all the atoms in the universe. Having done this, proteins need to assemble amino acids in a particular shape. To do this they need DNA. Bryson writes: “Proteins can’t exist without DNA and DNA has no purpose without proteins. Are we to assume, then, that they arose simultaneously? ... And there is more still. DNA, proteins and the other components of life couldn’t prosper without some sort of membrane to contain them ... without the cell, they are nothing more than interesting chemicals. But without the chemicals, the cell has no purpose ...”

This book, with index and references, is nearly 700 pages long, and full of facts like this.

Too many volcanoes, and life would be destroyed. Too few, and life would also be destroyed. If the continents did not drift on tectonic plates and crash against one another, forcing up mountain ranges, Earth would be a much more perfect sphere, uniformly covered with water. Life might evolve, but nothing like human life, and not tool-using life (you can’t smelt metal under water). Yet Earth doesn’t, apparently, have to have tectonic plates. Venus, Earth’s closest neighbour and about the same size, apparently doesn’t have them. Also, Venus doesn’t have a moon to skim away excess atmosphere with its

gravitational pull, so it is covered with clouds that retain heat, fill its atmosphere with acid and give it a surface temperature about that of molten lead.

Liquids when they freeze should reduce in volume. Water for some reason behaves differently: it expands. Therefore ice floats. If it didn’t, the seas would freeze from the bottom up. Again, life would be impossible. If Earth had, in its past history, been hit by somewhat larger meteors, all life could easily have been wiped out. In fact Earth was - probably - hit by meteors just large enough to clear away the previous animals, including dinosaurs, and make the rise of mammals and eventually humans possible. Those are a few samples.

And my little shells on the beach if uncollected are eventually ground to sand by the waves and help create limestone. Limestone locks up carbon dioxide - well over a thousand litres in every six-inch cube - which would otherwise be contributing to Venus-type greenhouse gasses.

“Help fan the flames of Faith”

From Archbishop Barry Hickey

A Special Message

Ihope by now that most of you would have seen at least one or more of my appearances on television on Sunday evenings.

This media initiative has been a part of my continuing efforts to communicate with all Catholics and to reach out to the community as a whole. The idea of using television was enthusiastically endorsed at the two consultation sessions Bishop Sproxton and I held with young people during May 2005.

There is no doubt that television has the greatest capacity to reach people with messages that are important not only for the Church, but also for the wellbeing of our society.

I don’t expect my one-minute messages to have a dramatic impact immediately, but they have the potential to make a difference over time. We need to be out there in the market place of ideas which is too often dominated by transient appeals to emotional excitement.

I believe that God’s love burns deep inside all of us. For those who choose not to invite God into their lives, the flames may flicker - but they still exist. These messages may be just “the spark that ignites the flames of Faith for someone” and the catalyst for drawing people back to God and to His Church. Thousands of people have visited our website and many have been kind enough to send messages of support, urging me to continue.

I can only do so with your generous help!

I ask that you make a gift in support of this media initiative and help me continue with our evangelical mission.

PLEASE... complete the donation form at the foot of this page and mail your gift today or telephone 9223 1300 and donate by credit card.

Every gift will be gratefully received. Donations are not tax deductible

However receipts will be provided in recognition of your support.

Thank you and God bless,

Yours sincerely in Jesus Christ, The Most Rev Barry J Hickey

Catholic Archbishop of Perth

Dear Archbishop,I will help you Fan the Flames of Faith

The World

‘Patient dialogue’ begins with Lutherans

Pope says Catholics, Lutherans must keep dialogue focused on Christ

■ By Cindy Wooden

As the Catholic Church and the Lutheran World Federation work for full unity, they must remain committed to patient dialogue and keep their work focused on Christ, Pope Benedict XVI said.

“We should intensify our efforts to understand more deeply what we have in common and what divides us, as well as the gifts we have to offer each other,” the Pope told Bishop Mark S. Hanson, president of the Lutheran World Federation.

The Lutheran bishop and top officials of the federation, including its general secretary, the Rev. Ishmael Noko, met on November 7 with Pope Benedict during the annual meeting of staff members from the federation and from the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.

Bishop Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, thanked the Pope for making clear since his April 19 election that Christian unity would be a priority in his pontificate.

Pope Benedict said the 1999 CatholicLutheran “Joint Declaration on Justification” was “a significant milestone on our common path to full visible unity.”

The joint declaration said Catholics and Lutherans agree that justification and salvation are free gifts of God and cannot be earned by performing good works, but rather are reflected in good works. The

dispute over justification - particularly over the place of a person’s response to God’s offer of salvation - was a key factor in the division of Western Christianity at the time of the Protestant Reformation.

Pope Benedict said Catholics and Lutherans must build on the agreement, tackling related questions and remaining disagreements, including “the ways in which God’s grace is communicated in

and through the Church. I hope the future progress of our dialogue on these issues will not only be placed in a context of institutional questions, but will take into account the true source of all ministry in the Church,” he said.

“In fact, the mission of the Church is to witness to the truth of Jesus Christ, the word made flesh,” the Pope said. “Word and witness go together: The word calls forth

and gives form to the witness; the witness derives its authenticity from total fidelity to the word, as expressed and lived in the apostolic community of faith under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.”

In late September, members of the International Lutheran-Roman Catholic Commission on Unity held their final meeting on a joint document looking at “the apostolicity of the Church.”

The document, which is to be published early in 2006, has four main sections: the New Testament foundations of apostolicity; what it means to say the Church is apostolic; apostolic succession and ordained ministry; and the teaching of the Church.

While finding common agreement on the doctrinal issues that have divided Catholics and Lutherans for almost 500 years is essential, the Pope said, the possibility of new disagreements arising cannot be ignored. The “general climate of uncertainty regarding Christian truths and ethical principles, which formerly went unquestioned,” are beginning to divide individual Christian denominations and create further obstacles on the path toward unity, he said.

The Pope and Vatican officials have expressed particular concerns over disagreements among Christians regarding the family, homosexuality, abortion, sexual morality and bioethical issues.

Pope Benedict told his Lutheran guests, “Our ecumenical path together will continue to encounter difficulties and will demand patient dialogue.”

At the same time, he said, “we are comforted by the fact that our search for unity is guided by the presence of the risen Lord and by the inexhaustible power of his spirit.” CNS

Church deserves credit in Rwanda Condom use endorsed

■ By Evan Weinberger

Alphonse Nshimiyimana was greeted like a visiting dignitary as he strolled through a muddy market in Kigali’s Gikondo quarter on a recent morning.

“That’s a client,” he said after greeting yet another woman with a warm handshake, a pat on the shoulder and a few questions about her business.

That sequence was repeated throughout the market, in small shops and in the dusty churchyard where each week he makes his office in the shade of a small kiosk selling everything from telephone cards to Fanta Orange.

“There are many rich people in Kigali,” said Nshimiyimana. “But they’re not here.”

Nshimiyimana, who once studied to be a priest, is a credit agent for the Interdiocesan Microfinance Network, a church-sponsored financial institution that gives loans and business advice to small traders and merchants throughout the country.

The network, which now has branches in every diocese in Rwanda, is the most visible of the Rwandan Catholic Church’s efforts to help the country meet the Millennium Development Goals, a U.N. platform of eight objectives aimed at reducing pov-

In Rwanda, church-sponsored banks give credit to small businesses

erty, improving health care and education, and increasing women’s power throughout the world.

In 2000, the United Nations set a 2015 deadline to meet the goals, and in Rwanda the goals are often paired with Vision 2020, a similar set of government objectives to be met by 2020. The Interdiocesan Microfinance Network, known by its French acronym, RIM, works by giving Rwanda’s poor access to financial services they would not have in normal banks.

“RIM, and microfinance in general, put into place the mechanisms, principally the solidarity groups, for marginalised groups to get access to credit,” said Martin Kabayita, the network’s director general. Credit, he added, is vital for small merchants - often women walking around Kigali with baskets of bananas on their heads, small shop owners or motorcycle taxi drivers - to get the fruit, bags of detergent or gasoline necessary to do business.

Kabayita said the microbanks in the nationwide network have more than 44,000 clients, many in Kigali, and most of those are in associations of 50 to 70 people. Each of the associations serves as a support network for its members,

for example, by helping out when a member cannot make a debt repayment.

In Kigali, St Paul’s Bank has more than 1,000 clients, said Alphonsine Uwamahoro, one of the managers. Five other microbanks are in Kigali, where Rwandan churchsponsored microfinance began in 1998. St Paul’s looks like an old-fashioned bank. Tellers sit behind glass windows and customers wait out front with their yellow passbooks, but psalms and biblical quotes hang in each cubicle. The bank is located in St Paul’s Pastoral Center, behind Holy Family Church, Kigali’s main cathedral.

After counselling on debt repayment and business plans, each individual in a group is loaned 30,000 Rwandan francs just over $50 - to start an enterprise, Uwamahoro said. Clients are expected to pay back a little bit each week over the course of four months. If they repay their loans, individuals can borrow more money, with the largest loan being nearly $900 for an individual or close to $1,800 for a small enterprise with several employees. In a country where many people survive on less than $1 per day, the loans are sizable.

Cardinal endorses condom use for married couples

Cameroon’s cardinal has approved the use of condoms as a protective measure against HIV/ Aids, provided the couples using them are married.

“If a partner in a marriage is infected with HIV, the use of condoms makes sense,” Cardinal Christian Wiyghan Tumi, Archbishop of Douala, said in an interview with the Deutsche Presse-Agentur.

Condom use would be permissible only within marriage but “possibly there can be a rethink there”, said the 75-year-old cardinal.

The Tablet reports that he said he does not expect the Vatican to stray from its official line against condom use and he agrees with its view that “loyalty and abstention remain still the best protection against AIDS”.

HIV infection in Cameroon grew slowly between the late 1980s and 1996, with the average incidence among pregnant women in urban areas rising from below 2% to 5%. However, the latest data indicate an HIV prevalence of around 11% in all the West African country’s provinces.

Close to one million adults and children are currently living with HIV/Aids in Cameroon and an estimated 210,000 children under 14 have lost one or both parents to Aids.

When the Director of the United Nations Programme on HIV/Aids, Dr Peter Piot, visited the country two years ago he called upon the Cameroonian Government to improve its HIV care and prevention programs, and one of its responses has been to urge condom use among high-risk groups.

At that time, Cardinal Tumi lamented the “safe-sex” campaigns that were plastered across billboards in Douala. His current view may have been influenced by the disappointing outcome of an international meeting held in Cameroon last week of scientists involved in the African Aids Vaccine Program. They announced that the prospect of developing a preventive vaccine in the near future remained bleak. Several church leaders have broken ranks with the Vatican’s position over the past two years. In February, Cardinal Georges Cottier, the theologian of the papal household, said the commandment “Thou shalt not kill” should be considered in cases where sexual activity involves a partner who is HIV-positive.

Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan, who chairs the Pontifical Council for Health, believes the use of condoms to be acceptable when abstinence is not an option. Bishop Kevin Dowling of Rustenburg, South Africa, has said that opposition to condoms amounts to a death sentence for women who cannot insist on abstinence or fidelity.

Pope Benedict XVI meets with Bishop Mark S. Hanson, left, president of the Lutheran World Federation, and the Rev. Ishmael Noko, the general secretary of the organization, at the Vatican on November 7. Photo: CNS

The World

French Bishops call for calm

French bishops appeal for calm after violence in Paris, other cities

Catholic bishops in France appealed for calm after the worst street violence since the 1960s caused widespread damage and injuries in Paris and other cities.

“We must ask ourselves what could be engendering such a spiral of violence,” said a November 5 statement from the French bishops’ conference. The statement noted that “recent urbanisation, employment difficulties facing the young (and) instability in the family are often cited” as factors. “But we believe repression and incitement to collective fear are not a response to this elevation of dramatic tensions in our society.”

The statement was issued during a plenary assembly of the bishops’ conference in Lourdes after repeated rioting left schools, supermarkets, police stations and shops burned in suburbs outside of Paris, where rioters shot and wounded police officers and burned more than 1,400 vehicles.

The French bishops said church leaders were “deeply preoccupied” by the “acts of violence and destruction,” during which “gangs of youths confront the forces of order overnight and provoke fear in souls.”

They also criticised official responses to the violence and urged the French media to avoid provoking the situation.

“Media images are giving these events a powerful reverberation with public opinion and fuelling distrust between different sectors of the population,” said the statement signed by the French bishops’ conference president, Archbishop JeanPierre Ricard of Bourdeaux.

France’s police union demanded the imposition of a curfew on November 7 after a man was beaten to death during an 11th night of violence.

The police reported that 10 police officers had been injured when they were fired on at Grigny, south of Paris, while cars and buses had also been attacked with bricks and Molotov cocktails in Saint-Etienne, Strasbourg, Toulouse, Lille and 15 other cities.

Two Catholic churches were

the world in brief

Godcasting religion

firebombed - at Lens and Lievin in northern France - while a parish presbytery was set alight in the southern town of Sete, although the local priest, Father Pierre Le Roux, told Agence France-Presse on November 7 he believed church buildings had not been deliberately targeted.

French newspapers said a mosque had been evacuated near Paris after police fired a tear gas canister inside.

In his first public statement on the violence, French President Jacques Chirac told France’s Internal Security Council on November 6 that rioters would be punished, adding that the country was “determined to prove stronger than those seeking to sow violence and fear.”

Meanwhile, the violence was also condemned by France’s Union of Islamic Organisations. The group warned Muslims that they faced excommunication for “acts against private or public property or threatening loss of life.”

Podcasting, already a popular innovation at Vatican Radio, offers an important new way for pastors to reach contemporary Christians through their digital jukeboxes, an influential Jesuit magazine said. The Church should not pass up the opportunity to make liturgies and prayers available via podcast, as well as downloadable sermons by “podpreachers,” said the magazine, La Civilta Cattolica, in its November 5 issue. Podcasting allows individuals to download audio or video files from the Internet to their iPod or other digital device, for listening or viewing at a later time. Users can subscribe to podcasts and have episodes delivered automatically to their computer and dig-

However, the union also criticised failures in the “French model of integration” and said all Muslims had “a right to demand respect for person, dignity and convictions,” and to work “for greater equality and social justice.”

Muslims of mostly North African descent make up 10 percent of France’s population of 60 million, with non-Muslim immigrants comprising a further 1.5 million.

The Catholic Church repeatedly has urged fairer treatment of refugees and asylum-seekers and of ethnic and religious minorities, among whom unemployment runs in some regions as high as 30 percent.

French newspapers said the riots had been sparked after two teenagers were accidentally electrocuted by a power transformer on October 27 while fleeing a police ID check in the French suburb Clichy-sousBois. Media reports also criticised French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy for inflaming widespread anger by describing the rioters as

ital player. The popularity of podcasting has generated a subcategory called “Godcasting,” which refers to efforts by churches, preachers and religious media to tap into the digital communications boom.

Oldest Church discovered?

The Israel Antiquities Authority said it has uncovered what may be the Holy Land’s oldest church. The antiquities authority said the find - during the course of construction at a prison in Megiddo, Israel - signified an “important contribution to the study of the development of early Christianity into a recognised religion.” Two well-preserved mosaic tile floors with three Greek inscriptions were discovered during the exploratory excavation, which was carried out as required by Israeli law before any construc-

“wretches from the suburbs.” In their statement, the French bishops said they wanted to highlight “all the work being done daily by associations and institutions to create bonds of solidarity for a fraternal common existence.”

“Much of this passes unnoticed,” they added. “The schools, different centres of formation, educators and social organisers - all should feel they have our total support.”

Church sources said Bishops Gerard Daucourt of Nanterre and Olivier de Berranger of Saint-Denis had both left the meeting in Lourdes early to return to their dioceses.

Meanwhile, Bishop Michel Dubost of Evry-Corbeil-Essonnes, another badly affected region, said in a November 4 statement that Catholics could not remain indifferent to the violence.

“At the right moment, we should analyse the causes of this blaze of violence,” he said, “but for now, I want to appeal for calm and peace.” CNS

tion can be conducted. Rather than crosses, the mosaics are decorated with the figures of two fish, early symbols of Christianity. One of the inscriptions memorialises a woman named Akaptos, who donated a table to the church, as a “lover of God who contributed to the God Jesus Christ.” Yotam Tepper, Israel Antiquities Authority excavation site director, said the wording of the inscriptions, the letter forms and other finds date the structure to the third or fourth century. Other biblical experts, however, questioned categorising the find as the oldest church.

NFP rides technology wave

The Couple to Couple League, a US-based international provider of fertility awareness education, is updating its teaching and outreach methods to incorporate the theological

Dead help us reflect on life

Remembering those who have died, Christians naturally reflect on their own lives and on how to ensure that they will enjoy happiness forever with God, Pope Benedict XVI said. Addressing some 20,000 pilgrims and visitors at his weekly general audience on November 2, the feast of All Souls, the Pope said the secret to eternal happiness is to love God, follow his commandments and give to the poor. The Pope’s audience talk focused on Psalm 112 and its proclamation, “Happy the man who fears the Lord.” After reading his prepared text, the Pope offered a spontaneous summary of his remarks: “On the day we commemorate all souls, we face the reality of death and, therefore, the question of how to live well.

“This psalm tells us the answer is: Happy the man who gives, the man who does not live life for himself, but the man who is merciful, good and just, who lives with love for God and his neighbours,” the Pope said.

“In this way, we will live well, and we do not have to fear death, because we have the happiness of those who fear God, a happiness that will last forever,” he said. In his prepared text, the Pope said, “those who model their earthly existence in accordance with the indications of the word of God will have the fullness of life.” Trusting in God, he said, gives hope and harmony to one’s life, and observing the moral law “is a source of a profoundly peaceful conscience.”

Citing the prophet Job, Pope Benedict said it is obvious that being just and upright does not guarantee one will not suffer in this life, but it does guarantee eternal happiness.

The fact is proven, he said, by the “many just people around the world who suffer greatly.”

Yet fidelity to God’s word is a sign and guarantee that a believer’s trust will be rewarded, he said. “The heart of this fidelity to the divine word consists in a fundamental choice of charity toward the poor and needy,” the Pope said. “The just one, responding to the constant call of the prophets, takes the side of the emarginated and aids them with abundant help.” CNS

thought of Pope John Paul II and make the sympto-thermal method of natural family planning more user-friendly. Linda Kracht, chairman of the organisation’s board of directors, said the league “is approximately six months into a three-year project to completely update its materials and teaching approach.” She said in a statement, “Besides incorporating the theological thought of John Paul II, (the organisation) is developing a streamlined sympto-thermal method of natural family planning; thus its teaching notes and slides are being revised, including its main textbook.” The Couple to Couple League “is in the process of developing new educational materials in formats that utilise technology, such as DVDs and the Internet, attractive to this iPod generation and others,” Kracht added.

French firefighters confront a blazing warehouse during the eighth night of unrest in the suburbs of Paris. Photo: CNS

Rock Review

Christmas inspires student’s musical

This festive season, young Perth performers will take centre stage in a theatrical pro duction that reinvents “the most famous story in the world”.

Follow the Light is a contemporary musical written by 25-year-old Murdoch University student Nick Choo.

It is produced and performed by local singers actors, dancers and musicians.

Through 21 original songs that range from punk, pop and rock to funk and emotive ballad, Follow the Light retells the Nativity story in a modern, light-hearted but ultimately reverent way.

Choo, who co-directs the production, sees Follow the Light as an opportunity to remind young audiences regardless of race or creed of the origins of the season.

He believes that people will be captivated as it “explores relationships – between man and God, between friends and strangers, between husband and wife, parents and children – and the universal, essential themes of love, peace and forgiveness that bind us all together.

“In a time where unforgiveness, prejudice and disharmony are more prevalent than ever, Follow the Light is our way of subtly conveying the message behind the birth of Christ in a way that will amuse and entertain.

“What we have is a vibrant group of mostly twenty-somethings of different ethnicities and beliefs coming together to present a quirky and dynamic version of this greatest of stories,” he says.

“We’ve modernised the narrative and have taken some liberties in terms of plot for better character

Capsules

Chicken Little

Disappointing computer-animated comedy adventure based on the classic nursery rhyme about a little chick (voiced by Zach Braff) who, after humiliating himself by sounding the alarm that the

Sunday November 13

development and, as such, the show will not be evangelical in nature … however, we hope this allows the Christmas story to be more accessible to those who would not normally associate the season with its religious historical roots,” Nick adds.

sky is falling, gets a chance to save face - and his hometownwhen his apocalyptic announcement later proves true. Directed by Mark Dindal, the movie’s vibrant, through unremarkable, animation goes for a more 3-D look, but the flat story and characterisations lack much emotion, charm or wit, undercutting the film’s warm themes of family bonds and believ-

The cast includes David Bowyer as the angel Gabe, Anne-Marie Manuel as Mary, and James Harley as Joe, as well as Janelle Mirabile, Rachel O’Rourke and Cameron Ryan. Follow the Light is co-directed by Catherine Gallo Martinez of Cat

ing in oneself. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-I - general patronage.

Christmas in the Clouds

Romantic comedy about a young widow (Mariana Tosca) who travels from New York to Michigan to surprise her pen pal-

Productions, and co-produced by Brian Liau and Judith White. Performances will be staged in Nexus Theatre at Murdoch University’s South Street Campus at 8pm from November 23 to 26 (Wednesday to Saturday), with a matinee at 12.30pm on Saturday.

suitor (Sam Vlahos), an elderly man whom she’s never met, only to fall in love with his good-looking son (Tim Vahle), a ski resort owner. She mistakes the son for her correspondent, while the son, in turn, confuses her with a hotel critic. Producer-writer-director Kate Montgomery’s Sundance, Utah-shot film has assembled an appealing largely Native American

Tickets are priced at $15 for adults, $10 for those aged 15 and under, and $45 for a family of two adults and two children.

For bookings, please call 0434 963 934.

cast, offering an agreeable, refreshingly offbeat story of love and forgiveness during the holiday season. Smattering of crude language, mild sexual humor and innuendo, a nongraphic bedroom scene, and a permissive view of premarital sex. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-III - adults.

- CNS

PANORAMA a roundup of events in the archdiocese

BULLSBROOK SHRINE HEALING MASS

Holy Mass for physical and spiritual healing will be offered at the Shrine of Virgin of the Revelation, 36 Chittering Rd, Bullsbrook, on Sunday November 13. The celebration commences at 2pm, including the Holy Rosary and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. Everyone is most welcome. Enquiries

SACRI: 9447 3292.

Sunday, November 13

ETERNAL WORD TELEVISION NETWORK

1  2 PM ON ACCESS 31

Pope Pius XII : Setting the record straight / Rabbi David Dalin, author of The Myth of Hitler’s Pope, with Raymond Arroyo [The World Over] Rabbi Dalin’s meticulous research reveals what Pius XII did during World War II to save thousands of European Jews. If you are going out at the time of the program, it is a good idea to record it to watch later. The Rosary Christian Tutorial Association, PO Box 1270, Booragoon 6954. Enquiries: 9330-1170

Monday November 14

MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT GROUP

Nollamara Mental Health Support Group will meet at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish Centre, 28 Marda Way, Nollamara at 7.30pm. Further information contact Pat 9275 2809.

Tuesday November 15

POSTGRADUATE COURSE INFORMATION EVENING

AT NOTRE DAME

To be held 6-8pm at the Medicine Lecture Theatre, 38 Henry Street, Fremantle. There will be a short presentation outlining the postgraduate courses and facilities at the University. All areas of study will be represented and course information will be available. Tours of the new College of Medicine will also be conducted and refreshments will be provided.

Wednesday November 16

EASTERN HILLS MENTAL HEALTH GROUP

We would like to invite you to reflect on positive and negative memories and experiences and get rid of the baggage at 7.30pm at Our Lady of Lourdes Hall, 106 Lesmurdie Rd, Lesmurdie. Contact Marge 9291

6397 or Barbara 8328 8113 before 14th November.

Sunday November 20

FEAST OF CHRIST THE KING

The Divine Mercy Apostolate invites everyone to celebrate the Feast of Christ the King at St Anne’s Church in Bindoon. A coach will pick up passengers from Our lady of Mercy Church, Girrawheen at 9am, St Bernadette’s Church, Glendalough at 9.30am, Sts John and Paul Church, Willetton at 10.15am and St Anne’s Church Bindoon. Tea and coffee will be provided during the day and after the afternoon’s celebrations. Coach will depart Bindoon at approx. 5.30pm. For general or program enquiries please call: John 9457 7771 (SOR) or Charles 9342 0653 (NOR).

Sunday November 20

SOLEMNITY OF CHRIST THE KING  BULLSBROOK SHRINE

Most Rev. Peter Quinn, retired Bishop of Bunbury, will preside over the ceremonies to celebrate the Solemnity commencing at 2pm at the Shrine of Virgin of the Revelation, 36 Chittering Rd, Bullsbrook. There will be Holy Mass, Consecration to the Sacred Heart, Christ the King, exposition and procession

of the Blessed Sacrament. There is ample parking and lawn areas are available for family picnics. Enq: SACRI 9447 3292.

Sunday November 20

FINAL MASS AT ST PAULS SWANBOURNE

A final Mass in being celebrated for the closure of the above church on Sunday at 8.30am. This Mass will be concelebrated by Archbishop Barry James Hickey. All present and past parishioners are warmly invited to attend. Following the Mass a morning tea will be provided. For details contact: George Ayres 9384 9489 or email lifeayre@bigpond.com.

Sunday November 20

ORGAN CONCERT

St Denis Parish, cnr of Osborne and Roberts St, Joondanna. The parish is celebrating the 10th anniversary of its pipe organ. Mr Martin Rein will be the organist. He will be playing selections from J S Bach, Vierne and Widor plus some improvisations. The concert begins at 3pm. Free will offerings will be accepted.

Gearing up: Director Catherine Martinez, right, demonstrates a dance move to Joe (James Harley) and Mary (Anne-Marie Manuel).

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NOVEMBER

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

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ENTERTAINMENT

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Children of all ages. Child care, kindy and Santa visits includes rides and squirting. Discount to readers. Call fire Chief David 0431 869 455.

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FUNERALS

■ FUNERAL PRESENTATIONS

Celebrating life with a collection of photos/video set to music and projected on a big screen. An ideal complement to reflection time. Call Paul on 9244 9719 for more details.

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OFFICIAL DIARY

11 Opening of MercyCare Strategic Planning Session, Mercy Hospital - Archbishop Hickey

Catholic Outreach Coordinators’ Retreat Mass, Shoalwater - Archbishop Hickey

Liturgy Office End-of-Year Mass, Catholic Pastoral Centre - Bishop Sproxton

12 Mass at Lynwood Parish - Archbishop Hickey

Mass to celebrate 13th anniversary of WA Indonesian Catholic Community - Bishop Sproxton

13 50th Anniversary Mass of Our Lady of Help of Christians, Muckinbudin - Archbishop Hickey Confirmation, Subiaco - Bishop Sproxton

Festival of St Rocco Mass and Procession - Bishop Quinn

Sunday November 27

WORLD APOSTOLATE OF FATIMA AUST INC

Join the Apostolate on our visit to Gingin and Bindoon. Midday picnic lunch at Gingin Church 3pm Holy our at Bindoon Church. Assembling at St Mary’s Church, Guildford at 10.30am. Bring your lunch. All very welcome. Enq: 9339 2614.

Thursday December 1

TAIZE PRAYER IN NORTHERN SUBERBS

1st Thursday of the month 7.30 - 8.30pm at Our Lady of Grace Parish Kitchener St North Beach. For more information contact Pastoral Office 9448 4888.

Thursday December 1

CHARISMATIC HEALING MASS

A Charismatic Healing Mass, celebrated by Fr. Hugh Thomas, and organised by the “Agape Praising Group” will be held at our Lady of the Rosary Parish Centre, Angelico Street, Woodlands, at 7.30pm on 1st Dececember 2005. The Mass will be followed by fellowship. An invitation is extended to all those interested. Please contact Celine, Phone: 9446 2147 Email : knight@wa1.quik.com.au

Saturday 12 November

HOLY SPIRIT SCHOOL  CHRISTMAS FAIR

The Holy Spirit School community invite you to our 40th Anniversary Christmas Fair. Great fun for all the family – amusements including ‘Extreme RockWall’, rides, sideshow alley, a great range of stalls (including white-elephant, plants, craft, Christmas cards and decorations, cakes), auctions (including a one-on-one cricket clinic with Justin Langer), raffles and food. Come for lunch or Devonshire tea and get your Christmas shopping done early. 10% of proceeds donated to PMH. 10am–3pm, cnr Brompton Road and Bent Street, City Beach.

MAKE POVERTY HISTORY WALK

Walks every 2nd Saturday, 7am across Perth and Metro area. Contact Teresa for more information 9458 4084. tgurndy@westnet.com.au. Next walk 19th November, Spectacles Beelair National Park.

CROSS ROADS COMMUNITY

Term 4 – 11th October until 16th December for: Family & Friends Support Groups of Substance

Abusers are on Wednesdays 7–9pm, Substance

Abusers Support Groups are on Tuesdays 5.30 to 7.30pm & Fridays All day Group for Substance

Abusers is from 9.30am to 2pm including Healing Mass on Fridays @ 12.30pm during term. Ladies Groups are on Tuesdays 11am to 1.30pm. Rosary is from Tuesday to Thursday at 12.30 to 1pm.

TUESDAYS WEEKLY PRAYER MEETING

7pm at St. Mary’s Cathedral Parish Centre, 450 Hay Street, Perth, WA. Take time to pray and be united with Our Lord and Our Lady in prayer with others. Appreciate more deeply the heritage of the Faith. Overcome the burdens in life with the Rosary, Meditation, Scripture, praise in song, and friendship over refreshments. Come! Join us! Mary’s Companion Wayfarers of Jesus the Way Prayer Group. Experience personal healing in prayer.

BULLSBROOK SHRINE SUNDAY PROGRAM

Shrine of Virgin of the Revelation, 36 Chittering Rd. Bullsbrook. 2pm Holy Mass, Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and Holy Rosary. Reconciliation available in Italian and English. A monthly pilgrimage is held on the last Sunday of the month in honour of the Virgin of the Revelation. Anointing of the sick is administered for spiritual and physical healing during Holy Mass every second Sunday of the month. All enq SACRI 9447 3292.

SCHOENSTATT FAMILY MOVEMENT: MONTHLY DEVOTIONS

An international group focussed on family faith development through dedication to our Blessed Mother. Monthly devotions at the Armadale shrine on the first Sunday at or after the 18th day of the month at 3pm. Next event: November 20. 9 Talus Drive Armadale. Enq Sisters of Mary 9399 2349 or Peter de San Miguel 0407 242 707 www.schoenstatt.org.au

ST CLARE’S SCHOOL, SISTERS OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD

A short history of St Clare’s School is being prepared to celebrate 50 years of its work in WA. Any past students, staff, families or others associated with the school - from its time at Leederville, at North Perth, at East Perth or at Wembley - are invited to contact us with photographs, or memories. Privacy will be protected, in accordance with your wishes. Please contact Nancy Paterson on 0417 927 126, (email npaters@yahoo.com.au) or St Clare’s School, PO Box 21 & 23 Carlisle North 6161. Tel: 9470 5711.

ALL SAINTS CHAPEL

CONFESSIONS: 10.30 to 11.45am and two lunchtime MASSES: 12.10 and 1.10pm Monday through Friday. Easy to find in the heart of Perth, ALLENDALE SQUARE, 77 St. George’s Terrace, Perth, WA. Exposition: 8am - 4pm. Morning Prayer: 8am (Liturgical hours). Holy Rosary daily: 12.40pm. Divine Mercy Prayers and Benediction: Mondays and Fridays 1.35pm. St Pio of Pietrelcina Novena to the Sacred Heart and Benediction: Wednesdays 1.35pm. Lending Library of a thousand books, videos, cassettes at your service. Tel: 9325 2009. www. allsaintschapel.com

FURNITURE REMOVAL

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HOLIDAY ACCOMMODATION

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■ SHOALWATER

Holiday apartments, self contained, sleeps up to 6, walk to the beach, near Penguin Island, very affordable rates. Bookings Ph: 0414 204 638

IN MEMORIAM

■ O’CONNOR, JOHN PATRICK PAT

Dearly loved and loving brother of Noreen Clinch, brother-in-law of Jim, and loving uncle and great-uncle of our family. Passed away peacefully in his 91st year at Attadale PH, on 30/09/05. RIP.

REAL ESTATE

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REPAIRS

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A Swiss watch specialist with 38 yrs exp on Omega, Rolex, Longines and Rado also Seiko and Citizen. Ph: Jim 9250 6545.

15 Morning tea at CEO with LifeLink fundraisers - Archbishop Hickey Mass and Consecration of a Hermit, Innaloo - Archbishop Hickey

15 & 16 Confirmation, Morley - Mgr Tim Corcoran

16 Confirmation, Trinity College - Archbishop Hickey

17 Meeting with Ordinands at St Charles Seminary - Archbishop Hickey

Opening and blessing of extensions at Emmanuel Catholic College - Bishop Sproxton

18 Principals’ Thanksgiving Mass, CEO - Archbishop Hickey, Bishop Sproxton

20 Closing Mass for St Paul’s, Swanbourne - Archbishop Hickey

20-25 Bishops’ Conference, Sydney - Archbishop Hickey, Bishop Sproxton

INDONESIAN MASS

Every Sunday at 11.30am at St Benedict’s church Alness St, Applecross. Further info www.waicc.org. au.

PERPETUAL ADORATION

Christ the King, Lefroy Rd, Beaconsfield. Enq Joe Migro 9430 7937, A/H 0419 403 100. Adoration also at Sacred Heart, 64 Mary St Highgate, St Anne’s, 77 Hehir St Belmont. Bassendean, 19 Hamilton St and Mirrabooka, 37 Changton Wy.

PERPETUAL ADORATION AT ST BERNADETTE’S

Adoration: Chapel open all day and all night. All welcome, 49 Jugan St, Glendalough, just north of the city. Meanwhile, Masses every night at 5.45pm Monday to Friday, 6.30pm, Saturday and the last Sunday Mass in Perth is at 7pm.

BLESSED SACRAMENT ADORATION

Holy Family Church, Alcock Street, Maddington. Every Friday 8.30 am Holy Mass followed by Blessed Sacrament Adoration till 12 noon. Every first Friday of the month, anointing of the sick during Mass. Enq. 9398 6350.

SUNDAY CHINESE MASS

The Perth Chinese Catholic Community invite you to join in at St Brigid’s Church, 211 Aberdeen St (Cnr of Aberdeen and Fitzgerald) Northbridge. Celebrant Rev Fr Dominic Su SDS. Mass starts 4.30pm every Sunday. Enq Augustine 9310 4532, Mr Lee 9310 9197, Peter 9310 1789.

CONFRATERNITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

The Confraternity of the Holy Spirit has been sanctioned in the Perth Archdiocese, our aim is to make the Holy Spirit known and loved, and to develop awareness of His presence in our lives. If you would like more information please call WA Coordinator Frank Pimm on 9304 5190.

First Sunday of each month

DEVOTIONS IN HONOUR OF THE DIVINE MERCY

Fr Douglas Hoare and Santa Clara Parish Community welcome anyone from surrounding Parishes and beyond to the Santa Clara Church, Bentley. The afternoon commences with the 3 o’clock prayer, followed by the Divine Mercy Chaplet, Reflection, and concludes with Benediction.

THE DIVINE MERCY APOSTOLATE

St Mary’s Cathedral, Victoria Square, Perth – each first Sunday of the month from 1.30pm to 3.15pm with a different priest each month. All Saints Chapel, Allendale Square, 77 St George’s Tce, Perth - each Monday and Friday at 1.35pm. Main Celebrant Fr

James Shelton. St Francis Xavier Church, 25 Windsor Street, East Perth - each Saturday from 2.30pm to 3.30pm, main celebrant Fr Marcellinus Meilak, OFM. Saints John and Paul Church, Pinetree Gully Drive, Willeton - each Wednesday from 4pm to 5pm. All Enq John 9457 7771.

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Artwork on display

Students from Seton Catholic College put on a display of artwork recently as part of the 2005 Br Francis Visual and Practical Arts Exhibition.

The display showcased work by students from Years 8 to 12 in the Emilie De Vialar Performing Arts Centre.

An Opening and Awards Presentation was also held accompanied by the sounds of the Seton Jazz Band.

Meet The Armadale 9

■ By Jamie O’Brien

Marriage seems have been more than just a fashion in the year 1970 to nine couples from St Francis Xavier Parish in Armadale.

The couples all married in 1970 and each celebrated their milestone by spending a long weekend in Busselton in May.

The group formed earlier this year when Jo Havlik and Barbara Boggon got together because they knew of a few parishioners who had married in 1970.

Mrs Havlik and Mrs Boggon then put a notice in the parish newsletter to see if there were any other couples in the parish who had married in 1970, and would be interested in meeting for social occasions and to celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary together. Seven other couples, Carmel and Theo Linden, Chris and Glenice Hunt, Aloma and Joe Palmer, Jean and Neil Gill, Linda and Andrew Roberts, Linda and Diony De la Fuente and Nola and Bryan Auger responded to the newsletter invitation. Two couples, Jean and Neil Gill and Barbara and Peter Boggon celebrate their anniversary on the same date.

The combined number of years of marriage of all nine couples equals 270 years. The group aims to meet a couple of times a year for social events.

The Last Word

Why Marriage Matters...

17.

Reason Seventeen

Married mothers

The absence of marriage is a serious risk factor for maternal depression. Married mothers have lower rates of depression than do single or co-habiting mothers. One study of 2,300 urban adults found that, among parents of preschoolers, the risk of depression was substantially greater for unmarried as compared to married mothers. Marriage protects even older teen mothers from the risk of depression. In one nationally representative sample of 18 and 19 year old mothers, 41 per cent of single white mothers having their first child reported high levels of depressive symptoms, compared to 28 percent of married white teen mothers in this age group.

Longitudinal studies following young adults as they marry, divorce, and remain single indicate that marriage boosts mental and emotional well-being for both men and women. We focus on maternal depression because it is both a serious mental health problem for women and a serious risk factor for children. Not only are single mothers more likely to be depressed, the consequences of maternal depression for child well-being are greater in single-parent families, probably because single parents have less support and because children in disrupted families have less access to their (non depressed) other parent.

Australian research shows that in terms of mental health, “nevermarried men suffer more from not being married than never-married women. But in all other categories women show a higher level of benefit from marriage than men. Separated, widowed, and divorced men were 55 percent above the male average in rates of mental illness while the separated/widowed and divorced category of women had rates 67 percent above the women’s average.”

The 1994 Australian Institute of Health and Welfare study found that married people are three times happier than previously married people, and twice as happy as never married people.`

More recent Australian data reveal the same findings. An Australian Unity Wellbeing Index released in July 2002 found that married people were those with the most happiness and greatest sense of wellbeing. Married people scored 77.7 per cent on the personal wellbeing test compared to 65.1 per cent for those who were separated.”

A vocation: Eight of the nine couples who married in 1970 and now live in Armadale parish catch up to celebrate a collective 270 years of marriage.

Photos courtesy Seton Catholic College