Viewpoin Catholic Vol 22 - no. 1 CirCulAtion 6,200 DioCese of …armidale.catholic.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/... · 2017-03-08 · Summer 2012 - CatholiC Viewpoint - 1 Catholic

Summer 2012 - CatholiC Viewpoint - 1

CatholiciewpoinV MeMber of the AustrAlAsiAn

CAtholiC press AssoCiAtionissn 1446-0041

CirCulAtion 6,200

Vol 22 - no. 1AutuMn 2013

DioCese of ArMiDAle

We pray for you.

PoPe Francis

2 - Summer 2012 - CatholiC Viewpoint

APRIL

17th April Centacare Board Meeting Tamworth

17th April Discovery Camp Mass Keepit Dam

22nd – 24th April Wilcannia – Forbes Diocese

24th April Catholic Education Commission Sydney

25th April ANZAC Day

MAY 2nd – 9th May Australian Catholic Bishops Conference Sydney

15th – 17th May Wilcannia – Forbes Diocese

17th May Confraternity of Christian Doctrine Commission Armidale

18th May World Youth Day, Formation Day Armidale

19th May Confirmation Armidale

22nd May Catholic Education Commission Sydney

23rd May “An Evening on Vatican II” Talk Inverell

24th May Debutante Ball Inverell

26th May Confirmation Inverell

28th – 30th May Clergy Assembly Armidale

30th May “An Evening on Vatican II” Talk Tamworth

31st May Debutante Ball, St Nicholas Tamworth

JUNE

1st June World Youth Day, Formation Day Tamworth

4th – 6th June Wilcannia – Forbes Diocese

6th June New South Wales Bishops Meeting Sydney

7th June Ordination to Priesthood of Deacon Tuan Tran Armidale

11th June St Albert’s College Board Meeting Armidale

17th - 20th June Australian Confraternity of Catholic Clergy Conference Melbourne

19th June Catholic Education Commission Sydney

22nd June Bishops Commission for Catholic School AGM Armidale

23rd June Confirmation West Tamworth

23rd June Catholic Women Connecting Mass Tamworth

Bishop’s major events

A note from the Editor:

winter edition out June 2013deadline

thurs 6th June

ContEntsDear Reader,Welcome to our Autumn Edition of Viewpoint. Our Diocese has been very busy since our last issue and I thank everyone who has contributed.Please keep sending those stories and information through, don’t wait for the deadline – send them when they are ready.I hope that you all have a very safe and enjoyable school holiday break and we’ll see you in the Winter Edition.

Cheers, Julie

CatholiciewpoinV

Front Cover: pope Francis

Back Cover: Chrism mass

page: 4 our pope

page: 6 Vocations

page 8: Catechists news

page 12 - 13: Vatican ii

page 14: indulgence

page 18: Celebrations

page 20: australia day awards

page 23: news for women

page 23: CwC

page 25: School news

page 28: For men

page 29: a parents perspective

CoNtACt VIEwPoINt:Phone:

6772 4971Email:

[email protected]

Postal: PO Box 94,

Armidale NSW 2340


the Bishop speaks

See, I make all things new: Revelation 21:5

Much has happened in our diocese and in the univer-sal Church since the last edition of Viewpoint.

Whitlam Report

Locally, we received the findings of the Whitlam In-quiry into the diocese’s management of certain his-torical allegations of child abuse. Whilst the report acknowledged the effectiveness of current Church processes and protocols, it highlighted that this was not always the case.

I do not intend to discuss this in more detail here, since I have already done so in public statements and pastoral letters. (These are available on the dioc-esan website armidale.catholic.org.au). Here I sim-ply want to add that this inquiry was important and necessary for our diocese. “The truth will set you free” we read in the New Testament.

I also recall Pope Benedict XVI saying that the Church has nothing to fear from the truth. The Whit-lam inquiry was important so that the truth can be known. And now that the truth is known, we can face it and deal with it. The truth has humbled us. May it also purify us, strengthen our resolve, and launch us into the future to carry forward the mis-sion of the Church.

Emeritus Pope Benedict & Pope Francis

Universally, we have been reminded of the enduring nature of the Church. When we speak of Pope Bene-dict XVI being the first Pope to resign in more than six hundred years, and Pope Francis being the first non-European Pope in more than a thousand years, we get some idea of the historical continuity and en-durance of the Church.

In our two thousand year history we have experi-enced many highs and many lows. Through it all we survive and continue the mission of the Church. So it is in our own day, and so it will be in the future.

By now most of you have no doubt read much about the retiring Pope Benedict XVI and the new Pope Francis either on the internet or in other publica-tions. However, as a member of the College of Bish-ops who was appointed by Pope Benedict and who

served the Church under his leadership I want to add my own testimony to him and his pontificate. Noth-ing I want to say, however, can match the testimony that Pope Francis himself gave to Pope Benedict, his predecessor, so I repeat it here and make it my own:

“With great affection and profound gratitude, my thought goes also to my venerable prede-cessor, Pope Benedict XVI, who during these years of his Pontificate has enriched and invig-orated the Church with his teachings, his kind-ness, his leadership, his faith, his humility and his meekness. They will remain a spiritual her-itage for everyone! The Petrine ministry, lived with total dedication, had in him a skilful and humble interpreter, whose gaze was always fixed on Christ, the risen Christ, present and alive in the Eucharist. Our fervent prayers will accompany him always, as will our ceaseless remembrance and our undying and affection-ate gratitude. We feel that Benedict XVI has lit a flame in the depths of our hearts: it will continue to blaze because it will be fuelled by his prayer, which will support the Church on her spiritual and missionary journey.”

Our gratitude to God for the pontificate of Benedict XVI is now matched by our gratitude to God for giv-ing us a new pastor in Pope Francis. In him we have a new Pope from a new country. He has a new name and a new style.

He reminds us that the Church is ever new or ever young as Blessed John Paul II used to say. As we rejoice in this newness, and as we celebrate the new life of Easter, we are renewed in our hope that the Church will live out her mission in the world with vigour ever new.

I urge you not to sit back and wait for others to carry forward this mission; I urge you to be a part of it yourself!

May God bless you all.

Yours in Christ the Lord,

Most Reverend Michael Kennedy

Bishop of Armidale


3 Keys to Pope Francis

Humility, Reform, Evangelization

By Dr. Edward Mulholland

The three keys to his pontificate will be humility, reform and evangelization.

Humility: You saw it. His first act as pope, before bless-ing his people, was to pray for his predecessor and then to bow down before his flock and ask for their prayers. Even as Cardinal Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Juan Mario Ber-goglio lived in a small dwelling, not a palace, cooked for himself, and often took public transportation.

He is a Latin American Jesuit with a huge heart for Social Justice, and yet distanced himself early on from currents of “Liberation Theology,” which would have us practice the Gospel seen through a Marxist prism. Such a stance may have made him unpopular in his seminary days. It takes humility to buck trends and stick to the truth. It takes hu-mility to recognize your own weakness and ask for prayers. It takes humility to live humbly as a prince of the Church.

Reform: Pope Francis has worked with the Curia, but he is an outsider, not an insider. He said the cardinals went to the “end of the earth” to find him. And he picks a name not ever used before. This marks something new. Francis of Assisi was asked by God to rebuild his Church.

He at first thought it was the run-down church of San Da-miano. He soon learned it was the whole Church, through a humble living of the Gospel. Pope Francis I will be a man of reform. He has an Italian last name but a new fresh per-spective. It will not be business as usual in Rome for long.

Evangelization: For a Jesuit, the first Francis that comes to mind would not be the Poverello of Assisi, but St. Francis Xavier, one of St Ignatius’ first “Company of Jesus,” whose native language, Spanish, Jorge Bergoglio shares. Convert-ed as a young man in college, St. Francis Xavier went to the ends of the earth to preach the Gospel, including Japan, before dying on his way to China.

At the upcoming World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro, you will hear the new Pope tell the youth of the world that story and challenge them to be like Francis Xavier. Bet on it. This will be a pontificate that is marked by a reinvigorated New Evangelization.

The world press has spent weeks speaking of scandal and troubles in the Church. I watched hundreds of college stu-dents tear up because they have a new Father in the Faith. We are not seeing the same reality.

The Holy Father, stunned as any humble man would be by such a weight, is not blind to Church problems, but sees the Church I saw today at Benedictine College: young, faithful, vibrant. He is the man the Holy Spirit has chosen to lead this young Church through troubled seas with humility, re-form and above all evangelization!

This is an edited version of the article reprinted with permis-sion from the Gregorian Institute at Benedictine College.


This is a statement from Fr Lombardi of the Vati-can Press Office refuting media reports on the role played by Pope Francis during his time in Argen-tina.

“The campaign against Bergoglio is well-known and dates back to many years ago. It has been made by a publication that carries out sometimes slander-ous and defamatory campaigns. The anticlerical cast of this campaign and of other accusations against Bergoglio is well-known and obvious.

The charges refer to the time before Jorge Mario Bergoglio became bishop [of Buenos Aires], when he was Provincial Superior of the Jesuits in Argen-tina and accuse him of not having protected two priests who were kidnapped”

This was never a concrete or credible accusation in his regard. He was questioned by an Argentinian court as someone aware of the situation but never as a defendant. He has, in documented form, denied any accusations.

Instead, there have been many declarations demon-strating how much Bergoglio did to protect many persons at the time of the military dictatorship. Ber-goglio’s role, once he became bishop, in promoting a request for forgiveness of the Church in Argentina for not having done enough at the time of the dicta-torship is also well-known.

The accusations pertain to a use of historical-soci-ological analysis of the dictatorship period made years ago by anticlerical elements to attack the Church. They must be firmly rejected.”

Pope Francis has chosen to remain with his episcopal seal and motto. Added to the original papal seal are a blue background along with a mitre with cross keys of gold and silver along with a red cord, symbol of his pontifical office.

The emblem of the Society of Jesus, the order which Pope Francis belongs to, is placed above on the shield. The emblem is an image of a radiant sun with the letters “IHS” the monogram of the name of Christ. A cross is placed above the let-ter H of the monogram while three nails are placed below it.

On the bottom left hand side of the shield is an image of a star, which according to heraldic tradition, symbolizes the Virgin Mary, mother of Christ and of the Church.

To the right of the star is the image of the spikenard, an aromatic plant, meant to symbolize St. Joseph, Patron of the Universal Church.

According to spanish iconographic tradition, St. Joseph is de-picted holding a branch of spikenard in his hand.

By placing these two symbols on his coat of arms, Pope Fran-

cis wished to express his particular devotion to the Virgin Mary and Saint. Joseph.

The Holy Father’s motto, “Miserando Atque Eligendo”, (Be-cause he saw him through the eyes of mercy and chose

him) is taken from a homily by Saint Bede the Vener-able regarding the calling of St. Matthew by Jesus.

Saint Bede’s homily, which is read on the feast of St. Matthew, is a homage to the divine mercy of Christ, and is of significance to the Holy Fa-ther in his spiritual itinerary.

According to a communique explaining the Papal coat of arms, at the age of 17, the young

Jorge Bergoglio experienced in a particular way, the loving presence of God in his life.

“Upon being chosen as bishop, Bishop Bergoglio, in remembrance of that event that began his total conse-

cration to God in the Church, decides to choose as motto and program of his life, the phrase by Saint Bede miserando atque eligendo which he has chosen to reproduce on his own pontifi-cal coat of arms.”

Junno Arocho Esteves

Pope Francis’ Motto & Crest

Vatican respondsLocal seminarian reports first hand

It has certainly been a very inter-esting time to be in Rome.

One of our lecturers, who chauf-feurs one of the Cardinals, tells of the amazement on their faces as Pope Benedict made his an-nouncement to the cardinals that he would be stepping down. I went with others from Beda Col-lege to Saint Peter’s Square for Pope Benedict’s final General Audience and his final Angelus. Each time there were thousands of people streaming into the square. It was a very emotional time. Pope Benedict’s parting words were affectionate and en-couraging. He told us that he was going up the mountain to pray and he would be praying for the Church.

Then there was the time of the sedes vacante which was full of expectation and excitement.

At the College we were being installed as acolytes at Mass on the evening of 13th March. We had come out from the celebra-tion, completed the recessional hymn in the foyer of the college

and were exchanging congratu-lations when one of the visiting priests said “Una fumata bianca!” - white smoke! His mother had phoned him on his cell phone.

The festive meal which fol-lowed (as a celebration of the new acolytes, but absorbing into it the mood of the announce-ment of the new pope) had a wonderful mood of excitement and joy - some people going off to the nearby classroom to watch proceedings on the electronic white board. Habemus Papam.

Pope Francis has since had his in-augural Mass to which the semi-narians were allowed to go, the day’s lectures being cancelled. He has already endeared himself to the people, 200,000 attending the Mass. There is a mood of qui-et buoyancy as the people learn more about our new Pope.

Unfortunately I have been laid up with a fever so haven’t been to the Vatican to see Pope Francis - I watched his first Angelus on Vati-can Radio.

Philip Fleming


What is the difference between a vocation and a vacation?

At a vocations school visit I once asked this question to a group of students in the class room to get their attention. I also wanted to see how many knew what the word vocation meant and how often they had heard the word.

Everyone looks forward to their vacation they said, time away, holidays, enjoying new surroundings, making new friends, en-joying life and finding time to relax in a peaceful place, dis-covering something new and exciting.

When asked what about a vocation? The answers were less exciting.... after a long pause some answers came back ..... It means hard work; it’s something God wants us to do- like be-ing a priest, long days, studying, could be boring, something you may not want to do and so on.

Of course being a priest in our Diocese and a happy one at that, I found the answers to “vocation” a little disappointing, at least the students were honest with what they thought or knew.

It is interesting, when we don’t know much about something we often make a guess of what it might mean. Of course a vo-cation is a calling, an invitation from God to follow or accept a role for Gods People. The Ordained Priest’s role is to continue the ministry of Jesus.

Vocation or Vacation?

The Priest living out his vocation is a specialist in spiritual life, the parish community expects that their priest help them experience God’s Grace - promoting the encounter between man and God.

God invites men to “follow him” The invitation is like a gentle tap on the shoulder, he does it in a loving way that once you feel Him you cannot resist the invitation.

The old saying “you know how to make God laugh? Tell him your plans” well there is truth in this. We might have great personal plans to change the world, to be famous, to have great riches. But to accept Gods plan is worth more than anything the world or human hands can provide. But it is important that we take time to “talk to God and let God talk to you” You can’t do this if you are listening to your IPhone, or too busy in draw-ing up your own plans for your whole life.

So what is this vocational call and why is it so important to give time to listen to God when he calls you. I suspect that many of our young adults don’t know much about a vocational call to religious life especially to the priesthood.

It is not surprising, certainly in today’s world, where we are becoming more distracted with modern technology. The mo-bile computer gadgets that every person needs to have. Bits and pieces that take us away from quality time talking with the whole family face to face and allowing God into our lives.

The good old Sunday afternoon relaxing and talking together as a family is becoming more difficult as we become busy people.

Our prayer time as a family is interrupted more and more, at times it is hard for both parents to be together as they are often working. Unfortunately the Sunday Mass is pushed aside and the challenge to find time to attend as a family gets lost in the “I have no time for that” syndrome that often takes control of our life.

So what is the answer? With today’s challenges how do we talk more about vocations and help our young ones know more about what it is to be called to a vocation in religious life.

What do we have to do to find time in our own family to be re-connected with our “parish family” Do we just leave it to God to sort it out? Do we wait for parishes to “run out of priests” these and many more questions can be asked but the answers may not be easy to find if we are “logging off” to God in our life today.

Fr Anthony Koppman

• To what vocation could God be calling your child? Could it be to the Priesthood or Religious Life?

• If your child said “yes” to the priesthood or Religious Life, how would you respond?

• How do you measure success? In terms of dollars and power, or service and giving?

• Would you ask your child to consider a vocation?

Ways to foster your child’s vocation• Pray for your child’s vocation• Talk to your children about the saints• Talk about your own vocation• Ask your parish priest for advice and guidance• Attend Mass regularly• Encourage your children to participate in

ministries at Mass and the youth group in your parish.

Questions for

parents


With around 3 months to go before World Youth Day 2013 in Rio, preparations are now well underway for the pilgrims from across the Diocese.

Heading to Rio are, from Tamworth Josh Walker, Fran-cis Mumford, Wendy Emery and Matilda Patton, from Moree Eliza McNivan and Fr O’Shea (Pilgrimage Chap-lain), from Walgett, Bonny Lance, from Warialda Dallas Hyatt, from Armidale Carlo Dela Cruz and Lee Herden (Pilgrim Coordinator). And of course Bishop Michael Kennedy!

The Diocesan pilgrims will gather to prepare for the journey. The process of preparing well for the pilgrimage includes prayer, catechesis, reflection and the logistics of the trip itself. Each pilgrim has already begun their own personal preparation for the journey.

Carlo from Armidale has provided the following insight into his personal preparation,

“Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord, let it be to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38). One day I would like to say to our Lord the same thing Mother Mary said in front of Angel Gabriel. While in the process of getting me there I believe World Youth Day has a part to play in that. My first faithful renewal happened in WYD 08 and I pray that WYD13

We are going to Rio!

will be my second renewal that through this experience God will entrust me with blessings so that others may be blessed according to his Holy Will. In my spiritual life I am currently looking for a spiritual director who will guide me, but it has also been suggested to read up on some of the saints to follow in their footsteps. Saint Pio was first recommended to me so he will be where I start.

In preparation for this Journey, I am starting to learn the basics of the language and to learn about the country it-self so that too is what I plan to do. God Bless!

These young people will be representing all of the Armi-dale Diocese as Catholic ambassadors in Rio. All mem-bers of the Diocese are asked to help our pilgrims through prayer and encouragement. The pilgrims are all eagerly fundraising and praying for the journey ahead. An added incentive in all of this is the thought of being amongst the assembled pilgrims from though out the world to cel-ebrate the new Pope’s first World Youth Day.


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Catechist news

With the first school term for 2013 currently completed the ministry of providing Catholic Special Religious Education lessons to Catholic students attending State Schools within the Diocese has also begun. Welcome back to all SRE Teachers and Assistants especially new members of the Parish SRE teams.

Commissioning Catechists

State School SRE teachers or ‘catechists’ are agents of the WORD to the world. During Term 1 across the Diocese a number of Parishes have during Mass held a Rite of Commissioning for their catechists which is a re-minder to both the catechist themselves and to the wider community that the catechist is being sent on ‘mission’ on behalf of the Parish community.

The ministry of the catechist is becoming increasingly important in our Diocese and is part of the evangelis-ing ministry of the Parish and is complementary to the Catholic school in its role of providing faith education to Catholic children in our Diocese and parishes.

Thank you to all who have undertaken this ministry this year.

Rickie Withers

5 years: John Martin, Jenny Wharton Philip Heffernan Cheryl Lavell

10 years: Moyna Grant, Eilish Magner-Clilverd, Barbara Fulwood, Margaret Nott, Anthony van Dorst, Margaret Boland, Maureen Carrigan, Maureen Wong, Anne Connolly, Jim Perrett

15 years: Daphne Brazel, Jenny Clancy, Gerard Dunn, Pauline Skewes

20 years Papal Blessing: John Hunt

Recognition for ServiceAt the end of each year the CCD Office acknowledges catechists who have reached key milestones in their years of dedicated service with awards which are presented through their parishes. The recipients for 2012 are:


Your donation helps open

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for the world’s poorest like

Ditosa in Mozambique.

PLEASE SUPPORTPROJECT COMPASSION

1800 024 413 www.caritas.org.au/projectcompassion

All donations $2 and over are tax deductible. Photo credit: Erin Johnson

Caritas’s annual Lenten Appeal, Project Compassion was launched in the Diocese by the students at McCarthy Catholic College during an assembly on Shrove Tuesday.

The work of Caritas around the world made possible by the generosity of Australian Catholics who contributed nearly $11 million to the appeal last year, including over $110,000 from our Diocese.

Our special visitor this year was Sister Noelene Quinane from the Goulburn province of the Sisters of St Joseph. Sister Noelene could only be here for three and a half days but they were action packed days during which she spoke to assembled students at all schools in Tamworth and to the children at St Joseph’s in Quirindi as well as at Masses in the three Tamworth parishes.

After a lifetime of teaching she is now using her experience and expertise to spread the gospel message of love for one’s neighbour by running the Global Education Program in schools throughout NSW. Having worked in the Philippines, she was able to give graphic accounts of the work of Caritas among the poorest of the poor in that country.

Caritas pays tribute to Fr Ron Perrett

On behalf of Caritas Australia, I want to give thanks for the wonderful priestly ministry of Fr Ron Perrett that God has gifted to the Church’s work in social jus-tice and international development.

Fr Ron was the Diocesan Director for Armidale when I first became involved in Caritas in the early 1990’s. His enthusi-asm for the Church’s mission for social justice is so much part of the story of the church in the Modern World.

50 years ago when Fr Ron was ordained, he was ordained for a church opening to the world. We celebrate a priesthood to-tally served in the context of the Second Vatican Council. We celebrate a ministry that was of leadership through service and ministry in Armidale and nationally that went to the edges to make sure the Church was present and welcoming to those who were on the margins.

We thank you for your pastoral leader-ship, your care for the poor and your au-thenticity.

Jack de Groot, Caritas Australia

sr noelene – Global Education Program


The 2013 school year began well and at this stage we are well into the ‘busyness’ of the year. I would like to give a special welcome to all new families and new staff members and in particular, those taking up leadership positions as Assistant Principals, RECs and Coordina-tors for the first time. I wish to particularly acknowledge those taking on new principal appointments, Katie Hanes at St Francis Xavier’s Narrabri, Max Quirk at St Mary’s Gunnedah, Meghan Donovan at St Joseph’s Warialda, Gary Hall at St Joseph’s Mungindi and Peter Holmes as Acting Principal at St Joseph’s Wee Waa for Semester 1, 2013.

As with the start of any new school year, it is so easy to forget the needs of parents in view of the striking pres-ence of young people in our schools. We recognise that parents extend to us substantial trust as we educate and care for their children. At the same time we recognise them as the primary educators and our own role as being in support, particularly from a faith perspective and with-in the context of the Church’s mission within the world.

This year we welcomed our new employees to the dio-cese in a special and historic way. Our New Employee Induction Day was delivered, for the first time on such a large scale, by video conference, thereby breaking down the ‘tyranny of distance’ that operates within the diocese. Bishop Kennedy and senior staff of the CSO connected with over 70 new full-time and part-time staff gathered

in three regional sites (Armidale, Tamworth and Moree) as part of their initial induction into the diocese. Special thanks go to Assistant Director: Mission and Evangelisa-tion, Lee Herden for leading this new and innovative way of delivering professional development to staff.

2013 brings with it significant challenges as we continue to develop our strategic improvement priorities at both school and system level, to analyse the data from last year’s Catholic identity survey as it relates to the mission of Catholic schooling and the formation of staff and stu-dents, implement the Diocesan Learning Improvement Strategy including the introduction of the Australian Curriculum, come to terms with the effects of the freeze in NSW State Government funding and monitor the po-tential implications of the introduction of the Govern-ment’s review into school funding and the requirements of Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC).

Finally, congratulations to all our school staff, students and parents and the staff of the Catholic Schools Office for the spirit in which they entered into the celebration of Catholic Schools Week . From a diocesan perspective thank you to all who were able to gather for the Catholic Schools Week Mass and the Spirit of Catholic Education Awards. Particular congratulations go to the recipients of the 2013 Spirit of Catholic Education Awards.

John Mula

About Education

outstanding Educator - Early Career teacher: Bianca Cousins, St Joseph’s West Tamworth (formally of St Michael’s Manilla)outstanding Educator - Experienced teacher: Libby Molony, McCarthy Catholic College and Amy Elliott, St Edward’s Primary School TamworthSchool Officer: Brett Higgins, Holy Trinity School, InverellVolunteer Supporter: Matthew Haddad, St Philomena’s School, MoreeInnovative Program Award: the Combined Catholic School Cultural Committee and Leadership: Lisa McSweeney, St Nicholas’ School, Tamworth.

spirit of Catholic Education Award Winners


Spirit of Catholic Education Awards

Tuesday 12 March 2013


The Second Vatican Council was opened by Pope John XXIII on 11th October 1962. From then on, over four years, some 2000 bishops met in St Peter’s Basilica, Rome, for two months each year, October and November, until the Council was closed by Pope Paul VI on 8th December 1965.

Only one Ecumenical Council had been called in the 400 years since Trent (1545-63); that was the Vatican Council which began in 1869, but was suspended in 1870 because of the war between France and Prussia. The bishops gathered at the Vatican in 1962 were very conscious of being in continuity with those two previous Councils, and they would go on to solemnly proclaim (in the Constitution on Divine Revelation - Dei Verbum) that “…following in the footsteps of the Council of Trent and of the First Vatican Council, this present council wishes to set forth authentic doctrine...”

As the Council progressed, the bishops realised that many issues were being raised of a pastoral rather than a doctrinal nature. Most previous Councils had been called to deal with aberrations in Christian doctrine; but much of the discussion at Vatican II was about relationships: within the Church, between the Churches, with other religions, with the world.

Pope John XXIII had set the tone by referring to the necessity of the Church to read the “signs of the times”. In a post-Enlightenment world bedazzled by science, a different methodology was required. The bishops’ way of handling

many questions was often more inductive than deductive; that is, rather than starting from unchanging, absolute principles and deducing solutions to practical problems, the bishops would begin by observing the facts - situations, attitudes, circumstances - and, from that evidence, would develop their teaching in the light of the Great Catholic Tradition.

This difference in methodology was at the heart of many of the great debates, at the beginning and throughout the Council. The original preparatory documents were completely reworked, and the planning commissions broadened to reflect the diversity of opinions which emerged among the bishops. Some preferred the old methodology of proclaiming unchanging truths first, while others sensed that this could be ineffective or even counterproductive. This tension is reflected in the documents which can sometimes appear ambiguous and susceptible to different interpretations.

The dynamic interplay and outcome of these debates was, for me, the most exciting aspect of the Council, and modelled that necessary dialogue of which Pope Paul VI spoke in his amazing encyclical on the Church: “Ecclesiam Suam”, written during the Council in 1964.

Another source of tension was the inevitable recognition that the Church was no longer Euro-centric. There may have been a time, as Hillaire Belloc said, when the Church was Europe and Europe was the Church. This fiction could no longer be

teaching Vatican II during the Year of Faith


maintained with such a vast number of African, Asian and other faces among the gathered bishops.

Yet another symptom of the problems and tensions at the time of the Council has been the use of the expression: “the spirit of Vatican II”. There was indeed a spirit of “aggiornamento” (Italian for ‘bringing-up-to-date’) surrounding the Council, with great energy for change on the one hand, and prophecies of doom on the other, with the expected bell-curve between the extremes. Unfortunately, the “spirit of the Council” has since been invoked to justify liturgical, catechetical, or pastoral innovations that go beyond what the Council fathers envisaged or intended. But just as the Council fathers, through dialogue and debate produced such astonishingly fresh yet faithful documents under the guidance of the Holy Spirit (the true Spirit of the Council), so also today, there is need to invoke the same Spirit, so that the energy for renewal is harnessed in fidelity to the Great Catholic Tradition.

To mark the fiftieth anniversary of Vatican II, Pope Benedict XVI declared a “Year of Faith” from October 2012 to November 2013. All dioceses around the world are being encouraged to reflect on the heritage of the Council, and to celebrate its legacy, both pastoral and doctrinal, by reaffirming its essential teachings in the light of the ancient Creeds. This is why Bishop Michael Kennedy is holding conferences on the Council in various parishes during the “Year of Faith”.

Bishop Kennedy is the fifth “post-Vatican II” bishop of Armidale, charged with implementing the provisions of the Council. Before him were bishops Matthys (1999-2011), Manning (1991-1997), Kennedy (1972-1991) and Freeman (1968-1971). The Armidale Diocese was represented at the Council by Bishop Edward Doody (1948-1968). He did not make a formal intervention on the floor of the Council, but his name does appear on several submissions from the Australian episcopate. You can

make a gift

For more information on making a bequest to the Diocese, parish or specific ministry, please contact:

Jennifer HarmanDiocesan Financial Administrator

PO Box 93, Armidale 2350 • Ph: 02 6772 8311

A gift that will lastA gift to be remembered

A gift that will make a difference

Will ad.indd 4 31/05/2011 8:43:40 AM

Bishop Michael Kennedy has the advantage of hindsight, of teaching the Council documents in the light of how they have been understood and received in the past fifty years. His motto is “Euntes Docete”, the words of Jesus to his apostles before the Ascension, telling them to go and teach all nations. The primary task of a bishop is, as it was for the apostles, to teach, and we are fortunate in having the opportunity of hearing our bishop reflect on the significance of the Council for the Church and the world today.

Fr Paul McCabe

Vatican II began on 1st October 1962 and continued until 8th December 1965.

Join Bishop Kennedy as he explores the impact of the Council on the life of the Church in the context

of the Year of Faith and the New Evangelisation.

Parish Date Time

Inverell 23rd May 2013 6.30 - 8.30pm

Tamworth 30th May 2013 7.30 - 9.30pm

Armidale 9th August 2013 7.30 - 9.30pm

Moree 15th August 2013 7.30 - 9.30pm

Gunnedah 29th August 2013 7.30 - 9.30pm

This evening will be an information and discussion session led by Bishop Kennedy

For more information, please contact your Parish

An evening with Bishop DL flyer.indd 2 9/01/2013 3:22:59 PM

Come & listen to Bishop Kennedy talk on Vatican II


Some people might be surprised to learn that the Church is offering Plenary Indulgences for the Year of Faith, thinking it to be a practice abandoned by the Church years ago. What was stopped years ago, in fact centuries ago, was the errant practice of selling indulgences. The Council of Trent put a stop to that in the sixteenth century. The next major change came after the Second Vatican Council when Pope Paul VI simplified and clarified the practice of indulgences in the Apostolic Constitution Indulgentiarum doctrina. The main points are presented in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (Numbers 1471-1479) published in 1994.

It states that “An indulgence is the remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, which the faithful Christian who is duly disposed gains under certain prescribed conditions through the action of the Church which, as the minister of redemption, dispenses and applies with authority the treasury of the satisfactions of Christ and the saints.” But what does all that mean?

God is, at the same time, both merciful and just. In his mercy he forgives the guilt of our sins through the action of the Church in the sacrament of reconciliation. In his justice he has deigned that we strive to purify ourselves, either here on earth or after death in the state called purgatory, in order to free ourselves from the ‘temporal punishment’ of sin, and in order to be made perfect for communion with him in the glory of Heaven. Such punishment is not a kind of vengeance inflicted by God, but is a consequence of the very nature of sin.

If we are generous in our works of prayer, penance, and charity, with firm faith and truly contrite heart, it is possible to attain the complete remittance of all temporal punishment due to sin. But, being human, we might not always undertake sufficient prayer, penance, and charity, or undertake them with sufficient faith and contrition. So the Church specifies certain prayers and activities that we can undertake to bring about either a partial or a full (plenary) remittance of temporal punishment due to our sin. The Church does this aware that she has been founded by Jesus Christ to be the minister of his redemption; that Jesus has given her the ‘power of the keys’ to loose and to bind; and that she is to imitate the mercy of Christ her founder and head. Thus, the Church looks for opportunities to grant these indulgences to the faithful, somewhat as Grandparents look for opportunities to ‘indulge’ their grandchildren, since sometimes it is good to be given something we don’t deserve.

The above definition of indulgences reminds us of several important points: 1 Indulgences are not a substitute for reconciliation, but are a remission of punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven. 2 To gain the indulgence the person must be ‘duly disposed’. This means being free from attachment to sin. 3 The Church carefully prescribes certain conditions so that the practice of gaining indulgences is not abused. 4 Indulgences are only possible because of the merits of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross (and to a lesser extent the merits gained for the Church by the saints), and because Christ instituted the Church to be the minister of his redemption.

An analogy might help us to understand the need for acts of reparation and for indulgences. If having nails driven into it damages a beautiful piece of timber, it is not sufficient merely

to remove the nails; the holes and the damage caused also have to be repaired. Likewise, when we sin, it is not enough merely to have our sins forgiven; the harm caused by our sin to others and to our own selves needs to be repaired. Prayer, penance, acts of charity, and indulgences are all a part of this repair work.

Bishop Michael Kennedy

Indulgences: Mother Church ‘indulges’ her children

Year of Faith DL flyer.indd 1 20/03/2013 4:14:43 PM

For more informationArmidale Diocese website:

http://armidale.catholic.org.au/year-of-faith/Vatican Site for Year of Faith:

http://www.annusfidei.va/content/novaevangelizatio/en.html


Aid to the Church in Need …. a Catholic charity dependent on the Holy See, providing pastoral relief to needy and oppressed Churches

Seminarians studying in Nigeria

Celebrate the Year of Faith by supporting seminarians where the Church is poor, persecuted or threatened.

The promotion of priestly formation is one of the highest priorities of the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN).

Each year ACN assists with the training of over 14,000 seminarians worldwide. The African continent, for instance, unlike many Western countries, is witnessing a lively flow of new vocations in the seminaries.

But this good news is tempered by the fact that due to the current economic crisis, many seminaries in the poorer parts of the world are struggling to survive. The poverty is great and often means suitable candidates being turned away, since their families nor their bishops have the funds to support their training.

It is vital to the future of the Church that not one vocation to the priesthood goes astray due to lack of finance. They are the future of Christ’s Holy Catholic Church.

The average grant ACN gives to a seminarian is $500 – but whatever you can afford will be enormously appreciated. ACN forwards the donations directly to a local bishop or the rectors of the seminaries. You can be assured of their prayers both now and when they come to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

Anyone able to help this cause will be sent a complimentary Year of Faith rosary blessed by Pope Benedict XVI.

To send your donation please fill in the coupon below and tick the box if you would like to receive the complimentary Year of Faith rosary. An inspirational leaflet explaining the design of the rosary also accompanies the gift set.

The centre piece of the Year of Faith rosary, designed by the Vatican rosary makers, is inspired by the Gospel passage about Thomas “Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed” John 20:29, as interpreted by the famous artist “Caravaggio” (1571 – 1610). The crucifix represents the Evangelists through whom the Faith has been transmitted. The Rosary Beads reflect the Vatican colours, symbolizing Faith preserved through the Holy Father.

View

point

The Year of the Faith rosary designed by the Vatican rosary makers will be sent out to all those who assist this cause and tick this box.

I/We enclose $________ to support the training of the future priests

October 11, 2012, witnessed the launch of the Year of Faith by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI for the Universal Church as a call to the universal Church for a renewal of faith in Jesus Christ unique saviour of the world.

The Year of Faith is associated with two anniversaries, the 50th of the opening of the Second Vatican council on October 11, 1962 and the 20th of the promulgation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church on October, 11 1992.

In his Apostolic Letter, Porta Fidei declaring the Year of Faith, the Pope Emeritus reminded us that “The ‘door of faith’ (Acts 14:27) is always open for us, ushering us into the life of com-munion with God and offering entry into his Church.”

The Year of Faith calls us into a deep renewal of our faith through retracing the history of our faith, studying the Cate-chism, praying the Creed and seeking to be an active witness of what we believe.

The Year of Grace was a call by the Australian Catholic Bish-ops in May 2012 inviting us all into a spiritual journey of en-countering Christ afresh in our lives.

There is a connection between these two specially designated years. Both initiatives are a response to the call for the New Evangelisation in the Third Millennium by Blessed John Paul II and taken up by Pope Benedict XVI, and share essentially the same goal: an encounter with Christ whether it be for the first time or a renewed discovery.

The way of encountering Christ may vary but the destination

is always the same, Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today and forever. (Heb 13:8).

The Year of Grace is a time to be nourished through prayer, cel-ebration of liturgies, prayerful reading of the Scriptures, medi-tating upon the Face of Christ, forming a base necessary to be able to delve more deeply into the revealed content of our Faith and appreciate the priority of God in our lives.

Grace and Faith are not inseparable or in opposition to each other. The greatest grace offered to us is Faith.

We must never forget that Faith is an unmerited gift from God. This is the fruit to be garnered as the Year of Grace melds into the Year of Faith just as a ship moves guided by a lighthouse towards its destination, a deeper faith in Christ.

(adapted from an article from The Faith Centre (Archdiocese of Perth) www.thefaith.org.au)

A synergy - Year of Grace and Year of Faith


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Naming a baby after a saint is a tradition well-established among Catholic families, and something Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI has endorsed.

A new app from Our Sunday Visi-tor aims to help parents in choos-ing the saint who will be their child’s patron. Saint Names for Your Baby is an iPhone app that allows for searching a database of more than 1,000 saints by sex, patronage, feast day, and country of origin. The entries also include known biographical information on the saint.

“This is a fun and easy way for parents to bring a spiritual aspect to a tough decision,” stated John Christensen, Our Sunday Visi-tor’s director of sales and market-ing. Parents might choose a saint whose feast day falls on a special

family day, such as a grandpar-ent’s birthday or an anniversary. By browsing the “needs tended to” filter, parents can find saints dedi-cated to a special cause or need that might be important to them.

Confirmation Names is a new app for young adults preparing for the sacrament of confirmation. Con-firmation candidates are usually asked to choose a saint name and holy role model prior to receiving the sacrament, and this app is one more way to connect young people with their faith through technol-ogy.

Finally, Our Sunday Visitor’s Pa-tron Saints app allows anyone with an interest in the saints, Cath-olic or not, to learn more about their lives and their faith at the push of a button.

For more information:

Archbishop Paul Gallagher is the 15th Apostolic Nuncio to serve in Australia.

The newly arrived Nuncio is a former priest of the Archdiocese of Liverpool who has been in diplomatic service for the Holy See since May 1984. He has served in postings in Tanzania, Uruguay, Philippines, Strasbourg, Guatemala and within the Vatican Secretariat of State.

He is multilingual speaking Italian, French and Spanish along with his native English. He is the only English born nuncio in active service of the Holy See.

Archbishop Gallagher was in Burundi during a civil war and in Guatemala in the aftermath of another civil war and dur-ing a number of natural disasters. Whilst in Burundi a stray shell meant for the Presidential Palace hit the Nunciature office instead. We can only pray that Canberra will be slightly less exciting and significantly safer!

The Apostolic office was established by Pope Pius X in a de-cree in 1914 which established an Apostolic Delegation. This was changed to an Apostolic Nunciature by Pope Paul VI in 1973. The origins of the role date back to the Byzantine Court.

The role of a Nuncio is to be a representative of the Holy See in a specific geographical area. It is both a diplomatic and eccle-sial role with functions in the political sphere along with other Ambassadors but also with specific duties within Church.

As the diplomatic representatives of the Pope they are given special credentials and instructions, of a public or private na-ture. They receive a secret code and enjoy the same privileges as ambassadors. Their appearances in public are in keeping with general diplomatic customs. Nuncios enjoy the title of

“Excellency” and the same hon-ours as ambassadors.

It is their special duty to super-vise ecclesiastical administration, and they report to the cardinal secretary of state; they grant dis-pensations in cases reserved to the pope, carry on the process of information for the nomination of new bishops, and enjoy the privilege of granting minor in-dulgences. In special cases they are delegated for the settlement of important ecclesiastical affairs.

App Aids Parents in Picking Baby name

A new Apostolic nuncio for Australia

Archive letter reveals Pope’s prayer for ACNA letter now released in English reveals how when he be-came a Cardinal, the new Pope pledged his prayers for a Catholic charity that aids persecuted Christians.In a letter to Fr Werenfried van Straaten, founder of Aid to the Church in Need, Cardinal Bergoglio wrote: “I promise you that I shall pray for the workers and benefactors of Aid to the Church in Need.”He went on to add a personal message to Fr Werenfried: “I shall also pray for you, whom I hold in pleasant memory (I have not forgotten the conversation we had more than 20 years ago).“Thank you also for everything you do for the Church. Please also pray for me.”

Saint Names for Your Baby: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/saint-names-for-your-baby/id548636698?mt=8Patron Saints: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/patron-saints/id548638713?mt=8

Confirmation Names: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/confirmation-names/id548057079?mt=8


Father Max Davis celebrated 25years of priesthood with a mass at St Francis Xavier’s Narrabri and a luncheon on December 7th 2012

The event was the occasion for many of Father Max’s congregation, friends and family to gather to mark the special event.

Father Max was ordained on December 8th 1987 at St Francis Xavier’s Narrabri.

“It was a wonderful opportunity to come to Narrabri to give thanks to God for the place of my birth and also where I have happy memories of Narrabri and my childhood” said Father Max

“It is wonderful to have this significant event in my life celebrated in this community. It is my way of saying thank you to the people of Narrabri”

More than 130 people joined Father Max for the cel-ebratory luncheon and many more attended the mass which also included St Francis Xavier’s students.

The Bishop of Armidale, Most Reverend Michael

Fr Ron Perrett celebrated his last Christmas Mass in St Joseph’s Parish, Gunnedah, with a large crowd at-tending the annual celebration on the lawn at the con-vent.

Families gathered from all over Australia to celebrate the birth of Jesus on Christmas Eve and enjoy time with their loved ones.

Fr Perrett called on the children to act out the Gospel, with “angels and shepherds” flocking to the front of the altar. The Mass ended with a very large birthday cake and the singing of Happy Birthday as well as lol-lies for the children handed out by altar servers.

Fr Ron has been Parish Priest at St Joseph’s since 2007. He moved to Armidale at the end of January co-inciding with Fr John McHugh beginning his pastoral work in Gunnedah.

At the age of 73, Fr Ron Perrett says he is ready to step down to lighter duties in the diocese after more than five years in Gunnedah.

He plans to live in Armidale and hopes to continue part-time pastoral work, at least until he reaches 75.

Fr Ron Perrett reading the Gospel at Christmas Eve Mass in Gunnedah with the children in front acting out the role of shepherds.

Father Max Davis – 25 years to celebrate

Kennedy DD, and Bishop Emeritus Most Reverend Luc Matthys were both present at the Mass and luncheon.

There were two Bishops, twenty two priests and eleven religious Sis-ters present to share Father Davis’s quarter century in the priesthood.

From Gunnedah to retirement

Fr Perrett said his time in Gunnedah had been one of the happiest in his priestly life and that he had appreciated the support and kindness of parishioners.

AMAzINg FACt!According to the International Society of Human Rights, 150,000 Christians are killed for their faith every year.

This means we have 17 new martyrs every hour every day.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan

Support good Shepherd Sunday appeal for education of priests and seminarians


ordained Priest, Rome, 12 March 1927

ordained Bishop, Brisbane, 22 April 1948

Died, Armidale, 9 April 1968The bishop of Armidale at the time of the Council was Edward John Doody (1948-1968). He was a literary scholar and wrote several hymns, including the old favourite: “Lady of the Rosary”. His translation of the “Nunc Dimittis”, which was included on his obituary card, is elegant and poetic:

Now dismiss your servant, Lord,

In peace, according to your word;

For my eyes have seen salvation

Which you set before each nation

As a light for revelation

To the gentiles, and the glory

Of your people, Israel. - Glory

To the Father and the Son

And the Holy Spirit, (three in One):

As it ever was and shall be

Now and for eternity.

He was bishop of Armidale for twenty years and represented the diocese at Vatican II. When he died in 1968, there

were over 50 priests in the diocese and over 40 seminarians (including those in the minor seminary which he founded). A scholar himself, he valued scholarship, and sent many seminarians and priests to Rome and elsewhere to complete graduate, post-graduate and doctoral studies. It was said that there were more doctorates per capita among the Armidale clergy than in any other Australian presbyterate. His courtly gravitas was legendary, and it was not surprising that a cavalcade of cars escorted him from the airport to the bishop’s house on his return from the first session of the Council. He lived at a time when the collective memory of the Church still carried echoes of the prince-bishop tradition.

As a student in Rome during the Council, I sometimes tried to draw him out about the proceedings, but he was reluctant to divulge information because the bishops were sworn to confidentiality. I suspect he found much of the discussion rather tedious because of his ill-health. Bishop Doody spent a good deal of the final session of the Council in the Hospital of the Little Company of Mary (Blue Nuns) in Rome, where I visited him often. Fr Ron Perrett informed me (from his reading of “Vatican II: Reception and Implementation in the Australian Church” (Edit.: Johnson & Hodge) that there is no evidence of Bishop Doody having made a speech at the Council. Of the 38 Australian bishops who attended, only 6 made speeches from the floor, although every one of them was cited in the 64 submissions from Australia. It is significant that the Australian, Rosemary

Goldie, actually wrote one of the key sentences in the decree on the Laity, advocating more involvement of women in the work of the church.

My clearest memory of Bishop Doody at the time was of how his face would brighten and his eyes sparkle when he recounted his interactions with his particular friend, the Bishop of Brentwood in England. They would meet regularly at one or other of the two coffee bars in the basilica: the Bar-Abbas or the Bar-Jonah. Each wrote Latin limericks, and they vied with one another in capturing the spirit of the Council and the foibles of their fellow bishops. I deeply regret not having retained any of his limericks which would throw light on how the Bishop of Armidale viewed the Second Vatican Council at the time.

Another Australian, Bishop O’Loughlin of Darwin, also wrote limericks, but his were in English.

We are two thousand padres in session

Who feel a great weight of oppression;

What with cardinals talking

And lesser lights squawking,

Thank goodness the bar’s so refreshing!

And another, more risqué, which became world famous and exists in various forms:

Ratzinger, Rahner and Kung,

Whose praises are everywhere sung -

Said Ottaviani:

“One fine domani,

I’ll have all those liberals hung!”

Father Paul McCabe

From our Past: Bishop Edward John Doody


Fr. Anthony Koppman from St Mary of the Angels par-ish, Guyra received the shires top award for his work in the wider community.

This year there were 9 nominations for the local Austra-lian of the year with Fr Anthony taking out this award.

“I was surprised to be nominated but to receive this award I was really taken back”, I love working as a member of the diocesan clergy helping, supporting and bringing God’s love to the wider community. I love what I do, so I really did not expect this award. I truly believe that we are all called to be generous to others around us. When we give we do so in a generous way, generosity usually comes back to us, especially in times of need. As a catholic priest I believe that I use my gifts that God has blessed me with and living out my vocation in a gen-erous and joyful way. I often look back at my life and think to myself how did I do that or I didn’t think that I would end up here....in other words God is so good to us, when we surrender to him and let him guide us we then see God’s grace at work in us and those around us.

I am so glad that I said ‘yes’ to the invitation to priest-hood. I love my vocation, even though some days are little trying, overall I end the day knowing that some-where I have brought God into someone’s life. That as a member of the clergy I am carrying on the good works from clergy in the past who also did the best they could in spreading the good news of Christ to their local com-munity.

Father Tom Shanahan has been awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for his service to veterans and their families, and to the community. Father Shanahan, an ex-serviceman himself, said he was blown away by the honour.

He said his desire to become involved in the RSL Sub-Branch in Tamworth and, over time, other branches across the region had been a result of his own time as an Australian serviceman. In the 40 years since he became involved Father Shanahan said he hadn’t looked back.

“I felt I could offer something to people because I had been there and expe-rienced similar things myself,” the Vietnam veteran said.

Father Shanahan said being listed among others on the Australia Day hon-ours list had come as a complete shock. “It was completely unexpected,” he said.

“I have only ever done things because I felt they were part of my path. I am lucky enough to have met so many wonderful and different people along the way – and the beauty of that is it has brought me great joy.”

Since retiring from the priesthood he had made every effort to go where he was needed.

“In that time, I have been able to help people that needed me to but to also explore the history of the war and different people’s experiences,” he said. “But I have always enjoyed being able to share my experiences and help oth-er ex-servicemen and their families and being able to reach out to people.”

Article courtesy Northern Daily Leader

Fr tom: Medal of the order of Australia

Fr Anthony – Guyra citizen of the Year

To receive this award is something that I hope reminds the commu-nity that the church is a vital part of the wider community and as a priest I also have a vital role not only with my parishioners but also with everyone in the community.”

Fr. Anthony was awarded the citizen of the year for working in vari-ous areas of the community, including his parish priest role. He has been generous to the annual Guyra hospital Christmas carols as mc, Guyra rotary club, police chaplaincy, RSL chaplaincy, providing fire-works fundraising opportunities to various community groups in the diocese, and many and various ways.

Follow Pope Francis and the Church in the world through you iPhone and iPod touch.

The H2Onews application for the iPhone and iPod Touch brings you timely, insight-ful news about the life of the Church in the world. In col-laboration with the Vatican Television Center and Vatican Radio, H2Onews connects you with video and audio news from the Vatican.


Patroness’ Feast Day

As Christian Catholic, we believe as we professed in our Creed, in the communion of saints in Heaven. We acknowledge that some men and women have been el-evated and canonised in the lineage of “saints” and are now harvesting the fruits of their good deeds, and now in company with the heavenly angels and hosts. We be-lieve that these great men and women of the church are with us in prayers and they are now intercessors for our needs. The Patron saint in particular is believed to be the first and foremost intercessor of the community. So it is most fitting that during their feast days we celebrate a special gathering of the faithful.

So as a way of glorifying and giving thanks to God, we in the parish of St. Brigid’s Quirindi held a special cele-bration of the Eucharist, a concelebrated mass in honour of our patron saint, St. Brigid. Mass was celebrated on the 1st of February with Rev. Fr. Roel J. Llave as main celebrant, with Rev. Fr. Ross O’Brien, Rev. Fr. Vic Ig-nacio, MS, and Rev. Fr. Paul Anthony Aguilar as con-celebrants. A group of people from the Filipino choir from Tamworth rendered the Hymns at mass and a light supper was shared in the Father Stan Campbell Hall af-terwards.

Papal Blessings

As a way of thanksgiving, we in the parish acknowl-edged the good deeds and voluntary work of some of our parishioners. “Papal Blessings” were given to Sr. Therese Conroy, RSJ, Mrs. Therese Barnett, and Mrs. Melissa Stubbs for their great contributions to the parish as pastoral associate and as musicians respectively.

Papal Medal

We awarded a “Papal Benemerenti Medal” to Mrs. Kath Davidson for her unprecedented contribution to the par-ish and the church as a whole for being a catechist and a sacramental coordinator for almost 30 years.

A great number of Quirindi faithful attended the cel-ebration and a band of helpers under the guidance of Sister Therese Conroy RSJ organised the food. It was a fabulous evening filled with much joy, laughter and singing.

st. Brigid’s Catholic Church Quirindi – many reasons to celebrate!


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St Patrick’s Presbytery “Catholic Women Connecting Tamworth” PO Box 3003 West Tamworth, NSW, 2340

Contact Details:

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Address_______________________________________________________

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Catholic Women Connec�ng—Tamworth. Affiliated with Catholic Women’s League—Diocese of Armidale.

Invite women of the diocese to the

Annual Women of Faith Day

to be held on

Sunday 23rd June 2013.

The Mass will be celebrated by

Bishop Michael Kennedy

at Nazareth House Chapel

Manilla Road

Tamworth.

Mass is at 11.00 am

followed by a luncheon in the

adjoining hall.

Guest speaker Father Chris Riley

(Youth off the Streets) will be signing

copies of his book.

Substantial proceeds to Father Chris Riley’s Youth off the Streets program and Nazareth

Care Auxiliary.

Catholic Women Connecting

Bishop Kennedy Photo: Lou Farina


Community Visitors’ Scheme

The Diocesan Executive of Catholic Women’s League has agreed that after nearly fifteen years of successfully admin-istering the Community Visitors Scheme (CVS) on be-half of the Department of Health & Ageing in this Diocese, it is time to withdraw from this very important and worthwhile re-sponsibility. Following the resignation of the Community Visitors’ Scheme’s Manager, President Robyn Judge, who was concerned about Catholic Women’s League ability to continue administering the CVS because of the declining membership and age of members, was given approval by the Dioc-esan Council to take the necessary steps to with-draw from the management of this Federal Gov-ernment initiative. It is fortunate that Centacare New England – North West, who kindly provided back-up staff and advice to help the Management Committee through this withdrawal period, has been given verbal approval by the Department of Health & Housing to be the new auspicing body of CVS (the formal letter of approval is in the pipeline). Robyn and the Committee have praised the assistance given them by the Director of Centacare NENW Fergus Fitzsimons and his staff, and certainly feel re-lieved to know that the Community Visitors’ Scheme will be in safe hands. Everyone can be assured that the valuable work of the Community Visitors’ Scheme in nursing homes and hostels will continue in our Diocese.

Getting Real

For some time now Catholic Women’s League has been con-cerned about the sexualisation of young girls, considering it a profoundly disturbing social and psychological issue. The extraordinary pressure to conform to body image expectations

is not the way we want our girl children to be raised. Nor is it helpful in our attempts to raise our young sons to be respect-ful to the young girls with whom they are in contact. A book

“Getting Real” about challenging the sexualisation of girls, written by Melinda Tankard Reist, has recently been re-leased. Included in this book is a preface by Noni Hazel-hurst who writes “This insistent and ubiquitous presen-tation of this unbalanced view of the world is nothing less than a form of child abuse”. Reading this book is a good start in raising our awareness to what could be seen as a steady and persistent sales pitch that makes our children poor in spirit, but makes others materi-ally wealthy. The book can be obtained through Spinifex Press, PO Box 212 North Melbourne 3051 (www.spinifexpress.com.au)

Violence Against women

Another form of abuse which should concern everyone is violence against women. In March 2008

the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon stated that “violence against women and girls continues unabated in every conti-nent, country and culture. It takes a devastating toll on wom-en’s lives, on their families, and on society as a whole. Most societies prohibit such violence – yet the reality is that too often it is covered up or tacitly condoned”. In Victoria alone in the year 2010-2011 there was a massive increase of 58.6% from the previous year and these statistics do not cover those incidents not reported. Many incidents of family violence are ignored or go unreported because it is deemed a “private mat-ter”. But whether a crime is committed on the street, in public, is captured on CCTV; or whether it is committed behind closed doors in a home environment, the message is still the same. Violence against women, in any form, in unacceptable.

Valmai Hunt, CWL Diocesan Communication Officer

Celebrating Christmas by sharing great friendship and faith with each other made lots of women in Tamworth smile. Tamworth Catholic Women Connecting group gathered at St Patrick’s Hall. The reflection time was most inspirationally led by Sr Pat Duffy - as always. The other proceedings were also capably managed by Margaret Tarbert and Di Bolitho.

Donations from those attending included a number of gifts and an amount of $105 for the St Vincent De Paul Society. Part of this donation was raised by raffling a beautiful Christmas cake kindly donated by Shirley Bourke

There were lots of winners on the day as those present again had the chance to enjoy the company and friendship found in this great group. The group meets the second Sunday each month at St Patrick’s Hall in Tamworth. All women are welcome to attend.

Catholic Women Connecting

Sr Pat Duffy receives donations for SVDP from Margaret Tarbert and Di Bolitho.

news for Women


Years ago, I remember watching an episode of the TV British comedy “Oh Brother!” in which the parish Priest was instructing a woman seeking baptism. The woman kept asking “Why?” to every lesson the priest tried to impart, with the priest finding increasingly humourous responses. Eventually the exacerbated priest proclaimed, “Why is a Protestant word; we Catholics say ‘credo’ – ‘I believe’.“ And that was the end of the discussion & instruction.

That sketch resonated with me, because for some unfathomable reason, I don’t need to understand why I believe; I just do. Perhaps Emily Dickenson’s XVII poem that I first read as a child, best expresses what I still think about believing:

I never saw a moor.

I never saw the sea.

Yet know I how the heather looks

and what a wave must be.

I never spoke with God,

nor visited in heaven;

yet certain am I of the spot,

as if a chart were given.

More recently I saw ‘Les Miserables’ at the cinema and I was totally transported by the wonderful music and haunting melodies. Small wonder this musical has been on the London stage for more than 25 years. Two of the “lesser” songs that particularly captivated me in this film were sung by Hugh Jackman -- “Jean Valjean’s Sililoquy” (aka ‘What Have I Done’) and later “Who Am I?” The melodies recur…but the lyrics caused me to pause and ask myself the same questions … who am I / what have I done to be claimed for God?

Perhaps I was “lucky” to have faith-filled parents who imparted their deep faith to me. But then none of my siblings still practice the Catholic religion and I have not been able to impart my deep faith to any of my children. I was taught that faith is a gift from God – and I have come to realize that this gift is freely offered, but it is up to each individual to open up and embrace such a gift.

There is an inner journey to be made to find God, to establish a personal relationship. Another favourite musical of mine is “Fiddler on the Roof” – perhaps because the protagonist, Tevye, is constantly asking and cajoling God when he consults Him about his everyday life. Prayer is as natural to Tevye as breathing.

I still don’t know why I believe, but I choose to pray and tell God I’m thankful for his gift of faith while letting him know constantly how I am getting on with life.

Mary Jones

Faith as a Gift

Michael and Sandrea Fittler will celebrate their 50th Wedding Anniversary at the Vigil Mass at St Mary’s and St Joseph’s Cathedral on Saturday, May 11, 2013.

Michael and Sandrea met at a YCW “Hayseed” dance in Armidale in October 1962. Sandrea, an infant’s school teacher, had recently been transferred from Cronulla to Uralla Central School and was keen to meet some of the local young people.

“In sickness and in Health” Sandrea recalls being introduced by Father “Mac” to some of the local bachelors. Halfway through the night in a progressive barn dance she met Mike; “there was a spark there” she recalls.

Michael remembers that Sandrea “particularly caught his eye”, with her “flaming red hair”, and “danced with her every free dance she had”. Michael boasts that it only took him three weeks of knowing Sandrea to propose. Within six months they were married.

Michael and Sandrea were married on May 11, 1963, at St Raphael’s Catholic Church, in South Hurstville.

Saturday, May 11, 2013 will mark 50 years of married life. “Our marriage has been blessed”, reflects Michael. “We have three lovely children and six gorgeous grandchildren”. “There have been difficulties; not in our marriage but outside… you can’t be on the land without problems. Sickness is our current problem”.

At the Vigil Mass on May 11 at St Mary’s and St Joseph’s Cathedral, Michael and Sandrea will be presented with a Papal Blessing (this has been their parish for all of their married life). “This will be a real highlight for the celebration” says Sandrea, “like getting a Long Service Medal”.


New Kindy ClassSt Joseph’s Quirindi has started the 2013 year well with enrol-ments now over 60. This has been a huge jump from the 39 children who were enrolled here two years ago. At the end of last year 6 of our children went confidently on to high school and nine children began their school ‘Readiness Program’ at the beginning of Term 4. These nine children are now enrolled in our Kindergarten class and have settled into school life beautifully, thanks largely to our wonderful ‘Readiness Program’ which runs every Friday in Term 4.

Around and About

Crazy Hat DaySt Xavier’s playground was amassed with colour on Friday 22nd February. Crazy Hat day proved popular with many chil-dren wearing amazing hat creations to school to raise money for Caritas Missions during Lent. Children donated a gold coin and were able to wear any hat to school. A total of $287 was raised and will go towards those less fortunate. Thankyou to Yr 5 for organising the day.

Sophie Kennedy, Gabby Gibbs, Oliver Wilson, FlanneryPhoebe Paul, Indianna Aldridge-Towns and

Ossie Roberts-Rootes

Welcoming New Staff and School CaptainsIt’s been a very exciting and busy start to the 2013 school year at St Nicholas School with three new Kindergarten classes, new staff members Mrs Kendall Pearce, Mrs Catrina O’Mullane, Mrs Natalie Haire, Miss Caitlin Zell, Miss Gemma Williamson and Miss Olivia Halman. We have also welcomed our new Parish Priest Monsignor Wil-kes from Armidale who celebrated a beautiful opening Mass with us to help us prepare in prayer for the year ahead. Our newly elected school captains were formally inducted into their leadership roles by Monsignor Wilkes and proudly received their badges.Monsignor Wilkes and our School Leaders : Back -Hannah Dowden (St Mary’s Vice Captain); Ryan Thompson and Ella Anderson (Vice Captains) Front:-Miah O’Sullivan & Edward George


Around and About

Australia Day Hero Award The Swags for the Homeless - Australia Day Hero honour is a yearly announcement reserved only for those who have shown outstanding passion towards the cause. The award recognises the outstanding community service by St Mary’s Armidale in the past year. The children at St Mary’s purchased 11 backpack beds after the children discussed raising money for just one bed. Children contributed to a small change buck-et in the tuck shop.Swags for the homeless relies on the goodwill and support of volunteers and organisations to offer people sleeping rough a sense of dignity, a lift in self esteem and protection against the elements. In 2012 just over 3,000 Backpack Beds were distributed to people in need across Australia. Thank you St Mary’s for being caring & compassionate.

Front Annalise Teege, Anna Newsome, Lucy McKayWill Hawthorne, Shaun Ahoy, Nick Newsome

Combined opening MassThe Combined St Xavier’s and St Mary’s Opening School Mass was held last Thursday in the School Hall. Thank you to all the parents and friends who joined us for the celebration. The School Leaders of both schools were in-ducted at the Mass and presented with their badges. Fr John commented that he was very grateful to be a part of such a wonderful community.

Shrove tuesdayOn Shrove Tuesday the St Mary’s Armidale Mini Vinnies chil-dren and their parents sold Pancakes to raise money for Cari-tas. There were pancakes everywhere!

The children enjoyed the pancakes with ice-cream & maple syrup. The children raised $460 for Caritas from their pancake stall.

Each child has taken home a Project Compassion Box and are encouraged to continue to support the Caritas Lenten appeal.Will Schmude, Will Hawthorne, Mia Tindale, Ellen Hawthorne


Around and About

Swimming Carnival and teddy Bears’ Picnic On Friday 15 February students in Years 2 – 6 went to the Bar-raba Swimming Pool for the School Swimming Carnival. Ev-eryone was very competitive and had a lot of fun cheering for their team. The Red Team won on the day and eight students qualified to compete at the Diocesan Swimming Carnival in Tamworth. While Years 2 – 6 were at the Swimming Carnival Kindergarten and Year 1 had a Teddy Bears’ Picnic at school. They had a lot of fun with their teddies, playing games and blowing bubbles. Year 3/4 St Joseph’s Barraba

Schools LeadersSacred Heart Boggabri 2013 School Leaders were presented with their badges at the Opening Mass.

Back –L to R: Harry Maunder (School Captain), Zach Dowse (Namoi Sports Captain), Stefanie Woods (School Captain), Zara Whelan (Cox Sports Captain), Hannah Eddington and

Ally Whelan (Seniors)Front – L to R: Kari Donaldson, Lara Bullen and Carissa Eather

(Student Representative Council)Pictured with Fr. Max Davis Parish Administrator Narrabri

McCarthy Uniforms Donated to PNgRecently, a large number of new and second-hand girls’ school uniforms from the McCarthy Clothing Pool were shipped to Papua New Guinea. The uniform for McCarthy Catholic Col-lege senior girls was changed in 2011 and the school was look-ing for a way to reuse the now redundant dresses – 200 in total.The uniforms were very well received and the recipients ex-tremely grateful. The three institutions to benefit from the donation were a hospital, a Vocational school and a Primary school.


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the menALIVE Men’s weekend is an opportunity for men to explore what makes them feel fully alive.During the weekend, the menALIVE team will share about their lives the challengers they face and the hope they have discovered in seeking to walk this journey with God.Perhaps the most important thing the weekend offers is space for men to reflect and opportunities to share with one another about themselves and their lives.The experience of the weekend is powerful and dynamic and many men are inspired and encouraged with a new sense of purpose and mission.The weekend is organised by men in your local community and conducted by an experienced team of menALIVE leaders. It is suitable for all men from 18years of age.About menALIVEmenALIVE is a National Catholic Ministry to MEN which was founded out of a response to a great need in the hearts and lives of men, and a great need in the life of the Catholic Church.The purpose of menALIVE is to bring men together, to renew their faith in God and to encourage them to become an active force in the Church.Through a variety of events and programmes, men are invited to explore what God would want for their lives and how they might come to experience the fullness of life that God wants for us all.For more information email: artmidale [email protected] or Phone: 0447 172 010


Last week our parish communities celebrated Catholic School Week. In our diocese it was truly a celebration of the wonderful contributions made by the staff and parents in our schools. As is our Catholic tradition we commenced with Mass celebrated by Bishop Kennedy in the Cathedral, then we shared a meal and then applauded the Award winners. Listening to the cita-tions of the awardees reminded me of all the great things that we as Catholics should be proud of.

For over 150 years thousands of students have passed through the schools of our diocese and have been formed in our Catho-lic faith in a manner that has influenced their lives – we are some of those children. The Catholic Church is rightly proud of this history.

As Dr Brian Croke, the Executive Director of the Catholic Ed-ucation Commission NSW has said:

“Catholic school graduates have helped educate their share of

A Parent Perspective

modern Australia’s parents and politicians, teachers and au-thors, doctors and lawyers, technicians and builders, accoun-tants and bureaucrats, media stars and sportspeople. And they continue to do so.”

In 2011 there were 713,00 children in Catholic schools, there were 1,230 primary schools, 350 secondary schools, 95 central schools and 17 special schools. And these numbers are grow-ing.

Australian Catholic University is the fastest growing, truly na-tional university with 23,000 students, producing the largest nursing and teaching graduates in Australia.

Notre Dame University has won the Kullari NAIDOC Award for the most successful university in indigenous graduations

It is not only in education that we have much to celebrate.

Catholic Healthcare cares for 12% of all hospital beds with 19 public and 47 private hospitals as well as 8 dedicated hospices with palliative care services.

The wonderful people at St Vincent de Paul belong to the larg-est and most volunteer extensive welfare network in the coun-try with over 18,000 members and 31,000 volunteers.

In 2010 Caritas Australia raised $43million for Third World Relief with the smallest margin spent on administrative costs. That same year Catholic Mission raised $18million for the dis-advantaged in our own country with the second smallest spent on administrative costs.

Australia has 1321 parishes, including 29 belonging to East-ern Catholic Churches, serving 5.2million Catholics of which 624,000 attend Mass every Sunday. Of this group 94,150 of these Mass-goers are aged 13-18years.

Alongside the joy at the election of Pope Francis there is the fact martyrs are still dying for the faith we hold and the justice we live.

Because we do not shout these things out loud but just get on with it, living our Faith and caring for those who need our help and our prayers in Australia and beyond does not mean we should not be proud. Proud to say we are Catholics, proud to say our sons and daughters attend Catholic schools and Universities and to be proud and supportive of those who do these works of education, caring and jus-tice for us and with us.

Cathy Ible

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Catholic Mission’s Getting Involved Globally (GIG) program has been facilitating immersion experiences over the last twenty years. Immersion is a powerful strategy to help us understand and involve ourselves in Jesus’ mission in today’s world. It helps form the whole person, their empathy, humanity, faith and responsibility. Catholic Mission invites post Year 12 students to a ‘schoolies’ with a difference. It is a chance to mix and celebrate with your peers while immersing yourself into a different culture and really ‘being with’ people.

This is your chance to join an immersion to Fiji and Kiribati. Consider what it would be like to spend some time in a village in Kiribati, staying with families, visiting schools, health centres and talking with people your own age. The immersion is a challenging experience, physically and emotionally, but it’s not without its rewards.

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Where: Fiji and Kiribati

When: Nov 27 – Dec 10, 2013

Estimated cost: $3,500 all inclusive

Core elements of the Alternative to Schoolies immersion:1 Authentic experience of traditional village lifestyles.

2 Encounter with the youth of these communities.

3 The social, pastoral and sacramental work of the Church in areas affecting people’s lives.

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5 An impact study of the global economy on local society, environments, lifestyles and values.

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Viewpoin Catholic Vol 22 - no. 1 CirCulAtion 6,200 DioCese of …armidale.catholic.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/... · 2017-03-08 · Summer 2012 - CatholiC Viewpoint - 1 Catholic