Fr Sean Fernandez on ... The
Inquisition
It killed millions, didn’t it? It’s what the Catholic Church is (secretly) all about, isn’t it? Of course. If you were a Protestant Reformer. VISTA 13
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
the Parish. the Nation. the World.
www.therecord.com.au
Latin Mass Centre opens at Belmont
Western Australia’s award-winning Catholic newspaper since 1874 - Wednesday 24 March 2010
Easter
Perth, Western Australia $2
UNDA’S STATIONS OF THE CROSS
Archbishop issues Pastoral on Christianity’s promise for our own lives
Perth Catholics who love the traditional Latin Mass - now known as the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite - gathered to be part of the blessing of a Church that will act as a centre for the Latin Mass in Perth.
“H
o p e, s e n s i t i v i t y, c l a s s i c i s m , contemporaneity” were the words used by wellknown Australian art critic and Director of the Art Gallery of NSW, Edmund Capon to describe the work of the artist who created the University of Notre Dame Australia’s s unique Stations of the Cross, unveiled in 1997. Once again staff, students and friends of the University will follow the Stations on Good Friday as part of the University’s annual Easter celebrations. For those who wish to participate, the Stations will take place on Good Friday, 2 April at 10am at the University’s chapel located at 32 Mouat Street, Fremantle.
Fr Brian Limbourn, left, acts as sub-deacon during the Mass celebrating the re-opening of St Anne’s Church in Belmont for the Latin Mass community. PHOTO: ANTHONY BARICH ■ BY ANTHONY BARICH
AFTER two years of eager anticipation, St Anne’s Church in Belmont has been opened and blessed as a centre for celebration of the Mass in Latin according to Pope Benedict XVI’s 2007 motu proprio Summorum Pontificum. The ceremony, which took place on St Patrick’s Day, 17 March came after Perth Latin Mass chaplain Fr Michael Rowe undertook a complete overhaul of the parish established in 1940. Fr Rowe has been operating out of St John’s Pro-Cathedral since he took over from Redemptorist Fr Augustine Cummins. As the community has continued to grow the old Pro-Cathedral has proved too small. It had no parking, public toilets, meeting hall or amenities. Belmont has all three, and was used extensively as the congregation feasted after the church blessing, Holy Hour, Benediction and Mass on 17 March, St Patrick’s Day. While appearing small from the outside, Fr Rowe is happy with St Anne’s, which he says is at least twice the size of the Pro-Cathedral and is more spacious. The priorities he identified after taking over the parish the day after Pentecost Sunday 2008 included painting the entire church, restoring the windows because the stained glass was falling out and installing an altar and the adjoining steps in the proper place for a Tridentine Mass. Please turn to Page 8
Priest resigns ■ BY BRIDGET SPINKS
A sculpture titled Prodigal Son by artist Karen Swenholt is displayed at the Museum of Biblical Art in New York in 2009. Sometimes called ‘the Gospel within the Gospel,’ the parable of the Prodigal Son is at the heart of Christianity and of the Season of Lent when Christians prepare for Easter. This week, Archbishop Barry Hickey issued a pastoral letter on the great events of Holy Week from Holy Thursday PHOTO: CNS/BOB ROLLER to Easter Vigil. Pastoral - Vista 2-3
In a statement released as The Record went to press on Tuesday Archbishop Barry Hickey confirmed that a priest who was convicted in 2007 for offences prior to being entering the seminary and ordination "has resigned from all his duties". His statement followed the publication of details concerning Fr Michael Slattery's conviction in The West Australian of 20 March. The paper reported the details of the offence, which involved indecently dealing with a 14 year old girl while working as a religion teacher at a Sydney school in the early 1980s prior to his ordination in 1986. Fr Slattery was a priest in the Harvey-Brunswick parishes in the diocese of Bunbury when the allegations became known. “Since his conviction in 2007, Fr Slattery has moved from Bunbury to Perth. He has been under my supervision since then,” Archbishop Hickey said in his statement. Continued on Page 8