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WA's only Catholic weekly newspaper

Jesuits relinquish St Thomas More College

Harry Potter: innocent or threatening?

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Evolution vs Creation: are you a monkey's uncle? - Page 8

Hundreds honour priest who died praying Rosary By Peter Rosengren

Although one Archbishop, three Bishops and more than 60 priests of the Archdiocese of Perth concelebrated his Requiem Mass, in the end it was the parishioners and congregation of St Michael's, Bassendean, who became for a short while the most eloquent testimony to the life and work of Fr Alexius Morahan. St Michael's parish priest, who would have turned 80 on Mon-

day, died of a massive heart attack after celebrating Mass and while saying the Rosary on Wednesday morning, 13 July. At his funeral Mass on Thesday morning this week in the parish church he had served for 29 years, hundreds of people came to grieve, and to show the love and affection in which they held their former pastor. Not even standing room was left and the crowd spilled outside onto the steps of the church. Many were former parishioners who had travelled from all over Perth and further abroad to be there. The event was the biggest at St Michael's for years. Police cordoned off the street leading to the church and redirected traffic to alternative parking sites. Afterwards, hundreds of mourners formed an honour guard along both sides of Hamilton Street as a hearse carried away Fr Morahan's mortal remains. Not bad for a man who, in his younger days, had been asked by his first seminary in Ireland not to return to his studies because he was too light-hearted to be a priest but who, it was revealed, as a priest would rise at 4.30am every morning of his life to begin his day in prayer. And as the massive turnout for Fr Morahan's funeral proved, he had been in parishioners' eyes a pastor and a priest par excellence. After all, they were the fruits of

his years of dedicated work. In his homily, Archbishop Barry Hickey paid tribute to Fr Morahan's years of dedication, telling the congregation that when final arrangements for the funeral were being planned he had wondered if the church would be big enough to hold everyone. "But really, what better place could we find than the parish church in which he was pastor for 29 years," he said. "Therefore it is appropriate to farewell Father Alex from here the parish that he loved." He described Fr Morahan as it quiet priest who had "devoted himself completely to the spiritual welfare of his parishioners." To his brother priests, Fr Morahan had embodied the ideal of a priest, he said, a fact attested by the turnout of Perth priests for the funeral. "He was not well known. He did not hold high office (in the Church). He was not in the public eye - but the response has been great." he said. Continued on Page 4

Bishop Peter Quinn of Bunbury, at left Fr Hubert Kelly, retired Bishop Myles McKeown of Bunbury, Archbishop Barry Hickey and Auxiliary Bishop Robert Healy were just some of the approximately 70 clergy who concelebrated Fr Alex Morahan's funeral Mass at St Michael's Church in Bassendean on Tuesday morning.

As students of St Michael's school in Bassendean formed an honour guard durThe nephew of the late parish priest, also named Fr Alex Morahan, places a ing the Mass, Archbishop Hickey received gifts symbolising Fr Morahan's picture on top of the coffin that a young girl had drawn for the dead priest. priestly ministry to place atop the coffin.

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A priest centred on Jesus, Mary, his HOCK T

The late Fr Alexius Morahan - typified the ideals of the good pastor of souls.

he sudden death of Father Alex Morahan of the Parish of Bassendean, on the eve of his 80th birthday, has profoundly affected priests and people around the Archdiocese. It was not so much his sudden death that affected people. It was more the realisation that a man who typified the ideals of the good pastor of souls had left us. The manner of his passing summed up his life. He had accepted, without question, that as a priest, he should centre his life around the Blessed Eucharist, have a tender love for the Virgin Mary, and care of his people. On the eve of his 80th birthday Fr Morahan celebrated his morning Mass in his parish church with his people, knelt down afterwards to say the Rosary and while doing so, succumbed to a sudden heart attack and died there in the Church with his people around him. His fellow priests have been moved by the manner of his passing, commenting that it was the

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way he would have wanted to go. Over the past thirty years the Catholic Priesthood has been wrestling with problems of identity. The rapid changes in the Church and in the world have prompted a re-examination of the role of the priest. Some have wanted the priest to be a leader in social reform, one who would take the Church out of the 'ghetto' into the world, in order to make the Faith more relevant to the realities of modern life. Others have tried to dismantle the authority of the priest and his traditional privileged status to allow the emergence of lay leaders in the Church. Contemporaneously with these strong forces the priesthood has been wracked with scandals as the sins of some have made headlines. Loss of morale, of identity and of public respect have followed. There is no doubt that the priesthood has had to take account of the changes sweeping the western world without losing the

vision or the call of the priesthood. Certain features remain central, one of which is the deep connection with the Sacramental presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. As the priest is called to celebrate Mass for the people, it follows that he must not only know the theology of the Eucharistic Sacrifice, but love the Mass and love the person of Jesus who becomes present as Priest and Victim. Another central and indispensable feature of the priesthood is being a Good Shepherd to the people in preaching the Word of God, in offering spiritual nourishment to them, and in being a father, brother or friend to people in their sorrows and their joys. One wants to see the priest active in the world at large in order to bring to it the Good News of the Gospel. One also wants to see the emergence of lay leaders to carry out the imperatives of their Baptism and Confirmation. None of this takes away the unique role of the ordained priest. It was his unquestioned fidelity

Perspective to the call of his priesthood which Fr Morahan heard at his ordination 51 years ago that has had such a profound Impact on priest and people alike. May he rest in peace.

Doctor opposes heroin rooms By Glynnis Grainger A Perth Catholic doctor who treats drug addicts disagrees with Perth's Anglican Archbishop Peter Carnley's push for free heroin and injecting rooms. Archbishop Carnley is also the head of the Anglican Church in Australia. Dr Patrick Cranley, whose practice is in Leederville, told The Record last Thesday "first and foremost it is a very naive approach; it has been tried elsewhere throughout the world. It goes against the advice of the International Narcotics Control Board - one that takes a broad picture. "It has not been shown to work: it (injecting rooms) would be a magnet for dealers." Dr Cranley said the INCB had advised strongly against injecting rooms. "It doesn't discourage people (from) using drugs and what age group would you allow to use It," he asked. "In Perth we have 12 and 13year-old addicts. "If you are going to allow them to use injecting rooms, then you are not discouraging use." Dr Cranley said "People have to be discouraged from using

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drugs - anything that encourages it at all is not good. If you have a Government-sponsored hitting-up room [the] next step is to supply legalised heroin and that goes against [any] international agreement we have got." Dr Cranley said "you run into all sorts of legal problems. "If someone dies on your premises you may be legally

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The Record. July 20 2000 Page 2

Archbishop's

responsible. Even the Government could be responsible for having these rooms." Fr Paul Baczynski. of the Cross Roads Community. who works with drug addicts and other people with addictions, told The Record "basically it gets back to the dignity of the human person. "Jesus came to give life, but what drugs do is the opposite." Self-control and self-mastery are the freedom of life, Fr Baczynski said. There was a lot of emotional Injury that a person with an addiction is carrying throughout life, he said. "A child or young person growing up, if they don't receive love or occ.asional respect. they are injured." Fr Baczynski said Italian priest Fr Pierino had 200 farms for addicts worldwide and he has thousands of success stories. The Catholic Church also had thousands of success stories in the drug area. "Sooner or later someone is going to die here - in places such as that - and drugs are going to be used more openly," he said. "We say 'No because it is definitely not the answer."

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Jesuits to hand over St Thomas More

After a 46-year presence at St Thomas of the Sacred Heart priest, Fr Brian Boyle, More College, a Catholic residential col- is the new acting Dean of the University of lege for students studying at tertiary insti- Notre Dame Australia's Theology Faculty tutions in Perth, the Jesuit order will hand until the end of the year. over the administrative reins to a diocesan Fr Boyle, who also lives at St Thomas priest. More College, has been a lecturer for 18 The Provincial of the Jesuits, Fr Daven months in Old Testament Studies at NDA, Day, said Fr Kevin Long, who has been Vice- since arriving from Sydney. Rector of the College, has been appointed He told The Record Professor Michael Rector for the next three years by Arch- Jackson, Professor of Theology, had retired bishop Barry Hickey, who is chairman of as Dean, but would stay on as lecturer. the College council. Fr Boyle said he had been teaching at St The order was originally invited by Arch- Paul's National Seminary, which dosed two bishop Redmond Prendiville to administer years ago, and he came to NDA last year the college, which is situated on Mounts "Ihave been a priest for 22 years now and Bay Road in Crawley opposite the Univer- have always been a lecturer, or studying sity of WA, and the first Jesuit priest asso- overseas," he said. ciated with the institution was present as He is a graduate of the Pontifical Gregobuilding began in 1954. rian University, Rome, as a Doctor of Sacred There are changes of leadership in two Theology, after studying there from 1993 to other Catholic institutions in the metropol- 1997. itan area. Dr Wayne Tinsey is the first lay director The University of Notre Dame Australia's of the Catholic Institute, a tertiary educaTheology Faculty has a new acting Dean, tion body set up by the WA Conference of and the Catholic Institute has its first lay Bishops, to provide theological education director. for teachers in Catholic schools, adminisFather Day said:"Like many religious trators and staff of Church agencies, and orders, the Australian Jesuit Province is fac- other interested adults. ing a declining membership and beginning It was founded in 1975 and is based in to feel the consequent effects on our apos- Osborne Park. tolic works. His predecessors were directors Jesuit Fr "I reluctantly have to advise Council that John Prendiville, from 1975 - 1981; Jesuit Fr from the end of this year the Society will Joseph Sobb, 1982 - 1987; Brigidine Sister be withdrawing from the leadership of St Eleanor Carter, 1988 - 1999, and acting Thomas More College." director, Mrs Catherine Collins, 1999- end Last year, the rector, FY Theodore Over- of June, 2000. berg, a Jesuit, was suddenly appointed Dr Tinsey, 42, is married with two young novice master of the Jesuits. children, and comes from New South Fr Gerald Brennan SJ will continue as Wales. University of WA Catholic chaplain for at A teacher in primary and high schools, he least another three years and will live at worked in the Catholic Education Office in the College, but will not be rector. Toowoomba, Queensland, before the CEO Fr Long has been stationed at St Thomas In Lismore, NSW, where he was Director of More for 10 years in different positions, Religious Education in the Diocese. most of that time as vice-rector and acting He was also a lay missionary in Peru for rector. two-and-a-half years. He is in his seventh year as lecturer in While director, he will be lecturing in reliChurch History at NDA and is chairperson gious education at NDA. He gained his Docof the Ecumenical Affairs Committee for torate in Religious Education two years the Archdiocese. Meanwhile, a Missionary from the ACU. - Giynnis Grainger

Catholic Education helps make Aboriginal schools kit Schoolchildren from St Brigid's Primary School, Middle Swan, and St Joseph's Primary School, Moora, were among those attending the launch of an Aboriginal educational resource package by the Minister for Education Colin Barnett, at the Catholic Education Office last Tuesday. The educational initiative is the first of its kind in Australia and aims at improving numeracy and literacy standards of Aboriginal children while promoting a greater understanding of indigenous culture among non-Aboriginal students. It consists of a kit containing a number of books and games, such as the Noongar dictionary, maps, South West study tour, a poster and plays, which is available to all schools - Catholic, independent and Government - throughout the State. There was significant input from Aboriginal elders, students, historians and academics and was an initiative of the Catholic Education Office of WA in partnership with Murdoch University. Many Noongar people attended the launch and Noongar elder Fred Collard, a member of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation, said "It is a great day for the Aboriginal people." Mr Collard's son Leonard was one of those who contributed to the material, according to the Chancellor of Murdoch University. and former Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Fred Chaney. Children from St Brigid's, with their faces painted, performed a Noongar dance "around the campfire tonight" and another to the music of John Williamson's song It's Raining on the Rocks." Therese Temby, the

Student authors from St Joseph's Primary School, Moora, presented their books, an important pail of the resource kit, to Education Minister, Colin Barnett Director of Catholic Education, said that Murdoch University staff were critical to the development of the package and Catholic schools also contributed. "The Noongar people believe it is something that we should all have in our schools in the South West," Mrs Temby said. "We do need something like this: the resources materials are going to be used in all schools." Minister for Education, Cohn Barnett. said "In helping children to understand Aboriginal culture and society. I recommend to you this material." - Glynnis Grainger

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Churches focus on care of HIV-AIDS sufferers By Bronwen Dachs CAPE TOWN, South Africa (CNS) - Access to life-saving drugs was high on the agenda of the 13th International AIDS Conference, but Church participants focused primarily on caring for those living with HIV and AIDS. "It was evident at the conference that the church is very involved in work at (a) grassroots level," said Dominican Sister Alison Munroe, who heads the AIDS office of the Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference in Pretoria. She used the example of Nigeria, "where 40 per cent of the care to people living with HIV/AIDS is provided by the Church." Church representatives to the 9-14 July conference in Durban, South Africa, gave many presentations on caring for orphans and providing home-based care for the dying, Sister Munroe said. She pointed out that about 4,500 of the 12,700 delegates at the "Break the Silence" AIDS 2000 conference were from Africa. "Other AIDS conferences have been dominated by countries from the Northern Hemisphere, and this one had the biggest representation of Africans," Sister Munroe said, noting that sub-Saharan Africa has the world's largest concentration of AIDS. AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa is almost entirely spread within families, from husband to multiple wives or from mother to child. Sister Munroe said most conference participants agreed that men "need to be targeted very specifically in education

programs, as they drive the epidemic." the price in the US, a situation the agency "The disease is exacerbated by poverty," attributes to the availability of generic Sister Munroe added. products. Lowering the cost of drugs was a major Generic competition in Brazil means that topic at the conference, Sister Munroe said. the government there can treat 1,000 peoSpeakers emphasised findings by the US ple with dual therapy for the same amount National Institutes of Health, using test of money that the Ugandan government results in Uganda, that nevirapine, consid- would spend on treating 228 people. erably less expensive than the antiretroviStudies by the World Health Organisaral drug AZT and easier to administer, tion back up these figures. halves the spread of the HIV virus from Using drugs in combination with educatinfected mothers to their infants. ing people about the pandemic is effective, Currently, South Africa does not provide Sister Munroe said. antiretroviral drugs to HIV-positive preg"Successes in Uganda were held up in nant women, but the German pharmaceu- many instances at the conference. Uganda tical company Boehringer Ingelheim has once had the highest rate of infection, offered to provide nevirapine free for five which has now been significantly reduced years to mothers infected with HIV in the through a multilevel approach," she said, developing world. noting that the Church "played a big role The South African government has not in achieving this success through its eduyet accepted the offer, saying it is not sat- cation programs at local levels." isfied with test results on its safety. Archbishop Wilfrid Napier of Durban, Approximately 4.2 million South Africans president of the bishops' conference, said live with the HIV virus or AIDS. he was disappointed with South Africa's "It will be immoral if South Africa does response to the pandemic, as shown in not take up the offer," Sister Munroe said. President Thabo Mbeki's opening speech 'People are dying and, if this is the best at the conference, where the president said thing available right now, it seems our best extreme poverty is the world's biggest option to use it," she said in a 17 July tele- killer. phone interview. "We didn't get a clear lead on what the Drug companies announced at the con- government is going to do about AIDS," ference that they were prepared to lower Archbishop Napier said in a telephone drug prices by up to 85 per cent in certain Interview from Durban. circumstances. "I think most participants felt let down Doctors Without Borders compared that Mbeki did not use the opportunity to prices of the costs of 10 drugs used in treat- make announcements about how his goving HIV/AIDS and found that the minimum ernment plans to deal with the crisis," he price is, on average, 82 per cent less than said. He added that "Mbeki stalled by say-

Elizabeth Simango, 25, sits with her son at a Porta Farm squatters camp near Harare, Zimbabwe, in late June. Simango has seen six siblings die as a result of AIDS. Four months ago she discovered she has the disease.

tug he is 1.,Nr ititilig for a report to be drawn up" by a group of his advisers. AIDS activists have criticised the group, which includes many scientists who dispute the link between HIV and AIDS.

75th an affair to remember What's this? Celebrating an anniversary? Yes, but not his. In fact, Father Oliver Ryan, pictured at right, was only too happy to be the one to cut the cake during the 75th anniversary celebrations for the Our Lady Queen of Martyrs church building in Maylands recently. The occasion was a big day for the parish, which marked the celebrations with Mass, a reception and the launch of a history of the parish, which was established in 1893. A fter the commemorative Mass, past and present parishioners were only too happy to catch up over a cuppa' in the parish hall, at left, and touch base with many friends they had not seen for a long time. Among those attending the celebrations were also Auxiliary Bishop Robert Healy, a former assistant priest at the parish in his early days, and the emeritus Bishop of Sunbury, Bishop Myles McKeon. Needless to say, a happy time was had by one and all, particularly the all, during the walk down memory lane.

Hundreds honour parish priest who died praying the Rosary Continued from Page 1 Among the qualities priests recognised in Fr Morahan was the fact that he was at all times a man of prayer and one who "was absolutely loyal to the call of his priesthood." Fr Morahan also had a great love for Our Lord in the Blessed Eucharist and Mary, the mother of priests, Archbishop Hickey said. "Above all, he was a good pastor, one who devoted his life to the care of the flock entrusted to him." he said, adding "In him, the priests recognised the high ideals of the priesthood that all priests aspire to." The manner of Fr Morahan's death had Impressed everyone he said, and was characteristic of his life. "He died here in the Church as he lived: faithful to the Eucharist, his prayers, his mother Mary and the people he served." He described Fr Morahan as being a Bassendean parishioners form a guard of honour for Fr Morahan's funeral cortege. priest "of the old school", one who saw the Alex Morahan - a nephew of the late parish with the Morahan family and the older fulfilment of his life in how he cared for his priest who had flown to Perth from South priest's mother would say the full 15 people. Africa to participate in the Mass. decades every night, he said. And although priests can retire at 75, Fr "For my uncle 'retirement' was a four-letConsequently, the practice of saying the Morahan had wanted to continue in the ter word - he didn't like it at all," he told Rosary in the Bassendean parish fostered active ministry, he said. the congregation at the end of Mass. by Fr Morahan was something of a tribute He was "a man of prayer reminding us And as for Fr Morahan's opinion of his to the family's faith. our lives have to be centred on God and on parish, Fr Morahan the younger said, "He And, he said, one tribute which could be His Son, Jesus Christ." loved the people of Bassendean, he loved made to his uncle was his belief in the famThe symbols of Fr Morahan's vocation sat you so much and was so proud of what you ily. atop his coffin: his stole, paten and chalice. are." "He would say 'pray your family prayers Later, children from St Michael's school His uncle "had died with his boots on and together, be united as a family and learn to in Bassendean formed an honour guard died without having to retire - andI thank love and take care of one another as a famalong the main aisle leading to the coffin, God for that." ily'," he said. each holding a red rose, as other symbols The younger Fr Morahan, who has visitMeanwhile, when the younger Fr Moraof Fr Morahan's ministry were laid atop the ed his uncle on several occasions, said that han was ordained a priest in 1989 he had coffin - a breviary for prayer, a blanket for after his early-morning prayers, Fr Mora- asked his uncle's advice about the job. his work with the poor, and so on. han would then head off to the church to "He just said 'spend your hour in prayer One of the priests concelebrating Mass say the Rosary. every day with the Lord. Whatever else you on Thesday was also uncannily named Fr The Rosary had been a family practice do, it'll be OK'," he reported his uncle as The Record, July 20 2000 Page 4

having told him. Afterwards parishioners and others told The Record their impressions of their former parish priest. Mrs Nan Stanley, an Anglican who had only emigrated to Australia from Ireland four years ago, came to the funeral to pay her respects. Mrs Margaret Stewart, of Greenmount, said she *used to come here a lot - very frequently because he was a very holy priest and his prayers and talks were a great preparation for the following week." Fr Morahan, she said, "had been a great inspiration" to her. Mr Michael Dwyer, a former parishioner and police sergeant who was stationed at Bassendean in the 1970s and three of whose children had been married in the presence of Fr Morahan, said of him: "He never, ever stopped praying. Everything he ever did was a prayer and it was wonderful to spend half an hour in prayer with him, which many parishioners did as often as they could." Ivan Sands, a former trade union secretary and parishioner in Bassendean for 53 years, described Fr Morahan as "a gentle, loving man." "And his faith was just unbelievable, and his love for Our Lady and the Rosary, as well as his concern for the youth. He believed they were the future of the Church." Mr Sands said that while Fr Morahan's death had caused a lot of sadness in the parish "deep down there is also a lot of joy because they know where he is - in Heaven." "Also, the way he died," he said, "It was him."

Inquiry into charities' tax status expected By Glynnis Grainger A Federal Government inquiry into the tax status of charities and not-for-profit sector is expected in the next few weeks. The Democrats are currently discussing terms of reference for the inquiry they called for into the tax status of charities and the not-for-profit sector. An announcement about the Inquiry is expected to be made by the Federal Government in the next few weeks, according to a spokeswoman for Senator John Woodley, Democrats Charities' spokesperson. The Democrats anticipate the primarily legal inquiry will be conducted by the Australian Law Reform Commission, the spokeswoman told The Record -Ile Democrats lobbied for an Inquiry to improve the tax status of the not-for-profit sector," she said. 'The definition of Public Benevolent Institution was developed in the 1930s and the sector has moved on since then. "Our agenda is to improve the situation, particularly for community-based charities who may not he eligible for PHI status but who do work of equal value to those who are." Executive director of Catholic Health Australia. Francis Sullivan, said in an article in Health Matters "With their push for an Inquiry into charities, there are fears that the Democrats have a broader agenda which will only be revealed when the inquiry's findings are implemented.

Senator John Woodley

"The Australian Labor Party's approach to the churches and tax reform (resembles) very closely that of the Democrats." Mr Sullivan said that the three major parties were very close on their policies relating to the tax treatment of Church-owned services. The public debate over Church involvement in the jobs network has reignited discussion over what constitutes a charitable institution. he said. "The narrow view would limit charitable bodies to volunteerrun activities providing support for people who struggle to receive adequate access to established services." Mr Sullivan said in the article. "This denies the fact that Church and other charitable organisations. conducting notfor-profit enterprises, provide integral components of mainstream entitlement and safety net programs."

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Mr Sullivan said that unless the inquiry properly and freely examines the impact of the GST and fringe benefits tax changes on the charitable sector, "its findings on the effectiveness and viability of the charities will be compromised." The Acting National Director of the Australian Catholic Social Welfare Commission, john Ferguson, said "The Commission is concerned that any review of the tax treatment of charities and other community services must preserve those arrangements that enable agencies to resource their good works and adequately staff services... "Already, charitable organisations have been burdened with cumbersome administrative demands and the compliance costs of implementing the GST. ". . . an inquiry into the tax treatment of our nation's charities must serve to maintain tax concessions for charitable giving and professional support to those in need." The Assistant Treasurer. Senator Rod Kemp. said that the common law definition of "charity" Is based on a legal concept originating in the 16th century. "This is separate from GST treatment and relates more to qualification for income tax deduction and income tax exemption." he said. The Shadow Minister for Family and Community Services. Wayne Swan, said Labor had consistently opposed the GST on charitable and not-for-profit organisations.

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Bunbury Jubilee banner reaches halfway point The Bunbury Diocese jubilee banner recently reached the halfway point of its pilgrimage through the parishes of the Diocese. The Manjimup community accepted the banner from the Mt Barker community when a delegation from Manjimup journeyed to the Frankland Church. There was a joint celebration of Mass and a shared meal where the handover took place. The banner was then prominently displayed at St Joseph's Church where the Manjimup parish patch was added to those from other parishes. The banner is a visible display of the unity of purpose of the individual parish communities which make up the Bunbury Diocese. Each patch reflects some unique feature of each parish and placing them all together on the banner enhances the sense of being as one with the greater community After a week in Manjimup, the banner resumed its pilgrimage when a delegation from Pemberton received it during a ceremony at the Prayers of the Faithful at Sunday Mass. When the completed banner returns to Bunbury at the end of the year. the plan is to have another pilgrimage around the parishes in 2001

The Bunbury banner on display in St Joseph's Church, Manjimup

so that all parishioners can see the completed work The banner will then be kept permanently at the Bunbury Cathedral as a reminder of the hopes and aspirations from the Great jubilee 2000. - Gtynnis Grainger

Philosophers head for ACU The Australian Catholic University School of Philosophy is hosting the Faith and Reason: Friends or foes in the new millennium? conference next month in Melbourne. It will be held at St Patrick's Campus, Melbourne. from 11-13 August. The conference will provide an opportunity for all those interested In the relationship between faith and

reason, theology and philosophy. spirituality and ethics, to gather and discuss these matters from a variety of perspe.ctives. Keynote speakers from Yale Divinity School: Kings College. London: the University of St Andrews: and the US University of Notre Dame will participate. For further information: telephone (03) 9926 5677.

ryest piIgnmages A journey for the Great Jubilee...

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Rome (1 night) • Medjugorje (7) Dubrovnik (1) • Rome ( 2)

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The Record, July 20 2000 Page 5

Good Shepherd's compassion Peter Dwan continues with his meditations on the readings for Sunday Mass. This week the sixteenth Sunday Year B

oday's liturgy presents Christ as the caring shepherd, exploring various aspects of this theme. The response to the responsorial psalm (Psalm 23) is "The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want". It is all too easy to make the response to the psalm almost unthinkingly, when we should be examining our conscience. Is the Lord really our shepherd, or are we straying sheep, seeking agistment elsewhere? Are we convinced that the Lord will provide for us? Will we give till it hurts to help good causes, believing that God will provide for us, or will we rationalise our meanness by calling it prudence, and say that God helps those who help themselves? If God helps those who help themselves, how much more likely is he to help those who help others. We need to remember that not all shepherds are caring shepherds. In the first reading (Jeremiah 12:1-8) we hear God through the prophet Jeremiah saying: "Doom to the shepherds who allow the flock of my pasture to be destroyed

A Layman's

Meditation

and scattered." Yet the reading ends on an optimistic note, with Jeremiah saying that God would raise up a loving and caring shepherd in the person of the Messiah, a prophecy which would be fulfilled with the coming of Christ. The second reading (Ephesians 2:1318) speaks of the way Christ brought peace by His redemptive death, uniting Jews and Gentiles who had been so far apart, as the reading says: "He. . .. has made the two into one, and broken down the barrier which used to keep them apart, actually destroying in his own person the hostility caused by the rules and decrees of the Law." Christ's death brought reconciliation between mankind and God, and has bridged the gap between Jew and Gentile, by His plan to unite both Jew and Gentile in the one Church. Christian Jews weren't to look down on Gentiles, and when Gentiles became Christians, they were to accept the Jewish Scriptures. Of course, helping Christ the Good Shepherd would be a demanding task. one which could only be undertaken by those who shared Our Lord's pity for

To Jesus through Mary When Pope John Paul 11 released the full text of the third secret of Fatima on 26 June, the release papers included a theological commentary on public and private revelations in the life of the Church by the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. This is the second of five installments of Cardinal Ratzinger's commentary. The cardinal's teaching is relevant not Just to anyone who claims to have had a revelation from Jesus or Mary but also to anyone who believes they have a private insight into, or opinion of any Church teaching.

n this context, [of the three ways the Holy Spirit guides the Church and "the word grow"- see first installment, 13 July] it now becomes possible to understand rightly the concept of "private revelation", which refers to all the visions and revelations which have taken place since the completion of the New Testament. This is the category to which we must assign the message of Fatima. In this respect, let us listen once again to the Catechism of the Catholic Church: "Throughout the ages, there have been so-called 'private' revelations, some of which have been recognised by the authority of the Church. . . . It is not their role to complete Christ's definitive Revelation, but to help live more fully by it in a certain period of history" (No. 67). This clarifies two things: 1. The authority of private revelations is essentially different from that of the definitive public Revelation. The latter demands faith; in it in fact God himself speaks to us through human words and the mediation of the living community of the Church. Faith in God and in his word is different from any other human faith, trust or opinion. The certainty that il ls God who is speaking gives me the assurance that I am in touch with truth itself. It gives me a certitude which is beyond verification by any human way of knowing. Ills the certitude upon which I build my life and to which I entrust myself in dying. 2. Private revelation is a help to this faith, and shows its credibility precisely by leading me back to the definitive public Revelation. In this regard, Cardinal Prospero Lambertini, the future Pope Benedict XIV.

A nun assists pilgrims kneeling before the shrine at Fatima on 11 May this year prior to the visit of Pope John Paul II. CNS/Reuters

says in his classic treatise, which later became normative for beatifications and canonisations: "An assent of Catholic faith is not due to revelations approved

the crowds who were like sheep without a shepherd. Today's Gospel (Mark 4:30-34) shows something of Christ's compassion for the crowds. The apostles had been so busy with apostolic work, that they didn't have any time to eat. Our Lord said to them: "You must come to some lonely place all by yourselves, and rest for a while." Yet when they reached that lonely place, they found that people guessed where they were going and reached the place before them. Jesus took pity on the crowd, because they were like sheep without a shepherd, and he set himself to teach them at some length. We might wonder why some people show Christ-like concern for others, working for the glory of God and the salvation of souls, while others do little or nothing. We must never judge those who seem to do little. They may have received fewer graces than others. Those who work zealously are people who see the need and respond generously, while others see the difficulty and are discouraged. We should concentrate on helping people, rather than solving problems. Mother Teresa of Calcutta once commented that if she set about solving problems rather than helping people, she wouldn't know where to begin.

Fatima 's Third Secret us away from Him, when it becomes Independent of Him or even presents Itself as another and better plan of salvation, more important than the Gospel, then it certainly does not come from the Holy Spirit, who guides us more deeply Into the Gospel and not away from it. This does not mean that a private revelation will not offer new emphases or give rise to new devotional forms, or deepen and spread older forms. But in all of this there must be a nurturing of faith, hope and love, which are the unchanging path to salvation for everyone. We might add that private revelations often spring from popular piety and leave their stamp on it. giving it a new impulse and opening the way for new forms of it. Nor does this exclude that they will have an effect even on the liturgy, as we see for instance in the feasts of Corpus Christi and of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. From one point of view, the relationship between Revelation and private revelations appears in the relationship between the liturgy and popular piety: the liturgy is the criterion, it is the living form of the Church as a whole, fed directly by the Gospel. Popular piety is a sign that the faith is spreading its roots into the heart of a people in such a way that it reaches into daily life. Popular religiosity is the first and fundamental mode of "inculturation" of the faith. While it must always take Its lead and direction from the liturgy it in turn enriches the faith by involving the heart. We have thus moved from the somewhat negative clarifications, initially needed, to a positive definition of private revelations. How can they be classified correctly in relation to Scripture? To which theological category do they belong? The oldest letter of Saint Paul which has been preserved, perhaps the oldest of the New Testament texts, the First Letter to the Thessalonians, seems to me to point the way. The Apostle says: "Do not quench the Spirit, do not despise prophesying, but test everything, holding fast to what is good" (5:19-21). In every age the Church has received the charism of prophecy, which must be scrutinised but not scorned. On this point, it should be kept in mind that prophecy in the biblical sense does not mean to predict the future but to explain the will of God for the present, and therefore show the right path to take for the future. Continued on Page 15

'Popular religiosity is the first and fundamental mode of ìnculturation' of the faith.

The Record, July 20 2000 Page 6

in this way; it is not even possible. These revelations seek rather an assent of human faith in keeping with the requirements of prudence, which puts them before us as probable and credible to piety". The Flemish theologian E. Dhanis, an eminent scholar in this field, states succinctly that ecclesiastical approval of a private revelation has three elements: the message contains nothing contrary to faith or morals; it is lawful to make it public, and the faithful are authorised to accept it with prudence (E. Dhanis, Sguardo su Fatima e bilancio di una discussione, in La CiviltA Cattolica 104 119531, II, 392-406, in particular 397). Such a message can be a genuine help in understanding the Gospel and living It better at a particular moment in time; therefore it should not be disregarded. It is a help which is offered, but which one is not obliged to use. The criterion for the truth and value of a private revelation is therefore its orientation to Christ himself. When it leads

Cronje's tale of how he fell: an insight into reality of evil

With Paul Gray

ansie Cronje, you're an example to us all. The former South African Test cricket captain has captured world attention in recent months after admitting taking money from bookmakers. Cricket has suffered, South Africa has suffered and Cronje's own career has certainly suffered as a result of the controversy. Last weekend. Channel Nine's Sixty Minutes brought new insights into the psychology of Hansie Cronje - and how he made his famous mistakes. Cronje said that behind his actions lay stupidity, naivete and greed. Probably a true enough summing up. But still more interesting - and this shows how little the "sophisticated" modern world really understands the nature of evil - was Cronje's emphasis on just how easy it was for him to fall into the path of error. "It's so easy," he said. "You're offered monel, first-up to offer useless information regarding the weather and the pitch. "You're then offered money to give information as to who's in the team. It was money for Jam," he said. Cronje's experiences add up to one of the great cautionary tales of today. Of course, it grabs our attention because it's also a story about sport and famous people. But the lessons of Cronje's self-confessed fall from grace can also be applied in any human life, in many different situations familiar to us all. That's because at the end of the day, it's a story about sin and moral evil. It reminds us that temptation to serious sin often looks less significant than it really is. The Hansie Cronje story also reminds us that there is such a thing as a "psychology of sin." To put it simply, having fallen once, it becomes remarkably easy to fall again, and again, and again. Much of the modern world has virtually forgotten the language of sin.I even know goodhearted Catholics who won't even use the word "sin," because it seems too "negative." Because we've forgotten the language, it has become very difficult for us to talk at all about such practical issues. Yet we need to talk about them, because as the teachings of the Catholic Church and most Bible-based Protestant religions remind us. sin itself is an ever-present, daily issue for all human beings, the religious and the non-religious alike. Pope John Paul II himself, much-admired man though he is, feels the need to seek God's forgiveness for his own sins once every two weeks through the confessional, it has been reported. Perhaps his sins are not very serious ones. But many of the sins that afflict local communities like ours are serious. Iwas reminded of this by a flyer through the mailbox recently advertising "domestic surveillance" services. Domestic surveillance - detective work - is a growing business in Australia today. Among the services offered by this particular agency was keeping a watch on your married partner. What lies behind the demand for such services is adultery. Don Parham, a film-maker who has made an insightful documentary on adultery in Australia today, interviewed one of these new-model detectives. The big point made by this experienced private detective was just how easy it is for people living adulterously to fall and fall again once they've fallen for the first time. Again, the psychology of sin is plainly revealed. Adultery, taking bribes, speaking evil of our neighbour, speaking angrily to a family member - these things are not in God's plan for human life. But they are in our world, and they are doing damage daily. We should learn to speak more openly about them to warn others. And also to warn ourselves.

Heroin injecting rooms a step on road to hell T

The Record

here is no doubting the good intentions of those in Western Australia who urge the WA Government to experiment with injecting rooms for heroin addicts. But, as the evidence of frail humanity shows, the road to hell is paved with a significant number of good intentions. It needs to be continually restated that injecting rooms for heroin addicts would simply be helping to increase the population of those destined to die from intravenous injection-related diseases over the next two decades. At the very least these rooms would dangerous because of such things as Hepatitis C and other diseases spread through intravenous injections. It might save drug addicts now but a bigger population will die in the next 15 to 20 years from intravenous injections as a

result. On public health grounds alone, the proposal is faulty. Again, despite the good intentions of some promoting the idea, the real objective of the exercise for other promoters was to get the government to fund the availability of heroin for addicts in the long term. Once injection facilities were established, in which users bring their own drugs to the injection room, the supply of purer and safer heroin could become a goal. But the harder and truer road of tough love holds the best long-term hope of redeeming heroin and other addicts. The Archdiocese of Perth is already

7 )1 -POuno

7a4le

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Bassendean's good shepherd T

he Fatima message (The Record. 6 July) goes far beyond our own small, egocentric self. It emphasises our responsibility at home. at work. in our country and indeed beyond. If Mary's first and second messages were valued and adhered to, we could have prevented or at least lightened the World War I and 11 atrocities, or even the Holocaust German Christians would have realised Hitler's evil intentions, and refused to vote or serve in the army. The third message, if taken seriously. could initiate peace actions, such as bombarding the Irish with letters and faxes to stop their religious intransigence. The same with the Muslim jihad in the Moluccas and Sulawesi Islands in Indonesia: write to Indonesian newspapers or the government, or ask our own government to stop their $120.5 million yearly aid until the jihads and the army have come to their senses! Josie Leeden South Perth

n behalf of the Maltese community of Western Australia. I would like to thank God for sending Father Alexius Morahan to St Joseph's in Bassendean All of us Maltese Australians, especially residents of Bassendean, publicly thank Fr Morahan for all he has done for us. Fr Morahan was our parish priest, our father, and our mother. He was our friend, our doctor, our nurse, our advocate, our teacher, and our counsellor. He was the good shepherd. He gathered his flock from Ireland and Europe, from Asia. India and Sri Lanka, from Africa and Mauritius, from black and white Australia. He believed in inculturation. He nurtured our faith. He knew everyone of us by name. He knew our families, our worries and our joy. He taught us the three most important things in life; prayer, prayer and prayer. He was a saint and truly wanted us to be saints, to love as much as he loved God. eorge Russo (The Record. 13 July) Each one of us has fond memories of him is certainly right that Bishop Salvaand undoubtedly each one of us can recall do was a protector of the Aborigispecial incidents in the life of Fr Morahan. nal people. which touched him or her. One of such incident which to me is typHe fails to understand, however that Bishical of Fr Morahan sticks in my mind. op Salvado did nothing to protect their culA few years ago he was in hospital. He ture or way of life. went missing for four hours. His protection was lifesaving and well The nurses assured me that they looked meaning but was no less patronising than for him in every room. In every depart- the institution of the office of Chief Protecment, on every floor of the hospital and he tor of Aborigines. was no where to be found. In my 1995 Honours dissertation (unpubThey wondered whether I discharged lished. History department, University of him without notifying the hospital. Have Western Australia) entitled, Biography as they checked the chapelIwondered? History and the Biographies of Abbot SalSure enough he was there praying in vado of New Nord& I argue against the silence in a cold, empty chapel just with his Russo inspired myth that the Lord Abbot dressing gown and his illness. Salvado was a man aware of the need to Fr Morahan loved his football, both Gael- inculturate Catholicism into the lives of his ic and Aussie rules. Aboriginal subjects. He had a good sense of humour. Once he There is no evidence that Dom Salvado. could not stop laughing when I told him though well aware and learned in Aborigthat some forty years ago the parish priest inal lore and language, had any intention of the town where I grew up in Malta than to evangelise according to the Euroordered the sacristan to lock all the church pean model. doors during Mass to stop the habit of a His aim was gradual assimilation. Mr few youngsters who were leaving Mass realises this but presents Salvado in Russo after Holy Communion. He must have laughed as it reminded him his article as one who not only "underof similar incidents in the Ireland of his stood" Aboriginal belief and customs but also "how they could be be adapted to childhood. Mentioning some episodes of Dom Christianity" This only confuses the reader and is the Camillo's adventures was another way of same line, without evidence, pushed in his cracking a smile from him, Fr Morahan was undoubtedly a very intel- 1980 biography. The Benedictines Salvado and Serra setligent man but prayer to him was infinitely more important than all the study of tled the Aboriginal people because they themselves could not live and adapt to their philosophy and theology. He taught us that the answer to every nomadic way of life. human question is Christ and that we do This is the key point and it leads to the not need to spend much time in reasoning contrary evidence that absolutely no seriwhen Christ is the answer to everything. ous attempt was made to bring Christian To us Maltese he will always be il-qassis and Aboriginal culture together. il-qaddis, it-twajjeb, il-mans. If this attempt had been made, it would In the words of Manioni *Ei fu*. be mirrored, favourably or unfavourably, in the many other biographies of Salvado, Tony Sciberras lying unpublished in the New Norcia Honourary Consul Republic of Malta archives - notably those of Perez, Giminez and Rios among others. Bassendean

Monk of his era

linked to projects to establish rural refuges for drug addicts where counselling, medication, productive work, health and prayer regimes give addicts a chance of escaping their hell. It is by no means certain that making needles freely available would prevent drug-related deaths. A government-sanctioned injection room also certainly would give some sections of the public the idea addiction was acceptable, or at least something the government would take responsibility for • The opinions expressed in this editorovercoming. ial, and any other Record editorial, are not Another problem is the fact that the pur- necessarily those of the Roman Catholic chase of most illegal drugs to be used in Archbishop of Perth.

13e/fez's Jo I/2e Cd.i/oz-

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Fatima social justice

the rooms was funded from muggings, burglaries or other criminal acts. Allegedly safe injecting rooms for heroin addicts are a direct cooperation in an evil act, no matter what the alleged benefits are. If supporters of such injecting rooms consciously believed they were not cooperating directly in an evil act, then they could set up clean brothels for heterosexual prostitutes or AIDS-free bars for homosexuals. Prostitutes and homosexuals die from sexually transmitted diseases. How are they any different from heroin users in danger of dying from an overdose?

killing of certain people the envelope is Invariably pushed by successive Establishments: if, as a utilitarian unit, you are unviable, or, your disabled lifestyle support is too costly, we therefore deem you expendable. Look at what we've done for the disabled. Compared to our parents generation we're saints. Surely we've progressed beyond the Introverted selfishness of bygone days and can cope with the tiniest, most fragile and most dependent of all peoples - those Inside what should be the safest place in the universe. ,izabeth Owers, (, \ ecutive officer of Paul Clune the Archbishop's Committee for the Ardross Great jubilee, has noted my concerns regarding the program for the Feast of Christ the King, and is apparently ignorhanks to you V j Studham for the ing them (Letters, 13 July.). observations (Letters, 6 July) and She asks that we have faith in the amazparticularly the interesting observaingly gifted and talented people organising tion regarding the allocation of resources this Great jubilee celebration. between schools and media. Without an assurance that the whole of I agree that the Mass "can never be borthe program is prayerful and praises Jesus ing" if we appreciate what it is about. Christ as King, then the gifts and talents of But it does us no good to berate those the planners are wasted no matter how think it is boring for their observawho clever they are. tions. That is the last thing that will bring Could we at least be confident that all them back into regular participation. involved in the planning process are pracIt is the responsibility of all of us as memtising Catholics. bers of the Church to try to understand Catholics need a program that is spiritu- why these feelings should have become so al throughout with an emphasis on this widespread and why so many people have special Feast day. drifted away from regular participation. Anything else is a waste of time. Just because a particular style of liturgy. Fred Preshaw or homily, appeals to me does not mean Scarborough that style is going to bring the person sitting right beside me closer to Jesus. Some believe the traditional pieties are hank you for your argument on our the road back. It is self-evident that this is Church's anti-abortion history and not the case, at least in educated, affluent rationale (Editorial. 13 July). Western communities. Separate from that is the methodology of The traditional pieties and devotional dismantling the abortionist's stance from a practices appeal, and appeal very strongly non-religious position namely: women's to a sector of the population but they do rights, popularity, backyard alternatives, not appeal to all of the population. foetal non-survival at 12 weeks, and no viaIbelieve the upper limit of re-evangelisability until 24 weeks. tion that can he achieved by proceeding If a right is that which is owed, then no- down this road is no more than about 10 one may codify the killing of another for per cent of the baptised population in convenience' sake. affluent, educated communities. The pro-abortion claim that another with We need to respect the traditional pieties, different blood and DNA is a form of bodyand liturgical forms. I personally prayers part has zero basis in fact. comfort from many of them. gain great aborfor justification If popularity be the Our objective is to lead people to God. tion. then 20,000 Romans cheering on the traditional pieties, prayers and Where the lions in the Coliseum were justified as was the Third Reich which came to power in devotional practices enable us to do that we should use them. the polls in Germany around 1933. When they do not work we have to stop If a law causes law breakers to go underground to avoid detection (and physically and ask ourselves: why are these commudamage themselves), abortionists claim the nication forms no longer working? prosecution of such law breakers is Dark Sometimes, the greatest value I get from Ages conduct. attendance at Mass is at the very simple That is a great lie, because unwed moth- Mass without singing and all the pizzazz of ers are no longer bullied and berated. modern communications and even withA hundred, or fifty, or even thirty years out a homily. ago. perhaps - but not today. This is not because the Mass is short but There is no public shame today for de fac- because I find the whole experience less tos, single mothers and open marriages so distracting to communion with God. today it is the pro-abortionist who shames This is a debate that needs to be continthe pregnant into killing the child by loadin the very reasoned, rational way that ued ing them with the "get-rid-of-it" mentality. has contributed. Studham J V It is not the pro-lifer. It is the abortionist Brian Coyne who is spiralling us into a Dark Age. Once the Establishment rationalises the Nedlands Mr Russo makes Dom Salvado stand as some sort of sentinel against a cruel racist world, when Salvado was very much a man of his times: not enlightened, only European and immensely charitable, hence patronistic. Bishop Salvado's method was not that practised today in post-Vatican II missiology. Mr Russo gives Bishop Salvado a historical, theological and pastoral scope that he never had. Daniel O'Connor Scarborough

Anything else a waste

Things new and old

Times have changed

The Record, July 20 2000 Page 7

Features

Evolution vs Creationism: further investigation can only help dialogue between science and faith

Our ancestors? Two monkeys produced from cloned embryos huddle at the Oregon Regional Primate Research Center in March, 1997. The monkeys were cloned from cells taken from embryos. .'now. LAS, Heutefs

erry Keane, Melbourne-based author, has a problem with history. He says it did not happen the way almost everyone else says it did. Mr Keane, 59, whose career has been spent not in science but in the building industry, is the author of a newly-updated book on evolution and, to put it mildly, challenges the prevailing scientific orthodoxy that accepts the age of the universe and evolution as self-evident truths. The debate is as old as Charles Darwin's Origin of the Species which, when it was published in the 19th century, caused an immediate sensation. Supporters of Darwin regarded the theory of evolution as a - finally - credible and scientific explanation for the most enduring of human questions: how we got to be here. But 19th century Christians and others quickly took umbrage, regarding evolution as little better than a suggestion that everyone's grandparents were monkeys. However, one thing was clear. Evolution and the scientific theories that supported it provided a clear challenge to how the Genesis account of creation had traditionally been interpreted by Christianity - and therefore challenged any Church or person which declared Genesis to be literally true. But, like its subject, the debate has also evolved. Depending on Church and denomination the questions, for Christians. abound. Some, usually those dismissively described as fundamentalists, hold that everything in Genesis is literally true, therefore the world can't be older than five to ten thousand years. Others seek to integrate Genesis and evolution, saying that there is no contradiction between

the two if you accept that the biblical account can be interpreted, in places, metaphorically. Enter Gerry Keane, who acknowledges that the perception he is not a scientist can cause reservations about what he has to say. However, he told The Record in a telephone interview from Melbourne, what he can, and has done, in the latest edition of Creation Rediscovered is simply to summarise the scientific conclusions. But if Gerry Keane is an unqualified layman then at least some scientific thinkers are taking him seriously Creation Rediscovered includes two forewords, one by Professor Made) Giertych of the Polish Academy of Sciences and one by Fr Peter Fehlner, a New York-based friar of the Franciscans of Mary Immaculate, a theologian who has previously written on evolution-related matters. Both make it clear that they think Mr Keane's work is credible and worthy of consideration. Prof Miertych, an academic who has studied forestry, plant physiology and genetics, is a convert from evolution-supporter to evolution-sceptic. The science of Genetics has no proof for evolution, he says bluntly. In fact, it has trouble explaining it. Furthermore, a whole age of scientific endeavour has been a waste of time. 'The closer one looks at the evidence for Evolution.' he writes at the beginning of Mr Keane's book. 'the less one finds of substance. In fact, the theory keeps on postulating evidence and failing to find it (fossil missing links, natural selection of improved forms, positive mutations. molecular phyogenic sequences etc). This is not science.' But, back to the debate. The first issue is the definition of the word 'evolution,' which

Mr Keane told The Record can best be described as the gaining of genetic information in a creature which its ancestors simply did not possess and could not transmit to their offspring. Evolution takes as a given that molecules evolved into man in a natural transfer in which newer and higher genetic information was gained. However, he says, this jump to a radically different creature or new species envisaged by evolution is impossible. For example, the view that a scaly-clad reptile can evolve into a feathered bird would necessarily involve, at some stage in the evolutionary model, a creature that was midway between the two. But rather than being an advantage or advance, this would create an animal that could not fly, and, if anything, would have been a clumsy and plum-candidate at some stage for being eaten by predators rather than surviving as one of nature's naturally-selected fittest The missing links are not there because they never existed, he believes. And it is not just a matter of the missing link being found when enough of the earth's fossil record has been discovered - evolutionary theory cannot explain the leap from one species to another, only the variety within a species. Evolution was conceptually impossible, like the proposition that an elephant can give birth to a Ford motor vehicle. Mr Keane said that on this latter issue of microevolution there is no disagreement. Everyone involved in the debate agrees that variety in kind and change within a species can occur - for example the variety seen in cats and dogs. 'Evolution [as it is popularly understood] can't occur because the Unseen Designer has designed DNA and genetic information so that only variety in kind can occur,' he said. At the end of the day although they have evolved apart in appearance, they can never be anything other than cats and dogs. and can never evolve into a completely different species, for example, monkeys. The theory of natural selection, that the fittest survive and the weakest die, is also a fallacy he said, pointing out that its not the fittest that have to survive. In fact, it could be that the luckiest species are the ones who survive the vagaries of time and natural disaster. Breeders, he said, can also testify that the refined breeding of plants or animals does not result in a higher form of the thing being bred. In fact, refined breeding makes animals and plants more vulnerable because the more specialised the animal or plant, the more genetic Information it loses. An example is the potato famine in 19th century Ireland. The breed of

Ever since Charles Darwin published the Origin of Species in the mid-19th century, the truth or otherwise of the theory of evolution and its relationship to the Genesis account of the creation of the universe and of man and woman has been a vibrant element in Christian thinking about faith and the physical sciences. Peter Rosengren reports on a Melbourne Catholic layman's attempt to challenge the secular, atheistic theory of evolution. As the question is one of hot debate, The Record also found a view pointing to the reasonableness of giving more weight to evolutionary theory is certain circumstances without compromising the Faith. potato earlier introduced into Ireland was a specialised one which did not have the overall characteristics needed to survive the Blight which struck Ireland's crops. Mr Keane said the appropriate Creationist position was that Genesis provided only a partial account. It was not a scientific textbook, but revealed history. It was also wrong to think that Creationists say the world has not changed. It has, but always within limits, he said. Mr Keane also called for a more balanced approach to teaching about evolution in Catholic schools. 'It's about time that Catholic students were given a fair, balanced teaching in this matter,' he said, adding that such a move would be in accordance with Pope Pius XII's 1950 encyclical. Humani Generis, which said that the evidence for both creationism and evolution must be taught. Now, however, he said, this is not h. ,ppening, a situation which has persisted for 11.e last 40 years or so. In fact, he asserted, evolution has been widely taught in Catholic schools and creationism ridiculed. The whole argument in the debate on the origins of humanity, he said, is over the integrity of the Genesis account. He said that in 1880 Pope Leo XIII had taught definitively that Eve had been created out of Adam's body, just as Genesis recorded, and in the 1893 encyclical. Providentisimus Deus, the same Pope had taught that the literal sense of Scripture must hold until disproven. However, Mr Keane pointed out. Leo XIII had also said that while every part of Scripture had a literal sense it could also have a symbolic sense. This is one reason why he rejects the description of 'fundamentalist', while still believing that the universe is only six to ten thousand years old. 'Taking Leo XIII's benchmark therefore, the onus is on someone else to prove an old universe, not on me to prove a young one,' he said. Mr Keane has come up with his own argument against evolution's statistical chances of success. That is, if you want to believe in evolution as a successful phenomenon then you have to believe in a chance that is at least equal to the chances of two fingerprints being the same.

In fact, he said, the chances of evolution occurring successfully are even more impossibly rarer, more like the chances of finding identical prints on all twenty toes and fingers in any two people. Mr Keane said currently-accepted dating methods such as those based on sedimentation of soils and those using radiometric processes can now also be scientifically challenged. Even Jesus is quoted in various parts of the New Testament talking about events such as the flood and the beginning of creation. And, Mr Keane pointed out, as Jesus is the One through whom all things were made, as Catholics profess in the Nicene Creed, then He would have known all about them. After all. He was there when it happened. But while Mr Keane is trying to recapture the high ground within the Catholic Church on the issue other Catholic thinkers disagree. A Melbourne-based Jesuit philosopher who has taken an interest in issues of faith and science for many years, Fr Thomas Daly said it can be argued that the theory of evolution fits in 'very well with the Christian doctrine of creation.' Approached by The Record in relation to the evolution-creation debate, he referred the paper to an interview he gave which was published as Reflections on Evolution and which appeared in the November 1980 issue of Word In Life. 'I think it is quite misleading to make an opposition between them.' he said in the interview. He pointed out that the original proposer of evolution. Charles Darwin, had not made an opposition of the two theories and spoke of special creation as being the alternative to his theory of evolution. 'That means that God creates things in species. When he was attacking that point of view, he spoke of God creating through secondary causes. And 'secondary causes' was a standard term for causes which have their own way of acting but depend on a primary cause which is God. So he [Darwin] was certainly ready to allow for creation as a further explanation of the theory of evolution,' Fr Daly said in the 1980 interview. 'If you hold the theory of evolution as I suppose that most biologists would do, you must still ask how it is possible and who planned it,' he said.

Harry Potter author says she believes in God, not witchcraft

The recent release of another popular Harry Potter children's book has excited more public interest. In January. Anne Leveque of the US Catholic News Service investigated the Harry Potter phenomenon to see if there was any Christian influence or moral in the tales.

believe in God, not magic," said J K Rowling, author of the popular Harry Potter series of children's books. During a US book tour stop in Washington, Rowling discussed the nature of evil, censorship, and faith, among other things. The three Harry Potter books, about a young wizard's adventures, have caused a sensation in the publishing world because they have held top spots on The New York Times' best seller list. Some parents have wondered whether the setting of the books and their dealing with witchcraft makes for wholesome reading. In the stories, Harry is an orphan reared by unloving relatives - who discovers at age 11 that he is a wizard. He has a mysterious lightning-bolt scar on his forehead, evidence of an attack by the evil Lord Voldemort. He goes to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where he meets many more children - and adults - like himself. "Ipersonally think they are moral books," said Rowling. "Iabsolutely agree that you have the right to determine what your child reads, but I

The Record, July 20 2000 Page 8

don't think that anyone has the right to determine what other people's children read." In discussing the evil Voldemort, Rowling said, "(other than those) who are mentally ill and not responsible for their actions, evil will be the result of very poor choices and possibly insufficient bravery to take the right path." "And that's what I'm attempting to show with my villain. Here is someone who had choices - he had a great deal of natural talent which he's abusing, he's totally selfserving, but he could have gone a different way. That is supposed to be contrasted quite strongly with Harry, who has come from an equally difficult start in life, but who consistently tries to make the right choices. Sometimes he fails." Rowling has drawn criticism for characterising Harry with human failings, but, she says, he is a human child. "I want to show that (he's human);I want him to sometimes make mistakes But he is generally acting with the best of intentions." So far, none of her bad characters has

decided to reform, but Rowling hints that in future books there will be themes of redemption. "You will see redemption and you will see the other side as well, people struggling to do the right thing who do not." Some of the main characters are based on real people. Harry's friend Hermione Granger is modelled after the author herself, while Ron Weasley, Harry's best friend, is based on Rowling's good friend and her daughter's godfather, Sean Harris, described by Rowling as a "committed Catholic." Rowling is planning to write a total of seven books in this series, one for each year that Harry is at wizards' school. She is committed to having the entire series remain appropriate for age nine and up. "Harry will grow older, and I hope grow older plausibly. I do have a problem with treating a 16 year old character as though he were a pre-pubescent." Describing future books in the series, Rowling said, "the books will become darker, in the sense that you feel more palpable menace from Lord Voldemort." But, she said, "I'm not about to write some- The best-selling Harry Potter' books focus on a young wizard's adventures. Photo CNS4Vancy Wlechec thing that is doom and gloom from beginning to end: that would depress me." I do have doubts, that just goes along with known as Presbyterian. In describing her personal beliefs, Rowl- being me. Sometimes faith is trusting that "My daughter goes to Sunday school,Igo ing said "I believe in God, not magic.Idon't faith will return." According to The Wash- to church - not as frequently as I should think children will be seriously disap- ington Post, Rowling attends the Church of sometimes, but I do.Icount myself a mempointed to hear thatIdon't believe in magic. Scotland, which in the United States is ber of the church."

Fr Daly said he thought the author of Genesis had deliberately included the two accounts of creation "to show that he wasn't attempting to concentrate on a scientific explanation of the origin of the world in detail, but to fit whatever man can learn about his origins and about the origin of the world into a total religious view.' Such things as having two different versions of creation in Genesis would have alerted early readers of the Bible account to the emphasis on the total religious view rather than on the way in which the world came into being, he said. He said that accepting evolution of inanimate material but arguing for God's special intervention in the world to create life or a soul needed to be accompanied by understanding that inter vention can be applicable to every single event, such as a person who puts their foot on the accelerator in a car to make it move. 'A miracle, for instance, could be thought of as a special intervention, but even a miracle is really only part of the total picture. The human soul is allowed for by the biological 'programme', but each soul is a fresh new unifying factor, not just a part of the pre-existing organised material,' he said. Meanwhile, those who urge the teaching of creation alongside evolution in schools were introducing confusion. 'I don't see the need to teach that as an alternative scientific theory because there's not much theory in it," he said, adding 'It's just saying that the species were all separate, that they all had their own beginning. There's not much explanatory power in it as far as I can see, and so not much scope for teaching it.' However, he said, what there was scope for teaching was the weaknesses of the theory of evolution. Such an investigation into its weaknesses would be of real benefit to science itself.. It has long been taken for granted that science and religion are opposed on the issue of evolution and this had caused a lot of harm. 'I think that the whole of our Western culture today has been distorted because of people thinking of this contradiction. whereas there's really none at all,' he said. Fr Daly said he believed biologists have been somewhat loathe to formulate a theory of evolution thoroughly and to probe it in the way they would another theory because they feel they might be giving ground to creationists. However, he said. 'I think that biology would gain a great deal were scientists to write more books explicitly on the theory of evolution, and to investigate the many problems that there are in it.' 'The problems don't prove the theory wrong but they indicate areas where investigation would be profitable,' he said.

A Creation image: A church window depicts God's creation of the heavens and the earth.

Mountaineer Pope keeps active on holidays

n his only public appearance during an annual holiday in the Italian Alps, Pope John Paul II said a vacation can provide time for spiritual reflection. "Here amid pleasant woods and valleys, the body is restored and the spirit can devote itself more to reflection and contemplation," the Pope said last Sunday 16 July at the weekly Angelus prayer with 5,000 pilgrims in the alpine village of Les Combes. Thanking the people of Les Combes for their hospitality, the Pope invited people currently enjoying rest and relaxation to make their vacations a "time of inner enrichment" and family togetherness. He also recalled those people unable to take vacations, especially the "sick, the elderly, the imprisoned and those who are alone." The Pope's July 10-22 stay in Les Combes marked his eighth trip to the mountain hamlet. As in years past, the nature-loving Pope has filled his days with leisurely strolls along mountain trails, led by Albert Cerise, a local alpine guide. Last Monday, 17 July, Pope John Paul left by car around 10am with friends and collaborators to enjoy a sunny day of rest in the mountains. Vatican Radio asked Holy See spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls, one of the few people accompanying the Pope on his holiday, if the Pope was really resting these days. "Iwould say yes. Since the first day, the Pope has gone up to the mountains. Every day he goes on an outing. He has walked and, as

usual, found time to pray and read. He is very relaxed, and still has another week left. For the time being,! would say everything is going well." During the first week of the papal holidays. the weather was not very good. However, this did not discourage the Pope, Dr Navarro-Valls observed. "The Pope has a long history as a 'mountaineer.' and he knows the area well. Sudden changes of weather are characteristic of the mountains." "A few days ago, in just one morning we saw snowflakes, some hail and, later, splendid sun. The Pope was thrilled with these changes," Local authorities asked tourists and residents of the area to respect the Holy Father's need for rest and not disturb him. "I think the Pope is happy to see, on the one hand, how discreet the residents and tourists are and, on the other, the expressions of affection with which he is greeted every day when he returns from his excursions, Dr NavarroValls said. "The other day, for example, while we walked on a 2,300-metre high path, a couple on an outing overtook us. They didn't even stop. They greeted him and said: 'Good morning, Holy Father.' "It was obvious that they did not want to disturb the privacy the Pope desires during his Pope John Paul II walks outside his retreat in the few days on vacation in any way." - Catholic News Service/ ZENIT news service

sleepy mountain town of Les Combes, Italy, following Photo CNS/Reuters his Sunday Angelus 16 July.

The Record, July 20 2000 Page 9

Features, Book Review

Humble friar and great priest ago With Mary Busher, Perth Catholic Church Archives volunteer

Excerpts from the WA Catholic Record 21 July, 1900.

Belle of the Ball At York a plain and fancy dress ball held in aid of the Catholic Organ Fund. The appeal was hailed as "the greatest success ever attained in York." The stage and hall were decorated with palms, greenery and streamers. The belle of the ball was Miss Agnes McCarthy, who was dressed as a Spanish gipsy. The organ fund was boosted by 19 pounds.

Miners' mission Reporting on a mission preached by the Redemptorist Fathers at Kalgoorlie. the Record's correspondent said: "the fervent, impressive sermons have been delivered to vast assemblages of men. "The work of the Missioners has been of a far-reaching nature, judging by the large number of people who have approached the Sacraments and the hundreds of men who never attended St Mary's, but who are now to be seen at the evening devotions."

Lee-Steere talks At Bridgetown Sir James LeeSteere addressed some 120 of his constituents on the Federation issue. He spoke for over an hour on what West Australia would lose by entering federation. He considered it would be time enough for this Colony to join the Commonwealth "10 years hence." Proposing a vote of thanks Mr J.R. Walter said: "those who joined Federation could be likened to persons swimming in a whirlpool and would go to the bottom."

The Life of Padre No, Between the Altar & the Confessional, by Gennaro Preziuso (St Paul's Press) Reviewed by George Russo

ere is a book that embodies great sanctity of life that to the uninitiated seems astounding, if not impossible, for Padre Pio was one of those rare humans who bore in his body the stigmata of the crucified Christ. It happened in 1911 while he was a young priest who had "an experience that he could not understand. In the middle of his hands there appeared what looked like punctured wounds, accompanied by sharp pain." It was the stigmata of the crucified Lord that St Francis of Assisi had before him. His fame soon spread, however reluctant he was. Great crowds of pilgrims came to the monastery outside of Naples to visit him; to see the saintly priest who bore the distinguishing marks of his crucified saviour, and to receive his counsel and forgiveness in the Confessional, and, of course, to attend at his saintly celebration of Mass. His 5am Mass was attended by many of the faithful from all over the world. One such was the celebrated novelist, Graham Greene, who had been warned that his Mass took two hours, "but (for him) it seemed to pass in about twenty minutes," said Greene, "who witnessed the clotted blood on his wrists, and his great pain." Greene was invited to meet the priest, but declined, saying. "I did not want my life to be changed by meeting a saint." Here was the paradox. wrote Greene of the "appalling strangeness of the mercy of God"; how this humble Capuchin priest, afflicted with immense suffering. could nevertheless dispense abundant saving graces to so many pilgrim souls. In a word, how he could change lives. We know from the history of the Church that saintly people have changed lives, that good Christian people influence lives. Our Lord

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Translated and Edited by Jo

Between the Altar and the Confessional

changed the lives of the Apostles, just by them being in His company and listening to His words. Remember, too, the young man In the Gospel who encountered Our Lord and asked how he could be 'good.' What strikes you as you read this extraordinary life are the unfathomable ways of God. and His all-abounding mercy, which was dispensed only after great personal suffering. And Padre Pio was one of his sacrificial victims. He carried out his threefold program, simply, by directing souls, reconciling them through the Sacrament of Penance, and cele-

brating Holy Mass. He was a man of prayer and penance. Yet, on the social level, he stretched himself to alleviate the miseries of poor families by founding the Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza (the House for the Relief of Suffering). It was a hospital for the sick poor, and the founder wanted it to have the most advanced scientific and technical equipment, so that it could be 'a place of authentic hospitality. He wanted the poor to feel at home there. During the Great War - from 1914-18 - Padre Pio spent time in the army as a chaplain. He observed at close range

Bernard was a monk and defender of Popes

Hibernians plan The Perth branch of the Hibernian Society held a special meeting of members to discuss buying a building site adjoining the Perth Fire Brigade Station. The proposal was to build a hall 35 feet by 80 feet. Because of the nature of the site the building was to include an underground supper MOM. The estimated cost, 700 pounds.

Gennaro Pr

physical and moral suffering that was not Christian, and was motivated to found his clinic on the principles of the charity of Christ. At his beatification Pope John Paul II reminded the faithful of Padre No's words when the world was still under the illusion that it could solve its problems by violence and war "What a dreadful thing war is! In every person wounded in the flesh, there is Jesus suffering." He organised prayer groups to complement the work of his House for the Relief of Suffering, as World War II loomed. For 60 years Padre No's life was a powerful witness to the supernatural in our lives. The Holy Father called upon priests to look to the example of his life, and exhorted them "To become docile and generous instruments of divine grace, which heals people at the roots of their ills, restoring peace of heart to them. "The altar and the confessional were the two focal points of his life: the charismatic intensity with which he celebrated the divine mysteries is a very salutary witness, to shake priests from the temptation of habit and help them to rediscover, day by day, the inexhaustible treasure of spiritual. moral and social renewal which is placed in their hands." This teaching squares with the Vatican Council when it declared that 'priests, as ministers of the Mass, act in a special way in the person of Christ who gave himself as a victim to sanctify men'. And this sums up the way Padre Pio relived the Passion of Christ in his Mass. "The whole of Calvary is there," he said, and it was the culmination of his life and work Padre No's dedication was for the availability of souls, relevant today in the teachings of the Second Vatican Council and the whole doctrine and leadership of the Church. One could not read this book without obtaining something of the great grace of the spirituality of this Master of the spiritual life. in his or her life. Like the Gospels, it could change your life.

he eleventh and twelfth centuries were turbulent for the Church, beset with anti-Popes, corruption and problems with European politics. In response, and perhaps as consolation, the Holy Spirit inspired some of the most remarkable individuals to maintain and strengthen the faith. Bernard of Clairvaux was among the first of these outstanding pre-Reformation saints. Bernard was born into a noble family in Burgundy, in France in

rule of St Benedict, where the monks ate only one meal a day. This however was not enough for Bernard, who added further austerities, despite, or perhaps resulting in constant ill health. In 1115, he was chosen by the abbot to found a daughter house and he was sent out with twelve other monks to found another monastery in a valley in Langres on the borders of Burgundy and Champagne. This was to become the famous monastery of Clairvaux. The first monks suffered 1090. appalling hardships before the He had been marked early in monastery was securely establife for an intellectual career, lished, but within Bernard's own however at the age of twenty-two, lifetime, Clairvaux held 700 he abandoned these plans. monks and had established 160 Instead he joined a small and daughter houses of its own. undistinguished Cistercian Bernard spent the next fifteen abbey at Citeaux. years at Clairvaux, where he Even at this time, Bernard was . studied, preached and taught.. persuasive and inspiring. His reputation spread throughHis uncle, four of his brothers. out Europe. one of whom was married with Bernard was never afraid to dis-* children, and twenty-five of his pute with a wrongdoer, even if friends entered the monastery they were very powerful. with him. He was one of the most promiThe monastery which Bernard nent opponents of Peter Abelard, joined held a particularly strict a scholar and cleric most famous

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in C4rist 2000 Perth historian Dr Jennifer Skerritt sheds sonic light on Catholic history to mark 2000 years of Christianity. This week: Bernard of Clairvaux 1090-1153 for his affair with a woman named Heloise, but who also expounded heretical teachings. Bernard was a great reformer not only of monasteries, but also the clergy in general and the order of the Templar's. He even aided the Pope in reforms of the Roman Curia. As part of his defence of true Catholic teaching, Bernard was also prominent in condemning attacks on Jews in Europe. In 1130, Pope Innocent II was challenged for the papacy by anti-Pope Anacletus II. Bernard spoke for Innocent, petitioning the Kings of France and England, and the Holy Roman emperor on the Pope's behalf. His success in this endeavour made hlin one of the most powerful men in Europe, with Kings

and princes seeking his support. His monks occupied some of the most prestigious positions in the Church; one became the Archbishop of Canterbury, another Pope Eugene II. In 1146 Bernard expounded the Second Crusade on behalf of the Pope and King Louis VII of France. He then toured Europe, promoting the Crusade and performing miracles. The Crusade was a failure, which bitterly disappointed Bernard. Obviously God had different plans. Bernard died at the age of sixtytwo in 1153. He was canonised only twentyone years later in 1174, and in 1830 was declared a doctor of the Church.

Movie Reviews

X-Men (and ladies) step Movie Ratings in to save the world

Halle Berry stars in the science-fiction thriller `X-Men. ' The US Catholic Conference classification Is All - adults and adolescents.

By Anne Navarro

litcast human beings whose genetic mutations give them superpowers are pitted against evil mutants intent on ruling over humanity in the entertaining sci-fi thriller "XMen." This film is surprisingly absorbing. Early on. the viewer understands that humans already fear and hate the race of mutants. US Senator Robert Kelly (Bruce Davi-

son) has introduced legislation designed to expose the possible "dangers" these scientific oddities can cause. And it is this legislation - and the prevailing prejudicial attitude - that forces Magneto (Ian McKellen), one of the world's most powerful mutants and master of magnetism, to turn his back on society. Together with his evil brotherhood, he seeks to rule over all of humanity. On the other end of the spectrum of these superhuman creatures is Magneto's

one-time friend, Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart), who has unparalleled telepathic abilities. Under his tutelage are a group of students whom he calls his XMen. Unlike Magneto and his rebel mutants, the X-Men use their powers to serve humanity. When Magneto attempts world domination, the two opposing groups square off in a battle of good vs evil. It is interesting to note that there is also a Christian message of compassion and

.-noto CNSITwenbeth Century Fax

mercy in the film. Xavier has established a school to teach mutants how to control and direct their powers for the greater good of mankind. The school is a safe haven for those the world considers deviants and misfits. Xavier and his X-Men fight to protect a world that ridicules and even hates them. Due to some sci-fi violence and a few instances of crass language. the US Catholic Conference classification is All - adults and adolescents. - CNS

Big storm makes for huge thriller Go Fred, Go Barney H

n 'The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas" Fred Flintstone (Mark Addy) and his best pal Barney Rubble (Stephen Baldwin) have just graduated from the Bmnto Crane Academy and secured jobs at the rock quarry in Bedrock Even though he is a blue-collar boy from the wrong side of the rocks, he can't help falling for beautiful. young heiress Wilma Slaghoople (Kristen Johnson). But will Wilma marry the suave and debonair Chip Rockefeller (Thomas Gibson), who drives a Cadirock? Strange to see animated characters being portrayed by human beings, but there is enough in 'The Flintstones" to make it fun for adults and older children. Due to slight sexual Innuendo and fleeting crass language, US Catholic Conference classification is Al - adults and adolescents.

eady after a late season fishing trip that netted a big catch, the six men aboard the Andrea Gail head directly into 'The Perfect Storm." Director Wolfgang Peterson ("Das Boot") has taken Sebastian Junger's nonfiction best seller and fashioned it into an absorbing tale of men against the sea, opening in October 1991. When their destination doesn't deliver the goods. Captain Billy 'Bine (George Clooney) suggests

serious chronicle, the film emphasises special-effects thrills to the detriment of characterisation. The incredibly courageous rescuers, for example, remain utterly anonymous. The result is eventful entertainment, but the movie charts a different course than Junger's book Due to discreet sexual innuendo. some profanity and an instance of rough language, the US Catholic Conference classification is AIII adults. - CNS

Car-heist pic could have done better

retired car thief must go back to his life of crime to ave his younger brother in the lacklustre-action flick "Gone in 60 Seconds." Randall "Memphis" Raines (Nicolas Cage) has spent the past six years frying to get as far away from his legendary car-thieving days as possible. But when an old buddy (Will Patton) pays an unexpected visit, Memphis is sucked back into a life of crime. This time, It's not an expensive car that lures

, . Secret society membership n ambitious Ivy League student joins a secret society in the hopes of gaining status and connections in the convoluted thriller. 'The Skulls" (Universal). Luke McNamara (Joshua Jackson) has been anxiously awaiting an invitation to join the Skulls, a secret society whose members have become the most prominent men in the nation. For Luke, crushed under the burdens of student loans and school work.

they go even further into the Atlantic where swordfish abound. A nonfunctioning ice machine seems to be their worst problem as they head home, their vessel bursting with fish. But in the meantime Hurricane Grace has roared up from Bermuda on a collision course with two other weather fronts - for a storm of unprecedented proportions. The movie, however, is not as perfect as the storm it depicts. While the book was a gripping,

membership means access to the connections and money that will get him into the law school of his choice. Unlike many of his Ivy League classmates. Luke has no family to lean on, and certainly no cushy inheritance to count on. Luke's membership in the Skulls strains his friendship with his best friend, Will (Hill Harper), whose suspicions about the Skulls' secret doings prompt the aspiring journalist to collect information for an

him, but the need to save his little brother's life. A dirty-looking Giovanni Ribisi with a scraggly goatee plays Kip, Memphis' brother in need. It seems he has botched up an important boost for a Brit, Raymond Calitri (Christopher Eccelston), whose business is reselling stolen cars. An angry Calitri now wants Kip's life in retribution for the lost cars. The only way to save Kip's skin is for Memphis to gather his old cronies to pull off a near-

is. .

ly impossible heist: 50 cars in one night. The women in the film are a mere afterthought, with Angelina Jolie, who plays Memphis' love interest, treated as little more than saucy window dressing in tight leather pants and a full-lipped pout. Due to some violence, an implied sexual encounter with shadowy nudity and brief rough language. the US Catholic Conference classification is Al!! adults. - CNS

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. USCG' classifications: Al generalpatronage: All - adults and adolescents; AIII - adults; AIV - 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. The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle, Al! American Psycho, 0 The Big Kahuna, AIII Big Momma's House, All Bossa Nova, AM Boys and Girls, AIII But I'm A Cheerleader. 0 Center Stage, All Chicken Run. Al Color of Paradise, All Croupier, AN Dinosaur, Al! Disney's The Kid. All East West, All! East Is East, All 111/2 Women. 0 Erin Bmckovich, Al!! Fantasia 2000, Al Final Destination, All The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas, All Frequency, All Gladiator, AIV Gone in 60 Seconds, AM Groove, 0 Hamlet, AIII Held Up, All High Fidelity. AIV Jesus' Son. 0 Keeping the Faith, MV Love and Basketball. AM Love's Labour's Lost, All Me. Myself and Irene, AN Mission: Impossible 2, AIII Mission to Mars. All My Dog Skip, AII Passion of Mind. AIII The Patriot, AN The Perfect Storm,, All Return to Me, All The Road to El Dorado. All Road 'Dip, 0 Rules of Engagement, AIII Running Free, AI Shaft, AN Shanghai Noon. All! Small lime Crooks, All Sunshine. AN Snow Day, Al The Tigger Movie, Al Titan &E.. All Toy Story 2, Al U571, All Up at the Villa, AIR The Virgin Suicides, 0 Where the Heart Is, AN The Woman Chaser, AN

. . secret Teen crush film not so

expose on the elite group. When Will mysteriously hangs himself. Luke suspects that his death was no suicide and that the Skulls are at the bottom of it all. But his determination to reveal the coverup puts his life in danger as he realises that membership privileges come at a high price. Because of brief violence, implied sexual situations and some crass language. the US Catholic Conference classification is AIII - adults. - CNS

profound a tale of love

socially awkward teen teams up with a popular high school jock to woo their respective dream girls in the forgettable romantic comedy, "Whatever It Takes." Ryan (Shane West), has a huge crush on the most beautiful girl in school. Ashley Grant (Jodi Lyn O'Keefe). But for him, a boy on the outside of the "in crowd." chances are zero to none that he can score

a date with her. His best friend and next-door neighbour is Maggie (Marla Sokoloff). a girl with a big heart, brains and good looks. Her unlikely suitor is Chris (James Franco), whom Maggie dismisses as the "dumb jock" Because of several sexual references, adolescent drinking and some rough language, the US Catholic Conference classifica- adults. tion is - CNS

The Record, July 20 2000 Page 11

In erna ional News

Bishop warns anarchy Rosary with Pope in Northern Ireland near In Brief

VATICAN CITY, 12 JULY (ZENIT) - During the Great Jubilee the groups that meet yearly to pray on World Rosary Day, will be led by the Holy Father himself. The event will be the realisation of a dream for a group of young Mexican laymen who, 5 years ago, began this "World Rosary" initiative, in which numerous groups throughout the world pray the Rosary on the same day. On this occasion, the groups will be able to join the Holy Father, whose recitation of the Rosary will be televised. In Mexico, the Rosary will be prayed in the Basilica of Guadalupe, in the presence of Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrem, Archbishop of Mexico.

US Gospel book WASHINGTON (CNS) - A new Book of the Gospels can he used liturgically in US dioceses beginning from 30 September, according to a decree from the president of the US National Conference of Catholic Bishops. The only authorised edition of the Book of the Gospels currently in use in US Latin-rite parishes was published by Catholic Book in the mid1970s and has no distinctive Introduction by the US bishops. The new book has an Introduction from the bishops which was confirmed by the Vatican on 23 May.

'Granny' Sunday WASHINGTON. 14 JULY (ZENIT) - The Church in the US has called on the faithful to celebrate 28 July. the feast of saints Joachim and Anne. Mary's parents and Jesus' grandparents, with special solemnity to mark the important role of grandparents. The jubilee of the "Third Age" will he held in Rome on 17 September. In the US the celebration will take place the following week, on 24 September.

Vocations rise ROME, 14 JULY (ZENIT) During a meeting held in "Aid to the Church in Need's" International Secretariat, Fr Anatally Gey expressed satisfaction with the steady growth in priestly vocations in the Catholic Church in Russia. In 1995, when the seminary moved from Moscow to St Petersburg to acquire more space, there were 30 seminarians. At present, there are 75 candidates for the priesthood, from the four Russian apostolic administrations.

TV ads protest RIO DE 'JANEIRO, Brazil (CNS) - Cardinal Eugenio Araujo Sales of Rio de Janeiro has written to twO advertising agencies to request they remove TV commercials using extensive footage of the famous Christ the Redeemer statue. Currently, a beer company and a soft drink distributor use the image of Christ the Redeemer in TV ads with women in bathing suits in suggestive poses.

BELFAST, Northern Ireland (CNS) - Northern Ireland is in danger of sliding into anarchy, a Belfast bishop warned as protests about the banned Protestant march in Drumcree continued. "What is happening across the whole of Northern Ireland is intolerable," said Bishop Patrick Walsh. whose Down and Connor Diocese includes Belfast. "We are in danger of sliding into anarchy. Entire communities are being harassed and intimidated, and many families are living in dread. Once more, dark clouds envelop our streets." In a comment directed at Portadown district Orangemen who called for loyalist protests against the banned march. Bishop Walsh said: 'Those who are orchestrating violence and fomenting passions and hatred by bitter speeches bear an awesome responsibility. What they are doing cannot be justified. What they are doing is morally wrong.

"Those who are in a position to exercise control of young people and children must take their courage in their hands and not allow themselves to be intimidated," he said. For the third year in a row, the Orange Order, a Protestant fraternity, was banned from staging a parade from Drumcree's Church of Ireland church to Portadown town centre along Garvaghy Road. Most residents of Garvaghy Road are Catholic and view the parade as a display of sectarian triumphalism. Following the ban by the independent Parades Commission, loyalists blocked roads and attacked security forces across Northern Ireland. Meanwhile, the head of the Order called for an end to protests In Portadown and urged loyalists to consider a new course of action. The Portadown district of the Order had called for the demon-

Wooden grates burn on a road blocked by loyalists In Portadown, Northern Ireland, on 10 July. -rioto L.,

strations to continue. but Robert Saulters, head of the Orange Order, rejected the calls and described his Portadown members as "ill-advised." He calll ‘d for -a period of reflec-

lion to decide a new course of

action." "Iwould say that [the Portadown Orangemeni are not playing the game with [the Order's leaders] at all." Saulters said.

Catholics oppose same-sex proposal Chinese to By Michael Lawton COWGNE, Germany (CNS) German Catholic leaders have criticised government plans to allow the registration of same-sex relationships. The president of the German bishops' conference. Bishop Karl Lehmann of Mainz, described the government proposals as "dishonest and deceptive." He said that although the term "marriage" is not used to describe the registration, the effect of the

changes will be to make the new legal form almost indistinguishable from marriage. The president of the lay Central Committee of German Catholics, Hans Joachim Meyer, said the draft law was impelled by the desire to undermine the constitutional guarantee of special protection for marriage and the family. Christian Democrat politicians have made similar criticisms, and the German interior minister. Otto Schily, raised objections to parts of the reform on the same consti-

tutional grounds. In an iu tide for Per Spiegel magazine, Bishop Johannes Dyba of Fulda described the new law as "a departure from the order of nature, a hollowing-out of the constitution, and a further fatal step toward degeneration, in the most literal sense of the word." Bishop Dyba said the German constitution was not designed to protect -imported pleasure-boys," referring to the possibility that, if the proposed law were passed, foreign same-sex partners could gain residence rights in Germany

Topeman' cartoon planned for UK TV

MANCHES1ER. England (CNS) - A cartoon that depicts the Pope as a man with an emotional age of 7 could be on British television by next year. "Popeman" is a Vatican-set cartoon that chronicles the adventures of a retarded pontiff who plays practical jokes and terrorises the Vatican guards. One episode involves the discovery of an errant slip from the Bible that

reads: -Page 9: 'God does exist' should read 'God does not exist." Another deals with a refrigerator from Chernobyl. Ukraine. It creates enough snow to build a ski slope in a Vatican crypt but its radioactivity brings hundreds of dead popes back to life. The makers insist that the Pope character is not based on Pope John Paul II but admit the cartoon attacks the Church. Phil Ox, the

project's French director, said: "I do not think the Church has any problem irritating me sometimes. I support gay rights and believe abortion is a solution sometimes. We do not want to question the fact that people believe in God and just want to question the establishment of the Church." SKY TV and the BBC are believed to be considering showing the cartoon.

visit Assisi ROME (CNS) - More than 200 Chinese young people are expected to attend World Youth Day 2000, announced the Franciscan friars from Assisi. At a 14 July news conference taking stock of the jubilee year thus far in Assisi and the Umbrian town's initiatives for the remainder of 2000. Franciscan Father Enzo Fortunato said 270 Chinese pilgrims were due to travel to Assisi before taking part in the 15-20 August youth event in Rome. Some 40,000 young people from all over the world are expected to spend the week preceding World Youth Day in Assisi. participating in catechesis programs and cultural events. Father Fortunato said that the Chinese government had already authorised visas for the young people, who are to arrive in Assisi on 14 August.

Former Archbishop of Canterbury Runcie dies aged 78 es were set aside when the two his last public engagements was men prayed together at the tomb the installation in March of Catholic Archbishop Cormac MANCHES1ER, England (CNS) of St Thomas Becket, the 12th-cenMurphy-O'Connor as archbishop - Archbishop Robert Runcie, spir- tury English martyr killed for of Westminster. itual head of the worldwide Angli- defending religious liberty during Archbishop Murphy-O'Connor can Communion from 1980-91, the reign of Henry H. The Pope and Archbishop offered sympathy to Archbishop died of prostate cancer on 12 July. signed a common declaration that Runcie's family and said he He was 78. mourned "a manIwas glad to call Archbishop Runcie led the recognised the steps alread;t a friend." Church of England at a time of taken along the path of unity increasing division and bitterness between the Anglican Commu"I had a very warm personal over issues such as homosexual nion and the Catholic Church and relationship with Robert Runcie, practice and the ordination of expressed the plans and hopes with whom I worked on many for future stages on that path. women priests. occasions. He was always kind In a telegram to the current head and thoughtful and had a wonHe had always been, he said in Photo CNS derful sense of humour. his retirement, a "reluctant arch- of the Anglican Communion, Archbishop George Carey of Can- The-then Archbishop of Canterbury, bishop." I le was deeply committed to When it was discovered earlier terbury, Pope John Paul said he Robert Runcie, greets Pope John Paul t he cause of Christian unity.Iwas Iin Assisi, Italy, in 1986. this year that the prostate cancer was saddened by the news of I particularly moved that, though was likely to be fatal, his response Archbishop Runcie's death. ory of Archbishop Runcie will stir ill, he insisted on attending my was seen by many as typical of "I give praise and thanks to the us all to love more deeply the past recent installation as archbishop him. Most Holy Trinity for the times which is our common heritage of Westminster." "I am dying cheerfully," he said. when we prayed together, in par- and to work more eagerly for the The president of the Catholic During Pope John Paul Il's 1982 ticular when I came to Canter- future," the Pope said. Bishops' Conference of England visit to Great Britain, Archbishop bury Cathedral in 1982 and when Archbishop Runcie became a and Wales, Archbishop Michael Runde welcomed him to Canter- the Archbishop came later to the life peer, a member of Britain's Bowen of Southwark, expressed bury. Years of mistrust between Church of St Gregory in Rome. It House of Lords, in 1990 and condolences on behalf of the the Catholic and Anglican church- Is my fervent hope that the mem- retired the following year. Among other bishops.

The Record, July 20 2000 Page 12

By Paulinus Barnes

-.=

In ernational News

Catholics, Orthodox, pray for Middle East peace By Nancy Frazier O'Brien BALTIMORE (CNS) - Members of an international OrthodoxCatholic dialogue commission took time out from 15-16 July to pray for the success of their own deliberations and for the Mideast summit taking place in western Maryland at the same time. The delegation headed by Australian Cardinal Edward Cassidy, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity at the Vatican, and Archbishop StyBanos of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia came to Baltimore on 15 July for a prayer service at the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation and a Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assump-

tion. The next day, they participated in an Orthodox Divine Liturgy at St Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Washington, followed by a visit to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. At the Baltimore Mass, worshippers prayed during the general intercessions that "the leaders working for peace in the Middle East" would achieve "a just and enduring peace." The Mideast summit at Camp David was taking place in Thurmont, less than 16 kilometres from Mount St Mary's College and Seminary, where meetings of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue Between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church were held. At a press briefing before the

Orthodox and Catholic leaders pray during a service at the Basilica of the National Shrine of St Elizabeth Ann Seton on 12 July. Photo ClgS,Nancy Wiecnec

Baltimore Mass, the co-chairmen of the conunission said the long and sometimes contentious history of Catholic-Orthodox relations

left some major obstacles to overcome. "There are wounds still needing to be healed, and historical situations. . . . that make it

very difficult to move ahead," said Cardinal Cassidy. But, he added, "there is reason to give thanks to God for some of the results" since the OrthodoxCatholic theological commission began its work 20 years ago. Archbishop Stylianos said the jubilee year was a good time to reflect on ways in which both churches "have not given the world the best example of Christian love." But he praised the "very brotherly common life" shared by Orthodox Christians and Roman Catholics in the United States. "Beyond all the dogmatic differences, what counts the most is the spirit, the attitude, the everyday concern we give one another, which helps more than all the dogmatic statements," he said.

Mafia sells prostitutes' babies NAPLES, JULY 12 (ZENIT) - For the past 6 months, the Italian Justice Ministry has been investigating claims that many Eastern European girls who come to Western Europe are not only obliged to engage in prostitution but are forced to get pregnant in order to sell their babies. The scandal came to light after an Albanian girl, who is not quite 20. gave details of this latest shocking development in the traffic of human beings. This market can he traced back

to Germany. When the Albanian girl became pregnant. she did not want an abortion. A few days before giving birth. however, she was forced to take a train to Germany. In Mannheim. near Frankfurt, an unscrupulous group induced the birth and took the baby. The birth took place in a clinic, and afterwards the mother was obliged to return to Italy to continue working as a prostitute. According to this young mother. her case is not unique. Many Eastern European girls who are pros-

titutes in Italy end up in the German centre. They are often brought to the West under false pretenses, or simply kidnapped and exploited by mafias that traffic in women who are pregnant, whether out of carelessness or by force, in order to feed the market for new-borns. Investigators have gone to Germany to discover leads to this terrible market and collaborate with the German police in the investigation of this new and inhuman form of criminality.

By Cindy Wooden

was arrested again on drug charges and sent to Rome's Regina Coeli prison. He was schedWed for release in September. Mario Marazziti. a volunteer at the prison from the Sant'Egidio Community said Cottarelli "was serious" about his altar serving duties "and he was certain that that was the most important day of his life." Marazziti said that with just three months left to serve on his sentence. Cottarelli "was looking toward the future.Stefania Tallei. another Sant'Egidio member who often visited Cottarelli. said he had told her after the Mass, "Who would have ever thought someone like me would he envied by everyone?"

He had a fragile, good, and open spirit." Tallei said. in view of the Jubilee in Prisons, he took a great interest and enthusiastically accepted to distribute the booklets with the Pope's address to his companions." Stefania said that on one occasion Gianfranco told her: With cocaine. I had the strength to relate to others. . „Fr. Vittorio Mini, the chaplain at "Regina Coeli." did not hide his distress. "This news hit me like a heavy blow. I know that we live with people at risk, who am flaglie but, every time something like this happens.I feel a tremendous blow"

abortion of embryos d Prisoner who served Pope's Mass dies condemne UICAN CITY (CNS) - A 44year-old inmate who was an altar

VATICAN CITY (CNS) - Purserver at Pope John Paul's II July posefully destroying fertilised 9 Mass in a Rome prison died on embryos is abortion, even when it 11 July, apparently of a drug overis done to increase the chances dose. that at least one foetus in a multiChosen by fellow inmates to be ple pregnancy will survive, the one of the servers for the jubilee Vatican said. \ lass, Gianfranco Cottarelli had -Embryonal reduction' consticarried the Pope's crosier during tutes a selective abortion: in fact. the liturgy. It consists of the direct and volPrison officials said Cottarelli untary elimination of an innocent died of a heart attack, most likely human being," said a declaration caused by a drug overdose: an of the Pontifical Council for the autopsy was ordered. Family. Cottarelli had already completThe declaration, released on 13 ed a sentence of more than 19 July at the Vatican. was written in years for murder. Three months consultation with the Congregaafter completing that sentence, he tion for the Doctrine of the Faith. the council said. Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Tnijillo Signed by Cardinal Alfonso Lopez 'Trujillo. council president. which doctors and patients have By Lou Panarale the declaration was issued after not given enough attention. widespread debate in Italy about The Church must call for WASHINGTON (CNS) - Two the ethical course of treatment for responsibility on the part of docspokesmen for the US Catholic a woman pregnant with eight tors who, in treating infertility. embryos after taking fertility resort to the "hyperstimulation" bishops expressed surprise and drugs. Doctors said it would be of ovulation, "creating situations concern over a recent magazine unheard for all of the foetuses to which put at risk the life of the article that claimed the FBI keeps survive to birth and, in addition. mother and of her conceived chil- an Investigative database on the National Conference of Catholic the pregnancy would seriously dren," the declaration said. "The moral prohibition [on Bishops and a number of pro-life jeopardise the mother's life. The Pontifical Council for the embryo destruction] remains and other groups. Family said that while taking fer- even if the continuation of the I nsight, a weekly news magatility drugs is not immoral, the pregnancy carries a risk for the zine published by The Washingconsequences of the treatment life or the health of the mother" ton Times, reported in its 23 June often raise ethical questions to or of the other foetuses, it said. Issue that it has been rumoured

Report claims FBI watching prolifers for years - but dismissed as nutty conspiracy theory" - that the federal government "has been assembling an extensive database on pro-life organisations." Now, the magazine said, it has obtained internal Justice Department documents "that lay out jusfor 'intrusive tification investigative activity- of a number of groups, including the NCCB, the Women's Coalition for Life, the American Life League, the Christian Coalition, Feminists for Life and Americans United for Life. Elsewhere, the Canadian

bishops were among several groups condemning the stabbing of Dr Garson Romalis, a doctor from Vancouver, British Columbia. who performed abortions. If police are correct in assuming that the doctor was stabbed because he performs abortions. "this attack is to be condemned as completely contrary to the most basic pro-life principle that the dignity and integrity of human life, both born and unborn, is to be respected and protected," said Bishop Gerald Wiesner, president of the CCCB.

Washington DC tries to force employers to include contraceptive cover

WASHINGTON (CNS) - A District of Columbia effort to require all employers in the city to include contraceptives in their health care coverage is being described as a "wedge issue" to ultimately mandate insurance coverage for abortion and euthanasia. The DC Council passed a bill on 11 July requiring all employers in the District that offer prescription drug plans to include contraceptives. Similar laws have been proposed or passed around the country. Mark Chopko, general counsel for the US Catholic Con-

ference, which employs more than 350 people at its Washington headquarters, told CNS that measures such as DC's are part of a concerted nationwide effort to force Catholic agencies to provide contraceptive coverage. "It's not a coincidence that virtually the same legislation is popping up around the country," Chopko said. "And when pressed for an exemption, we hear the same kinds of explanations for why they don't want one, down to using the same words." The DC Council rejected several proposed amendments for a "con-

science clause" allowing some religious employers to opt out of covering services and products that conflict with their teachings. Without such an exemption, the measure would affect employers based in the District of Columbia including Georgetown University, The Catholic University of America, Providence Hospital, the US Catholic Conference, dozens of seminaries and religious houses of study, and all parishes and Catholic schools. Mayor Anthony Williams has not said whether or not he supports it. For the sec-

ond week in a row. Catholics in city parishes were asked by the Archdiocese of Washington to lobby against the Bill. In a bulletin insert distributed at Masses on 15 and 16 July, Auxiliary Bishop William Lori described the situation as a battle for religious freedom. "It is clear that future attempts will be made to force the Church's hand not just on contraception but on other issues as well, such as insurance coverage for 'domestic partners,' abortion, etc.," Bishop Lori said in the information sheet for parish bulletins. The Record, July 20 2000 Page 13

Asian Catholic News

Murder suspicio in Jesuit's death RANCH!, India (CNS) - A Jesuit priest was found dead on a highway in eastern India on 12 July in what police say was a road accident. An initial autopsy, however, showed a bullet injury, prompting some confreres to suspect foul play, reported UCA News, an Asian church news agency based In Thailand. Father Remis Kerketta SI, 4Z headmaster of St Xavier School in Bihar state's Ranchi district, was found dead on the highway that runs from the district headquarters to eastern Calcutta and passes through his mission in Bundu. The police, who suspect the incident was a road accident, reported that two pairs of slippers lay on the road close to dead body, the body wore a helmet and its ear had a wound. Police handed over the body to the Jesuits after an autopsy the next day. According to the preliminary autopsy report, "his cerebral cortex was pierced by a bullet." Police official Gupteshwar Pandey told news media that many questions need to be answered and that only a thorough inquiry can give a clear pic-

ture. Jesuit Father Joseph Mini, rector of Manresa House in Ranchi. told UCA News on 12 July that the sandals did not belong to the dead priest, who wore shoes when they met hours before the confrere's death. Father Minj said Father Kerketta was with him in Ranch! that day, but left for his mission in the afternoon alone on his motorbike. which was also missing. 'IWo Catholics from Ranch!. who had some work with Father Kerketta in his Bundu mission, waited for him in Bundu until the evening but left for Ranch! when they could not meet him. A hospital staff member who assisted at the autopsy told UCA News on condition of anonymity that the body bore a close-range bullet wound that "pierced through one side of the ear to the other. Be sure it is a matter of murder," he added. The Ranch' Jesuit provincial. Father Christopher Lakra, told UCA News that he is not sure if it was a murder. "We have to wait" for detailed investigation reports. he said.

Indian Christians issue unity vision statement NEW DELHI. India (CNS) - Indian Christian leaders have issued a "unity of vision" statement as preparation for a proposed dialogue with Hindu groups in the wake of continued attacks on Christians. Some 35 leaders of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India and the Protestant National Council of Churches in India met on 11 July at the council's headquarters in Nagpur and issued the statement after "a serious and close look at the continued atrocities against churches." UCA News said the Nagpur "Statement of Churches in India" demanded that the federal government, led by Hindu nationalists, take measures to instill

confidence in the minds of minorities. The Christian leaders also asked the government to desist from "any utterances regarding the issues of conversion." Elsewhere, Hindu fundamentalists disrupted Christian missioners' relief work among drought victims in western India, a charge a Hindu group has denied even as police arrested its eight members. Carmelite of Mary Immaculate Father C.C. Jose, Rajkot diocese's social work director, said some Bajrang Dal (BD, party of the stout and strong) activists attacked a priest and a nun, and looted a storehouse on 7 July in Nani Kathachi village of Gujarat state's Surendranagar district.

Orders 'caste problem'

MADURA', India (UCAN) - An archbishop in southern India blames Religious for perpetuating the caste system in the Church, but a nun says bishops too are equally culpable. Certain practices among some congregations in Tamil Nadu state "perpetuate" the caste system and "caste animosity" in the Church, Archbishop Mar anus Arokiasamy of Madurai told UCA News. Without naming any congregation, the 72-year-old archbishop said some women congregations

conduct their chapters in such a way that their members are "bound" to elect a leader from "a particular community," who he said may not always be "a capable leader." Archbishop Arokiasamy, former president of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (Latin Rite), cited a chapter he conducted, where 40 among 60 participants came from the same community. Congregations should elect superiors on "merit and values of the Kingdom" and not on the basis of caste, he said.

The Record, July 20 2000 Page 14

Bishops urge peace reply for Papua PRIGEN, Indonesia (UCAN) - News during a break in a nation- that the protesters locked the Two Catholic bishops from Papua al Bible apostolate meeting held office and took away the key, and province have asked Indonesian in Prigen, East Java. He said that that they threatened to take action President Abdurralunan Wahid to he and Archbishop Duivenvoorde against the workers if they dare to respond to the Papuan demand met with Wahid on 27 June. resume work on the landing strip. for independence with peaceful Merauke archdiocese and JayaThe land owners, the Franciscan measures. pura, Agats-Asmat and Manok- explained, are demanding that Franciscan Bishop Leo Laba wari-Sorong dioceses are the four 350 million rupiah (about Ladjar of Jayapura told UCA News ecclesial territories in Papua. US$37,700) be paid for their tribon 6 July that he and Sacred Heart According to Bishop Ladjar, al land. Archbishop Jacobus Duivenvo- Papuans are opting for indepenHis Franciscan confrere, Brother orde of Merauke met with Wahid dence because they have suffered Theo van den Broek, head of Jayain Jakarta to discuss the Papua from injustice for 38 years since pura diocese's justice and peace issue. Papua's integration into Indone- commission, told UCA News on Bishop Ladjar said that the gov- sia in 1962. 13 July that the diocese already ernment should employ peaceful Elsewhere, Catholic and Protes- paid for the land, but the tribal means in settling the problem tant Churches in Papua have people still demand to be paid. since participants of the 29 May- stopped operating flights in the According to Brother van den 4 June Papuan congress have province after local tribal people Broek, 'We have asked the govagreed to use peaceful means in blocked landing strips to protest ernment to take immediate action seeking independence from the use of their lands for airports. to settle the dispute so that the Indonesia. Franciscan Brother Piet Bots, company can resume operations "I told the president that the con- director of Associated Mission to serve the people and the gress participants who asked for Aviation (AMA), told UCA News Church.' independence for Papua repre- by phone on 13 July that AMA had But Brother Bots said the govsented not only the political elite, to stop operations from 5 July ernment has not moved to settle but also the Papuan people in because the landing strip at Sen- the dispute. He also disclosed that general. So the president should tani airport in Jayapura, capital of 'some local people have taken the not look down on their aspiration Papua province in eastern Initiative of suing the land own(for independence)," Bishop Lad- Indonesia, was blocked with ers' because the blockage has jar said. He talked with UCA wood and rocks. Brother Bots said inflicted big losses on the public.

Christian beheaded in more Ambon violence ROME. 16 JULY (ZENIT-Fides) - the Zipur 5 Battalion. Some miliA Christian was beheaded on Sat- tiamen and Zipur 5 officers penurday night in Ponegono Atas, a etrated too far into the Christian Christian section of the city of sector and were captured. Ambon. Bishop Tethool told "Fides" that The Fides news agency of the "the civil emergency launched by Vatican's Congregation for the the central government appears Evangelisation of Peoples was to be increasingly counterprogiven the news on Saturday night ductive. We were expecting it to by Auxiliary Bishop Joseph bring peace; instead, Muslims are Tethool of Ambon. attacking more violently than The Bishop confirmed that the ever, even in the inner city." area, of Protestant majority, has Meanwhile, on 7 July, Leaders of been besieged since Thursday. Protestant Churches in Indonesia During the clashes on Saturday called on all Christian bodies evening, 8 Christians were killed worldwide to urge the Indonesian and the Protestant church of government to settle the proSejahtera was burnt. longed conflict. The escalation of violence The executive board of Persekuunleashed by Muslim "jihad" tuan GereJa-Gereja di Indonesia warriors is concentrated on the (PGI, Communion of Churches in centre of the city of Ambon, where Indonesia) made the urgent call the majority of Christians live. In a statement signed by PGI Bishop Tethool said that "the res- chairman Reverend Nathan Setiaidents are terrified." budi and PGI deputy chairman The school nearby is presently Reverend Andreas A. Yewangoen. being used as headquarters of the "(We) call on all Christian agen509 Army Battalion officers and cies in the world, both Protestant Mobile Police Brigades. and Catholic, to urge the IndoneThe "Jihad" warriors threatened sian government to take measures to attack days earlier because ele- to guarantee the rights to life of ments of 509 Army Battalion Indonesian Christians according seized 14 Muslim militants. to the United Nations convention Witnesses say the "Jihad" war- on human rights," the PGI said in riors are lead by army officers of its statement.

Chinese priests die HONG KONG (IlCAN) of the five elderly priests in China's Yunnan province, all unaffiliated to the government-sanctioned 'open" Church, died recently, and two others are too sick to carry out pastoral ministry. Father Louis He Dezong. Vatican-appointed administrator of Kunming diocese since 1950, died on 30 June at age 84. Father He had been sick for months and resigned as administrator before he died. Father He was an ethnic Yi and practiced his ministry privately but maintained contacts and supported young priests in the three dioceses in Ytmnan. Another elderly Yunnan priest. Father Andrew Shi Guangrong of Dali diocese, died of lung disease on March 13 at age 80, it was reported. Until another priest was ordained in 1996, Father Shi was the only priest serving Catholics in the vast and mountainous diocese, particularly the 10,000-20,000 ethnic Tibetan Catholics in Deqing autonomous prefecture, northwestern Yunnan.

Manila's dump survivors 'will return' ROME, 12 JULY (ZENIT) - For the past 15 years, Fr Giulio Marian!, a missionary in the Philippines, has been working as a parish priest in Manila. He heard the news of the landslide in the Payatas dump slum when he was visiting his family in Italy. It is feared that the number of victims in this slum, paradoxically known as the "Promised Land," might well reach 150. In statements to ZENIT, Fr Marian' said: "Manila is a metropolis of some 12 or, perhaps more accurately, 15 million inhabitants, in which thousands of people live on the margins of society. Moreover, many were born in these slums where they find scrap iron to resell. This was also the case of the notorious 'Smoky Mountain' dump, which was closed by President Ramos, in the vain hope of removing illicit traders. Since then, the 'Promised Land,'

which is adjacent to 'Smoky Mountain,' has become the goal for thousands. The tragedy happened after 5 days of rain and 2 typhoons." Fr Mariani said "Had we visited the same slums before the disaster, we would have found the people smiling, full of life and welcoming despite their poverty. "These people are barely surviving, but they are full of joy. "However, they are attached to that bit of land, and soon they will go to live there again, and shortly thereafter, begin smiling again. "In my parish too, half the faithful live in slums but, over the last few years,I have seen some little houses built. "This is the dream of every Filipino. In such cases, there is always some relative working abroad who sends money - Emigrants are their modern heroes." The priest said that 15 years ago, 10 per cent of the Filipino population owned all the country's

Filipinos scavenge the collapsed mountain of garbage called the Promised Land in Manila on 12 July.

wealth; 20 per cent belonged to the middle class that over these 15 years has been able to improve its condition slightly. However *All the rest are sunk in poverty," he said.

Official Engagements

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The Record, established in 1874, is distributed to Catholic churches. presbyteries, religious houses and subscribers throughout the Archdiocese of Perth and the Dioceses of Geraldton. Btutbury and Broome. Advertising rates Display: S6.60 col cm (GST included) Classifieds: $3.30 a line (GST included) Deadlines: Editorial: Tuesday. first mail. Advertising: Booking: Monday midday. Copy: Tuesday midday. Member: Aust Catholic Press Association: Aust Religious Press Association. The Record follows the Holy Spirit's teaching at the Second Vatican Council on the role of the Catholic print media. The Record will not return copy or photographs submitted for publication unless specifically requested in writing upon submission. The editor reserves the right to accept or reject any material submitted and to edit such material for clarity and brevity without recourse to the author.

Devotions `inculturate'

anew: "You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky: why then do you not know how to interpret the present timer (Lk 12:56).

Mass at Pregnancy Assistance - Archbishop Hickey

Mass for Marian Movement of Priests (Retreat), Sacred Heart College Chapel - Archbishop Hickey

Confirmation, Bedford - Archbishop Hickey

Visit Confirmation Candidates, Kelmscott - Archbishop Hickey

World Youth Day Pilgrimage Commissioning, Cathedral Parish Centre - Archbishop Hickey 27

HEALING I WILL pray with you for healing of the body, mind or spirit. Phone Michelle 9276 2637.

Visit Confirmation Candidates, Fremantle - Archbishop Hickey Resolution of Conference on Prisons. Wesley Centre Archbishop Hickey

IN MEMORIAM IN MEMORY of our late Parish Priest, Father Alexius Morahan. Over ten years of Perpetual Adoration with Benediction and Cenacle Rosary every Thursday with your prayerful guidance and attendance, our group of Adorers thank you and pray for you always. Rest in Peace. Father.

Visit Confirmation Candidates, Armadale - Archbishop Hickey

St Thomas More College Council Meeting - Archbishop Hickey 28

Performing Arts Festival Opening Mass, Chapel of St Michael the Archangel - Archbishop Hickey Cross Roads gathering. Fremantle - Archbishop Hickey Visit Confirmation Candidates. Lesmurdie - Bishop Healy

Confirmation, Highgate - Monsignor Peter McCrann

Confirmation. Armadale - Archbishop Hickey Mass to celebrate 25th Anniversary of St Lawrence Church, Balcatta - Bishop Healy

AUGUST 1

Opening Ceremony International Federation of Catholic Universities (IFCU). University of Notre Dame A rchbishop Hickey. Bishop Healy

1 & 2 Confirmation. Lesmurdie - Bishop Healy 2

IFCU Assembly, University of Notre Dame - Archbishop Hickey

Archcliocesan Panorama W ANT TO SING AT ST MARY'S CATHEDRAL?

David Kehoe PO Box 75, Leederville, WA. 6902 587 Newcastle Street, West Perth, WA. 6005. (08) 9227 7080. Fax (08) 9227 7087 cathrec@iinetnet.au Roman Catholic Archbishop of Perth.

Continued from Page 6 A person who foretells what is going to happen responds to the curiosity of the mind, which wants to draw back the veil on the future. The prophet speaks to the blindness of will and of reason, and declares the will of God as an indication and demand for the present time. In this case, prediction of the future is of secondary importance. What is essential is the actualization of the definitive Revelation, which concerns me at the deepest level. The prophetic word is a warning or a consolation, or both together. In this sense there is a link between the charism of prophecy and the category of "the signs of the times", which Vatican H brought to light

Blessing of extensions at Mt Yokine School - Bishop Healy

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JULY

In this saying of Jesus, the "signs of the times" must be understood as the path he was taking. indeed it must be understood as Jesus himself. To interpret the signs of the times in the light of faith means to recognize the presence of Christ in every age. In the private revelations approved by the Church - and therefore also in Fatima - this is the point: they help us to understand the signs of the times and to respond to them rightly in faith. Next week: the human structure of private revelations

The choir sings at the 11.30am Mass at St. Mary's Cathedral on the first and third Sunday of the month. Practice sessions: Tuesday before the f irst and third Sunday of the month in the choir room behind the Cathedral Parish Centre, Hay Street. Perth between 7.15 and 8.15pm. Information: Michael Peters on 041 238 4383 (e-mail: Mike.Peters@bigpond.com) or Alexsandra Louise on 0413 483 438 (e-mail : Alexsandra. Louise@ca.com). WORLD YOUTH DAY COMMISSIONING A rchbishop Barry Hickey will be celebrating a commissioning ceremony and farewell of World Youth Day Pilgrims. All pilgrims, their families. f riends, parishioners, supporters and well wishens are welcome! Tuesday 25 July, 7pm, Cathedral Parish Centre, 450 Hay Street Perth. RSVP cym@cymperth.iinet.net.au. Info: Karen Prentice and Derek Boylen 9221 5904 . BUSINESS PERSONS' MASS Will be celebrated at All Saints Chapel, Allendale Square, Perth on Fri 28 July at 7am, followed by a Breakfast Meeting at the Alpha Café. Wesley A rcade. Cost of Breakfast S8.50. The Guest Speaker will be Brian Coyne. co-ordinator of the Jubilee Celebrations. HOLY HOUR FOR VOCATIONS A Holy Hour will be held Sat 29 July. 10-h am at the Redemptorist Church, 190 Vincent St. North Perth. All are welcome. DAY OF PRAYER FOR MEN A Day of Prayer and Reflection on priesthood and Religious life - with Fr Hugh Thomas CSsR. 29 July, 9am-5.30pm at Redemptorist Monastery, 190 Vincent St. North Perth. Lunch provided. Inquiries: 9328 6600. BULLSBROOK PILGRIMAGE Sun 30 July at 2pm at the Shrine of the Virgin of the Revelation, 36 Chittering Rd. Bullsbrook.

There will be Holy Rosary, homily. Benediction and blessing of the sick. Reconci liation at 11.30am, followed by Midday Mass. Parish groups wanting to make a Jubilee year pilgrimage are welcome to join. Ring 9277 5378 for bookings on the bus from Perth. Highgate and Midland. Information: SACRI 9447 3292. VIRGIN OF THE REVELATION CHURCH. CHITTERING RD. BULLSBROOK Come! 9am Holy Mass every Sunday. followed by Exposition, Rosary and Benediction. Mass. Exposition and Rosary on Tuesdays at 11am. A Plenary Indulgence may be gained by visiting the shrine in this year of the Great Jubilee. LEARN TO MEDITATE IN THE CHRISTIAN TRADITION A free introductory course in Christian meditation. Three Saturday afternoon sessions from 24pm 29 July, 5 and 12 August at St Simon Peter's Parish Centre, Prendiville Dye. Ocean Reef. For Information please call Gerald 9221 1727, 9305 3137 (ah). CREATIVE. UPCOMING NEW TALENT Come and view the work of Yr 8-12 students at Mercedes College Art Exhibition.Victoria Square. Opens Fri 28 July - Sat and Sun 12-4pm. THE GOSPEL OF JOHN The Archdiocesan Catechist Service is offering a six -week -course on Fridays from 10am to 12.30pm. commencing Fri 11 August at Catholic Education Office, Leederville. Information: Jan O'Connor 9212 9236 R ALLY AND LIFE IN THE SPIRIT SEMINAR AT WILLETTON Rally - 2 August. starts at 7.30pm at SS John and Paul Church, Willetton. All are welcome. Life in the Spirit Seminar - 8 Fridays. starting from 4 August at SS John and Paul Church. Pinetree Gully Rd. Willetton at 7.30pm. Registration and details available from the Parish or Michelle 9414 1260 or Belinda 9414 1882.

When financial disaster strikes her family, what future does she face? With your help, we could make the difference For Credit Card Donations Please Call 13 18 12 The Record, July 20 2000 Pao 3 15

Loreto Primary Nedlands

Switched-on 1 . school's a hive of activity for children S

Students perform a Iffurgkal dance.

et in leafy parklands. 1A)11-to Nedlands is a co-educational single-stream Catholic school for students from Kindergarten to Year 7. The school was founded in 1930 by the IBVM Order (Loreto Sisters) and is still owned by the Sisters, who have also maintained close links with the school and students over the years. Loreto seeks to create a stimulating, nurturing, encouraging and happy environment in which students have the opportunity to develop a sense of cooperation, a sense of community, self-esteem. responsibility and purpose. The school aims to achieve these goals in an atmosphere which is child-centred and growth-centred and which engenders a lively interest in life and learning. A dedicated and caring staff of classroom teachers, specialist teachers and support staff foster a sense of identity and belonging in each child and encourage learning and understanding. In an environment in which Catholic values are taught and nurtured, parental involvement in their children's education is actively encouraged and Nedlands is blessed with most supportive parents who assist the school in so many ways. The school prides itself in encouraging the students to strive to reach their full potential in a

As ills today. Loreto Primary was founded by the Loreto Sisters in 1930. The Sisters still own the school.

myriad of activities, ranging front academic pursuits to sporting and cultural interests. Great emphasis is placed on the pursuit of personal excellence and to enable the students to achieve their personal best, a very extensive co-curricular and extra curricular program is offered. One of the many features of the school is its advanced Information Technology Program. The last few years has seen an enormous growth in this area. The school now boasts two computer laboratories, one with a bank of sixteen Pentium 266 MMX computers and the second with ten Pentium III 450 computers. Each of the junior classrooms has four computers with a further six Pentium III 600 in the Library Resource area. All computers are networked through 100 MB switches to two NT servers. The school has a permanent Internet connection and web presence at www.loretonedlands.wa.edu.au which is continually being updat-

The school's creative dance team entertain in Perth's Forrest Chase

ed. We are in the process of developing an Intranet which will also allow student and staff access to their ftles from home. The students also have access to a Kodak digital camera, a Sony digital video camera; the newest addition is a data projector. This large screen technology will enhance learning in the computer laboratory.

With the myriad of programs on offer, including Creative Dance. Orchestra, Swimming Squad. Cross Country Running Squad, Speaker of the Year, School Choir. School Productions, Creative Writing Competitions and a very extensive Challenge Program. Loreto Nedlands is always a hive of activity. Children are enthusiastically involved in a wide variety of pursuits, while at the same time. pursuing a very vigorous academic program - but at all times and in all ways Loreto Nedlands is a very happy place to be.

At a Glance

Students at work in the main computer laboratory.

Craft activities educate, concentrate minds and develop co-ordination.

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