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Between devotion and desire The paradox of the two notorious Sydney women who dutifully attended Sunday mass as they presided for decades over criminal empires - Pages 10-11
Archbishop’s new faith initiative to reach out to unbelievers
Everyone is worth saving By Peter Rosengren IN THE face of hostility, Catholics must relentlessly proclaim the good news of Christ, Archbishop Barry Hickey said at the launch of the archdiocese’s new centre for evangelisation on 28 September. The opening of the Faith Centre, at 450 Hay Street in Perth, fulfils a long-held dream of the archbishop, who was joined for the occasion by 45 members of Catholic lay groups and a handful of priests. The message Catholics had to take to the world was that every person was worth saving and bringing
into God’s kingdom, Archbishop Hickey said. “Where is our energy proclaiming the good news to those not in parishes, those out there in the world?” he asked. “Who is talking to them?” The Faith Centre has three priorities: proclaiming the Gospel to unbelievers; assisting others already doing good work in evangelisation; and assisting Catholics who want to seriously live their faith. When visiting parishes, the archbishop said, he heard the same thing: that the Gospel continuously urged Christ’s followers to go to
the ends of the earth to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ and God’s love for humanity.
“Where is our energy proclaiming the good news to those not in parishes?” The Church’s structure was hierarchical and based on parish boundaries, which had become centres of formation lasting gen-
erations. “Really, that’s where our energies all are,” he observed. But those who followed Christ had to be out among the unbelievers in the world, boldly proclaiming the Gospel. He noted the audience at the centre’s opening, comprised mostly of members of the new movements including the Disciples of Jesus, Flame Ministries, Focolare, Franciscans of the Immaculate and the Neocatechumenal Way, was a tiny minority in the Church. “They are out there, doing what Jesus wanted us to do, going to the risky parts, being insulted often,
being persecuted, but proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ.” Archbishop Hickey said his own contribution in recent years had included his 60-second television advertisements. However at $110 a second it was an expensive way to try to reach out to a society badly in need of the message of God’s love. The Gospel, the archbishop said, did not depend on money for its effectiveness; it depended on witnesses. The centre, largely to be staffed by volunteers, will give the Church in Perth the witnesses to get the Gospel out there, he said. Continued on Page 4
Trinity on the run, with a mission to aid India By Glynnis Grainger IT WAS all in an afternoon’s work for students of Trinity College in East Perth to raise money for the Indian Missions. Each year the College holds a fun run, with secondary students and staff running or walking around the river and finishing off with a sausage sizzle cooked by the prefects. On Friday 21 September they raised almost $8000 with the help of sponsors; a Year 7 student raised the largest sum of $450. All monies raised are used to support projects in India that the College has been involved with for more than 20 years. One is a school in Chennai, Mithra, begun by an Australian Sister, Mother Theodore, as an orphanage for disabled children, marginalised and neglected because of their condition. It has grown into a thriving day school for the orphans and Continued page 4
Trinity College student Sam Cocks heads for the finish line at the annual fundraiser held on Friday 21 September for Indian missions. PHOTO: COURTESY TRINITY COLLEGE
Australians, let us all rejoice, in a true-blue way By Robert Hiini CATHOLICS in Australia are still finding their voice when it comes to creating distinctly Australian hymns and liturgical traditions, says Archbishop Barry Hickey. Speaking to The Record as he prepared for a parish visitation to York, the archbishop said what constituted “Australian” remained somewhat fluid. “We are in the process of making our liturgy look Australian...
that our hymns might have an Australian voice [and] our liturgical decorations may speak in an Australian way,” he said. Reiterating his remarks to traditional Anglicans in Maylands on 24 September, Archbishop Hickey said the Anglican liturgy “became perfectly at home with English culture; in music and in the style of decoration of churches”. “What is an Australian voice? Is their a distinctive musical fingerprint for Australia? I don’t know.
“All I know is Australia is changing so rapidly. “We’ve got an influx of people from so many different nations all making one nation and that needs to be reflected as well. “Australian composers are out there, influenced by what they hear and see and feel in Australian culture. “I think we will produce great music before long.” Despite the changing nature of “Australianess”, there was reason to
think a number of composers had already made substantial, and distinctly Australian, contributions to the Church in this country. Archbishop Hickey praised the hymnal Hymns for the Year of Grace, with music by Richard Connolly and words by the once well-known poet James McAuley, released in 1963, as one such contribution. He also described late Perth priest Fr Albert Lynch as “a pioneer” in the area, having founded the St Mary’s Cathedral Choir and
written his own compositions for use in the Mass. Most Catholic music created in Australia was composed at a higher level than most parishes could cope with, he said, but he was confident that Australian compositions would eventually replace hymns sourced largely from the United States. “I don’t think Australian Catholics yet have a tradition of lusty congregational singing,” he said. “But it is coming.” Archbishop sees change – Page 3