Abortionist's kill- What we need is a ing: The pro-life movement's Abu Ghraib moment.
VISTA 1
FATHERHOOD revolution
irlITSTA 2 -11111 1 Would it be moral to ASSASINATE HITLER? - Fr Flader, PAGE 12 • CS LEWIS - VISTA 4 • BOOKS- PAGE 20 "Be indefatigable in your purpose and with undaunted spirit resist iniquity and try to conquer evil with good, having before your eyes the reward of those who combat for Christ."
THE PARISH. THE NATION. THE WORLD. z 'zvw.
therecord.co tn.au
Western Australia's award-winning Catholic newspaper since 1874 - Wednesday July 1 2009
New Congolese chaplain
Perth, Western Austre
$2
They're young, happy, growing and coming to Perth. They're also younger than the average Catholic women's religious community by dose to halfa century.
Meet the Sisters. Average age: 28
Perth Vicar General Mgr Brian O'Loughlin enjoys the moment with representatives of Perth's Congolese Catholics after the Mass organised for Congolese at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Nollamara last Saturday. Congolese Catholics living in Perth gather weekly PHOTO: ROBERT HMI at Nollamara for liturgies vibrant with African colour, music and singing.
Congolese joined by local leaders for event that unites. • By Robert Hiini
CHURCH, police, government and parliamentary representatives joined Congolese migrants at a special Mass last Saturday as the Congolese Catholic Community of Perth welcomed their new chaplain Fr Jean Kabwika Kambana and prayed for peace in their war-ravaged home-country. Over 60 people turned out for a Mass and afternoon tea on June 27 at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish,
Nollamara, including the local member of Parliament Janine Freeman, and the Member for Cannington, Bill Johnston. Paul Farrelly from the Department of Immigration and local police, Seargeant Marc Hall and Constable Dean Hirst, also attended to introduce themselves to the fledgling community. Fr Jean arrived in Perth recently after being forced to flee the violence engulfing the Democratic Republic of Congo, having previously visited WA during World Youth Day celebrations in July 2008. As the principal celebrant he was joined by the Vicar General, Mgr Brian O'Loughlin - representing Archbishop
Barry Hickey - and Fr Joshua Marini, Parish Priest of Mirrabooka. The community's President, Pierre Luboya, welcomed dignitaries to their celebration and asked participants to pray for harmony among Congolese everywhere, lamenting the civil unrest that has plagued Congo for decades and has led to an influx of refugees to Australia and other first-world countries. "The lists of atrocities and of those who have lost their live are horrendous," Mr Luboya said, explicitly refering to the killing and sexual assault of women, children and men in the region. "We need your help to strengthen us Please turn to Page 6
The Missionaries of God's Love are a new religious community, with branches for men and women. Two of the Sisters will be in Perth speaking at a range of events in July. Any women interested in their charism are welcome and invited to attend.
TWO representatives of one of the newest Australian religious communities of consecrated women - with an average age of 28 - will visit Perth in mid-July to let women in Perth interested in religious life know about their existence. The Missionaries of God's Love emerged from and remain closely involved with the Disciples of Jesus, a covenant community based in Perth, Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra. There are two branches of the MGLs, one for men and the other for women. A covenant community such as the Disciples is one of the new ecclesial realities in the life of the Church which sees individuals - and sometimes entire families - focus seriously on their vocation as Christians. Members of covenant communities seek to make a more serious commitment to the Church and their faith by undertaking regular formation as Catholic Christians, Please turn to Page 2
Why Catholic universities need to be...
ounter-Cultural
Iniversity of Notre Dante Australia Vice Chancellor ( FLIA I'AMMON') this week begins a new regular column in Me Reeeild.
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July 1 2009, The Record
THE PARISH
1.111111Pr"
"Because he belongs to Christ, the priest is radically at the service of men and women. He is the minister of their salvation, their happiness, their authentic liberation."
EDITOR Peter Rosengren cathrec@iinet.net.au JOURNALISTS
- Pope Benedict XVI, weekly general audience, June 24
Anthony Barich abarich@therecord.com.au reidyrec@iinet.net.au Mark Reidy rthiini@gmail.com Robert Hiini PRODUCTION & ADVERTISIN(; Justine Stevens production@therecord.com.au ACCOUNTS Cathy Baguley recaccounts@iinetnetau ADMINISTRATION Bibiana Kwaramba administration@therecord. com.au BOOKSHOP Caroline Radelic bookshop@therecord.com.au CONTRIBUTORS Debbie Warner Karen & Derek Boylen Anna Krohn Catherine Parish Fr Flader John Heard Christopher West Bronia Karniewicz Guy Crouchback
The Record PO Box 75, Leederville, WA 6902 587 Newcastle St, West Perth Tel: (08) 9227 7080, Fax: (08) 9227 7087 Website: www.therecord.com.au The Record is a weekly publication distributed throughout the parishes of the dioceses of Western Australia and by subscription. The Record is printed by Rural Press Printing Mandurah and distributed via
Archbishop headlines Sopranos is By Robert Hiini
THE Fulton Sheen Society celebrated its tenth anniversary in style recently with its annual "An Hour for Sheen" concert featuring distinguished musicians and vocalists. The June 25 event was attended by over 200 people in Gibney Hall at Trinity College and began with the two songs performed by Archbishop Barry Hickey his first performance for the society since their 2005 Christmas concert. The Soprano, Yan Kee, UWA music graduate and the Lieder Society of WM Emerging Artist for 2008 along with WA Academy of Performing Arts graduate and mezzo soprano, Cathriona Walsh, joined accompanyist John Meyer for Delibe's Sous le dome epais before the two vocalists performed their own solo works. Pianist and Australian newspaper music critic Mark Coughlan played rousing renditions of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue and Chopin's Fantasie Impromptu to rapturous applause before poet and raconteur, June Glen, proferred humorous stories about the society's namesake and readings of her own poetry. In a brief address, Archbishop Barry Hickey thanked the society for recently contributing to his television outreach efforts - the second contribution it has made in four years - as he attempted to follow in the footsteps of the pioneering television apologist, Archbishop Fulton J Sheen. Shortly before the evening's conclusion, the pair thanked the artists who
Soprano Van Kee, left, sings with Cathriona Walsh during the Fulton Sheen Society's tenth anniversary concert at Gibney Hall at Trinity College, with John Meyer on piano. PHOTO R HliNt
performed and gave several second class relics of Archbishop Fulton Sheen as gifts to longstanding helpers and committee members - Yolanda Nardizzi, Mary Burke, June Glen, Joy Stoddart and Doug Williams - for years of faithful service. The father-son team of Daniel and Martin Tobin founded the society in 1999 to commemorate the life and work of Archbishop Sheen - including his many books and radio and television broadcasts - and to provide practical support to a variety of Catholic mission initiatives. Speaking to The Record, the society's secretary, Daniel Tobin, said that Archbishop
Sheen's life and work were responsible for his own conversion in 1964 having heard Sheen's Life is Worth Living series on radio, eight years prior. Mr Tobin says that the domestic investigations necessary to promote the cause for Sheen's eventual cannonisation concluded in the US in October 2008 and that his cause is now before the Holy See. He remains inspired that the Archbishop (tonged all proceeds of his books and television appearances to the overseas missions, an approach the Fulton Sheen Society in Perth, has sought, in a modest way, to replicate.
Australia Post and CTI Couriers.
maimiamminim Sisters to evangelise youth in whirlwind tour of Perth SAINT OF THE WEEK Pauline of the Agonizing Heart of Jesus 1865-1942 July 9 Born Amabile Visintainer in Italy, she emigrated with her family to Brazil when she was 10. Known for her piety and charity, Amabile and a few companions, with help from a Jesuit priest, began living together in community. In 1890 they formed the Congregation of the Little Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, which later was formally recognized by Rome. Amabile, who took the name Sister Pauline of the Agonizing Heart of Jesus, was the first superior. She saw the order grow to five provinces in Brazil, knew each sister personally and was revered as foundress.
C NS Saints
Continuedfrom Page 1 giving some priority to the needs of community life, and using some of their time for evangelisation. The Missionaries of God's Love Sisters started in 1987 in Canberra. By Catholic Church standards they are young - very young - both as a new form of religious life and in terms of their average age. Today most Catholic mens and wornens orders or institutes, in Australia and internationally, are ageing to the point of extinction with many withdrawing in recent decades from traditional activities such as education and healthcare. This new group of consecrated women are now based in Canberra and Melbourne. The Sisters are women who have experienced the love of God in such a powerful way that they have chosen to give themselves completely to God. They make life vows of poverty, chastity and obedience and live this through prayer, sisterhood, mission and ministry. Devoted to the proclamation of the
Gospel, they minister with a particular focus on the evangelisation of young people and have a special love for the poor and marginalised. The Sisters' main ministries include youth groups, school retreats, youth and young adult events, Summer Schools of Evangelisation, leadership training programs, spiritual direction and faith formation, as well as ministries with Indigenous peoples. One of the two who will be visiting Perth is Therese Mills, who has been an MGL Sister for 10 years and made her Final Vows in November last year. Originally from sunny Cairns in north Queensland, she said she learnt to cope with the Canberra cold by bringing the fire of God's love to the lives of young people. She has almost completed a post-graduate diploma in counselling and recently returned to Australia after leading a group of young people to Papua New Guinea on mission.
She will be accompanied in Perth by Rosie Drum, originally from country NSW but currently living in Melbourne where she is studying a Theology degree. Rosie still has a few years to go before she makes Final Vows, but is excited at the prospect of taking the step of giving all she has to God. "I am just so aware of the amazing gift that our Catholic faith is," she says. "It is my privilege to share it." In Perth Therese and Rosie will be at several events including: Sunday July 19 - CYM Sunday Sesh at All Saints parish in Greenwood, after 5.30pm Mass. Monday July 20 - MGL information evening, Integrity House, 67 Howe St, Osborne Park, 7.30pm Wednesday July 22 - Encounter for young adults 18-35, Integrity House, 7.30pm Friday 24- Sunday July 26, Fire Weekend Anyone interested in more information can contact the MGL Sisters on 0432 228 250 or via trees@aapt.net.au.
OFFICIAL ENGAGEMENTS July 2009
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200 St. George's Terrace, Perth WA 6000 Tel: 9322 2914 Fax: 9322 2915 michael@flightworld.com.au www.flightworld.com.au
Michael Deering 9322 2914
5
Mass for National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Sunday, Embleton - Archbishop Hickey
7
Candidacy, St Charles Seminary - Archbishop Hickey
10
Focolare Mariapolis - Bishop Sproxton
12
Mass and Blessing, St Thomas the Apostle, Claremont Archbishop Hickey
13 & 14 ACBC Permanent Committee, Sydney - Archbishop Hickey 15
Mass and Dinner, Vocations Conference, St Thomas More College - Archbishop Hickey
16
Feastday Mass, Carmelite Monastery - Archbishop Hickey
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Address and Mass, Youth Conference, Chisholm College Archbishop Hickey
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Mass at Holy Family Church, Maddington Archbishop Hickey
July 1 2009, The Record
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THE PARISH
Knights to`witness,promote Reaching out to and forgotten the and defend the faith' Knights chief to usher in age of evangelisation. • By Anthony Barich
BALLAJURA parishioner Peter Lewis is set to usher in a new era for the Knights of the Southern Cross focused on evengelising through a focus on the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church. Mr Lewis was elected Supreme Knight of the Knights of the Southern Cross at their fifth national triennial conference at Mary MacKillop Place, North Sydney from May 22-23, replacing South Australian David Huppatz. The conference's theme was "The New Evangelisation", introduced by the Knights' national chaplain Bishop Ron Mulkearns, former Bishop of Ballarat, who spoke of the Second Vatican Council's Decree on the Ministry of Bishops; how the Council was concerned about parts of the world where the Word of God was not being proclaimed or where people had lapsed from the faith, and how Pope John Paul II addressed the present day phenomenon of secularism. Fr Paul Hilder, Dean of St Mary's Cathedral in Sydney, also spoke on some practical aspects of evangelisation. Statement from the Knights said. the conference "reinforced the essential and pivotal nature of the formation program as part of each branch meeting". "This enables us to be better formed and informed as Knights
in brief...
Apologist here Former Perth resident and global apologist Raymond de Souza arrived in Australia on July 1 for a three-week speaking tour across Australia, ending July 20, tak-
to fulfill God's plan for us to evangelise." "Evangelisation is an opportunity for us Knights to witness, promote and defend our faith. This conference recommends the development of strategic partnerships, with men's and youth organisations, to further develop our fellowship and formation. "Everything we do should be based on the fact that the human person is made in the image and likeness of God:' Evangelisation, the statement said, involves the announcement of Christ, to the world, by a living witness. "Being better informed on issues that affect the Christian way of life throughout the nation enables us to promote the greater glory of God through our objects:' it said. "Before we can evangelise the world, we as individuals and as an Order, must be formed in our faith so that what we are proclaiming is consistent with the teaching of the Church. We recognise that when we bring Christ to others we are evangelised ourselves:' Monsignor Brian O'Loughlin, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Perth and WA chaplain of the Knights, reported from the conference that Bishop Max Davis, Bishop of the Military Ordinariate, thanked the Knights for sponsoring the Catholic Prayerbooks for defence personnel. "A spirited presentation on development of the Order through the Faith in Action group in WA was given by Guido Vogels and Frank Colangelo, and Damien Leach of SA," he said. "Dr Stephen Lovell-Jones, from Sydney, spoke on the difference
between talking about evangelisation and 'doing' e vangelisation. He called m embers to pay close attention to the Cornpendiurn of the Social Doctrine of the Church Peter Lewis and provided framework a for delegates to draw-up a Statement to the members:' He said that Rocky Mimmo from the recently formed Ambrose Centre for Religious Liberty drew members' attention to the erosion of religious and cultural values. Cardinal George Pell was principal celebrant of the concluding Mass of the Vigil of the Ascension in which the new national office bearers were installed. WA State chairman Joe Palandri, Nigel Hayward, Peter Murray, Guido Vogels, Frank Colangelo, Geoff McKebery and Mgr O'Loughlin, along with Mr Lewis attended from WA. The opening Mass for the Conference was celebrated by Archbishop Lazzarotto, the Pope's representative in Australia, who, in his opening remarks to the conference, quoted Pope Benedict XVI's address to the members of the Roman Curia in December. He noted that in some parts of the world, faith is in danger of dying out, and so the Church's mission is to make God present and that too is the mission of the Knights of the Southern Cross.
ing in Sydney, Perth, Melbourne, Brisbane and Toowomba. The Eternal Word Television Network host will be in Perth from July 13-14 to give three talks at St Joseph's Parish, Bassendean (7.30pm, July 13); at the L J Goody Bioethics Centre in Glendalough (10.30am, July 14); and St Bernadette's Parish, Glendalough (7.30pm, July 14).
The topic for the first two talks will be "De-Christianisation, the Culture War and the Gospel of Life while his last engagement will focus on the third secret of Fatima and its implications for life now. For more information on his work and speaking engagements, visit his website at www. SaintGabriel-International.com.
uncared for
Chinese leper Lui Chei Chang, who has been at the Han Zhong leprosarium PHOTO ROBERT HIINI since 1959, is cared for by a Sister who works there.
A chance to dig deeper. ON June 17 The Record featured a special report on a visit to China by journalists Robert Hiini and Mark Reidy to investigate the work of Casa Ricci Social Services, a charitable organisation founded by Fr Luis Ruiz SJ, that is transforming the lives of those afflicted with leprosy and HIV/AIDS. The Record reported on the immense difference that has been made in the lives of thousands of people who had been previ-
ously abandoned by society. Casa Ricci are wanting to extend their outreach to many thousands of others who remain forgotten and uncared for. Donations to support this inspiring and vital work can be made to: For Casa Ricci CO/- Fr Phil Crotty Jesuit Missions PO Box 193 North Sydney NSW 2059 PH: 02 9955 8585
Blueprint for a better world in Bunbury
John Hughes Bunbury residents say'yes' to a better world
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A NATION-WIDE exhibition highlighting the Millennium Development Goals and the global effort to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger by 2015 has begun the West Australian leg of its journey with a successful showing in Bunbury. Blueprint for a better world: the Millennium Development Goals and you was hosted by the Diocese of Bunbury and presented by Caritas Australia in partnership with the Commonwealth Government's aid agency, AusAID. Filling much of the hall of the South West Italian Club, it told the stories of Caritas Australia's local partners through photographs, art work and multimedia; many of whom are now being buffeted between the global financial and food crises. The Millennium Development Goals are an internationally recognised eight step action plan
for halving world poverty, which include improving access to primary education, promoting gender equality and curtailing the rates of child mortality. They were agreed at the United Nations' Millenium Summit, attended by world leaders, in September 2000 and are intended to be met by 2015. Hamish Hall, a year six student from Our Lady of Lourdes, Dardanup, was one of the hundreds of students from local schools who visited the exhibition. Despite finding the hunger map 'devastating'; a map which colour -coded countries struggling with poverty and hunger, he remained ultimately hopeful. "Everybody should just try to do their bit:' The exhibition will now head north to Geraldton via Fremantle, where at the University of Notre Dame it will be opened on July 2 by Caritas CEO Jack de Groot and former opposition leader Mr. Kim Beazley. For more information, visit www.blueprintforabetterworld.org.
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Kolbe out to evangelise from the start RIGHT from the start, Kolbe College in Rockingham set out to inspire youth with the best of what the Catholic faith had to offer. Established in 1989, foundation principal, Christian Brother Patrick Carey, developed a strong vertical system of pastoral care made up of six Houses with students from all year groups in each House. Each House was named after people who had demonstrated an outstanding commitment to the Church and to society: Blessed Mary MacKillop, Caroline Chisholm, Mother Teresa, St Ignatius Loyola, Edmund Rice and St Francis Xavier. The House system of pastoral care had been established to assist in the pastoral care of individual students, the promotion of school spirit, the organisation of student activities and student leadership within the college. Egmont Melton was principal for 12 years from 1991, during which time the college grew in student enrolments and in the building of many new facilities. He had a particular passion for music, drama and dance, hence the performing arts area is named the Egmont Melton Performing Arts Centre. The one facility that Mr Melton was truly proud of was the construction of the College Chapel. In its design, the College Patron Saint's life in both Poland and Japan has been taken into consideration, as was our connection to the Australian bush. Kolbe Catholic College had now become a full five-stream college with 740 students and a strong reputation in the local region. Caroline Payne commenced as principal in 2004 and embarked on a new Capital Development Plan that included the construction of a Year 7 Learning Centre, and planned for the construction of new specialist rooms including Design and Technology workshops, information technology laboratories, the refurbishment of the Art and Home Economics rooms, and the building of additional classrooms. Under her reign the College also became a six-stream college with two sub-schools, middle and senior, and now has 960 students from Year 7 to 12. The college celebrated its 20th anniversary with a Sundowner on June 14.
Rich bosses get a taste of the urban life on streets FOLLOWING the success of the CEO Sleepout in Sydney's Luna Park on Thursday June 18, the St Vincent de Paul Society in Western Australia is asking WA CEOs to start thinking about getting involved next year to raise awareness and funds for homelessness for their very own Sleepout in Perth. Over 200 CEOs braved the cold and rain last week in Sydney and gave up their usual comforts to gain an insight into the issue of homelessness and to raise funds to support those for whom it is a reality. Some of the participants included, Linda Burney, NSW Minister for Community Services, David Borger, NSW Minister for Housing, Dick Smith, CEO Dick Smith Investments and Cathy O'Connor, CEO DMG Radio Australia. The CEO Sleepout in Sydney has raised over $550,000 and will go towards the St Vincent de Paul Society's 37 homeless services throughout New South Wales and Lucinda Ardagh from Vinnies in WA said that the Sleepout is a great idea for an annual Winter Appeal event in Perth. "The CEO Sleepout has proven to be a worthwhile, influential event, and one that we want to implement here in WA," Ms Ardagh said. "At present we're preparing for Winter Appeal 2010 and want to ask Perth CEO's to think about sleeping a night out on the streets to really understand the importance of lending a helping hand to those most marginalised where possible."
THE PARISH
July 1 2009, The Record
Differences 'can't be glossed over Differences cannot be glossed over in inter-faith dialogue: Fr Waddell. POLITICAL leader Anwar Ibrahim will join Claremont parish priest Fr Charles Waddell in Perth next month at the Perth Interfaith Conference, aimed at fostering positive relationships between Muslims and Christians. Organised by Perth Muslim Youth Forum, the July 10-12 conference will be held at several locations around the city including the Perth Convention Exhibition Centre and the University of WA. Fr Waddell, who is on the Christians and Jews Committee and is the Archdiocesan representative on the Council of Churches Committee, said that the Church's position on interfaith dialogue is that "while we cannot gloss over differences, we must respect the dignity of all religions". Central to the Catholic position on interfaith relations is that "Jesus the Christ is the universal Saviour of all people, God is Trinity, and we have a personal relationship with god as expressed in the Lord's Prayer", he said. "The Spirit of God lives and guides all people, and that allows for interfaith dialogue to occur," Fr Waddell said. The Common Word initiative was conceived in 2006 in response to the growing divide
between Western and Muslim societies. Muslim scholars from around the globe came together to bridge that divide by sending an open letter to church leaders and Christians, emphasising the common ground between the world's two largest religions. More recently, US President Barack Obama's landmark speech in Cairo represented a paradigm shift in relations between Islam and the West, a statement from conference organisers said. Inspired by the Common Word initiative and new leadership in the US, the Perth Interfaith Conference aims to build a mutual respect between Muslims and Christians in Australia. "Given Australia's geographical position with its Muslim neighbours, particularly Indonesia and Malaysia, a highlight of the conference will be the appearance of Anwar Ibrahim - the Malaysian opposition leader renowned for his inclusive approach and his fight for democracy in Malaysia," the statement said. Mr Ibrahim will explore how ties can be strengthened in a keynote address at the Perth Convention Exhibition Centre on July 11. Other guest speakers include former Uniting Church Australia president Reverend Professor James Haire and International Ambassador for Peace awardwinner Imam Afroz Ali. Event organiser Gerard Winkler said that speakers had been hand-picked for the
Fr Charles Waddell
conference who would reflect a common theme of inclusiveness. "With the diverse range of ethnicities and religious beliefs in Australia, it is important to nurture a culture of tolerance. The Perth Muslim Youth Forum has recognised this need and are holding the conference as part of their strategy to create a new generation of tolerant Australians," he said.
St Anthony: the saint for lost people Pray to St Anthony for lost people, not just lost things: Fr Ross. • By Anthony Barich
SERVITE Friar Fr Chris Ross turned the popular legend of St Anthony on its head during Wanneroo parish's annual Mass in honour of the saint it is named after. Fr Ross, parish priest at St Anthony's Wanneroo for six months in 1977 before spending seven years in Rome as personal advisor for his Order's Superior, said that while the saint is commonly prayed to for lost items, he is more appropriately the saint of lost people. Fr Ross, who was the main celebrant at the June 6 Mass at the 77th annual St Anthony's day celebration, said the saint himself prayed for the return of a Franciscan novice from his priory who had left the order with his Book of Psalms - a treasured item at the time as books were hand-written. The man returned, and the legend was born, but Fr Ross noted that practising Catholics often have children, siblings or friends who have strayed from the faith or are confused in their lives, so St Anthony's intercession should be sought as the saint has personal experience of such a trial. Fr Ross, who oversaw the construction in 1967-68 of St Denis' Church Joondanna during one of his three stints as parish priest there, concelebrated the June 6 Mass with Fr Carlo Marchetti OSM, a former St Anthony's Wanneroo priest. The Mass was celebrated in Italian and English catering for the traditional attendees and the many new and young families who joined in the celebration. Fr Ross, the Servite College president who has been in Australia for 45 years since moving from Chicago in the US, also concelebrated with current Wanneroo parish priest Fr John Daly and Mater Dei chaplain Fr MC Arulraj. Festivities including a chocolate wheel, face painting, clowns, piety stalls and fresh produce were also enjoyed after the Mass as part of the annual festivities in honour of St Anthony. Hundreds also joined in the traditional St Anthony's Day procession where a seemingly unending stream of worshippers followed St Anthony and his pallbearers through the church grounds and
Above: Local youth carry a statue of St Anthony through the streets of Wanneroo during the annual celebration of St Anthony Day at the parish named after the saint. PHOTOS. COURTESY OF JOHN DULYBA
Left: Fr Chris Ross OSM during the Mass celebrating St Anthony's Day; right, children from the parish in celebratory attire after the Mass.
surrounds, with a marching band keeping pace during the procession. Many traditional banners sporting saints from various Italian Associations mingled together with children in uniform from Banksia
Grove, St Anthony's and Mater Dei schools.
Benediction completed the afternoon when St Anthony's Church was again filled to capacity and Fr Ross and choir solemnly and joyously completed the celebrations.
July 1 2009, The Record
Page 5
THE PARISH
Perth man joins four St Emilie's breaks ground potential priests for new Church Perth boy presents himself for c andidacy.
Canning Vale parish in groundbreaking ceremony.
• By Anthony Barich
• By Robert Hiini
WEST Australian Christian Irdi presented himself for candidacy to the priesthood on May 17 along with five others at St Mary's Cathedral in Sydney. Christian, who graduated from Aquinas College in 2000, will complete his philosophy studies at Good Shepherd Seminary in Sydney until next year before completing his formation at the Pontifical North American College in Rome, where he is also likely to be ordained a deacon before his priestly ordination by the Archbishop of Perth in WA. Of the other candidates, Robert Doohan, Daniel McCaughan, Joseph Gedeon and Vietnamese-born Long Nguyen will continue their studies for the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Sydney and John Ssemaganda for Uganda. They presented themselves for candidacy for the priesthood in a Mass presided over by Cardinal George Pell in a ceremony coinciding with the monthly visit of seminarians to the cathedral for Vespers and Mass with the wider Catholic community. Candidacy signifies another step towards the priesthood for these men, following their institution as Lectors, and then as Acolytes. Receiving candidacy is not only a recognition from the Church, but is also a renewal of vocational commit-
AFTER seven years of celebrating Mass in their school's undercover area, the community of St Emilie's, Canning Vale, recently celebrated the start of construction of their parish church in a "groundbreaking" ceremony officiated by Archbishop Barry Hickey and the Vicar General, Mgr Brian O'Loughlin. Over 400 people turned out to join in the June 21 event hosted by Parish Priest, Fr Robert Carillo, and St Emilie's Parish Council, chaired by Tony Satti. Archbishop Hickey began proceedings by blessing the site and turning the first sod, praying for all those who would work on the church till its expected completion for Easter in 2010. A liturgy followed with music provided by children from St Emilies Catholic Primary School, as well as a homily from the Archbishop and remarks from Mr Satti and Fr Carillo. The Archbishop spoke about St Paul's letter to the Church in Ephesus and St Paul's contention that the Church existed there before the building of any physical structure, a truth no less applicable to the people of Canning Vale. "People who believe in Christ - who are baptised and confirmed - are the building blocks of the Church. This church is not starting today, it started many years ago," the Archbishop said. "Christ builds the Church with the people as the building blocks and the figure of Christ, the person of Jesus, has to continue to be central to this Catholic community in Canning Vale. He is the source of life:' Fr Robert Carrillo reminisced on the events that lead to his posting to the once-isolated area - now a burgeoning suburb - recounting a meeting
Christian Irdi at World Youth Day Sydney 2008.
ments for these seminarians, who are striving to fulfill their call to serve God's people, Good Shepherd Seminary student Dominic Nguyen told The Catholic Weekly in Sydney. He said that the six candidates are a symbol of diversity within the Catholic Church, having family heritage ranging from Italy, Lebanon, Uganda and Vietnam to the local Irish-Australian background. "These six seminarians all have different gifts and talents, but they share a common love of God and the enthusiasm to serve Christ in His Church that will stand them in good stead for their future ministry," he said.
LifeLink boosted by humble primary school's efforts Catholic Primary School goes above and beyond. X AVIER Primary School, Hilbert (formerly Brookton) and the local parish collaborated to raise over $700 with a Morning Melodies musical event at the school after Sunday Mass on June 7. Almost 100 people attended and the event showcasing the students' instrumental and musical talents, including the six-person Xavier School Folk Band, Year 3 - 7 violin, keyboard, and percussion, a 10-person rock band playing electric guitar, drums, keyboard and vocals, the school choir comprising Year 3-7 students, a Celtic Band made up of a family group of teachers and students, and a youth group of exXavier students on guitar and vocals. School teachers and students said that the event confirmed Xavier Primary School's community-oriented focus with strong links to the
parish, and that it helped build a sense of community. Cathie Bauer, Xavier Catholic School principal, said: "This combined school and parish event was a real winner all round with a wonderful showcase of musical talent from students and staff both present and past. "It was tremendous to see so many people joining with us after Mass for a perfect Sunday morning of tantalising music and food whilst supporting the School's Archbishop's Lifelink Appeal. "We'll be keen to emulate this again next year:' Keisha Klasson, event organiser and third-year WA Academy of Performing Arts Music student who is the school's keyboard Instrumental tutor, said: "Organising Morning Melodies gave me a chance to support a worthy cause in a practical way, promote music, and involve as many members of the parish and school community as possible."
with Archbishop Hickey back in 2000 when he was shown where Canning Vale was on a map and asked to take on the posting. "How can you say no to God?" Fr Robert said, laughingly, thanking the parish's Sr Margaret Mary SJA and the Congregation of St Joseph of the Apparition for their continuous and ongoing assistance to the parish since its inception. While 43 people attended their first Mass on April 29 2000, the parish now holds three Masses every weekend with a cumulative attendance of over 500 people. The new church is
expected to cater for 600 with overflow areas providing additional capacity. Tony Satti, Chairperson of the Parish Council, thanked his fellow counsellors and St Emilie's school staff for all their work in preparing the celebration, calling it "an example of the cooperation that has existed between the parish and the school from the earliest days of the Catholic community in Canning Vale:' More photos and videos of St Emilie's groundbreaking may be viewed at St Emilie's Catholic Primary School website www.stemiliescps.wa.edu.au.
PRINCIPALSHIPS OUR LADY OF MOUNT CARMEL SCHOOL, MULLEWA Our Lady of Mount Carmel School is a Catholic coeducational single-stream school with a current enrolment of 71 students from Kindergarten to Year Seven. The school was founded in 1914 by the Presentation Sisters and is situated in the mid-west region of Western Australia, 96 kms from the coastal city of Geraldton. The school has implemented the RAISe program (Raising Achievement in Schools), Bluearth program of physical activity and the Primary Science Connections program. A strong emphasis on information communication technology is also embedded into all learning, with a modern computer laboratory and interactive white boards. Pastoral care is a major emphasis at Our Lady of Mount Carmel and the school community is strengthened by a committed parish priest, school board members and a very active Parents and Friends' Association. Our Lady of Mount Carmel encourages parent participation in the life of the school and particularly in the preparation of children for the Sacraments.
ST LAWRENCE'S PRIMARY SCHOOL BLUFF POINT
in brief...
St Paul e-conference in Perth THE University of Notre Dame Australia in Fremantle and the Catholic Pastoral Centre in Highgate hosted the Year of St Paul E-Conference on June 30, broadcast live from Broken Bay in NSW. Participants listened to talks from the Broken Bay speakers, then relayed questions to the speakers live through the web. UNDA chaplain Fr Gerard Conlan OMI said many people know Paul is a great evangeliser but may find it hard to see his writings in the proper context, as only glimpses are given during Mass. "Paul was the first one to apply Jesus' teachings to a reality that the apostles had previously not visited. Paul not only wrote to these communities he founded, but also stayed in contact to continue their formation," Fr Conlan said.
Above: Parish priest Fr Robert Carillo looks on as Archbishop Barry Hickey turns the first sod with Monsignor Brian O'Loughlin looking on. Below: St Emilie's Catholic Primary School students sing during the Liturgy.
Catholic Feincation Commission Qt. lie .,lfrii A mit 'villa
St Lawrence's is a Catholic double-stream, coeducational primary school, catering for approximately 480 students. From 2010 the school will provide education for students from Kindergarten to Year Six. The school is located in the beautiful, thriving, port-city of Geraldton-Greenough, only five minute's drive from the city centre. The parish church and school are on the same grounds and the students, staff and parents have a close and collaborative relationship with the parish priest, who is readily available for school masses, prayer celebrations, the sacrament of Penance, blessings and other special occasions. St Lawrence's has a very supportive parent body and an active school board and Parents and Friends' Association. The staff are friendly and welcoming and endeavour to provide a safe learning environment for all students. Through its curriculum, the school strives to provide a well-rounded education for all students, with music and visual arts a vital part of the learning program. The successful applicants for these positions will be expected to commence on 1 January 2010. Applicants need to be practising Catholics and experienced educators, committed to the objectives and ethos of Catholic education. They will have the requisite theological, educational, pastoral and administrative competencies, together with an appropriate four year minimum tertiary qualification, and will have completed Accreditation for Leadership of the Religious Education Area or its equivalent. A current WACOT registration number must also be included. The official application form, referee assessment forms and instructions can be accessed on the Catholic Education Office website www.ceo.wa.edu.au. Enquiries regarding these positions should be directed to Helen Brennan, Consultant, Workforce Relations Team on (08) 6380 5237 or email wrd@ceo.wa.edu.au. All applications, on the official form, should reach The Director of Catholic Education, Catholic Education Office of Western Australia, PO Box 198, Leederville 6903 no later than Tuesday 21 July 2009.
Page 6
July 1 2009, The Record
THE NATION
Coleridge Wogs his Faith devotion makes Peruvian way through Italy festival more than a sideshow High in the Andes, Peruvians mark Christ's appearance to shepherd boy. • By Barbara 1 Fraser
Archbishop Mark Coleridge, who is blogging during his trip following in the footsteps of St Paul.
Archblogging. . . AUSTRALIAN Catholics are joining Archbishop Mark Coleridge of Canberra-Goulburn on a virtual pilgrimage as the prelate embarks on the footsteps of St Paul through Greece, Turkey and Italy from June 16 to July 2. Pilgrims from the Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn have joined Archbishop Coleridge on the actual pilgrimage, including Archbishop Francis Carroll and Neil Harrigan of Centacare, who will also be blogging with the Archbishop throughout the trip on an online travel diary at www. footstepsofsaintpaul.com, updat-
ed daily with posts, reflections, photos and videos. Australian pilgrims can also interact directly with the pilgrim group, asking them to include prayers, wish them well on their journey and share your own thoughts and reflections. Archbishop Mark's first post revealed this blog: "... I thought of many people as I stood and knelt down in front of St Paul's tomb - including the pilgrims I'll join in Athens next week. I tried to gather the whole Archdiocese into my prayer; I thought of people named Paul; I thought of the many people I'd promised to pray for at the tombs of the Apostles; so many prayers welled up down there..:'
Congolese Catholics celebrate new chaplain in Perth
Above: Mercy Sister Pauline Masters with Constable Dean Hirst, Sgt Marc Hall and Paul Farrelly, right, and members of the Congolese community. Bottom: Mgr Brian O'Loughlin with Pierre Luboya. PHOTOS: ROBERT HIINI
Continued from Page 1 and those back home:' During the Prayers of the Faithful, Fr Joshua Marini led the congregation in praying for the victims of war, "that their suffering may not be in vain and that it may be instrumental for peace:' Mgr O'Loughlin spoke of his grandparents as migrants and refugees who arrived in Australia from Ireland over a century ago and of Jesus Christ as someone who identifies with refugees from Africa, having fled with Mary and Joseph to Egypt in His infancy. "The search for nationhood has come with great pain and suffering and so we pray for peace in the Congo and peace among the Congolese people who have come here," the monsignor said. "It is wonderful to see a new
generation emerging from those families of the Congo who have come here. They will be as Australian as I am and so I urge you to make Australia your new home just as my grandparents did all those years ago:' For more information about the Congolese Catholic Community, contact Pierre Luboya on 0402 517 360.
OCONGATE, Peru (CNS) - At the end of an all-night procession, several thousand pilgrims in colorful garb gathered on a hilltop in this remote corner of the Andes, waiting for dawn. As the sky brightened behind an eastern mountain peak and light swept along the ridge, a tall young man sounded a long, plaintive note on a conch horn. The sun burst over the Andes and Quechua-language prayers floated over the frosty fields. Melodies rose from wooden flutes and drums played by musicians with weathered faces. The assembly broke into smaller groups, dancing down the mountain in colourful columns that snaked and twined, celebrating the new day and the end of a pilgrimage that drew some 60,000 people. At the bottom of the hill, Jesuit Fr Luis Herrera waited in a rustic adobe chapel, where a solemn procession arrived, carrying images of Jesus and Mary. Fr Herrera prayed with the group, bringing the nearly weeldong pilgrimage to a close. If God wills it, he said, they will gather there again next year. The festival of the Lord of Qoyllur Rit'i, marking Christ's appearance to a young shepherd boy and coinciding with the full moon nearest to the feast of the Body and Blood of Christ, dates to the 1780s, though its roots probably go back further. Like many religious traditions, it has evolved over the centuries, but it is now threatened by tourism, global warming and simple economics. "We do this out of faith," said Adolfo Quispe, 23, leader of a group of 18 young dancers who set out from their hometown of Chincheros, near the tourist mecca of Cuzco, four nights earlier, June 6. "We are faithful Catholics who believe in Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in many ways." During the pilgrimage to the sanctuary of the Lord of Qoyllur Rill he and the other dancers thanked God for those blessings and made a promise of faith for the coming year. Setting out before dawn on June 7, they hiked five miles up a valley, where llamas and alpacas grazed along a stream fed by glacial meltwater. At the top of the valley, more than 14,000 feet above sea level near the foot of a glacier, they quickly set up camp and changed into traditional garb. For the next three days, Andean melodies rang out day and night as hundreds of groups of young people dressed in traditional costumes followed the same steps performed by generations of pilgrims before them. The Jesuit priests who work in the highlands around Cuzco and have celebrated liturgies in the Qoyllur Rill sanctuary for decades say the modern world is infringing on local traditions. "The nature of the fiesta has changed," Fr Herrera said. "It is no longer a celebration of llama and alpaca herders:' SanchezAntonio Fr Guardamino, a Jesuit from Spain's Basque region and pastor in the town of Ocongate, recalled that in the early 1980s, when he began celebrating liturgies at Qoyllur Rit'i, most of the confessions he heard
Concepcion Huarhua holds a small box containing an image of the Lord of Qoyllur Rit'i during a Catholic festival in Ocongate, Peru, on June 9. The festival of the Lord of Qoyllur Rit'i draws some 60,000 pilgrims to a shrine in a remote valley in the southern highlands of Peru. PHOTO: CNS/BARBARA FRASER
were in the local Quechua language. Now, he said, 85 per cent are in Spanish. While the fiesta originally drew mainly farm families from the remote highland villages, it now attracts pilgrims who have migrated from the countryside to towns in search of employment or education. The dancers from Chincheros are among those who remain faithful even though tbey live in town. For three days, they stop only to eat and to sleep for an hour or two before the trio of musicians rouses them with a melody. They dance in the sanctuary before an image of Jesus on a rock that marks the spot where Christ appeared, then dance uphill to a small chapel dedicated to Mary and down toward the sanctuary again in a ring of color and melody. The sanctuary bell tolls several times a day, and more than 2000 pilgrims jam into the church, standing elbow to elbow, for a liturgy in Spanish and Quechua. At this altitude, nighttime temperatures drop below zero, but the sanctuary is warmed by body heat and the banks of candles lit by pilgrims. There are no shelters for sleeping, so a few pilgrims pitch tents, while many more huddle under wool blankets and sheets of blue plastic sold by enterprising vendors. The fiesta has become more commercial in recent years. When Eugenio Huaman, 46, first made the pilgrimage 25 years ago, people carried everything they would need - a blanket and scant food rations - in bundles on their backs. Now vendors sell everything from sunglasses to holy cards to full meals. Money changers exchange dollars, euros and Peruvian currency. On the night of June 8, fireworks burst overhead while dancers and musicians filled the plaza outside the sanctuary, a concrete square below the church and the areas in front of the Marian chapel. Thousands of pilgrims prayed or watched the dancing. In the middle of the night, columns of men dressed in shaggy robes representing bears or black alpacas slipped away by moon-
light and climbed for several hours over narrow, rocky trails to glaciers high on the mountain walls. The men, known as "pablos," play a special role during the fiesta, and their pilgrimage to the ice is a high point of the celebration. In the past, they hacked blocks of ice off the glacier and carried them down to the sanctuary at dawn as an offering to the Lord of Qoyllur Rit'i. It was a point of pride to take the largest blocks possible, despite the discomfort of the frigid loads on their backs. They then carried the ice home to their villages, a sign of the gift of life. Glaciers in the Peruvian Andes are retreating rapidly, raising the prospect of water shortages during the annual dry season. This year, the pablos were prohibited from carving ice blocks from the glaciers, although some people returned with small chunks of ice or bottles filled with slush. Scientists say the glaciers could be gone in another 20 years, and Fr Sanchez-Guardamino said he worries about what will happen to high-mountain herders if the glaciers disappear. Meltwater flowing from the ice fields forms braided streams that merge to flow past the sanctuary, down the valley and into the Vilcanota River, sustaining pastureland for alpacas. Fr Sanchez-Guardamino said he is also concerned about water pollution, especially after tens of thousands of pilgrims have camped for three days in the valley, which has virtually no infrastructure, and have left tons of trash and waste. The local government now provides a few latrines and trash cans, but all waste must be packed out on horses. Although changes in the fiesta are inevitable, Fr SanchezGuardamino said the pilgrims' faith remains firm. Nevertheless, he urges people to nurture their faith throughout the rest of the year. "It is obvious that people live and breathe faith and devotion" at Qoyllur Rit'i, he said, "but if this is not lived out, (the fiesta) will just become a tourist attraction and a show:'
July 1 2009, The Record
THE NATION
Sydney continues with $100k of grants for ethical stemcell research
Page 7
Love or subordination? Scholar to tackle St Paul's text 4 controversial
Interest gaining momentum in ethical research grant. • By Anthony Barich
SYDNEY Cardinal George Pell is offering another $100,000 grant to support research on the therapeutic potential of adult stern cells to combat the culture of death. The Archdiocese of Sydney has invited applications from Australian-based researchers for the grant to be awarded on the recommendation of an independent panel for applications that show innovative therapeutic applications that are likely to arise from the research. The archdiocese introduced the grants in 2003. Researchers must have a track record of success in undertaking similar or related research, and the grant's criteria warrants that matching funds have been found from another source. The research must display novelty in its experimental approach, and meet the highest standards of scientific excellence. The research must also comply with the ethical standards set out in Chapter 6 of the Code of Ethical Standards for Catholic Health and Aged Care Services in Australia. Funds will be available for expenditure from January 1, 2010 and should be expended by December 31, 2011. The closing date for applications for the grant is July 28. Sydney's Archdiocesan Life, Marriage and Family Centre policy officer Brigid McKenna said that the number of companies interested in the ethical research grant has increased since the grant started in 2003 when it only had four applicants; eight applied in 2005 and 10 in 2007. She said that by offering the grant, the Church is encouraging scientists to use their talents to assist humanity, "recognising that science is a great gift and we need to be great stewards of it". "Cardinal Pell's bi-annual research grant
Cardinal George Pell
encourages scientists to pursue ethically and clinically promising forms of research:' she said. "It offers an opportunity to see the hand of the Creator, not replace it." The grant is also an effort by the Church to counter the culture of death advanced by the likes of legislation passed by the NSW Parliament in 2007 that allowed for experimentation on embryos for 'therapeutic cloning: However, since this legislation was passed, it is understood less than a handful of institutions have applied for permission as the National Health and Medical Research Council inserted tight licensing requirements while drafting the legislation. Cardinal Pell was awarded the Mystery of Life Grand Prix Award last year by the Archdiocese of Seoul in South Korea for the Sydney Archdiocese's Grant for Adult Stem Cell Research. The South Korean award included $104,000, which the cardinal said would go towards new pro-life initiatives like the Grant for Adult Stem Cell Research.
LIFE CHANGING PILGRIMAGE OURNEYS
Visitations of Mary
GRACES OF FRANCE
With Fr Peter Luton Departing 9 Sep 2009 A 15 day pilgrimage Lisbon (1). Fatima Anniversary (3) • Avila (2). Burgos • Garabandal (2) • Loyola • Lourdes (3) • Optional 5 night Medjugorje extension or 9 night Graces of France extension Also Departing: *9 October 2009
GRACES OF EASTERN EUROPE
Oberammergau 2010 PASSION PLAY r :444
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A spotlight illuminates the statue of St Paul in the courtyard of the Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls in Rome in 2007. A St Paul's Colloquium, an ecumenical initiative sponsored by the JPII Institute, is set to delve into the key message of the saint and what it means for the faithful. C N S
Star-studded academic line-up to explore the phenomenon of St Paul. • By Anthony Ranch
THE John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family in Melbourne has organised a Colloquium to study St Paul from July 27-28 in reponse to Pope Benedict XVI's call to do so when he announced a year dedicated to the apostle. Announcing a special Jubilee year, Pope Benedict XVI dedicated the year running from June 28 2008 to June 29 2009, to the Apostle Paul. He also urged such events as the Melbourne colloqium to promote "the immense wealth" of Paul's teaching. The colloquium, to be held at the Thomas Carr Centre in East Melbourne, will fall one month outside the official Pauline Year because a keynote speaker, Rev. Professor Jean-Baptiste Edart, was not available until late July. Prof. Edart will give the 2009 Rev Francis Harman AO memorial lecture, "Relationships Between Spouses: Love or Subordination". His talk will address Paul's teaching on marriage, often treated out of context as controversial for his exhortations to women to be obedient to their husbands. Paul teaches that spouses should be mutually subject to each other; he exhorts husbands that they are to love their wives by sacrificing themselves as Christ sacrificed himself for the Church. Prof. Edart is a priest in the Archdiocese of Rouen, France, and a member of the Emmanuel Community, who teaches at the John Paul II Institute in Rome. He completed his Doctorate at the Ecole Biblique in Jerusalem in 2001 on the Epistle to the Philippians. His research and teaching interests are in biblical anthropology and moral theology, with an emphasis on the letters of St
Paul. He is also the co-author of a book, Clarifications Sur L'Homosexualite dans la Bible - Clarifications of homosexuality in the Bible. The Colloquium is open to both students and those outside the college, to further understanding of the apostle, "so that we may also be greater apostles for the Church, to be graced to follow in his footsteps in our own chosen vocation in life", a spokesman for the Institute said. "There are misconceptions about him being chauvanistic, or demeaning towards women, so this is to help know and understand him, and what he really taught about following Christ in the proper context, and how this speaks about our mission about Catholics today; to live the Gospel to its fullness with him as our example," the spokesman said. The Colloquium is an ecumenical affair, with speakers from other Christian denominations joining the high-powered line-up. Other speakers include JPII Institute Dean Dr Tracey Rowland, The University of Notre Dame Australia's Peter Holmes and Paul Morrissey, Paul Rowse OP of the Melbourne Catholic Theological College, former Lutheran pastor Dr Adam Cooper of the JPII Institute who was received into the Catholic Church at Easter, JPII Institute Associate Profesor Nicholas Tonti-Filippini, Rev. Dr Greg Lockwood of the Australian Lutheran College, Mexican Dr Rafael Hurtado Dominguez and the Siena Institute's Clara Geoghegan. Also set to address the Colloquium are Dr Anna Silvas from the University of New England, Fr Scot Armstrong from Wagga Wagga's St John Vianney Seminary, Fr Fraser Pearce, a member of the National Australian Lutheran-Roman Catholic Dialogue, David Schutz from the Ecumenical and Interfaith Commission and Record columnist Anna Krohn, an adjunct 113'ecturer at the JPII Institute. The Colloquium Mass will be celebrated on July 28 by Melbourne Auxiliary Bishop Peter Elliott, director of the Melbourne JPII Institute.
•'va.e
in brief... 1.
With Fr Denis Nolan
With Fr James Victory
Departing 20 Oct 2009 A 13 day pilgrimage Paris • Rouen • Lisieux • Chartres • Nevers • Paray Le Monial • Taize • Ars • La Salette • Turin • Finish Turin or Venice • Optional 9 night Italy extension Also Departing: 20 Sep 2009
Departing 23 Aug 2009
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UK Dignitas clients not terminally ill Many of the Britons who seek suicide in Switzerland with the help of the Dignitas organisation were not terminally ill and had ailments which were eminently treatable. This information that surfaced in The Guardian two weeks ago has horrified doctors. Dignitas's list of the
medical conditions of the 115 people who killed themselves in Zurich shows that 36 had some form of cancer, 27 had motor neurone disease and 17 had multiple sclerosis. But a number of others had conditions like Crohn's disease, an inflammatory bowel disease; tetraplegia; kidney disease, which can be usually treated by dialysis or a transplant; and rheumatoid arthritis. This has again prompted calls by doctors to examine the issue of assisted suicide more carefully and to improve the standard of palliative care in the UK. -BioEdge
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IN
'illy 1 2009, The Record
WORLD FEATURE
How to treat an unfaithful husband Jenny Sanford is willing to forgive her husband and welcome him back - in time. Is that enough?
"T
o err is human, forgive to divine." But the old saying leaves out the hardest part - forgetting. Forgiveness even when considered by the most genuine parties is also closely linked to memory and this places even more demands on those who forgive - to forgive and forget trivial and grave offences alike. Last week Mark Sanford, Governor of South Carolina, confessed to involvement in an extramarital affair with an Argentine woman. The governor had lied about his whereabouts over the previous week and later emerged to rectify the matter. Sanford reportedly "teared up" as he delivered an apology. "The bottom line is, I have been unfaithful to my wife," he said. One should not underestimate Sanford's courage in making a public admission of his transgression. There is nothing that men abhor so much as to be seen to totter or to admit failure in the face of difficulties. Brutal honesty, especially in such situations, is in fact a sign of strong character. Meanwhile, the governor's wife, Jenny Sanford, is reported to have asked her husband to leave the family in a trial separation that appeared to be part of a reconciliation process. In her statement, Mrs Sanford said she still believed their marriage was not beyond repair. "When I first found out about my husband's infidelity, I worked immediately to first seek reconciliation through forgiveness and then to work diligently to repair our marriage:' She noted that the trial separation was agreed to with the goal of ultimately strengthening the marriage. Towards the end of her statement the governor's wife maintained that she was "willing
In this file photo, President Clinton denies allegations that he had sexual relations with Monica Lewinsky. After testifying to a grand jury on August 17, 1998, he admitted to the American people that he did have an -inappropriate" relationship with Lewinsky. His wife, Hillary, stands, perhaps bemused, in the background. She stuck by him despite his public fall PHOTO: CNS/REUTERS from grace, as Jenny Sanford did.
to forgive Mark completely for his indiscretions and to welcome him back, in time..." One can read much sincerity in Mrs Sanford's statement. But it is also entangled with contradictions that may work against her goodwill. How well does one unite or strengthen a marriage by trial separation? What message do we give a person when we tell them, "I forgive you, but I do not want to see you for two weeks"? Or, "I want to forgive you provided, in time, you prove worthy of forgiveness"? Are we to forgive people provided their faults are not too frightful? Is diligence in this matter to do with what external remedies a troubled couple seeks, or does it mean looking for help to make a change of heart? C S Lewis writing on forgiveness in The Weight of Glory and Other Addresses has noted that, when we forgive we must make every effort to kill every taste of resentment in our own heart - every wish to
humiliate and pay the other person back. Lewis argues that, in order to forgive, we ought to remember the perhaps soft ground where we stand: that perhaps the other person was not so much to blame as we thought. I think no amount of guilt on the part of Mr Sanford can completely absolve someone who has lived with him for nearly twenty years from bearing some responsibility for the conditions under which he pursued an extramarital relationship. Often when relationships and marriages break down they do not do so suddenly. Whether she bears any such responsibility or not, she certainly holds the key to the new beginning she has indicated with the words, "I believe Mark has earned a chance to resurrect our marriage:' Sanford most likely apologised to his wife before making a public confession. But what becomes of a prodigal husband who decides to run back to his wife only to be sent away to think about what he just
did and how to make up? Simon Wiesenthal in The Sunflower: On Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness has described his experience as a prisoner in a Nazi concentration camp in a volume that draws the reader into a world of unimaginable horrors. In a most memorable incident the author recounts a hospital bedside meeting with a dying Nazi who confesses his participation in a crime in which two hundred Jewish people were herded into a house and the house set on fire "amidst screams from within the house and fire leaping from one floor to another". Rifles were readied to shoot anyone who tried to escape. The dying soldier recalls a man with a child in his arms, followed by his wife, trying to escape, and him gunning them down. The soldier was later injured in a battle with the Russians when a shell exploded by his side and was now waiting for his own death. Images of the family he had killed continued to haunt him; but now
he had found a Jew and would beg forgiveness. Wiesenthal listens to the soldier's confession and offers acts of kindness. But he leaves the room without any reply to the soldier. The author later questions himself and his fellow prisoners as to whether or not it was right to deny a dying man forgiveness. In any case, it was too late to forgive that particular man, a mistake that Mrs Sanford would be wise not to make. Wiesenthal also recalled that, "when at last the hour of freedom struck, it was too late for so many of us. ...[T]he survivors made their way homeward in groups. For me there was no home to return to:' A trial separation for Mark Sanford means he has no home to return to yet. Ruth Pluznick in an analysis of Wiesenthes book has noted that trauma can steal our hopes, dreams and purposes in life. These days are particularly difficult ones for the South Carolina governor's family, but the disappointment and pain they feel should not blind them to the opportunity to teach a most important lesson to the children - a lesson in gratuitous love that opens its arms to people irrespective of their defects and without conditions. Mrs Sanford quoted the Bible in her statement, alluding to the fact that children are a gift from God. She might ponder the words in a prayer she has probably recited for many years: "forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us:' To be a Christian, C S Lewis asserts, is to excuse the inexcusable, and this is the challenge for all of us. One fina I thought. If Jenny Sanford has in fact forgiven her philandering husband, surely everyone can. Mark Sanford is not necessarily unworthy of political office since Bill Clinton and others before him have erred, thought better of it, and returned to their feet. By Charles Makanga Sendegeya, a postgraduate student at the University of Manchester, United Kingdom. Used with permission from Mercatornet.
Be a true father and carry lost sheep home: Benedict Bishops must be loving shepherds, Pope tells new archbishops. • By Cindy Wooden
VATICAN CITY (CNS) - Bishops are called to watch over their faithful not like "a prison guard:' but with the same love and concern that God watches over the world, Pope Benedict XVI said. "To watch from God's perspective is to watch with that love that wants to serve the other, to help the other truly become him- or herself:' the Pope said on June 29 during his homily on the feast of Ss Peter and Paul. During the Mass in St Peter's Basilica, 34 archbishops from 20 countries knelt before Pope Benedict and received a pallium, a woolen band worn around their shoulders as a sign of their authority and their responsibility as shepherds. In his homily, Pope Benedict said the First Letter of St Peter describes Jesus as "the bishop of souls:' "This means that he sees us from God's perspective. Watching from God's point of view, he has a vision of the whole and he sees dangers as well as hopes and possibilities," the Pope said. Those appointed to serve the church as bishops must model their ministry on that of Christ, working to ensure that everyone comes to know God and to be part of the community of faith, he said.
Pope Benedict XVI waves as he arrives to celebrate a Mass marking the feast of Ss Peter and Paul in PHOTO. CNS/TONY GENTILE, REUTERS St Peter's Basilica at the Vatican on June 29.
Watching over the faithful, the Pope said, "certainly does not mean surveillance as is fitting for a prison guard. Rather it means seeing from on high, from the heights of God:' The words "bishop" and "shepherd" are almost interchangeable, he said. "To shepherd the flock means to be careful that the sheep find the right nourishment:' which for Christians is the word of God, he said.
Shepherds also "must know how to resist enemies, the wolves. He must lead, indicating the path and preserving the unity of the flock," the Pope added. Bishops also have a responsibility to help people see the Christian faith not "simply as a tradition, but to recognize it as the answer to our questions," he said. But to discover the relevance of faith for everyday life, the Pope said, it is not enough just to think things through or to hear expla-
nations. "We need the experience of faith, a living relationship with Jesus Christ. Faith must not remain a theory; it must be lived," he said. Pope Benedict said the beginning of St Peter's letter cites the goal of Christianity as the "salvation of souls," a term the Pope said is seldom used today and one that sounds strange to modern ears. The terminology makes some people think Christians are dividing the human person into separate components of body and soul, while others think it focuses so much on the individual that it loses sight of the responsibility to protect and save the whole world. "But this has nothing to do with the Letter of St Peter:' he said. "His zeal for witnessing hope and responsibility for others characterizes the entire text. "Without the healing of souls, without healing people from the inside, humanity cannot be saved," the Pope said. "It is obedience to the truth that makes the soul pure. And it is living with lies that pollutes it. Obedience to the truth begins with the little truths of daily life:' he said, but it extends to "obedience without reservation to the truth itself, which is Christ:' Pope Benedict told the archbishops that, like Jesus, they are called to carry the lost sheep around their shoulders and bring them back to safety. The lost sheep are not just members of the Catholic Church who may have lost their way, but are all of humanity, he said.
July 1 2009, The Record
THE RECORD VISTA
Is what mothers and children need...
a fatherhood REVOLUTION?
Australian fatherhood writer and campaigner Warwick Marsh notes a sea change in recent decades in attitudes to fathers and fatherhood. While Western societies have embraced policies and attitudes PHOTO: SUPPLIED that relegate fathers and fatherhood to the effectively useless category, in reality it is essential to the welfare of mothers and children when properly lived.
The times they are a-changing. Being a dad is becoming cool. • by Warwick Marsh
F
, ather's Day 2009 is being celebrated with a renewed sense of vigour and excitement. Fathers and children are appearing in more advertisements. The media are running father-friendly stories. Restaurants are booked out for Father's Day as well as Mother's Day. When the Dads4Kids Fatherhood Foundation was formed in 2002 to help and encourage Australian dads, our television community service advertisements were initially threatened with a black ban by the Advertising Standards Board. Political correctness ruled the day and fathers were incorrect. This would not happen today. Fatherhood has become sexy, a newspaper here said recently. A quick squiz at pop culture supports this optimistic statement. Take the 2003 film Finding Nemo. That was a story about a father fish looking for his son. Amazingly, it is well inside the top 20 grossing movies of all time. Just a bit further down that list are other popular movies with positive fatherhood themes: I am Sam, Dear Frankie, The Incredibles, Night at the Museum, Pursuit of Happyness, and the
brilliant Australian movie with Eric Bana, Romulus My Father. Even Snoop Dogg is cashing in on the fatherhood revival with his Father Hood TV show. Last night, with my wife,I watched Swing Vote, Kevin Costner's popular film about a no-hoper dad whose vote determines an entire presidential election. Interestingly, the plot revolves around a single father and his daughter and treats him with a great deal of respect. This story could never have screened 20 years ago. Fatherhood is coming in from the cold - and not before time. Here in Australia, songwriter Colin George put together a compilation CD called Fatherhood which features some of our best artists such as Paul Kelly, Shane Howard, Neil Murray and John Butler. They sing about their children, fatherhood and families. This album has morphed into an annual Fatherhood Festival in the surfing town of Byron Bay, which is better known for hardcore punk, drugs and yoga festivals. The home of Australian counterculture has become the home of fatherhood. The idea of a Fatherhood Festival has spread to several other cities in Australia. Similar events are happening in the US. "Family First" is the name of a minor political party in Australia, but the idea of putting your family first is catching on. Just like the 60s counterculture, it could be the beginning of a revolution. The renovation of fatherhood and the renewal of masculinity have been heralded by writers like Ed Cole, author of
Maximised Manhood; Gordon Dalby, Healing the Masculine Soul; Robert Bly, Iron John; and Warren Farrell, Father and Child Reunion and even by feminist authors such as Adrienne Burgess, Fatherhood Reclaimed and Susan Falundi, Stiffed. Australian author Steve Biddulph has been a trailblazer for the Australian fatherhood and men's movement for many years. His books sell very smartly overseas as well. The Dads4Kids Fatherhood Foundation believes that fatherlessness is a major contributor to the problems our children face. A leading expert, Dr Bruce Robinson, says that fatherlessness costs Australia A$13 billion a year. Similar estimates on the cost of fatherlessness in America by the National Fatherhood Initiative are well over US$100 billion per year. Fatherlessness increases the likelihood that children will grow up in poverty, with increased crime, drug abuse, youth suicide, child sexual abuse, mental health problems, high levels of child obesity, poor health, poor nutrition and lower levels of educational performance for children. In spite of what radical feminists may say about the ills of patriarchy, involved and loving fathers are essential for the development of healthy children and strong families. Last year Matthew Hayden, one of Australia's most famous cricketers, was pleased to go in to bat for Aussie dads and their children. He starred in our community service advertisements around Australia as the epitome of the renewal of Australian
fatherhood. I asked Matthew how he felt when he had his first child and how he now feels as a father of three children. "There's nothing that replaces the moment of joy in your life when you have children. As a maleI think you actually go through a bit of a chest beating stage. It's like, "Gees, I've produced this beautiful baby, I'm a man." It actually physically does change you as well because suddenly it's not just your wife and you. It's a very unselfish thing, you've now got this beautiful little individual and life, that you have to care and nurture and you become very selfless and that's a difficult time in your life, but look, whatever you put into life, you get back ten-fold. With our three beautiful children, it's just amazing how they give back to you in such simple but such rewarding ways.Iwouldn't change one damn thing." Hayden's passion for his family is inspirational and it is men like him, all across Australia, America and around the world, who are arresting the harmful effects of fatherlessness by their love and commitment to their families. We need a fatherhood revolution which will create involved, committed and responsible fathers. Everyone benefits. A fatherhood revolution will bring support and joy to hardworking mothers and will help children lead exceptional lives. Warwick Marsh and his wife Alison are the founders of Dads4Kids Fatherhood Foundation. They have five children and have been married for 33 years. -MERCATORNET
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The KILUNG of George Tiller
Perth's unknown architect As WA Catholics were recently asked one last time to donate to "conserve and complete"the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, otherwise known as St Mary's, Anthony Barich reflects on one little-known individual who played a major but, some say, largely underappreciated, role.
People line up to place carnations at the foot of a statue of Mary in the Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes at the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana, protesting the university's invitation to US President Barack Obama to speak there in May. The issue of abortion arouses passions everywhere, but some pro-lifers have killed in the name of defending life. PHOTO. CNS/JON L. HENDRICKS
The slaying of an abortionist is an Abu Ghraib moment for the pro-life movement. • By Carolyn Moynihan
J
ust three days after Dr George Tiller, specialist in late-term abortions, was fatally shot at a Kansas church in the US in early June, the accusations and press eases were still flying. The pro-life movement stands accused of setting the stage for the murder of Dr Tiller through its campaign against him and abortion in general. The movement is going all-out to denounce the killing and the use of violence in any form as a strategy in its struggle against abortion. But it is a tough PR challenge. Unborn children aside, pro-choice activists don't kill their antagonists; pro-life activists sometimes do. The fact that these killers are mentally ill, like the prime suspect in the Tiller case, Scott Roeder, or that the worst anti-abortion rhetoric comes from talk show hosts like Bill O'Reilly and not from the leaders of the prolife groups, is held to be no excuse. The madmen would lack a target, the radio and television ranters would lack a platform, if there wasn't a pro-life movement - or at least one that meant business. That's the message. But how would that message work in another context? Take Abu Ghraib, the Baghdad prison where some American soldiers tortured and abused Iraqi captives. Because Charles Graner, Lynndie England and others tormented and humiliated prisoners, should we conclude that the whole US Army in Iraq was corrupt? Or that the
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July 1 2009, The Record
US Army, period, is a big mistake, and that America should never fight wars? Or, was the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s an aberration because it led to race riots and gangs? Should there never have been institutional homes for children because in some of those places children were abused? Every movement, if it lasts long enough, has its lunatic fringe; every institution has its bad eggs - a small number of people who, given the opportunity or the pressures, will break the rules and betray the ideals of the organisation. George Tiller's death is the pro-life movement's Abu Ghraib, the work of an individual who understood nothing about the cause he attached himself to, just as the guilty soldiers were unfit for their military role. Such disasters are, however, an opportunity for the institution or cause to examine itself and see if there is anything it can do to prevent a repetition. In other words, it may be a good moment for pro-life groups to consider some of the accusations calmly rather than rejecting them out of hand. Is the rhetoric too shrill at times? Is there too much focus on individuals like Dr Tiller, to the extent of demonising them in the eyes of naïve or disturbed persons? Are groups careful enough about where they find their support? These are difficult questions because the cause - the right of a living human being to be born - is so hugely important. And asking them does not mean that the answers have to be "yes". President Obama appeals for "fairminded words" from the opposing sides on
abortion. Is that really possible? Can one discuss the deliberate killing of millions upon millions of our little brothers and sisters in anything other than the most urgent and even fiery terms? Let's not forget, either, that the pro-life movement's work extends far beyond passionate rhetoric to countless initiatives for assisting pregnant mothers. One more thing. What about America's famous love affair with free speech? Even those who defend abortion can see that the outcry against the likes of Bill O'Reilly contains a kind of censoriousness that would not be tolerated in connection with any "liberal" cause. Here's a staunch pro-choicer talking: "I fully support a woman's right to choose abortion, including late-term abortion. I also find O'Reilly's rants and those antiabortion websites nauseating. But the best way to make the case for the right to choose is not to criminalise the speech of the antiabortion lobby, but to inject public debate with more and more convincing arguments for abortion rights. In short, we need more "extremely vivid" speech, not less." Well, the pro-abortion movement (and remember, they started this whole culture war) had its moment of vivid speech - stories about back-street abortions and women bleeding to death or dying from septicemia, desperate women with drunken husbands and numerous children they could already hardly provide for... But today's propagandists have to go to third world countries to conjure up scenarios like that. Abortion in the first world has long been a matter of mere "choice" - a word that perfectly expresses the soulless utilitarianism of its leading advocates. How it can be made more morally con-
Scott Roeder, 51, charged with killing 67-year old George Tiller, a Kansas abortion doctor whose clinic is just one of a few in the nation where abortions are performed after the 21st week of pregnancy, appears via video in Sedgwick County District Court in Wichita, Kansas, on June 2. Tiller was shot while serving as an usher for Sunday services in the foyer at his church, Reformation Lutheran Church. PHOTO. CNS PHOTO/KSN TV VIA REUTERS
vincing, let alone "extremely vivid", is hard to imagine. Vivid language is natural to the pro-life movement because abortion is always literally a matter of life and death: the lives of others, of tiny dependent members of the human family whose lives end in dismemberment and the shedding of blood and the suddenly empty, scraped wombs of their mothers. This is simply the truth. If the casual acceptance of this sort of killing drives some people mad, if it attracts mad people, if it provokes ranting and raving on the airwaves, if it even drives some to kill, should anyone really be surprised? Carolyn Moynihan is deputy editor of MercatorNet.
oseph Ascione could well be one of the biggest unsung heroes involved in the 144-year story of the construction of St Mary's Cathedral here in Perth. JAscione - mason, architect, builder, bricklayer, stonemason and Benedictine aspirant - arrived in WA aged 30 in 1849 with Bishop Joseph Benedict Serra's party on the Ferrolana. He was involved in several of the Spanish prelate's building projects including the church and school in Fremantle - the first St Patrick's - the Bishop's Palace and the Benedictine Monastery in Subiaco. Not much of the original monastery remains on Barrett Street in Wembley, where the Benedictine monks met in 1859 to decide whether to stay in Perth under Benedictine Bishop Serra or in New Norcia with Bishop Rosendo Salvado. Almost to a man, they decided to move north and base themselves at the monastic town of New Norcia. It has sometimes been said that Benedictine monks in the early years of the Church in Perth worked on some aspects of the construction of St Mary's but, as current Cathedral Dean Monsignor Thomas McDonald noted recently, the fact that the Benedictines left Perth in the year before construction began indicates that this is almost certainly not the case. Other suggestions have been made that the cathedral was influenced by the Anglican gothic Cathedral of St Mary in Salisbury in England. Although the two structures look eerily similar in some regards, there is no historical evidence of such a link that Perth's archdiocesan archives headed by Sr Frances Stibi PBVM have been able to discover. It has also been suggested that the eminent English architect August Pugin may have been the designer of St Mary's Cathedral. This has been refuted on the grounds that Pugin died in 1853 - over a decade before the cathedral was built, and was extremely unlikely to have made any contribution. There is also no evidence of any Pugin link or influence. In fact Ascione was, according to Martin Griver (then the administrator but not yet bishop), architect of the design for the original St Mary's. Born in a village at the base of Mount Vesuvius near Naples in Italy, he lived with the monks at Subiaco and was architect and supervisor of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Victoria Square. From 1862-1864 he is recorded as employing five ticket of leave men and as having donated his labour to the value of 100 Pounds to the cathedral fund. He is mentioned often in letters the Benedictine monks wrote to each other which also often mentioned progress reports and gossip to do with the Cathedral. This is highlighted in a letter of recommendation written on February 21, 1865 by Father Martin Griver, later Bishop of Perth, to Archbishop James Alipius Goold, of Melbourne, an Augustinian priest, referring to the great contribution "Brother Joseph" had made to the Cathedral's construction. Goold eventually became the Metropolitan for Perth. "He has been a mason from his youth, and given proofs
The original St Mary's as it was completed in 1865, above, and viewed from a south-westerly position, below. Bishop Griver, at right, who had earlier described Joseph Ascione as "the only architect or director of the building." PHOTOS. COURTESY ARCHDIOCESAN ARCHIVES OFFICE
of his great skill and capabilities; for he has been the only architect or director of the building... which every intelligent person says is a work of great merit," Father Griver says. "The building committee recognises an outstanding debt to him." As St Mary's edges closer and closer to its final completion, one which incorporates significant parts of Joseph Ascione's design and work, it is worth remembering that not only St Mary's Cathedral but the great cathedrals of Europe were built not just by great wealth, but by simple faith - and the sweat and labour of countless unknown ordinary men and women of faith and talent - like Joseph Ascione.
The surprising movie about old age, and childhood, that Hollywood didn't see coming Movie Review Up 11Reviewed by Amos Hunt
W
hy is an animated film from Pixar about a grumpy old man raking it in at the box office? I think I would make you laugh if I said "Disney" and "artistic integrity" in the same sentence. But for once, at least, there might be a good reason. Disney must have known that a film featuring a lonely old man would not send toy companies scrambling for the licensing that makes successful children's movies so profitable. But they went ahead with Up all the same, and the result is a film more exciting to cinema buffs (it was the first animated feature ever to open the Cannes Film Festival) than to profit machines (US retail giant Thinkway Toys passed on
Up despite their long-standing relationship with Pixar). Yet, if not quite a franchise, Up looks to be the biggest hit Pixar has produced in years; the weekend grosses for the first three weekends are much closer to Finding Nemo (Pixar's highest-grossing film) than Wall-E or Ratatouille. Why? How did Up shut up the Wall Street demographic analysts? Maybe behind his quality-first positioning, Disney CEO Rober Iger knew something Wall Street didn't. Maybe a positive, heroic vision of aging can ring true in spite of the standard narrative of the increasing uselessness of the elderly as a growing economic burden on the younger generations. What exactly did T S Eliot have in mind when he wrote, "Old men ought to be explorers?" My guess is he wasn't picturing a squat codger towing a floating house and an overweight cub scout from one end of a vast Venezuelan tepui to the other. The plot of Pixar's latest
movie might sound like an all too literal dramatisation of that line from Eliot, but the beauty of it is that that's just the point of Up: the main theme of this movie is the moral danger of taking things too literally. When you're a kid (at least, when you're a mid-to-late-20th-century American kid), certain occupations seem intrinsically admirable: scientist, inventor, fireman—but nothing beats being an explorer. Exploration is the pure extract of what's exciting about those other jobs: being on the frontier, in the moment of peril between the known and the unknown, the possibility and the deed, life and death. Kids know with a wholesome naivete that adventure is everything that matters. The unwholesome flipside of this love of adventure is that in time it makes everyday reality seem pale. Life becomes less important the less possibility for adventure it offers. Kids have to learn that exploration
doesn't always mean geographical travel to exotic, undiscovered locales; you can be "still and still moving" (to complete the quotation). Kids who figure this out become adults and enjoy their lives. People who insist on literal adventure stay childish and grow more and more bitter as their possibilities disappear. This loathing of infirmity colours the way people feel about the elderly: an old man is a sad case whose adventures are over and who's always in need of assistance. Carl Fredricksen (voice of Ed Asner), the elderly hero of Up, is an argument against this view of old age. His physical appearance and manner invoke Walter Matthau, who ever since Grumpy Old Men has been an icon of the right of weathered old men to enjoy romances and capers (I mean antic episodes, not the pickled buds of the Capparis spinosa plant, which no sane person has any right to enjoy). But Carl's story takes a different direction than the typical Matthau
vehicle. While Matthau's old men tend to imitate literally the adventures of youth, Carl follows the model of the Spirit of Adventure. Of course, "Spirit of Adventure" is only the name of a blimp flown by Carl's childhood idol, Charles Muntz (voice of Christopher Plummer), and Carl's own spirit won't move him even to leave his house. But Up takes the concept of "never leaving your house" to a whole new level: Carl is compelled by a vow he made on the day he met his late wife to move their house to a very particular spot next to Paradise Falls in Venezuela, and he's determined to fulfill this vow to the letter, even if it means tying himself to his balloon-elevated house by the garden hose and walking it over miles of perilous jungle landscape. This is where Up outdoes other Pixar offerings in terms of wit and artistry: the floating house, a bright, magical image of escape and freedom proves to be a mel-
ancholy burden of bondage and anxiety. The image of the house slowly sinking as it drifts behind the lonely old man and his unshakable young comrade Russell (voice of Jordan Nagai) combines intrepid flight with the shrinking reserve of a bitter old man. This is high irony and it's absolutely, stirringly beautiful. So what does it mean that "Old men ought to be explorers?" Maybe it means that the old more than anyone else are the ones who can learn to be child-like, and that this ability is priceless. On the other hand, it also means that old men who fail to be explorers, that is, who fail to step anywhere off the path from A to B, are wretched and a curse. Up includes a vision of such unredeemed old age, the horror of which is only partly mitigated by the fact that it involves lots and lots of comical talking dogs. Profit-minded analysts missed the appeal of Up because they read their own prejudices into the innocent eyes of
children. In the fast-paced, bottom-line world of affairs, old people as a rule are at best harmless spectators and at worst burdens on society, who have had their turn and are now just taking up space. The best they can do in this world is to be consolidated in retirement homes. The elderly themselves sometimes interpret their old age in the same way, and consider it an affront to their dignity that they must draw out their lives on the margins of the rat race. But this is not the world in which children and the child-like live. Even if they understand the physical limitations of old men, they see no reason why they should not be explorers. I recommend you do whatever it takes to see Up as soon as possible. Just please don't take that too literally. Amos Hunt is editor of the Texas literary magazine The Grub - Mercatornet Street Grackle.
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July 1 2009, The Record
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Reviews
Fascinating, mostly, but not new guide to CS Lewis Book Review The Everything Guide to C.S. Lewis and Narnia By Jon Kennedy, MA. Adams Media, 284pp in Reviewed by Bridgett Curran*
T
he Everything Guide to C.S. Lewis and Narnia is, as the title suggests, a very ambitious book. (..S. Lewis is best known as the author of the Chronicles of Narnia children's' fantasy series. As a radio personality, academic and Christian apologist he also developed quite a cult following in Christian circles. Born in 1898, the contemporary and colleague of J.R.R. Tolkien, Lewis has enjoyed constant popularity and an extra jolt of interest from the recent Disney film adaptations of the Narnia series. The Everything Guide to C.S. Lewis and Narnia is one of many in a long line of Lewis biographies and critical reviews tying in with that success. Author and theologian Jon Kennedy admits that it was the 1993 film Shadowlands that first drew him to study C.S. Lewis in greater depth, a study which changed his life. And it was the release of the 2008 film adaption of Lewis's Prince Caspian which inspired him to write The Everything Guide to C.S. Lewis and Narnia. Kennedy's glowing admiration for his subject is irrepressible, and infectious. Kennedy diligently covers every aspect of Lewis's life. As a Lewis biography it's engaging and detailed, with family background and the political and social context of the time well established. The echoing wood-lined halls of the family home in Ireland, the rich imaginary worlds of Lewis and his brother Warnie, are all vividly brought to life and you can feel the magic around the young developing author. The trauma of his mother's early death and struggles adjusting to boarding school life are intriguing and tragic. It's interesting to read about Lewis's works within this context.
But as Lewis's professional life unfolds, the flow of the biography is interrupted by critiques of each work, each book, each radio program. As comprehensive and fascinating as these analyses are, they can be jarring. The effect is like reading two books at the same time. As a series of essays on Lewis's work, it's thorough and fascinating, but as the book progresses it flips back and forth between biography and textual analysis. When it works, it works beautifully. Unfortunately, the twofold aims of the book sometimes mesh together awkwardly. The Everything Guide to C.S. Lewis and Narnia is an excellent resource for an audience that's never clearly defined. The big, colourful, bold cover suggests that it would be a great teaching aid, suitable for any age from late primary up. Chapters are concise, and attractively punctuated with photos and boxes of facts, quotes and rhetorical questions. Unfortunately, other short sections of the book make it unsuitable for younger readers. One such section of the book, entitled "Lurid Details," goes into just that - and seemingly, without much purpose. Kennedy goes into unnecessary detail on Lewis's sexual inclinations. He cites Lewis's correspondence with his friend and neighbour Arthur Greeves as the basis for his claims but doesn't given much evidence for them beyond a few words and phrases, "in-jokes" between two young friends taken out of the context of the letters. Without this context, it's difficult for readers to make any judgement on the validity of his claims. Kennedy then goes on to paraphrase other biographers to suggest that Lewis had an attraction to sado-masochism born from his harsh treatment at school. The section is only one (long) paragraph, but stands out as a strange and unnecessary part of the book, perhaps written to tick the box of Freudian psychoanalysis which many biographers seem to feel is necessary to the study of character. The fact that this is never referred
A publicity image from the 2006 Chronicles of Narnia highlights the renewed popularity of Lewis, shown working at his desk below, and interest in his life and writings. Bottom right: the cover of Jon Kennedy's book.
1 csGiBvis AND t''NARNI Expkxe the magical woild of Namia and the brilliant mind behind it
Jon Kennedy, MA.
to again implies that it has no bearing whatsoever on Lewis's life and work, and makes the section seem even more unnecessary. Similarly, Kennedy's writing on the power play and sexual politics of school boys in Lewis's era is unsuitable for a younger audience. It does seem much more relevant to Lewis' work however, as it was a period of his life which Lewis himself wrote about and which clearly had a great effect on him. The book contains an extensive bibliography, but is somewhat let down by the quality of its references. Wikipedia and internet quotes weaken its credibility as a good academic resource. To its credit The Everything Guide to C.S. Lewis and Narnia draws heavily
from Lewis's own autobiography, Surprised By Joy, and other writings by those who knew him. But it doesn't seem to add anything new to the already extensive library on Lewis. There are no new interviews, no reviews of primary sources, no fresh interpretations of Lewis's life or work. Rather, it takes in all these texts and condenses them. Then again, The Everything Guide to C.S. Lewis and Narnia never promises to offer anything new. Jon Kennedy begins by encouraging his readers to treat the book as a kind of reference guide to be opened at any page, inviting readers to "...journey further up and further in" to a world of CS Lewis "that will change your life:'
A bold claim, and an enticing one for any uninitiated reader with an interest in Lewis. Certainly Lewis's journey from confident atheist to staunch defender of Christianity is a dramatic, moving and well told story. His academic and spiritual explorations of love, culminating in an unexpected late-life romance and marriage, were the subject of Shadowlands and are explored here with gentle sympathy. Like all the best author biographies, The Everything Guide to C.S. Lewis and Narnia leaves the reader in suspense, eager to read or revisit more books on the subjectand perhaps more importantly, to read more books by the subject. Lewis's influences are fascinating too and Kennedy's descriptions of these books encourage the reader to track them down. Classics like The Faery Queene and Paradise Lost as well as the works of Lewis's contemporaries in the Inklings writing group, from the lesser known Roger Green's The Wood That Time Forgot to the works of that other literary giant, J.R.R. Tolkien. It's also a great motivator to revisit the Shadowlands movie that inspired Kennedy's passion for C.S. Lewis. The final chapter takes Lewis idolatry to new heights as Kennedy comments on C.S. Lewis as a genius, a great, even holy man. Indeed, Kennedy puts him forward as a candidate for interdenominational sainthood, whose Narnia book series emerged from a beautiful creativity and a noble desire to `prebaptise' the imagination of children, gently forming an appreciation of both Christian virtue and the English language. Kennedy's argument for Lewis's canonisation is a surprising but heartfelt appeal. A dramatic, and arguably fitting conclusion to an ambitious and entertaining reference book. Bridget Curran is a writer, producer and script editor based at CM Film Productions in Perth. She holds a triple Arts major (Honours) in Anthropology, History and Italian from the University of Western Australia and a Graduate diploma in Film and Television production from Curtin University.
Film explores the humour of marriage for citizenship Movie Review The Proposal
T
he romantic comedy "The Proposal" (Touchstone) overcomes a predictable plot and some questionable humour on the strength of adept performances, positive underlying values and a hefty dose of charm. From the very first scene you know exactly where things are headed for hard-driving New York book editor Margaret (Sandra Bullock) and her browbeaten executive assistant, Andrew (Ryan Reynolds). But the familiar journey makes a diverting pastime nonetheless. The icily efficient, emotionally repressed Margaret, we learn early on, is a Canada native who has flouted US immigration law and is in danger of deportation. To avoid this career-destroying outcome, she spontaneously strikes on the idea of marrying Andrew, despite the fact that he happens to loathe her, while she considers him contemptible. With his professional future in her hands, Margaret coerces Andrew into going along with her scheme, and they set off for his parents' home in Sitka, Alaska, where the family is gathering to celebrate Andrew's
grandmother Annie's (a marvelous Betty White) 90th birthday. Cordial mum Grace (Mary Steenburgen) welcomes the "happy" news, while dad Joe (Craig T. Nelson) - who has a longstanding quarrel with Andrew - is suspicious. As Margaret bonds with the clan, and more gradually with Andrew, there are interludes of wayward sexual humor, like the performance of the less-than-buff local male stripper, Ramone (Oscar Nunez) which involves no nudity, but some highly suggestive dance moves - and a scene where Margaret and Andrew accidentally bump into each other while both are naked. (They're only seen very briefly and from the side). Though Grace takes it for granted that the engaged couple will share the same bed, Andrew sleeps on the floor throughout, even after the sparks begin to fly. But a sequence that runs with the closing credits suggests that this chastity eventually breaks down. Mostly, though, director Anne Fletcher's effervescent offering is a valentine to family affection and against-the-odds ardour. The film contains implied premarital sexual activity, fleeting nudity, some sexual humour, a couple of crude and a dozen crass words, at least two uses of profanity. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13. - JOHN MULDERIG, CNS
Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock star in a scene from the movie "The Proposal."While entertaining, some material may be inappropriate for children under 13. PHOTO- CNSMISNEY
July 1 2009, The Record
Page 9
CHILDREN
Kids bitz ARTIST WEEK Benedict 7 years of Roleystone and Lee 4 years of Ellen brook, are our Artists of the Week with these fantastic, artistic, creations. Well done!
FREE WEEKLY GIFT KIDS BITZ ARTIST OF THE WEEK will receive a free
gift from the Record Bookshop. All you need to do is post or email in a drawing, poem or colouring picture. Please post or email. Justine Stevens, The Record, PO Box 75 Leederville WA 6902 or email: prod uction@therecord.com.au
Benedict
Women Bibl
AVAILABLE FROM THE RECORD BOOKSHOP $7.95
AVAILABLE FROM THE RECORD BOOKSHOP $19.95
Pauline of the Agonizing Heart of Jesus 1865-1942 July 9 Born Amabile Visintainer in Italy, she emigrated with her family to Brazil when she was 10. Known for her piety and charity, Amabile and a few companions, with help from a Jesuit priest, began living together in community. In 1890 they formed the Congregation of the Little Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, which later was formally recognized by Rome. Amabile, who took the name Sister Pauline of the Agonizing Heart of Jesus, was the first superior. She saw the order grow to five provinces in Brazil, knew each sister personally and was revered as foundress.
crossword Jesus Jesus is God's son. He preached love and kindness while he was here on earth. See if you can fill in these blanks about Jesus' life and then put them in the crossword puzzle. 23
4
7
CNS Saints 8
9
10
0.•
PUZZLE Circle the names of the Old Testament books named after prophets: 1. Genesis
9. Hosea
2. Psalms
10. Numbers
3. Amos 4. Daniel 5. Proverbs 6. Isaiah 7. Jeremiah 8. Judges
•oasoH itio!war 'gyms' la!uoa 'sowv :SalfrISU
Across 1. Jesus walked on 5. Three _ _ _ _ men brought gifts to Jesus when he was born. 6. _ _ _ bright star appeared the night Jesus was born. 7. Jesus is God's _ _ _ 8. Jesus was born in Down 2. told the shepherds that Jesus had been born. disciples. 3. Jesus called 4. _ _ _ _ the Baptist baptized Jesus. our neighbors as ourselves. 9. Jesus tells us to _ 10. Jesus' mother was named — _ _
CHILDREN'S STORY AMOS DELIVERS GOD'S PROPHECIES By Joe Sarnicola
AMOS was a shepherd in Israel during the time when Jeroboam was king. God spoke to Amos in a series of visions and told him what to tell the people of Israel. "The Lord will roar from Zion," God told him, "and from Jerusalem raise his voice." God gave Amos words to speak against the sins of Aram, Philistia, Tyre, Judah and other countries, including Israel. "Hear this word, 0 men of Israel," Amos proclaimed, "that the Lord pronounces over you, over the whole family that I brought up from the land of Egypt:'You alone have I favoured, more than all the families of the earth; Therefore I will punish you for all your crimes.Three of the prophecies of Amos were so dreadful that they have been remembered by generations of the descendants of Israel and the other nations as the three woes. The first was, "Woe to those who turn judgment to wormwood and cast justice to the ground! ... And in every vineyard there shall be lamentation when I pass through your midst, says the Lord." The second was, "Woe to those who yearn for the day of the Lord! What will this day of the Lord mean for you? Darkness and not light!" And the third was, "Woe to the complacent in Zion, to the overconfident on the mount of Samaria. ... Beware, I am rising up against you, 0 house of Israel, say I, the Lord, the God of hosts." Some of the things that God showed Amos in the visions were so frightful that Amos pleaded with the Lord not to do them. When Amos saw a swarm of locusts devouring the harvest, he said, "Forgive, 0 Lord God! How can Jacob stand? He is so small!" And the Lord promised not to send the locusts. When Amos saw a great fire destroying everything on the ground, he pleaded, "Cease, 0 Lord God! How can Jacob stand? He is so small!" And the Lord promised not to send the fire. Then the Lord said to Amos, "I will forgive them no longer. The high places of Isaac shall be laid waste. ... I will attack the house of Jeroboam." Amaziah, a priest who served King Jeroboam, was angry at the words of Amos. He said to the prophet, "Off with you, visionary, flee to the land of Judah!" Amos replied, "The Lord took me from following the flock, and said to me, 'Go, prophesy to my people Israel." Q&A 1. What was Amos' occupation before God called him to be a prophet?
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At the end ofilubilee Year, Paul the great evangeliser stands in clearer focus :144 Vatican Letter By John Thavis, CNS
A
fter 12 months of special liturgies, conferences, Bible reflections, indulgences, concerts and pilgrimages, the Year of St Paul has left the Apostle a more clearly defined figure on the Catholic landscape. Even before Pope Benedict XVI led final closing ceremonies in Rome on June 29, Vatican officials declared the jubilee year a success. "The result has been positive, even beyond the most optimistic predictions: Cardinal Andrea Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo, archpriest of the Basilica of St PauIs Outside the Walls, said at a Vatican press conference on June 26. At the Pauline basilica, which had often been overlooked by pilgrims to Rome, overflow crowds came to visit and pray at the tomb of the Apostle, the cardinal said. Thanks to some architectural finessing, a portion of the tomb, a rough-hewn marble sarcophagus buried beneath the main altar, was for the first time made visible to visitors. It was Pope Benedict who almost single-handedly gave the jubilee its content. In weekly talks, homilies and liturgical celebrations, he sketched a detailed portrait of the man considered the model of Christian conversion and the archetypal missionary. St Paul was the most prolific of the early Apostles, the man who took the Gospel of Christ into the world of non-Jews and helped set
The imposing statue of St Paul outside St Peter's Basilica in Rome. During the many events of the Pauline Year, Pope Benedict urged bishops to have courage. PHOTO: PETER ROSENGREN
the Church on a more universal path. The Pope's main point was that this evangelising spirit based on personal conversion needs to be
rekindled among today's 1.1 billion Catholics. "Dear brothers and sisters, as in early times, today too Christ needs
apostles ready to sacrifice themselves. He needs witnesses and martyrs like St Paul: the Pope said when he proclaimed the jubilee. As the year progressed, the Pope found a "St Paul angle" for his talks to bishops, religious orders, university students and his own Roman Curia. He had plenty of material to draw upon: St Paul's 14 letters represent nearly half of the New Testament. On Pope Benedict's foreign trips, St Paul came along. In Paris last year, as the global financial crisis worsened, the Pope recalled St Paul's preaching against idolatry and greed, and asked whether it wasn't relevant today: "Have not money, the thirst for possessions, for power and even knowledge, diverted man from his true identity?" The Pope's annual message for the World Day for Migrants and Refugees featured St Paul as a "migrant by vocation" and an ambassador-at-large for Christ. In talks to bishops from Asia, the Pope suggested they try to learn from St Paul's ability to evangelize in cultures that are new to Christianity, presenting the Gospel in ways that resonate with the traditional spiritual wisdom of their continent. Citing the Apostle's missionary courage, he told a group of newly appointed bishops to imitate St Paul's persistence in the face of personal mistreatment and dangers. Pope Benedict also applied the saint's lessons to contemporary rivalries and controversies within the church community. In early 2009, during debate over several of his own decisions in the church, the Pope quoted St Paul's admonition to Galatian Christians not to go on biting and devouring one another." St Paul understood that church unity was the primary requisite for a credible witness of the Gospel in the world, he said. He
struck a similar theme at the ecumenical vespers service on January 25, the feast of the conversion of St Paul. That liturgy marked the close of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, and the Pope was joined by Orthodox, Protestant and Anglican representatives in the Basilica of St Paul's Outside the Walls. In his homily, the Pope emphasised St Paul's message that without internal unity, Christians cannot bring peace and reconciliation to ruptured societies across the globe. Pilgrims who came to Rome enjoyed a special itinerary of nine sites linked to the life of St Paul, including ancient churches built on sites where the Apostle resided, the Mamertine Prison where he was incarcerated by Roman authorities, and the Abbey of the Three Fountains where he was beheaded on the order of the Emperor Nero. A plenary indulgence, the remission of temporal punishment due to sin, was offered for pilgrims who crossed the threshold of the "Pauline Doors," prayed at the tomb of St Paul, confessed their sins, received the Eucharist and prayed for the Pope's intentions. It was also offered to Catholics participating in local events marking the jubilee year. A series of concerts was offered in the Basilica of St Paul throughout the year. Cardinal Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo said that when he broached the idea to Pope Benedict, to make sure there was no objection, the music-loving Pope simply replied: "Are you inviting me? ' The cardinal said it was decided that at the ceremonial closing of the Pauline year, the "Pauline flame" that has burned in the basilica during the past 12 months would be kept lit, to symbolically keep alive "all that's been positive during this year."
Pope focuses on child-soldiers Indian replaces Ncube • By Cindy Wooden
VATICAN CITY (CNS) - Pope Benedict XVI offered his public support to the United Nations' efforts to prevent the recruitment and deployment of child soldiers and said he prays each day for suffering children around the world. At the end of his weekly general audience on June 24, the Pope greeted Radhika Coormaraswamy, the UN secretary-general's representative for children and armed conflict, who was accompanied by Grace Akallo and Kon Kelei, former child soldiers. The Pope told the group he had deep "appreciation for the commitment to defend child victims of violence and weapons." "Iremember all the children of the world, especially those who are exposed to fear, abandonment, hunger, abuse, sickness and death. The Pope is close to all of these little victims and remembers them always in his prayers: he said. For Akallo, now a 29-year-old graduate student in the US, the voice of the Pope is very important. When she was kidnapped in Uganda by rebels from the Lord's Resistance Army in 1996, she
said, Pope John Paul II appealed publicly for her release and that of the other girls taken with her from a Catholic school. "His voice alone is enough: she said. "When Pope John Paul spoke out about our abduction, the whole world heard about it. Even the rebels heard about it. They were so angry at us and they said, 'Who are you that even the Pope is talking about your" Late in the afternoon after meeting Pope Benedict, Akallo and the others spoke at a conference on the need to increase protection for children in times of war and to provide 'comprehensive rehabilitation programs to children who have been forced to take up arms. At the conference sponsored by the Rome-based Community of Sant'Egidio, Coormaraswamy said her office estimates there are about 250,000 children currently used as soldiers in wars and guerrilla conflicts around the world. The estimate has dropped by 50,000 over the past 10 years because of the end of fighting in Sierra Leone and Liberia, she said. The UN representative said faith communities are essential in the struggle to prevent the use of children in war and in the long process of helping child victims
recover from the traumatic experiences of having participated in killing and looting and having been abused sexually by older soldiers. "Communities of faith are communications networks: she said. They are a key part of an "early warning system' sharing and giving information about kidnappings or murders of children, educating parents and children about the dangers of recruitment ploys and in making sure that church-run schools are "safe zones." Sacred Heart Sister Rosemary Nyerumbe, who runs a centre for former child soldiers in northern Uganda, said that in her country's 21-year conflict with the Lord's Resistance Army "very little has been said about girl child soldiers: who are kept as concubines as well as soldiers. Helping those who have escaped return to some kind of normal life "is a big challenge. They are stigmatised and often rejected by their own families: said Sister Nyerumbe. She runs St Monica's Centre in Gulu, Uganda, which shelters potential victims and assists girls who have escaped. "We all have an obligation to restore the lost dignity of these children: she said.
Missionary to succeed Zimbabwean Archbishop.
VATICAN CITY (CNS) Pope Benedict XVI has named a 49-year-old Indian member of the Society of the Divine Word to be the new archbishop of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Bulawayo has been without an archbishop since September 2007 when Archbishop Pius Ncube, an outspoken opponent of Zimbabwe's political leadership, resigned in the midst of a sex scandal. He later admitted that he had an affair with a woman. Pope Benedict named Father Alex Thomas Kaliyanil, the superior of the Divine Word missionaries in Zimbabwe, to be the new archbishop of Bulawayo. Archbishop-
St Therese's astronaut visits Vatican The US astronaut who carried relics of St Therese of Lisieux into space and put them in orbit around the earth attended Benedict XVI's general audience on June 24. On a Discovery shuttle mission one year ago, Colonel Ronald Garan brought the relics given to him by a Carmelite community in Texas. The astronaut had called
designate Kaliyanil has served as a missionary in Zimbabwe since 1989, said the Vatican, which announced the appointment June 20. Born in 1960, in India's Kerala state, he studied philosophy and theology at Jnana Deepa Vidyapeeth, a pontifical institute in Pune, India. He also earned a diploma in economics from India's Mysore University. Ordained to the priesthood in 1988, the archbishop-designate's ministry in Zimbabwe has included service in several parishes, as a diocesan treasurer and as an adviser to the Catholic aid agency Caritas Zimbabwe. He has been regional superior of the Divine Word missionaries, also known as Verbites, since 2008.
the women religious before his space flight to ask for prayers, and at that time he told them he could take some small item into space on behalf of the community. The sisters reported that the words of St Therese came to mind: "Ihave the vocation of an apostle.I would like to travel over the whole earth to preach your name and to plant your glorious cross on infidel soil..." Garan stated that he will be bringing a second relic of the saint to space on his next mission, which is scheduled for March 2011.
July 1 2009, The Record
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Even in financial crisis, charity must go on: Pope • By Cindy Wooden
VATICAN CITY (CNS) - In the midst of an economic crisis, Catholic charitable agencies that assist Christians in the Middle East must give priority to caring for migrants and refugees and to reconstruction projects in the Gaza Strip, Pope Benedict XVI said. Meeting on June 25 with members of ROACO, a coalition of funding agencies coordinated
by the Congregation for Eastern Churches, the Pope said he knows "the world's delicate economic situation" made it impossible to fulfill all the requests for help. "In the spirit of faith, with competent analysis and the required sobriety" the Catholic Church must continue to demonstrate concretely its love for the suffering and its support for the Christian communities of the Middle East, he said. Pope Benedict asked the fund-
ing agencies, which include the New York-based Catholic Near East Welfare Association, to give particular attention to refugees and migrants of the Eastern Churches, to reconstruction in the Gaza Strip and to supporting seminaries for the training of priests. Charity, he said, is "the measure, method and verification" of how well Christians are following Christ. The Congregation for Eastern Churches and the coalition of
funding agencies are responsible for assisting Eastern-rite Churches around the world as well as the Latin-rite Church in the Holy Land. Pope Benedict told the meeting participants that his May trip to Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian territories was marked by "many moments of grace when I was able to encourage and comfort the Catholic communities in the Holy Land, urging their members to persevere in their witness - a wit-
ness filled with fidelity, celebration and at times great suffering." "I renew my prayer and my appeal for no more war, no more violence, no more injustice," he said. Pope Benedict pledged the entire Church's closeness to the Christians of the Middle East and its support for all Eastern Catholics, who "with their pastors work to build peaceful coexistence with the faithful of other Christian confessions and different religions."
To be a priest Canadian bishops find 'imprudence' but means giving oneself to Christ, no wrongdoing by aid partners Canada's prelates have cleared their social justice organisation over charges it was funding pro-abortion groups. • By Michael Swan
TORONTO (CNS) - The Mexican partners of the Canadian Catholic Organisation for Development and Peace were imprudent when they signed a statement on human rights sent to the United Nations, but Canada's bishops have found no evidence of wrongdoing on the part of the aid agency or its partners, said the president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops. Archbishop James Weisgerber of Winnipeg, Manitoba, said the bishops' report based on an investigation into allegations first made on a pro-life Web site will include recommendations for tighter protocols on the development agency's
future partnerships. Those recommendations will be withheld until all bishops have read the report, he said. LifeSiteNews.com reported on March 11 that Development and Peace funded Mexican groups that lobbied in favour of legal abortion. The charges prompted several Canadian bishops to say they would withhold donations collected during the agency's Share Lent campaign and the agency to temporarily suspend funding for the groups in question. Archbishop Weisgerber reversed an earlier decision not to speak about the investigation's findings until all the bishops had read the report, which was written by two bishops. The bishops and senior Development and Peace staff traveled to Mexico from April 15-18 to speak to the agency's partners and to Mexican bishops. "This thing is heating up," he said. "Before we release all the recommendations, I'm just giving an overall impression, given the fact that the group found no difficulty." The development agency is pre-
pared to review its protocols for engaging partners, said spokeswoman Wanda Potrykus. She denied that the agency provides funding without strings attached. "Anything we allocate money to, we have written reports that have to be submitted showing how the money was spent and whether it was spent as it was intended," Potrykus said. Archbishop Weisgerber said it is not necessary that Development and Peace work only with groups that espouse Catholic moral teaching. "It is also very clear from the direction given by Pope John XXIII and by the (Second Vatican) Council that the church is to work with other people, but not, in a sense, blindly," he said. "We have to work with people whose values we are not necessarily in agreement with." The archbishop cited the example of yearly Vatican contributions to UNICEF, with which the Vatican has disagreed on contraception and abortion policy. Vatican donations are earmarked for specific programs or projects
that reflect church priorities. In a related matter, the bishops are seeking clarification on a letter sent from the president of the Peruvian bishops' Commission on Family, Childhood and Life to Archbishop Weisgerber. The May 28 letter from Archbishop Jose Eguren Anselmi of Piura, Peru, claims three of the Canadian development agency's partners in Peru are "very committed with the pro-abortion movement:' "For this to come, again from a commission to me and to be released to the public before I receive the letter, there's an agenda at work here," Archbishop Weisgerber said. He also urged Catholics to turn to their bishops rather than blogs and Web sites when it comes to defining who or which organisation is Catholic. "People are taking interpretations and making them fact," he said. "People are believing these facts as though they were indisputable, when clearly they are very disputable. They are interpretations from a political standpoint."
Black priest says African-Americans must unite for life Sudanese facing • By Catholic News Service
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (CNS) An African-American priest who graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1989 told the National Right to Life convention on June 19 that he was "heartbroken" when he learned that Notre Dame planned to honor U.S. President Barack Obama at its 2009 commencement. "I was heartbroken to hear that my alma mater was betraying the Church and her bishops and selling her spiritual birthright for a mess of presidential pottage," said Josephite Father John Raphael, principal of St. Augustine High School in New Orleans. Father Raphael spoke on "The Impact of Notre Dame on the African-American and Pro-Life Communities" at the convention's prayer breakfast. As the principal of a predominantly black, all-boys Catholic
US prelates support fellow Bishop The US bishops are expressing support for the prelate who found himself in the spotlight when the University of Notre Dame invited Barack Obama to speak at their commencement last month. Bishop John D'Arcy of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana,
school, Father Raphael said he felt the tension of being an AfricanAmerican who celebrated the historical significance of the first African-American president but who as a Catholic was dismayed over the fact that the unborn would not be protected by this president's policies. His convictions led him to speak at an alternative commencement ceremony at Notre Dame in May and gave him greater motivation to reconnect African-Americans with their pro-life roots. His presence at Notre Dame was seen differently among most of the African-American and pro-life communities. "I was welcomed with open arms by my pro-life brothers and sisters, and I was an enigma at best and a traitor at worse to many of my African-American brothers and sisters," he said. "I found myself at the intersection of two communities who in many areas, even concerning the sanctity of
life, have much more in common than one might imagine." Father Raphael said he believes these two communities need to connect because they need each other, as they stand on "different banks of a mighty and destructive river." "African-Americans need prolifers because African-Americans and minority communities are being systematically targeted by anti-life forces," he said. "Our future is being destroyed by the genocidal magnitude of legalised abortion." Pro-lifers need the AfricanAmerican community, he said, because blacks with their unique American history provide new energy to the movement. Father Raphael said the ice needs to be broken and the bridge to be built in a culturally sensitive way that respects the past and future of each community as they fight for the same ideas - the equal rights and protection of all.
became the centre of national attention in March when he voiced disagreement with the US University of Notre Dame's decision to honour the President with an honorary degree. The bishop notified Father John Jenkins, the university's president, that he would not attend the ceremony. More than 80 bishops and 367,000 Catholics echoed his concerns, saying the university's president was compromis-
ing the school's Catholic identity. "The bishops of the United States express our appreciation and support for our brother bishop, the Most Reverend John D'Arcy," the bishops wrote in a statement published today. "We affirm his pastoral concern for Notre Dame University, his solicitude for its Catholic identity, and his loving care for all those the Lord has given him to sanctify, to teach and to shepherd."
a permanent crisis: Caritas
Caritas is warning that the poverty and warring in the region of Darfur and the south of Sudan have reached a level that qualifies as a permanent humanitarian crisis. Catholic leaders from Sudan and Caritas members held a twoday meeting that ended on June 23 at the agency's Vatican headquarters, in order to discuss how to respond to this crisis in the most effective way. Bishop Edward Kussala of Tombura-Yambio, Sudan, confirmed his country is facing big challenges. The agency reported that 16 per cent of the population is south Sudan is malnourished, and nine out of ten people live on less than US$1 a day. It noted that in 2007, the region had the highest maternal mortality rate in the world, with some 203 women dying for every 10,000 births. The bishop affirmed that the Church and Caritas "are the only sources of education, health and social services." The agency reported that only half of the 4 million refugees who fled during conflicts in the south have returned home. In Darfur in the west, some 2.7 million people are displaced from their homes due to ongoing fighting.
Benedict says
• By Cindy Wooden
VATICAN CITY (CNS) - Priests can preach the Gospel effectively only if they give their lives totally to Christ, Pope Benedict XVI said.
Pope Benedict XVI waves to the faithful as he arrives in St Peter's CNS Basilica earlier this year.
At his weekly general audience on June 24, the Pope said the fact that the new Year for Priests overlapped for 10 days with the concluding year of St. Paul is a useful reminder that priests must be missionaries as well as celebrants of the sacraments. "Because he belongs to Christ, the priest is radically at the service of men and women. He is the minister of their salvation, their happiness, their authentic liberation," he told an estimated 11,000 people gathered for the audience in St. Peter's Square. Pope Benedict said he hoped the Year for Priests, which began June 19, would help priests "grow toward the spiritual perfection" they need to be effective ministers and would help the faithful "appreciate more fully the great gift of grace which the priesthood is." The Pope said, "An authentic service of the Word requires that the priest tends toward a denial of self," so that with St. Paul he can say, "I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me." A priest is called not simply to function as the minister of Christ's grace, but to truly embody Christ's grace, which "requires that the priest progressively lose himself in Christ, participating in the mystery of his death and resurrection with his entire being - intelligence, liberty, will and the offering of his own body," the Pope said. "Only participation in Christ's sacrifice, his lenosis' (self-emptying), makes proclamation authentic," he said. The Pope prayed that the world's priests always would be aware of "the responsibility of their mission, which is to be the sign and the presence of the infinite mercy of God" in the world.
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Faith grew out of Vietnam War's suffering
Do Hoang
p
rayer is spiritual food that we can eat everyday. Food is necessary for the body but prayer is necessary for the soul. It nourishes us with happiness and peace. I pray every moment that I can. When I pray it is like a father and a son talking together. I silently reflect on how He loves us unconditionally. St John said God is Love. Our faith develops if we pray daily. God loves us ten million times more then our human fathers. Life is our chance to acknowledge God as our Father. The Gospel tells us God looks after with Debbie Warner the birds, so He will take even greater care of us. Therefore we should not worry for the future but for our soul. Normally when I pray I ask for God's grace and blessing. For example, I might ask God to bless me if I am unwell. If I remain unwell I would still thank God because He must have a reason. God always responds when we pray. However, He might respond in a different way than we expected. We still have to thank God because we don't know what might have happened otherwise. It is like when a baby wants a knife and the father refuses to give it to him. When he grows up he remembers this. It is then that he realises how greatly his father loves him because his father took away the danger. When we understand that God loves us like this we realise His love is marvellous. Our way may not be His way. However, if we trust in Him we always get the best results. Mary has had a big impact on my life. When I was growing up in Vietnam my father had to become a soldier during the war. My mother had to travel everywhere to make money to bring us up. As I didn't have a lot of chance to live with my own mother Ibecame close to Mary. I love her very much. She is my heavenly Mother. During my childhood I went to live with my grandmother. She taught me faith by example. Once she took the blame for me so I wouldn't get in trouble from my parents. I had broken some expensive glasses and she accidentally stepped on these whilst cooking. Although pieces stuck in her feet, my grandmother stood up and said it was her fault.I felt like crying. She was like Jesus. She "died" for another.I have never forgotten that. When I moved to Australia I had the opportunity to stay with some priests. Then I entered the seminary and the former rector there had a very strong faith. He prayed the Rosary everyday. As seminarians we had to pray the Rosary but he did it because of his great love of Mary. He also taught me by example. Ilater decided to leave the seminary and got married this year! I prayed to discern my true vocation. God sent my wife to me andI love her. I thought wanted to be a priest but that was not my destiny. Finding God's love in life is our destiny. Whether you experience success or failure, God still loves you with His unconditional love. He is my heavenly Father andI feel happy that I recognize that.
Three crises that Catholic 1 Notre Dame The view from
Beginning this week, one of the leaders in Australian tertiary education, Vice Chancellor Celia Hammond of the University of Notre Dame Australia, commences a regular monthly column in The Record. Her first contribution is on the contemporary global crises faced by Catholic families and educators. To solve these challenges, she writes, Catholic education needs to equip young Australians with the clarity to navigate life in complex times. This task is clearly counter-cultural.
Howl Pray Now
If you have a story to tell please contact Debbie via debwarrier@hotmail.com
July 1 2009, The Record
n May 2008, Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski, Prefect of the Vatican's Congregation for Education, visited Fordham University in the United States and paid tribute to Catholic Schools in that country, and indeed worldwide. His Eminence stressed that Catholic Schools are as vital and important today as they have ever been - perhaps even more so. His reasons for proclaiming their importance essentially boiled down to the need for Catholic Schools to address three current compelling issues: • The modern day "crises of values" • The modern day "crises of the family", and • The increasingly prevalent notion that education is simply about "handing on knowledge and skills': Cardinal Grocholewski highlighted the threat that 'cultural globalisation' could, if not checked, result in a kind of colonisation by one culture of all others, whereby all other cultures are "levelled out" and there is a unification of cultures. The danger with this globalisation is that we end up with a monoculture which is devoid of all values and an education that communicates no foundations. While he doesn't say so expressly, it is implicit within the words of his speech that he perceives this threat to be great - and that the "colonisation" has already commenced. His Eminence identified one of the "crises of the family" as the ever decreasing role which families are playing in the education of their children. That families are no longer carrying out "a primary and essential role in education" is a threat to the development of
our children, to our family structures and ultimately to society. His Eminence's third concern was what he saw as the increasingly prevalent notion that education is simply about "handing on knowledge and skills" with no context, no framework. He stated that "we need Catholic Schools that concern themselves with the integral education of the human person in all his or her dimensions: human, intellectual, spiritual and religious, cultural and professional': I make these references to Cardinal Grocholewski because his identification of these three issues - the crises in values, family and education, is as relevant to modern Australia as it is to America. While the Cardinal's speech was directed at Catholic schooling, I would add that these issues give rise to an equally compelling justification and need for Catholic universities. As good and as wonderful as our Catholic schools are at addressing these challenges, our young people leave school at perhaps the most vulnerable time of their lives - at the age of 17 or 18. The challenges identified by Cardinal Grocholewski are not problems that stop at the end of year 12, when our young people are 17 or 18. Alas, attaining the age of 18, the statutory age of majority here in Australia, does not come with a certificate of wisdom, of understanding, of maturity. In many ways, it is the time of greatest challenge for any young person: leaving a regulated and ordered school environment where there is care and discipline for an environment which is free and permissive, where choice seems endless yet personal responsibil-
Would killing Hitler be moral? Operation Valkyrie poses the issue I recently saw the film "Valkyrie", in which Tom Cruise plays the part of Col. Claus von Stauffenberg, a German officer involved in a plot to kill Hitler and arrest the Nazi hierarchy. As von Stauffenberg is portrayed as a devout Catholic, I was wondering whether it would be moral to be involved in such activities under those circumstances.
y
ou ask about a very particular historical situation, the answer to which would presuppose a thorough knowledge of all the particular circumstances involved, but one can say that in certain circumstances yes, it would be moral to take up arms to overthrow those in authority. Professor Germain Grisez, a highlyregarded American moral theologian and author of a three-volume text on moral theology entitled The Way of the Lord Jesus, deals with the question in Volume 2 of that work. Under a sub-heading "Rarely, force may be used to replace a bad regime" (p. 885), he writes: "When regimes repress justified action for non-violent reform and use institutionalised violence to maintain structural injustices, they and their supporters are chiefly responsible for revolutionary outbreaks which occur when people in desperation resort to arms in their pursuit of justice. Moreover, since bad rulers who systematically pursue ends at odds with a nation's common good have no real authority, their status is the same as that of rebels against a just government (cf. St Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, 2-2, q. 42, a. 2, ad 3). Therefore, the Church's teaching admits the possible moral justification of recourse to armed struggle as a last resort "to put an end to an obvious and prolonged tyranny which is gravely
damaging the fundamental rights of individuals and the common good" (CDF, Instr. on Christian Freedom and Liberation (1986), 79). Grisez goes on to express the obvious reservations that should be taken into account before pursuing armed struggle, which, he says, can only be a last resort. They correspond to those in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The Catechism teaches: "Armed resistance to oppression by political authority is not legitimate, unless all the following conditions are met: 1) there is certain, grave, and prolonged violation of fundamental rights; 2) all other means of redress have been exhausted; 3) such resistance will not provoke worse disorders; 4) there is
well-founded hope of success; and 5) it is impossible reasonably to foresee any better solution" (CCC 2243). These conditions are very restrictive, so that very rarely would they all be met. It is a matter of a prudential judgment whether they were met during Hitler's repressive regime, and it would not be appropriate nor possible for me to analyse them in detail in this column. Nonetheless, it would certainly appear that Hitler's regime was one where a good case could be made for the conditions being met and therefore recourse to arms being lawful. The film to which you refer mentions that Operation Valkyrie was one of 15 plots to kill Hitler. This suggests that many people considered that his regime was iniquitous enough to be ended by force. Among those working against Hitler was Admiral Wilhelm Canaris, head of the counterintelligence service. When he heard of Hitler's intention to kidnap or kill Pope Pius XII in 1943, he informed his Italian counterpart so that the plot would not succeed. Canaris was dismissed as the head of German intelligence in February 1944, put under house arrest and executed in 1945. Significantly, Grisez, in giving the criterion to be followed when one is unsure of the morality of a particular course of action, gives the example of Germans "uncertain about the moral permissibility of killing a tyrant, yet convinced that if such killing is permissible, they had an obligation to participate in a plot to assassinate Hitler" (Ibid., p. 287). Grisez concludes that if such people, although in doubt, thought it more likely to be true that killing Hitler was permissible, they could proceed. All in all, it seems that Hitler's regime was one where a good case could be made for armed resistance to authority. Questions can be senbt to: director@caeccom.au
July 1 2009, The Record
PERSPECTIVES
education must address
ity limited. To many young people, the move into this environment is at one and the same time both exhilarating and confronting. In Australia, at the age of 18 you can vote, drink alcohol - you are legally an adult. Provided you don't break the law, and assuming your family does not lock you inside, the range of life-options available is extraordinarily wide. Given the technological world in which we now live, the role models and examples available to young people are limitless. A click on the internet, via computer or phone, exposes them to more things than we could have possibly imagined even 15 years ago. Young people need the ability to distinguish what is good, what is bad, what is valid, what is nonsense - to make
judgment and assessment of what they are looking at. To make a decision as to what they put on Facebook or MySpace, when they see what others are doing on their own pages. To make decisions about their lives which may seem anachronistic and old fashioned against all that is going on around them. To identify their goals, make choices that achieve these goals, and stay sensitive to the deep goals and ideals of all men and women. One need only look at the Australian Bureau of Statistics data on the comparatively high level of risk taking by youth (binge drinking, drug taking, drink driving, violence) and the levels of mental illness, or look at the information that is publicly posted on Facebook and Myspace to realise that these are very real challenges for youth.
While a good strong family and a good Catholic schooling give most young people a very sound base; the need for continued formation, support, care and advice doesn't stop at age 17 or 18. I know, from my own readings and observations over the last 16 years of teaching in universities, that our Catholic Schools have a very high rate of success in "forming" and "preparing" our young people for the challenges of the world they face post school. However - and the statistical and research work undertaken in recent years supports this - the ever-developing choice and freedom in the world today, coupled with ever increasing confusion and risk and the comparative emotional immaturity of many our school leavers, means that there is still a great need and a great desire for a post school environment which is supportive and which can help a young person to mature and develop into their "adult selves". It is my firm belief that the Catholic ethos which underpins the Catholic education system from kindergarten to secondary school is just as vital, is just as relevant, to a tertiary institution. While a Catholic university, just like a Catholic school, cannot stop young people from making mistakes and errors in judgment, it can continue to reinforce Christian values of dignity, humility, mercy, forgiveness, self analysis, respect, compassion, justice and love for self and others during the transition into the adult world. The Catholic university can guide, support and nurture the individual where necessary in a counter cultural way - and allow our young people to reach their potential, realise their humanity, and make their way in the world.
UK aims to make Cross illegal In clear view By Guy Crouchback
W
hile the anti-Christian ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) in the US fights against Christian symbols such as crucifixes being displayed in public places, it seems possible that in Britain a twisted and anti-Christian (I use the word carefully) application of "human rights" may prevent them being displayed even within the private premises of religious buildings, such as Catholic schools and care homes. Catholic bishops have warned that that under the terms of Equality Minister Harriet Harman's new "Equality Bill" they could be guilty of harassment if they depicted images "offensive" to nonCatholics. Harassment is defined in the Bill, which is being scrutinised by a Parlimentary Committee, as "unwanted conduct... with the purpose or effect of violating a person's dignity, or of creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading or offensive environment". The bishops of England, Wales and Scotland have warned that because the burden of proof for such a highly subjective definition is reversed in legal proceedings, it would put them in an impossible position if people complained about any manifestation of religious belief even on or in Church property. Mgr Andrew Summersgill, the general secretary of the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, said: "The practical consequences of this are that a Catholic care home, for example, may have crucifixes and holy pictures on
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the walls which reflect and support the beliefs of the residents. "A cleaner may be an atheist or of very different religious beliefs. Nonetheless, if a cleaner found the crucifixes offensive there would be no defence in law against a charge of harassment." It would, incidentally, be almost certainly illegal for a Catholic establishment to refuse a cleaner employment simply because of atheism. Although the matter is not resolved yet, it shows how "human rights" can be used as an instrument for persecution, of the sort which we thought had disappeared in Britain nearly two hundred years ago, in an allegedly modern and enlightened society when driven by a government imbued and pervaded by a secularist, anti-religious agenda. Writing in the British Catholic Herald newspaper Simon Caldwell says: "Even though the Bill is supposed to ensure equality for religious groups Miss Harman conspicuously forgot to mention this when she announced the proposals to the House of Commons last month. "A fortnight ago she also refused point blank to allow a debate on the rising numbers of Christians complaining that they are discriminated against in the public sector. "Her refusal to acknowledge a problem comes in spite of a sudden proliferation in the number of legal battles between [public sector] employers and Christians suspended or sacked for expressing their religious convictions or simply wearing religious jewellery such as crucifixes. "Publicly-funded Church schools, adoption agencies and even hospital chaplains have all come under attack while the Government has given taxpayers' money to groups that promote atheism" The government committee has heard evidence from various anti-Catholc and
anti-Christian groups in favour of the bill. Caldwell quotes Fr Tim Finigan, a priest in south-east London, that: "For the Government to promote this agenda in the extreme form it is taking in the Equality Bill at a time when the political system is suffering unparalleled contempt, is stupid beyond belief." Caldwell comments further that: "The Equality Bill is an overarching piece of legislation designed to sweep up the different strands of discrimination law created over the last few decades into one coherent package. "Equality and diversity guidelines used by employers have already been used against Christians who expressed their faith at work. Examples include Christian nurse Caroline Petrie, who was suspended after offering to pray for a patient. "The Government has made clear that certain provisions in the Bill are intended to make sure churches can no longer insist that employees such as youth workers live lives consistent with the churches' teaching on sexual ethics." Caldwell continues that: "Neil Addison, a barrister and an expert on discrimination law, said there was no need for the Equality Bill to contain any clauses on harassment because British law already covered it. "He said it had arisen from a misinterpretation of the European legal requirement to prevent harassment in the workplace. But he said the provisions of the Bill lacked the objective test of reasonableness included in the Protection from Harassment Act 1997. -It is tailor-made for people to come
up with silly objections and be pettyminded because it puts the emphasis on the person being offended rather than on an objective test of what ought to be considered reasonable": What do you think? Send your letter to the Editor at. cathrec@iinet.net.au
Be quick to forgive, even quicker to ask for forgiveness Fr Erasto Fernandez SSS, a Blessed Sacrament priest, continues his reflections on the Eucharist during this the Year for Priests.
Sacrament of Charity Christian living: a response of forgiving love.
W
e have seen how God's forgiveness is always a gift to us. Should we then take sin lightly because God is so good and 'lenient'? If we do, it simply means that we have not really understood God's love. No one who experiences God's love deeply can consciously offend him again. Yet, so often, we choose self in preference to God's will and thus break or weaken our relationship with Him. In spite of this, instead of punishing us, he still lovingly welcomes us back. "Come back to Me, with all your heart..." So, not only at Eucharist but also throughout our lives, we thank and praise God for his immense forgiving love given so freely and readily each time we fail. At the Penitential Rite, therefore, we should not abjectly crave for mercy as we pray or sing 'Lord, have mercy: Such a grovelling approach is actually an insult to God's graciousness and generosity in always taking the initiative to forgive us. The more accurate way of rendering 'Lord, have mercy' would be: 'Lord, you are so generous, loving and merciful; you welcome us back with tender compassion; you are the source of all mercy.' Once we adopt this approach to God's mercy, we need to reflect these positive sentiments in our stance, our tone of voice and our general bearing. God's love is a transforming love. Now the test of our having gratefully and efficaciously received his forgiving love and allowed it to transform us is that we can reach out to others with an equally generous forgiveness. Another sign that we have received God's forgiveness effectively is that we do not return to the same old sinful life-style. God's forgiveness transforms us into a new creation. Luke stresses the point that in the very act of forgiving others we ourselves are forgiven. The parable of the 'Unforgiving Servant' reminds us that God's gracious forgiveness cannot be kept for oneself alone: it has to be passed on. Further, the forgiveness we share with others is God's own forgiveness, not ours. In practice, this means that if we deliberately refuse to forgive others, we close the doors of our hearts to God's forgiveness for ourselves too. Hence during the Penitential Rite, we focus not only on God and his graciousness, but also look outwards towards others, to see whether we have really forgiven all those who have hurt us. After God has forgiven us so completely, we cannot afford to keep even an unconscious grudge against any of our brothers and sisters. We recall the words of Jesus: "If you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that you brother has something against you ..." (Mt. 5:23-24). At our next Eucharist we could consciously pause and ask ourselves: 'Is there anyone in my life that I need to forgive now even as I praise God for his gift of forgiveness to me?' Am I in the habit of keeping score of the wrongs others have done me? Do I realize that if I still feel hurt, it is because I am not yet fully secure in the Father's love for me? Since the Father holds me tenderly in his arms, no one can really hurt or harm me. "For those who love God, everything works for their good ... who will separate us from the love of Christ?" (Rom. 8:30-39).
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July 1 2009, The Record
PANORAMA A roundup of events in the Archdiocese
Panorama entries must be in by 12pm Monday. Contributions may be emailed to administration@therecord.com.au, faxed to 9227 7087, or mailed to PO Box 75, Leederville, WA 6902. Submissions over 55 words will be edited. Inclusion is limited to 4 weeks. Events charging over $10 will be a put into classifieds and charged accordingly. The Record reserves the right to decline or modify any advertisment. Thursday July 2 GROUP 50 CHARISMATIC PRAYER GROUP 7.30pm at Redemptorist Monastery, North Perth. Praise and Mass with Anointing of the Sick. Winter recess 16 July to 6 August inclusive. Meetings commence 13 August at 7.30pm with Praise and Mass with Anointing of the sick. Saturday July 4 WITNESS FOR LIFE 8.30am at St Augustine's, Gladstone Road, Rivervale, Mass followed by Rosary procession and prayer vigil at abortion clinic, led by Columban Missionary priest, Fr Paul Carey Enq: Helen 9402 0349. Saturday July 4 DAY WITH MARY 9am to 5pm at Good Shepherd Church, 215 Morley Drive East, Kiara, 9am Video on Fatima. Day of prayer and instruction based on the Fatima message. Reconciliation, Holy Mass, Eucharistic Adoration, Sermons on Eucharist and Our Lady, Rosaries, Procession of the Blessed Sacrament and Stations of the Cross. BYO lunch. Enq: Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate 9250 8286. Sunday July 5 DIVINE MERCY 1 .30pm at St Joachim's Church Shepperton Road and Harper Street, Victoria Park. Rosary and Reconciliation, Sermon on St Thomas the Apostle, with Fr Anthony Van Dyke OP, followed by Divine Mercy prayers and Benediction. Refreshments, followed by Video/DVD to be selected. Enq: 9457 7771 or Linda 9275 6608. Wednesday July 8 CHAPLETS OF THE DIVINE MERCY 7.30pm at St Thomas More Catholic Church, Dean Road, Bateman. A beautiful, prayerful, sung devotion accompanied by Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and later Benediction. All are welcome. Enq: George 9310 9493 home, 9325 2010 work. Wednesday July 8 MONTHLY MASS IN HONOUR OF BLESSED MARY MACKILLOP 6pm Sisters of St Joseph's Chapel, 16 York Street, South Perth. Everyone welcome. Enq: Sr Maree 0414 683 926. Thursday July 9 GROUP 50 CHARISMATIC PRAYER GROUP 7.30pm, Praise and Mass at Redemptorist Monastery. Winter recess July 16 to August 6 inclusive. Meetings commence 13 August at 7.30pm with Praise and Mass with Anointing of the Sick. Thursday July 9 to Sunday July 12 MARIAPOLIS 2009 - LOVE CREATES WISDOM 2pm at the Institute of Agriculture, Curtin University Campus, Muresk, Northam. Come for spiritual renewal. Emphasis will be on living the Gospel together and learning to build relationships based on Jesus' New Commandment, so as to take that experience back to our environment. Enq: 9349 4052 or www.focolare.org. Saturday July 11 ST PADRE PIO DAY OF PRAYER 8.30am at St Mary's, 40 Franklin Street, Leederville, St
See of Peter key VATICAN CITY (CNS) - A common understanding of the role the bishop of Rome played in the united Christianity of the first millennium is essential for resolving the question of the primacy of the Pope in a united Church, Pope Benedict XVI said. He met on June 27 with the Orthodox Metropolitan Emmanuel of France, Bishop Athenagoras of Sinope and Deacon Ioakim Billis of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. The three Greek Orthodox
Padre Pio DVD, followed by Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, Rosary, Divine Mercy, Silent Adoration and Benediction. llam Holy Mass using St Padre Pio Liturgy, celebrant Fr Tiziano Bogoni. Confessions available. BYO shared lunch. Tea and coffee supplied. Enq: Des 6278 1540. Sunday July 12 THE WORLD APOSTOLATE OF FATIMA AUST INC Holy Hour of Reparation. 3pm at St Mary's Church, Franklin Street, Leederville, all welcome. Enq: 9339 2614. Monday July 13 to Tuesday July 14 R AYMOND DE SOUZA AUSTRALIAN TOUR - TALKS 7.30pm at St Joseph's, 22 Hamilton Street, Bassendean, and 14 July at 12.30pm Bio Ethics Centre, Jugan Street, Glendalough, after the 10.30am Mass. Will talk on De-Christianisation, the Culture War and the Gospel of Life. 7.30pm St Bernadette's, Jugan Street, Glendalough talk on The Third Secret of Fatima, what was it all about? Enq: Geoff 0418 933 152. Tuesday July 14 to Tuesday July 21 FR CARLOS MASSIEU MASSES AND TALKS ON THE COMING OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD 10.30am-12noon 14 July, St Bernadette's Church, Glendalough. 14 and 15 July Oceania Vocations Conference. 7.30pm-9pm, 17 July, St Brigid's Church, Midland. 18 July Casa di Luisa Piccarreta, 59 Newton Street, Spearwood, 2pm-4pm. 19 July Corpus Christi, Mosman Park, (Spanish). 20 July Casa di Luisa Piccarreta, 10am-2pm. 20 July, Christ the King, Beaconsfield, 7pm8.30pm, (Italian). 21 July Casa di Luisa Piccarreta, 10am2pm. 21 July, Casa di Luisa Piccarreta, 7.30pm-9pm. Enq: Jenny 9494 2604, Wednesday July 15 HOLY HOUR ADORATION FOR CHILDREN 4pm to 5pm at St Bernadetfte's Church, 49 Jugan Street, Mt Hawthorn, with two Brothers from the Congregation of St John based in the United States of America. This is for children aged 4 and up. Children will have a greater appreciation of the Real Presence. All children welcome. Enq: 9443 3240. Wednesday July 15 to Sunday July 19 CYM HOPE CONFERENCE Chisholm Catholic College, 1104 Beaufort Street, Bedford. Based on the WYD09 Theme from 1Tim 4:10 and the Pope's 2007 Encyclical 'Spe Salvi'. The conference will include seminars, workshops, guest speakers, music, drama and other activities to inspire and empower our youth. Open for youth teenagers to 35 years. Enq: admin@cym.com.au or 9422 7912. Thursday July 16 INTRODUCTION TO PASTORAL CARE 9am to 12.30pm at Acts 2 College of Mission and Evangelisation, 8 week course covering people skills, different behaviours. Principles of Christian counselling and, applying theory in diverse pastoral care situations. Enq: Jane 0401 692 690. Thursday July 16 CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP 9am to 12.30pm Acts 2 College of Mission and Evangelisation, 8 week course exploring basic principles of Christian Leadership and how to grow in leadership. represented Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople at the evening prayer service closing the year of St. Paul on June 28. Meeting the delegation privately before the festivities began, the Pope said the year of St Paul was a year "of prayer, of reflection and of exchanging gestures of communion between Rome and Constantinople." The Pope said the joint activities were the best way to honour St Paul, who urged Christians "to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace, teaching us that there is 'only one body and one spirit":
Practical aspects and dynamics of living in the Body of Christ, how to grow in participation and service in the life of a Christian Community. Enq: Jane 0401 692 690. Thursday July 16 YOUTH MINISTRY 9am to 12.30pm Acts 2 College of Mission and Evangelisation, 8 week course covers the 5 key aspects in ministering to young people today. Learn strategies that help to evangelise youth, how to provide opportunities for fellowship and discipleship. Investigate how to engage young people in active ministry to their peers. Enq: Jane 0401 692 690. Thursday July 16 MID -YEAR INTAKE FULL TIME COURSE Acts 2 College of Mission and Evangelisation, Certificate IV in Christian Ministry. Learn more about the Catholic faith, evangelisation, communication, your spiritual gifts and sacred scripture. This is a life changing experience. Enq: Jane 0401 692690. Thursday July 16 SOLEMNITY OF OUR LADY OF MOUNT CARMEL 11 am at the Carmelite Monastery, 100 Adelma Road, Nedlands. A sung Concelebrated Mass with Archbishop Barry Hickey as Principal Celebrant. All are most welcome, morning tea will be provided. Saturday July 18 ST PADRE PIO DAY OF PRAYER - ITALIAN 8.30am at St Lawrence Church, 392 Albert Street, Balcatta, St Padre Pio DVD, followed by Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, Rosary, Divine Mercy, Silent Adoration and Benediction. 1 lam Holy Mass using St Padre Pio Liturgy, celebrant Fr Tiziano Bogoni. Confessions available. BYO shared lunch. Tea and coffee supplied. Enq: Des 6278 1540. Monday July 20 to Tuesday July 21 ELECTIONS AND FRATERNAL VISIT Fr Michael Brown OFM, WA Regional Minister and a member of the WA Regional Executive of the Secular Franciscans will be in Geraldton for elections and fraternal visit. Anyone interested in learning more about the Franciscan way of life should contact, Helen 08 9937 1052 or Colleen 08 9921 3315. Saturday July 25 to Sunday July 26 400 YEARS CELEBRATION FOR LORETO SISTERS Three Springs Parish 6.30pm Saturday at Three Springs Shire Hall, dinner. llam Sunday Mass held in St Paul's Church followed by BBQ lunch. Accommodation, Three Springs Tourist Lodge 9954 1065 or Commercial Hotel: 9954 104. Those wishing to attend these celebrations, please advise ASAP by July 1. Enq - Convent: 9954 1010 or Myrtle 9954 1135, or jackkeoghOwn.com.au Sunday July 26 ST ANNE'S BINDOON FIFTH ANNIVERSARY MASS AND BLESSING OF GROTTO 12noon BYO Lunch, followed 1pm Holy Rosary, Exposition, Hymns, Benediction. 1.30pm Marian Procession and blessing of the Grotto. 2pm Holy Mass, Main Celebrant Bishop Sproxton, followed by Chaplet of Divine Mercy and tea. Depart for Perth 4pm. Transport booking: Francis 9459-3873 or 0404 893 877. Enq: Jean 9576-0006
Cyberspace causing problems DUBLIN, Ireland (CNS) - Cyberspace is causing real-world problems for a growing number of married couples, according to research conducted by ACCORD, the Irish bishops' agency providing care and support for marriage. For the past three years, ACCORD studied how often high levels of Internet usage were cited among the sources of marital conflict. John Farrelly, the agency's director of counseling
or Fr Paul 95711839. Sunday July 26 CATHOLIC DOCTOR'S ASSOCIATION WA DAY OF REFLECTION AND MASS 10am at Redemptorist Mater Seminary, 26 Camboon Road, Morley, with Fr Michael Moore. An invitation is extended to any Medical parishioners who would like to attend are welcome. Lunch will be served. RSVP by 12 July, for catering purposes to Suzanne ljgbc diinet.net. au or 9242 4066. Thursday July 28 PRAYER DAY Reflecting on Hope with Mary MacKillop, 9.30am at Mary MacKillop Centre, 16 York Street, South Perth, from 10am to 1pm, talk on, facilitated by, Dora Maguire, RSJ. RSVP: Monday 20 July. Cost, donation. Enq: marymackillopcentre@sosjwa.org.au or 9334 0999. Friday July 31 MEDJUGORJE - EVENING OF PRAYER 7pm at St Anne's Catholic Church, Stirling Highway and Alfred Road, North Fremantle. All are invited to an evening of prayer with Our Lady Queen of Peace. Evening commences with Adoration, Rosary, and Benediction, followed by Holy Mass. Free DVD on conversion of Don Calloway who was drug addict, committing felonies but later became a Catholic priest. Enq: 9402 2480. Friday August 7 to Sunday August 9 BEGINNING EXPERIENCE WEEKEND PROGRAM SEPARATED, DIVORCED, WIDOWED A weekend program at Epiphany Retreat Centre, Rossmoyne, designed to assist and support people in learning to close the door gently on a relationship that has ended, in order to get on with living. Enq: Maureen 9537 115 or Bev 9332 7971. Sunday August 30 to Wednesday September 2 CATHOLIC WOMEN'S LEAGUE - AUSTRALIA BIENNIAL NATIONAL CONFERENCE 3pm at Redemptorist Monastery Church. Opening Mass celebrated by Bishop Don Sproxton. All welcome. Conference will be held at Novotel Langley Hotel, Perth. Wonderful guest speakers lined up including Celia Hammond, Vice Chancellor of Notre Dame University, Fremantle, who will present the keynote address. Enq: Maria sec.cwla@westnet.com.au or 9751 1936. AL-ANON/ALATEEN FAMILY GROUPS If your home is unhappy because someone drinks too much. . .. We can help you. For understanding and support to families and friends of problem drinkers. Enq: 9325 7528. Every Sunday LATIN MASS 2pm at the Good Shepherd Parish, 40-42 Streich Avenue, Kelmscott, according to the 1962 missal, with Rosary preceding. All welcome. Every 1st Thursday of the Month PRAYER AND MEDITATION SERVICE TAIZE SONGS. 7.30pm at Our Lady of Grace, 3 Kitchener Street, North Beach, come for a prayerful meditation singing together beautiful easy to learn chants from Taize. Spend time in meditative silence, bathed in candlelight reflecting upon themed readings. Enq: Beth 9447 0061 or 9448 4888. services, said the issue is now "statistically significant," with seven per cent of clients in the first half of 2009 reporting it as their primary problem. "The key areas which are causing conflict are Internet gambling, infidelity and one partner spending too much time online rather than with their spouse and family," Farrelly said in a statement. ACCORD'S half-year statistics showed a growing number of Irish couples seeking marriage counseling because of financial pressures. The percentage of clients identifying finances as a marital problem increased from 20 per cent in 2007 to 31 percent in irst half of 2009.
11”
r1,11.1.
July 1 2009, The Record
in brief...
Pius XII jibe fault of communists ROME (Zenit) - The director of the Vatican's semi-official daily newspaper L'Osservatore Romano contends that the Black Legend surrounding Pope Pius XII and Nazism has two causes: Communist propaganda and division within the Church. Giovanni Maria Vian affirmed this when he talked with ZENIT about a book that he edited titled "In Difesa di Pio XII: Le Ragioni della Storia" (In Defense of Pius XII: The Reasons of History). Benedict XVI's secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, presented the book last week. Vian uses the expression "leggenda nera" (black legend) in referring to the controversy surrounding Pius XII, which claims the Pope did too little to stop the Nazi horrors against the Jews. He said that at the Pope's death in 1958, he was unanimously praised for his efforts during the Second World War, but since then he has truly been "demonized:' How was such a reversal of image possible, a reversal that took place within the space of a few short years, beginning more or less around 1963?Vian attributes this campaign against the Pope first of all to Communist propaganda, which intensified during the Cold War. "The line that the Pope and the Holy See assumed during the years of conflict, averse to totalitarianism but traditionally neutral, was, according to actual deeds, favourable to the antiHitler alliance," Vian wrote.
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Both groups "value Catholic identity, affirm core Catholic beliefs and stress the importance of the sacraments," said James D. Davidson, professor emeritus of sociology at Purdue University, during the Mgr Philip J Murnion Lecture sponsored by the Catholic Common Ground Initiative at The Catholic University of America. But the two groups, identified as Culture I and Culture II Catholics, can differ dramatically on other aspects of Catholic beliefs and practices, Davidson said. Culture I Catholics see the clergy as the church's authority figures, place a high value on obedience and agree with the church even on peripheral beliefs, he said, while Culture II Catholics see the laity as leaders, value thinking for themselves and often disagree with church teaching on peripheral matters. Davidson said sociological data shows "a steady movement away from Culture I toward Culture II" among younger generations of Catholics in the United States. "These younger generations continue to identify with the faith, but they are not as attached to the church as pre-Vatican II Catholics."
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MISSION MATTERS Missionary reflections on this Sunday's Gospel; Mark 1: 41-42 "...Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him... and the leprosy left him at once and he was cured..." Despite the availability of multi-drug therapies that successfully cure leprosy, there are between 450,000 and 700,000 new cases of the disease still being diagnosed each year throughout the developing world. On top of this there are over 3 million people world-wide suffering from serious and chronic disabilities caused by the disease. I remember quite vividly the first leper I had to treat with foot massage at a Mission clinic in Africa.I remember the revulsion and fear I felt at the sight of her feet.I remember the shame I felt as she smiled gently at me. It was a smile that was so forgiving, so understanding, so healing. At the end of our session together it was me that was cured of the 'leprosy' in my heart. Interested in overseas missionary experience, then call Catholic Mission on 94227933'
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BOOKS
Raise children, and you're touching God Book Review
LOVE IN THE LITTLE THINGS
Tales of Family Life By Mike Aquilina
RRP: $26.95 + P/H • Reviewed by Mark Reidy Parenting is God's way of making Christianity simple according to the author of Love in the Little Things. This unique and insightful book can best be described as an entertaining, yet down to earth, family guidebook that relevantly incorporates the Scriptures and Church teachings into the joys and
woes of everyday life. Presented in 40 short chapters, Mike Aquilina intertwines his experiences of raising six children with the eternal mysteries of God to create a humorous and perceptive look at how to discover the extraordinary within the ordinary. Faithful to his Catholicism, he uses antecdotes and reflections to present readers with ways to marry Sacraments, Church teachings and even the lives of saints into their day-to-day routines. Spiritual wisdom can even be found amongst the Lego blocks! The foundations upholding Aquilina's suggestions for a healthy
THEURECORD
and successful family life can be found in his introduction, which, he believes, is the summary of all Catholic teaching, "Happiness requires love and love requires sacrifice..." Family life provides the opportunity to extend one's love beyond the parameters of self interest and the author is adamant that the inevitable sacrifices that come with such communal living can become a vehicle to holiness. Subjects such as fasting, evangelisation, confession, resurrection, the pursuit of humility, scapulars and rosaries are a few of the "holier" topics touched on, but they are
weaved so seamlessly into everyday triumphs and tribulations that the reader is almost inadvertently infused with a deeper understanding of the Catholic faith. They will, at least, be presented with numerous practical suggestions of how such knowledge can, and should, be adapted into the life of their family. This is a book that could be read in one sitting, but I am inclined to believe that the best way to realise the pearls of wisdom that are on offer here would be to take time to reflect and consider them in the context of one's own family experience.
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THE SQUIRE AND THE SCROLL A Tale of the Rewards of a Pure Heart By Jennie Bishop Paintings by Preston McDaniels This tale of a brave young boy on a quest to return the Lantern of Purest Light from a treacherous and terrifying dragon will capture the imaginations of children as well as teaching them the importance of living by the truth of God's Word. $19.95+postage
THE PROUD TREE Written by Luane Roche Illustrated by Chris Sharp This imaginative and creative children's story is told from the viewpoint of Rex, the tree that became the cross on which Jesus was crucified. This proud tree learns a valuable lesson in humility, sacrifice and the power of love. $18.95+postage
BREAKTHROUGH The Bible for Young Catholics St Mary's Press Created for those entering adolescence this easy to read and understand Bible contains illustrations, interviews, facts, directory, timelines, maps and the complete cycle of the Church's Sunday readings. There are also articles connecting the Bible's stories with Catholic beliefs. $37.95 + postage
S AINT PAUL By David Self Illustrated by Jason Cockcroft Set in the first century this book brings to life in vivid words and pictures the exciting adventures of Saint Paul. It will take children on an action-packed journey as they learn of the passionate and inspiring faith of one of the Church's greatest saints. $19.95+postage
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DANIEL AND THE LION By Claire Brandenburg Children will be inspired by the modern day story of Daniel who must face his own lion, "fear", as a bully harasses him at school. Daniel receives comfort and guidance from friends, family, his guardian angel and the saints to overcome his challeng stage
TAKE IT TO THE QUEEN A Tale of Hope By Josephine Nobisso Illustrated by Katalin Szegedi In this original fable, when oncefavoured villa s transgress against their king, the the intercession of the hu • • •o who became ; ifully illustrated their que book offers -ater understanding er of Jesus. $19.95+postage
THE WEIGHT OF THE MASS A Tale of Faith By Josephine Nobisso Illustrated by Katalin Szegedi This beautifully illustrated children's book, based on a true event, describes how a miracle converts a kingdom when a wjdow begs bread in return for offerher participation in the royal wedding Mass. . $19.95+postage
WONDERFUL GOD By Clare Horan Illustrations by Marcelle Krndija This brightly coloured book invites children to discover God in the wonders of nature, relationship and in the person of Jesus. Its yming words and unique illustr ill introduce them to t ver ending love.
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