WIN! Dinner for two in our READER SURVEY! Page 16 THURSDAY FEBRUARY 17 , 2005
THE PARISH. THE NATION. THE WORLD. soon to be on the Web
Western Australia’s Award-winning Catholic newspaper
Perth, Western Australia ● $1
Vandalised: Merredin Church attacked and desecrated Page 2
Lent: Book offers readers chance to pray with the Pope Page 16
Bunbury: Bishop responds to West Australian article Page 5
Fatima visionary dies Last of the children Our Lady appeared to goes home to all her friends
WA newspaper enters Vatican power play?
Sister Lucia, last Fatima visionary, dies in Portugal at age 97 Carmelite Sister Lucia dos Santos, the last of three Fatima visionaries, died on February 13 in her cloistered convent in Coimbra at the Sr Lucia age of 97. The Portuguese government declared February 15, the date of her funeral, as a national day of mourning. On May 13, 1917, when she was just 10 years old, Sister Lucia and her two younger cousins saw the Blessed Virgin Mary at Fatima, near their home. The apparitions continued once a month until October 13, 1917. Passionist Father Ciro Benedettini, a Vatican spokesman, said that Pope John Paul II, who began his Lenten retreat on February 13, offered special prayers for the nun, whom he met three times at the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima. The Pope also asked Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone of Genoa, Italy, to preside at the nun’s February 15 funeral in the Coimbra cathedral. The Cardinal, former secretary of the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, met with Sister Lucia and discussed the apparitions with her several times in preparation for the 2000 publication of the so-called “third secret of Fatima.” While her cous-
Nuns pay their respects to Sister Lucia dos Santos as she lies in state during mourning ceremonies at St Teresa Carmelite monastery in Coimbra, Portugal, on February 14. Sister Lucia, who died at age 97, was the eldest of three Portuguese shepherd children who in 1917 received apparitions of the Virgin Mary. The apparations were approved by the Catholic Church, and in the late 1930’s, Sister Lucia made public the first two parts of the messages from Mary, which the children had kept secret. The final message was revealed by the Vatican in June 2000. Photo: CNS ins Francisco and Jacinta Marto died at a young age - as Our Lady of Fatima told them they would - it was left to Sister Lucia to transcribe the messages of Fatima, including the third section. Sister Lucia wrote down the third part of the message, sealed it
in an envelope and gave it to her local bishop. The message was sent to the Vatican in 1957, where successive popes read it, but decided not to reveal its contents. Sister Lucia’s last meeting with Pope John Paul was in May 2000,
when he traveled to Fatima to beatify her cousins and to announce that he was revealing the final piece of the Fatima message. Bishop Serafim de Sousa Ferreira Silva of Leiria-Fatima told Radio Renascenca, Portugal’s main Continued on page 2
What is the Christian Democratic Party? The Christian Democratic Party (CDP) is made up of ordinary people from many Christian churches (including the Catholic Church) who are deeply concerned about the erosion of Christian values in our society. CDP believes that the best way to protect and restore Christian values in our society is to elect Christian politicians who will stand firm for Christian values. CDP stands for putting families first, protecting children, caring for elderly and frail people, and restoring spiritual values in society through Christian-based policies in health, education, economics, etc. Do you also support these goals? CDP is opposed to abortion which harms mothers and kills unborn children, to experimentation on human embryos that results in their destruction, lowering the age of consent for homosexual acts, moves to legalise the killing of the sick and elderly, legalising prostitution, stopping prayers in Parliament, removing God from the oath, and other matters. Are you also opposed to these things? For the sake of your future, support the CDP Candidate in your electorate. Vote CDP 1 CDP’s wide-ranging policies can be viewed at www.cdpwa.org.au Enquiries on 1300 305 237 Authorised by Gerard Goiran, 7 Matthew Way, Thornlie
After much rumour and gossip in Perth media circles, The West Australian has made its long-awaited bid to enter Vatican politics and influence the next papal election. The paper launched a phone poll on February 3, asking its readers to register votes on whether Pope John Paul II should resign from his position. Quite why the paper had done this was unclear at first. As the phone poll progressed it was even less clear. It is too early to predict how this bold move by editor Paul Notsostrong will affect the paper’s share price. It might. Then again it might not. Farmers need rain. But they could wait a while. Neither Fairfax nor News Ltd share prices have been noticeably affected, but both media giants and the seven dwarfs (small shareholders) are watching developments intently. The phone poll asking whether Pope John Paul II should step down from his role as the Vicar of Christ was launched on February 3 and by February 8 the paper was able to announce that the ‘Yes’ vote had overwhelmed the ‘No’ vote by 90 votes to 84. This is believed by some, but not many, to be the biggest ever response to a media poll Continued on page 11
NORTHERN EXPOSURE Archbishop Barry Hickey reports on the vibrant Church scene and inspiring faith of a Church built on the sacrifices of martyrs as he found it during his recent visit to Vietnam
Pages 8 & 9
DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES In TV Land the women are not real. They don’t live like normal women in the suburbs. Instead, they only want to conform to male scriptwriters’ fantasies.
PAUL GRAY: Page 10
INDEX Letters I say, I say The World
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