Christmas 2009
"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
THE PARISH. THE NATION. THE WORLD. estern Australia's award-winning Catholic newspaper sinc0874 - December 25, 2009
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Perth, Western Australia
v 25 (and 50) years i Archbishop Barry Hickey celebrates a quarter century as a Bishop, haff century as a Priest Pages 2-5
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THE PARISH
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Making of a legend: Dean At the Jubilee Mass celebrating the 50th anniversary of Archbishop Barry Hickey's ordination to the priesthood and 25 years as Bishop, Monsignor Michael Keating gave key insights into the prelate's life and ministry that revealed the caring, compassionate side to his character - and what a legend he has become BY ANTHONY BARICH National Reporter ARCHBISHOP Barry Hickey had almost entered the Conclave that elected Pope John XXIII in 1958, Monsignor Michael Keating revealed at the December 20 Mass celebrating the prelate's 50th anniversary of priesthood and 25 years as a Bishop at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. Mgr Keating, who was installed as the new Dean of the Cathedral on December 8, told about 1,000 people including over 100 priests and Bishop Gerard Holohan of Bunbury, that when he arrived in Rome to study to replace Barry Hickey, he found that the future Archbishop was "a bit of a legend". People from throughout the Archbishop's time as priest and Bishop in both Perth and Geraldton attended, including priests from Geraldton and representatives from St Brigid's, dating back to his first posting as a priest. Mgr Keating also gave special acknowledgement to Monsignor Thomas McDonald, who until this year had been Dean of the Cathedral for 18 years; and the more than 100 priests who concelebrated with the Archbishop, who had served with him for most of his 50 years as priest. Representatives were also present from Highgate, where he also served as priest, and people from his welfare background.
Archbishop Barry Hickey gives his address during the Jubilee Mass celebrating his anniversaries as priest and Bishop. To the left is his coat of arms. PHOTO. ANTHONY BARI( H
His siblings Brian Hickey, Judy Clear and Patricia Stidwell, whose daughter-inlaw made the Cathedral-shaped cake for the event, also attended the special Mass for his Jubilee celebration, among other relatives. Mgr Keating said that just as he had already shown himself to be a good scholar, champion swimmer and singer at St Charles Seminary, he found that the future Archbishop had also, in Rome, again proved to be a top swimmer, a soloist in the choir and "someone who had almost entered the Conclave that elected Pope John XXIII in 1958".
"When I arrived in Rome to take the Archbishop's place,I found he was a bit of a legend:' - Mgr Micheal Keating "When I arrived in Rome to take the Archbishop's place ... he had been acting secretary to Cardinal Petro Fumasoni Biondi, which translates to Peter (Pietro) and smoke (fumo), thus they affectionately called him "Smokey Pete". The sick Cardinal's secretary, however, recovered to go into the Conclave. The Monsignor revealed many at times amusing anecdotes about the Archbishop
that revealed the development of a man who would be a compassionate and proactive Bishop of Geraldton and Perth. After being ordained a priest in Rome in December 1958, Fr Hickey was mainly responsible for setting up social welfare agencies and migrant services in Perth, including Centrecare and all its bodies which became part of the fabric of the Archdiocese, Mgr Keating said. A common theme in Archbishop Hickey's life is a regular tennis outing with a group of priests including Mgr Keating, which extended right up until the day before the re-dedication and opening of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception on December 8. The oldest player in the group was Jesuit Fr Ferdie Marlow, who played tennis at least until his late 80s. "The Archbishop, in a letter to the priests, pondered that his 'brilliant (- his words - tennis career was 'coming to an end because of a knee problem. That difficulty was overcome and he plays on,' Mgr Keating said. Fr Hickey's outstanding work in welfare, including his role as Episcopal Vicar for Welfare as appointed by Archbishop Launcelot Goody, was recognised with an Order of Australia membership in 1977. When Fr Hickey was appointed Bishop - Continued on Page 3
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December 25 2009, The Record
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Attention: All Parishes
How we celebrated Advent and Christmas 2009
Every year The Record presents a special edition on how Catholics in Western Australia commemorated the birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem 2,000 years ago. We want YOUR parish to be part of it. Let us know what happened in your neck of the woods. What we want: DEADLINE:5pm, Wednesday, January 6. WORDS: maximum of 500 (but less is perfectly OK). Even if only captions are supplied this would be satisfactory. You can let the pictures tell the story. PHOTOS: High-resolution pictures ONLY. One, two or three megabytes (or thereabouts) is excellent. WHAT DO WE WANT? Your Parish, your people. What we want is anything to do with how your community celebrated Advent and Christmas this year. SENDING: Photos and stories can be emailed to production@lherecord.com.au or posted to us (on disc or as prints) at PO Box 75 Leederville, WA 6902.
December 25 2009, The Record
Page 3
THE PARISH
Cdrig
of Cathedral reveals Hickey's secrets
Above: Archbishop Barry Hickey with his siblings Brian Hickey, Judy Clear and Patricia Stidwell. Right, the Archbishop embraces Patricia's daughter in law Kylie, who made the special cake in the shape of the Cathedral. Archbishop Barry Hickey celebrates the Eucharistic Prayer during his Jubilee Mass with close friend Fr Tim Foster, Auxiliary Bishop Donald Sproxton, left, Bunbury Bishop Gerard Holohan and Mgr Michael Keating.
PHOTOS: ANTHONY BARICH
cially with his brief television spots on Channel Nine. Though he doesn't like long dinners, the Archbishop "enjoys greatly" an Italian meal, Mgr Keating said, and chose as a special treat a performance of Giuseppe Verdi's La Vergine degli Angeli, which was sung by his cousin's daughter, Jocelyn Hickey, a professional singer who went to Newman College and is now based in Melbourne having returned from auditioning in Germany. He also chose N Praglia's Tu es Sacerdos, sung by Fr John Jegorow. In his address after the Mass, the Archbishop said that the celebration of his priesthood and Episcopal ordination was not about him, but about the life of service the priesthood represents and the significance of the role of Bishops in the Church as teachers. Mgr Keating said that as well
as reopening St Charles Seminary in 1994, the Archbishop had ordained more priests than any contemporary Bishop in Australia, which received a rousing applause. "Perhaps our College of Propaganda (in Rome) encouraged him to internationalise the clergy in Perth," Mgr Keating said. The Monsignor added that he still uses the Archbishop's book Couples preparing for Marriage published in 1983. He also has a sharp wit, Mgr Keating said, and makes clever asides but is never hurtful. "He can be the life of the party," Mgr Keating said, recalling a meal at Bateman parish when the housekeeper, called Maria, entered with the food and the Archbishop burst into the song Maria from West Side Story. He also increased caring agencies for the Church, has always lived simply and shares a great love for the needy and the Aboriginal people, Mgr Keating said, adding that the Archbishop spoke passionately about this when he blessed the Aboriginal art and cer-
Continued from Page 2 of Geraldton in 1984, the priests' tennis group travelled to the rural town annually to support its new Bishop, and he even travelled to Busselton with them in the Bunbury competition. Mgr Keating, who worked closely with then-Mgr Hickey and Bishop Robert Healy when Vicar General, said that the now-Archbishop always had a calm exterior, "but I suspect he has had his share of sleepless nights". "He faced his most challenging moments in these 18 years" as Archbishop, Mgr Keating said, which included dealing with the sex scandal of the 1990s. "He was the right man at the time when the abuse scandal hit the Church. I vividly remember his face being ashen white after he had dealt with some of these problems:' Mgr Keating said.
The Archbishop has many loves besides the Church, his family and friends, Mgr Keating said, especially music, tennis, Australian football (he's a passionate West Coast Eagles supporter) and Sacred Scripture, as evidenced by the launch of the BJ Hickey Biblical Foundation after the December 20 Mass. The Archbishop gave away free, signed copies to all after the Mass. In a nod to an important part of the Archdiocese's musical history, Archbishop Hickey also chose a Responsorial Psalm for his Jubilee Mass composed by Fr Albert Lynch, a gifted violinist born in Collie in 1900 who single-handedly changed the face of sacred music in Perth. Archbishop Hickey is a reserved man, Mgr Keating said, who "makes such an effort" to bring the Gospel message to others, espe-
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emonial fire at the front of the Cathedral on December 15. His legacy, however, is the Cathedral. "From the start of the planning and construction of this iconic building, his vision and courage have been evident," Mgr Keating said. "In decades to come, people will say of Barry Hickey, 'he was the Archbishop in whose time the Cathedral of St Mary's was so splendidly restored and completed: "This Cathedral is a product of a Vatican II collaborative approach of Bishops, priests, Religious and laity in all aspects of the planning, building and funding of this splendid edifice:'
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December 25 2009, The Record
THE PARISH
Controversies, media beat-ups, moments Archbishop Barry Hickey reflects on the ups and downs of life at the top
to find good priests and some seminarians to opt for Perth. With the two seminaries operating, and both of them currently full, ordinations are numerous and have averaged 5.3 per year from 1994 onwards. The Archbishop said that although there was no shortage of priests at present, it was important to promote local vocations in order to have a good balance between local and overseas priests. "We are Catholics, which means we are a universal people, but it is also important that young men be called out of our own community to serve us as priests," Archbishop Hickey said.
T
he former Bishop of Geraldton, Barry James Hickey, was installed as Archbishop of Perth in St Mary's Cathedral on August 27, 1991. The following day, he met with all the priests for a Holy Hour at Aquinas College, followed by lunch. The purpose of the Holy Hour was to signal to the priests and to himself that the call to lead as Archbishop was a spiritual one, not a managerial one. Looking back over his time as Archbishop as he celebrated his golden jubilee as a priest and silver jubilee as a Bishop at the rededicated Cathedral on Sunday, he said the conflict between the two calls had been a source of tension ever since. The management and administration of a large diocese were huge tasks and because of their nature they tended to dominate the time available. Not considering himself to have any particular skills or training in administration, he accepted an invitation to visit the Institute of Management and consider possible courses. Not seeing any particularly Christian objectives in any of the courses, he decided he was in the Temple of Baal and resisted further contact. "I thought: What does it profit a man to be an excellent manager, yet suffer the loss of his soul?" he recalled. "I decided to trust in God and run the diocese as I saw best, and have done so ever since His first shock was the sheer volume of work that came his way, leaving no time to initiate anything or to ponder policies for the future. "It took a long time to realise that one isn't given that luxury," he said. "You have to simply fit it in. Nothing has changed in that regard:'
Religious education and evangelisation
Archbishop Barry Hickey blesses the congregation as he walks out of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception after his Jubilee Mass celebrating his 50th anniversary as priest and 25th anniversary as Bishop. PHOTOS: ANTHONY BARICH
troubles the diocese was in and its millions of dollars of debt. To remedy the situation, all budgets were cut - except services for Aborigines and AIDS - some people lost their jobs, but only after they had found another one, accounts were consolidated and the debt to the bank was transferred to the Catholic Development Fund and paid off under a five year plan. It was normal for parishes to be in debt, but unthinkable for a diocese to be in debt because it had to stabilise the parishes with its own financial security. "An exciting book or film could be made about those days, with overtones of WA Inc and Rothwells thrown in, but now is not the time for it," he said.
Liturgy problems At the same time there were some worrying spiritual trends in the diocese. Experimentation in liturgy was common, with an increasing involvement of lay people, men and women, in the sacred ceremonies. This was not only in Perth; it was worldwide. The Mass had
Financial mess Within weeks of taking up the job, he was told of the financial
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given way to the liturgy, and grand and ancient as that name was, it was often mistaken for something man-made and therefore changeable. It took some years before a deeper understanding of the Sacred Mysteries of the Mass led to Roman intervention and a more balanced view of how the Lord's Supper, in its Novus Ordo form, should be properly celebrated with dignity and reverence. That has lasted. "Gone are the Jazz Mass and the circle dancing, thanks be to God," he said.
Aberrant attitudes "For some reason there was a period when it was not "cool" to speak about vocations to the priesthood. It is very difficult to remember those days because they were so strange. "A certain feminism had gained currency whereby Holy Orders and male ordinations were considered pre-Vatican II and a barrier to lay participation. The push for the ordination of women was strong in those days. "Psychology had taught me at the university that the best way to extinguish a view was not to rein-
force it, or, as we would say today, not give it oxygen. It disappeared from sight, probably underground. A change of climate followed where vocations could be spoken of again in Catholic theological circles.
Priests and vocations 1994 was an eventful year in the resolution of difficulties in the diocese about promoting vocations to the priesthood. St Charles Seminary in Guildford was re-opened early in the year and the Redemptoris Mater Missionary Seminary in Morley was opened later in the year. St Charles Seminary had been closed for 20 years, operating only as a discernment house for vocations, with students mainly going to St Francis Xavier Seminary in Adelaide. The worldwide drop in vocations in Western countries was not so severe here, and Perth had averaged 1.9 ordinations a year in the ten years from 1984 to 1993. The diocese had never been self-sufficient in priests and had relied heavily on Ireland, with some priests from other countries. When it became clear there would be no more priests from Ireland because of its own crisis, the Archbishop initiated overseas contacts and before long was able
"Considerable effort was put into producing excellent and faithful texts for use by teachers and catechists in schools and parishes. "Any visitor to Perth would be delighted to see these texts. At the same time there had been a steady increase in the number of teachers willing and well-equipped to concentrate on teaching religious education in our schools. "The real problem now was the faith of families whose children received instruction. "Without backing from home, the best teachers and texts in the world would find the task almost impossible. 'This pointed to the need for evangelisation of Catholic families who had drifted away. Over the past years, in response to the late Pope John Paul Irs call for the New Evangelisation, every parish produced an evangelisation plan to help reach out to faraway Catholics and unbelievers. "The efforts were impressive, but the truth is more needs to be done, probably best by neighbourhood prayer groups in touch with their immediate neighbours," the Archbishop said. In the effort to evangelise, the use of the media was critical. "My own small efforts to appear regularly on commercial television have resulted in huge exposure and recognition. While the comments have been pleasing, the masses are not yet crowding into the churches. "However, a word of faith spoken into the marketplace is worth the effort. In our efforts to step up the work of evangelisation, I
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December 25 2009, The Record
Page 5
THE PARISH
of grace - the last 50 years have had it all .
have great hopes for the embryonic Lumen Christi Centre for Evangelisation."
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The poor The Church has always had concern for the poor; it is part of its divine mandate and is deeply embedded in the Catholic consciousness, the Archbishop said. "I am pleased with the progress made in many areas of disadvantage by publicly funded professional agencies and by Churchfunded volunteer agencies that work at street level, like Daydawn and Shopfront. "The Church must give genuine witness to the value of every person, whatever their circumstances. "The pro-life cause is based on the same belief in human dignity. "Efforts to affect the political processes and legislation have unfortunately had little success. With more pro-life politicians we would get better results. "At the level of the individual we have a number of excellent counselling phone services, drop in centres and a residential centre for women in distress over an unexpected child. "There are signs that attitudes are changing on abortion and its real effects are beginning to be recognised, despite the propaganda to the contrary.
The media "The public face of the Church has often been marred by scandal and bad publicity. "Personally,I can remember two painful episodes when the press was extremely negative and hostile to me, and one an on-going issue when the clergy were attacked. "One was in 1993 when Paul Keating was elected Prime Minister. I had authorised a paper issued by the local Social Justice group. In my view, it was fair to both major parties and principled, but it was announced in a press release issued in Canberra that was entirely party political and proLabor. It incensed at least half of the Catholic people, who felt I had been politically partisan and that this could have influenced the outcome of the election. "Explanations were pointless and virtually impossible because all that most of the public knew was what was in the press release, whichIhad not seen. I had to take it on the chin. It was painful, but a lesson was learned. "The other was the more recent matter of Bethel. "The community exploded with allegations of sexual misconduct and brain-washing. I was in the middle of the newspaper reports and did not come out of it well. "It was claimed that I knew or should have known what was going on and had not acted.Iknew a little, but not the extent of what was being claimed. "Again, this was bad publicity which left its mark. "The third matter was the revelations of abuse by brothers and priests of young people that surfaced around the world and here in Perth. "While it is true that the numbers of abusers were few the damage to the Church's reputation and to innocent brothers and priests was unavoidable. We were all held to account even when we had no knowledge of what went on in secret. "Overall, the result has been positive. It has led to a purification of the Church, new procedures for
Archbishop Hickey with Jocelyn Hickey, his cousin Redmond's daughter who sang Giuseppe Verdi's La Vergine degli Angeli after his Jubilee Mass.
selection, training and child protection policies, and better ways of handling complaints. "Although nothing will stop the determined and cunning perpetrator, much is in place to protect the young.
Calls for change "Strong movements around the world have been agitating for significant changes in Church teaching and practice, especially about sexual and gender matters, homosexuality, contraception, even abortion. "Celibacy has been declared unnatural and even impossible and male-only ordination has been attacked. It is true that some matters, like celibacy, can be changed, but others cannot. "It has been my view that a Bishop must uphold the Catholic teaching on these matters, but also believe them to be "good news" and not just burdens to be carried. "The Church's teaching on sexuality is good news in my view. Many of our new generation of young people have understood that and are unafraid to stand up for this vision among their peers.'
At home in Rome "Having studied in Rome for four years at Propaganda Fide College, and having been ordained there, I have always had a soft spot for the Eternal City. My visits to Rome have been frequent, some while on holiday and some for Church reasons like the Ad Limina visits that all Bishops must make to the Holy Father every five years. "One Ad Limina visit coincided with the Special Synod for Oceania in 1998. The late Pope John Paul II began territorial Synods of Bishops to gather them around him to discuss problems and challenges facing the Church in their region. Oceania included Australia, Papua New Guinea, the Pacific Islands and New Zealand. "For two weeks we heard short speeches from one another and grouped together for deeper discussions. My interest was particularly keen because the Holy Father appointed me Relator, or the Manager of Business for the Synod. "The discussions were varied and stimulating as they brought together the Bishops of the most isolated parts of the Pacific Ocean and the Bishops of Western Australia on the Indian Ocean. Some time after the Synod the Pope issued an exhortation called Ecclesia in Oceania, which has been a very useful reference text for Church initiatives over the past ten years."
Homeless "A major part of my extracurricular activities over the past ten years has been contact with homeless Aboriginal people. Most nights from four to ten people would sleep on my back and front verandas. I have learned an enormous amount from them and about them as I sought to befriend them.
14 11r priests Most of them were young, early twenties, male and female. "All of them came from very disturbed families. Not one grew up with their father at home. All were addicted in various degrees to sniffing. Most left school in Years 6 or 7. Two boys reached Year 8. I could only offer my friendship and respect and hope and pray for miracles.
Relationships "In a sense, a very biblical sense, a priest is called to give priority to God's work above family and friends. The celibate lifestyle is a symbol of this. It is not an easy thing to do. Family ties are the first and most enduring bonds we grow with. Yet Christ Himself had to make it clear that His own family could not restrict Him in His mission. But of course He maintained those links of affection with His mother and His relatives, some of whom became His disciples and apostles. So it must be for a priest or a Bishop. The call comes first, but the ties of love of family are not broken even if one is asked to work a long distance from home. "In this context,I think of many priests who have come here from overseas and leave their families back in their homeland. This must be hard for them. Only the knowledge that the Lord has called them to work in His vineyard can comfort them. Then there are friends. One is expected to treat all people with love and respect and to be at their service, especially the poor and the lost sheep. Yet, humanly speaking, we need friends to whom we can reveal our inner feelings and thoughts. Pastorally, the task is to maintain wholesome and nourishing friendships while being available to all who need us. Jesus had close friends in Martha,
Members of the Cathrdral choir sing during Archbishop Hickey's Jubilee Mass. Music is dear to his heart, haying been in the Cathedral choir himself as a youth.
Mary and Lazarus while following completely His Father's will. "For one called to celibacy, the natural desire for intimacy and family is a major challenge, not to be underestimated. "Most priests have struggles in this area. It is only because the lifestyle to which we are called is a specially graced state that clerical celibacy is possible at all. With grace, it is a joy. Left to nature, alone it would be a constant struggle.
Clergy "We know that 'the Church' is not just the clergy. It is the community of the baptised. At the same time there is no doubt that the priests and deacons have a divinely appointed special role in the Church, the priests to be an expression of Christ, Shepherd and Head and bearer of the divine mysteries, and Deacons to be an expression of Christ the Servant. "The Bishop is to have a special relationship with the priests and deacons. Over the past 25 years I am aware that the governance and the spiritual care of the people could not have been done without the close cooperation of the priests in their parishes and special works. "Probably because of this special place in the Church, the priests insist on their views being heard. "To some extent this happens through the Council of Priests, whereas most of it occurs through personal contact. Not all priests will be or have been entirely happy with my mode of governance or my policies. This is to be expected because every priest is different and will have individual views. "I hope, though, that they have not doubted my love for them nor my appreciation of the efforts they put in, even ifI cannot always agree with their viewpoints or have failed to give them enough time.
Religious and lay "Over the past 25 years, the Religious have gone through a painful time with the disappearance of their roles in education, healthcare and social welfare along with internal structural changes and their drop in vocations. "They still remain powerful witnesses of the presence of a loving God among us and continue to contribute to the Mission of the Church in many ways. What lies in the future is hard to tell, but the charism of the consecrated life is too important for it ever to disappear. The Holy Spirit will continue to inspire young women and men to follow the path of consecration even if the active works are markedly different in the future. "I have seen an enormous rise
in lay participation in the past years. Perhaps the most significant development has been in education where the vast and rapidly growing Catholic education system is almost entirely run by lay people with a sense of vocation. "We now have in our education system an army of highly educated people, knowledgeable too in their faith, that are a unique resource of talent, energy and ideas that the Church has never had before. I look back over 25 years as a Bishop and 50 years as a priest with gratitude to God. I know that my limitations have caused difficulties in the past, but I also know that they do not limit the work of the Holy Spirit, and because of this the credit for any spiritual growth must clearly be the action of God. "For this reason, I reach this milestone with inner peace, asking forgiveness if I have caused harm to any person. I sincerely thank the many people who have offered me their congratulations on this milestone and all who have prayed for me over the years.
Last words "I find it very gratifying to be able to use the restored Cathedral for the public celebration of my two jubilees, my 50 years as a priest and 25 years as a Bishop. "This celebration was the last of a series of celebrations to mark the completion and restoration of the Cathedral. At last, we have a complete Cathedral for this and future generations. The first Cathedral, of course, is still standing and is still used daily; that is the Pro-Cathedral of St John in Victoria Square. It was the first Catholic church in 1845 and became the first Cathedral in the Swan River Colony in 1846 with the consecration of Bishop John Brady. "The first Cathedral on the new site was begun in 1863 when Bishop Salvado blessed the foundation stone and was completed by Fr Martin Griver, later Bishop Griver in 1865. It was eventually too small, so Archbishop Clune planned a completely new Cathedral, but because of the world depression only half was completed in 1930. "Now, thanks to the brilliant architectural plan of Mr Peter Quinn, excellent builders and a team of artists, advisers, helpers and fundraisers it is now completed. The target of $33 million has nearly been reached over less than three years and, please God, will be achieved very soon. "With deep gratitude to Almighty God and to thousands of committed people, it is my privilege to offer it to generations of the future for the worship of God."
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THE NATION
December 25 2009, The Record
Weeping for innocence that never was
W
HILE the world argues about life, evolution, intelligent design, random change and the meaning or lack of meaning of life, Christmas comes along each year to remind us that God has very specific intentions about life. We may remain ignorant about the ,physical details of the universe (How old is it? How long will it last? What changes will occur?) but Christmas gives us an emphatic statement about the spiritual ipast, present and future of humanity. Christmas tells us and shows us that God has fulfilled his intention to unite himself totally with mankind in an extraordinary act of divine love. , Whatever the universe may have been doing since its creation, Christmas confirms that it has been moving steadily towards this astonishing Incarnation, the union of God and man in the person of Jesus Christ.
I
Michelangelo's depiction of Isaiah: the man who foretold Jesus' coming 700 years prior to Christ's birth and proves the timelessness of the Incarnation.
While God is not influenced by time, we are, and it is important for us to remember that the coming of Jesus Christ was foretold thousands of years beforehand. Even the precise predictions that Christ would be born of a virgin and born in Bethlehem were made by r the prophet Isaiah more than 700 years before the first Christmas Day. This Christmas Incarnation reached a particular climax in the death and resurrection of Jesus which we celebrate at Easter but it was not a conclusion. The Incarnation continues and the power of the Resurrection is passed on through the Sacraments of the Church, particularly the Eucharist, in which Jesus is truly present to us on the altar, in communion, and in the tabernacle. Whether human life will end in the next decade or in the next billion years is Hot known to us. What is known is that Christmas tells us the meaning of life, the meaning in the mind of God at the moment of creation. What is also known is that if we want to make the world a bet,ter place - more like the kingdom of God we must join ourselves to the fulfilment "sof God's intention. # Have a wonderful Christmas by recognising the meaning of life, and have a wonderful future by uniting yourself with that meaning. • Bishop Sproxton
page 8
• Bishop Bianchini
page 12
• Bishop Holohan
page 14
• Bishop Saunders
page 18
hen I was a boy, I used to walk a mile or so into the woods behind my house, with only the family dog and my thoughts for company. I was lonely in those days, and still that loneliness is a mystery to me, even a source of some bittersweet nostalgia. I can almost remember the feeling, a mingled pride and longing, as I stood on a wintry day on the top of my favourite lookout, the ice under my feet, my breath rising like smoke, even the smoke of the small toy houses half sunken in white, in the streets of my town far below. AndI thought of many things on that escarpment, of boyish triumphs I would never enjoy, of the God that made me, of growing old and dying, of those mysterious creatures called girls, imagining that some day I look at my students and wonder ple enjoy a hearty meal - not sible to retreat into the quiet would show this place to some- if they have felt the same things. the solemn and joyous dinner, world of a good book. They go one and tell these thoughts. Sometimes, a cast in the eye, but the easy picnic with friends to the drugstore, or the grocery, It was quiet up there, except a tilt of the head, a shying away rowing upon the lake. But the and see on display shoulders, for the far whoosh of a few cars, suggests that the inner life has innocence is too strange these chests, abdomens, thighs, like and sometimes a muffled shout, not all been exposed, to die days for that ease. fine slabs of meat, with smiles as incomprehensible as the call in the glare of the vulgar and Its antagonist, I am afraid, is pasted on. of a bird. I don't know that I meaningless pursuit of pleasure. not guilt. It is, perhaps, nothing They aspire to that condition. ever prayed - but had I been at all. Suppose one has been What sense can they have wise enough to do that, it would "taught" about sex long before of holiness of their bodWhat sense can they one has felt the mysterious ies, the have been quite the place for it. when there is no inner life I do remember the confu- have of the holiness pangs of eros. Suppose sex has to which their bodies are the sions of my mind and heart. been sanitised, and made into a incarnate witness? What should It was not the best time to of their bodies when drab little daily thing, like tak- one do with the wrapper to be young: Even into my small there is no inner life to ing a vitamin. a mass-produced hamburger? town, far from the fashions of Suppose also that one is busBuild a shrine for it? the city, the sexual revolution which their bodies are tled about in a world of much Such is our punishment. was leaching its slow poison. noise, and little genuine speech; C S Lewis saw it long ago. Let an incarnate witness? Boys and girls did things; many crowds, but few celebra- eros be your god, and the first what they were I had been told, What should one do tions; alienation, without even thing you will lose is eros itself and my imagination supplied the tang of loneliness to draw - that longing for what is genuwith the wrapper of one the rest. back into real human love. inely beautiful, to possess it, and They did them in the mud a hamburger? Build a I am wondering, now, whethto rejoice in the possession. by the river; in parked cars er my account of the glacial Treat the body as if it were shrine to it? Such is hillside, and the snow, and the but a tool for the pleasure of the on defunct sections of mountain road, cut off like oxbow our punishment. dog, and the faraway houses, soul, and soon there will be no lakes when hairpin turns were and night falling, and loneli- soul - misguided or otherwise straightened out; in a cemetery, ness, would make much sense - for it to serve. Make sex a matwith a view of a drive-in movie These young people, though, to the young people we are now ter of emotional hygiene, and screen, no sound available but many of whom are trying to live bringing up. soon there will be nothing to no sound needed; in a shanty out those teachings of Christ They are battered with words clean; the person will be all skin the town had hammered up for that we, their elders, had fool- from the radio, the television, and nothing beneath. So take old people to rest in on a sunny ishly cast away, seem out of the newspapers, salesmen, polia bulldozer and level that hill. day; on buses returning from place beside their schoolmates; ticians, everyone with an angle, That is what the last deadening a football game; underneath as if they were much older, or everyone hawking an elixir, and sexual revolutionists say. What bleachers; anywhere. much younger, or from a far telling lies so old and so obvious difference does it make? They knew they were sinning planet, one whose people still that no-one any longer blames Anthony Esolen is a professor of English at back then, but there was some- held their breath in the presence them for it. Providence College and a senior editor for thing struggling to be human in of the holy. I wish the world Their churches are festooned Touchstone magazine. His latest book is the darkness of their hearts. were a saner one, for their sakes. with billboards for both the eye The Politically Incorrect Guide to I am convinced of that. I wish they could simply and the ear. Experience would teach me so. Western Civilisation (Regnery). enjoy their innocence, as peoThey find it nearly imposIn those days, there was no one to say to me: "You are shy, because you sense that there is something sacred about your heart, and even A 23 DAY JOURNEY • DEPARTING MAY 2 1 S T about your being a boy, with a boy's mind and body. "If you pray, if you wait for the right place and time, if you wait for God's place and time, you will be able to give of yourself, down to the most secret depths of your being, to someone you love, who will love you in turn. "Just as you would Destinations: Collavalenza • Assisi • Rome • Cascia • Montecassino • San Giovanni Rotondo • Medjugorje • Oberammergau not take a scoffer to • Ars • Paray Le Monial • Chartres • Paris • Giverny • Rouen • Lisieux • Deauville • Optional Lourdes extension your lookout, as you would not take your Pilgrimage Highlights: mother's picture and • Oberammergau Passion Play bandy it about for pimply teenagers to sneer • Meet with Stigmatist Fra Elia at, as you would not spit in church, so would you not use your body, which is the clothing for your inmost being, R I M A G E S P I L as if it were a rag for any I ncluding taxes / levies practical or filthy use whatsoever." No-one said it, so I For more enquiries and booking call 1800 819 156 • Email: harvestepilgrimage.net.au • www.harvestpilgrims.com never heard it. Thirty • Costs have been based on prices as at 18 November 2009 and must remain subject to change without notice based on currency exchange rates. and more years later, I departure city airline choice and minimum group size contingency
PILGRIMAGE OF GRACE
ARVEST G L
December 25 2009, The Record
Page 7
THE NATION
Church rejoices at first Australian saint Pope Paves way for Australia's first saint BY ANTHONY BARICH National Reporter Pope Benedict XVI has approved the second miracle through the intercession of Blessed Mary MacKillop, paving the way for Australia's first saint to be canonised in Rome in 2010. Following a December 19 meeting with the Congregation for Saints' Causes in Clementine Hall at the Vatican, the Pope made the announcement that day approving the miracle - the 1995 cure of a woman suffering from an invasive and • inoperable cancer. The first miracle that led to her beatification by John Paul II in 1995 was the 1961 cure of a woman from leukemia. An announcement for the date of the canonisation is expected next year. Sr Anne Derwin, congregational leader of the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart - the order Blessed MacKillop founded with Father Julian Tenison Woods in Penola, South Australia in 1866 said in a December 19 statement that "today is a special day not only for the Sisters but also for Australia and the universal Church". "It is a day to acknowledge Mary who is not only truly saintly but also one of Australia's true heroes; Sr Anne said. "Mary was a woman truly ahead of her time; she was bold and tenacious and let nothing stand in the way of her care for others. Her strength, humour and egalitarian vision have important relevance in today's busy and complex times. "The universal recognition of Mary's holiness for the Church and the whole world will inspire future generations both in Australia and throughout the world." Sr Judy Sippel, who is overseeing preparations for next year's canonisation, said she found out Mother Mary's second miracle had been approved by the Pope about llpm local time on December 19. "I hadn't been able to sleep waiting for (the news) to come; Sr Judy told Australian Associated Press. "There was definitely no chance of sleep when I found out. It's just so exciting one of our own has made it to the ranks of saints. It's not easy getting to the top in Rome; The lady whose cure constituted the second miracle required for Blessed MacKillop's canonisation passed on a message to Sr Anne, which the congregational leader read at a December 20 press conference at Mary MacKillop Place, North Sydney: "This is wonderful news, I feel personally humbled and grateful to Mary MacKillop and the influence she has had on my life; said the lady, who wishes to remain anonymous."I understand that on a day like today you might have a thousand questions to ask about my story - and some time in the future I do want to share that with you. But today is not about my story. "Today is about Mary MacKillop. It is a day to celebrate and reflect on Marys life, the work she did and the love she has shown to so many of us ordinary people around the world. "Mary MacKillop has always provided me with hope and inspiration, particularly during the most difficult times in my life. I hope this news today provides others, especially younger Australians, with inspiration and encourage-
Above, Pope Benedict XVI arrives for a meeting with the Congregation for Saints' Causes in Clementine Hall at the Vatican on December 19 to advance the sainthood causes of several people, including Pope John Paul II, Pope Pius XII and Blessed Mary MacKillop, the religious sister who is likely to become the PHOTO: CNS/LOSSERVATORE ROMANO VIA REUTERS first saint of Australia.
Blessed Mary MacKillop is pictured in an undated photo from the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart, the Australian order she co-founded. Blessed MacKillop is set to become Australia's first saint after Pope Benedict XVI issued a decree recognising a miracle attributed to her intercession. The nun and her CNS order are known for their work in education and service to the poor.
ment to live as generously and compassionately as Mary did." A fter the Australian Bishops' November 23-27 Plenary meeting at Mary MacKillop Place, they announced on December 4 that a working party was established to coordinate education programs and celebrations across Australia to ensure that Blessed MacKillop's canonisation will be "a time of grace" for the Church in the country. The canonisation would present "a wonderful opportunity to engage about what it means to live a holy life", they said. Blessed MacKillop was born of Scottish parents in Fitzroy, Victoria on January 15, 1842, the eldest of eight children, and was a governess before founding the religious
Sainthood should alert Australians to plight of poor: WA Josephites BY ANTHONY BARICH National Reporter BLESSED Mary MacKillop's canonisation next year will alert young people to the plight of the poor and will hopefully move them to act radically as the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart foundress did, the Order's WA leader said. Relieved that a long process has come to an end, Sr Pauline Morgan told The Record that for Blessed MacKillop, who set up her first school at age 24, to make significant change at such a young age in Australia at that time was "quite remarkable". It was particularly extraordinary, Sr Pauline said, as Blessed MacKillop had come from a poor family as the eldest of eight, whose father particularly ensured the family was well educated. "She was a woman of courage, that's the word I'd use; and a
order to educate poor children in outback settlements at age 24. She also opened orphanages, providences to care for the homeless and destitute, both young and old, and refuges for ex-prisoners and ex-prostitutes who wished to make a fresh start in life. She died on August 8, 1909, and Sisters of her order are now present in Ireland, New Zealand, Peru, Brazil and refugee camps of Uganda and Thailand. Adelaide Archbishop Philip Wilson, President of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, said in a December 20 statement that Blessed MacKillop "could be quite feisty and stubborn", as she was excommunicated on September 27, 1871 by Bishop Laurence
Bonaventure Sheil, who revoked the order on his deathbed five months later. Archbishop Wilson said she has "quite rightly gained a reputation in recent times as 'the Australian people's saint': largely because people can relate to her". "She suffered terrible setbacks, discouragement and injustice and
woman of action; Sr Pauline said. "When she saw a need like the poor children not being educated, she worked to eventually set up schools so they would be, because if they didn't get educated they wouldn't be able to get on and get a start in life. "Then when she saw the elderly weren't cared for on the streets, she set up a house called The Providence so they could he cared for. "Then she saw unmarried mothers weren't being supported so she set up a house for them. "Whenever there was a need she tried to do something about it. "So in that sense she was radical, for young women in Australia in that time to set up structures and places of refuge was quite remarkable." Sr Pauline said that Blessed MacKillop, also known as Mary of the Cross, was a role model to youth as she was a "self-starter". "She is a role model for young people and for those who want to make a difference but are not sure how to do it," Sr Pauline said. "People of good will can tap into the good works of so many organisations around today; The Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart opened a homeless shelter at Fremantle where the women from the parks of
Fremantle can have a night's safe sleep. "There's a need with homelessness and many are trying to address it, including the Sisters; Sr Pauline said. Several Sisters work in the Kimberley region with Aboriginal people, "where there is a huge need for those people, and for children to have opportunities to change the cycle of poverty': While Sr Pauline said it would be "wonderful" if young people responded by joining the Order to work for the poor, she said the most important repercussion from the canonisation was alerting people to the poor and their needs in the world, "putting it before our eyes so more people will respond in some way". The Sisters also have many volunteers who work with them for up to two years, which Sr Pauline said is a calling in itself which builds character. "We're looking forward to when a date is set for canonisation in Rome and we will have very simple inclusive celebrations locally. For Mary MacKillop, being a very ordinary person in an ordinary family with many hardships, having financial difficulties ... is something that many people relate to. I like belonging to a group of like-minded people.
Catholics pray at the tomb of Blessed Mary MacKillop at Mary MacKillop Place PHOTO. CNS/DANIEL MUNOZ, REUTERS in Sydney on December 20.
yet through all of this her faith in God did not falter; Archbishop Wilson said. "Plagued by ill health for much of her life, she was still able to found a religious institute aimed at serving the poor, particularly in the field of education, which remains a vibrant and active presence in the fabric of Australian life today. "Her motto of 'Never see a need without doing something about it' continues to call us forth to action. At a time when real heroes are in short supply, Mary MacKillop is a true inspiration. Her heroism is all the more firm because it is built not on celebrity or sporting skill but on her love for Jesus Christ and a life of dedication to God and her fellow human beings; Tim Fischer, Australian ambassador to the Holy See, said it was a "joyful occasion for Australia's Catholic community and a landmark event in Australian history". "It is a great salute to a superb Australian who has done so much to help so many; Mr Fischer told Australian media. "I congratulate the Official Postulator, Sr Maria Casey, and the hardworking team of the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart, in the presentation of the cause of sainthood of Blessed Mary MacKillop, a huge task involving a lot of work over many recent months in particular, but the original cause was initiated back in 1925. There is no doubt that Blessed Mary MacKillop is not only a saintly woman, but is also an outstanding Australian pioneer, especially in the field of education, opening her first school at Penola in 1866. From Penola to Numurkah, Adelaide to Sydney and beyond, Mary MacKillop showed great leadership not only with education, but also with helping the elderly and the poor;
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Christmas trip a pilgrimage to sites of Dad's childh adventures and
December 25 2009, The Record
THE NATION
Love beyond the grave Teens at prayer for the holy souls in purgatory By EDDIE O'NEILL
ISHOP DONALD SPROXTON Auxiliary Bishop of Perth
A
n abidi n g mmoe ry of Christmas past for me is the nearly annual holiday trip my family made to Augusta on the South Western tip of Western Australia. We always enjoyed the chance to leave the heat of Perth in January for the cool of this temperate region. It was also an important destination for the family as it was the region that drew my grandparents and their children to Australia. The ill-fated Group Settlement program had been conceived to encourage British migration to Western Australia to boost the overall population, and the offer of land was the enticement. Our family settled first at Alexander Bridge and then at Chapman's Corner, Karridale. My grandfather worked hard to establish a Jersey herd for cream and milk production, drawing upon his experience of farming and dairy work in Scotland and England. So our holiday trip was really a pilgrimage to the sites of Dad's childhood adventures and life. We would hear again the stories of those early years but we would never tire of the recounting: of the time he and his brothers first saw an automobile as it chugged towards them along a track; of the long walk to the Hamelin Bay Jetty to fish; of the clearing of this land with massive steam driven engines. Christmas provides us with the opportunity to be together with our families, and to have the stories of our lives together retold. The other family we are part of is the community that makes up the parish. Christmas will again bring us all home together: we will celebrate the birth of our Saviour with those we have come to know well, and with others we 1 see occasionally. The telling of the story of Christ's birth is precious to each of us and we are united by this faith that will not allow us to tire of this recounting. The story of Christmas is that God's amazing and immense love for humanity and creation meant that nothing short of this incarnation would do to lift up and restore each human person. The Birth of Jesus began a new and positive time for creation. As we celebrate the Birth of our Saviour, I pray that we will be able to recognise the new capacity we have been given in Christ to be personally remade: that in Christ we can have a new approach to others and to the rest of creation. In the year ahead, we will be confronted by the state of health of the Earth. I am hopeful that our faith in Christ and His redeeming mission will give us all the desire to look again at our stewardship of this creation. it May it convince us that selfish interest and unbridled exploitation of our world's resources will bring upon us horrible consequences. Let us become part of the solution, an expression of redemptive love.
W
hen the liturgical calendar rolls around to November, our thoughts rightly go to the faithful departed. This holds true not just on the first two days of the month — November 1 is the feast of All Saints; November 2 is dedicated to All Souls — but right up to the start of Advent. It's an interesting juxtaposition. We ask the saints to pray for us in heaven while we pray for the poor souls to complete their journey through purgatory and into heaven (even A family gathers beside the grave of a relative at the cemetery of Holy Rosary Church in Dhaka, Bangladesh, though their eventual arrival November 2. The day commemorates all the faithful who have died. CNS ANDREW BIRAJ, REUTERS there is assured). For some of us, the poor souls (also known as the holy she attended her first meeting of about St Gertrude and the story Heavenly Intercessors souls) are in our prayers all year. the Dead Theologians Society behind her prayer, she says, Take the young adult mem- at St Mary's Catholic Church the more they make it their Fr Richard Simon, pastor of bers of the Dead Theologians near Madison, Wisconsin. own. St Lambert's Catholic Church Society, for example. Praying "I was immediately struck "I have always made it a in Skokie, Illinois, and frequent for the poor souls is part of and intrigued by this prayer point to make things more host of Relevant Radio's protheir mission. Begun in 1997 for the poor souls," she says. understandable, more attain- gram "Go Ask Your Father," in Ohio, the Dead Theologians "I loved it and grew to love it able to the teens themselves so says that the Church's teachSociety seeks to inspire teens more; that it means more to them," ing on purgatory is at the very and young adults to become At first, she recalls, it all says Rack. heart of intercessory prayer. "the saints of tomorrow." Open seemed "too easy; SmithmierThis has led to what she "We pray for the poor souls to kids in grades nine through Bohn felt she should be doing describes as a greater awareto help them get to heaven. And 12 as well as young adults as more. So she went to talk to ness of the dead and the need to they intercede for us to help us old as 24, the group lives by a a priest who told her that one pray for them. When it comes get to heaven," explains Father motto that says it all: "Dead to bite from the forbidden fruit time for the adolescents to offer Simon. "Their job, so to speak, the world, alive in Christ." "lost sanctifying grace for all petitions, Rack says, invaria- is to intercede for us." Twelve years after its initial mankind. God delights in the bly there are teens praying for At Dead Theologians' headlaunch, the apostolate is active simple; deceased loved ones. quarters, Cotter attributes the in 300 parishes in 45 states, as "This profound and sim"They always mention peofast growth and success of the well as Canada, the Philippines ple insight helped me grow ple who have died; says Rack. apostolate to this very intercesand Guam. (The group is online a lot spiritually,' explains the "Once they know that we are sory power. at DeadTheologiansSociety. freshman from Franciscan doing the St Gertrude the Great "We believe that because we corn.) University of Steubenville. prayer, they always mention are praying for the suffering According to Eddie Cotter "It was a calling from the friends or relatives who have souls and they are praying for Jr, the group's founder, pray- Lord. Though I may not do died; us, we attribute the growth of ing for the poor souls has been great things, if I can do this It probably helps that Rack the apostolate to that intercesa charism of society meetings small thing with the greatest practises what she preaches. sory prayer," says Cotter. "We from the start. It came about as of love, why should I not do it The mother of three older teens continue to grow — and we the founding members tried to daily?" says that the prayers for those do not have a huge marketing come up with a service compoin purgatory are part of her budget or department; nent for the group that would Small Things, Great Love own family's prayer life. Cotter estimates that in the unite young people around a Also, she explains that she 12 years of the society's existsanctifying cause. Charlene Rack has been a makes a point to pray for the ence, more than 10,000 young "There were some good ideas Dead Theologians Society leadsouls of anybody who has died people have participated in its tossed around, like feeding the er in the greater Cincinnati area that day. prayer experience. hungry or cleaning a part of the for the past several years. She "Being a leader in the Dead believe that the majority highway, but there were groups has seen similar reactions in Theologians Society has given of those kids continue to pray already doing these types of the teens she leads. me an awareness of the need to for the dead even when they things," recalls Cotter. "When Rack says the key to making pray for the dead," says Rack. are no longer in the program,' we prayed and discussed with this devotion come alive is by "Before,Imight not have seen a he says. "That is a lot of prayer the teens the idea of praying for making it tangible in the lives need for it — but nowI am very power from young people. We the souls in purgatory, we felt of the teens. much aware of it and want to are answering that call to empty that that was something all of The more the kids know make others aware of it as well; purgatory of the poor souls:' us could do regardless of ability or disability." Cotter explains that local chapters use the prayer of St Gertrude the Great for the holy souls each week. The prayer comes after the group's recitation of the Rosary. 20th Annual FLAME CONGRESS January 22 to 24 20 Praying for the poor Gibney Hall. Trinity College. Trinity Avenue. East Perth. souls — a spiritual work of mercy — has been FIRE RALLIES 7.30pm each niight FREE Entry. met with great zeal, says Day sessions registrations only, you can register on the day. Cotter. "All these high schoolers, as well as the adults who help facilitate the group, had loved ones who have died," he adds. "There was a genuine enthusiAnd how I wish it was already blazing. asm when we realised that there was actually something that we could do that could 1Flame Ministries International • Illitil . benefit them." Olivia SmithmierBohn, 18, remembers • well her introduction Information & brochure (08) 938? 3668. E; ki vfoielgbigpond.com. www.flameministries.org to prayers for the poor CRECHE call Megan O'Neill 0422 768 039. souls in purgatory. As a high-school freshman, • •
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December 25 2009, The Record
Christmas, like all the Gospel, speaks to our own lives and experiences
!
GERARD HoLotiAN of Bunbury
W
hy, after 2,000 years, are we still celebrating the Christmas story? It's because, like the rest of the Gospel, it relates to the hopes and lives of people across the world. For each of us, one of these hopes is the hope to be valued for who we are as individuals. The Christmas Story reminds us that, whatever others may think of us, each of us is of value to God. God loves us for who we are. God values us whether we are young or old, rich or poor, famous or unheard of, believers or atheists. God loves us individually, regardless of whether we are able-bodied or disabled, popular or rejected, healthy or addicted to drugs. As Christmas reminds us of this truth, it challenges us in many ways. They include the three following examples. Christmas challenges negative self images. Christmas challenges all who suffer low self esteem or a negative self image. It challenges anyone feeling worthless, a failure, or who feels so burdened by guilt that they imagine themselves beyond forgiveness. Christmas celebrates the birth of the Son of God who came to reveal God's desire for an ever deepening personal relationship with each of us. God wishes us to accept this relationship in this life, and to deepen it eternally, after we die, in heaven. If we think ourselves worthless, it is confronting to reflect on the question: 'Why would God want to love me for all eternity?' Perhaps we are inclined to dismiss this thought, rather than to reflect on it seriously. This question challenges us to ask: 'Am I keeping in mind always the ultimate purpose of my life - to decide to accept or to reject the relationship of heaven with God?' If our lives show that we have rejected God, this choice is accepted by God. Heaven is not imposed on us: we experience the eternal separation Jesus called 'hell'. The point is that Christmas reminds us of God's desire for us to accept the relationship of heaven. God clearly does not see us as worthless. Christmas challenges the troubled. We live in a troubled society. So many people suffer inner conflicts, anger and stresses. These affect their relationships - and so there are troubled relationships in marriages and families; between friends and work colleagues. Many children are troubled because their parents were troubled. The hearts of many are so troubled that they seek relief in drugs, excessive alcohol and passing sexual relationships. Some express troubled hearts by destructive behaviours. Christmas promises 'peace on earth to all who enjoy God's favour' [Luke 2:1. This challenges all who are stressed and troubled to face the fact that there is another way - Christ's way, which leads to peace. Who are those who 'enjoy God's favour'? Those who accept the eternal relationship of 'heaven'. We can experience peace instead of inner conflicts and turmoil to the extent that we relate with God now - praying, worshipping and living as Jesus taught. God's love and value for every human person challenges tendencies to devalue the individual in our society. These tendencies reflect our society's inclination to value people more for what they achieve than who they are. People, for example, seem more likely to be accepted if they are wealthy or powerful or popular. From early years, we tend to want to be associated with some more than others. So often advertisements are aimed at the young rather than the elderly because of their spending power. And so often it seems that decision makers at various levels of society value more those who contribute to the materialistic than the human aspects of our society. Do corporate executives, managers of resource companies and senior staff in banks really deserve salaries many times more than those of teachers, nurses, carers for the elderly and disabled and marriage counsellors? Do they really contribute more to the future shape and well-being of Australian society? What does it say about Australia that in difficult times we consider financial cut backs in hospitals and the provision for those with psychiatric illnesses, that we allow acute shortages of beds in facilities for the aged? I do not pretend to know the answers to questions of this kind, but does not the Christmas story at least cause us to pause and consider whether the trends that stir the questions are consistent with the importance of every person to God? Let us value each person in our lives. Christmas is an opportunity to ask: 'Do I value each individual in my life?' Or do we value more those who agree with us, who can help us in some way or who have achieved? ,_ To reflect the spirit of Christmas, let us show each person in our l ives that we value him or her as an individual. Let us challenge ourselves: 'Do I tend more to favour family members, friends and others who agree with me, who have achieved in some way, who are popular, wealthy or socially influential'? 'Do the elderly and sick individuals in my life feel valued by me, or a 'burden' to me'? May each of us renew our appreciation for every person in our es so that we enjoy the peace of all who enjoy God's favour t
Our imperfection is our gift
hortly after setting up our nativity scene last week my seven year old son, Joseph, swung a pillow at his sister and accidentally sent one of the fibreglass wise men flying across the room, landing in several pieces at my feet. A fter the initial moment of uncomfortable silence we gathered up the broken remains, taped them back together and stood him awkwardly beside his more elegant looking peers. "It looks as though there will only be two and a half men visiting baby Jesus this Christmas: I mused as we pondered the decimated figure. "Yeah, I guess so", Joseph replied meekly as he tried to straighten the angled torso. It wasn't until a few days later that I began to appreciate the powerful symbolism of our fragmented figurine. It reminded me of how I attempt to present myself to God. I want Him to see me as the perfected and intact wise men, externally glorious and with something to offer. Yet the reality is, I stand before Him more closely resembling our broken Magi, full of faults, failings and imperfections. But why is it that I attempt to hide what I know God is divinely aware of? Do I fear that if I acknowledge this truth He will love me less? It made me think of my friend, Jessica. Her dead body was found sprawled across a cold floor, the victim of a toxic batch of heroin. Jessica had a much more coura-
geous and honest relationship with God than I do. She had neither delusions of perfection nor concerns about personal image or social acceptance. She had an addiction and worked in prostitution to fund her life-destroying habit. She knew where she stood in the eyes of the world - "I am nothing but a drug addict" she would say when she was feeling sad. But deep down she knew the real truth and she shared it with me shortly before she died - "I am a new creation, I have been washed by the blood of the Lamb", she had said. Jessica knew that what she inflicted on herself was not what God wanted and at times she would valiantly lift herself above the destructive lifestyle but, tragically, the brokenness within would overcome her. But it never stopped her bring-
ing herself to Jesus in between her drug use and sex work, and possibly even within it. As most fatal heroin overdoses take several hours to finally stop one's heart, I can only hope that Jessica, for her last earthly moments, was able to draw on Jesus' loving presence as the life drained from her tormented body. I hope that she truly knew that He was with her as she took her last breath; just as He had been when her tiny body and spirit were being shattered by the many years of childhood sexual abuse. If I can learn something from Jessica's short, but heroic life, it should be that no matter what I do or how I am perceived by others, God's love for me will always remain the same - and that the only offering He desires from me is myself - no matter how imperfect that gift may be.
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December 25 2009, The Record
Cardinal Pell 'a leading Australian citizen of his generation'
Healing the shattering remnants of Communism from a broken land BY ANTHONY BARICH FATHER Joseph Lee's grandmother died never finding out what happened to her son who was kidnapped by North Korean soldiers. Today, the Myaree parish priest helps elderly Korean Catholics of her generation deal with their own loneliness as chaplain to Perth's Korean Catholic community. Fr Joseph, 52, has been Myaree parish priest for a year since Fr Larry Reitmeyer retired home to the United States. Fr Joseph's ministry is a unique one. His Korean community gathers from all around Perth, from as far as Mandurah, to gather for weekly Mass at Pater Noster Church. For the Korean Catholic community, it is a place to maintain that vital connection with their culture which, back home, involved a thriving Catholic community. When they come to Australia, a decidedly more laid-back place in terms of religious fervour, it is a culture shock. As their chaplain, Fr Joseph helps them with this by providing regular fraternity, especially for elderly Catholics who have few or no family left. Looking after family is nothing new for Fr Joseph. As the eldest son of five children, he looked after his parents - an obligation in Korean culture. To respond to a call to the priesthood, then, was for Fr Joseph to overcome this situation and serve in a different way. When he finished compulsory military service in South Korea, a Discalced Carmelite nun from the local monastery he had been in contact with as a youth invited him to help in their community. Seeing his dutiful response to service, they asked him to enter the local seminary. At about that time, however, he'd seen a movie of the life of St Vincent de Paul, and was impressed by the French saint's story of helping the poor.
S o e went to the Vincentian Philippines to the Congregation of the Mission and studied four years of Philosophy at St Vincent Seminary in a town near Manila. The Order's poor living conditions, however, led him to return to Korea where he supported the family business importing manual labour from Vietnam to supply local companies. Once his health was restored, a Carmelite nun invited him to Australia, and the rest is history. Archbishop Barry Hickey ordained him in 2005. Just as he helps others maintain their cultural heritage, so too does Fr Joseph keep in contact with his family. He's heading home after Christmas briefly for his father's 80th birthday. His ministry is summed up by the Scripture quote on the panel in traditional Korean lettering crafted by a friend of his mother back in Korea, from Jeremiah 3:15 - "Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart:' His family history, involving the tragic circumstances surrounding his uncle's disappearance, makes him familiar with
the sense of loss or isolation felt by some of the elderly members of his community. His uncle was a banker, on his way home from work, when North Korean soldiers grabbed him suddenly. His last recorded words the family have to treasure is a note he managed to pass onto his mother, saying simply: "Mum, I'm going to North." Being chaplain to the Korean community is pastorally different from the duties of a parish priest, Fr Joseph said. "As a parish priest it's different, as some elderly Koreans feel lonely - they're sad to have left their family in Korea," he said. "They came here as migrants, and don't have as many family here. "They share that loneliness with myself and others in the community, and we support each other in times of trouble. "As a priest, I encourage them and share their journey." They embrace their culture, and he says they are "very active in singing in the choir", as they sing their own unique Korean hymns. Most Koreans love to seek God, to find the Truth in their lifetime:' The Korean Catholic community facilitates this process beautifully.
OVER the last four decades Cardinal George Pell has been committed to the enrichment of Catholic and secular education - from developing religious education programs to teaching and running campuses to establishing two Catholic universities in Sydney. This commitment was honoured at The University of Notre Dame Australia's Sydney Campus Graduation Ceremony on December 18. The Cardinal was awarded his first Australian Honorary Doctorate, an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws. Notre Dame Vice Chancellor, Professor Celia Hammond, said that the University's Board of Trustees and Directors firmly believe that his contribution to education and his "extraordinary dedication to public affairs and religious life" make him one of the leading Australian citizens of his generation. "The Archbishop has always challenged young people towards genuine critical enquiry about religion. He urges secondary and tertiary students to approach the study of religion from an academic perspective as well as a spiritual viewpoint and to cultivate a genuine passion for learning and knowledge:* she said. As Archbishop of Melbourne and now Sydney, Cardinal Pell has a commitment to the development of Religious Education Curricula, a UNDA statement said. He has improved the quality of resources used by students and teachers around the country including his creation of the text book To Know, Worship and Love. Cardinal Pell was Chairman of the committee charged with founding the Australian Catholic University and was the Foundation Pro-Chancellor. In 2003, he served as Patron of the capital appeal for Campion College - Australia's first Catholic liberal arts college. He also founded John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family in Melbourne. His commitment to education is also reflected in the establishment of Notre Dame in Sydney.
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December 25 2009, The Record
Page 12
Page 13
Christmas a time to reconnect with our heritage STIN BIANCHINI ishop of Geraldton
id
ot long ago on TV there was a program called Find My Family. It proved very popular and many people were touched by the tragic stories of separation and rejoiced with the individuals who discovered each other again. To be without any ancestry can and does have a prevailing effect on the lives of individuals who experience these situations. They hunger to know where they came from, who abandoned them and why. They travel through life with this hidden yearning - perhaps even at times saying it doesn't matter - but the overwhelming change that takes place in their lives when , they are reconnected with their family proves beyond doubt how important family roots are and how it matters to know that you belonged to someone and that you were loved. Various cultures around the world also find meaning in the connections with their past and often suffer when those connections are severed. It would be fair to say that the cultural existence of the present is heavily influenced by the past, providing reasons why people do the things they do. This is certainly true of the Jewish people. All the traditions and stories (found in the Old Testament) of their culture have given rise to a proud and gifted nation today. In fact, it is the power of the past that can cause great strength in a nation as is demonstrated in the nations involved in the Middle East. Unfortunately, this strength is also a cause of divide and conflict among these nations. Recently, I was privileged to have been in the Holy Land for two months during my sabbatical. I say privileged because there are so many people around the world who desire, but cannot afford, to see for themselves this sacred homeland, for us as Christians as well as for the Israeli and Palestinian people. To go there was like reconnecting with the ancient history of the Old and New Testament and the members of our family of faith. It was a tremendous and humbling experience to visit these areas and to contemplate and relive the great moments of the story of our salvation. When God revealed Himself by taking on our human condition and experience, He showed us how much He loved us. To experience the culture, the climate and the terrain helped me to tap into the experiences of the biblical characters and be profoundly moved to understand them even more at a deeper level. To enter into the nativity story at the place it actually happened is truly a religious experience. The opportunity to celebrate Mass for the first time there was a unique joy. One special and powerful time to connect more deeply with family and to rediscover our roots is at Christmas. As we celebrate Christ's birth in our Church we have a deeper experience of belonging to a big family of God across various races and ages. In Jesus we are all truly sisters and brothers and His Father is Father of us all. St Paul summed it up simply in one line, "all of us, in union with Christ, form one body, and as parts of it we belong to each other" (RomI2:5). Many families make special efforts to gather at Christmas. We renew our own important and crucial family bonds of love. This is truly human love. Because Jesus coming into the world took flesh in a family, He also took flesh in each of our families. The human love we share, therefore, is also divine love - God's If for some reason we lack family or can't be with family this year, Jesus reassures everyone, that we are always part of His family. This Christmas let us ask for a deeper faith to see and meet Jesus more in our hearts, in 4, our families and in our church where we are helped to experience what is most important, namely, belonging to God's family. Iwish you and your families a very happy Christm
Above, Dominick Aluise works on the roof of a Nativity display in Chicago as a member of the "Godsquad," a group that marks the beginning of the Christmas season by erecting the Nativity scene at Daley Centre Plaza each year. CNS. KAREN CALLAWAY, CATHOLIC NEW WORLD
Below, Joseph Marcellino, 7, and his sister, Alexarose, 6, dress up as Joseph and Mary during the annual Christmas pageant at St Gerard Majella Church in 2008 in Port CNS: GREGORY A. SHEMITZ Jefferson Station, NY.
Above, The Vatican's Christmas tree is seen on a truck after its early morning arrival in St Peter's Square on December 4. The tree is from the Vallonia region of Belgium, is 98 feet tall and grew for 90 years.
CNS: PAUL HARING
Below, Nuns join tourists and residents at the annual lighting ceremony of the Christmas tree in the West Bank town of Bethlehem on December 15.
CNS: YANNIS BEHRAKIS, REUTERS
Right, The shoes of students at Christ the King School in Irondequoit, NY, each hold a candy cane and a card during a December 4 celebration of St Nicholas' feast day, which is December 6. Students put their shoes filled with toiletries in the hallway for a collection by the Red Cross. While the students were in class, "St Nicholas" replaced the toiletries with cards and candy CNS: MIKE CRUPI, CATHOLIC COURIER canes. Mass outside St Joseph attend Below, Filipinos Church in Las Pinas City of Manila's metropolitan region on December 16. It was the first in a series of daily midnight Masses celebrated prior to Christmas in the Philippines. CNS. ROI AZURE, REUTERS
I
Page 14
December 25 2009, The Record
THE FUTURE
Things to watch out for in
,2 c,f‘
caLh,
SEPTEMBER CYM North Leaders Meeting 1 16 NDA & BBI E-conference: Jesus the Christ 22 CYM South Leaders Meeting 24-26 YMT Anchor Weekend 27 TLW Open Session OCTOBER 1-3 Australian Catholic Youth Ministry Convention - Melbourne 3 Respect Life Sunday Anti Poverty Week 4-11 M ADRID CYM North Leaders Meeting 6 24 CYM Sunday Sesh TLW Open Session 25 Youth are represented in a graphic 27 CYM South Leaders Meeting "M" shape below the cross of Christ Edmund Rice Community 2011 Info Day 1 31
JMJ 2011
NOVEMBER CYM North Leaders Meeting 3 Edmund Rice Community 2011 Info Day 2 3 12-14 YMT Anchor Weekend 21 CYM Sunday Sesh 24 CYM South Leaders Meeting 29 TLW- End of year wind up DECEMBER 8-12 Embrace the Grace Conference 15 CYM Final Holy Hour
Cut out this calendar and stick it up on your fridge or your bedroom wall. JANUARY Disciples Summer School of Evangelisation 3-10 4-24 Edmund Rice Camps for Kids: 4 Camps 8-10 CYM Chilled & Be filled Retreat #2 8 Youth Impact Outdoor Cinema Experience 13 DoJ 'Conquest' Young Adults resumes fortnightly CYM Summer Sunday Sesh 17 22-24 20th Annual Flame Congress 21-23 Youth Impact Summer Sleep out 29 Youth Impact (resumes weekly) 31 Edmund Rice Community 2010 commences
in the official logo for World Youth Day 2011. The "M" represents both Mary and Madrid. The logo's creator, Spanish graphic artist Jose Gil-Nogues, utilised the colours red, orange and yellow to signify the warmth of Spain and the love of God. "JMJ" is the acronym for Jornada Mundial de la Juventud - World Youth Day in Spanish. The international Catholic youth gathering will take place in Madrid from August 16-21, 2011. IMAGE. CNS/COURTESY OF 1M12011
FEBRUARY 4 Youth Leaders Commissioning Mass - St Mary's Cathedral 10 CYM Holy Hour commences every Wednesday Night 10 CYM North Leaders Meeting 10-May 23 Flame Ministry & Subiaco Parish 'Set my people on Fire' Bible Seminar 14 Caritas-Project Compassion Launch - St Mary's Cathedral 15-19 University of Notre Dame 0 Week 15-19 Curtin University 0 Week 15-19 UWA 0 Week 15-19 ECU 0 Week 21 CYM Sunday Sesh 22 TLW 2010 1st Open Session 22 Acts 2 College 0 Week 24 CYM South Leaders Meeting MARCH 1 3 4 5-7 24 28 29
Acts 2 College commences CYM North Leaders Meeting Acts 2 College Night Courses commence Edmund Rice Mini Camp for Refugee Youth CYM South Leaders Meeting Palm Sunday: 2010 World Youth Day Celebrations (Forrest Chase.) TLW Open Session
APRIL 7 10 14-16 16-18 17 18 26 28
CYM North Leaders Meeting CYM Sand Sculpture Competition Scarborough Beach YMT Anchor Weekend Edmund Rice Fun Fest YCW Dinner Dance CYM Sunday Sesh TLW Open Session CYM South Leaders Meeting
MAY 1 5 16 18 21-23 26 31
CYM Annual Ball- Mercure Hotel CYM North Leader Meeting CYM Sunday Sesh NDA & BBI E-Conference: Mary, First Disciple Edmund Rice mini Camp South Leaders Meeting TLW Open Session
JUNE 2 20 23 28
CYM North Leaders Meeting CYM Sunday Sesh CYM South Leaders Meeting TLW Open Session
JULY 2-4 2-4 7 18 19-23 26 28
CYM Retreat YMT Anchor Weekend North Leaders Meeting CYM Sunday Sesh University of Notre Dame 0 Week TLW Open Session CYM South Leaders Meeting
AUGUST 4 7-8 22 25 30
CYM North Leaders Meeting Caritas- Be More Weekend CYM Sunday Sesh - 1 year to go to WYD2011 CYM South Leaders Meeting TLW Open Session
Pope Benedict XVI blesses the crowd during a rally for seminarians and young people in New York shortly before PHOTO: CNS/GREGORY SHEMITZ WYD'08 was held in Sydney. This calendar is a guide only and contains only a sample of the youth activities in the Archdiocese of Perth. For a comprehensive calendar, up to date confirmation and details of events closer to the date, check www.crn.com.au or call (08) 9422 7912. Also contact your local parish for details on the youth events in your area. Join the CYM mailing list to receive regular newsletters and information for upcoming events and leadership training.
Organisations Caritas www.caritas.org.au ERCKWA: Edmund Rice Camp for Kids WA www.edmundricecampswa.com.au Edmund Rice Community www.edmundrice.orgiercommunitywa Disciples of Jesus www.disciplesofjesus.org incl 24-7 & Youth Mission Team FMI: Flame Ministries International www.flameministries.org/fmiyouth.htm RIO: Respect Life Office respectlifeOperthcatholicorg.au TLW: True Love Waits www.truelovewaitswa.com YCS: Young Christian Students www.aycs.org.au YCW: Young Christian Workers www.ycw.org.au Young Vinnies www.vinnies.org.au/youth Youth Impact www.youthimpact.com.au UNDA University of Notre Dame www.nd.edu.au
A woman cheers as Pope Benedict XVI arrives for a youth rally at Coqueiros Stadium in Luanda, Angola, in March 2009. Pope John Paul II, who launched World Youth Days, hugs a young woman during the closing Mass for World Youth Day in Denver in 1993. The late Pope has been declared 'Venerable', the first step on the path to official sainthood. PHOTO: ABOVE: CNS/ALESSIA GIULIANI, CPP; AT RIGHT:CNS/JOE RIMKUS JR
December 25 2009, The Record
Page 15
THE PARISH
A personal invitation you can take seriously Living Biblically,
an introduction to understanding the Bible, is now in its second edition. But why is that important? LIVING BIBLICALLY
By Archbishop Barry Hickey RRP $19.95 (inc.G5T) + postage Available from The Record Bookshop and Catholic booksellers REVIEWED BY JAROSLAV BALSARINI
T
he publication of the second edition of Archbishop Barry Hickey's Living Biblically shows how hungry ordinary people everywhere are for Bishops to teach as shepherds rather than to lapse into the role of being largely bureaucratic and financial administrators - hungry, because the first edition, which sold out of an initial print run of five thousand copies, was not enough to satisfy demand. But this revised second edition also refocuses us on the importance of Catholics picking up the Bible again - and reading it. It is heartening to see many Catholics finally behaving as if the written word of God is actually of vital importance to their lives. This is not an obscure point. The figure of (usually American) Protestant televangelists striding confidently back and forth across stages at public gatherings or before enthralled worshippers in their churches has become in recent decades either a potent or ridiculous image - depending on your perspective. Catholics - and many others - have often looked at such scenes with something approaching amusement or dismissal. After all, Catholics have assumed, however well meaning such figures may be and correct their arguments for Christianity, they also appear to lack a certain.., well, sophistication or depth. The Church, they assume, clearly possesses in institutions such as the papacy or in places embodying millennia of clearly-Catholic history and identity such as Rome an authority which surpasses the often amusing shenanigans that American televangelists often seem to embody. The Catholic consciousness is, in part, defined by a certain psychological or emotional feeling that whatever the faults or sins of its members it is this Church that clearly has serious intellectual weight behind it when it comes to talking religion. But Catholics must face up to one simple truth: when it comes to knowledge of Scripture and giving it primacy in one's life, it is precisely the televangelists and their congregations that beat their Catholic brothers and sisters hands down. In fact, to
Archbishop Hickey speaks at the recent opening of St Mary's Cathedral. Living Biblically, in its second edition, is now available. borrow a metaphor, they 'whoop' us when it comes to knowing and reading God's Word. This is clearly a contradiction in Catholic life. The Bible, after all, is almost certainly the oldest continuously written and read book in the history of the world and the greatest work of religious literature ever assembled. Written over a millennium or more as far as can be known, read and pondered continuously for two millennia since the Gospels and the various other works of the New Testament were completed, the Church believes the Bible to be the inspired word of God, containing the essential elements of fact, history and belief necessary for every Christian life. That Catholics as a whole clearly do not read it regularly and treat it with the reverence and authority it deserves (and have not for generations) is clearly a situation that needs rectifying. The second edition of Archbishop Hickey's Living Biblically is therefore an extremely important contribution to righting an historical imbalance in Catholic life that has helped seriously undermine among generations of Catholics the primary Christian vocation to intimacy, discussion and friendship with God that is called holiness. Interestingly, the proceeds from sales will go towards the establishment of the BJ Hickey Biblical Foundation, a new scholarship set up by Archbishop Hickey to enable
students from Perth to carry out studies in Scripture at leading pontifical and biblical universities and institutes in Rome and around the world. By channelling proceeds to this worthy objective, the author is not only talking the talk of the Bible, but walking the walk. Meanwhile, in an age where religious belief, most spectacularly Christianity, appears to be on the retreat globally, Living Biblically is its author's personal invitation to readers everywhere to begin the process of finding the answers to the deepest questions of their lives, answers which can only be found in the Bible. Among the considerable advantages of this book is its brevity. At just 96 pages in length, divided into 10 chapters and two historical appendices, Living Biblically is aimed not at the erudite scholar, much less the exegete, but at the average man, woman and young person in the suburbs of Australia. Briefly, but with the authority of someone who has spent 50 years as a priest and the last 25 as a leading Australian Bishop, the author sketches out the face and figure of Christ. By the end of the fourth chapter readers will have encountered Jesus as the faithful Jew who is also the fulfilment of all the prophecies found in the Old Testament foretelling the looming figure of the Messiah. They will accompany him in His final confrontation with the Jewish authorities that lead to His crucifixion and resurrection. But Archbishop Hickey, with a lifetime of experience working with Catholic families from all walks of life, also wants to offer practical guidance to how we, the readers, can begin our journey. Chapter five sets out a simple six step guide so that reading the Bible is neither a daunting nor an incomprehensible experience. Chapter six shows readers how to live out Christ's law of love in a vital area too often ignored by Catholics these days, in their marriages and family lives. Reading the Bible
will help Catholics and Christians rediscover the true significance of their own vocation. One of the most important chapters is Chapter seven, simply entitled Living in the Spirit. In fact, the author admits, it is what he says in this chapter that is the reason for the book's title. No Christian can live without reference to the Holy Spirit, who is also God. "The central thesis of this small book is to point out that we are still living in the age of the Holy Spirit, and that the extraordinary is still commonplace, and that the forces that would try to crush or render Christ's church ineffectual today cannot succeed. We need to be as conscious of the action of the Holy Spirit today as the early Christians were in their day," he writes. Living Biblically is not only for Catholics. It is well worth considering as a gift for nonCatholic or non-believing friends. Young people from their early teenage years will have no problem picking it up and immersing themselves in its simple but profound message. With an increasing variety of resources available to parents and families to help them give reading and reflecting on Scripture a new primacy in their lives Catholics can also increasingly hold their heads high in the face of the charge that they are not Bible-based Christians. On the contrary, recent years and events, such as 2008's Synod on the Word of God held by Pope Benedict XVI and the world's Bishops in Rome, have seen a renewed impulse within the Catholic Church towards helping average Catholics rediscover the biblical roots of their faith and their importance. Archbishop Hickey's book is so far a little-noticed (outside Western Australia) but refreshing example of a new emphasis on familiarising ourselves with God's word to us in Scripture. His book may yet come to be regarded as a classic re-introduction for Catholics everywhere to a friend they have for too long treated as only to be consulted when they are in need.
ARCHBISHOP
A new book!
BARRY HICKEY of Perth, WA.
A pikiiin's guide tofinding answers to Ve's deepest questions
•
check it out now! at: www.therecord.com.au The Parish
A day of Marian devotions including , Holy Mass, Rosary, talks, Confession and / Eucharistic Adoration. Bring your own lunch. Day begins at 9 am and ends approx. 5 pm. t
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December 25 2009, The Record
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December 25 2009, The Record
CHILDREN
Kids bitz
PUZZLE 172. THE BOY JESUS VISITS THE TEMPLE
ARTISTS WEEK
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Page 17
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BIBLE ACCENT: The New Testament tells the story of the first Christmas from two different points of view Only Matthew and Luke wrote about it in their Gospels. Matthew traced the family history of Joseph back to David and back even further to Abraham. In Old Testament times God often gave his servants messages in dreams, and Joseph was told about the coming birth of Jesus in a dream. Luke emphasised Mary's role. The angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and called her the "favoured one." When Elizabeth greeted Mary, she gave us one of the most beloved passages about Mary when she said, "Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb."
Q&A 1 Why did Mary and Joseph bring baby Jesus to the temple? 2 How did Jesus answer his mother when she found him with the teachers?
My favourite book is 'The House that Sneezed". rkhsdaflth. sprays and Hie lipstick and the powder puff.
WORD SLUETH 72. THE BOY JESUS VISITS THE TEMPLE
SPOTLIGHT ON SAINTS St Antony of Lerins Antony of Lerins (466-520) became an orphan at the age of 8 and was given over to the care of St Severinus. Having most likely grown up in a monastery, Antony was surrounded by men who were devoted to their faith. Antony became a monk himself when he was 20 years old. He worked closely with a priest named Marius, who wanted Antony to become a priest to help him with his work. Antony preferred a more solitary life of service and joined two hermits who lived near a lake. There he was able to pray and study the Scriptures and also work in his garden. Because many visitors wanted to meet him, he retreated to a more solitary place in the Alps. Several miracles are attributed to him, and we remember him on December 28.
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SUBJECT TEACHERS TEMPLE TWELVE
CHILDREN'S STORY THE YOUNG JESUS GOES TO THE TEMPLE By Joe Sarnicola FOLLOWING the laws established by Moses, Joseph and Mary brought their infant son Jesus to Jerusalem, where they presented him to the Lord in the temple. While they were there a man named Simeon entered the temple. He was a very devout man, and the Lord had revealed to him that he would not die before seeing the promised Messiah. He held Jesus in his arms and declared, "Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation." Joseph and Mary could not hide their surprise at the words of Simeon. Then Simeon blessed them and gave a prophecy to Mary: "Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted ... so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed." At the same time in the temple was an old woman named Anna, who prayed night and day and fasted often. When she saw Jesus she also came forward to give thanks to God for him. And she told anyone who would listen that a very special child had been born in Israel. Every year after that, for the feast of Passover, Joseph and Mary brought Jesus to Jerusalem. When Jesus was 12 years old, he remained in Jerusalem, but his parents thought that he was with friends or relatives who had travelled with them. When Jesus could not be found, his parents returned to Jerusalem to look for him. When they finally found Jesus, he was with some of the teachers. He had been asking them questions, and many who heard what he said were amazed by the wisdom of such a young boy. But his parents were not amazed. They were angry. Mary said to him, "Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety." With a puzzled expression on his face, Jesus asked his mother, "Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?" In spite of the many times when God had spoken to Mary or Joseph about how special their son was going to be, they did not always understand. Mary tried to keep these moments in her memory. And Jesus went with his parents when they returned to Nazareth, and he was a loving and obedient son to them. READ MORE ABOUT IT: Luke 2
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THE WORLD
Let the true message of Christmas Bishop Saunders Christmas message 2009
E
verybody loves a story. Indeed, our Christmas time is littered with good stories. Some of them are fanciful, fantastic and simply engaging. The red-nosed Rudolph and Santa Claus, the elves who help Santa, the ginger-bread men and a host of other ancillary characters are popular players in the story telling stakes that combine to wish us all reetings for the festive season. Lukes account of the birth time of Jesus, referred to as the Infancy . Narratives, is based on a very well docu- . mented historical event and, as stories go, it is, as they say, a ripping good yarn. It is filled with exciting images of singing angels and adoring shepherds, a nasty king and generous Wise Men, guiding stars that burn bright in the evening sky, a caring father and a devoted mother. The main setting is a stable; in fact the courtyard of a stable, where a manger serves as a cradle and the child is robed in plain, functional everyday cloth. This is the beginning of the story of God's entering into humanity so as to be one with His people, demonstrating His love for them and His unity with them. This is the first chapter of a life that will be lived out in the service of others; a life which will eventually lead to the supreme act of loving redemption poured out by Jesus the Christ in his suffering, death and resurrection, all I for the benefit of the whole human race. Efforts to trivialise the Christmas story and its importance are forever present and we ought to be on guard against any efforts to diminish its sacred beauty. The commercial world, especially in the West, pursues the marketplace values they place on Christmas with great vigour. It is difficult for people to resist the temptation to be possessed by their possessions yet surely, if we are serious about our Faith, that is what we are called to do. For Jesus, there was no room at the Inn but on the cross he found a spacious home! This Christmas story, because it is true and mighty, must be told to children and adults alike. It is not the sort of news to be kept to ourselves. It is Good News for all humanity. Our beautiful Christmas liturgies, pageants and carol singing call us to worship and to a vital appreciation of the holy story. It is through prayer and the goodness of God that we are graced and filled with hope. Our family homes should be !places where the Christmas message of faith will shine for us: bedtime stories from a children's Bible, a joyful Rosary remembering the birth of Our Lord, a suitable Grace before the family meal, a reading from scripture at the end of dinner, a determination in justice to share what we have with others, a commitment to be visible witnesses to Christ, .?a willingness to forgive others and to strive for perfect charity in our lives, a careful use of trappings and gifts all of these are measures which ensure that the sanctity of Christmas will be revered and prayerfully embraced by all. :' May your family include in its story something made visible because, . ' f the true message of Christmas. sk that God's choicest blessings will accompany you and all you know and love this festive season.
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BISHOP CHRISTOPHER SAUNDERS Bishop of Broome
December 25 2009, The Record
Bishop resigns over abuse handling Irish Bishop resigns over his handling of clerical sexual abuse BY MICHAEL KELLY Catholic News Service DUBLIN, Ireland - Bishop Donal Murray of Limerick has resigned after weeks of pressure over his handling of clerical sexual abuse when he served in the Dublin Archdiocese. Speaking on December 17 after the Vatican announced that Pope Benedict XVI had accepted his resignation, Bishop Murray told a large congregation in St John's Cathedral in Limerick, "I humbly apologise once again to all who were abused as little children. "I know full well that my resignation cannot undo the pain that survivors of abuse have suffered in the past and continue to suffer each day," he told the congregation which included many priests of the diocese. A government investigation found that Bishop Murray, who served as auxiliary Bishop of the Dublin Archdiocese from 1982 to 1996, failed to investigate allegations of abuse against a priest and called his action "inexcusable:' The findings from the investigation, published on November 26 in the Murphy Report, looked at the handling of some 325 abuse claims in the Archdiocese in the years 1975-2004. The commission in charge of the investigation also found that church leaders had put the avoidance of scandal and the reputation of the institution before the rights of victims. Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin welcomed Bishop Murray's resignation, saying in a statement: "I appreciate the personal difficulty and pressure he has been under:' "Responsibility must be taken by all who hold a position of authority and collective responsibility," the statement said. The Archbishop also acknowledged that "serious difficulties of structure and communication at the management level" of the Archdiocese existed and promised that "radical reform" across the Archdiocese, including the area of child protection, would be undertaken. Immediately after the report's publication, Bishop Murray rejected calls for his resignation. However, Cardinal Sean Brady of Armagh, Northern Ireland, president of the Irish Bishops' conference, publicly called on the embattled Bishop on December 5 to "do the right thing" and resign. The following day Bishop Murray travelled to Rome and met with officials from the Vatican's Congregation to the Doctrine of the Faith to tender his resignation to Pope Benedict XVI. Speaking in Rome, Jesuit Fr Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, said Bishop Murray "presented his resignation on his own initiative:' In his remarks, Bishop Murray said he had heard from numerous abuse survivors and some asked
Above, boys work with wood in a shop at the Artane Industrial School in Dublin, Ireland, in this undated photo contained in a 2,600 page report released May 20 by the Commission to Inquire Into Child Abuse. The report states that both physical and sexual abuse occurred at the school which was run by the Christian Brothers from 1870 to 1969 and had up to 830 male students. Rlght, Irish Bishop Donal Murray of Limerick has resigned after weeks of pressure over his handling of clerical sexual abuse when he served in the Dublin Archdiocese. The Vatican announced on December 17 that the Pope had accepted his resignation. PHOTOS: CNS/COMMISSION TO INQUIRE INTO CHILD ABUSE/ COURTESY OF THE IRISH CATHOLIC
him to resign while others urged him to stay on. "A Bishop is meant to be a person who seeks to lead and inspire all the people of the diocese in living as a community united in the truth and love of Christ:' he said. "I asked the Holy Father to allow me to resign and to appoint a new Bishop to the diocese because I believe that my presence will create difficulties for some of the survivors who must have first place in our thoughts and prayers. "To all survivors of abuse, I repeat that my primary concern is to assist in every way that I can, on their journey towards finding closure and serenity," Bishop Murray said. His announcement was followed by a holy hour of guided prayer for abuse victims. Bishop Murphy's decision to step down is expected to put further pressure on four other Irish Bishops who also are mentioned in the report. Auxiliary Bishops Eamonn Walsh and Raymond Field, both of Dublin, Bishop James Moriarity of Kildare and Leighlin and Bishop Martin Drennan of Galway and Kilmacduagh have resisted calls for their resignation, insisting that they have done nothing wrong. The Irish Catholic newspaper reported
on December 17 that Bishop Nloriarity, an auxiliary Bishop in Dublin between 1991 and 2002, has indicated he may be ready to step down. "My position is simple:' Bishop Moriarity said in a statement. "I am 73 years of age and am obliged to tender my resignation when I turn 75. "If it will serve the Church and the victims for me to go sooner I will do that:" Bishop Moriarity was criticised in the Murphy Report for an incident involving a priest who abused children who were patients at Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children. Archbishop Martin said he would be meeting with the four Bishops in January. Bishop Murray's resignation comes as Irish Catholics are awaiting a pastoral letter from Pope Benedict XVI on the issue. The Pope promised such a letter after a December 4 Summit with leaders from the Irish Catholic Church at the Vatican. The letter will herald a "significant structural reform" of the Church in Ireland, Archbishop Martin said.
Irish priest jailed for two years for abusing altar server Irish priest to be jailed for two years for abusing altar server 'about 70 times,' Bishop handling criticised BY CIAN Monov Catholic News Service DUBLIN, Ireland - The priest at the centre of the child abuse case that led to the December 17 resignation of Bishop Donal Murray of Limerick will spend two years in jail for sexually assaulting a young altar server. Fr Thomas Naughton pleaded guilty in Bray Circuit Court on December 16 to five charges of indecent assault on the boy when he was assigned to a parish in Valleymount, southeast of Dublin, between 1982 and 1984. The abuse, which started when the victim was six years old, was described by Judge
Michael O'Shea as "systematic, shocking and horrific:' The court heard that the survivor was abused by the St Patrick's Missionary Society priest "about 70 times" and that the victim, now an adult, continues to undergo counselling for sexual addiction and has tried taking his life in the past. The maximum sentence for indecent assault in Ireland is ten years, but because the 72 year old priest is in ill health, the court sentenced him to three years' imprisonment on each of the five charges. The judge suspended 12 months of each sentence and ordered that they be served concurrently. Prosecutor Paul Murray told the court that Fr Naughton told police he could not remember specific incidents of abuse but they were likely to have happened. When Fr Naughton was convicted in 1998 of indecently assaulting altar servers in Artane, near Dublin, he was given a three year jail sentence that was later reduced by
six months. He had lived under strict supervision at the headquarters of St Patrick's Missionary Society in Kilteagan after he was released and was barred from celebrating Mass and wearing clerical garb. The recently published Murphy Report, which investigated how complaints of abuse were handled by the Dublin Archdiocese between 1975 and 2004, described as "inexcusable" the failure by Bishop Murray, who served as Auxiliary Bishop of the Dublin Archdiocese from 1982 to 1996, to investigate concerns about Fr Naughton's behaviour after the allegations of abuse surfaced. Reacting to the sentencing, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin said in a statement: that "Tom Naughton was an abuser who damaged the lives of many innocent young people. "I hope those involved in today's proceedings will find some solace and justice in his having to serve a jail sentence for his crimes," Archbishop Martin said in the statement.
December 25 2009, The Record
Page 19
THE WORLD
Canada prelate apologises Pope changes for law Canon for clergy abuse scandal deacons, marriages
Canadian Bishop urges victims to come forward as report is released BY DEBORAH GYAPONG Catholic News Service
OTTAWA - Bishop Paul-Andre Durocher of Alexandria-Cornwall, Ontario, apologised for the clergy's sexual abuse in his diocese and urged remaining survivors to come forward. His public statement came as the Cornwall Inquiry, which looked into the response of public institutions to decades of sexual abuse allegations that first became public in 1992, was released at a December 15 news conference. Led by Normand Glaude, an Ontario court justice, the four year inquiry offers more than 200 recommendations for public agencies and the Church on dealing with abuse cases. "We know that there were some appalling occasions a few decades ago when people in authority, including priests, sexually abused young people: Bishop Durocher told reporters. "I have had the occasion a number of times to listen first hand to the painful stories of survivors of sexual abuse and have been shaken by their testimony. "On behalf of the Catholic diocese that I lead,I want to apologise to you for the suffering and indignity caused by those in a position of trust and authority who have robbed you of your innocence. "That should never have hap-
Bishop Durocher, Ontario
pened. Period:' Bishop Durocher also invited sexual abuse survivors to continue meeting with him in order "to engage in any steps that will lead to healing and reconciliation." The Bishop welcomed Glaude's recommendations for ongoing healing and reconciliation in the community that could cost the province another $9 million. The Cornwall Inquiry failed, however, to put to rest rumours of a paedophile ring operating in the industrial city on the St Lawrence River. "I am not making a pronouncement on whether a ring existed or not," wrote Glaude in his 1,600 par report. 'It is not within my mandate to say what would have come from this information had it been explored more fully:' Glaude's mandate instead focused on the response to decades of sexual abuse allegations against public institutions, including the local police, Ontario Provincial Police, schools, Children's Aid
Society, and the AlexandriaCornwall Diocese. "It was well known that there were connections between some of the alleged perpetrators and that there was some evidence that certain alleged victims had been passed between abusers," Glaude wrote, noting that most of what he heard had not been proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Bishop Durocher said he, like many others, had expectations of the Glaude's commission that it was not set up to meet. "He (Glaude) does say there is no evidence to support a broadbased network that sought to suppress the investigation into allegations of sexual abuse," the Bishop said, adding that Glaude's report contained no surprises, though it still needs to be studied. "The findings of misconduct were those which we had recognised," he said. Glaude offered 25 recommendations for the diocese including better record keeping of abuse allegations; better training for prevention; better screening of volunteers and seminary candidates; and a written policy that no priest who has committed sexual misconduct be transferred to another diocese or religious order. Glaude recommended that Bishop Durocher ask the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops to develop a national protocol for dealing with sexual abuse. Such a protocol should include the sharing of information among dioceses about abuse allegations, a policy of not transferring priests and a prohibition against confidentiality clauses in settlements with victims.
Ecology policies 'misguided' if humans ignored Meeting new ambassadors, Pope underlines tie between ecology, morality VATICAN CITY (CNS) - Pope Benedict XVI took his message on the moral obligation to protect human life and protect the environment directly to the representatives of eight governments in Europe, Africa and Asia. Welcoming new ambassadors from Denmark, Uganda, Sudan, Kenya, Kazakhstan, Bangladesh, Finland and Latvia to the Vatican on December 17, Pope Benedict said, "The continued degradation of the environment is a direct threat to the survival of humanity and human development, and it may even directly threaten peace between individuals and peoples:' The Pope presented each ambassador with a special message for his country and then addressed all eight ambassadors together, highlighting the Church's concern for environmental protection, particularly as it relates to safeguarding human life and dignity, eliminating poverty and promoting peace. "Creation is the precious gift God has given to men and women. They are its administrators and must recognise all the consequences of this responsibility:' the Pope told the group. Pope Benedict said real progress in safeguarding creation and promoting the dignity and sacredness of human life will require a
change of heart and behaviour by all people. "Indeed, the good of the human person does not lie in the ever more rampant use and unlimited accumulation of goods - consumption and accumulation, which are reserved for the few and proposed as models for the masses:' he said. While religions have an obligation to help their members embrace such a change of heart, he said, governments also have a role to play in promoting solidarity with the poor and ensuring a well-managed, but equal access to the goods of the earth. In his message to Danish ambassador Hans Klingenberg, the Pope praised Denmark's leading efforts to protect the environment, but insisted that ideologies promoting ecology are misguided if they do not recognise the central importance of the human person. Too often, Pope Benedict said, such ideologies do not respect the God-given dignity of human life and of marriage based on the union of one man and one woman open to having children. Addressing Alpo Rusi, Finland's new ambassador, the Pope said the Catholic Church and other mainline religious groups are making an invaluable contribution to society when they "draw attention to certain values that are in danger of being eroded through the process of secularisation." The Pope said he understood how much pressure governments face from groups lobbying "in the name of tolerance for acceptance of an ever wider range of
viewpoints and lifestyles, but, as I have often pointed out, the virtue of tolerance is not served by the sacrifice of truth, particularly the truth concerning the dignity of the human person:' In his message to Francis Butagira of Uganda, the Pope expressed hopes for a final and lasting resolution of violence in the northern part of the country where the rebel Lord's Resistance Army has been sowing terror for decades, especially by kidnapping children and forcing them to fight or to serve as sex slaves. Concern for the continuing violence in Darfur was at the centre of the Pope's message to Sulieman Mohamed Mustafa, the new ambassador from Sudan. Sudan's natural and human resources will lead to prosperity only "when the nation's citizens live in a land where harmony and goodwill prevail on the basis of the just resolution of existing conflicts," the Pope said. In his messages to the ambassadors from Bangladesh and Kazakhstan, the Pope particularly highlighted the importance of interreligious dialogue and respect for religious freedom in promoting peace and assisting the weakest members of society. "Showing a preferential love for the poor and the ailing, embracing the weak as precious in the sight of God: these are the ways by which society is infused with the breath of divine goodness that sustains the life of every creature," he told Abdul Hannan, Bangladesh's new ambassador to the Vatican.
Deacon Rodrigo Tomala, of the Neocatechumenal Way, is embraced by Perth Auxiliary Bishop Donald Sproxton after he ordained him to the diaconate on November 22. Pope Benedict XVI has changed Canon law to clarify the role of deacons and to remove an ambiguity about the marriage status of some Catholics. PHOTO: ROBERT HIINI
Pope orders changes to clarify Canon law on deacons, some marriages BY CINDY WOODEN Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI has made changes in Church law to clarify the role of deacons and to remove an ambiguity about the marriage status of some Catholics. The modifications were ordered by the Pope in a document, Omnium in Mente, ("In the Mind of All") published on December 15 in Latin and Italian by the Vatican. Two rewritten canons in the Code of Canon Law reinforced the distinction between the role of governance belonging to Bishops and priests and the role of service belonging to deacons. Changes to three other canons removed an exemption from some rules on marriage for Catholics who have formally declared they are no longer part of the Church. Jesuit Fr Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, said the changed language on deacons more clearly reflects the doctrinal position of the Church, especially the teaching of the Second Vatican Council regarding the permanent diaconate. The current Code of Canon Law, promulgated by Pope John Paul II in 1984, spoke of three grades of the sacrament of orders - the episcopate, the presbyterate and the diaconate - by which ministers fulfill "the functions of teaching, sanctifying and governing," each according to his grade. The new wording introduced by Pope Benedict mirrors the explanation of the roles of the
Church's ordained ministers presented in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which says that the task of governing on behalf of Christ, the head of the Church, is proper only to Bishops and priests. The new version adds the phrase: "Those who are constituted in the order of the episcopate or the presbyterate receive the mission and faculty to act in the person of Christ the head, while deacons are enabled to serve the people of God in the diaconate of the liturgy, the word and charity:' In a commentary published with the Popes document, Archbishop Francesco Coccopalmerio, president of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, said the changes to the three canons involving marriage simply remove the mention of Catholics who have made a formal declaration of leaving the Church. The 1984 Code of Canon Law automatically exempted such Catholics from some requirements, such as seeking formal permission from a Bishop to marry a non-Catholic or a nonChristian. The exemptions were seen as a way to protect the validity of the marriages of people the Catholic Church considers members of the Church, but who obviously would not follow all Church procedures because they don't consider themselves Catholics anymore, Archbishop Coccopalmerio said. But the exemptions gave rise to a variety of different interpretations and created enormous confusion, the Archbishop said. The Council for Legislative Texts began studying the issue formally in 1997 and even then most people consulted recommended the exemptions simply be erased, the Archbishop said.
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December 25 2009, The Record
THE PARISH
Unearthing Ukrainian Church history The History of the Ukrainian Catholic Church in Western Australia (1947 — 2002) REVIEWED BY DR ANDREW THOMAS KANIA
1
n the Galician city of Jaroslaw in 1933, a Polish mother of five, Francziska, is cooking in her kitchen. She is married to a Ukrainian man, Ivan, whose family have been prominent Eastern Catholics of their Eparchy. A knock is heard at the door. Francziska opens the door to find a Ukrainian monk standing there. She knows who he is, for he has come many times to escort her only son, Vladimir, to church. The little boy has been specially selected - for he has an excellent voice - to be trained as a future cantor; but as he is too young to journey through the city to the Ukrainian Catholic Pro-Cathedral by himself, the monks come to the Kania family home so as to take him to singing practice. Some nights he sings with the monks through to the hours of the morning. Sometimes he wakes up in the Pro-Cathedral, to find that one of the monks has placed a spare monastic robe on him so
Vladimir Kania with his book
as to keep the little child warm. He is being trained to carry out an important role in the future of the Church. Nearly 80 years later - that little boy lying on a pew covered by a monk's robe in a darkened Cathedral, wrote a book, an important book. As many people now know, up until the early 1990s the Ukrainian Catholic Church was the largest
underground Church in the world. The monks and priests who had taken Vladimir to singing practice were, like 5,000 of their brethren, murdered and executed by the Soviet regime; for two reasons, their loyalty to the Pope, and their hope for an independent Ukraine. Prior to vacating his hometown, Vladimir would be assisting on the altar, Auxiliary Eparch of Peremyshl, Hryhorij Lakota, a man who had recommended Vladimir, now a 16 year old boy, to the seminary. Vladimir's father, however, had not given his son permission to enter the priesthood. So there on the altar stood the young acolyte. After the Divine Liturgy, Vladimir knelt before Lakota, and the Eparch blessed him in farewell. The Soviet troops were advancing - and the emasculation of the Ukrainian Catholic Church was to begin. The Kania Family were fleeing westward. Hryhorij Lakota was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 2001 as one of the dozen Ukrainian Church hierarchs executed and quite literally butchered to pieces in Soviet prisons. Eventually, Vladimir and his family arrived in Australia.
On November 8, after 11 years of research, the book written by Vladimir Kania, The History of the Ukrainian Catholic Church in Western Australia (1947 - 2002), was launched. The 1,300 pages that comprise this work detail the beginnings of the Catholic Church in WA and moves on to the arrival of the Ukrainian Catholic refugees fleeing Soviet persecution. Names of the wider Catholic community, such as Archbishop Redmond Prendiville, are blended with names of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, such as Ivan Praszko, to create a portrait of a Church almost destroyed, attempting to take root and refuge in a free nation. The History of the Ukrainian Catholic Church in Western Australia (1947 - 2002) is a text that highlights the strength of character of a people who had bled for their Faith. Under the paternal eye of Archbishop Prendiville and his successors, these people who, like the first members of the early Church had suffered the harshest treatment, would find a place in which to practise freely their Eastern Catholic heritage, coming from out of the catacombs to the light of an Australian sun - under
the shelter of a star-covered sky, and a Southern Cross. Vladimir Kania's book is a major work for the Catholic Church in Australia, coming from out of the post-World War II migrant community - for it is written not only by a man of intellect - but by a man who has known what it means to serve the Church to the point of suffering, and risking ones life for Her. It is a text detailing an undying hope in the heart of the Ukrainian people; a text that bears witness to the fact that as much as can be done by evil to destroy the Church - even the off-cut, the smallest branch can be replanted to grow again; the text is a depiction of a national and spiritual odyssey. Perhaps those who would have been most proud of Vladimir's achievement - aside from his family, friends and community members who were there at the launch earlier this year - would have been those monks who so many years ago, decided to walk through the city streets of Jaroslaw, early in the morning, in order to take a little boy by the hand to teach him and inspire him in how to one day help lead a Church. Imagine, if you can, that image.
Mother and daughter in rare honour at Notre Dame A MOTHER and daughter have received the rare honour of being acknowledged at the same ceremony for different reasons at a December 11 University of Notre Dame Australia awards night at its Fremantle Campus. Its School of Nursing recently held their annual awards night to recognise students who excelled in their studies for the 2009 Academic Year. Also presented on the night were mentor awards, awards for excellence in teaching and presentation of Adjunct Appointments. Alexandra Sutherland, a 2009 Nursing Graduate, and her mother, Adjunct Associate Professor Robyn Sutherland, Director of Nursing at St John of God Hospital Murdoch, both received recognition at the ceremony. Prof Selma Alliex, Dean, School of Nursing, said that this was a unique situation in the School where a mother and daughter were acknowledged at the same ceremony for different reasons. "Aside from awards given to our students by Donors, the School of Nursing has Special Commendation Awards for students who have gone through the course in spite of having to deal with extracurricular or personal commitments during the
2009 Nursing Graduate Alexandra Sutherland and her mother, Adjunct Associate Professor Robyn Sutherland, Director of Nursing at St John of God Hospital Murdoch. PHOTO: COURTESY OF UNDA
course either in relation to themselves or their families. Alexandra Sutherland received one of the Special Commendation Award?' Robyn was appointed an Adjunct Associate Professor in the School of Nursing for her contribution as an inaugural member of the Nursing Advisory Board and her ongoing support for the School of Nursing. "St John of God Hospital Murdoch has always worked very closely with Notre Dame, working collaboratively to facilitate a very high standard ... areyou calledto the Benedictine of nursing education, both at an acaI fe ofdivinepraise andEucharistic demic and clinical prayerfor the Church? practicum level. We have also worked together to achieve innovative solutions to improve the learning experience of nursing students Contact the: both within the Rev Mother Cyril, OSB, Tyburn hospital and at the University," Adjunct Priory, 325 Garfield Road, Prof Associate Riverstone, NSW 2765 Sutherland said. "It has also been www.tyburnconvent.org.uk very rewarding to
A LIFE OF PRAYER
TYBURN NUNS
have been involved on the Nursing Advisory Board of Notre Dame, which has provided advisory support to the School of Nursing, and seen the ongoing development of nursing programs offered, increased opportunities for nursing students, and the high level of industry satisfaction with the quality of nurses who have graduated through the Notre Dame programs?' The ceremony concluded with the passing of the candles from the graduating students to the second year students. Professor Alliex said that the light of the candles symbolised the presence of nurturing". "As nurses, this is practised by providing the best possible care to patients and clients," she said. The Nursing candle was given to UNDA by a Nurse-Theorist, Prof Jean Watson, when she was at UNDA in 2002. "This is the same light we pass on to our graduating students to take with them on their nursing journey. The graduating students then pass this on to our second year students to symbolise the continuation of the burning passion for Nursing:' Prof Alliex said. • UNDA's Fremantle Campus
also graduated over 800 students on December 12 and 13 over four ceremonies. Over 4,500 graduates, guests and staff gathered across the four ceremonies to share in the graduands' celebrations, which also included Mass on the Saturday. At the School of Medicine Graduation on December 11, Vice Chancellor Emeritus Dr Peter Tannock also received an Honorary Doctorate of Laws. His sucessor, Vice Chancellor, Professor Celia Hammond, said the award for her predecessor was for his "enormous contribution to Catholic education and especially for his dedication to Notre Dame Australia" from its inception up until his official retirement in 2008. This year also saw the first graduate of the Pre-Medicine Certificate, Daniella Joyce, who is currently completing her Bachelor of Preventive Health. The Pre-Medicine Certificate is offered to high achieving Notre Dame undergraduate students who demonstrate a desire to study graduate entry Medicine at Notre Dame. Pre-Medicine Course Coordinator, Associate Professor Elizabeth Mortley, said the Pre-Medicine Certificate has been designed to assist the university's undergraduate students in applying for Medicine at Notre Dame, and to instil into prospective future doctors a sense of duty, service, compassion and respect for individuals, their families and communities. At the final graduation ceremony, seven Notre Dame staff members graduated with a Graduate Certificate in University Teaching. Rashmi Watson, Coordinator of Professional Development (Teaching and Learning); Coordinator - Graduate Certificate in University Teaching & Senior Lecturer (Education) said that the staff from Medicine, Arts, Health Sciences and Nursing have benefited from the course which provides both theory and practice to ensure the ongoing quality of the student experience through raised awareness of sound pedagogy.
UNDA surges BY ANTHONY BAR ICH National Reporter THE University of Notre Dame Australia's infant School of Medicine in Sydney had over 900 applicants to its 112 openings, its new Dean has revealed. Leading cardiologist and academic Dr Gerard Carroll, who helped set up the federally funded Rural Clinical School at the University of NSW in the 1990s, said the popularity of a School only two years old and which hasn't even had graduates yet is a testament to its quality. Prof Carroll, former principal of Riverina Cardiology, will lead the Sydney School of Medicine as it expands and enters its third year. The course, which is in its third year, is "very hard to get into'', Dr Carroll said, with students benefiting from UNDA's core curriculum of philosophy and theology which "helps individuals understand what their position is in the world, why they're here and how to deal with general ethical considerations. We're trying to ensure that students understand right from wrong, that medicine is a vocation, and that they are here to serve the community and others," said Prof Carroll, who signed onto a one-year contract. "One can argue that these are Catholic values but some not exclusively so. "We're trying to produce academically excellent and ethical doctors, and the Catholic framework of a Catholic university helps keep in focus much of the idealism that is desirable in medical graduates?'
December 25 2009, The Record
Page 21
FEATURE
How (and why) to return to Confession The Record's cut-out, photocopy and pass-on guide for Advent and Christmas Peace Of Mind
4 Because love means having 13 Mortal sin, unconfessed,
to say you are sorry to the one you love.
5
You will grow in humility, sincerity and self-knowledge.
"Peace on earth!" announce the angels at Christmas. But how and where do we find that peace? Simple: confession. People sometimes wrongly think of confession as a place of judgement and guilt. We have good news: It's a place of healing and peace.
6 Blessed Mother Teresa
The Record:
go to Communion if you have serious sin on your soul and have not asked for forgiveness in confession.
Challenges each reader this Advent and Christmas to go to confession and recommend it to at least one other person. The guide provided here can help. After all, as Pope Benedict X VI said: "The renewal of the Church ... throughout the world depends on the renewal of the Sacrament of Penance."
went. Frequently.
7 Hoping to convert on your
deathbed? That's not very likely. Most likely, you will die as you lived.
8 It is itself a serious sin to
Step 4
Be concise, clear, complete and contrite. You have to confess mortal sins and give a sense of how often. Don't be embarrassed. You're not going to tell the priest anything he hasn't already heard.
Do your penance right away, before leaving the church, if possible.
Step 8
Christ has forgiven and forgotten your sins, and the angels and saints are having a party to celebrate.
"For a sin to be mortal, three conditions must together be met: 'Mortal sin is sin whose object is grave matter and which is also committed with full knowledge and deliberate consent"' (Catechism of the Catholic Church, No 1857).
Grave Matter
What constitutes "grave matter"? Some common sins, according to the Bishops: missing Sunday Mass, sex outside marriage (including pornography and masturbation), serious theft, abortion, defamation of character and purposely getting drunk.
easily lead to depression and anxiety.
9 Don't be scared to death of
Concerns and Answers
10 Be strong. Face your sins;
If God knows everything we do, then how come we have to go to confession?
confession. Be scared of death without confession.
Can't I talk to God directly, not a priest, to get forgiveness? Not according to the Bible. Read John 20:21-23; 2 Corinthians 2:10; and 2 Corinthians 5:18.
deal with them and move on.
You may know your friend broke your iPod, but wouldn't it be aggravating if he knew you knew, but still didn't say, "I'm sorry"?
11 Make sure there are no
Doesn't God forgive no matter what?
unpleasant surprises at your particular judgement or at the Final Judgement.
12 As they leave the confessional, people smile a smile of freedom.
Step 7
Confession Definition
1 The presence of sin can 2
Step 2
Step 3
The priest won't scold you. In fact, if you've had a tough confession, he'll show you extra care. Your penance won't be harsh. Then you'll make an act of contrition. Look in a prayer book for a longer one, or simply say: "Jesus, I am truly sorry for my sins and, with your grace, I will try to sin no more."
Examine your conscience ... using the Ten Commandments or an available guide. You have the choice of facing the priest (if he offers the option) or speaking through a screen.
Step 5
Step 6
Step 1
There are no special words you need to say. Greet the priest, and tell him how long it has been since your last con-
Here's some reasons why:
You shower to be clean and show respect for those around you. Cleansing your soul makes you better to be around, too!
"causes exclusion from Christ's Kingdom and the eternal death of hell, for our freedom has the power to make choices forever, with no turning back" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, No 1861).
fession. If it's been a while, he'll help you.
The priest will listen to your sins and will never tell a soul on pain of losing his soul. Priests even learn to forget what they hear.
If we think of sin as merely breaking rules, it is hard to understand why God can't just "look the other way." But sin is real; it hurts us and makes us distant from him — and unable to enter heaven. We can only be restored if we confess.
Confession just gives people the idea that it's all right to sin as long as you're sorry later.
If a man is confessing drunkenness while he has plans with his mates to go barhopping and get drunk again the coming weekend, he can't be forgiven. He has to have decided to stop. Confession stops sins; it doesn't start them.
L.
J
WhyIam Catholic: because Confession Can Change the World Posted by Webster To set this world spinning the right way round, I think we Catholics might need to do just one thing: Start going to confession again. Then take our kids to confession. Once a month would be OK, once a week even better. Don't believe me? Listen to me brag about my fourth grade CCD class. I'm sure you could change the world if you could just get your kids alone to go to confession, as my fourth graders did today. Stand and watch as each of them prepares in silence, goes nervously through the door into the sacristy, and comes out again with a huge grin and a "whew," then settles down on a kneeler to say penance. You yourself would start going to confession again just because the whole thing is so impressive, so moving—and the kids look so happy when it's over. Last week, we prepared for the Sacrament of Reconciliation by going over what you say and conducting a collective examination of conscience.Igave each child a piece of paper and a pencil, read them a series of questions,
then told them after each question to write down any sins that occurred to them. Of course, their notes were "for their eyes only." Here are some of the questions: DoIthink of God and speak to Him by praying each day? DoIuse the Lord's name with reverence and love? DoIattend Mass on Sunday or on Saturday afternoon? Do I obey my parents and teachers quickly and cheerfully, or must Ibe reminded many times? DoIobey the rules of home and school? AmIkind to everyone? DidIhit, kick, or in any way hurt others on purpose? DoImake fun of or say mean things to anyone? DoItell the truth? There were more such questions on the list given to us CCD teachers to help our students prepare. My kids have never been any-
thing like this serious in any previous class. These kids chatter for a living. Suddenly, not a word. Last week, as I read the questions, they were hunched over their crib sheets like law school graduates over a bar exam. It was that intense. Biting their lips. Biting their erasers. Jiggling their feet nervously. And barely saying a word. Which is about as amazing as an entire amusement park going stone silent all at once. I was very proud of the 14, out of 16, who showed up today. They could have blown it off, found any excuse to miss it. But I honestly think they wanted to come, even when they thought they didn't. Even C, who was waiting nervously in his mother's car as I walked up to the parish school building, where classes meet. His mum said he was nervous about confession and had lost his workbook for the second time. I crouched down to speak through the car window and tell C that when I had my first confession two years ago, I was nervous as heck.I think I even used the word heck. When attendance had been taken, Fr
Barnes led the way to the chapel in the convent next door to the parish school. He told the boys to remove their hats when entering the convent and showed boys and girls how to genuflect on their right knees before sitting in their pews. He asked them to be silent and prepare themselves while waiting their turn, and most were pretty good about keeping silence. Denise, the other fourth grade teacher, and I counselled kids who looked especially nervous. Otherwise, there was that amazing, eerie phenomenon of 30 nine year old children sitting quietly for half an hour. As each child came out of the sacristy, he or she pulled down the kneeler at their pew and said their penance. Then we walked back to our classrooms. I asked the children if anyone felt worse now than they did before confession. No one raised a hand. Who felt better? Everyone. Every single child. Each child had an opportunity to talk about the experience. Then we ended with a prayer. From the blog www.whyimotholic.com.
PANORAMA
Page 22
December 25 2009, The Record
A roundup of events in the Archdiocese
Panorama entries must be in by 12pm Monday. Contributions may be emailed to administration@therecord.com.au, faxed to 9227 7087, or mailed to PO Box 75, Leederville WA 6902. Submissions over 55 words will be edited. Inclusion is limited to 4 weeks. Events charging over $10 will be put into classifieds and charged accordingly. The Record reserves the right to decline or modify any advertisement. Thursday December 24 TRADITIONAL LATIN MASS OF CHRISTMAS 8.30pm at Good Shepherd Parish, 42 Streich Avenue, Kelmscott. Fulfils Christmas Day obligation. All welcome. CHRISTMAS LATIN MASSES 11pm at St Anne's Church, 11 Hehir Street, Belmont. Rosary and Carols followed by Midnight Mass. Dawn Mass, 8am at St Anne's Church, 11 Hehir Street, Belmont. Day Mass will be celebrated at St John's Pro-Cathedral, Victoria Avenue, Perth at 10.15am. All welcome. Enq: Fr Michael Rowe 9444 9604. Saturday December 26 NOVENA DEVOTIONS TO OUR LADY OF GOOD HEALTH, VAILANKANNI 5pm at Holy Trinity Church, Embleton. Vigil Mass 6pm. Enq: George 9272 1374 or Office 9271 5528. Friday January 1 TRADITIONAL LATIN MASS 12 noon, at Good Shepherd Parish, 42 Streich Avenue, Kelmscott. All welcome. Friday January 1 THANKSGIVING MASS 7pm at St Peter's Church, 93 Wood Street, Inglewood. All welcome. Please bring a plate.
Friday January 8 HEALING MASS FOR CANCER SUFFERERS 7.30pm Pater Noster Church, Evershed and Marmion Streets, Myaree. Healing Mass with the Sacrament of Anointing and Veneration of the Relic of St Peregrine. A light supper will be provided. Enq: Father Roy Pereira 0417 936 449. Saturday January 9 ST PADRE PIO DAY OF PRAYER 8.30am at St Brigid's Church, Morrison Road and Great Northern Highway, Midland. Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, Rosary, Divine Mercy, silent adoration and Benediction. Holy Mass at 1lam, celebrant Fr Tiziano Bogoni using St Padre Pio Liturgy. Confession available. 12 noon BYO lunch to share. Tea and coffee provided. Enq: Des 6278 1540.
LEAGUE OF THE ROSARY Bring your family together in the Christmas spirit of Christian prayer of the Joyful Rosary at Christmas and then read Luke Chapters 1 and 2. 2010 JOSEPHITE - MARY MACKILLOP CALENDAR NOW ON SALE Be inspired by Mary MacKillop's inspirational quotes. Order your calendar by phone on 9334 0999 or mriddlerOsosjwa.org.au.
Sunday January 3 DIVINE MERCY 1.30pm at St Francis Xavier Church, 25 Windsor Street, Perth. An afternoon with Jesus and Mary, with Fr Andre Maria FFI on The Epiphany and the Three Wise Men. Refreshments later. Enq: John 9457 7771.
B ARCHBISHOP
Every Sunday PILGRIM MASS - SHRINE OF THE VIRGIN OF THE REVELATION 2pm at Shrine, 36 Chittering Road, Bullsbrook. Commencing with Rosary followed by Benediction. Reconciliation is available before every celebration. Anointing of the Sick administered during Mass every second Sunday of the month. Pilgrimage in honour of the Virgin of the Revelation, last Sunday of the month. Side entrance to the church and shrine open daily between 9am and 5pm. Enq: SACRI 9447 3292. 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.
y
Every Thursday HOLY HOUR Commencing llam to 12noon on January 7, at Sts John and Paul Church, Pinetree Gully Road, Willetton. Please come and pray for a vocation in the parish. Enq: John 9457 7771. First Friday of the Month THE ALLIANCE, TRIUMPH AND REIGN OF THE TWO HEARTS 9pm at St Bernadette's Church, Glendalough. There will be Eucharistic Adoration, Rosaries, hymns and reflections etc. Concludes with midnight Mass in honour and thanksgiving of the coming reign of the United Hearts of Jesus and Mary. Enq: Fr Doug Harris 9444 6131 or Dorothy 9342 5845. First Friday of the Month COMMUNION OF REPARATION ALL NIGHT VIGIL 7pm to lam at Corpus Christi Church, Lochee Street, Mosman Park. Vigil will have Mass, Rosary, Confession and Adoration with Fr Bogoni. Enq: Vicky 0400 282 357.
Tuesday January 26 DIVINE MERCY PILGRIMAGE TO ST ANNE'S BIN DOON 12 noon BYO lunch. 1pm, Holy Hour and Exposition, followed by Eucharistic Procession, Rosary and Benediction. 2.30pm Holy Mass, later Divine Mercy Chaplet, Consecration, Blessing of New Divine Mercy Image from Cracow (touched the relic of St Faustina) and veneration of Cross. Tea provided. 4.30pm return to Perth. Transport call Francis 9459 3873 or 0404 893 877. Enq: Lawrie 9576 0491, 0448 833 472 or Fr Paul 9571 1839. Friday Jan 29 MEDJUGORJE EVENING OF PRAYER 7 to 9pm at St Bernadette's Parish, Jugan and Leeder Street, Glendalough. All are warmly invited to an evening of prayer with Our Lady Queen of Peace. Evening consists of Adoration, Rosary, Benediction and Holy Mass. Free DVD on Fr Don Calloway. Enq: Eileen 9402 2480.
Saturday January 2 DAY WITH MARY 9am to 5pm at St Joseph Church, 22 Hamilton Street, Bassendean. 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. Enq: Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate 9250 8286.
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.
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.
Fourth Sunday of the Month HOLY HOUR FOR VOCATIONS TO THE PRIESTHOOD AND RELIGIOUS LIFE 2 to 3pm at Morley Parish Church, 47 Wellington Road, Morley. Includes Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. Our prayers are powerful in assisting those called to the priesthood and Religious life to hear with a disciple's ear the call of God for them. Come and pray. All welcome. Enq: 9276 8500. Every Monday LUNCHTIME MEDITATION Christian Meditation comes to the city. 12.15 to 12.45pm, Wesley Uniting Church, corner William and Hay Streets, Perth. Ecumenical Christian meditation, in the tradition of the desert fathers and mothers. All welcome. Enq: christianmeditation0iinet.net.au, www.christianmeditationaustralia.org or 9444 5810.
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 Thursday TAIZE PRAYER 7.30 to 8.30pm at Our Lady of Grace Parish, 3 Kitchener Street, North Beach. All parishioners and friends are invited for prayer and meditation using songs from Taize. In stillness and candlelight we make our pilgrimage. Spend some quiet time with the Lord. There will be no meeting in January.
HICKEY Perth, WA
Second Saturday of the Month DIVINE MERCY HEALING MASS 2.30pm at St Francis Xavier Church, 25 Windsor Street, Perth. Main Celebrant Fr Marcellinus Meilak OFM. Reconciliation available. Refreshments provided later. Enq: John 9457 7771. ACTS 2 COLLEGE OF MISSION AND EVANGELISATION -2010 ENROLMENTS/ SCHOLARSHIPS Now open for full and part-time study at Acts 2 College for Semester 1. 16 week courses commence week of March 1, 2010. All courses may be taken towards a Certificate IV in Christian Ministry - national code 51881. Acts 2 College has available one full scholarship and three part scholarships for study at the College in 2010. The full scholarship is through an essay competition; the part-time are based on financial hardship. Enq: Jane 9202 6859. 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. SACRED HEART OF JESUS - PIONEERS Any Pioneers to the Sacred Heart of Jesus out there in society, we invite you to attend if you would like to meet other members in prayer and reflection. Enq: 9457 7771.
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"The whole Bible points to Jesus as the one who saves, the one who tells us of God's love and the one we are called to check it out now! at: www.therecord.com.au follow and the one who Only offers eternal life. My hope is that many lives will be a pilgrim's guide to postage changed by meeting Jesus Don't miss out! in the pages of the Bible and that they will respond to His call without hesitaAvailable from The Record Bookshop, contact Caroline on (08) 9227 7080 or via: bookshop@therecord.com.au tion or compromise"
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ACROSS Prayer time 5 Sacrament number 8 The Dead and the Red 9 "...world without . Amen" 1 1 Paul preached in Minor 1 3 Type of cross 1 4 Direction from Bethlehem to t he Jordan 1 5 Home of St Rose 1 6 Wedding vow 1 7 Approval word 20 US state where you find the Diocese of Fairbanks 22 Priest 27 One studying to become Catholic 28 Palm product 29 Hosea, formerly will 30 32 "Son of" in Hebrew 3 3 "...and the secret of his heart will be laid ." (1 Cor 14:25) 3 5 Padre 36 Dies 3 7 Number of Persons in God 38 Chief apostle
38 www.wordgamesforcatholics.com
1 2 The is willing, but the flesh is weak 18 be with you 1 9 Husband of Sarai 2 1 Symbol of hope 23 Declare a saint 24 Title for clergy 2 5 "Feed my _ _." (Jn 21:17) 26 Title for Jesus 3 1 "On the third day he again" 3 2 "...___ of my bones and flesh of my . . ." (Gn 2:23) 3 4 Peter cut this off the soldier of the high priest
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DOWN 1 St Peter's, for one 3 Refrains from meat 4 Prie5 Evil deeds Dolorosa 6 7 Brother of Moses 1 0 Lucifer
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27 S THE HOLY FAMILY Feast Wh 1Sam 1:20-22.24-28 lam the woman Ps 83:2-3.5-6.9-10 Hear my prayer lin 3:1-2.21-24 God's children Lk 2:41-52 My father's affairs
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The will of God Glory and power Filled with wisdom
31 Th St Sylvester I, Pope (0) Rivals of Christ Wh 11[12:18-21 Ps95:1-2.11-13 Bless God's name in 1:1-18 The Word was God
28 M The Holy Innocents, martyrs Feast Red lin 1:5-2:2 Live in the light Ps 123:2-5.7-8 In the Lord's name Mt 2:13-18 Escape into Egypt
1 F MARY, MOTHER OF GOD (Solemnity) Wh Num 6:22-27 The Lord Bless you Everlasting blessing Ps 66:2-3.5-6.8 Gal 4:4-7 Adopted children Everyone astonished Lk 2:16-21
29 T St Thomas a Becket, Bishop, martyr (0) Wh 1in2:3-11 Sure we are in God Ps 95:1-3.5-6 Sing a new song Lk 2:22-35 Rites performed
2 S Ss Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops, doctors of the church (M) Anointed with truth Wh lin 2:22-28 Shout to the Lord Ps 92:1-4 John as witness in 1:19-28
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