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Perth: November 21, 1996
Pope pleads for hungry Rwandan refugees VATICAN CITY (CNS) - Just days preparing to assemble a four-to-sixbefore hundreds of thousands of Hutu month mission aimed at guaranteeing the refugees staged a mass return to Rwan- free flow of relief in the region. United States officials have cited potenda from eastern Zaire, Pope John Paul difficulties with the intervention initial I I urged international leaders at the World Food Sturunit in Rome to turn tiative, prompting criticism from some their words into action for an estimat- other countries. The Pope noted that the refugee popued 1 million hungry refugees. lation in eastern Zaire included people Echoing widespread frustration among Burundi and local Zairean Rwanda, from church and relief officials, the Pope critigroups. ethnic cised as inexcusable the delays in sendHe said many were "victims of the inhuing food and medical supplies to the man logic of inter-ethnic conflict." isolated camps, many of which "This is a drama that is constantly prewere recently overrun in ethnic fighting. sent in my soul," he said. The world must send relief "without The Pope has personally visited Zaire, delay," the pontiff told a general audience at the Vatican on Wednesday 13 Novem- Rwanda and Burundi and has made countless appeals for ethnic reconciliaber. "How can one remain indifferent tion in recent years. He recalled that Church workers have toward people who have been pushed to among those who have shed their been the limit, while they could be receiving urgently needed food and medicine blood in efforts to improve the situation stocked up in great quantities not far in Zaire. An archbishop and three missionary away?" the Pope said. He said the inaction was an offense to brothers were killed after fighting began the lives and dignity of African refugees, there in late October. The Pope prayed that their sacrifice and and thus "an offence to God." that of other victims would help defeat pretext, no calcula"No uncertainty. no tion can ever justify additional delays in the forces of hatred and -help bring about in the beloved continent of Africa an era humanitarian assistance!" he said. A young Rwandan Hutu girt with a hefty load walks toward the Rwandan border near Goma in Zaire The Pope's remarks came as several of mutual respect and brotherly wellast Monday during the mass exodus back to Rwanda. Photo CNS/Reuters major countries, led by Canada, were come."
elbourne priests resign in Aust first The seminary, which deals with the non-academic formation of In an incident of a kind candidates for the priesthood, will be moved to an inner suburunknown in the history of the ban location. Catholic Church in Australia, Among those who resigned was five staff at the Corpus Christi the rector of the seminary, Father seminary in Melbourne have Paul Connell. The seminary's prefect of studresigned rather than help institute a spiritual program of ies, Fr Peter Howard, spiritual reform implemented by Arch- director, Fr Bill Attard, director of bishop George Pell of Mel- pastoral program, Fr Martin Asche. and Loreto nun Sister bourne. Maria Bongiorno also resigned. The bishops of the dioceses of Fr Connell told The Record he Sale, Sandhurst and Ballarat in and the others had chosen to Victoria and Archbishop Eric resign rather than accept ArchD'Arcy of Hobart in Tasmania bishop Poll's suggestion for a difseminary agreed to the closure and relo- ferent style of formation. cation of the seminary in ClayHe confirmed staff had decided ton in south-eastern Melbourne, they were not willing to accept an Corpus Christi College, and its invitation put to them by the bishassociated Catholic Theological ops of Victoria and Tasmania to College at a meeting last week continue running the seminary The seminary trains and forms under the new program for sempriests for dioceses throughout inarians' spiritual formation. Victoria and Tasmania, Archbishop Pell told The Record Consideration is being given to the reforms were things that placing the theological college at Catholics would have thought the historic Cathedral College site took place in a seminary. "They're the basic sorts of things next to St Patrick's Cathedral and the Archbishop's offices in East that most Catholics would already believe were happening in the Melbourne. By Peter Rosengren
seminary - daily Mass, morning priesthood. "They'll demonstrate meditation, morning prayer of the the importance of priesthood. Church, night prayer of the They'll also demonstrate the Church, a Holy Hour once a week importance of theology..... these in front of the Blessed Sacrament, changes will help produce a betprivate recitation of the Rosary ter priest and an increase in vocaand devotions to Our Lady in tions," he said. May," Archbishop Pell said. The reforms come as Mel"It's a very non-controversial bourne faces the lowest levels program," he added. ever, pro rata, in numbers training The archbishop said the initia- for the priesthood. tives were exactly what the 1990 Twenty-three seminarians are Synod of the Church in Rome on currently studying for Victoria the Preparation of Priests and its and Tasmania, 15 of whom are associated pastoral letter, Pas- studying for the Melbourne archtores Dab° Votils, had recom- diocese. mended - an increased emphasis Archbishop Pell said the buildon spirituality in formation in gen- ings at Clayton were poorly coneral, on a spiritual period in the structed, expensive to maintain first year in the seminary; and and invisible to the public, and possibly a similar year after a the theological college building seminarians' year working in a on the same site was too small. parish. The archbishop said he wanted Archbishop Pell said the staff to make a positive contribution to had resigned because they prob- the spiritual life of priests in trainably felt "they weren't the best for ing, "an approach which will be the job." completely faithful to the new He could not say who the new direction of the Church in semistaff would be because he didn't nary training." anticipate staff resigning. The reforms reflect Archbishop The Archbishop said the new Pell's views formed during his spiritual program and the reloca- time as a seminary rector and as tions of both institutions under- an apostolic visitor to seminaries scored the importance of the throughout the Pacific region.
Archbishop Hickey reports from Rome
Celebrating Christ the King
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Catholic satellite TV coming •
Catholic satellite television will come to Australia on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, 8 December, when the United States' Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) extends its Asia-Pacific satellite coverage to Australia. A Poor Clare of Perpetual Adoration nun, Mother Mary Angelica, started EWTN in the garage at Our Lady of the Angels Monastery in Birmingham, Alabama, 15 years ago by Mother Mary Angelica. EWTN says it has since become the world's largest religious cable television network, seen in 53 million homes and providing 24-hour programming of religious news, entertainment and spiritual growth. But extension of the EwrN satellite "footprint" across Australia does not mean interested viewers will get immediate access. Unless a householder has a special satellite dish, access will only be by cable, and local major cable players have not yet taken the FM/TN service. discussions Nevertheless, have been held with cable networks Optus Vision and Foxtel in Australia. Continued on Page 3
The Record begins publishing today news of the Catholic Church in Asia, including Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia and East Timor. See Page 14 each week for the latest on our Catholic neighbours.