PERTH, WA: October 9, 1986
Number 2500
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Responses from traditional set Most of the 122 submissions to Called To Serve were from traditional Catholic groups say analysts of the replies Peter and Marya Stewart. "It would seem that the young, those who do not belong in traditional groups and the great percentage of Catholics who are not involved in parish life, have not made submissions," they say in an introduction to their summary.
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PAT HACKETT of Applecross, international secretary for the Perth Catholic Women's League and who attended in Hunters Hill the first Australian-hosted conference of the World Union of Catholic Women's Organisations reviews the debates.
Survey of Perth parishes
ment to the poor and oppressed, role of women, growth of community and small groups, priesthood and the need for adult education and training of lay people,"' say the Stewarts.
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"Many of the submissions expressed excitement and joy in the fact that 'the people' had been consulted.
"Some believed that each submission would be read by the The highest number of submisArchbishop and taken to sions came from parish groups Rome. (34), followed by Christian Life Groups (20), Legion of Mary "A number of submissions (10), St Vincent de Paul and requested some sort of reply parish councils (10 each) and summary of the findings. the key issues "A small group felt the questions "Among addressed, were the role of weren't relevant or were too laity, ecumenism, commitvague."
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While joy in the expanded role of the laity in the Church and a strong feeling of the presence of Jesus in life dominated replies to the Called To Serve program, by far the largest concentrated response was grief and anguish about the breakdown of morals and family life. These facts emerge in a summary of responses prepared by Peter and Marya Stewart from 122 submissions forwarded after the discussion program earlier this year. Copies of the analysis are available from the Catholic Church Office Victoria Square.
Experience
Wider participation in the liturgy and life of the Church is one of the main joys and hopes of Perth laity in Called To Serve program.
"An increase in the role of the laity within the Church was sited as the most joyful and helpful experience," says the Stewarts The decline in vocations to the priestly and religious life had resulted in the Church accepting greater lay involvement. "It is interesting to note only 4 out of 116 submissions included this drop in vocations as a grief and anguish. "The impact of Vatican II was also recognised as a significant factor in encouraging a greater role for the laity," they said. Some 32 per cent of submissions placed the breakdown of family life as a grief and anguish. This breakdown in family life seemed linked to another of grief, namely marriage breakdown. Together they were mentioned on approximately half the submissions. Materialism was seen as an evil to be addressed by the Church. In areas such as homosexuality, pornography, promiscuity and permissiveness, many submissions put the blame for this breakdown on to the "influence of media", another major area of grief. The media was also implicated in the rise of violence. "Drugs and alcohol, the threat of nuclear war,
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