Catholic Viewpoint April - June 2025 version 2

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VIEWPOIN APRIL-JUNE

2025

Bishop Peter Murphy’s Ordination

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MEMBER OF THE AUSTRALASIAN CATHOLIC PRESS ASSOCIATION ISSN 1446-0041

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BISHOP MURPHY’S ORDINATION

POPE LEO XIV BLESSED CARLO ACUTIS

On Thursday 8th May 2025, Most Reverend Peter Mel Murphy was installed as the eleventh Bishop of Armidale, at Saints Mary and Joseph Cathedral.

Close to 700 Clergy, dignatories and lay faithful were in attendance, including many parishioners from Wagga Wagga Diocese, who made the long drive with their children, to honour their former parish priest of Lavington.

The Mass began with ‘Be thou my vision’ a well known hymn that is attributed to a lesser known Irish poet and Saint, Dallán Forgaill. The BLESSED PIER GIORGIO FRASSATI hymn was fitting, considering the traditional Irish surname of Bishop Murphy and the surnames of previous bishops of Armidale; Kennedy, O’Mahony and O’Connor.

CHRISM MASS

AROUND THE DIOCESE

Immediately following the Gospel of John (20: 19-23), where Jesus commissions his Apostles, and breathes on them saying ‘Receive the Holy Spirit,’ the congregation remained standing for the hymn to the Holy Spirit ‘Veni Creator, Spiritus.’ Then, the rite of Ordination formally commenced.

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The rite of ordination of a bishop is part of the Sacrament of Holy Orders. There are six main parts: 1. Presentation and Examination

Bishop Murphy was presented to the principal consecrator, Metropolitan Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP, the apostolic mandate was read aloud and Bishop Murphy responded with “ I do” to nine questions about his resolve to uphold the faith and fulfill his duties as Bishop.

2. Litany of Saints

Bishop Murphy prostrated himself on the floor, while the congregation prayed the Litany of Saints, invoking the intercession of the Church in heaven.

4. Anointing and Investiture

Bishop Murphy’s head was anointed with holy chrism oil, symbolising the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. He was vested with three symbols of his office: Episcopal Ring, symbolising his espousal to the people of the Diocese of Armidale; and his Mitre and Crozier, representing his shepherding role.

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Bishop Murphy’s Ordination

3. Laying on of Hands and Prayer of Consecration

Episcopal Ring

The Archbishop laid his hands on the head of Bishop Murphy, in silence, followed by the two co-consecrators and the other bishops.

The Archbishop then recited the Prayer of Consecration, which is an essential act of ordination.

Mitre

Crozier 2

Following this, Archbishop Anthony led Bishop Murphy to the cathedra (bishop’s chair), symbolising Bishop Murphy’s teaching authority in the diocese. At this point the entire congregation erupted in applause.

6. Liturgy of the Eucharist

The ordination continued with Bishop Murphy celebrating Holy Mass concluding with the final blessing.

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5. Cathedra of the Bishop

The 8th of May is the feast day of Our Lady of Pompeii (Italy). The Pontifical Shrine of the Blessed Virgin of the Rosary of Pompeii, is famous for a venerated painting of the Blessed Virgin and the Child Jesus, presenting rosaries to St. Dominic and St. Catherine of Sienna. A mosaic depiction of this famous painting is featured above the entrance to Saints Mary and Joseph Cathedral Armidale (right).

The shrine was founded by Blessed Bartolo Longo (left), a passionate promoter of the Rosary, who laid the cornerstone of the shrine in Pompeii on May 8, 1876.

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POPE LEO XIV 8 May 2025 - First Blessing “urbi et orbi” (to the city of Rome and to the world) “Peace be with you all!” On the occasion of his first blessing as Bishop of Rome and head of the universal church, Pope Leo XIV repeated the first words spoken by the risen Christ.

He emphasised the importance of journeying together in the spirit of St. Augustine: “ With you I am a Christian and for you I am a bishop” “Together, we must look for ways to be a missionary Church, a Church that builds bridges and encourages dialogue, a Church ever open to welcoming like this Square (the Square of St. Peter’s) with its open arms , all those who are in need of our charity, our readiness to dialogue and our love.”

He exclaimed: “God loves us, God loves you all, and evil will not prevail” Pope Leo reminded those gathered that the world needs the light of Christ “to build bridges through dialogue and encounter, joining together as one people always at peace.”

21 june 2025 - the common good, religious freedom and artificial intelligence On the 21st June Pope Leo met with Presidents of Parliamentary institutions and delegations from sixty-eight countries to outline three important considerations in the current cultural context: the common good, religious freedom and artificial intelligence.

The Common Good Pope Leo spoke of the need to work to overcome the unacceptable disproportion between the immense wealth concentrated in the hands of a few and the worlds poor. Their working conditions comes to mind, not only in citizens in countries like Bangladesh and Pakistan, but immigrant, low wage and undocumented workers in the first world countries.

Religious Freedom His holiness again referenced St. Augustine who spoke of “the need to pass from amor sui – egotistic, myopic and destructive self-love – to amor Dei- a free and generous love, grounded in God and leading to the gift of self. That passage he taught is essential for the building of the civitas Dei (The City of God), a society whose fundamental law is charity.”

Artificial intelligence Pope Leo emphasised that “it must not be forgotten that artificial intelligence functions for the good of human beings, not to diminish them, not to replace them.” That A.I. “remains equipped with a ‘static memory’ that is in no way comparable to that of human beings. Our memory, on the other hand, is creative, dynamic, generative, capable of uniting past, present and future in a lively and fruitful search for meaning, with all the ethical and existential implications that this entails.”

In closing, Pope Leo offered St. Thomas More as a source of inspiration and guidance for leaders in the political sphere. “ Sir Thomas More was a man faithful to his civic responsibilities, a perfect servant of the state precisely because of his faith. “The courage he showed by his readiness to sacrifice his life rather than betray the truth makes him, also for us today, a martyr for freedom and for the primacy of conscience.”

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up and coming canonisations Blessed carlo acutis and Blessed pier giorgio frassati to be canonised september 7

By Courtney Mares Catholic News Agency On the 13th June, The Vatican announced that Blessed Carlo Acutis and Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, two young Catholics beloved for their vibrant faith and witness to holiness, will be canonized together on Sept. 7.

The date was set during the first ordinary public consistory of cardinals of Pope Leo XIV’s pontificate, held June 13 at the Apostolic Palace. Acutis, who died of leukemia in 2006 at age 15, will become the first millennial to be declared a saint by the Catholic Church.

Acutis’ canonization had originally been scheduled for April 27 during the Vatican’s Jubilee of Teenagers. That ceremony was postponed following the death of Pope Francis on April 21. Despite the change, thousands of young pilgrims from around the world who had travelled to Rome for Acutis’ canonization attended the late pope’s funeral and the jubilee Mass, which drew an estimated 200,000 people.

In an unexpected move, the consistory also decided to move the date for Frassati’s canonization, which had been set for Aug. 3 during the Jubilee of Youth.

Carlo Acutis, an Italian computer-coding teenager who died of cancer in 2006, is known for his great devotion to the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.

He became the first millennial to be beatified by the Catholic Church in 2020 and is widely popular among Catholics, particularly youth. Known for his deep faith and digital savvy, he used his computer-coding skills to draw attention to Eucharistic miracles around the world. His miracles’ exhibit, featuring more than 150 documented miracles involving the Eucharist throughout history, has since travelled to thousands of parishes across five continents.

The Vatican formally recognized a second miracle attributed to Acutis’ intercession on May 23, 2024. The case involved the healing of 21-year-old Valeria Valverde of Costa Rica, who sustained a serious brain injury in a bicycle accident while studying in Florence in 2022. She was not expected to survive but recovered after her mother prayed for Acutis’ intercession at his tomb in Assisi. Continued next page

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“The Eucharist is my highway to heaven” Born in London in 1991 and raised in Milan, Acutis attended daily Mass from a young age and was passionate about the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. Shortly after his first Communion at the age of 7, Carlo told his mother: “To always be united to Jesus: This is my life plan.”

Carlo called the Eucharist “my highway to heaven,” and he did all in his power to make the Real Presence known. His witness inspired his parents to return to practicing the Catholic faith and his Hindu gardener to convert and be baptized.

Many of Carlo’s classmates, friends, and family members testified to the Vatican how he brought them closer to God. He is remembered for saying: “People who place themselves before the sun get a tan; people who place themselves before the Eucharist become saints.” Shortly before his death, Acutis offered his suffering from cancer “for the pope and for the Church” and expressed a desire to go “straight to heaven.”

Known as a cheerful and kind child with a love for animals, video games, and technology, Acutis’ life has inspired documentaries, digital evangelization projects, and the founding of schools in his name. His legacy continues to resonate strongly with a new generation of Catholics.

pier giorgio frassati ‘To the heights of holiness’

Frassati, who died at the age of 24 in 1925, is also beloved by many today for his enthusiastic witness to holiness that reaches “to the heights.”

The young man from the northern Italian city of Turin was an avid mountaineer and Third Order Dominican known for his charitable outreach.

Born on Holy Saturday, April 6, 1901, Frassati was the son of the founder and director of the Italian newspaper La Stampa.

At the age of 17, he joined the St. Vincent de Paul Society and dedicated much of his spare time to taking care of the poor, the homeless, and the sick as well as demobilized servicemen returning from World War I. Frassati was also involved in the Apostleship of Prayer and Catholic Action. He obtained permission to receive daily Communion.

On a photograph of what would be his last climb, Frassati wrote the phrase “Verso L’Alto,” which means “to the heights.”

This phrase has become a motto for Catholics inspired by Frassati to strive for the summit of eternal life with Christ.

Frassati died of polio on July 4, 1925. His doctors later speculated that the young man had caught polio while serving the sick.

Pope John Paul II, who beatified Frassati in 1990, called him a “man of the Eight Beatitudes,” describing him as “entirely immersed in the mystery of God and totally dedicated to the constant service of his neighbor.”

The canonization Mass for Acutis and Frassati is expected to take place in St. Peter’s Square.

During Friday’s consistory, the College of Cardinals approved the upcoming canonizations of seven other blesseds, including Bartolo Longo, José Gregorio Hernández, Peter To Rot, Vincenza Maria Poloni, Ignazio Choukrallah Maloyan, María del Monte Carmelo Rendiles Martínez, and Maria Troncatti, who will be canonized together on Oct. 19.

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Chrism mass

On Holy Tuesday, 15th of April 2025, the Diocese of Armidale gathered for the celebration of the Chrism Mass at the Cathedral of Saints Mary and Joseph. The Most Reverend Geoffrey Jarrett, Bishop Emeritus of the Diocese of Lismore, served as principal celebrant and homilist, joined by the clergy, religious, and lay faithful from across the diocese.

It is during this Mass that the holy oils — the Oil of Catechumens and the Oil of the Sick are blessed, while the Sacred Chrism is consecrated for celebration of the sacraments throughout the coming liturgical year.

In his homily, Bishop Jarrett reflected on the deep historical and spiritual connection between the Diocese of Lismore and Armidale, recalling that “the Lismore diocese was hewn from the rock of Armidale.” His words evoked a sense of ecclesial continuity and spiritual kinship, underscoring the enduring legacy of faith that binds the two local Churches.

The clergy renewed their priestly promises in a spirit of reverence and obedience, recommitting themselves to their sacred ministry in service of Christ and His Church. The presence of the faithful, gathered in prayerful devotion for their clergy. This sacred liturgy, at the threshold of the Paschal Triduum, served as a powerful reminder of the Church’s mission to sanctify, teach, and shepherd, as she journeys ever deeper into the mystery of Christ’s Passion, Death, and Resurrection. Allem Alba

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around the diocese ST. ALBERTS COLLEGE UNE On the evening of Tuesday 13 May, renowned Catholic author Joseph Pearce spoke on the quest for truth, beauty and goodness at St. Alberts College.

The informal meet and greet was an opportunity for staff, students and special guests of St. Albert’s College to deepen their understanding of notable literary works, spanning the past and present. Special guests included Bishop Peter Murphy, and key figures in liberal arts education in Australia: Karl Schmude; co-founder of Campion College (tertiary education) and Tim Mitchell; Chair of Hartford College (primary and secondary education).

Following a buffet dinner, Pearce spoke on classics in the literature for children. Books that are now days still well known, but not so well read, including The Railway Children by Edith Nesbit, The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling and The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame.

Pearce answered questions on fantasy and high fantasy works by C.S. Lewis and J.R.R Tolkein, before highlighting the importance of poetry in a liberal arts education. ‘Poetry is the most beautiful expression with smallest number of words. The medium of poetry is the most efficient way of teaching the beauty of knowledge.’

MRS HELEN SWAIN RECEIVES BISHOP LUC MATHY’S AWARD FOR 40 YEARS SERVICE On Easter Sunday, Mrs. Helen Swain was presented with the Bishop Luc Matthys’ Award for forty years of volunteer service in public schools in the Willow Tree area as a Scripture teacher. The presentation took place at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church Willow Tree, a station under St. Brigid’s Quirindi. She is flanked by her husband and by the Parish Priest, Fr Henry Kingsley Etoh.

contact us Catholic Diocese Of Armidale 3/131 Barney Street Armidale NSW 2350 E. chancery@armidale.catholic.org.au P. 02 6771 8700

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