What's Inside... Prominent journalist and a Perth mother to take turns in new weekly column - Page 7 Cardinal Clancy defends Church's right to speak out as bishops meet - Page 3 PRINT POST APPROVED PP602669/00303
PERTH, WA: April 18, 1996
Number 2993
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US Catholic bishops criticise Fr Richard McBrien's book "Catholicism" again - Page 11 The Irish Famine remembered - Pages 8-9
eim Catholic pregnancy advice sentice comin By Peter Rosengren A new pregnancy counselling service for the archdiocese of Perth, designed to help women in need, is expected to be up and running by August this year. Archbishop Barry Hickey said last week the service will operate as an independent Catholic pregnancy counselling service that also offers women assistance in a range of crisis-pregnancy related areas. It will be separate from the planned women's health care centre Archbishop Hickey announced in December last year. "We're talking about a service available to women who are distressed by the pregnancy, that will offer crisis counselling, and also practical support by way of finding accommodation perhaps, or baby clothes, or friendship," Archbishop Hickey told The Record last week. An initial steering committee meeting to discuss establishing the new service has been held and has begun examining a possible name, policy for the centre. and location and
staffing for the centre, he said. The new centre's status as either a diocesan or an independent Catholic body, the establishment of a crisis phoneline and the training and supervision of staff were also under discussion. "Its been suggested to me that it be in a house, accessible by either rail or public transport and not too far from the centre of the city," he said. The archbishop said no decisions had been made yet on the number of staff. Nevertheless, the steering committee was already looking for a coordinator who would roster counsellors and carry out essential administrative duties. "We must start with the coordinator (and) we've already had offers from trained counsellors and from two supervisors, people with degrees in the helping professions and who have experience at supervising counsellors," he said. The decision to establish a new pregnancy counselling service had come following cussions with the Centrecare diocesan marriage and family service which has pmvided
counselling services to women with crisis pregnancies in the Past"Following discussions with Centrecare, its Board has informed me that, all things considered, it has decided to discontinue its Pregnancy Counselling Service," Archbishop Hickey said. "I indicated to the Board that I would therefore move to establish a separate pregnancy counselling and support service under Catholic auspices." He said the Centrecare deciArchbishop Bony Hickey sion had come as the result of the agency's own internal pendent, Catholic organisation deliberations to discontinue the rather than a diocesan agency," service, a decision which he he said. respected. —This gives people the freeArchbishop Hickey said the dom to set their own direction steering committee meeting, within policy that needs to be which was held on April 11, approved by me, therefore it included trained counsellors would have its own Board," he and supervisors. said. He said the new service The separate women's health would probably not be an offi- care service will provide cial diocesan agency nor would health-related services for it be completely funded by the women in fields such . as archdiocese . unplanned pregnancy, fertility "The archdiocese will help in concerns and natural family t immediate establishment of planning, in addition to assishI. centre but at this stage it tance in matters such as sexual the looks as if it will be an inde- abuse.
Archbishop Hickey said the pregnancy counselling and health care services would hopefully work closely together and be able to refer clients to each other. —The women's health centre which is planned would operate under an existing Catholic health body, perhaps one of the hospitals," he said. "It would accept referrals from pregnancy support services generally and from the general community, and we hope that the counselling service we're setting up will refer women to it where there is a medical aspect (to the pregnancy)," he said. He said that meetings to set up the health care service were continuing and planning was A ell under way Many of the required women's health care services already existed within the Catholic health care system in areas such as gynaecology, cancer detection and obstetrics. The women's health care service would be designed to provide easier access to specialist services for women as they were needed, he said.
,offto parish resurrects baptism by immersion "Has anyone ever died by having a few At the Easter Vigil in Holy F'amily parish. Como, two young adults, Nina Fortune drops of water poured over the foreand Mwdme Dawson, were baptised into head?" Fr O'Dea asked rhetorically. He said both the ritual for infant bapthe Catholic Church by total immersion. for Holy Family parish priest Father Frank tism, published in 1970, and the in 186, O'Dea of the Blessed Sacrament congre- the baptism of adults, publishedritual9 suggest immersion as the first choice. gation said this week this form of "The two young al• dies who were baption was the regular practice in the early tised were themselves the driving force Church for centuries. "It also conformed with the teaching of I.' ind using immersion he said. "One of them went to the trouble of St Paul: When we were baptised in Christ Jesus we were baptised in his death; in ringing up spa hire places to get the costs other words, when we were baptised we and availability. After the ceremony they went into the tomb with him and joined were overjoyed by the power of the expehim in death. (Romans 6:3-4)," Fr O'Dea rience they had been thmugh." Immersion certainly had a great impact said. "When Nina and Maxime were baptised on parishioners at the Easter Vigil, Fr O'Dea said. this symbolism was very evident. "One of the older parishioners in Como "They went under the water as Jesus went into the tomb and then rose from remarked after the ceremony, hated the idea of immersion at first but now that the water as Jesus rose out of the tomb. "And this took place on the very night I've seen it. I've been totally converted.'" Fr O'Dea said Catholics unfortunately that the Church celebrates most vigomusly the rising of Jesus from death into a tended to associate immersion with bornagain Christians and this could be dffnew life - the Easter Vigil." Fr O'Dea said baptism by being fully putting for Catholics but it would be betcovered by water, with its potential for ter to associate the method with the early drowning. wonderfully expressed the Church "which is always the hest model of Church that we have." theme of dying and rising.