Catholic Life - February 2011

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Catholic Life

Publication of the Diocese of Sale

ISSUE 147

St Brigid’s sole Grade 6 graduate - Page 5

Koo Wee Rup Australia Day honor - Page 6

February 2011

Marist Brother takes his first vows - Page 7

Fr Bill Shanahan dies

By Colin Coomber

THE funeral of veteran Gippsland priest Fr Bill Shanahan was held in St Mary’s Church, Bairnsdale, last Wednesday, February 2.

Fr Bill Shanahan

Fr Shanahan, 80, died on January 27 in Bairnsdale where he has been living in retirement.

The church was filled for the requiem Mass attended by three bishops, 38 priests, two deacons and people from all parts of the diocese.

He was born in South Melbourne in 1930 and was raised in Omeo and is believed to be the only person from the town to become a priest.

When he was young his parents moved to Myrtleford to run a hotel and so he began is schooling at Presentation College, Myrtleford, before starting secondary schooling as a boarder at Assumption College, Kilmore.

His parents died when he was at school so he moved back to Omeo to live with his aunt Kath O’Brien at the Hilltop Hotel.

The move back into Gippsland enabled him to complete his secondary schooling at St

THE plain wooden coffin of Fr Bill Shanahan at the start of his requiem Mass last week.

Patrick’s College, Sale.

After school he helped his aunt in the hotel and became a member of the famous 1948 Omeo Football Club premiership team.

A mistake by him almost cost Omeo the premiership.

Fr Shanahan was playing at centre half forward and with a couple of minutes to go marked the ball with Omeo leading by two points.

Thinking he had to reduce the pressure, he wasted some time ambling back to take his kick, then absent-mindedly bounced the ball. The umpire called play-on, and after a hurried kick, the opposition took the ball and swarmed forward where fortunately a shot on goal only resulted in a point.

Shortly after the siren sounded to end play and Fr Shanahan breathed a sigh of relief that his lapse in concentration had not robbed his team of the premiership.

The following year he entered Corpus Christi Seminary at Werribee to study for the priesthood.

He was ordained at St Mary’s Cathedral, Sale, in 1956 by Coadjutor Archbishop of Brisbane, Patrick O’Donnell, who had been a priest of Sale Diocese. The following day he celebrated his first Mass at Immaculate Conception Church, Omeo.

Over the years he served as assistant priest at Bairnsdale, Sale and Warragul before becoming administrator at Warragul from 1966-71.

He was administrator of the Cathedral parish in Sale from 1972-73 before serving as parish priest at Newborough, Dalyston, San Remo and Bairnsdale.

He became Bairnsdale parish priest in June 1982 but ill health forced his early retirement in November 1988.

He was instrumental in estab-

Help restore St Mary’s Cathedral

Bishop Christopher Prowse has launched an appeal to raise up to $1 million to restore and enhance the Mother Church of the Diocese of Sale.

Please be generous in your giving.

Send donations to Cathedral Appeal, Reply Paid 508, Sale, 3853 * Credit card form can be downloaded at www.sale.catholic.org.au. Fill-in on line, print, sign and post.

THE newly ordained Fr Bill Shanahan in 1956. lishing the Catholic Youth Association across the diocese and had a great love of golf which helped him maintain connections with fellow clergymen throughout Victoria and beyond.

After a series of heart operations involving 10 by-passes in five years doctors gave him little chance of making his golden jubilee. His health gradually deteriorated as the bypasses blocked one by one but surgeons gave him a new lease of life in 2005 when they inserted four stents in the original arteries which had been blocked for 25 years and a better blood flow was established.

He was able to take on new challenges and started filling in for other priests around the diocese, usually celebrating three Masses each Sunday. In 2006 he celebrated the golden jubilee of his ordination.

Fr Shanahan remained in good health up until the past six months when heart trouble and prostate cancer began to sap his energy.

• Funeral story Page 3

Page 2 - Catholic Life, February 2011

Let us all ‘start afresh from Christ’ in a new year HOPEFULLY after some January holidays, we are back to our normal routines refreshed.

We can often have mixed feelings about returning to “normal routines”. On the one hand, they give us some stability in a chaotic world.

On the other hand, we can become somewhat bored with a monotonous daily routine that never seems to change.

As missionary witnesses to the Resurrection of Jesus, we must never allow ourselves to succumb to a faith response that becomes monotonous and “routine”.

Jesus always calls us out of our “comfort zones”. There is the daily pattern of prayer and reflection, but this only propels us forward to respond to the Gospel call constantly every hour.

So let us all “start afresh from Christ” in 2011. This is the wonderful phrase used by Pope John Paul II in Novo Millennio Ineunte (NMI 29) Apart from our many daily faith responses, there are occasionally bigger calls made on our lives that require a huge leap of faith. In the Diocese of Sale, three examples

To God’s People in the Catholic Diocese of Sale come to mind.

First, many parishes are welcoming new Parish Priests these days.

As you would be aware, I have made a quite a few clergy appointments recently in the diocese.

May I say to you, that I was inspired regarding the readiness of priests to accept a new appointment from me. When I approached them formally, they moved out of their “comfort zones” readily. They are clearly missionaries.

They could see in the move to another parish an opportunity for them to say a big “Yes” in their priestly vocation to follow Jesus in all things. They want to “start afresh from Christ” in a new parish appointment. I know that you will welcome them.

I thank you for supporting your former Parish Priest so well. As the “other Christs” in your locality, you

love your priests so much.

Secondly, once again I had the honor to co-host our Diocesan Mission Retreat in early February. This is conducted with the diocese in association with the Parish of Narre Warren, our Charismatic prayer groups and the Community of the Risen Lord, Sri Lanka.

The New Ecclesial Movements are really helping us in the diocese to raise up a new generation of laity focused and trained in Catholic evangelisation.

So many of the laity at the conference are ready to leave all sorts of “comfort zones” in life and succumb to the magnetism of Jesus Christ, alive in the Catholic Church.

An experience of Jesus and a readiness to be sent on mission to the poor are wonderful fruits of these “electric currents” of Grace. If you have not already done so, please

become familiar and participate in such initiatives.

Thirdly, I am soon to lead several listening sessions around the diocese. I want to listen carefully to your response to my Pastoral Letter, Finding Home in Jesus. Please come along. You are welcome. The venues and dates would be advertised in your parishes and elsewhere.

The point here is to listen to the heartbeat of Jesus in the diocese.

What we do not want is a “new program”. It is already given. To make Jesus “known, loved and imitated” (NMI, 29) is forever the eternal program. But we do need to discuss what particular pastoral initiatives are to be prioritised in the Diocese of Sale in the years ahead.

This will give “new impetus in Christian living” (NMI, 29) for us all. So, let us gather to give testimony to our common faith as Catholics and listen to possibilities for the future.

Let us learn to be Catholic missionaries in our own time and place.

This is my prayer as we “start afresh from Christ” in 2011. + Bishop Christopher Prowse Catholic Bishop of Sale

Times of change within our parishes and schools THE New Year has begun with changes to clergy affecting nine parishes and new principals for four diocesan schools.

Clergy changes announced at the end of November were altered just before Christmas when Narre Warren parish priest Fr John Allen took sabbatical leave instead of taking up a new position of parish priest at neighboring Cranbourne.

Bairnsdale parish priest Fr Denis O’Bryan was then appointed to Cranbourne instead of the planned move to Traralgon to replace Fr Peter Bickley who was moving to Bairnsdale.

The Traralgon vacancy was then filled by Narre Warren asDIOCESE OF SALE

sistant priest Fr Mathew Joseph TOR who was appointed as the administrator.

In other changes which took place on January 19, Fr Andrew Wise moved from Cranbourne to Sale, where he became Dean of St Mary’s Cathedral.

Cathedral administrator Fr Bernard Buckley moved to Lakes Entrance to take on the dual roles of parish priest for the Lakes Entrance and Orbost parishes.

The Lakes Entrance-Orbost parish priest Fr Brendan Hogan moved to Narre Warren.

Churchill parish priest Fr Hugh Brown OCarm has taken on additional duties as admin-

Catholic Life

PO Box 183, Sale. Vic. 3853 Phone: (03) 5144 6132 Fax: (03) 5144 3855 catholiclife@sale.catholic.org.au www.sale.catholic.org.au

istrator of Morwell, a position previously held by Fr Bickley in association with his role of parish priest at Traralgon.

To assist in the running of Morwell parish, Deacon Terry Rooney has moved from Churchill to Morwell.

Among school principals we have only one new secondary school principal.

Chris Randall has become the first lay principal at Catholic College Sale, which since its founding at St Patrick’s College, has been run by the Marist Brothers.

Mr Randall was formerly principal at St Mary of the Angels Secondary College in

Nathalia.

He replaces Br Paul Kane FMS who has relocated to Melbourne to become Superior of the Marist Formation Community in Fitzroy.

St Laurence’s Primary School, Leongatha has a new acting principal in Chris Dortmans who was previously deputy principal at Trinity Primary School, Narre Warren South.

He has previously been acting principal at St Joseph’s, Trafalgar.

Former St Laurence’s principal Robyn Halliwell has taken up a position as a special educa-

Check paper numbers SCHOOLS are asked to check the number of copies of Catholic Life they require to be delivered each month to provide one copy per family this year.

Just email desired number of copies to the nearest 25 to

Latrobe alley V uneral F Services

tion officer at the Catholic Education Office, Warragul.

At St Mary’s Primary School, Sale, former principal Ann Vaughan has resigned to pursue other interests.

She has been replaced by Cathy Mesaric who has previously been acting principal at St Mary’s Maffra, while principal Anita Little has been on maternity leave.

The new acting principal at Maffra is Jenny Smart, who was previously deputy principal at the school.

catholiclifesale.catholic.org.au and we will adjust the number for the next issue.

Parishes which need to amend the number of copies received can email at any time to make adjustments.

Editor: Colin Coomber Published monthly except January.

Deadline for advertising copy and editorial contributions for next issue is Monday, February 28.

Issues distributed free through parishes and schools from March 9.

Published by Catholic Media Gippsland, an agency of the Diocese of Sale.

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Catholic Life, February 2011 - Page 3

3 bishops and 38 priests farewell loved priest BAIRNSDALE – St Mary’s Church, Bairnsdale, was filled for the requiem Mass for Fr Bill Shanahan last week.

On the altar were three bishops, 38 priests and two deacons, the largest gathering of religious in the church for many years.

In the eulogy new Bairnsdale parish priest Fr Peter Bickley revealed the close association he had with the tall grey-haired priest.

He recalled that after he was ordained in 1974, it was Fr Shanahan who travelled from Newborough to assist in his first Mass as a priest.

Afterwards, Fr Shanahan had offered the advice “Peter, never lose your sense of humor”.

As so, Fr Bickley proclaimed, Fr Shanahan was partly to blame for what his parishioners had been forced to endure ever since.

Fr Bickley said Fr Shanahan’s presence was always uplifting whether they were watching games of football together, going on golfing trips or attending the Australian Open tennis.

Every year the two spent time at the Australian Open and it

seemed that Fr Shanahan was never satisfied that their allotted seats.

He would spend the first hour scanning the crowd for a better vantage point, which was invariably some unoccupied seats in the VIP area.

Fr Bickley recalled being told “Come on. Stay close to me.

Don’t say a word” and Fr Shanahan strolled down past security guards to occupy VIP seats. “Don’t look around, just watch the tennis” was the older priest’s advice.

So year after year, this performance was repeated, with them occasionally being asked to move by those with tickets for the VIP seats they occupied but Fr Shanahan simple apologised for the mistake, then, in the confusion which followed, move to another pair of unoccupied VIP seats he had identified as back-ups in case such a situation arose.

Fr Bickley said he could tell of many other humorous situations which had occurred in the presence of Fr Shanahan on their golfing trips around Australia and even overseas.

However, it was as a priest that Fr Shanahan excelled. He

was at his best with his religion and his people.

“He was an extraordinary priest for other priests.”

Fr Shanahan rarely missed the opportunity to be with other priests whether it be at in-services, conferences, ordinations or other events in the lives of priests.

He was always present at priests’ golf days around the state, making many friends with priests from other dioceses.

Fr Bickley said Fr Shanahan always offered wise counsel and a warm welcome to the other priests, including the Salesian community at Bairnsdale and, in more recent years, to the new priests who had come from overseas.

The plain wooden coffin was carried from the church by six

BISHOP Prowse leads the way to the grave as Fr Shanahan’s coffin is carried by Sale Diocese priests Fr Peter Bickley, Fr John Readman and Fr Mark Godridge.

Bairnsdale parishioners and at the Bairnsdale Cemetery the coffin was carried from the hearse to the grave by six priests.

Bishop Christopher Prowse

led prayers at the graveside before Fr Shanahan was interred in the monumental lawn section. Funeral arrangements were by Stephen Baggs Funeral Directors, Bairnsdale.

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The Catholic Development Fund Serving the Diocese of Sale Telephone: (03)5144 4311 Email: cdf@sale.catholic.org.au The Catholic Development Fund, Diocese of Sale is not subject to the provisions of the Corporation Act 2001 nor has it been examined or approved by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. Deposits with the Catholic Development Fund, Diocese of Sale are guaranteed by CDPF Limited, a company established by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference for this purpose. We welcome your investment with the Catholic Development Fund, Diocese of Sale rather than with a profit orientated commercial organisation as a conscious commitment by you to support the Charitable, Religious and Educational works of the Catholic Church. Neither the Catholic Development Fund, Diocese of Sale nor the Trustees of the Roman Catholic Trust Corporation for the Diocese of Sale are prudentially supervised by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority; contributions to the Catholic Development Fund, Diocese of Sale do not obtain the benefit of the depositor protection provisions of the Banking Act 1959; the Catholic Development Fund, Diocese of Sale is designed for investors who wish to promote the charitable purposes of the Catholic Diocese of Sale.

Please help families in need BISHOP’S FAMILY FOUNDATION

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Bishop’s Family Foundation, PO Box 508, Sale 3853

Page 4 - Catholic Life, February 2011

The rhythm of religious life

Annoying habits

IT is amazing how often you see someone throwing litter or a cigarette butt out of a moving vehicle.

The problem is unless you have someone else in the car with you, and a pen and paper handy, you cannot record the registration number of the offending driver.

Our cars have got more and more intelligent with lots of features which are generally useless you want to impress someone with the ability of being able to set the car’s temperature with verbal commands.

Perhaps it would be better to have a button on the steering wheel which you could push and record a short message such as a car registration number, offence and location.

You could play it back later to get correct information, recorded at the time, before reporting blatent littering to the Environment Protection Authority or police.

Working dad

YOUNGSTER visiting his grandparents home, asked where Poppy was.

Told he was at work, the two-year-old thought for a moment and said “My Dad used to go to work too.”

Big shock for his system last week when schoolteacher Dad actually had to saddle up for another year in front of the classroom.

The youngster had been so used to having Dad home over the holidays that it obviously never occurred that it was a temporary arrangement.

Mass changes

SOME concerns among parishioners at the forthcoming changes to the responses in the Mass.

The changes will be well explained before being introduced in the middle of the year. It is planned to have cards on the seats reminding parishioners of the new venacular, which in many cases is a return to what was said in the 1960s.

For sung Masses, the changes have been introduced already and for parish liturgy teams the words and music for the main ones have been listed on the diocese’s website www.sale.catholic.org.au. Just click on the liturgy link at the top of the page and then go to Living Liturgy.

Report in

IF you have seen or heard anything worth reporting in Holy Smoke send an email to catholiclife@sale.catholic.org .au or phone us on 5144 6132.

ONE of the most impressive aspects of living in or visiting a Muslim country is the call to prayer.

The Muslim is called to prayer five times a day. The call to prayer is heard at dawn, at the midday, about the middle of the afternoon, just after sunset, and at night fall about two hours after sunset.

The muezzin, a man appointed to call to prayer, climbs the minaret of the mosque, and he calls in all directions, “Hasten to prayer.”

The prayer carpet is carried by the Muslim when he or she travels abroad. At the times of prayer, they will determine the direction of Mecca, roll out the prayer carpet, and say prayers to Allah. In that way, their day is ‘framed’ in such a way that talking regularly to God makes them so much more aware of the presence of God around them.

Every spiritual tradition endeavours to form a person in some kind of regular practice designed to focus the mind and the spirit, the inner and outer dimensions of life. In the words of Sr Joan Chittister: “We don’t have to merit God, monastic theology teaches us.

We have God. It is not God we’re missing. It is the awareness of God in the commonness of life that we fail to cultivate” Chittister: Called to Question, p41 The great monastic traditions of our faith are built on regular periods of prayer to remind us that God is with us – whoever we are, whatever we are, wherever we are.

Prayer, according to monastic tradition, is the regular discipline of resting in God. In the words of Chittister we are awash with God, encircled

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Reflections

by Jim Quillinan

live in a monastery to be reminded that our lives are enriched by God’s enduring presence.

To regularly interrupt the day with prayer is to remind ourselves of God’s presence, to remind us of what we are doing and why we are doing it and where our lives are going.

These ‘interruptions’ give us the strength of heart to sustain us on the way. We pray so that we can be transfigured ourselves, so that “we can come to see the world as God sees it, to practice the presence of God, to put on a heart of justice, of love, of compassion for others.

Shaping this new heart within us makes demands on us. It leaves us breathing in the presence of the living God. It makes demands on us to feed the hungry and clothe the naked, give drink to the thirsty and take care of the sick.

(Chittister, Called to Question p 46)”.

It is not by chance that Lent comes around regularly – every year at the same time this season is set aside to remind us “to practice the presence of God”, to remind us of our need to shape this new heart within us, this new way of seeing the world.

There is a rhythm in the Church’s year, just as there is a rhythm in nature itself, a regular reminder of new life, of loss, of renewal, of beginning again, of endings. In all of them there is an invitation from God to relationship, to life, to renewal, to a change of heart.

John the Baptist’s call to “repent and believe” which we recall during each Lenten season, is not just a plea to do penance, rather it is a reminder of our need to continually refocus our minds and hearts and actions.

Sometimes it is translated “Repent in order that you might believe”. Repentance is not just saying sorry – it is not just depriving ourselves of something to make amends for wrongdoing.

Repentance is a call for a change of mind and heart, working to become more alert and mindful of God’s presence in the other, in creation, in our lives.

Repent in order that you may believe, John the Baptist says – believing is becoming mindful and alert to God’s presence.

Believing is responding to God’s call to friendship, to relationship, opening ourselves to think like Christ, to act like Christ and to judge like Christ (Directory of Catechesis #53).

That takes courage and constant practice, a pattern of behavior and it doesn’t happen overnight. That’s one reason why Lent comes around regularly.

For the Muslim, the month of Ramadan is a very public affair with the aim of increasing taqwa or ‘God-consciousness’, the consciousness of being known to God, of being deeply anchored in God’s love. For the Muslim, fasting is not an occasional act but a regular ritual.

The breaking of the fast, at dusk on each day of Ramadan, is another very public ritual which brings the community together. Prayers are said, a single date is eaten and a sip of water drunk, a welcome respite after hours of restraint. Then food and drink are dispensed to all present.

As with the rhythm of the prayer, fasting is a public not a private matter - and so is the thanksgiving celebration which marks the end of each day.

People act together, rising at the same time, observing prayer times and keeping the fast, then together offering all back to God as the night closes in.

What will call us to prayer this Lent? What daily rituals might we adopt? Will we adopt a rhythm of prayer to remind us of God’s continual presence in our lives?

Will we fast or do some form of penance to remind ourselves of the need to shape our minds and hearts so that we can see this world as God sees it and act in this world as God asks us?

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Catholic Life, February 2011 - Page 5

Sole graduate is a scholarship winner

Relive the Cathedral History in this stylish new book Proceeds from the sale of this stylish history book will aid the St Mary’s Cathedral Sale Restoration Appeal.

It is by highly-regarded Sale historian and author Peter Synan who has encapsulated the history of St Mary’s Cathedral, Sale, in Three Springtimes.

This hardcover book retails for $40 and will become a keepsake. It is an ideal coffee table book, full of photographs from the earliest years of the Cathedral, through until today.

There are still plenty of copies available but to secure your copy without incurring postage and handling charges you need to attend in person.

Patrick Barker OFFICER - Patrick Barker of St Brigid’s Catholic Primary School, Officer, is making his mark in the school’s history by becoming the first grade six graduate.

Patrick was the only child completing grade six at the

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school which opened its doors last year.

He is the school’s recipient of the 2011 Joe Flynn Memorial Scholarship from St Francis Xavier College, Berwick.

Principal Ken Gale said Patrick was a worthy recipient of the scholarship as he has been an enthusiastic leader in the school community and had made the best of opportunities in all areas of the curriculum.

“Patrick has shown development from an academic perspective, he excelled in all aspects of physical education and has shown a great sign of reverence and respect toward the Catholic faith.”

This year the school will have at least two children graduating from grade six. The school has started the year with around 100 students, up from 42 in its first year.

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Page 6 - Catholic Life, February 2011

Keeping your eye on the angel while doing the tasks CARTOONIST Michael Leunig does not appeal to everyone, but his often gentle whimsy frequently gives cause for deep thought.

One of his cartoons, in particular, has led me to stop and think. The cartoon, published a number of years ago now, but re-printed in his collection entitled The Stick (2002), depicts a version of the Christmas scene, but it’s a depiction with a twist.

The words under the simple drawing are a parody of a popular Christmas carol, “While shepherds watched their flocks by night”. Leunig changes the words, somewhat disrespectfully, some might think, to, “While shepherds washed their socks by night, all seated on the ground, the angel of the Lord came down – and no one looked around.”

Disrespectful, perhaps.

Meaningful, certainly. The shepherds, in this version, were simply washing their socks. It’s hard to imagine a more ordinary, mundane task.

It is a task that is necessary, but Leunig’s warning is that we can get so caught up in the mundane things of life that we miss the really important things, the really rewarding things, the really beautiful things. They are what the angel represents.

In fact, to take the cartoon to a deeper, but very obvious level, we can get so caught up in the ordinary, everyday business of life, that we miss the beauty of God’s presence here with us now.

Sometimes we just don’t

seem to have the time to turn around to see the angel.

I find it always worthwhile to remind myself of what my own angel represents. Where is beauty in my life? What are the things in my life that make me more fully human? Where do I find God in my life? Do I remember to look around at them? Or do I just keep washing my socks? Do I keep my eye on my own “angel”?

It is the same in the life of a school, of a parish or of any community. It can be the same

even of family life. We can get so caught up in the mundane, the administrivia, in washing our organisational socks, that we forget to turn around and see the angel. And, sadly, that can leave those tasks empty of real meaning. They become just “busywork.”

In schools, for example, there is much “washing of socks” that is absolutely necessary, as there is in every human community. There are rosters to

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with Talking Peter Catholic Ryan Education prepare, staff meetings to attend, professional learning to pursue, programs to develop, class groups to organise, testing to be done, policies to write, rolls to prepare, resources to

organise, work to correct, budgets to manage, behavior to deal with, fees to collect, bills to be paid . . . . the list goes on and on, and all are important.

But these things are a bit like washing our socks - necessary certainly, but they are not our core purpose. They are not the source of our reward, they are not our angel. They are means to a greater, more important end. Let us never forget that.

We need every now and then to turn around and see the angel, to keep our eye on the angel even while we continue to wash those socks.

In our Catholic schools our angel has three faces, three fundamental reasons that we do all those things – and they all centre, not on the school, not on the staff, but on the person of the student.

Writing policies, collecting fees, attending meetings, etc., etc, while they are important, are not our core purpose. The Catholic School on the Threshold of the Third Millennium tells us in clearly what that purpose is. In paragraph 9, that document draws attention to our angel when it says that “the promotion of the human person is the goal of the Catholic school”. It couldn’t be much clearer! We need to think of our goals always in terms of the human person, the student.

However, as Catholics, we have a particular and precious view of what it means to be a human person, and that is found in the person and teaching of Jesus Christ. The human person we seek to promote knows and loves God. The truly human person is one who is on the journey of dying and rising, every day, to share the life of the risen Christ, one who through that on-going experience of dying and rising becomes a fuller, richer human person.

So for us in Catholic schools, our focus is not on the admin-

istrivia of washing our socks. It is not even on making our schools more Catholic (though that is an important means to the even more important end).

Nor is our focus on making our schools better learning environments, though once again this is an important means to that same important end.

Our goal, the angel we must remember to see, must be always the promotion of the full humanness of the student.

Our goals must be student focussed. The angel we need to keep our eye on in our schools is not the making of a better Catholic school but in the promotion of a true humanity in each and every one of those precious beings given to us for a very short time.

That is reflected again in the same church document mentioned above. It reminds us that

it is our privilege to “write on the very spirits of human beings.”

In our Catholic schools, we can do this in three ways.

Firstly we need to work to bring every student to a knowledge and love of God as shown to us in Jesus Christ through the Catholic church; we need then, to enable every student to learn so they can lead fulfilling lives and contribute positively to the development of a healthy and just society and finally, we need to ensure that every student can thrive in an environment that enhances their social and emotional growth.

Those core purposes quite clearly put the student at the very heart of what we do as Catholic educators. They are our angel. We need often to remind ourselves of them. We need to keep our eye on that angel. It is a beautiful gift we have been given, an enormous privilege.

The rest, important though it may be, is just “washing our socks”. Thank you, Michael Leunig, for reminding me of that.

Sister’s Australia Day honor KOO WEE RUP – After 28 years serving the community of Koo Wee Rup, Sr Rose Wood RSJ has been honored with a local Australia Day award.

About 300 people gathered in the local community centre to celebrate Australia Day. Sr Rose received an award for outstanding contributions to the community.

Master of Ceremonies Ray Brown said Sr Rose arrived in Koo Wee Rup in 1983 to teach at St John the Baptist School.

She had been a pastoral worker in the parish since retiring from teaching and continued to serve the community in this capacity.

She was the longest servicing Sister of St Joseph at Koo Wee Rup. “Sr Rose cares for everyone in the community and has made many friends in her time here, regardless of their faith or denomination.”

Mr Brown said Sr Rose visited Killara and the nursing home regularly, helping and supporting families in various situations of need. She had worked very hard for St Vincent de Paul, visiting families and coordinating a willing band of helpers to give service to those in need.

“Sr Rose approaches all she does with vigour and great aplomb and shows a genuine interest in all the people she comes in contact with.

He said Sr Rose was totally dedicated to her work as a Sister of St Joseph and had been a living example of the philosophy of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop to everyone in Koo Wee Rup.

Sr Rose Wood RSJ In her reply Sr Rose apologised for her family who had been caught up in the Kerang flood and could not make their way down.

She was honored to receive the award and would treasure it. Koo Wee Rup was a great place to live and gave ample opportunity to achieve results in harmony with the community.

Sr Rose said the Josephite foundress Mary MacKillop encouraged everyone to reach out to all mankind in need and have respect for the person.

“Receiving this Award encourages me to keep on keeping on and hopefully inspire others to work together for a fair deal and justice for all, materially and spiritually. It is a great challenge in today’s society.”

Many of Sr Rose’s friends came to celebrate with her and a cuppa with lamingtons, scones, and fruit was then served.

Catholic Life, February 2011 - Page 7

Act in haste and you may repent at your leisure SOME of the most stressful times of our lives are getting married, buying a house, the death of a loved one and changing jobs or careers.

I know as I’ve done two of these on the same weekend, many years ago now. However, the recent floods and fires also illustrate that there are other times of serious stress that will affect some or all of us from time to time.

All around Australia there are people who have been devastated by fire (WA) and floods (Queensland, Victoria, NSW, SA and Tasmania) and only two years ago, Black Saturday here in Victoria.

Many people have lost their homes and their livelihood and are not sure which way they should turn. Unfortunately many have made decisions under duress and made the wrong call.

My advice to all of us when affected by any traumatic situation is to sit back and wait.

There are enough people out there willing to take advantage of your situation without encouraging them.

Apart from their houses, some clients of ours have lost all their grain and hay which they’ve harvested this year in their first good crop in a decade.

They’re not sure how they will continue, but our advice is to wait and see. In Queensland unfortunately they have also lost family as well, which is the greatest tragedy.

When the floods first hit the sense of devastation and loss is extreme, and it could well be very difficult to see a positive future, especially if there have been a few years of hard times.

When you’re up to your waist in flood water is not the time to

DOLLAR$ & SENSE with David Wells

make a decision about the future. After all, once the water’s gone and the grass grows things will look good again. That’s the time to think.

Now it’s time to work toward recovery. There are many sources of assistance to all those who’ve been affected by these disasters.

Centrelink has immediate payments available and there will be local sources of assistance, too. The State and Federal Governments will be announcing all sorts of assistance packages to all those affected. It’s time to look at

Australia Day message:

Common wealth v my wealth ALL Australians have been urged to celebrate their real common wealth in an Australia Day message from Bishop of Sale Christopher Prowse.

He said wealth was not simply the accumulation of money. It could also refer to the reserves of goodness and compassion stored in the hearts of individuals and of a community.

An expression Catholics used in this context was the “common good” which was central to our understanding of the social structuring of society.

Bishop Prowse said that on Australia Day, we should ponder the inner wealth we shared in our great nation of Australia.

This was truly our “common wealth”.

It referred to the common good that united us. It rejected the tyranny of a purely individualistic attitude to life.

“A ‘my-wealth’ attitude alone is ultimately so lonely. It breeds selfishness and boredom.”

He said we could see evidence of our “common wealth” everywhere in Australia and often it seemed to be taken for granted.

Bishop Prowse said sport was a great place to find Australian “common wealth”.

The ultimate compliment to a sportsperson was to be publicly described as a great team player. How satisfying it was to hear of the ambitious tennis player who said that while it was tremendous to win tournaments, it was more satisfying to play for Australia in the Davis Cup. There were heroic examples too in family life.

He said that recently, he had heard of an employee who declined to work on Christmas Day even though an enormous amount of salary was offered.

He wanted to stay home and spend Christmas Day with his family.

He did not care how much

money was offered as his family life had priority.

“What a great example to us all! Family life is our real “common wealth” in Australia.”

Despite much evidence to the contrary, the importance of peace and being a peace-maker was on the rise amongst us.

Peace-making was something to do together, because we could not make peace simply on our own.

It must be directed towards others and it must protect the common good.

Bishop Prowse said it might be expressed by simply being a good neighbor in your street, or it might also be expressed by participating in an Anzac Day parade.

“We cannot Advance Australia Fair unless we thank those who gave their life for the peace and freedom we now share.”

Despite all the temptations of building a life without God, an enormous percentage of Australians would have attended a church service over the Christmas – New Year season.

Religion acted as a “glue” in our atomistic society by lifting together our minds and hearts to higher values and virtues so necessary to create a happy “common wealth”.

He said St Mary of the Cross MacKillop was a religious champion by advancing the common good by her saintly example and Catholic educational initiatives.

Bishop Prowse offered three examples of real threats to our Australian “common wealth”

which all flourished when “my-wealth” became the sole arbitrator on all matters controversial.

The common good was nourished by strong family life and euthanasia was a great threat to this most fundamental of all communities.

He said the youngest and frailest in Australian families were becoming increasingly threatened today with both abortion and euthanasia attacking the most vulnerable of all Australians.

In regard to Euthanasia, it was the intentional act or omission that caused the death of the suffering. Advocates for euthanasia did not take the advances in good palliative care and pain management seriously.

The Catholic community offered a lead in providing a network of hospices and services for the frail elderly.

Bishop Prowse said another threat to family life came from proposals to alter the meaning of marriage, as traditionally understood.

The variety of domestic arrangements now available in Australia ought never threaten marriage.

“Our governments must protect the treasured institution of marriage as the complementary love between a man and a woman that is open to new life.”

He said another threat to the common good was our historic inability to share the fruits of our land with the First Australians – the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.

Despite the many wonderful and highly symbolic acts of reconciliation, we still had so much to do to “close the gap” in our land of plenty. The statistics of Aboriginal disadvantage were still appalling and so many Australians were yet to meet and befriend our First Australians.

your insurance policy and hope you’ve had flood damage covered. Most policies do not cover flooding, and so other forms of assistance may be required.

In all these matters look for expert advice, but make sure it’s from an expert who does not have a direct stake in your misfortune. Speak to your bank manager for support, speak with the local Centrelink and you accountant if you need to assess your financial position, but make sure you take advice before you act precipitously.

For instance, if you don’t know if you can keep the farm, ask an agent for an approximate value, but don’t ask him if you should sell it!

If your neighbor would like to buy your house, your farm or your business, don’t ask them if you should sell out.

If your heart is broken about your home and you feel you can’t continue, get professional

counselling and speak with your family and friends before deciding to move on.

Many people regret their decisions made in haste after the Black Saturday fires in Victoria and regret selling cheaply and moving away from their roots too early, now finding they can’t go back. Don’t let this happen to you.

If, after all, selling up and moving on is what you should do, this will be much clearer when the sun is shining on you again. And with good independent advice you will achieve the best outcome possible for you and your family.

The same of course applies in the case of a bereavement.

Making any quick decisions can lead quite easily to making the wrong one – and in most cases it can’t be undone easily.

It’s best to make haste slowly.

• This report is intended to provide general advice. In preparing this advice, David Wells and RBS Morgans did not take into account the investment objective, the financial situation and particular needs of any particular person. Before making an investment decision on the basis of this advice, you need to consider, with or without the assistance of an adviser, whether the advice is appropriate in light of your particular investment needs, objectives and financial circumstances.

Young Marist Brother

BR Patrick Connell with his parents and his grandmother following the profession of his first vows.

A YOUNG man who worked at Catholic College Sale for two months last year has made his first profession as a Marist Brother.

Br Patrick Connell made his first profession in Melbourne

on December 12.

He was in Sale during March and April 2010 as part of his community experience during his novitiate stage of formation and was very active in the school during his time in Sale.

Page 8 - Catholic Life, February 2011

Changes coming to English Mass text this year CHANGES to the Mass are being introduced in stages during this year and it is expected that all will be in place by November.

The changes have been brought about to reflect a more accurate translation of the Mass from Latin to English.

Translation of the first edition of the Roman Missal in the early 1970s was done in haste in order to provide an English version of the Mass.

Catholics in English-speaking countries have become familiar with the English text but some phrases used have not accurately reflected the Latin.

When the third edition of the Roman Missal was published in 2000 the Holy See felt that it should be accompanied by accurate English translations.

In 2002 the International

Commission on English in the Liturgy began the new translation, being sensitive to all of the nuances in the text.

The Congregation for Divine Worship finally approved the translation last year and so the Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference has decided on the staged introduction of the changes.

The first stage which involves sung Masses has already been introduced. Those in charge of liturgy should now be conversant with the new versions of the sung Lord Have Mercy, Gloria, Creed, Holy Holy Holy, Eucharistic Acclamations and Lamb of God which were introduced in January.

From Pentecost Sunday, June 14, the changes to the spoken

Ad Limina visit BISHOP Prowse and other Australian Bishops will travel to Rome in October on a spiritual pilgrimage designed to celebrate and strengthen their communion with the universal Church and the Pope.

The Ad Limina visit will take place from October 10-22.

All bishops who are charged with the leadership of a diocese, are required to make an Ad Limina visit every five years and present a report on the pastoral situation of the local Church.

Bishop Prowse has started preparing his report on Sale Diocese which must be sent through before the visit.

It is an important spiritual pilgrimage and a reminder of a local bishop’s wider role in communion with the bishops of the world. Due to the increasing number of bishops in the world and the circumstances of the declining health of the late Pope John Paul II the visit was

delayed two years.

The key events for Australia’s bishops will be a visit to the tombs of Sts Peter and Paul, and a personal meeting with the Holy Father.

The visit is also seen as an important part of the Holy Father’s pastoral ministry, when he as head of the College of Bishops receives his brothers with whom he exercises pastoral ministry and listens and talks with them about their mission in their diocese.

Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference president Archbishop Philip Wilson of Adelaide said he and his fellow bishops would be seeking the prayers of those in their diocesan community as they prepared for the Ad Limina pilgrimage.

While in Rome, the Bishops will visit various Vatican Congregations and other organisations.

versions will be introduced, along with changes to the priest’s invitations and peoples’ responses. Cards detailing the changes will be available in the pews.

It is expected that these changes will be gradually introduced, although in some parishes, all changes may be immediate.

The new form of the Mass will be obligatory from November 1 which is about the time when the new altar missal will be available.

In addition to the music settings contained in the missal, there are six plainsong settings which have been recommended by the bishops from among 50 presented for review by the music committee of the National Liturgical Council.

The main changes MAIN changes affecting the congregation in the text of the Mass: • “And with your spirit” replaces “And also with you.”

• A more correctly translated version of “I confess” and of the Second Penitential Rite.

• A more accurate translation of the Gloria.

• A more accurate translation of The Creed.

• The last response before the Preface is changed to “It is right and just.”

• In the “Holy Holy Holy” the words “God of Hosts” replaces “God of Power and Might.”

• The Eucharistic acclamation “Christ has died…” is no longer included as it is not part of the Latin Missal. The other three acclamations remain.

• Before communion the response becomes “Lord I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.”

• There are four variable dismissals to which the people reply “Thanks be to God.”

Medjugorje visionary’s visit A VISIONARY from Medjugorje who claims to have received daily apparitions of Our Lady for the past 29 years will visit Warragul to speak on February 24.

Ivan Dragicevic was only 16 when he became one of six teenagers to begin seeing apparitions of a beautiful lady who identified herself as the Virgin Mary.

Within a week of the visions beginning, crowds of up to 15,000 people accompanied the teenagers on their daily visit to the hillside to meet the lady.

Medjugorje, was part of Croatia until 1941, before becoming part of the former Republic of Yugoslavia, and is now part of BosniaHerzegovina, about 25km from the Croatian border.

Dragicevic and two other visionaries continue to receive daily apparitions from what has become known as Our Lady of Medjugorje, while some of the

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Ivan Dragicevic others receive then less frequently, sometimes only annually on a certain date.

Dragicevic spends six months of the year in Medjugorje and the other six in Boston, USA. Medjugorje has now become a centre for pilgrimage by people from all over the world.

The Medjugorje apparitions are yet to receive official Church recognition although

last year Pope Benedict created a commission to investigate the claims.

Delays in recognising apparitions are usual, as indicated by Vatican approval last year for an apparition at Green Bay, USA, in 1859. It took almost 300 years for the apparition known as Our Lady of Laus in France to be approved.

Dragicevic is in Australia from February 20-26 for a series of speaking engagements across the country.

At Warragul, he will be at St Joseph’s Catholic Church. The format will be Rosary at 6pm, followed by details of Dragicevic’s apparitions at 6.40pm.

He will speak at 7pm through translator Robert Matek and then at 8pm Mass will be concelebrated by Bishop Christopher Prowse and Fr Andrew Grace who is accompanying Dragicevic on his tour.

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Catholic Life, February 2011 - Page 9

Loch’s unlikely conversation on Bethlehem journey LOCH - A conversation adapted from the book “Listen to your Mother-in-Law” by Cecily Cupit, was conducted at St Vincent’s Catholic Church, Loch as part of the fourth Sunday of Advent celebrations.

It was an unlikely conversation between Joseph, that is: St Joseph and his mother-in-law, Ann, who became St Anna.

The conversation not only explores God’s value but served to re enforce the words from the Gospel of the day; Matthew, 1.18-25.

The imagined conversation painted a dramatised picture to the congregation of how God can come into our lives in totally unexpected ways; such as when Joseph found his betrothed Mary to be pregnant - not to him, but the Holy Spirit.

A teenage girl was to become the Mother of God and a carpenter was going to be a midwife.

An example of how amazing things can occur, if we have hope and trust in God’s word. “An Unlikely Conversation” Anna: You’re taking her where? I don’t believe my ears!

Joseph: Bethlehem. I have to go there to register our names, so I’ll take her with me.

Anna: My daughter. Nine months pregnant! You want to walk to Bethlehem? You want to take her with you? She has just returned from visiting her cousin Elizabeth – for goodness sake!

Joseph: Not want to take her with me? I’m going to take her

with me. If she’s out of town the gossips can’t pin down the date of birth. Besides, a son of David should be born in David’s town.

Where else?

Anna: A son, is it? Where else, you say is a good birth place? On the road there, maybe? That’s if the robbers don’t get you first, God forbid. Joseph, nobody knows when the baby is due. This is not the moment to take her on a walking tour.

Joseph: It is a long way to walk. Perhaps, I could find her a donkey.

Anna: A Donkey! Why not a chariot? You should try being pregnant and riding a donkey!

Joseph, be reasonable. Please leave her here, in her mother’s care.

Joseph: She’s in my care now; I take care of her. How can I take care of her if I leave her behind?

Anna: You’ll take care of her?

Suddenly, you want to be a midwife as well as a carpenter? Joseph, this is her first baby. The only one who knows less about it is you.

Joseph: Don’t try to frighten us out of it; we were both told by the angel, “Do not be afraid.”

Anna: Did the angel mention any other details? Like how you will manage? In her condition, in a strange town, with no one to help, but Joseph, the midwife carpenter! Who dreamed it would be all right?

Joseph: I dreamed that I was told not to be afraid to take her.

So, if I have to go to Bethlehem, then, she’s coming with me.

DIANNE Stewart and Joseph Karipel dramatising the conversation, which explores God’s values, to the congregation at St Vincent’s Catholic Church, Loch.

Anna: Oh well, if an angel comes to your dreams with a special message, then, why listen to the voice of common sense? Your mother-in-law!

Joseph: He also told me it was going to be a boy; and to name him Jesus.

Anna: Jesus? My grandson?

What about Rouven after my father? Or David, even? Why Jesus? What sort of name is that?

Oh, Joseph, you are impossible, I give up!”

Berwick hospital among best BERWICK - St John of God Hospital, Berwick, has come second in a satisfaction survey of private hospitals in Victoria.

The study was conducted by Medibak Private.

Berwick scored 76 out of 100, just one point ahead of a group of other hospitals - St John of God hopsitals at Bendigo, Geelong and Ballarat, Peninsula Priavte Hospital, Cabrini, St

Vincent’s and the Mercy.

St John of God Berwick chief executive officer Lisa Norman confirmed she had received many letters from patients thanking staff for the care and compassion they received during their hospital stays.

“The dedication of each and every caregiver at the hospital makes me proud to be part of something special.”

Page 10 - Catholic Life, February 2011

Two new Synan history books focus on Sale LATE last year two new books on aspects of the history of Sale appeared; both were written by Peter and Ann Synan, the authors of many Gippsland histories and monographs.

The first book, Three Springtimes, is a chronological account of St Mary’s Cathedral, Sale, and the various additions and improvements it has undergone over the decades. It naturally includes an account of the bishops, prominent priests and laymen associated with it.

The original church in Sale was replaced in preparation for the coming of the new diocese and Bishop James Corbett in 1887.

The cathedral was built in the red-brick Gothic revival style popular at the time. Sale was a diocese with a small population and could not afford a large grand building.

St Mary’s is more in the style of a large parish church than a cathedral, as it has a pitched roof and lacks the high side walls, long narrow nave and prominent steeples characteristic of Gothic cathedrals. Four slim Gothic towers were added to indicate the church’s more exalted state.

The transition from Bishop Corbett to Bishop Phelan in 1912 coincided with additions to the cathedral of a new sanctuary with stained glass windows in the English Gothic style. Dr Mannix is shown in a photograph visiting Bishop Phelan and the Cathedral in 1920 at a time when sectarian tensions

Gippsland History with Patrick Morgan were still high in the wake of the conscription debates a few years earlier.

The next bishop, Bishop Ryan, organised a refurbishing of the cathedral’s interior in 1927. The bells were repaired in 1935.

Over the decades external concrete rendering and many internal additions mean the building has surrendered some of the austerity of the original Gothic style, and has taken on some features of Irish baroque architecture. The finest example of Irish baroque in Victoria is St Francis’, Lonsdale St, in Melbourne.

Between the wars there are photographs included here of an outstanding Sale priest, Mgr Patrick O’Donnell, who was later to become Archbishop of Brisbane after the death of Archbishop Sir James Duhig. It was very rare for a priest from a regional diocese to become a metropolitan Archbishop.

O’Donnell wrote a history of the Sale diocese for the Melbourne Advocate.

The cathedral needed additional space, and extensions were undertaken under Bishop Jeremiah Coffey in 1992-93.

Everyone who has seen them agrees they blend harmoniously with the original design, yet introduce a gracious modernist element which further enhances the structure. The roof of the new structure is in the shape of a ship, which confirms with tradition.

The nave of a cathedral, from the Latin navis, a ship, was in the shape of an upturned boat.

Since the Second World War the senior priest most closely identified with the cathedral has been Mgr John Allman, who was connected with the cathedral and the Sale parish in various capacities for more than three decades.

Peter Synan’s book is dedicated to him, and his presence at the launch of the book in November was a highlight of the day. At the same function as the book launch an appeal for funds for further additions and repairs was announced.

Three Springtimes has a chronological rather than narrative format, highlighting significant events, with each illuminated by a variety of illustrations, including newspaper accounts, photographs, programs, souvenirs, holy pictures

Better choices for aged care UNIVERSAL entitlement to a Productivity Commission recommendation for universal entitlement for aged care will see older Australians given new choice in selecting the type of services they need, and aged care providers better flexibility to respond to care needs.

Catholic Health Australia representing aged care providers caring for one in 10 of all Australian aged care clients, said older Australians would welcome the commission’s recommendations to enable client

directed care.

CHA chief executive officer Martin Laverty said “Consumers and providers alike have been wanting to end the current rationing system that means not all get access to the care they need.

“Just as all Australians have universal access to healthcare through Medicare, so to does the commission suggest all older Australians should have access to aged care as an entitlement.

“The commission proposes

Refugee change backed THE Catholic Church welcomes the announcement by Immigration Minister Chris Bowen on changes which would make the assessment process for refugees faster and fairer.

A more efficient and streamlined process would ensure refugee claims are assessed without excess amounts of time spent in detention, while maintaining a rigorous assessment of each claim.

Bishop Eugene Hurley of the Bishops’ Commission for Pastoral Life said that the changes were an important step toward achieving fairer outcomes for refugees.

“The announcement by the Minister resulting from the High Court decision last November represents a new era of justice for refugees which was

sorely needed. It seems that these changes which will ensure the integrity of procedural fairness will be upheld.”

Director of the Australian Catholic Migrant and Refugee Office Fr Maurizio Pettena CS sees the new changes as an opportunity to move closer towards onshore processing of claims which would ensure access to the courts is met with sufficient access to legal representation.

“Offshore detention should be a policy choice of last resort due to the negative impacts on the mental health of refugees. “ “The majority of refugees arrive in a state of trauma which is often escalated by the isolation of detention and the uncertainty of not knowing if and when their claim for protection will be processed”, he said.

to simplify access to residential and community care by building new one stop shops – The Australian Seniors Gateways – to provide information, conduct assessments of need, and manage new care entitlements.

“CHA has been campaigning for new one stop shops to simplify access, and universal entitlement to ensure all older Australians regardless of financial means get the care they need.

“The Government is to be commended for having already commenced work on these one stop shops, which means they will likely soon become a reality.”

Mr Laverty said commission recommendations for improved financing of residential aged care accommodation would see the aged care bond system improved, without the need for the sale of family homes.

“Aged care reform is hampered by a misunderstanding about bonds. The commission proposes changes that will do away with the need for the sale of family homes by creating a government backed equity release scheme.”

Mr Laverty said Catholic aged care providers were now looking to work constructively with both the commission and the Government to finalise the detail and transition plans to enable reform implementation to commence from the second half of 2011.

and novena cards. There is naturally an emphasis on architecture, with many photographs and drawings of features like the sanctuary, the stained glass windows, bells, and other physical features.

The two authors have also published a history of Lake Guthridge and the Sale Botanical Gardens called Summer Walk.

The lake was originally formed from a swampy area on the south-east boundary of the town, and the gardens were developed from 1860, which makes them a century and a half old, one of the oldest Botanical Gardens in regional Victoria.

The lake was named after Cr Nehemiah Guthridge, an early Sale identity who was the lake and gardens’ main supporter.

Baron von Mueller, who created Melbourne’s Gardens, sent seeds and plants for the Sale one. Blue gums were an early favorite. Von Mueller’s successor in Melbourne, William Guilfoyle, a famous landscape gardener, also took an interest in the Sale Gardens.

As the authors point out, Botanical Gardens were popular in the 19th century as places for leisurely walks, as the lungs of industrializing cities, as places for experiments in botany, as repositories of a world wild variety of exotic trees and plants, and as a haven of European beauty and civilization in the wilds of untamed Australia.

In the early ways there were various paths named the Bache-

lors Walk, the Ladies Walk, the Pioneers Walk, the Lovers Walk and so on. Directors of the Sale gardens encouraged inhabitants to plant trees in the streets of their town for shade and beauty.

The Sale townspeople had fluctuating attitudes to the gardens over the decades, with periods of enthusiasm and public activities, like rowing and fishing, alternating with years of neglect.

At various stages parts of the gardens were hived off for a golf course and for allotments to grow vegetables.

But in recent years, with help from the Friends of the Botanic Gardens, with able directors and with support from the Wellington Council, the gardens have thrived.

The book contains a wonderful section on the principal trees and plants (each illustrated in color) which give the gardens their distinctive appearance. These include bunya and hoop pines, various cedars, and among the eucalypts the Gippsland red gum, the lemon scented gum, the manna gum and the sugar gum trees.

One highlight of the gardens is a scar tree, from which Aborigines before Europeans came had cut a large piece of bark to make a canoe.

Another highlight is a specimen of the Woolemi Pine, one of the world’s oldest trees recently discovered in New South Wales.

Summer Walk is copiously illustrated with color and black and white photographs, letters, maps, postcards and souvenirs.

The design of both books is original and impressive.

Peter Synan: Three Springtimes: Chronicles of St Mary’s Cathedral, Sale Ann & Peter Synan: Summer Walk: Sale Botanic Gardens & Lake Guthridge Both books can be purchased from Sale booksellers.

The cathedral book is also available through most parish offices in the diocese.

Central Catholic Bookshop 322 Lonsdale St., Melbourne (Next door to St Francis Church) Visit our Website at www.catholicbookshop.com.au

Browse through our range of books and sacramental and religious gifts, or search for specific items by author, title or keyword.

Open seven days Phone and mail orders welcome. Credit cards accepted.

Phone (03) 9639 0844 custserv@catholicbookshop.com.au

Catholic Life, February 2011 - Page 11

Quick calendar

4 regional forums planned FOUR regional forums will be held across the diocese in March and April to discuss the questions raised by Bishop Christopher Prowse in his pastoral letter Finding Home in Jesus, which he released at Pentecost last year.

Parishes, Church groups and individuals are asked to bring written responses to the forums.

Bishop Prowse said it was important to have written responses because there would

be the opportunity at the beginning of the forums to read and reflect on the comments of others.

He said that the responses would enable the pastoral council to work on the next steps in formulating new pastoral initiatives.

The first forum will be at St Mary’s School, Newborough, at 2pm on Saturday, March 5, for parish, groups and individuals from the Central, Valley and Heart regions.

The second will be at St Laurence’s Parish Centre, Leongatha, at 10am on Saturday, March 19 for South region and will conclude with a shared lunch.

The West region forum will be at St Michael’s Hall, Bain St., Berwick, on Saturday, April 2 at 2pm and the final session for the East region will be at St Mary’s Primary School, Bairnsdale, on Saturday, April 9, from 10.30am to 12.30pm.

Death of Bishop of Sandhurst THE sudden death of Bishop of Sandhurst, Joe Grech on December 28 has saddened many.

Cause of death was a recurrence of a blood disorder which he had for several years.

The diminutive bishop was a frequent visitor to Sale Diocese over the years, usually through his heavy involvement in the charismatic movement.

More than 4000 people attended the requiem Mass for the 62-year-old in Sacred Heart Cathedral, Bendigo.

He was laid to rest in the crypt beneath the cathedral on January 6, 40 years to the day after he arrived in Australia as a young priest from Malta.

Archbishop of Sydney,

Cardinal George Pell was the principal celebrant, with 32 bishops and 176 priests present at the Mass.

Archbishop of CanberraGoulburn, Mark Coleridge gave the eulogy.

Bishop Grech originally came to Australia as a seminarian, with the backing of his bishop in Malta who encouraged young men to train for the priesthood in countries of their choice, be ordained and spend seven years in that country before deciding whether to return to Malta or stay.

He was ordained in Malta and then returned to Melbourne Archdiocese where he served until 2005 when he was appointed Bishop of Sandhurst

Bishop Joe Grech to replace Bishop Noel Daly, a former priest of Sale Diocese who died the previous year.

Bishop’s Diary February 11 – Catholic College Sale opening Mass, 10.30am.

February 12 – Diocesan Pastoral Council meeting, Traralgon, 10am.

February 14-15 – National Catholic Youth Advisory Council meeting, Sydney.

February 16 – Council of Priests’ meeting, Sale.

February 16 – Diocese of Sale Consultors meeting, Sale.

February 18-21 – Official visitation to Bairnsdale and Omeo parishes.

February 22 – Religious education coordinators regional gathering and Mass at Warragul, 9.30am.

February 23 – Diocesan Finance Council meeting, Sale.

A LIFE OF PRAYER . . . are you called to the Benedictine life of divine praise and eucharistic Contact the:

TYBURN NUNS Rev Mother Cyril, OSB, Tyburn Priory, 325 Garfield Rd., Riverstone, NSW 2765

February 24 – Visit of Medjugorje speaker and Mass at Warragul, 6pm.

February 25-27 – Official visitation to Cranbourne parish.

March 1 – Catholic Women’s League regional conference at Iona.

March 2 – Meeting of Bishops’ Commission for Ecumenism and Inter Religious with Anglican Church counterparts, Sydney.

March 4 – Blessing and

opening of new facilities at St Joseph’s Primary, Warragul, 11am.

March 4 – Bishops’ Commission for Relations with Aborigine and Torres Strait Islanders teleconference.

March 4-6 – Official visitation to Warragul and Drouin parishes.

March 8 – Diocesan launch of Project Compassion March 9 – Ash Wednesday.

March 10 – Meeting of trustees of Corpus Christi College, Carlton.

March 10 – Meeting of Catholic Theological College senate, East Melbourne.

March 13 – RCIA rite of election, St Mary’s Cathedral, Sale, 3pm.

February 9 – South region meeting, St Laurence’s parish centre, Leongatha, 10.45am 11 – School year opening Mass, Catholic College Sale, 10.30am 12 – Diocesan Pastoral Council meeting, Warragul 14 – St Valentine’s Day 16 – Council of Priests meeting and Consultors’ meeting, Sale 22 – REC regional gathering and Mass, Warragul 23 – Diocesan Finance Council meeting, Sale 24 – Visit by Medjugorje visionary Ivan Dragicevic, St Joseph’s Church, Warragul, Rosary, talk and Mass, 6pm onwards 24 – Valley region meeting, Churchill, noon

April

March

8 – Mother’s Day 9 – Labor Day holiday 11 - South region meeting, St Laurence’s parish centre, Leongatha, 10.45am 17 – Central Region meeting, St Ita’s parish room, Drouin, 7.30pm 25 – West Region meeting, St Michael’s new hall, Berwick, 10.30am

NE

1 – April Fool’s Day 2 – Regional forum for West Region, Berwick 5 – Heart region meeting, (venue TBA), 4pm 7 - Valley region meeting, Traralgon, noon 9 – Regional forum for East Region, Bairnsdale, 10.30am 17 – Palm Sunday 18 – Serra v Priests Golf Day, Sale 22 – Good Friday 23 – Holy Saturday 24 – Easter Sunday 25 – Anzac Day public holiday 26 – Public holiday in lieu of Easter Monday

May

1 – Regional conference of West Gippsland and Latrobe Catholic Women’s League, Iona.

2 – West region meeting, St Michael’s new hall, Berwick, 10.30am 5 – Regional forum for Central, Valley and Heart Regions, Newborough, 2pm 8 – Shrove Tuesday 8 – Diocesan launch of Project Compassion 9 – Ash Wednesday 14 – Labor Day public holiday 17 - St Patrick’s Day 19 – Regional forum for South Region, Leongatha, 10am 21 – Equinox

June 6 – Queen’s Birthday holiday 14 - Heart region meeting, (venue TBA), 4pm 16 – Valley region meeting (venue TBA) noon.

19 – Special collection in all parishes for St Mary’s Cathedral restoration and enhancement appeal 21 – Shortest day

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Page 12 - Catholic Life, February 2011

Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?

(Mark10:17)

Good Youth News with Jess Denehy & Kelly Lucas “Planted and built up in Jesus Christ, firm in the faith” (cf Col 2:7) HAPPY New Year!

On the youth ministry front there is so much planned for 2011. A full program of youth events, activities, camps and catechesis opportunities are coming your way, plus World Youth Day 2011 in Madrid is fast approaching so it is definitely time to get your youth ministry skates on!

Some of the activities to keep on your radar over the next couple of months are: WYD2011 Pilgrim Boot Camp session, 4pm Sunday February 27 at St Michael’s Traralgon. This is a compulsory preparation session for all WYD2011 pilgrims.

Registrations are still open for WYD2011 so if you are considering being part of this amazing opportunity please go to www.sale.catholic.org.au and follow the “Youth” links or give us a call for more information.

Catholic Schools Youth Ministry Australia (CSYMA) class retreat, Monday March 7 to Tuesday March 8. In conjunction with Project Compassion launch in Warragul the new batch of CSYMA students from each of our diocesan secondary schools will gather to kick off their year with a retreat.

Finding Home in Jesus Youth Council will be held Sunday March 20. In 2010 Bishop Christopher Prowse released the Pentecost pastoral letter Finding Home in Jesus in which he asks the Diocese of Sale to reflect on: • What ought we be and do to respond afresh to the challenges of presenting the Good News of Jesus Christ in our times and in our place?

• How can we co-operate with the promptings of the Holy Spirit in our times in helping people in finding a home in Jesus?

As the diocese responds to Finding Home in Jesus, young people are invited to a special forum to have their say.

Also in March, if you are within travelling distance of Melbourne, check out the Archdiocesan Office for Youth’s Foundations in Faith: Unpacking the Faith for Young People which is a series of free talks for young people interested in learning more about their faith. Go to http://www.cam. org.au/youth/ for all the details.

CSYMA Oxygen retreat and training, Monday April 11 to Wednesday April 13. Led by the Melbourne National Evangelisation Team this retreat will provide specialised training for student youth ministry leaders during the school holidays.

As you can see there are

School youth ministry THERE is a lot to look forward to in school youth ministry this year. Plans are well under way for year 12 retreats happening before classes start.

Remar at Marist and SFX have embarked. CSYMA classes are about to begin at all seven secondary schools.

Social justice groups are already gearing up to support flood victims and teachers are settling into another full year.

CSYMA ran in four schools last year and had great response from staff and students involved. This year we see the other three secondary colleges also begin with the CSYMA subject. Last year’s school have also extended the program, offering the course in two consecutive years with nearly all the students involved last year signed up again.

Staffs involved in CSYMA are invited to a retreat and conference later this year. This event will be the main staff training for 2011. The retreat and conference is designed for those implementing the CSYMA program and is also open to other staff who would

like to ‘come and see’. The previous Staff Conference was held in 2009 at Marist College Canberra and proved to be a great success. It has been decided for 2011 to take a retreat focus for the first day in order to make sure that staff are given sufficient time and emphasis for their own faith formation. The second day will focus more on practical seminars.

Details and copies of the flyers are available on the website. The conference is on June 1-3 in Sydney and will be hosted by the MSC’s in Kensington!

Go to www.csyma.com for more details.

James Fitzpatrick, from last year’s national CSYMA team, has also taken up a part-time role with SFX Beaconsfield as he begins his study in Melbourne. James will travel with the SFX youth ministry team to the Hobart student conference next month. The SFX team will play a key role in conducting this conference for the students of Tasmania.

plenty of opportunities for you to get involved!

If your parish has specific youth ministry needs or requests that we might be able to help you out with please let us know. The Youth Ministry Office would very much welcome any suggestions, contributions or feedback you might have so please don’t hesitate to contact us.

We look forward to spending 2011 with you!

Foundations in Faith THE Melbourne Archdiocesan Office for Youth is offering a free, five-week short course for young people interested in learning more about their faith.

Sessions include a talk and discussion on various topics about the Catholic faith including: • Who is Jesus? (Christology) • Understanding Scripture • The Sacraments • Christian Morality • Vocation and Mission • The Eucharist • Forms of Prayer While the session topics are inextricably linked, each topic will have its own speaker and

discussion, so don’t worry, if you miss a session - just try to make the next one!

Don’t miss this wonderful opportunity to listen to engaging speakers from around the country.

Bring along friends/youth group members and learn about your faith with peers.

Session dates: March 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 (Wednesdays) from 7.30pm to 9pm. Venue TBA. Remember, registration is free! Contact us to reserve your place: aoy@cam.org.au or call 9412 3300.

Preparing to be the biggest

By Beth Doherty

VAMOS! is the newest word in the vocabulary of an Australian delegation who travelled to Spain to start preparations for World Youth Day Madrid in late October 2010.

The Spanish word, meaning literally “we go” also translates as “let’s go”, and in the case of stragglers “hurry up” as the group of 32 struggled to fit into four days what they would spend three weeks doing next year in August.

On October 20, 2010, the World Youth Day Office in Madrid hosted the Australian and New Zealand delegation of leaders who would bring back advice to Aussie pilgrims of the experiences they might have travelling in Spain. The delegation spent a full day with the coordinators, and later met with the Australian Ambassador to Spain and she assured the group of continuing embassy support and consular help for pilgrims if required.

They were then taken by tour–guide Javier to religious landmarks in Avila (the place of ministry for both Teresa of Avila and St John of the Cross), and Segovia. Jess Denehy and Kelly Lucas from the Diocese of Sale’s Youth Ministry Office met with the Days in the Diocese team from the Archdiocese of Toledo where pilgrims from our diocese will be staying. Others travelled by themselves to Cordoba and Salamanca, and two from Maitland-Newcastle Diocese took the opportunity to walk the final 100 kilometres of the Camino where they will take their pilgrims next year.

The four day whirlwind tour was coordinated by Harvest Pilgrimages who are the official tour operator for WYD Madrid. WYD Projects Officer for the Bishops’ Commission for Pastoral Life is former events manager Bernadette Kreutzer whose bubbly personality brought the 32-strong delegation together.

“The WYD Madrid 2011

SALE Diocese youth ministry officers Jess Deheny and Kelly Lucas meeting with officials from Toleda where our WYD pilgrims will stay in October prior to the event in Madrid. staff is waiting to welcome the world including up to 5,000 pilgrims from Australia in August next year. They are well-prepared and are working keenly to deliver an amazing faith experience”, she said.

“The staff was warm, welcoming and so hospitable – they asked that we keep them in our prayers and were grateful for the resources and the work they were able to study from WYD Sydney”, said Bernadette.

Like virtually no other country in the world, Spain has pilgrimage sights that draw thousands of spiritual seekers each year; most notably “El Camino” the famous way of St James to Santiago de Compostela.

With its incredible religious heritage Spain expects to host in excess of 2.1 million people for WYD Madrid which will include pilgrimages to places as diverse as Loyola, Extremadura and Barcelona.

Parramatta CEO’s Youth and Schools WYD Project Officer Bethany Lentern has also attended two World Youth Days, in Cologne, Germany and Sydney, Australia and attests that each one is subtly different and can be a spectacularly moving faith experience.

“Each World Youth Day is different – it’s hard to say exactly what you will find.

They are like “a mashup” of faith and culture” says Bethany.

“In WYD, the ‘songs’ reflect the faith and culture of the country. The blending and layering creates an explosive event that changes your perception and appreciation of faith and culture in such a way that you never get the song of WYD out of your head” said Bethany.

Those interested in attending WYD are encouraged to visit the diocesan website www.sale.catholic.org.au and follow the Youth Ministry Office’s WYD links or get in contact with Jess Denehy on 5126 1063.

All WYD2011 pilgrims are reminded that the next WYD2011 Pilgrim Boot Camp session will be held at 4pm, Sunday February 27 at St Michael’s in Traralgon. It is essential that all pilgrims attend this preparation session.

Want to go to World Youth Day? This is the page for you

Catholic Life, February 2011 - Page 13

For the Young and Young at Heart Time for a Laugh Colour in the spaceman A DRIVER was being tailgated by a stressed-out woman who honked the horn loudly and screamed in frustration when he braked on an amber light instead of travelling through the intersection before it turned red.

As she was in mid rant, there was a tap on her window and a policeman ordered her out of the car.

She was taken to the police station where she was fingerprinted, photographed and thrown in a holding cell.

About two hours later she was released and was escorted back to the watchhouse where the arresting policeman handed her back her personal effects.

He said “I’m sorry for this mistake. I saw you abusing the driver in front and beeping your horn at him, then I noticed the “What would Jesus do?” bumper sticker and the chrome-plated Christian fish symbol on your rear window. I naturally thought the car had been stolen.”

THE parish bulletin announced that the topic of next Sunday’s sermon would be “What is Hell like?”

Then underneath was the suggestion “Come early and hear the choir practising!”

“HOW old are you?” the kindly lady asked a 2-yearold.

“I’m not old. I’m nearly new.”

THE CEO’s of eight companies bidding to supply Boeing with new computer software to enable pilotless air travel were invited on a week’s holidays in the Bahamas.

They were all settled in their seats when they were all told privately that the aircraft would be trialling their system.

Suddenly seven of the eight made various excuses to leave the plane for various reasons.

The one CEO remaining on the jet appeared very calm as he waited for it to depart.

A Boeing executive appeared and explained that it was just a test of confidence in each company’s product and said he was disappointed that all the others had fled the plane.

He then asked the remaining CEO why he was so confident to remain in the plane when the others had left.

“I knew that if you were

using our system, there was absolutley no way this plane was going to get off the ground, let alone fly to the Bahamas,” he answered.

“YOU seem to be in some distress,” said the kindly judge to the witness. “Is anything the matter?”

“Well, your Honor,” said the witness, “I swore to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, but every time I try, some lawyer objects.”

A NEW soldier was on sentry duty at the main gate.

His orders were clear. No car was to enter unless it had a special sticker on the windshield. A big Army car came up with a general seated in the back. The sentry said, “Halt, who goes there?”

The chauffeur, a corporal, says, “General Wheeler.”

“I'm sorry, I can't let you through. You've got to have a sticker on the windshield.”

The general barked “Drive on!”

The sentry said, “Hold it!

You really can't come through. I have orders to shoot if you try driving in without a sticker.”

The general repeated his order to the driver, “I'm telling you, son, drive on!”

The sentry walked up to the rear window and said, “General, I'm new at this.

Do I shoot you or the the driver?”

ST Peter is questioning three married couples to see if they qualify for admittance to heaven.

“Why do you deserve to pass the Pearly Gates?” he asks one of the men, who had been a butler.

“I was a good father,” he answers.

“Yes, but you were a drunk all your life. In fact, you were so bad you even married a woman named Sherry.

No admittance.”

St Peter then turned to the next man, a carpenter, and asked him the same question.

The carpenter replied that he had worked hard and taken good care of his family.

But St Peter also rejected him, pointing out that he had been an impossible glutton, so much so that he married a woman named BonBon. At this point the third man, who had been a lawyer, stood up and said, “Come on, Penny, let’s get out of here.”

Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Age . . . . . .

Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Send entries to: Colouring Contest, c/- Catholic Life, PO Box 183, Sale. 3853

And this month’s winner is...

OUR Christmas colouring contest did not get as many entries as we had hoped but there was still some very high standard colouring in of the nativity scene.

Our winner is Tara Janke, 8, who attends St Catherine’s Primary School in Berwick South.

We will get the prize to her in the next couple of weeks.

MEANWHILE!!!

Q. IF you had 150 cows and your neighbour sold you 69 more cows, what would you have?

A. A dairy farm.

Q. What’s black when clean but white when dirty?

A. A blackboard

OUR November winner Jess Sanna, from St Joseph’s, Orbost was full of confidence when we delivered his prize. “See you again next year,” was his cheerful call.

Page 14 - Catholic Life, February 2011

world news ...

world news ...

Pope urges youth to Vatican clarifies letter to Irish bishop on sex scandal study catechism POPE Benedict has urged young people to study a youth catechism written for young adults and teens, called Youcat, published next month in advance of Madrid’s 2011 World Youth Day. Writing in the foreword to the book, the Pope said: “Some people tell me that the youth of today are not interested in the catechism, but I do not believe this statement and I am certain that I am right. They are not as superficial as they are accused of being; young people want to

Pope gives to Australian flood relief POPE Benedict XVI has sent $US50,000 towards assisting Australian flood victims.

After being informed of the recent flooding in north eastern Australia, he expressed his closeness to the victims and their families.

As a gesture of solidarity he instructed the Pontifical Council Cor Unum to allocate the money in response to the urgent needs of those affected by the natural disaster.

The donation has been sent through the Diocese of Rockhampton to the St Vincent de Paul statewide appeal for distribution across all flood victims.

Missionaries die in a year of violence TWENTY-three pastoral care workers died violently around the world last year.

The number is made up of one bishop, 15 priests, one religious brother, one religious sister, two seminarians and three lay people.

The deceased include missionaries working in regions where Christianity is still being sown or pastoral care workers in established territories.

Many were killed in attempted robberies or kidnappings which ended badly, caught in their homes by bandits in search of imaginary riches.

Others were killed in the name of Christ by those opposing love with hatred, hope with despair, dialogue with violent opposition, the right to perpetrate abuses.

Central and South America accounted for 15 deaths, Asia six and Africa two.

know what life really is about.”

The book contains the official catechism for World Youth Day. It includes a question and answer section, illustrations, definitions of key terms, Bible citations and quotes from the saints and other Church teachers.

In his foreword Benedict XVI said the book could be just as gripping as a crime novel.

He said: “A crime novel is compelling because it involves the fate of other people, but it could be our own, this book is compelling because it speaks to us of our own destiny and therefore is closely related to each of us.”

But he said the catechism did not offer “empty praise” or “easy solutions”, but “requires a new life on your part”. He urged young people “to study the catechism with passion and perseverance! Sacrifice your time for it!”

The Pope said: “You need to know what you believe, you need to know your faith with the same precision with which a computer specialist knows the operating system of a computer...

“You need divine help, so your faith does not dry up like a drop of dew in the sun, so you do not succumb to the temptations of consumerism, so your love is not drowned in pornography, so you do not betray the weak, the victims of abuse and violence”.

Seminaries full in the Ukraine UKRAINIAN seminaries are having to turn away up to half of the young men seeking to become priests due to a lack of space.

Aid to the Church in Need reports that in some places, there are three candidates for every place in the seminary.

Dialogue with Anglicans enters a new phase THE Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission is opening a new phase of dialogue with a meeting scheduled for May 17-27.

A communiqué from the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity noted that this new phase of work was mandated by Benedict XVI and the Anglican archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, at their meeting in November 2009.

The first meeting of the new phase of the commission will take place at the Monastery of Bose in northern Italy.

THE Vatican says a 1997 letter it sent to Irish bishops about handling cases of clerical sex abuse did not tell them to keep the cases secret from the police.

It was warning instead against bringing about a situation in which an abuser could continue in his position, reports the Catholic News Service.

Vatican spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi said the letter aimed at ensuring the bishops fully followed church law for dealing with accusations in order to avoid a situation in which an abusive priest could return to ministry on the technicality of his bishop mishandling the process.

The letter, brought to public attention last month by Ireland’s RTE television and published by the Associated Press, was written by Archbishop Luciano Storero,

then-nuncio to Ireland.

The letter summarised the concerns of the Congregation for Clergy regarding proposed Irish norms for dealing with the sex abuse crisis.

“The letter rightly insists on the fact that it is important that canon law be respected always, precisely to avoid giving the guilty well-founded reasons for an appeal, therefore obtaining a result contrary to that desired,” Fr Lombardi said.

In the letter, Archbishop Storero said that according to the congregation, “the situation of ‘mandatory reporting’ gives rise to serious reservations of both a moral and a canonical nature”.

Fr Lombardi said, “One must note that the letter in no way says that the country’s laws must not be followed”.

He said the Vatican “does not

have a universal, specific position on mandatory reporting because the laws and situations are so different from country to country.”

However, he said, the Vatican has made it clear to bishops that in their policies for dealing with abuse accusations and in concrete situations “they must respect the laws of their country,” including when those laws require the church to report accusations to police or the courts.

Fr Lombardi objected to the letter being presented as some kind of proof that the Vatican wanted to cover up cases of abuse, saying it reveals instead the seriousness with which the Vatican was taking the need to formulate and adopt comprehensive norms that could respond to the crisis.

Forgotten victims of unjust laws

By Reinhard Backes

THE Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a country that has lost its way - with social injustice, widespread corruption, violence and terrorism destabilising the life of society.

The recent catastrophic floods, the inadequate crisis management and the addition of millions of refugees from neighboring Afghanistan have only further intensified the crisis. Pakistan, a nuclear power and home to 150 million people, among them somewhere between 1% and 3% Christians, has reached a critical turning point.

Confidence in the old power elite has evaporated, while extreme Islamist forces have gained considerably in influence. This is shown not least by the still heated debate around the so-called blasphemy laws.

These provisions, in force since colonial times but sharpened in the 1980s, call for the death penalty against anyone deemed guilty of “insulting the Prophet Mohammed.”

What actually constitutes such an offence is not entirely clear, and this leads to arbitrary interpretations.

This is clear from the cases that have come to light in recent years. The law also tends to be used in personal vendettas, in order to harm another person. It can very easily lead to mob justice.

Thus, for example, Asia Bibi, a Christian Protestant woman living in the Punjab, was accused of insulting the Prophet by her Muslim neighbour. She was arrested, and her family members too were violently threatened and are now

STUDENTS training at the Don Bosco Technical School in Youhannabad. in hiding.

Some moderate Muslims, like the governor of Punjab, Salman Taseer, have come to the defence of Asia Bibi, together with Christians and other non-Muslims, demanding changes in the blasphemy laws.

As a result, Salman Taseer was assassinated on January 4 by one of his own bodyguards.

Muslim clerics had already fiercely attacked this politician and threatened him with death, calling on other Muslims, in the name of the Prophet, to take the law into their own hands.

Islamic extremists have welcomed his murder. As a result, fear is growing among nonMuslims. Despite all the freedom of religion supposedly guaranteed by the constitution, they are clearly only secondclass citizens. Now they also fear for their lives.

The international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need has frequently pointed to the difficult situation faced by Pakistani Christians. There are well over a million Catholics in Pakistan, and several hundred thousand Christians of other denominations.

For many years now ACN has been promoting educational initiatives in Pakistan, supporting the pastoral work of the parishes, the training of catechists, seminarians and priests, and the charitable and social work of religious sisters. Three such examples are: 1. The Don Bosco Technical School in Lahore, a vocational training school run by the Salesians, which is open to Christians and non-Christians alike; ACN regularly helps financially for students who cannot afford the school fees.

2. Training courses for young priests. Great care is taken to introduce young priests into their pastoral work in Pakistan.

ACN helps pay for the cost of transport, board and lodging.

3. The Franciscan Sisters in Lahore are active in pastoral and social work in the parishes.

They care for the poor and disadvantaged, help mothers and families by teaching hygiene, care for the sick and hospitalised, support women, children and young people. ACN regularly supports their work, most recently with a grant towards essential repairs.

Catholic Life, February 2011 - Page 15

Classifieds public notices

Let’s leave something for those in need

Bishop’s Family Foundation If you are making or updating your will, you may consider leaving a bequest to the Bishop’s Family Foundation.

The Bishop’s Family Foundation has produced some easy-to-read booklets explaining bequests which may be an advantage to read before seeing your solicitor to prepare or update your will.

Copies may be obtained by phoning Pat on 5144 4991 Do it today and sleep easy knowing you have done your part.

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PRIESTS AND DEACONS

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Are you considering a vocation as a priest or deacon for the Diocese of Sale?

If so please contact Diocesan Vocations Director

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Deacon Tony Aspinall 0414 468 692 vocations@sale.catholic.org.au

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prayer THANK YOU St Jude. O Holy St Jude Apostle and Martyr, great in virtue and rich in miracles, near kinsman of Jesus Christ, faithful intercessor of all who invoke your special patronage in time of need.

To you I have recourse from the depth of my heart and humbly beg you to whom God has given such great power to come to my assistance. Help me in my present and urgent petition. In return I promise to make your name known and cause you to be invoked.

St Jude pray for us and all who invoke your aid. Amen.

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Pope John Paul II POPE John Paul II will be beatified by on May 1, which is the second Sunday of Easter and Divine Mercy Sunday.

Pope Benedict XVI will preside at the rite of beatification to be held at the Vatican.

The Congregation for the Causes of Saints has announced that the Pope has authorised the dicastery to promulgate the decree of the miracle attributed to the intercession of John Paul II. This concludes the process which precedes the rite of beatification.

The opening of the cause for beatification was begun well within the normal period of five years which is stipulated in current norms.

Pope Benedict gave pontifical dispensation to advance the because of the fame of John Paul II enjoyed during his life and after his death.

In all other ways, the normal canonical dispositions concerning causes of beatification and canonisation were observed in full.

The postulator of the cause invited the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to examine the recovery from Parkinson’s disease of Sr Marie Simon Pierre Normand, a religious of the ‘Institut des Petites Soeurs des Maternites Catholiques’ The experts of the congregation concluded that there had been a scientifically inexplicable nature of the healing.

Pope Benedict chose the date for the beatification because Divine Mercy Sunday was very significant to the late Pope.

The second Sunday of Easter, was entitled “Divine Mercy,” by John Paul II and it was the day before he died.

Page 16 - Catholic Life, February 2011

1000 Anglicans are Large crowds at NW mission expected to join He said the ordinariate would have churches in all Australian capital cities and many regional and rural places.

The TAC has 400,000 members worldwide but only 700 in Australia.

No Anglican parishes in the Gippsland area are believed belong to the TAC. In England several Anglican bishops have been reordained as Catholics and more are expected to follow.

Wilcannia gets new apostolic administrator THE Diocese of WilcanniaForbes has a new apostolic administrator in Bishop Kevin Manning, the recently retired Bishop of Paramatta.

The See of Wilcannia-Forbes has been vacant since the resignation of Bishop Christopher Toohey in 2009.

Previous apostolic administrator was Bishop Terry Brady who has returned full time to his duties as Auxiliary Bishop of Sydney.

BISHOP Christopher Prowse with Br Lalith Perera. joined with Br Lalith last Fri- named after the bishop’s pastoday evening at St Michael’s ral letter.

The visit by Br Lalith and his Church, Berwick to lead a session themed “Learning to exer- team was hosted by the chariscise the Gifts of the Spirit on a matic community at Our Lady Help of Christians and Catholic daily basis.”

At the weekend they again Charismatic Renewal of Sale combined to lead a retreat Diocese. called Finding Home in Jesus,

Marriage petitions forwarded THOUSANDS of signatures calling on the Australian Government to safeguard the institution of marriage have been sent to Federal politicians.

The signatures were collected on petitions in Catholic parishes across the Diocese of Sale over the past month.

The petitions were in response to moves within Federal Parliament to legalise same-sex marriages.

Parliament has resolved that MPs should consult their constituents about same-sex marriages and Australian Catholic bishops have urged people to be pro-active in contacting the local MPs. Bishop of Sale, Bishop Christopher Prowse said the primary concern was about protecting the institution of marriage from attack. The fact that this time, the issue of same-sex marriage was the discussion point was really a secondary matter.

“Marriage, as traditionally understood, concerns the love

union of a man and woman It is open to new life. Marriage is the fundamental building block of a stable society and had served humanity well for millennia.”

He said that these days marriage had become feeble and was in need of every support it could be offered.

Accepting alternative arrangements to marriage was a real threat to present and future generations.

Bishop Prowse said he had encouraged his priests, deacons and parish communities to voice their views of marriage to their respective politicians.

Two Josephites milestones SR Agnes Nunn RSJ has celebrated the 60th anniversary of being a Sister of St Joseph.

She was among 40 sisters who gathered for the diamond jubilee celebrations in North Sydney, where they trained.

Sr Agnes is well-known in this diocese and was based at Yarram up until about a year ago.

Sr Dorren Dagge RSJ, Narre Warren, celebrated her golden jubilee at another function in North Sydney.

Cath Life

THE Catholic Church in Australia expects to attract 1000 Anglicans to the new Anglican Ordinariate which is being established following a decision

by Pope Benedict XVI last year to welcome Anglicans back into the Catholic fold, according to a report in The Age. Catholics, mainstream Anglicans and members of the breakaway Traditional Anglican Communion set up a ninemember committee late last year to oversee the transition to the ordinariate by June 12.

It is too early to know if Anglicans planning to switch to Rome will be able to take their church properties with them and this may be a stumbling block.

TAC leader Archbishop John Hepworth told The Age, provided Anglican priests and congregations did not resign, they might be able to show “beneficial ownership” and keep the properties when they moved.

He said that in England the Archbishop of Canterbury was allowing departing Anglicans to keep using their properties, and he hoped the Australian church would too. “It would be the tolerant and godly thing to do.”

MASSIVE crowds attended the mission sessions conducted by Sri Lankan evangelist Br Lalith Perera last week.

More than 1000 attended each night at the prayer and worship sessions at Our Lady Help of Christians Church, Narre Warren, There were 200-300 more people each night than at similar sessions last year.

The visit by Br Lalith and his team from the Community of the Risen Lord was the fourth in as many years and this year began with a Four Steps Retreat at St Francis Xavier College’s Berwick campus on January 29-30.

Br Lalith said that it was extremely gratifying that so many people came to the nightly prayer sessions last week.

Those attending came from a wide area of Gippsland and Melbourne suburbs to attend.

Bishop Christopher Prowse

In January 1961, she was among 40 young women who took their first vows of poverty, chastity and obedience as Sisters of Saint Joseph.

Amazingly, 37 members of the group were able to gather at Mary MacKillop Place, where they did their teacher training.

One member of the group, Sr Maria Casey, has become a familiar face in her role as the Postulator for the Cause of Canonisation of Mary MacKillop.

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