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PARISHES FIRED UP: WYD coordinator presents plan for Perth Page 2
A DECADE OF ADORATION: Dianella celebrates the highs and lows Page 5
CHINA'S BABY BLUES: Government officially recognises crisis Page 9
Catholic mission opens door to WYD In preparation: Fr Donald Hughes OMI and seminarian Louis Saw Wai Lwin.
Seminary grows • By Sylvia Defendi
Sharing the joy of faith: Those who would have previously been unable to attend WYD may have a chance. PHOTO ONS • By Anthony Barich
Perth's Catholic Mission office is calling on Catholics in schools and universities around WA to help youth from third-world countries attend World Youth Day next year. During the term breaks this year, youth from schools, parishes, Catholic universities and colleges will engage in "immersion experiences" with indigenous communities in Australia and throughout Africa, South Asia, South East Asia and the Indian Ocean Islands. Next year, they will then host youth from the communities they visited and travel with them to WYD. Perth's Catholic Mission director Francis Leong said the initiative helps to realise in students what Catholic faith is based on - a sense of mission. "The students are entering into the reality of another culture and seeing what Christ is saying to them through the eyes of other less privileged people, to be welcomed by them, then in response help to incul-
turate them into our Western society," Mr Leong said. "It is a pilgrimage of humbly going into homes of poor people and then inviting them into your own home. This helps to build world peace and understanding." He said money, logistics and even the language barrier should not be a reason to say this cannot be done, as it is something the Spirit calls us to do. Once individuals, parishes, schools, colleges or universities contact Perth's Catholic Mission office, Mr Leong will establish whether the group the person is from has an existing relationship with the country they want to travel to, then the logistics will be sorted out from there. If there is no relationship in place, Catholic Mission will contact overseas missionary congregations - bishops or missionaries linked to Perth - and ask if logistics like airfares and board can be worked out. Mr Leong can then give the students the names of local Catholic businesses, known either to him or by networking with other Catholic
WHEN VOWS BREAK
organisations, to ask for sponsorships. This can have an evangelising effect on the business community. "Then we let the students loose imbued with this Spirit on the businesses and see what they can do," Mr Leong said. "Even if they are unsuccessful, it may plant the seed in the businessman that there is a bigger world out there that is in need, beyond their own business environment. "Even an attempt to make this happen will have repercussions for the Church here and universally; for the visiting and receiving countries, and all individuals involved." Catholic Mission is there as a guide to help bring as many youth from around the world to WYD as possible. "It's not just for the rich youth of the world," Mr Leong said. However, there is every chance that many parishes, schools and universities already have such initiatives in place. The Catholic Mission office can give advice and support to make it happen. Catholk mission can be contacted on 9422 7933, or by emailing cm@perthcatholicorg.au.
INDEX
Vista this week examines marital infidelity What happens when a marriage partner is bretrayed and how does healing start.
Vista 1-3
Editorial The family is the future The World Catholics in Welfare Classifieds/Panorama
- Page 8 - Vista 4 - Pages 9-11 - Pages 12-14 - Page 15
Perth seminarians will set an attendance record this year at St Charles' Seminary in Guildford. Rector at St Charles' Seminary, Fr Donald Hughes OMI said thirty students, at varying stages of study, will most probably occupy the Perth seminary by mid-year. Ending 2006 with 23 seminarians, the seminary was glad to welcome another seven possible candidates during the summer holidays. Archbishop Barry Hickey has already accepted one of the seven, bringing the definite total to 24. Three others will travel from the Philippines, Ireland and Italy, subject to visas, two of them studying to become priests in the
Bunbury diocese. The remaining three candidates are expected to complete their preparation for entry to the seminary by midyear. And while the attendance record is a "welcome blessing," Fr Hughes said it would require some sacrifice in order to properly accommodate all the students. There are presently three students who will be completing their seventh year with the seminary with ordination to the diaconate in late March. With Melbourne and Sydney's seminaries also filled, Fr Hughes said he was glad to be part of such a positive trend. "Archbishop Hickey has put a lot of time and effort into vocations. It is good to see such an outcome," he said.
Reason over faith in politics • By Paul Gray
Federal Health Minister Tony Abbott has delivered an insider's view of the Howard Government's thinking on religion and policy. In a speech to a Young Liberal convention last weekend, Mr Abbott said that senior members of the Government regard the Ten Commandments as being "as much common sense as religious dogma." Mr Abbott said the Government never has, never would and, in my view, never should adopt any policy because of religious arguments." A nsweringcritics who have
accused him of bring faith inappropriately into politics through such measures as counselling for pregnant women, Mr Abbott said public policies in the Australian democracy must be erected on rational arguments rather than on faith. "Governments, unlike individuals, cannot act on the basis of faith, only reason," he said.
See Also: Greens Senator opposes faith in family - Page 4 mediation - Page 8 Editorial Fr Joe Caddy on Catholic - Page 12 motivation in welfare
DECADES OF TENSION
Talks on Thursday between Pope Benedict XVI and Vietnam's PM marked an important step towards establishing diplomatic relations.
Page 7
February 12007, The Record
Page 2
Parishes fired up World Youth Day 2008 could be a monumental event for parishes throughout WA well beyond next year, says Perth coordinator Anita Parker • By Anthony Barich
Perth's Archdiocesan World Youth Day coordinator Anita Parker has proposed a grand plan for pre and post-World Youth Day festivities that will help sustain parish life and passion for the next decade. Speaking at the first WYD meeting involving representatives of youth groups and up to 60 Perth parishes, Miss Parker said: "Every parish, every organisation, every person has a responsibility to help prepare and contribute towards the success of WYD". She suggested groups can prepare a 10-year vision for their parish or organisation and, in the meantime, evangelise and recruit new members by making pre-WYD events acceptable to people with "varied faith journeys". She also launched the "portfolios" for the Archdiocesan preparations to help organise pre-WYD events and the logistics for pil-
grims attending WYD. Portfolios include catering, finance, hosting and welcome of overseas visitors stopping in Perth on their way to World Youth Day - the main thrust of Days in the Dioceses (July 10-14 2008). Other portfolios include marketing, liturgy, Journey of the Cross and Icon, occupational health and safety, technology, venue and, of course, WYD Sydney. Those interested in volunteering to head a portfolio or to assist in any way can see more details on www. wydperth.com Miss Parker, a Mazenod College Music and Religious Education teacher on a two-year secondment as the Archdiocese's full-time employee, said the period up to June 2008 is a period of evangelisation, catechesis and prayer, before the WYD event itself in July, which is an encounter with Christ, the Holy Spirit and the universal Church, re-emphasising the message Bishop Anthony Fisher brought across during his visit to Perth in August 2006. Miss Parker called on parishes to gather their own pilgrim groups to participate in events promoted through her WYD office which Archdiocesan groups are organising. The evening concluded with a blessing from Bishop Don Sproxton for the WYD office and the growing team of WYD workers. Key events already in the pipe-
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The Record
• By Sylvia Defendi
line include the Choicez Leadership Course from February 23-25, which helps train leaders from parishes, schools, universities for WYD events and beyond. A chance to "evangelise" will be through inviting new people to get involved in a Sand Sculpture Competition to be held on a beach on March 24, details soon to be confirmed. Palm Sunday on April 1 will also be a big event, as will Goliath, a display of original Catholic music which its organisers, the Catholic Youth Ministry, hope to expand by having full rock bands involved, upgrading from the acoustic setting that dominated last year's event. Expect a larger WYD Ball than last year's 320-strong attendance to be held this year on September 29. Seeking prayer support was also emphasised as a vital part of the process for WYD preparations. There will be all-night prayer vigils organised through groups and parishes on April 27, August 31 and December 7 and whenever else these groups can muster prayer meetings. The weekend marking "One year to go" July 14-15 2007 is also set to be a big occasion for diocesan celebrations. For any enquiries or more info on these or other events, or how to mobilise groups within parishes or other organisations, Miss Parker can be contacted on 9422 7944 or by emailing wydperth@highgate-perthcatholic.org.au.
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The missionary spirit of WA youth has spurred a notable increase in funds donated to Perth's Catholic Mission Office. During 2006 the number of schools involved in Catholic Mission appeals doubled, as did the end of year total. Over $40,000 was raised for the missions through the work of 46 primary schools and 18 secondary schools within the Archdiocese of Perth. Funds were collected from students and staff during the mission office's annual Fast 4 Kids appeal and the Children First Money Box project. Rockingham's Star of the Sea primary school was most generous to the missions during 2006 with $6,620 donated. Of the secondary schools involved, Chisholm Catholic College donated the most at $3,737. From March 12 to 16, the Pope's representative for children at the UN, Fr Patrick Byrne SVD, will be visiting Perth's Catholic Education Office and various schools in WA in thanks for their on-going missionary support and commitment. Fr Byrne will also be providing an insight into the current state of the world's most vulnerable children and the role the missions
are currently playing in advocating their cause and addressing their needs. However, while student involvement had doubled since 2005, statistics showed that only 59% of Archdiocesan Catholic primary schools and 64% of secondary schools assisted Catholic Missions in 2006. Director of the Catholic Mission office in Perth, Francis Leong said the figures only calculated amounts donated to the Catholic Mission Office and were not indicative of an overall generosity of Catholic schools. "While there are many organisations assisting the poor worldwide, as Catholics we are called to support Catholic missions and participate in the universality of the Church, where the focus is not only on funds but also on evangelisation," he said. While celebrating Missionary Childhood Day on January 6, Pope Benedict XVI encouraged educators to cultivate the missionary spirit in youth. Perth's Catholic Mission Office, a branch of the Pontifical Society for Missionary Childhood, channels support to over 3,000 child health, welfare, education and orphanage projects in developing countries worldwide. To involve a Catholic school in the work of the missions, contact the Catholic Mission Office on: 9422 7933 or email: cm4erthcatholic.org.au.
German soccer star says Pope drew him back to faith German soccer legend Franz Beckenbauer has told the Munich newspaper Abendzeitung that his October 2005 meeting with Pope Benedict XVI was "the most important experience" of his life. As chairman of the German committee organising the 2006 World Cup competition, Beckenbauer met with the Holy Father at the Vatican in October 2005. The encounter made a deep impression on the German athlete, and after the Pope's trip to Bavaria in 2006, Beckenbauer began to immerse himself in the Pope's writings. As a result of his reading, Beckenbauer returned to the active practice of his faith. "Benedict XVI leads people to the Church," Beckenbauer told Abendzeitung, "andI myself am the best example of that." Known as "the Kaiser" because
Franz Beckenbauer
of his dominance of the game, Beckenbauer was captain of the German squad that won the World Cup in 1974.
e—Couples Corner
Hints for a Happy Marriage with Derek Boylen
Poor expectations. One of the main reasons people cite for their divorce is that marriage wasn't what they expected. Uncommunicated expectations can be a large cause of disappointment and conflict in marriage. Make time to share your expectations for each day, before going out, going on holidays, etc. And evaluate if your own expectations of yourself, your spouse and your marriage are realistic. Catholic Marriage Education Services
February 12007, The Record
Page 3
athedral News St Mary's Cathedral priest Fr Robert Cross, also an archaeologist, has been excavating the site of the cathedral as large parts of it are dismantled in preparation for its completion. This is part three in our series of his findings.
Help Kest Alive in itcdOchm Elusive identity: Who kr ,ws the team and liD or this uoutri Australian player?
Original colour scheme of Cathedral pipe organ revealed
111•11
Order Form: Help Keep Christianity Alive in Bethlehem
Send To: Aid to the Church in Need, PO Box 6245 Blacktown DC NSW 2148 Phone/Fax No: (02) 9679-1929 E-mail: infora aidtochurch.org Web: www.aidtochurch.org BLOCK LETTERS PLEASE The olive wood osa ies a e lovingly, handc afted by pove ty st icken families M /M s/Ms/S /Revin Bethlehem and you donation helps Add ess• them su vive.
By Fr Robert Cross
One of the first actions in the redevelopment of St Mary's Cathedral was the dismantling of the Organ in the south transept of the Cathedral. The organ has been transported to the workshop of South Island Organ Company in New Zealand where it is to be refurbished and enlarged before being reinstalled in the completed Cathedral. The organ is to be relocated back to where it was orginally installed by J.E. Dodd & Sons of Adelaide in 1910, but in an enlarged and strengthened choir loft at the Murray Street end of the Cathedral. When the organ was dismantled, the archaeological investigation discerned the original colour scheme of the J.E. Dodd organ, namely, painted silver pipes with a red and gold mouth. Another interesting archaeological find associated with the installation of the pipe organ by pipe organ builders J.E. Dodd & Sons, was the discovery of a South Australian newspaper under the boards of the old choir loft called the "Mining Standard and Sporting News", which included a couple of 1910 pictures of South Australian
Today, as you ead this, pove ty and opp ession a e d iving Ch istian faithful f om the Holy Land. But you can help give ou suffe ing b othe s and siste s in Ch ist a eason to stay. Th ough a p og am we developed to suppo t the dist ibution of osa ies handc afted of local olive wood by Catholic a tisans, Aid to the Church in Need is eaching out to faithful in need ac oss the Holy Land. We p ovide a simple, dignified, and effective means fo St uggling faithful to keep food on the table fo thei families. Please help us strengthen and rebuild the Church. A beautiful, handcrafted rosary made of olive wood from the Holy Land will be sent fo an offe ing of $12 o mo e to suppo t the p ojects of Aid to the Chu ch in Need in Bethlehem. Please tick the box if you would like to receive the olive wood rosary*. NE. 11= me •••• sim •In 1=11
Postcode I/We enclose $ to help keep Christianity Alive in Bethlehem. [:1 Yes please send me the olive wood rosary* I enclose a cheque/money o de payable to Aid to the Chu ch in Need. OR please debit my Visa o Maste ca d:
Exp. date.
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Tough: West Adelaide footballer.
National Football League players, Tom Leahy (West Adelaide, above), and someone named Aldersy (top). Of particular interest is that these photographs have been printed in colour. If you have any further information about the organ or the "Mining Standard and Sporting News" or the two football players, please send your information to the Project Archaeologist, Fr Robert Cross, 25 Victoria Avenue, Perth WA 6000
Join Pope Benedict XVI in prayer February General intention: Just Distribution of Resources. That the goods of the earth, given by God for all people, may be used wisely and in accordance with justice and solidarity. Mission intention: That governments of all nations may cooperate to fight diseases and epidemics in the Third World.
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February 1 2007, The Record
Page 4
Greens senator opposes faith in family mediation • By Paul Gray Greens Senator Rachel Siewert has told the media she is concerned over "faith-based organisations" being involved in the Federal Government's new Family Relationships Centres. This follows the news that some contracts for the Family Relationships Centres have been awarded to Catholic or Christian agencies. The Centres are part of an official attempt to prevent the damage caused by marriage breakdown. As a major defender of marriage in society, the Catholic Church, through various agencies including Centacare, has been actively and compassionately involved in assisting people in troubled relationships, for decades. This has now led to church agencies being regarded as natural allies of the Government in the new move towards Family Relationship Centres. However, this has brought into the open
Senator Rachel Siewert the antagonism felt by some nonChristian ideologues towards the Christian faith. Senator Siewert was reported as stating in the Melbourne Age last weekend: "I think we need to be careful about the philosophy that may run through some of the faith-based centres.
See Editorial - Page 8
Maranatha Institute for Adult Faith Education Archdiocese of Perth Catholic Education Centre 50 Ruislip Street Leederville
9.30am-12pm An Introduction to Theology with Sandra Dillon
As President Bush makes a lastditch bid to stabilise and rebuild Baghdad, a Newsweek article looks at the generation of Iraqi children who have grown up surrounded by warfare and asks "whether we've already lost the larger battle in Iraq." The story begins with a 17-yearold Baghdad youth, Ammar, who joined the sectarian killing after witnessing the badly mutilated bodies of fellow Sunnis. Iraq is a young country, with nearly half the population under 18. Young people like Ammar were born in the aftermath of the Iran-
1pm — 3pm Introduction to the Bible with Sr Philomena Burrell
Thursday
9.30am -12pm Celebrating Christian Ritual with Fr Peter Joseph Stiglich
Friday
9.30am-12pm Julian of Norwich with Stephanie Woods
All courses run for 8 weeks Cost $50 For Enrolments & further Information
Office Hours Tues, Thurs, Friday 9am -3pm Phone 9212 9311 Fax 9212 9382 Email maranatha@ceo.wa.edu.au
Course Handbook available on request
Le_
Lay Pastoral Worker Stella Mans Seafarers Centre - Fremantle The international seafarers' welfare agency requires the services of a qualified and experienced pastoral care worker. This is a part-time position (between 25-30 hours per week mainly in the afternoons and evenings) dependent upon the availability of other volunteer workers. Applicants should be physically fit, have good communication skills, and the ability to speak additional languages would be welcomed. Remuneration and benefits will be commensurate to the applicant's qualifications and experience. Replies in writing must reach the following address by 5.00 pm Friday 16 February 2007. Rev. Patrick Moore Stella Mans Seafarers Centre 16 Queen Victoria Street Fremantle WA 6160 For further information please call Deacon Patrick on 0414 703 408
Advocates of "emergency contraception" are puzzled by the results of research showing that EC, or the morning after pill, has done nothing to lower pregnancy or abortion rates. Dr James Trussell and colleagues report in this month's issue of the journal Obstetrics & Gynaecology on a review of 23 studies of EC. These "demonstrate convincingly that greater access increases use" of the pills, the authors say. But, "To date, no study has shown that increased access to this method reduces pregnancy or abortion rates." And although some of the studies taken individually have deficiencies, "the consistency of their primary findings is hard to ignore." Because this runs contrary to claims that easier access to EC would produce "a direct, substantial impact", the authors call for more research "to explain this finding." In August, after prolonged agitation from birth control groups, the US government's drug regulator approved Plan B, the nation's only EC product, for adults-only purchase over the
counter. Girls aged 17 or younger must still have a prescription to get the high-dose contraceptive pills, intended to be taken within 72 hours after sexual intercourse. EC may prevent ovulation, fertilisation of the egg, or implantation of a fertilised egg in the womb. Because of that third possibility, it is potentially abortifacient and so, strictly speaking, the number of abortions it prevented could never be known.
Also: Chile abandons EC program Chile's Constitutional Court has halted a four-month program that supplies EC to girls as young as 14 because it had been implemented by administrative decree rather than by presidential decree or a law. The country's first woman president, Michelle Bachelet, a socialist says the free distribution of the pill brings equality to Chilean women. However, it does not have majority support in the Congress. - MERCATORNET/WASHINGTON TIMES JANUARY 8 OBSTETRICS & GYNAECOLOGY 2007
Children the big losers in Iraq Iraqi kids learn principles of force and violence not on tv, but in the death and destruction that surrounds their everyday existence
TERM 1 COURSES Commencement Date 6th February 2007 Timetable Tuesday
Employment Opportunity
"We need to be clear that people are getting independent, unbiased advice.I know groups like Centacare do some excellent community work. But when it comes to things like this where you can cross that line into where people's faith starts to get involved, then you need to be sure that all the people providing advice are qualified practitioners." The Centres, of which there are eventually to be 65, are a national initiative to help couples whose marriages are breaking down. Through them, couples are to be advised to put in place parenting plans to help their children cope with divorce. Where possible, the Centres are also to offer assistance in mediating troubled relationships. Widespread expressions of grief by families and individuals touched by divorce since the establishment of the Family Law Act in 1975 have prompted the new Government initiative.
Morning after pill does nothing to lower pregnancies
Iraq war, then suffered two other wars and years of debilitating sanctions in between. A local sociologist estimates that at least one million Iraqi kids have seen their lives damaged by the war - losing parents and homes, and watching their communities torn apart by sectarian furies. "These children will come to believe in the principles of force and violence," says Hassan Ali, and he suggests the effects will spread around the world. As with the orphans of war in Afghanistan, they may become the next jihadists", finding a new family structure in the equivalent of the Taliban. A 14-year-old Shiite who witnessed his father's death as a gunman fired 12 bullets into his head and body, still has fits of anxiety 18 months later. His family has had to leave their neighbourhood.
According to one study, about half of children in Baghdad had been exposed to a major traumatic event, and 14 per cent suffered from symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder. Other young people have been forced to become the breadwinners for their family, and as many as two-thirds of younger kids are missing out on their education. All this is driving kids into the arms of the sectarian gangs who rule the streets. Among the positive moves to counter these trends is War Kids Relief, a charity headed by former US Army captain Jonathan Powers. It is setting up youth centres around the country that will offer kids jobs picking up garbage, painting buildings and the like for part of the month, and vocational training the rest. About 10,000 young people are already involved.
lower marriage rates than other ethnic groups - only 30 per cent of black women are living with a spouse.
thankful for." However, families rated higher than money with all kids, 84 per cent saying mom" was important to them.
- NEW YORK TIMES, JANUARY 16
- REUTERS/YAHOO NEWS
- MERCATORNET/NEWSWEEK
In brief... HALF OF AMERICAN WOMEN NOT LIVING WITH A SPOUSE More American women today are living without a husband than with one, according to a New York Times analysis of census results. In 2005, 51 per cent of women said they were living without a spouse, up from 35 per cent in 1950 and 49 per cent in 2000. This fits with the fact that married couples are now a minority of all American households. Women are marrying later or cohabiting for longer periods, but they are also living longer as widows and, after a divorce, are more likely to delay remarriage. Black women have much
Teen materialists Children become more materialistic and self-centred as they enter the teens, according to market research among people aged 8 to 18 in the United States. Some 74 per cent aged 13 to 18 agreed with the statement, "I would be happier if I had more money to buy more things for myself," compared with 66 per cent of younger kids. Teens were less likely to say, "I like to help kids who are new to our school" and less likely to agree that they had "a lot to be
Bilingualism staves off dementia People who are fully bilingual and speak both languages every day for most of their lives can delay the onset of dementia by up to four years compared with those who know only one language, a Canadian study has shown. The extra effort involved appeared to boost blood supply to the brain and ensured nerve connections remained healthy. - REUTERS/YAHOO
February 12007, The Record
Page5
A decade of adoration to the Holy Face
Seasons of Social Justice
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• By Sylvia Defendi
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2007 Sociat Justice Diary A ty--A:ratian Catholic Social Justice Council
Awareness: The Social Justice Diary can be a useful educative tool.
A daily reminder of social justice needs • By Sylvia Defendi
In a bid to raise awareness on
issues of social justice, Australia's Catholic Social Justice Council (ACSJC) has released its 2007 social justice diary. Titled Seasons for Social Justice the diary reflects the theme chosen by the Australian Catholic Bishops for Social Justice Sunday - Australia's role as a global citizen. National executive officer for ACSJC, John Ferguson said the diary focused on many aspects of what it meant to be one human family and invited all to consider their individual contribution to global peace. Each month the diary presents events relating to global issues of justice and peace and accompa-
nies each with prayer, reflection and references for further information. The diary also includes national holidays and Catholic solemnities and feast days. Available to all those interested in social justice, the diary can be a particularly useful tool for students and teachers of religious education or social studies. "Peace is more than simply the absence of war and suffering. It demands respect for the universal dignity of the person and human rights, and the promotion of the spiritual, social and economic development of peoples," Mr Ferguson said. For further information, or to obtain a copy of the diary, contact the ACSJC on: (02) 9956 5811 or email: admin@acsjc.org.au.
Almost 30 people gathered at Our Lady of the Assumption Church in Dianella on January 16 to celebrate ten years of adoration of the Holy Face of Jesus in Perth. Imprinted on Veronica's veil during Our Lord's passion and on the shroud in which Jesus was wrapped after his death on the cross, the Holy Face of Jesus is a constant reminder of the suffering and death endured for our salvation. Initiated by local resident Liliana Graziano in 1997 the prayer group, dedicated to honouring the Holy Face of Jesus, attracted more than 20 people to its monthly meetings. Recounting the history of the prayer group, Mrs Graziano spoke of the highs and lows that followed, including the need to import specialised prayer books from Canada. The newly formed group met at the Dianella church for their first meeting in June of 1997, where they continued for almost three years before moving to Holy Trinity church in Embleton. When a founding member suffered a stroke a few years ago the prayer group was determined to support her and made the decision to move yet again to her
, 3 smogs -gar. mt. 1111 MOO ROI 1141101. •
Celebration: The Holy Face prayer group gathers to celebrate their anniversary.
For further information, contact Mrs Graziano on: 9344 5303, or: 0404 006 818.
Public Art Commission The Catholic Archdiocese of Perth has initiated a major project to conserve and complete St. Mary's Catholic Cathedral. Expressions of Interest are sought from suitably qualified and experienced artists or teams of artists for the design and fabrication of furniture for the new sanctuary area including the main altar.
The value of the commission is up to $225,000 + GST. Expressions of Interest documents can be obtained from: The Centre for Liturgy, Archdiocese of Perth 28, Marda Way, Nollamara, WA 6061 Phone: 9207 3350 from 9.30am to 2.30pm. Expressions of Interest close Friday 9 March 2007
Joan de Lestonnac
A special priority of
2007 (NS
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Archdiocese of Perth
Jesuit Mission
Education Makes Poverty History
1556 - 1640
feast — February 2 This foundress, niece of the French essayist Montaigne, was born in Bordeaux. She remained Catholic despite her Calvinist mother, and married Gaston de Montferrant, with whom she had four children. After being widowed in 1597 she briefly joined a Cistercian convent. Later, after a period of nursing plague victims and teaching girls, she founded the Sisters of Notre Dame of Bordeaux, known then as the Company of Mary Our Lady. She was vindicated in a conspiracy devised by one of her own nuns, but she declined to be reappointed superior. Saints for Tocla‘9
the lives of many around her as well as her own. "I remember an Italian missionary, who visited Our Lady of the Assumption Church many years ago around Easter time. He brought a replica of the shroud with him, and as the parishioners went to kiss the replica I realised that while the Church has many icons and pictures this was the true Face of Jesus imprinted on the shroud - I never forgot that moment," she said.
home in Beechboro. These days not as many attend the monthly meetings, although there are those who consistently attend the prayer group's annual feast day celebration on Shrove Tuesday, Mrs Graziano said. Past and present members as well as those who were interested celebrated this year's tenth anniversary with Adoration and Benediction, which was followed by Holy Mass and a shared meal in the parish hall. Of the years gone by, Mrs Graziano said adoration of the Holy Face of Jesus had touched
As children throughout Australia begin a new school year please think of other children yearning for a chance to go to school. In developing countries a child's prospects are vastly improved through access to Mission Jesuit even the most basic skills of literacy and numeracy. -In all thrTes to lere and to sem.'" Jesuit Mission is making a world of difference for many thousands of children throughout the world. wvvwjesuitmission.org.au
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Be counter-cultural - read The Record
February 12007, The Record
Page 6
Apostle of the sea unites family • By Anthony Barich Antonio Simbahan has the prayers of many faithful both abroad and in Perth to thank for his remarkable recovery from a near-fatal injury last November. Mr Simbahan, 30, from the Philippines, fell five metres onto an uneven surface in an accident while working on the container ship MOL Golden Wattle, between the Pilbara and Indonesia on November 24, fracturing his skull and breaking his ribs and shoulder. He had lost huge amounts of blood and his shipmates were convinced he would die, as his limbs had gone blue by the time an oilrig helicopter picked him up 120km offshore and took him to Karratha, before the Royal Flying Doctor service took him to Royal Perth Hospital. When Catholic Deacon Patrick Moore, chaplain of the Stella Mans Seafarers' Centre, saw a story in the Sunday Times detailing Mr Simbahan's experience, he contacted the Stella Mans Seafarers' Centre chaplain in Manila to track down the man's family. They are devout Catholics from the town of Taal in Batangas, almost three hours' drive from Manila. Mr Simbahan's brother, called Antonio III (Mr Simbahan is Antonio IV) and mother Urdulla, soon joined Mr Simbahan at Royal Perth Hospital on January 10, but it
United: Deacon Patrick Moore (top) with Urdulla Simbahan (left) and sons Antonio IV and Antonio III. was four days after the accident before they knew about it. The front section of his skull was removed to relieve pressure on his brain and was put back in recently. He spoke to his father back in the Philippines for the first time
a week before Christmas. Mrs Simbahan said she was never worried because she does not doubt God's ability to help those who serve Him. "I was not worried, because I prayed that God is willing to help us, as there were signs that he
PHOTO: ANTHONY BARICH
was recovering," she said. "God is willing to help people who serve Him." The Filipino staff at Royal Perth adopted him as one of their own and he enjoyed his stay there. He is currently recovering at Royal Perth's Shenton Park cam-
pus, where he was transferred last week, but it could still be weeks before he makes a full recovery, if he does. In the meantime he will receive speech therapy and must be taught how to walk again due to muscle atrophy from being in bed and a wheelchair for so long. Mr Simbahan's parish back in the Philippines has been saying Rosaries and Novenas for him, and the Catholic chaplain at Royal Perth, Fr Richard Smith, has also been praying for him - something his mother was extremely grateful for. "In arriving here, I thought we would be alone, but the Australians and local Filipinos are very supportive, especially Patrick. If it were not for him,I don't know where we would be," Mrs Simbahan said. "We are so lucky that so many have lent their hands, both praying for us and tending to our needs." His mother and brother are staying at the Flying Angel Club in Fremantle, the Anglican Church's seafarers' centre down the road from where Deacon Moore is based. Mr Simbahan wants to get back on a ship one day to work, but his mother might have something to say about that... Deacon Moore needs volunteers to help him carry out his pastoral work at Stella Mans, the Centre for the International Apostleship of the Sea. Contact him on 0414 703 408 or 08-9430 8488, or email him on stellamaris@perthcatholic. org.au.
Mexican difficulty over deacons MEXICO CITY (CNS) - A Mexican bishop is bucking Vatican orders to erase a phrase in his pastoral plan that notes the desire among his indigenous communities that married permanent deacons be ordained priests. The phrase is not fanning the hopes of a married priesthood, but simply reporting the feelings of many indigenous Catholics, said Bishop Felipe Arizmendi Esquivel of San Cristobal de Las Casas in Mexico's Chiapas state. The phrase remains in the pastoral plan "because the faithful have the right to be heard by their pastors. To listen is not the same as to approve," he said, in a statement posted on the website of the Mexican bishops' conference. Bishop Arizmendi said he does not support a married priesthood. He issued the statement after several Mexican news organisations reported on a September 26 Vatican letter complaining that the diocese still had not eliminated the phrase nor had it made changes in its program for training married men to be permanent deacons. The Vatican made the letter public in mid-January. It was signed by Cardinal Francis Arinze, head of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments. It said that the phrase, which is found in the Diocesan Pastoral Plan and the Diocesan Directory for the Permanent Diaconate, can no longer be used by the diocese. The Vatican suspended the diaconate program in 2002 and no permanent deacons have been ordained since 2001. Bishop
Controversial: Deacon Alvaro Sierra preaches in a tent in a protest camp set up in Mexico City's central plaza. Arizmendi has been trying to get Vatican officials to reinstate the training program. The Cardinal's letter was a follow-up to an October 26, 2005, letter in which the Vatican official denied the bishop's permission to reinstate the diaconate program. The 2005 letter said problems forcing the 2002 suspension had not been resolved. It said it is "feeding in the faithful" the expectation that a married diaconate is a step toward married priests and an "underlying ideology" promoting an autonomous Church. Bishop
Arizmendi, in his statement, told Vatican officials that "we sincerely ask your forgiveness for the headaches we give you." He noted that he is not the only bishop reporting requests for married priests from Catholics and added that popes have made exceptions to the celibacy rule to allow married priests. The bishop said that the 2006 Vatican letter negates the 2005 changes he made in the phrase after the Vatican raised initial objections. The revised phrase added wording saying that the Church "will continue to admit
PHOTO: CNS
only celibate men to the priesthood." The phrase to which the Vatican objects is in paragraph No 58 in the Diocesan Pastoral Plan. It initially said: "Enlightened by the Spirit and guided by the universal Church's magisterium, we listen with attention and we evaluate the request of some communities that married indigenous deacons be admitted to priestly ordination after adequate formation and disposed to accept in faith the decision of the Holy See." The 2005 revision said: "We listen with attention to the request
that some communities are making so that married indigenous deacons can be admitted to the ordained priesthood. And we help them evaluate their request, enlightened by the Holy Spirit and the universal Church's magisterium, clearly cautioning them that there is no hope that the Church changes its practices, which come from the Gospel and many centuries of tradition, and that it will continue to admit only celibate men to the priesthood." Bishop Arizmendi said that the revised text was sent several times to the Vatican. "We didn't change the first part of the text because we must continue listening to our people. But we insist (on) the necessity of the celibate priesthood." Bishop Arizmendi said that he is also revising the diocesan diaconate directory so that it conforms more with the universal Church norms and the Mexican bishops' national directory. Meanwhile, vocations programs have caused nearly a doubling of candidates for the priesthood, he said. In 2000 there were 16 seminarians and now there are 31, he said. In a 2006 interview with CNS, the bishop said that ordaining married indigenous men as permanent deacons was a vital part of evangelisation efforts in his diocese in which the origins of 75 per cent of the population are completely indigenous. The bishop said there is an urgent need to restart the diaconate program as his 335 permanent deacons and 84 priests are not enough to minister to the more than 1.5 million people in his diocese.
February 12007, The Record
Page 7
Another of God's warriors is laid to rest Willagee parish priest Fr John Baptist Lyons was laid to rest at Karrakatta Cemetery on Tuesday morning, marking the end of 53 years as a priest. After Fr Lyons died last week aged 78, a Mass of Christian Burial at Our Lady Queen of Peace Church, Willagee was celebrated by Archbishop Barry Hickey, his Auxiliary Bishop Donald Sproxton,Vicar 114/;eneral Fr Brian O'Loughlin, retired Bunbury Bishops Myles McKeon and Peter Quinn and 40 other priests. The crowd spilled out into the parish parking area and gardens, including past parishioners who had long since left the area. Fr Lyons had a significant devotion to Our Lady, leading the Legion of Mary at Willagee for over 30 years. Even the number plate on his car read BVM888 - Blessed Virgin Mary.
Last gesture: Archbishop Barry Hickey and Bishop Donald Sproxton sprinkle dust on Fr John Lyons' coffin at Karrakatta.
Decades of tensions eased Talks on Thursday between Pope Benedict XVI and Vietnam's prime minister marked an important step toward establishing diplomatic relations, the Vatican said after the highest-level meeting between the Holy See and the Communist government following decades of tension. Benedict met with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung for a half-hour in the pontiff's private library, the Vatican press office said. "The Holy See has expressed its satisfaction with the visit, which marks a new, important step toward the normalisation of bilateral relations" between the Vatican and Vietnam, a statement said. The Vatican also praised "concrete progress" in recent years toward "opening new spaces of religious freedom for the Catholic Church in Vietnam." Earlier in the week, a Vietnamese Cardinal said there were no obstacles to establishing formal relations that have been strained for decades. Usually, at top-level audiences, the Pontiff meets alone with his visiting guest. But joining the Pope and Dung for their talks was Vietnam's official in charge of religious affairs, Ngo Yen Thi. Vietnam has six million Catholics, Southeast Asia's secondlargest Catholic population after the Philippines. There have been decades of tensions between the Vietnamese government and the Church, particularly over Hanoi's insistence
THE YOUTH PRAYER MEETING It's back!!! It's bold!!! It's beautiful!!! Everything you wanted to know about God but were afraid to ask!
Good Music! Good People! Good God! Informative: Archbishop Ngo Quang Kiet of Hanoi with Fr Vinh Dong at The Record office in Perth in February 2006.
on having the final say in most Church appointments. There has been speculation that official ties with the Church could advance Catholic assistance in medical care and other social services for the Vietnamese people, and the Vatican statement appeared to indicate real prospects for that. The Vatican said it hoped dialogue would "lead to a fruitful cooperation between church and state so that Catholics can ... make a positive contribution to the common good of the country." It cited the promotion of moral
values, especially among the young, as well as help for the needy. During Mass on Thursday at Hanoi's St Joseph Cathedral - where worshippers spilled out into a courtyard - a loud round of applause erupted among the faithful when Archbishop Ngo Quang Kiet mentioned Dung's visit to the Vatican. The Rev. Jean Le Trong Cung said Dung's visit underscored Vietnam's determination to be integrated into the world community. "We have high hopes for this visit," the priest said. "We hope
that it will strengthen the Catholic Church's role in Vietnam and allow us to contribute more to the development of education, health care and social welfare in Vietnam." On Tuesday, the archbishop of Ho Chi Minh City, Cardinal Jean-Baptiste Pham Minh Man, said after holding talks with Vietnamese officials, including the president, that formal ties should follow soon. Other positive signs for the Church are the ordination in 2005 in Vietnam of 57 priests in a ceremony led by a top Vatican cardinal.
If you're aged 16 to 96 we'd love to to see you. Come along and bring a friend.
Friday February 9 @ 8pm Bethel Centre 236 Railway Arcade West Leederville WA 6007 (entry down side lane) For more information contact: Lina on 9388 1333
February 1 2007, The Record
Page 8
editorial
A matter of persecution The Record last week carried a report of Papal Household preacher Fr Raniero Cantalamessa's homily on the beatitude, Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted. In it, he explained that the cry of the psalmist (Psalm 41) "Tears are my bread day and night, as they daily say to me, 'Where is your God?' was never more true than it is in the modern world. The level of aggressive atheism that now confronts us is a source of great pain for Christians - sorrow for the rejection of God and his goodness, and sorrow for those who cannot see him in Jesus where he is almost blindingly obvious. This aggressive atheism is part of the persecution we must face, a persecution that does not attack our life, but our faith, which, ultimately, is our life. A few years ago, Archbishop Phillip Wilson, of Adelaide, said that the two keystones of persecution in Australia are: Our faith is regarded as irrelevant; and People live, speak and promote life in Australia as though we have no God (and no need of God) and we are expected to go along with it. He went on to say that we are also treated as though adherence to our beliefs is an insult to the majority who don't share them and who are "just as good if not better" without them. But our society and the individuals in it need our faith as much as we do, so we must hold it for them. This kind of pressure can cause good people to retreat from the society that applies it to them, or, much worse, to retreat from the faith, the Church and even the God who often seem unable to respond in our defence. As though by coincidence (if there were such a thing) The Record this week offers examples of the problem and the kind of response we need to make to strengthen our faith and to offer our small contribution to the unfolding of God's plan on earth even while we don't know precisely what it is. On Page 1, there is a very short item quoting Federal Health Minister Tony Abbott insisting that all Catholic contributions to public policy must be founded on reason and debated by reason. It is a point that has been made repeatedly by Australian Church leaders PO Box 75, Leederville, WA 6902 even as they fulfil their primary responTel: (08) 9227 7080, sibility of reminding the faithful of the Fax: (08) 9227 7087 links between reason and faith. As The cathrec@iinet.net.au Record has commented before, we cannot expect our neighbours to believe in God's plan or God's law if they are unable to believe in God. That would be an irrational expectation. One of the most painful and frustrating parts of the modern persecution is that it not only blanks out faith, but it also ignores reason. That means, if you're a Catholic, you can be completely ignored, an experience no one enjoys. A lucid defence of the Catholic position, and a detailed explanation of how Catholic agencies can work with government in difficult situations is contained in the speech of Fr Joe Caddy, national social welfare director, published on Pages 12-14. It may seem long, but it is worth digesting (even at several sittings) because it deals with a problem that probably will not go away for a while, and Catholics need to understand, at least for their own strengthening, that our position is sound. Fr Caddy also explains clearly why our involvement in social welfare activities is not carried out to spread our faith, but to live it. He deals specifically with problems related to Church involvement with government in abortion counselling services, but the principles apply broadly. The attack on Catholic involvement in abortion counselling services was led by Senator Natasha Stott-Despoja, with almost complicit compliance from "your ABC". On page four of this edition, you can read Paul Gray's report of how WA Senator Rachel Siewert has taken the same approach to Catholic involvement in the Federal Government's new marriage and family centres. This commitment by the Government is rationally based on the irrefutable evidence that the breakdown of marriages and families has caused immense harm to adults, children and the community. Attempts to save marriages and families are therefore a serious work for the common good. Catholics have been presenting that argument for decades, but now that it is too obvious to be ignored, it seems the first people who have to be excluded are Catholics. Senator Siewert's argument is no stronger than that to her, people with a faith-based philosophy are a concern. Fr Caddy deals with that argument from a professional perspective, but it is worth examining whether there is any rationality at all in Senator Siewert's position. Implicit in her position is the assumption that people without any faith at all - even faith in marriage or faith in family - will be superior marriage and family counsellors. She says they have to be professional, but she has already declared, or at least implied, that anyone with a faith-based philosophy cannot be professional. It would probably be almost a joy to hear her declare that anyone with a feminist philosophy is also suspect in matters of family counselling.. However, these are rational arguments and Senators Stott-Despoja and Siewert do not respond to rational arguments or evidence. They simply declare that people with faith are not be trusted, no matter how rational they are, and they can rely on most of the media to refrain from questioning their positions. If you feel the pain of this sort of persecution do not despair; hold fast and you will be strengthened because that is what 'comforted' really means. You will be strengthened because, as Fr Cantalamessa reminded us, "the weakness of God is stronger than men".
Rao
Cohabiting a risky choice Early 70s ideals prove harmful e By Paul Gray
Easier divorce was supposed to make life better - and so was the idea of the "trial marriage." Now both these ideals of the flower power-influenced 1970s are under challenge from serious research. Couples who move in together on what they hope is the path to marriage are now more likely to end up separating than marching up the aisle, the latest research shows. In a report released this week, Ruth Weston from the Australian Institute of Family Studies has demonstrated that only around 43 per cent of couples who move in together end up being married five years later. Within ten years of moving in together only nine percent of cohabiting couples who have not married are still together. In the statistics of Australian family life, this represents a clear new trend - and one that has only come into existence since the abandonment of the traditional social ideal of refraining from sexual cohabitation until marriage. The fact that this is a new
trend is clearly seen from another significant finding contained in the Institute of Family Studies research. This is the fact that in the early 1970s, before the social revolutions associated with "free love" and the Family Law Act, 63 per cent of couples ended up marrying. The findings lend weight to the view that human happiness - as defined by a rewarding married and family life - is becoming harder for Australians to achieve not easier, as society moves further away from the Christian ideals of sex within marriage, and marriage as a lifelong public commitment by consenting adults. The new Institute report does not focus on the question of no fault divorce. However, research projects like the Centre for Independent Studies' State of the Nation report show that average annual divorce rates since the 1970s have been almost twice as high an any previous historical era in Australia. The number of divorces rose hugely from 16,000 in 1973, just prior to the passing of the Family Law Act, to 63,000 in 1976. This figure included pend-
ing divorces built up over the immediately preceding years. However divorce rates since the 1970s in Australia have settled at new levels which are significantly higher than in earlier decades. The high rate of divorce today reflects the fact that under the influence of secular liberation ideals, marriage in Australia is legally easy to dissolve. A single ground for divorce irretrievable breakdown of marriage, defined as one year's separation - was the revolutionary principle brought into divorce law with the Family Law Act. Despite various attempts at reforming the Family Law regime since then - including the current Federal Government move to create Family Relationships Centres across the nation - a pervasive culture of easy cohabitation and easy divorce has established itself firmly in Australia. The results are now becoming conclusive: this culture is not producing greater opportunities for Australians to savour the joy of successful marriage and family life. Instead, this ideal is slipping further and further from the grasp of many.
Regensburg address revisited ZENIT - Pope Benedict XVI's Regensburg address has also had soothing effects, says Father Maurice Borrmans, an authority on Islam. "The address has led Muslim intellectuals to draw lines of renewal in Muslim theology," Father Borrmans said. Father Borrmans, of the Missionaries of Africa, is author of the book "Guidelines for Dialogue between Christians and Muslims," and until recently, the editor of the journal "Islamochristiana," of the Pontifical Institute of Arabic and Islamic Studies. On Thursday, Father Borrmans attended a meeting at the Pontifical Institute of Arabic and Islamic Studies on reactions to Benedict XVI's lecture in Regensburg. The priest considers as significant four responses to the Regensburg lecture. The first is the open letter of the ulemas and muftis of the Alal-Bayt Foundation of Amman, on October 15. The second is the commentary of Libyan Muslim intellectual Aref Alas Nayed. The third is the personal reflection of the director of the Lebanese review Ijtihad. The fourth is the open letter of the co-chairman of the Islamic -Christian Research Group, Hmida Ennaifer. According to Father Borrmans, these four responses
underline the need for a serious and scientific in-depth reflection on some essential aspects for Islamic-Christian dialogue. He explained: "The lessons that must be drawn from this misunderstanding are many. One is that the theologian who became Pope saw how his address took on a universal dimension. "Not only the Pope, but all religious leaders, today cannot think only of their 'own' faithful but of all sensibilities, also those of nonbelievers." With his "successful trip to Turkey" and with the dialogue undertaken with Islam, "the Holy Father has brought the misunderstanding of Regensburg to its correct dimension," Father Borrmans added. Father Borrmans explained that the Regensburg address was directed "to colleagues and former students and was not setting out a global plan for all the religions of the world." "The quotation about Manuel Paleologo made some think that it was an international address, but the Pope did what we professors do, he mentioned a quotation from one of the latest books he had read on the subject," the priest continued. Father Borrmans stated that today "cultural sensibilities are very different" and he mentioned the case of the caricatures
of Mohammed. "A Parisian joke is not the same as an Iraqi or Iranian joke." "Our task as theologians and philosophers is to form journalists, professors and preachers: Each one has his responsibility," he added. Father Borrmans continued: "We see emerging from this address that theological research has the exigencies of reason: Faith is not irrational, and this is what the Pope wished to teach, having as a background the West's positivism. "Irepeat: the Pope was thinking of Christian Europe which is forgetting its roots; he was not thinking of a worldwide intercultural scene." According to Father Borrmans, "An urgent need exists to take up dialogue again and address the dignity of man, the meaning of history, and the sacredness of creation." The priest, who has also been a professor in North A frica and the Persian Gulf, counselled "prudence, wisdom and patience" in dialogue, and stressed that the discourse on the reasonableness of the faith is crucial. He said he also hopes there will be "many studies of comparative mysticism because, when all is said and done, what is important is the experience of God."
Record
February 12007, The Record
VI.Sta.
What to clo when -VOWS
break
A common problem, infidelity can manifest itself in many ways and cause varying degrees of problems within a marriage. However, many who support those who have been betrayed are surprised to discover that most couples are willing to forgive and give their marriage a second chance. en Frank W LaBoda ended the affair he was having with a coworker, his wife, Julie, moved back home, intending to rebuild the marriage and create a solid family for their two young daughters. The Wisconsin couple tried, Julie LaBoda said. They tried hard. It didn't work. "We just kept saying hateful things to each other' said Julie. "I was vicious." The last straw came when Julie returned from a weekend away with her mother, and found a certified letter from the woman with whom her husband had been involved. The woman was suing Julie to recover money she had lent Frank and he hadn't paid back. Julie filed for divorce. It doesn't always - or even usually end that way, according to people who work with couples in trouble. While many marriages are affected by infidelity, the majority do not break up, said Larry Badaczewski, a social worker who often gets referrals from several parishes in the Pittsburgh area. "It's kind of funny," said Badaczewski, who has been in practice for 22 years." People who vowed that they would end the marriage if their spouse cheated on them, even they want to stay together. The attachment in the relationship ends up that much greater than people ever imagine. "I don't know many people, if it's just a one-time affair, who just end the marriage' he told Our Sunday Visitor. "That's not what people do. "And I think that's a good instinct?" In Badaczewski's experience, that commitment to try to work through
problems is even greater when couples were married in church.
Unforgivable sin? That makes sense to Benedictine Father Matthew Habiger, a moral theologian who has studied spousal love. He ministers in natural family planning outreach from Ord, Nebraska. Catholic tradition teaches that the Church is the bride of Christ, and the love between spouses is to be a sign of the love between God and his people, Father Habiger said. As God forgives, so should spouses. "There is no sin which cannot be forgiven' he told OSV. "And of course, ordinarily, the Church does not see adultery as grounds to end a marriage?" That assumes, of course, that the unfaithful spouse turns away from their infidelity, repents and seeks forgiveness, he said. For men, that's not an easy task, said Ken Henderson, founder of True Knights, an organisation for Catholic men who want to use the ideals of chivalry to protect and care for their wives and families. While Henderson had never been physically unfaithful, he was addicted to pornography and found himself not giving his wife all she deserved. Their marriage nearly broke up. He found help in the Catholic Church, which he had joined years earlier, and in the image of knighthood - which, he said, represents the model God wants men to live. "We are priests, servants and kings," Henderson said. "The knight stood for honesty and integrity." The knight stands against modern culture, he added, which normalises sexual immorality. Continued on Vista 2
antal infidelity can be devastating to a couple's relationship, but many work through the pain to find healing and forgiveness.
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February 12007, The Record
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Rebuilding trust from the ground up When he did, she said she couldn't go to the first weekend he scheduled. When he registered again, she was prepared to blow it off again - until the person who called to confirm the registration pointed out that she wouldn't want to have to admit at the divorce hearing that her husband was willing to try to save the marriage and she wasn't. She also thinks it had something to do with their 4-year-old daughter, the elder of their two daughters at the time, who prayed that daddy could come home and that they could be happy. "I had to bite my tongue to keep from telling her not to pray for that," she said. "I think God worked through her." They drove seven hours, from Racine, Wisconsin, to St Paul, Minnesota, to get to the Retrouvaille session together. When they listened to people who had been through similar situations and then shared their own feelings, they both cried as they examined the factors that had led to the crisis in their marriage. "It's so much easier to point the finger at him," said Julie LaBoda. "Retrouvaille made me look at my Honesty in feelings own behaviour, too. "That was eye-opening and not so As for the LaBodas, they found pleasant." a help through Retrouvaille, And while the months and years Catholic-sponsored organisation for that followed were not easy, they marriages in trouble. They attended a Retrouvaille have been good, the LaBodas said. They moved from Racine to weekend five weeks before their and had two more daughMadison, to final. was be divorce Julie LaBoda never expected to go; ters. Their faith in God and in the she had thrown a magazine article about Retrouvaille at her husband marriage has grown. "Marriage is impossible without during an argument, never suspectGod," Julie LaBoda said. ing he would actually call. "To love sacrificially is almost "I never followed through on anything," he admitted, "whether it was impossible without the grace of God." making a doctor appointment or Michelle Martin writes from Illinois. returning a phone call."
Continued from Vista 1
"It breaks down our natural defences against this," he told OSV. "When temptation hits, we have very little strength to fight it." Henderson found the strength to not only fight it, but to understand how his addiction to pornography hurt his wife, Michelle. Now, when he advises men who have been unfaithful, he tells them to be "absolutely humble." "Infidelity destroys trust," he said. "It makes her feel she is just nothing. "The men have to repent and to confess, and to maintain a repentant mindset. "And they need to understand it will take time for healing to take place." Habiger agreed that the unfaithful spouse must be repentant for a marriage to have any chance. "If there is no recognition that they did something wrong, recognising the hurt they caused, asking for forgiveness, trying to make a total turnaround - if the offending party is unwilling to do that, how can the relationship continue?" he asked.
Your spouse cheated..+ now what? — o matter how genuine the repentance, forgiveness takes time, said Larry _.... Badaczewski, a social worker who serves as a resource to several parishes in the northern part of the Diocese of Pittsburgh. People who find out their husband or wife has been unfaithful are often in shock, disoriented and confused. "They are plunged into the depths of darkness," said Badaczewski, married for 25 years and a practising counselor for 22. "It's the most devastating thing that happens in a marriage between two people. Forgiveness - you don't want to mention that right away." As they begin to accept the situation, the wronged spouse often wants details. "They need to get their hands on the reality of what happened and why it happened, and it can be helpful if the offending spouse is willing to engage in the process," he said. The offending spouse often feels relief when he or she is found Troubled: People who discover their spouse is unfaithful often want details. out, Badaczewski said, because they no longer need to keep up they must admit that they did often don't know what to do when wrong, acknowledge how it affect- someone shows up on their doorthe facade. But when they see how much ed the other person and work to step with this much pain." But faith often plays a huge they have hurt their partner, they make it right. in the reconciliation process, role generally spouses both But begin to believe they can't be forneed somebody who knows what Badaczewski said. given. "It gives people a sense of hope, they are doing to guide them. "They beat themselves up pret"I don't know how good the that they don't have to do this ty good," he said. "But at the same time, the Church does with all of that," alone," he said. "Our faith tells us this doesn't have to be the end Badaczewski said. temptation to go back to their "The Gospel is a good model of the story. It can be a passage lover is great at that point. Their for how life doesn't happen the of growth and healing. They are struggle is different. They want way we plan it, and that's a good not going to stay in this darkness to know how to move toward forresource. But most pastors are forever. There is light, and there is giveness." not trained as counsellors. They a resolution." said, Badaczewski To do that,
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February 12007, The Record
Making time to service your marriage The importance of maintaining a healthy lifetime partnership Marriage educator Derek Boylen discovers the importance of regularly seeking support and education during married life, not just when things get too tough to handle.
of an inventory/questionnaire covering a wide range of relationship issues. This is followed up by an individual couple, facilitated feedback and discussion session led by a trained facilitator/educator. It is an ideal program for couples who would like to reflect on their relationship in a more private setting. Contact Catholic Marriage Education Services on (08) 9325 1859.
Once you are married
Together in Harmony • By Derek Boylen
I
t's an odd thing. The current rate of divorce in Australia is at 48 per cent. As a marriage educater though I am yet to meet an engaged couple who aren't convinced their marriage will Last a lifetime. So how is it that so many of these young hopefuls end up losing their way? One of the reasons is that there aren't enough occasions when they are able to stop, reflect and communicate about their marriage. We clean and maintain our homes each and every day and yet go years without spending time to maintain our marriages. Luckily, we aren't without opportunities, though many couples may not be aware of them. Below are some of the marriage education programs on offer in our diocese. It should be noted that these programs are designed to be of benefit to all couples though some are better suited to certain stages of marriage. I am director of Catholic Marriage Education Services which provides marriage education for over 1500 couples each year.
Before Getting Married
Together Forever
A one-day course that will provide you with the opportunity to share your ideas and expectations of marriage; consider your long term commitment; appreciate the strengths of your relationship; obtain useful information; learn about relationship skills and identify areas of your relationship which might require more effort. Contact Catholic Marriage Education Services on (08) 9325 1859.
Engaged Encounter Conducted over a weekend retreat couples are given the opportunity to discuss openly and honestly with each other their future lives together: their desires, ambitions, goals; their attitude about money, children, sex; their understanding of marriage as a couple's special relationship with God and how they see their roles in the Church and in society. Contact Engaged Encounter on (08) 9218 8314.
FOCCUS The FOCCUS pre-marriage inventory is an enjoyable and comprehensive way to build a realistic picture of the strengths and growth areas of your relationship. The process starts with the completion
A half-day program specifically designed for couples in their first or second year of marriage. The program covers common concerns for couples at this stage in their marriage. Specifically the program looks at keeping romance alive; rituals — the key to preserving love; facets of intimacy; the time management matrix; time, sex and money as well as individual and couple goals. Contact Catholic Marriage Education Services on (08) 9325 1859.
Celebrate Love This is a non-residential program over a Saturday and Sunday. Through a series of presentations and exercises, the seminar focuses on learning how to love effectively through understanding the different ways men and women approach relationships. The seminar is usually presented by two married couples. Celebrate Love also explores marital spirituality and explicitly draws on the insights of Pope John Paul II's "Theology of the Body." The program is a private experience; there is no group sharing, all discussions are only between husband and wife. For more information visit www. celebratelove.com.au.
Marriage Encounter This is a residential program running from Friday night through Sunday. The weekend offers a series of presentations which aim to improve communication and intimacy between couples; covering topics such as expressing feelings, effective listening, personality styles and behaviours and the effect of these on relationships, and communicating in difficult areas. It is usually presented by three married couples and a Catholic priest. The program is a private experience; there is no group sharing, all discussions are only between husband and wife. For more information visit www. wwme.org.au.
What is Retrouvaille? is French for "v Retrouvaille rediscovery," and that's hat it attempts to provide to couples who see their next stop as the divorce court. The Catholic-affiliated program offers couples a weekend session led by volunteer couples who share their own stories of marital difficulties, along with a priest. Participants are asked to listen to the facilitators, write about their feelings on issues and discuss what they wrote - a process
that requires them to understand and articulate their own feelings and listen to their spouses. A fter the weekend, there are 12 follow-up sessions. For Julie and Frank LaBoda, Retrouvaille provided the skills they needed to communicate without tearing one another down - the pattern they followed when they first reconciled after Frank had an affair. For Julie, one of the key messages was that love was a decision.
"It's not a feeling that comes and goes. I could decide to love Frank, even thoughIwas so angry at him." For Frank, it was permission to acknowledge his feelings and share them with Julie, after a lifetime of bottling them up. The couple now volunteers as a mentor couple, sharing their story of marital rupture and healing with others. "It's just as healing every time we do it," Frank LaBoda said. "We do it for our own healing .. and growth.
The Marriage Course The Marriage Course is a sevensession DVD program that is available through Catholic Marriage Education Services for parishes to borrow and use with couples. The two-hour sessions cover a range of topics including: building strong foundations, the art of communication, resolving conflict, the power of forgiveness, parents and in-laws, good sex and love in action. Contact Catholic Marriage Education Services on (08) 9325 1859.
One last chance: If communication is the key, both parties must be willing to listen.
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February 12007, The Record
Opinion
Promote real human rights
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Being Heard • By John Heard
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G
ay marriage' is a divisive topic and rightly so. Most individuals recognise the social, legal, developmental and ontological significance of the family and are wary of any attempts to weaken the institution. An overwhelming majority of voters in the United States, Australia and across the democratic world have rejected legislative acts that, on a rational analysis, prove to be detrimental to the flourishing of children and societies or otherwise militate against the common good. We believe we do so for the good of all people, even those who claim now that they want 'gay marriage'. We trust our confidence derives
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not from hubris, but from compassion. However, good people are not put here primarily to tear things down or shut people out. We cannot stand silent while real injustices burden our brothers and sisters. That is why it is important to highlight a remarkable development that is gathering pace across the West. It is a movement that applies fair principles, equity and compassion to otherwise vexed social and legal questions to obtain practical justice for many who are currently cut off from relief. A fine example is the intervention, ultimately unsuccessful, of Princeton professor and leading natural lawyer Robert P George in the civil union debate in New Jersey. Rather than merely opposing legislation that would hurt families, George and his colleagues testified on behalf of a proposal that would extend certain benefits to any domestic partnership that demonstrated the requisite standard of 'care and responsibility'. Fair-minded individuals of any religious persuasion or none recognise that the State must allow a man to mingle his estate, often comprising the fruit of his labour, with whoever he chooses: whether his co-dependent companion, his carer aunt or his un-wed twin sister. Similarly, a woman should not die alone while her lifelong friend fights with bureaucrats who have
been instructed that only family members are allowed to see the patient. No worthy man can celebrate or long tolerate a law that sees another human being lose their home because the State is blind to the circumstances of some lives or keeps people who care for others away from their companions right when they need them close. These are reasons why a sound Catholic scholar like George supported the New Jersey proposal. Closer to home, in South Australia, Archbishop Philip Wilson and others successfully turned that State's 'gay rights' inflected and probably family corrosive proposed legislation into the compassion-rich Domestic Partnerships Bill that passed late last year. The original South Australian Bill had sought to extend rights based on whether or not couples regularly participated in homosexual acts with each other. After lobbying by broad-minded Christians and others, however, the new law extends property, financial and carer's rights to any two people based on whether or not they cohabitate on a 'genuine domestic basis'. In this way the definition of marriage remains sound and some of the more obvious injustices working against various co-dependency arrangements are ameliorated. News came this week that the Seattle hierarchy in the United
States is involved with similar legislation there. Australians, especially, will see how the concept of a 'fair go' operates here to marvellous effect. Any Catholic, natural lawyer or other individual concerned to see the common good enhanced will recognise in such moves the kind of practical compassion that should be the hallmark of our offerings in the public square and our interaction with the political process. Rather than joining the homoactivists, extremists and others fixated on sex, good men and women, scholars, lawyers, politicians and ordinary people can look to more expansive solutions that ensure that real human rights are protected while more frivolous or destructive ideologies and proposals are sidelined. It is just this kind of broad-minded thinking and political finesse, this drive not just to resist and restrict, but rather to spread wide the fruits of
flourishing, that will ensure that Churches and their lobby groups retain their influence on government policy and operate as effective agents for compassion in any debate about legal reform and the family. It will also keep the discussion focussed, rather than turning it into an unnecessary referendum on personal morality. This last is, after all, the kind of thing that is more properly the concern of private conscience, certainly not fodder for posturing politicians in a secular democracy.
Archbishop Phillip Wilson
the family is the future
Listening a special gift
Checking the message lets her know you're actually listening in the close emotional environment of
oi with Derek Boylen
"Don't be a man! I just want you to listen." A friend of mine occasionally says this when she is trying to share a concern and I immediately start helping out with solutions. Listening is one of the greatest gifts people can give to each other and it is especially so in marriage. The quality with which a person listens to us can have a dramatic affect on how we feel in life. When we have something important to share and we aren't listened to it can leave us feeling lonely, insecure, disrespected, unloved, anxious and vulnerable. I couldn't think of anything worse than a marriage that felt this way. On the other hand, when we listen deeply to our spouse we give them a wonderful feeling. When someone really listens to us we may feel loved, affirmed, valued, safe, relieved and secure. Unfortunately most people aren't all that good at listening. Research suggests that communication is 55 per cent visual, 38 per cent vocal and only 7 per cent verbal. And so,
marriage, when our spouse begins to talk to us we have made up our mind about what's being said by the third word. The visual and vocal messages are screaming at us so loudly that we don't bother to listen to the verbal message. This is particularly so if we think the verbal message might be a critical one. So how can we become better listeners? Well, the first thing we need to do is actually listen. Not problem solve, not go back to reading the paper or watching the television, not apportion blame, not prepare our own offensive, not judge, not diagnose, criticise, moralise, question, advise or argue. The first step is to simply listen. The second thing we need to do is to look like we are listening. Turn and face your spouse, let them know you are listening, say "yes" and "uh huh" at the right times. Concentrate on the verbals. The vocal and visual messages may be shouting out but focus on the verbal. If you're not quite sure what's being said then check the message. "I think your telling me... is that right?" "What I'm hearing is... is that correct?" Checking the message not only lets your spouse know that you are listening but
it helps to ensure that you really are getting the message right. Remember that you love your spouse and that you both want to have a happy life-giving marriage. If the thing your spouse wants to say involves criticism it can be very difficult to hear. Before having your say remind yourself that you love them, that they love you and that the reason they are raising this issue is because, just like
you, they want to have a happy marriage. Lastly, ask if there is anything you can do. Most of us wouldn't have married the person we did if we didn't think they were wonderful, capable people. Before dishing out advice, problem solving and solution seeking ask them if there is anything you can do to help. You'll be surprised how often the answer is "No,I just wanted someone to talk to."
February 12007, The Record
Page 9
The World FEATURE
Family policy leads to fewer girls
The Associated Press reported on January 12 that China would have 30 million more men of marriageable age than women in less than 15 years.
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he Chinese government has officially recognised that its family planning programs have left the country with a shortage
of girls. Zhang Weiqing, director of China's National Population and Family Planning Commission, admitted the same in a statement to the South China Morning Post on January 24. "Of course," he conceded, "the gender imbalance has something to do with China's strict family planning policy." Zhang also said that the imbalance was expected to worsen. The director did explain, however, that the government's policy was not the only factor causing the imbalance. He explained that the skewed gender ratio is also a result of an ingrained cultural tradition that favours boys over girls. Zhang said that ultrasounds are often used by parents to detect unwanted girls so that the females can be aborted. According to Zhang, the government's strict one-child policy applies to only 35.9% of the mainland's population. Another 52.9% is allowed a second child if the first is a girl. A further 9.6%, poor farmers, are allowed two children. Ethnic minorities, which constitute 1.6% of the population, are permitted to have at least two children.
It's raining men In an Associated Press article on January 23, Zhang revealed that China's male-female ratio in 2005 is 118-to-100. That's an increase from the already imbalanced ratios reported at 108-to-100 in 1982, and 111-to-100 in 1990. In some regions, the figure has hit an astro-
reported on January 24 that Zhang nomical 130 boys for every 100 girls. The average for industrialised had pledged that the government would "unswervingly" continue its countries is between 104 and 107 birth-control measures in coming boys for every 100 girls. years. Yet a report published the The Associated Press also reported on January 12 that China would same day by the Washington Post quoted him as saying that fines for have 30 million more men of marviolating the one-child limit may less in women than riageable age than 15 years. The data cited by be reduced for the poor. "With very poor families, we AP came from a front-page report may reduce part of the social comon the pending demographic crisis published by the China Daily pensation fee or waive the fee, depending on the actual situation," newspaper. s aid Zhang. A month earlier, on That newspaper report also commented that social instability December 28, the South China could well result from having tens Morning Post reported that Prime of millions of men unable to find Minister Wen Jiabao had said that the government had no plans to wives. Not surprisingly many of China's change its one-child policy. On November 10, however, kids are growing up without broththe Agence France-Presse cited ers and sisters. the China Daily as reporting that Zhao Baige, vice minister for China's National Population and couples, in which both partners Family Planning Commission, said are from single-child families, are actually being encouraged to have that China's family planning politwo children. cies is why 90 million of the counThey need it, reasoned Duan try's youth are only children. Zhao Jianhua, deputy director of famconceded that, according to surily planning in Guangzhou, to the veys, 60% of Chinese would prefer to have two children, the Associated China Daily. He said that these couples bear the entire burden of Press reported on January 19. caring for their aging four parents, to Officials are divided over what do next. "Deep divisions," reported and thus they may be tempted to the Financial Times on July 12, have no children at all. "have emerged within the Chinese Protests squashed government over how to manage last year a blind Chinese Late its controversial one-child policy." National activist, Chen Guangcheng, was the Reportedly, Population and Family Planning sentenced to a jail term of four Commission was in favour of years and three months for destroycriminalising gender-selective ing public property and inciting abortions. Yet in June, the National people to disrupt traffic, reported the South China Morning Post on People's Congress scrapped a proposed measure that would have December 1. Chen had exposed imposed jail terms for such abor- human rights abuses committed under China's one-child policy in tions. and around the city of Linyi, even sigmixed The media also send though the charges against him nals. The South China Morning Post
made no explicit reference to this activity. His supporters, however, maintain that his work had everything to do with the arrest and subsequent conviction. The South China Morning Post reported that Chinese activists and human rights groups say the charges laid against Chen were meant to silence him and punish him for exposing abuses carried out under the one-child policy. Chen was convicted in August, but had won an appeal in November on the grounds of a lack of evidence for the conviction, and the case was sent back for a retrial. But the retrial confirmed the same sentence issued by the Yinan county court in Shandong province. Chen's relatives and lawyers complained that officials hindered his defence by intimidating witnesses and suppressing evidence. On the day of the retrial, four defence witnesses were kidnapped, Chen's lawyers said.
Turning gray Another ill effect of China's severe population policy is that the country is aging faster than any other major nation in history, according to a report published by the Chicago Tribune on January 23. Richard Jackson, director of the Global Aging Initiative at the Washington-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies, said the forced transition from baby boom to baby bust will occasion severe economic problems. "They are looking at 400 million old people 30 years from now, the vast majority of whom will not have pensions or health care or extended family," he said.
Currently, those older than 60 make up just 11% of China's 1.3 billion people. By 2050, those over 60 will make up 31% of the population. China will take just 25 years to age as much as Europe did during the last century, said the Chicago Tribune, citing UN statistics. The Boston Globe reported on January 2 that the number of people 60 and over is increasing by 6 million a year, and that China's nursing homes can only accommodate 1.5 million. Furthermore, most of the elderly have very little savings, and pensions, where they exist, are meagre. The government's ability to provide any sort of public welfare for the elderly is also in doubt. The ratio of workers to retirees in China will decline to about 2-to-1 by 2040. A front-page article on China's aging population published by the Washington Post on December 22 said that depression among senior citizens is on the rise, and that increasingly cases are reported of elderly parents who are left abandoned at hospitals or who are suing their children for financial support. Employers are also feeling the pinch. The New York Times reported on June 30 that the country that has built its economic strength on an endless supply of cheap labour may soon face a labour shortage. The one-child policy "may ultimately prove to be another monumental demographic mistake," the article said.Factories may be forced to move to other countries, such as India, which have younger populations. Time will tell of the folly of coercive population policies. -ZENIT
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The World
February 12007, The Record
Clergy colloboration discussed Eastern Europeans discuss clergy collaboration with communists in By Jonathan luxmoore
Many Eastern European church officials said they lack procedures for handling claims of clergy collaborating with communist secret police nearly 20 year after the collapse of communism. Father Laszlo Nemeth, secretarygeneral of the Hungarian bishops' conference, told Catholic News Service that although Hungarian bishops had debated the issue in the early 1990s the communist police archives are still closed to researchers. "We'd like to see government legislation on the use and interpretation of communist regime archives, but our Members of Parliament appear unready to pass a law which would allow objective research in this complex area," Father Nemeth said on January 25. "Some files and documents were destroyed and some fabricated. If we can't establish the truth from them, how can we properly screen our clergy?" The priest said most bishops consecrated under communist rule had now retired, and younger Catholic clergy were uninvolved. "Everyone who achieved something, knew languages or reached a certain level of importance in society was controlled and asked to collaborate," he said. "Many of those who made compromises, seeing this as a lesser evil, later achieved wonderful things for the Church. So there's an uneasiness about dragging this all out into the open again." In Romania, Father Francisc Dubos, a spokesman for the Bucharest Archdiocese, said Romanian President Traian
Polish Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz kisses Pope Benedict XVI's hand during a meeting in Wadowice, Poland, on May 27. Cardinal Dziwisz apologised for priests in Poland who were informers for the communist secret police, and he promised to "uncover PHOTO CN6 the whole truth" about clergy collaboration with the communists.
Basescu had urged the opening of secret police files on Orthodox and Catholic clergy after the justice minister called for clergy guilty of working with communists to be named publicly last year. Romanian church leaders believed the demands were "politically motivated" and they had not adopted an "official position," Father Dubos told CNS. "Although diocesan bishops have talked privately about how to deal with collaboration claims, there are no church statements or guidelines," he said. "Some priests were clearly
involved with the authorities, so a case like Poland's could occur here too," he added, referring to the recent resignation of Warsaw Archbishop Stanislaw Wielgus - and subsequently other Polish clergy - for working with the communist secret police. Since Archbishop Wielgus' resignation, dozens of Polish dioceses have set up individual or joint commissions to investigate communist-era surveillance of local priests, in line with recommendations announced at an emergency Polish bishops' conference meeting on January 12.
Pope Pius saved many Jewish lives Vatican secretary of state defends Pope Pius Xll's wartime actions
Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican secretary of state, strongly defended Pope Pius XII's wartime actions and said he had coordinated church efforts that saved the lives of many Jews. Cardinal Bertone spoke on January 24 at the presentation of the Italian translation of the book "The Righteous: The Unsung Heroes of the Holocaust," by Jewish historian Sir Martin Gilbert. The cardinal said the book illustrated how people of many faiths, including Christians and Muslims, had risked their lives to save Jews from Nazi persecution and death in concentration camps. He said the Catholic Church as an institution played a part in this effort, working under Pope Pius
k.
and following his directives. The Church aided all during World War II, but specifically sought to defend and save persecuted Jews, he said. "They were to be helped in any way possible. This is the premise on which every action of the Pope and his aides was founded, as is demonstrated by the existing documentation," Cardinal Bertone said. "The story of Catholic 'righteous' therefore is entwined with the action of Pius XII," he said. It is a story of understanding, dialogue and appreciation among Jews for the actions of the Church and the Pope, he said. "But above all it is a story that removes any justification for the recurring accusations of papal 'collaboration' and Catholic antiSemitism," he said. Lisa Palmieri-Billig, the Rome representative of the American Jewish Committee, also spoke at the book presentation. She said there was no question that
the Vatican had helped save the lives of Jews, sometimes hiding them inside the Vatican itself. She noted Pope Pius' strongly worded Christmas appeal in 1942 on behalf of those persecuted by the Nazi regime on the basis of nationality or race. Scholars are divided about why the Pope did not make similar appeals later in the war; several Catholic experts have said the Pope had legitimate fear of Nazi retribution against the Church and the Jews. Palmieri-Billig said the question may not be settled until secret archive material from that period is made available to scholars. She said the strategic choices made by Pope Pius were once explained to her in this way by Jesuit Father Pierre Blet, a historian of the wartime period: The Vatican tried to help save as many lives as possible, including Jewish lives, but the first priority of Vatican diplomacy was to help -CNS the Allies win the war.
The bishops also announced the creation of a five-member central Church Historical Commission that would be available if requested to check the files of bishops. The diocesan commissions are composed almost entirely of priests and bishops. In the Warsaw archdiocesan commission, only one of the 12 commission members is a layperson. Father Dubos said he doubted such claims of clergy collaboration would have "the same impact" in Romania as in Poland because of the Catholic Church's minority status.
"Politically motivated campaigns like this won't radically affect public trust," he added. "Nor will media revelations generate a hysterical reaction." Many bishops' conferences around Eastern Europe have tried to identify clergy who worked with the communist secret police. The Lithuanian bishops' conference urged guilty priests to come forward in 2000. And in Slovakia last year, several dozen Catholic priests were named on lists of alleged communist agents by government officials. The Slovakian bishops' conference asked forgiveness from those harmed by clergy collaborators in a March 2005 statement. The bishops said the Church would require an "explanation and atonement" from those involved. In the Czech Republic, three church leaders, including the president of the bishops' conference, Archbishop Jan Graubner of Olomouc, were named by newspapers in December as former secret police informers. This fuelled media claims that dozens of Catholic clergy could face exposure if more archival research was available. Meanwhile, in Russia, Father Igor Kovalevsky, the secretarygeneral of the Russian bishops' conference, said clergy collaboration had not been debated in the country, since 90 percent of the Catholic Church's 270 priests are from abroad. "Unlike in Poland, the Catholic Church (in Russia) lived for eight decades under an atheist totalitarian regime here, which was severely hostile to the Church, so lustration and penance really aren't necessary here" he told CNS on January 25. Fulfilling obligations toward one's nation doesn't mean collaborating with its regime - this would be a very superficial conclusion," he said. -CNS
Exemption for adoption denied Despite appeals from bishops and other religious leaders in Great Britain, the prime minister says there will be no exemption from anti-discrimination laws for Catholic adoption agencies. Cardinal Cormac MurphyO'Connor, president of the bishops' conference of England and Wales, said in a statement that today's decision is deeply disappointing. Last week the cardinal pointed out in a letter sent to Prime Minister Tony Blair and members of the Cabinet that proposed sexual orientation regulations would require Catholic agencies to "act against the principles of Catholic teaching." The Equality Act 2006, which will come into force in April after Parliament's approval next month, bans discrimination in the provision of goods, facilities and services on the basis of sexual orientation, and would require Catholic agencies to consider homosexual couples as potential adoptive parents.
Instead of an exemption, which was supported by the bishops of Scotland, the Anglican Church and the Muslim Council of Britain, the prime minister said the Church would have a 21-month grace period to implement the law. Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor said today, "This debate has raised crucial issues for the common good of our society. We believe there is an urgent task to reach a new consensus on how best the public role of religious organisations can be safeguarded and their rights upheld. "We are, of course, deeply disappointed that no exemption will be granted to our agencies on the grounds of widely held religious conviction and conscience. "We look to the forthcoming parliamentary debate to address some of the fundamental issues centred on the well-being of the child, whose needs must always be put first." -ZENIT
February 1 2007, The Record
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The World
World Youth Day cross brings hope to Africa Priest: World Youth Day cross a sign of hope for South African youths • By Bronwen Dads
Th
e World Youth Day cross is a sign of hope for the many young people devastated by AIDS in the South African province of Eastern Cape, said a Catholic youth chaplain. The cross was recently carried through the largely rural province which has high unemployment, poverty and inadequate education in a country where more than 18 percent of adults are HIV positive, said Father Matthias Nsamba, the youth chaplain of the Aliwal North Diocese. Father Nsamba told Catholic News Service in a telephone interview on January 21 that few job opportunities for young people exist in Eastern Cape, which he called "a province of death, disaster and despair." The young people "go to big cities to look for jobs but struggle to find work without proper education and training, and many turn to prostitution, drugs and crime," Father Nsamba said. However, he said, "the cross is a sign of hope." Nearly 1,000 young people
Bishop William Slattery of Kokstad, South Africa, preaches at a Mass in Queenstown, South Africa, to welcome the World Youth Day cross. The cross, seen at left, was welcomed by nearly 1,000 youths in the province of a country where 18 percent of PHOTO. CNS PHOTO/KOADI MATHIBEDI adults are HIV positive. It is a tradition to have a praise the cross from young people who turned out for the January 7 event singer at major celebrations in at a farm near Queenstown in had travelled by bus from Cape South Africa,."The singer interEastern Cape to welcome the World Town to hand over the cross. the feeling of the people at prets volunadult an Mbovu, Paulos Mary of Youth Day cross and icon the ceremony, representing them teer in Aliwal North's diocesan which are being taken around the and speaking on their behalf," world before the 2008 World Youth youth council, sang loud welcomNsamba said. Father the ing praises in Xhosa when Day in Sydney, Australia. "praised the cross, Mbovu said. Nsamba Father arrived, cross Four bishops led a vigil to receive
praised the depth of faith in the province and its young people's spirit of working together, and he emphasised that the cross has come to bring us hope," said Father Nsamba.The South African theme for the World Youth Day cross and the icon, given by Pope John Paul II to the youths of the world, is: "Christ Comes to Heal Our Land and Its People: Prevent HIV/AIDS by Taking Ownership of Your Life in Christ the Healer." "Each bishop at the ceremony sent his own young people home with their own crosses that they will take with them into hospitals and homes where people are dying of AIDS," Father Nsamba said. Before reaching Australia, the cross has been carried through several African countries as a sign of solidarity with the suffering populations of the continent. Then it will be taken on a pilgrimage through Oceania, arriving in Sydney in July 2008, which is expected to attract thousands of youths from around the world More than 100 youth leaders from five dioceses attended a church-run training workshop before attending the event. They were trained in leadership and taught about AIDS, and have helped to "form structures in their dioceses that will support a sustainable youth ministry," Father Nsamba said. -CNS
Another world is possible say participants at global forum Nearly 50,000 representatives from social movements, faithbased and Catholic organisations, trade unions and nongovernmental organisations passed the more than 100 resolutions at the end of the January 20-25 forum in Nairobi. The forum provided a global platform of meetings, debates and marches to address international policies that exploit the poor, women and children, and the environment. The forum's theme was "Another World Is Possible." Participants denounced the amount of money nations spend on military buildup.
They said those funds should be used to meet the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, which call on richer countries to commit resources in order to halve global poverty by 2015. They also pledged to vigorously campaign against foreign military bases and nuclear weapons. Participants urged trade unions to strengthen their role as peacebuilders by linking struggles for peace, democracy and social progress. Participants focussed on gender equality and urged forum activists to fight for the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution
the world in brief Priestly Web
As he settled into his new role as prefect of the Congregation for Clergy, Brazilian Cardinal Claudio Hummes used the congregation Web site to greet the world's priests. "Ours is not an easy mission," he told priests in the message posted on January 24 on the Web site www.clerus.org. But remaining united with Christ, "we will always be mindful of giving testimony to the hope that is within us to our numerous brothers and sisters who, even today, long for the way, the truth and the life," said Cardinal Hummes, who took up his new position in early December. The cardinal told the priests that the
1325, which addresses the impact of war on women and women's contributions toward peace. Forum participants also stressed the need to develop spaces for dialogue for people living in poverty, especially young people, so they can participate in democracy and express their concerns to national and international institutions. Participants urged governments to help fund programs for youth organisations, which will encourage youth participaton in world issues. Third World countries need to work together to create a global youth forum for young people
role of the congregation's prefect is "to be a bishop for you and a priest with you." Priests have a specific identity that must shine through their very being as well as their activities, he said. Because priests are ordained to be ministers of the word of God and of "the prophetic action and pastoral love of Christ," the cardinal said, celebrating the Eucharist is not the extent of their responsibility. A priest must "complete himself in the prophetic dimension by proclaiming the word and in the pastoral dimension by being a guide for the community," he said.
Tabloid new low The Vatican newspaper denounced an Italian journalist who posed as a penitent
to steer debate, they added. This forum would help young people take responsibility for their lives and economic empowerment, said participants. Meanwhile, participants also called for debt relief for developing countries, and said debt restricts social programs for the poor in Third World countries. Comboni Father DanielMoschetti, who works with slum-dwellers in Nairobi, told Catholic News Service that Italy had cancelled Nairobi's debt only after a "vigorous campaign." The campaign pushed "for the conversion (of) Kenya's external debt with Italy into the provision
and confessed fake sins in order to write an expose on the sacrament of reconciliation. "Fake confessions in search of a shameful scoop," the newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, headlined a commentary condemning the cover story of L'Espresso magazine, one of the country's leading weeklies. "Shame! There is no other word to express our distress toward an operation that was disgusting, worthless, disrespectful and particularly offensive," the newspaper said. The commentary said the article had exploited the good faith of confessors and offended the religious sentiments of millions of people. "It was a sacrilege, because it violated the sacred space in which a selfrecognised sinner asks intimately to receive God's merciful love," it said. The reporter made his false confessions to 24 different priests in five Italian cities.
of funds for social projects in the country ... for low-cost housing for the slum-dwellers of Nairobi," said Father Moschetti. The World Social Forum took place at the same time as the World Economic Forum, which brought together leaders to discuss the implementation of policies on climate change, global trade and globalisation. The World Social Forum was met with some negative media attention, as some Kenyans protested the price of admission to the events, saying it was too expensive for them to attend. -CNS
Pro-life teen honoured At a young age, Theresa Hanntz has already battled opposition to her pro-life activities, yet she remains undaunted. Hanntz was honoured by the Diocese of Metuchen with a Pro-Vita Award for fighting for her beliefs when the Girl Scouts initially rejected a chastity program she organised at her high school as a project to earn her the Scouts' Gold Award. A compromise was eventually reached and she received the Scouting honour. Last year, as a senior Girl Scout at Immaculata High School in Somerville and president of the Pro-Life Club, Hanntz wanted to earn her Gold Award by organising a five-week True Love Waits program at her school. The Girl Scouts did not feel it was appropriate but a -CNS compromise was reached.
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February 12007, The Record
It's about love, not recruiting Critics just don't have a clue about Catholic motivation in welfare Fr Joe Caddy is Chair of Catholic Social Serivces Australia and Chief Executive Officer of Centacare Melbourne. At a public forum on pregnancy counselling at the national colloquium for Catholic bioethicists
Good Samaritan is the model
There are now emerging some great opportunities to build better support for pregnant women in Australia. In Jesus' parable as related in Luke's Gospel, the Good Samaritan proved he was a neighbour when, on seeing the man who had been bashed and robbed and left at the side of the road, he was "moved with compassion" and went to help him. He didn't ask any questions. How did this man come to be in these circumstances? Or, what will I get dragged into if I get involved? It was simple really; he saw someone in trouble and went to help. The Federal Government recently announced its decision to award the Pregnancy Telephone Helpline tender to McKesson Asia Pacific, a private company that intends to subcontract the Catholic Church welfare agency, Centacare Sydney, to help develop an information manual. In the heated debate that followed the Government's announcement, a number of public commentators were unrestrained in attacking Catholic social welfare services, and aired the view that such services are incapable of providing professional pregnancy counselling, given the Church's moral and ethical stance regarding abortion. Their responses demonstrated no understanding whatsoever of the Church's motivation in being involved in social services. The presumption is that the Church's aim in providing services is to manipulate society and the lives of individuals so that they conform to Catholic belief and practice. While it is true that Catholic agencies are involved in health, education and welfare services for reasons other than making money,
in Melbourne last Tueday, Fr Caddy took apart the recent political and media attacks on Catholic inolvement in pregnancy counselling. Using quotes from Popes Benedict and John Paul II, he
spells out the real motivation of Catholic social welfare and describes the principles involved in working in the abortion counselling field, principles that have broad application in other problem areas in our society.
the motivation for Church agencies in undertaking social services is not to manipulate the lives of service users, but rather, in the spirit of the Good Samaritan, to extend the mission of service to those in need. In Australia, the Church has been a leader in providing services in direct response to the unmet needs of the community. Catholic Social Services Australia comprises 63 member organisations providing some 500 services to over a million Australians each year. In addition there is the work of the Society of St Vincent de Paul, Catholic hospitals and health care, education and the many unsung initiatives of parishes and religious orders. As the Catholic Church's peak national body for social services Catholic Social Services Australia advises the Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference and the Australian Council of Leaders of Religious Institutes on social policy issues and importantly enters the public discourse on their behalf and with their support. The members of Catholic Social Services Australia, (you will be familiar with such local names as "Centacare" or "Mercy Care" or "Boys Town" or "MacK illop Family Services and Jesuit social Services) have sites in rural, regional and metropolitan areas across the country and provide services including aged care, community care, disability services, drug and alcohol services, employment and vocational programs, family relationship services, housing, mental health, residential care and youth programs. These services do not exist to provide social services exclusively to Catholics. Again they are an expression of the Church's service and mission to the common good, and outreach to all people who
are in need. Governments, and through them communities, benefit at all levels from the involvement of the Church sector. The Church gathers volunteers, raises independent funding, mobilises property and assets, nurtures a workforce with skills built up over decades and engages all these resources in order to maximise the service provided to the community in partnership with government. Most recently, Pope Benedict XVI confirmed the centrality of social service to the life and mission of the Church in his first Encyclical, Deus Caritas Est - God is Love: ...love for widows and orphans, prisoners, and the sick and needy of every kind, is as essential to the Church as the ministry of the Sacraments and preaching of the Gospel. The Church cannot neglect the service of charity any more than she can neglect the Sacraments and the Word.
Fr Joe Caddy CC
bile it is true that Catholic agencies are involved in health, education and welfare services for reasons other than making money, the motivation for Church agencies in undertaking social services is not to manipulate the lives of service users, but rather, in the spirit of the Good Samaritan, to extend the mission of service to those in need.
(DCE 22)
So the presence of the Church in social ministry is central and key to its identity. Service is about serving, it is not, as has wrongly been presumed in the debate on pregnancy counselling, about forcing society to conform to Catholic morality. Recent public attacks on Catholic welfare agencies regarding their approach to pregnancy counselling have claimed that the Church is unprofessional in its approach to pregnancy counselling and pro-life advocacy. In the case of professional non directive counselling this is neither required in Church agencies nor is it the reality. As highlighted in Pope Benedict XVI's EnC"Nical Letter - God is Love: Christian chcKitable activity must be independent of parties and ideologies. It is not a means of changing the world ideologically, and it is not at the service of worldly stratagems, but a way of making present here and now the love which man always needs. (DCE 318)
And further: Those who practice charity in the Church's name will never seek to impose the Church's faith upon others. They realise that a pure and generous love is the best witness to the God in whom we believe and by whom we are driven to love. (DCE 31C)
Again the Pope insists that charitable service provided through the Church should be professional: The Church's charitable organisations ought to do everything in their power to provide the resources
and above all the personnel needed for this work. Individuals who care for those in need must first be professionally competent: they should be properly trained in what to do and how to do it, and committed to ongoing care. (DCE 31A)
So the provision of service to those in need is a central requirement of the Church and is proper to its mission. However while I argue that the Church does not provide those services in a way that is conditional on the recipient agreeing to certain behaviours consistent with Catholic teaching or moral viewpoints there does nevertheless remain a strong role for the Church in seeking to shape society for the common good through engagement in public policy debate and in advocating for social justice. Service provision is only a part of the social welfare ministry of the Church. In his encyclical Benedict went on to describe how the work of service undertaken by the Church is linked to the development of a more just society. He clearly articulates that Church and State have distinct roles that should not to be confused. While he is clear that the role of social services must not be to impose religion on people who do not share faith he is equally clear that service alone does not achieve the goals of the broader ministry of welfare. He states: This is where Catholic social doctrine has its place: it has no intention of giving the Church power over the State. Even less is it an attempt to impose on those who do not share the faith ways of thinking and modes of conduct proper to faith. Its aim is simply to help purify reason and to contribute, here and now, to the acknowledgment and attainment of what is just.
social service organisations is to bring order to the experience of service delivery, to promote a more just society - to help purify reason and to contribute here and now to the acknowledgement and attainment of what is just. And so advocacy is not focused on imposing our values on others rather it is motivated by the story of the Good Samaritan and seeks to promote humanity and to uphold and protect the dignity of every individual.
I
(DCE 28A)
One of the tasks of Catholic
now wish to consider in particular the role of Catholic social service organisations in the provision of Pregnancy support and counselling. While government funded provision of social welfare programs has grown over the years in a number of areas related to supporting families, pregnancy support has not kept pace. Pregnancy seems to disappear in a void between family and community services and health portfolios. . This is despite much literature highlighting the importance of pregnancy in children's wellbeing. Past Australian of the Year, Fiona Stanley, amongst many others, has highlighted that improving support during pregnancy significantly improves outcomes for children. The parliamentary debate and community reaction last year on the RU486 issue demonstrated that there are still fundamentally opposing views held by those on the one hand who consider abortion to be a basic women's right and choice and on the other hand those who see it as a breach of the basic human right to life. Nevertheless the debate also highlighted an emerging national consensus that abortion always represents something of a tragedy and that numbers of abortions are too high and should be reduced.
February 1 2007, The Record
There was fairly broad agreement that more support should be available for women anxious about a pregnancy. In response to this the Prime Minister and the Minister for Health announced last March that the Federal Government would introduce a number of initiatives at an estimated cost of 51 million dollars over four years with the aim of providing additional support and information to women who are anxious about their pregnancy. It was announced that the new measures would include: A new Medicare payment 1. for pregnancy support counselling by general practitioners and, on referral, by other health professionals, and The funding of a National 2. Pregnancy Support Telephone Helpline, to provide professional and non-directive advice 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The Helpline, it was stated, would provide assistance to women, their partners and family members who wish to explore pregnancy options and would provide information on a full range of services and organisations available to support pregnant women. The announcement stressed that counselling provided through Medicare and the Helpline was to include advice on all options available, including adoption and that counselling would be provided by professionals with no financial links to abortion providers. This initiative to expand the sources of information and support available to pregnant women should be welcomed. Too often, the only option presented to women who are worried by their pregnancy is abortion, and too often counselling occurs within services with an organisational and/or financial link to abortion providers. This has not served women well and has not helped reduce abortion numbers. In light of the Government's announcement and subsequent roll-out of the services it has been important to clarify the ethical principles that will determine the participation of Catholic agencies and other groups in these programs. The object of the new Federal Government program is clearly to give women greater opportunity to make reasonable decisions, to increase the range of options other than abortion offered to them, and so to reduce the number of abortions. But in presenting the full range of options what will be required of counsellors? Whatever the case it seems important that, if possible, Catholic agencies support a new system that will reduce pro-abortion advocacy in pregnancy counselling and ensure that the counselling is provided by independent and professional counsellors. So under what conditions would it be possible for Catholic agencies to take part in such a program? In considering this question the Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference Commission for Doctrine and Morals made the point that Pope John Paul II's direction to elected officials might be applied analogically to Church agencies: ...when it is not possible to overturn or completely abrogate a proabortion law, an elected official, whose absolute personal opposition to procured abortion was well
Page 13
known, could licitly support proposals aimed at limiting the harm done by such a law and at lessening its negative consequences at the level of general opinion andpublic morality. This does not in fact represent illicit cooperation with an unjust law, but rather a legitimate and proper attempt to limit its evil aspects (EVANGELIUM VITAE S73).
Given our mission to help those who are suffering or in distressing situations, it is essential that as
Catholic agencies can provide alternative options to abortion, encouraging women to make decisions that are fully informed on the moral and practical implications involved and treat them with dignity whatever they decide. In public statements when the new Government measures were announced last March the Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell, highlighted the skill of counsellors in Catholic agencies
as services that offer counselling, information, referral and support on all three options (parenting, adoption and abortion). The clear implication in this campaign is that a referral for termination must be directly to a termination provider. This campaign depicts agencies that do not provide direct referrals as 'anti-choice', 'false providers' and 'anti-women' and of course the Catholic Church and
Good care: The ACBC says the client is likely to make a good choice if the counsellor reduces tne panic.
Church agencies we better provide for the needs of women and families who find themselves in the situation of an unplanned or difficult pregnancy. This has long been the approach of Catholic welfare agencies and more recently was the subject of an Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference Taskforce on Pastoral Responses to Abortion, which addressed ways to improve support for women and families anxious about a pregnancy. Catholic Agencies have a strong history in the delivery of non-discriminatory, professional, quality social services, incorporating counselling, across a range of areas. Some of these agencies will provide pregnancy counselling in conjunction with broader services. Others are dedicated Pregnancy Counselling and Support Services. Catholic agencies also have an ongoing and important role in post-abortion or post-pregnancy counselling, facilitating healing by helping women understand what happened, by assisting with grief and by enabling them to make good decisions in the future. While the Catholic Church has a clear moral position on abortion, this need not limit its ability to foster free personal choices for life by providing non-directive, professional counselling. The Church's opposition to crime does not limit its capacity to support prisoners; its disapproval of divorce does not limit its capacity to support men, women and children going through the pain of separation; its opposition to the abuse of drugs and alcohol does not limit its desire to accompany and support those caught in the traps of addiction. In the spirit of the Good Samaritan we are moved with compassion to assist those who are in trouble of any sort.
Pope John Paul II
...when it is not possible to overturn or completely abrogate a pro-abortion law, an elected official could licitly support proposals aimed at limiting the harm done by such a law and at lessening its negative consequences at the level of general opinion and public morality. as "thoroughly professional and respectful and that they wouldn't be bullying or pressuring anybody to do anything." Further, he stressed that "Catholic agencies are used by many people of every religion and no religion, precisely because of their competence and respectfulness". Cardinal Pell concluded that "The challenge is to encourage births, to encourage free personal choices for life, to give women the support and resources they need to give birth to their children. This is the role of parliaments and governments." While Catholic Agencies are not in the "bullying" business, careful consideration is nevertheless required in the provision of pregnancy support counselling and services. For example uncertainty on how to manage requests for direct referrals to abortion clinics may have led to reluctance of some agencies to work in this area and thus has limited the capacity of the sector to provide support to foster free personal choices for life. An ongoing political campaign attacking pro-life counselling reinforces this state of uncertainty further by defining non-directive pregnancy support counselling services
its agencies are portrayed in this light. An ethical preclusion to such referrals however does not mean that appropriate referrals cannot occur. In fact it can be well argued that it is better clinical and professional practice to ensure that direct referrals to abortion clinics do not occur.
Bishops tackle the issue head on Preliminary advice from the ACBC Bishops' Commission for Doctrine and Morals and published on their website considers the Ethical Principles and tackles the relevant issues that arise for Catholic agencies in the provision of pregnancy counselling: Decision -making counselling ought not to attempt to direct a woman in relation to her pregnancy or toward any particular decision. The client is most likely to make a good choice if the counsellor serves to reduce the sense of panic and urgency and instead assists the client to regain control of her own circumstances. The aim is to give her greater confidence in being able to cope with pregnancy and to assist her to make a reasonable decision
for herself This provides the best chance of a life-affirming choice. Counselling is an engagement of client and counsellor, of two people. Professional counselling is clientcentred, but it is an engagement of counsellor as a person who cannot be required to act contrary to her own conscience. It may be that in that engagement the client asks the counsellor's view and it may be reasonable in those circumstances for the counsellor to reveal her own view, while stressing that professionally her role is to assist the client to make her own reasonable decision after informed discussion. Pregnancy counselling does not direct the client to obtain a particular service, but does discuss available options. It is appropriate in circumstances in which abortion is available that the counsellor discusses this option and provides information about what may be involved in abortion, including demonstrated risks and ill-effects. However, referral for medical procedure is done after medical assessment and is not the task of a pregnancy support agency. It would also compromise the role of a decisionmaking counsellor if part of the role were to be a referral agency for medical procedures. Providing information about pregnancy, about available support and about the stage of development of the foetus would be important matters to discuss in relation to providing an informed basis for making a decision. A pregnant woman normally seeks medical assessment of her condition whether or not she is seeking abortion. It is not necessary for a Catholic agency to know whether or not the client's doctor is or is not pro-life. Any advice that the client seek medical assessment and/or management ought only be a recommendation for medical care, not for a particular service. The recommendation therefore, may be made even if the client has indicated that she is seeking abortion. The recommendation provides scope for further professional advice and assessment and the resolution of any ambivalence or confusion, and is thus consistent with being supportive of the woman herself and of her taking time to make a reflective decision. A Catholic agency may direct clients to a register of doctors accredited in pregnancy support counseling, provided that there was no requirement for those on the register to refer for abortion and providing that the agency was not required to endorse the register. Thus, the decision-making counselling is client-centred and nondirective and aims to assist a person to make a decision by: • Providing emotional support, time and space so that the client can make a decision that is reflective rather than panicked; Assisting a client to talk • through the problem(s) facing her by examining options and their implications for the client's own values; Assisting the client to clar• ify her own sense of self in relation to a new problem and to make reasonable decisions for herself about what she wants now and in the long term; Assisting the client to • make reasonable decisions in relation to others; Informing and exploring • with the client the availability of emotional and other support; Continued on page 14
•
Page 14
February 12007, The Record
Too many are turning a blind eye Continued from page 13
• Indicating to the client the need to seek medical or other professional services in relation to her pregnancy and encouraging her to seek that assistance from her own doctor or from another doctor or professional. The Commission concludes that a Catholic agency may apply for and accept Government funding for counselling provided that the funding does not require the counsellor to refer, recommend or actively encourage abortion procedures. This advice from the Bishops has cleared the air considerably for Catholic providers of social welfare and provides an excellent framework through which to reach out and assist those who are caught in distress through an unplanned or problematic pregnancy. In relation to pregnancy support services the new Medical Benefits Scheme arrangements are similar to those proposed in the national Mental Health strategy which has yet to be established. I am still somewhat unclear at this stage how they will operate. For example: • Will they be accessible for pregnancy support agencies employing allied health professionals? • Will only those doctors strongly motivated one way or another engage in the new system? • Will the training, registration and accreditation arrangements be appropriate? In any case the new Government initiatives are welcome. However while professional non-directive options counselling is important, much more than counselling is needed to support women and families through pregnancy and beyond. Catholic social services agencies work to provide immediate support for pregnant women but also to develop better community and government support for families. The new pregnancy support measures provide some potential to enhance this work but assistance with supporting pregnant women beyond decision-making counselling is much needed. There are many who require housing, medical care, opportunities for education, a high level of support for children with disabilities, assistance dealing with drug and alcohol issues, employment and adequate income security without all of which it is very difficult to contemplate raising a family. Pope John Paul II made the point well in his encyclical Evangelium Vitae: Here it must be noted that it is not enough to remove unjust laws. The underlying causes of attacks on life have to be eliminated, especially by ensuring proper support for families and motherhood. A family policy must be the basis and driving force for all social policies; for this reason there need to be set in place social and political initiatives capable of guaranteeing conditions of true freedom of choice in matters of parenthood. It is also necessary to rethink labour, urban, residential and social service policies so as to harmonise working schedules with time available for the family, so that it becomes effectively possible
Itaspact and support: Catholic social services should imitate the Bible by recalling the story of the Good Samaritan. PHOTO CNS to take care of children and the elderly. (EVANGELIUM VITAE 590)
Addressing social inequality On the broader issues Catholic Social Services Australia has developed an agenda and has set some priority areas where it believes support for families, individuals and communities should be improved. First on the Catholic Social Services agenda is to address social inequity. As a nation Australia has enjoyed unprecedented economic growth over the last decade. But as a nation we have not been able to overcome the poverty experienced by many people in our community - Indigenous Australians, chronically mentally ill people and homeless people - to name a few. Our macro-economic successes as a nation are undermined morally by our failures at a micro level. We have citizens in this country who will wait years for assistance with their dental care, who will attend schools with run-down facilities, who will sleep rough, and who will die young because our unprecedented growth, increased incomes and buoyant budget surpluses have left them relatively untouched. From our point of view the 'welfare system' must provide two things. Firstly, it must provide an adequate safety net for individuals who, like the man in the Good Samaritan story, have fallen on bad times. The prevailing wisdom might once have been: 'there but for the grace of God go I'. But in our harsher, more individualistic
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age it is more likely to be expressed as: 'If only you would try harder I wouldn't have to help you'. Even though it's an unfashionable argument, Catholic Social Services Australia continues to assert that the safety net ought to be an entitlement and a right afforded to individuals and families in need by virtue of their humanity. The second expectation that we have of the welfare system is that it provides incentives and support to allow people to break out of the poverty cycles that we know can span generations. The interaction between our current taxation system and welfare system has the effect of providing a safety net, but also of creating poverty traps. A further area of concern to Catholic Social Services Australia is mental health. Mental illness directly affects not only thousands of Australians, but also the families of those who are ill and the corn-
munity around them. This is a particular concern for community based agencies such as our own members as we find services overwhelmed with people who should be in specific mental health services, but for whom there is no place. For too many who do not make it into appropriate care, homelessness and prison are the next option. Australia's jails are filled with people who would once have been placed in institutional mental healthcare and who today should be properly supported in the community. They are treated now not as patients, but as prisoners. Delivering on the recent promises of the CoAG agreements in relation to mental health services, and turning good intentions into effective community based services on the ground, is the challenge of the coming years. If we are to address, in an effective way, the concerns that we've outlined and others, Catholic Social Services Australia calls for a new partnership between Church and community services and governments. There's great potential to resolve these many concerns through the rediscovery of the notion of a partnership. We do not need a State which regulates and controls every aspect of our lives, but a State which acknowledges and supports initiatives arising from the lived experience of communion with people in need. Two thousand years after the Good Samaritan story not much has changed. There are too many prepared to turn a blind eye to those in need. Like the Gospel and the vision of many who care, our call is to promote a society where we all take responsibility for those who are in need or in any form of distress. The difficulty of the challenges facing us is acknowledged, but I look forward to a genuine partnership and continued dialogue with governments, community organisations and policy makers of all persuasions, in creating a genuinely fairer and better world for all to enjoy. A better place for all children, women and men.
P ANORAMA
a roundup of events in the archdiocese
Sunday February 4 DIVINE MERCY An afternoon with Jesus and Mary will be held at St Joachim's Church, on the corner of Shepperton Road and Harper Street in Victoria Park, at 1.30pm. Program: Holy Rosary and Reconciliation, Sermon with Fr Dominic Mary FFI on St John De Britto, followed by Divine Mercy prayers and Benediction. Enq: John 9457 7771 or Linda 9275 6608. Sunday February 4 PROFESSIONAL PAINTING EXHIBITION To raise funds for the renovations to St Mary's Cathedral the exhibition will be held in the St Kieran's Hall, corner of Cape and Tyler Streets, Tuart Hill from 10.00am to 4.00pm. You can buy paintings on the spot or otherwise. Enquiries Margaret 94431853 or 0432834743. Tuesday February 6 to Sunday May 6 SET MY PEOPLE ON FIRE SEMINAR 7:30pm on Tuesday Feb 6 to Sunday May 6 for 15 weekly sessions. St Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church, cnr College Rd & Melville St, Claremont. Three weekends included. Contact (08) 9382 3668, fmi@flameministries.org. Full program: www.flameministries.org/smpof. The SMPOF seminars are an excellent source of Biblical teaching." Archbishop BJ Hickey. Wednesday February 7 CARITAS AUSTRALIA Parish Representatives Commissioning & Information Seminar: Morning 9.30am - 11.30am OR Evening 6.30pm - 8.30pm; Catholic Pastoral Centre, 40A Mary St Highgate (Parking off Harold St) Follow signs to Seminar Room, No charge, Light refreshments provided, RSVP Essential. Contact 94227925.
Tuesday February 6 M.M.P CENACLE Please join us at St Annes Church, Hehir St, Belmont as we commence our weekly Cenacles for 2007. Followed by refreshments in Parish hall. All welcome. (10.30am Rosary, 11am Holy Mass). Every Thursday February 8 to March 8 INTERCESSORY PRAYER SEMINAR Cathedral Praise Meeting 450 Hay Street, Perth 7.45 pm. Why should I pray this way? These seminars teach how to operate in the anointing, pray "in" the power of Holy Spirit and deal responsibly with spiritual forces. Free. Flame Ministries International (08) 9382 3668. www.flameministries.org/awesomeprogram Thursday February 8 HEALING MASS A Healing Mass in honour of St Peregrine, patron of Cancer sufferers and helper of all in need, will be held at the Church of SS John and Paul, Pinetree Gully Rd (off South St.) Willetton on Thursday, 8th February, at 7pm. There will be Veneration of the Relic and Anointing of the Sick. For further information please contact Noreen Monaghan on 9498 7727. Friday February 9 LAKE MONGER TORCHLIGHT ROSARY PROCESSION Will commence at 7.30pm. The procession will leave from the area closest to the Dodds Street Carpark. All are invited to attend and participate, by either walking around the Lake or sitting as a group, in the saying of the Rosary in honour of Our Lady of Lourdes. Please bring torches, drink bottles and insect repellent. Enquiries ph: Judy Woodward 9446 6837.
February 12007, The Record
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Classifieds
P ANORAMA continued
Sunday February 11 ST COLUMBA'S BAYSWATER 50TH ANNIVERSARY The 50th Anniversary of the opening of the current church will be celebrated with a thanksgiving Mass at 11 am, followed by a light luncheon in the Parish hall. An invitation is extended to past parishioners to attend this celebration, please contact Carolyn Kelly on 9271 1988. Sunday February 11 ST CATHERINE'S CHURCH GINGIN - FEAST OF OUR LADY OF LOURDES Starts noon. Holy Rosary, Exposition, Hymns, Benediction and Blessing of the Sick. 1.30 Marian Procession. 2.30 Holy Mass at the Grotto. 3.30 Afternoon tea provided. Coaches leave St Joachim's, Maddington & Morley parishes. Bookings: Francis Williams 9459 3873 or Mb 0404 893 877. Transport cost $16/pp return. Tea & Coffee provided. Contact Sheila 9575 4023 or Fr Paul 9571 1839. Tuesday February 13 CARITAS AUSTRALIA Get ready for Project Compassion 2007 Lenten Speakers Workshop, 6.45pm - 8.30pm. Catholic Pastoral Centre, 40A Mary St Highgate (Parking off Harold St) Follow signs to Seminar Room. No charge, light refreshments provided, RSVP essential 94227925. Saturday February 17 BO SANCHEZ VISIT Bo Sanchez, international Catholic preacher and author is coming to Perth. Founder of the largest Catholic media ministry in the Philippines, including his own TV show 'Preacher in Blue Jeans", radio programs and the publishing of devotional and inspirational magazines. 7.30pm, 67 Howe St, Osborne Park. Cost by donation. Information: Mario on 9202 6843 or email mario@disciplesofjesus.org. Sunday February 18 CARITAS AUSTRALIA Get ready for Project Compassion 2007. Official Launch of Project Compassion: 1Iam Mass, St Joachim's Pro-Cathedral Victoria Park, Celebrant: Archbishop Hickey, Parishes to conduct local launch. Sunday February 18 BENEDICTINE OBLATES OF NEW NOKIA Our chapter will meet 2pm at St Joseph's Convent, York St, South Perth. This is our first meeting this year and we would like everyone to attend as we want to make plans for our 50th anniversary (Sept 2008). Vespers and afternoon tea will conclude the meeting. Please contact Secretary: Adrienne Byrne 9388 3026. Visitors and enquirers welcome. Sunday February 18 TAIZE MEDITATIVE PRAYER 8pm. Sisters of St Joseph Chapel, 16 York St, South Perth. Everyone welcome to come and join in this beautiful way of praying through song, scripture and silence. Bring a torch and a friend. Enq: Sister Maree 0414 683 926. Friday February 23 ALAN AMES IN GLENDALOUGH Alan will be speaking of his conversion experiences at St Bernadette's Catholic Church, Cnr Leeder & Jugan Sts, Glendalough, after 7 pm Mass on Friday 23 February 2007. Healing prayers will follow. Enq: Loretti Crameri 9444 4409. Friday February 23 HEALING FIRE - BURNING LOVE HEALING SERVICES 'On the Road to Emmaus' a Scriptural Way of the Cross presented by Jenni Young. Come and experience an intimate encounter of Jesus' healing love for you as he takes your wounds upon himself and makes you whole. Friday 23 February at 7.30-9.30pm and every last Friday of the month thereafter in the Church. For more information please contact Jenni Young on 0404 389 679 or 9445 1028. Monday February 26 to Friday March 2 LENTEN MISSION Queen of Apostles Parish, 55Tudor Avenue, Riverton, Lenten Mission from Monday, 26 February to Friday
02 March (both days inclusive), from 7.30 pm to 8.30 pm daily, with question time to follow. Directed by Fr Greg Donovan. Enquiries: Parish Office 9354 0707 or Fr. Paul 9354 0713. Friday March 2 to Sunday March 4 MARIST FR PAUL GLYNN RETREAT A rare opportunity to enjoy a quiet, non-stress retreat with the dearly loved author and retreat master, Fr Paul Glynn. His encouraging spirit and radiant joy in the Lord still readily available for each one. Father will give two retreats at God's Farm 40km south of Busselton, directions map on request. Retreat 1: March 2-4. Retreat 2: March 9-11. Details: Betty Peaker s.f.o. Ph/Fax: 9755 6212. PO Box 24 Cowaramup 6284, Monday 26 March SPIRITUALITY AND JUSTICE: BEING HUMAN IN A CHAOTIC WORLD. 5.00 - 8.30 pm at the Perth Theological Hall, Worship Centre, Murdoch University (including light refreshments and worship) Registrations to 9360 6880 or a.watson@murdoch.edu.au. Every Sunday BULLSBROOK SHRINE Mass celebrated with Rosary and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament at 2pm at the Shrine of Virgin of the Revelation, 36 Chittering Rd, Bullsbrook. Reconciliation in Italian and English before every celebration. Monthly Pilgrimage last Sunday of the month. Anointing of the sick during Mass on the second Sunday of the month. Side entrance of Church and Shrine open daily 9am and 5pm for private prayer. Enq SACRI 9447 3292. Every Monday WEIGHT MANAGEMENT FOR THOSE WITH MENTAL ILLNESS The Emmanuel Centre are offering to help people who gain weight because they are using medication for their mental illness. The group helps participants to manage their weight safely and healthily. Mind-Body-Life meets at the Emmanuel Centre on Mondays from 12.30-2.30pm. Free. The group starts with a weigh-in, then a talk on nutrition and healthy eating tips, goal setting and then half an hour of exercise. Enq: Amanda - Emmanuel Centre, 9328 8113. Every 1st and 3rd Friday of the month CATHOLIC FAITH RENEWAL Every 1st Friday of the month, Praise and Worship Evening held at St John and Paul's Church, Pinetree Gully Road, Willetton at 7.30pm and every 3rd Friday of the month, Catholic Adult Faith Education by Fr Greg Donovan held at U Goody Bioethics Centre, 39 Jugan Street, Glendalough. All are welcome, Enq: Rita 9272 1765, Rose 0403 300 720. IS YOUR SON OR DAUGHTER UNDECIDED AFTER SCHOOL? If your child has finished school unsure of what they really want to do, offer them a productive year discovering God's purpose for their life while learning practical life skills. They will develop leadership skills, communication and public speaking skills, and learn more about the Catholic faith and deepen their own faith in God. Contact Jane Borg (Acts 2 College) on 9202 6859 or 0401 692 690.
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3218/0431 689 128. Sky air services - 9TA1220. Thank you for responding to my call.
• DENMARK Holiday House 3bdr x 2 bath, sleeps up to 8. BOOK NOW. Ph: Maria 0412 083 377. • FAMILY/GROUP ACCOMMODATION Fully furnished luxury beach houses, Perth metro. Visit www.guadaluplehill.com Call 0400 292 100.
ACCOMODATION NEEDED • ACCOMMODATION WANTED Active male pens. N/S. S/D. No pets. Full refs.SOR. Police clearance. Needs two bedroom unit/house at reasonable rental. Ring Gerard on 9495 1072.
BUILDING TRADES • BRICK RE-POINTING Phone Nigel 9242 2952. • PERROTT PAINTING PTY LTD For all your residential, commercial painting requirements. Phone Tom Perrott 9444 1200.
FURNITURE REMOVAL • ALL AREAS Mike Murphy 0416 226 434.
REUGIOUS PRODUCTS IN RICH HARVEST - YOUR CHRISTIAN SHOP Looking for Bibles, CDs, books, cards, gifts, statues, baptism/communion apparel, religious vestments, etc? Visit us at 39 Hulme Court (off McCoy St), Myaree, 9329 9889 (after 10.30am, Mon-Sat) We are here to serve. • CATHOLICS CORNER Retailer of Catholic products specialising in gifts, cards and apparel for baptism, communion and confirmation. Ph: 9456 1777. Shop 12, 64-66 Bannister Road, Canning Vale. Open Mon-Sat.
SERVICES
• PICASSO PAINTING Top service. Phone 0419 915 836, fax 9345 0505.
IN REPAIR YOUR LITURGICAL BOOKS Repairs to all sorts of books and leather bindings; reliable, reasonable rates. Ph. (08) 9293 3092.
EMPLOYMENT
I I MASSEUR Indian masseur offers reflex-relax massage. $30 for 60 min. Phone Jai 0438 520 993.
• POSITIONS VACANT Church Caretaker/handyman - Bindoon. Suit pensioner. Tel 9571 1839.
EVENTS I I PILGRIMAGE Dear Pilgrim, You are invited to come on a 15 Days Spiritual Pilgrimage. Medjugorje: 6 Days. Rome: 4 Days (audience with Pope). Garabandal: 4 Days. Spiritual Directors: Fr Paul Fox & Fr Aruiraj. Depart Perth: Wed 16 May 2007. Cost: $4958.00 P/P (twin share). Call Helen Cockrell Tel: (08) 9453
IN MEMORIAM I I KIRKWOOD (MAUREEN) In Loving memory and gratitude to my wonderful Mother, who was always so good, honourable and lovable, kind and generous. You are ever in my heart and prayers, Mother darling, and dear Pappa also. May God be with you both, and may you rest in peace. Moira.
Official Dairy - February 1
AGLOW Presidents' Summit - Archbishop Hickey
2
Mass, Induction of Special Ministers, Presentation of Yr 12 Badges at Trinity College - Archbishop Hickey
3
Pro-Life Mass and Procession - Archbishop Hickey
4
Council of Christians and Jews AGM - Archbishop Hickey
5
Opening Mass and Induction of New Principal, Trinity College - Archbishop Hickey
6
School Commissioning Masses for Staff
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS Is alcohol costing you more than just money? Alcoholics Anonymous can help. Ring 9325 3566.
Northern Coastal Region at Whitford Parish - Archbishop Hickey
AL ANON FAMILY GROUPS If a loved one's drinking is worrying you - please call Al Anon Family Groups for confidential information meetings etc... Phone Number 9325 7528 - 24 hrs.
South Central Region at Willetton Parish - Fr Brian O'Loughlin VG
LINDA'S HOUSE OF HOPE APPEAL To enable us to continue to provide and offer support for girls wishing to leave the sex trade we need your help. We have achieved already new offfices which are now complete at the rear of the shelter and are fully functional. Donations are also required to complete the internal layout of the shelter itself. Please send donations to Linda's House of Hope PO Box Z5640, Perth, St George's Tce 6831. Ph: 0439 401 009. All donations over $2 are tax deductible.
Eastern Region at Lockridge Parish - Bishop Sproxton South Eastern Region at Queen's Park Parish - Mgr Michael Keating 7
School Commissioning Masses for Staff North Eastern Region at Leederville Parish - Archbishop Hickey Central Region at Morley Parish - Bishop Sproxton South Western Region at Fremantle Basilica - Fr Brian O'Loughlin VG Western Region at Redemptorist Monastery - Mgr Michael Keating
8
Council of Priests' Meeting, L J Goody Hall, Glendalough - Archbishop Hickey, Bishop Sproxton
Panorama Panorama entries must be in by 5pm Monday. Contributions may be faxed to 9227 7087, emailed to administration@therecord.com.au or mailed to PO box 75, Leederville, WA 6902. Submissions over 55 words will be excluded. Inclusion is limited to 4 weeks. Events charging over $10 constitute a classified event, and will be charged accordingly. The Record reserves the right to decline or modify any advertisment.
11
Mass at Clarkson Parish - Archbishop Hickey 50th Anniversary Mass of St Columba's Church, Bayswater - Bishop Sproxton
13
Meeting of Candidates and Catechumens for Rite of Election - Archbishop Hickey
14
Knights of the Southern Cross Mass and Meeting, Rivervale - Archbishop Hickey
Concertina gift books from the 'Gift of... series. Benedict, Francis of Assisi and Julian of Norwich
The Little Gift Boor of Saint Benedict
Each pocket size book contains artwork and calligraphy by Lynne Muir and quotations and prayers by selected authors Verna A. Holyhead, John Davis, Don McMonigle and Karen Manton
The Little Gift Book of Saint Francis by John Davis & Don McMonigle $9.95
Includes Crucifix Prayer, the Canticle of Brother Sun and the Peace Prayer
The Little Gift Book of Julian of Norwich by Karen Manton $9.95
Includes seven quotations in Middle English with modern translations
St Francis of Assisi card set $9.95
Original complete editions $22.95 Hardcover 128 pages