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WA's only Catholic weekly newspaper

Ecumenical celebration of Great Jubilee

Pope namet• 20th centuri martyrs

- Page 2

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Young and Fr' lonely? Go +01 Mass - Page

- Pages 8,13

Archbishop asks for views on local Synod By David Kehoe

Archbishop Barry Hickey wants the views of parishioners of the archdiocese of Perth on whether he should call an archdiocesan synod or assembly and what issues it could discuss. Archbishop Hickey told The Record last Tuesday he had

already begun seeking the

views of parish priests, religious and archdiocesan agencies. But he wanted to extend this consultation to all members of the archdiocese. The Archbishop said Catholics In the archdiocese could contact the Catholic Church Officcs in Victoria Avenue, Perth, (ph: 9223 1351 and fax 9221 1716) to ask for a brief questionnaire to be sent to them.

The questionnaire is to be returned by mid-June. It asks two simple questions: • "In your view, what important issues would you like to see discussed at a Synod or Diocesan Assembly?" • "What would you like to see come from a Synod or Diocesan Assembly?" But Archbishop Hickey emphasised that he had not yet made up his mind as whether or not he would call either a synod or an assembly. He said the priests of the archdiocese wanted to leave this question open at the moment until as many views as possible had been sought. The current consultation would be the first of two before any final decision was made, he said. "On a few occasions lately,Ihave

raised the possibility of holding a Diocesan Synod some time after the year 2000 in order to set the direction of the Church into the new millennium," the archbishop said. He noted that a synod and the less formal format of an assembly were two different ways the bishops, clergy, religious and laity of the archdiocese could meet "A Synod is a formal assembly bound by Canon Law requirements, involving priests, Religious and lay representatives," he said. "It may legislate as well as make recommendations." But there were "other less canonical forms of assembly that we may choose instead, depending on the desired outcome." Archbishop Hickey said that in discussions he had had so far with clergy and others, the following issues had surfaced:

• The evangelisation of fallenaway Catholics; • Addressing the loss of young people to the Church; • Problems facing family and married life today; • Evangelisation "ad gentes" (to non-believers); and • Catechesis at family, school and parish level. But, in mentioning the points raised so far, he did not want to limit the areas of discussion that might be raised in this round of consultation. The Council of Priests discussed a possible synod or assembly at a meeting earlier this year. Recently, the questionnaire had been sent to priests, religious orders, archdiocesan agencies and was about to be mailed to parish pastoral councils. Continued on Page 15

Archbishop Hickey prays with Perth pilgrims at Perth International Airport Last Wednesday week as they prepare to leave on Jubilee pilgrimages overFull story - Page 3. seas.

Unmarked graves of Irish pioneer priests remembered By Glynnis Grainger Bishop Robert Healy unveiled and blessed a Celtic Cross at East Perth Cemetery last Sunday to remember seven Irish priests buried there in the 19th century The six priests are: Fr John Coyle, who died of dysentery aged 36 on 23 December, 1853; Fr Thomas O'Neil, who died suddenly aged 24 on 25 April, 1854; Fr Michael Kirwan died of poor health aged 30 on 14 November, 1872; Fr John Quinn ,died of heart disease aged 43 on 23 September, 1896; Fr Denis Long, died of typhoid fever aged 29 on14 May, 1899, and Fr William Prendergast died of poor health aged 57 on 2 July, 1899. A seventh priest, Fr Michael O'Shea, who died of ill-health aged 29 on 16 December, 1898, was exhumed to Karrakatta on 30 August, 1939, 41 years after his death.

He is remembered on the plaque under the Cross. The Cathedral Choir, led by Fr Timothy Deeter, sang hymns and businessman Mr Denis Glennon was master of ceremonies. Bishop Healy said a suggestion was made in 1880 in The Record that a memorial be erected to the priests buried in the East Perth Cemetery. The suggestion was repeated in The Record about 1900 but nothing had happened until now. 'It would not have happened were it not for the efforts of a number of people: Mr Graeme Gerrans; Sister Frances Stibi, of the Archdiocesan Archives; the Karrakatta Cemetery Board, which provided the cross; Mr Ronald Bodycoat, the honourary architect; the National Trust, and the Karrakatta Monumental Works, which carried out the work of erecting the monument.' Bishop Healy said.

Bishop Healy unveils the memorial at East Perth Cemetery.

'Most of (these pioneer priests) died in their twenties, victims probably of the hazards they faced in their pastoral ministry. Fr Prendergast who ministered at Roebourne, Geraldton, Toodyay, Northam, Guildford,

Southern Cross, Kanowna and Coolgardie, died at the age of 57, "the only one to live for a reasonable time," Bishop Healy said. 'Sometimes, he travelled by boat but mostly on horseback. It may help us to assess the ardu-

ous nature of his ministry when we realise how far he travelled to bring his spiritual assistance to the people of Western Australia.' Bishop Healy said the memorial was an expression of gratitude to the priests for their witness. 'It is also a reminder to us that we, too, are committed to Jesus Christ and that eternal life is also our hope and our expectation.' Dr Jenny Gregory, president of the National Trust of Australia (WA division) told those at the graveside the East Perth Cemetery has been classified by the National Trust and listed by the Heritage Council. Burials took place there until 1924 and it was the main Perth cemetery until 1899. "Only about 800 headstones and memorials exist, the headstones revealing much about everyday life in early Western Australia," Dr Gregory said.

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Churches join to celebrate the Great jubile' Among Christian representatives participating in Friday's liturgy were the Right Reverend Brian Farran, who represented Chants with a repetitive but strangely Anglican Archbishop Peter Carnley; the uplifting and meditative quality resounded Venerable Brian Newing, administrator of throughout the Challenge Stadium in the Anglican diocese of Bunbury and ArchClaremont last Friday night. bishop Barry Hickey. The occasion was a Taize liturgy, the style Len Crawford, the former President of the of worship developed at the ecumenical Churches of Christ, represented his monastic community established in the denomination, while Uniting Church ModFrench village of Taize for half a century or erator Elizabeth Burns and Salvation Army so. Lt Col Garth McKenzie also sat with the The liturgy - chants interspersed with leaders. reflections on the Gospel - had been organPrayers of the Faithful were read out by ised ecumenically by the Conference of Iwo Loreto school students, while univerChurches of Western Australia, which repsity students from St Thomas More College resents 10 churches, including the Catholic in Crawley read out the intercessions and Church. Beatitudes in English and a variety of lanAbout 500 people attended what was also guages. the major ecumenical event organised by Later, two of the Catholic organisers of Christian churches in WA to mark the the event expressed their appreciation for 2000th anniversary of the birth of Jesus the widespread support Catholics gave to Christ. A Loreto students reads a prayer of the faithful; below, Br Ghislain, right, prays with participants Friday night's service. It was underwritten by the Association of "We could see people in the congregation Heads of Churches in WA, an organisation mony which symbolises cleansing from from communities all over the metropoliwith a wider representation of Christian evil spirits or purification. Before the liturtan area," said Fr Kevin Long, chairman of churches in its fold, and by State Govern- gy began and with a didgeridoo playing in the Archdiocese's Ecumenical Affairs Comment's Office of Citizenship and Multicul- the background, Ben Taylor from the Perth mittee and Brian Coyne of the ArchbishAboriginal Catholic Ministry and Council tural Interests. op's Jubilee Committee. However the liturgy, led by visiting Br took those attending through the symbol"We are sure all of the people there were Ghislain, a member of the Taize commu- ism of the smoking ceremony. as moved as we were that, for one short Later, heads of churches presented lightnity in France, was formally opened with a period during this year of Great Jubilee, lay difference that Taize monks may not have ed candles to Aboriginal representatives in and ordained leaders from all the mainbeen used to: an Aboriginal smoking cere- a ceremony symbolising reconciliation. stream Christian churches could pray and Perth's event was part of a series of offer thanks together," they said in a joint similar liturgies being held in state capitals to pray for the success of the statement issued afterwards. national Pilgrimage to the Heart at During its years in a secluded French vilPentecost. lage, Taize has not only become a place of The national Heads of Churches in pilgrimage for people from all faiths, it has Australia intend to make a pilgrimalso become especially popular among age to Uluru - previously known as events, however, also take place within a young people. Ayers Rock - each head accompa- wider international context - the PilgrimEach year, thousands flock to the comage of Trust on Earth which is being co- munity to spend a week in prayer and nied by one young person. The Australian state and national ordinated by the Taize community. retreat with the monks. You are invited to attend a Pilgrimage Information Session on By Peter Rosengren

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Being a friend or neighbour to someone in the parish is what the Family Group Movement is all about. St Joseph Pignatelli parish in Attadale held a special evening last Saturday after the Vigil Mass at 6.30pm with a buffet meal to welcome parishioners to the movement. Passionist Father Denis Travers, from St Brigid's parish, Marricicville, Sydney, gave the homily at Mass, saying the movement was formed with Passionist sponsorship in Sydney in 1972. Attadale parish priest, Fr Geoff Beyer, Two sessions: 10.30am or 5.45pm welcomed Fr Travers to the evening and Fr Travers. right, presents Fr Beyer, on behalf concelebrated the Mass with him. RSVP to John McCarthy Beyer said there were four Family of the Attadale parish, with a Family Group 9322 2914 Groups in the parish. "The Family Group Movement medallion and certificate. Movement is also about being a disciple, be befriended by others." He said the or someone movement asked people to join in smallwho follows er groups to help people live their ChrisJesus," Fr 11-a- tian life. vers said. "The first Christians were known "Those little because they loved one another," Fr nagroups are vers told the congregation. T HE UNIVERSITY OF being formed He urged people to join a small group so that other which just has a name and do simple NOT RE DAME people may things like getting together over a cup of A USTRALIA

The session will include: • A talk on pilgrimage by Tony Constance from Harvest Pilgrimages • Viewing the latest pilgrimage destination video production • A closer look and explanation of the itinerary of a pilgrimage • An opportunity to ask questions • A cup of tea/coffee and a chance to meet other pilgrims

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coffee, getting to know each other's name. Family groups can just get together and do something together, he said. "It is an opportunity for those couples who still have children at home to do something as a unit - a bit like an extended family," Fr Travers said. "Our society is so much geared to couples; Family Groups are made of all sorts of groups." Simple involvement such as a picnic, a barbecue or a cup of coffee. was all that was needed to get together. "The Family Groups bring another dimension into the parish," he said. "Do simple things like eat together - a simple way of being Christian and a very genuine one." Family Groups were in about 300 parishes now and Australians have taken the movement to New Zealand, Ireland, Scotland, England and the United States. "Every one of these 300 parishes gets a medallion this weekend - today is International Family Group Day," Fr Travers said as he presented a medallion and certificate to Fr Beyer. Armadale establishes Small Christian Community groups - Page 5; More family features - Pages 8-9

Fr McGrath dies Bunbury Diocese's Father John McGrath died peacefully in St John of God Hospital, Bunbury, last Tuesday morning with his rosary and breviary on his bedside table. He was 80 years of age. Bishop Peter Quinn of Bunbury visited him the night before. He said the funeral Mass would be in Bunbury this Friday, 12 May, at 2pm. Relatives were coming out from Ireland for the funeral. Fr McGrath came to Australia in 1947 and started his career as a curate in Highgate parish. Fr McGrath was well-known for his parish visitation and his pastoral sensitivity Bishop Quinn said.

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Pilgri s blessed, ready to go By Peter Rosengren Two sets of pilgrims from Perth parishes took off from Perth International Airport last Wednesday week for Jubilee Year pilgrimages. Archbishop Barry Hickey was present to perform the traditional blessing for people setting out on pilgrimage. As excited pilgrims arrived at the terminal, The Record caught up with the two priests leading them on the Jubilee experience, Monsignor Michael Keating of Bateman and Fr Tadeusz Seremet of Balcatta. The Balcatta parishioners, Fr Tadeusz told The Record, would have a packed schedule that included Lanciano in Italy, still famed today for the preserved Eucharistic miracle located in the shrine there; Assisi; San Giovanni Rotund°, where Blessed Padre Pio lived and carried out his ministry; and Rome. Balcatta pilgrims would also have the unique experience of visiting Fatima for the beatification ceremony on 13 May conducted by Pope John Paul II of the two shepherd children who received

Archbishop Hickey, above, blesses the Balcatta and Bateman pilgrims. Right, Mgr Keating of Bateman leads a happy group to the departure gates.

visions of Our Lady there in 1917. Not only that, they were also booked for a private Mass with the Pope at the Fatima shrine as well, he said. The 32 pilgrims from Balcatta would be returning to Perth on 28 May, Fr Tadeusz said. Mgr Keating, meanwhile, somewhat an old-hand at leading pilgrimages abroad, said the 22 pilgrims who are mainly from his parish would follow a different

path. Their pilgrimage would follow in the footsteps of St Paul through modern-day Turkey and Greece to such famous sites of the Apostolic Age featured in the New Testament such as Ephesus, Corinth and Thessalonica. The Bateman group would also stop off at Gallipoli to visit the battlefield famous in Australia and New Zealand for the sacrifice of ANZAC soldiers' lives in the First

World War. Mgr Keating said he would also celebrate Mass at Gallipoli for those on both sides who died there and for all Australians who have died in war, he said. The Bateman parish had prepared for the trip abroad by running a 6-week course on St Paul, his life and travels, Mgr Keating said, noting that pilgrimages often have profound effects on peoples' lives.

"They build faith andI have also found that there have been some conversions," he said. Pilgrims on the Bateman-organised trip will return to Perth on 20 May. Meanwhile, 22 young people from the Bateman parish are also currently booked to leave Australia in August as part of the Archdiocese's contingent travelling to Rome for World Youth Day with Pope John Paul ll in August

Goods and services tax top of the agenda for money men By Peter Rosengren The meeting held over a day and a half at the Church offices in Victoria Square on Thursday and Friday of last week may not have been everybody's idea of the most exciting thing in town. It saw a collection of littleknown but heavyweight figures in Australian Catholic Church finances meet to swap information and chart their archdiocese's responses to legal and financial currents that ordinary Catholics probably never realise have an impact on their Church. In other words, the meeting was about the 'big' issues in the financial running of the Church in Australia and was attended by the financial administrators of the archdioceses of each of the capi-

tal cities - seven in all. Also attending was John Andrew, the business manager of the Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference. Father Brian Lucas, a wellknown spokesman on Church affairs who is also the financial administrator of the Archdiocese of Sydney, told The Record the meeting was an annual event, supplemented from time to time by tele-conferences and the like. The big issue dominating much of the afternoon discussions on Thursday was the implications of goods and services tax to come into effect across Australia in July. 'We're not going to have headaches [over it], but it's a challenge,' Fr Lucas said. He explained that the Ggrs effect on Church financial operations was complex because, in

The Church's money men meet late last week. Perth's financial administrator Jim Thomas is at the right at the top of the table. zen

part, the Church is a complex structure itself. 'The Church is an organisation of organisations, so it doesn't fit

within the normal types of commercial structures that other business organisations in the community have,' he explained.

The meeting would also deal with other issues relating to the temporal - as opposed to spiritual - administration of the Church where information sharing at a national level would be helpful. The deliberations of the meeting, which ran for one-and-a-half days, would also be communicated back to the other dioceses of each state, Fr Lucas said. Among items up for discussion were national telecommunications arrangements, including telephone systems and the Internet, as well as capital funding arrangements for school projects and insurance arrangements for Church property. Fr Lucas smiled when asked if the financial administrators could be termed 'the faceless men' of the Church in Australia. Continued on Page 15

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The Record, May 11 2000 Page 3

Former Eagle boosts Majella's footy

Former Eagles star Chris Lewis give Majella Primary footy hopefuls some helpful advice and tips for their forthcoming lightning carnival.

As they prepare to participate in their first ever lightning carnival, the students at Majella Catholic Primary School in Balga have an air of confidence about them because they have a secret weapon. . . . and it comes in the form of recently-retired Eagles star Chris Lewis. While he has decided to stop playing first-grade football, Mr Lewis is still keen to share his knowledge of the game and pass on some tips to the next generation of potential Eagles (and Dockers) superstars. Over a period of four weeks leading up to the carnival Mr Lewis will visit the school and coach the football team on different aspects of the game including

skills, tactics, teamwork, conununication and respect for teammates. Another important consideration of the training program is participation and Mr Lewis urged all of the children to "listen, learn and get involved." He also invited the more experienced players to do as he was doing and share their skills with others to "help them improve as players and people" and help build a positive team spirit. It is expected the valuable lessons the children learn on the sports field will also positively influence their attitude towards schoolwork and their relationship building with, and respect for, others. - Phil Bayne, CEO Media

St Jude's 21st a big day for whole community

•

Counsellors

FRANCISCAN

•

Social Workers

iirant

hap amn

Pastor FRANCISCAN

Missionary FRIAR

Social Worker FRANCISCAN

Youth Minister FRIAR

Printer

hwy.

Celebrating 21 years, St Jude's students bury their time capsule.

tion of the =Tent students and staff whose contributions he said would help the school continue

Missionaries

FRANCISCAN FRIARS s ome of them priests all of them brothers

Teacher FRIAR

•

with its growth into the new cen-

Like the original followers of Francis we f riars are called to be men of prayer involved in a variety of ministries. Our charism is not to any specific task in the Church but to living the gospel of Christ with joy and optimism, by being brothers among ourselves and to the entire world, by being promoters of justice and peace, with special concern for the poor. F or information about sharing your t alents as a friar, please contact: • Ken Cafe OFM Franciscan Vocation Office 4 7 Victoria Street Waverley NSW 2024 Tel: (02) 9369 1694 E-mail: franvoc@ozemail.com.au

Youth Ministers • School Chaplains • Retreat Directors

Face it. You've got some real talent and you're not afraid of hard work. You could make quite a difference. To young people To kids at risk To families on the edge To refugees To the leaders of tomorrow

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Teachers

a time capsule which contained contributions from each class. The major highlight of St Jude's celebrations was the special Anniversary Mass held. in the early evening and attended by a big crowd of students and staff (past and present) as well as families and members of the school and Church communities. The Jubilee theme was prominent at the Mass, with the altar draped in the official Jubilee shroud and surrounded by balloons in the Jubilee colours of red, green, blue and yellow. Welcoming everyone to the mass, Parish Priest Fr Terry Raj paid tribute to the dedication and hard work of all those who had any involvement in St Jude's 21 year history. This theme of thanks and celebration continued in the homily where Fr Raj made special men-

• a • v pue mo!s ay; Jo we

Twenty-one years after it first opened its doors as a school of 56 students offering three classes across Years 1-4, St Jude's Catholic Primary in Langford has developed into a mature, dynamic community which currently caters to approximately 200 students from Kindergarten to Year Z The culmination of these 21 years of providing Catholic education to the local community was celebrated late last week at the school with a range of activities including an Easter paraliturgy, the burial onsite of a 'time capsule' and a special Anniversary Mass. The celebrations commenced with the paraliturgy at which the Year 7 students, dressed in bright Jubilee colours, re-enacted 'The Road to Emmaus'. Following the paraliturgy the students took part in the burial of

Jubilee banners hang in St George's Terrace on Tuesday. Nli)tiaists driving into Perth along Adelaide Terrace this week will be greeted with a colourful surprise when they see the Great jubilee banners on display. The Archdiocese has hired the poles in Adelaide Terrace for the next few weeks to promote the Jubilee and to communicate to the wider community the key themes the Church is celebrating. The banners were designed by Brian Coyne, a member of the Archbishop's Committee for the Great Jubilee who is handling media liaison and promotion of the Jubilee. They feature the international Jubilee logo set against a background image of the universe taken in 1998 by the Hubble Space Telescope. - Glynnis Grainger

Building an art for 'authentic man' religious life at the same time. Nick taught in Dunedin, New Zealand and southern WA. He founded, with three other Christian BrothBr Nicholas (Nick) Bilch ers, the Nulungu College in Broome. a boarding (6 July 1930 - 21 March 2000) school for remote Kimberley Aboriginal students. By Br Berkeley Fitzhanlinge CFC During 1986 and 1987 Nick was at Balgo, where he realised his dream for adult education at the Wirrumanu Adult Education Centre. He also established a book production centre at Luurnpa School. In recent years, technical education texts from his Nulungu teaching days have been published in the Kimberley. From Balgo. Nick moved to the Literature Production Centre at Bathurst Island for four years, setting up a museum at Nguiu. He liked building - for him, it was a skill, an art, like painting, and his work, such as at Minilingid's staff centre, kitchen and dining room, was often ahead of its time. When he heard of death, imprisonment or hard luck stories involving any of his past students, he mourned for them as though they were family. While sensitive and pained by dissension or r '',r)to Broome Advertiser Brother Bitch at work on another project. For him, hardship or evil, his authentic manhood and the building was a skill and an art. background of a religious life lived completely made him a peacemaker and someone who came Nick was born on July 6 1930 in Perth. His moththose around him. to close er died in 1941, and three years later, at age 14, Nick's good humour, thoughtfulness, Brother he joined the Christian Brothers. spirituality,- companionship and hard work will In 1948, the same year that Nick entered his now be a strong and worthy memory to a life so novitiate year, his father joined the Jesuit Order generously spent. May he rest in peace. and began his novitiate in Sitagarha, India. Reprinted from the Kimberley Community ProThus father and son dedicated themselves to file, newsletter of the Catholic Diocese of Bmome.

Obituary

The only novena was nine-holes of golf

For information contact Br. Tony Hackett cfc Phone: (08) 9450 5912, Fax (08) 9450 1033 Email: thackett@one.net.au Tennis ace Fr Peter St John

The Record, May 11 2000 Page 4

A number of liturgical movements throughout the service reinforced the feeling of celebration and included a procession during which the Bible '141*(i,, brought forward for the reading of the Gospel. The song 'Through the Eyes of a Child' was also performed by the liturgical dancers who led the final procession as well, exiting the Church from each of the three main aisles to the singing of 'Oh Oh Oh How Good is the Lord'. The end of the Mass brought with it celebrations of a more social nature which continued on into the night and which concluded what was a very successful day of reflection and jubilation for the school. - Phil Bayne, CEO Media Page 16- School Profile

Banners fly in the Terrace

The Archbishop's Clergy Dinner won trophies for golf, as did Val at St Charles' Seminary last Tues- Marshall, the only woman golfer. day, was not attended by ArchFr Ziggy Wloczek, from St bishop Barry Hickey or Auxiliary Anthony's Church, Greenmount, Bishop Robert Healy, as they were also won trophies for golf, and for at a bishops' conference in the the overall gross score over two Eastern States. days (53 pts), with runner-up Fr The evening began with drinks, Tony Pires. then a presentation of tennis and The champion award went to golf trophies to the clergy and Kwinana parish priest Fr Paul Raj seminarians, before the 60-or-so (77 pts) for the second year in a present sat down to dinner. row. Mental Health pastor Fr Peter St Leading sponsors of the trophies John, pictured, won the trophy for Included the Catholic Developthe best tennis player of the day. ment Fund, Bowra&O'Dea, Gatto Armadale parish priest Fr Tony Christian Shop and Pellegrini Pires, who hosted the occasion, bookshop. - Glynnis Grainger

Armadale tries small groups St Francis Xavier Parish, Armadale, is implementing a new concept of lay leadership under parish priest, Fr Tony Pires. Over the past few years, they've been looking at developing the parish community with a structure that will encourage future growth. A Small Christian Communities (SCC) Core Team of eight has been working in the last 18 months toward a new way of being a parish, Fr Pires told The Record. The communities are the idea of Fr Pires and Sr Ann Cullinane, the parish pastoral worker. In October last year, the concept was introduced to the whole parish community at Sunday Masses, with a launch day on 31 October. One hundred and sixty parishioners attended the day and 130 then registered for eight introductory sessions in 18 Small Christian Communities. With eight to 15 people in each community, they have met regularly during the past five months, exploring different facets of the SCC way of life. "We try to keep it as simple as we can," Fr Pires said. There are 18 geographicallybased areas in the parish and whoever lives in a particular area is part of that particular SCC. "Hopefully, they will be able to deal with

John, left, Tricia (partially obscured), Jim and Mary discuss Armadale' small Christian communities over lunch.

difficulties as they arise," he said. A discernment day was held at Lumen Christi College last 9 April, where the previous work was reviewed, plans were made and,

in a prayerful atmosphere, leaders chosen by their particular groups. "The feeling was positive and there was a confidence in moving forward in the

Fraternities discuss their future Do the lay fraternities of the Catholic Church in WA have a future? Adrian Briffa. a lay Dominican, posed this question in his opening address to the Jubilee Convention of the Lay Fraternities at Our Lady of the Rosary parish. Woodlands, last Sunday. Participating fraternities included Benedictine Oblates, Carmelite Laity, Discalced Carmelite Laity, Dominican Laity Franciscan Seculars, Franciscans of the Immaculate Tertiaries, Salesian Cooperators. Servite Seculars and Sisters of St Joseph Associates. Also attending were the Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem and the Christian Living Communities. The theme of the convention was "Contemplate and Share Your Contemplation." "We have come here as the lay component of the different Religious Orders to see what we have in common and what we do not, perhaps to teach something, perhaps to learn something. certainly to share something. Mr Briffa asked if the fraternities, or Third Orders as some of them are known, were being overtaken and perhaps replaced by some contemporary Christian associations. He said "after all they seem to have an attraction for at least a section of Catholic youth, which perhaps we do not have. "I think (the tertiaries such as ourselves) preach really through example. After all the Roman stoic philosopher Seneca said 'Long is the road by following the rule, but short and efficient is the path of example!' Mr Briffa asked "will there be a place for contemplatives amid the pace and noise of this new world?" "It is not easy for a man or a woman, lacking the ordered life of a Religious community, to follow the path of contemplation. "St Catherine of Siena said that she escaped to a cell within her own being to be with God. "So we practice the discipline of mentally, if not physically, shutting out the distractions of a noisy world." - Glynnis Grain!..:er Major Jubilee Event Update

Singers Wanted!

k Tk. Icat The organising committee of the major event will shortly hold auditions to select 4 male and 4 female singers needed for key roles in the Great Jubilee Celebration at Subiaco Oval on 26th November.

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parish with this process: this was borne out in a survey completed by those who had participated in the introductory meetings," Fr Pires said. All 18 leaders met together and prepared for the future on 26 April, just after Easter. Some elderly people in the nearby nursing home are also included in the SCCs and one group has a lot of young children, Fr Pires said. "I hope there will be members to gather the children together and give a youth focus to the groups," he said. "I made a start in Kalgoorlie about eight years ago with up to six groups there, but there are only a couple of groups still going. "Hopefully, (the Armadale groups) will work together - there are still about 130 people; some have joined and a few have dropped off. About 11 people were received into the Church this Easter and many of them have been coming (to the groups)." The meetings have a number of elements: Scripture-reading, prayer, faith-sharing, outreach to fringe Catholics and to the neighbourhood, personal and social interaction, and looking to the future. "Prayer and faith-sharing (now) have a wider base in parish life," Fr Pires said. - Glynnis Grainger

Harvest filgrimages A journey for the Great Jubilee Tifyrim's Road An 18 day pilgrimage journeying the paths of saints & pilgrims through the ages. Paris • Lisieux • Chartres • Neyers Paray Le Monial • Taize • Ars Roccamadour • Lourdes • Loyola Santo Domingo de Silos Old Pilgrim's Road - Santiago de Compostela Departing 24 June 2000 Accompanied by Fr Paul Gurr OCarrn Ask about extending on Visitations of Mary fully inclusive prices at ‘.

Adrian Briffa speaks to the convention. ,-,oto Eileen Gomm

Edmund Rice Family National Formation Team

Team Member The Christian Brothers wish to appoint a person for an initial period of 18 months to a full-time position to work in collaboration with the recently appointed National Formation Coordinator in developing opportunities for continuing formation for people within the Edmund Rice Family. Ideally the person will have experience and understanding of the formation process within the context of the Catholic Faith tradition as well as a commitment to the key values and beliefs espoused by Edmund Rice. The successful applicant will most likely have a background in theology as well as qualifications in religious education, spirituality or adult education. The person will be appointed by the Inter-province Leadership Committee (the national leadership group of the Christian Brothers) and accountable to the National Formation Coordinator. Remuneration and allowances will be commensurate with experience and qualifications. The National Coordinator and administrative centre are based at the Treacy Centre in Melbourne. However. the successful applicant will need to be available to work in various locations throughout Australia. Further details and a position description are available from Peter Nicholson. National Formation Coordinator 'Phone 03.9347.4211 or Email pnicholson@sp-cfc.vic.edu.au Applications for the position should be addressed to: National Formation Coordinator Edmund Rice Family Treacy Centre. 126 The Avenue PARKVILLE VIC 3052 • (Fax: 03.9347.3965) Closing date for applications will be Friday. 2 June 2000

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The Record, May 11 2000 Page 5

Rosary an aid to more vocations Peter Dwan continues with his meditations on the readings for Sunday Mass. This week the Fourth Sunday of Easter, Year B

ood Shepherd Sunday is the World Day of Prayer for Vocations. With Easter late this year, we have the rare privilege of celebrating World Day of Prayer for Vocations during Our Lady's month of May. May we seek her intercession for vocations to the priesthood and the religious life, for much is demanded of priests and religious in the twenty-first century. The readings today show this very clearly. In the first reading (Acts 4:8-12) we have an account of the sermon St Peter preached after curing the man handicapped from birth, and who was able to walk after St Peter miraculously cured him. St Peter concluded his sermon with the words: "For of all the names in the world given to men, this is the only one by which we can be saved." For any priest or religious, a deep faith in Christ's divinity is a prerequisite for accepting a vocation. While we need to pray for vocations, we need to remember that these vocation generally only come from families where the Faith is strong. The-famlly Rosary strengthens faith. In yesteryear, when there were numerous vocations, most of them came from homes where the Rosary was recited regularly. While prayer for vocations is essential, and while efforts are being

eternity they will persevere. Hence the value of their reciting the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary regularly. The Gospel passage (John 10:11-18) gives us a vivid picture of Christ the Good Shepherd, in whose work of shepherding, priests and religious are called made to encourage people to pray for to share in a special way. vocations, I consider that efforts to The Gospel begins: Jesus said: "I am repopularise the family Rosary are a the Good Shepherd; the good shepherd prerequisite for any hope of a worth- is one who lays down his life for his while increase in the number of voca- sheep." tions. Christ died for us, and priests and reliPerhaps it would be better if, instead gious are expected to be faithful to their of just exhorting people to pray for voca- calling even to martyrdom. tions, families were asked to say the However, for most of these, laying family Rosary and offer a daily decade down their lives for their sheep will for vocations. rather involve fidelity to their vocation Whether people say their daily Rosary until death. depends largely on how highly motiOur Lord said: "I know my own and vated they are. my own know me." Priests need to visit Challenging them to say their daily their parishioners. Rosary and offer a vocations decade When we pray for vocations, we need might well be instrumental in repopu- to pray that we shall have priests who larising the Rosary as well as in secur- will be faithful to this duty, despite all ing a much-needed increase in prayers difficulties. for vocations., The shortage of priests makes visiting In the second reading (1John 3:1-2) we difficult, but with the current level of have St John's words: "Because the laxity among Catholics, visiting is more world refused to acknowledge Him, important than ever. therefore it does not acknowledge us." Let us therefore pray hard for vocaPriests and religious need to be pre- tions to the priesthood and the religious pared to receive ingratitude from those life, for today, perhaps more that ever for whom they have sacrificed so much Christ's words: "The harvest is great, to serve. but the labourers are few," are true. The lesson of the ten lepers whom Priests and religious are certainly Christ cured isn't so much "Be grateful" needed in Australia. as "Expect 90 per cent ingratitude!" May many generous Australian young How then can priests and religious be people come to see the priesthood and expected to persevere? the religious life as a way of life which The second reading reminds us that challenges their idealism and generoswe shall see God as He really is. ity, and which enables them to do If priests and religious fix their eyes on "something beautiful for God."

A Layman's Meditation

To Jesus through Mary ... a column of Marian devotion

(-W) W,(iinct

The shrine in Portugal is dedicated to the visions of Mary received by three children there 1917 Apparitions

The children witness six apparitions of Mary identifying herself as Our Lady of the Rosary. The apparition appears May 13 and on the 13th of each of the next five months, except in August, when the vision appears on the 19th.

Visionaries Jacinto Marto Age 7 died in 1920

Francisco Marto Age 9 died in 1919

Lucia dos Santos Age 10 still hying now 93

Mary's Message Calls individuals to prayer, conversion and the sacraments. Calls for devotion to her Immaculate Heart and for Russia to be consecrated to her.

Key Dates

„

1919 Construction of chapel begins at site of visions 1930 Local bishop declares apparitions worthy of belief it 1942 Pius XII consecrates world to Immaculate Heart of Mary ti 1952 Beatification cause for Jacinta and Francisco opens 1967 Paul VI visits on 50th anniversary of visions 1982 John Paul ll makes first visit to shrine 1984 John Paul II consecrates world to Immaculate Heart of Mary 1991 John Paul II makes second Fatima pilgrimage

Fatima Aber

ATICAN CITY (CNS) - In the only papal trip in 2000 not related directly to the jubilee, Pope John Paul II will combine two of his priorities: children and Marian devotion. Although Holy Year pilgrimages to the Middle East were supposed to be the only papal travel in 2000, the Pope will go to Fatima, Portugal, from 12-13 May to beatify Francisco and Jacinta Marto. The children, along with their cousin, were tending sheep on 13 May, 191Z when they had a vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The apparitions continued once a month until 13 October, 1917. The children said Mary asked them to promote devotion to her Immaculate Heart and to pray the rosary daily. They also said she told them that Jacinta, who was then 7 years old, and Francisco, who was 9, would die very young, but that their cousin, Lucia dos Santos, who was 10, would live long. Francisco was almost 11 and Jacinta was almost 10 when they died during a flu epidemic. Their cousin, now a 93-year-old cloistered Carmelite nun, is scheduled to meet Pope John Paul before the 13 May beatification and pray with him at the children's tombs at the Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary. The Pope's Portugal schedule is almost exclusively focused on the children and the Marian shrine. After the beatification Mass on 13 May, he is scheduled to have lunch with Portugal's bishops, then fly back to Rome. Pope John Paul, who has a deep devotion to Mary, already has made two trips to the Fatima shrine during his pontificate. He believes that Our Lady of Fatima saved his life on her 13 May, 1981 feast day, when Metunet Ali Agca tried to assassinate him in St Peter's Square. In thanksgiving for his recovery, Pope John Paul visited the shrine on the first and 10th anniversaries of the attack One of the Thrkish gunman's bullets has been embedded in the crown of a statue of Mary at the shrine. But the Pope's reasons for thanking Our Lady of Fatima are not strictly personal. He believes the defeat of Communism in Eastern Europe is due to her intercession. Jacinta, Francisco and Lucia said Mary had asked for prayers for the conversion of Russia and said the country's conversion would bring peace. Jacinta and Francisco will be the youngest non-martyrs beatified since the modern Vatican beatification process began 400 years ago. - Catholic News Service

Prolifers are blessed

Prolffers bear an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of the unborn, around St Mary's Cathedral last Saturday.

The Record, May 11 2000 Page 6

A pro-life pilgrimage to and around St Mary's Cathedral took place last Saturday because of an invitation from Archbishop Barry Hickey. In fact, the Archbishop joined the group of 70 or so pilgrims for Mass at St Anne's Church, Belmont, before they drove to the abortion clinic in Rivervale, and on to the Cathedral. "Archbishop Hickey welcomed us as we processed around the Cathedral, then we had the prayers for the Jubilee indulgence and then he said Benediction," spokesperson Helen Sawyer said. "He encouraged us for our prayerful witness for life and to pray for the unborn and their mothers." Columban Father Paul Carey led the procession and leads it every first Saturday of the month. The group also meets on the first Friday of the month at the Midland clinic. - Glynnis Grainger

Confession: an invaluable aid to living Humanae Vitae's truth

With Paul Gray

s the Catholic Church's teaching against contraception too hard? For many, it's as though the proscription against contraception that was famously issued in the 1968 papal Encyclical Humanae Vitae never happened - or perhaps more accurately, that it wasn't all that important. The Church might say contraception is wrong in theory - but in practice, it's up to the individual conscience of married men and women, isn't it? This kind of clouded thinking seems to have a grip on many Catholics today. In fairness, they can't always be blamed. Contraception has been such a hot topic since 1968 that even many clergy who should have known better have quietly and sometimes even openly encouraged lay Catholics to think that it's OK by the Church. But as Pope John Paul II has made clear at enormous length in his important collection of meditations known as the theology of the body, this is simply not the case. There is a rich and deep tradition of teaching about the nature of sex within Catholicism's history. And it all points in the one direction, as far as the contraception issue is concerned; namely, that the "procreative" and "unitive" dimensions of sexuality cannot be separated. To cut a long argument short, this is because God's plan is that human love should be lifegiving - as Love within the Trinity itself is lifegiving. By contrast, contraception, or separation of the unitive and procreative dimensions of sex. turns lovers into objects. That's the teaching, in a nutshell. However, this leaves unanswered the practical issue of what couples can do if they find themselves in violation of the teaching within their own lives. Perhaps a couple has been advised, wrongly, by a priest that to use contraception in their case is morally OK. Perhaps they have also bought the line sold by some around the Church in recent decades that while the teaching is right in theory, in practice it's "too hard." What should the Church - families, clergy and bishops alike - say to that claim?Ibelieve the core of an effective answer lies within the much-maligned Humanae Vitae itself. To sum up the answer, it's this - despite your fears, the Church is understanding and compassionate about your situation, as Jesus himself is understanding and compassionate. And through the Sacrament of Penance, Jesus can help you. Or to put it another way, the Church never ceases to teach the deeper truths of human life, including sexual love - and similarly, it never ceases to reach out to those who struggle to live their lives in accordance with those truths. What is fundamental is the desire to try. Pope Paul VI, in Humanae Vitae, put it in the following words: "Let married couples, then, face up to the efforts needed, supported by the faith and hope which 'do not disappoint . . . because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.' "Let them implore divine assistance by persevering prayer; above all, let them draw from the source of grace and charity in the Eucharist. "And if sin should still keep its hold over them, let them not be discouraged, but rather have recourse with humbler perseverance to the mercy of God, which is poured forth in the Sacrament of Penance." Pope Paul's words are crucial ones - but they make little sense if we do not also see how enormously significant the Sacrament of Penance (confession) is. Without 11, 11may just be impossible for many people to live the Church's teachings. Here, then, is a vital lesson: that the Church's teaching against contraception is important, and so is the forgiveness of sins. Modern people need both.

The Risen Jesus, the good news, is in His Church

The Record

homilist in a Perth suburban parish last weekend waxed eloquently and forcefully on the necessity of preaching and spreading the good news of the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead. As there was undoubtedly much to be gloomy about in public life, and in the life of the Church in some places, this good news was even more important at present, he said. Among non-believers and non-Catholics there was a great need for the light of the good news to shine upon them to relieve the temptation to despair of any meaning to life. And what is the good news contained in the death and resurrection of Jesus, Body and Blood, from the dead? It is that Jesus is the solid ground or rock to which men and women can attach themselves and not some myth that allegedly deluded disciples composed weeks, months or years after the event. He is also not some presence that hides Himself in the thickets of daily life and history so subtly that only self-anointed scholars can find Him. The unmistakeable and trustworthy Jesus is first found today in the Holy Eucharist, real body and real blood under the species of bread and wine, Who enters

us and takes us up into Himself in Communion and the Sacraments. We can also adore and speak to Him in the Blessed Sacrament reserved. And we can find him in the certain teaching of the Church he left behind and is based in St Peter, the Apostles and their successors. This Church is not a man-made society but Jesus himself as the Mystical Body of Christ. By being a full, paid up and practising member of this Church we are in the news room of the good news every minute of every day. This good news is the teaching that puts us fully in touch with ourselves and not lost in the dreams of false philosophers and psychotherapists. The good news is 'really truly real' as a child might say and not a virtual reality. Families can discover their true selves in the eternally satisfying teaching of jesus through the Church on marriage and family. The teaching that a man and woman may not divorce puts them in touch with

Phooey to 'Dr Feng Shui'

ou think your doctor is a man of science, guided always by scientific principles? Perhaps not. Perhaps he (she?) is a gullible dupe of anti-intellectual claptrap, superstition and the occult. Check this advice given by Medical Observer magazine (28 April, 2000) for doctors designing their surgeries: "Feng shui is the Chinese belief in setting up your home to encourage the flow of energy. "Using a feng shui grid, called a bagwa, find your wealth corner and put ripe fruit or a plant in it . . . Etcetera. Plus more garbage along the same lines. It's a bit of a worry. isn't it? Dr Arnold Jago Mildura. Victoria

Caritas says thanks

itas Australia wouLd like to say a big thank-you to alr those people who have supported our Lenten

a love that does not end here on earth and so restores humanity's hope that unifying and fruitful love is possible. This is good news for a world despairing of the ravaging effect that divorce, second marriages and separation are having on children and family life. And the good news is that Jesus in the Church gives Himself as real food in the sacraments to provide the true and lasting strength to make even difficult marriages work - what is a Sacrament of Reconciliation for if it is not for reconciliation? These sacraments also help married couples escape the trap of contraception that eats away at their relationship. This is good news for a society that is quietly beginning to wonder why it is no happier for all the advances in biochemical science that the last 100 years have brought. Jesus' death and resurrection and Real Presence in the Sacraments is good news • The opinions expressed in this editoralso for those facing long and painful ter- ial, and any other Record editorial, are minal illness. not necessarily those of the Roman He, by taking our death and suffering on Catholic Archbishop of Perth.

. ...

, 1'01.1120flAC°

Himself, has not just shown us how to die but also given us the real palliative care of sanctifying and day-to-day actual graces to offer our sufferings with Him for the salvation of the world. The benefits to be gained from joining God's spiritual health insurance scheme can be explained according to reason if a person has the wit and time to go through the process of understanding. But, if we don't have the wit or time, as many of us don't, then we can simply take God at His word and taste and see His good news by living out His commandments and teaching as found in the Catholic Church: taste and see the goodness of the Lord. After all, all that modern social and physical science has discovered concerning what it thinks makes men and women happy is clearly not giving that happiness. The world is waiting for the true and lasting reality and hope that can be found on the rock that is the Mystical Body of Christ, the Catholic Church. That is good news, and not some latest fad for self-fulfilment.

L'effers lo

Heads of Churches WA and the Office of Citizenship and Multicultural Interests for their financial support that made the gathering possible. As Pope John Paul II keeps reminding us both in word, and more powerfully by his actions, we all share in the responsibility 1800 024 413. to get out of our comfort zones and make Stephanie Thomas the unity of God's people something real. Caritas Australia As the Pope has constantly reminded us, Sydney that responsibility is all the greater in this year of Great Jubilee. We believe the Catholic community in s two of the Catholics involved on Perth can be justifiably proud of the conthe Ecumenical Committee which tribution that so many people from our organised the Taize liturgy at Chal- Church made to the expression of unity so lenge Stadium last Friday night we would richly evident last Friday night and at the like to express our deep appreciation for pre-Jubilee ecumenical gathering at St the widespread support that came from all Joseph's Church, Subiaco last year. Some 70 students from St Thomas More segments of the Catholic community. We could see people in the congregation College were present to support the input from communities all over the metropoli- of their colleagues who presented the Prayers of Intercession in a number of diftan area. We are sure all of the people there were ferent languages. It was fabulous to see students from as moved as we were that, for one short period during this year of Great Jubilee, lay Catholic schools present lending witness and ordained leaders from all the main- In their school uniforms and others there stream Christian churches could pray and through the work of the Catholic Youth Ministry. offer thanks together. As Catholics, we believe, that the most There are many more things that bind us fundamental quest of each human being is together as Christians than separate us. We are indebted to the Association of the to find the truth, the love and the peace that appeal 'Project Compassion'. Donations to project Compassion help communities around the world find a life beyond poverty and injustice. Send donations to GPO Box 9830 in your capital city or call our donation hotline

Boost for ecumenism

Cc/1/oz'

nowhere exists so perfectly as in the Trinity of Father, Son and Spirit. As Pope John Paul reminds us in Ut Unum Sint. dialogue "has become an outright necessity, one of the Church's priorities".[31] Following the example of the Holy Father, we really do need to do a lot more ecumenically. We need to provide more opportunities to worship together and to provide practical witness to Gospel and moral truth. The presence of our own Archbishop and the other Heads of Churches on Friday bears its own powerful testimony to the effort being expended by Pope John Paul H and international leaders of other Churches, both Christian and non-Christian, to seek out the common ground. Lay and ordained leaders in the Christian churches in Perth last Friday evening made a decisive gesture that reinvigorated the quest for Christian dialogue and unity at our local level. Fr Kevin Long Chairperson Archdiocesan Ecumenical Affairs Committee Brian Coyne Member Archbishop's Jubilee Committee

And the clouds parted and God's sunshine beamed down By Peter Rosengren

he rains on Sunday afternoon threatened to drown the day and, at the Bove farm located just a few kilometres outside Busselton, plenty of private prayers were almost certainly offered that the threatening storm clouds would hold off. And while it seemed to rain almost everywhere else in surrounding locales, only a light shower or two fell at the farm, followed for the rest of the afternoon by dazzling sunlight from between the passing clouds above. For the more than 800 people gathered at Luigi and Luisa Bove's 150-acre property on Sunday afternoon the respite must have seemed like heaven's answers to their prayers. The occasion was the 20th anniversary of the annual Rosary Rally conducted at the Bove (pronounced 'Bo-vay') farm, situated in picturesque countryside and surrounded by grazing sheep in fields, a deer farm, bushland and, off in the distance, the occasional vineyard. This year, US Holy Cross Congregation priest Fr John Phalen, who is preaching a Rosary Crusade in WA, addressed the rally. The rally has become a major event each

The rosary procession passes the newly erected crucifix on Bove's farm.

year and attracts significant crowds many of Italian origin and from much farther afield than the local towns of Bunbury and Busselton. The Marian grotto and shrine stands in a pleasant bush selling 200 or so metres beyond the corrugated iron farm shed typical of Australian rural life.

Photo Peter Rosengren

The farm's shrine to Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary is open to visitors 365 days a year. The afternoon saw a concelebrated Mass; singing of hymns in English. Italian and Latin; a Rosary procession led by clergy and a flower-bedecked statue of Our Lady, prayers for Pope John Paul Ifs

intentions and Benediction. Wending its way beside a wire fence at the top of the main paddock the procession also passed beside the newly-erected crucifix, the central part of which is a gold-painted body of Jesus Christ. The corpus - or dead body of Jesus was constructed by Fr Alphonsus Savickas, the Salvatorian parish priest of Mundaring, and will be lit up at night for passing motorists in the distance. Bishop Peter Quinn of Bunbury congratulated all those present for the rally on their devotion to Mary. He said attendance at the rally would gain the Jubilee plenary indulgence for those who fulfilled the conditions of Confession, reception of Communion and recitation of the relevant prayers. Earlier, he said that the pilgrims gathered at the farm for the rally were asking Mary "to draw us closer to her Son." And, he said, "We ask her, reflecting on the decades [of the Rosary] to reflect with the insight of her as a mother.. .. to see as she saw the humanity of Jesus, the divinity of Jesus, the willingness to accept His Father's will. . . ." Bishop Quinn also prayed that the same Holy Spirit which had made Mary a mother "will make us holy, and guide us through life." The Record, May 11 2000 Page 7

Features

Lonely and young? Go to Mass

Families tell how trust in God brings strength in hard times

By Peter Rosengren

The National Catholic Family Gathering in Melbourne two weeks ago heard stirring witness from many Catholic families as to how they were living Catholic family life. Peter Rosengren, who attended the gathering for The Record, reports the testimonies they gave.

tephanie Claessens from Canberra stood in front of hundreds of people in the Dallas Brooks Hall in Melbourne together with her husband Michael and their three children during the Dare to Dream national gathering of Catholic families and told how, at a young age, her family had split apart. She and Michael were among numerous couples to present testimonies of how their faith had helped or changes their lives. Born an Anglican, she hardly ever went to church in her childhood and adolescence. "My life as a young woman was 'Cleo' or 'Cosmopolitan' - I'm not joking," she told an audience of hundreds of families and children. The family breakup came at a

Johanne and Richard Keyes: pledged to go on mission as a family.

Fred, and Carol Assouad: saying 'yes' to God and another difficult pregnancy-

high emotional cost. Achieving a successful career as a legal secretary and law clerk, she found herself in a life similar to that of the 'ideal' career woman of the type espoused and promoted by women's magazine culture: with everything - except happiness. Her lifestyle, including a string of broken relationships, left her empty and unable to love. "I was far away from the Church - in fact I had nothing to do with it," Stephanie told The Record afterwards. "God was always calling me but I wasn't listening." "I thought the Church was out of date and didn't have the answers for a modern young woman like me." At 21 she had a nervous breakdown. "Through that, God started to work, andIrealisedIdidn't have the answers," she said. After the breakdown she followed a boyfriend to the UK and the relationship lasted six years, but, like the others, it ultimately went nowhere. By that stage, she said, "I couldn't love anyone any longer. I had retreated into myself." If she ever thought about the Catholic Church it was only in terms of the "prejudices and lies" that are so prevalent in today's media, she explained. But a chance meeting led her to accept an invitation to attend a Catholic catechesis being given in a London parish by the Neo-Catechumenal Way movement. TWo years later, she felt that God was calling her to be a Catholic. "I felt like a modern-day 'Mary Magdalen'," she said. "Ifound that Jesus had been there all my life, and that he loved me with an unconditional love," she said. And while the rest of the world sees the Catholic Church as typifying a lack of freedom in people's lives she has found, she said, that "exactly the opposite" is true. Another couple at the national

Tom and Clare Ryan: very glad their disabled son, Thomas, was born and is now in Heaven after living for 17 hours. A photo of Thomas is projected on the wall Photos Peter Hose,gren behind them.

Stephanie Claessens, husband Michael and three children: found unconditional love in Jesus.

gathering, Tom and Clare Ryan, told how they had looked forward with joy to the birth of their first child but had been told during Clare's pregnancy their unborn child, a boy, was anencephalic or born without a brain. They were offered an abortion but felt so strongly about their son and about the sanctity of life that they chose to deliver him normally. "We rejected [abortion] and we're very, very glad that we did, even though it was a very hard time for both of us," Clare said. Born on 18 December, 1996, Thomas was baptised immediately by his father and, shortly after, confirmed by a priest. He lived for 17 and a half hours. During their testimony the Ryans displayed a photograph on an overhead projection screen of the family of three taken shortly after Thomas' birth. Clare said the message from her and her husband ibm was that life Is sacred and that each human is really precious: it doesn't matter how disabled they are." In retrospect they could say they had done the right thing, "especially now, we're content we did

the best we could for him and we're instead of the temptation of always sure he's in Heaven," Clare said. trying to be in control." They won applause when they Richard and johanne Keys, martold how their second son, Isaac, ried with 4 children, were origiwas born exactly one year after nally parishioners of St Luke's Thomas' birthday. parish in Lalor, Melbourne. A third couple, Fredi and Carol But in 1991 they uprooted everyAssouad, migrants from Lebanon, thing to go and live as a lay miswere, four and a half years ago, sionary family at Humpty Do() in happily married with four daugh- the Northern Territory, approxiters aged 12-18. mately 40 kilometres south of DarThen, one day, Carol found she win on the road to Kakadu was pregnant National Park. It was not what they wanted: the Members of the Neo-Catechumeteens were enough of a handful nal Way movement, they offered and, Fredi said. themselves for their new life durAnother reason they were not ing a meeting of Neo-Catechumelooking forward to the event was nal families with Pope John Paul 11 that each of their previous preg- in Rome in 1991. nancies had been difficult and folThe couple had taken the radical lowed by post-natal depression. step because they wanted to bring The period after each birth had the Good News of Jesus Christ to been "very challenging" Fredi said. as many people as possible, Their first reaction to the news, Richard said. which came at a time when the Missionary families, he said, go to family was going through "a rough a place and live and work there patch", had been of anger and los- just as any other family. ing control in their lives, he said. "For the first 6 months we saw However, this had forced them to more kangaroos than we did peoface up to the fact of the pregnan- ple," Joharme said. But slowly the cy and welcome it - choosing to local families - Aboriginal and say 'yes' to God. non-Aboriginal - came to know the He told, how within a few hours Keys and their ministry of hearing the news from his wife, Among other things they set "I had made that step of welcom- about visiting every family in the ing this new life, and saying to God parish and, over the last nine years, "you will give us the grace to deal have helped parish priest Fr Tom with this."" English prepare parishioners for Their message to those families reception of the Sacraments of attending, he said, was one of Baptism, Communion and Confirlearning to place faith, hope and mation. trust in God. "We're there to be salt, light and "So you allow God to come into leaven - as long as God wants us," your life in a much stronger way, Mr Keys said.

rchbishop Charles Chaput found young Australian children were overwhelmingly interested in how he and fellow Americans had responded to the Littleton High School massacre in Denver last year. He also told them that if they were were alone in their Faith on campus they should attend Mass as often as possible, even everyday. On the last day of the national gathering of Catholic families in Melbourne, 30 April, Archbishop Chaput, a native American Indian and the Archbishop of Denver in the US State of Colorado, spent time with approximately 200 Australian youth in a question-andanswer session about his work, his faith and the high school massacre. Archbishop Chaput came into the national spotlight in the US a year ago as he comforted some of the families whose children had been killed in the high school killing spree in his archdiocese. The archbishop's session with Australian youth, who were taking part in a separate 'Youthfest' stream at the Gathering, came the day after he delivered his own keynote address to adults. The Archbishop's disclosed that the young girl who everyone thought afterwards was Cassie Bernall, and who announced her faith in God and was shot dead by one of the killers was in fact another student, Valerie Schnurr, a Catholic, who survived despite being shot several times. A telephone at the shooting was off the hook after a caller had dialled 911, the emergency telephone number in the US, and subsequent police analysis of the tape recording the call showed that it was Schnurr, the Archbishop told his audience. The Catholic archdiocese of Denver was very proud of Valerie, he said. This was partly because, even though everyone mistakenly believed that Cassie Bernall was the one who had witnessed to her faith, Schnurr had not come for ward afterwards to protest the mistaken identity. "She's a wonderful girl because

"We need friends so we won't feel strange, or alone," he said. This was one reason why gatherings such as the one in Melbourne were so important - for young people to meet each other and make friends. "But there's more to it than that," he said, urging those who were largely alone as students to pray and,if possible, to go to Mass every day. "If you're alone on a college or university campus its amazing how much strength you get from going to Mass." And, if they can, university students should invite their Catholic friends to Mass as well - it brings them closer to Christ as well as closer to each other, he said. One young attender asked Archbishop Chaput how he got his calling to the priesthood. "WhenI was five Iused to stand on the back of the pew and watch the priest celebrate Mass - and I knew that I wanted to do that," he said. Another young person asked if it the duty of Christians to wasn't Australia from a young to a question Chaput listening Denver's Archbishop No. It's not US chat show host Donoghue but help the families of those who had at the National Catholic Family Gathering in Melbourne two weeks ago. carried out the killings. Such as When the gunman asked her the Littleton massacre. she's never been upset that this and adults, are involved in spirituwonderful story was told about al combat with the forces of evil why, she said because her parents "Part of the reason we are Chrishad taught her to believe in God. tians is to forgive the unforgivable somebody else rather than her- and the forces of good," he said. "We don't like to see it that way In response to a question from - and that's part of my role as a self," he said. Vivian Keane, aged 25, Archbish- bishop and your role as a layper"Now if it were you or I in that sometimes, do we?" he asked. "We like to think that life is sim- op Chaput agreed it can be diffi- son," he said. situation we might have said 'that wasn't her, it was me, I'm the one ple, everything is sweet and every- cult for Catholics such as Asked what his answer to the university students to exist in isowho stood up for Jesus Christ in thing is going to be just fine." killings at Littleton high school faith But life was a conflict and a series lation and maintain their that moment of difficulty!'" the US was a culture was, he said without peer support. violence. Now a college student, Valerie of choices between the good and permeated by Even bishops can't continue on speaks to meetings about the the bad, and we had choices to ndefinitely without support, he abortion on demand The US had i importance of God and of making make, he pointed out and, in some states, physicianexplained. One young boy, Luke, asked choices for Him in life. "If I were to go to my cathedral assisted suicide. Chaput if, even though Archbishop her Even her choice and that of "Our young people are growing she had survived, being shot on Sunday and no-one was there, family not to come forward after- meant that Valerie Schrum was a after a few Sundays I'd probably up thinking life isn't so valuable," wards and claim her identity as martyr. he said, adding later "those young stop going," he said. the one who witnessed for her men were mad and they saw the and I about us same 's true "The Archbishop Chaput said a marfaith was a sign of her generosity tyr was one who gave his or her think that's why the Lord gave us solution to their problems as and shows she is a real Christian, life for God, which had not hap- a Church. killing other people." he said. Asked what the most and least pened to Valerie. "And he gave us brothers and sisThis is what life is about, ArchHowever, he said, "she showed ters because its very, very hard for enjoyable tasks of his job were, he bishop Chaput told his audience, her willingness to be a martyr, us to be faithful to what we blow said: "The most enjoyable thing making a series of choices - choic- because she knew that [the gun- to be true unless we have people about my life is to preach the Good es for God or choices for death. News of Jesus Christ" around us to help us." man] would shoot her." Christian youth should see life confirmations "The hardest is when II see] peoperforming When He told his audience that afterfor what it is, a series of adven- wards, Valerie had said she paused in his own diocese, he always tells ple in Church who are not excited tures. for a moment to think about the those being confirmed how impor- about their faith land] they're willof her choice and tant peer groups were in terms of ing to be minor actors in life - and consequences Christians also have to take life belief. I don't want that for you." seriously, because "young people, then said yes.

Accounts of modem martyrdoms reverberate around the Collisseum's ancient walls By John Mavis Ro)me's Colosseum lent a dramatic setting and the list of ecumenical articipants was impressive, but the most moving moments of the commemoration of 20th-century martyrs came when their stories were read aloud. Pope John Paul II and several thousand others sat and listened in silence on 7 May to diary entries, snatches of letters and speeches - testimonies from Christians who were killed or from those who knew them well. The 16 people represented eight categories selected for remembrance. At the end of the ceremony, as a slow and haunting Armenian religious song was played, the voices of the martyrs seemed to echo a long time: • Russian Orthodox Patriarch Tichon, who suffered greatly under the Soviet regime before his death in 1925, wrote: "In these evil times the Lord has raised up a series of new martyrs who have a share in his Passion, bishops and priests. . ..killed and tortured by crazed and unhappy children of our country" • Olga Jafa, a Russian teacher and painter sent to a Soviet camp in the Solovki Islands from 1929-31, described how a The Record, May 11 2000 Page 8

young Catholic bishop and an Orthodox bishop worked together at the camp: "The latter was an old man, emaciated and gaunt, with a gray beard, ancient of days but strong in spirit, who briskly carried his load.... Who among us will some day have the good fortune of returning to the world and testifying to what we have seen here?" • Romanian Greek Catholic Bishop Joan Suciu, who died in a communist prison in 1953, wrote to his faithful to beware of spiritual compromise: "Do not be deceived by vain words, by political parties, by promises, by lies; remain strong, resolute, firm in the faith for which your parents and forebears shed their blood. . . . We have no desire to sell out Jesus or the Church." • Albanian Father Anton Lull, imprisoned for 17 years by the communist regime, many years later described his own torture in a speech at a Synod of Bishops: "During my first month, on the night of Christmas, they made me strip and hung me from the rafters with a rope, so that I could touch the ground only with the tip of my toes. It was cold. I felt the icy chill moving up my body. It was as though I were slowly dying. . . . Many of my confr-

ems died as martyrs: It was my lot, how- in prison or labour camps because she ever, to remain alive, in order to bear wit- was a Catholic. She wrote: ness." "In the prison factory we worked 18 hours • German Lutheran Pastor Paul a day, seven days a week. The drums would Schneider was placed in the Nazi camp wake us up at 4 every morning. Before at Buchenwald because of his opposition long, due to extreme fatigue, I lost my to Nazism and died there in 1939. appetite. At night, I just collapsed on my A Catholic priest described how during bed without even washing my face." daily roll call on feast days, the Lutheran She described a fellow prisoner, a girl pastor would try to "preach like a prophet": named Tsou, who had been turned in by a "On Easter Sunday, for instance, we heard priest in the government-sponsored to our surprise the powerful words: 'Thus Catholic Patriotic Association: says the Lord: I am the Resurrection and "She was especially good to me. Unforthe Life!'. . . . He could never utter more tunately, after four years, she broke down than a few phrases. Then we would hear mentally. .. . They tied her up. They hung raining down on him the blows of the her up and beat her. They extended her guards' truncheons." sentence twice. Although she has now • Polish Bishop Ignacy Jez, who is still completed her time, she is still in the alive, wrote about his three years at the labour camp as of this date without propNazi camp at Dachau: er care." • Anglican Bishop Philip Strong of "Our spiritual strength increased thanks to the priests who were also interned, at Papua New Guinea was interned in a times too because of the positive attitude Japanese concentration camp in 1942. of the lay persons who recited prayers in Shortly before his arrest he wrote to other common each evening in the dormitories European missionaries that they all must after lights off, and at other times because carry on their work in the area "no matter of Holy Communion, received from Block what the cost": 26." "The tradition and history of missions • Margaret Chou, a Chinese Catholic requires it of us. Missionaries who have and the niece of the late Cardinal Ignatius been faithful to the uttermost and are now Kung Pin-mei of Shanghai, spent 1958-79 at rest are surely expecting it of us. The

people whom we serve expect it of us. We rate along ethnic lines. He spoke about the offer us up. . . . so that we may be worthy could never hold up our faces again if, for attack a year later: "We stayed together as of this grace." • Colombian Bishop Jesus Emilio our own safety we all forsook Him and a group! Then their leader lost patience fled when the shadows of the Passion and gave the order. 'Shoot these idiots who jamarillo Monsalve was tortured and began to gather around Him in His spiri- won't separate.' They fired the first shots at killed by a group of guerrillas in his diotual body, the Church in Papua." the ones under the beds. . . . As we lay in cese in 1989. He had written: "It is my desire that death be the ultimate • Manuel de Irujo, a Catholic and min- our blood, we prayed and begged pardon moment of my incorporation into Christ, a ister of justice in the Spanish Republican for those who were killing us." • VV.G.11. Jotcham, a young Baptist med- sharing in His pain and an expiation of my government, resigned his post in 1937 in the face of widespread religious persecu- ical missionary from Canada, died at age own sins and the sins of others." • French Father Christian de Cherge, tion in the country. 23 in Nigeria during a 1938 outbreak of He boldly presented a memorandum to meningitis in the leprosy clinic where he prior of a Trappist monastery in Algeria, the government denouncing the situation: worked. was slain with other monks by Muslim ter "Priests and religious have been arrested, At the start of his work among lepers, he rorists in 1996. In his spiritual testament, thrown into prison, and shot by the thou- wrote: "Who knows what thoughts lie he had written: "When the time comes, I sands without any form of trial." behind these faces?. . . . These broken would like to be able to have that stroke of • Mexican Bishop Jose de Jesus Man- hearts have never been nourished with the lucidity which would permit me to ask forriquez Zarate of Huejutla was arrested in bread of heaven, these chill lives have giveness of God and of my brothers in 1926 and later forced into exile in the Unit- never heard the Gospel story. What a priv- humanity, forgiving whole-heartedly, at the ed States because of his outspoken oppo- ilege to be among the first to bring the same time, whoever my killer might be." sition to Mexico's anti-clerical constitution. good news of salvation." • Armenian Catholicos Kareldn, head • Bishop Alejandro Labalca, a Span- of the Armenian Orthodox Church, who He said in 1927: "Mexico. . . . has vigorously defended her ish missionary, was killed in a spear attack died in 1999, wrote about the "martyrolofaith, not only with prayers, not only with while evangelising peoples of the Amazon gy" of the Armenian people throughout reparation, but by pouring out her gener- in 1987. He had written many years earli- history: "Suffering, persecutions, destrucous blood in torrents." er to Pope Paul VI, asking to what point he tion, massacres, deportation or forced emi• Jolique Rusimbamigera was a sem- could put at risk the life of missionaries, gration, genocide. . . . Our history tells us that we have lost much in the past but we inarian in Burundi in 1997 when he sur- lay workers and himself: vived a massacre in which 44 Hutu and "Most Holy Father, if in God's plan it is have succeeded in not losing ourselves. . . Tutsi seminarians were killed because they necessary to sacrifice some lives in order . (W)e have not committed the error of los- CNS refused to follow gunmen's order to sepa- to bring Christ to these tribes, then please ing faith and hope."

Pope John Paul 11 peers at the Eternal Flame la the Hall of Remembrance at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem on 23 Mach. On 7 May the Pope and thousands of others listened in Rome to excerpts from writings about 20th century Christians who, like the Jews of Work! War II, lost their lives or were severely tortured or persecuted because of their Photo CNS/Reuters faith.

The Record, May 11 2000 Page 9

Bring hope back to East Timor A new Catholic nation is born but needs your help

"Please help the pastoral needs of our Church!"

East Timor Profile Area: 14.874 sq km Population: 800,000 Life expectancy: 45 Catholic: 90`)/0

East Timorese children prepare for First Holy Communion.

Key Dates 1520: Portuguese settle in East Timor 1975: Civil war breaks out after Indonesian forces invade 1976: East Timor incorporated as Indonesia's 27th province but UN does not recognise Indonesia's claim. 1991: Over 200 civilians massacred by Indonesian Army at Santa Cruz cemetery in Dili. 1999: August 30th Ballot. The East Timorese people vote in favour of independence. September 20th. INTERFET forces arrive to restore peace and security after 3 weeks of death and destruction which saw 400.000 people displaced.

Aid to the Church in Need

"God has sent you here today to help us!" These were the words of Bishop Belo when the international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) visited him in Dili and offered his beleaguered Church assistance. Greeting us on the verandah of his makeshift home, with the burnt out shell of the former Bishop's House in the background, Bishop Belo spoke openly about the concerns of his Church. Although grateful for the good work being done by the world's relief agencies Bishop Belo with ACN's Australian in the socio-charitable field he lamented that few if any were helping Director, Phillip Collignon. with the pastoral needs of the Church. After fruitful discussion we assured the Bishop that we would help with the training of his minor and major seminarians-some 186 in number. We also learnt that Bishop Belo was keen to send four of his priests overseas to study Canon Law, Philosophy, Catechesis and Mass Media. We agreed to provide scholarships for these four priests who will in turn become the future teachers and leaders of the Church in East Timor. And we promised Bishop Belo to provide another 10,000 copies of our successful Child's Bible "God Speaks to His Children", in the local language (Tetum). In 1993 10,000 copies were dispatched and used throughout East Timor. Early last year a further 10,000 copies were sent but unfortunately most of these were destroyed when the militias burnt down the Don Bosco Salesian compound in Dili where they were being stored.

The charred remains of the chapel of Bishop Belo 's house in Dili - now under Our Lady's protective care.

Seminarians: Thirsting to offer their lives to God

! •444,,, 4 lki I The future of the Church in East Timor: Young students fill the chapel in Dili's minor seminary.

East Timor is blessed with an abundance of young men willing to answer Christ's call. The minor seminary of Our Lady of Fatima, Dili, has 86 students. The age range of these seminarians is 16-20 and their formation consists of three years of high school followed by a Spiritual Year in preparation for major seminary. Due to the violence and destruction after the ballot in September 1999, the seminarians' parents have been unable to pay their monthly fees. The collapse of the banking system also prevented a number of generous benefactors from transferring donations from overseas. Needless to say the seminary is in dire need of funds. This year ACN has agreed to fund each seminarian $700.00 to help meet the prohibitive costs facing the seminary. There are also 20 students in a Spiritual Year prior to entering the major seminary. They live in a very simple house in Dare, overlooking Dili. Conditions are very basic and food prices are rising rapidly. To assist these young men on their way to the priesthood, ACN has also agreed to fund each seminarian $140.00 per month. East Timor does not have its own major seminary, yet despite this there were 80 seminarians studying overseas prior to the referendum, mainly in Indonesia. As many of these do not want to return to Indonesia now for fear of reprisals, Bishop Belo and others, are instructing the students in the interim. Bishop Belo hopes to have a major seminary operational by September this year. As the further training of the major seminarians is of great concern to the Bishop, ACN has offered to help with this vital project.

Can you help these young men on their journey to God's altar? "The priestly vocation is a call to become Fishers of Men age needs priests" Pope John Paul II

our

Martyrs of the 20th Century They gave their lives trying to help their brothers and sisters in Christ Four priests, two sisters and three seminarians died for their faith in East Timor during the blood bath of September 1999. Below and overleaf are the true accounts of how one priest and five religious lost their lives. Br Jacinto was in charge of Caritas Baucau. On the 25'' of September, he invited Srs Celeste and Erminia, along with Brs Fernando and Valerio and Fr Andrew Wong. the provincial of the Salesians in Jarkarta and Timor. points to a number of lay people to the spot where Srs Celeste and Erminia and Brs Jacinto. Fernando and Valerio accompany him to Lautem to were killed and thrown into the river. assess the situation of the refugees there. They were blocked from their mission by the militia and after a heated discussion went to the nearby town of Lospalos to enlist the help of the parish priest and sisters. But when they returned to Lautem in two vehicles, the militia were nowhere to be seen - unknown to them, they were in the hills above deciding on whether they should live or die. After a long wait the two groups decided to split up. Br Jacinto's group was to return to Baucau and the other group to Laspalos. A short distance out of Lautem, Br Jacinto's car was stopped by the militia and the occupants ordered out of the car.

Your Help for the Church in Need in East Timor

Sr Erminia was shot first but did not die immediately. She knelt down to pray and was slashed to death with machetes and thrown into the nearby river. Sr Celeste was shot next and died immediately. The seminarians were all hacked to death and also thrown into the river.

Aid to the Church in Need ULD 1781 Seven Hills MC NSW 1781

I/We enclose $ * to support the projects of Aid to the Church in Need for in East Timor.

Brs Jacinto and Fernando were only a few months away from final ordination.

I enclose a cheque/money order payable to Aid to the Church in Need OR please debit my Bankcard. Visa or Mastercard.

Please send your donation to:

Ph/Fax No. (02) 9679 1929

Expiry date:

Signature Block Letters Please

Mr/Mrs/Miss/Rev/Sr: Address: Postcode Sr Celeste de Carvalho

Sr Erminia Cazzaniga

'NB Donations are not tax deductible as the Taxation Department considers the work of ACN as one for the enhancement of religion and therefore ineligible for tax deductions.

A BCHKLMOPR

Fr Charles Albrecht - Witness of Faith Born 19/4/1929 Died 11/9/1999. Fr Charles Albrecht SJ was a Dutch priest in charge of the Jesuit Refuge Service in Dili. On the 12'" of November 1991 he witnessed the brutal massacre of 200 or more people at the cemetery of Santa Cruz by the Indonesian Army. From that moment, he not only became a force in the struggle for a more humane society in East Timor, but also a 'person of interest' in the eyes of the military. When the violence broke out in September, Fr Albrecht noted in a letter just three days before his death that the killing and burning were organised and executed by the Indonesian army. During those desperate days, he cared for the needs of the people streaming into Dili from the surrounding districts, dispensing food, medicine and other supplies. Even as UN convoys and other humanitarian agencies were being attacked, he risked his life to visit refugees and deliver aid. On the night of his death he went outside his residence to investigate a disturbance. As he flashed his torch around the yard a voice told him to turn it off. As Fr Albrecht had an hearing impairment he most probably didn't hear the order. He was felled by a single shot.

Book and Candle Order Form Please send your donation to: Aid to the Church in Need ULD 1781, Seven Hills MC NSW 1781 Ph/Fax No. (02) 9679 1929 Please send me Number

Amount

Lumen Christi 2000 candle/s ($10.00 per candle) Healing Fire From Frozen Earth ($10.00 per book)

Total

I enclose a cheque/money order payable to Aid to the Church in Need OR please debit my Bankcard, Visa or Mastercard.

Expiry date: Signature Block Letters Please Mr/Mrs/Miss/Rev/Sr Address. Postcode

Remember and pray for the Martyrs of the 20th Century with a Lumen Christi 2000 candle from Aid to the Church in Need. With each candle we enclose readings and prayers especially composed for the Jubilee Year including one for the commemoration of the Martyrs. The candle costs $10.00, stands at 15cm high, is about 6cm thick and comes in a decorative gift box. 1 See Order Form

The candle also makes a beautiful gift idea for Baptism, First Holy Communion, Confirmation and other occasions.

New book release by Marist Father Paul Glynn

"Healing Fire from Frozen Earth" All proceeds to help the Church in need in East Timor In his latest book Fr Paul Glynn - the author of the best seller 'A Song For Nagasaki' - intimately explores God's healing power and grace which has been shown to His people throughout the ages. Fr Paul shares stories about the people he met while visiting famous healing shrines in France, Poland, Portugal, England. Ireland and Mexico. He not only talks with those who have been healed but he meets with relatives, doctors and Church authorities. But "Healing Fire from Frozen Earth" also tackles more than healing. It deals with fundamental faith issues and seeks to bring a fresh kind of hope to those who are searching for answers about God. Bishop David Cremin of Sydney writes: "This is a book that can keep you awake into the 'wee small hours'. Through his previous writings Paul Glynn has taught me so much about r econciliation and about the Book of Psalms. Now he has reopened my heart to the God who heals the broken, the wounded and the most wretched of the earth. People who claim to be agnostics or even atheists will certainly be challenged in their unbelief. Men and women of faith strengthened. I can envision those in a state of confusion and depression being lifted up and given new direction". To order your copy please fill out the order form overleaf.

Aid to the Church in Need is an international Catholic charity dependent on the Holy See, supporting the faithful in countries where the Church is poor or persecuted,

Bishop Belo's kind words of support for the work of Aid to the Church in Need

DIOCESE DE DILI TIMOR — ORIENTAL

I uas pleased to receive this dry a visit from thc rercmcsitartive of AID TO 114, CHURCI1 IN NFED . A hmh They have weisted binwispe.

In she War molds of 199, ACM pro.*d emergency h.to Ese Tintonem elm.' to nee to West nem this vies poly mptecime. 1 Ow. the hersethcars of ACM has their gams* memths our people to the darkest hon., of their hoes. u.hi, man, orapwisations we bd.. East Timor. very few however are chu,h outs pastoral wort IMk you to continue to help us uith the education seminarians, the reorennietion ot church buildings and with the pr0,1A1., carecixt,cal materials f,e schocis and families. MIN Cc, corthnoc

Mailing Address: ULD 1781 Seven Hills MC NSW 1781 Ph/Fax: (02) 9679-1929 Email: acnaus@magnet.com.au Web: www.kirche-in-not.orq National Director: Phillip Collignon

13 yews heen of peat help fw the Chsrch in Fast Timor du trandation of the Chit, hihie into TOW11, the local

/sins the work of AID TO ThE CHURCH NEED.

Features

A social justice vista With Mary Busher, Perth Catholic Church Archives volunteer

Excerpts from the WA Catholic Record 12 May, 1900.

Miss Bourke's concert A farewell concert and dance was held for Miss Mary Bourke at the Irishtown Hall. Miss Bourke, formerly head teacher at the Jennapullen Government School, was presented with a purse of sovereigns and an illustrated address. It read, in part: "During the 14 years you have had charge of schools in the district we very gratifyingly bear testimony to your constant attention to your duties; your untiring efforts to impart knowledge; and to convey instruction to the children under your care. Also your vigilant watchfulness over the moral training and conduct of the children who have had the privilege of coming under your improving and inspiring influence."

Typhoid breakout Typhoid fever reported to be very prevalent in the Sons of Gwalia district, with the hospital crowded with victims. "The Gwalia surroundings are in a very pitiable way, owing to the heavy and ceaseless rains which have fallen for the past four weeks. "All the slush has been washed from the insanitary positions through the camps, and when the sun throws her scarlet rays upon the ground. the earth assumes a malarial state, typhoid necessarily follows."

Bridgetown bell At Bridgetown the bell at the Catholic Church was recently damaged. A collection was taken up on Easter Sunday for a new bell. The report states: "This time we are going to have a hundredweight one, so it will be no use for some of the congregation to say they did not hear the hell."

Discerning the Australian Social Conscience, RRP $24.95, PP 376 Published by Jesuit Publications. Reviewed by John O'Neill

he Jesuit poet, Gerard Manley Hopkins, wrote in praise of dappled and piebald things, original and counter. He would have found much to admire in this well-ordered collection whose contributors are so diverse, drawn from many disciplines and none. Academics and artists, judges and scientists came together for last year's Lenten Seminar Series held in Melbourne and Sydney Jesuit Father Frank Brennan Reverend Tim Costello over a six-week period to mark 150 years of Jesuit activity in Aus- chosen starting point is the book's ingly pits high-sounding rhetoric opening examination of Aus- against middle class materialism. tralia. Earlier, Deirdre Rofe IBVM, in Up to 1500 people a week tralian values by former Chief Justice Sir Gerard Brennan and of school goals and phitalking attended as the Australian social conscience was prodded and Eureka Street editor Morag Fras- losophy, quotes a Benedictine headmaster as saying "In our probed in fields such as health, er. Does egalitarianism presuppose school we prepare boys for education and the law. sameness of ethnic and social death? Once two members of the great structure. and when does tolerAs the good sister observes, and good had placed matters in ance slip into indifference? quite a showstopper. some sort of historical context, Do we have mateship or is there One of the key note speakers on usefully laying down parameters lack of intimacy in social rela- personal well-being, Dr Patricia for discussion, a panel of inter- tions? Brennan, convener of the Auslocutors initiated wider comment. What about larrikinism in a tralian Feminist Theology FounWell known among the latter nation which one participant feels dation, listed indicators of would be Sir Gustav Nossal, Hugh displays a remarkable routine disadvantage, including old age, Mackay and Rev. Tim Costello, obedience to authority? Aboriginality, female gender, and whilst a number of places were How do we develop a sense of asked whether the Church offers reserved for school students. transcendence, wonders anotheri anything more than experience in A prominent Jesuit closed each Ms Fraser is uneasy with the social work, and good music and week's proceedings with a reflec- very term "Australian values" and theatre. tive response. explains why by asking us to think She spelled out tellingly the sitIn his foreword Fr Frank Bren- of the baggage attendant on the uation of the paid "have" profesnan, Director of the Jesuit Social phrase "Asian values." sional who is employed to care Justice Centre recalls trying to pin This first seminar touched on a for a "have not" client. down the nature of social con- theme often revisited - the The Church is challenged from science over a beer one clear sun- increasing gap between rich and elsewhere on the spectrum by a lit autumn afternoon, musing that poor, one of the widest in the former Federal Minister, Fred many Catholics (and ex-Catholics) developed world. Chaney, who robustly claims invoke certain values as distinPoverty and participation, exclu- "total intellectual incoherence" in guishing them from people they sion and inclusion, these concern Its public taxation statements, work with. many speakers. muddying debate and slowing In trying to discern the impact of In exploring education issues, sensible reform. this on thinking and action, a well- writer Gerard Windsor unflinchHis lively contribution also coy-

Benedict set the pattern for a thousand years

t Benedict's life reads like it began in WA. He was born in Norcia, (the town for which New Norcia was named) in Italy in about 480 AD. and was pious and virtuous from childhood. He studied in Rome, but was so appalled at the behaviour of fellow students that he fled into the mountains of Subiaco; students do not appear to have changed very much. In the mountains, Benedict met a monk who gave him a hair

Horse flesh looms The scarcity of meat is a topic of general interest. Rumour had it last week that one bullock provided the beef supply on Friday for Perth and Fremantle. The enterprise of a certain butcher is particularly lauded who, according to reports, purchased, for 17 pound each, two cows of rather advanced age and distributed them, of course for a due consideration, among the members of his trade. The question of the palatableness of horse-flesh has not yet been mooted here, but who knows how long it may be deferred.

ers domestic poverty traps and mutual obligation as well as international debt and aid. In the area of medical ethics the importance of an informed conscience and a scientifically literate community are highlighted by biologist Dr Peter McCullagh. The new responsibilities of the information age are addressed here and in other seminars also. Bio-ethicist Elizabeth Hepburn IBVM urgently calls us to make time for reflection, individually and collectively. With Fr Michael McGirr's thoughts on "Titanic" and "South Park", the arts section is particularly accessible. Dr Bruce Dawe reads poems on sombre subjects, but his style is sinewy and exhilarating. Art historian Rosemary Crumlin speaks of how one-eyed some of our so-called facts can be, and the book contains plates of her choice of two works, Tjibari (A Women's Healing Song) from the Balgo community and one of Daniel Goldstein's Icarian Series made from the leather skins of gymnasium equipment from his native San Francisco. There are many illuminating contrasts in this concisely-edited collection which is rigorous without being overly technical. It has the passion to shake complacency but an overall tone of respectful efforts not to be entrenched or blocking. This is food for the journey towards a dearer understanding of what a fair go may cost and who will pay. The volume represents an excellent year-round resource for schools, parish Justice and Peace groups and any who would value a brief user-friendly guide to current thinking. Few books will develop critical self-awareness with as much appreciative audience laughter, or take us from Saint Augustine to Shane Warne.

An artist's depiction of St Benedict, founder of western Monasticism.

The Record, May 11 2000 Page 10

shirt. He became a hermit and lived in a cave. He spent three years this way until his fame spread and some nearby monks, whose abbot had just died, begged him to come and lead them. After a short time, they found Benedict too severe, and put poison in his wine. The glass broke when Benedict made the sign of the cross over his drink Nevertheless, Benedict got the hint, and returned to his cave. Gradually he was joined by disciples, and he built twelve monasteries for them, each of twelve monks headed by an abbot. Even here, in his own communities, tensions developed and further attempts were made on his life. In AD 529, after a priest tried to poison him, Benedict and some of his monks left Subiaco for Monte Cassino. Altars stood on this hill, dedicated to Venus, Jupiter and Apollo. The saint smashed these idols, overturned their altars and set fire to the sacred grove. He was not apparently very strong on inter-faith dialogue. In spite of the persecutions of a demon, he built a great abbey,

.LIe n C4rist 2000 Perth historian Dr Jennifer Skerritt sheds some light on Catholic history to mark 2000 years of Christianity This week

St Benedict of Nursia. c.480-547 which has been destroyed many times, but always rebuilt. At Monte Cassino, Benedict founded the order of Benedictines, which established the pattern of western Monasticism. Many western religious orders have developed in the light of Benedict's monastic rule. The Benedictine rule divided the day of a monk into prayer, manual work and spiritual reading. Benedict's Order was based on the principle of separation from the world, which, in the sixth century, was disintegrating. The order and law of the Roman Empire were long gone, replaced by hordes of barbarians, by violence, nepotism and disorder. Withdrawal from the world had appeal beyond the religious. Religion reflected the culture of the times by focusing on the search for inner peace, through solitude and meditation. Bene-

did lived at Monte Cassino for fourteen years. He was renowned for his faith and charity. When he died at the foot of the altar, his arms were raised in prayer. His emblems are a broken cup or pitcher, symbolising the spilling of the poisoned wine, a raven, symbolising the raven which had carried away poisoned bread before he ate it. and a thorn bush, where he threw himself to avoid temptation. Although many of his contemporaries seem to have found him difficult to live with, St Benedict is one of the most important figures of Christian communal living. The monastic pattern which he established has had far reaching effects on both the secular and religious development of Christendom. The Benedictine Order continues to this day, and includes a foundation at New Norcia, north of Perth.

Movie Reviews

Savagery of Imperial Rome brought to life By Anne Navarro

great Roman general is forced into exile and enslaved in the largerthan-life epic "Gladiator." After triumphantly leading his army into battle and finally securing peace in the northern border of the Roman Empire, brave general Maximus (Russell Crowe) longs to return to his Iberian home and beloved family. But the dying philosopher-king, Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris), wants the incorruptible hero to restore Rome to the people and create the great republic Rome is destined to be. Enraged at the thought of being passed over, the emperor's son, Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), smothers these hopes by sentencing Maximus to death, and massacring his family. Maximus

Periscope suspense

daring mission to capture a top-secret Nazi encryption device tests the mettle of a young lieutenant in the suspenseful World War II action drama, "U-571" (Universal). Lt Andrew Tyler (Matthew McConaughey) and his men are sent on-board the vintage S-33 US submarine that has been commissioned to take the risky endeavour of posing as a German U-boat. Their mission: to capture the elusive "Enigma" machine, a valuable top-secret coding device. In order for the plan to succeed, it must be conducted in total secrecy, as the Germans are also on their way to -help the disabled U-boat. In fact, Lt. Wer and the crew are not told the details of the operation until they have cleared American waters. The film's driving plot and striking visuals make "U-571" worth an up-periscope. Due to recurring war violence and fleeting crass language, the US Catholic Conference classification is Al! - adults and adolescents.

-^JS

Un.,,ersal

Australian actor Russell Crowe plays a former Roman general who was sold into slavery and trained as a gladiator in the action epic, -Gladiator."

manages to escape his executioners only to be taken as a slave by entrepreneurial businessman, Proximo (Oliver Reed), who trains

him as a gladiator. Maximus knows that the only way to exact his revenge is to survive the bloodthirsty gladiatorial arenas

Movie Ratings

and win over the people of Rome. He knows that the will of the people can be stronger than the power of the emperor. Gruesome mortal combat scenes suggest might is right, but impassioned performances, an absorbing narrative and staggering visuals are impressive in capturing the brutal era of human sacrifice as entertainment. The scenes that depict Commodus' incestuous longings are creepy, but done in an understated manner, only the whisper of the intention is brought forth. Although the violence is intense it is not especially graphic, leaving much to the imagination. Due to recurring stylised violence and a depiction of a character's incestuous longings, the US Catholic Conference classification is AIV - adults, with reservations. - CNS

Angela's ashes scattered by Irish poverty By Henry Herx n American author's memories of his impoverished childhood in 1930s and '40s Ireland are dramatised in the Anglo-American production, "Angela's Ashes" (Paramount). Winner of the 1997 Pulitzer Prize for biography, Frank McCotui's memoir of his Limerick youth recalled the misery of a boy growing up in dire poverty. In looking back at those grim times, McCourt fashioned the pain of the past into a convincing chronicle that flowed with the storyteller's art, a poetic sensibility and some self-deprecating humour. In adapting the book to the screen, British writer-director

Alan Parker faithfully re-creates McCowi's account of a blighted youth. The movie opens in 1935 Brooklyn with the McCourts preparing to return to Ireland after the death of an infant daughter and the inability of the alcoholic father (Robert Carlyle) to find steady employment. The mother, Angela (Emily Watson), seeks help from her family in Limerick but receives no real support because of resentment over her marrying a Protestant from Belfast. Living in destitution, the family loses two children to malnutrition before the husband goes to England to find work After they receive no news of him, the McCourts are evicted and have to move in with a mean-

spirited cousin who has sexual designs on Angela. The movie balances young Frank's growing alienation from his Catholic upbringing with a powerful sequence in which a priest helps him get through an act of contrition before he goes off to make a fresh start in America. More troubling for some will be the treatment of Frank's bumpy passage through puberty and adolescent love affair. Because of its intense depiction of domestic crises, numerous sexual situations and references, alcoholic excess, recurring rough language and some profanity, the US Catholic Conference classification is AIV - adults, with reservations. - CNS

Austen with unnecessary touches By Gerd Pare

ane Austen's third novel gets adapted with some unnecessary new twists in "Mansfield rk" (Miramax). Overall, it is a lively ingratiating film that follows feisty heroine Fanny Price (Frances O'Connor) as she leaves her impoverished family in Portsmouth to move onto the relatives' estate that gives the story its name. Treated as a poor relation by her

Music of the Heart

nspiring true story of an abandoned wife and mother (Meryl Streep) who turns her life around by moving to Harlem and instilling self-esteem in underprivileged schoolchildren by teaching them the disciplined art of playing the violin. Wes Craven's biographical movie realistically captures a devastated woman's personal growth and the value of the arts in the educational curriculum. An implied affair and an instance of rude language. The US Catholic Conference classification is AM - adults.

Romeo Must Die ntertaining hip-hop action drama

E about an ex-cop (Jet Li) who escapes

from a Hong Kong prison to avenge the death of his beloved brother in California only to get caught in a gang war between Asians and African-Americans, and by chance, fall in love with the rival gang leader's daughter (Aaliyah). Skillfully

snooty aunt (Sheila Gish), largely overtures to an oblivious Fanny ignored by woozy opium user while another shows Henry in Lady Bertram (Lindsay Duncan) bed with Edmund's married sisand her two daughters, Fanny is ter, Maria (Victoria Hamilton). greatly befriended by shy son However, these are not major Edmund (Jonny Lee Miller) who elements in a film marked by grows up to admire her beauty of delightful performances. mind, modesty and indepenDue to a fleeting sexual dence. encounter, brief homosexual However, Austen's story didn't innuendo, some graphic sketches need adaptor-director Patricia of slave torture and a drug depenRozema's spicy additions. dent character, the US Catholic One scene has Henry's sister Conference classification is AM - CNS Mary making obvious lesbian adults.

Movie Briefs choreographed martial-arts action with cutting-edge music. Recurring violence, brief homosexual innuendo, fleeting nudity, brief recreational drug use, and some rough language. The US Catholic Conference classification is Mil - adults.

Me, Myself,I

edious Australian comedy-drama T about an unhappy investigative reporter (Rachel Griffiths) in her late 30s

who suddenly finds herself living in a parallel universe married to her old flame with three children and a dog. Sexual encounters with brief nudity, an attempted suicide and fleeting rough language. The US Catholic Conference classification is AN - adults, with reservations.

For Love of the Game hile on the mound at the close of the

(Kevin Costner) confronts not only the batters but himself as he ponders his future with the club, his passion to excel in the sport which has consumed his life, and the loss of the woman he loves (Kelly Preston). Implicit sexual affair, angry outbursts, some course language and occasional profanity. The US Catholic Conference classification is Al!! - adults.

Stir of Echoes

CIhost story in which a family man (Kevin Bacon) starts having hallucinations about a vanished teen and becomes obsessed with locating her body on his property. Writer-director David Koepp fashions a minimally suspenseful thriller whose villains are obvious. Some violence, shadowy sexual encounter, brief nudity and recurring profanity and rough language. The US Catholic Conference classification is A-Ill - adults.

Wbaseball season, an aging pitcher S

Topsy-Turvy

prightly dramatisation follows the 1884 career slump of British light-opera

NEW YORK (CNS) Here is a list of recent films the US Catholic Conference Office for Film and Broadcasting has rated on the basis of moral suitability. USCC classifications: Al generalpatronage; All - adults and adolescents; Alll - adults; AN- adults, with reservations (this indicates films that, while not morally offensive in themselves, are not for casual viewing because they require some analysis and explanation in order to avoid false impressions and interpretations); 0 morally offensive. All About My Mother, AIV American Beauty, 0 American Psycho, 0 Being John Malkovich, AW Bicentennial Man. All The Big Kahuna, A111 Black and White, 0 Boys Don't Cry, MV The Cider House Rules, 0 Color of Paradise. All East Is East, All East West, Mu Erin Brocicovich, AIII Family Tree. Al Fantasia 2000. Al Final Destination, All The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas, All Frequency, AIII Galaxy Quest. All Girl. Interrupted, AIII Gossip. AIV The Green Mile, All Here on Earth, AIII High Fidelity; AIV Joe Gould's Secret. Al!! Keeping the Faith, AW The Last September, Affl Love and Basketball, AIII Me, Myself. I, MI! Mission to Mars, MI My Dog Skip, All Next Friday, AN Ninth Gate. The„"MV Price of Glory, AIII Ready' to Rumble, AN Return to Me, MI The Road to El Dorado, All Romeo Must Die. A111 Rules of Engagement, MI Set Me Free. AIII (no rating) Sixth Sense, The. All The Skulls, Alll Sleepy Hollow. AN Snow Day, Al Stuart Little, All The Tigger Movie, Al Time Code. 0 TopsyTurvy, AN Thy Story 2, Al 28 Days, MI U571, All Up at the Villa, AIII The Virgin Suicides. 0 Where the Heart Is, MV Where the Money Is, MV The Whole Nine Yards, All!

greats Gilbert and Sullivan (Jim Broadbent and Allan Corduner), followed by renewed vigour on their next, and bestremembered collaboration, The Mikado. A lengthy, bustling valentine to the creative process of theatre productions which wryly mocks the human frailties of the artistic temperament. Sexual situations with brief full nudity, references to abortion and occasional substance abuse. The US Catholic Conference classification is AIV - adults, with reservations.

Bringing Out the Dead

Unsettling tale of a burned-out paramedic (Nicolas Cage) whose frantic nocturnal ambulance runs expose him to all manner of desperate individuals as he is haunted by visions of those he could not save on the city's mean streets. Brief violence including an instance of euthanasia, a gory childbirth, some substance abuse. occasional profanity and recurring rough language. The US Catholic Conference classification Is AM - adults. The Record. May 11 2000 Page 11

International News

Religious freedom group Diocese to cancel debt highlights Sudan agony In Brief

CAMDEN, N.J. (CNS) - Bishop Nicholas A. DiMarzio of Camden has announced a program to forgive $12 million in debt owed to the diocese by 41 parishes and schools. The southern New Jersey diocese has a total of 126 parishes and 58 diocesan or parish grade schools and high schools. Details of the plan. announced on 30 April, were to be released to parishes and schools soon. In a letter to pastors, parish and finance councils, Bishop DiMarzio said the debt forgiveness, totalling $12,045,752. was only possible bemuse of "the generosity of our parish communities and responsible stewardship at all levels in the diocese."

US bishops visit VAl'ICAN CITY (CNS) - Ethical directives for Catholic health care providers, liturgy and social justice were among the issues key US bishops discussed with Vatican officials last week. Bishop Joseph Fiorenza of Galveston-Houston. president of the US Bishops' conference, Bishop Wilton Gregory of Belleville. Illinois., conference vice president, and Mgr Dennis Schnurr general secretary met with the Pope at the end of a semi-annual visit with the heads of various Vatican offices. Bishop Fiorenza said the officers had "a very fruitful discussion" with Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, about a revision of the US bishops' conference ethical directives for health care providers. He said he was also pleased with a "very good meeting" with Cardinal Jorge Medina Estevez, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments. Bishop Fiorenza said the officers also met with Archbishop Francois Xavier Nguyen Van "fhuan, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. The main topics of discussion were "international debt. globalisation, the free-market system, as well as the effects of the environment, the climate changes," he said.

Clean election call MEXICO CITY (CNS) - Mexico's bishops issued a strong call for clean elections as they gathered for a plenary meeting outside Mexico City. "We want an end to the frauds of the past," said Bishop Onesimo Cepeda Silva of Ecatepec during a news conference on 3 May to launch a new document by the bishops' conference, "Democracy Can't Happen Without You." The seven-page document affirmed that the church "has the mission, the right and the duty" to articulate basic ethical principles in the political field.

By Patricia Zapor WASHINGTON (CNS) - In its first report, a new religious freedom commission recommends actions ranging from new diplomatic steps in Russia to supplying aid to rebel organisations in Sudan and withholding permanent normal trade status from China. The US Commission on International Religious Freedom's harshest recommendations were directed at Sudan, where, as chairman Rabbi David Saperstein described it, "the government has escalated an appaling policy of deliberately bombing civilian facilities in the South. It has repeatedly hit churches, schools, hospitals and the facilities of aid organisations." A background section on Sudan said the commission "finds that the government of Sudan is the world's most violent abuser of the right to freedom of religion and belief." Since 1983, more than 2 million Sudanese have been killed.

another 4.5 million have been internally displaced or forced into exile and an estimated 1.5 million people live "in squalid conditions" in government-controlled camps, the report said. "The scope of the humanitarian tragedy of Sudan dwarfs the figures of other recent conflicts and yet Sudan receives far less international attention or scrutiny than many other conflicts," said the report. The report noted that much of the repression is directed at nonMuslims or Muslims who follow different interpretations of Islam than the rulers from the National Islamic Front, who have set a goal of imposing their version of Islamic law on the country The commission recommended a 12-month plan of incentives and disincentives to pressure the Sudanese government to improve human rights, including a campaign led by the US president "to inform the world of Sudan's war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocidal activities." If the one-year campaign is

requiring substantial improvement on religious freedom before it can be permanently granted normal trade status. Michael K. Young, dean of the George Washington University Law School and vice-chair of the commission, said although many of the commission members strongly supported free trade, granting permanent normal trade status at this time "would be to send Beijing a signal that these awful, inexcusable, inhumane policies did not require a more immediate response - and this we could not recommend." The report said violations of reliA Sudanese soldier guards a U.N. food gious freedom by the Chinese drop in Kaouda, Sudan. government increased markedly unsuccessful or if conditions during the past year. Among problems it cited were a worsen during that time, the United States should begin providing nationwide crackdown on the non-military aid to groups Falun Gong spiritual movement; opposed to the Sudanese govern- actions against Catholic and ment, as long as they adhere to Protestant "underground" churchhuman rights standards, Saper- es, including the arrest of bishops, stein said. priests and pastors; and expandOn China, the commission ed repression of Tibetan Budunanimously ,recommended dhists.

It's the widows' mite for refugees By John Thavis

VATICAN CITY (CNS) - A Vatican official issued a stern rebuke of European and US policies toward refugees, saying developing countries shouldered too much of the weight. "The poorest countries, the ones less prepared in terms of infrastructures, are the ones letting (refugees) in," US Divine Word Father Michael Blume, undersecretary of the Pontifical Council for Migrants and Travellers, said on 2 May. "Our reality is nothing compared to Asia and Africa." he said. Father Blume's comments came during a press conference to present the program for the 1-3 June Jubilee for Migrants and Trav-

ellers. The United Nations says refugees, asylum seekers and internally displaced people number more than 21 million worldwide. Economically struggling countries host a disproportionate percentage of them. Archbishop Stephen Fumio Hamao, president of the council, also expressed concern over negative attitudes toward immigrants. In response to a question about the influence of Austria's far-right Freedom Party, which has drawn international criticism for hostility to immigration, and other European political parties with similar platforms, he said, "This trend worries me greatly." "The jubilee is an opportunity to overcome racism and exaggerated nationalism," Archbishop

Hamao said. Illegal immigrants in particular suffer from all sorts of deprivation and are "forced to resort to any means possible to survive," the archbishop said. He suggested one fitting jubilee gesture would be some form of government amnesty for illegal immigrants to legalise their status. While highlighting the serious problems resulting from migration, organisers nonetheless sought to put a positive spin on mobility. Organisers said they expected 40,000 people to attend the Jubilee for Migrants and Travellers, among them some 8,000 Filipinos from across Europe and 4,000 Italians who live abroad. The three-day event is scheduled to begin on 1 June.

Two million against death penalty ROME, 5 MAY (ZENIT).- Follow- from 1998, when there were 2,258 ing repeated appeals by the Pope, verified executions. the international campaign for a According to the report, "it is moratorium on executions in the impossible to give the total figure, year 2000, promoted by the St because many countries deliberEgidio Community, has collected ately keep secret the real number 2 million signatures in Europe. of executions to avoid internaIn its annual report, Amnesty tional condemnation." International has mapped out the Although there was a decrease status of capital punishment in the number of executions, in 63 worldwide. countries last year there were In 1999 there were 1,813 execu- more than 3,857 persons contions in 31 countries, a decrease demned to capital punishment.

China continues to be the country which alone executes more people than the whole of the rest of the world: at least 1,077 certified executions, but the real figure is considered to be much higher. There have been over 100 executions in the D.R. of Congo, while the United States executed 98 prisoners, 30 more than in 1998. 85% of executions are concentrated in China, Congo, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United States.

Pope: 80th birthday VATICAN (CNS) - Pope John Paul H turns 80 in midMay. an age that brings mandatory retirement at most Vatican offices but which finds the Polish-born pontiff in one of the busiest years of his life. The Pope is celebrating his birthday May 18 in characteristic fashion, celebrating Mass for several thousand priests in a jubilee ceremony that is certain to evoke memories of his own priestly calling. Then, in a festive touch, he'll attend a concert in his honour at the Vatican audience hall, with Gilbert Levine conducting the Philharmonia Orchestra. The Pope is leading more than 75 major liturgies and ceremonies this year, a schedule that has taxed his stamina but highlighted his determination to lead the church into the new millennium. Like the 50,000 people who attended a general audience in St Peter's Square, jubilee pilgrims have found the pontiff frail and slow-moving at times, his voice indistinct and his arm shaking - symptoms of the neurological disorder from which he suffers.

Poor numbers puts end to historic Tyburn pilgrimage MANCHESI ER, England (CNS) - A prominent British priest has decided to scrap a historic pilgrimage in honour of 105 British Catholic martyrs because he said he can no longer justify the inconvenience it causes to S.unday shoppers and drivers in London. Mgr Anthony Stark, master of the Guild of Our Lady of Ransom, which sponsors the annual Tyburn walk in central London each year, confirmed that the 30 April pilgrimage was the last. The Wimbledon-based priest said commercial and financial pressures had left him with no

The Record, May 11 2000 Page 12

option but to wind up the almost ple taking part. Now it's down to century-old tradition of walking 300. I no longer feel that we can from the Old Bailey to Tyburn in put up a case that justifies the the footsteps of the 16th- and 17th- inconvenience to other citizens." century martyrs who were Mgr Stark spoke of the embardragged through London's streets rassment he and others felt one on hurdles before being hung, year when police had to hold up drawn and quartered at the three full double-decker buses for Tyburn gallows. 20 minutes so a few hundred pilMgr Stark said the last straw grims could process through the came after police stopped the busy capital. 1998 procession from entering Since then, he said, the guild has Oxford Street because of Sunday come under increasing pressure shopping and traffic congestion. to re-route the walk or eliminate He told Britain's Catholic Times, it completely. based in Manchester: "Thirty "As wonderful as it is, things years ago, there were 3,000 peo- can't go on forever," he said. 'If

you don't walk up Oxford Street, it's not a Tyburn walk." Bishop Thomas McMahon of Brentwood, one of the leaders of the walk, said that the decision to end the two-mile pilgrimage was a "casualty of our age." Mgr Stark said that 1,700 British pounds (US$2,600) spent on the event each year would be better channelled into poorer parishes. The Guild of Our Lady of Ransom is dedicated to the conversion of England and Wales. It upholds Catholic heritage but also provides financial support to poor parishes.

International News

Century's martyrs ho oured killed in the death camps. Although the story of murdered ROME (CNS) - Before the ruins Archbishop Oscar Romero of San of Rome's Colosseum, a symbol Salvador was not among 16 choof early Christian martyrdom, sen to represent Christian sufferPope John Paul H paid tribute to ing around the world, he was the Christians who gave their lives for only person named in the prayer for the 20th-century martyrs of their faith in the 20th century. the Americas. "And there were many," the The prayer honoured "zealous Pope said on 7 May as he led an ecumenical prayer service hon- pastors like the unforgettable ouring Christian victims of Oscar Romero, killed at the altar Nazism, Communism, dictator- while celebrating the eucharistic ships, civil wrs and "religious sacrifice" in 1980. The ecumenical and internaintransigence.' In preparation for the ceremony, tional nature of Christian sufferthe Vatican collected more than ing was highlighted by the 12,000 names of "witnesses to the vestments of the clergy who faith" from bishops' conferences, joined Pope John Paul, by the 17 religious orders and other Christ- languages used for the prayers and testimonies, and by the ian churches. "They are men and women of Ukrainian, German, Filipino, every land and people, they African and Armenian choirs who belong to every church and Chris- sang during the service. In his homily, Pope John Paul tian community, they are of all ages and callings," Pope John Paul said the Colosseum and "the monsaid during the evening service uments and ruins of ancient Rome speak to humanity of the which was punctuated by rain. The Christian churches' shared sufferings and persecutions experience of martyrdom for, endured with fortitude by our Christ "is a heritage which speaks forebears in the faith, the Chrismore powerfully than all the caus- tians of the first generations." But in the 20th century. "perhaps es of division," he said. More than 24 leaders from 19 even more than in the first period Christian churches joined Pope of Christianity, there has been a John Paul, reciting prayers and vast number of men and women reading brief testimonies from a who bore witness to the faith representative group of Catholics. through sufferings that were often Orthodox. Anglicans and Protes- heroic." In the Nazi death camps, the tants killed around the world. In honouring Christians killed Soviet gulags, in the jungles and for their faith by the Nazis, the chapels and seminaries of Africa service also remembered "their and Latin America, in Japan's brothers and sisters of the first South Pacific prison camps and in covenant" - the millions of Jews Chinese prisons, Christians died By Cindy Wooden

said the Pope. "My priesthood, from its very beginning, was marked by the great sacrifice of countless men and women of my generation." Pope John Paul said the names and the stories of the new martyrs must not be forgotten not only because of how they died, but also because they can be powerful examples of faith and hope for generations to come. "Where hatred seemed to corrupt the whole of life, leaving no escape from its logic, they proved that 'love is stronger than death,— he said. "Countless numbers refused to yield to the cult of the false gods of the 20th century and were sacrificed by Communism. Nazism, by the idolatry of State or race," the Pope said. "Many others fell in the course of ethnic or tribal wars, because they had rejected a way of thinking foreign to the Gospel of Christ." The modern world, he said, "often scorns and rejects" the idea of giving your life for your faith, for another person or for an ideal because it sees "love of self' as the supreme good. But the 20th-century martyrs Pope John Paul II enters Rome's Colosseum for an ecumenical prayer service "did not consider their own honouring Christian martyrs of the 20th century on 7 May. advantage, their own well-being, their own survival as greater valfor refusing to deny their faith and martyrs. ues than fidelity to the Gospel." Gospel principles. "The generation to which I In his homily, Pope John Paul belong experienced the horror of he said. "Despite all their weakness, they said his personal experience in war, the concentration camps, vigorously resisted evil," the Pope Poland during World War H and persecution," he said. afterward under Communism "I myself am a witness of much said. "In their fragility, the power prompted his call for an ecu- pain and many trials, having seen of the faith and of the Lord's grace menical commemoration of new these in the years of my youth," shined forth."

Spontaneous pro-life protest dramatises O'Connor funeral NEW YORK (CNS) - Church and civic sor, Archbishop lakovos, long a noted eculeaders turned out in force for the funeral menical leader in the United States. on 8 May of New York Cardinal John Former US President George Bush also O'Connor at St Patrick's Cathedral. sat with Cardinal O'Connor's family. The 80-year-old cardinal, who died on 3 Over the weekend thousands attended May after an eight-month battle with cannumerous masses in St Patrick's to say their cer, was Archbishop of New York for 16 final goodbyes to Cardinal O'Connor. years. The Monday afternoon funeral Mass was Fifteen cardinals, more than 100 bishops, carried live on national television. President Clinton and former President In an earlier statement Cardinal Law sumBush were among the dignitaries attending marised the late cardinal's Church career the two-hour funeral Mass. with the comment, "There was a transparA dramatic demonstration arose spontaent consistency to his teaching, making it neously when the homilist. Cardinal impossible to pigeonhole him as a 'conBernard Law of Boston, said Cardinal servative' or 'liberal.' No one in the history O'Connor's "great legacy" was "his conof the Church in the United States has been stant reminder that the Church must more powerful in advocating the inviolable always be unambiguously pro-life." dignity of every human person." Some in the cathedral began applauding, Scores of Catholic cardinals, bishops and others joined them and, as the applause representatives of other religious faiths went on and on, growing in volume, it took up places of honour for the Mass. seemed evident much of the congregation Before the funeral, Cardinal O'Connor's wanted to send a message to public offibody lay on view in the cathedral 5-8 May. cials and candidates for office in the front Except during the special Masses and pews. wake and vigil services that filled the catheThey included President Clinton and his dral, a steady stream of mourners filed past wife, Hillary, as well as the two main canthe casket. didates for the presidency, Vice President They formed a line that stretched out the Al Gore and Texas Governor George W Mourners pack St Patrick's Cathedral to pay doors and at times filled the sidewalk in tribute to Cardinal John O'Connor on 6 May in front of the cathedral, going back and forth Bush. As the two-minute ovation continued, New York. Thousands waited to file past the along the entire block in front. people began standing in a wave that open casket of the cardinal the weekend before Among the memorial Masses was one in Photo CNS Todd Plitt began at the back and quickly filled the his funeral Mass. Spanish for the archdiocese's large Hisentire church, including the hundreds of - the celebration of the Eucharist - "was at panic community, another for archdiocepriests in the congregation and the dozens the heart qf his life each day." san employees and religious, another of cardinals, archbishops and bishops celebrating the cardinal's special love for He said Cardinal O'Connor was "unremitaround the altar. ting in his defence of the life of the unborn children, youth and the disabled. Eventually the Clintons and Gores also as well as his support of the value of human A midday Mass on Sunday was devoted rose to their feet, although they did not life to the moment of natural death." to Cardinal O'Connor's long pastoral minapplaud. The late cardinal opposed euthanasia, he istry, with special emphasis on his 27 years At the end Cardinal O'Connor's body was said. "He denounced capital punishment," as a Navy chaplain. entombed in the crypt below the main altar he added. Born in Philadelphia on 15 January, 1920, of St Patrick's. "He championed the rights of workers. John Joseph O'Connor was ordained a The chief concelebrant was Cardinal He worked for a just peace in the Middle priest of that archdiocese in 1945. Angelo Sodano, Vatican secretary of state. East and Northern Ireland.... What a great For the next seven years he taught high In his homily, Cardinal Law said Cardinal legacy he has left us in his consistent school and did advanced studies, earning O'Connor "was a man of profound and reminder that the Church must also be master's degrees in ethics and clinical psyuncomplicated faith in a good and gracious unambiguously pm-life." chology. He later earned a doctorate in God who has revealed himself in Christ Among non-Catholic church leaders political science. Jesus." He became a Navy chaplain in 1952 and attending the funeral were Archbishop Those who knew the late cardinal, he Dimitrios of the Greek Orthodox Archdio- served in Korea, Japan and Vietnam and on said, "know that what we do at this altar" cese of America and his retired predeces- vessels in the Atlantic, Caribbean and

Mediterranean. His 1968 book. A Chaplain Looks at Vietnam. reflected on his years there with the 3rd Marine Division. In 1972 he was made the first Catholic chief chaplain of the US Naval Academy. From 1975 until his retirement from the military in 1979 he waSNavy chief of chaplains. Pope John Paul II personally ordained him a bishop in 1979, making him an auxiliary bishop of the Military Vicariate, the non-military ecclesiastical structure which at that time oversaw Catholic chaplains in the armed forces. In 1983 he was appointed Bishop of Scranton, Pennsylvania. He was named Archbishop of New York in 1984 and became a cardinal the following year. Nationally Cardinal O'Connor was noted for his work on the US bishops' 1983 peace pastoral, his vigorous pro-life work and opposition to abortion, his promotion of Catholic-Jewish relations, his efforts for peace in the Middle East and his defence of Church teaching on homosexuality. New Yorkers also saw the cardinal as their local bishop and pastor - a man who personally engaged in ministry to people with AIDS, who extended an open invitation to any woman considering an abortion to come to him for help, who went out into the community to ease racial tensions, who studied Spanish in order to serve the Hispanic community better. Following surgery for a brain tumour last August, Cardinal O'Connor initially resumed limited work, but he never fully recovered and following a trip to Rome in February he weakened rapidly. Among those with him when he died in his residence were his sister, Mary Therese O'Connor Ward, other family members and a few close friends, including Cardinal Law and Cardinal William Baum, an American who heads the Apostolic Penitentiary at the Vatican. Accolades poured in after the cardinal's death. In an unusually personal comment, Pope John Paul II said, 'Through the years he has been of great support to me in the service of the universal Church." The Record, May 11 2000 Page 13

Asian Catholic News

Priest killed in hostage fight

Photo CNS/Reuters

A Catholic nun at a hospitalIn Isabela, Philippines, consoles Pamela Mendoza, 13, who was taken hostage by rebels on Basilian Island. She and her sister were among 15 Filipino hostages rescued on 3 May.

MANILA, Philippines (CNS) Fifteen hostages seized by the Muslim extremist Abu Sayyaf group in the southern Philippines were freed on the 12th day of a military rescue operation, but four hostages died, including a Claretian priest. The remains of Father Rhoel Gallardo, pastor of St Vincent Ferrer Parish in Tumahubong, were among four battered bodies recovered on 3 May by the military, Father Martin Jumoad told UCA News, an Asian church news agency based in Thailand. Father Jumoad, chancellor of Isabela prelature comprising Basilan province, received the bodies of Father Gallardo, a male and two female teachers at a funeral home nine kilometres outside the capital town of Isabela. One of the women was a teacher at the Claret School of

Chinese Catholics face more persecutions HONG KONG (CNS) - armed police soon arrived and Catholics of the underground dispersed the crowd. They Church in Wenzhou Diocese, checked every household and eastern China, continued to forbade anyone from going out experience suppression during until 11 pm. Holy Week and Easter, Catholic On Good Friday, 21 April, sources said. about 100 Catholics gathered at In places where Church mem- 2 am in front of the church and bers refused to sign a prepared prayed for two hours. paper agreeing to join the govSome 300 Catholics prayed the ernment-approved Chinese Way of the Cross in the afterCatholic Patriotic Association, noon. the churches were closed down On Easter morning, officials and the members harassed, as from Lupu town and more than in Linjia village in Lupu town. 30 police officers went to the vilCangnan County, the sources lage again, but the Catholics had told UCA News, an Asian church gone to celebrate Easter in other news agency based in Thailand. parishes in the county. On Palm Sunday, 16 April, at 7 In their anger, the officials am, some 30 officers from the destroyed the church, the source Lupu police station dispersed said. Catholics who were praying in Since September, local gova house next to the church that ernments in Wenzhou Diocese was closed earlier. have been forcing the underDuring the following days, ground Catholics to join the town government officials came local Catholic Patriotic AssociaIn batches of about 20 every day tion, which publicly spurns ties to allegedly destroy the church to the Vatican. and disrupt religious activities. Since then, clandestinely On 20 April at 8 am, town and ordained Bishop James Lin Xi11 county government officials and of Wenzhou and five of his some 130 police officers arrived priests have been detained, one at the village. after the other. They cut the electrical supply • A top Vatican official praised to the church, locked the church Chinese Catholics' fidelity to the with iron chains and nailed the Pope despite persecution, and door to prevent anyone from urged them to continue working entering. for unity despite government Despite the harassment, attempts to divide the church. church members gathered to Celebrating Mass for the 50th pray outside the church. They anniversary of Vatican Radio's were dispersed at 7:30 pm. Chinese program, Cardinal When they gathered again jozef Tomko, prefect of the Conlater along the road in front of gregation for the Evangelisation the church to pray the rosary, of Peoples, said religious believabout 100 government and ers in China, especially security officials stationed in the Catholics, had come under "stiff village rushed in and beat up persecution" in the past five the Catholics. More than 60 decades.

Tumahubong. "All their heads were blasted. There were big holes in the back of the heads, and the brains were all blown out. The women's breasts were separated from their chest," Father Jumoad said by telephone on 3 May. He rejected television news reports that the dead were killed "by stray bullets in the cross fire" saying, "These were brutal executions." Associates of Father Gallardo, 34, said he was tortured in captivity; his nails were pulled out and he was beaten daily, reported Reuters, the British news agency. In a telegram to Archbishop Orlando Quevedo of Cotabato, president of the Philippine bishops' conference, Pope John Paul II said he was "greatly saddened by the news of the killing of various hostages." He extended condo-

lences to the families of those killed and appealed to the captors to release the 10 remaining hostages. He also appealed to all sides in the conflict to "renounces the ways of violence ... and to return to peaceful negotiation." Fides, the Vatican's missionary news agency, cited sources as saying Father Gallardo had been killed by a blow to the temple and his body showed signs of beatings. The priest's body was to be taken to Zamboanga for a funeral Mass, then buried in Olongapo, where he was born, the agency said. Father Nestor Baranga, rector of the school where Father Gallardo taught and one of the negotiators appointed to talk with the rebels and hostages, told Fides that the last time he saw the priest, he was

tired but still hopeful. "He continued to criticise the kidnappers for violence against children. He was not interested in himself," said Father Baranga. Fides said that despite the mounting violence, missionaries were staying put. "We are not afraid," said Claretian Father Santiago Gonzalez Gomez, the order's second-highest official. "We are prepared for martyrdom." On 22 April, the military attacked Abu Sayyaf's Camp Abdurajak, where the extremists held 29 of some 50 hostages they seized from Tumahubong on 20 March. The other hostages had been freed. When army troops reached the mountaintop fort on April 30, all they found were abandoned shacks, hunkers and deep tunnels.

Church leaders appeal to Indian PM NEW DELHI (UCAN) - Indian Catholic Church leaders in a meeting with Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on 6 May appealed for the safety of Christians in the wake of continued attacks on missioners. Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI) president Archbishop Alan de Lastic of Delhi and five other leaders told Vajpayee that. their community is "extremely sorry to note" the continuing attacks on Christians. Since January this year, some 30 attacks on Christians have been reported from various parts of the country, a majority of which were committed in India's predominantly Hindu northern region, the Church officials said. In the con-

tinuing incidents, Christian insti- ,and to include officials from the tutions have been vandalised, state government's education priests and nuns attacked and department in their management. holy places desecrated despite • The Catholic Bishops' Conferthe prime minister "expressing ence of India (CBCI) and the concern over these attacks two National Council of Churches in weeks ago," the leaders said in a India (NCCI) maintain that the letter they handed to Vajpayee. proposed Draft Christian Mar• Elsewhere. Church schools in riage Bill 2000 violates Christians' Uttar Pradesh are protesting the fundamental rights. northern state's new set of school The new draft makes it illegal to directives, which school officials officiate a marriage between a consider arbitrary scrutiny. Christian and a non-Christian in "The government has come up a church. Such marriages will with a novel method to impose now have to be registered under pressure and harass Christian a Special Marriage Act. institutions," said Bishop Albert The bill also makes priests conD'Souza of Lucknow, comment- ducting marriages liable for up to ing on recent directives which ask 10 years imprisonment. including all Church schools to renew their a fine, if they fail to follow preregistration "from time to time" scribed conditions.

Some Ambon Easter calm TUAL, Indonesia (UCAN) - Semarang archdiocesan episcoIndonesian Catholics attending pal vicar for Yogyakarta, told some Holy Week services at St Francis 100 Catholic leaders meeting on Xavier Church in Tual, Maluku, 23 April that Catholics should be worried only that they will not vigilant since Yogyakarta has have a seat in church if they came become the centre for Muslim late, and nothing more. paramilitary recruits from Java. The restoration of peace and About 10,000 Islamic holy war order in the province after a year fighters accommodated in of bloody conflict has allowed Yogyakarta are ready for dispatch Catholics in Tual to celebrate Holy to Christian-Muslim conflict areas Week and Easter peacefully, as in in Maluku and North Maluku "normal" years, Church observers provinces, local sources said. noted. • A' fresh sectarian clash took "We feel a difference between place in Ambon, capital of celebrating Easter in 2000 and in Maluku province in eastern the past year," said a local lay Indonesia, a few days after Vice leader. One said that in 1999 President Megawatt SukarnopuCatholics in his parish station did tri visited the area. not celebrate Holy Week and Violence broke out 30 April in Easter because almost all of them Mardika district, the same area had fled to the forests or other where 15 months of sectarian consafe places to escape riots. flict across the Maluku islands The Muslim-Christian clashes started last January, local media in Ambon, the province capital, in reported. The Jakarta Post, said mid-January 1999, peaked in Tual that at least six people were killed just before Holy Week. and 50 others were injured on 30 • Father Ignatius Jayasewaya, April.

Letter to Buddhists VATICAN CITY (CNS) - Writing to Buddhists on their principal religious feast, the Vatican's top interreligious official said believers other than Christians have something to receive from Christ's message. Released at the Vatican on 4 May, the message from Cardinal Francis Arinze, president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, was addressed to the world's 354 million Buddhists for the feast of Vesakh, commemorating the principal events in the life of Guatama Siddhartha, Buddhism's founder. Christ's self-sacrifice for the salvation of others goes beyond similar Buddhist ideals, the Cardinal said.

Vatican, Vietnam closer but nation's Catholics still suffer for their faith

VATICAN CITY (CNS) - Following the return of a Vatican delegation from Vietnam, the Holy See and the communist state appeared closer to resolving outstanding Issues, said the Vatican spokesman. In talks with the Vietnamese Assistant Foreign Minister and the Minister for Religious Affairs, "the nomination of bishops was discussed, for which an answer from the Vietnamese side is expected in the near future," spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said in a statement on 8 May. Mgr Celestino Migliore, an assistant secretary of state, and Mgr Barnabe Nguyen Van Phuong of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples met government The Record, May 11 2000 Page 14

and Church officials during a 2-7 May trip. Episcopal appointments have long been a point of contention between the Vatican and Vietnam. Nominations must be sent to the Vietnamese government for approval before candidates can be appointed. Vietnam, however, often takes a year or more to accept the Vatican's suggestions, leaving many posts vacant in the meantime. In some instances the government refuses the nomination altogether. Navarro-Valls said the two parties also discussed diplomatic relations. The Holy See and Vietnam do not have diplomatic ties, although talks have been in progress for some time. The delegation

celebrated Mass on 4 May in the cathedral of Phu Cuong, where the "numerous faithful present there expressed their deep communion with the Pope," said Navarro-Valls. According to the latest Vatican statistics, the Catholic community in Vietnam numbers about 5 million people, about 8 per cent of the population. Meanwhile, the Canadian Centre for Faith and Public Life has published information, which is attested by the experience of Protestants in the country, on the persecution suffered by Christians in Vietnam. A researcher for the Evangelical Faith and Public Life Centre interviewed Fr Huan, an elderly priest in a large diocese near Hanoi,

whose story is typical of the situation in Vietnam. He is the sole ordained priest who can care for 24 Catholic communities with a total of 16,000 faithful. Fr Huan said there is another priest who ministers to 47 Catholic communities, including seven churches the size of cathedrals. However, in many places the Catholic Church is growing thanks to the conversion of adults. Catholics meet in small groups to study the New Testament, which has been given to them by Biblical societies. The Centre's researcher said that it is quite probable that the present persecution is caused by this growth.

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'THANKS PRAYER TO ST JUDE. May the Sacred Heart of Jesus be adored and glorified, loved and preserved throughout the world, now and forever. Amen. Sacred Heart of Jesus pray for us and St Jude worker of miracles pray for us. Mary Mother of Jesus pray for us. Say this prayer along with 1 Our Father and 1 Hail Mary for 3 days. M.J.O.

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MAY 8-18 Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference - Archbishop Hickey, Bishop Healy 16 Inaugural Breakfast Launch of the St Vincent de Paul Business Appeal - Rev Fr Tim Corcoran 19

Celebration of International Jubilee Day for Clergy, New Norcia Archbishop Hickey

Confirmation, Bentley - Archbishop Hickey

Confirmation, Doubleview - Mgr J O'Shea

2-25 Clergy Seminar - Archbishop Hickey, Bishop Healy

Archdiocesan Panorama GRAFFITI AND OTHER STUFF AT AQUINAS From 1pm Sat 13 May til dawn on Sun. CYM is hosting a youth expo called Big Day In. Sporting c ompetitions. workshops, Youth Mass, bush dance, dawn peace vigil, all night movies, coffee shop & prayer and a graffiti board. Call Catholic Youth Ministry for more info on 9221 5904 or check out www.cymperth.iinet.net.au PRAYER VIGIL A peaceful prayer vigil with Rosaries and hymns is made outside the abortion clinic at 2 Cleaver Tce Rivervale every third Saturday of each month. f rom 11am to 12 noon. The next vigil will be on Sat 20 May. Please join us. Inq: Damian 9341 8256.

ilies. and anyone with problems. Please bring photo for those being prayed for. They will be offered up to God at the Offertory. Photos will be returned after Mass. PRAYER NIGHT INNALOO Conducted by Fr Paul Baczynski at St Dominic's Church, 19 Phillips Grove. lnnaloo (cnr Beatrice St and Phillips Grove) on Mon 15 May from 7-9pm. This prayer evening is for healing and also for those and their families affected by addictions. It includes Holy Mass. Rosary and Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. All are welcome. PENTECOST JUBILEE CELEBRATION

Sat 27 May. 9am to 5.30pm, Redemptorist Monastery, 190 Vincent St. North Perth. Fr Hugh Thomas will lead a day of prayer and reflection on vocation. Lunch provided. RSVP Thurs 25 May. Inquiries: 9328 6600.

A Charismatic Rally will be held Pentecost Sunday. 2pm till 5.30pm at the Bethel Centre. 236 Railway Pde. West Leederville. Joyous praise with talk and Benediction followed by a time of fellowship. A sausage sizzle follows. The Rally will introduce Fr Hugh Thomas, Redemptorist. All are welcome. Inquiries: 9246 2769.

HOLY HOUR FOR VOCATIONS

HOLY FACE OF JESUS PRAYER GROUP

Sat 27 May, 10-11am at the Redemptorist Monastery. North Perth with exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. All are welcome.

Tues 16 May at Holy Trinity Church. 8 Burnett St. Embleton, beginning at 7.30pm with Adoration, followed by prayer meeting. Please bring a plate to share a 'cuppa'.

DAY OF PRAYER FOR YOUNG MEN

FALLOWNESS - A TIME TO LISTEN Irene McCormack - Continuing the story... The 9th anniversary of Irene McCormack and Companions will be celebrated on Sun 21 May at 3pm in St Joseph's Chapel. It will be a time of reflection and prayer. All will be welcome and also to share in the afternoon tea. Srs of St Joseph Convent Chapel, 16 York St, South Perth. Contact phone 9474 3349, fax 9368 2018. THE SPIRITUALITY OF HURTS Transforming our wounds - The spirituality of Hurts. Grief and Loss. Presenters: Br Rob Stewart, OFM, Murray Graham and Panel. Multi-purpose room, John XXIII College Mt Claremont. 7.30-9.30pm, Wed 17 May. Donation for !nig° Centre. Inquiries: 9383 0421. ST JOSEPH OF THE ETERNAL FAMILY Mass celebrated at Sacred Heart parish, 50 Mary St Highgate, 18 May at 7.30pm. All are welcome for a call to prayer through Mass to pray for fam-

HOLY SPIRIT SEMINAR 10 weeks, commencing Thurs 25/5. 11am at Stella Mans Seafarers Chapel. 12 Queen Victoria St, Fremantle. Info: Mandy 9418 2224. Eva 9418 1439. STAND UP FOR LIFE Life Chain Thurs 25 May. 7-9am along Causeway. Collect signs at either end from 6.30am. Rally for Life Thurs 25 May. 12 noon at Parliament House. (Ecumenical) Memorial Service for victims of Abortion Sun 28 May at South Perth Church of Christ, Murray St & McNab Crt. Como. Speakers: A rchbishop Hickey, Rev Nugent. Inq: 9321 2822. SEMINARS FOR THE GREAT JUBILEE Seminars are held at the Thomas More Centre Off ices, 949 Wellington St. West Perth on Sundays at 7.30pm. The next seminar on "Redemption: The Scandal of the Cross- will be held on Sun 21 May. Inq: Richard Egan 9321 2822.

GST tops agenda for money men Continued from Page 3 Instead, he said, the role of financial administrators had been set out clearly in Church law, Canon 2184, and that was to implement the policy of the Archbishop or Bishop of a diocese as advised by their finance councils. 'So, we're not policy makers,' he said, adding a little while later: 'We all know [Canon 2184] off by heart: Mr Andrew said Church financial administrators had to keep an eye on two sets of laws: Canon Law and secular law. Fr Lucas said it was impossible to assess the financial worth of the Church in Australia in any meaningful way. 'For example,' he said, 'the valuation on buildings would be impossible; some are actually liabilities because of restoration and renovation costs.' Or, he asked, "what's a second-hand school

worth?' Fr Lucas said that since the introduction of the new Code of Canon Law approximately 20 years ago the level of professionalism in the field of Church financial administration had constantly been on the increase. This was especially so as the role had taken on a new significance as Church organisation and business arrangements expanded and became more and more complex. These days, he said, financial administrators were highly-qualified technically and usually come from successful careers in secular business and management. However, Fr Lucas pointed out as he gestured around the table where his colleagues were eating lunch, 'I think a number of those who have made the choice to work here have done so for reasons of personal vocation.'

Archbishop asks for views on local synod for Perth Continued from Page 1 When Archbishop Hickey reported on the Oceania Synod in Rome to the Archdiocese in two public meetings at the end of January 1999, he said that he was considering calling a synod for the Archdiocese of Perth in 2001. At the time he said an archdiocesan synod would continue the momentum at a local level of the Oceania synod and Pope John

Paul II's apostolic exhortation on the synod when it was published. The exhortation will be released when Pope John Paul travels to Oceania, possibly to Noumea in New Caledonia after Easter 2001.

The last synod in the Archdiocese of Perth took place in 1940. Only priests attended and it was held to consider Church regulations. Archbishop Hickey said in January

last year that synods could be called under the authority given to a diocesan bishop by Canons 460-467 of the Code of Canon Law. These set out, among other things, how the membership of the synod will be determined. Some participants would attend by virtue of their position in the archdiocese and others according to selection procedures set by the bishop. The canons also rule that

the synod's conclusions are consultative in nature: only the bishop can accept and sign a decree from the synod. If Perth does have a synod in the near future it will be only the second Australian diocese to have one that included all levels of a local Church. Archbishop Francis Carroll of Canberra and Goulburn convened the first such diocesan synod in Australia in 1989.

The Record, May 11 2000 Page 15

St Jude's Catholic Primary School Langford

'Tabloid' sports help celebrate 21 years of energy, welcome F

riday 5 May was a big day for St Jude's school in Langford. On that day the school celebrated its 21st birthday. It was a special day. In the morning, the whole school attended a paraliturgy of thanks for 21 years of Catholic education at St Jude's. Afterwards a treat came when the Parents and Friends Association distributed ice-cream. Later, students prepared materials for a time capsule. Competitive fun added to the day with a tabloid sports afternoon where, instead of a full-on' sports carnival, students are divided into small groups, and spend 10 minutes or so competing in a variety of activities. For example, last Friday saw students play 10-minute soccer games, or run relays, or do 10 minutes of aerobics or 10 minutes of skipping. But it also saw them get short rest and relaxation breaks and spend 10 minutes at a time in meditation. A special Mass saw the school community join to celebrate the first 21 years of St Jude's, followed by a relaxing and very social sausage sizzle. What a day! But what is St Jude's? Part of the answer can be seen in the school logo. The first two letters in Greek of the name of Jesus Christ stand surrounded by small figures holding hands in an open circle that is indicative of the always-welcoming spirit that exists at the school. The open hands symbolise reaching out to, and welcoming, others. The strength of the school is therefore its warmth, its heart, its intimacy and its energy Parents and teachers work together to provide the challenge and support that children need to grow in wisdom and self-confidence, to be learners for life. Part of the warmth comes from the families themselves, who serve on the school board and are involved with the P & F Equipment provided by their fundraising has included library and computer resources, musical

At 21 years of age St Jude's, offers the best in education conducted within a community dedicated to welcoming.

Preparing tor 21st celebrations. instruments and playground and sporting equipment. Among events they have organised are sausage sizzles, walkathons, fashion parades and assembly morning teas. Meanwhile, through religious education children learn about their faith, develop an understanding of the Gospel and grow in their knowledge of the liturgy. The RE program includes classroom instruction, time to pray together, paraliturgies and celebration of the Eucharist. At the same time the Sacramental program is designed to support faith development in the

Students experience the world of information technology with computers. home, so staff at the school work with parents, the parish priest and parishioners to prepare children for their reception of the Sacraments. Spelling, reading, writing, listening and speaking are integrated into the school's programs, while children needing challenge or support are catered for through special intervention and extension programs. Students develop

Ship ahoy! - having fun in the playground in an old motorboat.

mathematical skills through 'hand-on', 'brains-on' experiences. Students in Years Two, Three and Four are grouped in junior reading groups according to their First Steps developmental phase for daily comprehension lessons. Those in Years Five to Seven experience their learning in mixed multi-age groups, and for three afternoons a week they move between several teachers who develop their skills in specialist areas such as music and singing, library resources studies, art and craft and physical education. Also included is an extra emphasis chosen each year, such as life skills, media studies or technology and enterprise. Children of all ages at the school also have the opportunity to use and come to experience the world of computers and information technology. At the same time, they develop skills using a variety of software packages, learning how to present ideas through word processing,

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The Record, May 11 2000 Page 16

Principal: Sr Jilyan Dingle (acting) Telephone: (08) 9458 4547 Fax (08) 9356 5486 Address: Barnston Way, Langford WA 6147 Enrolment: 200 boys & girls Email: stjudes@wantree.com.au Webpage: www.stjudes.edwa.net.au

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database and spreadsheets, and to search for information, through CD Rom and the Internet. At least two computers are also in each classroom to enhance learning. A mediator program for children In upper Primary classes sees mediators on duty to help children overcome any playtime conflicts. Year Seven committees exist where every child has leadership role in an area they're interested in eg. the environment or special events. Library classes include children being involved in Resource-Based Learning. In the clubs program, who could resist signing up for 'An Asian Adventure,' Kids on the Kitchen,' `Greenfingers,"Public Speaking,' or 'Jewellery Making"? Both a kindergarten and pre-primary exist at St Jude's, with the focus of the former on the social and emotional development of the child. In pre-primary, a more developed learning can take place, with pre-primary children also taking part in activities with the rest of the school such as assemblies, Mass and singing. This is just a snapshot of life at St Jude's after 21 years, where life and learning are not only challenging and varied - but fun too!

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