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therecord.com.au
Valentine’s Day
Season of Renewal, Repentance
Juanita Shepherd looks at the history behind the tradition Page 15
How Lent helps us to draw closer to God - and to each other as well - Page 17
Canterbury defends marriage A DAY before the British House of Commons was to vote on a bill on same-sex marriage, the new Archbishop of Canterbury restated his opposition. Anglican Archbishop Justin Welby became the Archbishop of Canterbury during an hour-long legal “ceremony of confirmation” at London’s St Paul’s Cathedral on February 4. The rite – which included an oath of allegiance to
Queen Elizabeth II – marked the point in which he stepped aside as Bishop of Durham and became the leader of the Church of England and spiritual head of 77 million Anglicans in sister churches around the world. Speaking to reporters afterward, he said that he stood with his brother Anglican bishops in strongly opposing plans by the British government to redefine marriage to
include same-sex couples. “I stand, as I have always stood over the last few months, with the statement I made at the announcement of my appointment, which is that I support the Church of England’s position on this,” he said. The Church of England, the Roman Catholic Church, mainstream Protestant denominations, Jewish, Muslim and Sikh leaders are united in their opposition to
the legislation. Britain’s Catholic bishops have said it would pose a threat to religious liberty and the ability of the Church to function effectively in civil society. In January, they distributed a million postcards throughout parishes in England and Wales to ask the faithful to lobby their elected representatives on the issue. They also issued a briefing paper to politicians, warning them that
the bill, for the first time in British legal history, “fundamentally seeks to break the existing legal link between the institution of marriage and sexual exclusivity, loyalty and responsibility for the children of the marriage”. The bishops said the redefinition of marriage would lead to more fundamental changes and predicted that proposed safeguards would be inadequate. - CNS
Vandals hit St John’s historic ProCathedral By Matthew Biddle THE WALLS of Perth’s oldest Catholic church have been badly defaced by graffiti vandals. It is believed the vandals spraypainted St John’s Pro-Cathedral in Victoria Avenue last weekend. The graffiti, which covers almost every outside wall of the church, will cost thousands of dollars to remove. The Pro-Cathedral was the first Catholic church to be built in the Perth Archdiocese back in 1843, and is believed to be the longest used church in the State. Over the past few months, conservation work has been done on the building, which will continue to be used as a chapel in the future. History vandalised: St John’s ProCathedral in Victoria Avenue in Perth’s central business district covered in graffiti on Monday morning this week. PHOTO: MATTHEW BIDDLE
After two decades putting the Archdiocese’s story in order, archivist calls it a day
Custodian of Church’s history retires By Robert Hiini HER NAME is almost synonymous with the history of the Church and its conservation but, after 20 years preserving the unique heritage of the Archdiocese of Perth, Sr Frances Stibi PBVM is retiring. Perth’s archivist completed her final day in the role on Tuesday, January 29, having been appointed to the position by the then-
Archbishop of Perth Barry Hickey in 1993. Speaking to The Record earlier this week, Sr Frances said it had been an honour to keep the history of the Church in Western Australia but that now was the right time to retire. “I’ve been doing it for a very long time. I turned 75 last week and I was beginning to feel a little bit tired but it has been great,” Sr Frances said.
“It has been very rewarding and I’ve met many interesting people. I feel proud of what I have done and I have no regrets.” She has met thousands of people in that time - from individuals trying to trace their family trees to historians trying to make sense of dense amounts of information for their books. She has also spearheaded the conserving of precious artefacts
associated with the history of the Archdiocese of Perth. Sr Frances said she always felt a tinge of excitement when archdiocesan archives were acknowledged by authors, knowing that she had been able to help someone. “I have also looked on the role as being about pastoral care too, listening to people and their stories and helping people find Please turn to Page 6
Sr Frances Stibi PBVM