The Record Newspaper 14 October 2009 by The Record

"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." -BISHOP MATTHEW GIBNEY 1874

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ST MARY'S CATHEDRAL MY DEAR PEOPLE Iam writing in relation to the Celebration for the re-opening and re-dedication of St Mary's Cathedral, Perth. This wonderful milestone will be celebrated by the whole church community through a series of special events which will reflect various elements of the Cathedral's iconic new structure. THE FORMAL RE-OPENING AND RE-DEDICATION OF ST MARY'S CATHEDRAL WILL TAKE PLACE ON 8TH DECEMBER 2009 AT 5.00 PM

This event is by invitation only. My wish is that as many people as possible from all organisations and parishes have the opportunity to be part of this significant event. To make this possible a number of events have been planned - please see list below. Each parish will receive tickets for many of these events and these will be distributed by your Parish Priest. There will be hospitality offered after each event and it is important that all tickets you receive be used for that particular event. If you are unable to attend please hand your ticket to someone who can. Every effort will be made to enable parishes to participate in these celebrations. No tickets will be available from the Church Office. Tickets will be sent directly to your Parish Priest for distribution. Ilook forward to celebrating this historical occasion with you. SATURDAY 5 DECEMBER 10.00AM Blessing of vestments, sacred vessels, blessing of crypt and re-internment of the deceased Bishops THURSDAY 10 DECEMBER 7.30PM Blessing of organ and choir rooms - music recital SUNDAY 13 DECEMBER 10.00AM Cathedral community Mass and blessing of the new Stations of the Cross celebrated by Mons. Thomas McDonald SUNDAY 13 DECEMBER 4.00PM Blessing of the St Joseph statue and the Mary MacKillop icon - attended by those who worked on the Cathedral TUESDAY 15 DECEMBER 7.30PM Blessing of Aboriginal art and ceremonial fire

Yours in Christ

THURSDAY 17 DECEMBER 7.30PM Blessing of new front door, baptismal font, new sacred oil containers and planting of the World Youth Day tree SUNDAY 20 DECEMBER 10.00AM Cathedral Mass SUNDAY 20 DECEMBER 3.00PM Archbishop's Anniversary Mass of 50 years as a Priest and 25 years as a Bishop FEBRUARY 2010 Blessing of schools' memorial garden MARCH 2010 Thanksgiving service for donors

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October 14 2009, The Record

THE PARISH

SAINT OF THE WEEK

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Frideswide circa 650-735 October I 9

This English patron of the city and University of Oxford became a nun with 12 others in a monastery her father built. But, because a noble named Algar became obsessed with her, she left Oxford for three years; legends had her hiding in a pigsty in Binsey and a French village. When she returned to Oxford, Algar, who meant to force a marriage, was blinded upon entering the city, lie repented, and Frideswide restored his sight. For the rest of her life she led her monastery, which is now Oxford's Christ Church college. And for centuries English kings superstitiously avoided Oxford for fear of being blinded.

CNS Saints

OUR EARLY HISTORY

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fPerth

FROM THE ARCHIVES

Floral display April 29, 1886

he Holy Thursday floral decorations at the Cathedral, the work of the Sisters of Mercy, earned such warm praise in the morning newspaper The West Australian, The Record reprinted the report. "At the Roman Catholic Cathedral the side altar was handsomely decorated. The ornamentation consisted of steps raised in tiers, reaching from the platform below the altar to the top of the latter. The curtains against the wall at the back were festooned from the centre, and caught up by white flowers. The illumination was perfect. Every space available on each step, not occupied by vases of flowers, held a candelabrum of several lights:' "Everything connected with the display was arranged with singular taste and the effect produced upon the beholders, apart from the religious element, must have been very pleasing from an artistic point of view:' - compiled by Mary Busher, Archdiocesan Archives

Vinnies giving beats the downturn Vinnies Street Appeal raises more than $50,000 THE official 2009 Street Appeal total has just ticked over $50,000. West Australians dug deep on September 18 and generously donated to the Street Appeal throughout Perth and outer suburbs. Society spokesperson Lucinda Ardagh said the Appeal's aim was to reach $50,000, but with the current economic climate and a decrease in the amount of volunteers collecting, "we thought we were being a little ambitious". "We should've known better though because the West Australian public continue to amaze us with their generosity and never let us down. It's also very uplifting for our volunteers who give so much of themselves to collect on the day, to see people stop to donate and tell them just what a great job they are doing," Ms Ardagh said. The Street Appeal is a one day annual fundraising event that aims to raise funds to assist in the provision of welfare assistance in the months between winter and Christmas. Ms Ardagh said: "$50,000 will assist 500 families with the bare essentials including food, clothing, household goods and bed linen. On behalf of the St Vincent de Paul Society, thank you to all those who helped collect on the day - the volunteers, school teachers and students, parents and corporate groups. The day would not be possible without their amazing assistance and enthusiasm. Thank you also to the members of the media who helped publicise the day and last but not least to the generous donors of Perth who made this remarkable target possible; Lucinda says. All funds raised in WA stay in WA and will directly assist local families in need of welfare assistance. To donate to the Society all 13 18 12 or log on to www.vinnies.org.au.

Above, Aquinas lads chip in. Below, fellow collecters Kate White and Tom Fisher.

New choristers for Cathedral choir

in brief...

Providers meet Catholic Community Care Providers will meet on October 9 in Sydney to identify government policy problems hindering the delivery of community care. The forum - to be attended by CEOs, general managers and senior executives of Catholic services delivering home aged, disability, community care or 'hospital in the home' services - will explore opportunities for joint projects among Catholic community care providers and how to demonstrate and learn from best practice community care service examples. The forum will be hosted by Catholic Health Australia. ligair--111111griVE 1 11:1U R

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THREE new choristers were admitted to the Cathedral Choir on September 20: Jacob Correia (Our Lady of Mt Carmel, Hilton), Christian Dobbie (Trinity College) and Christopher Goi (Trinity College). The admission took place in a special ceremony held during the Solemn Sung Mass (11am) at St Joachim's Pro-Cathedral. As is now traditional, at the end of this ceremony the entire Cathedral Choir was re-commissioned. The new choristers have undergone a six

month training period involving a program specially designed for young Cathedral Choristers by the Director of Cathedral Music, Jacinta Jakovcevic. This training program, known as the Cathedral Choir's 'Probation Program', involves the learning of basic liturgical and other general knowledge as well as basic Latin vocabulary, vocal coaching and specialised musicianship training. Please turn to Vista 1 for more on the Cathedral Organ

OFFICIAL ENGAGEMENTS October 2009 16

Visit Confirmation Candidates, Matthew Gibney School Archbishop Hickey

16 - 18

Parish Visitation, Bencubbin - Bishop Sproxton

17 - 18

Confirmation, Maida Vale - Archbishop Hickey

Catholic Mission Annual Mass, Ocean Reef - Archbishop Hickey Liturgical Launch for Lifelink - Bs Hickey and Sproxton

Graduation Mass for Emmanuel Catholic College - Archbishop Hickey

Italian Australian Apprentice of the Year Award - Monsignor Michael Keating

Adult Confirmation, St Joachim's Pro-Cathedral - Archbishop Hickey Little Sisters of the Poor Farewell Mass, Kalgoorlie - Fr Brian McKenna

30 - 1 Nov Parish Visitation, Northam - Bishop Sproxton

October 14 2009, The Record

Page 3

THE PARISH

Couples encounter one another again Through Marriage Encounter, ordinary couples are sharing the tools that made their marriages richer BY ROBERT HIINI Parish Reporter FOR husbands Eugene Gabin from Sydney and Simon Anthony from Perth, getting to a Marriage Encounter (ME) weekend took some doing but they say that the experience they had there made them and their wives want to provide the same for other couples. Cheryl Gabin had told husband Eugene that she had booked a weekend away but was short on the detail while Perth woman, Jaqueline Anthony, told husband Simon that they could either go on an ME weekend or she was going on retreat by herself. "When I found out what it was I thought to myself, 'there's nothing wrong with our marriage, but I went along, initially just to please Cheryl," Mr Gabin told The Record. "It wasn't until Saturday night that God hit me and showed how much better it could be and that we weren't alone in some of the things we were experiencing" That was 20 years ago. Now, they are part of an "ecclesiatical marriage team" - a married couple and a priest - who present three or four ME weekends a year, sharing their experience of marriage and ME's communication tools with other couples. They say ME, along with similar initiatives like Celebrate Love, are key in enriching existing marriages and reversing negative trends in society and in the Church. The Gabins joined the local team of Cheryl and Simon Anthony and Fr Emil Ciercierega SDS and other ecclesiastical marriage teams from Queensland, Victoria and South Australia last week for the annual national meeting of Worldwide Marriage Encounter from October 2-5 at Holy Trinity Parish in Embleton. In addition to representing Sydney, Cheryl and Eugene Gabin are on the national team with Fr Jack Boog, an ME weekend presenter and experienced marriage

The WA marriage team, Simon and Jacqueline Anthony and Fr Emil Ciercierega

SDS and below, the national team of Adelaide Priest, Fr Jack Boog, left, and Sydney couple, Cheryl and Eugene Gabin.

and Fr Emil present three weekends to around 40 couples a year at Pinola by the Sea in Safety Bay. They have three "circles" of couples who have already been to a weekend, in the northern, southern and eastern suburbs of Perth, that function as small communities of fraternity and support. Jacqueline and Simon coordinate the couples around their jobs of looking after six children, aged 3 months to 8 eight years old, and Simon's job managing a menswear store in Harbourtown. Their team of presenters meet once a month to network and to receive their own formation. They have recently entered into partnership with Derek Boylen, Director of Catholic Marriage Education Services for the Archdiocese of Perth, to provide a similar experience to newly married couples. The new program will involve weekends and five years of mentorship and support provided by experienced couples. For more information about Marriage Encounter, visit their website, wwme.org.au.

In His Service counsellor from Adelaide who has been involved with ME for the past six years. He says that ME is available to couples after their first three years of marriage, when the initial feelings of euphoria have worn off. "After some years there is a disillusionment in their lives and they need something further in order to pick themselves up and to make their love not just a feeling but a commitment:' Fr Boog said. "Marriage preparation, no matter how good it is, will never prepare people for the real thing so that connection between marriage day joy and everyday life needs to be made." ME aims to connect with couples before miscommunication and deep hurts become entrenched,

Cheryl Gabin told The Record, although she has seen first hand how ME weekends have pulled couples back from the precipice as a first step towards resolving difficulties. Although open to couples from all faiths or none, ME weekends attempt to convey the centrality of understanding marriage as a sacrament and as an image of God's love for the world, asking couples to commit to dialogue with each other for at least 20 minutes a day. "We go beneath the chitchat, beneath the surface, to the heart of how we are feeling," Mr Gabin said. Fr Jack Boog and local team member Fr Emil Ciercierega SDS told The Record that the ME weekends were not only for married

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couples but for all involved in "intimate responsible relationships," including priests. Three years after arriving in Australia from Poland as a newly ordained priest, Fr Emil decided to go on a weekend after becoming friends with an "impressive" married couple who were involved with ME. "Priests need to relate to people in a close and meaningful way and the ME resources are very useful in communicating with parishioners," Fr Boog said. According to the Gabins, the ME experience gives married couples a greater appreciation for the humanity of priests and a greater respect for their role and position. "The weekend helped me to see the priest as a person whom God has chosen - a person with needs, just like us, with fears and joys," Cheryl Gabin said. "We became more involved in our parish because we saw the priest as needing us; Mrs Gabin said, saying that the ME experience led to personal friendships with priests and with Eugene and her having a more down-to-earth expectations of priests. In WA, Jacqueline and Simon Anthony

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Fr Don Kettle BY ROBERT HIINI Parish Reporter For someone with such a deep love of the great spiritual and liturgical traditions of the Church, Fr Don Kettle seems to introduce a raft of new initiatives wherever he goes. A fter stints as a hospital chaplain and curate and three years as Catholic Youth Ministry Director, Fr Kettle has been Parish Priest of City Beach since early 2007 where he has introduced Scripture and Church history studies, a men's and women's group, Ice Cream Sunday for children and an adoration program to pray for priests. Never seen without a collar, the staff at the local cafe seem to know who he is and he waves hello and stops to talk to several locals along the way. Ordained in 2001, Fr Kettle says his vocation was nurtured in a loving, prayerful family and by the example of his childhood priest, Fr Patrick Carmody. He says there are many young men who have have been called to be priests who have yet to be asked and encouraged to step forward - something he has tried to do himself through his long-running "Priory" group for young men's discernment. Earlier this year he established a priestly fraternity group with Melbourne priest Fr Joseph Pich

which meets at his parish on the third Thursday of the month at 12.30pm and is open to every priest in the Archdiocese. Fraternity and empathy are important, particularly in light of what he describes as a "priestly identity crisis". "There are not two priesthoods, one for the good priests and one for bad priests. There is only one priesthood and we need always to respect the office and pray for the man that he may have the heart of Jesus," Fr Kettle told The Record. Fr Kettle says he is energised' by administering the sacraments and helping to lead people into new understandings of the Church's teaching but is realistic about some of the challenges. "It is discouraging to see Mass attendance dwindle and that, for many, the sacraments have been reduced to a rite of passage or just getting through the system without any intention of following through with the promises made." He says that such an attitude makes a mockery of the Church and the priesthood, reducing their spiritual and supernatural gifts down to the level of the functional and procedural. Notwithstanding the challenges, he says he is looking forward to many years of service to Christ, in whichever role the Spirit calls.

Page 4

October 14 2009, The Record

EDUCATION

Student wins Journalism award

Rachel McCann

SANTA Maria is producing an inspiring crop of potential journalists if the school's success in the Australian Catholics magazine's annual Young Journalist Award is anything to go by. Year 12 student Rachel McCann was recently named national winter of the prestigious competition which recognises the efforts of young writers from around the country in sharing stories of hope and inspiration. Fellow students Danielle Lukic and Asha Ryan also received 'Highly Commended' Awards for their essays. This is the third consecutive year Santa Maria students have excelled in the competition, with two wins and a second place being awarded in previous years. Now in its 13th year, the Young Journalist Award encourages students to find people around them with inspiring stories to share and also to explore some of the broader issues that the stories raised. In her moving essay 'The Garden of Egpyt' (see next week's Record), Rachel interviewed her neighbour John Parentich, a Croatian who fled his home as a child and came to Australia after World War Two. The story tells of his time in Egypt and how he overcame the terrible upheaval of war to build a life for himself again as a fisherman. "I believe the most significant moment in the story is when John recalled that he had to experience death before he became alive again," Rachel said. "This is an extremely powerful moment, as it signifies the trauma that John, at such a young age, had to experience. It is not just a story of a man, but an entire population who were given a second chance at life." Corpus Christi College student Kayla Giudicatti also received a 'Highly Commended Award:

Brunswick bookworms shine Award proves these country students are well read BOOKWORMS from St Michael's Catholic School in Brunswick showed they can hold their own against fierce competition when they took on some large Perth schools in the recent 'Readers' Challenge Cup' competition. For the second year running, St Michael's finished with a top placing and the team, which consisted of students Aimee Dodds, Alistair Ferguson and Hayden Tognela, was proud to return to their school with a second place award. The St Michael's team of three was the only small country team to enter the prestigious annual competition. In the months leading up to the competition, the students met regularly in the library to read and discuss a total of 18 books from the 'Younger Readers' and 'Picture Books' category of short-listed titles for the 2009 Children's Book

Junior reviewer recommends...

St Michael's Catholic School, Brunswick Junction students (left to right) Aimee Dodds, Alistair Ferguson and Hayden Tognela with teacher/ PHOTO: COURTESY CEOWA librarian Elizabeth Hardy

Award. During the competition, which was hosted by Christ Church Grammar School, teams were quizzed intensively on their understanding of the texts, genres and knowledge about the authors. Each team also had to pre-

Mazenod boy Young Lawyer of the Year FORMER Mazenod College student Matthew Keogh was recently recog nised by the Law Council of Australia as 2009 Australian Young Lawyer of the Year. Matt graduated from the University of Notre Dame Australia with double degrees in Law and Arts (Hons) in 2004 and was admitted to practise law in 2006. He now works as a law yer at the office of the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions in Perth. The Award recognised Matthew's continuous contribution to the legal profession and the community through his work with The Law Society and in the area of family and domestic violence through his work as Chair of the board of Starick Services Inc, an organisation that runs women's refuges and provides assistance to women and children suffer-

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St Michael's Catholic School Year 7 student Aimee Dodds shares her thoughts about one of her top recommendations for young readers. Perry Angel's Suitcase is a heartwarming tale of finding where you belong in the world; a story of a young boy called Perry who has been looking for almost seven years to find the place called heaven. Perry comes from the welfare office. Heaven is where the social workers said his mum were. But Melanie isn't like all the others. She told him the truth - they didn't know where his mum was. Then the Silk family offers to adopt Perry. He goes with them, bringing only a suitcase and the story of his past, never quite fitting in. But Layla, a friend of the Silks, and her best friend Griffin Silk don't give up on Perry; neither does Ben, Griffins dad. In fact, Ben knows just how Perry feels. So if you want to find out more about this story of friendship, and all of Layla's and Griffin's adventures together, and how Perry becomes part of the family, read Perry Angel's Suitcase by Glenda Millard.

pare a short performance on one of the books. The St Michael's team impressed audiences and judges with their presentation of a poem they had created themselves inspired by the book Polar Boy by Sandy Fussell.

Pirates swoop at schools' Carnevale showcase

A bloodthirsty crew of cut-throats, if ever there be such a thing. Students from Our Lady of Fatima School, Palmyra dance the Pirate Dance during Carnevale. CEOWA

Australian Law Council President John Corcoran presents the award to Matthew Keogh PHOTO UNDA

ing from domestic violence. Matthew graduated from Mazenod College in 1998. Prior to that he was a student at the-then St Francis Xavier Primary School, Armadale, now Xavier Catholic School, Hilbert.

All the excitement, colour and entertainment of Catholic schools' showcase of talent again took to the streets of Perth, at Forrest Place in the CBD. The event, known as Carnevale, showcases the talent of students from Catholic schools and colleges, and this year 30 schools participated. Among this year's performers were a desperate band of Primary school-aged pirates from Our Lady of Fatima School in Palmyra. From drama, singing and dancing,

to practical demonstrations including jewellery making, junior portrait artists and a giant chess competition, to bands - rock and pipe, to Daisy the cow and the whip-cracking students from Bindoon, to Chisholm College's street theatre, Forrest Place was alive. Students take home a balloon, wrist band or pencil; something that commemorates their visit to the city and for performing on stage under the big-top tent at Carnevale. Stories this page: Bridget Chamberlain, CEOWA

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October 14 2009, The Record

Page 5

EDUCATION

Assistants hidden treasures of Aboriginal schooling BY BRIDGET CHAMBERLAIN

Catholic Education Office WA

t is just over 50 years since Australia's first Aboriginal Teaching Assistant (ATA) was appointed in the Northern Territory. Since then, the role has grown to be a vital part of Australia's education system, with every State and Territory employing dedicated Aboriginal educators. In Western Australia, ATAs are employed in Catholic schools with high enrolments of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. They provide student, community and teacher support and, because they are usually recruited locally, offer vital links to the community. Where there are strong links between the school, parents and community, and where students and parents feel comfortable, young Aboriginal people are much more likely to succeed. In schools across the State, therefore, ATAs have become a vital part of creating this kind of learning environment. Networking, sharing knowledge and drawing support from peers is vital to the ATA success. An ATA Forum was held recently in Turkey Creek, with educators from Balgo, Halls Creek, Kununurra and Wyndham gathering at the Mirrilingki Spiritual Centre for a three day forum

Bishop Christopher Saunders of Broome joins Aboriginal Teaching Assistants during their three day forum at Turkey Creek. ATAs are regarded by Catholic educators in WA and across the nation as an essential component in offering the best possible education to Aboriginal students. Educational outcomes for students from Aboriginal communities PHOTO. CEOWA continue to lag well behind non-Aboriginal communities and ATAs help bridge this gap.

to facilitate such networking. Presentations were given on accelerated literacy, the PATHS program, loss and grief, Aboriginal Studies and Religious Education. As well as formal learning opportunities, the forum included

Bishop Christopher Saunders of Broome, in whose Diocese many ATAs work, joined the group for lunch and presented a certificate to Teaching Assistant Eileen Bray to honour her 30 years of service to Catholic education in

a Welcome to Country Smoking Ceremony by the Kija women, a tour of Ngalangangpum School and a visit to the Warmum Art Centre, an excellent opportunity to see secondary students at work on their art projects.

Western Australia. Further celebrations took place back in Perth as three newly-qualified ATAs in Catholic schools received their Certificate III from Swan TAFE. Lisa Dann (Kolbe Catholic College), Kylie Nelson (Seton Catholic College) and Madge Smith (La Salle College/St Michael's School) graduated recently after a busy year of study and teaching. The TAFE course provides a comprehensive and practical program of study for Teaching Assistants covering topics such as liaison with the local community, responding to children and young people who may be at risk of harm, cultural awareness education and classroom management skills. Madge Smith, who has been employed at both La Salle College, Viveash and St Michael's School in Bassendean for the past two years, is thrilled to have completed her qualification. "I feel great pride when I have assisted students who have gone on to do well and received scholarships", she said. With educational outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students across the nation still lagging behind those of non-Aboriginal students, the importance ot strong Aboriginal role models in schools supporting students, staff and parents cannot be underestimated. L isa Dann of Kolbe Catholic College (left) Kylie Nelson from Seton Catholic College and Madge Smith from L a Sal le College in Viveash and St Michael's School in Bassendean proudly display their after c ertificates graduating as Aboriginal Teaching Assistants.

Awards honour Indigenous BY BRIDGET CHAMBERLAIN

Catholic Education Office 10

Catholic Education Office staffers continue to strive to ensure that Aboriginal children receive quality Catholic education and that those involved are acknowledged for their work. Eleven people were recently acknowledged at the bi-annual Awards for Excellence in Catholic Aboriginal Education. Leading the way in education were Leederville's Aranamore Catholic College Principal, Jim Elliott, and Aboriginal Teaching Assistant Milton Quartermaine from Nagle Catholic College, Geraldton, both awarded the Outstanding Educator Award. Jim Elliott has been central to the growth in Aranmore's Aboriginal program, nurturing a welcoming environment for Aboriginal students and giving the students leadership opportunities. He has most recently focused his attention on ensuring each Aboriginal student has a pathway after graduation and a genuine work or traineeship opportunity. Milton Quartermaine is an outstanding Aboriginal leader and role model whose contributions have contributed to an increase in Aboriginal students' participation levels in a range of school activities at Nagle. Thanks to Milton, Nagle was the first school accredited with Reconciliation Australia in WA for their Reconciliation Action Plan. Four outstanding students demonstrated great leadership within their Aboriginal and school communities, combining academic or sporting pursuits with a commitment to representing their people and those in need. Mikaela Griffen of Mandurah Catholic College won the 2008 Sr Veronica Ryan Award. Penelope Parker from Bunbury Catholic College received the award for 2009. Sr Veronica spent most of her life in the service of Aboriginal education in a variety of roles including teacher, principal and regional director of the Broome Diocese. Her partnership with Aboriginal people resulted in what is known as two-way education. Cameron Smith of Kolbe Catholic College in Rockingham received the 2008 Fr Michael McMahon Memorial Award, while Emmanuel Collard of Kolbe Catholic College in Rockingham received the 2009 award. A priest in the Broome Diocese for almost 30 years, Fr MacMahon had a great love for Aboriginal people and encouraged Aboriginal students to pursue an education.

He was also instrumental in Trinity College's Aboriginal Scholarship program where he was College Chaplain for seven years. Outstanding service to education and the community Clontarf Aboriginal College - Board Chair Robert Isaacs OAM was recognised as the Outstanding Community Member. As an old boy of Clontarf Boys Town, Robert's relationship with Aboriginal Catholic Education runs deep. He was a vital member of the working party that helped shape Clontarf Aboriginal College to what we see today and has been the College's Board Chair since 1997. Margaret Bin Sali, St Mary's College, Broome and Margaret Kungah, Kururrungku Catholic Education Centre, Billiluna, East Kimberley were also recognised for 15 years or more service to Catholic Aboriginal education. Outstanding schools set exampleSt Luke's College, Karratha and La Salle College, Viveash received the Outstanding School Award for Excellence in Catholic Aboriginal Education. St Luke's offers a strategic and holistic approach that sets the benchmark in a number of areas including leadership and curriculum. A number of Aboriginal students have benefited from the scholarship program the College developed and, in partnership with commerce and the local community, also established after-school tutoring in Karratha and Roebourne. La Salle is presenting Catholic education as a positive and viable option, actively creating an inviting and inclusive secondary school environment for Aboriginal families built on the values of our Catholic faith.

PHOTO: COURTESY CEOWA

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Page 6

'Go on the front foot and take the world for Christ' priests In an exclusive interview with The Record, Bishop Julian Porteous says priests need to go back to the basics to trigger the New Evangelisation BY ANTHONY BARICH National Reporter PRIESTS need to go back to the basics of evangelical preaching to restore Mass-goers' faith and combat a secular society that sees the Church as irrelevant, Sydney Auxiliary Bishop Julian Porteous told The Record.

In an exclusive interview with The Record on October 2 during his visit to Perth for the Society of Catholic Teachers' national conference, the Bishop said that Catholics can only effectively contribute to building up the Church when they "truly come alive in their faith, know the Church as the body of Christ inspired by the Holy Spirit and see the Church from the eyes of faith". Discussing the challenges for priests in the new millennium he outlined in his book After the Heart of God published this year, he said that in a society that "drains faith", people, including Mass-goers, who are critical of the Church's relevance in modern society do so because they are living secular lives and therefore have adopted a "mentality of the world", and are simply mouthing the way the world views the Church". "Faith has been weakened. That's a reality; and family life struggles to maintain, even at the domestic level, a spirit of faith, and in a whole lot of subtle ways a secular view of life eats into our way of life," said Bishop Porteous, who has been a priest for 35 years.

October 14 2009, The Record

THE NATION

The prelate, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Sydney, said that for too long the Church has been on the defensive, planning for failure by merging parishes with dwindling numbers in the mistaken belief that the Church is dying as they rarely see clergy or Religious in recognisable garb. The Church, he said, needs to "go on the front foot", and be in the marketplace, citing the Eucharistic procession he led through the streets of Sydney's CBD earlier this year that included catechised youth answering questions from curious lookers-on as an example. "We can't stay in the churches and expect people to come he said, but urged patience, as it would take some time. He added that when John Paul II ascended to the papacy in 1978 the Church was "in a really bad way", so he travelled the world "rallying the troops", knowing that had he stayed in the Vatican "managing things", the state of the Church would have worsened. The Church is seeing the fruits of this today, he said as youth especially have responded strongly. "The Church needs to be seen reaching out, which creates the new impression of seeing the Church alive," he said. "As far as the Church is concerned as a human institution, I think there's little hope, but ourselves, as the Catholic Church on the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, I think there's every chance. We don't rely on ourselves as an institution. We have to

rely on the grace of God to work in the Church. We need to be moving where the Spirit is blowing, and recognise what is the action of the Spirit today." The prelate said that priests need to be more oriented to the nourishing of faith and see "that this has got to be the focus of our ministry. He said that priests need to "look more seriously at the nurturing of faith by 'evangelical preaching" and return to preaching the basic Gospel - in the context of liturgy and in the environments beyond that. "We can't presume a living, dynamic faith in the lives of the people we're ministering to at Sunday Mass," said Bishop Porteous, who was Rector of the Seminary of the Good Shepherd in Homebush from 2002 to 2008. "When you think of the most important thing a priest has to do, many think of saying Mass. But the first thing a priest must do is preach, because without faith there'd be no liturgy or sacraments. Faith is a prerequisite for a sacramental celebration. "At Sunday Mass and at other opportunities we have to constantly seek to nourish and nurture faith, because that's the thing that's really under threat at the present moment." He said that the New Evangelisation should inspire Catholics to seek more from their parish in quality of liturgy and preaching.

Wilson mobilises Church to stren BY ANTHONY BARICH National Reporter Archbishop ADELAIDE Philip Wilson is mobilising his Archdiocese to support divorced Catholics and strengthen married couples at a time when family life is "more fragile than in previous times". Cherishing Launching Family Life at the annual Mass for Anniversaries at St Francis Xavier Cathedral on September 13, he called all priests, deacons, Religious, pastoral directors, school principals and agencies in the Archdiocese to use his Pastoral Letter to reflect on the importance of faithfulness to relationships and of the challenges facing families. He asked all priests of the introduce to Archdiocese Cherishing Family Life in their homily on the weekend of September 19-20, "as it fits in well with Jesus' teaching that, 'whoever welcomes a child in My name, welcomes Me' the prelate said. A second letter for the divorced and remarried was issued on October 4, in which Archbishop Wilson, a Canon lawyer, clarified Church teaching on receiving the Eucharist and annulments and urged divorced Catholics to spend time before the Eucharist and to maintain their relationship

with the Church. He cited a recent study of divorced Catholics which found that time spent in silent prayer and contemplation before the Eucharist was a source of gentle healing over time. "Pray for guidance and courage and for a heart that does not become closed through bitterness and pain," he said. "Allow yourself to be nourished by the love of friends, or a little quiet time. Even a few minutes set aside in the day can make a huge difference when we surrender ourselves to God's love and care and ask for guidance through all the pain and turmoil." Addressing "confusion about divorce and receiving Holy Communion", he said there is no impediment to full communion with the Church for the separated or divorced. "By itself civil divorce is not an obstacle to Communion:' he said. For those remarried without an annulment from the Church, he said that the Church desires such couples to participate in the Church's life to the extent possible, including participation in Mass, Eucharistic adoration, devotions and other practices, "and hope that they will work toward full sacramental participation". Seeking annulment, he said, can provide healing as it seeks not to detract from the legitimacy of the relationship or of the children

from it, but asks if it was a full expression of a Sacramental union. "Never forget that your presence matters to our community:' he said, adding that the societal trend to think of important relationships as simply serving personal goals as instrumental to happiness "leaves family life immensely vulnerable". To strengthen families, he suggested a three-pronged approach, calling for a conversion, "a change in the way that we understand our lives"; the continuing work of

The task for priests is tough, he said, which is why the Year for Priests calls for renewed support for them. "(Priests might) feel people won't be receptive to deeper truths, to be taken beyond where they are; he said. "That's where there needs to be a revitalisation through the New Evangelisation." He said the book is written to encourage priests - in light of all the changes in society and the Church - to "build a priestly way of life that's going to sustain us; and how can we restructure our actual ministry so we're better able to effectively address the issues." His appointment as Rector of the seminary while still a parish priest in Sydney prompted Bishop Porteous to write a book about how to prepare priests to carry out the New Evangelisation about which Pope John Paul II often spoke. John Paul II's 1992 Apostolic Exhortation Pastores Dabo Vobis stated that the world seminarians go back into as priests is different from that which they left at the start of their formation, and the Church needs to seriously consider how to prepare them to face this challenge. The book is also an opportunity for lay people, an opportunity to "go inside and look at the priesthood, to realise some of the challenges priests have and to appreciate more fully the beauty and dignity of the priesthood". - After the Heart of God will be available from The Record Bookshop

en marriage

Church agencies like Centacare to help families; and promoting a better balance of work and family life. "Only when we cherish our common life can love between us grow:' he said. Through this conversion, the faithful can appreciate more fully God's unconditional love for the world and can participate in this love through grace. He committed the Catholic community to work with families and other institutions to strengthen family life, including ties between

schools and parish communities. Under economic pressures of the cost of housing, children's education and healthcare, tensions can rise and couples need time to maintain the quality of their relationship and family life. "I know this tension is not easily resolved but since the development of good family relationships requires time together, it's crucial that both couples and society as a whole find ways of working towards this resolution?' he said.

PRINCIPALSHIP

ST LUKE'S COLLEGE, KARRATHA St Luke's College is a Year 8-12 Catholic secondary school with an enrolment of 402 students in the booming resources town of Karratha. The College was established in 1987 by the Presentation Sisters and Christian Brothers. St Luke's works in close alliance with both St Paul's Parish and St Paul's Primary School. The College strives to encourage high standards of academic and sporting excellence, as well as offering a strong pastoral focus for all students. Mainstream curriculum and a wide range of diverse elective subjects are offered. St Luke's is extremely well supported by the community through the Karratha Education Initiative. Significant remote area incentives apply. The successful applicant for this position will be required 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 and a Working With Children clearance form 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 the position 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. Applications close on 28 October 2009.

October 14 2009, The Record

Page 7

THE NATION

Knights reveal face of Christ in disabled guests are unable to adequately perhaps something far worse, but speak any language with fluency. Tony refused to speak or to be For one particular guest, almost treated. As soon as I walked into the every phrase he spoke consisted of joy lit up on Tony's face. room, "Jesus loves me" in Arabic. Despite language difficulties, He sat up, immediately put on his communication is possible and shoes and began to talk. His life returned to normal, as many of the guests show joyful responses, gratitude and a zeal for his friend had arrived and he now had a reason to get out of bed. life. Tony was a man who found The project is a Catholic iniin serving and helping othjoy volunteers and guests but tiative, from all religious backgrounds ers. As the camp progressed Tony participate, and at every camp became more and more interested guests include Christians and in following my daily activities. A decision was made to invite Tony Muslims. Many of the guests have suffered to serve at the camp religious celgreatly with some being aban- ebrations. ebanon is a country which It was a blessing for everyone at doned shortly after birth; others has suffered and continues to have experienced mistreatment, the camp to see the joy on Tony's suffer in ways that many in face when he served Mass, carneglect or war-related violence. the developed world are unable to the cross in processions and ried airmilitary where area an n I comprehend. at the altar. assisted Israel and Lebanon For many years humanitarian, Fr James McCarthy, left, with Tony, a person with Down Syndrome, at the camp craft from guests and volunteers Other where and observed routinely are MCCARTHY JAMES PHOTO: COURTESY Church and charitable organi- run by the Knights of Malta military checkpoints operate every were edified by his reverence, sations have quietly assisted in By Lebanon to help maintain and summer camps, conducted in a guest is assigned to a volunteer and 10km, it is astonishing that the devotion and prayerfulness. was so protect the endangered and the specially constructed centre as the thereby receives one-on-one hos- guests possess beaming smiles, joy the end of the week Tony and love which many in our world enthusiastic that he even acted as only holiday facility adapted for pitality, care and friendship. disabled. a sacristan - remarkable for somewould envy. include activities camp The Lebanon. in disabled the the is One such organisation one with severe disabilities, but he have, Lebanon in disabled The The Centre Al Fadi, owned sports and Olympic-type games, Order of Malta. Through their quickly learned by simply followfew very believe, might some as fashion theatre, events, water Lebanese the by and operated humanitarian aid agency, Malteser ing the example of others. peace. at or joyful be to International, the Order seeks to Association of the Order of Malta, shows and formal dinners. In reasons For Tony, the volunteers and and simplicity their s, Nevertheles also is there program camp each north65km about enrich the lives of many of the is near Faraya, were signs of God's love chaplains friendship for daily Mass, spiritual activities, the child-like desire poorest and most mentally and east of Beirut. For the volunteers protection. and change to volunteers the inspire religious and Sick the of Sacrament Centre Al Fadi welcomes 35 physically disabled people in Tony was a sign of chaplains, and priown their and lives own their processions. disabled physically and mentally Lebanon. God in our midst. He wanted to be The camp program is supported orities. For over two months during the young people (guests) at each of service to others, not merely the friendunfolds, camp each As docvolunteer European-based by Lebanon's from come who camp, while , summer (July-September) recipient of service. disabled between develop ships treat tors and medical staff who many young people in Europe major mental health institutions. Every life has a value; and the volunteers. and guests occasionand guests the assist and in commenced Lebanon Project are relaxing on beaches, travelhave the ability to uniquedisabled year this example striking One 1997 as an initiative of the German ally the volunteers. ling or working to earn money for the value of frienddemonstrate ly Down from suffers who Tony, was first the is Arabic Although Malta. of Order Association of the study, 100 young men and women gratitude and joyfulness, ship, mediother several and More recently, Project Lebanon language for most of the guests, Syndrome from all over Europe journey to service. dispsychological and physical cal, pricommunicate volunteers the Lebanon to work with Malteser has become international, with Project Lebanon mobilises volInternational's "Project Lebanon", volunteers from most European marily with the language of love abilities. Tony was almost 40 but to serve the disabled, from unteers equivalent was ability cognitive his the of many as which consists of six seven-day countries. While at the camp every and friendship, to that of a seven or eight year old. whom the volunteers, in turn, Tony quickly became very receive and are formed in God's attached to me, one of the chap- love. The readiness to peacefully lains at the camp. At every meal he would reserve the seat next to smile, to offer friendship, to give With the 150th anniversary of the death of the Cure of Ars, St John Vianney - the patron him for me and even refused to eat unconditionally and to have a gensaint of priests - Pope Benedict XVI invites all Catholics to celebrate the unless his friend, the priest, was uine gratitude and desire to live Year of the Priest which began on the 19th of June 2009. life to the full are among the gifts sitting next to him. the with help to be would cause A unique way to support this which the disabled offer to our the of morning third the On Church the training of our future priests from countries where camp I was unable to meet Tony, world. In October 2008, Project is poor. persecuted or threatened. Over the past 10 years, Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), has helped one diocese in every as I had confessions and counsel- Lebanon received the prestigious six around the world, and supported every seventh candidate ling sessions. Just before lunch, I "Preis des Westfalischen Friedens" to the priesthood. In today's economic crisis many seminaries came looking for Tony and found for the Project's contribution are struggling to survive. The poverty is great and often means lying in bed, surrounded by towards peace and understanding him suitable candidates being turned away, since neither their families the doctors, nurses and the other in the Middle East. nor their bishops have the funds to support their training. This prize was shared with Kofi chaplain. It is vital to the future of the Church that not one vocation to the For almost three hours they Annan, former Secretary-General priesthood goes astray due to lack of finance. They are the future of Christ's Holy Catholic Church. The average grant that ACN had tried to diagnose his prob- of the United Nations. annually gives to a seminarian is $500 - but whatever you can This article was written for L'Osservatore Romano, lem, thinking perhaps that he was afford will be greatly appreciated. ACN forwards the donations published with permission seriously ill with a migraine or of the seminaries. You can

Since being ordained for the Archdiocese of Sydney in April, Fr James McCarthy spent a month working with the Order of Malta in Lebanon, and saw the transforming power of Christ

15,000 Seminarians Need Your Help!

directly to the local bishop or rectors be assured of their prayers both now and when they come to offer the Holy Sacnfice of the Mass.

Join us in prayer with the Pope to honour the service offered to the Church by her priests. Anyone able to help this cause will be sent a complimentary Papal Rosary, blessed by Pope Benedict XVI, and a holy card with a prayer for community Pl,,I priests. We ask you to join the Holy Father and the Catholic in praying for our priests and praying that many more will respond to the call to priesthood. To send your donation please fill out the coupon below and tick the ba if you would like to receive the complimentary Papal rosary and prayer card. IN= MN EM UM NM M= mii i ..... MN MN IMO Mil ONO

Obama: defenders of traditional marriage 'would enshrine discrimination into our Constitution'

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Obama slams marriage defenders

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TAKING aim at supporters ot a federal marriage amendment, United States President Barack Obama told the gay activist Human Rights Campaign on October 10 that defenders of traditional marriage "would enshrine discrimination into our Constitution". While the president granted that defenders of traditional marriage might be "good and decent people," he charged that they "hold fast to outworn arguments and old attitudes," "fail to see your families like their families," and would deny you the rights most Americans take for granted." Comparing the goals of the gay community to African-Americans' struggle for equality, the President added: "My expectation is that when you look back on these years, you will see a time in which we put a stop to discrimination against

US President Barack Obama

gays and lesbians - whether in the office or on the battlefield. "You will see a time in which we as a nation finally recognise relationships between two men or two women as just as real and admirable as relationships between a man and a woman. "You will see a nation that's valuing and cherishing these families as we build a more perfect union - a union in which gay Americans are an important part:' The President added that he was "committed to these goals", and that his administration would "continue fighting to achieve them".

Page 8

Time to hand childhood back

n April 2008, when New York Sun writer Lenore Skenazy produced her column, "Why I Let My 9-Year-Old Ride the Subway Alone", she was widely condemned with headlines such as "America's Worst Mom": Skenazy's response was to pen a book, entitled, Free Range Kids: Giving Our Children the Freedom We Had Without Going Nuts With Worry. Her insinuation is that parents in today's Western societies are overprotective and producing a generation of "caged children" who are denied liberties once unquestioned. Is Skenazy right? The owners of the well-known detergent company, Omo, seem to think so. Their recent advertisement, `RoboBoy', seems to mirror Skenazy's concerns, albeit driven perhaps by a more fiscal perspective. Responding to a decline in detergent sales, they are desperate for children to be released from their domestic prisons, "chained" to the electronic devices that alienate them from the great outdoors. The advertisement features a small robot that breaks free from a house and, as it connects with grass, mud and water outside, it transforms into a real boy. As he then joyously and grubbily interacts with nature, a poignant message flashes on the screen - "Every child has the right to be a child': For the past few generations, children have been gradually reigned in from the open spaces. Whether driven by fear and/or extended working hours by both parents, there is little doubt that the current generation of youth and children are, in general, the most overprotected and risk-averse in history. Fears, such as of a child being abducted, can be great driving PO Box 75 forces in the desire of parents Leederville WA 6902 to wrap their children in cotton wool. However, as Skenazy cathrec@iinet.net.au points out in her book, the risk Tel: (08) 9227 7080 of a child being kidnapped is Fax: (08) 9227 7087 1 in 1.5 million; a child is 40 times more likely to be killed in a car crash, 20 times more likely to drown in a pool or 10 times more likely to die in a home tire. Meanwhile, being confined to a day of school, followed by daycare, there is simply no time for children to explore their surroundings. With insurance premiums so high and expensive litigation only a presumed accident away, there is little chance that schools, childcare centres or holiday programs will incorporate anything into their routine that may be considered risky. It seems that words such as 'spontaneity' and 'adventure' have been removed from the vocabulary of many children. Everything now needs to be planned, safe and ordered. Television, DVDs, mobile phones, X-boxes, Playstations, Nintendos and the Internet have become babysitters to ensure that children remain under our noses but not under our feet.

THE RECORD

"It seems that words such as 'spontaneity' and 'adventure' have been removedfrom the vocabulary of many children." Dick Smith Electronics, a well-known supplier of such goods, indicated in a recent advertisement that that they are well aware of this phenomenon, "Take the kids to the beach and entertain them for the day", it proclaimed, "But bring them to our store and you can entertain them for the entire holidays!' It may be more convenient for adults to keep children occupied with mind-numbing pastimes, and it may guarantee their physical safety, but is it in the child's best interests? And what are the repercussions for society? Are we creating generations of young people who are stunted in their social, mental, physical and emotional development? By providing them with every gadget available, are we robbing them of creativity? Gone are the days when a creek or a tree could lead one into a world of fantasy or adventure. The lesson absorbed by the young becomes, more and more with each day of their lives, 'Why use your imagination when a machine can do it for you?' And how much are they exercising? By never having our children want for anything, have we created a population that does not appreciate the value of hard work and sacrifice? Are the young increasingly getting into debt because they have never had to wait for anything? There seems to be a prevailing "gain without pain" mentality. Has our propensity to insulate children from external social situations extended their state of dependency and perpetuated the mindset of self-centredness? All too often, it seems, the desire of parents to ensure their offspring never have to do without has been one important factor leading to a decrease in family size, as child/cost ratios inevitably become more expensive. This has resulted in less opportunity to learn productive social networking and interpersonal skills, as one no longer has to learn the arts of negotiation, diplomacy, sharing and doing without. But what is the cost of allowing our children to be bubble-wrapped by our fears and lifestyle choices? We should not be surprised that an increasing number are becoming victims of the social chaos that confronts them. Depression, violence, diabetes, drug and alcohol abuse, eating disorders, sexual assaults and diseases, suicides, self-harm and unwanted pregnancies are all on the rise. It is not that these are necessarily the result of overprotective parenting, but if children are prevented from exploring the world, taking risks, falling and getting up again and learning from their mistakes within the confines of a loving family, then how will they ever learn to handle the hurdles and pitfalls that will confront them when they inevitably leave the nest? How will they ever learn to assess a risky situation and, if necessary, say "No"? It is time to hand childhood back to our children.

October 14 2009, The Record

OPINIONS 6 th e ,Qx o.),."c‘

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Letters to the editor

Needed: sharper defences of marriage

general, the ABC is to be congtatulated on the Q&A n series which gives the viewer a chance to discern the thinking behind some of our people "in the know" and an effort is made to balance the panellists. However, last night (October 1) Fr Frank Brennan SJ was lost in the scene and let his side down miserably. He seemed overawed by Christopher Hitchens and out of his depth, trying to be "all things to all men" in his obscurantist answer on gay "marriage". The program is fast repartee and cannot wait for the ponderous tactics of a bush lawyer. A sharp Fr Brennan could have quickly and quietly explained the real meaning of marriage as a one man/ one woman lifelong commitment, which is the nucleus of our society, the outcome being of mutual support and the safe rearing of the next generation, which is after all our most precious resource. All lost. Even in regard to gay people there was no help either in trying to ape what is conventional morality, only serving to make the whole situation look like a circus. They in turn lose their dignity as human beings. Something intrinsically wrong, no matter what the spin, can never be made right. Maureen Federico Frankston South, Victoria

Evolution crisis

atrick Gilligan, the author of Evolution? Try leaving God out of it (The Record, October 7), writes like a castaway on an island that could well have been named as a prophetic warning to him. His claim that "the evidence for evolution is beyond reasonable doubt", is the wrong message to put in a bottle; especially when he adds that "the strength of the evidence for evolution is almost irrelevant". So I leave Gilligan's 'scientific evidence' to be swallowed by the live jellyfish that was carbon dated to be over 3,000 years old. Radioactive dating is now wellknown by scientists to be practically worthless, but is needed by evolutionists to uphold Lyell's 'long age' uniformitarian geology that was invented to support Darwin's theory of evolution. More and more high calibre scientists now acknowledge the accuracy of a 'young age' geological model of the earth that bespeaks a universal catastrophe. Fossil remains of thousands of tiny sea creatures have been found on the top of Mt Everest: an eloquent testimony to the extent of the universal flood we read about in the book of Genesis. apparently preGilligan tends that it is only "Evangelical Protestants" who "see Genesis as a literal account': St Peter, the first Pope, was very literal when twice

he wrote about the flood of Noah: "God's patience waited in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons were saved through water". (1Peter 3:20); and "he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven other persons, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly" (2 Peter 2:5). Gilligan's assertion that 'creationists must deny this fossilised trilobite, estimated to be 250 million plus years old, is what it plainly is' must be identified as a different type of 'sea creature': a red herring. Creationists do not deny the reality of what a trilobite is. They know that it is, and more to the point, they know with far more accuracy how old it is: especially when such sea creatures were left on the peak of Mt Everest by Noah's flood less than 10,000 years ago. Frank Calneggia Swan View

Marriage the key

n their statement for the International Year of the Family, the Australian Bishops said "Governments, public authorities and other organisations that do not recognise the role families play in our society cannot respond effectively to the needs of families in difficulty. And a society that does not cherish the treasure of its families will ultimately perish from self-neglect." When you get back to the basics, what makes a happy family? A happy marriage. When marriages break down the immediate result is the family suffers. Why is it that no-one seems to be able to see or understand that if we can tackle issues within a marriage before separation and divorce rear their ugly heads, the amount of resources being poured into fixing problems caused by family breakdowns due to marriage failure could be greatly diminished? Off the top of my head, WorldWide Marriage Encounter, Celebrate Love, Ministry to the Newly Married are all available to help enrich marriages but nine times out of ten when couples are invited to participate in these the answer is "We have a good marriage" or "We don't need counselling." There is a world of difference between attending marriage enrichment seminars and weekends, and going for counselling. One could add: why settle for a good marriage when you can have a great marriage? Yes, we need to help the homeless, the addicts, the mentally ill and we do need marriage counselling services. And the government, the Church and other organisations are providing these invaluable services but why is the promotion and encouragement of marriage enrichment services and providers largely ignored or given only a token nod of approval? Our families are in difficulty because marriages are being neglected. Divorce and separation are increasing while congregation numbers and vocations to religious life are falling. It seems clear to me the Church is the people of God, the people of God who mostly attend Church are happy families, Priests mostly come from happy families, happy families mostly come from happy marriages. Shouldn't we be more proactive in supporting marriages rather than reactive after marriages have started to fall apart? Mrs Jacqueline Anthony Kingsley

Apartheid Israel?

he recent history of the Palestinians reminds me of Jesus Christ's well-known parable of the Good Samaritan and two cases of extreme crimes against humanity, one during the Second World War and the other that began almost immediately after that war. We are all aware of the Nazi crimes against humanity: the terrorist persecution of Jews from the 1930s to 1945 in Germany during which time the Nazis blew up shops, expropriated properties, confined Jews in concentration camps and then commenced an extermination program from 1941. No organised body in Europe stood up for the Jews. Christian Churches looked the other way. The Zionist movement that sought to establish a homeland for the Jewish people in Palestine increased in influence. Limited Jewish migration to Palestine expanded massively at the end of WWII following the horrors of the Holocaust. While UN deliberations and recommendations for a partition that defined a state of Israel were in train, Israel declared its statehood following a program of terrorism and mercilessly drove Palestinians from areas identified for the Israeli state. They carried out a number of shocking massacres of both Christians and Muslims. Villages and towns were torched and their inhabitants banished. Three quarters of a million indigenous people became refugees. Those who resisted were slaughtered. The refugees now number 4.5 million, living in squalid refugee camps mainly in Lebanon and Jordan, without a country to call their own, living in destitution and without hope. The 1967 war further dispossessed and enslaved the Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza. Today, history is repeated in the most ironic and cruel fashion in Israeli-occupied Palestine. The Israelis demolish homes and expropriate Palestinian properties on a daily basis; and have created the largest concentration camps in the history of the world with 1.5 million people in Gaza and 2.5 million people in the West Bank. The Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian lands have no human rights, no property rights and no country to call their own. In the December 2007 edition of National Geographic, Michael Finkel's article "Bethlehem 2007 AD" describes the persecution of Palestinians, both Muslim and Christian, under illegal occupation by Israel. Many Christians have left Palestine for Western countries. Muslims have nowhere to go. Finkel writes, "Can you imagine Bethlehem without any Christians? You better start imagining it, because in a few years, it might be reality:' If Mary and Joseph were journeying to Bethlehem today, they would be delayed at a checkpoint on the 700km apartheid wall Israel is constructing and the baby Jesus might well be born on the roadside. Yet not a single European body or group - and this includes the Christian Churches - stands up for the Palestinians. Just as the Christian Churches passed by on the other side during the Holocaust years. Today, the Palestinians are like the man in Jesus' parable who was robbed, beaten up and left half dead by the side of the road that leads from Jerusalem to Jericho. It is time that we as Christians ask ourselves who we resemble; the priest and the Levite, or the Samaritan? Dr Bill Mathew Parkville, Victoria

•

October 14 2009, The Record

Currently being re-installed, the renovated organ will make completed Cathedral a house of Praise, a house of..

Technicians are working hard to install two organs at St Mary's before its December 8 opening BY ROBERT HIINI Parish Reporter A fter more than a year of restorative work, St Mary's Music Program Director, Jacinta Jakovcevic, is ecstatic to see the installation of the Cathedral's original and "new" organs. They arrived on site in sea containers just over six weeks ago from New Zealand where they had been restored.

The large and fully restored original, built by legendary Australian organ builder J E Dodd in 1910, is being assembled in the new choir loft by technicians from the Timaru-based South Island Organ Company who restored "her," as Jacinta says. Both the organ's original components and the French elements that were added on in the 1960s have been restored while some of the extensions that were added during that period have been removed. The work done in the 1960s gave added punch" to what was already a very "broad sounding" organ, Miss Jakovcevic said, while the new work should give it even greater definition. She said that the organ will benefit from the addition of 32-foot pipes - which are folded over themselves, like a bassoon -

and the "flourish" of a new cymbal stern a star-shaped collection of chimes that are hit by a mallet-like hammer when the allotted stop is pulled out, giving the instrument added flexibility. Placed high between the two central towers of the organ's case, Jacinta jokingly thinks that it might be mistaken for a Christmas decoration, particularly as the organs are scheduled to be fully assembled and operational for St Mary's grand opening on December 8. The case from the 1963 renovation has been recycled with only one tower needing to be built from scratch. The redesign of the original instrument had largely been settled before she came on board as Director. Some of her recent Masters research into

J E Dodd, however, has gone into the "new" smaller organ, constructed in New Zealand in 1905. The Arthur Hobday-built instrument (a contemporary of J E Dodd) is being installed in the northern archway, to the left of the former sanctuary, which will now make way for the new Blessed Sacrament Chapel. Both organs will be playable from either console and will offer diversity and choice in sound. Jacinta told The Record that preparations for St Mary's Cathedral's many opening services are going well. Not wanting to give too much away, she says there will be "a mixed bag of styles and composers. Some very new works and some that are quite ancient and connected with our past."

VisT.‘ 2

October 14 2009, The Record

One Mass, many candles

NATIONAL CATHOLIC CONFERENCE

Perth Conference hits the mark A parent of three children with his wife Terese, Renato was a cofounder of the SCTA in response to John Paul II's call for the "new evangelisation" and the Second Vatican Council to network educators with a passion for their faith and a desire to spread it through education. Mr Bonasera, who has also taught at Emmanuel Catholic College, Mandurah Catholic College and John Paul College, believes that God's Spirit is at work through the beauty of the Church's teaching. "If the Church is the true Church and the teachings are from Christ then they can stand up to any scrutiny and any doubts. So we should never be afraid of people's doubts or questions because they are a way to evengelise and to bring Christ to them."

Solid, solid, solid By MARK REIDY

Practical priests: with much larger congregations to deal with, priests in places such as Nigeria must resort to practical solutions when it comes to matters such as blessing a crowd of worshippers. Here, Fr Echeta uses a bottle with a spray nozzle to ensure maximum reach.

Ballajura Parish Priest Fr John Jegorow reports on the colour and excitement of a Nigerian welcoming for a newly-ordained son, and why Kalashnikov AK-47 assault rifles do have their uses

ne description of church celebrations in Nigeria might be 'long' or even 'very long.' Well, that's compared to what Aussies are accustomed to in Australia. At the end of August I travelled to Nigeria with Archbishop Barry Hickey to attend the thanksgiving celebrations of one of Perth's newest Catholic priests, Fr Bonaventure Echeta. Fr Echeta returned to Nigeria after his Perth ordination to celebrate Mass in his home town for the first time. His Mass commenced at 10am on August 30 at St Joseph's Church in Okporo in the diocese of Orlu and concluded at 2pm. No-one was in a hurry, even though it took four hours and was followed by an official reception for another four hours. The altar servers replaced the candles several times. After the parish celebrations the official party moved to the Echeta home where Archbishop Hickey blessed a small room set aside as a private chapel in the family compound. Family and friends celebrated well into the night. The Echeta family were justifiably very proud of their son and happy to welcome the small Australian contingent of visitors that also included fellow Archdiocesan clergy, Frs Nicholas Nweke and Douglas Rowe. The Nigerian people are very warm and generous in their hospitality. They regard it an honour to be able to give a gift to a religious person. Fr Bonaventure received all sorts of gifts, as is the custom during the 'procession of gifts' at the Mass. For a full hour the 1,200 strong congregation sang and danced their way to the front of the church as jubilant priests blessed them with copious amounts of holy water using a traditional aspergillum, or just a simple spray pack. The gifts included bowls of fruit, burning incense, sweet potatoes, vegetables, live chickens, blankets, a box of toilet paper, a video recorder, rice and individual cash donations (at the reception a pre-owned 406 Peugeot, a fridge and a portable Mass kit were also added to the list). Approximately a dozen priests concelebrated. The

singing was dynamic and the homily, delivered in the local language of the people, lasted 45 minutes. Whatever it was that he said, Fr Nicholas Nweke said it with great drama, excitement and punch, although to have not preached for 45 minutes may perhaps have been regarded as an insult. The trip to Nigeria with Fr Bonaventure as he celebrated his first Mass in his home town was full of unexpected moments. "Thank God you're here" I said to one of two Kalashnikov-carrying guards accompanying Archbishop Hickey and me during our visit to Nigeria. Little did I know. The guard's name actually was 'Thank God' because many Nigerian names are of a religious origin. In this case the young man was using the English equivalent and had it embroidered on his policeman's uniform. The Kalashnikovs were needed because the security of foreign visitors is taken quite seriously. The moment we stepped out of the air terminal two guards accompanied us wherever we moved from place to place, or from compound to compound. We were strongly discouraged from leaving the confines of the church compound "Thank God you're and were told how here"Isaid to one kidnappers had rung of two Kalashnikova Bishop demanding the equivalent carrying guards accomof A$50,000 for the panying Archbishop release of their hostage - the local parish Hickey andIduring our priest. visit to Nigeria. Little In order not to cre- didIknow. The guard's ate a trend the Bishop name actually was refused but insisted the kidnappers tell 'Thank God'..." him where he could find the body of the priest, should they choose to shoot him, so that he could give him a Christian burial. Disheartened, the kidnappers released the priest. I wondered how much Archbishop Hickey would be prepared to pay for my release. Meanwhile, widows in Nigeria can have a tough time in certain circumstances as they do not usually fare well following the death of their husband. If they do not have children who can support them they may well be in dire straits. Inheritance laws do not seem to favour wives. The Catholic nuns run a special group providing care and fellowship for widows. The widows were cooking up a storm on the feast of their patron, St Monica on August 27. Children often supplement the family income (or their pocket money) by breaking up large rocks into small pieces to be used as building material. I tried my hand (see picture at right) but did not fancy it as a long term proposition.

PHOTOS- THE WELL •KNOWN AND WIDELY -RESPECTED FR JOHN JEGOROW

Archbishop Hickey meets members of newly-ordained Fr Bonaventure Echeta's family.

Fr John Jegorow, together with Fr Bonaventure, Archbishop Hickey and Fr Bonaventure's parents.

VNTA 3

here was a prevailing sense of gratitude for solid Catholic teaching among participants at the National Catholic Conference in Perth on October 1-2. The Conference, organised by the Society of Catholic Teachers of Australia Inc. was held at the Disciples of Jesus headquarters in Osborne Park and featured both local and interstate speakers. Over 70 people attended the event; approximately half of them teachers, and those spoken to by The Record were unanimous in their appreciation of the knowledge imparted by presenters. Presented under the theme May They All be One: Building Bridges to Christian Unity. speakers presented and explained Church teachings from a spiritual and historical perspective and attempted to clarify common misconceptions so that those in attendance would be able to use this knowledge to reach out to, educate and find common ground with those of other Christian faiths. Opening speaker. Robert Haddad (see story at right). Director of the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine and a lecturer at Notre Dame in Sydney. addressed issues surrounding the often-misunderstood concepts of Authority and the Church Magisterium, as well as clarifying the Catholic teaching on saints. Mirrabooka priest and Notre Dame lecturer, Fr Giosue Nlarini. explained the Catholic understanding of Salvation and Justification and Bishop Julian Porteous, Auxiliary Bishop of Sydney. spoke of the vital role of the Holy Spirit. Fr Timothy Deeter. Chaplain for the Society of Catholic Teachers Australia, provided a scriptural and theological basis for Catholic teaching about the Eucharist and Christ's institution of the Sacraments and explained their relevance to furthering Christian unity. Catholic lay presenters included Richard Egan, National Policy Officer for Family Voice Australia, who addressed secular society's misunderstandings about the Church's teachings on the sanctity of human life, Paul Kelly, Director of Senior Religious Formation at Aquinas College, who presented the Catholic understanding of evolution and Perth writer, filmmaker and best-selling author Bridget Curran who clarified some often-misunderstood teachings about Nlary. All participants interviewed by The Record expressed a desire for similar events in the future so that they could continue to expand their understanding of the Catholic Church and use this knowledge in the pursuit of Christian unit).

Bishop sets out problem of 'the new Pelagianism'

- ROBERT HIINI

Apologist left a career in law behind to follow His heart It was the mid-1980s when visiting National Catholic Conference speaker, Robert . Haddad, decided that he no longer wanted to live for the Notre Dame Sydney lecturer and apologist, Robert Haddad was in demand after delivering his first of two talks at "Kingdom of Westpac" but the Kingdom of God. The Notre Dame Sydney lecturer and apologist the National Catholic Conference. He spoke on authority in the Church and on the Communion of Saints. had just been promoted after receiving his law degree and was asked to make an offer to "a little thinking, on a mental attitude that wants to embed old lady- who had a grievance against the bank - a in the mind thoughts, words and images that woman with whom he found himself empathising. expand my capacity for self-realisation," Bishop While taking some time off, someone he knew Porteous said. at a local monastery offered him a job at their local He labelled what he described as a new, if mild, Catholic high school. After five weeks, and with no form of Pelagianism, referring to an ancient and formal qualifications, he was made deputy principal incorrect theological understanding that human at age 25, despite his protestations. Hes been an beings could achieve their own salvation through educator ever since, receiving two masters degrees good works. in the last two years in Theology and Religious "The power of positive thinking says, "I'm going Education. to make myself a better person." The result is the He is the director of Sydney's catechist agency, the Holy Spirit becomes a forgotten gift, an unused Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (CCD) and a power. speaker with the Sydney-based apologetics organi"We don't need the Holy Spirit because we are sation Lumen Verum. busy saving ourselves and we believe we are capable He says that apologetics - giving reasons for the of doing it ourselves," Bishop Porteous said. Church's teaching - is about respecting and fulfilling The Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdioces of Sydney, people's intellectual needs and is a necessary precurwho was also in Perth to launch his recent book sor to meaningful ecumenism, a key focus of the After the Heart of God, told participants that the conference, between Catholics and other churches. Christian life was antithetical to the "me-centred" "People need to be given convincing reasons why ethos of our day. Catholic teaching is good and right. You can't have He likened the Holy Spirit to the wind, saying authentic cooperation based on ignorance or indifthat you could discern its presence by its effects ference," Mr Haddad told The Record. while not necessarily being aware of it. He says that true apologetics has nothing to do "A Christian life means living in grace, a life in Auxiliary Bishop of Sydney, Julian Porteous, in full flight with the conflict and aggression of the post-Reforthe Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a gift to us, a means by talking about the centrality of the Holy Spirit mation period and is, instead, a dignified means of which we can advance our salvation by virtue of the Local AARE representative, Chris Callus, himself speaking with the increasing number of people who death of Christ," the Bishop said. "On our part there has to be an act of engage- an RE Coordinator at Sacred Heart College, used are being born into non-practising or areligious ment. We can't just presume it's going to happen. the occasion of the National Catholic Conference, families. which Mr Bonasera had been instrumental in However, while Mr Haddad says that the practice We've got to open the shutters and let the light in." of apologetics is a critical tool to evangelise in the He said that the Holy Spirit was the soul of the organising, to present the award. Church, the one factor that had ensured its survival When asked if teaching Religious Education con- face of secularism, it is only a beginning. "Apologetics only equips intellectually. The Holy for nearly 2,000 years. stitutes apologetics or catechesis, Mr Bonasera said Spirit enlightens our intellect but only to move our "What is at the heart of the Church is not an that in his experience, it depends on the audience. institution, a structure or excellent planning. The Refering to his role at Trinity College, Mr will. one single source that animates it from age to age is Bonasera said that the new Religion and Life Course "Apologetics is useless if you are not loving. I - ROBERT HIINI had made teaching religion easier by enabling don't need to have understanding absolutely in the Holy Spirit." teachers to relate the Faith to contemporary issues order to be Christian but, to be Christian, I absolutely need to love." and everyday life. Mr Haddad says that part of his motivation and "What we're doing is evangelisation, first and foremost by facilitating critical assimilation of the love for apologetics comes from his experience as a Church's teaching, how it applies to life and its teen going to a state school in which he was quizzed regularly by protestant friends. impact on society," Mr Bonasera told The Record. After years of searching for reasons and answers "You compare and contrast, warts and all. We're Religious Education Coordinator and President not saying, 'this is what you have to believe'. he came across The Question Box by Fr Betrand L of the Society of Catholic Teachers Australia, Renato "By taking a step back and being objective about Conway which he "devoured" in two days. Bonasera, received a meritorious service award last it, students see you are not trying to impose on With two boys and two girls, he says that he and week from the Australian Association of Religious them. They see the relevance of it and are more his wife want to provide them with the foundation - ROBERT MINI Education (AARE). to be lights of Christ in the world. open to what you have to say."

Perth Religious Education The Holy Spirit is the antidote to the modern day teacher honoured

Fr Jegorow's guards Martin, above at left, and Thank God, at right, carry their Kalashnikov AK-47 assault rifles in case of trouble. Kidnappings are not unknown.

heresy of believing that we can achieve whatever we put their minds to, including salvation, Sydney Bishop Julian Porteous told participants at the inaugural National Catholic Conference recently. "There is a lot of emphasis today on positive

Josh Stock, 26, Pre -service Teacher, Golden Bay It is refreshing to receive good Catholic teaching. There seems to be a mistrust of the Magisterium in some areas so it is vital that I am aware of the truth so that I can pass it on to others. I find it especially important as a teacher as I am discovering that many secondary students do not have an understanding of what the Church actually teaches.

Maria Wainwright, 50, Bayswater It was a great opportunity to meet and talk to others and to share ideas. Montana McCann, 16, Teaching Assistant, Baldivis I haven't heard anything like this before. It was very encouraging as I have found it difficult to find teaching for Youth that is solid and this Conference has been able to clarify so much. It was also good to meet others of a similar mindset.

Mandy Dunlop, 45, VVilletton I often find I am lost for words when trying to defend my faith to those with different beliefs. Conferences such as this help me to discover the truth of the Catholic Church and will hopefully assist me in my response to others. Wendy Swire, 70, Ferndale Conferences such as this one teach me that I can never stop learning. It also reminds me of why I love the Catholic Church so much and the knowledge

I received will help me to evangelise better.

hear the announcement of the Evangelisation Centre.

James Chua, 28, Teacher, Cloverdale It was great to listen to such knowledgeable and articulate speakers, especially the Bishops. I really enjoyed the presentations; they were of high quality as well as being inspiring.

Kayla Roatch, 17, Student, Kelmscott As a student of the Acts 2 College of Mission and Evangelisation, I found the conference to be a very helpful extension of my course.

Maureen, 47, Morley The Conference was great. There should be more places to receive solid Catholic teaching. I was excited to

- Mark Reidy

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October 14 2009, The Record

Page 9

CHILDREN

COLOURING

CHILDREN'S STORY

43. THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (EXODUS 19:20-20:17)

MOSES TELLS THE ISRAELITES OF GOD'S LAWS By Joe Sarnicola A FTER reading the Ten Commandments from God to the people, Moses set down the stone tablets on which the words were written. Behind him the mountain bellowed smoke and the sky was filled with loud, crashing thunder and blinding flashes of lightning. The Israelites were afraid and backed away from Moses.

LLewellyn Cully, 7, Kearnan College, Manjimup Dear God, Butterflies are speshl to me because they cange from something slimy to something pretty.god, please help me to be a butterfly.i love butterflies because they are qwiert.

Amen

"You speak to us," they said to Moses, "and we will listen; but let not God speak to us or we shall die." "Do not be afraid," Moses told them, "for God has come to you only to test you and put his fear upon you, lest you should sin."

'And he gave unto Moses, wtien he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony. tables of stone, written with the finger of God.' EXODUS 31:18

SPOTLIGHT ON SAINTS Pi St Alphonsus Rodriguez

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Alphonsus Rodriguez (1533-1617) was the son of a wealthy wool merchant in Spain. When two travelling Jesuits stayed with the Rodriguez family, they helped Alphonsus to prepare for his first Holy Communion. When he was in his teens, he and his brother were sent to study with the Jesuits again. After the death of his father, Alphonsus had to leave his studies to help with the family business. Alphonsus married, but illness claimed the lives of his wife and his two children. He sold his business and went to live with two of his older, unmarried sisters.They taught him about the Rosary and meditative prayer. He was inspired to join the Jesuits, but because of his age and his own poor health he had to accept a position as lay brother. He dedicated the rest of his life to prayer and the service of others, and eventually he was made a full brother. We honour him on October 30

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43. THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (EXODUS 19:20-20:22)

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BIBLE ACCENT: The name of the Book of Exodus comes from "exodos," a Greek word that literally means "road out." The Israelites departed or escaped from the slavery they had endured in Egypt. After a brief summary of the family history of Jacob and a description of the political situation in Egypt, the real action of the book begins with the birth of Moses. He was adopted by Pharaoh's own daughter and was raised as if he gere a prince.

and nut God had greater plans for him. He had chosen Moses to defy Pharaohwith to lead the Israelites to the promised land. This book reads like a thriller, miraculous events - from the parting of the Red Sea to food falling from heaven and daring escapes. This also is where God gave Moses the Ten Commandments.

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Moses continued to tell Israel of the laws that God wanted them to follow. Some of the laws were harsh with punishment while others expected the people to treat each other fairly. Most important of all was the commandment to serve only God. Moses declared, "Whoever sacrifices to any god, except to the Lord alone, shall be doomed." Reminding them of their own escape from slavery, Moses said, "You shall not molest or oppress an alien, for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt. You shall not wrong any widow or orphan. If ever you wrong them and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry. My wrath will flare up, and I will kill you with the sword; then your own wives will be widows, and your children orphans." To illustrate his next point, Moses pulled money out of his cloak and held it up for the people to see. "If you lend money to one of your poor neighbors among my people, you shall not act like an extortioner toward him by demanding interest from him. If you take your neighbor's cloak as a pledge, you shall return it to him before sunset; for this cloak of his is the only covering he has for his body. What else has he to sleep in? If he cries out to me, I will hear him; for I am compassionate." Moses put his money away and pointed into the sky. Then he spoke slowly. "You shall not revile God, nor curse a prince of your people. You shall not delay the offering of your harvest and your press. ... You shall be men sacred to me." READ MORE ABOUT IT: Exodus 20 and 22 Q&A What did God say about widows and orphans? What did God say about lending money?

Page 10

October 14 2009, The Record

THE WORLD

Pope canonises five spiritual giants Pope canonises five as models of Christian love BY JOHN THAVIS

Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI proclaimed five new saints, including 19th century Belgian missionary Fr Damien de Veuster, calling them "shining examples" of Christian love. At an October 11 Mass overflowing with pilgrims from around the world, the Pope also canonised Sr Jeanne Jugan, a French nun whose Little Sisters of the Poor continue to assist the elderly in the United States and more than 30 other countries. A fter brief biographies of the five were read aloud, the Pope pronounced a solemn decree of canonisation and proclaimed them models of holiness for the whole Church. Relics of the new saints were placed on the altar as St Peter's Basilica was filled with a sung Alleluia. In his homily, the Pope said the newly canonised had typified the Christian vocation of radical conversion and self-sacrifice made "with no thought of human calculation and advantage "Their perfection, in the logic of the faith that is sometimes humanly incomprehensible, consists in no longer placing themselves at the centre, but in choosing to go against the current by living according to the Gospel' he said. Thousands of US pilgrims came to Rome for the canonisation, including a delegation of leprosy patients and their caregivers from Hawaii, where St Damien worked and died, and residents from homes for the aged run by Little Sisters of the Poor across the United States. The basilica was filled beyond capacity, and an estimated 40,000 people watched the liturgy on giant TV screens in St Peter's Square. The Mass was moved inside at the

St Damien de Veuster

St Francisco Coll Guitart

St Jeanne Jugan

last minute because of a threat of rain, but blue skies and sunshine prevailed throughout the liturgy. St Damien, a member of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, worked on the island of Hawaii for eight years before volunteering in 1873 to work at a leprosy colony on Molokai, where he served as pastor, doctor and counsellor to some 800 patients. In 1884 he contracted leprosy but, refusing to leave the island for treatment, continued to work until the month before his death at age 49 in 1889. The Pope said that St Damien "felt at home" as "a leper with the lepers" during the final years of his life. "He invites us to open our eyes toward the leprosies' that disfigure the humanity of our brothers and sisters and that today still call, more than for our generosity, for the charity of our serving presence; he said. The procession to place St Damien's relics on the altar included Hawaii resident Audrey Toguchi, 81, whose cure from cancer was attributed to the miraculous intercession of St Damien, as well as her doctor and a leprosy patient from Hawaii. St Damien has been considered an intercessor for patients with leprosy and, more recently, HIV and AIDS. The Vatican's liturgical program for the canonisation described St Damien as a voice for

"rejected people of all kinds: the incurably ill (victims of AIDS or other diseases), abandoned children, disoriented youths, exploited women, neglected elderly people and oppressed minorities. In his homily, the Pope said that in view of her service to the elderly, St Jeanne Jugan was "a beacon" for modern societies, which "have still to rediscover the unique place and contribution of this period of life." She was so effective with the aged because she recognised in them the person of Christ, he said. "Her charism is still relevant, because so many older people suffer from fears and solitude, having sometimes been abandoned even by their families," he said. Born in northern France in 1792, St Jeanne formed a small prayer community and, in 1839, brought home a sick and blind elderly widow, giving the woman her own bed. Caring for the abandoned elderly became the primary focus of her religious order, and remains so today for the approximately 2,700 Little Sisters of the Poor. The Pope noted that St Jeanne had herself accepted "obscurity and deprivation" in her later years, a reference to the fact that she was removed as superior of her religious order and sent out to beg on behalf of the poor. She died in 1879, and today the Little Sisters serve more than 13,000 elderly residents in 202 homes around the world. The

other new saints included a Pole and two Spaniards: • St Zygmunt Felinski, a former Archbishop of Warsaw, Poland, and founder of the Franciscan Sisters of the Family of Mary. Born in 1822 near Volinia, which today is in Ukraine, he was deported to Russia and, after being freed, worked among the poor farmers of Ukraine and Poland, founding schools for rural children. He died in 1895, and today the Church sees him as an intercessor for all who are persecuted. • St Francisco Coll Guitart, a Spanish Dominican priest who founded the Congregation of the Dominican Sisters of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the 19th century. He was famed for his evangelical preaching, aimed especially at Catholics who had lapsed from the practice of the faith. He made great use of the Rosary, initiating the "perpetual rosary" in parts of Spain, in which thousands of people took part. His popular missions continued until his death in 1875 at the age of 62. • St Rafael Arnaiz Baron, a 20th century Spanish Trappist Brother known for his humility and life of prayer. As a student of architecture in the 1930s, he suddenly broke off his training to enter the contemplative life. Soon after he was stricken with a serious form of diabetes. He died in 1938 at 27,

Vatican ruling on Medjugorje 'soon': Bosnia Cardinal Vatican ruling on disputed Medjugorje shrine expected soon MEDJUGORJE, BosniaHerzegovina - The Vatican may soon issue firmer guidance for Catholics on the claim that Mary has been visiting Medjugorje that could deal a serious blow to the site, Cardinal Vinko Puljic, head of the Bishops' Conference in Bosnia, told Reuters on October 6. "We are now awaiting a new directive on this issue; Cardinal Puljic, the Sarajevo Archbishop who survived the city's long wartime siege in the 1990s, told Reuters. "I don't think we must wait for a long time. I think it will be this year, but that is not clear." He said he would travel to Rome in November to discuss the issue with Vatican officials. In June, Bishop Ratko Peric of Mostar, the nearest city in Bosnia, warned Catholics against uncritical belief in Medjugorje and issued a series of restrictions on the parish. "Brothers and sisters, let us not.

act as if these 'apparitions' were recognised and worthy of faith," he said in a sermon previously reported in The Record. In July, Pope Benedict XVI laicised Fr Tomislav Vlasic, the former "spiritual director" to the visionaries, upon the request of Vlasic himself. The Pope also dispensed him from his religious vows as a member of the Order of Friars Minor after a year-long investigation into charges he exaggerated the apparitions and had fathered a child with a woman before the apparitions began. According to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, all the charges against Vlasic were "in the context of the Medjugorje phenomenon". The investigation, according to a Catholic News Service report, focused on alleged "dubious doctrine, the manipulation of consciences, suspect mysticism and disobedience towards legitimately issued orders; One account of his story called him "a modern-day Rasputin with a taste for sex and seances", Reuters reported, and another placed the Medjugorje story in the context

of anti-communism and Croatian nationalism. The Bosnian village has become a major pilgrimage site since six children first reported visions of the Virgin Mary in 1981. The 1992-95 Bosnian war disrupted the flow of pilgrims, but with three now middle-aged locals still reporting visions, thousands still flock to the Bosnian town every year, Reuters reported. One of the visionaries, Ivan Dragicevic, says on the Medjugorje website that he has received nine out of ten secrets from the Virgin Mary, and now spends six months a year in Medjugorje and the other half in the United States, stopping off in places such as Canada and Peru as well to give lectures on his experiences, reported Reuters. Cardinal Puljic declined to give his own views on the events of Medjugorje to Reuters, but said: "People have the right to pray everywhere, including in Medjugorje. "It is not a sin to pray, it's not a sin to hear confessions, it is not a sin to give penance, this is a good climate. But this phenomena, apparitions or visions, falls to the (Vatican) commission. It is a very delicate question."

St Rafael Arnalz Baron

St Zygmunt Felinski

and his prayerful devotion and his spiritual writings led people to describe him as a great mystic. At the end of the Mass, the Pope spoke from the steps of the basilica to pilgrims who filled the square. They cheered, applauded and waved banners as each of the saints was named. Addressing English-speaking people, the Pope said he hoped the new saints would "inspire you by the example of their holy lives." The Pope also greeted a group of Japanese survivors of the nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, saying: "I pray that the world may never again witness such mass destruction of innocent human life."

Abortion rises in France despite contraception 'success' Contraception success leads to 'strong social pressure to abort' in France FRANCE - Abortions have increased in France despite contraception 'successes', a new study by the French National Institute of Demographic Studies (INED) has found. Although the number of unplanned pregnancies in France has fallen, the number of abortions in such cases has increased, reports the Monde Actu 24h/24 international news channel in France. Unplanned pregnancies fell from 46 percent to 33 percent from 1975 to 2004, ostensibly due to use of contraceptives, according to the study, but the number of abortions of such pregnancies increased from 40 percent to 60 percent over the same period. Over 40 percent of French women have an abortion at least once in their life, reported LifeSiteNews. The study says that women

using contraception have a greater desire to control their fertility and thus are more likely to abort a child who is not consistent with their plans. The study also examined other statistics regarding abortion. From August 1973 to January 1976, during which period abortion was legalised, French fertility rates fell from 2.36 to 1.8 children per woman, a loss of 24 percent. France's average fertility rate is currently approximately 2.02, which many attribute to the French government's attempts to encourage childbirth through various incentives. The study found that the desire to have a child has also decreased in accordance with the contraception 'successes': According to Chantal Blayot, a professor of demography at Montesquieu-Bordeau IV, this trend is supported by "a strong social pressure to abort". Prof Blayot said that the social context is not conducive to large families. "At first birth, we congratulate the parents; on the third, they are asked if they have considered well what they are doing; Prof Blayot said.

October 14 2009, The Record

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THE WORLD

African families face threat from West African family values threatened by Western ideology: Bishops BY SARAH DELANEY Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY - The African family is being undermined by violence, AIDS and Western ideas that upset the traditional relationship between men and women, some African Bishops have warned. Support for parents, better attention to the moral education of children and resistance to modern ideologies that diminish Christian family values are necessary, they told the Synod of Bishops for A frica. Guinean Archbishop Robert Sarah, Secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, said on October 7 that the Western concept that biological gender identity "is not intrinsic to the person but is a social construct" is contrary to African culture. The ideology also "denies God's plan" for humanity in creating people male or female and has a negative impact on the centrality of traditional marriage and of motherhood and fatherhood, he said. The new Western gender model, he said, "allows woman to reach an equality of social power with man and for the individual to 'choose' their sexual orientation," making homosexuality "a culturally acceptable choice. The ideology influences culture and politics, and puts pressure on lawmakers to pass legislation favourable to "contraceptive and abortive services as well as homosexuality", he said. In African culture, the Archbishop said, "man is nothing without woman and woman is nothing without man. Both are nothing if the child isn't the centre of the family created by a man and woman. Africa must protect itself from the contamination of intellectual cynicism in the West". He added that it was the Church's responsibility to inform Africans about "the threats of this lethal ideology:' His concerns were echoed by Italian Cardinal Ennio Antonelli, president of the Pontifical Council for the Family, who spoke at the Synod on October 8. Cardinal Antonelli said that the so-called First World was working to spread the admirable concepts of equality, health and liberty, but in an ambiguous fashion that confuses differences between men and women. This promotion of the "uniformity of all individuals," Cardinal Antonelli said, cancels differences between the sexes and treats all sexual orientations as equally valid. "Each individual has the right to freely practice - and change, should they wish - their choices in line with their drives, desires and preferences!' Archbishop Buti Tlhagale of Johannesburg, South Africa, told the Synod that Africa's traditional cultural values "are threatened by the new global ethic which aggressively seeks to persuade African governments and communities to accept new and different meanings of the concepts of family, marriage and human sexuality" In the cultural challenge, "Africa faces a second wave of colonisation, both subtle and ruthless at the same time," he said. Archbishop Philippe Ouedraogo of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, said that most Africans continue to

Pope Benedict XVI celebrates the opening Mass of the Synod of Bishops for Africa in St Peter's Basilica at the Vatican on October 4

cherish traditional values regarding the family and human life, but they feel besieged by messages from the media casting doubts on their deeply held beliefs. "Today's means of communication have made the world a single village," he said. Television, radio and Internet sites in Africa "deliberately broadcast programs that try to impose" Western values. Bishop Peter Musikuwa of Chikwawa, Malawi, said that African families struggle to be the "places of pardon, reconciliation and peace" that they should be because of the difficult challenges they face. The challenges, he said, are posed by the HIV-AIDS pandemic, globalisation, "the deterioration of the cultural value of marriage, political influence and the lack of role models:' A Madagascan Archbishop spoke of the essential role children play in families and in society and said that parents and the surrounding community need help to better transmit values to the young. Keeping the family together is important, said Archbishop of Rabemahafaly Fulgence Fianarantsoa, because children who do not live in a family "will not have enough of the sense and value of sacrifice and obedience" that living in harmony requires. Children learn behaviour quickly, so it is essential that parents be good role models from the very beginning and the Church must support them, he said. Bishop Maurice Piat of Port Louis, Mauritius called special attention to the problems faced by parents, particularly in times of war or social conflict. "When war tears their families apart, parents may ask themselves what meaning there is to their lives, and what values can they still transmit to their children," he said. Those parents need the Church to denounce the violence and its causes, but also to help them resist a sense of fatalism and work for Justice, he said. Even if the parents are not successful, he said, "they could at least transmit the taste for struggling and suffering for justice to their children:'

PHOTO: CNS/PAUL HARING

Nakeza Cikwananzi greets Cardinal Bernard Agre, the retired Archbishop of Abidjan, Ivory Coast, outside St Peter's PHOTO: CNS/PAUL HARING Basilica after the opening Mass of the Synod of Bishops for Africa at the Vatican on October 4

Church needs to welcome women in polygamous marriages: prelate VATICAN CITY - (CNS) The Catholic Church in Africa needs to make special provisions for women who want to join the Church, but are denied the sacraments because they are in polygamous marriages, a Bishop from Ghana said. Bishop Matthew Kwasi Gyamfi of Sunyani told the Synod of Bishops for Africa on October 8 that, because of a tradition established long before Christianity arrived on the continent, "many African women find themselves in polygamous marriages through no fault of their own!' The Bishop's speech came during an abbreviated session of the Synod.

Bishop Gyamfi said that the Church's practice of baptising married people and admitting them to the other sacraments only if they are part of a monogamous relationship creates enormous difficulties for many women. "The Church needs to address this painful and unpleasant situation in Africa by giving some special privileges to women" who "through no fault of their own have become victims of polygamous marriages," the Bishop said. Especially if they have children, women in polygamous marriages face social rejection and serious economic hardship if they try to end their relationships with their husbands, the Bishop said. "In cases where women have walked away without the consent of the husbands and the extended families, the Church has been cited for injustice, insecurity, breaking up families, fomenting

disunity and destroying social cohesion:' The real difficulties for the women and their children have discouraged many women from formally joining the Church, Bishop Gyamfi said. "The result is that, in some parts of Africa, many women attend church regularly and actively participate in all Church activities, but are denied the sacraments of initiation, reconciliation and marriage," not to mention "the many denied fitting Christian burial for not being baptised," he said. Receiving the women into the Church without making them leave their husbands "will enable them to share in the peace and reconciliation offered by the compassion and peace of Our Lord Jesus Christ who came to call sinners and not the self-righteous," Bishop Gyamfi said.

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PERSPECTIVES

October 14 2009, The Record

Theology doesn't Guard against silent acceptance make sense without Faith In clear view By Guy Crouchback

PHOTO DEBRA VAUGHN

Professor Matthew Ogilvie To do theology you have to be personally committed to your faith. Otherwise you're not doing theology but secular "religious studies". As Dean of Theology at Notre Dame University, Australia, I often pray before giving lectures. I think it makes a difference. It certainly makes me conscious of why I am doing what I am doing. I relate best to liturgical prayer, so the Mass is very important to me. When I pray alone, I usually read a chapter or two of the Scriptures and use that as a prompt for prayer. My prayer is often a meditation on what the Scripture means for me. It goes beyond words and I just stand in awe of the mystery. In a way Systematic theology is essentially the theology that tries to make sense of the Church's doctrines, like that Jesus Christ was fully human and fully Divine. Systematic theology asks, "How can we explain this so it is understandable and credible today?" Good science and with Debbie Warner good religion are compatible. Our role is to critique both. The best definition of theology is faith seeking understanding. In 1987 I began studying theology with a view to entering some sort of practical pastoral ministry. I just felt a call to serve in the Church. Then I found that theology was my niche. I was encouraged to do my Masters and when I was finishing that my lecturers recommended I do my PhD. I can't practise anything without teaching it. So because of my passion for teaching and my love of Systematic theology I am what! am today. Over the past couple of years I have been researching and teaching in the field of "religion and terrorism?' If my researching and teaching about terrorism has taught me anything, it is that the West has suffered and blundered badly in the battlefield because we have ignored the importance of religion in our world. I got involved in that area because I think the religious motivations of contemporary terrorists have been largely misunderstood. I further believe that if we don't understand the motivations and foundations of terrorism, our military efforts will be hampered and we will still be fighting the war on terror 100 years from now. The greatest influence on my faith has been visiting the Holy Land (twice), especially Jerusalem. I am hoping to take a group of Notre Dame University students there soon. I think your faith perspective can't be the same when you have walked the same paths as Jesus and the people in the Bible. The most profound spiritual experience I ever had has been praying at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. It was an experience that left me awestruck. I encourage my students to read widely including the work of atheist authors like Richard Dawkins. Through studying Systematic theology they learn how to pull such work apart, identify what is rubbish and defend the faith in a public forum. Students have come up to me after a lecture and said they have a new respect for their faith. Systematic theology can be a form of evangelisation because it helps others to see that faith is reasonable. It is not the primary aim but it is a nice spin-off from it.

Howl Pray Now

If you have a story to tell please contact dwarner75@gmail.com

With a major political push under way here to legalise voluntary euthanasia, there is a duty upon us all to do everything we can to oppose the death-cult. Voluntary euthanasia is bad enough for people of Christian faith. However, there is evidence now accumulating from all over the world of what should be plain to any person with their ordinary wits about them: voluntary euthanasia does not stay voluntary; highsounding safeguards against abuse are proving worthless. Can anyone believe that greedy heirs, anxious to inherit, especially today when buying a house usually takes a lifetime, will never pressure lonely and confused old people into agreeing to their own killing? To this pressure we may expect to be added all sorts of other pressures from various administrators, including perhaps eventually some doctors educated in the new regime, and various government officials eager to empty hospital beds and save money. Already, the British Labour politician and medical "ethics" czar, Baroness Mary Warnock, has said that Dementia sufferers may have a "duty to die." She has claimed that elderly people suf-

fering from dementia are a burden on the National Health Service and their families. She added that she hoped people will soon be "licensed to put others down" if they are unable to look after themselves. Who will have such licences to kill? Powerful bureaucrats like Baroness Warnock, presumably. A decree giving "Full responsibility to enlarge the powers of certain specified doctors in such a way that they can grant those who are by all human standards incurably ill a merciful death after the most critical assessment possible of their medical condition" was signed by Adolf Hitler in October 1939 in occupied Poland, and was used as the authority for killing Jews and others deemed unworthy of life until the mass extermination program began. Phyllis Bowman, executive director of the campaign group Right to Life, said of Warnock's statement: "It sends a message to dementia sufferers that certain people think they don't count, and that they are a burden on their families. It's a pretty uncivilised society where that is the primary consideration. I worry that she will sway people who would like to get rid of the elderly." A Belgian man, Lionel Roosemont, has claimed that silent acceptance of euthanasia in his country has led to unspeakable routine abuse, and is warning the Western hemisphere to be on guard against the encroaching euthanasia agenda. He has a disabled daughter of 13

who, he says: "We never dare leave her alone in hospital." British commentator Melanie Philips has said: "The slippery language [of euthanasia advocates] has itself helped erode protection for the very ill. Baroness Campbell, a Commissioner of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, suffers from spinal muscular atrophy, a degenerative disease that means she is immobile without help. "When she fell victim to a serious chest infection and lost consciousness, her doctors decided it would be kinder not to resuscitate her and 'allow her to die'. It was only because her husband told them very firmly that she didn't want to die that her life was saved. Lady Campbell warned: 'Those of us who know what it's like to live with a terminal condition are fearful the tide has already turned against us: Assisted dying, she said, was 'to abandon hope and ignore the majority of disabled and terminally ill people'. "It would also send us down a slippery slope, which could lead all the way from assisted suicide to euthanasia by lethal injection, from helping the terminally ill to end their lives to killing people suffering from Alzheimer's or depression. "The law is there for a purpose. It marks a boundary against intentional killing that we cannot cross without the most fateful consequences. To do so would brutalise our entire approach to the vulnerable and the physically imperfect, and to life itself."

Disentangling land of See eternal What is the Vatican? Could you please clarify what we mean by "the Vatican"? For example, we say that the Pope lives in the Vatican, but we also say that some new document has been issued by the Vatican. What exactly is the Vatican?

As you suggest in your question, the phrase "the Vatican" refers to a number of different but related realities. When we say that the Pope lives in the Vatican, we are referring to the buildings and land occupied by the central government of the Church in Rome. This is more properly called the Vatican City State. It is in reality a sovereign state, the smallest in the world, with an area of just over 40 hectares. Some 1,000 people normally live in the Vatican. The Vatican is best known as the territory where St Peter's Basilica is located, but it also has numerous other buildings, including the papal apartments, offices of the Roman Curia, the Vatican Museum, the Paul VI Audience Hall, the Vatican Gardens, etc. The Vatican City State also has rights over other buildings in Rome, including the major basilicas of St John Lateran, St Mary Major and St Paul Outside the Walls, office buildings for various Congregations of the Roman Curia and the papal villa at Castel Gandolfo, southeast of Rome. While the Pope is the head of the government, the Vatican City State is administered by the Pontifical Commission for the State of Vatican City. The Pope thus has two major roles: he is the visible head of the Catholic Church, and he is also the head of the Vatican City State. When we say that the Vatican is a

sovereign state, we mean just that. It has its own postage stamps, security personnel, etc. But of course it is completely surrounded by Italy, or more properly by the city of Rome, and it depends on Italy for most of its services. The Vatican City State was established as recently as 1929, as part of the Lateran Treaty that regularised the relationship of the Holy See with the government of Italy. The Pope had of course been a temporal sovereign, presiding over the extensive Papal States that occupied a large part of presentday Italy, until the fall of those States in 1870. The Lateran Treaty recognised the Vatican City State as an independent political entity, with its own small territory, that guaranteed the freedom of the Church to function independently of any other State. If someone writes to the Pope, or to anyone else living or working in the Vatican, the last line of the address is not Italy, but Vatican City. And the last letters of Vatican websites are When we say that the Vatican has released a document or a statement, we are referring to the Pope and the offices that assist him in governing the Catholic Church. A more correct term for this is the Holy See. Canon 361 of the Code of Canon Law says that "the terms Apostolic See

or Holy See mean not only the Roman Pontiff, but also, unless the contrary is clear from the nature of things or from the context, the Secretariat of State, the Council for the Public Affairs of the Church, and the other Institutes of the Roman Curia." These offices are also known as the Roman Curia. - For information, the Council for the Public Affairs of the Church has now been incorporated into the Secretariat of State as its Second Section, and it deals with relations with civil governments. Even though a particular document may come from one or another of the offices of the Curia, as for example the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, or the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, these documents are always deemed to have come from the Pope himself. This is clarified in Canon 360: "The Supreme Pontiff usually conducts the business of the universal Church through the Roman Curia, which acts in his name and with his authority for the good and for the service of the Churches?' The Curia includes many offices, the principal ones being those mentioned above, nine Congregations, three Tribunals, and eleven Pontifical Councils. Fr Flader: director@oeccom.au

October 14 2009, The Record

Page 13

WORLD

US Bishops produce The Feast of Love is God's beloved all for Afghanistan blueprint

Fr Mirek Jordanek, a Czech army chaplain, celebrates Mass for soldiers of the US Army's 10th Mountain Division at PHOTO: (NS/JESSICA WEINSTEIN Forward Operating Base Shank in Afghanistan in August

Bishops advise US on humanitarian, moral issues in Afghanistan BY CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE WASHINGTON - Long-term development and humanitarian assistance, protecting civilians and dealing with the root causes of terrorism should be among the guiding principles of how the United States deals with problems in Afghanistan and Pakistan, said the chairman of the US Bishops' Committee on International Justice and Peace. In a letter dated October 6, Bishop Howard J Hubbard of Albany, New York, offered the advice to retired Marine General James L Jones, the national security adviser, as the administration reviews US strategy in the region. Bishop Hubbard acknowledged that the US Bishops are not military experts, but, in light of the implications for regional and international security, he said they wanted to offer some principles of Catholic teaching and experience that might help inform policy

choices. "In the face of terrorist threats, we know that our nation must respond to indiscriminate attacks against innocent civilians in ways that combine a resolve to do what is necessary, the restraint to ensure that we act justly and the vision to focus on broader issues of poverty and injustice that are unscrupulously exploited by terrorists in gaining recruits; Bishop Hubbard wrote. He directed Jones to the pastoral letter written by the Bishops shortly after the 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, which included criteria for moral discernment and a call to solidarity. "In that statement we warned, 'Probability of success is particularly difficult to measure in dealing with an amorphous, global terrorist network. Therefore, special attention must be given to developing criteria for when it is appropriate to end military action in Afghanistan:" he noted. Among the principles the Bishops offered at that time were to: • "Restrain use of military force and ensure that civilians are not targeted:' • "Address the root causes of terrorism rather than relying solely

-I •-

A US Army soldier walks past children in the Afghanistan village of Kotubkhel, in the Baraki Barak district in Logar province during a joint patrol with Afghan soldiers in October PHOTO: CNS/NIKOLA SOLIC. REUTERS

on military means to avoid conflict." • "Encourage international collaboration to provide humanitarian assistance and rebuild Afghanistan:' With some military leaders now

A disabled boy is wheeled by relatives at the end of a procession in La Vega, Dominican Republic, on September 24, to celebrate the Feast of Our PHarc css FOuARDO UN.OZ REUTERS Lady of Mercy.

voicing the view that the success of US operations in Afghanistan cannot come from military measures alone, Bishop Hubbard said guidance from the earlier message seems applicable to the current situation. In particular, he urged the administration to consider: • Reviewing the use of military force - when force is necessary to protect the innocent and resist terrorism - to ensure it is proportionate. • Developing criteria for when it is appropriate to end military action. • Focusing more on diplomacy, humanitarian assistance and longterm development, particularly agricultural programs. • Strengthening local governance and local groups' participation in planning their own development. • Encouraging international support to foster effective national and local governments. Hubbard cited Bishop the Church's experience in Afghanistan, through the work of Catholic Relief Services on agriculture, water, income generation, education and health. "CRS' ability to develop local

partnerships, involving people in examining their needs and determining priorities, has meant that those communities have a greater commitment to their own development, as well as protecting CRS programs and staft7 he wrote. The approach of CRS, the US Bishops' overseas relief and development agency, "exemplifies how long-term efforts can lead to sustainable development and contribute to improved security; he said. The Bishops understand the demands of security while carrying out humanitarian aid and development projects, he said. "But too much development assistance appears to be directed to shortterm security objectives or channelled through the military," he noted. "These funds, often used for building projects with little community involvement, are less effective in building stable communities and meeting the legitimate needs of Afghan citizens; Bishop Hubbard wrote. "Whenever possible, US policy and funding should more clearly delineate and differentiate foreign assistance provided through military channels versus civilian channels."

Leading geneticists appointed to Vatican academy Pope Benedict XVI has named two leading US geneticists to the Vatican sciences academy BY CAROL GLATZ Catholic News Service - Pope VATICAN CITY Benedict XVI has named two prominent United States geneticists as members of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. Dr Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, and Dr Edward De Robertis, a professor of biological chemistry at the School of Medicine of the University of California at Los Angeles, are the newly appointed members. The Vatican announced their appointments to the Pontifical Academy on October 10. Collins, 59, is the former director

of the NIH (National Institutes of Health) National Human Genome Research Institute, which made a complete map of the human genome under his leadership. Collins' research led to the discoveries of a series of important genes, including the gene responsible for cystic fibrosis, and he also isolated genes linked to other diseases, the Vatican said. Collins, who had been regularly invited to speak at conferences of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, has long urged scientists not to divorce their work from their spirituality. He has said that the discovery of a person's enes "is not who he is as a person: He won a Christopher Award in 2007 for his book, The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief. The award honours works that affirm the highest values of the human spirit. After leaving the genome project in August 2008, Collins, who has said he became a Christian aged 27, founded the BioLogos

Foundation in Washington, which says in its mission statement: "We believe that faith and science both lead to truth about God and creation:' Born on April 14, 1950, in Staunton, Virginia, Collins earned a Bachelor's Degree in Chemistry at the University of Virginia in 1970 and a Doctorate in Physical Chemistry at Yale University in 1974. He later became interested in molecular biology and genetics and enrolled in medical school at the University of North Carolina, where he earned his degree in 1977. After a stint as a fellow in human genetics at Yale Medical School, Collins joined the University of Michigan in 1984 in a position that would eventually lead to a professorship of internal medicine and human genetics. Collins became director in 1993 of what was then called the National Centre for Human Genome Research and under his

leadership the project of mapping the human genome was completed in 15 years. US President Barack Obama named Collins to head the National Institutes of Health in July. De Robertis, 62, was born in Boston. He grew up in Uruguay where he received his degree in medicine. A fter completing studies in Chemistry in Buenos Aires, Argentina, he pursued his postdoctorate research at the Medical Research Council in Cambridge, England, under the pioneering developmental biologist, Sir John Gurdon. De Robertis isolated the first gene responsible for controlling the development of vertebrates while he was a professor of cellular biology at the University of Basel, Switzerland. He has been teaching chemical biology at UCLA's School of Medicine since 1985 and served as president of the International Developmental of Society

Biologists from 2002 to 2006. The Vatican said that De Robertis' research in development-controlling genes in the embryos of vertebrates led to the discovery that the molecular mechanisms for embryonic patterning are similar in all animal embryos. "Some fundamental tool kit creates the form and patterning of the embryo across the animal kingdom; De Robertis has explained. His work has also aided current gene reprogramming experiments in human stem cells. The Vatican said his discoveries have spearheaded the creation of a new scientific field called evolutionary developmental biology. So-called "evo-devo" compares the developmental processes of different plants and animals so the ancestral relationship between organisms can be determined. The Pontifical Academy of Sciences, which includes several Nobel Prize winners among its members, advises the Vatican on scientific issues.

Page 14

PANORAMA

October 14 2000, The Record

A roundup of events in the Archdiocese

Panorama entries must be in by 12pm Monday. Contributions may be emailed to administrationgtherecord.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 put into classifieds and charged accordingly. The Record reserves the right to decline or modify any advertisement. Wednesday October 14 CHAPLETS OF THE DIVINE MERCY 7.30pm at St Thomas More Catholic Church, Dean Road, Bateman. A beautiful, prayerful, sung devotion. All are welcome. Enq: George 9310 9493 home or 9325 2010 work. Thursday October 15 MOTHERS' PRAYER MASS 10am at Our Lady Queen of Apostles Catholic Church, Tribute Street, Riverton. This is a wonderful opportunity for all mothers, fathers, grandfathers and grandmothers for God to hear and act upon the hearts and minds of parents and grandparents joining together as one here on earth. BYO plate, tea and coffee provided. Friday October 16 HEALING MASS FOR CANCER SUFFERERS 7pm at St Denis' Church, Joondanna. Reconciliation followed at 7.30pm by Mass. You are invited to a Healing Mass with the Sacrament of Anointing and Veneration of the Relic of St Peregrine, Servite Friar and Patron Saint of those suffering from cancer. Enq: Fr Michael, Lumen Christi Centre. 0417 956 573. Saturday October 17 REUNION FOR LA SALLE COLLEGE Class of 1974/76 Enq: Sue Wester (Sweeney) sue.wester,aiinetnet.au or 0407 985 935 or Liz Bradley (Butcher) Ibradley@iinet. net.au. Saturday October 17 SEMINAR ON CATHOLIC SOCIAL TEACHING 2 to 4pm at the Catholic Pastoral Centre, 40A Mary Street, Highgate. Presenter Ms Sandie Cornish, Loyola Institute Sydney. Catholic social teaching is the basis of a committed Catholic life. This seminar provides a range of skills and resources to address social justice issues. Cost 55, unwaged gold coin. RSVP: 16 October to Miriam 9422 7900. Saturday October 17 to Sunday October 18 GROUP 50 CHARISMATIC PRAYER GROUP R ETREAT 2009 10am at the Redemptorist Retreat House, North Perth. Booking Mena 9279 1824. Sunday October 18 TAIZE PRAYER SERVICE 7 to 8pm at Sisters of St Joseph Chapel, 16 York Street, South Perth. Special prayer service for victims and survivors of the Pacific and South East Asian countries disasters. Come and join in the prayer around the Cross, lighting candles, chanting the songs from Taize, time for intercessory and silent prayer. Everyone welcome. Chapel opens at 6.30pm. Enq: Sr Maree Riddler 0414 683 926. Sunday October 18 WOMEN AND THE AUSTRALIAN CHURCH 1 to 4pm at Catholic Pastoral Centre, 40A Mary Street, Highgate. Presenter Ms Sandie Cornish, Loyola Institute Sydney. It is ten years since the release of the report Woman and Man; One in Christ Jesus. Join us to celebrate and assess the implications of the report. Cost $5, unwaged gold coin. RSVP: 16 October to Miriam, 9422 7900. Sunday October 18 ANNUAL MASS AND AGM CATHOLIC DOCTORS' ASSOCIATION OF WA 10am at Mercy Hospital Chapel, Thirlmere Road, Mt Lawley. Mass will be celebrated by Rev Mgr Kevin Long PhD. All health care workers and families are welcome. Parking marked C and K. AGM to be held during brunch from 11.15am to 12.30pm in the Mercy Conference Centre. RSVP: 9 October to Suzanne 9242 4066. Sunday October 18 DOMINICAN LAITY OF OUR LADY OF THE ROSARY PARISH 2pm at St Catherine's Convent, 31 Williamtown Road, Doubleview. Visitors are welcome. Enq: Jeff 9446 3655.

Tuesday October 20 FAITH ENRICHMENT SERIES 7.30 to 9pm at St Benedict Parish Centre, 115 Ardross Street, Ardross. Norma Woodcock will give a talk on Peace at any cost and discuss why many do not experience peace, what may affect our notions of peace and strategies of gaining and maintaining our peace. Tea and coffee provided later. Enq: Orlando 0419 929 896. Wednesday October 21 TAIZE MEDITATION PRAYER 7.30 to 8.30pm at St Thomas More Catholic Church, Bateman. All are welcome to spend an hour in group prayer and relax after a busy workday in a candlelight atmosphere of prayer, song and meditation. Enq: Daisy 9310 4781. Wednesday October 21 LESMURDIE MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT GROUP SPECIAL MEETING 7.30 to 9pm at Our Lady of Lourdes Church Hall, 207 Lesmurdie Road, Lesmurdie. Guest speakers Fr Kevin and Mrs Rula Cummins will talk on the role of a Chaplain in a hospital with in-patients who have mental health issues. Come along and learn all about this very special ministry. Enq: Barbara on 9328 8113. Saturday October 24 IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY PRAYER GROUP 3pm at SS John and Paul Church, Pinetree Gully Road, Willetton. All are invited to the 13th Anniversary Celebration with Procession of Our Lady, Rosary and Benediction celebrated by Rev Elver Delicano. Enq: Anna 0412 545 292 or Linda 9364 6195 or 0402 421 526. Saturday October 24 VOICE OF THE VOICELESS MINISTRY OF POPE JOHN PAUL II 11.30am at Our Lady of the Most Blessed Sacrament Church, Corner of Corfield Street and lsdell Place, Gosnells. Private adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, followed at 12, Healing Mass with the Voice of the Voiceless Music Ministry. Lunch 1pm bring a plate and later Fellowship. All are welcome to attend. Enq: 0437 286 301. Wednesday October 28 NORMA WOODCOCK TALK 10am at St Joseph's, Salvado Road, Subiaco in the Upper Room. She will speak at Ladies' Prayer Meeting, following a short prayer time, on Peace at Any Price. All are welcome. Enq: Pam 93812516. Friday October 30 MEDJUGORJE EVENING OF PRAYER 7pm at St Pius X Parish, 23 Paterson Street, Manning. Prayer in thanksgiving for Our Blessed Mother's reported apparitions in Medjugorje commemorated with Adoration, Rosary, Benediction followed by Holy Mass by Fr Bogoni. Concluding at approximately 9pm. All welcome. Enq: 9402 2480. Saturday October 31 CELEBRATION MASS - CANONISATION OF JEANNE JUGAN 2pm at Infant Jesus Church, Morley. Little Sisters of the Poor Foundress, Jeanne Jugan, was canonised to sainthood on 11 October in Rome. Celebrant Archbishop Hickey.

Sunday November 1 A LL SOULS DAY MEMORIAL SERVICE 2pm at Pinnaroo Valley Memorial Park Crematorium Chapel. Please note, the Memorial Service will not include Mass. Everyone welcome. Enq: Office 9307 2776 or Leanne 9402 1582. Sunday November 1 DIVINE MERCY 1.30pm at St Joachim Church, Shepperton Road and Harper Street, Victoria Park. Holy Rosary and Reconciliation followed with Sermon on All Saints by Fr Joseph Asnaban. Later Divine Mercy prayers and Benediction, refreshments will follow in the parish hall. Enq: John 9457 7771 or Linda 9275 6608. Friday November 6 E UCHARISTIC HEALING MASS 7pm at St Peter's Church, 93 Wood Street, Inglewood. Praise and Worship, and Reconciliation followed by Healing Mass, celebrants Fr Roy Pereira and Fr Sam. Fellowship later. Friday November 6 T HE ALLIANCE OF THE TWO HEARTS 5.15pm at St Bernadette's Church, Glendalough. Confessions, Mass at 5.45pm followed by exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, hourly Rosaries, hymns and reflections etc. Conclude with Holy Mass at midnight in honour and thanksgiving of the coming reign of the United Hearts of Jesus and Mary. Enq: Father Doug Harris 9444 6131 or Dorothy 9342 5845. Friday November 6 to Sunday November 8 CREATION SPIRITUALITY RETREAT Friday November 6 to Thursday November 12 option also available. St John of God Retreat Centre, Shoalwater. Enq: Sr Shelley Barlow 9271 3873. Saturday November 7 DAY WITH MARY 9am to 5pm at St Bernadette Church, Grand Ocean Boulevarde and Strasbourg Ramble, Port Kennedy. Day of prayer and instruction based on the Fatima message. 9am Video, 10.10am Holy Mass, Reconciliation, Procession of the Blessed Sacrament, Eucharistic Adoration, Sermons on Eucharist and Our Lady, Rosaries and Stations of the Cross. BYO lunch. For transport, Nita 9367 1366. Enq: Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate 9250 8286. Sunday November 8 THE COUNCIL OF CHRISTIANS AND JEWS WA INC 5.30 to 6.30pm at the Sylvia and Harry Hoffman Hall, Carmel School, Cresswell Road, Dianella. Will cornmemorate Kristallnacht with music, drama and reflection. Guest speaker will be Rabbi Sheryl Nosan-Blank, of Temple David Congregation Inc. All welcome. Enq: ccjwa@aol.com. Saturday November 14 to Sunday November 15 OVERNIGHT RETREAT 9am at St John of God Retreat Centre, 47 Gloucester Crescent, Shoalwater. The retreat will be on prayer as aiding spiritual growth? Retreat is for young women who long to grow in their relationship with Christ. Enq: Sr Ann 0409 602 927.

Saturday October 31 NOVENA - OUR LADY OF GOOD HEALTH VAILANKANI 5.30pm at Holy Trinity Church, 8 Burnett Street, Embleton. The Novena will be followed by Vigil Mass at 6pm. Enq: Office 9271 5528 or George 9272 1379.

Sunday November 15 HOLY SOULS MASS 3pm at St Joseph's Church, 20 Hamilton Street, Bassendean. Divine Mercy, Rosary, Litanies, Adoration and Benediction. Holy Mass for deceased relatives and friends, place their names at the altar. Also one month minor memorial Mass for Mary Scully - as per Irish tradition. BYO food. Tea and coffee provided. Enq: Des 6278 1540.

Sunday November 1 TAIZE FOR ALL SAINTS 7pm St Ninian and St Chad Traditional Anglican Church, 11 Susan Street, Maylands. Enq: Harry 0417 180 145.

Saturday November 21 ST PADRE PIO DAY OF PRAYER 8.30am at the Little Sisters of the Poor, 2 Rawlins Street, Glendalough. St Padre Pio DVD, followed by Exposition

of the Blessed Sacrament, Rosary, Divine Mercy, silent Adoration and Benediction. Mass 1 lam, using St Padre Pio liturgy, celebrant Fr Timothy Deeter. Confessions available. BYO shared lunch. Tea and coffee provided. Enq: Des 6278 1540. First Friday of the Month COMMUNION OF REPARATION ALL NIGHT VIGIL 7pm to lam at Corpus Christi Church, Lochee Street, Mosman Park. Mass, Rosary, Confession and Adoration with Father Bogoni and also books for sale. Enq: 0400 282 357. First Friday of the Month HOLY HOUR FOR VOCATIONS TO THE PRIESTHOOD A ND RELIGIOUS LIFE 7pm at the Little Sisters of the Poor Chapel, 2 Rawlins Street, Glendalough. Mass celebrated by Fr Saminedi followed by Adoration with Fr Don Kettle. All welcome. Third Sunday of the Month OBLATES OF ST BENEDICT 2pm at St Joseph's Convent, York Street, South Perth. Oblates affiliated with the Benedictine Abbey, New Norcia welcome all who are interested in studying the rule of St Benedict and its relevance to the everyday life of today for lay people. Vespers and tea conclude the meeting. Enq: Secretary 9457 5758. A RT EXHIBITION FOR COMPLETION OF ST MARY'S C ATHEDRAL Every weekend, after all Masses until October 18 at Holy Spirit Church, 2 Kearney Place, City Beach. See weekend Mass times at www.holyspiritcitybeach.com. Saturday following the First Sunday of the Month DIVINE MERCY HEALING MASS 2.30 to 3.30pm at St Francis Xavier Church, Windsor Street, East Perth. Reconciliation available with Fr Marcellinus Meilak OFM. Refreshments will follow afterwards. Enq: John 9457 7771. 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. S ACRED HEART OF JESUS - PIONEERS Any Pioneers to the Sacred Heart of Jesus out there in society, we invite you if you would like to meet other members in prayer and reflection. Enq: 9457 7771. STATUE OF MOTHER AND CHILD OR HOLY FAMILY If any parish or person has one extra to their needs, please ring Mrs Gay Morey 9091 8403 or Fr Joseph 9021 2100 or email stmarys emerge.net.au. Every Sunday PILGRIM MASS - SHRINE OF VIRGIN OF THE REVELATION 2pm at 36 Chittering Road, Bullsbrook. Commencing with Rosary followed by Benediction. Reconciliation in Italian and English is available before every celebration. On the second Sunday of the month anointing of the sick is administered during Mass. The side entrance to the church and the shrine is open daily between 9am and 5pm Enq: SACRI 9447 3292. Every 2nd Wednesday YEAR OF THE PRIEST HOLY HOUR 7 to 8pm at Holy Spirit Catholic Church, 2 Keaney Place, City Beach. Reflections on St John Vianney, Patron Saint of Priests. Light refreshments later in the Parish Centre. 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.

October 14 2009, The Record

Page 15

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Bishops urge calm after coup

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BUILDING TRADES Supporters of ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya shout slogans against Honduras' de facto leader, Roberto Micheletti, during a protest on October 9 PHOTO: CNS

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (CNS) One day after the start of talks in the Honduran political crisis, the country's Catholic bishops appealed for calm and called for a "just and peaceful" solution. "We cannot continue in uncertainty, personal and social tension, and economic breakdown; the Bishops said in a statement dated October 8. "The people of Honduras have placed great hope in this national dialogue, and those hopes cannot be frustrated, because it would lead to great disillusionment and increased personal and social tension?' The Honduran Bishops, who issued the statement after their regular meeting, called for a "respectful and understanding atmosphere of dialogue:" because "any form of violence, in word or deed, would be harmful and would ... lead to the loss of credibility of whoever provokes it." Honduras has been sunk in political conflict since June 28 when the military deposed and deported President Manuel Zelaya. Although the Organisation of American States and most other governments called for Zelaya to be reinstated, the de facto president, Roberto Micheletti, has resisted. The standoff has taken a toll on the Honduran economy, as countries have refused to recognise the de facto government and have suspended aid. The Bishops said the talks now under way should "not be reduced to a conflictresolution technique, but must have an ethical dimension?' Those involved "have a serious responsibility before God and society, which they must not

forget or underestimate," they wrote. The Bishops said a political agreement will not be "the complete solution to the serious problems afflicting Honduras, but at least it would put the country in an appropriate position to address them?' An agreement mediated in July by former Costa Rican President Oscar Arias calls for Zelaya to be reinstated and elections, in which he would not be a candidate, to be held in November, with the new president taking office in January. Zelaya slipped back into the country on September 21 and took refuge in the Brazilian Embassy, amid clashes between police and his supporters. On September 26, Micheletti declared a state of emergency and shut down several pro-Zelaya broadcasters, but legislators and other politicians have been reluctant to support the suspension of basic rights, such as freedom of assembly, especially with general elections scheduled for late November. Pressure from inside and outside the country finally forced Micheletti to agree to talks, which began on October 7. Until the October 8 statement, the Honduran Bishops had remained silent since Zelaya's return, despite threats against a Jesuit-run radio station and its director, Jesuit Fr Ismael Moreno. On September 30, however, Caritas Honduras issued a strong statement opposing the state of emergency, calling it "disproportionate in its imposition of illegitimate force and an obstacle to dialogue.

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IN MEMORIAM Remembering Brian Joseph Canny on his 7th Anniversary, October 18, 2009. Dearly loved husband, dad, and Pa of Janet, David, Janine, Paul, Greg and families. May his dear soul rest in peace. Janet Canny.

RELIGIOUS PRODUCTS C ATHOLICS CORNER Retailer of Catholic products specialising in gifts, cards and apparel for baptism, communion and confirmation. Ph: 9456 1777. Shop 12, 64-66 Bannister Road, Canning Vale. Open Mon-Sat. RICH HARVEST YOUR CHRISTIAN SHOP Looking for Bibles, CDs, books, cards, gifts, statues, baptism/communion apparel, religious vestments, etc? Visit us at 39 Hulme Court (off McCoy St), Myaree, 9329 9889 (after 10.30am Mon to Sat). We are here to serve.

THANKS SINCERE THANKS to the parishioners of St Joseph's Bassendean, everyone from the Perth Archdiocese and beyond (overseas etc) who attended Mary's Vigil, Funeral Mass, helped in any way and offered condolences, Rosaries, Mass offerings and communications by phone or email, I offer you my heartfelt thanks. It will be impossible to thank you all personally but Mass will be offered for you all at the next two Padre Po Days, 10 Oct - Allendale Square and 21 Nov - Little Sisters of the Poor, Glendalough. A special mention of thanks to the many religious who attended. God Bless you all, Des Scully. PS: St Padre Pio said; 'Pray. Hope and don't worry!"

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Paper questions Nobel for Obama Rome, Italy, Oct 12, 2009 (CNA) - The semi-official Vatican daily, L'Osservatore Romano, has called the decision to award President Obama with the Nobel Peace Prize premature and more of an invitation to choose peace through politics. The award is also questionable because of his position on various bio-ethics issues, especially abortion. The article points out that "the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Barack Obama has taken everyone somewhat by surprise, first and foremost the US president himself. "During the last 90 years," L'Osservatore noted, "the prize has never been awarded to a sitting US president— when it was awarded to Jimmy Carter in 2002 he had been out of office already for some time— [but was] involved in politics and susceptible, therefore, to making a range of decisions related to peace Perhaps for this reason, the newspaper said, "Analysts have almost

unanimously interpreted his selection as a way of pressuring Obama to make pacifist choices as his administration continues forward." L'Osservatore also questioned the administration's actions in Iraq and Afghanistan, saying that the decisions seem aimed at trying to find a middle way between "fidelity to the pacifist statements made during the campaign season and a more realistic policy, which some have defined as a continuation of that of the 'warmonger' Bush?' This back-and-forth policy, the paper observed, is very similar to the approach that Obama has taken to "the great bioethics issues, abortion being first and foremost." His way of doing things has generated great controversy among Catholics in the country, the daily added. The Vatican newspaper also brought to mind Mother Teresa being honored with the Peace Prize in 1979, and said, "Obama ought to recall that in 1979 he was preceded by Mother Teresa, who had the courage to state in her acceptance speech that the harshest war with the greatest number of 'fallen' is the practice of abortion, legalised and facilitated as well by the international structures?'

DEADLINE: Monday, 1 lam. Post to Attention Record Classifieds, 587 Newcastle St, West Perth WA 6005 Fax to Attention Record Classifieds, 9227 7087 Phone Bibiana 9227 7080 COST: $4.40 for the first 8 words plus $1.10 per 4 words thereafter. GST inc.

Walking with Him Daily Mass Readings 18 S 29TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME Gr Isa 53:10-11 Life in atonement Ps 32:4-5,18-20.22 God is our help Heb 4:14-16 Don't let go of faith Mk 10:35-45 Not mine to grant 19 M Ss John of Brebeuf and Isaac Jogues, priests, and companions, martyrs (0) St Paul of the Cross, priest (0) Gr Rom 4:20-25 Strength from faith Lk 1:69-75 A mighty saviour Lk 12:13-21 Not enough room 20T Rom 5:12.15.17-21 All have sinned Cr Ps 39:7-10.17 Here am I, Lord Lk 12:35-38 Have your lamps lit

21 W Rom 6:12-18 By grace, not by law Cr Swallowed us alive Ps 123:1-8 Unexpected hour Lk 12:39-48 22 Th Rom 6:19-23 Eternal life in Christ Cr Ps 1:1-4.6 The Lord's law Divisions, not peace Lk 12:49-53 23 F St John of Capistrano, priest (0) Cr The sinful things Rom 7:18-25 Psi18:66.68.76-77.93-94 I am yours Judge what is right Lk 12:54-59 24 S St Anthony Claret, bishop (0) Cr Set you free Rom 8:1-11 Clean hands, pure heart Ps 23:1-6 Fruit next year Lk 13:1-9

"Archbishop Hickey's introduction to understanding the Bible helps put Scripture back front and centre in Catholic life where it belongs. It's an excellent resource and guide for every baptised member of the Church - young and old. But it's also a great introduction to our Faith for those who are not Christian." - Peter Rosengren, Editor, The Record

2ND EDITION, REVISED, UPDATED

& ROBERT HIIN1 Parish Affairs Barry ARCHBISHOP Hickey wants to share his love of Scripture through a new foundation to provide scholarships and resources to Catholics wanting to study the Bible. Speaking to The Record

about the release of the second edition of his book, Living Biblically, the Archbishop said that the B J Hickey Biblical Foundation will be launched on 20 December in St Mary's Cathedral, with a startup donation from himself. Archbishop Hickey said that he hoped other people would

be attracted to donate funds to the body which will pay for lay scholarship to study the bible, up to the Masters or licentiate level. He believes the scholarships will have a multiplying effect as recipients take up teaching roles at parishes, schools and universities.

"The scholarship will have a longlasting effect in the Catholic community, producing people who are very knowledgeable and who want to communicate their knowledge to everyone else," Archbishop Hickey said. Recipients must study at a Catholic university with the

Archbishop hoping that some Perth Catholics will choose to study at one of the two campuses of the Pontifical Biblical Institute (Eccole Biblique) in Jerusalem and Rome. The foundation will also provide funds for parishes and local Catholic communities for special projects in Scripture

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