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Pilgrimage home
Papal visit to Germany becomes a teaching moment
SPECIAL REPORT - Pages 9-12
Church will cancel registration to conduct legal marriages if hand forced on same-sex unions
Marriage licences warning By Robert Hiini IF THE state forced the Perth archdiocese to officiate at samesex unions, the archdiocese would cancel its registration to celebrate legal marriages, Archbishop Barry Hickey said last Sunday. His comments came as he spoke to parishioners of the Traditional Anglican Church parish of St Ninian and St Chad in Maylands. However, whether or not the Church would bury deceased Catholics who had entered into same-sex unions was something of which he was less certain, he said.
Answering a question from a member of the congregation, the Archbishop said he had “very, very serious concerns” about recent moves to amend the Marriage Act. “We can’t celebrate them”, the Archbishop said. “The ban on sodomy is still there. We can’t bless a relationship with an inbuilt defect in it ... We’ve got nothing against people loving one another; it’s the sexual content that makes it difficult for us”. The Archbishop said he thought the Australian Constitution would have to be changed before samesex marriage could be passed.
Nevertheless, if the push for samesex marriage succeeds, the Church will continue to celebrate marriage as it always has. “We might be back to the ghetto.
objection”, the Archbishop said. The Church would survive, he said, because the Holy Spirit is stronger than the law, providing strength to withstand persecution. The other major issue raised by the possibility of same-sex marriage was whether or not the Church could bury people who enter what it regards as morally illicit unions. “Do we bury them? I haven’t worked that out yet”, he said. “It is the Christian duty to bury the dead, to forgive sins, and to say it’s all in the hands of God. “It might be case by case - I just don’t know”, the Archbishop said.
The Tasmanian Parliament passed a motion earlier this month supporting same-sex marriage and calling on the federal government to amend the law. It passed with the support of Labor and the Greens and puts pressure on federal Labor to change its stance. Prime Minister Julia Gillard has expressed her support for marriage as currently defined in the Marriage Act. In August, only 30 of Australia’s 150 lower house MPs chose to consult constituents on same-sex marriage, with responses reported both for and against.
Notre Dame students Gabrielle Fitzpatrick, left, Samara D’Monte and Chiara Lembo enjoy their new school’s surrounds.
PHOTO: COURTESY NOTRE DAME PRIMARY
“We cannot do those marriages at all.” We cannot do those marriages at all. And if the law forces us to, we cancel our registration as marriage celebrants. We just don’t do it. “We continue to perform Church marriages but we can’t perform the marriage where there is a basic
Notre Dame’s new equation: one plus one equals one By Mark Reidy THE official blessing and opening of the new Notre Dame Primary School in Cloverdale on 9 September represented much more than a building project. Principal Paul Hille told students, parents, dignitaries and other guests the $10.08 million endeavour, amalgamating two local primary schools – Holy Name in Carlisle and Notre Dame – required not only creating a new physical infrastructure on the Cloverdale site, but also the integration of two school communities. “The school needed a whole new identity”, he said, “a new logo, motto, vision and mission statement, a new set of core values to be articulated and shared, a new school uniform to be designed and that was just the easy part! Then there was the critically important task of uniting two populations of students, staff, parents, school boards, school infrastructures, two different school cultures and two Continued on Page 4
Men find fatherhood focus a breath of fresh air By Robert Hiini THE CHURCH needs men and men need the Church, according to local MenALIVE coordinator, Kim Metcalfe. Mr Metcalfe and 12 other men spent the weekend of 10-11 September at a MenALIVE retreat at St Joseph’s, Queens Park, discerning what it meant to be a son of the Father and how to be good, godly men in the world. The men heard talks and testi-
monies and participated in group discussions and prayer, culminating in Sunday mass celebrated by parish priest, Fr Peter Stiglich OPraem. “It’s about giving men time and space to reflect on their relationship with God”, Mr Metcalfe said. “It’s not a new club you join, it’s about encouragement”, he said of his organisation. Men often have a very skewed picture of God, he said, based on their own relationships with their fathers. “They can often see God as
up there and perfect. MenALIVE is about reconnecting with the true, loving God.” “And if you can reach the man then you can reach the marriage, the Church and the world”. With the Sacrament of Reconciliation offered at their retreats, the sight of men going to Confession for the first time in five, ten or 15 years was “very powerful”, Mr Metcalfe said. Participant Andrea Zappacosta said the retreat was “a breath of
fresh air” in his “busy, fulfilling and, at times, challenging life”. It was his first time at a MenALIVE event, following a friend’s invitation. Mr Zappacosta and his fellow participants have formed a monthly Scripture journalling group on the back of the retreat. Mr Metcalfe said planning for next year’s events is well under way with retreat weekends scheduled for All Saints, Greenwood and St Denis’, Joondanna. According to the organisation, the MenALIVE
movement began in Brisbane in 2003 “to bring men together, renew their faith in God and encourage them to become an active force for renewal in the Church”. MenALIVE has run more than 100 events in the past eight years in Australia and New Zealand. Mr Metcalfe said he is open to other parishes booking MenALIVE weekends and can be contacted on 0414 537 023, with more information available at their website, menalive.org.au.