Record
W E S T E R N A U S T R A L I A’ S A WA R D - W I N N I N G C AT H O L I C N E W S P A P E R S I N C E 1 8 7 4
the
We d n e s d a y, D e c e m b e r 5 , 2 0 1 2
the
Parish.
the
N at i o n .
the
MARY’S ROLE IN A YEAR OF GRACE
Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB on following Mary’s example - Pages 10 & 11
World.
$2.00
therecord.com.au
UNAVOIDABLE
GOD
Science can only point to a created universe: philosopher - Page 15
Caritas calls on Federal government to prioritise indigenous communities, to ...
Walk the good talk
Synchronicity: Marie Maunich, Paul Kurtis and Daniel Chan from Caritas Australia prepare for the screening of the documentary Walk As One at the Catholic Pastoral Centre in Highgate last week. During the screening a petition was circulated calling on the Australian government to prioritise indigenous peoples in Australian aid. Full story - page 4. PHOTO: SARAH MOTHERWELL
Release the children, students urge government By Robert Hiini AUSTRALIA should uphold its own international commitments and immediately release all children held in immigration detention centres, the Perth Young Christian Students said this week. Around 40 young people, some aged 12 and 13 years old, took part in YCS’ silent protest in Perth’s central business district on Sunday. Meeting on the lawn outside St George’s Anglican Cathedral, the students marched in pairs, carry-
ing banners calling for an end to the practice of child immigration detention, through both the Hay and Murray Street malls. “We are young people, and so relate to the young people in immigration detention and believe it is our duty to protect their rights,” Year 11 student Frances Houwen, a member of Ursula Frayne College’s YCS, said last week. “We feel it is often difficult for our voices to be heard, despite our want to make a positive difference to the world. In a similar way, chil-
dren in immigration detention do not have the opportunity to voice their experiences. “We are here to be their voice and to provide them with the basic human rights that every child deserves according to the Convention for the Rights of the Child, which Australia has signed,” Ms Houwen said. In a statement to media last week, YCS said children deserved a childhood and alleged the Australian Government was breaking its commitment to the convention.
As a first world nation, and now a temporary member of the United Nations’ Security Council,
We must protect the most vulnerable, not cause them extreme psychological damage. Australia has a responsibility to show humane leadership. “We should be protecting the
human rights of the world’s vulnerable, not causing them extreme psychological and other damage,” the statement said. “End child detention once and for all. Give them a real childhood. See them as people, not simply asylum seekers.” YCS began its End Child Detention campaign after its national conference earlier this year. Their silent protest in the CBD was coordinated by Ursula Frayne student Annie Purbrick, 15.