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After abuse report's damning findings against Irish Bishops are made public, Pope Benedict takes decisive action and steps in to clean up the...
of the Church in Ireland
Those who betrayed their offices and the faithful will face the consequences Vista 1-3
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"Be indefatigable in your purpose and with undaunted spirit resist iniquity and try to conquer evil with good, having before your eyes the reward of those who combat for Christ." -BISHOP MATTHEW GIBNEY 1874
THE PARISH. THE NATION. THE WORLD. Western Australia's award-winning Catholic newspaper since 1874 - Wednesday December 16 2009
Archbishop calls on parishes to indude Aboriginals
Perth, Western Australia $2
Refugee who lost his older brother to Taliban's brutality makes new life here, uses talents to sculpt God's Saints
We can, and should, be doing more to draw the first Australians into the life of the Church, especially when they are often the most distant from it, Archbishop tells Cathedral blessing ceremony A RCHBISHOP tions," the Archbishop Barry Hickey has said. called on the Catholic R egarding Church, especially Aboriginal disadvanparishes, to draw tage, the Archbishop into the life of the said it was a national Church the many shame that on so many Catholic Aboriginal measures of disadvanpeople whose famitage, Aboriginal peolies received their ple were so prominent. faith from Catholic Ways of reducing these Missions. were not easy, but there His call came durseemed no reason why ing an Aboriginal cercompulsory secondary emony for the blesseducation could not Archbishop Hickey ing of the Aboriginal be enforced at least in pathway in front of urban areas, nor why the Cathedral which was held skills education with subsequent on Tuesday evenin at the newly employment opportunities could refurbished St Marys Cathedral. not be made compulsory for all, The pathway depicts elements Aboriginal or not. of traditional Aboriginal life and Education and work could not the coming of Christianity in 16 only overcome earlier disadvanpanels etched on black granite by tage, but could also restore personNoongar artist Laurel Nannup. al dignity and stabilise family life. Many Aboriginal people, for The low expectation policies of whatever reason, remained at a this and former governments only distance from the Church, the perpetuated disadvantage. Archbishop said. It would be very His experience with young regrettable if they ever thought homeless Aboriginal men and they were not welcome. women over the past ten years Archbishop Hickey issued two revealed that few had gone past discussion papers on the Church Year 6, and none past Year 8. and Aboriginal people on Tuesday Not one came from a stable famas well (see page 8 in this weeks ily and not one was raised in a famRecord). ily where the father was present. Parish Councils and priests "Family stability is beyond the should take active steps to include power of governments, but govthem in all parish activities. ernments could provide condi"Nor should they consider them tions that made it more likely," 'the poor' as this stigmatises them Archbishop Hickey said. and fails them by low expectaArchbishop's discussion papers - Page 8
Mehdi Rasulle, the Afghan refugee who sculpted the statue of St Joseph the Worker and Blessed Mary MacKillop located just inside the main entrance of St Mary's Cathedral, is pictured with his wife Joanne and 12-month-old son Eolann after Archbishop Barry Hickey blessed the images during a special ceremony on December 13. 'HOTO: ANTHONY BARICH
LOVE IN ART
BY ANTHONY BARICH National Reporter
A
n Afghan refugee whose brother was executed by the Taliban crafted a statue of St Joseph the Worker in Perth's Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception based on what he learned of the saint in Muslim studies as a boy. Perth Archbishop Barry J Hickey blessed the statue in a special ceremony on December 13 at the Cathedral that was officially opened on December
8 after being closed for three years for a $32.9 million restoration and completion project. The sculptor of the statue is Mehdi Rasulle, 25, one of 11 children who was born in Kabul and arrived in Australia illegally by a boat crowded with over 200 people in 2001. Mehdi's statue of St Joseph has words inscribed in Hebrew, that reads, from right to left, "Joseph, son of David", referring to the term the angel used to address Joseph when appearing to him in a dream telling him not to fear taking Mary as his Please turn to Vista 4