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Ecumenism in the Third Millennium

To be burnt at the stake, but knifed to death

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On jubilee pilgrimage to Schcoenstatt

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- Page 9

Christians worship God, not themselves: Archbishop By Peter Rosengren A trend towards making personal freedom more important than God's law has wrealced aster in the personal, economic and political sphere over the last hundred yews, Archbishop Barry Hickey told Flame Ministries Jubilee 2000 conference participants last Sunday evening. Consequently, he said, nothing was more urgent than proclaiming that Jesus is Lord, and God His Father is the one to whom we owe worship. The Flame Ministries Jubilee 2000 conference was held from last Friday to litesday evening at John XXIII College, Mt Claremont.

The trend towards elevating individual choice above God's law for humanity had undermined Christian and Catholic teaching: the individual and his or her choice in all things has become the basic unit of society, not the family or the group as it should be, he said. Individual autonomy, reaching to the point of license, has almost succeeded, the Archbishop said. In the long term individualism could not win. "but it has done a lot of damage usurped the authority of God over human action." In the economic sphere greed and avarice were now paramount, he said. In medieval times Catholic

teaching had been that the urge to amass possessions had to be kept in check by society, so that all people worked for the common good. he said. "Individual autonomy has overthrovvn all that," he said. This could be seen in the growing exploitation of the poor and the rejection of Catholic teac.hing in areas such as contraception, people put S i having chilI. purely dren to amass personal wealth. In the political sphere, Archbishop Hickey said. Catholic teaching has always been that governments are subject to the laws of God. Continued on wtr 2

An:Mb/top Hickey speaks to the Flame Jubilee conference last Sunday.

niarriage defended

+OWMIIWO

VATICAN CITY - The bond of the Sacrament of Maffiage is so strong and sacred that not even the Pope has the power to dissolve it, Pope John Paul said. The Pope. addressing members of the Roman Rota, a Church tribunal that handles appeals of marriage annulment cases, said last Friday, 21 January, that he wanted to put an end to speculation that a pontiff had the power to dissolve valid marriages as part of his role as "vicar of Christ." "Faced with the doubts and confusion that could emerge, it is necessary to reaffirm that matrimony validly concluded and consummated can never be dissolved, not even by the power of the Roman pontiff," he said at the beginning of the Church's cal year. "The opposite argument would imply that no marriage is absolutely indissoluble, which would be contrary to what the Church has taught and still teaches about the indissolubility of the maffiage bond," he said. The Pope said he wanted to underline that this has been the constant teaching of the Church, as a "doctrine to be definitively held" by the faithful "even though it has not been solenuily declared in a defining act." Moreover, "this is a doctrine confirmed by centuries of practice in the Church, maintained with complete fidelity and heroism even in face of heavy pressures by the powerful of this world." While the Pope had the power to teac.h

the Gospel. administer the Sacraments and pastorally govern the Church in Christ's name and with Christ's authority. that "does not include any power over divine law. natural or positive." he said. Neither Scripture nor tradition recognised a papal faculty for the dissolving of valid marriages. he said. In his talk to the marriage law experts. the Pope said that when the Church declared a marriage annulled, it in no way weakened the principle that all valid marriages were permanent. Annulments must be granted for reasons established by Church law, the Pope said. He said some tribunals have tended to accept the general "divorce mentality" in modern society as justification for annulment But the Pope cautioned that this was not enough: tribunals, he said, mu.st determine that the divorce mentality profoundly influenced one or more of the spouses to the point that they were unable to enter into a valid malriage. Pope John Paul recalled the doctrine concerning the absolute and indissoluble nature of ratified and consummated matrimony. He contrasted this with the "mistaken theoretical and practical concept of the independence of the spouses in relation to each other" which has an effect on "the growing nuI S er of divorces." u went fij on: "The indissolubility of marHe riage finds its ultimate truth in the plan that God has manifested in His revelation: He wills and conuntmicates the indissolubility of marriage as a fruit, a sign and a

"The declarations of nullity for reasons laid down in canon law. especially due to defects or errors in matrimonial consent. cannot however conflict with the principle of indissolubility." Pope John Paul reminded the judges of the Church's final court of appeal on Church legal aspects of marriage that it was undeniable that the current mentality of the society in which men and women lived had difficulty in accepting the unbreakable nattwe of the matrimonial tie. "Nonetheless, this genuine difficulty is not equivalent 'sic et simpliciter' to a concrete refusal of Cluristian marriage and of its essential qualities. "Even less does it justify the supposition. unfortunately at times postulated by certain tribunals, that the prevalent intention of spouses - in a secularised society beset by strong currents in favour of divorce - is to seek a breakable marriage link. •to the point that (these tribunals) demand proof for the existence of true consent." The Pope went on to deal with the topic of the Supreme Pontiff's authority in relaHanby Is so sacred and atm* not own the tion to ratified and constmunated maffiage, Photo: CNSDave Hrbacek. Popo can dissolve ft underlining that even the power of the Caro& Spirit. Minneapolis liii Pope cannot dissolve the link: lb sustain requirement of the absolutely faithful love the opposite view," he explained, "would that God has for man and that the Lord imply the idea that absolute and indissolJesus has for the Church." Quoting The C.atechism of the Catholic uble marriage does not midst This would be contrary to the meaning of Church, the Holy Father said: "The Church maintains, through faith in the Word of what the Church has taught and still teachJesus Christ, that a new union cannot be es about the unbreakable bond of matrirecognised as valid. if the first marriage mony." was." Continued on Page 15

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Pope urges Church to use the secular media By Benedicta Cipolla VATICAN CITY (CNS) - The Church must search for ways to proclaim its message in secular as well as religious media, Pope John Paul II said. While the Church needs to develop its own means of communication, it "must also use the opportunities that are to be found in the secular media," the Pope said in his annual message for World Communications Day. The theme for this year's celebrations, to be marked on 4 June, is "Proclaiming Christ in the Media at the Dawn of the New Millennium." "The advent of the information society is a real cultural revolution," the Pope said in the text released on 24 January at the Vatican. Calling the history of communi-

cation "a kind of journey," from the collapse of the Tower of Babel to Pentecost's Christ-centred "restoration of communication," he said proclaiming the Gospel "therefore leads to a meeting between people in faith and charity at the deepest level of their humanity." The Pope praised contemporary media for providing information about today's world and said the many satellite broadcasts of Holy Year events "contribute to spiritual enrichment." But he said mass media also sometimes "display the indifference, even hostility to Christ and his message that exist in certain sectors of secular culture." The Pope called for an "examination of conscience on the part of the media, leading to a more critical awareness of a bias or lack of respect for people's religious

Adelaide prelate's 50 years honoured Pope John Paul II sent a special message for the golden jubilee of priesthood of Adelaide's Archbishop Leonard Faulkner celebrated last Wednesday. Twenty-four bishops, including Archbishop Barry Hickey, of Perth. and Bishop Justin Bianchini. of Gemldton, and more than 100 priests from around Australia. celebrated Mass in St Francis Xavier's Cathedral, Adelaide, with a congregation of more than 1,000 people. Archbishop Faulkner was ordained a priest in Rome 50 years ago on January 1. 1950. He was appointed Archbishop of Adelaide in 1985. The Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Francesco Canalini, who is the Vatican's offiArchbishop cial representative Leonard Faulkner in Australia, concelebrated the Mass with the Australian bishops, including the Archbishops of Melbourne, and Canberra and Goulburn. Bishop Eugene Hurley, Bishop of Port Pine, and many priests from his diocese also attended. - GIrmis Grainger

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News of the Church in the world

The Record

The Record, January 27 2000 Page 2

and moral convictions." As well would hold audiences with jour- possible. The bishop said the as informing people about social nalists and representatives of the Pope's decision in favour of an issues, which the Pope said "can entertainment industry during audience with journalists reflectbe an implicit proclamation of the their respective Jubilee days. ed "a gesture of friendship and Lord," he urged Christian comBishop Pierfranco Pastore, sec- esteem" and was perhaps "more municators "to seek out ways to retary of the Pontifical Council for intimate" than a Mass. speak explicitly of Jesus." Social Communications, presentBut the decision also reflects the Though much has changed in ed tentative schedules for the recent trend toward scaling back the 2000 years since the birth of Jubilee for Journalists and the the Pope's schedule as his health Christ, said the Pope, "the same Jubilee for the Entertainment has deteriorated. need to proclaim Christ still Industry at a 24 January press conBishop Pastore emphasised the exists." ference at the Vatican, saying the spiritual aspect of the Jubilee for In addition to spreading the events' highlights would be the Journalists, saying the event Gospel through personal contact, papal audiences. would "speak more to journalists' he said Christians must proclaim Journalists celebrate their souls and hearts than to their Christ "in and through the media." jubilee on 4 June, World Com- pens." "To proclaim Christ in the media munications Day, and members He said both media jubilees at the dawn of the new millenni- of the entertainment industry cel- "offer an opportunity for (the) perum is not only a necessary part of ebrate theirs on 17 December. sonal encounter with Christ" that the Church's evangelising misBishop Pastore said the council, Pope John Paul called a prerequision; it is also a vital, inspiring and which is organising both jubilees, site for the proclamation of the hope-filled enrichment of the gave the Pope the choice of either Gospel in his message for World media's message," said the Pope. celebrating Mass or holding an Communications Day. The bishop Elsewhere, the Vatican audience with each group, so as said 300 journalists had already announced that Pope John Paul II to keep his schedule as light as confirmed their attendance.

Scots cardinal protests GLASGOW, Scotland (CNS) - Cardinal ity are so silent that the silence is deafThomas Winning of Glasgow has urged ening. I wish to God they would speak Scotland's silent majority to speak out up. But when you do say something against the promotion of gay and lesbian about it, you are accused of homophosexual activity. bia, which is absolute rubbish. His comments came on 17 January as "We only need to look at some of the he gave his support to a campaign to pamphlets available to see just exactly retain Section 28 of the 1988 Local Gov- what is in place to put into schools. ernment Act, which the British govern"Iam concerned that children might be ment seeks to repeal. converted by some of the literature. The section prohibits the intentional There's no doubt about it promotion of homosexuality in school, "I have no objection to anybody. I'm the publishing of material to promote supposed to love my neighbour, andI try homosexuality, and the teaching of to do that as much asIcan. But I will not homosexuality as an acceptable family stand for this kind of behaviour, which is relationship. now being regarded as wholesome and "I deplore homosexual acts. I hesitate healthy," said Cardinal Winning. to use the word 'perversion,' but let's face British Labour Party Prime Minister up to the truth," Cardinal Winning said lbny Blair issued a statement on 19 JanIn an interview with Scotland's Daily uary in defence of the government's Record newspaper. intentions, saying the move to get rid of "What pains me is that the silent major- Section 28 "is not because we believe it

right to promote homosexuality, but because we believe it is right for school teachers and others to be able to explain to children the facts of life." In a statement read out in the Scottish Parliament at the launch of the Keep the Clause Campaign, Cardinal Winning reminded politicians their mail was running at a 20-1 ratio against repeal and that 82 per cent of people questioned in a recent poll were against it. too. -Section 28 does not prevent the discussion of homosexuality, nor does it prevent the counselling of teenagers confused about their sexuality," the cardinal said. "It most certainly does not prevent antibullying strategies being put into place. "However, in the face of an increasingly militant and vocal 'gay rights' campaign, Scotland needs the protection offered by Section 28."

Worship God, not ourselves: Archbishop Continued from Page 1 While democracy is good in so far as people have a say in government it still cannot determine what is right or wrong simply by listening to the voice of the people, he said. As Pope Leo XIII had pointed out about 100 years ago in an encyclical, all public power must come from God, be subject to Him and serve him. "This has been completely thrown out in that liberal individualistic movement I spoke about," he said. "Now, if people want laws like abortion and racism, governments can't stop them," he said. In the personal area the assault on family life had resulted in the legitimisation of abortion, divorce, homosexual acts and even the rejection of gender - male and female identify, he said. There had also been a program to legitimise drugs so that the people in power could have them without fear of prosecution, he said. All these developments, stemming from the raising of individual choice and freedom above God's law for humanity, have had disastrous consequences, he pointed out. "The empty-life spirit we see around us now is the work of Lucifer, the father of lies, because it is an attack on the order of God," he said. Archbishop Hickey contrasted Pope John Paul II's sufferings and loyalty to God, demonstrated powerfully as he knelt with great difficulty as he opened the Holy Door in St Peter's in Rome last Christmas Eve, with the prevailing attitudes so influential in the world. "The Church must give this image to the world: if we don't, God will be sidelined," he exhorted the more than 100 people attending.

Conference participants pray for Archbishop

Hickey last Sunday evening.

"We must set personal examples and try to bring our lives into the order laid down by God Himself," he said. Archbishop Hickey also cautioned against concentrating too much on the historical Jesus at the expense of knowing the Risen Lord as He is now. Biblical scholars worked to build up a picture of the authentic historical Jesus as he lived 2000 years ago, the Archbishop said. At the same time, "the Risen Lord is the One who accompanies us through life and talks to us now." This was the important Jesus to know, he said. The historical Jesus could be seen purely as a biblical contemporary or equivalent of Pontius Pilate and other biblical

figures, he explained, adding "Never think of Him only as an historical figure otherwise He'll never come alive for us." "You and I must win the world back, like the Holy Father kneeling at the Jubilee door showing that God is supreme and that we should worship God with all our heart, all our soul and all our strength." Winning back the world seemed too big a task, especially against the movement towards individualism which was now two or three centuries old, Archbishop Hickey said. "We can't see easily how this will happen, but we know nothing is impossible for God," he said, reminding those attending that ills Jesus first who wins hearts and minds. Flame Ministries coordinator Eddie Russell later told The Record the most exciting thing about the five-day congress was that "the people have been experiencing the Jubilee. That's what we set out to do." "We felt the people had to learn how to experience the Jubilee for themselves, and they have; that's what's exciting," he said. Mr Russell, who co-founded Flame Ministries, a completely lay-based organisation of lay evangelisers, in Perth in 1991, said many participants at the congress had also experienced healings from areas of bondage in their lives physical, spiritual and emotional. "From what I've seen there were many," he said, adding shortly afterwards "people have said to me that they feel liberated." He said this was the tenth year in which Flame Ministries had offered Set My People Free, "a seminar which founds people in their faith through the Word of God."

Northern Ireland: rays of hope By Peter Resengren

Australia's religious brothers pledge to be prophets as problems beset them By Glynnis Grainger Australia's Religious Brothers are called to be "prophetic men," while facing a "lack of clarity in (their) identity" and "increasing age," according to their Credo statement 2000 issued at the National Gathering of Brothers 2000 in Sydney last week. The Credo statement 2000 also proclaimed that religious brothers "long to bring life and hope where there is emptiness and despair" and where "our human family and the earth" are "diminished by injustice, broken relationships and the misuse of power." Conference keynote speaker, Holy Cross Brother Joel Giallanza. from Texas in the United states, reminded the first national meeting of the rank-and-file religious brothers in general they were vital and important for the life of the Church. Meeting at St Joseph's College, Hunters Hill, in suburban Sydney, some 490 Brothers, representing about 20 Orders from all over Australia and PapuaNew Guinea, attended the three-day conference. Br Giallanza. 49, who has been a brother for 33 years, told The Record he was now an administrator for his Order and worked at retreats and conferences. The gathering's chairman, Br Julian McDonald, said bishops and other religious. including nuns, attended the conference. He told The Record the conference was a "marvellous experience, lovely feeling and

great experience of brother- begins to emerge and settle in. hood." we have to ask 'Why stay? Why Br Giallanza reminded the continue in religious life?'" conference that just 'doing' reliBr Giallanza said the power of gious life was not living it. religious brothers in the future "It is quite possible to 'do' reli- lay "not so much in larger numgious life, that is, fulfill the bers, lower ages, and lasting requirements - even quite well - ministries, but in that faith without a deep personal com- which taps the transforming mitment," he said. power of God's loving presence 'Br Giallanza said religious and activity in our world." must caution themselves He said religious brothers against a preoccupation with must avoid the "supermarket" the demographics of numbers, approach where they pick and ages, ministries. choose what is appealing and "It appears we are aware that agreeable to them. our effectiveness will be com"The danger of the supermarpromised if our personnel and ket approach lies in its capacity financial resources are so wide- for selfishness, arrogance, pride. spread that it becomes impossi- and its avoidance of the ascetible to have a significant impact cism necessary for a healthy in any one place," he said. religious life." he reminded "Erosion of faith and diminthem. ished apostolic creativity pro"Routine is not a hindrance to duces a complacency which our creativity in living our comtouches every dimension of our mitment; it is useful for estabreligious life. lishing order and givir4.1 When this takes place "comdirection and supporting effimon prayer becomes a routine task to be accomplished; per- ciency" But a "mechanical approach" sonal prayer is minimised or would undermine personal. simply disappears; [and] community living is reduced to mere communal, and spiritual growth convenience (guaranteed room and "community itself becomes and board) with little evidence stagnant; there is no fresh air of of mutual commitment," he said. Ideas and challenges circulating Br Giallanza said that then among the members." Br Giallanza said there were "work becomes an employment and gradually loses its character several basic elements of aposas a ministry which continues tolic spirituality. These were: the primacy of the the mission of Jesus. "Daily routines and responsi- Mission of Jesus; responsivebilities are configured to pre- ness, compassion and respect; serve and promote personal the need for a support system: preferences, and vows are lived relationship with the Lord In a nominal way and abuses believe, pray, relax and celeare rationalised." brate, and being friends with the "One such a complacency cross.

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Mr Glennon speaks at the ecumenical service last Sunday afternoon.

In an afternoon inter-religious ceremony devoted to marking Australia's national day, thoughts in St Mary's Cathedral last Sunday turned largely to another country on the opposite side of the world and in another hemisphere. For the Australian-Irish Heritage Association's Australia Day ecumenical service of thanksgiving, Sunday's ceremony was a two-pronged affair. On the one hand, as Perth Auxiliary Bishop Robert Healy pointed out in his welcoming remarks to well over two hundred participants, it was an occasion to give thanks for an adopted country, Australia. However, as Perth businessman Dennis Glennon pointed out, it was an opportunity to celebrate the beginnings of peace in the troubled region of Northern Ireland. Mr Glennon's - whose daughter Clara A harp, symbol of Ireland, is carried into St Mary's last Sunday afternoon. disappeared tragically from Claremont nearly three years ago- comments bore But out of this situation rays of light borne fruit and today in Ireland a special poignancy. have emerged and there are now pow- crevices have been created - and In a talk entitled 'Turning Darkness erful signs that hope for Ireland is nei- through those crevices, the new future Into Life,' he reflected briefly on the ther misplaced nor simply pious, he for Ireland has entered." journey of pain traversed by his own said. "The journey will be a long one but a family after Clara disappeared. Those gathered in St Mary's cathedral good start has been made," he said. The darkness and pain of that occa- were there because they knew and felt Recent developments would have sion had caused him to reflect deeply in their hearts that human solidarity is been unimaginable in Ireland only a on the role of those who are peace- essential, he said, adding "Being here year ago, Mr Glennon said, and Ausmakers. today affords us an opportunity to hope tralian-Irish could remember and cherHe had also come to know "how so lit- and pray that lasting peace in Ireland is ish the contribution of those who had tle depends on us. and so much on God. possible. worked for peace to a modern miracle. to turn Darkness into Light," he said. Almost miraculously, Ireland's paceThe work of the peacemakers who "Death is a lonely visitor. After it visits makers had sowed the seeds of peace have risen above their own pain and your home, nothing is ever the same within themselves and then extended it loss "is work to pray for every time we again," he said. to others. can," he said. During the last 30 years, thousands of "As I well know, creating crevices into He called for prayers from people of families in Northern Ireland had also which peace can enter your inner being faith for Ireland. been confronted by that lonely visitor. and soul is never easy when you are "We Australian-Irish respectfully ask "So many families there have endured Immersed in darkness, blinded by those of faith, whatever their faith may agonising darkness and crushing pain anger. and weighed down by pain, lone- be. to pray for our country, that our peobecause of the unexpected, violent and liness and mind-numbing grief-filled ple may on their journey, use this inexplicable death of a family member. exhaustion," he said. Jubilee Year well, to create a future of . . . for too many, the grief will never be However the resilience of Ireland's tolerance, peace, change and hope," he over." he said. peacemakers had won through and said.

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Aussie Catholic students gather at Eagle's Nest By Brian Coyne, President, Newman Graduate Society of WA Eagle's Nest at Gidgegannup was the venue last week for the 58th Annual National Conference of Catholic student leaders and chaplains from universities around Australia. Conducted under the umbrella of the International Movement of Catholic Students Australia, the 30 delegates represented every State. The Conference, which is supported by the Australian Catholic Bishops' financially, provides an opportunity for the student leaders from around Australia to get to know one another and to plan national initiatives. The first two days of the Conference were devoted to a num-

ber of workshops. As well as providing an opportunity for the delegates to get to know one another before the formal proceedings later in the week, the workshops explored a number of the big issues facing the Catholic and wider community. The workshop leaders represented a diverse horizontal spread of viewpoints across the Church from those at the forefront of social justice issues and activism to those discussing the challenges we face in social teaching. A special guest at the Conference was one of the two full-time workers for the International Movement of Catholic Students, Miss Natalia Mendez i Andres. Miss Mendez travelled to the Conference from her base in Barcelona. Natalia was inter-

viewed by one group of the students for a television program being produced as part of a twoday media workshop at the Conference. She said, the situation of Catholic tertiary students in all parts of the (affluent] world is similar.Iam also finding that the sorts of issues that you are discussing are similar to the ones my colleagues are discussing in Barcelona." The students and chaplains at the Conference produced a series of videotaped interviews on some of the issues facing the Church in spreading the gospel message in the tertiary environment. The delegates will present the program to the Australian Bishops and hope to use it as a discussion-generator on campuses around the nation.

Natalia Mendez i Andres, left and inset, in discussion with other delegates at the IMCSA Conference, David Moutou from NSW, Susie Bate from SA and another NSW delegate.

Police greet Pope - but Mary focus for holiday boys still hand out the tickets By Benedicta Cipolla VAFICAN CITY (CNS) Municipal police from all over Italy poured into Rome to celebrate their Jubilee with Pope John Paul IL The 20 January Jubilee for Municipal Police marked the first Holy Year event dedicated to a professional category. Seven thousand officers gathered in St Peter's Basilica for a Mass celebrated by Cardinal Camillo Ruini, Vicar General of Rome and the Italian bishops' conference president. An audience with the Pope followed the Mass. "Thanks to you, residents of urban centres and surrounding areas are helped to respect laws that foster peaceful and harmonious society," the Pope told the officers. "In particular moments of difficulty, your presence becomes the means of achieving solidarity of the entire community." he said. The Pope made special mention of young people and the poor, who can turn to police in times of trouble, he said. lie encouraged the officers to contemplate the meaning of the Holy Year, saying all people must reflect on the meaning of faithfulness to the Gospel. "The Jubilee year thus becomes an extraordinary occasion for personal and communal verification, toward a renewed commitment to the building of the new civilisation that is born from the Gospel. the civilisation of love." said the Pope. Though the Pope entered the basilica on his wheeled platform. inaugurated on 29 December in a sign of his increasing frailty, he walked more steadily than usual and did not use his cane. After the Pope's address.

40 police commanders approached the altar to greet the Pope personally. They presented hint with a 24inch wooden statue of St Sebastian, the patron saint of municipal police, whose feast day coincided with the Jubilee. Officers from 150 communities throughout Italy came to Rome for the event, many with their families in tow. Almost half the participants were from Latium province. which includes Rome. Emanuela Rapposelli, a police officer from Monterotondo, a town just north of Rome, said she was thrilled to attend the audience. It was undoubtedly emotional: an incredible day," she said. An officer from Lucca, in Illscany. said. "I really felt something in there, something of great intensity." Before the Mass, officers gathered in St Peter's Square with Cardinal Virgilio Noe, responsible for St Peter's Basilica, and Italian Interior Minister Enzo Bianco. To the music of Rome's municipal police band and against a background of colourful city banners fringed with gold, Bianco saluted the thousands of cheering officers. Rome police officer Stefania Mazzei tried to steer focus away from her role as enforcer of the city's often-ignored traffic laws. "Being a municipal police officer puts you in contact with people. Unfortunately. we also have this had side. We're the ones who give out (traffic) tickets. But in the end we're working for the good of citizens," she said. To the dismay of many Romans, the jubilee for Municipal Police did not translate into indulgences for drivers. The white-helmeted officers issued tickets all the same.

Nicaraguans wearing traditional masks celebrate the feast day of St Sebastian on 19 January in Ditiamba, Nicaragua. St Sebastian, a martyr, is also the patron saint of municipal police. It is believed he was an imperial guard officer in Ancient Rome. prio;0 CNS Fi ters

The Record, January 27 2000 Page 4

Thirteen boys from around WA participated in the Marian Youth Camp 2000 sponsored by the Franciscans of the Immaculate in lbodyay from 15-19 January. The camp's main purpose was to bring the youth into a deeper union and commitment with the hearts of Jesus and Mary in this Jubilee year. This goal was especially realised when during Holy Mass each youth consecrated himself totally to the Blessed Virgin Mary as Her property, under the form of St Maximilian Kolbe, Fr Joseph Michael Mary, in preparing the youth for their consecration, told them that "when you consecrate yourself to the Immaculate, you belong to Her and you are totally Her property." When you own something, you can do with it what ever you like and so it is with the Mother of God when you consecrate yourself to Her. "The Immaculate on Her part will guide and protect you on the path that Christ has planned before you. "It is in following this path that you will find peace. reach the sanctity that God is calling you to and finally bring you home to heaven." Some of the highlights of the camp included a jubilee pilgrimage to New Norcia which the group made for the Jubilee indulgence and which also included a delightful session with Fr Basil of the Benedictines. Other presentations at the camp included a conference on the priesthood by Fr Paul Baczynski

Some of the boys on the camp consecrating themselves to the Immaculate Heart of Mary according to the form of St Maximilian Kolbe.

Fun on the camp included activities such as archery.

of St Thomas More parish in Bateman and a conference on evil and sin by Fr Raphael Maria Fl. Along with a daily prayer sched-

ule. the youth participated in a variety of recreational activities Including archery, kite-flying and team competitions.

Bishop writes off parish debts for Jubilee TOLEDO, Ohio (CNS) - In the mail was an envelope from the Office of the Bishop. "My first thought was suh-oh.' Then, when I opened it and read the news, I just about did cartwheels," said Father Jeffrey Nordhaus. Inside was news that his 500family rural parish, St Mary's in Clyde, has had its $48,000 debt to the Toledo Diocese cancelled. Bishop lames Hoffman of Toledo, acting on advice from his diocesan finance council, sent similar letters to 24 parishes and Institutions across northwestern Ohio in the first week of January. To mark the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000, the diocese cancelled more than US $1,385,000 in delinquent debts. In addition, the diocese is picking up the entire tab on premiums for the Protected Self Insurance Program for its 163 parishes and 93 schools this year. John Heinze. director of financial services, told the Catholic

Chronicle, Toledo's diocesan newspaper, that the one-year savings to parishes and schools on the insurance premiums will be US $945,000. Father Joseph Przybysz said St Hedwig's Parish in Toledo, with an aging population and a school, had a back debt of US $8Z000 which it "would never have been able to climb out of." He said that when he announced the bishop's forgiveness of the debt to his parishioners at Mass, "they applauded and applauded. And there were some tears in eyes, too." St Michael's Parish in Toledo was told its US $64,000 in pastdue assessments and insurance premiums was forgiven. "We weren't expecting this at all, of course." said the pastor, Father Robert Fisher, "so three years ago we started a pledge campaign to try to reduce our debt." He said the debt cancellation will allow the parish to use the money from the pledge campaign

for its current needs and for St Elizabeth Scion School, of which the parish is a co-sponsor. Last August Bishop Hoffman asked his finance council for recommendations on releasing "certain delinquent unpayable debts" for the jubilee year. The council came back with a recommendation to cancel "all diocesan and charities assessments delinquent as of June 30, 1999, protected self-insurance premiums, head taxes owed by certain diocesan schools, and finally several loans deemed uncollectable to several parishes and institutions." The debts forgiven ranged from US $700 to more than US $125.000 and most were for past-due assessments. No debts were forgiven for construction or improvement projects. which by diocesan policy must be underwritten in advance by at least 50 per cent of projected cost.

Bunbury Jubilee directory out By Glynnis Grainger A Commemorative Directory has been produced by the Catholic Diocese of Bunbury for the Jubilee Year 2000. Titled "A Journey in Faith to Jubilee 2000", it was edited by Kaye Seeber, of Mandurah, chairman of the Bunbury Jubilee Committee and past chairman of the Diocesan Pastoral Council. In her editorial, Mrs Seeber said: This book is not meant to be a complete history of our Diocese: rather it is meant to be a reflection on where we have come from and a recognition of where we are now. "It is a memorial to all those who

have contributed to our faith journey." It is also a means of coming together, of recognising each of our parishes and the part they play in the larger family of the Diocese." As a directory of parishes and parish life within the Diocese, it can be used as a source of reference for people within and outside the Diocese who might be moving into or travelling in the Diocese." She said the first two parishes of Dardanup and Albany had seen Albany eclipse Dardanup, and of Pinjarra and Mandurah, Mandurah had grown to be the biggest parish in the Diocese of Bunbury.

National CWL executive installed

Mrs Seeber thanked all who had contributed, and apologised to those who had been edited for reasons of space. But she did encourage parishes to publish their own histories for this Jubilee Year 2000. Bishop Peter Quinn, of Bunbury, said in his Letter at the front of the directory: This Directory is just one of the projects undertaken by our Jubilee Year Committee and is a worthwhile way of putting on record how our people have in the past, and continue in the present time, to respond to the call of Christ to be witnesses to the Gospel." Mrs Seeber told The Record it took two years to produce

Vatican spokesman dismisses papal wheelchair report VATICAN CITY (CNS) - A Vatican spokesman dismissed as "baseless" a British newspaper report that said Pope John Paul II would need a wheelchair within two years. The Sunday Times, quoting unnamed physicians, said on 23 January that the 79-year-old pontiff

The CWL's new national executive includes, track row, from left: Mary Casey, vice-president Fr Peter Litton, spiritual director; Margaret Nolan, vice-president; Shona Cobham, publicity; and, front row: Pat Cannard, secretary; Verona Butler, president; and Yvonne Lofthouse, treasurer. Photo The Cathow Leader. Sham

I e Catholic Women's League national executive was installed at a Mass in St Stephen's Cathedral. Brisbane. on 12 January Its national office will he situated in Queensland from 1 . January, 2000. Bishop John Gerry of Brisbane. concelebrated the Mass with national spiritual director. Father Peter Luton. Fr Peter Dorfield. of Toowoomba and Fr

Dan Ryan. of Surfers Paradise. Included in the liturgy was a ceremony where the retiring national president. Olive Reichman. from Victoria. passed on the "light of Christ." represented by a decorated candle to the incoming President. Verena Butler. Members of the Victorian executive handed on their badges of office, blessed by Bishop Gerry, to the new exec-

utive - vice-presidents Mary Casey and Margaret Nolan. secretary Pat Cannard. treasurer Yvonne Lofthouse and public relations officer Shona Cobham. Mrs Dulcie McDonald. a previous national president. NSW state president, Daphne Petersen and Mary Uhlman. president. Canberra/Goutburn, attended. - Glynnis Grainger

Bishops agree to ICEL revision move By Cindy Wooden ROME (CNS) - English-speaking bishops agreed that changes need to be made to the commission that translates liturgical texts, but a two-day meeting ended without a draft of the changes. The Episcopal Board of the International Commission on English in the Liturgy met from 21-22 January in London to discuss a Vatican order that the ICEL statutes be revised. Representatives of the 11 bishops' conferences that sponsor ICEL met to discuss issues raised in late October by Cardinal Jorge Medina Estevez, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments. Cardinal Francis George of Chicago. the US ICEL board member, said. "the neuralgic point, or one of them." was Cardinal Medina's insistence that the Vatican congregation approve members of ICEL's expert advisory committee and those who work on the translations.

Cardinal Medina's call for a dealing with all of the issues" "nihil obstat" - a declaration that raised in Cardinal Medina's letthe Vatican had no objection to ter..... The intention of the Episa person working for ICEL - was copal Board is to have a mature a small part of his letter, which draft" of revised statutes ready questioned the quality of the to submit to the 11 bishops' contexts produced by ICEL as well ferences and to the Vatican conas the functioning of the com- gregation "in the near future." mission. "The bishops of the board are ICEL "in its present form is not confident that the revised conin a position to render to the stitution will strengthen ICEL's bishops, to the Holy See and to ability to continue providing the the English-speaking faithful an bishops' conferences with adequate level of service," Car- acceptable drafts of English-landinal Medina had written to guage liturgical books." it said. Scottish Bishop Maurice Taylor Cardinal Medina had asked of Galloway. chairman of ICEL's the Episcopal Board to submit a Episcopal Board. draft of the new statutes to his Cardinal Medina said: "ICEL office by Easter, April 23. texts often did not follow the Members of the Episcopal original Latin closely enough: Board formed a committee to the process for developing, work on the new statutes, Carcopyrighting and approving dinal George said. Bishop Taytranslations did not give bish- lor told CNS on 24 January he ops enough room for making would not say anything about changes and suggestions; and the Board meeting beyond what ICEL was writing its own mate- was in the press release. rial, not just translating VaticanRetired Archbishop Denis approved Latin texts." Hurley of Durban. South A 24 January ICEL press Africa's representative on the release said, "The bishops spent board and a former chairman of two days in intensive discussion ICEL. also declined to comment.

because it was a slow process getting information in." "The proofs were out to the parishes by the end of 1998 - to make changes - and some sent (them) back without changes," she said. "By July last year we had the information and by the end of the year it was formatted into book form. We were looking at different styles of publication and Bishop Quinn was very helpful." Mrs Seeber thanks Bishop Quinn, his Executive Officer Mel Stillman and Chancellor Paul Gee, and especially Irene Jipp, at the Publications Department of the Catholic Education Office, for their help.

Pope John Paul II greets well-wishers from atop a moving platform during his weekly general audience on 29 December. A Vatican spokesman said the new platform makes it easier for the 79-yearold pontiff to move about and be seen.

exhibited worsening symptoms of Parkinson's disease. One doctor was quoted as saying that although the Pope might still be able to move around his room by holding onto things, he will need a wheelchair "within two years' time, at the most." Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said it was "not the first time that we read these 'prophecies.' which are later shown to be baseless." 'The article, which does not name precise sources of information, does not deserve any consideration." Navarro-Valls said. The Pope suffers from a degenerative nervous system disorder believed to be Parkinson's and in recent years has exhibited several typical symptoms of the disease: a trembling arm, difficulty in walking and indistinct speech. The symptoms have gradually worsened. although Vatican officials and visitors are quick to say that the Pope remains mentally alert. Recently. the Pope began using a rolling platform during some papal ceremonies instead of walking down the long aisle of St Peter's Basilica. When he opened the Holy Door at the Vatican to start the jubilee year. he needed support from two aides.

Psychiatric Pastoral Care The 2000 course 'The pastoral care of those with mental illness' will be held at Graylands Hospital each Friday beginning 3 March. for 16 weeks. The course is being conducted by Graylands Hospital in conjunction with the Pastoral Care Department. The course is intended for Clergy, pastoral and health care workers and others. If you are interested contact: Fr Michael McShane SJ, Graylands Hospital. Brockway Road, Mt Claremont 6010, Telephone 9347 6683. The dosing date for applications is Monday 7 February 2000.

NORBERTINE CANONS ORDER OF CANONS REGULAR OF pREmoNTRE finding unity with the brethren on the way to God ... If you would like to know more about life as a Norbertine priest or brother, please contact: Fr Peter j Stiglich. 0.Praem. St Joseph's Priory PO Box 354 Cannington WA 6987 Telephone: (08) 9458 2729 Email: norhert@iinet.net.ati

community

liturgy ministly The Record. January 27 2000 Page 5

Certainty - a gift you can give Peter Dwan continues with his meditations on the readings for Sunday's Mass. This week the fourth Sunday, Year B

oday's readings treat the important theme of prophetic witness. In his Encyclical on Evangelisation, Pope Paul VI commented that people today more readily believe witnesses than teachers, and that if they do believe teachers, it is because these teachers are also witnesses. In the first reading (Deuteronomy 18:15-20) we hear how Moses said to the people; "Your God will raise up for you a prophet like myself from among you, from your own brothers: to him you must listen." The reading also says: "The man who does not listen to my words that he speaks in my name, shall be held accountable to me for it." This passage makes two important points: as well as being a prophecy of the coming of Christ, it also shows that God expects us to listen to His prophets and act on their words. Prophets are primarily people who speak for God, whether or not what they say involves foretelling the future. Christ came into the world with the triple office of prophet, priest and king, and was rejected by many, as were the prophets of the Old Testament. People

A Layman's Meditation today still reject Christ, and the teachings of His Church, which He founded to teach in His Name and with His authority. There is only so much one can do to change the attitudes of such people. Prayer is our most potent weapon in this regard. But at least we need to heed in our own lives the message contained in the response to today's Responsorial Psalm: "If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts." In today's second reading (1 Corinthians 7:32-35) St Paul counsels abstaining from marriage. While not all will follow his counsel, it is significant that St Paul considers that the unmarried are better able to devote themselves to the Lord's affairs. Unmarried people should examine their consciences today; are they more active in parish affairs and more generous to their parish and to the missions than those without family ties? In many cases, I fear, this will prove a painful examination of conscience. Many parents of large families put some unmarried people to shame in

this regard. One major reason why Catholics, either married or unmarried, don't do more to help the Church's prophetic mission of evangelisation is that they don't realise how much people are yearning for certainty in religious matters. The Gospel passage (Mark 1:21-28) tells us that when Christ, the New Moses, taught in the synagogue, He made a deep impression on people because He taught with authority. Many converts are attracted to the Church though he claims to teach authoritatively. The great English convert, G.K. Chesterton, said that we don't need a Church which is right when we're right, we need a Church which is right when we're wrong. What a scandal it must be for those seeking faith to find that whenever a major papal statement is made, whether it be Pope Paul's Encyclical Humanae Vitae or Pope John Paul's statement ruling out women priests, or the latest statement from Rome declaring injecting rooms for heroin immoral, dissenting Catholics appearing on television advocating the opposite position. If those dissenters had experienced the confusion which is the lot of those outside the Church, they would be far more appreciative of the gift which Christ gave us when He gave us a Church which would teach in His name and with His authority.

To Jesus through Mary ... a column of Marian devotion By Elizabeth Perry

on't sell teens short on their potential interest in Mary, Mari,inist Brother James Barrette told a group of catechists in New Orleans on 7 January. When Mary is introduced in ways to which teens can relate, they are more likely to develop a personal devotion to her, he said in his presentation, "There's Something About Mary: Making Mary Meaningful for Teens." He spoke during the 22nd Johannes Hofinger Catechetical Conference. Brother Barrette said a common approach catechists take in teaching teens about Mary is to present her largely in her role as a mother, an image teen males often have difficulty relating to. A more effective approach might be to present the image of Mary not just as a mother but as a disciple. "Find a way to touch them where they are at and they will start talking about Mary, even if they don't know it yet. We have to let young people see her as she was. Take the word 'disciple' and take it into the everyday lives of people." He also suggested presenting Mary as mother and disciple in the context of a faithful witness who showed up wherever Jesus was, even at the foot of the cross. Brother Barrette said Mary was a witness to active discipleship because she followed her Son from place to place and believed in his message. "This can be a way to teach young peo- A painting at St Mary's Church in Perrysville, Missouri, depicts Mary appearing to St ple to be some place without being the Bernadette Soubirous at Lourdes, France, in 1858. The Blessed Virgin identified herself as the centre of attention," he said Immaculate Conception. Our Lady of Lourdes feast is 11 February. Photo. CNS/Crosiers "Mary is about the presence of 'being.' • using a prayer service as a way to . . . . There was a radicalness in Mary Magnificat, in which Mary talks "about peace and justice." encourage teens to pray before icons. being there for her son and God." He also suggested prayer services that • arranging a trip to a local holy place He said in their daily lives teens will end up in situations where they have to allow teens to help plan the music. and "use it as an opportunity to teach "A litany is a type of devotion that can about apparitions and holy places take a stand alone for what is right, such as refusing to go to parties where they sit well with young people," he added. around the world." "In a litany there is a lot of possibility for know alcohol or drugs will be used. • using the Internet to research far-off In using Mary as an example, teens can rhythm and rhyme. Set a litany to music apparitions and holy places. learn about silently standing in opposi- or a rhythm," he added. Helping teens learn about Mary Brother Barrette also suggested: tion with their friends in difficult situaenables them to develop a spirituality • that teens draw visual litanies of Mar- that is their own, which they can turn tions. And when catechists have discussions ian images on large murals and study around and teach their peers, Brother about peace they could bring up the icons. Barrette said.

John XXIII's secretary denies Fatima Secret rumour ROME, January 19 (ZENIT) - Bishop Francesco Loris Capovilla, former personal secretary of John XXIII, denied the reported statements of French Mariologist Rene Laurentin, according to whom "the third secret of Fatima could have been revealed in 1960 during the period of preparation of Vatican Council II." Fr Thf elepprail,fylr‘u

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Laurentin's statements were published in a book written by Italian journalist Giuseppe De Carli, entitled Breviary of the New Millennium (San Paolo). "Laurentin is referring to rumours that were circulating at that time, but there is no indication that allows one to think that the Pope hoped to reveal the secret in

1960," Bishop Capovilla said. According to a Roman newspaper, John Paul Ills considering revealing this secret when he travels to Fatima later this year to beatify the two shepherds who were favoured with apparitions of Mary in that Portuguese town. This rumour has yet to be confirmed.

Alarmed by the exploitation of nature? Balance is the key

With Glynnis Grainger

j very time I kill a harmless insect, such as a spider,I think of the words of Jesus: "Whatever you did for one of the least of these, you did for me" (Mt. 25:40). That is why my home has a few daddy-longleg spiders living in dark corners, behind furniture, or the TV, asIrespect God's creatures, and believe they should be given the right to life. I also hope my "pets," as I call these spiders, are helping to rid my home of lesser insect pests, such as fleas, which I hope they are catching and eating. But I do kill redback spiders in the shed, as they are very dangerous to humans; I also squash and 'Mortein' cockroaches, as they spread disease and which I detest. Cockroaches have been known to make me scream in fright. Especially the large. flying kind. Flies are another insect I cannot tolerate in 1ny home, particularly blowflies. But, you might ask, aren't these also God's creatures? Did he mean them to co-exist with us? Are we meant to kill them in anger, and use flysprays and fly-swatters, which He allowed us to develop? There are many things that are inexplicable In this world, that only God knows about. He allows us to chop down trees, knowing they are a finite resource. Yet they are also the livelihood of many people in Pemberton and Manjimup, who must earn a living as tree-fellers and loggers. We may know the song "Trees" that has the line "Only God can make a tree." which has words that ring true. Trees are homes to birds and all kinds of wildlife, they give shelter and provide homes for human beings as well. Our precious jarrah and karri trees have long been wasted as railway sleepers and as woodchips. which are exported overseas. Yet some beautiful jarrah furniture has been crafted in the South-West and will become collector's items when the timber industry dies or the last tree succumbs to dieback. Some furniture has been produced from offcuts or wood lying on the forest floor. In that case.Ibelieve, they have been put to good use. God made the trees grow in all their glory but He knows that people need to cut them down to live and support their families. The salinity problem in the Wheatbelt is said to be the result of cutting down of trees. If only the farmers and clear-fellers had known that in earlier times. They would have left more trees behind in their culling of the forests for land for their wheat crops, sheep, beef or dairy cattle. Then we would have had no wheat to make into bread, or export, or lamb or mutton to eat. Beef and dairy cattle were the mainstay of our tables, providing meat to eat and milk, butter, cream and cheese. These full-cream products were all in our diets before the days of watching our cholesterol and fat intake. Fish is very good for the heart, yet I consider fishing to be a cruel past-time. Fresh fish is wonderful, yet the Disciples of Jesus, were "fishers of men" and caught fish for a living. So Jesus obviously ate fish and did not consider fishermen to be cruel. He performed the miracle of the loaves and fishes and gave the people listening to his sermon plenty to eat, so that there were even lots of leftovers. In the end it is God that rules and. as He tells us in the Book of Genesis, He has created the world for us and given us the authority as stewards to conquer the earth and all that was on it, including fish, birds and all living animals. But these are given to men and women according to God's dispensation. This means they are to be used according to the ends and laws set by God, and not the selfish, blind exploitation that has sometimes characterised men and women's development of Nature in the past.

Patron saint of journalists was a gentleman M The Record

edia critics, particularly in the Christian Churches, might say that journalists need as much heavenly hell) as they can get for all their sins of omission and commission. It is not well-known, especially among journalists, that last Tuesday's "saint-ofthe-day," St Francis de Sales, is the patron saint of writers and journalists. There is sonic delicious irony in the fact that most people know St Francis de Sales as a model gentleman and one of the great examples in Christianity of meekness and humility without any hint of false shyness. Inevitably, the question is asked: How could a 16th and 17th century Swiss bishop famous for a book on devotion - An Introduction to the Devout Life - having anything to do with modern daily journalism? The fact that he "broadcasted" the faith via pamphlets under the doors of Swiss Protestants is sometimes put forward as a justification. This is nice but not a very strong point on which to hang his patronage. In fact, a journalist's first meeting with the fact that there is a patron saint for journalists may make him or her think this is nothing more than old fogey Church scratching around for something to look relevant to media work. But it is clear from The Introduction to the Devout Life and the less well-known Treatise on the Love of God, that the Catholic Church judged it correctly in choosing St Francis, knowing that the writ-

ing skill and virtue of the Bishop of Geneva was something that could be recognised in any age. Like journalists of any age, he had to write quickly and with, presumably, little chance to correct his work. His writing, like that of our Archbishop Barry Hickey on occasions, was done late at night after a hard day's pastoral work. This may explain how the Introduction and the Treatise are broken up into short chapters of about 1,000 words. Necessity may have forced this but the reader benefits in that each part can be read and meditated on in one sitting on bus, train or at lunchtime or in the evening. This economy in writing extends to the use of precise words in short, direct. active-voice sentences, as any first-year cadet in journalism is instructed to put into practice. But the economy of expression did not mean he was intelligible only to simpletons, as in some tabloid writing. He had a magnificent ability to convey metaphysical points through homely metaphors drawn from everyday life in such a way that both the learned and uneducated could understand the point being made. The reader is instructed at his or her

T Arouno /./;e 7a,gle . Evangelism in the schools

, the beginning of this year there are many opportunities for making a difference in our society, of being *salt' and 'light' in the community. One way of having significant input to the local community is to become involved in the schools in the area. Programs such as student mentoring. special religious education, chaplaincy, and extra helping hands are means of contributing in a significant way. By having regular contact, and getting to know some students, you can be a powerful influence for good. As a student mentor, you can have a oneon-one encounter with a young person who will benefit from the friendship. Helping with reading, giving encouragement, being a listener, are all part of the action. Older persons particularly are welcomed in these roles. Will your congregation make a commitment to pray regularly for the schools in its

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own level as established, unchangeable truths are made intelligible in the local dialect of everyday living. In this he was clearly following the example of Our Lord in the use of parables. These few points cover his strictly journalistic skills. But there is another point relevant to the media that journalists, especially in the daily media, and the wider public will find amusing - his reputation as the perfect Christian gentleman. Knowing a great deal and blessed with many talents and graces, he suffered both the ignorant and vicious gladly, showing the way of sanity and sanctity through patience and a well-ordered disposition. Apart from a tendency for hot-headedness in youth that he overcame, he appears to have been blessed with a wellbalanced nature that was the envy of his friends and acquaintances. Relying on the sacramental help of the Church, perhaps modern journalists might be able to begin to approach his example! Another intriguing point for modern journalists would be his contemplative nature that, apart from appreciating the gifts of St Jane Frances de Chantal and sponsoring the foundation of the Order of

• The opinions expressed in this editorial, and any other Record editorial, are not necessarily those of the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Perth.

13effers lo the Cofifor

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locality? The regular teachers and the students all need this care. Will you find out who the SRE teachers are in your area, and encourage them, pray for them, invite them to tell you what's happening in the classes? Have you met the chaplains in the schools In your community? Get to know them, Invite them to share their story with you. The scope and effects of their presence in schools will astound you. In one school, students in need were able to meet over breakfast at school instead of starting the day on an empty stomach. Offer to represent your church at your district council of The Churches' Commission on Education. You will meet and enjoy working with Christians from a number of other churches. You may consider joining the SRE team. Talk with your own CCE District Council representative, or one of the staff at The Churches' Commission on Education. Our phone number is 9383 9377, or email us on cce@ozeinfo. net.au Jill Vines Field officer Churches' Commission on Education

the Visitation, had him yearning for the day when he could retire from episcopal duties to the contemplative life. Again, daily news journalists could easily understand this desire for relief from the hurlyburly although, in his case, it was a desire for the thing in itself, rather than for its recreational effect, And, as a final point, it should be remembered that St Francis de Sales was a product of the sometimes hated Council of Trent. St Francis could write well not only because of specific intellectual talents but. like St Thomas Aquinas, he was a saint first and then a thinker and writer. He willingly accepted the truths declared in the Council of Trent and knew them to be simply restatements of what had always been true. He would not have had any difficulty in seeing the continuity of teaching between Trent, Vatican I and Vatican II. Strange that the so-called reactionary Counter Reformation era should produce someone teaching holiness in everyday life widely and popularly 350 years before Vatican II, and the emergence of modern lay movements such as Catholic Action, Young Christian Workers, Opus Dei, Cursillo, Marriage Encounter, Focolare, Charismatic Renewal and others.

A democratic Church?

s democracy able to guarantee the correct answer to any kind of question? Of course not. All that it can ever be is a method for ensuring that we all get along together in a group as well as we possibly can. Even then, it may not work. And there is never any guarantee that the decision will be the right one. So what does this have to do with the Catholic Church? For many years now we have all heard an increasing number of calls for the Church to 'move with the times.' This hoary old chestnut usually comes from outside the Church, from individuals who, looking at it. can scarcely believe that such out-of-date beliefs can continue to exist in a world full of such civilising achievements as megabytes, compact discs, arts programs and video rock music. The feeling that the Church should 'move with the times' is, not surprisingly, widespread. However, G K Chesterton once wrote:

"People say we need a Church that moves with the times. But I say we need a Church that will move the times." Some Catholics call for a democratised Church where hierarchical appointments, policy and doctrine are voted on - although precisely by whom. interestingly. is hardly ever said. Any child could see what chaos in ideas would result: a 'democratic' Church that believes on Monday in God can believe on Tuesday that God is a Hindu. on Wednesday that He or She is really a discriminated-against anti-nuclear campaigner and that by Friday that there was never really any God in the first place. The old Latin phrase used to describe this is 'reductio ad absurdum.' which roughly translates as 'follow the logic of the argument and see what sort of absurd position you end up in.' Absurdity. so much a visible feature of modern culture now, lies at the heart of the movement in the Church for greater democratisation. Val Pelegro North Perth

Radio, newspaper ads to call lapsed Catholics back to Church priests were discussing the fact of the large number of exrand Island, Nebraska. Catholics in the US. "We've all been in it together priests want fallen-away brainstorming, reading a bit, Catholics to come home. In February, they will promote sharing ideas.- he told The West a radio and newspaper campaign Nebraska Register, newspaper of inviting inactive Catholics to the Diocese of Grand Island. There are many reasons why return to their faith. Catholics have slipped from their "There are people out there who have left the Church, fallen faith. Fr Don Larmore said many may away," said Father Jack Rademacher, pastor of St Leo's have needed the Church at a critical time in their life, and no one Church. "It's time to invite them home was available for them. t's not anybody's fault." Fr Larand to see if there is anything we I more said. can do. . . . to help them come The priest also said he believes home." During Lent, each parish will some fallen-away church memthen have an open house or a bers may he fearful of talking to forum for people to see how the Church leaders, especially when it comes to issues such as marChurch can help them return. From there, those interested riage and reconciliation. "There's some fear involved in may enroll in their respective church's Rite of Christian Initia- talking to anyone about it," he tion of Adults program or simply said. "Hopefully we'll have some get an update on the Church, Fr lay people who can talk to them." Rademacher said. A trend in society has kept The idea came about a year ago, many away from the Church, Fr when Fr Rademacher and other Jim Schmitt said. "I think it's a By Colleen O'Neill

nothing like a personal invitation." The 'coming home' crusade is also on the agenda in other parts of the US. Bishop Dale Melezek of Gary in Indiana has invited Catholics in the diocese to he part of a program called Homecoming as part of the new evangelisation for the millennium called for by Pope John Paul Homecoming is geared to three groups - people who attend Church. lapsed Catholics and the unchurched. Lapsed Catholics and the unchurched will be reached Parishioners pray the Our Father at Queen of All Saints Parish in Michigan through a door-to-door campaign City, Indiana, during one of 17 missions to be held in the Diocese of Gary, as in which teams from each parish part of a diocesan "homecoming" project to welcome Catholics back to the will invite people to the missions. Bishop Melczek noted that Church. Pnoto CNS,Karen CaJtaway Northwest inchane CathoPc some Catholics might feel societal problem that people Many people in his parish say uncomfortable going door-todon't think they really need a they know others who may be door. But, he said. together, we spiritual life." interested in returning to the can feed off one another and Current Church members are Catholic faith. encourage that zeal for God's the key to making "Catholics "(It's) not a high pressure type love which will inspire us to take Home" Come Fr thing but just an invitation," Fr that step and extend that invitawork, Rademacher said. Rademacher stressed. "There's tion." The Record, January 27 2000 Page 7

Features

St Polycarp died for Ready for a 30km pilgrim walk to Armadate's Schoenstatt Shrine? the truth that Jesus D is sole Saviour By Peter Rosengren

L e n e4r‘ist 2000 -EDerth historian Dr Jennifer Slcerritt conIC tinues her weekly column shedding some light on Catholic Church witness and history to mark the Great Jubilee celebration of 2000 years of Christianity. This week: St Polycarp, died c 156 AD.

olycarp is a saint who has inspired numerous nuns, yet surprisingly few new parents. lie was born in about 70 AD, when the Catholic Church was still very new. He converted to Christianity as a young man. He then became a disciple of John the Evangelist. In 96 AD John made him bishop of Smyrna, a city which is now in lirrkey. St Polycarp was a good and holy man, and a very able bishop. His prominence as a saint, however, is because we know quite a lot about his life. This is partly because he was the subject of the first martyrology. A martyrology is the story of a saint's death for the faith, written down by their followers for the rest of the Church. The Church at Smyrna recorded the Martyrdom of Polycarp which they sent as a letter to the church at Philomelitun in Pisidia (also in Turkey). St Polycarp was betrayed during a general persecution of the Christians under the Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius. He was arrested and dragged into the stadium where the crowd was wailing for the games to begin. Although the mob was crying for his execution. the Roman governor tried to persuade the saint to renounce his faith. St Polycarp responded, "Eighty-six years I have served Him (Christ) and He has done me no wrong; how then can I blaspheme my king who saved me?" The crowd demanded that he be thrown to the lions immediately. When the governor refused, the mob gathered wood to build a pyre and set him upon it themselves. Even so, when it was set alight, the flames refused to touch Polycarp and he was stabbed to death by an executioner. Perhaps the governor did not want to watch such a venerable old man burn to death, and had him despatched more speedily. Although the governor of Asia eventually yielded to the demands of the crowd in the Stadium at Smyrna for the death

of Polycarp. (much like Pontius Pilate handed over Jesus), it is obvious that he was reluctant to execute the old man. Even the officer who arrested St Polycarp, and the officer's father, tried to persuade the saint to save his life by worshipping the pagan gods. Pagans in the ancient world did not understand why Christians could not worship both Yahweh and the Roman gods. Pagan religion was not exclusive; new gods were often added to the pantheon. Romans considered it was only polite to show respect to all gods, regardless of one's own personal belief. Ancient governors were often powerless against enraged mobs in their cities. Christian persecutions, especially in the first and second centuries, were more often due to popular agitation than official policy. In the case of Polycarp, the significant Jewish community in Smyrna seems to have been prominent in calling for his death. Obviously Polycarp was well loved and respected, even by some pagans. This was reflected in the governor's efforts to save his life. Irenaeus, another saint who had been his student, wrote that St Polycarp was famous for his teaching and for defending the Church against heretics. Smyrna was already a famous centre for Greek philosophy, but St Polycarp made it an important cultural centre for Christians also. This was an important step in converting the gentiles. St Polycarp, by facing his death bravely, further gained the sympathy of moral pagans around him. Thus the Church grew, fertilised by the blood of martyrs. St Polycarp was an important intellectual and leader in the very early Church. His, work during his lifetime helped establish Christianity as the religion of the intelligentsia and leaders of society, as well as the poor and outcast.

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espite its size, the tiny Schoenstatt church in Armadale in Perth's southern suburbs, an official site for Jubilee Year pilgrimages, is preparing for a big Jubilee year. Able to seat just 30 people at a time, the picturesque Alpine-look of the shrine can also make the visitor wonder if it was originally built as a prop for the 1960s movie The Sound of Music any minute you half-expect to see Julie Andrews come running around the corner, skirt in hand, as she dashes back to her convent, late - yet again - for prayer with the Sisters. But Julie Andrews is not here, nor is she likely ever to be. Instead, the Schoenstatt Sisters administer the shrine which, in recent years, has become an increasingly popular and busy centre of faith formation and education for lay people. When contacted by The Record, Schoenstatt Sister Lisette, who is helping co-ordinate Jubilee Year activities and events for the Armadale shrine, said that already more than 3,000 students from Catholic schools were booked to visit the shrine throughout the year, many more are expected. Teachers had also shown more than passing Interest, she said, with about 60 teachers from one school to visit for a teachers' day of reflection.

The Record, January 27 2000 Page 8

The small, intimate chapel at Schoenstatt in Annadale - perfect for quiet prayer.

Third millennium ecumenism 'depends on inner renewal of each local Church' Community disagrees with other Churches in the name of fidelity to the same Lord. In theological dialogue it takes time to discern between legitimate differences and divergences which cannot be overcome. It also takes time to reach a method of common dialogue. The same patience is required in fraternal collaboration to dissipate the petty fear of losing oneself and solder mutual confidence. The euphoria of great assemblies must pass the test of humble day-to-day efforts through which together we serve Christ in the society of men and women. The obstacles to overcome are then sentimental syncretism which minimises communion in the faith, and integralism which abolutises human traditions foreign to the faith received from the Apostles.

Fr Joan Corbon, a consultor of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Unity among (,'hristians, is a major expert in the field of ecumenism. Fides, the news agency of the Vatican's Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, recently asked Fr Carbon to take stock of the progress made by the ecumenical movement in the last century and to indicate prospects for the coming Third Millennium.

The Ecumenical Movement in the 20th century

ow should we look at the ecumenical movement during the 20th century? 'lb grasp the significance of this movement, through which Christians strive together to return to full communion within the Church as Christ wishes, certain mistaken views must be corrected. First of all, this searching did not begin in the 20th century - since the 5th century there have been numerous attempts at reconciliation among the divided Churches. We inherit today their efforts and their failures. On the other hand, efforts to restore communion differ according to the Churches involved, and remedies vary according to the wounds. For a start, there are as many ecumenical movements as there are problems between the Churches, which show themselves little by little to be inter-dependent regarding causes and solutions. Another visual correction: the ecumenical movement is not merely that which we see. People search, make proposals, take action, built is the Holy Spirit who prompts and makes fruitful these efforts, at times and in ways which are astonishing. We must look at the ecumenical movement first of all with eyes of faith. This prompts another correction, no less important, which will help to clarify our vision often troubled by impatience or discouragement: it is in the truth of hearts and not on the scene of the media that the painful and exalting drama of Christian unity is played.

in the Oriental Catholic Churches, or the assembly of the Catholic hierarchy of a country. In the Orthodox and Oriental-Orthodox world, synods of patriarchates and autocephalous Churches set up commissions for ecumenical relations beginning with the World Council of Churches General Assembly in 1961. The Anglican Communion had taken provision since the 1920s. So had the great World Federations (Lutheran. Reformed Church, Methodist, Baptist), after the creation of the WCC and according to the local conjunctures of dialogue. The novelty of the last three decades of the 20th century is the multiplication of structures of dialogue common to several Churches. We think first of all of councils of Churches at the national, regional and continental levels. Perhaps less known are institutes of ecumenical formation, both at the academic and pastoral levels, whose service is decisive for the progress of the ecumenical movement. There are numerous congresses and meetings on ecumenism. More recently, forums evaluate the progress of theological dialogue and its interaction, because progress has been made!

Development of structures of dialogue

The message of an ecumenical century

Promising progress

t the world level, the most remarkable progress is perhaps increasing awareness of the implications of ecumenical work. From the beginning to the end of the 20th century this awareness concerned successively different aspects: division among the Churches is the greatest obstacle to the proclamation of the Gospel, spiritual ecumenism and Jesus' prayer for unity conversion of hearts and minds, mutual knowledge, the primacy of charity, the rejection of proselytism, collaboration in everything that can be carried out together. Pastors and faithful discover that dialogue of Love proceeds, accompanies and prolongs dialogue in the faith uring the two decades preceding the Second led by theologians. World War, we should underline that the Life It was this profound renewal that rendered possible and Work movement, with the support of youth the creation of structures of dialogue and progressive movements, was well oriented towards collaboration in growth in awareness in the search for unity in the faith: the social and cultural fields, while the Faith and Order primordial reference to the Word of God, discernment movement, thanks to the Anglicans and Lutheran and between Apostolic Tradition and traditions proper to Reformed theologians, gave priority to the search for local Churches, the sacramental and canonical impliunity in the faith received from the Apostles. cations of the mystery of the Church as Community, the Two structures develop in this way which will serve centrality of the Eucharist, the function of ministries to promote unity among Christians, one at the level of and, lastly, the meaning of conciliarity and primacy in dialogue in the faith and the other at the level of dia- the communion of Churches. logue of concrete charity. Certainly, not all the Churches have reached the same Since that time we have these two levels of dialogue degree of maturity in their bilateral dialogue but none in most structures with ecumenical finalities which will of them can ignore the progress accomplished by the develop by the hundred in Churches all over the world. others; indeed, each can draw from this progress inspiThese structures will vary according to the internal ration to advance. Spiritual emulation is also progress. organisation of each ecclesial Communion. At the beginning of the Third Christian Millennium In the Catholic world, there will be commissions for five facts remain significant: ecumenical relations, at the level of dioceses and a) the Orthodox Churches, Oriental Catholic and national bishops' conferences, or the patriarchal synod Orthodox Churches have settled the Christological dis-

St Polycarp: his martyrdom disturbed pagans who knew him to be a good, learned man.

tuality." German priest, Fr Joseph Kentenich, age will leave from St Mary's Cathedral at 5 founded the Schoenstatt movement in 1914 at am in the morning on Easter Monday to walk Schoenstatt in western Germany on the River to the shrine in Armadale. Sr Lisette said the pilgrimage will focus on Rhine near Coblenz. Fr Kentenich's movement is an organisation vocations and plans to cover the 31 kilomeof priests and lay people from every walk of tres or so to the Armadale shrine by just after life that focuses on love for Our Lady with the lunchtime. "It will be a good exercise to lose weight," she laughed. aim of assisting renewal in the Church. Buses will pick up those along the way who It seeks to help its members to live their faith actively on a daily basis through self-educa- cannot walk the whole distance. After pilgrims have had a chance to recover, tion, social interaction and dependence on Mary; it has branches for families, mothers, Mass will be celebrated, followed by a symyouth, women, Schoenstatt Sisters and posium in which members of religious Orders will give short presentations on their work Schoenstatt Fathers. Apart from the movement's priests, a branch and the calling of their Orders, she said. Sr Lisette said that every month the Schoenof the organisation is also available for diocesan priests who wish to participate in and statt Sisters send out a picture of Our Lady and Jesus to families, which is returned every promote the spirituality of the movement. Meanwhile, the response to the Schoenstatt month to the Shrine. In the pilgrimage year there will be an Jubilee program of days of reflection and other events for the year 2000 had been "over- increased focus on this devotion, with the message of the Shrine helping pilgrims to see whelming" so far, Sister Lisette said. However, partly because of the shrine's lim- Our Lady as a pilgrim mother who visits them ited size and because of the rate at which in love. As usual, the Schoenstatt family devotion bookings were flowing in, she asked that groups thinking of putting it on their pilgrim- will continue throughout the year, with a day for families held on the Sunday after the 18th Perth Catholics go on pilgrimage to Schoenstatt each year for the Solemnity of Christ the King in Novem- age agenda to book in advance. Among events planned for the year are three of every month at Armadale. ber. Above right, Archbishop Hickey speaks to pilgrims on 23 November, 1997. Every Friday, the 10am Mass at the Shrine twilight retreats for youth, which will run Sr Lisette said the educational focus, one of the year, she emphasised its spirituality. -I from 4pm until 8pm and be offered by Casa will be open to all, followed by opportunities several for the Jubilee Year, matches the would like to them to discover that Schoen- Frassati vocational discernment centre direc- for Eucharistic adoration until 9pm in the evening. Schoenstatt charism of education for families. statt is a place of grace where Our Lady gives tor, Fr Timothy Deeter. The Schoenstatt Sisters can be contacted on Asked what she would like to see visitors us spiritual gifts," she said. adding "and that And for those who wish to tread in the haland pilgrims to the shrine leave with during Schoenstatt is also a movement and a spirt- lowed traditions of Christendom, a pilgrim- (08) 9399 2349.

An important step forward in the progress of ecumenism at the beginning of the third millennium: Anglican Archbishop George Carey, left, and Orthodox Metropolitan Athanasios kneel with Pope John Paul II before the open Holy Door at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome on 18 January. Representatives of 22 Christian denominations joined in the prayer serPhoto. CNS/Reuters vice with the Pope.

pile of the 5th century which was the first great division of the Church; b) rediscovering together the traditional ecclesiology of Communion, the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church are now only two steps from the last question: conciliarity and primacy in the Church; c) at the same time, Catholic-Anglican dialogue is rich in propositions on the meaning of authority in the Church; d) Catholic-Lutheran dialogue has reached a decisive stage with a joint declaration on the fundamental question of justification; and e) lastly, still at the unofficial level, theologians of almost all Christian communions are beginning to study together the question of the Petrine ministry and Church unity, something which would have been unthinkable only ten years ago.

Delays and obstacles

he same eyes of faith which are surprised by the suddenness of this progress are not at all surprised by the delays and obstacles which have had to be overcome and which continue to hinder further progress.

The ecumenical movement in the 20th century reminds us that ills not enough to recognise the need for unity, we must have a minimum of structures to respond to this need, and this is a first delay, but structures can only fulfill their function if the way of thinking of the people and groups is sufficiently motivated, and here we have the greatest reason for delays and slowness. The Churches present have neither the same age, the same history nor the same culture, and this is why their dialogue, both in concrete charity and in the faith, must pass, first of all, by way of the encounter of their respective mentality. The Communion of the Holy Spirit works in human time and it takes time for minds that are cloudy to become transparent to faith and love. The phenomenon of mentality, we now understand better, inherited "non-theological factors" such as political and personal conflicts, which wounded communion among the Churches and which [were] used for their justification of doctrinal disagreements. The confessional mentality of the whole Church inherits the weight of its history and it becomes clear that that the ecumenical movement is the work of Grace. The paradox is that each Church or ecclesial

he 20th century was undoubtedly marked by this "wonder" of Pentecost, the ecumenical movement What message did it leave to the Churches so they may continue to respond to the gift of the Holy Spirit both in the expression of their common faith and in witnessing their love 'so that the world may believe' in its only Saviour? It appears to be ever more urgent to pass from ecumenism at the summit to ecumenism at the ground level. It involves the entire People of God, pastors and faithful, at all levels. At the beginning of the 21st century the ecumenical movement needs to take root in the pastoral life of every Christian community.It cannot merely float in the spheres of councils of Churches or specialised commissions. At the same time it is urgent to re-evaluate underground ecumenism, at the roots where all ecclesial traditions draw their common strength. This is discovered by movements of prayer for unity, but this aspiration must be nourished by faith transmitted by the great and living Tradition, with the breath of both East and West This means, and the experience of the 20th century is a confirmation, that the vitality of the ecumenical movement depends on the inward renewal of each local Church. Ills a question of returning together to the sources of renewal: the Word of God, liturgical life, testimony of the Fathers of the Church. This will render visible the mystery of the Church, One in the diversity of peoples and cultures in which she is implanted. Without these resources the "sense of faith" of the believers cannot open to receive ecumenical pastoral and doctrinal accords. In fact, full communion among the Churches cannot consist in the application of administrative decisions, it must be the living response of the community of the baptised to the gift of the Spirit who of a multitude of members forms the unity of the Body of Christ. This is why most of the Churches engaged in the search for unity feel the urgent need for ecumenical formation for pastors and faithful, by means of experience and study, but above all through prayer. The Record, January 27 2000 Page 9

Christian Leaven in Society

Power of images to transform the world By Fr Eugene LaVerdiere

ome images transform the world. I think of a photo depicting an execution in a Vietnamese village. As I remember it, a soldier was shooting a kneeling man Point blank in the head. The photo bridged the distance between America and Southeast Asia. It brought the war to every town and city. Everyone could identify personally with the kneeling man as his head recoiled. Around the world, the photo galvanised people of good will against war itself. As a leaven, the photo image penetrated our conscience, proclaiming: "War is not human!" Some images are like leaven, penetrating a culture, as yeast permeates dough. At the end of World War II, my dad took me to see a newsreel on the opening of the Nazi concentration camps. The camera followed the first Allied soldiers into the camps. The images of the piles of discarded bodies and the emaciated. naked men and women are still with me. At the time I was only 8. Like a leaven, these images penetrated every part of my being. Christian images and symbols can also transform the world. Think of crowded Churches on Ash Wednesday. We live in a cosmetic, escapist culture. Usually. we do not face our mortality. But on Ash Wednesday. everyone wants to be signed on the forehead with ashes. The ashes on our foreheads are a countercultural sign. The New Testament images of Jesus nailed on the cross inspired artists and sculptors for 2,000 years. The crucifix evokes Jesus' dying words. "Father, forgive them, they know not what they do" (Lk 23:34). The crucifix also evokes the words of the "good" criminal: Jesus, "remember me when you come into your kingdom" (Lk 23:42). The image of the infant Jesus lying in a manger also inspired artists from the beginning. Here are two points to reflect upon: • From the beginning, the Church has been a promoter a builder- of human culture. Promoting artists and writers. the Church has been a friend of culture. Think of the Gospels. Think of the earliest art in the Romans' catacombs. • At the same time, the Church called every culture to repent and believe in the Gospel, inspiring artists with the New Testament images of Jesus on the cross or lying in a manger. As such, we can describe the Church as countercultural. In each case, the Church calls every one of us to be a genuine human being. Proclaiming the Gospel with images, the Church is calling every culture to he a genuine human culture. Some images can transform the world. The Church knows that. - CNS

Start small, reach the sky By Lawrence Cunningham

he seemingly magical power of a small amount of leaven to change a great mass of dough provided the New Testament writers with a ready

image. Leaven was a negative image both in Mark (8:15, casting out the

leaven of Pharisees) and in Paul (1 Corinthians 5:6-8, casting out the old leaven for the new). Leaven also was used both in the synoptic writers (Matthew 13:13) and Paul (Galatians 5:9) to indicate the Gospel's power to "leaven" a greater whole. The Church's preaching tradition adopted leaven as an image for the Gospel's transformative power. Of course, there is a temptation to trivialise this powerful image, as if it were an abstract slogan for letting one's "little light shine," whereas leaven in the Old Testament was thought of as a living thing full of energy and transforming power. The issue is how a Christian or

a small Christian community becomes leaven for the larger culture. We might answer by thinking of the Christian life in terms of an ever-widening circle. The circle is tightest in what we might call our intimate community of family, friends and local neighbourhood. The leavening process begins there when individuals act to advance God's reign in small concrete ways: by reconciling enemies, caring for the needy, nourishing the life of prayer, nourishing ourselves on the Word of God. We might adopt as our spiritual strategy the rallying cry of the ecological movement: 'Act locally but think globally.' The motto means simply this: If we fight pollution in our immediate neighbourhood we are inevitably led to ask the larger questions about why pollution exists at all, who contributes to it and so on. 'Act locally but think globally' is, in religious terms, as good a

description of true catholicity as one could imagine. Every local Church is fully Catholic when the full creed is preached, the sacraments are administered fully and when the local bishop is in union with all other bishops and the bishop of Rome. To be Catholic is to be, at the same time, local and universal. The conclusion drawn from this is that every small act of being more Christian, of loving God and neighbour or serving our own circle, but with a mind to the larger Church, advances the kingdom and builds the Church. That is what St Paul had in mind when he compared believers to a body in which each part acts in harmony with the others (1 Corinthians 12) or a body whose head is Christ (Ephesians 1). In the concrete, to be leaven in the mass of humanity is to take seriously our call to be disciples of Christ in the real circumstances in which we find ourselves - to be spouses, parents, family members and so on after the manner of

Acting locally and thinking globally as Christians will help make us Into leaven for the world around us.

Photo: CNS

Christ. Some people, by God's call, take on universal tasks as they advance the reign of God; most of us find ourselves in more circumscribed circumstances. But it doesn't matter where; all disciples of Jesus must cling to the conviction that our response to Christ's call in the here and now is, in fact, a leavening of the world in which we find ourselves. The great saints have always been passionately concerned with the task right at hand, with little or no notion of how their fidelity would nourish the larger Church. How could a Therese of Lisieux. an obscure French nun who died in a provincial 19th-century cloister after she barely reached her majority, become a worldwide figure after her death? What she did know was that the way of perfection for her was to do the ordinary in an extraordinary fashion. In time, that lesson captured the Catholic world's attention to such an extent that Pope John Paul II would name her to the rarest of honours, a doctor of the Church. If a small application of leaven can transform the larger mass for the good of the Kingdom of God, the reverse is also true. It only takes a small infection of the evils of this world to take over a person's soul. The leaven Jesus speaks of in Matthew must always be kept in tension with that leaven of which Jesus says sternly, "Beware!" That admonition does not mean people must seal themselves off from the messiness of the world. It does mean that there is a way in which we should situate ourselves within the real world in which we live. Every authentic conversion carries, simultaneously, an aversion a turning to and a turning from: a resounding yes and an emphatic no. In New Seeds of contemplation. Trappist Father Thomas Merton may have said it most succinctly: "Keep your eyes clean and your ears quiet and your mind serene. Breathe God's air. Work, if you can, under God's sky." - CNS

A Church lesson from Grandma's kitchen A hot oven would finish the process, with the awful smell of cake of fresh yeast is yucky yeast giving way to the unforgettan in colour and smells table fragrance of fresh baked bread! awful! I never hear the parable of the When you mix it with warm yeast in Matthew's Gospel withwater it forms a distasteful lookout thinking of these miraculous ing paste. But oh what that yeast does to a transformations in Grandma's bowl of flour, salt and a little oil! kitchen. As families hear the Jubilee-year My grandmother lived next invitation to become leaven for door, and she baked bread reguthe world, they might take comlarly when I was growing up. fort in knowing that the messy but I remember standing on a chair transforming work of leaven at her kitchen table helping her already is occurring in most mix the brown smelly yeast solu- homes every day. tion into a large bowl of flour. The family is the first place we This was a messy ordeal. I learn to be leaven for the world. wouldn't touch the gooey mix You can see it in the patient until she had it mixed together efforts of parents teaching a 2and was kneading it. year-old to share his toys or an After the first kneading, the aging husband feeding an invalid bread 'rested' atop the warm wife. oven. Children learn how to be yeast I remember tucking it under a for others by watching their parthick towel to keep it warm and ents work hard for their benefit undisturbed. and spend time with them when And no one could let a cool they have homework or are sick. breeze into the kitchen or jump Children learn to be yeast by around the stove during the sec- acting responsibly and respectond or third rising. fully toward each other. We were not to 'scare' the dough. Something messy and unjust By Mary Jo Pedersen

The Record. January 27 2000 Page 10

Looks awful, smells yukky, but what a difference yeast makes to bread. From the beginning, ordinary Christians have been called by Jesus to be the leaven of society and the world around them. Photo CNS

can be transformed into something beautiful and life-giving by these ordinary actions. There are plenty of opportunities for becoming leaven in neighbourhoods and parishes. Neighbours watch out for each other's mail when someone is travelling, take meals to each other when there is sickness or a crisis; our parish stocks a pantry in the city that serves immigrant families and has an organised out-

reach to families in need. In baking bread, yeast comprises only 2 percent of the dough's weight. It doesn't take much to do a lot! For most folks, leavening happens in ordinary ways in messy situations. It occurs quietly, by the power of the Holy Spirit, when people respond to Christ's invitation to transform the ordinary into something life-giving. - Catholic News Service

Book Review

Aid for Catholic schools: the Victorian chapter Blazing a Trail - Catholic Education in Victoria 1963-1986 by Anne O'Brien. David Lovell Publications Reviewed by Professor Owen Potter

a more ecumenical face (when not gov- (where were the unions?). In other words, erned by the famous 'faceless' persons), if one recognises a right to education, the but contained ideologues as well as the sacrifices of these religious added directly to government coffers. sectarians found in both major parties. In considering how to meet the needs of These ideologues fought bitterly to prevent Catholic schools having as much children, whether in government or nonaccess to the taxes paid by their parents as government schools, from the taxes raised government schools had to the taxes paid by governments, it has to be stated that the taxation system is the nearest thing to a fair by their parents. system of raising funds. A major part of Anne O'Brien's book is Funds so raised by taxation should then taken up with the argument over 'per capibe equitably distributed and, rationally, ta' grants versus 'needs based' grants. this distribution for education will be mainWho was right? We need to understand ly per capita but with special factors needa number of matters. ing extra grants (this, incidentally, is how During the period under consideration funds were distributed to universities (and thereafter) Federal Governments dis- before Dawkins' mistaken changes. EFTS mantled support for families - to the point equivalent full-time students is written on where Patricia Apps, Professor in Public my heart). Economics and Law at Sydney University A central problem for education today is could state that the only significant Gov- that a 'wealthy' parent with a child at a government support for families lay in the pro- ernment school does not make the same vision of government schools. contribution to Australian education costs

true costs but failed. True, the Federal Government did ask an accountancy firm to list the cost headings which would apply but did not ask for the costs to be established.

What was achieved was that when costs were published a note was added to cost tables stating that not all costs were included. he media release tells us that: "The At one time, in a paper sought by a numbook has been written by an insidof Treasury departments in Australian ber er of the time. Dr Anne O'Brien was governments, I called upon the Schools assistant to Fr Frank Martin who was then Commission and the Universities ComDirector of Catholic Education and strongmission to agree on a basis for establishing the shaping involved in of the Labor proly relative costs. posals for government aid, outlined in the !Carmel Report of May 1973." Shortly thereafter both Commissions were dissolved (I do not claim cause and The bleak condition of Catholic educaeffect!). tion in Victoria in 1960 must have dismayed migrants as well as returning Australians. It is extraordinary that we do not have accurate and comprehensive regular pubTeaching over-large (more than 50 pupils) lication of government school costs. classes demanded heroism on the part of the mainly brothers and nuns who taught The foregoing is all by way of introducin the schools at that time. Many were brotion, and we can now return to Anne ken by the strains and something O'Brien's account of the 1963-80 period. had to be done. Western Australia made a conMorag Fraser is quoted on the inside cover". . . . Anne O'Brien tribution in the persons of Cederwas there when the decision were ic and Margaret Gartland who made. She worked alongside the laboured mightily for the Parents movers and shakers." and Friends Federation which interviewed politicians and in Her book is a tribute to Fr Frank many ways sought to increase Martin who was the leader in understanding. developing the bureaucracy of the Catholic Education Office of VicMargaret, even after Cederic's toria and a worthy member of the death, continued this work and has Schools Commission - ". . . . an been a veritable power-house. extraordinarily adept negotiator Among her contributions is one and an astute politician" (Hedley to a volume of Christian Brother - now Emeritus Professor of Beare K.G. Mortensen's Schooling and Education, Melbourne University). Employment In Australia, Volumes In 1963, Archbishop Simonds as 1-6, Gerald Griffin Press, 1985coadjutor to Archbishop Mannix 1999. set up a Catholic Education AdviMortensen's work must be read sory Council. for the history of funding of A notable appointee was Tom Catholic schools. O'Donnell of Melbourne UniversiIn the Early 1960s, the Democraty (later Professor of Inorganic tic Labor Party (DLP) had leverage Chemistry there) who chaired the on the Liberal Party by way of pref"academic sub-committee." erence allocation and raised the A good nun of my acquaintance schools' question. expressed her 'puzzlement' at uniUnfortunately, the DLP seemed versity academics pontificating on not to want competition in ensurto Government funding of non-Government schools, most of which are Catholic, was a long and hard one schools questions. The road ing that Catholics received their benefitted children and their families. Shown above are some modern day examples of those Our only defence (I humbly conshare of taxes allocated to educa- but one which in the end who have gained from recognition of the need for parents to have choice in education - Students at St Columba 's fess to membership of the subtion, and this was a blemish and around their classroom according to height as Year 4 teacher Lisa committee) would be that the an irritation to parents outside the Catholic Primary, South Perth last year line up Pe:e Yovich takes her charges through a measuring activity. problems we analysed were so DLP obvious that even academics could Liberal Prime Minister, Sir Robert Menthem. recognise zies, introduced Commonwealth grants for Tom worked very energetically and I libraries and science laboratories in the believe made a great contribution to the early 60's. establishment of Christ College - a teacher This was the thin edge of the wedge. training institution. And Labor? How different, one wonders, He was also the first chairperson of the would things have been if a few CommuCatholic Education Commission of Victonist preferences had not enabled Jim Killen ria. to survive at the 1963 election and hence the Liberal Government also. Anne O'Brien's discourse adequately outlines the development of the Victorian CEO In that election, Arthur Calwell fell at this bureaucracy, with centralisation in the last post but his election policy had includCatholic Education Office of Victoria and ed a modest proposal which would have CECV - a State-wide body with all dioceses aided Catholic schools in pursuit of his aim of matching US retention rates (it was my represented - which became necessary to privilege to cost Mr Calwell's proposals for receive governmental grants. him). The word 'bureaucracy' may seem pejoAnne O'Brien criticises Bob Santamaria, rative but ills only so in the sense that all the Parents and Friends Federation and the bureaucracies have to be automatically Australian Parents Council for their suspect - guilty until proven innocent! staunch support for per capita grants. Iwould like, indeed, to compliment those A blemish in her methodology is that she who made the system workable, profesquotes from persons critical of Mr Santasional and successful. maria and officers of "P and F"' and APC While it should be clear that I consider Cederic Gartland, John Herman, Margaret Slattery, but does not seek a comment or Science came first. As Owen Potter reveals, liberal Prime Minister Sir Robert Menzies began the the Needs Policy fatally flawed in the long run, Frank Marlin and his colleagues are to rebuttal from those criticised. funding of non-government schools by introducing Commonwealth grants for libraries and science be congratulated for extracting an outcome Santamaria and Gartland are no longer laboratories in the early 1960s. Photo: CNS Joe Boilig The Leaven which has ameliorated the worst features with us but others would have defended of the scene since 1963. with a child Spouse rebates were reduced, child 'wealthy' parent similarly as a them, given the opportunity. endowment and tax rebates for education at a non-government school. The author has to be congratulated for At the time Liberal Party parents were expense eliminated. her account of the developments in Victovery largefunding has been Needs-basis reasonably happy with a schema whereby An important additional factor today is ria. their children attended State primary that universities are no longer free, so that ly a sap to ideology and sectarianism - "we will fund these school children not because I found it interesting and stimulating. schools (which are free) and subsequently parents are faced with HECS fees. they have rights in the way children at govIndependent secondary schools (which are It brought to mind days long gone. What Governments give with one hand ernment schools do, but because their far from free). The book does suffer the fault of all 'insidthey take away with the other. needs are so great." The Liberal Party gave little thought to accounts in that it gives scant credit to er' In Britain, and also I believe, in Northern A particular problem that arose in settling those poorer parents for whom the inde- Ireland, members of religious orders were those not fully in agreement. figures for grants is that an obvious referpendent school fees were crippling. paid the rate for the job by the Govern- ence point is the total cost of government Owen Potter is a semi-retired Professor At the parliamentary level, there were ment. schooling per capita. Years ago, whenIesti- of Chemical Engineering at Monash Univery few Catholics returned from Liberal In Australia our noble sisters and broth- mated the true costs of government schools versity in Melbourne. He was closely electorates and even fewer in the Min- ers received minuscule stipends and did to be considerably above the figures pro- involved in lobbying for State Aid for istries. not receive the rate for the job when gov- vided by governments, the Australian Par- Catholic schools during the 1960s in VicIn that respect the Labor Party presented ernments began to provide assistance ents Council tried to obtain an estimate to toria.

The Rq99/0,1/9nuTiNC4?7, W10.1)P9P el is -

International News

In Brief Top Chilean supported SANTIAGO, Chile (CNS) Archbishop Francisco Errazuriz Ossa of Santiago, president of the Chilean bishops' conference, told the nation's president-elect the Church would support his efforts "to protect human rights and promote the dignity of all Chileans." Archbishop Errazuriz visited Chilean President-elect Ricardo Lagos at the official's home in Santiago on 17 January. "I came to express our congratulations and blessing for the man who will represent all Chileans," he told the journalists gathered outside Lagos' residence. Lagos obtained just over 51 per cent of the vote, only 2.3 per cent more than centreright candidate Joaquin Lavin, In one of the cl()est elections ever in Chile.

Song taking off VATICAN crry. January 16 (ZENIT) - A song composed by Italian singer Amedeo Minghi and dedicated to the Holy City is fast gaining popularity both because of the lyrics as well as the music. Archbishop Crescenzio Sepe, secretary of the Vatican Jubilee Committee, describes it as a modern psalm. Israel's airline, El Al. would like to use it as a soundtrack for its flights. The piece is "Jerusalem." a song composed by Minghi who hopes he will be able to perform it in Jerusalem, together with a Jewish and an Arab singer. when John Paul II visits the "mother of all mothers," as the composer calls Jerusalem.

Papal charity VATICAN CITY, January 17 (ZENIT) - The jubilee Committee has launched the "Pope's Charity Project" to feed the homeless of Rome and poor pilgrims. Since the beginning of the new year, 7 homeless persons have died In Italy because of the cold. In keeping with the project. within the next two weeks 500 meals will be distributed free of charge in Rome every day (including a plate of hot Italian pasta, a snack and a beverage). The distribution points are the four main Basilicas of the Holy Year. St Peter's in the Vatican, St John Lateran, St Paul Outside the Walls and St Mary Major.

Burundi hunger WASHINGTON (CNS) Some Burundian citizens in the Kabezi "regroupment" camp are going hungry but cannot get to their gardens, which they can see down the hill. Many of the 32000 people rounded up by the government in September - allegedly for their own protection are forced to live under banana-leaf roofs or tarps. A US Catholic Relief Services official who visited Kabezi on 19 January told CNS the following day that everyone who approached him said they were hungry and had no access to food.

Russian Catholics wait By Frank Brown MOSCOW (CNS) - While acting Russian President Vladimir Putin has pledged his commitment to religious freedom, Catholics in Russia say it is too early to gauge his attitude on religious matters. Putin is heavily favoured to lead the first round of presidential elections set for March 26. The 31 December surprise resignation of former President Boris Yeltsin moved the prime minister to power as acting president. In a telephone interview from his office in Novosibirsk, Bishop Joseph Werth, apostolic administrator of Siberia, cautioned against attaching too much significance to Putin's outward demonstrations of faith, like crossing himself at the televised service for Orthodox Christmas on 7 January. "It is really too early to tell. It is either simply a sign of fashion or of genuine religious feeling," said Bishop Werth. whose apostolic administration covers an area about 10 times the size of France. "I can only hope that he doesn't change the government's attitude toward the Church," the bishop said, referring to Russian government policies that allowed for a revival in Catholic life. Before the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union only two Catholic parishes operated in Russia - in Moscow and Leningrad. Now, there are about 200. Bishop Werth said that in recent years, the role of the federal government in dictating religious policy has been substantially reduced as provincial leaders grab more power. "Throughout the regions, the local authorities are trying to be more independent from Moscow. For us, sometimes this is good, sometimes it is bad." said Bishop Werth, a Russian citizen. "Three

years ago, several of the regions ei II, leader of the 80-million passed their own religion laws. member church. (In those places) it has been very Since then, Putin has taken bad for us." pains to praise Christianity's conPutin, 47, had a career in the tribution to Russia. KGB, the Soviet security police While Yeltsin's eight-year tenure and intelligence agency, and was witnessed a genuine nationwide a member of the Communist religious revival, he never took an Party. Interest in cultivating religious figThey were the two institutions ures and seemed to have a formal, most responsible for 70 years of politically based relationship brutal Soviet religious repression. with Patriarch Alexei. On the other hand, hours after Putin, though, has met frequentYeltsin's resignation, in a broad- ly with the patriarch since being cast to the nation Putin pledged named prime minister in August. his commitment to religious freeFor minority faiths in Russia, dom, saying, "Freedom of speech, Putin's closeness to the Russian freedom of conscience, freedom Orthodox Church may be a mixed of the press, the right to private blessing. property: All these basic princiOrthodox leaders frequently ples of a civilised society will be denounce as proselytism the reliably protected by the state." activities of missionaries, includThe handover of power and Rus- ing Catholics, and call for the govsia's nuclear suitcase from Yeltsin ernment to better regulate to Putin was not witnessed by a minority faiths and cults. A restrictive 1997 law on relipolitical figure or the head of Russia's Constitutional Court, but by gion, strongly backed by the RussRussian Orthodox Patriarch Alex- ian Orthodox Church, resulted in

PRAGUE, January 18 (ZENIT) The Czech Episcopal conference has reacted sceptically to a request by the Communist party to "dialogue." The Church cannot quickly forget the years of repression that it suffered at the hands of the Communists. Vojtech Filip, President of the representatives of the Communist Party in the Czech Republic's Parliament. wrote a letter recently to Cardinal Miloslav VIk, president of the Czech Episcopal Conference. In the letter, the politician called for a dialogue between Communists and Catholics. "The Communists are ready and have no reservations to dialogue," read the letter. The official response was penned by the Episcopal Confer-

request to the Catholic Church." "The Communist Party and the churches of the Czech Republic have a serious problem that continues unresolved: the past, in which the Party was 'the guiding force' of the country," the spokesman's note states. The regime that took power in 1947 persecuted the Church, confiscating its property and imprisoning its religious. Cardinal Vlk himself was unable to exercise his priestly ministry for many years and had to work as a window cleaner. "Communist strength in Bohemia and Moravia at present has only removed itself from the past in some aspects of a theoretical nature: but in regard to political objectives and topics, the new party is very similar to the preceding," Fr Herman said.

Russian Acting President Vladimir Pulin and Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexei 11 address a reception at the Kremlin marking the 2,000th anniversary of the birth of Christ on 11 January. Pr , CNS/Reuters

a sharp curtailment of minority religions' growth. The 1997 law is vague enough to allow considerable room for interpretation - an opportunity to crack down further on minority faiths. Jesuit Father Stanislav Opiela, a Pole who serves as the general secretary for the Russian bishops' conference, is waiting for a decision from Russia's highest court, the Constitutional Court, on whether it will hear a challenge by the Jesuits to the 1997 law. The Jesuits were denied registration as a religious organisation last year. In general, Father Opiela said, it is simply too early to make an assessment of Putin because, "now he is busy with other things, so it is hard to tell what his attitude to religious matters is." A key factor in determining Putin's fate at the polls will be how the Russian army fares in its attempt to defeat rebels in the breakaway republic of Chechnya. Putin's soaring popularity among voters is attributed to the relative ease with which the Russian military reclaimed much of Chechnya late last year. In early 2000, however, lethal rebel counterattacks made clear that the military campaign was far from won. Father Stephen Rogers, a Scot with the Sacred Heart Missionaries, is the rector of the Catholic parish closest to Chechnya. In a telephone interview from his apartment in Vladikavkaz. about 60 miles from the border with Chechnya, Father Rogers said his parishioners "have a lot of hope in Putin." With an estimated 42.000 refugees from Chechnya in Vladikavkaz, a city of 700.000. Father Rogers said the whole region is on edge.

„ Czechs react sceptically to overtures Catholics

Cardinal Miloslav Vik of Prague

ence's spokesman, Fr Daniel Herman. "Genuine dialogue is only possible with someone worthy of trust," the priest answered. "In reading your letter, we ask ourselves if this assumption is the case in the Communist Party's

Released child soldiers kidnapped FREETOWN, Sierra Leone (CNS) - Rebels in Sierra Leone kidnapped about 200 child soldiers who had just been released to a Church-run agency for a rehabilitation program, news agencies reported. Father Teophilous Momoh, manager of the Children Associated with War organisation, told news agencies on 21 January that Revolutionary United Front Rebels recaptured the children who were on their way to the capital, Free-

The Record, January 27 2000 Page 12

town, from the northern city of Kabala, where they had been released by ECOMOG, or West African, peacekeeping forces. Father Momoh said five officials of his organisation and four ECOMOG soldiers who had given the children to his organisation were also taken hostage, news agencies reported. MISNA. a Rome-based missionary news agency, reported the children "are not the same 227 children liberated" on 18 January

in Kabala, who were released to the Catholic aid agency Caritas in Maken!. Bishop George Biguzzi of Makeni told MISNA: "Those children are all safe in our centre in Lunsat This new incident is sad and deplorable." State radio said the kidnapping had been referred to ECOMOG and the UN Mission in Sierra Leone, which is taking over for ECOMOG under a peace agreement signed in June.

of Cork to kick in DUBLIN, Ireland (CNS) - An Irish bishop is asking Catholics in his diocese to express Christian unity by paying. not just praying. During the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Bishop John Buckley of Cork and Ross scheduled a 23 January collection to aid St Fin Barre's Church of Ireland Cathedral. The Anglican cathedral, built in a French neo-Gothic style by architect William Burgess, is considered one of Cork's greatest architectural treasures, With 1,260 pieces of sculpture built into its fabric, Bishop Buckley described it as "a building of considerable artistic and architectural beauty." It stands on the spot St Finbarr, as Cork Catholics call their patron saint, built his first church in the city in the sixth century. The cathedral cost US $129,000 to build in 1879. hut now. US $6.4 million is needed to refurbish and restore it. Bishop Buckley said: "All churches must stand together in defence of spiritual values against the inroads of materialism.-

International News

Egyptian Church leaders welcome Pope's visit By John Thavis ROME (CNS) - Church leaders in Egypt welcomed the news that Pope John Paul II will visit their country in February and said it bodes well for ecumenical and Christian-Muslim relations. "This is a historic event: a Muslim country where Christians are mostly Orthodox will welcome a Catholic Pope. For our youngsters It will be a joy and an encouragement," Father Ibrahim Isak Sectrach told the Vatican missionary news agency Fides on 20 January. Father Sedrach is rector at St Leo the Great Seminary in

Cairo, where the Pope will hold an ecumenical encounter during his 24-26 February visit. The encounter will underline the good relations between the tiny Catholic community and the 6 million Coptic Orthodox. Father Boulos Gams, who teaches at the seminary, told Fides that Egypt's approximately 200,000 Catholics were "overjoyed" at the news of the Pope's arrival. "Several of those I have spoken with could hardly hold back the tears. And many want to come from Upper Egypt, 660 kilometres away, ready to undertake a 12hour train journey to witness this

Attempt to kick Holy See out of the U NEW YORK January 21 (ZENIT) - Almost a year ago, a group of non-governmental organisations (NG0s) started a campaign to take away the Holy See's right to a Permanent Observer in the UN. Through extensive media coverage, a web site (http://www.seechange.org), and advertising, the campaign has grown to 400 organisations supporting the move. The campaign is being led by Frances Kissling, President of Catholics for a Free Choice, an NGO dedicated to overturning Catholic teachings on contraception and abortion. Last year, Kissling compared the Holy See in the UN to "Euro-Disney sitting on the Security Council." She wondered "why.. . . an entity that is in essence 100 square acres of office space and tourist attractions ... with a citizenry that excludes women and children have a place at the table where governments set policies affecting the very survival of women and children." Other members of the "See Change" campaign represent three main groups - pro-abortion groups, those in favour of population control, and groups openly hostile to religion. Participants include the International Planned Parenthood Federation, the Centre for Reproductive Law and Policy, Equality Now, Marie Stopes International, the National Abortion Federation, the Feminist Majority, the Sierra Club, Population Concern, Centre for Research on Population and Security, the American Humanist Association, and Atheists United. The list includes groups from more than a dozen countries. Kissling says that her coalition is now ready to ask UN SecretaryGeneral Kofi Annan to "review" the status of the Holy See, according to a C-FAM press release. They say that the Holy See, by having Permanent Observer sta-

great event," he said. Patriarch Stephanos II Ghattas, head of the Catholic Coptic community in Egypt, told the Italian newspaper Avvenire that the country's Orthodox and Protestant Christians "share our joy" at the Pope's hip. The Pope will meet Pope Shenouda LII, head of the Coptic Orthodox Church, after arriving in Cairo on 24 February. Patriarch Ghattas said relations between the two Churches were excellent and that he had recently participated with Pope Shenouda in three Jubilee-year events. Patriarch Ghattas said relations with Muslims were clouded by

sporadic violence by Islamic Egypt's Islamic community. 'The extremists. conflicts are coming from a very But he said he thought the wel- different Islamic environment," come given the Pope by Egypt's Patriarch Ghattas added. Muslim majority would be "beauSome 20 Christians were killed tiful and spontaneous, despite the recently in the village of Kosheh obstacles that have arisen. Some in a dispute over the New Year's Muslims might not appreciate the holiday. Patriarch Ghattas said the idea of a popular welcome (for situation had been calmed the Pope). For this reason, the one through the efforts of everyone, Mass will be celebrated inside a and that Kosheh has been church, and not outside," he said. renamed "the village of love." The Pope's courtesy encounter "Pray for us that all goes well in with Grand Sheik Mohammed this tormented region and that the Sayyid Tantawi, considered one great event of the Pope's visit will of the most important Muslim extend his blessing to all inhabileaders in the world, was a "sig- tants, Christians and non-Chrisnificant gesture" on the part of tians," he said.

Vatican abuzz with rumours VATICAN CITY, (ZENIT) - The rumour running through Vatican corridors and the Italian Press is that 20 new Cardinals will be created for the Jubilee. This rumour is based on plain mathematical reasoning. By June, there will be 18 vacant places among the Cardinal electors, since only those under 80 are permitted to vote for a new Pope. This consistory would be the eighth of this pontificate. On two occasions, John Paul II has appointed cardinals and A possible cardinal? - Vietnamesebrought the total number to the born Archbishop Francis Xavier more than 120 who can partici- Nguyen Van Thuan. pate in a Conclave, according to a Martins, prefect of the Congregaregulation established by Paul VI. tion for the Causes of Saints; PolIt should be noted that the Pope ish Zenon Archbishop can also create an indefinite num- Grocholewski, prefect of the Conber of Cardinals older than 80. gregation for Catholic Education; These appointments highlight Italian Mario Archbishop examples of men who have wit- Francesco Pompedda, prefect of nessed to the faith in the Church's the Supreme llibunal of the service in areas such as theology, Apostolic Signatura. or service in the Vatican state. Others who have a good chance As regards candidates from the of being created Cardinals are Roman Curia, in all probability Vietnamese Archbishop Francis the following will receive the hon- Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan, presiour of the title Cardinal: Por- dent of the Pontifical Council for tuguese Archbishop Saraiva Justice and Peace; and Italian

Anglican sees Holy Door opening as sign for hope CNS Reuters

Pope John Paul II greets 1IN Secretary-General Kofi Annan last 15 June. Ws, is able to block various initiatives to expand women's rights. She wants the Vatican downgraded to an NGO. Over the years, the Holy See has become the principle voice against the expansion of abortion in UN documents. In a loose-knit alliance with South American and Muslim countries, it has also successfully blocked efforts to expand the term "gender" to include homosexuality, and to redefine the family to include homosexual couples. C-FAM director Austin Ruse points out that the UN's consensus policy makes it possible for any small group of countries to stop the insertion of objectionable language in the documents. However, most countries depend on US or European aid, and are easily forced into submission by economic pressures. Since the Holy See does not receive foreign aid, it is immune from such attacks. Kissling wrote in an article in the Legal Times last summer that she doesn't really believe her campaign will get the Holy See kicked out of the UN. Observers hypothesise that her efforts are really intended to intimidate the Holy See delegation and distance its South American and Middle Eastern allies.

VATICAN CITY January 20 (ZENIT) - Anglican Primate George Carey said the ceremony of the opening of the Holy Door at the Roman Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls, was a strong sign to all believers and especially to Christians. "It is really an important symbol that must be kept in mind in promoting fraternity; it decisively marks the journey of theological dialogue that we have undertaken over the last 40 years," the Archbishop of Canterbury said during an interview on the Italian Church's television channel "Sat2000." Carey was very moved by John Paul ll's affirmation that it is necessary to ask for forgiveness and for each one to make sacrifices in Anglican Archbishop George Carey at order to make progress toward the opening of the holy door on 18 unity January. Photo CNIS Reuters "Because, if we are determined to create real and authentic unity, Carey's reactions. 'Archbishop we must let some things go, we Carey was moved by the Pope's must lose something in order to Invitation to participate in the gain something genuinely new," opening of the Holy Door, and he decided to accept because he the Archbishop explained. With reference to ecumenical thought that during these first progress, the Anglican Primate days of the Jubilee, it is important said that "we must journey togeth- for each Christian Church to er and we do not know when it reflect a position of generosity" will end, but I am excited by this "It has been a marvellous perspective and I am very happy moment of unity" Marsh added. to have participated in such a "The Archbishop feels very close prophetic ceremony." to the Pope and believes that the Richard Marsh, the Archbish- unity of Christians, although a difop's assistant for ecumenical rela- ficult objective, can be reached in tions, commented on George the future."

Archbishop Agostino CacciavilIan. In addition, there are 15 Sees that traditionally have a Cardinal as their Archbishop that do not presently have a Cardinal. In Europe, this is the case of Archbishop Sean Brady of Armagh. Primate of Ireland; of Archbishop Josip Bozanic of Zagreb; and of the future Archbishop of Westminster. who will replace deceased Cardinal Basil Hume. In Latin America. it should be kept in mind that Sao Paulo, see of Archbishop Claudio Hummes, does not have a Cardinal, as is the case with Archbishop Geraldo Agnelo of Bahia. Brazil, and Archbishop Jorge Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, Argentina; Archbishop Francisco Javier Errazwiz of Santiago, Chile; and Archbishop Pedro Rubiano of Bogota. In Asia. the Pope would almost certainly name Archbishop Ivan Dias of Bombay Cardinal. In Africa. there is talk of Archbishop Rafael Ndingi Mwana'a of Nairobi. Kenya. and Archbishop Bernard Agre of Abidjan. Ivory Coast.

New ones' first meet ROME. January 18 (ZENIT) For the first time ever, the founders and directors of new movements and ecclesial communities met in Rome to spend some time together, exchange ideas, experiences. and good times. The meeting. an initiative of Chiara Lubich. founder of the Focolare Movement, took place at the Pontifical Athenaeum "Regina Apostolorum," the university directed by the Legionaries of Christ. The meeting was a follow-up to the commitment made by the movements before Pope John Paul II during their 1998 Pentecost encounter, which gathered 150,000 members of the new communities in St Peter's Square. In addition to Chiara Lubich, professor Andrea Riccardi, founder of the St Egidio Community; Fr Marcial Maciel, founder and general director of the "Regnum Christr Movement; Fr Michael Marmann, president of Schoenstatt; and Salvatore Martinez, general coordinator of Renewal in the Spirit in Italy, attended the meeting. Participants specially congratulated Lubich, who will he celebrating her 80th birthday later this month.

The Record, January 27 2000 Page 13

Asian Catholic News

More die in Moluccas as religious leaders meet JAKARTA, Indonesia (CNS) Twenty-six people were reportedly killed on two islands of the Moluccas in fresh clashes on January 21-22, international media reported on January 24. In the latest meeting on 17-18 January in Jakarta, Moluccan leaders agreed to stop the conflict, enmity and riots and pledged to rebuild solidarity among people despite their religious and ethnic backgrounds. Islamic, Catholic and Protestant religious leaders attended the meeting. Religious Affairs Minister Muhammad Tholchah Hasan facilitated it. Bishop Petrus Mandagi of Ambon, the Reverend Sammy

Titaley, head of the Molucca Protestant Church Synod, and Hajji Hassanusi, head of the Molucca chapter of the Indonesian council of Islamic scholars, read the agreement to the press on 18 January. The leaders agreed to support the strict measures taken by the government and military to end the conflicts on their troubled islands. They called on followers of all religions throughout the Moluccas to uphold their respective religions' basic teachings, to forgive each other and to pray to God for help in rebuilding genuine solidarity. They also called on all national and community leaders, media

and analysts to restrain from making provocative statements. Bishop Mandagi apologised for the involvement of Catholics in the conflict, though generally the conflict involves Muslims and Protestants. Earlier, Indonesian bishops called for an end to the killings in the Molucca Islands and urged the government and all concerned parties to take concrete measures to stop sectarian conflict in the region. . We could find the solution" toward peace by stopping the conflicts without blaming each other, the bishops said in a statement on 15 January. UCA News, an Asian Church news agency based in Thailand,

reported on the statement on 24 January. "The stopping of conflicts could create a condition and an atmosphere that permit a peaceful solution to many problems that have caused the conflicts," the statement said. It was signed by Bishop Joseph Suwatan of Manado and Bishop Hadiwikarta of Johannes Surabaya, chairman and secretary-general of the Indonesian bishops' conference. The bishops said they were deeply concerned about the Moluccas' continuing conflicts that have claimed thousands of lives since January 1999. "We call on all parties and the whole society to exercise self-con-

Unease at ordinations HONG KONG (UCAN) - The controversial 6 January episcopal ordinations in Beijing brought uneasiness to "underground" Catholics as well as to some personnel of the government-sanctioned "open" Church. According to an underground Church source in Fujian province, eastern China, the five ordinations without papal approval in Beijing on Epiphany Day have brought "uneasiness" to his diocese. *From what the open Church has done today, they are not only controlled by the authorities, but also confronting the Holy See intentionally," the source said on 6 January. He suggested that the Holy See not ratify those five bishops but encourage ordination of younger bishops in the underground Church. Universal Church officials described the ordinations as "confrontational," and an underground priest agreed that the confrontation is "obvious." "What they (the open Church) have done amid the progress of the normalisation of Sino-Vatican ties cannot be justified." he said. In 1957, China decided to set up the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association "to help the govern-

ment implement religious policies and to maintain the principle of patriotism to the country and religion." The patriotic association rejects papal authority and elects bishops without Vatican approval. An underground Church in China, estimated to number in the millions, professes loyalty to the Pope. At the parish level, there is some mingling of the two, and a number of government-approved bishops are said to have secretly reconciled with the Vatican. The 6 January ordinations, the largest batch since 1987. came amid seeming progress in SinoVatican negotiations and just hours before Pope John Paul II ordained 12 bishops at the Vatican the same day. China-Church watchers say the new bishops were not facing any political persecution as in the past and could have delayed their ordinations. According to other Catholic sources in China, Religious Affairs Bureau (RAB) officials in some places had warned the underground Church not to ordain new bishops or priests before Sino-Vatican ties were normalised in order to create a peaceful atmosphere for the transition.

A Chinese man tries on a bishop's mitre during an ordination rehearsal in Beijing's Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception on 5 January.

Some underground Church leaders complied, hoping to foster communion between the open and underground communities, the sources said, adding that some even cancelled big Christmas and Jubilee celebrations to show their sincerity. However. the 6 January ordinations made light of these efforts.

they noted. Meanwhile, some open Church personnel did not show support for the controversial ordinations, even if open Church officials' tried to justify the move by stressing the shortage of bishops in dioceses throughout China. According to an 8 January report of Fides, a Vatican news service, more than 130 seminarians of the National Seminary in Beijing boycotted the ordinations as "against the principles of the faith and against the Catholic Church." Catholics told UCA News after the ordination Mass that only a few seminarians attended the ordination liturgy. They said paper signs saying "Reserved Seats for Seminarians" were removed from the kneelerbenches just before the liturgy began at 8:30am, half an hour late, at the Immaculate Conception Cathedral. In China, seminarians usually serve Mass at ordination ceremonies. About two-thirds of the bishops In the open Church have reportedly sought reconciliation with the Pope, and efforts have been made in some dioceses to compromise on a bishop acceptable to both open and underground communities.

Survey for Catholics forced into 'official' Church Indians NEW DELHI (UCAN) India's Catholic bishops have launched a survey to assess the Second Vatican Council's Impact on dioceses to help leaders see the Church's direction for the third millennium. The survey of all 142 Indian dioceses aims to "discover how far each diocese has been able to implement the various teachings of the council," said Jesuit Father Sebasti Lazarus Raj, who co-ordinates the study launched in January. The findings are "expected to help each diocese and the Indian Church as a whole to discover where we stand and to where we should move at the dawn of the new millennium," said Father Raj. The survey, part of Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI) activities for Yesu Krist Jayanti 2000 (Jesus Christ's birth anniversary 2000), would be "a milestone in Church history," according to CBCI president Archbishop Alan de Lastic of Delhi.

HONG KONG (CNS) - Church sources reported Chinese authorities arrested Catholics and forced some lay people into the government-approved Catholic Patriotic Association in northern and eastern China. In addition, a US group monitoring the underground Church in China reported the arrest of an underwound bishop and several priests. In eastern China, Church sources told UCA News, an Asian Church news agency based in Thailand, in mid-January that Father Jiang Sunian of Wenzhou was detained on criminal charges on 25 November and officially arrested on 23 December. His whereabouts since the arrest remained unknown, they said. According to the sources, Wenzhou Catholics were unhappy at Christmas after six out of eight clerics there were detained, while two Churches were blown up and demolished in mid-December. The sources reported several instances of lay Catholics being detained and released, although on several occasions the detained were forced to sign papers agreeing to join the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association. The association rejects papal

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authority and elects bishops with- whereabouts or the reason for his out Vatican approval. arrest, the foundation reported on An underground Church in 23 January. China, estimated to number in the He had been detained and millions, professes loyalty to the released many times for short Pope. periods of time in the past and After one person escaped when had been in jail for about 20 years, local officials tried to force him to noted the Kung foundation, join the patriotic association, offi- named after US-based Cardinal cials detained his son and daugh- Ignatius Kung Pin-mei of Shangter-in-law, forcing him to join hai. Wang Chengqun, a lay leader of eventually, sources said. The officials also started harass- the underground Church in Baoding Catholic families from 7 to 10 ing Diocese, was being held in the January, forcing or deceiving re-education-through-labour centhem to sign or to fingerprint tre near Baoding after his arrest papers implying that they agreed shortly before Christmas, the to join the patriotic association, foundation said. This is Wang's seventh arrest in sources said. The sources cited government 20 years. He did not receive medical officials as saying that if escaped lay people did not return home to attention when he suffered a join the patriotic association, their stroke at a labour farm in 1997, children would be banned from and his paralysis had not been cured when he was arrested last school as punishment. Meanwhile, Bishop Han Dingx- Christmas, it said. The Cardinal Kung Foundation tang of Yongnian was arrested around 1 December when he was also said Fathers Guo Yibao and leading a religious retreat in Shi- Wang Zhenhe, both of Xushui in jiazhuang, said the Stamford, Baoding area, had been held at Cardinal Xushui detention centre since Connecticut-based Kung Foundation, a Catholic their arrest around Easter last organisation monitoring the year, and they are not allowed to underground Church in China. receive visitors. The foundation Bishop Han, 63, was taken away also said that there is no inforon 1 December, with no informa- mation about Father Xie Guolin of tion available since then about his Hebei, who was arrested last year.

trot and be vigilant against all kinds of provocation," they added. On 15 January, Bishop Mandagi told reporters in Jakarta that the conflict in the Moluccas was the result of an elitist political conspiracy in Jakarta, which exploited local sectarian issues. On 13 January, Muslim, Catholic, and Protestant religious leaders were invited to attend a Cabinet meeting on political and security affairs, focusing on peace efforts in the troubled Moluccas. Bishop Hadiwikarta told UCA News the Cabinet meeting also agreed to send a peace mission led by the vice-president Megawati Sukarnoputri and religious leaders to the Moluccas on 24 January.

Gory find leads to graveyard PLEIKU, ietnani (MAN) An inscription reading "May

Our Parents Be Forgiven" catches the attention of people passing a Church in a central Vietnam highlands town. For local people of Pleiku town in Gia Lai province, the inscription near the Duc An Church reminds them that they are passing by a graveyard where thousands of foetuses are buried. Local people call the graveyard "Father Dong's forsaken spirits." They often come to pray and burn incense sticks at the small tombs to intercede with Heaven or Buddha to bring them good luck. Father Pierre Nguyen Van Dong, the man behind the graveyard initiative, told UCA News that the provincial authorities of the former South Vietnam government had allotted a piece of land near the Church to bury dead foetuses due to miscarriage or people who died in hospitals without family. In present times since there are many abortions, foetuses are furtively buried in this graveyard every day, the pastor of Duc An parish said. The priest recalled an incident that had moved him to initiate building tombs for the aborted foetuses. "One dayIcame across a tiny grave, which appeared to be hastily filled. Part of a plastic bag was exposed on top and it was alive with an army of ants," the priest recalled. Being curious, he opened the bag and discovered a dead foetus. 'After that sad incident, I decided to do something to bring back human dignity to these unborn babies and the anonymous infants' graveyard came Into existence." he said. In early 1996, he sent out letters, asking people to help him build "homes" for the babies who "have been denied their right to life." The letters began with the words "From Hades, no date ..." and were first sent to his parishioners asking them to donate money for the project. A report released last year by the government's Population and Family Planning Committee showed that there were on average 1.2 million abortions every year between 1990 and 1996 In Vietnam. Of these, some 300,000 cases involved teenage girls.

Official Engagements

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David Kehoe PO Box 75, Leederville, WA, 6902 587 Newcastle Street, West Perth. WA, 6005. Phone: (08) 9227 7080. Fax (08) 9227 7087 cathrec@iinet.net.au e-mail: Roman Catholic Archbishop of Perth. Publisher: The Record, established in 1874, is distributed to Catholic churches, presbyteries, religious houses and subscribers throughout the Archdiocese of Perth and the Dioceses of Geraldton. Bunbury and Broome. Advertising rates Display: $6 col cm. Classifieds: $3 a line Deadlines: Editorial: Tuesday, first mail. Advertising: Booking: Monday midday. Copy: Tuesday midday. Member: Aust Catholic Press Association: Aust Religious Press Association. The Record follows the Holy Spirit's teaching at the Second Vatican Council on the role of the Catholic print media. The Record will not return copy or photographs submitted for publication unless specifically requested in writing upon submission. The editor reserves the right to accept or reject any material submitted and to edit such material for clarity and brevity without recourse to the author.

Pope defends true marriage Continued from Page 1 He said the Church, "being faithful to Christ," could not "but repeat with firmness the joyful news of the definitive character of conjugal love, which finds in Christ its foundation and strength, to all those that in our day consider it difficult or even impossible to be united to a person for the whole of life and to those who are drawn by a culture that rejects matrimonial indissolubility and laughs openly at spouses' commitment to fidelity" The new dean of the Roman Rota, Archbishop Raffaelo Funghini, greeted the Pope on behalf of the group. He lamented "the levity with which the matrimonial problem is addressed, even by parties who call themselves Catholics, the worrying debilitation of moral defences, the

lack of a sense of sin, the difficulty to accept a choice in life that includes a lasting and binding commitment in good and bad times, the rejection of sacrifice, an erroneous idea of liberty that becomes implicit acceptance of divorce as a solution to humanly adverse and painful situations." This required careful attention on the part of the Church and that also challenges ecclesiastical judges, who must evaluate "the influence of the consensus of a mentality like the present one - radically secularised and opposed to the genuine concept of matrimony as sacrament," Archbishop Funghini said. - Catholic News Service/ Zenit/Vatican Information Service.

FEBRUARY 1

Jubilee Mass for Staff in Catholic Schools, Challenge Stadium - Archbishop Hickey, Bishop Healy

WA Studies Forum Dinner, Government House Archbishop Hickey

Confirmation, Karragullen - Archbishop Hickey Mass for 10th Anniversary of Chinese New Year, Como Archbishop Hickey

Farewell Dinner in honour of Major-General Michael Jeffery, City of Stirling - Archbishop Hickey

Council of Priests' Meeting, Glendalough Mass for Opening of St Charles' Seminary Archbishop Hickey

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The Mass is celebrated on Sat 5 Feb. 10am at Holy Trinity Family Church, 8 Burnett St, Embleton, Celebrant: Fr Francis Ughanze.You are welcome to join us. Information: 9362 4399,

The Chinese Catholic Community of WA invites you to celebrate the Eucharist for the Chinese Year of the Dragon, 6 Feb. 5.30pm. Holy Family Church, cnr Thelma St and Canning Highway. Como. All are welcome.

PRAYER NIGHT Conducted by Fr Paul Baczynski on the first Monday of each month at the Church of the Immaculate Conception. Canning Highway. East Fremantle from 7-9pm. This prayer evening is for healing and people and their families affected by addictions. The evening includes Mass, R osary and Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. Next evening: Mon 7 Feb. All are welcome. HEALING MASS Everyone is invited to a Healing Mass at St Vincent's Church Kwinana, 6.30pm on Sat, 12 Feb. Main celebrant: Fr Michael Brown. Anointing of the sick. Prayer teams available after Mass. Praise and worship starts at 6pm. Light refreshments after Mass. Information: Hugh Girod on 9336 2200 or John Acland on 9537 3390. WITNESS FOR LIFE PROCESSION Will be held 5 Feb, commencing with Mass at 8.30am at St Anne's Church, Hehir St. Belmont. We proceed prayerfully to the Rivervale Abortion Centre and conclude with Rosary, led by Fr Paul Carey SSC. Please join us to pray for the c onversion of hearts. Inq: Helen 9402 0349. PRO LIFE PROCESSION - MIDLAND The First Friday Mass, procession and Rosary vigil will be held on 4 Feb, commencing with Mass, celebrated at St Brigid's Church. Midland. The Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate will lead us. All are invited to witness for the sanctity of life and pray for the conversion of hearts. Inq: Shelda 9294 2340. IN HONOUR OF OUR LADY OF LOURDES Fri 11 Feb. with Rosary and torchlight procession around Lake Monger. Starts 7.00pm, northwest corner at Dodd Street. All welcome, especially families. Paths are wheelchair and stroller-accessible. Contact: Judy Woodward 9446 6837. DIVINE MERCY St Mary's Cathedral, Vic Square, Sun 6 Feb, 1.30pm. Program: Rosary and Reconciliation. Sermon: Fr Jordan Perry OP followed by Divine Mercy prayers and Benediction. Inq: John 9457 7771, Adam 9448 0002. PERTH ECUMENICAL TAIZE GROUP Lenten Hour of Prayer using music and style of Taize, Sun 12 March. 7.30pm. St Peter's Anglican Church, 11 Leonard St, Vic Park. Inq: 9361 1233.

FAMILY PRAYER CRUSADE Palm Sunday Procession and Passion Play. 16 April, 2-4pm. Procession with Blessed Sacrament through city streets begins 2pm from the Esplanade. After Benediction and address. a Passion Play will be performed in Forrest Place. Contact: Fr Paul 9223 1350. HEALING MASS World Day of the Sick. Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. 11 Feb. St Mary's Cathedral. Principal celebrant: Archbishop Hickey. 7pm Rosary and 7.30pm Mass. C ATHEDRAL YOUTH FORUM Sun 6 Feb, after 5pm Mass. Speaker: Raymond de Souza.Teenagers and young adults invited to a sk any questions they wish to about the Catholic Church. 450 Hay St, Perth, Contact: Fr Paul 9223 1350 or Raymond de Souza 9453 9177. SUNDAY MASS AT BULLSBROOK Mass for the Jubilee will be celebrated every Sunday at midday to assist pilgrim groups at the Shrine of the Virgin of the Revelation, 36 Chittering Rd. Bullsbrook. Reconciliation available. All welcome. Inquiries: SACRI 9447 3292. THE KNIGHTS OF THE IMMACULATE A Marian-Franciscan association for young single men (15-30), who live their Christian vocation heroically through Marian Consecration. Next meeting: 5 Feb, 2pm. St Vincent de Paul Centre. 15 Bronte St, East Perth. Under direction of the Franciscans of the Immaculate. Mass. Rosary, formation classes. Contact: Fr Joseph M. Mary 9574 5204 or Joseph Galea 9444 4003, WORLD DAY OF PRAYER Friday 3 March. Copies of the service book, music and other information available from Mrs Jan Graham 9291 9424, a/hours 9291 7352. City Service at Perth Trinity Uniting Church. 72 St George's Terrace at 1pm on this day. 1ST FRIDAY/1ST SATURDAY VIGIL The Society for Eucharistic Adoration invites you to an all night Vigil in honour of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary on Fri 4 Feb at St Mary's Cathedral. beginning with Mass at 9pm. "Alliance of the Two Hearts" prayers will be said each hour during the night. Please join us. if only for a few hours. Tea and coffee provided.

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The Last Word

Looking for peace among Ambon ruins Is the conflict between Christian and Muslim Indonesians on the islands of Maluku (Ambon) and Lombok, not far from the tourist resort of Bali, purely a religious one or is it, as in Northern Ireland, the result of a number of factors, including political, economic and racial tensions? The news service of the Vatican's Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, Fides, recently interviewed Muslim leader Luthfi Sanaki from Ambon. Sanaki is a member of the reconciliation team in Ambon and also a member of the United Party for Development, which has an Islamic leaning. According to Fides, three people were killed in Ambon on 16 January and 17 January, while Muslims burned a church on the island of Lombok. According to official sources, since the beginning of the clashes in January 1999, as many as 1,700 people have died - half of these in the last month. — nterviewer: What is the work condition of the reconciliation team on the Ambon conflict? Sanaki:I hope ft wouM continue, albeit the horizontal clashes taking place and cInstant criticism. It is a common matter. People have deep feelings of revenge, having lost properties and even their brothers and sisters, that's why we cannot remain passive. We have to keep trying to solve the question. Interviewer: What kinds of concrete efforts are the members of reconciliation group taking? Sanaki: At the moment we are contacting all representatives, Muslims and Christians. We have a group of 12 Muslim and 12 Christian local leaders, who are expected to take an active role in furthering reconciliation. Most of them are "field commandants" of the clashes, who have direct control over the masses. However, for the moment they stopped working after the clashes on 26 December 1999 in Ambon. Interviewer: Does that mean that [this] "Group of 24" no longer have contml over the masses of possible rioters? Sanaki: No-one - this is not a rash statement - not even angels would be able to resolve this conflict at the level of the peo- The cost of violence in Indonesia's Spice Islands - at least one Muslim leader says while the violence has polarised around Christian and Muslim parties, religious affiliation is not necessarily the cause of the conflict. Here, a girl cries amid ruins in Ambon on 11 January. Over the last 12 months ple. approximately 1500 people have died. Photo: CNS/Reuttors Generally they still could control their Freople. But in the field the impression of religious The clearest example of this is the debate conflict or war is definitely very clear. (as to] whether these are "religious wars" The pmblem is that we are no longer in When the Muslims come out from or "communal clashes".... We try to accomthe ial phase of the pmlonged conflict. mosques into clashes, they always use the modate each interest. It is no longer common conflict, it is now exclamation "Allahuakbar! (God is great)". There was also an idea to close this town multl-dimensional and has continued for So do the Christians go out of church and transfer the provincial government over one year. buildings exclaiming: "Christ's legions offices to Masohi on Seram island. Feelings of hatred and vengeance lie very should wake up! This is crusade!" This is But the idea was disrnissed when clashdeep. also a reality that we can not dismiss. es flared up on that island too. Every family in Ambon has last at least I do not want to hide the fact that these Interviewer: What do Muslims say to one of their members, or had their propclashes have strong religious overtones, opposition from the Indonesian Churches erty destroyed. because if we do so, it would be more Council's to separation? In (the] context of communal life here, ficult to resolve the problem. Sanaid: The Council, and also the offiparticularly the youth are easily incited And we always relate strife resolution cials of the Indonesian Democratic Party, and automatically grouped on either side. with religious groups, also to make it easi- are not realistic. Interviewer: How far could you say that er in untangling the conflict. Now for the Muslims it is impossible to the clashes are "religious war"? Interviewer: Do they really want to stay among the Christian kampongs of Sanaki: There are two opinions on each Soya or Kudamati, for example. resolve the problem? side. And also the other way around it is imposSanakl: The problem is that the level of First, ithere are] those who say this is "relisible if we invite the Christians to stay at resolution is not yet concrete. gious war", mostly among the lower classes, and, second, "this is not religious What concrete steps should we take? Galunggung or Batumerah kampongs. They should not be "too idealistic" in this mostly among the middle class, land] Among the Muslims there is a strong prouIwards. posal to strictly separate the Muslims and case that creates more difficulties. We Photo CNS'Reuters Those who maintain "religious war" refer Churches and mosques have been the identifi- the Christians, to immediately finish the should not think in terms of five or ten years ahead. Now we should be more realclashes. to the damage of religious symbols, like able targets for each group's anger in the church and mosque buildings and resi- lence in Indonesia's Spice Islands. Here, a man In the past both groups lived separately, istic. Separation is not our final proposal. walk past a destroyed Catholic churckas can but we stiE share the locations of public We really need for the very moment, howdential buildings. I myself am still in doubt whether these be seen from the sign in the foreground, on ffte services, such as the government offices, ever, a shock therapy-like solution, such as markets and transport, stations and strict separation, to completely change the are "communal conflicts covered with reli- island of Lombok earlier this mon& b 1 aviour and mental attitude of the peogious issues" or really "religious wars". Indonesian Churches Council, or the Dio- schools. We have not reached concrete Le ple. If this is really "religious war", the reli- cese, or the Indonesian Ulama Council. solutions. gious authority should have already struc- Nobody did that. Structurally it is not "reliPeople are still debating and fail to reach For the long-term solution, of course, I turally instructed to wage war, either the gious war". myself do not agree with final separation. the roots of the problems.

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