THE RECORD
“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
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Faithful remember martyred Romero
Western Australia’s award-winning Catholic newspaper since 1874 - 21 April 2010
Large numbers fill Perth’s Catholic churches over Easter
Assassinated Archbishop’s work continues to inspire Salvadorians in, of all places, Perth BY BRIDGET SPINKS A Mass for an Archbishop murdered in El Salvador 30 years ago drew 200 Perth Catholics to St Mary's Cathedral on 26 March. The commemorative Mass was to remember the martyrdom of Archbishop Oscar Romero who served as Archbishop of San Salvador from 1977 to his death in 1980.
Monsignor Michael Keating, Dean of St Mary’s Cathedral, carries the Cross ahead of Archbishop Barry Hickey before the Catholic ceremony known as the veneration of the Cross. In many parishes across WA large numbers turned out in Holy Week to recall the final moments in the life of Jesus and his Resurrection. Mgr Keating told The Record that an estimated 2,000 people came to the newly completed Cathedral on Good Friday.
Perth, Western Australia
Young people ask Pope for guidance in facing fears, doubts VALLETTA, Malta (CNS) - In an unexpected display of honesty and frankness, five young Maltese men and women spoke to Pope Benedict XVI about their hopes, doubts, and fears as well as the contradictions they sense within the Catholic Church. Their testimonies were part of a music-filled and prayerful gathering of about 40,000 youth along the Valletta waterfront on 18 Pope Benedict XVI April. The Pope holds his crosier said “every peras he celebrates sonal encounter Mass in Granaries with Jesus is an Square in Floriana, o v e r w h e l m Malta, on 18 April. ing experience PHOTO: CNS/TONY of love.” Even GENTILE, REUTERS the hatred and anger St Paul felt toward Christians before his conversion “was completely swept away by the power of Christ’s love,” he said. See Page 13
Pope urges Malta to hold fast to its Christian roots, values
PHOTO: ANTHONY BARICH
Completed Cathedral draws an estimated 9,000 over ceremonies of Holy Week A girl looks at an image of Archbishop Oscar Romero on 24 March 2009, the 29th anniversary of his death at the Cathedral where he is buried in San Salvador, El Salvador. Archbishop Romero was assassinated while celebrating Mass in San Salvador in 1980. PHOTO: CNS PHOTO/LUIS GALDAMEZ, REUTERS
Fr Geronimo Flamenco, who was ordained to the diocese of Perth in June last year, was six years old when Salvadorian Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero was murdered. "For me, as a Salvadorian, he was the biggest hero in the Catholic Church in El Salvadorian history," Fr Flamenco said. Fr Flamenco remembers the night it happened. His father took him and his six siblings to the mountains to sleep in an effort to avoid possible military assassinations. "But the military came from Please turn to Page 8
BY BRIDGET SPINKS Thousands of Catholics attended Easter ceremonies in their parishes throughout Perth and Western Australia this year with a special highlight being the ceremonies at the newly completed St Mary’s Cathedral. It was the first Easter celebrated in the historic building since it was closed for completion works in late 2006. Parish priests around Perth reported larger than usual congregations turning out to mark the week of ceremonies focusing on Christ’s death and Resurrection. Fr Tony Maher, a priest of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate who resides at St Patrick’s Basilica in Fremantle, said he did not know what the reason was for the big Easter turnout at his parish. But the
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tendency in Western countries “to find faith and to come back to church, back to the Sacraments” has started, he said. “Even though the movement is very small, it’s started.” The Easter ceremonies at St Patrick’s Basilica, which has a seating capacity for approximately 700 people, were “very well attended”, especially the 3pm Good Friday ceremony which drew 900, making it “standing room only”. Fr Maher has only been at the Fremantle Basilica for several months but has witnessed Easter trends around Australia over the last five years. He served at St David’s in Tea Tree Gully, Adelaide from 2001–2007 and at St Eugene de Mazenod in Burpengary, Brisbane from 2008–2009. He’s optimistic about the future of Catholicism in Australia: “People are slowly but surely coming back to the values of the Catholic faith”. For Fr Maher, the return of Catholics to the Church at Easter and Christmas “to connect with their faith, to renew a spiritual commitment” is grow-
ing. “Overall, things are on the move and on the mend. We've got a long way to go, but certainly there's a great renewal in faith.” The northern suburbs parishes of Morley's Infant Jesus and Ocean Reef ’s St Simon Peter also drew large numbers. Infant Jesus in Morley drew 500 for the Easter vigil which was a “much bigger crowd than expected because we had nine adults being baptised and two being received into the Church,” Angela Youens, the parish administrator, told The Record. Good Friday drew up to 900 people. But the 10am Easter Sunday Mass had the biggest turnout of an estimated 1000 people. It was “absolutely overflowing” with people standing outside while inside four children were baptised, Ms Youens said. At St Simon Peter parish in Ocean Reef, Salvatorian Fr Derek Krzysztalowicz said 800 people came to the 10am Easter Sunday Mass, even though the Church only has a seating capacity of 400. Please turn to Page 2
How We Celebrated Easter 2010
in The Record In their own words: special roundup of how parishes across Perth and WA commemorated Christ’s victory over death
VALLETTA, Malta (CNS) - On a 27 hour visit to Malta, Pope Benedict XVI met with sex abuse victims, encouraged Maltese Catholics to keep the faith and walked in the footsteps of St Paul. In the midst of a worldwide storm over how the Church has handled clerical sex abuse, the Pope met privately with local sex abuse victims on 18 April, assuring them the Church was doing everything in its power to bring perpetrators to justice and to prevent further abuse of young people. The victims said they were pleased with the encounter and one said he felt "freed of a great weight" and was reconnected with his faith. The shadow of sex abuse cases didn't dampen the local population's outpouring of enthusiasm, nor did it obscure what the Pope said was his main mission on the Mediterranean island: to reconfirm the faith of one of the most Catholic countries in the world and encourage the Maltese to fully live out their Christian identity and values. Celebrating the 1,950th anniversary of St Paul's arrival in Malta, the Pope was able to hold the apostle up as an example or inspiration in his talks to politicians, Catholics, young people and even journalists. See Page 13