catholic life - november 2010

By Colin Coomber

A MAJOR appeal has beenlaunched to raise up to $1million towards the cost ofrestoring and enhancingthe historic St Mary’sCathedral, Sale.

Bishop of Sale, BishopChristopher Prowse launchedthe appeal at a function at thecathedral last evening.

The function was a triplelaunch, as it also combined thepublic release of the cathedralmaster plan and the launch of acathedral history book writtenby Sale historian Peter Synan.

Bishop Prowse announced hisintention to renovate the cathe-dral when he confirmed it wouldretain its role as mother Churchof the Diocese of Sale, eventhough the administrative head-quarters would be transferring toWarragul in about 12 monthstime.

A project team headed by StMary’s administrator Fr BernardBuckley has been working withGippsland design and construc-tion engineering firm Gamcorpto assess what needs to be doneto preserve and enhance thecathedral which is classified bythe National Trust as a place ofheritage significance.

Detailed inspections were car-ried out to the structure and itssurrounds to identify all signifi-cant works required to be under-taken both internally and exter-nally.

Consideration was given toremoving the cement rendering,which was used to cover the orig-inal red brick building in theearly 1900s, as a way of over-coming debonding and crackingof the render which is particular-ly evident on the south wall fac-ing the Princes Highway.

However, it has been decidedto repair the defective areas withan improved modern bondingagent and to repaint the cathe-dral in traditional heritage colorsto highlight the window tracery

and distinctive buttresses.Inspections also revealed that

the cathedral’s footings were sat-isfactory as no cracking was evi-dent above doors and windows.

Problems with rising dampnessin the wall cavities were found tobe more evident in areas wherewall vents had been blocked,particularly in the western wallof the sanctuary. These will bereopened or replaced to achievebetter air flow.

The external paving was foundto be in good condition but itneeded to be sealed to the build-ing to prevent moisture penetrat-ing the foundations.

A high water table at the west-ern end of the cathedral needs tobe further investigated and it ispossible that agriculturaldrainage pipes need to beinstalled to draw water awayfrom the foundations.

A section of bituminous mem-brane on a flat roof section haddeteriorated badly and it hasbeen recommended that it bereplaced by steel deck, wide boxgutters and effective drainagesumps to prevent water fromentering the ceiling cavity.

The shingle roof was found tobe generally in good conditionbut broken and loose shingleswill have to be repaired.

A permanent roof access lad-der will be constructed at thewestern end of the cathedral tomeet occupational health andsafety standards for workmencarrying out maintenance andservicing of equipment.

The external facade of theannexe, the most modern part ofthe cathedral complex, wasfound to need repair to preventfurther deterioration, and theroof over the toilet area will needto be replaced to prevent waterfurther damaging the interiorrender.

Internal inspection revealedthat significant debonding of therender had occurred on all walls,particularly at the western end

• Continued Page 2

Publication of the Diocese of Sale ISSUE 100 NovemberPublication of the Diocese of Sale ISSUE 145 November 2010

FFRREEEE

Please help families in needThe Bishop’s Family Foundation assists families within Sale Diocese

by providing funding to various charities. Please help us continue our good work by donating generously. Send donations to:

Bishop’s Family Foundation, PO Box 508, Sale 3853BISHOP’S FAMILY

FOUNDATION

Cathedral restoration plan

What’sNews

MacKillopcanonisation

feature- Pages 9-12

Crazy hairfor Missionfundraiser

- Page 3

Priestlyordinationthis month

- Page 7

Catholic LifeCatholic Life

Up $1 million sought

AFTER more than a century, the cracks are starting to show in St Mary’s Cathedral, Sale, and the appealwill fund the works to restore the building as the Mother Church of the diocese.

PEELING paint and flaking cement render reveal that all is not well with the cathedral which is classifiedby the National Trust.

which had previously experi-enced significant repairs.

The south wall had areas ofdebonded render, particularly atthe eastern end at about 1.8mheight which if not repairedquickly could lead to sectionsfalling from the wall.

The ceiling in the annexeshows signs of water damageand it is possible that irregulari-ties in sections of the floor at theeastern end have been alsocaused by these leaks.

It has been decided to upgradethe toilets and extend the kitchen

area to make it comply withmodern standards.

Provision has also been madeto replace light fittings withmodern low energy fixtures andimproving the central heatingsystem.

The bishop is also keen to pur-chase new vestments for thecathedral, new chalices andother vessels, and will be seeking

donations of such items.Parishioners across the whole

diocese are being asked to begenerous in supporting thecathedral appeal, similar to theway previous generations havefunded the construction anddevelopment of the cathedral.

Envelopes in which donationscan be made will be available inall parishes.

- Catholic Life, November 2010

I do not fear tomorrow, for I have seen today

Catholic LifePO Box 183, Sale Vic 3853

Phone: (03) 5144 6132Fax: (03) 5144 3855

[email protected]

Published by Catholic MediaGippsland,

Diocese of Sale, 8 Pearson St., SalePrinted by Latrobe Valley Express,

Morwell.Editor: Colin Coomber

Member of Australasian CatholicPress Association

& Australasian Religious PressAssociation

Published monthly except January.Deadline for advertising copy andcontributions for the next issue is

Monday, November 29.Issues distributed free through schools

and parishes from December 8.

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FROM ancient times, Catholics havealways prayed for those who havedied. It is especially during thismonth of November that we pray forthe Holy Souls.

Our teaching is succinctly sum-marised in our Catechism :“From thebeginning the Church has honouredthe memory of the dead and offeredprayers in suffrage for them, above allthe Eucharistic sacrifice, so that, thuspurified, they may attain the beatificvision of God.” (CCC. 1032)

We will naturally pray for our fam-ily and friends who have died. For somany, the pain of grief is strong anda daily trial we endure. But let us alsopray for those who have no one topray for them in their death – espe-cially during November.

Over the years as a priest, I canrecall often how the dying, as a finalrequest, will ask of me to pray forthem in their death. We recall thebeautiful petition of the dying St.Monica to her sons, St Augustine andhis brother,

“Put this body anywhere! Don’ttrouble yourselves about it! I simplyask you to remember me at the Lord’saltar wherever you are”.(Confessions 9, 11, 27)

So let us fulfil these final requestsfor intercessory prayers for the deadwith increased fervour during

November.Also, praying for the dead helps us

prepare for our own death. Only ourloving and merciful God knows thetime and day. A timeless wisdom isto live every day as if it is our last.

I recall years ago waiting at a ceme-tery for the hearse to arrive so I couldbegin the Prayers of Committal for adeceased parishioner.

While waiting with several others,one of the Italian mourners gesturedme to follow him. He took me to agravesite nearby. It was beautifullybuilt but not yet occupied.

My parishioner asked me to blessthe new grave. I asked him for whomwas the grave built. He indicated thatit was for him. I said “Mario, I haveblessed many graves before, but this isthe first time when the body is out-side and not inside the tomb!”

I have often thought of Mario’stomb. I am sure he was a man atpeace with himself and God. He wasready for death at the time of theLord’s choosing. Surely this is a signof great maturity of faith.

May we too be likewise ready for

death so we can live our present livesto the full.

“May the souls of the faithfuldeparted through the mercy of Godrest in peace. Amen”

On another matter,We are all still reflecting on the

canonisation of our new and firstAustralian saint, ST MARY OFTHE CROSS MACKILLOP. Manyof us have just returned recently fromattending her Canonisation Mass inRome on October 17, 2010).

Like many others who attended theMass, nothing could prepare us forthe joy of this historic occasion. Towalk into St. Peter’s Square, Rome,and see the portrait of our own MaryMacKillop displayed from the facadeof St. Peter’s Basilica is a memory Iwill treasure forever.

For the first time in the 2000 histo-ry of the Catholic Church anAustralian was canonised a saint! Itgives us great hope and joy. Saintlyholiness has come from our ownAustralian soil!

Let us imitate St Mary of the CrossMacKillop. She was noted for herholiness and kindness. In response tothe grace of God, let us all do thesame.

Especially in this month when wecelebrate her canonisation in theDiocese of Sale and in Victoria, wepray: ST MARY OF THE CROSS,PRAY FOR US !

+ Bishop Christopher Prowse DDCatholic Bishop of Sale

To God’s people in the Catholic Diocese of SaleMay the faithful departed

Rest in Peace

Cathedral restoration plan

IN THE male toilets, the cement render has fallen off, exposing thered bricks from which the cathedral is constructed.

THE Catenian Association isforming a group in NarreWarren with a view to establish-ing an active Circle if growtheventuates.

The group will meet monthlyon the second Wednesday at7pm in the Fountain Gate Hotel,Narre Warren, for a brief meet-ing followed by a meal and fel-lowship.

The inaugural chairman isCon Lilley, a parishioner of OurLady Help of Christians, NarreWarren, who can be contactedon 8794 9513.

The Catenians are a CatholicMen’s Organisation which is pri-marily social and has been in

Australia for 40 years withgrowth in the MelbourneArchdiocese for the last 30.

It concentrates on faith, fami-ly, friendship and fun and alsoinvolves the wives and families ofmembers at functions through-out the year.

Interested gentlemen are invit-ed to attend meetings withoutobligation provided they give atleast four days notice.

The group will be known asCasey Catenians since they willinclude Catholics from Berwick,Cranbourne, Endeavour Hills,Hampton Park Doveton andDandenong.

Catenian group forms • From Page 1

A STATE Government planningoversight has created a $2 mil-lion impost on a proposed newPakenham campus of St FrancisXavier College.

The charge is the result of anerror in development of thePrecinct Structure Plan for theGrandvue Estate, on PrincesHighway, opposite Cardinia Rd.

When the plan was drawn, a12ha site on the estate intendedfor primary and secondaryschoosl for nearly 2000 childrenfaced development charges at thesame rate as housing.

St Francis Xavier College,principal Paul Desmond is quot-ed by Leader newspapers sayingthat the government had sincerealised its mistake, but wasstonewalling on making changes.

“This is grossly unfair. Wemade a submission to the gov-ernment when it was first assess-ing charges for the estate - andour site - but were not given ahearing. The result is we havebeen assessed as housing and asa result, also have to pay a com-munity facilities contribution,which is ridiculous as we areclearly a community facility our-selves,” Mr Desmond said.

“No other school on any otherestate in Victoria is being treated

this way, as far as we can see. Wehave met with Planning MinisterJustin Madden who agrees ourPakenham site has been wronglyassessed, but so far has refusedto correct it, leaving us withpotentially a $2 million over-charge.

“We don’t believe families ofchildren attending the school inthe future should have to bearthis,’’ he said.

“This school is urgently need-ed for children across Cardiniaand beyond, by parents who inmany cases cannot afford to paysuch an unfair charge.”

Following several meetingsincluding one in which BishopChristopher Prowse met withboth parties, the impost seemsno closer to being resolved.

Just before Catholic Life wentto press, a letter was receivedfrom Finance Minister JohnLenders but it appears to offerlittle in settling the dispute.

The letter is being examined bythe parties involved prior to aformal response being made.

The lack of clartity in the let-ter has surprised some, particu-larly as the Labor Government isfighting hard to retain seats inwestern end of Sale Diocese.

A response from the ShadowMinister for Planning MatthewGuy is much clearer.

He said the Coalition support-ed St Francis Xavier College’sposition on local developmentcontributions.

The Coalition accepted theargument that the school shouldnot pay any morte than the nor-mal amount for a local structureplan which was 25 percent.

Mr Guy said that, if elected,he would ensure that the chargeapproved by Mr Madden waswithdrawn,

For the past 10 years StFrancis Xavier College has beenlooking to establish a campus atPakenham to improve access toCatholic secondary education.

In 2007, the college identified asite on the north side of thePrinces Highway, in the vicinityof Cardinia Road.

The diocese made submissionsto the Minister in February 2008confirming the location of thesite and that it would be neededfor primary and secondary edu-cation.

The diocese also put the casethat the site should be exemptfrom open space and develop-ment contributions.

The Minister did not give thediocese the opportunity toappear before a panel, then hedecided that the college shouldpay the same contribution as if itwas being developed for hous-ing.

In subsequent school decisionswhere there was a hearing, thedevelopment contribution hasbeen reduced to 25 percent.

The Minister made a mistakein not allowing the school toappear before a panel and in hisfinal decision.

The diocese has asked theMinister to rectify the decision.At a meeting held on October27, the Mr Madden and MrLenders agreed to seek a resolu-tion and committed to provide aresponse on November 2, whichdid not occur.

That response was finallyemailed last Friday.

The process of bringing allparties to the table has involvedthe school and parish communi-ties as well as the diocese.

Catholic Life, November 2010 -

Marriage, Family and Personal Counselling

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Fees: Sliding scale. Dependent on income.Negotiable. (No-one refused service)

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Telephone: (03)5144 4311Email: [email protected]

The Catholic Development Fund, Diocese of Sale is not subject to the provisions of the Corporation Act 2001 nor has it been examined or approved by the AustralianSecurities and Investments Commission. Deposits with the Catholic Development Fund, Diocese of Sale are guaranteed by CDPF Limited, a company established by theAustralian Catholic Bishops Conference for this purpose. We welcome your investment with the Catholic Development Fund, Diocese of Sale rather than with a profit ori-entated commercial organisation as a conscious commitment by you to support the Charitable, Religious and Educational works of the Catholic Church. Neither theCatholic Development Fund, Diocese of Sale nor the Trustees of the Roman Catholic Trust Corporation for the Diocese of Sale are prudentially supervised by theAustralian Prudential Regulation Authority; contributions to the Catholic Development Fund, Diocese of Sale do not obtain the benefit of the depositor protection provi-sions of the Banking Act 1959; the Catholic Development Fund, Diocese of Sale is designed for investors who wish to promote the charitable purposes of the CatholicDiocese of Sale.

The Catholic Development FundServing the Diocese of Sale

From the Mountains to the SeaCDF is supporting our

Parishes, Schoolsand Catholic Communities

WARRAGUL - St Joseph’sPrimary School had a crazy hairday on October 25 to raisemoney for Catholic Missionsand the World Mission DayAppeal during children’s week.

All children were asked tobring a gold coin and $330 wasraised.

Students and parents werevery proud, everyone put in somuch effort making their hairlook very weird, wacky andcrazy!

There were some unbelievablestyles and everyone got into thespirit of the day.

Catholic Mission shares theChurch’s responsibility for aworld where all persons, freefrom any discrimination and freefrom all barriers to life, canreach their full potential andhappiness.

St Joseph’s have helpedCatholic Mission to help thosepeople in our world who reallyneed our help and support.

$2 million planning levyhampers Pakenham campus

Crazy hair day boostsCatholic Mission

MODELLING their crazy hairstyles are (from loeft) Alistair Ottway,Hope Ridsdale and Gemma Wouters..

Are you aMacKillopwinner?WE had a flood of entries forour various competitions con-ducted in association with thecanonisation of St Mary of theCross MacKillop.

To be eligible to go into thedraw for a MacKillop stamppack courtesy of Australia Postor a DVD Mary: The MaryMacKillop Story courtesy ofRoadshow Entertainment, read-ers had to nominate Alexanderas Mary MacKillop’s father.

Stamp pack winners are JanRankins, Beaconsfield, MaryRossetti, Pakenham and E.Cummins, Traralgon.

DVD winners are TrishWhyte, Warragul, AlexandraHilliard, Berwick, and AngelaDarling, Morwell.

I SUPPOSE that many of uswould know most of the wordsof John Lennon’s song,“Imagine there’s no heaven,above us only sky……” and soon.

But what if we imagine thatthere is a heaven? What a differ-ence that makes!

Imagination is very much partof faith, not like some ‘one-upon-a-time’ fairly tale or aHarry Potter story but faith andimagination help us to see thelayers of meaning in our dailylives.

Some of Jesus’ most enduringlessons were taught when hecalled on us to use our imagina-tion to understand a particularreality - the Prodigal Son, theGood Samaritan, his descrip-tions of the Kingdom of Godfor example.

If we reduce reality to what wecan see, taste and experience, wemiss so much of its meaning. Inthe same way, if we reduce ourfaith to formulas and dogmas,we also miss so much of itsbeauty and vitality.

In the words of theCatechism: ‘We do not believe informulas, but in those realitiesthey express, which faith allowsus to touch.’ CCC #170

Those formulas referred to inthe Catechism draw us into alayered reality which is verymuch a part of the Catholic[Christian] tradition.

To explore them, to come tosome appreciation of themrequires real imagination, anunderstanding that we live in auniverse inhabited by oftenunseen presences - the presenceof God, the activity of theSpirit, the presence of saints, theenduring presence of one anoth-er.

Our deepest meaning comes,not from how we look or whatwe do for a job or the posses-sions we may amass but ratherthrough how we love and why,how we appreciate each other,

how we understand God and thepurpose of our lives.

Imagination is integral to ourunderstanding that this life isnot confined by space and time,that there is a heaven.

To remind us of that fact, dur-ing November, we celebrate theFeasts of All Saints and AllSouls.

If we live in a world wherewhat is real is reduced to whatcan be measured only by what isseen, touched, tasted, smelled, itbecomes virtually impossible tounderstand our real connectionwith each other.

With the imagination of faithwe can come to appreciate thatwe are connected to each otherin ways beyond the physical,beyond time and distance, andeven beyond separation bydeath.

We try to explain this realityby the expression ‘the MysticalBody of Christ’. Those feastsremind us that by baptism webecome one with each other – weare baptised into the Body ofChrist.

The Eucharist cements thatintimate union, as it were, notjust with Christ but with eachother. St Paul understood thatour unity with Christ and witheach other is so real and somutually interdependent, thebest way to describe it is as a liv-ing body:

As a body is one though it hasmany parts, and all the parts ofthe body, though many, are onebody, so also Christ. For in oneSpirit we were all baptized intoone body, whether Jews orGreeks, slaves or free persons,and we were all given to drink ofone Spirit.Now the body is not a singlepart, but many.If a foot should say, “Because Iam not a hand I do not belongto the body,” it does not for thisreason belong any less to thebody.Or if an ear should say,“Because I am not an eye I donot belong to the body,” it doesnot for this reason belong anyless to the body.If the whole body were an eye,where would the hearing be? Ifthe whole body were hearing,where would the sense of smellbe?But as it is, God placed theparts, each one of them, in thebody as he intended.

If they were all one part, wherewould the body be?But as it is, there are many

parts, yet one body.The eye cannot say to the hand,“I do not need you,” nor againthe head to the feet, “I do notneed you.”……..If (one) part suffers, all theparts suffer with it; if one partis honored, all the parts shareits joy.Now you are Christ’s body, andindividually parts of it. 1 Cor12 14-28Not like the body of Christ -

no, Paul is blunt: You ARE theBody of Christ.

As members of this one body,we are united to each other in anextraordinary way. Just as Jesusis still alive, so is this Body ofChrist – it couldn’t be otherwiseso being part of the Body ofChrist does not finish at death –we are still members of thatbody before and after death.

This intimate union with eachother links us, even beyonddeath.

As Paul so vividly describes,this intimate union makes usinterdependent. We need eachother, we rely on each other.Inside the “communion ofsaints”, we believe that our lovedones who have died are alive,they are still with us.

They are still part of our livesand we are still part of theirs,not just as a memory but with aconnection we find difficult toput into words. They need usstill and we need them too.Saints still inspire us, challengeus.

The memory of loved ones isstill real, their love is still with us,in some way we often feel theirpresence. We love them in lifeand in death and they us.

So imagine there is a heaven.The imagination of faith canshow us something that sciencecannot – that there are layers ofreality. To see and appreciatethem need imagination, thatneeds faith.

Turnbulls


A treasure troveCHANCELLOR Fr BrianO’Connor, who looks after thediocesan archives, took theopportunity to visit the Vaticanarchives during his trip to Romefor Mary MacKillop’s canoni-sation.

Carrying a letter from thebishop and photos for his IDpass, he was welcomed gra-ciously by the officials at thevarious archives he visited,including the Vatican’s secretarchives.

He had immediate success,obtaining copies of the docu-ments from the Vatican toestablish Sale Diocese in 1887and for the appointment of thefirst bishop James Corbett andhis successor Patrick Phelan.

He was amazed to findVatican officials leafing throughoriginal documents withoutwearing white cotton gloves toprotect the documents fromgrime, oil and sweat fromhands.

Here in Australian gloves aremandatory at archives but itappears they do things differ-ently in Rome.

Sign of the timesAS readers would be aware weran competitions last month togive away Mary MacKillopDVDs, children’s books andstamp packs.

We received hundreds ofentries for the competitionswith the most being for the col-oring contest with the books asprizes.

Second most popular was thedesire for a DVD, with stamppacks a distant third.

Once upon a time every childand probably half the adultswould have been keenly seeking

the stamps as they had a stampcollection (I think I have fourcollections at home - mine andones started for our three eldestchildren).

Nowadays stamps don’t seemto hold the same appeal and, aswe mentioned before, we occa-sionally receive letters with 10and 20 year old stamps onthem.

Most unusued stamp collec-tions are valued at about halfface value, so rather than cashthem in, people are using themup on their mail.

Go slow zoneTWO new sets of traffic lights,two new roundabouts andabout a kilometre of roadworksat the eastern end of Traralgondidn’t do much to thrill trav-ellers on the weekend before theMelbourne Cup.

With many taking theMonday off to create a four dayweekend, cars towing caravansand boats endured a real trafficsnarl on the Friday evening.

Progress has been slow andworkers are hoping to get thejob finished so there will not bea repeat at Christmas time.

Next year traffic to and fromSale will have to endure quite afew delays as the PrincesHighway to the west of town isbeing duplicated and the SouthGippsland Highway to thesouth is being realigned andraised above flood level.

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Relive the Cathedral Historyin this stylish new book

Highly-regarded Sale his-torian and author PeterSynan has written a histo-ry of St Mary’s Cathedral,Sale, titled ThreeSpringtimes.

This publication was offi-cially launched by BishopChristopher Prowse at theCathedral on Tuesday,November 9.

This hardcover bookretails for $40 and willbecome a keepsake. It isan ideal coffee table bookand will make a great pres-ent for Christmas.

It is full of photographsfrom the earliest years ofthe Cathedral, throughuntil today. Remember thechanges which have takenplace in three develop-ment stages and recog-nise faces of people whohave been part ofCathedral life.

Copies will be available for $40 from theBishop’s Office, Catholic Development Fund,and parish offices throughout the diocese ifattending in person.

Note: Mail order is $15 dearer.

MAIL ORDER FORM:Send to: Diocese of Sale, PO Box 508, Sale, 3853

Please send me a copy of the book Three Springtimes.

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A FORMER Moe man has beenordained a deacon in WesternAustralia after a spiritual jour-ney which has taken him morethan 40 years since he firstentered the seminary.

Frank Birrell is the second sonof the late Bernie and KathBirrell, and attended St Kieran’sPrimary School and then StPaul’s College, Traralgon.

In the late 1960s he joined theOblate of Mary Immaculateseminary in Mulgrave where hestudied for the next two years.

He left the seminary and wentto Christ College, Chadstone, forthe next three years, where hecompleted a primary teacher’s

degree. Deacon Birrell spent many

years teaching at schools aroundGippsland, then in the 1980s areligious vocation was still call-ing and so he joined thePassionists in Templestowewhere he studied for four years,including a year in Vanimo,Papua New Guinea.

He did not make his final vowsbut went on to obtain a theologydegree from Notre DameUniversity in Perth.

As a youngster he was alwaysinterested in the Kimberleyregion and so he applied for ateaching position at the missionschool in Beagle Bay where hespent the next 13 years, followedby two years in Derby.

Not knowing what to do next,he was encouraged by Bishop ofBroome Christopher Saundersto reassess his goals and enter StCharles Borromeo Seminary inGuildford, WA.

In August, Archbishop ofPerth Barry Hickey ordainedhim and four others as deacons,at Mary MacKillop Church,Ballajura. It is proposed that hislong-cherished desire to be apriest will be fulfilled in Broomenext September.

The ordination to the dia-conate was attended by his threesisters Triss Basten, Morwell,Carmel Petkovic, Moe, andMary Grealey, Newborough.

DEACON Frank Birrell with his three sisters (from left) CarmelPetkovic, Triss Basten and Mary Grealey following his ordination atMary MacKillop Church, Ballajura.

A 40 year journeyto the diaconate

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CATHOLIC Prison Ministry isseeking a pastoral care worker towork at the FulhamCorrectional Centre, a privatelyoperated prison on the outskirtsof Sale.

Director of Catholic PrisonMinistry Victoria Sr MaryO’Shannassy sgs said it was arewarding and challenging posi-tion.

The person being sought was agood listener who understoodpeople.

They should be able to see theface of Jesus in those rejected bysociety, be committed to work-ing for justice and have learntfrom the experiences of life.

She said the person should beopen to ongoing learning andtraining.

Catholic Prison Ministryworks within ther prison system,taking pride in responding to the

words of Christ in Matthew25:36 “When I was in prison youvisited me.”

Those interested in this pas-

toral position can contact SrMary on 9287 5577 or [email protected].

IN a recent conversation withone of our senior parish priests,he told me that it was always amarvel to him to watch a newgroup of students came into theschool.

They come from a wide rangeof religious family backgrounds,yet, as he put it, “the mysteryunfolds again,” as the mix ofyoung people become part of aprayerful Catholic community.

Indeed, the religious educationclassroom in the Catholic schoolis an interesting place, presentingmany challenges to our highlyprofessional teachers. Those whohave worked in these classroomsknow the challenges well, as theyknow the joys, successes andfrustrations, too.

Let us consider one of thosechallenges, the students them-selves. In this article, we willmeet just three of the 25 or so inthe class. It might be a Prep classor a Year 6, a Year 7 or a Year 12class. The students we are aboutto meet are fictional, but they areno less real! Their names areMonica, River and Tanya.

In Monica’s family, God andthe Catholic parish communityplay a central role. The family isat Mass together every weekend;Mum and Dad are both involvedin parish activities; the familyprays together quite often; theparish priest is a regular visitorto the home for pleasant meals;dinner table conversation con-tains frequent reference to Godand to religious matters.

River lives in the next street. Inhis family, however, no one hasbeen near the Church since hisMum had him baptised to pleaseher own parents. (During the

baptism ceremony the priestwondered, as he often did,“Whatever happened to goodold-fashioned Christian names,like Peter, Paul and John?”).

The family home is a lovingplace where good human valuesare given high priority. Thewhole family are committed tothe outdoor life and saving theplanet, but there is no room forGod, no room for Church –except maybe at Christmas, if itcan be fitted in.

River’s parents are ambitiousfor him to do well but thatmeans, basically, to have a suc-cessful career that brings highincome.

Finally, we meet Tanya. Shelives on the other side of thetracks. In her family, there is vio-lence, substance abuse and neg-lect. Her Dad is often away, andit’s just as well because when heis home, home is not a nice placeto be. And besides, when he isaway, one of a number of“uncles” comes to stay for anight or two.

Mum loves her alright, but herown life circumstances and poorparenting skills make things verydifficult for them both. She does-n’t know how to set limits onwhere Tanya goes or what timeshe should be home.

Monica, River and Tanya areall in the same class at school,the same Catholic school. Allare baptised Catholics. All havea fundamental right to aCatholic education.

How does the school respondin the matter of faith and reli-gious education? Can anyoneexpect Monica, River or Tanyato emerge from the Catholic

school with the same level ofreligious knowledge or faithcommitment?

While we can never judge faithresponse, it does seem ridiculousto think they would. Yet this isthe reality of every classroom inevery school. It is very clear thatour classrooms are not filledwith Monica’s. Nor should theybe. But we wait for the “miracleto unfold.”

Our own Bishop, in his recentpastoral letter, Finding Home inJesus (June 9, 2010) identifiedthree groups to whom we, aschurch, need to reach out.

He named the three as: thosewho have always been a memberof the active Catholic communi-ty, those who are no longerChristians and those who havenever been Christians.

We might see Monica, Riverand Tanya in those three cate-gories. Our Bishop tells us wehave a mission to evangelise allof them.

The Roman document TheCatholic School on the Thresholdof the Third Millennium, in para-graph 15, tells us that theCatholic school should “turn ina spirit of love…to those whohave lost all sense of meaning inlife and lack any type of inspir-ing ideal, those to whom no val-ues are proposed and who do notknow the beauty of faith, whocome from families which arebroken and incapable of love,often living in situations ofmaterial and spiritual poverty,slaves to the new idols of society,which, not infrequently, promisethem only a future of unemploy-ment and marginalisation.”

It would seem the Church istelling us that we need to reachout more to the River’s and theTanya’s than even to the Monica’s.

It is worth remembering thatour unique Catholic school sys-tem in Australia has confusedorigins, too. In the 19th centurythe bishops’ courageous decisionto maintain Catholic schools inthe face of government hostilitywas clearly meant to ensure thatthe faith was to be passed on.

But the founders of the great

teaching orders, St Mary of theCross MacKillop, CatherineMcAuley, John Baptist De LaSalle, Daniel Delaney, EdmundRice, Macellin Champagnat,Nano Nagle, Don Bosco, etc., allestablished their orders, not toteach the children of committedCatholic families (though, ofcourse, they were always wel-come) but, rather, the poor chil-dren of the streets and the bush.

The writings of the time painta pretty clear picture that manyof these children were far morelike Tanya than they were likeMonica. But it was to them thatthe Church reached out in theschools founded by these greatmen and women.

We reach out to those samechildren today. There are, andthere should be plenty of Tanya’sin our classrooms.

But while there are Tanya’s,there are Monica’s and there areRiver’s. They are all at vastly dif-ferent places on their journey. Itis a complex web indeed, andone that our teachers are alwayschallenged to respond to.

In the Diocese of Sale we havean excellent and highlyacclaimed religious educationprogram, Journeying Together inHope.

In many places that documenttells us that, “individual studentsdiffer considerably in their back-grounds, abilities and generalcharacteristics”.

It goes on to say that there arecertain patterns in children’sdevelopment. That is very true.But there are vast differences,too.

Teachers are required to inter-pret that program to meet chil-dren across that vast array of dif-ferences. What a challenge! Inliteracy and in numeracy lessons,for example, teachers assess eachstudent’s level of knowledge andreadiness to learn.

Then they tailor their lessonsto meet the needs of the individ-ual. It is so difficult to do that inthe religious education class-room.

More often that not, sadly,Monica, River and Tanya will allbe presented with exactly the

same lessons, in a one-size-fits-all approach.

Perhaps it may be that teachersare hesitant to “judge” a stu-dent’s faith. Of course, gainingreligious knowledge andresponding to God’s offer offaith are very different things.

But here, we are talking aboutknowledge – a knowledge of theteachings of the Church, ofscripture, of sacraments, ofprayer.

Monica knows these thingswell when she enters the class.They are part of her very fabric.River knows nothing at all ofthem. He has no experience ofreligion or of things religious.Providing them with the sameprogram seems a strange thingindeed!

Our bishops have the responsi-bility of ensuring that all ourprograms are aligned with theteaching of the Catholic Churchand provide that comprehensive-ly. We are assured that our pro-gram fulfils those conditions.But the program is only as goodas the teachers who deliver it.

Once again, they are requiredconstantly to rise to the chal-lenge of meeting the studentswhere they are on their life jour-ney. And so often, they do.

There are many students fromreligiously privileged back-grounds, like Monica, who donot find it in their hearts torespond. There are many fromreligiously deprived back-grounds, like River or Tanya,who choose to respond.

That is a mystery that isbeyond us. But, “the mysteryunfolds again.” And the wonder-ful work our teachers – andother staff – do, inside and out-side the classroom are part of thereason that the mystery canunfold. We should thank Godfor them and their work everyday.

The lessons these teachers givein the Religious Education class-room are critically important.So are the relationships theydevelop. Our teachers, as thechurch tells us, do not write oninanimate materials but on thevery spirit of human beings.What a privilege!

They are required, as StFrancis of Assisi tells us, to“preach the Word of God con-stantly. Even use words if youhave to.”


The mystery begins again in our diverse classroomsTalking

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Prison ministry worker sought

By Colin Coomber

THE journey to the priesthoodfor Dariusz Jablonski, began inPoland about 12 years ago.

That journey will be completewhen he is ordained a priest ofSale Diocese by BishopChristopher Prowse onNovember 27.

The ordination will take placeat St Mary’s Cathedral, Sale, at1pm, with a special guest beinghis mother who will shortlyarrive from Poland.

Deacon Daruisz, or Darekwhich is the Polish diminutive bywhich he is known by family andfriends, grew up in the suburbs ofWarsaw where his father andmother were mushroom growers.

After completing his schoolinghe entered the seminary to trainfor the priesthood for WarsawPrague Diocese and wasordained a deacon in St Florian’sCathedral in May 2004.

Shortly afterwards DeaconDariusz decided to take leavefrom the diocese and following aperiod of discernment, decidedthat being a priest in Poland wasnot appealing.

He went to Rome for fourmonths where he lived with somereligious sisters and tried to learnthe Italian language.

He was there when Pope JohnPaul II died and from the ensu-ing flood of bishops and clergyhe was able to learn more aboutthe Catholic Church in a worldcontext.

Deacon Dariusz returned toPoland for a short time, thenobtained a visa for the UnitedStates, where his visited an auntwho is a religious sister inMaryland and then worked for14 months in a parish is WestPalm Beach, Florida.

He says the time spent workingin the parish helped him to gaina greater understanding of pas-toral care in Western society.

On his return to Poland he meta priest who had worked forSydney Archdiocese for a timeand this gave him the inspirationto investigate the Church inAustralia.

“At first I thought ‘Australia?No, it is so far away. A holidaymaybe but not to live.”

On his first visit on a tourist

visa he enjoyed what he saw andbegan contacting a fewAustralian dioceses to see if theymight be interested in taking himon.

Bishop Jeremiah Coffey wasthe first to respond and soDeacon Dariusz came to SaleDiocese to meet the bishop andpriests.

He liked what he saw and afterdeciding his future lay with theDiocese of Sale, he had to returnto Poland and await a new visa.

That visa took an agonisingeight months to be granted andso he returned to Australia inMay last year and started study-ing Canon Law, AustralianChurch history, reconciliationand anointing of the sick atCorpus Christi Seminary.

For most of the time he haslived at the Berwick presbyterywith Vicar General Fr PeterSlater and travelled to the semi-nary twice a week to attend class-es.

He was officially incardinatedinto Sale Diocese in April thisyear, after permission wasobtained from his home diocesein Poland.

Following the ordination, hewill celebrate his first Mass atBerwick, at 10.30am the nextday.

He will return to Poland nextJune to marry his younger broth-er who is not coming out for theordination, preferring instead tosave for the wedding and honey-moon.

Deacon Dariusz expects thatas a priest he will continue towork with the young people ofthe diocese and is looking for-ward to accompanying pilgrimsto World Youth Day in Madrid.

MANY people think that sharesare a risky investment and thatthey would be better off withoutthem.

Others on the other hand, gen-erally those with experience,think exactly the opposite.

The irony of course is that allof us who have superannuationother than in our own controlledfund, almost certainly haveshares.

All “balanced” funds, retailand industry, have some of theirinvestments allocated to theAustralian share market.Growth options in any fund willhave an even larger proportion

of shares. Many people have also taken

advantage of government pri-vatisations (Qantas, CSL, Telstraetc) and corporate ‘demutualisa-tions (National Mutual, AMP,Tatts) and have received sharesin those issues.

My view, which history sup-ports, is that shares are the bestinvestment for growth, over time,of all asset classes.

The real question we should beasking is – do we do it ourselvesor do we pay someone else to doit for us? That’s the differencebetween direct investments andmanaged funds.

There are valid reasons forhaving managed funds in anyportfolio in order to cover invest-ment areas not available directlyin Australia, although I’m not afan of international shares, butbefore you choose it would bewise to consider some of the dif-ferences.

One of the advantages of man-aged funds is that it does allowdiversify into areas we wouldn’totherwise be able, such as gov-ernment bonds and some emerg-ing economies, as well as “bigend of town property”, whichcan act to reduce volatility.

With a managed fund,investors pool their funds with,in some cases, thousands ofother investors, and employ fundmanagers to invest it on theirbehalf. This does have its costs asfund managers are not charities.

Many fund managers employother fund managers to coverspecific area of investment aswell, so we can have as many asfour or more layers of costs.Many of these aren’t reported asthey are covered under “costs ofinvesting”.

Also, because fund managersmust invest as funds are lodgedby investors, it means that most

investors invest more at the topof the markets and sell out mostat the bottom - the herd mental-ity. This has very negative taxconsequences for all investors ina fund, not just those who areredeeming their investments.

Direct shares on the otherhand can be volatile but if heldfor the long term should give abetter return. I’m not talkingabout small speculative sharesbut the mainstream good busi-nesses which are unlikely to gobroke, so that we reduce ourinvestment risk.

The main advantages of directinvestment is that the investormaintains control of the invest-ments and once invested the onlycosts are brokerage and tax.

With control, the investor canmake his own decisions to max-imise benefits, such as reducingtax, or increasing income, orcapital growth. These decisionsdo not reflect on others, butespecially the decisions of otherdo not reflect on the investor.

In order to minimise any stressthe direct investor could use afull service broker to offeradvise, recommendations andguidance – the benefit of experi-ence such as is available to fund

managers.Without the ongoing costs, a

long term growth portfolio in thehands of a direct investorshould earn a greater return thanthat of managed funds holdingsimilar investments.

The responsibility for the out-comes remains with the directinvestor and while most enjoythis, there are some investorswho prefer, or should prefer todelegate this responsibility toothers.

One area not considered in thisarticle is that of the separatelymanaged portfolio, which canprovide the benefits of directinvestments without the invest-ment responsibility.

In an article this size there isn’tenough room to comment on allthe advantages and disadvan-tages of each form of invest-ment.

If any reader wishes for morecomparison, contact David Wellsor RBS Morgans Farrer Houseon 1300 213 617 and we’ll sendour eight page fact sheet,Investing Directly vs ManagedFunds, free of charge or obliga-tion.

• This report is intended to providegeneral advice. In preparing thisadvice, David Wells and RBS Morgansdid not take into account the invest-ment objective, the financial situationand particular needs of any particularperson. Before making an investmentdecision on the basis of this advice,you need to consider, with or withoutthe assistance of an adviser, whetherthe advice is appropriate in light of yourparticular investment needs, objectivesand financial circumstances.


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Polish born priest to be ordained this month

DEACON Dariusz Jablonski in St Michael’s Church, Berwick, where he will celebrate his first Mass as apriest on November 28.

By Fr Bernard Buckley

IT is sometimes said that the dif-ference between a tourist and apilgrim is that the tourist passesthrough the place, while theplace passes through the pilgrim.

Ask anyone who has been tothe Holy Land on pilgrimageand I’m sure they’d agree that it’sa life changing experience.

To walk along or celebrateMass at the Sea of Galilee, tovisit Bethlehem and Nazareth,or walk the Via Dolorosa pray-ing the Stations of the Cross;these are profound experiencesin faith and life.

I remember a kindly, old,Christian Palestinian man climb-ing onto our bus in Jericho whenI was in the Holy Land earlierthis year. He told us of the plightof the Christian people allthrough the Middle East.

The priests on that pilgrimageweren’t really surprised to hearwhat he said.

Pope Benedict has been talk-ing about this topic for manyyears. The fact seems to be thatthe Christians are slowly leaving,or being driven from, the MiddleEast, including from the cradleof Christianity itself. Life is verydifficult there for the Christianpeople.

The old man thanked us forcoming to his country. He wasglad we were trying to gain aninsight into the life of theChristians and their communi-ties. He was pleased we were vis-iting Occupied West Bank.

He asked that we go home andtell people about this situationand he especially asked that webring Christian people to theHoly Land to visit our Christianbrothers and sisters.

Such a visit would offer an

important sign of our supportfor them, and encourage them intheir faith. And a visiting groupof pilgrims could help supportthem by spending a few bob sothey might continue to eke out aliving.

His talk to us, that day inJericho, was very powerful andmoving and so I decided that Iwould find out if there was anyinterest in our parish and diocesefor people to make such a pil-grimage.

There was. In association withHarvest Pilgrimages a 20 day pil-grimage has been put togetherthat will, I hope, offer people anexperience of a lifetime, enrich-ing people in their faith and theirlife, supporting our Christianbrothers and sisters in Egypt,Jordan and the Holy Land, andgiving us an opportunity to learn

even a little more about othergreat religions, Islam andJudaism.

Our pilgrimage leaves in midFebruary, 2011, and there are afew empty seats on the plane andbus! If any parishioner, orfriends, across the diocese wouldlike to know more, perhaps witha view to joining us in this mar-vellous experience, please con-tact me on 5144 4100.

• Fr Bernard Buckley is theAdministrator of the Cathedralparish at Sale.

MORWELL - The ItalianMission, held each year inMorwell in preparation for thefeast of St. Francis, was onceagain well attended.

Fr Vito Pegolo, ScalabrinianFather, together with Sr. Liz,Italian Chaplain, visited around150 families, as well as the localhospital and nursing homes.

The frail and elderly receivedthe sacraments of reconciliation,Eucharist and the anointing ofthe sick.

Each night, after Mass, thecommunity, together with FrPegolo, gathered in the tennis

club rooms for supper and achat.

It was a week filled with graces

and blessings, not only for theItalian community, but theparish as well.


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Pilgrimage to the Holy Land

THE Western Wall of the Temple Mount with the Dome of the Rockmosque behind it are well-known features of Jerusalem.

Bishops urge areturn to valuesat state electionVICTORIA’S Catholic bishopshave issued a statement encour-aging voters to vote for candi-dates who understand and willwork for the common good.

The 2006 census showed therewere more than 1.3 millionCatholics in Victoria. Morethan one million of these will beeligible to vote on November 27.

For the first time in a VictorianState Election, the Archbishopof Melbourne and the Bishopsof Ballarat, Sandhurst and Salehave prepared a powerful pre-election document to guideCatholics as they consider howthey will vote.

In the nearly 2000 word docu-ment, Your Vote Your Values, theCatholic bishops urge Victoria’scatholics to question their localcandidates on a wide range ofimportant issues before decidingfor which candidate to vote.

Choosing the government is animportant responsibility. Thebishops urge Catholics to votefor the candidate that sharestheir values.

Your Vote Your Values hasbeen circulated to Catholicschools and parishes throughoutVictoria. The document is avail-able on all Victorian diocesan

websites. The bishops are not advocat-

ing any political party. Theyhave raised issues and questionsto help inform voters on impor-tant issues for the future.

Catholics are encouraged toput specific questions and issuesto candidates in the areas offamilies, life, education, healthand aged care, criminal justice,drugs and alcohol and religiousfreedom.

Questions ask for commit-ments of candidates in relationto euthanasia, respect for rightsof conscience, support for expec-tant and new mothers, abortion,homelessness targets, funding forschools, support for people withdisabilities, for people with men-tal illness, increasing opportuni-ties for rehabilitation in the crim-inal justice system, crime preven-tion, the defence of religiousfreedom and the rights of reli-gious organisations.

Your Vote Your Values issigned by Archbishop DenisHart of Melbourne, BishopPeter Connors of Ballarat,Bishop Joe Grech of Sandhurstand Bishop Christopher Prowseof Sale.

Morwell’s Italian mission

FR Vito Pegolo leading the mission with the statue of St Francis ofAssisi and the crucified Christ.

By Sr Mary Fermio

BORN the fifth of the eight chil-dren of Alexander and FloraMacKillop in the Spring of1848, a year after baby Alick’sdeath, Anne Catherine (Annie)MacKillop was to be the one tosurvive all her family.

When Annie was born, thefamily was living in the DarebinCreek area (now Preston), herfather endeavoring to makefarming a success.

Like her brother, Peter, Anniespent many years of her child-hood with relatives at Penola,where she met Fr Woods whotold the children stories andplayed games with them.

Annie was five years at Penolaand when she was 12, her fatherinsisted she return home. In1860 the family was living atRichmond, with Mary workingas a shopgirl.

One of Annie’s skills waspiano playing and she used thisskill to support the family whenliving at Portland and to supportherself in later life.

One of Annie’s old pupilswrote of her “Dear, kind, braveMiss Annie MacKillop, alwayshumble and happy.”

Annie was an assistant at theschool, where Mary taught inPortland, but her father madeher leave when the scandal aboutthe dishonest headmasterbecame known to him.

Annie at 18 years, went toPenola, with Lexie, to keep theschool going until Mary arrivedearly in 1867.

Apparently, Annie’s happy-go-lucky ways and lack of orderli-ness often tested Mary’spatience, who knew she couldonly manage at Penola withsomebody to help her.

There was never any inkling ofAnnie joining the Sisters and shewent to live with Uncle Peterwhen no longer needed. Annie,was the kind of person whofilled the gaps when someonewas needed.

Letters from Annie reveal her

bubbling humor. In one sheaddresses Sr Mary: “My dearold Molly, please excuse the dis-respectful beginning of this let-ter . . . but I wish you to forgetyour responsibilities for a while”and then launched into the pos-sibility of “pumping up a voca-tion” with a view to beingappointed Mary’s successor.

She loved to get up to tricksand while at Penola with Mary,she played jokes on Mary teasingher about being a nun.

At 37 she seemed to be findingit difficult to settle into her ownniche. In 1885 she replied toMary’s enquiries about her pos-sible vocation in life:“Sometimes I fancy that anunsettled one may be the best forme and that the best thing I cando is to be content and try toimprove myself and take downmy pride a peg. Do you remem-ber how, long ago, you used toaccuse me of pride which I dobelieve is one of my stumblingblocks . . . I am a thousand timesmore fond of myself than I usedto be.”

Yet her nature must have beengenerous for she spent manyyears accompanying Mary andcaring for her in her illnesses.

She was with Mary when theyfounded the night school andHouse of Providence in LatrobeSt., Melbourne, and nursed herwhen Mary was near death atFootscray a couple of years later.

Annie accompanied Mary toNew Zealand where hot bathshelped Mary’s rheumatism untilMary had a stroke and had toreturn to Sydney.

Brought closer together bytheir mother’s sudden death,Mary and Annie two of the threeleft, comforted each other, think-ing of Donald, newly ordained,still in Europe.

Annie stayed by Mary as herlife slipped away. Mary’s lastwords “Go on” were to her, asshe had paused in her readingwhile a nurse attended Mary.

At Mary’s requiem Annie wasunable to claim her reserved seat.We can imagine her feelings onthat day!

While living with relatives nearHamilton at one time, Anniesearched for her father’s graveand took care of it, though toopoor to provide a headstone.

She must have been loved byher uncle Peter, who having nochildren of his own, left hismoney to her.

She in her turn left it to theSisters for their kindness in car-ing for her. The last years ofAnnie’s life was spent with theSisters of St Joseph at GrattanSt, Carlton, where she died atage 81, on January 14, 1929. Sheis buried at St Kilda Cemeterywith her Uncle Peter and his twowives.

Annie was the last link withMary MacKillop and her mem-oirs gave many insights into thefamily.

On becoming aware that theprocess of Sainthood was begin-ning, Annie said: “Do you thinkmy Sister will really be canon-ised?”

The Advocate, Melbournemade this reference to Annieafter her death: “She hadendeared herself to all by hergenial and charitable disposi-tion, and when death came, atthe ripe age of 81 years, shepassed away with edifying resig-nation, surrounded by the tendercare of the Sisters, the progressof whose order she had watchedfor many years.”

Sources: Mary MacKillop’s Family,Philomena McGuigan rsj, Resource Material,Archives.

• This article completes thisseries by Sr Mary Fermio rsj onthe family of Mary MacKillop.

The series was originally pub-lished in Catholic Life in 1998and the canonisation of St Maryof the Cross MacKillop has creat-ed great interest in the reprint.

Special thanks to the Sisters ofSt Joseph and the MaryMacKillop Heritage Centre forproviding the illustrations.


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Your Life,Our Community

AS NE

An Australian saint for the whole worldSt Mary of the Cross MacKillop

Annie MacKillop the lastmember of the big family

Annie MacKillop

WARRAGUL - St Joseph’sPrimary School celebrated a verymomentous and historical eventin our Church history and forour Diocese of Sale on October18.

The teachers and students cel-ebrated Mary MacKillop’scanonisation in a variety of dif-ferent ways throughout the day,spaning over many differentlearning areas in the curriculum.

The day began with a liturgy inthe new stadium which was avery special event to have theentire school together, singing,listening to readings, prayingand seeing a timeline of MaryMacKillop’s life.

Students were very respectfulduring this liturgy and sang andparticipated beautifully. Theschool is lucky to have such agreat prayer space for the wholeschool in the new hall.

Teachers and students thenreturned to their classroom totake part in many different StMary of the Cross activities.

Students had a wonderful daylearning about Australia’s firstsaint, completing some fantasticactivities and speaking inspira-tionally about our special saint

at the conclusion of the day.Some activities that were com-

pleted included students creatingbooklets of St Mary’s life, read-ing books together on the inter-active whiteboards, singingsongs, completing a variety ofdifferent artworks, creating sto-ries, prayers and poems of StMary, playing old fashionedgames, looking at the values ofSt Mary, her achievements andstruggles and reading her lettersand quotes.

The school also used St Maryas an inspiration and completeda service activity around theschool, picking up rubbish,cleaning windows, sweeping,reading to another class, re-shelving library books and gen-erally tiding the school.

The inspiration was to focuson St Mary of the Cross’s abilityto “never see a need withoutdoing something about it” andher compassion and thoughtful-ness towards others.

Overall students and teacherslearnt so much about St Mary ofthe Cross MacKillop and had agreat day being emersed in thelife of a truly special and awe-inspiring person.

Warragul celebrates

LUCY Codling (left) with a MacKillop bookmark and Libby Sceneywith a Josephite symbol they made. at St Joseph’s School.,



ABOUT 200 pilgrims fromGippsland were among the thou-sands of people who gathered inSt Peter’s Square for the canoni-sation of Mary MacKillop.

Some travelled in organisedpilgrim groups, while otherstravelled solo but still managedto score seats at the event.

Others made it to Rome butmissed out on being present butwere able to watch it on VaticanTV.

One such tourist, fromWarragul, said she was disap-pointed not to be actually pres-ent at the ceremony but had beenable to enjoy the atmosphere in

the days before the big event.Australia’s first canonised

saint, now know as St Mary ofthe Cross MacKillop, also creat-ed great interest here inAustralia.

Secular media outlets devotedpages to the canonisation afterrecognising that something spe-cial was happening, not just forthe Catholic faithful, but allAustralians.

The MacKillop story from herhumble beginnings inMelbourne, to founding theSisters of St Joseph of theSacred Heart, her excommunica-tion and battle with Church

authorities, is now well knownacross this country.

In our diocese people gatheredin schools halls and parish cen-tres to view streaming of thecanonisation live while otherswatched on their home comput-ers or caught the round-up ontelevision.

While not as big is theMelbourne Cup, it was certainlyan event which drew the nation’sattention for a few hours onOctober 17.

• Thanks to Kerry Myers, edi-tor of Catholic Weekly, Sydney,for providing photographs for us.

Canonisation a showstopperPOSTULATOR Sr Maria Casey rsj meets Pope Benedict XVI during the canonisation. - Kerry Myers photo THE Aussie flags are flying in this section of the crowd at St Peter’s

Square. - Kerry Myers photo

BISHOP Christopher Prowse (centre rear) and Sr Rose Duffey csb(right) at the Vatican with students representing Sale Diocese second-ary colleges



THE crowd gathers in St Peter’s Square for the canonisation of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop and five other new saints. - Kerry Myers photo

CONCELEBRANTS at the thanksgiving Mass at St Paul’s Outside-the-Walls include Sale Diocesechancellor Fr Brian O’Connor (fourth from left). - Kerry Myers photo

SISTERS of St Joseph in their distinctive light blue scarves with Kathleen Evans (second fromleft) who was the recipient of the second miracle attributed to the intercession of Mary MacKillop.In the group is Sr Sharon Teresa rsj,originally from Yarram, who took her final vows last year. - Kerry Myers photo

POPE Benedict urged people tobe inspired by the example of StMary of the Cross during thePapal Mass of canonisation.

He said “Remember who yourteachers were. From these youcan learn wisdom that leads tosalvation through faith in JesusChrist.

“For many years countlessyoung people throughoutAustralia have been blessed withteachers who were inspired bythe courageous and saintlyexample of zeal, perserverenceand prayer of Mother MaryMacKillop.

“She dedicated herself as ayoung woman to the educationof the poor in the difficult anddemanding terrain of rural

Australia, inspiring otherwomen to join her in the firstwomen’s community of religioussisters in that country.

“She attended to the needs ofeach young person entrusted toher, without regard for station orwealth, providing both intellec-tual and spiritual formation.

“Despite many challenges, herprayers to St Joseph and herunflagging devotion to theSacred Heart of Jesus, to whomshe dedicated her new congrega-tion, gave this holy woman thegraces needed to remain faithfulto God and the Church.

“Through her intercession,may her followers today, contin-ue to serve God and the Churchwith faith and humility.”

Be inspired - Pope

MARY MacKillop’s portrait hangs in St Peter’s Square. - Kerry Myersphoto

NEWBOROUGH - The chil-dren at St Mary’s SchoolNewborough recently celebratedthe canonisation of Australia’sfirst saint Saint Mary of the

Cross MacKillop. The children in Prep, Grades 1

and 2 were invited to participatein a coloring in competition ofMary MacKillop.

The entries were displayed atthe Devonshire tea at the schoolfete. Children in Grades 3 to 6were welcome to participate in aposter making competition anda computer Powerpoint presen-tation.

The posters were displayed inthe church and the winningPowerpoint presentation wasshown at the parish Mass on theday of the canonisation and alsoat the whole school liturgy onMonday morning.

Each child in the schoolreceived a very special MaryMacKillop bookmark to com-memorate this very importantoccasion.

The Mary MacKillop eventswere sponsored by BrianHandley from Brian Handleyand Associates FinancialServices, Moe.

Religious education coordin-ator Trish Mulqueen said “Thecanonisation of our first saint isa wonderful celebration for allAustralians. Mary stands out asone of our Australian heroesand her story reminds us thateach person can and does makea difference in our world.”

BERWICK - To mark the occa-sion of the canonisation ofMary MacKillop, three Catholicschools in Berwick’s community,St Michael’s, St Catherine’s andSt Brigid’s gathered together fora Mass, led by Fr Peter Slater, tocelebrate this historical event.

As the numbers of childrenand parishioners exceeded thecapacity of the St Michael’sParish Church, a video link wasstreamed from the St Michael’sChurch to the St Michael’sPrimary School multi-purposehall, where the other half of thechildren and parents were seat-ed.

This wonderful opportunityenabled the Berwick St Michael’sCatholic Parish schools and thewider community, be part of thishistorical event of the canonisa-tion of Australia’s first saint, St

Mary of the Cross MacKillop.

KOO WEE RUP - A specialMass was held at Koo Wee Rupto honor the canonisation ofMary MacKillop.

Several sisters from otherareas joined local Sisters of StJoseph Sr Rose Wood rsj and SrChristina Scannell rsj at thgeMass which was celebrated by FrThomas Mannakulathil, assistedby Deacon Mark Kelly.

A group of JosephiteAssociates also participated.

In his homily, Deacon Kellyspoke of Mary MacKillop’skeen spirit and her ability to mixwith the poor and the deprived.

He spoke of her strong faith,integrity and compassion whichwere displayed in her teachings,and he gave a number of exam-ples as to what her feelings mayhave been as she experienceddaily life.

After Mass, the parishionersgathered in two classrooms aswell as the outside area to enjoyan early evening dinner whichwas provided by the parish..


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A LIFE OFPRAYER

. . . are you called to theBenedictine life of divine

praise and eucharisticprayer for the Church?

Contact the:

TYBURN NUNSRev Mother Cyril, OSB,

Tyburn Priory,325 Garfield Rd.,

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PO Box 124, Sale 3853 Ph: 5143 0355204 Raymond Street Fax: 5143 0388www.lifefm.com.au [email protected]


A LAST minute reminder thatthe Sale Diocese celebrations ofthe canonisation of St Mary ofthe Cross MacKillop will takeplace in St Mary’s Cathedral,Sale, this Friday, November 12at 11am.

Student and parish pilgrimswho attended the canonisationin Rome have been asked toattend this event.

Clergy and parishioners fromacross the diocese are expectedto fill the cathedral.

Light refreshments will beoffered at the conclusion ofMass.

On Saturday, November 13,the Ecumenical Commission ishosting an afternoon “Mary ofthe Cross MacKillop - A GreatAustralian”.

It will be in at Mary of theCross Hall, at St Michael’s,Church St., Traralgon, from1.30pm to 4pm.

Presenter is accomplishedspeaker on Mary MacKillop, SrLynette Young rsj, Wonthaggi,and Bishop Christopher Prowsewill also speak.

Diocesecelebratesthis week

3 schools combine

SCHOOL children in the new multi purpose hall at Berwick join in thecelebrations surrounding Australia’s first saint.

St Mary’s joy atour new St Mary

PICTURED with their winning posters of Mary MacKillop are TianaVicino (Grade 3), Sarah Mulqueen (Grade 5) and Brittany Monacella(Grade 4).

Koo Wee Rup Massand dinner success

SISTERS of St Joseph in their new light blue scarves attend the cele-bratory Mass at St John’s, Koo Wee Rup.

WHAT do you know aboutJohn the Baptist?

As we enter Advent, theseason on the Church calen-dar leading up to the celebra-tion of the birth of Jesus atChristmas, our Sunday read-ings teach us about John theBaptist.

Can you fill in the gapsusing the words in the box atright?

1. John the Baptist was a....... of Jesus.

2. His mother was called................

3. He lived in the ..........where he ate wild honey and..........

4. His wore clothes madefrom ............. skins.

5. He proclaimed a messagetelling anyone who would lis-ten to ............. the way of theLord.

6. Men and women came tohim to be ................. in theRiver Jordan.

7. ............. visited John tobe baptised.

8. After the baptism theNew Testament describes

God’s spirit descending onJesus like a ..........

9. Some people thoughtJohn was the .................

10. He was imprisoned by

............ for denouncing hismarriage to his brother’s wife.

11. He was executed byHerod at the request of his............. Salome.


For the Young and Young at HeartTime for a Laugh

A MAN walks into arestaurant with a full-grownostrich behind him, and as hesits, the waitress comes overand asks for their order. Theman says, “I’ll have a doublecheeseburger, large fries and acoke,” and turns to theostrich and asks, “Whatabout you?” “I’ll have thesame,” says the ostrich.

A short time later the wait-ress returns with the order.“That will be $8.94 please,”and the man reaches into hispocket and pulls out exactchange for payment.

The next day, the man andthe ostrich come again andthe man says, “I’ll have adouble cheeseburger, largefries and a coke,” and theostrich says, “I’ll have thesame.” Once again the manreaches into his pocket andpays with exact change.

This becomes a routineuntil late one evening, the twoenter again. “The usual?”asks the waitress. “No, this isFriday night, so I will have aporterhouse steak, bakedpotato and salad,” says theman. “Same for me,” says theostrich.

A short time later the wait-ress comes with the order andsays, “That will be $22.86”.Once again the man pulls theexact change out of his pock-et and places it on the table.

The waitress can’t holdback her curiosity any longer.“Excuse me, sir, how do youmanage to always come upwith the exact change out ofyour pocket every time?”

“Well,” says the man, “sev-eral years ago I was cleaningthe attic and I found an oldlamp. When I rubbed it, agenie appeared and offeredme two wishes. My first wishwas that if I ever had to payfor anything, I wish I’d justput my hand in my pocket,and the right amount ofmoney would always bethere.”

“That’s brilliant!” says thewaitress. “Most people wouldwish for a million dollars orsomething, but you’ll alwaysbe as rich as you want for aslong as you live!”

“That’s right! Whether it’s alitre of milk or a Rolls Royce,the exact amount of money isalways there,” says the man.

The waitress asks, “Oneother thing, sir, what’s withthe ostrich?”

The man sighs, pauses, andanswers, “My second wishwas for a chick with long legswho always agrees with every-thing I say!”

WHAT do you get if youcross and eagle with a skunk?

A bird that stinks to highheaven.

A LITTLE man walkedinto the health departmentone day and said “I havethree brothers and we all livetogether in the same house.

“My eldest brother hasseven cats, another has threedogs and the third has a goat.

“What can I do about thenoise and terrible smell?”

The health department offi-cer thought for a while andsaid “The first thing to dowould be to open up all thewindows and let in somefresh air.”

“Whoa,” said the little man“All my turkeys and petpigeons will escape!”

WHAT is black and whiteand noisy?

A zebra with a drum kit.

A MAN is in bed with hiswife when there is a rat-a-tat-tat on the door. He rolls overand looks at his clock, andit’s half past three in themorning. “I’m not gettingout of bed at this time ofnight,” he thinks, and rollsover. Then, a louder knockfollows. “Aren’t you going toanswer that?” says his wife.

So he drags himself out ofbed and goes downstairs. Heopens the door and there isman standing at the door. Itdidn’t take the homeownerlong to realise the man wasdrunk.

“Hi there,” slurs thestranger. “Can you give me apush?” “No, get lost. It’s halfpast three. I was in bed,” saysthe man and slams the door.

He goes back up to bed andtells his wife what happenedand she says, “Dave, that was-n’t very nice of you.Remember that night webroke down in the pouringrain on the way to pick thekids up from the baby sitterand you had to knock on thatman’s house to get us startedagain? What would have hap-pened if he’d told us to getlost?”

“But the guy was drunk,”says the husband.

“It doesn’t matter,” says thewife. “He needs our help andit would be the Christianthing to help him.”

So the husband gets out ofbed again, gets dressed, andgoes downstairs. He opensthe door, and not being ableto see the stranger anywhereshouts, “Hey, do you stillwant a push??” He hears avoice cry out, “Yeah please.”

So, still being unable to seethe stranger he shouts,“Where are you?”

And the stranger replies,“I’m over here, on your swingset.”

ONE day Tony’s girlfriendcalled to say their friendshipwas off and that she wantedher photograph back.

Two days later she receiveda big parcel, full of photo-graphs of different women.

Inside was a note: “I can’tquite remember what youlook like. Pick out your photoand send the rest back.”

Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Age . . . . . .

Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Send entries to: Colouring Contest, c/- Catholic Life, PO Box 183, Sale. 3853

Monkey madness colour-in

THANK you children for themany many entries for ourcolouring contest with MaryMacKillop Children’s PrayerBooks as prizes.

Unfortunately, we only havefour copies to give away andthat made the task of select-ing winners even harder.

After much deliberation,our winners are AlexandraHillard, 11, of St Michael’sPrimary, Berwick; Carly

Wood, 10, from St Therese’sPrimary, Cranbourne North;Lillie Schacht, 11, from StMary’s Primary, Maffra, andEmma Brinker-Ritchie, 9,from St Mary’s Primary,Yarram.

Thank you to John GarrettPublishing for providing uswith the prizes.

The books will be deliveredto students in the next coupleof weeks.

MacKillop book winners

Learn about John the Baptist

locustsJesusHerod

daughterdove

wilderness

baptisedcousin

MessiahElizabeth

camelprepare


BISHOP Patrick Phelan wasappointed the second Bishop ofSale after Bishop Corbett’s deathin 1912.

Fr Phelan, who was to becomea clerical leader of Catholic lifein Melbourne, arrived in 1888,two years after Archbishop Carr.

Patrick Phelan, born inKilkenny in 1860, came from afamily with several cousins in thepriesthood.

At one clerical function inKilkenny we are told, ‘six FatherPhelans were present - threepairs of brothers’. His brother,Fr Michael Phelan, also came tothe Melbourne Mission, as it wasthen called, and later became aJesuit.

After education at MountMelleray and Carlow College,Patrick Phelan was ordained in1888. He was knowledgeable inIrish history, literature and the-ology, and developed these inter-ests in Australia.

In Melbourne his first appoint-ment was as curate at Essendonand he was later parish priest atCollingwood, where he was soonnoticed as an outstanding cleric.

Carr had the vision, butPhelan oversaw the practical car-rying out of his ideas. Good atbusiness, firm but personable, anefficient administrator and suc-cessful fund-raiser, he also hadintellectual and scholarly gifts.Phelan was instrumental informing Catholic organisationsand arguing the Catholic causein public.

Fr Phelan had a stellar career,rising rapidly and gaining all theglittering prizes except the topone: he became successivelyDean of St Patrick’s Cathedral,Vicar-General of the Arch-diocese, Doctor of Divinity,Monsignor, and finally Bishop.Phelan is a forgotten giant of theMelbourne Catholic scene.

Phelan had an extraordinaryvariety of interests. He becamethe Catholic Young Men’sSociety national spiritual direc-tor. Fr Phelan was credited withstarting the tradition of com-munion breakfasts, a feature ofMelbourne Catholic life there-after. He was the clerical leaderof the flowering of Catholicintellectual and cultural lifewhich began in the 1890s.

A great leap forward for thearchdiocese was the founding ofthe CYMS magazine AustralLight in 1892. The importance ofreading for developing characterand informing the mind wasstressed in the magazine, whichwas not under direct clerical con-trol, though Fr Phelan was listedas ‘Censor’. When the magazinewas taken over by the CatholicChurch in 1900, Fr Phelan wasappointed manager.

From 1900 more articles of areligious and apologetic natureappeared, and speeches byprominent clergymen (like Carrand Phelan) were printed in

extenso. Fr Phelan praised the editor

Joseph O’Meara for his delicatebalancing act: ‘He had toendeavour to please the layman,and to give them full scope fortheir views on Church matters,without bringing on his ownhead the adverse criticism of theclergy’.

Fr Phelan’s copies of AustralLight are in the Bishop’s Libraryat Sale.

Fr Phelan supported charita-ble institutions such as theAbbotsford Convent and theFoundling Home atBroadmeadows. The AbbotsfordConvent of the Good Shepherdbegan in 1863, and it had exten-sive additions over the decades.The convent for the nuns wascompleted in 1902, giving it theform we know today.

Fr Phelan was parish priest ofCollingwood, which includeAbbotsford, at the time, andhelped raised funds to completethe convent buildings. TheAustralian order, the Sisters ofSt Joseph, founded by MotherMary MacKillop, also began in1902 a foundling home for ille-gitimate and abandoned childrenin a large, two-storied buildingon a 30-acre site, overlookingMelbourne in the distance, atBroadmeadows. Dean Phelanarranged the purchase.

The Australian Catholic TruthSociety was based in Melbourne,beginning in December 1904;Archbishop Carr was the initialpresident, and Dean Phelan, ashe then was, was treasurer.

ACTS pamphlets were sold allover Australia, mainly throughthe parish network, and alsothrough organisations like the StVincent de Paul Society, theCYMS and the AustralianCatholic Federation. DeanPhelan wrote many of the earlyissues.

In 1907 the Vatican issued NeTemere, a new decree tighteningup the rules for marriage. In 1912a Presbyterian cleric, the RevLaurence Rentoul questionedthe church on the Ne Temeredivorce issue, and Dean Phelanwas given the task of replying onbehalf of the CatholicArchdiocese.

In February 1913 it becameknown that Ronald Stewart, aconvert, writer and Catholicactivist, 42 years old and with afamily of eight young children,was stricken with a debilitatingillness. An appeal was set up byBishop-elect Phelan for his wife

and family.Carr and Phelan were very

close friends. Phelan had lookedafter the archdiocese duringCarr’s extensive ad liminaabsence in 1908-9.

The Advocate wrote of Phelanthen: ‘He seemed to do the workof several men. He appeared toneed no rest’. His central role asthe one after Carr who carriedthe Melbourne archdiocese’sgreat expansion and success wasacknowledged at the time. Somepeople expected that he mightsucceed Carr.

Four interconnected events in1912 were significant for theleadership of the CatholicChurch in Melbourne. In MarchDean Phelan was promoted tothe rank of monsignor; in JuneBishop Corbett of Sale died; inAugust the appointment wasannounced of Dr Mannix, presi-dent of Maynooth College, asCoadjutor Archbishop ofMelbourne to succeed Carr; andin December Monsignor Phelan

was appointed the new Bishop ofSale.

The Melbourne clergy electorshad voted for Carr’s choice,Mannix, in late 1911, and theAustralian bishops agreed withthis choice in early 1912. Carrhad sounded out the question ofhis successor during his ad liminavisit.

By early 1912 he would haveknown that Mannix would beappointed, so the promotion of

Phelan to monsignor may havebeen in the nature of a consola-tion prize.

Mannix’s new positionblocked off Phelan from furtherpromotion in Melbourne, sowhen Bishop Corbett died inJune, the Sale vacancy was theobvious position for Phelan.Phelan was consecrated a bishopin December, and installed atSale in early 1913.

FOOTHILL FARMERS, TheLiterature of Gippsland, byPatrick Morgan, published byNgarak Press, distributed byauthor, soft cover, 141 pages, rrp$30.

CATHOLIC Life history writerPatrick Morgan has released hisnew book Foothill Farmers,which covers Gippsland litera-ture.

Gippsland has an extensiveimaginative literature of poetry,novels, plays, short stories andchildren’s books, as rich as anycomparable region in Australia.

As well as local writers likeMary Grant Bruce, Hal Porter,E. J. Bardy and Mary Fullerton,famous Australian writers likeMarcus Clarke, Henry Lawson,Rolf Boldrewood and KatharineSusannah Prichard wrote worksbased on Gippsland after visitshere.

This book analyses imagina-tive works relating to explo-ration, Aborigines, squatting,selection, mining, timber-get-ting, war and other topics. Abibliography listing 80 authorsand 130 books is included.

Patrick Morgan has previouslypublished an award winningregional history The Settling ofGippsland.

The book was launched by thewriter Chester Eagle at a Centrefor Gippsland Studies confer-ence at the Churchill campus ofMonash University last month.

The book is available inGippsland bookshops andnewsagents, and can be broughtfrom the author, phone 51696216 or [email protected].

39 NEW SAINTS YOUSHOULD KNOW by BrianO’Neel, published by ServantBooks, distributed by RainbowBooks, paperback, 156 pages, rrp$22.95.

POPE John Paul II was regardedas the king of saintmakers,

canonising hundreds more saintsduring his pontificate than hadbeen canonised in the previous500 years.

With saints in the news inAustralia with the recent canoni-sation of St Mary of the CrossMacKillop, it is worth looking atsome of the other recent saints.

Each has a story to tell and alife worth emulating.

Most of the saints in this bookwill never be household namesbut it does not make their storyless interesting.

Two who stand out because ofthe public persona before theirdeaths are Blessed MotherTeresa of Kolkata and St Pio ofPietrelcina (Padre Pio).

They bookend the other saintswho include holy people andordinary people who led holylives.

It is a pity that our own saintis not included in this book butthen, there are about a dozenbooks in print extolling hervirtues.

JESUS 101 - God and Man, byJohn L. Gresham, published byLigouri, distributed by RainbowBooks, paperback, 144 pages, rrp$24.95.

IN the Bible Jesus is referred toby at least 15 different titles andso in the early days of theChurch there was much debateand in-fighting among the lead-ers as to the true nature of Jesus.

It took hundreds of years andat least four ecumenical councilsfor the Church to define Jesus.

We finally ended up withagreement that Jesus was both

fully divine and fully human, oneperson with two natures.

Thoughts which denied hisdivinity or denied his humanitywere declared heresies, as werethose which claimed that Jesuswas adopted by God.

This book presents an author-atative, yet easily understoodoverview of Catholic teaching onthis difficult topic.

Theology students have oftenstruggled with Christology and itwas certainly a battle for theearly Church.

This book would be a valuableintroduction to the topic for any-one considering theologicalstudies as the author is a profes-sor of theology at a UnitedStates seminary.

And the every day Catholicmay be surprised to find outwhat if behind each of the linesof the Creed as recited at Masseach Sunday.

ALL ABOARD WITH NOAH,illustrated by Marie Allen, dis-tributed by Rainbow Books,board book, 10 pages, rrp $17.99.

THIS is a religious book for thelittlest members of the family,made from solid cardboard, butbecause it also features lift pan-els it cannot be claimed to beindestructible.

Each double page tells thestory of Noah and has lots of lit-tle lift-up panels which revealanimals and members of thefamily working on the ark anddoing their chores.

The story is simply told andthis book would make great bed-time reading for toddlers.

Central CatholicBookshop

322 Lonsdale St., Melbourne(Next door to St Francis’ Church)

Open seven daysPhone and mail orders welcome. Credit cards accepted

Phone (03) 9639 [email protected]

Visit our website at www.catholicbookshop.com.auBrowse through our range of books and sacramental

and religious gifts or search for specific items byauthor, title or keyword

with Patrick Morgan

GGiippppssllaannddHHiissttoorryy

Talking aboutBooks

The Melbourne career of Sale’s second bishop

Gippsland literature revealed

Bishop Patrick Phelan


Good Youth Newswith Jess Denehy & Kelly Lucas

Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?(Mark10:17)

WE have just returned from avery fruitful trip to Spain tomeet with the World Youth Day2011 organisers and to continueour preparations for the dioce-san pilgrimage.

The very fortunate timing ofthis trip allowed us to also takethe opportunity to visit Romefor the canonisation of St Maryof the Cross MacKillop beforeour meetings in Madrid andToledo and we feel very blessedto have been able to be part ofthis event.

Before we jetted off to Romewe were lucky enough to partici-pate in “RE 4 the Rabble: aglimpse into the Life andSpirituality of Mary ” whichimmersed us in the story of this

remarkable woman. St Mary of the Cross was a

young pioneer who helped shapethe Australia we know and love.Witnessing her recognition as asaint in St Peter’s Square was amoment of great excitement butalso a moment of wonder andawe at just what is possible whenan ordinary young person hasthe faith to put their life in God’shands.

St Mary of the CrossMacKillop; please pray for us!

Now that we are back in theoffice it is all systems go.

We’d like to invite everyone toan afternoon of reflection andpreparation Sunday December5, 3-6pm at Lumen ChristiCatholic Church in Churchill as

we start the holy season ofAdvent.

This is an opportunity foryouth and young adults to takesome time out together to prayand reflect in the lead up toChristmas and the New Year.

And of course 2011 in going tobe bumper! Pilgrim Boot Campfor WYD2011 swings into fullgear so if you are consideringbeing part of this once-in-a-life-time pilgrimage to Spain to jointwo million young people andmeet Pope Benedict XVI youneed to talk to us about register-ing ASAP.

Visit www.sale.catholic.org.auand follow the youth ministrylinks or give us a call in the officefor a chat.

Holy Toledo a welcome forour WYD 2011 pilgrimsTHE Diocese of Toledo in Spainis looking forward to welcoming10,000 World Youth Day pil-grims from around the world toparticipate in Days in theDiocese, including our pilgrim-age group from the Diocese ofSale.

Days in the Diocese tradition-ally takes place immediatelybefore WYD week and past pil-grims often refer to this time asone of the many blessings oftheir WYD pilgrimage.

Jess Denehy and Kelly Lucas,from the Youth Ministry team,recently met Days in the Dioceseorganisers from Toledo to dis-cuss their plans for hosting pil-grims from the Diocese of Saleand have returned from themeeting in Spain full of excite-ment.

Toledo is located in theCastille region of central Spain,approximately 70km southwestof Madrid and 137km southeastof Avila. It has a population ofabout 75,000 and is a very popu-lar tourist destination, especiallyas a day trip from Madrid.

Toledo was declared a WorldHeritage Site by UNESCO in1986 for its extensive culturaland monumental heritage as oneof the former capitals of theSpanish Empire and place ofcoexistence of Christian, Jewishand Muslim cultures. Sitting ona large hill, Old Toledo is encir-cled on three sides by the TagusRiver and the old city retains itsmedieval road plan.

“Holy Toledo” isn’t just anexpression! This historic city incentral Spain is positivelypacked with religious sites. Aunique and richly diverse city,Toledo features Arab, Jewish,Christian, and even Roman andVisigothic elements.

A beloved national landmarkToledo has remained relativelyunchanged since the 16th centu-ry. Old churches and houses fillthe city, where you can still strollthrough streets barely wideenough for a man and his don-key, let alone a car.

The Holy Church Cathedral isranked among the greatestGothic structures in Europe andwill be a focal point of our visitto Toledo for Days in theDiocese.

The cathedral stands on thesite of the Great Mosque ofToledo, which itself had replaceda Visigothic church. Built from1226 to 1493, the long process isreflected in the Cathedral’s vari-ety of styles. Inside, the cathe-dral contains important master-pieces including a spectacular

baroque high altar and twopaintings by El Greco. Many his-toric events have been hosted inthe Cathedral over the years,including the proclamation ofJoanna the Mad and her hus-band, Philip the Handsome, asheirs to the throne of Spain.

If you would like to join theDiocese of Sale on pilgrimage toWYD2011 including Days in theDiocese in Toledo visithttp://www.sale.catholic.org.au/youth/wyd2011-madrid.html formore information.

THE magificent Gothic Holy Church Cathedral which dominates thecity’s skyline

ABOUT 300 students fromacross Australia gathered at StFrancis Xavier College, Berwicklast month for a conferenceaimed to bring youth ministrystudents together.

The Catholic Schools YouthMinistry Australia (CSYMA)national student conference wasattended by students from anumber of diocesan schoolsincluding St Francis XavierBerwick, St Peter’s CollegeCranbourne, Marist SionCollege Warragul, MaryMacKillop Leongatha andCatholic College Sale.

The three-day conferenceaimed to bring together second-ary schools, staff and organisa-tions together for peer to peerministry, payer and worshipmusic and friendship.

The conference used drama,prayer, mediation, music, con-certs, Mass and reconciliation tomake the conference more rele-vant and engaging for youngpeople.

With nine priests to hear con-fessions, it was amazing to seeyoung people queuing for theopportunity. It was a very privi-leged and humbling experience.

Mass was then lead by BishopChristopher Prowse. After wel-coming so many young people toour diocese from all overAustralia, he inspired to studentsto be modern day mathers, to

stand up for their faith evenwhen it’s not cool.

A number of times throughoutthe homily the crowd eruptedinto applause, cheering for thebishop’s messages.

Another big highlight of theevent was the music. Led bySteve Kirk, the live music wasfantastic. But Steve could nothave done it without the hardwork and support from themusicians from the youth min-istry class at St Francis Xavier.

The feedback back from thestudents had been wonderful.

Steve Nash for CatholicCollege Sale said “Theyabsolutely loved it.”

Anita Kay-Taylor from MaryMacKillop College said “A lot ofthem couldn’t believe the energyin the room and many made newfriends. It’s a great way to meetnew people who have similarinterests to what they do.”

Rhonda O’Connor, the con-ference organiser from StFrancis Xavier said “Many stu-dents were energised andempowered to be more who theywant to be.”

The conference was a terrificopportunity for our schools andhas brought much energy to theyouth ministry programs. A bigthank you and congratulationsgoes to the youth ministry officeand the team at St FrancisXavier College, lead by RhondaO’Connor.

National CSYMAconference success

DAPHANIE and Jesse from St Francis Xavier College enjoying theconference.

WHAT an exciting year we havehad in school youth ministry thisyear.

The CSYMA program is aliveand running in four of our sec-ondary schools with the otherthree ready to begin next year.Remar is strong in two schools;Junior Josephites is beginning,Vinnies Youth, soup vans, socialjustice groups, solidarity pro-grams and so much more is hap-pening across the diocese.

Some of the main highlightsfrom the CSYMA program havebeen the student conference,staff conference and the mainprojects for the classes, runningsacramental days for primaryschool students.

From grade two first reconcili-ation days to Grade 6 confirma-tions, the Year 10 students inCSYMA have planned, pre-pared and presented some amaz-ing days. These reflection or

retreat days have been a realturning point for students andclasses. The hands on experienceare invaluable and for nearly allthe students a greater apprecia-tion and understanding of thesacraments came from the expe-rience.

Next year there are many moreexciting things happening in theCSYMA program. March willbe our diocesan schools classretreat and April will be the lead-ers training course. A nationalteacher’s conference and retreatwill be offered, regional studentdays and school based programs.Some of our schools have alsobeen organising road trips toother states in Australia to pro-mote the great work they aredoing in CSYMA.

Many of our youth ministrystudents are also planning onattending the World Youth Daypilgrimage to Madrid.

School youth ministry

November 10 -Mass andgathering of religious at StMary’s Cathedral, Sale,11am.

November 10 - CatholicCollege Sale governorsmeeting.

November 11 - Blessingand opening of new build-ings at St Ita’s PrimarySchool, Drouin, noon.

November 12 - Diocesancelebratory Mass to markcanonisation of St Mary ofthe Cross MacKillop, StMary’s Cathedral, Sale,11am.

November 12 - Civicreception hosted byWellington Shire to mark120 years of Sisters of Sionarrival in Sale.

November 13 -Ecumenical afternmoon inTraralgon focussed on StMary of the CrossMacKillop, 1.30-4pm.

November 14 - SpecialMass in St Mary’sCathedral, Sale, to mark120th anniversary of SionSisters, 11am.

November 14 -Pilgrimage to shrine of OurLady of Perpetual Help atSt Mary’s Cathedral,2.30pm.

November 16 - Official

visit to Loy Yang POwerStation, 1pm

November 17 - Blessingand opening new facilitiesat Nagle College,Bairnsdale.

November 18 - Lunchwith local ecumenical lead-ers regards Mary of theCross MacKillop canoni-sation.

November 19-21 -Official visitation to Moeparish.

November 20 - DiocesanPastoral Council meeting,Moe.

November 22 - Meetingwith Aboriginal Comm-ission, Sydney.

November 22-26 -Australian CatholicBishops’ Conference plena-ry meeting, Sydney.

November 27 -Ordination of DeaconDariusz Jablonski to priest-hood, St Mary’s Cathedral,

Sale, 1pm.November 30 - Blessing

and opening new facilitiesat St Joseph’s PrimarySchool, Trafalgar, 2pm.

December 1 - Openingand blessing of stadiumand multi purpose room atSt Thomas’s, Sale,10.30am.

December 2 - Opening ofnew facilities at StMichael’s Primary School,Traralgon, 11am.

December 2 - Opening ofnew facilities at StVincent’s Primary School,Morwell 2pm.


Quick calendar

What’s on & whenNovember10 - South region meeting, St

Laurence’s parish centre,Leongatha, 11.15am

10 – Gathering of religious ofdiocese and mass, 11am

11 – Opening and blessing ofnew facilities at St Ita’sSchool, Drouin

12 – Diocesan celebration ofcanonisation of St Mary ofthe Cross MacKillop, StMary’s Cathedral, Sale,11am

12 – Civic reception byWellington Shire to mark120th anniversary of arrivalof Sisters of Sion in Sale,6pm

13 – Ecumenical commission,‘Celebrating MaryMacKillop – A GreatAustralian’, Mary of theCross Hall, St Michael’sSchool, Traralgon

13 – Memorial of St FrancisXavier

13 – Celebration of 120thanniversary of foundationof Our Lady of SionConvent, Sale.

14 - Mass at St Mary’sCathedral at 11am, fol-lowed by luncheon to mark120th anniversary of foun-dation of Our Lady of SionConvent

14 – Pilgrimage to Our Lady ofPerpetual Help shrine at StMary’s Cathedral, 2.30pm.

16 – Central region meeting, StJoseph’s parish meetingroom, Warragul, 7.30pm

17 - Official opening new facil-ities at Nagle College,Bairnsdale

19-21 – Bishop Prowse’s offi-cial visit to Moe parish

20 – Diocesan PastoralCouncil meeting, Moe

21 – Solemnity of Christ theKing

22-26 – Australian CatholicBishop’s Conference plena-ry session, Sydney

24 - West region meeting, StAgatha’s parish centre,Cranbourne, 10.30am

27 – Ordination of DeaconDariusz Jablonski as priestfor Sale Diocese, St Mary’sCathedral, Sale, 1pm

27 – Victorian State Elections30 - Deadline of December

Catholic LifeDecember2 – Valley region Christmas

lunch, Morwell Club, noon8 - Catholic Life published 8 - Combined CDF oard and

Finance Council meeting12 – Polish Mass, Sacred Heart

Church, Morwell, noon15 – Council of Priests and

Consultors meetings, Sale,noon

18 – School holidays begin24 – Christmas Eve25 – Christmas Day26 – Boxing Day27 – Public holiday in lieu of

Christmas Day28 – Public holiday in lieu of

Boxing Day

BairnsdaleBairnsdale, Saturday 7pm, Sunday 9am, 11am.Paynesville, Sunday 9amLindenow, 1st, 3rd, and 5th Sundays 11am

BerwickBerwick, Saturday 6pm, Sunday 9am, 10.30am6pm

ChurchillChurchill, Saturday 6pm, Sunday 9amYinnar, 1st, and 3rd Sundays 10.30amBoolarra, 2nd and 4th Sundays 10.30am

CowesCowes, Sunday 9amBass, Sunday 11amSan Remo, Saturday 6pm

CranbourneCranbourne, Saturday 7pm, Sunday 9am,10.30am, 6pm

DrouinDrouin, Sunday 10.30amNeerim South, Saturday 5.30pm

FosterFoster, 1st and 3rd Sundays 11am. 2nd, 4th and 5thSundays 9amFish Creek, Saturday before 2nd and 4th Sundays7.30pm. Celebration of the Word, Saturday before1st, 3rd, and 5th Sundays, 7.30pmToora, Saturday before 3rd Sunday, 6pm.Celebration of the Word, Saturday before the 2ndand 5th Sundays, 7.30pm

HeyfieldHeyfield, Saturday 7pmCowwarr, 1st, 3rd and 5th Sunday 11am

Iona-MaryknollIona, Sunday 11amMaryknoll, 4th and 5th Sunday 9amNar Nar Goon, 1st and 3rd Sunday 9am

KooweerupKooweerup, Saturday 7pmLang Lang, 2nd Sunday 9am, 4th Sunday 5.30pm

KorumburraKorumburra, Sunday 9.30amLoch, Sunday 5pm (6pm daylight saving)

Lakes EntranceLakes Entrance, 2nd and 4th Saturday 6pm,Sunday 9amSwan Reach, 1st, 3rd and 5th Sundays, 11am

LeongathaLeongatha, Saturday 5pm, Sunday 11amMeeniyan, 1st, 3rd and 5th Sundays 9.30am; 2ndand 4th Sundays, 11amMirboo North, 1st, 3rd and 5th Sundays 11am, 2ndand 4th Sundays 9.30amOther Sundays, Liturgy of the Word & HC, 9.30amTarwin Lower, (at St Andrew’s Union Church)Saturday 5pm (6pm daylight saving)

MaffraMaffra, Sunday 9amNewry, 2nd and 4th Sunday 11am

MoeMoe, Saturday 6pm, Sunday 8.30am, 10.30amErica, Sunday 10.30am, Liturgy of Word & HC

MorwellSacred Heart, Morwell, Saturday 7pm, Sunday10.30am. 1st Sunday, noon (Polish Mass).St Vincent’s, Morwell East, Sunday 9am

Narre WarrenNarre Warren, Saturday 6pm, Sunday 8aqm,9.15am, 11am, 6pm

NewboroughNewborough, Saturday 7pm, Sunday 9.30amYallourn North, Saturday 5.30pm

OmeoOmeo, 2nd and 4th Sundays 9am. Liturgy of theWord with communion 9am other Sundays.Swifts Creek/Ensay, 2nd and 4th Saturdays6.30pm (alternating monthly). Liturgy of Word withcommunion at Swifts Creek 9am Sunday otherweekends and at Ensay 6.30pm other Saturdays.Benambra, 2nd and 4th Sundays 11am. Liturgy ofWord with communion 9.30am Sundays of otherweekends

OrbostOrbost, 1st, 3rd and 5th Saturdays 6pm, 2nd and4th Sundays 11amMallacoota, 2nd and 4th Sundays 5pmBuchan, 1st and 3rd Saturdays 9am

PakenhamPakenham, Saturday 6pm, Sunday 9am, 10.30am

SaleSale Cathedral, Sunday 9.30am, 6pm (5pm April-Oct)Rosedale, Saturday before 2nd and 5th Sundays,7pmStratford, Saturday before 1st and, 3rd Sundays6pmBriagolong, Saturday before 4th Sunday, 6pm

TrafalgarTrafalgar, Saturday 6pm, Sunday 10.30amYarragon, Sunday 9am

TraralgonTraralgon, Saturday 6pm, Sunday 9.30am, 6pmGlengarry, Sunday 10am

WarragulWarragul, Saturday 7pm, Sunday 9am.

WonthaggiWonthaggi, Saturday 6.30pm, Sunday 9.30amInverloch, Sunday 9am

YarramYarram, 1st and 3rd Sundays 9am, 2nd, 4th and 5thSundays 11amWoodside, Saturday before 1st Sunday, 6pm

All Mass times at www.sale.catholic.org.au

Mass times around Diocese

From the Bishop’s DiaryTHIS weekend is a busy one inSale with the celebrations tomark the 120th anniversary ofthe arrival of the Sisters of OurLady of Sion and the annual pil-grimage to the shrine of OurLady of Perpetual Help at SaleCathedral.

Celebrations for the Sionanniversary begin on Fridayevening, November 12, with acivic reception for invited guests,hosted by Wellington ShireCouncil.

The Sion celebrations continuethroughout the weekend and willinclude a Mass at the graves ofthe Sion Sisters at Sale Cemeteryon Saturday and a dinner thatevening.

On Sunday Bishop Prowse willcelebrate a special Mass in thecathedral at 11am.

That afternoon Catholics fromparishes all over the diocese willconverge on Sale for the annualpilgrimage to Our Lady’s shrineat the cathedral.

As usual the pilgrims willassemble around the statue ofOur Lady in front of theBishop’s House at 2.30pm andprocess in to the cathedral.

The cathedral features aremarkable icon of Our Lady ofPerpetual Help which was givento the first bishop by Pope Leoand a highly detailed stainedglass window of Our Lady in theentrance area.

A busy weekend


By Terry Synan

DOUBTLESS, it strikes modernVictorians as rather strange thatdirectly south of Melbourne’sParliament House there exists atriangular park called GordonReserve. It is bounded by theparliamentary grounds, andSpring and Macarthur Sts.

Even more bizarre, it hosts astatue of Gordon of Khartoum.Why is he memorialised inMelbourne?

From here walk north-east-wards a city block and you arriveat St Patrick’s Cathedral.Towards the north-west cornerof its grounds there stands a lifesize statue of Daniel O’Connell.Again, you may ask: Who washe and why is his statue there?

Neither Gordon norO’Connell had a direct associa-tion with Melbourne, Victoria orAustralia. However, bothattended core events that impact-ed on our country one way andanother – the gifted eccentricGeneral Gordon (1833-85)through his various militaryadventures in the Crimea, Asiaand Africa on behalf of theBritish Empire; and O’Connell(1775-1847) the great Irish patri-ot, through his political actionsin Ireland and his representationof the Irish cause in the House ofCommons, London.

Of these two illustrious patri-ots, O’Connell was the moreappealing in 19th CenturyVictoria. A sizeable IrishCatholic immigrant populationinsured his place of honour in aland he never knew.

Yet another reason also hadmuch local appeal. O’Connell’sefforts to repeal the Irish penallaws spawned, at the end of hisefforts, the “Young Ireland”movement. Its leaders, either astransportees or refugees, did visitthis country, leaving in varyingdegrees, their imprints behindthem.

By the 1800s “the IrishNation” was composed of twowell-defined strata.

The Celts, the original inhabi-tants, were both the poorerlaboring classes and Catholic. Inthe north-eastern corner of theIsland, however, there was asmall segment of the drawers-of-water-and-hewers-of-wood class.They were of Scottish descent,and fiercely Presbyterian.

The second strata comprisedthe ascendency. They wereAnglo-Saxon by blood andProtestant in religion. Althoughthe two strata rarely fused orinter-married, they bothnonetheless felt themselves truly“Irish”.

Both had a common grievance.They believed their sister islandtreated them not as an equal, butas a colony and in some waysharsher than others in theexpanding British Empire. LikeAmerica beforehand, the Irishresented being treated as anotherpossession to be exploited.

Enter Daniel O’Connell. Hespent the early part of the 19thCentury seeking to wrest fromthat major partner sufficientreforms to allow Irishmen toprosper happily under rule bythe Parliament of Westminster.

He wished to give the 1800 Actof Union (creating the UnitedKingdom of Great Britain andIreland) a fair chance.

The first of O’Connell’s twogreat agitations produced amaz-ing results. Through his success-ful candidature in the 1828 Clareelection he was instrumental inhaving the Catholic Relief Actpassed by Westminster, allowing

Catholics to become members ofparliament.

This would not have occurredif it was not for the organisationand efforts of his CatholicAssociation a mass movement,which won the aid of Catholicclergy and gained the politicalsupport and votes of tenantfarmers who had previouslyvoted for their Protestant land-lords’ nominee.

The second of O’Connell’sgreat agitations occurred 12years later after bigoted opposi-tion from the Tories (conserva-tives) and many of the Whigs(liberals) in Westminster hadconvinced him that only a sepa-rate legislative would allowIreland the full freedom to whichthe Irish nation was entitled.

He founded a RepealAssociation in 1840, againrecruiting the support ofCatholic clergy. Next he heldfamous “monster” meetings toconvince Westminster the Irishwere serious about Catholicemancipation.

During 1843 he held over 40such meetings. Attendance wasenormous – some drawing (esti-mated) hundreds of thousands –two or three MCG Grand Finalcrowds per gathering. Even moreimpressive was the orderlinessand earnestness of those attend-ing. O’Connell did not promotethe use of violence or open rebel-lion. He was a man of peace whorespected legitimate legalauthority.

In 1843, he organised his great-est monster meeting at Clontarfoutside Dublin. As it happenedthe authorities forbade it andO’Connell meekly acquested.His movement lost momentumand dissension split his AppealAssociation.

Into this political vacuumstepped “Young Ireland”, agroup of young men largelyassociated with a Dublin weeklynewspaper called The Nation,founded in 1842 to supportO’Connell’s cause.

However, Young Irelandersdiffered significantly from theO’Connell modus operandi.They did not reject the use offorce and they sought to repre-sent all Ireland; the ProtestantAssendency as well as theCatholic Celtic underclasses.

They were young, enthusiasticand prepared to dish the Act ofUnion. They stood for self ruleand an independent republic.They foreshadowed the EasterRising (1916) and the establish-ment of the Irish Free State(1922).

Their leaders were young

activists, well educated and fromacross a wide spectrum of Irishsociety. For example, theyinclude Thomas Davis a Dublinbarrister and Protestant; CharlesGavan Duffy a talented journal-ist and political operator whowas Catholic; the rebellious JohnMitchell, a Unitarian solicitor;Thomas Francis Meagher, a bril-liant young orator and son of awealthy Waterford merchant,and William Smith O’Brien anIrish aristocrat, a Protestant andmember of the House ofCommons.

William Smith O’BrienAs the 1840’s progressed events

did not go well for YoungIreland. That decade hosted themost terrible Potato Famine(1845 – 48) which devastated theIrish population (One milliondied of starvation and one mil-lion emigrated out of a popula-tion of eight million). Clearly theIrish were in no shape to take upthe battle for independence atthat time.

Also, 1848 is known as theyear of revolution in Europe andthe parliament at Westminsterwas in no mood to be gentle withrebellion. “Habeas corpus” wassuspended.

Yet in the midst of such timesYoung Ireland unwisely soughtto cause an Irish up-rising thatwould free Ireland of Englishrule. Meagher and others pres-sured Smith O’Brien into leadingthe people in what turned out tobe a pathetic uprising inTipperary in 1848.

Accordingly Smith O’Brientramped across Tipperary withPatrick O’Donohue by his sidegathering a rag bag army ofpoorly armed peasants. TerrenceMacManus joined the fray. InJuly matters came to a head atBallingarry when a detachmentof police occupied the WidowMcCormack’s two storey stonecottage (the War House) sur-rounded by this peasant army.

Stones were thrown and shotsfired. MacManus was woundedin the leg and O’Brien sheltered

in the cottage’s cabbage patch ata loss as how to handle hisaffray. The “rebel” assemblysoon melted away when 65 addi-tional armed police arrived. Nospontaneous Irish uprising fol-lowed and Young Ireland’s lead-ers were now facing charges ofhigh treason which carried thedeath penalty.

Young Irelander leaders werethen rounded up and tried.However wisdom prompted theauthorities to resist using thedeath penalty. Most were sen-tenced to transportation to VanDiemen’s Land (Tasmania).

One of their group, however,was eventually freed because thecourt failed to convict him. Thiswas Charles Gavan Duffy whowas next elected to Westminsterbecoming a member of theHouse of Commons, until heimmigrated to Victoria in 1855,having become disheartened withIrish-British politics.

Duffy certainly left his markon Gippsland and Victoria dur-ing the next 25 years. He waselected to the first VictorianLegislative Assembly, becomingPremier in June 1871 for oneyear.

Then holding the seat ofNorth Gippsland (1876-1880) hebecame Speaker of theLegislative Assembly. Thus didVictoria profit from his parlia-mentary experience and abilityas well as his “intellectual hon-esty, and sincerity, both publiclyand privately.”(One HundredYears of Responsible Governmentin Victoria 1856 – 1956, C.E.Sayers)

In 1877 Duffy addressed hiselectorate in the Mechanics’Institute, Sale, declaring howdelighted he was to journeythrough a district of “the finestland I ever saw exhibiting thebest crop that land can rear – acrop of independent and pros-perous yeomanry who declarethat it was I who had plantedthem there.”

Where were “the Maffras andLindenows in the West as well asthe East (of Victoria)”? he asked.He blamed the squatters fororganising “dummies” to cir-cumvent the Land Acts as hadhappened “between Sale andRosedale” – a reference toWilliam Pearson’s Kilmany Parkrun. (Gippsland Times April 11,1877).

Not only had Duffy taken alead in land reform, he had alsoplayed a key role in the establish-ment of the Gippsland RailwayLine which won him high localregard.

Duffy was knighted in 1873and created a KCMG in 1877.He retired to Nice in the Rivierain 1880 and wrote his renownautobiography, My Life in TwoHemispheres (2 vols).

One son, John Gavan Duffy(1844 – 1917) continued theDuffy tradition as a Victorianparliamentarian from 1874 to1904, while a younger brother,Sir Frank Gavan Duffy (1852 –1936), joined the High Court ofAustralia in 1913 and from 1930until his death was Australia’sChief Justice.

A third son, Charles GavanDuffy (1855 – 1932), becameClerk of the Senate of theFederal Parliament.

Seven other Young Irelanderstried for treason and foundguilty were transported to VanDiemen’s Land. However, theywere treated as “gentlemen” con-victs rather than villains. Aspolitical prisoners they weregiven an amount of respect andfreedom.

Patrick O’Donohoe, formerlya Dublin law clerk, was evenallowed to publish a paper inHobart called The Irish Exile.Kevin O’Doherty, a medial prac-titioner, was sent to Ross,Central Tasmania, where he usedhis medical knowledge to assistthe locals. He later came toHobart as acting surgeon.

Thomas Francis Meagher meta beautiful Tasmanian girl andmarried her with the firstCatholic Bishop of Hobart,Bishop Willson, officiating. JohnMitchell’s wife and family fol-lowed him to Tasmania to bewith him during his exile.

John Mitchell and his friendJohn Martin were sent toBothwell a farming town justnorth of Hobart. Martin, aProtestant like Mitchell, hadtrained in medicine and hadworked among the Irish poorduring the potato Famine.

Terrence Bellow McManuswas initially sent to Launcestonand then to New Norfolk on theRiver Derwent. Initially herefused to give his word he wouldnot attempt to escape but thenrelented.

Lastly, William Smith O’Brienwould not give his word not toescape. He was sent initially tothe Maria Island penal colonyand then to Port Arthur. In bothpenitentiaries he was providedwith special accommodation asbefitted a gentleman. Later hewas allowed to take lodgings atNew Norfolk.

Transportation to isolatedTasmania proved a harsh pun-ishment. The Young Irelanderswere men of intellect and actionwho felt totally isolated and frus-trated in the antipodes. To over-come this boredom four didescape to America, assisted byIrish priest Fr William Dunneand Patrick Smythe, dispatchedfrom the USA to assist theirescape attempts.

McManus gained an early exitin February 1851. John Mitchelland family soon followed. Thenescaped Thomas Meagher andPatrick O’Donohoe. SmithO’Brien’s attempted escape wasfoiled. Those remaining inTasmania were pardoned in 1856and returned to Ireland.

The most famous escapee wasMeagher who joined theNorthern Army in the AmericanCivil War and rose to the rank ofBrigadier General. He laterbecame Governor of Montanabefore mysteriously drowning inthe Missouri River in 1867.

Young Ireland had but a briefseason in the history of Irelandand Australia. Like anAustralian desert flower themovement quickly grew,bloomed and vanished. On1840’s Ireland, they had but abrief impact and were soon for-gotten.

Australia journalist and novel-ist of the period, Marcus Clarke,summed up their lamentable sit-uation succinctly as follows:

“There is to me somethingmost pathetic in this Irish rebel-lion stifled in its birth. If thepatriots – for no man will, I trust,deny them that title – had beenshot down in the heat of battle,or executed on the scaffold, theworld would have accorded themthe respect they merited; but toraise an insurrection which is putdown by a corporal’s guard, tolight the torch of revolution onlyto see it extinguished by a bucketof water, to be captured in agooseberry garden and put in aTasmanian corner like a naughtyboy – most miserable!” (OldTales of a Young Country, 1871.)

Young Ireland and its Australian implications

THE affray at Widow McCormack’s cottage on Boulah Common,Tipperary from the Illustrated Londoin News of August 12, 1848.


world news ... world news ...

BERWICK – Readers ofCatholic Life will have been fol-lowing the successes of theTournament of Minds teamfrom St Michael’s School,Berwick, over the past couple ofissues.

The team has now won theAustralasian final of the appliedtechnology section in Darwin, astunning achievement.

Members of the team wereApril Tsdarkas, Helena Hodges,Aiden Penn, Olivia Davis, MollyGreely, Chloe Anderson andGemma Quinn.

Tournament of Minds is aschool competition whichinvolves Catholic, governmentand private schools nationwide,requires multi-age team of pri-mary and secondary students tospend seven weeks developing acreative solution to a givenproblem.

Teams then presented theirsolutions through drama, art,music and media to a real audi-ence and panel of judges.

Tournament of Minds alsoincludes an impromptu section,which tests students’ ability tothink logically and creativelyunder pressure.

Other sections include lan-guage, mathematics and engi-neering.

St Michael’s isAustralasianTournament ofMinds winner

LOCH - The Loch Public hallwas full, the weather splendid,and the committee who organ-ised Hymnfest were very hum-ble in receiving many commentson what a wonderful programthat had been put together to saya fond farewell to the lastHymnfest.

The guest artists St LaurencePrimary School choir opened theprogram with very lively singingwhich set the tone for the after-noon.

The bell ringers fromHorsham on a return visit wereloudly applauded after theirperformances. The HymnfestBand under the direction of JimFoley played for the whole ofHymnfest

The ecumenical choir a combi-nation of Loch and Meeniyanmembers under the direction ofLynda Fromhold fromMeeniyan was just amazing.Ann Larkins whose perform-ance was that of an angel singingconcluded the program.

Hymns were chosen that hadbeen sung at the previous nineHymnfests for audience partici-pation so everyone got to singone of their favorites.

Pastor Ian Wilkinson from theBaptist Church in Korumburrawas master of ceremonies andthoroughly enjoyed being a part

of Hymnfest once again and dida wonderful job.

Bev Button, Ann Larkins,Topsy Motton, Patsy Heffernan,Hetty Vanderveer, Maree andRay Ludenia, Lynda Fromhold,Margo and Jim Foley wouldlike to publicly those who volun-teered in any way during the 10years of Hymnfest which beganin 2000.

We are very lucky and veryblessed to have such amazing,wonderful people with suchdiverse talents here in SouthGippsland and we are sure thatall these wonderful people willcontinue to serve and share inthere communities for manyyears to come.

Hymnfest committee membershave decided to distribute thedonations made on the day ofHymnfest to the MeeniyanUniting Church so they can con-tinue with there wonderful ecu-menical choir, to the Loch andDistrict Development Assoc-iation towards a new public toi-let in the park barbecue area.

Fond farewell toLoch Hymnfest

WARRAGUL - When youembark on a Remar journey iscan be an amazing ride. Forthose who stick with it throughto Year 12, Gold, true friend-ships and bonds are made.

For the Gold caravels, as Year12 ends so does their Remarjourney together. The Marist-Sion College year 12 Remargroup, called Juntos, had theirgraduation dinner last month.

For the parents and staff thereis was a real privilege to see thesemature young men and womencomplete this journey. A high-light of the night was hearingeach student make a public affir-mation about another memberof the group.

The two staff members wholead and travelled with thegroup, Matt and Hannah, alsohad a gleam in their eye and aproud smile on their faces.

Year 12 student, school cap-tain and member of Juntas’,Hannah Silberstein also foundout this week that she has beenselected to work for Remarnational next year. Hannahapplied for the gap year positionalong with many other hopefulsfrom around the country.

After written applications,interviews and referencesHannah has made it. This is anexceptional opportunity forHannah and we wish her all thebest.

Remar journey’sgolden ending

MEMBERS of the Marist Sion Gold caraval at their journey’s end.

Pressure of space in thisissue has forced us to run

several stories withouttheir accompanying

photographs.

HAITI - West Indies CatholicMission regional director, FrDonald Chambers calls forprayer for the people of Haiti,who have taken another batter-ing – this time from a hurricane.

Hundreds of thousands ofpeople in Haiti are living in flim-sy dwellings, still displaced fromthe January earthquake, makingshelter a pressing concern.

Fr Chambers wrote: “I askthat the global Catholic Missionfamily to pray for in the Antilles(West Indies) especially Jamaicaand Haiti.

“Please pray, especially for thepeople of Haiti, as they continueto recover from the earthquakeof January 2010 with most peo-ple still living in tents, and morerecently they have been having acholera outbreak.”

Haiti is a nation beleagueredby a crippling earthquake inJanuary. Recent reports fromHaiti confirm more than 300people have died from cholera,and the number of confirmedcases are close to five thousand.

Hurricane Tomas whippedthrough the West Indies recently,but was downscaled in categoryto a tropical storm.

The islands of Barbados, St.Lucia and St. Vincent and theGrenadines were battered.

Generally speaking, it leftsevere damages to physical infra-structure such as roads, bridges,schools, and residential proper-

ties. Many roads, especiallythose in the mountainous areaare blocked by heavy landslides.

St Lucia was most affected ofthe three islands with 14 personsreported dead as a result and 80per cent of the island withoutelectricity.

St Vincent, the northern mostisland of the chains of islandswas badly affected. However theGrenadines, a chain of beautifulislands south of St Vincent, waslargely spared.

National director ofAustralia’s Catholic Mission,Martin Teulan said “Our heartsgo out to the families who havelost their loved ones.

“It’s a relief that there wasn’tgreater devastation in the WestIndies. We will continue to do allwe can to help them rebuild.

“Our immediate concern is forthe people of Haiti, who havebeen through enough already inthe past few months.

“In a country filled withmountainous terrain, fears oflife-threatening flooding andmudslides are likely.”

If you would like to send aprayer to the people of Haiti,email [email protected] or visit catholicmission.org.au.

You can also donate to thework Catholic Mission supportsin Haiti by phoning 1800 257296.

CUBA - The new major semi-nary in the Archdiocese ofHavana was formally opened onNovember 4.

This was the first time in 50years that the Cuban authoritieshave actually permitted theCatholic Church to erect a newbuilding in the country.

The new seminary, which is infact a complex of buildings, isabout 15km outside the capitalHavana and has space for 100seminarians. It is open to youngmen from all over Cuba.

The Archbishop of Havana,Cardinal Jaime Ortega,expressed his thanks for the helpand solidarity of otherCatholics, without which thebuilding could not have beencompleted.

A number of different bodies,including the US Bishops’ con-ference and the international

Catholic charity Aid to theChurch in Need financially sup-ported the project.

The seminary was built withinthe space of four years and isnamed after St Ambrose and StCharles Borromeo. Both menwere bishops of Milan who, inthe fourth and 16th centuriesrespectively, worked for therenewal of the Church.

A delegation from the USBishops’ conference was presentat the opening ceremony, whichtook place on the feast of StCharles Borromeo.

The foundation stone for theseminary was laid during thevisit of Pope John Paul II toCuba in 1998. However, sincethen the Cuban authorities hadheld up the building work foryears. Only very recently didthey at last allow the Church alittle more room for manoeuvre.

The Archdiocese of Havana isplanning to convert the old sem-inary into a cultural centre,which will be named after theCuban-born Catholic priest andsocial reformer, Felix Varela.

Aid to the Church in Need,which seeks among other thingsto promote reconciliation andChristian formation, has foryears been supporting pastoralprojects in Cuba, including espe-cially the training of priests andreligious, initiatives in the familyand youth apostolate and thecare of older people, the publica-tion of religious literature, therepair and renovation of church-es and other Church properties,and the provision of means oftransport, including cycles,motorcycles, cars and other vehi-cles, for priests and pastoralworkers in the country.

RUSSIA- Bishop ClemensPickel of St Clement in Saratovhas explained that one of his pri-orities is advancing the laity inhis diocese.

Bishop Pickel stated this in avisit to the headquarters of Aidto the Church in Need inKoenigstein, Germany, where hespoke about the recent festivitiessurrounding the 10th anniver-sary of Saratov’s cathedral.

The celebration was held forthe anniversary of the consecra-tion of the Cathedral of Sts.Peter and Paul.

The principal festivities wereattended by ArchbishopAntonio Mennini, apostolicnuncio to the RussianFederation, all the Catholic bish-ops in Russia, Orthodox bishopof Saratov, and Lutheran andMuslim leaders.

Bishop Pickel noted that a“fraternal and spontaneous”address by Orthodox BishopLongin of Saratov was one ofthe high points of the celebra-tion.

“It was the third visit by theOrthodox bishop of Saratov to

our cathedral,” the prelate said.“The first two occasions weresad ones.”

Bishop Pickel recalled: “Thefirst time he visited us was toexpress his sympathy at thedeath of Pope John Paul II, andthe second time was to expresshis condolences following thetragic plane crash nearSmolensk. But this time he hadcome to congratulate us.”

The prelate added that theCatholic faithful were “delight-ed” and saw this as a sign offriendship.

Quake, cholera and hurricane

New Cuban seminary opens

Laity is priority in Russia

AUSTRALIA’S religious sisters,brothers and clerical priests areolder and fewer but they aredoing many new things, a recentsurvey has found.

‘See, I am doing a new thing!’,the report on the 2009 survey ofCatholic Religious Institutes inAustralia will be launched onNovember 15 at CatholicReligious Australia’s offices inSydney.

Commissioned by CRA, thepeak body for leaders of reli-gious orders and institutes inAustralia, the survey was under-taken on its behalf by thePastoral Planning Office of theAustralian Catholic Bishops’Conference .

The authors of the survey andthe report, Stephen Reid andRobert Dixon from ACBC andregional director of StColumban Mission Society FrNoel Connolly SSC, will speakat the launch.

CRA’s national president SrAnne Derwin rsj and vice-presi-dent, Fr Tim Norton SVD willrespond.

The survey report, which is thefirst one to be undertaken since1976, contains statistical infor-mation on Religious in Australiaincluding numbers, age, loca-tions, apostolates, as well asownership and operation ofinstitutions, and partnershipswith other congregations andorganisations.

It also includes seven personalreflections on the findings of the

report from leaders of religiousinstitutes.

While Australia’s religious areageing and decreasing, the sur-vey also shows that since 1976they have significantly expandedthe types of ministries they areinvolved. There has been amovement away from institu-tional apostolates like educationto the more social and pastoralministries found on the marginsof society

Sr Anne Derwin said: “Wecan rejoice that there are overseven and half thousandReligious women and men stillfaithfully living their commit-ment to Christ and generouslyliving the Gospel in our countrytoday.

“There are challenges arisingfrom the data such as numbers,age, and the future of the goodworks we have begun. Ourchanging demographics invitenew questions, new possibilities.There is cause for hope in ouropenness to what God is doingnow.”


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MORWELL – The MorwellCatholic parish celebrated thecanonisation of St Mary of theCross MacKillop with a packedMass at Sacred Heart Churchon October 17.

Fr Peter Bickley blessed thetwo new pictures of the saintwhich are being installed in theparish’s two churches.

Children from Sacred Heartand St Vincent’s schools carriedthe pictures into the church, anda list of all the Sisters of StJoseph who had worked in theparish.

The names are now beingengraved and will be hung ineach church as a token of grati-tude from the Morwell parish-ioners.

Each primary school studentwas given an engraved MaryMacKillop coin as a mementoand prayers and petitions werecollected from parishioners inlocal nursing homes.

Each of the nursing home res-idents is being given a laminatedprayer card.

Hanging in both churches arebanners designed by Pam Shawand Val Panther which weremade by the parish craft group.

After the Mass a barbecue washeld in the Sacred Heart schoolgrounds in the evening parish-ioners watched the canonisationceremony from Rome.


BERWICK - In the early morn-ing of September 7 over 300Year 9 students arrived at theBerwick Campus of St FrancisXavier College to begin theirOutward Bound experience.Many of the students and someof their parents were feelingapprehensive.

Over the previous threemonths the students had attend-ed information sessions, and metwith group leaders to learn aboutOutward Bound.

Nine days later students gotoff the buses very tired and a lit-tle dirty, glad to be home after astrenuous and challenging timein the bush. There were lots ofsmiling faces as they got off thebus after the long journey home.There were a few tears as theyreunited with their parents.

Although they all participatedin a similar expedition the expe-rience would have been differentfor each student.

The focus of Outward Boundis personal development. Theoverall aim is to assist youngpeople to learn more aboutthemselves as individuals and asmembers of a group and a com-

munity. Students are removed from

familiar environments and facephysical, social, emotional andintellectual challenges.

The expedition is action orien-tated. Groups of approximately18 students, accompanied by ateacher and Outward Boundinstructors navigate throughwilderness areas, raft downrivers, climb cliffs and abseildown, undertake initiative activ-ities and service projects whilecarrying out the daily necessitiessuch as planning and cookingmeals, collecting water and fire-wood and setting up camp eachnight.

Things don’t always gosmoothly. The first few days arespent adjusting to the new envi-ronment and to other membersof the group. Usually after dayfour, the members of each grouplearn to live more harmoniouslywith each other, supporting eachother, facing daily challengesand adventures together andtaking responsibility for eachother’s welfare.

There are many highs andlows. Reflection sessions are an

integral part of the process.Outward Bound is an integral

component of the ChristianLeadership Program at StFrancis Xavier College.

The specific theme of the Year9 Outward program is goal set-ting and preparation for thetransition to senior school.

Peter Robinson, the co-ordina-tor of Outward Bound at StFrancis Xavier College hasfound that students becomemore independent and assertive,more caring for each other andare better able to work togetherto achieve goals followingOutward Bound. In additionthey develop a more positiveimage of themselves and theirabilities.

The extent of the developmentof these attributes will vary fromperson to person. Students maynot be conscious of any immedi-ate changes. (However, manyparents have attested to the ben-efits of Outward Bound over theyears.)

In some cases, the full benefitsmay not be realised until yearslater. Past students have told MrRobinson that they have recalled

events which have occurred onOutward Bound years later whenfaced with important life deci-sions and challenges.

In 1995 and in 2005 Studentsfrom St. Francis Xavier Collegeparticipated in research designedto test the benefits of OutwardBound for students’ personaldevelopment.

The result of these studies

showed that Outward Bound is apowerful intervention whichstimulates personal developmentof students and confirmed theanecdotal evidence accumulatedover many years.

This year students from thecollege have again participatedin research to determine theimpact of the program.

Year 9 students experience Outward Bound

STUDENTS rafting down a river as part of Outward Bound.

TRARALGON - LavallaCatholic College last month wel-comed student visitors andteacher Andrea Mourino fromfour Marist schools in Brazil.

Students came from CollegioMarista De Varginha; StJoseph’s, Rio; Dom Silverio,Belo Honzonte, San Jose, RioDe Janeiro; and Dom Silverio,Sao Jose, Montes Claros.

They were here for 12 days andimmersed themselves in the lifeof the school as well as using theopportunity to deepen theirunderstanding of Marist worksin Australia.

Students visited LakesEntrance and Phillip Island aswell as learning more about ourindigenous people at TheKeeping Place in Bairnsdale.

Lavalla is always keen to devel-op such an international net-work and open its doors to theextended Marist family.

In 2008 it welcomed musiciansfrom Mexico and each year weare happy to welcome back stu-

dents from Italy. Families and students learn so

much about the differences andsimilarities of our cultures and

the connection between the hostfamilies and students fromBrazil and other countriesremain in our hearts.

Lavalla welcomes Brazilians

LAVALLA principal Erica Pegorer (rear) with visiting Brazilianteacher Andrea Mourino and two of the students.

IONA – The Catholic Women’sLeague’s Iona-Maryknollbranch has celebrated its 60thbirthday.

Formed in Iona in 1950, itlater joined with Maryknollbranch of the Catholic Women’sSocial Guild at the wish of FrPooley who desired the twogroups unite.

The anniversary Mass was cel-ebrated by Fr ThomasMannakulathil in St Joseph’sChurch at Iona with committeemembers taking part as reader,communion minister and in theoffertory procession.

After morning tea, presidentMarcia Wilkinson welcomedeveryone including Fr Thomas,Sr Jose Nooy, members of theSale diocesan committee SrLynette Young rsj, branch mem-bers from Drouin, Trafalgar andWarragul, and two former mem-bers from Koo Wee Rup.

She gave a short history of thebranch and drew attention to aphotographic display, press cut-tings and memorabilia,

Diocesan president SylviaNeaves congratulated the branchon its anniversary, and awardedyears of service badges to mem-bers ranging from 10 to 40 years

of service.One founding member Hilda

Kavanagh was unable to be pres-ent which was unfortunate as shewas an extremely active memberwho has served as presidentthree times and had only retiredfrom the branch this year.

It was interesting to learn thatGrace Kellaway was also presentat the first meeting.

Spontaneous applause brokeout when life member Peg Tylerarrived. Ill health had forced herto retire from active service aftermore than 40 years with thebranch, including 20 as treasur-er, promoter of sales of theHorizon magazine and volunteerat Mary Glowrey House.

Her co-volunteer, treasurerAnne Brown received a 20 yearbadge to acknowledge her con-siderable input.

Other senior members EileenBarnes, whose mother MrsFallon was the first president,Kitty Whelan and Vonnie Leewere presented with flowersarranged by Mary Sayers.

Current members and formeroffice bearers Val Feltham andBernadine O’Connor received 30year badges.

A presentation was made to Sr

Jose Nooy prior to her leavingthe parish.

Mrs Wilkinson thanked SrJose for her support of theleague, her care of the sick, spir-itual advice, attendance at meet-ings and a willingness to help inany way possible.

A pale blue cake featuring theCWL logo was made by ValYates and this was cut by MrsWilkinson, secretary Moira

Kelly and treasuer Anne Brown.A commemorative bookmark

featuring the patroness OurLady Help of Christians, withcurrent members’ names on therear was distributed.

The Bunyip Singers, whoinclude two members BernadineO’Connor and Mary Hansen,entertained with a selection ofsongs.

Iona-Maryknoll CWL branch turns 60

CUTTING the cake are (from left) Anne Brown, Marcia Wilkinson,Val Yates and Moira Kelly.

Morwell parishwelcomes a saint

MEMBERS of the parish craft group working on the impressive ban-ners which will hang in the two churches.

catholic life - november 2010

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