What's Inside . . . Catholic solo parents, like everyone else, need help with teens. Solo parents' conference report - Page 3 The Enneagram debate continues - the critics are unconvinced - Page 6 PERTH, WA: October 5, 1995
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US Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua forcefully sets out the role o f Catholic universities - Page 13 The Record column on Marian devotion continues with Pope John Paul's reflections - Page 12
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By Peter Rosengren Charities across Australia breathed a I of relief following the Federal Government's release of the Industry Commission's report on charitable organisations last wee. k Among the major recommendations the Government accepted was the retention of charities' income-tax-free status. Also appmved was the recommendation that payment under funding agreements should be for achieving set goals or "defined outputs or outcomes wherever possible," in bureaucratic language However, the Government rejected the recommendation •that the current fringe benefits tax exemption of charities be removed in two years' time. Also rejected was a recommendation to — fund an investigation of the extent and direction of funding for research into wel'fare organisations. Prior to the Government's release of the Industry Commission report, charities had protested that removal of their income-tax -free status and fringe benefits tax exemption woukl have crippled many areas of their operations for the needy. Hardest hit would have been some of Australia's largest non-government charities including the St Vincent de Paul Society and the Salvation Army. The Industry Commission investigation of charitable organisations began in December 1993 to examine the role of charitable organisations and the way they I. with governments, particularly in delivering services. Federal Minister for Health and Human Services Carmen Lawrence said that apart from acknowledging the size of the contribution of charities to the Australian community and overseas aid programmes, the report also challenged both governments and charities to take "a fresh look at the
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way we are operating." She said in this respect the Government agreed with the commission's recommendations that funding of charities should be related to results, even though it was "not easy to define the desired outcomes." While welcoming the report's emphasis on improving accountability of charities to governments, taxpayers and the public. Ministers said the Government would have to further consider the more complex recommendations on incorporation and accounting standards and their link to tax deductibility and fund-raising legislation before making a final decision. Development Cooperation and Pacific Island Affairs Minister Gordon Bilney said that initiatives already in progress in relation to non-government aid organisations demonstrated the commitment of both the Government and the organisations to finding ways of strengthening accountability. Father David Cappo, national director of the Australian Catholic Social Welfare Commission, said that he was pleased by the Government's response to the fringe benefits tax recommendation. "I think that would have made it very ficult for charitable organisations to operate effectively and to attract a high quality staff if they'd lost the exemption," he said. The Government's response on the two tax factors had been vital for the survival of community organisations, but he still had major concerns about the notion of competitive tendering that is based on price rather than the quality of service. The Industry Commission had done a credible IS "but they operate from a particular economic imperative and an ideological base which is very different fr•om the way the community sector sees itself." Issues of economic efficiency and accountability for public money sometimes might conflict with the dignity of the people welfare organisations deal with, he said.
Franciscan priest Father Jozo Slovko extolling the virtues of the Rosary as Mary, the Mother of God's special prayer last Monday in St Mary's CathedraL Fr Slovko visited Perth last week to proclaim the message of Medjugorje where local citizens are popularly believed to be receiving messages from Our Lady. Mary was calling the world to repentance and true conversion, he said, and each of us must individually answer that call. He told Perth Catholics that Mary still appears daily and calls on her children to pray, convert, fast, do penance, read the Bible and pray the Rosary.
Celibacy for priests entirely suited: Archbishop Celibacy for priests was a gift "entirely suited" to what it means to live and to be a priest and was not an intolerable burden, Archbishop Barry Hickey said this week. He said celibacy should be seen from a positive point of view and not a negative one. While not strictly necessary to the priesthood, celibacy symbolised and expmssed the total commitment that a priest gave to God and to those with whom he worked, the archbishop said in his Perspective column on Page 2 of The Record today. It also served as a strong reminder of worldly detachment and self-giving, he
said. Archbishop Hickey said it would be a mistake to see the commitment to celibacy only in terms of a necessary condition for ordination. "That would be to see celibacy in a purely negative light," he said. Instead, it should be seen in positive terms. His comments have appeared at a time when several bishops around the world have announced in recent months their view that celibacy should be optional for priests of the Latin-rite Church. These include Bishop Comiskey of Ferns, the Irish bishop currently on sabbatical in the United States who attracted widespread interest in the English-speaking world recently by advocating contin-
tied debate on mandatory priestly celibac"Y Acknowledging that celibacy was a ciplinary Church matter, Archbishop Hickey said it was "therefore, quite possible for the Church to alter this nrle for the Latin Rite if sufficient reasons exist to do Supporters of dropping the celibacy rule argue that marriage would contribute to the emotional growth of priests, that experience of family life would help priests understand the difficulties of their people better, overcome loneliness and overcome sexual temptation. However the Archbishop also points out that marriage does not overcome underly-
ing sexual problems which may exist in an individual such as "propensity towards child abuse." Despite the arguments advocated by supporters for making clerical celibacy optional in the Roman Catholic Church, the archbishop said he believed there were compelling reasons for retaining its rule in the Church. "In today's sexually permissive world there could hardly be a greater sign of contradiction than a freely chosen celibate lifestyle," he said. "Let us not abandon this powerful sign. It is to be valued and treasured." Perspective - Page 2