Trusting in His
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‘CONTRA’ DEAL: Aid should not mean sterilisation Page 9
PERSEVERANCE: Strength gained from coping with mental illness Page 8
‘Be Catholic adults’ Archbishop Hickey speaks to students at CBC Fremantle Seven people addicted to sniffing paint fumes slept on the verandah of Archbishop Hickey’s small house on Thursday night last week. At 3am on Friday they began shouting and fighting, but the Archbishop resisted the temptation to go out and tell them to leave. At 6am, his usual time for rising, he asked them to move on for the day, which they did, and he set about cleaning up the mess on the verandah. Among the debris were 10 empty cans of metallic paint that had been consumed during the night. Early on Friday afternoon, Archbishop Hickey used the incident to illustrate to Year 11 students at CBC Fremantle the nature and importance of the Christian principle of love of God and love of neighbour. He had been invited to the College to address the students on the beliefs and values of being a Catholic. “Being a Catholic is about a person called Jesus, and once we make the choice to accept Jesus, his commandment of love calls on us to respect and defend the dignity of all human beings,” he said. “This means we must accept the challenge to love people who appear to be very unlovable. “The people on my verandah were homeless and addicted, not to alcohol or drugs but to sniffing substances that do terrible things to their brains. “No one will provide for them. No one will provide a basic shelter. “The challenge for me personally is to love them. “Christ said, whatever you do for the least of my little ones you do for me – and these certainly are the
Archbishop Barry Hickey talks to Year 11 students at CBC Fremantle last week. He said being a Catholic is first about accepting Jesus. When this is done one must also accept Christ’s commandment of love which calls everyone to respect and defend the dignity of all human beings even though some people’s behaviour might make this difficult to do. And those born into the Catholic faith still need to make a conscious choice to advance their faith to an adult level, he also said. Photo: Derek Boylen
least in our society... Our challenge as Catholics is always to recognise the dignity of all people. “It is recognition of the dignity of each person that leads us to be opposed to abortion and euthanasia. Old people have dignity and we
GREAT DAY FOR THE IRISH! St Patrick’s Basilica in Fremantle was the logical point for an annual event that makes even the faintest Irish heart sentimental for Eire - the St Patrick’s Day Parade.
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must recognise it.” The Archbishop told the students that some people, like himself, were born into a knowledge of Jesus and experience of the Catholic faith in prayer, family life, Mass, the sacraments, and the strong friendships that exist
with others who know and love Jesus. But even people with that background needed to make a conscious choice to advance their faith to that of an adult. Others encountered Jesus in a
INDEX Editorial/Letters I say, I say The World Feature Classifieds
variety of ways, but once they met him a real change happened in their lives. They not only wanted to be with Jesus, but also with his followers; and so we meet every week to worship Jesus. Some, including many converts, go to Mass every day because they are so thrilled by what has happened to them. A Catholic life consisted basically of three parts: the internal relationship with Jesus, the community life with other Catholics, and the witness to that faith in the life of society. The Catholic Church traced its origins back to Christ, going back from the Pope through all his predecessors to Peter, and thus to the authority of Christ. Other Christian denominations existed but were not one with the Catholic Church. Catholic life involves recognition that we need salvation and we need help to overcome our weaknesses, but it is not just about this life but also about the next life, after death. Life on earth is a journey to eternal life. “We all must make the choice to accept or reject Jesus; it can’t be done for us,” the Archbishop said. “Once we accept Jesus we are called to be holy, to draw strength from the sacraments Jesus and the Church give us, to pray, and to live a life of love of God and neighbour. “Among the things we must defend are the dignity of all human beings, the proper use of human sexuality, and community worship at Mass and all that is around it.” In relation to human sexuality, the Archbishop said that marriage is the way sexuality is properly Continued on page 2
PASSION, INTIMACY, LOVE - Page 6 - VISTA 4 - Pages 8–9 - Page 10
A Sydney Catholic couple specialising in helping marrieds rediscover the intimacy of marriage (and the beauty of God’s plan for live and love) will be in Perth next month.
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