The Record Newspaper - 19 January 2006

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Missing: 10 million girls More than 10 million female births in India may have been lost to abortion and sex selection in the past 20 years, according to a study published in the British medical journal, The Lancet.

The BBC reported that researchers Rajesh Kumar in India and Prabhat Jha in Canada examined a national survey of 1.1 million Indian households carried out in 1998 and found a “girl deficit” of 500,000.

They said it was more common among educated women but it did not vary according to religion.

In most countries women slightly outnumber men, but the sex ratio at birth for all India in 2001 was 933 girls to 1000 boys.

Jha and Kumar found an increasing tendency to select boys when previous children had been girls.

When the first child was a girl, the ratio of girls to boys in the next birth was 759 to 1000; when the two preceding children were girls, the ratio at the third birth dropped to 719:1000.

However, for a child following Continued on Page 10

VISTA 2-3

Perth priests welcomed ■ By Archbishop Barry Hickey

African welcome: Perth priest Fr Kenneth Asabe Aluvale, is carried aloft by friends as he is welcomed in his hometown of of Erehi, Kenya. Fr Kenneth was ordained for the archdiocese of Perth by Archbishop Barry Hickey in December.

Papal visit to Auschwitz death camp a possibility: Polish Archbishop

- ZENIT

In his 71st year of priesthood well-known Perth priest Father Dario Brunetti passed away on January 12 aged 93. Born in rural Fr Dario Brunetti Italy, northwest of Rome, in 1912, Father Dario was ordained for the Servite Order in 1935. After spending 15 years in Chicago he arrived in Perth in 1956

and was incardinated as a Diocesan Priest.

Bishop Peter Quinn told The Record that Father Dario served the Church well in the Parishes of Maida Vale, Kelmscott and Wanneroo, where his Italian language was regularly utilised.

He was, said the Bishop, a scholarly man who habitually quoted 16th century Scripture commentator, Cornelius a Lapide, in moral debates, but who was also exceedingly practical and regularly, “getting his hands dirty and doing the hard ‘yakka’,” alongside his parishioners. His enlightened

INDEX

TWO BECOME ONE Unity is one of the keys to successful parenting. James Stenson has been studing successful parents for 20 years and offers his insights in his CD, Parental Unity.

Page 10

Continued on Page 5

Fr Brunetti, 93, goes to heavenly reward ■ By Mark Reidy

KRAKOW, Poland - Pope Benedict XVI wants to visit the former Nazi death camp of Auschwitz during his trip to Poland, says a spokesman for Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz of Krakow.

Alberto Gasbarri, in charge of preparing papal trips, last week visited places that might be included in Benedict XVI’s visit to Poland, expected at the end of May. Among the sites is the wartime death camp.

In addition to the Polish capital and Auschwitz, the Holy Father might visit Wadowice, Pope John Paul II’s birthplace; Krakow; and the Marian shrine of Czestochowa.

Polish media have reported that Benedict XVI will visit Poland from May 25-28. For now, the Holy See has neither confirmed nor denied this information.

Last week I described the Thanksgiving Mass of Fr Nicholas Nweke celebrated in his home town in Nigeria on 1st January 2006.

A week later I joined Fr Kenneth Asaba Aluvale for his Thanksgiving Mass in his home town of Eregi, Kenya, about 300 kilometres north of Nairobi.

Eregi is a small town in the Diocese of Kakamaga. The local Bishop, Philip Sulumeti, accompanied me to the Thanksgiving Mass.

Again the Mass had to be celebrated in the open, as the Church was far too small to accommodate the colourful crowd. And colourful it was, with both men and women dressed in their Sunday best, which included being swathed in the most striking local textiles. The women wore headdresses piled high which must have made it hard for the people behind to see.

The music was led by an expert choir, the rhythms of the African

Letters I say, I say The World Reviews Classifieds

preaching was delivered in a loud, but down-to-earth fashion that challenged people to bring their faith into everyday life. He had a solid pastoral concern for his people borne of his understanding of the challenges of working people, the Bishop said.

Father Dario will also be remembered for his homemade Italian salami and red wine which, he insisted, when warmed, was the remedy for most ailments.

“I have a deep admiration for Father Dario”, said Bishop Quinn, “who I account as a loved friend.”

Fr Dario’s funeral, page 2

A STRATEGY FOR FATHER - Page 6 - Vista 4 - Pages 8-9 - Page 10

As reported in last week’s Record a new national strategy is being promoted to combat the blight of fatherlessness. This week we commence the first in our series.

- Page 11

Page 12

January 19 2006, The Record

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Every moment was beautiful: priest Jamie O’Brien reports on Fr Brunetti’s funeral and recalls interviewing him last year.

F

r Dario Brunetti will be remembered by the people of Perth as a man of warmth, energy and great fidelity to the Church.

Fr Brunetti was farewelled during a funeral celebrated by Archbishop Hickey, Bishops Donald Sproxton and Peter Quinn, many clergy and more than 150 people at St Mary’s Cathedral last Monday.

Archbishop Hickey recalled in his homily how, as assistant Parish priest at St Brigid’s in West Perth, he first met Fr Brunetti, who would come and celebrate Mass in Italian on Sundays.

Archbishop Hickey thanked Fr Brunetti for all the work he had done in the Perth diocese and also

spoke of the Italian priest’s enthusiasm for making homemade wine, salami and cheese.

The former Servite who became a priest of the Perth archdiocese celebrated 70 years of priesthood in June last year.

In an interview with The Record at the time, he said said that if given the chance he would only have tried harder in his ministry.

In his 70 years of service, Fr Brunetti ministered to anyone who crossed his path and, despite his age at 93, could still clearly remember all the work he had done.

The Italian-born priest came to Perth in the 1950s after serving as a priest for a number of years in Chicago and Denver in the United States.

Entering the Servite Seminary in his town of Nepi, Italy at the age of 11, Fr Brunetti used to enjoy working in the garden.

“Other students used to go for

The Record: Christmas and New Year After several meetings between The Record, its printers and Australia Post it appears that the problems regarding distribution of the Christmas and New year’s editions were attributable to the following: The Christmas edition was printed on time as per instructions from The Record but an error on the part of the printer’s despatch staff meant that only the standard weekly number of Records (7000 copies) was sent out to destinations rather than the 20,000 ordered by The Record for its traditional free Christmas edition.

It appears that only approximately one-third of the total edition of the paper were loaded on to waiting Australia Post delivery vehicles. It was not until shortly before close of business on Friday 23 December that this was discovered and printers

walks but I used to like to stay and plant the vegetables,” he told The Record.

He would sell the plants in those days at the market gardens so the Seminary would have money to support itself.

Becoming a priest was not something he thought about too much – he tried seminary life, liked it and decided to stay.

Sent to Rome to study theology, Fr Brunetti was ordained in 1935 by Bishop Domignoni at San Marcello Parish in Rome and celebrated his first Mass the next day.

He stayed in Rome for two years before being sent to Chicago in 1937.

Fr Brunetti enjoyed re-telling stories of his work in Denver in the parish of Mt Carmel, where he helped rebuild a dilapidated parish in almost two years.

He recalled during his interview last year that one of his most

advised The Record there were still extra copies of the paper awaiting distribution. They then undertook to distribute them via couriers to parishes. However the couriers were unable to deliver the paper in most cases to their destinations on time; some copies were still being delivered by Wednesday December 28.

Regarding the New Year’s edition, The Record had advised Australia Post approximately a fortnight earlier that due to the public holiday being taken on Friday 30 December by Australia Post, The Record would be printed a day earlier so that distribution as per normal could take place.

However Australia Post failed to turn up one day earlier as notified by The Record, instead turning up as usual on Thursday 29 December, allowing less than one day for distribution to take place.

As a result The Record was delivered to almost no parishes in time for that weekend.

Discussions are continuing.

Sendoff: Archbishop Barry Hickey leads the prayer for the repose of Fr Brunetti’s soul in St Mary’s cathedral on Monday.

Photo: Jamie O’Brien

interesting adventures came during a housecall in Denver when he found himself accused of being a revolutionary. However, he had said, events like that didn’t stop him from continuing the work that God had called him to do, and he could remember how on numerous occasions, parishioners had reconciled with his help.

After arriving in Perth Fr Brunetti was stationed in the parish of St Anthony’s, Wanneroo, and helped build the Church from scratch.

He said among his first impressions of Western Australia were its wildness – much of Perth was bush back then.

It was something he liked very much.

His daily tasks were filled with ministering to the mainly Slavic and Italian populations, something he enjoyed immensely.

Upon being asked to return to the US, Fr Brunetti says he decided to become a diocesan priest, as his sister was also living in Perth and he says, “America was not for me.”

“It was very dangerous.”

The following 11 years were spent as Parish Priest in Maida Vale, which he also helped to build.

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“God provided very much in those times,” Fr Brunetti said.

“Too much,” he had said with a smile.

Even though he was blind, I felt as if Fr Brunetti was watching me, sensing my every move.

How could he do this? Was it a gift from above?

In 1977, Fr Brunetti retired from Good Shepherd Parish in Kelmscott, where he helped build the school.

In the 50 years he had ministered as priest in Perth, Fr Brunetti told me he had taken only one month of holidays.

No one moment was better than others, he had said, “but every moment was beautiful.”

“If I had to start again, I would only try and do it better.”

It would have been impossible to count the number of weddings, baptisms and funerals he had celebrated in his 70 years of service.

In his final months, he would celebrate the Latin Mass every Monday, a task he did from memory because of his blindess.

Moments that he particularly enjoyed included making his own rosaries, candles, oils, wine and Eucharist bread.

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Unless there’s a relationship, forget it A week-long Summer School offers young people a starting point and a devlopment in the most important thing - an encounter with Jesus ■ By Jamie O’Brien

Y

outh are not going to follow Christ unless their relationship with him is real, Jane Borg told The Record at the Disciples of Jesus Summer School for 2006.

Mrs Borg is the principal of Acts 2 College of Mission and Evangelisation run by the Disciples of Jesus Covenant Community in Perth.

More than 50 youth spent the week of January 9 to 15 at Bunbury Grammar School during their school holidays seeking a better ability to pass on the Good News of the Gospel.

“Most of them are at a stage in their life where they want God to enter,” Mrs Borg said.

Every Summer School is different, she said, and the weeklong experience aims to take people on a journey.

“God is a personal God,” she said.

“He wants a relationship with them, and help them respond to the Good News by evangelising.”

She said youth have to learn that Jesus is personal; unless he is real they aren’t going to follow him.

“This is not just another academic subject,” she observed.

“Youth are able to discern whether their teachers and peers are practising their faith.”

The Disciples of Jesus Summer Schools have been running in Australia since 1986; each year around 30 to 40 youth over the age of 16 sign up for the week-long experience of lectures, recreation and prayer here in WA. 15-year-old Patrick McCabe, who also attended the Summer School last year, said he doesn’t believe that he is receiving enough practical knowledge of the teachings of the Church.

“What I have learnt here has made me take a deeper look at my relationship with God,” he said.

17-year old Ania Wojtowicz felt the same.

But she said as this was her first experience of a Summer School she hadn’t known what to expect.

However she had come because she is looking for answers about her life and its purpose, particularly seeing as 2006 will be her final year at school.

Steve Proud, a leader of the 24/7 Disciples of Jesus Youth Mission team said young people are capable of having an adult faith.

“We can tend to fall into the trap of watering down our faith, so we need to raise the level higher,” Mr Proud said.

The Disciples of Jesus Covenant Community seeks to foster a missionary outlook through works of evangelisation, service and mercy.

The Community arose within the context of the Charismatic renewal and members are encouraged to deepen their Catholic life and respond to the call to holiness in

Seeking the Spirit: Disciples of Jesus youth leader Steve Proud talks to youth at the Summer School run by the Disciples at Bunbury Cathedral Grammar in January. The school aims to help youth encounter Christ in the most significant way

ways appropriate to their state of life.

This year was the fifth Summer School for Fr Steve Fletcher, who is involved in spiritual formation at the Disciples of Jesus formation house in Melbourne.

Fr Fletcher, who has also worked in the Diocese of Darwin for the past nine years, gave lectures this year in Christology, Discipleship and Discernment.

He said the experience, aimed

Dioceses back new Catholic Uni ■ By Paul Gray

our Australian dioceses have F provided scholarships for Australia’s first Catholic “liberal arts” college of higher education, Campion College.

The College, based in Sydney, will open its doors to its first crop of students next month. Campion’s President Fr John Fleming said dozens of applications from individuals have been received by the college, and at least 22 offers of placement to candidates have already been made.

The dioceses of Sydney, Melbourne, Lismore and Parramatta have backed the college with scholarships of up to $7000 a year to support students through the College’s four-year degree course.

The Parramatta diocese has made its scholarship offer unconditional, while Sydney, Melbourne and Lismore have linked their offers with the requirement for at least two years’ teaching in their diocese.

Fr Fleming told The Record that Campion College is dedicated to being “an authentic Catholic teaching institution.”

All academic staff members will take an oath of loyalty to the magisterium of the Church, in accordance with the Apostolic Constitution Ex Corde Ecclesiae, promulgated by Pope John Paul II in 1990.

In aiming to create a Catholic “liberal arts” degree, the College wants to provide students with a complete vision of reality, Fr Fleming said.

“A degree in liberal arts is a broad education in the arts, the sciences and in the art of communication, both verbal and written.

“It presents an integrated account of reality, embracing both faith and reason.”

Graduates will develop skills in analysis, logical thinking and an ability to provide creative solutions to problems, he said.

Notre Dame law degrees get NSW accreditation As part of an overall expansion of Catholic tertiary education in 2006, the University of Notre Dame is to offer separate degrees in Arts, Commerce, Education, Law and Nursing at its Sydney campus from next month.

The expansion comes after the University won accreditation for its law degrees from the NSW Legal Practitioners Admission Board.

“Our law degrees, like all our undergraduate degrees throughout Australia, have compulsory units in theology, philosophy and ethics,” the University’s chancellor Justice Neville Owen said.

The Sydney campus is the third Australian campus of University of Notre Dame Australia which was founded in Fremantle in 1990. The other campus is in Broome.

A Dominican priest and former University of New England and Monash University chaplain, Fr Ephraim Chifley OP, has been appointed as Campion College’s chaplain.

Campion College has an international board of advisers which includes Fr Richard John Neuhaus of the Institute on Religion and Public Life, Georgetown University’s James V. Schall SJ, Oxford University Law Professor John Finnis and Stratford Caldecott from the Chesterton Institute for Faith and Culture at Oxford.

In a paper on Catholic identity in Catholic higher education today, delivered at Australian Catholic University late last year, Fr Fleming said the Catholic Church has always been “a broad Church” containing a range of different approaches to spirituality and to learning.

“The coherence of all these approaches, together with the many other movements within the Church, is achieved through fidelity to the authentic teaching of the Pope and the Bishops,” he said.

“Since truth is indivisible, Catholics approach the truths of the Gospel and the truths which come from natural reason and the natural sciences with equanimity, knowing that a fearless commitment to the truth can never bring us undone.”

Fr Fleming told The Record that Campion is still willing to consider more applications from around Australia. for 2006. Applications can be made through the College website www.campion.edu.au

mostly at young adults, challenges youth to follow the radical call to be a disciple of Christ.

“They want to know what it is to make a difference,” Fr Fletcher said.

“They are confronted with many issues and very little guidance from our society.”

“That’s why so many have been drawn to the teachings of John Paul II.” Many youth, said Fr Fletcher,

In Brief Abuse of prescription drugs is rising amongst American teenagers while alcohol and cigarette use is declining along with the use of illicit drugs such as marijuana and steroids. The federal ongoing Monitoring the Future study showed that 14 per cent of high

are looking for hope, living for the ‘now’ culture, without much hope for the future.

“However the Church has stood firm in front of this.”

“The world doesn’t have any sense and purpose what it is to be human, and doesn’t offer any vision for their life.”

For more information about the Disciples of Jesus, contact Jane Borg at Acts 2 College of Mission and Evangelisation on 9202 6859.

school seniors, 11 per cent of 10th graders and 7 per cent of 8th graders said they had used tranquillisers, barbiturates or sedatives for non-medical reasons in the last year.

And 5.5 per cent of seniors reported using Oxycontin, a potent pain killer.

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January 19 2006, The Record

Page 4

African’s faith impresses Archbishop Archbishop Barry Hickey spent time in Nigeria and Kenya recently with newly ordained priests Frs Kenneth Asaba and Nicholas Nweke to celebrate their first Mass in their home city. These are some of the photos of what he encountered.

Fr Kenneth and Archbishop Hickey share their thoughts at the conclusion of the Mass.

Archbishop Hickey, left, with Fr Kenneth Asaba and Bishop Philip Sulumeti of Kenya, who celebrated Mass with Fr Asaba and the Archbishop in Kenya.

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Fr Nweke embraces Archbishop Hickey during his first Mass in Nigeria.

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Archbishop Hickey is showerd with gifts from local priests in Nigeria, while on tour to celebrate the first Mass of Fr Nicholas Nweke in his home country earlier this month.

Photos courtesy Archbishop Hickey

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Mission intention: “That Christians may know how to welcome migrants with respect and charity, recognising in each person the image of God.”

January 19 2006, The Record

Page 5

Minister attacks ‘corporatisation’ of health Tony Abbott opens fire on medical profiteering ■By Paul Gray

T

he Federal Health Minister, Tony Abbott, has criticised the so-called “Americanisation� of the health industry, warning of increasing costs to Australia’s health system if profit-making becomes a key feature of medicine.

Mr Abbott’s remarks follow frequent attacks on the Health Minister by pro-abortion critics who revile him for his well-known Catholic beliefs. Mr Abbott is one of the most senior Cabinet Ministers in

the Coalition Federal Government, and has been widely touted as a potential successor to Mr John Howard as Prime Minister.

In a series of comments on fees charged by medical specialists last week, Mr Abbott said he was troubled by the increasing corporatisation of medicine. “It raises all sorts of issues for the standing of the medical profession and for the potential Americanisation of our system, which no one ought to want,� he told The Australian newspaper. “It certainly also raises enormous budgetary issues, because bringing corporates into medicine is going to increase costs.�

Mr Abbott has been critical of medical specialists who want “to

earn the income of merchant bankers.�

Without singling out specialists in any one particular area of medicine, areas including pathology and radiology have been increasingly taken over by private corporations in recent years.

Asked if the Federal Government could stop further corporatisation of medicine, Mr Abbott replied: “We stopped Woolies.�

This was a reference to a move by Woolworths and Safeway supermarkets to establish their own brand of pharmacies inside their stores.

The CEO of Catholic Health Care Australia, Mr Francis Sullivan, told The Record that he thought Mr Abbott’s comments were important.

But he also said that the Federal Government was responsible for creating the problem in the first place. “Tony Abbott is saying something important,� Mr Sullivan said.

However, he added that Mr Abbott should realise that “his own (Government’s) policies are encouraging big companies to make enormous profits on the back of Medicare subsidies.� “There is an incentive for profit-making corporations to get involved. Government policies have encouraged the corporatisation of health care,� he said.

Mr Sullivan said access to health care is a very important ethical issue. It’s “at least as important as many of the other big ethical issues

now being discussed. Health care is not just another commodity to be mined for the convenience of investors,� he said. “Health care is an integral part of the social fabric.�

He warned that doctors need to be conscious of the fact that their services can be used by corporations to advance financial investment agendas. “Doctors need to be much more alert to the fact that they can be complicit in helping companies to maximise their positions on the stock exchange,� he said.

Mr Abbott’s criticisms of corporatisation in medicine drew criticism from large companies with interests in medical centres and services.

Globalisation the theme

Chalice will serve Archbishops for next 100 years

■By Jamie O’Brien

■By Jamie O’Brien

Mgr Thomas McDonald recieves the cheque from Catenian Provincial President Bob Applebee to assist with Photo courtesy Catenian Association the restoration of the Archbishop Clune Chalice.

&+85&+ $)/$0(

Continued from page 1

music being supported throughout by sets of drums.

The celebration was full of genuine joy. At the end of the Mass Fr Kenneth, with a beaming smile, was carried high on the shoulders of the men as he was taken on a triumphal walk through the people. It reminded me very much of the Pope moving through the crowds in his popemobile!

The joy was indeed genuine. Fr Kenneth’s priesthood was obviously of great importance to the people who rejoiced that this local son of theirs had been so favoured.

There was also a strong sense that this community was sending Australia a missionary to speak about God. Kenya is used to Missionaries. They were evangelised by Irish, English, Dutch and German missionaries, many of them Mill Hill Missionaries. Now it was their turn to return the compliment, and offer their zeal for the faith to countries affected by the spirit of secularism.

The people in Fr Kenneth’s region live very simply. Plots of land are very small, in some cases about the size of two or three tennis courts, where maize, tea or sorghum can be grown. The houses have no electricity or running water, yet the people are happy, with a beautiful trust in God. I could see how unimportant were many of the things we take for granted like air-conditioning and wall-to-wall carpets when it comes to living the Gospel. All Catholics go to Mass in this part of Kenya. There are lessons to be learned here. Perhaps we do need missionaries after all to help us see what is really important in life and how love, community and trust in God are more valuable than wealth.

We in the West can offer resources for economic development but Catholic Africa can offer us spiritual gifts of far greater value.

With these sobering thoughts I thanked God for the experience and headed home to my running water and electricity and to turn my attention to the coming year of grace.

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A $2000 donation by the Catenian Association will cover the costs for the restoration of a 92-year old chalice that was given to the Archbishop Patrick Clune in 1913.

The Chalice was a gift for Archbishop from the Redemptorists of Ireland to mark his appointment as the first Archbishop of Perth.

St Mary’s Cathedral has been the custodian of the Chalice, which has been used by succeeding Archbishops but has been in need of restoration.

Archdiocesan Archivist Sr Frances Stibi, who initiated the project, said the restoration has provided a stunning result and will enable the chalice to be used by many Archbishops for the next 100 years.

In his presentation for the occasion, Catenian Provincial President Bob Applebee acknowledged the support given to the Catenian Association by the Archdiocese, in particular for the use of St Mary’s Cathedral for the Provincial President’s Mass.

The Catenian Association, founded in Manchester in 1908, has spread throughout the United Kingdom and internationally to Australia, Africa, Malta, Ireland and Hong Kong. In Western Australia the Association has 12 groups, known as circles.

The St Vincent de Paul Society of Australia will host the sixth Pan Asian Congress (PANASCO) in Perth from this Saturday January 20 and will focus on the theme of Globalisation.

Vincentians from both developed and developing countries of Asia and Oceania will gather aiming to create bonds of understanding, friendship and spirituality, and most importantly, to explore practical ways to address and alleviate poverty, wherever it may be found.

The first PANASCO was held in Sydney in 1968 and the most recent in Korea in 2001.

St Vincent de Paul Media Officer Harvey Deegan said the Perth conference promises to be the most effective PANASCO yet in terms of coming up with new, creative and workable ways of addressing poverty. “The theme underlines the determination of the Society to highlight the ever-widening gap between rich and poor.�

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January 19 2006, The Record

Page 6

Perspectives d the t n u

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

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letters to the editor

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Is God sidelined? hile the response to the teachW ing of ID has been predictable enough in the secular media, I am perplexed as to why Fr Coyne of the Vatican Observatory should object to students being allowed to at least consider the possibility that life was designed or created by God. Surely he believes as much?

Is it not equally logical to proceed scientifically from the premise that life was created by God as it is to suggest that life has arisen by a process of “chemical complexification” (to quote Fr Coyne in his recent article in The Tablet) for which there is no evidence? People who want to place God at focal point not only of science education, but also across all learning areas do not want to “diminish God” or render him merely “a designer”.

These people are passionate about their faith and are deeply concerned by the way in which God is being sidelined or reduced to a mere spectator of his own creation.

Fr Coyne takes the view that science is indifferent to the philosophical or theological implications of its discoveries. Thus the discussion of origins is simply irrevelent in a scientific context.

However, without giving glory to God and acknowledging him as creator, science can only ever provide a narrow and inadequate

In Brief Guadalupe raises $3 million annually, says rector MEXICO CITY (CNS) - The Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City raises up to $3 million per year, said the rector of the basilica. Mgr Diego Monroy Ponce told members of the media on January 14 that most of the revenue comes from donations and selling religious souvenirs such as rosaries, candles, statues and posters of Mary and the saints.

Court rejects US prohibition of physician-assisted suicide WASHINGTON (CNS) - In a 6-3 ruling, on January 17, the Supreme Court upheld Oregon’s physician-assisted suicide law, rejecting the US attorney general’s attempt to use federal drug control

Perth should pray for Laos

T

hank you for your article on the delayed Laotian ordination of our Oblate confrere, Deacon Vilavongsy. What a Cross to carry for this young man and the Laotian Church.

The Oblates arrived in Vientiane in January 1935. Our Oblate personnel of 1973 recorded 96 Oblates of Mary Immaculate working in Laos.

This number included three students one of whom was Jean Khamse Vithavong OMI, the present 64 year old Bishop of Vientiane and the only active priest in the country.

In May 1975 the Communist revolution took place. All missionaries were expelled from Laos. Fr Khamse OMI, a local, was the only priest left. Thanks to the work of the trained catechists the faith has continued.

Deacon Vilavongsy and another student in Melbourne are the result of that faith.

As the Church of Perth celebrates the priestly ordination of nine new priests let us all pray for the Church of Laos which continues to carry the Cross of oppression and persecution.

In a special way let us remember our Laotian deacon who was to be ordained on the same weekend in December as our nine new priests in Perth. May his present Cross and disappointment add to his joy at the time of his eventual ordination.

Fr Don Hughes, O.M.I. Guildford

understanding of the universe and the origin and diversity of life.

It is only by invoking God that we can explain events or phenomena, which are supernatural in origin, such as the parting of the Red Sea, Noah’s flood or the sun miracles.

Since God is the author of life and God has intervened in the physical world through miracles in the past and continues to do so today, these events can be verified by science.

Although miracles have a supernatural origin, their effects can be observed, recorded and tested. As more evidence for these events and phenomena is discovered our understanding of God and the natural world is enriched and students become more aware of God’s continual intervention in human history.

To give no consideration to this hypothesis denies students the opportunity to investigate and

explore this possibility.

This should not be seen as a threat to reason or science. The evidence should be assessed on its merits.

If science can be used to debunk so-called miracles, it can also be used to prove they happened.

In the immortal words of Albert Einstein “There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as if everything is.”

laws to stop doctors from prescribing lethal doses of medicine to people who are terminally ill.

Writing for the majority, Justice Anthony Kennedy said although the federal government may apply drug laws to states, the “authority claimed by the attorney general is both beyond his expertise and incongruous with the statutory purposes and design.” If the attorney general’s argument were to stand, the government could apply the same logic to other types of medical judgments, Kennedy wrote. “He could decide whether any particular drug may be used for any particular purpose, or indeed whether a physician who administers any controversial treatment could be deregistered,” or effectively barred from practicing medicine, Kennedy wrote. The attorney general would have such power even though the law limits his authority to the registration and control of drugs “and despite the statutory purposes to combat drug abuse and prevent illicit drug trafficking,” he said.

Bishop criticises execution of 76-year-old inmate

Dr Aidan T Holohan Beaconsfield

No vote for future he Lockhart review in its 54 T recommendations to allow the therapeutic cloning of embryos for research has completely ignored the human rights of babies and their

SAN FRANCISCO (CNS) - The execution of 76-year-old Clarence Ray Allen in California on January 17 “undermines society’s commitment to respect the God-given dignity of every human person” and fails to meet its purported goal of making society safer, according to the head of the San Francisco Archdiocese.

Auxiliary Bishop John Wester, apostolic administrator of the archdiocese, said that because of Allen’s age and various illnesses “life in prison without the possibility of parole would have been a just and exacting punishment.”

Bishop Wester said in a statement, “We must ask ourselves and our fellow citizens whether the violence of state-ordered executions... does not itself contribute to a culture of death in which respect for the dignity and precious worth of every human life is diminished.”

The Parish. The Nation. The World.

Read it in The Record

long term welfare in their haste to allow their use and destruction in an area where no cures from embryos has been achieved.

The awful truth about these recommendations being arrived at is at the expense of the lives of innocent human beings being used for eugenic purposes as was articulated by the United Nations Declaration on Human Cloning in March 2005 calling on all members States to ban all forms of cloning for medical treatment as being incompatible with human dignity and protection of all human life.

The UN also recommended that measures be taken to protect human life in its application of life sciences.

Prohibiting all forms of human cloning as they are incompatible with human dignity and the protection of human life. Taking measures to prohibit genetic engineering techniques that my be contrary to human dignity. Take measures to prevent exploitation of women in application of life sciences, and implement national legislation to adequately protect human life and to prevent exploitation of women.

The UN also found that by its total ban on using human embryos that there is no difference in cloning for reproducing or cloning for therapeutic research. In other words they see that such cloning creates a new person in embryo that is produced and destroyed supposedly for research purposes, and in our view clearly is a crime against humanity. Adult stem cells have produced and continue to produce cures with no loss of life. The use of innocent human embryos and their stem cells have not. We hope that Federal and State parliaments will vote against cloning in the interests of future Australians, and against the push by scientists who ignore the dignity and life of embryos and their right to protection.

Peter O’Meara President, Right to Life Association, East Perth

Scary reality urther to the news article in F The West Australian, January 14, 2006 regarding the Port Coogee private residential marina, it must be pointed out to the public that the sea-bed was not sold to Australand, the developer, but given as a gift.

This is a scary scenario, because it opens the literal floodgates to claims by all developers and spells the beginning of real privatisation of what we all have always believed and understood to be our free unrestricted access to our coastline beaches. This action signals the internal invasion of our coastline!

Just why has the Government permitted this? And even more questionable is why would any government even contemplate permitting high-rise residential dwellings to be built on canals 380 metres out into the open ocean, when in New South Wales, the State Government has just brought in (effective from last November) new restrictions controlling high rise coastal development and is threatening to “fight them (the developers) on the beaches” in order to prevent the building of high-rise residential buildings any closer than 100 metres of the high water mark and any higher than four storeys?

The inevitable overshadowing on beaches by high rise developments, impairment to public access and erosion of the beaches have made such restrictions imperative.

Cockburn City’s mayor’s description of the stretch of land between South Fremantle and Woodman Point as being transformed into a coastal hub with 5-8 storey highrise canal residences begs the inevitable destruction of Perth’s best family swimming beach with the already described ultimate damaging consequences.

Marie Slyth West Perth

Archbishop on air

For those who missed Archbishop Hickey’s address on Channel Nine the text is below: Can I give you a little tip.

When you are angry with someone, or can’t stand them anymore, force yourself to find three good qualities they have.

Stay with those thoughts and you will begin to see that person in a much better light. You’ll feel better, too.

There is good in everyone.

Often we have to look for it instead of being constantly

critical of everyone and everything. So many people already suffer from a poor image of themselves. Don’t make it worse for them.

Look for the good in them.

It’s there.

After all, we all come from God, and, as the saying goes, God does not make junk.

I’m Barry Hickey, Catholic Archbishop of Perth.

Next: Australia Day. For current and past talks visit www. perthcatholic.org.au.

January 19 2006

Vista

Page 1

Resurrecting the dead With the sharp decline in the number of youth attending Mass or the Sacraments over the past 20 years, Claremont Parish Priest Fr Brian O’Loughlin has come up with an initiative that will serve as a new evangelisation method to help parents pray for the return of their children to the Church.

ST AUGUSTINE Augustine was born on November 13, 354, in Numidia, North Africa, to Monica, a Christian, and Patricius.

At the age of 18 he took a concubine, to whom he was faithful for the next 15 years, and fathered a son, Adeodatus in 373.

After making his way to Rome in 383, he was then appointed as a Professor in Milan, where he met St Ambrose.

He became convinced that the Old Testament was not as crude as he had once thought.

He listened to stories of the monks and nuns in Italy and Egypt, and later decided to renounce marriage and a career and seek baptism.

In 387 he took the catechetical course of St Ambrose and was baptised at Easter.

His mother also died that year, and Augustine was ordained a priest and later Bishop of Hippo in 395, until his death in 430.

He has since become one of the greatest saints in the Catholic Church, his best known works include his autobiographical account of his conversion, The Confessions, and his philosophy of Christianity and society, The City of God.

■ By Jamie O’Brien

A

new evangelisation method being devised by Claremont Parish priest Fr Brian O’Loughlin is to focus on saying the prayers of St Monica and Augustine in an effort to bring young people back to the Church.

With the concern of the heavy cross that many parents are carrying in silence as their adult sons and daughters have lapsed from the practise of their faith, Fr O’Loughlin has decided to do something about it.

Fr O’Loughlin said the first priority is to gather the parents whose sons and daughters are no longer coming to Church and to pray for them.

“There is an ever increasing number of parents in this situation,” Fr Loughlin said.

Fr Loughlin believes the problem is widespread, not just in his parish and that many other priests agree.

“Priests I have talked to have all nodded their heads,” he said.

St Monica is known for her prayers that helped bring her son, St Augustine, a doctor of the Church, to conversion.

“St Monica was locked in a situation where Augustine refused to be baptised and had a child out of marriage and was generally a bad example and drove his mother to tears,” Fr O’Loughlin said.

“Monica’s reaction was to pray.”

However, Fr O’Loughlin said it was important that people did not think of the prayer sessions as a time to blame.

“I think St Monica gives us a good example that prayer can certainly be a first resort and in her case they were successful,” he said.

“She not only saw her son seeking baptism from St Ambrose in Milan but he became a priest and bishop and one of the greatest teachers the western Church has ever seen.”

Fr O’Loughlin said there are a number of contributing factors that have led many young people away from the Church.

“Too many have followed the moreys of society,” “Their perception is that the Church’s moral teaching is too hard to follow but my presentation is that they are liberating and life giving.”

Fr O’Loughlin said his initiative, which is believed to be a first in the Perth Archdiocese, is simply like lighting a candle.

“If they want something more we will continue on.

“If no one comes then at least the initiative was taken.”

The Prayer sessions will start on Tuesday February 14 at 7.20pm at St Thomas the Apostle Parish Claremont.

Parents are invited to bring their bible and rosary beads, and the evening will conclude with a cup of tea or coffee at 9pm.

Interested persons can contact Fr Brian on 9381 0598.

The Triumph of St Augustine, Claudio Coello, Madrid.

ST MONICA St Monica, the mother of St Augustine, of Hippo, lived from 331-387AD, in North Africa, where she generously served the poor while raising her own family.

She became concerned about young Augustine’s dissolute life-style and prayed constantly for his conversion.

She followed him to Rome in 383 and later to Milan, where she came under the influence of St Ambrose, its bishop and eventually witnessed her son’s conversion.

She died in Ostia, Italy while travelling back to Africa.

Her feast day is August 27.

Marriage of St Monica, Antonio Vivarini, Venice

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Vista

January 19 2006, The Record

i say, i say

Discovering happiness with God

■ With Mark Reidy

I

recently met a young man on the streets of Perth. He was homeless and had a drinking problem. “Are you a Christian, man?” he slurred over his alcohol. I told him I was. “Don’t ya just love Jesus?” he yelled enthusiastically, “Isn’t He the greatest?” ‘Angelo’ took me by surprise. His clothes were dirty, he didn’t smell the best and I don’t think he knew where his next meal was coming from. My first thought was, “How could you be happy with God?” But he most certainly was.

He told me of his conversion.

His life had been one of violence and suffering. “I was a bad dude”, he said as he put down his drink, “Look at what I done to myself ”. He moved his clothes to reveal a large

devil-like face tattooed on his thigh.

“And my body is covered with pentagrams too. I was bad, ya know”.

Angelo’s involvement in crime, drugs and ritualistic satanic activity had eventuated in ten months of

solitary confinement. In his dark and lonely cell he became engulfed by the hopelessness and despair that he had been running from all his life. With nowhere or no one to turn to, he picked up a book that

had been left there. It was a spiritual book and in its first page it promised that if one prayed to God and then opened the book, they would find their answer. “You’re making some big claims”, he yelled sky-

ward, “Let’s see how good ya are.”

He paused and then opened to read these words, “You believe that you are a wicked man and could never be loved by anyone. Know this, I love you and I have forgiven you for all you have done.” Tears began to stream down his face. He said that he could not describe the feeling of love that embraced him that day. He felt new and cleansed. The remainder of his time in confinement was spent reading the Bible from cover to cover.

“I still do wrong things”, he said as he nodded at his drink, “But now Jesus is with me. Every morning when I wake up, I see Him standing at my feet with His arms open.

He loves me, ya know, even when I mess up. Can you think of a better way to start the day? He gives me a hug and I know I can get through.”

Angelo made me think about my own life. I attend Church regularly and am seen to be doing all the right things, yet how often does my relationship with God fall short. How often do I forget to acknowledge and thank Him for all that I have?

Yet here was a man who seemed to have nothing, yet he had everything. He had a real and passionate relationship with Jesus. Slowly the words from Matthew’s Gospel began to dawn on me, “Truly I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you.” (21:31)

Keeping our children out of harm.com’s way Catherine Parish

@ home

M

y son thinks it is really funny to rearrange the icons, or change the screen saver on our family computer, so that when I come to use it I get really cross, because it doesn’t look right and I can’t find things. Ha ha ha. In fact, it has taken me five minutes to find Word and start work. Like all tools, the computer is only as good as its operator! And that it is a convenient tool is undeniable. With reservations.

All my kids would love to have the Internet connected at home. We need it, they cry piteously, to do research for school. Use a book, reply their unfeeling parents. From what I have seen of the Internet, there is little of value, at school level anyway, that can’t also be found in a book.

And from what I have seen of some of the ‘information’ downloaded by my eldest son from the Internet at school, it seems that every crank in the universe is able to present their case to the world under pretty much any name they like. One’s critical faculty in fact needs to be highly developed (far more so than any 13 year old’s could possibly be) to sort through the megadross to find anything of value. Far more profit-

able to get a book on any topic by a reputable author and read that.

But the principal reason why we will never have the Internet in the house under any circumstances is the prevalence of pornography on the Internet, easily available, as depraved as you want it to be without, apparently, any censorship or control at all. Even perfectly legitimate searches that kids might be conducting for information about perfectly harmless things – say “Kyoto” to use an example that actually happened to someone – can lead to extremely harmful images appearing on the screen and burning themselves into kids’ minds though they are only there fore a moment – researched and supported by statistical evidence – on the effects of internet pornography, its addictive nature and the speed with which the addiction desensitises users and leads them on to find more and more bizarre images, are quite hair-raising. The untold damage not only to Internet porn users themselves, but to their relationships with their families and friends is just tragic.

The hurt and bewilderment expressed by spouses and children rejected in favour of fantasy images makes sobering reading. As does the definite connection to rising violent crime against women.

Anyway, I have no desire to have my children wasting more time than they already do on the computer, even in our internet-free house.

Despite pious assertions to the contrary, a great deal of so-called essential ‘homework’ time on the computer seems to be spent in playing the few manky old games on our 4GB dinosaur – or in changing screens and icons to annoy mum.

Is the internet a safe place for our children to learn?

January 19 2006, The Record

Page 7

Archive details how a bascilica is built To-do lists and pay stubs: An archive details St Peter’s construction ■ By Carol Glatz

VATICAN CITY (CNS) - For every sack of cement that was purchased, for every block of stone quarried and hauled to Rome, architects in charge of building St Peter’s Basilica filled out and filed away receipts and penned detailed notations in thick, bound ledgers.

Even every artisan and worker hired, every on-the-job accident, lawsuit and progress report on the construction of the world’s largest church were recorded and stored away in a little-known - but priceless - Vatican archive.

The archives of the Fabbrica di San Pietro, the Vatican office responsible for the basilica’s construction matters, certainly do not carry the same recognition as the Vatican Secret Archives, perhaps because their contents may seem more mundane. Instead of 20thcentury Vatican intrigue, one is more likely to find a Renaissance master’s to-do list, crinkled pay stubs and requests addressed to patrons holding the purse strings.

More than 10,000 pieces of parchment, documents, slips and scraps of paper are catalogued and tucked away in fat, hardcover volumes. Each volume, bursting with notes and folios, is wrapped with yellowed ribbon or graying twine and stands in unlocked glass cabinets that line the archive’s octa-

gon-shaped rooms. The rooms are located on an upper floor near the back of the basilica, overlooking the organ pipes.

From inside St Peter’s Basilica, authorised guests can access the climate-controlled collection by going through a door underneath the massive, marble monument to Pope Alexander VII, which means ducking under a life-size, bronze skeleton representing death; it triumphantly brandishes an hourglass.

“The archives preserve the entire history of the basilica,” said Simona Turriziani, one of the four people who work cataloging and caring for the Fabbrica’s archives.

“It’s not a huge archive, but it’s incredibly rich because all the important architects of the 1500s to the 1600s came through (the basilica), because it was the most important construction site at the time,” she told journalists in late December.

Donato Bramante, Raphael, Michelangelo Buonarroti, Carlo Maderno, Giovanni Bernini and Francesco Borromini’s handwritten notes, instructions, reports and requests are all housed there.

These Renaissance and Baroque artists each had a hand in the design or building of St Peter’s Basilica, whose construction began 500 years ago on April 18, 1506.

That day Pope Julius II set the first cornerstone of the new basilica. He mobilised the resources and the artists to finally do what popes before him had been concerned about - saving from collapse the ancient basilica built at the time of Constantine.

But Pope Julius wanted a large,

grandiose basilica to replace the smaller, deteriorating original that sat atop the underground tomb of St Peter.

Construction on the new church lasted more than 100 years. The project was not only enormous, but sometimes work was stalled as earlier plans and designs were scrapped or revised by successive architects.

Antonio da San Gallo the Younger, for example, wrote a letter to the pope criticising what Raphael, San Gallo’s predecessor, had done.

San Gallo “complained that a ton of money was being wasted and the work was being done poorly,” Turriziani said.

But Michelangelo later tossed out San Gallo’s own blueprint for the basilica, saying the design was too elaborate and created too many dark, winding corridors.

Michelangelo complained there would be too many hiding places for prowling pickpockets and not enough natural light to help pilgrims see if they were getting counterfeit coins with their change, said Pietro Zander, an official with the Fabbrica. Michelangelo told his papal patron that he could create a more luminous and far simpler basilica in less time, and his design was accepted.

Michelangelo, like many people involved in the project, never lived to see the church completed in 1620. But he dedicated almost 20 years of his life, 1546-1564, to being head architect.

One of the archive’s most prized pieces is a letter dated February 18, 1562, in which Michelangelo tells the cardinals in charge of the

Fabbrica that they should hire his friend, Pietro Luigi, as head supervisor of the workers.

But Michelangelo knew the idea might not be well received since the Fabbrica was already paying a certain Cesare as foreman. So he wrote in the letter, “If you don’t want to do it, then I will personally” pay the man’s salary “because I am not working to make money; for St Peter, I dedicate my body and soul.”

Perhaps the meticulous notes were considered to be just humdrum information by bookkeepers at the time, but today scholars find the details fascinating.

The washerwoman, Pacifica de’ Crescioni, who hauled travertine blocks with her cart from a nearby quarry to the construction site, has been recorded in history along with Victoria Pericali, a glass cutter, who cut enamel pieces for some of the basilica’s two and a half acres of mosaics.

Turriziani said the Vatican was preparing to mark the basilica’s 500th anniversary this year with a number of unconfirmed events and celebrations. She emphasised the basilica’s collection was still “a living archive” and that everything sent to the Fabbrica was still recorded and preserved. Even the letter the Vatican press office sent requesting permission for Vatican journalists to visit the archives in late December “has been catalogued and filed away,” she said.

Thus the paper trail continues as seemingly more mundane materials of today are safely tucked away with ancient parchments to stand the test of time.

The archives of the Fabbrica di San Pietro, the Vatican office responsible for construction matters at St Peter’s Basilica, contain this drawing of the cupola by Carlo Fontana. The archives hold many historic documents related to the construction of the basilica.

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January 18 2005, The Record

Page 8

The World Vatican says we must forgive as Agca freed Pope John Paul II’s would-be assassin freed from Turkish prison ■ By Carol Glatz

T

he Turkish terrorist who shot and seriously wounded Pope John Paul II in a failed 1981 assassination attempt was freed on parole from a Turkish prison January 12.

Mehmet Ali Agca was immediately handcuffed and taken to a military recruitment centre to register for military service, obligatory for all Turkish men. He also underwent a medical exam to see if he was fit for service. Agca fled the military draft in the 1970s.

Since his extradition from Italy to Turkey in 2000, Agca served five years of a 10-year sentence for the 1979 murder of a Turkish journalist and two robberies the same year.

But a Turkish court said Agca had completed his prison term and could be released, according to reports by the country’s semiofficial Anatolia news agency.

Vatican spokesman Joaquin NavarroValls, commenting on “the news of the possible freedom of Ali Agca” in a January 8 press release, said the decision to release Agca should be up to the Turkish courts.

Concerning issues of “a judicial nature,” the Vatican “submits to the decisions of the tribunals involved in this matter,” the statement said.

Pope Benedict XVI is expected to travel to Turkey this fall.

Agca, 48, had served 19 years in an Italian prison for his May 13, 1981, assassination attempt on Pope John Paul in St Peter’s Square.

Just days after the near-fatal shooting, the Polish Pope publicly forgave Agca, and in 1983 the Pope embraced his would-be assassin in his Rome prison cell.

Though he was sentenced to life in prison for the shooting, Italian authorities granted Agca clemency in 2000 and returned him to Turkey. At the time, the Vatican said the Pope personally intervened in the gunman’s release from the Italian prison.

After returning to his home country, Agca was sent to prison for the murder of the editor of a liberal Turkish newspaper and two robberies committed in 1979.

New Turkish laws reduced Agca’s original

Mehmet Ali Agca, the man who shot Pope John Paul II in 1981, leaves a military recruitment centre under police escort in Istanbul January 12. Agca was deemed unfit for Turkish military service.

Photo: CNS

punishment from life in prison, or 36 years under Turkish regulation, to a 10-year sentence. Additional penal code reforms led a Turkish court recently to further deduct the years Agca served in Italian prison, thereby completing his sentence, according to The Associated Press.

Cardinal Renato Martino, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, said his council did not want to interfere with the Turkish court’s decision that determined Agca had “paid his debt to justice.”

The cardinal said, however, that Scripture readings during this Christmas season have talked about Christ being sent “to proclaim liberty to captives.”

Christ, in his mercy, will not break “a bruised reed” nor snuff out “a smouldering wick,” he wrote in a statement sent to jour-

nalists on January 9. Cardinal Martino also noted that “John Paul II, who immediately pardoned his attacker, titled one of his messages for the World Day of Peace: ‘There Is No Peace Without Justice, No Justice Without Forgiveness.’”

Pope John Paul’s former secretary, Polish Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz of Krakow, said the late Pope “would have celebrated” upon hearing the news of Agca’s scheduled release from prison.

“The Holy Father had forgiven him from the very first moment, sincerely so, and then when he met him in jail he spoke to him like a brother,” he told the Italian daily Corriere della Sera on January 9.

Archbishop Dziwisz said the Pope had once asked, “How could we show ourselves before the Lord if we didn’t forgive

each other?” After being informed of his imminent release, Agca signed a short letter addressed to the Vatican expressing his and his family’s gratitude for its support, according to La Repubblica newspaper.

“For the past 25 years, the Holy See has always been close to us, has supported us, and has shown itself to be very open. For this I very much thank the Vatican,” the letter was quoted as saying.

How the Vatican dealt with Agca and his family shows religion to be “a sign of brotherhood and dialogue,” he wrote.

“My infinite thanks,” he said, and “on the occasion of my release (and) on behalf of the whole Agca family, I send my respectful greetings to the new Pope,” Pope Benedict.

At various times since the assassination attempt against Pope John Paul, Agca told different versions of what happened and who was behind it. At one point Agca claimed Bulgarian secret service agents hired him at the bidding of the Soviet KGB, the former Russian secret police and intelligence agency. The allegations resulted in a trial and acquittals in 1986 for the Bulgarian and Turkish defendants implicated by Agca.

Agca later said the Bulgarian connection was a fabrication of Italian intelligence officials who had promised him early release if he went along with their plan.

In recent years, Agca has said he acted on his own in shooting the Pope. Agca, a Muslim, had publicly threatened to kill the pontiff in 1979 when the Pope visited Turkey; in a letter to several Turkish newspapers, he called the Pope a “crusader commander” sent by Western imperialists.

The late Pope had offered his own views of the assassination attempt in his book, “Memory and Identity: Conversations Between Millenniums.”

He expressed his belief that Agca was a professional assassin and that the assassination attempt was “not his initiative.”

The Pope did not say who he thought was behind the shooting, but described it as an episode in the “last convulsions of 20thcentury ideologies of force.”

Pope John Paul long credited Mary with saving his life; he was shot on May 13, the anniversary of the first of the apparitions in Fatima, Portugal.

In 1984, he had the bullet fragment that was removed from his body placed in the crown of the Marian statue at the Fatima shrine. CNS

Intelligent design not scientific, says Vatican newspaper article Intelligent design is not science, says biologist in newspaper published by the Vatican ■ By John Thavis

I

ntelligent design is not science and should not be taught as a scientific theory in schools alongside Darwinian evolution, an article in the Vatican newspaper said.

The article said that in pushing intelligent design some groups were improperly seeking miraculous explanations in a way that creates confusion between religious and scientific fields.

At the same time, scientists should recognise that evolutionary theory does not exclude an overall purpose in creation - a “superior design” that may be realized through sec-

ondary causes like natural selection, it said.

The article, published in the January 17 edition of L’Osservatore Romano, was written

by Fiorenzo Facchini, a professor of evolutionary biology at the University of Bologna in Italy.

The article noted that the debate over intelligent design - the idea that certain features of life and the universe are best explained by an intelligent designer rather than adaptive evolution - has spread from the United States to Europe.

The problem with intelligent design is that it turns to a “superior cause” - understood though not necessarily named as God - to explain supposed shortcomings of evolutionary science.

But that’s not how science should work, the article said.

“If the model proposed by Darwin is held to be inadequate, one should look for another model. But it is not correct methodology to

stray from the field of science pretending to do science,” it said.

The article said a Pennsylvania judge had acted properly when he ruled in December that intelligent design could not be taught as science in schools.

“Intelligent design does not belong to science and there is no justification for the pretext that it be taught as a scientific theory alongside the Darwinian explanation,” it said.

From the Church’s point of view, Catholic teaching says God created all things from nothing, but doesn’t say how, the article said.

That leaves open the possibilities of evolutionary mechanisms like random mutation and natural selection.

“God’s project of creation can be carried out through secondary causes in the natural course of events, without having to think of miraculous interventions that point in this or that direction,” it said.

What the Church does insist upon is that the emergence of the human supposes a wilful act of God, and that man cannot be seen as only the product of evolutionary processes, it said. The spiritual element of man is not something that could have developed from natural selection but required an “ontological leap,” it said.

The article said that, unfortunately, what has helped fuel the intelligent design debate is a tendency among some Darwinian scientists to view evolution in absolute and ideological terms, as if everything - including first causes -can be attributed to chance.

“Science as such, with its methods, can neither demonstrate nor exclude that a superior design has been carried out,” it said.

From a religious viewpoint, it said, there is no doubt that the human story “has a sense and a direction that is marked by a superior design.”

-CNS

January 18 2005, The Record

Page 9

The World No ethics lead to hoax

Asian families under pressure Globalisation, media negatively affect Asian families, congress says Asian participants at a world congress on the family said globalisation, Western culture and the influence of the media have adversely affected Catholic families in Asia.

In a six-page statement issued on the final day, congress participants agreed that building a stable marriage and a healthy family life have become “a great challenge” in the modern world. They also said that to build peace in the world nations should strive to strengthen families.

The congress, with the theme “Restore Family Life and Sustain World Peace,” brought together 150 representatives from 24 countries in early January reported UCA News, an Asian church news agency based in Thailand. The congress was organised by the Service and Research Foundation of Asia on Family and Culture, an institute based in the southern Indian city of Chennai that is dedicated to studying and developing the role of the family.

“We believe that family is the workshop of human civilisation.

Family teaches us to be human: to know, to love and to choose wisely,” participants said in the statement, which will be sent to the United Nations. They called on the United

Globalisation and the influence of Western culture is putting a strain on Asian familes, conference hears.

Photo: CNS

Nations to urge countries to begin a global debate about declaring war a violation of international law.

“The challenge we face as a human race is about how to get on the ‘right side’ of peace, nonviolence, disarmament of human and natural resources for productive use,” they said.

During the congress, participants also discussed the state of families and marriages in Asia.

Peter Ho Man-hong, executive director of the Hong Kong Catholic Marriage Advisory Council, said Hong Kong records at least 13,000 divorces annually. Urbanization, long working hours and reduced time spent with spouses now strain the family system, he said, citing “lack of family education” as a reason for marriage failures.

Another participant, Deacon Abel Thomas of Malaysia, said

Catholics find it difficult to live their faith in mixed marriages. The married deacon, who works with the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur’s family life commission, said separation and divorce rates are increasing and parents are unable to spend adequate time with children because of long working hours.

“Children are taken care of by media and maids from foreign countries. Parents pamper their kids with modern gadgets as a substitute for love and care. Children don’t grow in the natural ambience of parental care,” he said.

Father George Kalapurackal, who represented Nepal at the congress, said that in his country “generally families are stable, but parents are losing control of the children because of outside factors like the media and Western influence.”

Michelle Vaz, who is involved with the family commission of the Bombay Archdiocese in India, blames Western values for marriage breakups, saying that young people are now becoming more independent and assertive as a result of the influence of Western culture projected through the media.

She said that young people today also are less inclined to look after their parents and grandparents.

The lifestyles of young people are also changing, she added, citing increases in alcoholism, premarital sex and abortion. CNS

‘Jews, Christians, must work together’ Christians and Jews, sharing faith in the same God, are called to work together for justice, peace and the good of human souls, Pope Benedict XVI told Rabbi Riccardo Di Segni, the chief rabbi of Rome.

“The Catholic Church is close to you and is your friend,” the Pope told the rabbi on January 16 during a meeting at the Vatican.

Pope Benedict said Christians believe that, in Christ, they have become part of God’s chosen people, sharing the blessings and the call to serve the Lord. “That makes us Christians aware that, together with you, we have the responsibil-

ity to cooperate for the good of all peoples in justice and peace, in truth and freedom, in holiness and love,” the Pope said. Sharing a mission with the Jewish people, he said, Christians must fight “hatred and misunderstanding, injustice and the violence which continues to sow concern in the souls of men and women of good will. In this context, how can we not be saddened and worried by the renewed signs of anti-Semitism that are sometimes seen.” Pope Benedict told Rabbi Di Segni that he thanked God for remaining faithful to his covenant with the Israelites and for protecting

the world in brief JPII film ready A 30-minute animated film on Pope John Paul II is due out in April. “John Paul II: The Friend of All Humanity” is the first international film of its type on the Polish Pontiff. The film, produced by Cavin Cooper Productions, will be released worldwide on April 2, the first anniversary of John Paul II’s death. The film touches on the human side of Karol Wojtyla, from his infancy until he became Pope. Initially, it will be available in seven languages: English, Italian, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese and Polish. The film was made possible thanks to an agreement with the Vatican Television Centre, which offered its documentary resource for its production. José Luis López Guardia,

and saving the Jewish people. “The people of Israel were freed several times from the hands of their enemies, and through centuries of antiSemitism, in the dramatic moments of the Shoah (Holocaust), the hand of the Almighty has supported and guided them,” he said.

The Pope also told the rabbi that the many challenges facing people in Rome and in the world, “call us to join our hands and hearts in concrete initiatives of solidarity, ‘tzedek’ (justice) and ‘tzedekah’ (charity).”

Rabbi Di Segni told Pope Benedict that a fresco in a Rome chapel shows a Pope and a rabbi standing

alias Cavin Cooper, the producer, who has collaborated with Disney since 1977, told ZENIT that the film “represents the human charism of John Paul II’s personality,” which attracts the interest “of people of very different creeds.”

“The support of the two techniques used, animation in addition to documentary, make this production unique and singular,” he added. “It is not we who speak about John Paul II,” López said. “We let his deeds, words and thoughts speak about him.”

In Good Company For four centuries, the Company of Mary, the first feminine apostolic religious order dedicated to teaching, has directed its energies to the education of women. Following the educational plan of its founder, St Jeanne of Lectonnac (1556-1640), this religious fam-

before the emperor, engaged in a contest to demonstrate who had greater power.

If any competition is valid today, he said, it is only competition in demonstrating fidelity to one’s faith, service to others and ways to witness to and apply the values Jews and Christians share. The Jewish Rome and Christian Rome which meet each other, respect each other, live together in peace and collaborate, but remain faithful to themselves, are an example for a world torn by conflicts,” often enflamed by supposedly religious ideals, he CNS said.

ily today extends its activity to four continents, thanks in part to a network set up in 2003 to foster collaboration between laity and religious. “Faith and discernment of the signs have enabled us to find in education the most appropriate response to the needs of every historical period,” said Sister Beatriz Acosta Mesa, the order’s superior general.

“To help each woman value herself as such, to feel she has a significant mission in the world, to verify the transcendence of her daily action and the transforming capacity of her presence and her options - is and has been a task full of meaning that contributes to shaping a world with a heart and feelings of mercy,” she added. The Company of Mary, founded in Bordeaux, France, in April 1607, has set itself seven objectives to celebrate the fourth centenary of its foundation.

Most important among the objectives is for the order to further its understanding of

A South Korean doctor’s fake claim that he produced embryonic stem-cell lines from human cloning shows that “good ethics” is the backbone of good science and medicine, said a US bishops’ pro-life official.

It also proves that human cloning is far from being a viable source of embryonic stem cells that could be used in treating diseases, said Richard Doerflinger, deputy director of the Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops.

“Lawmakers can best respond to this scandal by enacting a complete ban on human cloning ... and by increasing government support for stem-cell research that is both medically promising and morally sound,” he said in a January 10 statement.

Doerflinger criticised the scientific hoax after Seoul National University in South Korea issued two reports in December saying that claims by university researcher Hwang Woo-suk that he had created 11 stem-cell lines from cloned human embryos were false.

When Hwang and his team announced in February 2004 that they had gotten stem cells from cloned human embryos, the announcement was praised as a major breakthrough in medical research. In another apparent breakthrough, Hwang announced in May 2005 that his team had created 11 stemcell lines that were genetically matched to patients.

Doerflinger said this hoax showed that “after almost a decade of intense effort by teams around the world, it seems no one has been able to take even the first step needed to derive treatments from human cloning.”

“Will our society insist on exploiting more hundreds of women, and creating and destroying many more thousands of helpless human lives, in pursuit of this mirage? Or will we step back and realise that good ethics is a necessary and integral part of good science and good medicine?” he asked.

-CNS

“the challenges the 21st century poses to the educational mission in each of the contexts in which we are inserted and how to respond to them, modifying our life and our educational practices,” explained Sister Beatriz.

Encyclical sparks frenzy Benedict XVI’s forthcoming encyclical has sparked unprecedented expectation in the media. Newspapers worldwide have reported alleged passages of the encyclical, leaked on Monday by the Italian agency ANSA. ANSA said the encyclical might be published this Friday, but the Holy See has yet to confirm this. Press sources say that the document is entitled “Deus Caritas Est” (“God Is Love”) and has some 50 pages, but the Vatican has not confirmed this data either.

-ZENIT

January 19 2006, The Record

Page 10

Reviews cd

Number One in each other’s eyes ■ Reviewed by Mark Reidy

M

arriage should not be a 50/50 proposition according to US author and educator James Stenson. It needs to be an 80/20 or 90/10 arrangement, where each partner gives more than they expect to receive in return, he told a Sydney audience during a visit late last year.

In a presentation delivered to 1200 parents and teachers, Stenson emphasises that mutual love and self-giving are integral to raising competent and responsible children. He believes the role of parents is fulfilled, not when children achieve independence, but rather, when they are capable of reaching out beyond themselves.

In an hour-long talk, entitled “Parental Unity”, Stenson draws on his twenty years experience with families, to share his insights into successful parenting. In an entertaining style, interspersed with humorous anecdotes, Stenson focuses on the importance of unity between parents from an early age.

He claims that many problems in child rearing could be avoided, “if Dad and Mum were Number One in each others eyes.”

He explains how parents must primarily be unified in the longterm vision for their children. They need to ask themselves what type

of adults they want their children to become and parent accordingly. He emphasises that children are most effectively taught virtues and values through what they witness, more than what they are told. Characteristics such as sound judgement, recognising truth, forgiveness, generosity, faith, hope, charity and self-control are learnt through imitation and appropriate discipline.

Stenson claims that children can be trained for a good marriage by modelling it for them throughout their lives. If they regularly witness their parents communicating, affirming and encouraging one another, then they will be able to later recognise what they desire in their own future spouse. Stenson emphasises the importance of husbands modelling a respect for their wives, so that not only will their sons grow up to become protectors and not predators of women, but their daughters will learn how to recognise genuine love. Within the security of a loving relationship children are able to recognise the distinct differences between males and females and appreciate the uniqueness of each.

He believes that the wedding ring is the ideal symbol for marriage as it represents unity and perfection and one cannot distinguish where it starts and where it finishes. So it is in a healthy family, he claims, where

Unity: It’s one of the keys to good parenting.

husband and wife are continuously supporting and learning from one another and in time become one mind in two bodies.

I thoroughly recommend this CD to all parents and parents-to-be.

Stenson’s resolute call for parents to be united in all aspects of their relationship is the foundation stone for all his works. An understanding of this concept will enhance all families, no matter what style

Gay love story contradicts ver-the-years love story between two O emotionally fragile cowboys (Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal) who begin an intimate relationship during a solitary sheepherding assignment. Though shortly after, they try to go their separate ways, with one marrying his fiancee (Michelle Williams) and the other a former prom queen (Anne Hathaway), they continue to be drawn to each other. Director Ang Lee’s well-crafted film, which is superbly acted, was adapted

from a New Yorker short story by Pulitzer Prize-winner Annie Proulx. It treats the subject matter - which a Catholic audience will find contrary to its moral principles - with discretion. It contains: tacit approval of same-sex relationships, adultery, two brief sex scenes without nudity, partial and shadowy brief nudity elsewhere, other implied sexual situations, profanity, rough and crude expressions, alcohol and brief drug use, brief violent images, a gruesome description of a murder, and some domestic violence. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting clas-CNS sification is O - morally offensive.

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Copies of James Stenson’s “Parental Unity” talk are available on CD from The Record office. It includes a 20-minute Question/Answer session. Contact Carol on (08) 9227 7080. Cost $10 plus postage.

Reverse contraception devices

movie

Brokeback Mountain

of parenting they have chosen or choose to adopt.

The Record’s movie reviews come from the Film Office of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops.

These reviews, and any other reviews which appear in The Record, do not purport to be the last word on films, videos and DVDs. The ratings focus upon family suitability rather than artistic or entertainment value. Parents (and grandparents and other guardians) must make up their own minds on what is appropriate for their family. The ratings used by The Record are: A-I: for general patronage A-II: for adults and adolescents A-III: for adults A-IV: adults, with reservations (an A-IV classification denotes problematic films that, while not morally offensive in themselves require caution and some analysis and explanation as a safeguard against wrong interpretations and false conclusions) L: limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. L supplements the A-IV classification O: morally offensive

the birth of a male child, the sex ratio was roughly equal.

The loss of half a million girls each year was a conservative estimate, said Jha. “If this practice has been common for most of the past two decades since access to ultrasound became widespread, then a figure of 10 million missing female births would not be unreasonable.”

Sex selective abortions have been banned in India for more than a decade. [And aggressive birth control policies have been in place for several decades.] ~ BBC News, January 9.

From the Catholic community in India comes the suggestion that the Church should sponsor a clinic where women who have been sterilised or fitted with contraceptive devices could have these techniques reversed.

This would give them a chance to correct the “mistake of playing with life”, said John Dayal, secretary of the All India Catholic Council.

Mr Dayal said the dowry system had “tragic social ramifications” and was “becoming a major problem among Christian communities in southern states like Kerala”. ~ AsiaNews.

January 19 2006, The Record

Page 11

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OFFICIAL DIARY JANUARY

29

Chinese New Year Mass, St Brigid’s, W Perth - Fr Brian O’Loughlin VG

20

Opening Mass for SVDP Panasco Conference, Octagon Theatre UWA - Archbishop Hickey

31

Archbishop’s Dinner for Vocations Enquirers - Archbishop Hickey

21

Province Mass for Sisters of St Joseph, South Perth - Bishop Sproxton

26

Good Samaritan Sisters’ Celebration of 20 years Service in Western Australia - Archbishop Hickey Citizenship and Awards Ceremony, Perth - Fr Brian O’Loughlin VG

PANORAMA Sunday, January 22 ETERNAL WORD TELEVISION NETWORK 1  2 PM ON ACCESS 31 “I Am the Bread of Life” / Timothy O’Donnell discusses Chapter 6 of the Gospel of St John [Signs and Glory], followed by a talk on the Holy Eucharist / by Fr Ed Krause [Becoming Catholic ; 6]. These programs have the power to change lives. Please help to spread the Eternal Word by telling family and friends, encouraging them to watch the programs on Access 31, and to bring the Light of Christ into their homes by means of satellite dish or tapes from free video lending libraries. The Rosary Christian Tutorial Association, Postal address: PO Box 1270, Booragoon 6954. Enquiries: 9330 1170.

Wednesday February 1 HOLY MASS AND HEALING SERVICE  ALAN AMES Touch of Heaven (Alan Ames Ministry). 7pm Mass followed by talk and healing service. St Bernadette’s Parish, cnr Jugan and Leeder Streets, Glendalough.

Enq: Loretta 9444 4409.

February 3-4 TWO HEARTS DEVOTIONS, ALL SAINTS CHAPEL 77 Allendale Square, St Georges Terrace, Perth.

Devotion to the Sacred Heart on the first Friday of the month with Mass at 9pm followed by Rosaries, Hymns, prayers on the hour through the night concluding with Mass on Saturday morning at 7am in honour of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Ph: 9409 4543.

Sunday January 22 DIVINE MERCY PILGRIMAGE TO BOVE FARM

Saturday February 4 DAY WITH MARY

Shrine of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary: 23pm Holy Hour to Jesus and Mary – Reconciliation will be available, 3-4pm Divine Mercy Holy Mass – Main Celebrants, Fr Doug Harris and Fr Paul Fox. 4-5pm Divine Mercy Way of the Cross, concluding with Benediction. 5-6pm Evening meal supplied, if required – barbecue at a cost of $5 each. 6pm Coach leaves Bove Farm. Transport from Perth and Willetton will be arranged. Tea and coffee and soft drinks will be available free for all, including BYO people. Enq: John 9457 7771 (SOR), Charles 9342 0653 (NOR).

St Bernadette Church, Cnr Leeder and Jugan Streets, Glendalough. 9am – 5pm. A video on Fatima will be shown at 9am. A day of prayer and instruction based upon the messages of Fatima. Includes Sacrament of Penance, Holy Mass, Eucharistic Adoration, Sermons, Rosaries, Procession of the Blessed Sacrament and Station of the Cross. Please BYO. Enq: Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate 9250 8286. Next “Day with Mary” 4 March 2006, is at St Anne’s Church Bindoon. Bus services – contact Nita on 93671366.

Tuesday January 24 FEAST OF OUR LADY OF PEACE AND GOOD VOYAGE Come and join us to celebrate the feast of the Filipino’s Ina Poon Bato. There will be a novena at 9.30am and followed by a Holy Mass at 10am at St John’s Pro Cathedral, Victoria Avenue, Perth. For more details about this festivity, please contact Mrs Morris on 9249 6712.

Wednesday January 25 SIC NEW NORCIA MARIST ANNUAL MASS AND REUNION This Annual Mass will be celebrated at Newman College, Empire Ave, Churchlands at 4pm. Mass will be conducted by Marist old boy Priests to celebrate 40 years at Newman, and recognise deceased Marist Bros and Fellow old boys. The reunion will follow near the Chapel. BYO everything BBQ’s avail) SIC and Marist old boys most welcome. Please spread the word. Enq: John Monkhouse on 9409 8529 or Frank McCabe on 9446 6435.

Thursday January 26 AUSTRALIA DAY HOLY HOUR For the conversion of Australia. Starting at 9am followed by Mass at 10am. St John’s Pro-Cathedral, Victoria Ave, Perth.

Saturday January 28 NOVENA TO OUR LADY The monthly Novena to Our Lady of Good Health will be held at the Holy Trinity Church, 8 Burnett St, Embleton WA at 5pm followed by the Vigil Mass at 6pm.

Sunday February 5 DIVINE MERCY An afternoon with Jesus and Mary at St Mary’s Cathedral, Victoria Square, Perth at 1.30pm. Program: Holy Rosary and Reconciliation. Sermon: With visiting priest in attendance, homily to be advised followed by Divine Mercy prayers and Benediction.

Enq: John 9457 7771 or Linda 9275 6608.

CROSS ROADS COMMUNITY Term 1 begins Tuesday the 31st of January 2006 for: Family & Friends Support Groups of Substance Abusers are on Wednesdays 7–9pm, Substance Abusers Support Groups are on Tuesdays 5.30 to 7.30pm & Fridays All day Group for Substance Abusers is from 9.30am to 2pm including Healing Mass on Friday’s @ 12.30pm during term. Ladies Groups are on Tuesday’s 11am to 1.30pm. Rosary is from Tuesday to Thursday at 12.30 to 1pm.

BULLSBROOK SHRINE SUNDAY MASS PROGRAM 2pm every Sunday Pilgrim Mass is celebrated with Holy Rosary and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament at the Shrine of Virgin of the Revelation, 36 Chittering Rd. Bullsbrook. Reconciliation is available in Italian and English before every celebration. A Monthly Pilgrimage is held on the last Sunday of the month in honour of the Virgin of the Revelation. Anointing of the sick is administered for spiritual and physical healing during Holy Mass every second Sunday of the month. The side entrance to the Church and the Shrine are open daily between 9am and 5pm for private prayer. For all enquiries contact SACRI 9447 3292.

FEBRUARY 1

Mass for Knights of the Southern Cross, KSC Offices, Rivervale - Archbishop Hickey

a roundup of events in the archdiocese CATHOLIC BIBLE COLLEGE

ST CLARE’S SCHOOL, SISTERS OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD

Enrolments are now open for fulltime and parttime study at Acts 2 College of Mission and Evangelisation. Orientation commences 13 Feb, Term 1 commences Monday 20 Feb. Day courses (9.30 -12.30): Bible Timeline (Mon); Saints of God/ Actions of the Holy Spirit (Tues); Life Skills (Thurs); Pastoral Ministry 1 (Thurs); Gospel of Matthew (Fri).

Night Courses: Finding New Life in the Spirit (Mario Borg, Wed); Apologetics (Thurs, Paul Kelly); Bible Timeline (Thurs, Jane Borg). Contact Jane Borg 9202 6859; 0401 692690. Website: www.acts2come. disciplesofjesus.org

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

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

ALL SAINTS CHAPEL Lending Library of a thousand books, videos, cassettes at your service. Tel: 9325 2009. www.allsaintschapel.com

SCHOENSTATT FAMILY MOVEMENT: MONTHLY DEVOTIONS An international group focussed on family faith development through dedication to our Blessed Mother. Monthly devotions at the Armadale shrine on the first Sunday at or after the 18th day of the month at 3pm. Next event: January 22. 9 Talus Drive Armadale. Enq Sisters of Mary 9399 2349 or Peter de San Miguel 0407 242 707 www.schoenstatt.org.au

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

BLESSED SACRAMENT ADORATION Holy Family Church, Alcock Street, Maddington.

Every Friday 8.30 am Holy Mass followed by Blessed Sacrament Adoration till 12 noon. Every first Friday of the month, anointing of the sick during Mass.

Enq. 9398 6350.

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

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

MAKE POVERTY HISTORY WALKERS MPH walkers - walking across Perth Outdoors wearing the White band is a message that we want poverty to be stopped. For info on the walk contact Teresa at tgrundy@westnet.com.au or tel. 9458 4084. For info on the worldwide campaign and what is happening this week in Perth look at www. makepovertyhistory.com.au.

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

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

THE DIVINE MERCY APOSTOLATE St Mary’s Cathedral, Victoria Square, Perth – each first Sunday of the month from 1.30pm to 3.15pm with a different priest each month. St Francis Xavier Church, 25 Windsor Street, East Perth - each Saturday from 2.30pm to 3.30pm, main celebrant Fr Marcellinus Meilak, OFM. Saints John and Paul Church, Pinetree Gully Drive, Willeton - each Wednesday from 4pm to 5pm. All Enq John 9457 7771.

Please Note The Record reserves the right to decline or modify any advertisment it considers improper or not in unison with the general display of the paper.

January 19 2006, The Record

Page 12

The Last Word Reclaiming the importance of Father

‘F

athers in Families’ is an accurate documentation of the progress of the fatherhood movement in Australia over recent years.

Twenty-eight years ago, child psychologist Michael Lamb accurately described fathers as the ‘forgotten contributors to child development’.

To quote from Father Facts, edited by Dr Wade Horn: “Indeed, for much of the twentieth century, psychologists, childrearing experts and popular culture largely assumed that when it came to child development, fathers were of secondary importance to mothers and perhaps even unnecessary.

“Increased rates of divorce and out-of-wedlock childbearing over the past four decades marginalised fathers even further, as unprecedented numbers of children grew up in father absent homes.”

Dr Horn, probably the most wellresearched social scientist on the issues surrounding fatherhood, says that a family without a father is a lot like a car without one of the front wheels. It can still be driven, but it is pretty hard to steer. The same analogy can be given in the importance of mothers. A mother’s contribution to family life is vital and irreplaceable. In study after study around the world it is shown that children do best with a warm continuous relationship with both their biological mother and father.

However fathers are no longer being ignored. Family scholars the world over have produced a large body of evidence from thousands of independent studies on the important contribution that fathers make to children and to the success of the family unit.

The vision of the Fatherhood Foundation, established in 2002, is to inspire men to a greater level of excellence as fathers. The goal of the Foundation is to encourage more committed, involved, responsible and loving fathers, who are connected to their children in a positive way.

Over the last decade, authors such as Steve Biddulph, Daniel Petrie and Dr Bruce Robinson have laid the foundation for the restoration of manhood and fatherhood in Australia. Father-friendly publishers and others have led the way by publishing books about our

The blight of fatherlessness and fathers who do not understand the key role they play in their children’s and spouses’ lives is known to be one of the key factors at work behind many pressing social problems.

Fathers in Families offers a comprehensive strategy to address the issue, helping in turn women, children, families and our community.

This week The Record begins its first instalment of this document.

society’s masculinity crisis, fatherfriendly parenting and the need for change.

In 2003 Prime Minister John Howard called for the restoration of fatherhood. Both Mark Latham and the Minister for Children, Larry Anthony, helped launch The 12pt Plan in June 2003. In February 2004, Mark Latham, then-Opposition Leader, in a speech to the National Press Club, addressed the crisis in masculinity in Australia and stressed the importance of fathers.

This bi-partisan approach to the restoration of fatherhood in Australia by the leaders of the major political parties has helped to hasten the process of change.

Beginning in 2002 the Fatherhood Foundation has produced annual public service TV advertisements promoting the importance of fatherhood and has achieved wide airplay

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The total value of television campaigns and billboard advertising over the last few years organised by the Foundation with the kind help of advertisers would approximate to over 3 million dollars. In 2004 the Foundation successfully completed the first ‘Good to Great’ Fatherhood Mentoring Course for the 21st Century.

The Foundation also proposed making this available on a national basis with government assistance.

Over this time the Foundation has inaugurated ground-breaking research compilations on the effects and cost of fatherlessness to the nation of Australia.

Fathersonline, a weekly inspirational email for fathers has grown exponentially since its inception in August 2002. This weekly email e-

zine for busy dads is available by signing on at www.fathersonline. org In February 2003 the Foundation organised the first Fatherhood Forum at Parliament House, Canberra. The 12pt Plan was birthed at that forum and became the foundational document for the ‘responsible fatherhood movement’ of Australia.

The preamble of the Plan stated that the quality of relationships between Australian mothers and fathers will determine the destiny of Australia, hence the need to support and revitalise marital relationships and secure marriage in Australia as an institution that provides a greater social good for the benefit of the whole community.

Marriage has proven to be the foundation link for involved and committed fatherhood. In August 2003 the inaugural National Strategic Conference on Fatherhood (NSCF) was held at Parliament House, Canberra with keynote speaker Adrienne Burgess, author of Fatherhood Reclaimed (1997).

Both The 12pt Plan and the strategic summary of the NSCF are printed here with corrections and minor editing to facilitate readability. Also included in Fathers in Families, is the updated Facts on Fatherlessness by Australian fatherhood researcher and former Australian Family Association director, Bill Muehlenberg.

Theº Foundation, whilst having the privilege of playing an important part in the restoration of fatherhood in Australia wishes to acknowledge the hundreds of men’s, fatherhood and family groups around Australia which have played a key role in that change.

We would like to honour the many politicians who remained strong and steadfast despite the enormous pressure to bow to political correctness in the area of fatherhood.

The process of healing has been accelerated by brave journalists within the media who have also made a stand for truth and the renewal of family in our fragmented society. Many men and women too numerous to name have shown great courage in supporting the restoration of fatherhood in Australia.

It is to you that we dedicate the Fathers in Families publication.

Federal and state governments, along with local councils, must form concrete policies that support involved fathering and healthy marriages.

Fathers must join mothers in asking, “How can we balance work and family?” We need to start teaching young people in our schools how to have a successful marriage relationship and avoid the pain and dislocation that comes with divorce.

We must provide training and mentoring for men and fathers to advance the cause of ‘fathering excellence’. The future of fatherhood in Australia as stated in The 12pt Plan ‘depends on all sectors of society including government, business, church, community, faith based and secular charities, social service providers, and many others working together’, to promote responsible, involved fatherhood.

Together we can make a difference.

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