2002 Annual Report
Beatification of Missionaries World Mission Day has become not only a time when the universal missionary work in our time is promoted but also a time when we recognise people of the past who have given their lives in whole or in part to the missionary work of the Church. In 2001, we had the beatification of Fr Paolo Manna, the founder of the youngest of the Pontifical Mission Societies – the Pontifical Missionary Union – which encourages a missionary spirit in priests, religious, and laity. In 2002, we had the beatification of four people whose stories reveal a commitment to Christ and the work of proclaiming the gospel that is truly remarkable. Two young men, Daudi Okelo and Jildo Irwa were still in their teens when they were martyred because of their work as catechists, spreading the Good News of Jesus. They belonged to the Acholi tribe, a subdivision of the large Lwo group whose members, even today, live mostly in the North of Uganda, but are also present in Southern Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania, and Congo. Both were baptised in 1916 when Daudi was between 14-16 and Jildo was between 10-12. Both were confirmed in October 1916. The martyrdom in 1917 of these two young catechists from Uganda is very meaningful for the current events the country is going through. They represent the integrity of the Gospel which always protects and safeguards personal dignity and promotes peace among peoples, ethnic groups, and cultures. Marcantonio Durando at the age of 15 manifested a desire to go to China as a missionary. But having entered the Congregation of the Mission, instead of China, his destination was the popular missions into which he infused the missionary passion of announcing Christ. He supported and diffused the newly-born work of Propagation of the Faith, instituted in Lyon in 1822. Many other more important details of his life and ministry have led to the recognition of his holiness. Fr Durando died on 10th December 1880 at the age of 79. The fourth person that needs to be recognised among those beatified on World Mission Day is Helene Marie Philippine de Chappotin de Neuville, known in religion as Mary of the Passion. She is the Founder of the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary. Aged 65, she died in San Remo on 15th November 1904 leaving more than 2,000 religious and eighty-six houses scattered about four continents. She has a special place in the National Office because Sr Maureen, our dear friend and zealous accountant, is a member of that Religious Congregation. It was a very special day for her and her Sisters in Religion. It is good for us to become familiar with these latest models given to us. Their enthusiasm for the global mission of the Church, their total commitment to Christ, and the influence that they have had beyond their years of ministry and life encourage us to an ever deeper involvement in this work entrusted to our care, the part we play in the global mission of the Church. We pray that we may be filled with even a little of their spirit.
Front Cover photo: Young girl from the Philippines featured in the children first! 2002 fundraising resource for schools. Top: A mother and child from Bangladesh. Above right: A young girl preparing the meal in Vietnam, featured in the children first! 2002 fundraising resource for schools.
Director’s Message The past twelve months have been memorable as I settle more easily into the position of National Director. As I reflected on the demands of this office in a land as large as Australia, I realised the difficulty of attending to 28 diocesan offices spread over such a vast area and at the same time attending to the day to day running of a National Office. The turnover of diocesan staff I had in the first year also emphasised the need to rethink the way in which the organisation is structured here. And so at the beginning of 2002, I appointed Peter Gates as the Deputy National Director with special responsibility for the staff at National Office and, with me, to establish a professional approach to the regular appraisal of Diocesan Directors. Many Directors have been in their positions for a long time without any formal appraisal process in place. All new Directors have written into their contracts the expectation of appraisal at the end of their probationary period and at regular intervals during the term of the contract, and especially at the time of renewal. So far we have been able to keep up to date with appointments made in the latter part of 2001 and throughout this year. It has been good to experience the positive approach of these new appointees as they remind us of our duties and keep us up to the time frame in the contracts. I am very pleased with the way in which Peter has carried out his responsibilities and his support for me. Our next task is to extend this process to the longer serving Directors. This greater freedom for me allowed the planning of a visit to Bangladesh in conjunction with my attendance at the November Restricted Meeting of the Superior Council. The experience of the people and the country was delightful. I am truly grateful to Fr Abel Rozario, the National Director for Bangladesh, for the way in which the visit opened up for me so many opportunities to see the wonderful work of the Church in that land and to be on the receiving end of such affection and gratitude for the assistance provided to them by the people of Australia. Another significant venture during 2002 was the taking on of action in the public arena concerning the plight of children in communities – their exploitation, abuse, neglect, suffering, hunger, thirst, and lack of educational opportunities. This was taken on as part of World Mission Day and Mission Week. This act of advocacy was a trial in order to bring into the public domain the work and concern of Catholic Mission for an issue of extreme importance, to help promote the work that Catholic Mission does in communities, and to establish more clearly the existence and identity of Catholic Mission as a body which is constantly addressing issues that diminish human life and are obstacles to hearing and receiving the Good News. I thank all who have supported me and our work during the year – the Bishops of Australia, priests and parish communities, teachers and students, and most especially our donors in life and in death who enable the work of the Church to continue and to be effective in the world.
Top right: National Director, Fr Terence Bell. Above left: Aljun’s story was featured in the 2002 World Mission Day resource for schools. Above: Preparing food in the Missionaries of Charity home in Dhaka.
Incorporation The unfinished matter of incorporation in last year’s report was brought to a completion when the following was published in the Government Gazette, Number 98 of Friday, 14 June 2002: ‘I, Professor Marie Bashir AC, Governor of the State of New South Wales, with the advice of the Executive Council, and in pursuance of section 2 (2) of the Roman Catholic Church Communities’ Lands Act 1942, do, by this my Proclamation, add the canonical name of “Pontifical Mission Societies, otherwise known as Catholic Mission” to Column 1 of the Second Schedule of the Act, and add to Column 2 of that Schedule opposite that name the corporate name “Catholic Mission”. Signed and sealed at Sydney, this 12th day of June 2002.’ From the beginning of the new financial year 1st July 2002, the National Director and the National Council have acted as the Trustees of the newly incorporated body. Thanks are expressed to Archbishop Pell and Richard d’Apice, our Solicitor, for their support and advice during this process.
National Conference At its November 2001 meeting the National Council decided to call together all Diocesan Directors to a special meeting in March 2002. There had been so many new appointees and there seemed to be a gap developing between policy and practice that it was considered we could not wait another twelve months until the next scheduled Conference in order to address issues. Kerry Brettell, Management Consultant, who dealt with questions of change, accountability, and strategic planning in a way that brought new enthusiasm and vitality to all Directors, facilitated the meeting. The event was so successful that it was decided to move to an annual meeting of Directors. The fruits of this meeting have been experienced at National Office with greater accuracy and promptness in the monthly reporting and in the detailed plans that have been submitted for diocesan initiatives. The only downside of this arrangement was the absence of other support staff. This means that Regional meetings will need to be planned and held regularly so that all are kept in touch with one another and can benefit from the experience of others engaged in this great work.
Diocesan Directors While recognising the work we were able to do together in Conference it is necessary to praise and thank the Directors and their staffs for the great job that is done in each diocese. The fidelity to the commission given to them by the local Church and by the Pontifical Societies is an inspiration for everyone who comes into contact with our organisation. A remarkable feature of their work are the initiatives that they come up with, firstly, to raise the profile of Catholic Mission and to involve themselves in the mission animation of the diocese and, secondly, to increase support through prayer and sacrificial giving. The cooperation of priests in the parishes is also very much appreciated. Special mention should also be made of Parish Secretaries who have been most helpful and cooperative in the recent ventures into more frequent use of Parish Bulletins in both raising funds and in the advertising for volunteers and paid employees to assist Diocesan Directors in carrying out their responsibilities. As we expand our involvement in schools, our search for good volunteers is an important area of growth for Diocesan offices.
Above right: Students from St Joseph’s Primary School in Kilaben Bay, NSW celebrated 2002 World Mission Week by joining in a concert. Above left: Catholic Mission staff, Richard Cootes and Claudette Tamplin from the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle lead a concert for World Mission Week celebrations.
Moving premises One of the matters to be dealt with by Peter concerned the need to relocate the National Office following the decision of the Archdiocese of Sydney to move to new premises and the subsequent sale of Polding House. The speed of the sale meant that plans for our presence in the new premises could not be accommodated. A decision was made, therefore, to move the Archdiocesan Office of Catholic Mission, up to this time situated at Ashfield, into the new building and for new premises to be found for the National Office. At this stage, while negotiations are underway, no final decisions have been made about the new location. Such a change will make huge demands upon all staff, a change in practices, but afford new possibilities.
Bali While the peace of the world was shattered with the terrorist attack on New York in 2001, the peacefulness and security of Australia were deeply disturbed by the proximity of the terrorist attack in Bali in October 2002. The greatest number of fatalities and casualties came from our land. Most were young adults. The horror and sorrow still continues as the necessarily hard and slow identification of bodies prolongs the agony of families and delays the sense of conclusion. The National Day of Mourning called for by the Prime Minister coincided with World Mission Day. This changed the focus of parish celebrations but efforts were made to link the two events with notes faxed to all dioceses. The feeling of insecurity after September 11 in 2001 affected the response of people on World Mission Day that year. The loss of focus and the knowledge that terrorism was closer to home now than ever before meant a small drop on last year’s gross results. It is considered that the drop may have been even bigger but for the focus we took.
Rome The annual visit to Rome in May to meet with National Directors from around the world for our own mission animation and development and for the distribution of the funds raised in the previous year turned out to be a time of deep discussion and discernment. We are faced with an increasing problem of care for the ageing personnel in mission areas. As the young Churches reach maturity, those who have worked long years in the service of their people now require health care and support in their old age. But the local people are still struggling to make ends meet for themselves and cannot find the funds or personnel to carry out this task. What had been set in place twenty-five years ago, “Opus Securitatis”, was now becoming inadequate for the problem ahead. With over 81,000 seminarians and many young novices in formation, the task of providing for them in the future is becoming daunting. In addition, with the ever increasing demands for accountability from National Governments around the world, the criteria for funding and the need for accurate receipting and reporting needed to be reviewed and refined so that each of the autonomous Societies had similar structures, policies, and practices. To this end, committees were established to prepare material for the May meeting in 2003. I was elected to represent Oceania on the second of these matters. It required my participation via email and by extra time in Rome as we developed proposals for the meeting in May. I am grateful for the way in which Peter Gates carried out his responsibilities as Deputy during my extended absence.
Above: Israel and Leah live in a refugee camp of 70,000 people in Kakuma, Kenya. Their stor y was featured in a 2002 Children’s Mission Partners quarterly update. Below: Fr Ed Grimes (Ireland) at work in the May meeting of National Directors of Catholic Mission in Rome.
World Mission Day Following much discussion and planning, it had been decided to not only run with a special theme for World Mission Day but also to develop an action that would focus the attention of people and call others outside the Church community to similar concern and action. The theme was “Remember the Children”. It was a brave step to take in the light of the many accounts of child abuse that were being reported almost daily. Our concern was to highlight the plight of communities in developing countries who struggle to provide for and properly protect their littlest and most vulnerable members. While Children’s Mission provides opportunities for children to help other children, it is Propagation of the Faith which takes on the huge challenge of caring and providing for communities as a whole. It will only be in strong faith communities that the rights of children will be protected, that justice will be observed, that exploitation will be frustrated, and that children will be able to receive the Good News free from anxiety and oppression. The actions called for by Australians were threefold: 1) Adults and children were invited to wear yellow armbands bearing the phrase “Remember the Children” on Children’s Mission Day, the Wednesday of Mission Week; 2) Adults were invited to sign a petition to the Australian Federal Government asking that Australia’s foreign aid be increased from the current 0.25% of GDP to 0.7% of GDP in harmony with the resolution of the United Nations; 3) Children were invited to write letters to the Prime Minister expressing their awareness of the problems facing children overseas and calling for a generous response from Australian authorities. In addition, after wearing their armbands all were asked sign them and to forward them to an address in Canberra so that they could be presented to the Government along with the petitions. Over 300,000 armbands were distributed and of these 15 large bagsful were returned and presented to the Hon Ms Chris Callus, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Member for Hindmarsh, SA on Monday 9th December. Following the favourable comments and response from priests and people around the country, the active involvement of so many, and the high publicity given to the mission work of the Church, we will look for ways in which to develop this type of action for next year and onwards.
National Mailout Another effort to increase mission awareness was taken with a mail out to all 1500 Bishops and Parish Priests across the country. In it were a copy of the Annual Report for 2001 and a copy of “Mission Outlook”, the publication for the Pontifical Missionary Union in England. All were asked whether they would like to continue to receive “Mission Outlook”. A response form was provided. Seventy replies were received; thirty-three declined the offer. While the level of response was disappointing, another effort will be made in 2003 with a more detailed database available for all priests.
Visits All but one of the twenty-eight dioceses have now been visited, some on more than one occasion. The first time round the visits were brief. It is hoped to spend more time on future visits and to have more opportunities to meet with diocesan authorities and donors. A visit to Bangladesh was combined with my trip to Rome in November for the restricted meeting of the Superior Council. In 2002 many of our funds for both Propagation of the Faith and Children’s Mission were sent to Bangladesh. The receipt of those funds only happened about the time I arrived shortly after Mission Week. But I was able to see and experience the faith as it is lived in that country and the leadership provided for them. The quality of life is simple and poor. There are many health problems to be overcome and few resources available. While there is an abundance of water everywhere, its quality leaves much to be desired. Education of children and the formation of adults are made difficult by the isolation of communities and the lack of infrastructure to facilitate transport and communication. With an average daily wage of $2, there is need for constant and long-term help for the Catholic communities in this land which make up 1% of the population that, at 87%, is strongly Moslem. But it is pleasing to be able to report on the strength of faith I witnessed and the joy that that faith and hope brings to their lives.
GIG (Getting Involved Globally) Two programmes were able to be completed – The Philippines in January and Fiji in July. There was still a level of anxiety about the programme in The Philippines but there was still enough interest to warrant our proceeding with the plans. The involvement of PMS personnel in Manila and the visiting of projects funded by the PMS added new relevance to the programme. In July a number of Catholic Mission personnel took part in the programme of exposure and felt that the experience helped them to understand better the mission outreach of the Church. There were valuable comments from all participants which will help in the planning of GIG in the future. Patrick Fox, the new Mission Education Officer, has taken on this task. During the year we were invited to send a representative to a meeting in Manila arranged by the World Council of Churches: “International Ecumenical Conference on Terrorism in a Globalised World.” The invitation came as result of our links with the people in Manila who help with the carrying out of our GIG programmes. It was a good opportunity for Patrick to meet with them and to mix with delegates from around the world. Patrick found the experience to be very beneficial. One of the themes dealt with emerged later on as a focus for our programmes for 2003.
Fundraising Appraisal Following the success of the Education Evaluation, the National Council and I then moved to a review of all the fundraising activities of Catholic Mission. Two consultants were engaged to examine the programmes currently used, the management of databases, the reaction of donors to the methods and themes used, and the attitudes of Diocesan Directors and staff as they promoted the raising of funds in their dioceses. The report was delivered to the November National Council meeting and is now in the process of being digested by all. It will form an important part of the annual conference in March. I am very grateful to Evelyn Mason and Alicia Watson for the way in which they conducted the evaluation and for the quality of their report.
Propagation of the Faith Appeals The theme engaged this year was “Who will Heal, Nourish, Teach, Share, if we don’t? – ‘ so that all may have life’ (Jn 10,10)”. There are still difficulties in getting all dioceses to have both a World Mission Day Appeal and a Propagation of the Faith Appeal. There are now 15 dioceses that have two appeals and 3 others that have some parishes taking up a special collection on World Mission Day in addition to a Propagation of the Faith Appeal. So it is the twenty-two dioceses with Propagation of the Faith appeals that bring in the bulk of funding. This year the income was down in terms of Appeal responses and also legacies. The regular monthly donations, however, were up but not enough to cancel out the drop in appeal giving. It is certainly hoped that the findings of the evaluation help us to halt a decline in our receipts.
Home Mission Fund With the drop in income for Propagation of the Faith, there will be a drop in the funds available within Australia for 2003. In March 2002, we were able to distribute $AUD1,478,000 towards requests for $AUD1,936,684. It is always hard to meet the requests made since all are so worthy of support and are needed so that the remote dioceses and their very isolated parishes and communities can be ministered to. The needs of aboriginal communities continue to grow. While their welfare needs are supported by Governments, their spiritual and pastoral care falls heavily upon the local Church and its agencies. There would need to be an increase in giving of $AUD1.5 million in order to meet the whole of the requested amount.
Above: A classroom in India featured in the children first! 2002 fundraising resource for schools. Left: Students from Maman School, Currajong, Qld support the Remember the Children Armband Campaign to raise awareness of the plight of children during World Mission Week. Opposite Page - Top: A lay catechist in Haiti featured in the children first! 2002 fundraising resource for schools. Far left: Six young people from the Broome Diocese who attended the World Youth Day celebrations in Toronto. Their trips were sponsored in part by Catholic Mission.
Society of St Peter Apostle This is a once a year mail out appeal to those donors who have indicated their readiness to receive this communication. In addition the appeal letter is sent to all priests. Included in the letter was the Martyrology for 2001, a letter from Cardinal Arinze, as well as other bits and pieces of information and a prayer. There was also a box testing the interest in donors about sponsoring Seminarians in the manner done in England and Wales by Mgr John Corcoran. The feelers produced a good response. The setting up of the sponsorship programme will take place after a visit to Papua New Guinea by Mark Lees with John Corcoran in April of 2003. The income from the appeal, while down, will result in a greater amount for distribution since fewer bursaries were received. The income from the bursary fund is certainly helping to keep ahead of declining interest and numbers of donors.
Children’s Mission I would have to say that this is the most successful of the Societies during the past year. The funds from schools are up, as is the support by adults through Children’s Mission Partners. The idea of assisting many children rather than one is gaining ground. It is sometimes put in these words: “Rather than send one child to school, we build the school so that all can have the opportunity for education”. Most of the dioceses have now included mission animation as an integral part of their Religious Education Curriculum. There are still lessons produced to assist teachers but the dependence on them is decreasing. The aim is to have these available on the net for downloading rather than in hard copy. The special resource for schools became known as “children first” and was well received by teachers. The spreading of the word about its quality and content will hopefully make it a continuing strong resource to stimulate good fundraising activities in response to the information from various mission areas.
www.catholicmission.org.au In the area of mission education, mention must be made of the website that has been online for some time now and is going through a new phase of renewal and expanded use. The number of visits to the site continues to grow. Surprising is the number from the United States (about 50%). We have been able to redirect their inquiries to the New York office. With Patrick Fox, we are in the process of redesigning the education section of the site to better cater to Australian Catholic Schools. In a new initiative we will be encouraging them to download their resources from the website, which will provide immediacy to material, as well as the added benefit of reducing printing costs. Also to be developed for March 2003 is the Staff Extranet which will become a major support for Diocesan Directors and staff, and will provide cost-effective communication solutions for Dioceses, particularly those in remote geographic areas.
Privacy Legislation The beginning of the year was dominated by the efforts to comply with the new Federal privacy Legislation which came into force on 21st December 2001. We were required to mail all donors to inform them of details we had about them on record and to give them the chance to have their name removed from our files. We told them, however, of our desire to mail each year on at least World Mission Day. Most were happy with this arrangement. It gave some the nudge to increase their regular giving. It has been a time consuming and costly exercise that has not yet finished. Now there is the demand on all to make sure that we continue to comply with the legislation in terms of accuracy of records and in the quickness of our response to donor requests. The end result should be a better managed and more accurate database. Above: Children from the Philippines featured in the children first! 2002 fundraising resource for schools. Right: A school boy from Kenya featured in the children first! 2002 fundraising resource for schools.
Diocesan Directors Adelaide
James Evans
Armidale
Bishop Luc Matthys
Ballarat
Sr Kathleen Woodruff CSB
Bathurst
Allan Fitzmaurice
Brisbane
Brayden Argent
Broken Bay
Fr Paul Finucane
Broome
Fr Patrick De Silva
Bunbury
Lyn Carroll
Cairns Canberra & Goulburn Darwin Geraldton
Fr Patrick McKenna Deacon Joseph Blackwell Br Paul Macrossan CFC Monica Mullikin
Hobart
Mary Donovan
Lismore
John Rixon
Maitland-Newcastle Melbourne
Barry Urwin Fr Patrick Harvey CEO: Kevin Meese
Parramatta Perth Port Pirie Rockhampton Sale Sandhurst Sydney
Deacon Robert Carroll Francis Leong Fr John Stuart-James Fr John Grace Susan Grout Fr Romuald Hayes Fr Terr y Brady CEO: Peter Brasher
Toowoomba Townsville Wagga Wagga Wilcannia-Forbes Wollongong
Trevor Cavanagh Margaret Cox Patricia Meaker Vacant Jef Senden
National Office Staff National Director Deputy National Director
Fr Terr y Bell Peter Gates
Media, Fundraising & Community Relations Manager
Mark Lees
Media, Fundraising & Community Relations PA
Anita Smith
Mission Education Officer
Patrick Fox
Projects & Events Coordinator Office Manager Accountant Receptionist & Secretary Mission Liaison Officer Web Manager/Designer
Danielle Achikian Margaret Lea Sr Maureen Elliott FMM Margaret Rooney Sr Helen Sullivan RSJ Annette Loughlin-Smith
Distribution of Funds
PROPAGATION OF THE FAITH (INCLUDING HOME MISSION FUND)
Propagation of the Faith USD
AUD
1,311,278 3,600 100,000 100,000
2,560,092 7,029 195,235 195,235
$1,514,878.00
$2,957,591
Papua New Guinea (PNG) Australia Bangladesh Ghana & Togo TOTAL
Papua New Guinea 58.0%
Australia 33.0% Ghana & Togo 4.5% Bangladesh 4.5%
Home Mission Fund (Propagation of the Faith) Armidale Broome Cairns Darwin Geraldton Port Pirie Rockhampton Sale Toowoomba Townsville Wilcannia-Forbes PALMS HMF Contingency Fund
$7,500 $800,000 $18,000 $295,800 $121,200 $35,000 $7,000 $5,000 $12,000 $120,000 $22,500 $34,000 $795
TOTALS
$1,478,795
CHILDREN’S MISSION Ghana 34.0%
El Salvador 0.3%
Trinidad & Tobago 8.6%
Haiti 6.4%
PNG/ Solomon Is. 5.7% Syria 2.3%
Bangladesh 15.5% Kenya 26.7% Dominican Republic 0.5%
ST PETER APOSTLE
Children’s Mission PNG & Solomon Islands Ghana Kenya Trinidad & Tobago Haiti Dominican Republic Bangladesh Syria El Salvador
$35,196 $211,967 166,500 53,800 40,000 3,200 96,230 14,000 2,100
68,715 413,837 325,069 105,037 78,095 6,248 187,876 27,333 4,100
TOTAL
$622,993
$1,216,309
TOTAL TOTAL FUNDS DISTRIBUTED
Papua New Guinea 17.7%
Uganda 36.6%
Sri Lanka 9.1%
2002 Funds Raised by Diocese
St Peter Apostle Rwanda Uganda Sri Lanka Papua New Guinea
Rwanda 36.6%
80,000 80,000 20,000 38,886
156,189 156,189 39,046 75,920
$218,886
$427,344 $6,080,041
Based on an exchange rate of $A1.00 = $US0.51220 A full financial report is included with this annual report. Each year, Catholic Mission in Australia is allocated a group of countries (from the 160 countries that are assisted internationally) to direct donations, from the funds raised in the previous year. The allocated countries for 2002 (supported with funds raised in 2001) are represented in this financial summary.
Adelaide Armidale Ballarat Bathurst Brisbane Broken Bay Broome Bunbury Cairns Canb/Goulburn Darwin Geraldton Hobart Lismore
$325,065 $44,167 $102,738 $102,230 $601,404 $422,413 $3,469 $84,711 $102,091 $272,928 $27,308 $23,164 $41,663 $106,836
Mait/Newcastle $324,386 Melbourne $1,890,717 Parramatta $342,925 Perth $664,164 Port Pirie $108,385 Rockhampton $111,928 Sale $27,520 Sandhurst $119,299 Sydney $1,148,085 Toowoomba $93,009 Townsville $44,016 Wagga Wagga $87,267 Wilcannia-Forbes $15,735 Wollongong $443,215 TOTAL
$7,682,840
Catholic Mission PO Box A153 Sydney South NSW 1235 Tel (61-2) 9264 3388 Fax (61-2) 9283 5990 Email: admin@catholicmission.org.au
Freecall 1800 257 296 www.catholicmission.org.au ABN 52 945 927 066
This annual report is also available on Catholic Mission’s website: www.catholicmission.org.au