What's inside ....
Recc)r PERTH, WA: July 27, 1995
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Concerned about what your children watch at the movies? The Record begins today an occasional film review page, including a listing of film classifications - Page 10 Network to support Catholic counsellors established in Perth - Page 3 Archbishop Hickey urges Perth archdiocese Catholics to spread the unchanging fundamental teaching of the Church to save a confused world - Page 2 University of Notre Dame Australia pioneers university education in the Kimberley - Pages 8 and 9
St Vincent de Paul crisis By Peter Rosengren Former State Health Minister Keith Wilson is to stand this weekend for election as the national president of the controversy-ridden St Vincent de Paul Society. The society has been plagued for several years by a dispute between the former national president, Brian Murnane. and several state presidents. An ABC TV Four Corners program last Monday night, "A Very Catholic Affair", alleged that a bitter struggle over ideology and power between the two factions was threatening to destroy the society's future. The program reported that the struggle had emerged between an alliance of state presidents from Queensland. Victoria. South Australia and West Australia who want the society to continue its works of charity and assistance to the needy. and the besieged former national president. Brian Murnane, leading a team of 'young Turks who want to see the society engage more in social justice advocacy and influencing politics. Mr Wilson said that if he was elected president he would be seeking to heal the divisions which have emerged in the society. "That process is going to he very difficult." he said. 1 think any new national president and council is going to have to be very careful about the way it con-
Gary Lambe sults state councils and regional councils and the ordinary membership of the society." Speaking from his Fremantle home he said the job of a national president would be to assist people at the coalface of the society's works of charity. "What is at stake in this election, if anything. is how a national president and a national council of the society can help the society. which really is these state councils - and national council is really. as the manual says. an aggregation of the conferences and how the national council and the national president can assist people at the grass roots level to do the job, rather than the other way round," he said. He said that this had been a
Bosnia defence right: Pope LES COMBES, Italy (CNS) - was not advising the international International military action community on how to proceed in could be justified as a "last Bosnia. but outlining the moral resort" to defend innocent civil- principles that should guide speians in Bosnia-Herzegovina. cific political and military decisions. Pope John Paul II has said. "Above all, we are concerned -This remains the last resort. There has always existed the prin- about those who are suffering, no matter which side they are on," he ciple of a just war, which is defen- said. sive. Even this type of war is ugly, For the past three years, but it (war) is that way," the Pope John Paul has pleaded Pope for an told journalists on July 22 as he immediate end to the fighting and ended his mountain vacation in for the sides involved in the Les Combes. Balkans conflict to treat peace The reporters asked his reaction negotiations seriously. He also to a July 21 decision by 16 Euro- repeatedly has asked the internapean and North American coun- tional community to devote all tries to authorise North Atlantic possible energy to mediating an Treaty Organisation forces to end to the fighting. bomb Bosnian Serb positions if The Pope called on Catholics attacks continued on United throughout the world to work for Nations-declared safe zones har- an end to the war through the use boring thousands of Bosnian Mus- of prayer. "the great means we lims and Croats. have at our disposal to obtain that "If one attacks and wants to which seems humanly difficult." trample the right to life and the Churches' council warns of right to exist, then there is the right influx - Page 2 to defence." he said. Nuncio calls for action Pope John Paul said the Vatican - Page 15
the society's national office based in Sydney has been to see it significantly upgraded into a research and lobby secretariat participating in welfare, political and social justice issues. But the state presidents have been unhappy both with the steep increases in levies imposed by the national office to achieve this and the policy direction pursued by Mr Murnane. The program portrayed the fight as a struggle between eldedy. greying conservative state presidents and a youthful vigorous team working allegedly in accordance with the vision of the society's founder, Frederick Ozanam. Mr Lambe said the program had given "a very one-sided porKeith Wilson trayal of the problems at national problem for the society in the council level of the Society of St past. Vincent de Paul in Australia" "The important thing to realise Mr Lambe said that, despite is that I'm running largely as a the society's general policy not to result of being encouraged to do air internal disputes in public, Mr so by the Western Australian Murnane's own request to state State Council of the society. and I presidents to honour the society's wouldn't have considered it oth- policy to refrain from issuing erwise." media releases on the dispute. The Four Corners report also and a request from the internasuggested that outside organisa- tional president of the society to tions such as the Melbourne- do the same, Mr Murnane and based National Civic Council had his supporters were the ones played some part in the struggle- responsible for the media's attenwhich lead to a caretaker execu- tion. tive being installed by the soci'Brian Murnane and his supety's international president to porters have constantly gone to arrange the weekend's election. the media with their story. GenBut this was denied by WA State erally they have ... used every president. Mr Gerry Lambe, who endeavour to way-lay the elecsaid he knew this was untrue. tion of a new national president. Part of Mr Murnane's vision for This Four Corner programe is
another of these endeavours," he said. However, he said, the programe had got one important feature right - that the national council dispute had not affected the countless good works of the society for the needy around the country. The weekend election will bring to a head the long simmering dispute which has seen confusion in the society over the role of the national council and president. According to the Four Corners report, it was suggested that legal challenges might still be mounted following the election. Queensland, Victoria and WA state presidents withdrew from the national council in June last year, effectively seceding from membership of the national organisation and taking their states with them. They were followed later by Tasmania and South Australia. An especially sore point has been what state branches saw as the espousal of contentious political viewpoints and policies by Mr Murnane's national office and his attempts to transform the society from being an agency of direct personal charity and service into primarily a welfare lobby. In 1994. the society's international governing body. the Council General, appointed a mediator to mediate a resolution. Recyclers affect charities; Churches' council warns of Influx - Page 2
Plaque honours godly Sisters
The centenary of the St John of God Sisters in Western Australia was celebrated at the Langley Plaza hotel Last Friday with the unveiling of a plaque commemorating the first house occupied by the Sisters on the sight of the hotel 100 years ago. Sr Gonsolata, right, and Sr Justina, who came to Australia from Ireland in 1930 with 32 other Sisters, view an historical exhibit at the unveiling. - Full report Page 5