CatholicOutlook Magazine Autumn 2020 Edition

M A G A Z I N E

MEET THE INSTITUTE

FOR MISSION TEAM

Letter from the Amazonian Synod

Plenary 2020 Update

St Madeleine Sophie Barat Parish

AUTUMN 2020 EDITION

The offi cial publication of the Diocese of Parramatta

Imprimatur and Publisher:

Bishop Vincent Long OFM Conv

Bishop of Parramatta

(02) 8838 3400

PO Box 3066,

North Parramatta, NSW, 1750

bishop@parracatholic.org

www.catholicoutlook.org

Printing:

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Editor & Vicar for Communications:

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(02) 8838 3400

PO Box 3066,

North Parramatta, NSW, 1750

comms@parracatholic.org

Communications Officer:

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Nihil Obstat:

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All material in this publication is copyright and may not

be reproduced without permission of the publisher.

44,750 copies printed and distributed to 48 parishes

and 80 schools. Catholic Outlook is a member of the

Australiasian Catholic Press Association.

© Diocese of Parramatta 2020

Cover Image: Institute for Mission Team.

Image: Mary Brazell/Diocese of Parramatta.

Latest Appointments

in the Diocese of Parramatta

Most Rev Vincent Long OFM Conv, Bishop of Parramatta, has confirmed

these appointments in the Diocese of Parramatta:

Rev Christopher del Rosario

Diocesan Master of Ceremonies from 12 November 2019.

Patrice Moriarty

Social Justice Coordinator from 16 December 2019.

Rev Jessie Balorio

Assistant Priest of St Madeleine Sophie Barat Parish, Kenthurst from

1 February 2020.

Rev Thomas Thien Hien Bui

Assistant Priest of St Monica’s Parish, Richmond from 1 February 2020.

Rev Chukwunonyerem Akamadu

Assistant Priest of the Parish of Baulkham Hills from 1 February 2020.

Rev Zvonimir Gavranovic

Assistant Priest of St John XXIII Parish, Glenwood-Stanhope Gardens

from 1 February 2020.

Mr Peter Loughane

Executive Director, CatholicCare, Western Sydney and the Blue Mountains,

from 13 January 2020 for a period of three years.

Mr Geoff Officer

Chief of Operations & Finance, Diocese of Parramatta, from 2 March 2020

for a period of five years.

Bishop’s Column

“The Lord has turned all our sunsets into sunrise.”

- Clement of Alexandria

Dear sisters and brothers in Christ,

Every year on Ash Wednesday, we disciples of Jesus

undertake a path of conversion as individuals and as a

community.

We go on pilgrimage heading towards Easter Sunday,

where in the beautiful words of Clement of Alexandria,

Jesus turns all our ‘sunsets into sunrise’.

As we live out this mystery of our dying and rising with

Christ, we prepare with prayer, fasting and works of love.

For prayer is the lifeblood of our relationship with God. We

meet Jesus and listen to him speaking in our hearts. This

Lent let’s renew ourselves through more active participation

in the Eucharist, Eucharistic Adoration, reflection on the

Scriptures and personal prayer. Nothing is more important

than our relationship with Jesus, our brother.

Fasting sharpens our vision and our readiness in mind

and heart to love God and others, rather than ourselves.

As a community we fast and abstain from meat on Ash

Wednesday and Good Friday. On other days, discipline in

eating and drinking trains us for our journey with Christ,

who spent 40 days in the desert in prayer and penance.

Works of love are the fruit of prayer and penance. Pope

Francis encourages us to acquire a new awareness of

those who are trapped in the destitution of poverty. In a

world where so many are comfortable, Francis challenges

us to be alert to healing the wounds of all those - near and

far away - who suffer the material destitution of lacking

basic rights like food, water and work.

Let’s also heal the wounds of our planet, as it is convulsed

by so much savage environmental destruction. The call of

Pope Francis in Laudato Si for ecological conversion has

never been more relevant and urgent.

Christ’s love knows no boundaries! ‘Launch out in the deep!’

Let’s rejoice that God loves us so tenderly and accept

his challenge to become joyous heralds of his mercy,

compassion and hope.

Parishes, communities and individuals in our Diocese of

Parramatta might especially consider what can be done to

walk more closely with people in their suffering, especially

through strongly supporting the wonderful work of Caritas

through their annual Lenten Project Compassion.

May this Lent and Easter 2020, for all of us, be a time of

transforming prayer, personal spiritual growth and solidarity

with all those in need of Christ’s compassion.

May the Risen Christ continue to turn all our sunsets “into

sunrise”.

Yours sincerely in Christ,


Bishop of Parramatta

3

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Contents

Diocesan & Parish Life

2 Latest Appointments

3 Bishop’s Column

5 Safeguarding Update

6 The IFM: Enriching and

Enthusing Life and Faith

12 A reflection on Ash Wednesday

14 The Samaritan Woman

16 To comfort the afflicted

17 Never underestimate the

amazing gift of Parish

18 Saints for a new situation

20 Dancing to my Death

22 Letter from the Synod:

Follow the pain-lines!

28 Parish Profile:

St Madeleine Sophie

Barat Parish, Kenthurst

31 Priest profile:

Fr Vincent Savarimuthu

34 The coming Plenary Council:

the vision still has time

36 When the Church seeks Advice

38 Sorrows and joys celebrated

on Epiphany Pilgrimage

40 Young Sydney newlyweds

blessed by Pope Francis

49 Kids’ Corner

50 Directory of Services

Catholic Education

43 Mission: Possible

44 We are an Easter people

44 Congratulations to the

Class of 2019

45 Welcome to our community!

45 Parramatta Catholic Schools

number one in training!

45 Class of 2020

46 School done differently

46 Penola Catholic College

Emu Plains

46 Growing opportunities for

Catholic education

47 News from Early Years

Education & Care

48 A new decade for SRE

IMPORTANT SAFEGUARDING UPDATE

Are you a member of clergy, religious, employee, volunteer or contractor working with children in

the Diocese of Parramatta? New legislation from 1 March 2020 may impact you.

Visit www.safeguarding.org.au or email safeguarding@parracatholic.org for more information.

The Permanent Diaconate

A God-given calling to ordained ministry, open to married and single men. In the service of the Liturgy,

the Word and Charity. If you would like to find out more about the ordained ministry of the permanent

diaconate in the Diocese of Parramatta contact: T: (02) 8840 8521 W: parracatholic.org/permanent

5

THE IFM: ENRICHING AND

ENTHUSING LIFE AND FAITH

By Catholic Outlook Staff

Institute for Mission Team (left to right): Sr Grace Roclawska CSFN, Fr Paul Roberts, Anthony Costa, Jill Franco and Donnie Velasco.

Image: Diocese of Parramatta.

If you find yourself with more questions than answers or are keen for a boost

in your life and faith, chances are you’re not alone. Where can you meet others

within and beyond parishes who feel likewise and together explore your purpose

and relationship with God?

6

Catholic Outlook spoke to the Institute for Mission, an

agency of the Diocese of Parramatta, about its work

in adult faith formation and in helping respond to the

deeper questions.

It’s a chilly Friday night and the crowd is a mix of

professionals, tradies and students in their mid-20s to

40s. Lounge music is playing, $1 beers are behind a bar

and bursts of laughter fill the purpose set-up heritage

church-cum-hall. This could be a typical trendy bar in

Sydney, yet, the people gathered tonight have come to

reflect on their lives, faith and sharing of Christ in the

world.

Welcome to The FaithFeed, an initiative of the Institute

for Mission, an agency of the Diocese of Parramatta. The

FaithFeed is just one of a dozen programs offered by the

Institute for Mission (IFM) across Western Sydney and the

Blue Mountains.

For many Catholics in Australia, learning about the faith

follows something of the following pattern: They are

baptised into the Catholic Church, then attend a Catholic

primary and high school and receive the sacraments of

Reconciliation, Communion and Confirmation. And at the

Catholic school, they learn about faith during religious

education classes and various school activities.

They might attend Mass on weekends, or at Christmas,

Easter and special occasions like baptisms and

weddings.

But where can Catholics go to be enriched further in faith

when they have left school or when the one-hour Sunday

Mass raises the next questions? Some turn to their parish

priest or do online research. Some join a Bible study or

small group. Some feel a bit shy to do anything next.

In the Diocese of Parramatta, the Institute for Mission

provides some excellent opportunities.

According to Fr Paul Roberts, the Director of the Institute

for Mission, the IFM has been established by the Diocese

of Parramatta to help “enrich, enthuse and empower

people’s connection to their life and faith. We tap that

hunger, the deep sense of yearning that most of us have”.

“We’re here as an experience of community among parish

communities and others too. As God became human –

became incarnate - we focus on the leadership in the

incarnation that we are all called to exercise – God’s

mission of being flesh and blood in the world.” he says.

And what is that mission according to Fr Paul?

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only

begotten Son (John 3:16). It’s about how we receive, and

be, that love,” he says.

7

Institute for Mission’s FaithFeed program.

Image: IFM Supplied.

What is the Institute for Mission?

The IFM is not your typical Catholic

Church office. Its work is made up of

programs and resources, delivered

by a group of faithful individuals with

a passion for Christ and for enabling

people to further live their relationship

with Christ in their real lives.

Their work is available direct to

individuals and through the parishes,

schools, deaneries and other agencies

in the Diocese of Parramatta.

The IFM team includes Jill Franco,

the Team Assistant; Anthony Costa,

the Media Creative; and Sr Grace

Roclawska CSFN, Program and

Engagement Representative. They

work part-time with two full time team

members; Donnie Velasco, Assistant

Director and Fr Paul Roberts who is

also Parish Priest of Our Lady of the

Way Emu Plains.

“We’re here to enhance people’s

spiritual life, connecting them to a

network”, Anthony says. “It’s about

helping people further find and unlock

their mission and empower them to

their next action.”

For Sr Grace the IFM is about helping

people on their faith journey.

“We’re an adult formation centre. It’s

about faith formation and faith in life,”

she says.

“And about meeting like-minded

people.”

That partly explains why the IFM’s

area of work known as The FaithFeed

has an informal structure and is

not all delivered by the IFM team.

Instead, life story and testimony are

shared by everyday people, in ways

that evoke the questions of life and

connections to God.

“It’s a grassroots approach

encouraging people’s witness to the

Incarnation; to their being the Body of

Christ today,” Fr Paul says.

Drawing on Vatican II, Donnie explains

the work of the IFM is ensuring the

place of the laity in the Church is

fulfilled and providing empowerment

to people to carry out the mission.

This work, according to Jill is done

with a “warm spirit of welcome” at

the IFM. With a “sense of outreach to

people about what God is about”.

Jill speaks from personal experience

about wanting to inspire others to

learn about God.

“Christ has carried me through

challenging times,” she says.

In her former role on a parish team

and now at the IFM serving parishes,

it is this sustaining love that Jill wants

people to know.

The Mission

Being Incarnational or the living face of

Christ to people has been a constant

theme of Pope Francis’ papacy.

This echoes strongly in the mission

of the IFM of being the living Christ

to others.

Sr Grace says that their work is “to

be a mission rather than have a

mission. To be a mission is to have a

personal encounter with God. ‘Follow

me’ said Christ”.

Fr Paul emphasises that “the Body of

Christ is not a metaphor. You could

say that the Church doesn’t have

a mission, but rather, the mission

8

has a Church. It’s God’s mission, of

liberating love. Our first task is to

receive it – and with that, to keep

allowing ourselves to be called into

God’s mission in the world”.

On a practical level Donnie explains,

this is about seeing “Jesus in the lonely

place”. God is present with those who

feel they’ve been left out, whatever

their circumstances. Anthony adds

that this is an opportunity for people,

as Church, to be “a good family that

is available to everyone; a solid and

welcoming foundation”.

For Fr Paul, drawing on Pope Paul VI,

the “first principle of evangelisation is

being evangelised ourselves – not to

stop there or because it’s all for us –

but so that we can witness to the world

as people who are ever changing and

growing; people being converted in a

curious freedom; people whose lives

evoke questions in others”.

Programs and Resources

The work of the IFM (see IFM

OFFERINGS 2020 below) is a

combination of first-hand testimony

delivered at events like the FaithFeed,

as well as podcasts, free online library

access and workshops run by the

IFM team and co-opted experts in

various fields.

To extend this work, the IFM

has invested heavily in social

media, digital output like YouTube

videos – “trying to be aware of

the demographics” Donnie says -

and also offering workshops and

experiences at various locations

across Western Sydney.

The IFM is trialling some opportunities

in Emu Plains, trying to make

programs more accessible to people

living in greater Penrith and the Blue

Mountains.

Plenary Council

This work of the IFM also manifests

in other areas of the Church like the

Plenary Council. In October 2020, the

Catholic Church in Australia will gather

for the first Plenary Council to be held

since the Second Vatican Council to

discern the future of the Church in

Australia.

Anthony says the IFM is using its

resources to help spread the message

about the Plenary Council.

Some of its work is addressing, at

the parish level, various yearnings

expressed by the Plenary reflections

so far, Donnie says.

“A key new energy for us in 2020 is

We’re here to

serve you on your

journey of life and

faith whether a

teacher, student or

parishioner.

what we’re calling The ParishFeed;

supporting parishes in their hopes to

empower ordinary parishioners with

do-able means of evangelisation.”

For Sr Grace, who is also on the

Plenary Council Executive Committee,

her work at the IFM dovetails with the

Council as it is the “hopeful journey of

the Plenary Council of discerning how

the spiritual becomes our culture. Of

listening and discerning to ensure this

is disseminated in the wider Church”.

Accompaniment

The work of the IFM is also about

accompanying people on the journey

of finding and knowing God and of

furthering their purpose.

“It is about spending time with people;

a spirituality of accompaniment,

which itself has been a key

IFM OFFERINGS 2020

REFLECTIVE MINISTRY PROGRAM

Presentation and workshop style for those involved

in ministry. The program is offered in two parts:

Part 1 - Personal Formation and Part 2 - Word & Mission.

THEMES OF FAITH PROGRAM

A program of enjoyable, guided weekly personal readings

followed by gatherings in mentored small groups. The Themes

of Faith Program consists of 10 Monday evenings (two blocks

of 5 sessions) for those keen to further their grasp of key

themes of the Catholic faith and its application to life.

THE PARISHFEED

A resource support and guided process enhancing parishioner

involvement in parish community building and evangelisation goals.

Some of the offerings the IFM makes available.

A full list can be found at ifm.org.au.

THE FAITHFEED

IFM’s diocese initiative to build a network for those in their mid

20s to 40s linked to life, faith and action in the world - available

for parishes to use as a connection and step on point. Additional

information at www.thefaithfeedparramatta.com.au

ONLINE READING HUB AND ONSITE LIBRARY

Access to major collections of online resources, supported

by IFM’s topic recommendations, hard copy collection and

information concerning formation opportunities.

INVISIBLE TO INVINCIBLE

Embracing God’s gift of years - a workshop with the feel of a

miniretreat for the people within your community who are in the

second half of their life.

9

feature of Catholic teaching about

evangelisation since Vatican II,” Fr

Paul says.

Pope Francis often talks about

accompaniment and in his Apostolic

Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium,

the Pope said: “The Church will

have to initiate everyone—priests,

religious and laity—into this ‘art of

accompaniment’ which teaches us to

remove our sandals before the sacred

ground of the other (EG 169)”.

The Holy Father went on to say,

“Spiritual accompaniment must

lead others ever closer to God

… to accompany them would be

counterproductive if it became a sort of

therapy supporting their self-absorption

and ceased to be a pilgrimage with

Christ to the Father (EG, 170)”.

Giving Witness

A word that constantly comes up

when speaking to the IFM team about

their work is witness.

Sr Grace explains that “witness

comes from the Greek word

marturion, which translates to martyr”

and is about “being authentic in this

context; being a person of integrity”.

For Fr Paul, witness involves risking a

certain level of transparency of one’s

relational life with God.

“We’re not a religion just of the book,

rather, we’re a religion of relationship

with a person. Witness in that kind

of religion calls us to see change as

normal; to see faith as an ongoing

journey of growth” he says.

Donnie agrees, pointing out that for

him, “witness is not a belief in an

ideology, rather, it’s a relationship in

which God is imaged significantly

through the people around you”.

“This is the kerygma (proclamation of

the Gospel),” he says.

Jill says that for her, giving witness

is being able to “relate with people

starting at the human level, not about

any form of religious elitism. I think it

starts in being intentionally present to

people,” she said.

Anthony sees it as having a

partnership with Jesus.

“Like having a partnership with my

wife and a relationship with my work;

this is not about me, but it’s about

the person I’m responding for, and in

the case of Jesus, whose work I’m

projecting,” he says.

Easter at the IFM

Looking towards the Lenten season

and Easter, the IFM team reflects on

what this holy time means for them

and their work.

“It’s my favourite time of year” Sr

Grace says. “I connect my life to

the life of Jesus. I love to celebrate

Easter and the leadup to Easter. It

is about Jesus’ suffering, death and

resurrection, and where am I at on my

faith journey.”

Jill says she uses the time to be

“closer to God again, get to know

God again and what I’m called to do;

to renew my relationship with God”.

For Donnie, the Lenten season and

Easter is about changing one’s spiritual

life. He reflects on the this “sense of

metanoia” or spiritual conversion, as

told to him by the late Fr Dave Hume.

Donnie says, “Easter is about joy and

about being Alleluia people”.

And for Anthony, Lent is a time of

focus and preparing for transformation

by focusing on how the IFM

accompanies people.

“We’re here to serve you on your

journey of life and faith whether a

teacher, student or parishioner,”

he says.

Fr Paul speaks of using Lent as “a

time for a review of life, of trying to

let go of some of the baggage and

make way for surprise.” He says his

challenge is to allow Easter “to be

not a day, but a way; for some of

resurrection’s meaning to be about

the surprises and possibilities now, if

I can see with the eyes of my heart. I

hope that’s what we’re on about with

people and parishes through the IFM”.

To engage or sign up with the IFM’s

programs and resources visit www.

ifm.org.au or call (02) 9296 6369.

Institute for Mission Team.


10

11

A reflection on Ash Wednesday

By Fr Andrew Hamilton SJ

In 2020 it is hard to think of Ash Wednesday without also seeing the burned

houses and forests and the charred bodies of animals left after the bushfires.

Burnt trees are seen in the aftermath of the Grose Valley bushfire in the Blue Mountains.

Image: Jesse and Briony Mowbray.

12

A mother and child receive ashes

during the Ash Wednesday Mass at

St Patrick’s Cathedral, Parramatta.


The 1983 Ash Wednesday fires, which

took many lives and for many people

are still a pain-filled memory, also

remind us that the bushfire season is

not yet over. For Australian Christians,

Ash Wednesday and faith are nailed

together, reminding us that faith, like

summer, must reckon with matters

of life and death. Our hopes and the

things that give us confidence and

standing are always at risk of turning

to ashes.

The ashes of Ash Wednesday have a

long history. In the Scriptures ashes

represent grief and a life stripped

of complacency, comfort and

resources. Ashes went with wearing

clothing made of rough hessian in

a dramatic sign of desperate grief

and the abandonment of vanity and

pretentions. To cover ourselves with

ash leaves us exposed, without

any of the adornments that indicate

importance, physical beauty or

wealth. We are our naked selves

in all our poverty stripped of our

appearances, as we stand before

God, like a burned-out forest devoid

of the green grasses, trees, birds,

animals and other forms of life that

make it countryside.

As with bushfires, the ash of Ash

Wednesday is not the full or the final

story. Rains will come, seeds will

germinate, ferns, bushes and trees will

grow, birds and animals will return.

Much will be lost, some species

irrevocably, but life itself will continue.

We grieve what has been lost but are

encouraged by signs of new life. And

We grieve what

has been lost but

are encouraged by

signs of new life.

we may hope against hope that out of

the fire will come the human conversion

needed to address climate change.

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning

of Lent that culminates in Easter, the

celebration of Christ’s rising from the

dead. In the Christian story it marks the

triumphant end of God’s journey with

us in Jesus. From being born

naked into the world, sharing our lives

simply and unpretentiously, and being

stripped naked of dignity, of reputation,

of clothing and of life itself, he rose

from the dead clothed in life, and

promises us life with him. For us, too,

ashes and grief are not the full story.

The main story is that of God’s love for

us in our nakedness, a love that will

take us through fire to greening.

Ash Wednesday makes a claim on us

as we face bushfires. It reminds us

that we need to strip ourselves of care

for reputation, of pretentions and of

greed and face the stark and naked

reality of our world with all the dangers

and consequences of global warming.

It cannot be business as usual.

Emperors must become accustomed

to going unclothed without faking

insouciance. Ash Wednesday invites

ordinary people like ourselves to look

seriously at our world and ourselves,

to hold our leaders to account, and to

trust in God and one another.

Fr Andrew Hamilton SJ writes for

Jesuit Communications and Jesuit

Social Services.

13

The Samaritan Woman

By Monsignor Graham Schmitzer

Christ and the Woman of Samaria by Benedetto Luti.

While I was still at school, the film

adaption of Lloyd Douglas’, The Robe,

hit the screen. If I am not mistaken,

it was the first film produced in

Cinemascope, and cinemas had to

build a bigger screen to accommodate

it. It was a box office hit starring

Richard Burton and Jean Simmons.

The fact that Christ’s face was not

actually shown (similarly in Ben-Hur)

only added to the mystery.

We have all wondered what Jesus

looked like. Would I have followed

him at first sight? Would his face have

elicited an energy that would have

swept me off my feet? Would I have

left my job if he asked me to?

Many artists have done their best.

Perhaps Eastern icons best portray

the mystery. I think Benedetto Luti has

made a very good attempt. Christ and

the Woman of Samaria (c. 1715-1720)

is a familiar theme in art. One-on-one

encounters with Christ in the Gospels

hit a nerve with us. Could the “other”

actually be me?

One of the opening lines in the

Gospel of St John (John 4:5-42) sets

the scene. “Jews, of course, do not

associate with Samaritans” (John 4:9).

Samaritans were regarded by the Jews

as worse than Gentiles. They belonged

to the reviled remnant of the ancient

Northern Kingdom. They had excluded

themselves from Jewish orthodoxy.

Moreover, Jesus has crossed the

boundary by speaking on intimate

terms with a woman. John notes the

disciples’ amazement (cf. John 4:27).

Jesus knew this woman’s past. He

knows my past. He is not so much

interested in my sinfulness as he is

in my potential to become holy, and

my sins are simply getting in the

way. This woman is about to become

the first ‘apostle’. She converts an

entire village. If I can forget my sins

and concentrate on my potential,

I can become an apostle, too. It is

one of Satan’s best-known tactics

to remind me of my past, and hence

my unworthiness. But, looking at the

apostles as my guide, Christ does

not call unworthy people and he has

called me. Lent is his reminder.

Benedetto Luti was born in Florence

in 1666 into a family of artisans. After

accepting important commissions in

Pisa, Luti settled in Rome, working

for many of the city’s greatest families

and the pope of the time, Clement

XI. He served as advisor in the sale

of Queen Christina of Sweden’s

collection of paintings. Having

converted to Catholicism, she was

forced to abdicate her throne, settling

thereafter in Rome.

The painting on which we are

meditating is an oil on an expensive

copper support - suggesting Luti has

taken great care with this. He has

eliminated all the background of the

Gospel account (the apostles going

off to the nearby town to buy food)

and has concentrated solely on the

Jesus knew this

woman’s past. He

knows my past.

He is not so much

interested in my

sinfulness as he is

in my potential to

become holy.

two people involved. Not only is this a

very good-looking Christ, he is totally

engaged in his encounter with this

woman, as if no one else in the world

existed at that moment. It is how

he always relates to me, of course.

The woman, in her turn, is totally

engrossed. She has stopped what she

was doing, and hand on the well, is

entirely relaxed in her attitude, even

as this stranger is revealing the most

intimate details of her life.

Jesus is not condemning. He is simply

laying out the facts. It is how he treats

me in the confessional. To the woman,

and to me, he says, “If you only knew

what God is offering” (John 4:10). This

one line could dominate my prayer

time for the rest of Lent.

Republished with permission

from the Diocese of Wollongong.

Monsignor Graham Schmitzer

recently retired as the parish priest

at Immaculate Conception Parish in

Unanderra, NSW.

14

Christ and the Woman of Samaria, Benedetto Luti (1666-1724).

Image: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Rogers Fund, by exchange, 2015. Public Domain.

15

To comfort the afflicted

By Br Mark O’Connor FMS

One of the fruits of the Spirit is

compassion. How beautiful it is to

see this work of mercy in others – and

even better to practise it ourselves.

Yet the powers of our age seem to be

dominated by the ‘logic’ of crime and

punishment as the only solution to

human weakness, pathology and sin.

Not only does punishing others not

work, it can never be the way of the

followers of Jesus of Nazareth. Our

way is to ‘comfort the afflicted’.

Sean Caulfield tells us in his wonderful

little book, The Experience of Praying,

that in Luke’s Gospel (1:78), ‘tender

mercy’ in Greek is diasplagkhna elous

– literally meaning ‘through the bowels

of his compassion’. For splagkhna

are intestines and the compassion

is intestinal; it is felt. When Jesus

revealed the innermost depths of the

Father, his inner mystery became an

intestinal love; a love felt in the pit of

the stomach, a lump in the throat,

tears in his eyes and not simply a cool

detached act of ‘charity’.

When in Mark’s Gospel a leper comes

and pleads on his knees: “If you

want to you can cure me” – Jesus

splaggkhnisteis, choked up with

compassion, touched him and said:

“Of course I want to. Be cured”.

We are never more divine, then, than

when, like Jesus, we are choked up

with compassion for others in their

afflictions and try to enter into their

suffering. It may happen anywhere and

should be recognised as a call to a

prayer of love and oneness that out of

our poverty, others might become rich.

Compassion also involves ourselves.

Georges Bernanos, in The Diary of a

Country Priest, has the dying young

priest proclaim: “How easy it is to hate

oneself – … grace is to love oneself in

all simplicity.” The roots of self-hatred

and lack of compassion can be very

deep in all of us.

We need help in

becoming people

of compassion.

We need help in becoming people

of compassion. It is the poets and

mystics who often help us capture the

spirit of compassion that enlivened

Jesus of Nazareth.

Noted Jesuit spiritual writer Anthony

De Mello is particularly insistent that

we follow Christ’s compassionate way,

not just by external imitation, but even

more so by an interior conversion.

A change of heart is at the core of

discipleship.

May we, too, comfort afflicted hearts,

‘choked up’ with compassion for the

afflicted – and be what Christ was.

There is no surer sign that Jesus our

brother is risen.

Participants at the inaugural

Parramatta Street Feast 2019

in Prince Alfred Square, Parramatta.


16

Never underestimate

the amazing gift of Parish

By Richard McMahon

Sometimes we wonder whether we can truly make a difference.

The problems of the world seem so big and we are so insignificant.

Our parishes are

amazing. May we

always be prepared

to risk going out

into the deep.

Participants during the inaugural

Diocese of Parramatta Forum 2019.


I experienced a moment such as this

as a pastoral associate some years

ago. A young mother at our parish

was distressed and pleaded for help

with her seven-year-old daughter. The

girl was severely disabled, with the

gross motor skills of a seven-monthold

child. The doctors recommended

that her best hope lay in a rigorous

regime of muscle manipulations, with

legs and arms being exercised by two

volunteers, three times a day, while

one of the parents manipulated the

head of the daughter.

I listened to her plea for volunteers,

my heart sinking. I asked if she had

tried any other avenue, but her own

Greek Orthodox community was

scattered and unable to assist. There

was no funding support as the trials

were experimental.

For me, it had been one of those long

and tiring days. It was tempting to offer

my prayers and say there was nothing

we could do. But I resisted the urge.

Careful not to offer false hope, I asked

her for the particulars of what the

volunteers would be required to do.

That weekend at every parish Mass, I

explained the young girl’s plight and

appealed for volunteers to assist,

explaining the time frame involved,

and how the investment was for three

times a day, seven days a week. I

suggested we could try for some

sort of roster if we managed to get

a few people interested. Incredibly,

over twenty people volunteered that

weekend, and the following weekend

more came forward after hearing

the story. The roster was filled to

overflowing and the parents were

overwhelmed with gratitude.

Yet the story had only begun. Over the

coming weeks, this beautiful group

of volunteers formed an extended

family around the little girl and her

parents. One woman who was helping

out approached me after a couple

of weeks. “You don’t know what this

has done for me,” she said. “I have

terminal cancer and had given up on

life. This has given me a reason to live,

a new purpose.”

I often go back to that phone call.

It is so easy to say no, to believe it

is all a bit too hard. While we want

things to change, surely everyone is

too busy or too tired. I risked acting

in the role of gatekeeper of God’s

mercy, not giving the community the

opportunity to respond, to offer them

a chance to live out their discipleship.

Our parishes are amazing. May we

always be prepared to risk going out into

the deep, believing that with the Holy

Spirit, we are capable of great things.

Richard McMahon is the Director of

Pastoral Planning and Implementation

for the Diocese of Parramatta.

17

Saints for a new situation

By Fr Ron Rolheiser

Everywhere in church circles today you hear a lament:

Our churches are emptying.

St Clare of Assisi.

Image: Wikipedia Commons.

We’ve lost our youth. This generation

no longer knows or understands the

classical theological language. We

need to announce Jesus again, as if

for the first time, but how? The church

is becoming ever-more marginalised.

That’s the situation pretty much

everywhere within the secularised

world today. Why is this happening?

Faith as a spent project? Secularity’s

adolescent grandiosity before the

parent who gave it birth, Judeo-

Christianity? The “buffered self” that

Charles Taylor describes? Affluence?

Or is the problem mainly with the

churches themselves? Sexual abuse?

Cover-up? Poor liturgies? Poor

preaching? Churches too liberal?

Churches too conservative?

I suspect it’s some combination of

all of these, but single out one issue

here to highlight, affluence. Jesus

told us that it’s difficult (impossible,

he says) for a rich person to enter the

kingdom of heaven. No doubt, that’s

a huge part of our present struggle.

We’re good at being Christians when

we’re poor, less-educated, and on the

margins of mainstream society. We’ve

had centuries of practice at this.

What we haven’t had any practice

at, and aren’t any good at, is how to

be Christians when we’re affluent,

sophisticated, and constitute the

cultural mainstream.

So, I’m suggesting that what we need

today is not so much a new pastoral

approach as a new kind of saint, an

individual man or woman who can

model for us practically what it means

to live out the Gospel in a context of

affluence and secularity. Why this?

One of the lessons of history is that

often genuine religious renewal,

the type that actually reshapes the

religious imagination, does not come

from think-tanks, conferences, and

church synods, but from graced

individuals – saints, wild men and

women who, like Saint Augustine,

Saint Francis, Saint Clare, Saint

Dominic, Saint Ignatius, or other such

religious figures, can reshape our

religious imagination. They show us

that the new lies elsewhere, that what

needs fixing in the church will not

be mended simply by patching the

old. What’s needed is a new religious

and ecclesial imagination. Charles

Taylor, in his highly-respected study of

secularity, suggests that what we’re

undergoing today is not so much a

crisis of faith as a crisis of imagination.

No Christians before us have ever

lived within this kind of world.

What will this new kind of saint, this

new St Francis, look like? I honestly

don’t know. Neither, it seems, does

anyone else. We have no answer

yet, at least not one that’s been able

to bear much fruit in the mainstream

culture. That’s not surprising. The

type of imagination that reshapes

history isn’t easily found. In the

meantime we’ve come about as far

as we can along the road that used to

take us there, but which for many of

our children no longer does.

Here’s our quandary: We’re better

at knowing what to do once we get

people into a church than we are at

knowing how to get them there. Why?

Our weakness, I believe, lies not in our

theological imagination where we have

rich theological and biblical insights

18

Parishioners during Mass as part of the Our Lady of Lourdes Baulkham Hills South Golden Jubilee celebrations in 2019.


aplenty. What we lack are saints on

the ground, men and women who, in

a passion and fidelity that’s at once

radically faithful to God and fiercely

empathic to our secular world, can

incarnate their faith into a way of living

that can show us, practically, how we

can be poor and humble disciples of

Jesus even as we walk in an affluent

and highly secularised world.

And such new persons will appear.

We’ve been at this spot before in

history and have always found our

way forward. Every time the world

believes it has buried Christ, the

stone rolls back from the tomb; every

time the cultural ethos declares that

the churches are on an irrevocable

downward slide, the Spirit intervenes

and there’s soon an about-face; every

time we despair, thinking that our

age can no longer produce saints

and prophets, some Augustine or

Francis comes along and shows that

our age, like times of old, can too

produce its saints; and every time our

imaginations run dry, as they have

now, we find that our scriptures are

still full of fresh insight. We may lack

imagination, but we don’t lack hope.

Christ promised we will not be

orphaned, and that promise is sure.

God is still with us and our age will

produce its own prophets and saints.

What’s asked of us in the moment

is biblical patience, to wait on God.

Christianity may look tired, tried,

and spent to a culture within which

affluence and sophistication are its

current gods, but hope is already

beginning to show its face: As

secularisation, with its affluence and

sophistication, marches unswervingly

forward we’re already beginning to

see a number of men and women who

have found ways to become postaffluent

and post-sophisticated. These

will be the new religious leaders who

will teach us, and our children, how to

live as Christians in this new situation.

Used with permission of the author,

Oblate Father Ron Rolheiser.

Currently, Father Rolheiser is serving

as President of the Oblate School

of Theology in San Antonio Texas.

He can be contacted through his

website, www.ronrolheiser.com. Now

on Facebook www.facebook.com/

ronrolheiser

What we need

today is not so

much a new

pastoral approach

as a new kind of

saint, an individual

man or woman

who can model for

us practically what

it means to live out

the Gospel.

19

Dancing to my Death

By Monsignor Tony Doherty

Bishop Vincent Long OFM Conv, Bishop of Parramatta, incenses a coffin.


Daniel O’Leary – priest,

teacher, prolific author,

proud Kerry man – died

on 21st January, 2019.

Dancing to My Death:

With the Love Called

Cancer. By Daniel

O’Leary, Garratt

Publishing, Melbourne

2019.

His life-time passion was to awaken

in his readers the often-unrecognised

sacredness embedded in every aspect

of life. Catholic belief would describe

this conviction as the mystery of the

Incarnation.

Facing his death, his insight became

even sharper, and his deeply-held

opinions less constrained. The last

song of his final farewell in the place

of his childhood Rathmore, County

Kerry, posed this question;

‘And when you get the chance to sit

it out or dance, I hope you dance. I

hope you dance.’

As its title suggests, O’Leary’s book is

a dance, slow and at times painful, to

the music of the total sacredness of

life – even to the outrageous extent of

celebrating his own terminal illness as

part of the gracious evolving nature of

his body. Cancer was a gift from the

‘Love’ that is at the centre of it all, he

claims. Even in his last days he was

determined not to sit it out but to join

the dancers, and to write a book.

Astonishingly, it was written in the last

three months of O’Leary’s life, with

a body reduced by invasive surgery

and awash with chemotherapy, a

mind confused by the uncertainties

of how much time might remain, and

no guarantee there would be energy

to reach the goal. How could anyone

in such a state entertain the notion

of writing a book? A book, it must be

added, of over 200 pages.

20

The reflections are raw and

uncompromising; at times repetitive,

but always candid. There were good

days and bad days. In a metaphor

too good not to repeat, his publisher

describes the writing as being ‘like a

torn kite in a storm – it sweeps and

swoops between hope and despair,

throws cartwheels and steadies out,

crashes with fear and continues

with raw and real courage.’ The 80

reflections should carry a note of

caution: to be taken in small doses.

And yet, O’Leary’s approaching death

allows him to write free of his usual

restraint. He releases the frustration

about his Church’s slowness to

contemplate genuine reform.

“At low times in my life I am often

somewhat disillusioned, even angry

with the institutional Church, that

I have tried to serve, not brilliantly,

but the best way I could, over many

decades.”

Pulling no punches he speaks about

compulsory celibacy and clericalism…

“Compulsory celibacy is a kind of

sin, an assault against God’s will

and nature. At last it is now being

recognised as such, especially since

Pope Francis began pointing to

clericalism, its sister, as the major

underlying threat and destroyer of the

true Church.”

He takes aim at the absence of

women in decision-making, and a

ministry “cut off” from the normal run

of relationships and society.

Unsurprisingly, he speculates on

life after death. In one of his most

refreshing reflections he invites the

reader to imagine a baby reluctant to

leave the safety of the womb – a

place where everything is designed to

sustain, to inspire, to complete.

Why leave a place where everything

has meaning? Out there is nothing but

mystery and the unknown. Perhaps,

he argues, there is some sort of

parallel with the feelings of those of

us seeing that nothing could possibly

exist after death.

In another way of looking at the afterlife,

he continues, consider the billions

of stages in the evolution that has

brought us to this point of existence.

Does this relentless momentum

simply cease with the death of the

person? Or is it the tragic failure of our

imagination to appreciate the mystery

of being human. O’Leary takes those

arguments into new depths.

There are many other existential

questions tackled. Whatever the

death of a human person means, it

doesn’t mean something that can be

written on a fridge magnet. O’Leary

will not be satisfied with sound-bite

answers.

“May I be alive when I die”, was the

wish of the child Psychologist Donald

Winnicott. These reflections of Daniel

O’Leary are the raw, unvarnished

reflections at the end of one man’s

days spent in the relentless search

for what an integrated and authentic

life might look like – a search which

sustained this large-hearted poet of

the human spirit right up to his final

moments.

Yes, if music was playing, Daniel

O’Leary was never among the

wallflowers. Even to the end, he led

the dance.

Monsignor Tony Doherty is a priest of

the Archdiocese of Sydney.

These reflections

of Daniel O’Leary

are the raw,

unvarnished

reflections at the

end of one man’s

days spent in the

relentless search for

what an integrated

and authentic life

might look like.

21

22

Pope Francis celebrates a Mass for the opening of the

Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for the

Pan-Amazon Region in St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican.

Image: Riccardo De Luca/Shutterstock.

Letter

from the

Synod:

Follow the

pain-lines!


The Amazonian Synod listens and learns.

“Following the Spirit

means following the

pain-lines to join

the powerless in the

Spirit’s creative and

redemptive work”

– Fr Enda McDonagh

Pope Francis has now issued his Apostolic Exhortation Querida

Amazonia (Beloved Amazon). In a first for such a papal document,

Pope Francis wants us to see his exhortation - not as the final

word - but as part of the ongoing process of synodality, of dialogue

and discernment i.e. of ‘walking together’.

Therefore, Pope Francis in Querida Amazonia urges us all to

continue to pay close attention to the voices of the Amazonian

people “who know better than myself or the Roman Curia the

problems and issues of the Amazon region, since they live there,

they experience its suffering and they love it passionately”. The

following letter, written last October, reports on some of these

inspiring voices from the local churches of the Pan Amazonian

region. May we be open like Pope Francis to following their

Spirit-led “pain-lines”.

23

Dear Friends,

The Spirit is leading Pope Francis

and the Synod of Bishops for the

Pan-Amazon Region to follow the

“pain-lines” of the local Churches of

the Amazonian region and to join the

powerless.

That has enormous significance for

them and also for the entire Universal

Church.

And so, after two intense weeks of

hundreds of speeches and many

hours of dialogue and discussion the

Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazon

Region now enters into a new phase.

I can now simply share with you – with

my ‘ear to the ground’ –some further

personal reflections from my time here

at the Synod listening and learning,

with so many others of the Pilgrim

People of God.

Remember, this is primarily a Synod

of Bishops and it is of course, not a

parliament. So, it hands over all its

deliberations to Pope Francis who,

as ‘Peter’, will make all the final

decisions.

But many delegates that I have

spoken to say that there are two

things that particularly strike them

about these days of grace.

The first is how many people comment

about the humble listening presence of

Pope Francis at the Synod.

Pope Francis mainly just listens and

in the simple interactions, at moments

like coffee breaks, just joins the queue

and is himself a participant keen to

share and learn.

The second is how the Synod Hall is

often filled with a touching reverence

and silence after the witness of the

Indigenous peoples – women and men –

who are present in significant numbers.

Their participation is the highlight of

the Synod to so many.

One North American Bishop told me

the Indigenous Amazonian voices

and the stories of their suffering were

heart-rending.

When they spoke, so poignantly and

authentically of the trust and hope they

have in the Church to assist them, they

received the loudest applause.

So did the many laypeople, especially

the women who gave testimony.

This bishop dryly also noted that

when many bishops spoke there was

a tendency to doze off!

When one truly listens to such people

sharing their pain, ‘conversion’ and

the Good News of Jesus of Nazareth

become real.

The ‘pain-lines’

of the Amazon

I can only highlight just a few voices

and their moving testimonies about

the suffering of these local Churches.

These good people face:

Extreme violence done to

Indigenous peoples

Anitalia Pijachi, an Indigenous woman

from the Amazonian town of Leticia,

Colombia, came to the Synod of

Bishops for the Amazon bringing a

message from the elders of her people

to Pope Francis, an elder of the

Catholic Church.

The first Europeans to arrive in the

Amazon were “invaders,” she said.

“They never asked permission of

Mother Nature or of the people who

lived there. They imposed the cross

and the Bible. That caused a great

deal of resentment,” and in some

cases forced Indigenous peoples from

their territories.

The numbers of Indigenous people

slaughtered and also killed by new

diseases brought by the Spanish

and Portuguese colonisers is simply

staggering. It was a genocide of

extreme proportions.

Ongoing ecological destruction

Many Synod participants reminded us

that the Creator entrusted the Amazon

to our care. As outlined at the Synod,

“It is the most beautiful and vital

garden on the planet”.

But unfortunately, we risk transforming

this “terrestrial paradise” into a “hell”

because of the fires raging which could

deprive certain Indigenous peoples of

their indispensable heritage.

Walking together means listening

to “the agony of Mother Earth” and

becoming aware of the “violence

behind extractive ethnocide”.

Evil drug trafficking

Bishop Del Rio recounted how the drug

trade affects the Indigenous people, by

describing the situation in Colombia,

where he is Apostolic Vicar of Mitù.

Despite the peace process, it is a

violent area where guerrilla fighters

hide and where illegal crops are

grown, he said.

Once he saw four or five planes taking

off, all of them filled with drugs. Young

people try to become members of

those groups because of the easy

money they promise.

One community started changing

their way of life, said the Bishop, by

updating their forms of food. Many

Indigenous peoples have left to find

a “better” life and never return, said

Bishop Del Rio.

Shocking violence against women

Sister Echeverri spoke to the question

about violence against women, saying

“the Synod speaks to everyone”.

What happens in the Amazon

happens everywhere, she said,

including violence against women.

She mentioned human trafficking, in

particular, saying it is connected to

migration and sexual exploitation.

Sister Echeverri also spoke of women

being denied the right or possibility

to study. She mentioned how

women religious who have served

the Indigenous peoples have been

murdered. These martyrs have made

the Amazonian land fruitful, she added.

24

There are new forms

of slavery everywhere

in the Amazonian

region that must be

confronted.

Pope Francis meets with a group of

Indigenous representatives at the Special

Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for the

Pan-Amazon Region in the Vatican.

Image: Antonio Spadaro SJ.

There are new forms of slavery

everywhere in the Amazonian region

that must be confronted; forced

employment, prostitution, and organ

trafficking must be addressed in a

prophetic way.

So much pain and suffering! So much

injustice.

How then can we as Church follow the

‘pain-lines’ and be in solidarity with

these suffering peoples?

The following ‘snapshots’ are how

some voices from the Amazonian

Synod envisage it.

PASTORAL WAYS

FORWARD: Toward an

Amazonian Church with an

Indigenous face

Many times, the request was heard in

the Synod Hall to be constantly aware

of the suffering of the Indigenous

population, who have a sovereign

right to exist in the Amazon.

Discovering the seeds of the word

of God in the cultures and traditions

of the region means recognising that

Christ already lives in the peoples who

have not yet heard the Gospel.

The Gospel, in fact, is not the exclusive

patrimony of any one culture.

It is this approach that favours the

existence of an Indigenous and

Amazonian Church, one person said.

One proposal is that a new regional

structure is instituted which would

continue the momentum created

by the positive experience of the

networks created in the pre-Synod

process and the inspirations of the

Spirit received during the Synod.

One bishop spoke powerfully about

the need to intensify the Indigenous

pastoral ministry. He spoke of how

the local Church is putting into

practice “what the Pope is calling us

to do”: namely, that it should be the

Indigenous peoples themselves who

shape the Church in the Amazon.

An important aspect, said Bishop

Wilmar, is that the people he works

with should have their own leaders.

Until now, these have always been

foreigners.

Pope Francis, said Bishop Wilmar, told

someone how he dreamed of seeing

an Indigenous priest in every village.

When Bishop Wilmar asked how to

fulfil that dream, the Pope said he

should start with what the Church

already allows: the permanent

diaconate. Which is what they

decided to do.

Many bishops spoke powerfully of the

importance of a new type of formation

that forms ministers to baptise and

later to witness marriages.

The local Indigenous people give

great importance to the Sacrament of

Baptism and they want to be married

in the Church. They desire God’s

blessings.

Which is why there must be ministers

to perform baptisms and marriages in

every village. This will help the people

very much.

Others voiced the strong view that the

traditional Tridentine seminary is no

longer sufficient. Their local Churches

need priests who come out of the

communities.

The People of God need a theology

that speaks to people of the presence

of God and shows that presence.

One Synodal delegate movingly

described the precious contribution of

itinerant missionary teams inspired by

Jesus who visited village after village

without stopping, without even having

a place to stay.

This provides a model for the Church

always “on the move”, leaving behind

a pastoral ministry meant to preserve

the past to one that is creative.

25

Copies of Pope Francis’ Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Querida Amazonia.

Image: Vatican News.

The Gospel, in fact, always has

something new to say. This, too, is a

part of the ecological conversion.

Openness to new forms of ministry

means the incorporation of women

and young people.

The theme of women in the Church

was also brought up again and

again, with the request that they are

given more pastoral responsibility

and effective participation, even at

decision-making levels.

I wonder aloud whether some of

these Amazonian questions and their

attempts to follow their ‘pain-lines’

in the power of the Spirit are also

relevant to our church in Australia?

Many of the questions they are asking

are very much heard in the Australian

Church also.

A SAD FOOTNOTE:

Shameful resistance to

taking the pain of others

seriously

Amongst all this wonderful Gospel

pastoral creativity responding to the

‘pain-lines’, there continues to be

present at the Synod, the destructive

behaviour of certain Canadian and

USA reactionary, that is, so-called

‘Catholic’ media outlets.

Their inability to empathise with the

Indigenous peoples of the Amazon

exhibits a callous lack of humanity –

let alone their failure to even to begin

to understand the Gospel of Jesus of

Nazareth.

Although they speak for few, they are

well resourced by powerful interests

who oppose Pope Francis.

Much of their absurd agitprop has

been focused on the ceremony in the

Vatican Gardens organised by the

Franciscans.

A small statue of a woman was on

display. Some of the Indigenous call her

“Our Lady of the Amazon” but whatever

of that, it doesn’t stop these people

denouncing the influence of ‘paganism’!

Not a single empathetic story have

they printed about the suffering of

these Amazonian Indigenous peoples.

A total disgrace…

And as for their obsessions with

“paganism”, they seem not to have

read the newly-canonised St John

Henry Newman who reminded

Christians in the 19th Century to

approach other cultures, even if they

are non-Christian, with humility. In

his 1878 Essay on the Development

of Christian Doctrine, he noted that

the Church has always adopted

pagan elements in its traditions and

especially its liturgical rites:

“The use of temples, and these

dedicated to particular saints, and

ornamented on occasions with

branches of trees, incense, lamps and

candles; votive offerings on recovery

from illness; holy water, asylums; holy

days and seasons, use of calendars,

processions, blessings on the fields,

sacerdotal vestments, the tonsure,

the ring in marriage, turning to the

east, images at a later date, perhaps

the ecclesiastical chant, and the Kyrie

Eleison, are all of pagan origin, and

sanctified by their adoption into the

church.”

In any case, as Austen Ivereigh has

so wisely pointed out, their repeated

nasty attempts to demonise the native

culture of the Amazon remains the real

scandal of the Synod.

And as he so acutely retorted back to

them: “If you want to expose idolatry

at the Synod, I suggest you go talk

to some multinationals ripping up the

rainforest & destroying cultures for $$$$

and ask them what they worship.”

26

CONCLUSION: Following

the Church in Australia’s

‘pain- lines’ to join the

powerless in the Spirit’s

creative and redemptive

work.

So, what might all this mean for our

own Church in Australia – especially

the upcoming Plenary Council in

Adelaide in 2020?

A few purely personal thoughts occur

to me after these last two weeks.

Surely, a key question that we,

Australian Catholics, must continue to

address is:

What are our ‘pain-lines’? How can

we join the powerless in the Spirit’s

creative and redemptive work?

All of us know of the perilous

condition of contemporary

Catholicism in post-Royal

Commission Australia.

As Catholics, we all want to take

the Gospel message out into

contemporary Australian society. That

is a key hope for our Plenary Council.

But we must not be blind to a searing

‘pain-line’ devastating our Church like

a bushfire.

There is great discontent about the

sins and failures of our Church in

recent times. The pain is so intense

one almost finds it impossible to

discuss matters of faith. The anger

and alienation are too raw.

For me, in all honesty, unless we

follow the ‘pain-lines’ this means

a simple truth. Evangelisation

in Australia will be paralysed for

generations to come.

If we go forward, as a Church, after

the Plenary Council process, believing

we already know beforehand how to

‘answer people’ and are not really

interested in their questions, then

evangelisation becomes an empty

slogan and a meaningless ‘battle cry’.

Worse, the Church in Australia is then

destined to become an irrelevant sect

with its leaders ‘putting the wagons

in a circle’ and in constant ‘defensive’

mode.

Certainly, we must not avoid issues

related to Church governance.

After the Royal Commission, it is

screamingly obvious that we need to

reimagine a different authority/power

structure in the Church.

Canon Law is not frozen, and it can

and has been developed many, many

times in the history of the Church.

This can be a legitimate development

in the spirit of St John Henry Newman

and thoroughly compatible with

orthodoxy.

We need a new division of power –

concretely a new relationship between

lay people and priests, between

full-time and volunteers, between men

and women in the Catholic Church.

We need a leadership that is willing

to give up power in favour of new

structures. The Church is definitely

not a democracy. But neither is it

a dictatorship – even a benevolent

dictatorship.

All of this is merely fulfilling the call

and vision of our own Pope Francis.

Our future as a Church is not one of

prohibitions and commandments, but

a Church that lives in relationship with

people and in relationship with Jesus

Christ. That is the bottom line.

Our Plenary Council must not,

however, degenerate into ‘navel

gazing’ only concerned about internal

church matters. We are, after all, a

mission that has a Church!

If the Amazon Synod has taught

me anything it is this: we need, as

an Australian Church, to really take

seriously Pope Francis’s call for

ecological conversion in Laudato Si.

Our future as a

Church is not one

of prohibitions and

commandments,

but a Church that

lives in relationship

with people and in

relationship with

Jesus Christ.

Particularly helpful, in this regard were

the words of Bishop Bob McElroy of

San Diego.

Bishop Bob acknowledged that “the

specific form of good living that exists

for the Indigenous peoples of the

Amazon will not be transferable to

most other cultures in the world”.

But he does believe that, “its underlying

themes of connectedness, moderation,

balance and sharing must become the

norm for all peoples in re-evaluating our

lifestyles if we are to escape the lures

of materialism and build a sustainable

society for our world”.

I think we can all learn much

by praying and reflecting on

the prophetic words of Fr Enda

McDonagh, “Following the Spirit

means following the ‘pain-lines’ to join

the powerless in the Spirit’s creative

and redemptive work”.

Follow the pain-lines…

Br Mark O’Connor FMS was in Rome

for the Synod of Bishops for the Pan-

Amazon Region where he reported

weekly updates about the Synod. He

is Vicar for Communications in the

Diocese of Parramatta and Editor of

Catholic Outlook.

27

St Madeleine

Sophie Barat Parish

By Mary Brazell

Parishioners young and old gathered for an emotional ceremony

to celebrate a parish dream 33 years in the making.

“God is truly present here.”

These were the words from Bishop

Vincent Long OFM Conv, Bishop of

Parramatta, as the community of

St Madeline Sophie Barat Parish,

Kenthurst, celebrated the opening of

their new church in November 2019.

“From the very beginning, we

dreamed about having a proper

church, and it’s now complete,”

former parish priest Fr Chris Dixon

told Catholic Outlook during the

dedication of the new church.

In referencing the long journey of the

parish in having their own sacred

space, Sacramental Coordinator

Sally Coppini said she admired

the dedication and adversity of

parishioners over the years.

“There were many times along the

way that it would have been easy to

give up, and just throw our hands in

the air, because I think we came up

with a lot of dead ends,” she said.

“But I think the tenacity and the spirit

of this community shows through our

passion for it [the church].”

Located 18 kilometres north of

Parramatta, the parish of the semirural

suburb of Kenthurst was created

in 1988 after being separated from St

Bernadette’s Parish, Castle Hill.

One of the founding fathers of

Kenthurst parish, Parish Council

member Mick Parslow, explained

that during his time on the Finance

Committee at Castle Hill, an analysis

of envelope contributions revealed

that 30 per cent of contributions were

derived from the Kenthurst area.

Accordingly, Kenthurst has a sound

basis of being largely self-supporting.

“It wasn’t so much that Castle Hill

had grown and thought ‘we need

to expand,’ there was a real drive

from people of this community to

have their own church and their own

parish,” Parish Council member

Stuart Bennett added.

St Madeleine

Sophie Barat Parish

In 1985, 20 acres of land were

purchased by descendants of the

Blake family, whose house held one of

the first Masses in the area during the

1860s and 1870s.

Building began in late 1986, and the

first Mass was celebrated on a wet

and muddy Holy Thursday in 1987.

Fr Chris was parish priest from

St Madeleine’s creation until his

retirement in 2011. Fr Vincent (Vince)

Savarimuthu joined the parish on

December 8, 2011 and has recently

been appointed for another six-year

term as parish priest.

“[Kenthurst] is my first parish as a parish

priest in Australia,” Fr Vince said.

“[Because] I had held so many

responsibilities back in India, I

wanted to be an assistant priest. But

I don’t regret that I became the parish

priest [here].

Sally said, “We call him our parish

priest, but he’s our friend”.

Parishioners during the dedication

ceremony of St Madeleine Sophie

Barat church in Kenthurst.

Image: Mary Brazell/Diocese

of Parramatta.

28

We look forward to many years of the

goodness of the Lord in our lives, and those

who will come after us. United, we shall

serve the Lord and the community.

29

The new St Madeleine Sophie Barat parish church and office in Kenthurst.


Stuart added, “Fr Vincent’s work

ethic is second-to-none. He’s very

inclusive, very open, and that inspires

all of us. Fr Vincent has a vision for

this parish, and he’s so driven and

passionate and it’s infectious”.

Before the construction of their

new parish centre, Mass was

celebrated for the approximately

700 parishioners in the hall of St

Madeleine’s Primary School.

“We come together with so many

good and treasured memories, but

with a sense of grief at saying farewell

to this holy place,” Bishop Vincent

said in the old church during the

blessing ceremony.

“We come together, also, with great

hope for continuing our life of faith

at the new place of worship. Let

us thank the Lord for the manifold

blessings that we have received here

in this holy ground.”

The parish is fortunate to have a plot

of land large enough to host both the

primary school and the co-educational

Marian Catholic College. Classes

from the primary school celebrate

Mass weekly and some high school

students act as catechists in the local

state schools.

When asked what the best thing

about the parish is, the support team

said that they loved the familiarity of

the parish.

“I like coming here, and I think it’s

because you’ve got the opportunity to

do God’s work, so the opportunity is

here, and I think the community allows

you to have that opportunity,” Sally said.

“I do the sacramental program, and

obviously we have a lot of unchurched

people that come, and that’s a reality,

and that’s ok and a lot of them say ‘it’s

really nice here’. They don’t normally

come to Church, but they go away

thinking it’s very friendly, it’s not too

big, they’re not isolated, people talk

to them.

“I think it’s something to do with the

presence of Jesus – the presence

of Jesus is here in the people, in the

ministries here and the passion of

people.

“We’re all friends. We’re a group of

people that are friends that have the

same desire to spread the love of

Jesus.”

Parish secretary Lisa Echevarria

explained, “I get to serve at a different

church every now and again, a

different parish, and it feels there that

when you go to Mass, you’ve ticked

your requirement for the weekend.

Here it doesn’t feel that way”.

“The best thing about our parish is

our parish priest and what he brings

to this parish is infectious, his energy

and his drive,” Stuart added.

“[Fr Vince] inspires me to be involved,

and in doing that, I’ve gotten to meet

all these people and make wonderful

friends with all sorts of walks of life

of people in the parish, and I think,

collectively, we are all inspired to work

hard and to make this a better place.”

During his thank you speech at the

dedication of the new church, an

emotional Fr Vince said he hoped that

the new church would strengthen the

community in its mission.

“We have prayed for more than a year

that our church should be a home

where all are welcomed, nourished

and empowered to be the face of

Jesus,” he said.

“Let us all build up our community to

this effect by our witness to faith and

God’s love.

“We look forward to many years of

the goodness of the Lord in our lives,

and those who will come after us.

United, we shall serve the Lord and

the community.”

Fr Chris said, “We started off this

parish trying to dream of a place where

people really feel they belong, at home,

where they receive a lot of support and

they’re able to pray, pray together and

for one another with God.

“I hope that the parish continues to

grow and be the sort of parish we

always dreamed it would be.”

30

Priest profile

Fr Vincent

Savarimuthu

By Mary Brazell

‘Prayer is the foundation of a priest’

Whilst working as a young priest in southern India, Fr

Vincent Savarimuthu, or Fr Vince, as he prefers to be

called, was almost run out of his parish.

An experience, he explained, which further cemented his

faith and ministry in the following years.

“One Justice Sunday, I remember, I preached on the

injustices done to those people within the parish in the sense

that they were not included in the significant celebrations of

the parish by the parishioners in the main centre,” he said.

“When I touched on the topic, after the Mass, there was a

revolt.

“The experience was very eye-opening for me.”

Fr Vince has been the parish priest of St Madeline Sophie

Barat Parish, Kenthurst, since 2011 and has recently been

appointed for another six-year term.

Fr Vince was born in Tamil Nadu, India, and is the fifth

eldest of 12 siblings.

“Family prayer was part of our life. Every day at around

7.30 or 8 o’clock [PM], the whole family would gather

and we would say the prayer, and I was asked to lead the

prayer every time,” he said.

“I used to fight ‘why me? I have elder brothers and sisters,

why can’t you ask them to lead the prayer?’ But my parents

were so insistent that I should be the one to lead the prayer.

“Only at a later stage, I realised, maybe my parents had

an intention of dedicating me to this way of life, and they

wanted to create in me a thirst or an interest for prayer.

Fr Vince received early inspiration to join the priesthood

from the missionary priests who served his parish.

“There was a missionary priest from Spain, Fr Luis Levi.

Fr Vincent Savarimuthu, parish priest of St Madeleine Sophie Barat

Parish, Kenthurst. Image: Mary Brazell/Diocese of Parramatta.

He was very simple, very devout, very committed to the

people,” he said.

“So when I began to serve as an altar boy, I was attracted

by the life of this particular priest.

“His successors were also very inspirational. They

encouraged me, they enthused me towards this priestly life,

“I would look forward to going to the church to serve the

church.”.

On April 21, 1985, Fr Vince was ordained a priest for the

Archdiocese of Madurai by the late-Archbishop Justin

Diraviam.

Fr Vince’s first appointment in the diocese was as assistant

priest at Srivilliputhur parish, whose demography was

mostly people in the lower caste.

“It didn’t take too much time for me to realise that all my

studies – theology, philosophy – I found, at the beginning,

so irrelevant, when I looked at the life condition of the

people,” he said.

“I could not go on and talk about theology, philosophy to

those people, which was quite foreign to them. So I had to

come to their level to bring the Good News.

31

Fr Vincent Savarimuthu.


“The highlight of that experience, I

would say, is that one time, there was

no chapel in the small village, so I

celebrated the Mass under the street

light.”

Over the next few years, Fr Vince was

appointed as a youth coordinator,

a secretary to the bishop, a vice

financial administrator and director

and coordinator of the Vianney

Pastoral Centre, interspersed with

times spent serving in a parish.

In 1998, Fr Vince took sabbatical

leave and went to the Philippines,

completing a Masters in family

counselling, and a PhD in

anthropology, though he was unable

to complete the research and

dissertation.

Whilst officiating a wedding in Manila

in 2004, Fr Vince met the bride’s

Australian parents from Quakers Hill.

Once arriving back to Australia, the

couple spoke with then-Bishop of

Parramatta Kevin Manning and then-

Vicar General Bob McGuckin and

asked if Fr Vince could be invited to

serve in Australia.

Within a year of the wedding, and with

the due permission of the Bishop of

Sivagangai, Bishop Edward Francis,

Fr Vince arrived in Australia on June

1, 2005 and was appointed assistant

priest at Luddenham-Warragamba

parish for two years.

He then spent time at St Matthew’s

Parish, Windsor, Our Lady of the

Nativity Parish, Lawson, Padre

Pio Parish, Glenmore Park and at

Our Lady, Queen of Peace Parish,

Greystanes, before his appointment at

Kenthurst.

“[Kenthurst] is my first parish as a

parish priest in Australia,” he said.

“[Because] I had held so many

responsibilities back in India, I wanted

to be an assistant priest. But I don’t

regret that I became the parish priest

[here].

“I’ve got a good parish team.

Whenever I tap the shoulders of

somebody for anything, they are

always willing to lend their hand of

support. St Madeleine’s is a warm,

welcoming and hospitable and wellknit

community.”

32

Over his 34 years of priesthood, Fr

Vince said his biggest joy is being a

part of the life of the people.

“At every stage of our life, from

baptism to death, the priest has been

a part of it,” he said.

“It is a gift that I am an instrument of

God in bringing hope and peace to

the people when they are weighed

down by life’s difficulties. The simplest

act of listening to them and telling

them that they can weather the crises

and that they are not alone and they

are surrounded with God’s love and

forgiveness takes them a long way

in their lives with a heavy, positive

outlook.

“I am just an instrument of God in

what I do.

“It is a great joy to see them grow and

be happy.

“I often realise that it is not what I

preach, it is who I am that affects

the people. The way that I approach

life, the way I talk, the way I relate to

the people – that’s where I focus my

attention. I should be a good influence

and inspiration to the people.

When asked about the future of the

Church in Australia, Fr Vince said he

hopes that more is done to engage

young people on a local and national

scale.

“Seeing young families coming in

and being a part of the parish is quite

encouraging, because the future of

the Church belongs to them,” he said.

“I hope that with the Plenary Council,

there might be initiatives that will

attract young people to live out their

faith. That would be fantastic for the

Australian Church.

“I hope the diocese [of Parramatta]

will initiate some steps to make the

young people be an active part of the

church.”

Fr Vince wished to share some advice

that he received from St Teresa of

Calcutta – pray.

“One time, I met with St Mother

Teresa of Calcutta. Her advice [to me]

was pray, and that word she repeated

three times. I think that’s the best

advice,” he said.

“Prayer is the foundation of a priest.

Without prayer, it is not going

to work out. I see prayer as our

connectedness to God in our context.

Unless I am connected to God, I

cannot sustain as a priest.

“As to the expectations of the people

from a priest, I tell the people, I cannot

satisfy all 200 of you that are gathered

here, because it is God who speaks,

it’s not me.

“Listen to what God is telling you

personally through His Words and

the events of your day-to-day life and

take that into your life.”

It is a gift that I am

an instrument of

God in bringing

hope and peace to

the people when

they are weighed

down by life’s

difficulties.

Fr Vincent Savarimuthu.


33

Young Catholics participate in a Bishops Xchange session on the Plenary Council

during day three of the 2019 Australian Catholic Youth Festival in Perth.


The coming Plenary Council:

the vision still has time


When I was growing up as a child in

the Melbourne working-class suburb

of St Gabriel’s parish, Reservoir our

life was fairly simple, even innocent!

Today, however, there are so many

competing narratives and options!

People pick and choose from them at

will.

Life in the Australia of 2020

sometimes feels like an endless

series of arguments between people

incapable of listening to each other.

If you want any proof about the

futility of our obsessively argument

driven culture, just watch our Federal

Parliament!

But let’s face it, who was ever really

changed by an argument?

People are led and only changed

by insights. They must well up from

within; they can never be imposed.

Yes, we do have a beautiful treasure in

our Catholic faith. Divine Revelation goes

on. The Spirit keeps teaching us through

the Word of God; our profound Catholic

Tradition, especially the Sacraments and

the “signs of the times”.

This treasure, however, cannot be just

simply imposed by external authority,

in a culture such as ours.

Religious freedom is vital, but we

can never go back to a Christendom

model: where the Church simply

commands and decrees. Those days

are gone forever in Australian society.

People must now be encouraged to

deepen the insights of the gift of faith.

Faith always needs to well up from

within.

Only then can faith dialogue with

the culture around it and exercise

prophetic imagination. That’s what

is at the heart of the coming Plenary

Council and the journey of synodality.

Helping people form such a mature

adult Catholic faith, that will sustain

them in the difficult but joyous decades

34

ahead, is then a key challenge of the

coming Plenary Council.

So is the rejection of clericalism.

For the voice of the laity must be

given much greater recognition and

legislated for in canon law.

Since laypeople – especially women

– make up the majority of the Church,

we urgently need to ensure there are

practical structures to make their voices

count at every level of our Church.

Don’t be fooled by a small but vocal

minority – Catholic extremists – whose

agitprop via some blogs and Catholic

newspapers consists in personal

attacks on the motivations and

orthodoxy of their fellow Catholics.

It all masks a breathtaking arrogance.

The real object of their rage and

dissent is opposition to the leadership

of Pope Francis and his call for

synodality and the full implementation

of Vatican II.

Pope Francis sums them up perfectly:

“One of the more serious temptations

which stifles boldness and zeal is

a defeatism which turns us into

querulous and disillusioned pessimists,

sourpusses” Evangelii Gaudium.

These “culture warrior” ideologues

entirely miss the point of the pastoral

mission of the Church, so marvellously

articulated in the actions and words of

Pope Francis.

It’s about mission not maintenance!

That mission certainly must centre

around a faithful listening to God’s

revelation to us. We are all called to

live in obedience to the truth.

But only God has the total truth – we

humans only ever glimpse it darkly

here below – as historical beings

always on a journey.

For we belong to a living, dynamic

Tradition that is constantly being

renewed and nourished by the very

same Word of God.

The Holy Spirit continues to breathe over

all of creation, including the community

of graced sinners that makes up the

Catholic Church in Australia.

This is the heart of Catholicism –

Incarnation. The Word was made

flesh, sharing utterly in all the sorrows

and joys of being human. So must we,

if we are to witness authentically to

the joy of the Gospel.

What a grace it is to have this mission in

Australia today, to be a followers of Jesus

of Nazareth, the face of God’s mercy!

May the Spirit guide the Plenary

Council.

Yes, it’s only a beginning but it’s an

important step in the right direction

for: “The vision still has its time;

presses in to fulfillment, it will not

disappoint; if it delays wait for it, it

will surely come, it will not be late”

Habakkuk 2:2-3.

Inaugural Diocese of Parramatta Forum 2019.


35

When the Church seeks Advice

By Richard McMahon

For some people, hearing that the Catholic Church is seeking advice, may feel a

little like hearing that your local GP is asking you to diagnose your own health.

Bishop Vincent Long OFM Conv, Bishop

of Parramatta, speaks to young Catholics

during a Bishops Xchange session on the

Plenary Council during day two of the 2019

Australian Catholic Youth Festival in Perth.


There can sometimes be an

expectation that the church proclaims

the truth rather than seeks the truth.

In 2018, the Australian bishops

announced a Plenary Council,

and invited all people - Catholic,

Christian and non-Christian - to have

their say on the question, “What

do you think God is asking of us in

Australia at this time?”

It was a courageous move by our

bishops. Yet it is certainly not unique.

From the earliest times in our church, its

members have gathered to debate and

weigh significant decisions. In this case,

over 220,000 Australians responded,

offering a broad range of views.

Our bishops then strengthened the

consultations by asking researchers

to pool together key ideas and

themes. People were given a second

opportunity to offer advice. The

question shifted to “How do we

become a Christ-centred Church?”

Our bishops made the choice not to

consider all the feedback themselves.

Instead, they have joined with lay

women and men, and other clergy

and religious, in “writing groups” to

help shape the agenda for the first

gathering of the Plenary Council in

October this year, that will make some

decisions on all that has been heard.

The Plenary Council itself will be open

to a broad group. The bishops have

sought to invite as many other people

as Church law allows to participate

in this council. Indeed, they have

gone further. They have knocked on

the door of the Vatican, and asked

permission to expand the number of

people that can participate.

In our own Diocese, we have held

many listening and discernment

sessions. At these gatherings, people

of all ages and backgrounds and

points of view, have gathered to

respectfully listen to others, share

their beliefs, and seek consensus

on both national and local actions

to help us become a more Christcentred

Church.

The national actions have been

offered to the writing groups. The local

actions are being considered by our

Deanery Pastoral Councils, mainly lay

people representing clusters of local

parishes. These Deanery Pastoral

Councils are inviting people to

participate in forums where they can

further consider how to bring to life

initiatives that will express the life and

mission of Jesus Christ in our present

time and place.

Two things are worthy of pondering

as the Plenary Council approaches.

Firstly, regardless of what happens,

the Church is seeking advice. When

any individual asks for advice, there

is a recognition that they cannot do

it alone. It is an act of humility and

vulnerability. Our Church finds herself

in an unusual circumstance. For

an entity familiar with pronouncing

spiritual and moral truths, this is an

admission that our Church is not

self-contained. At its best, it is a

reminder of how Jesus walked the

earth. His opening words recorded

in the Gospel of John are not a

36

statement but a question, “What are

you looking for?” (John 1) So often,

Jesus dialogued with those he met,

and sometimes was the beneficiary

of their wisdom and insights, such

as the Canaanite woman seeking

healing for her daughter. Jesus initially

refuses, however as the conversation

continues, he changes his stance and

offers healing. (Mark 7, Matt 15).

This leads us to a second space to

ponder. Does our Church possess

the Truth or point to the Truth?

The Catholic Church stumbles and

falls every time we seek to equate

ourselves with God. Our Church is

not impervious to error. Only God is.

Our Church, like St John the Baptist,

seeks to lead people to the One who

is The Way, The Truth, and The Life.

When we, as Church, turn our gaze

from contemplating the face of Christ,

and instead focus on the wonder of

our own footfalls, we quickly begin to

sink beneath the waves.

The Plenary Council gathers in

October of this year to “Listen to What

the Spirit is Saying.” May our Church

continue onwards in this stance of

listening, recognising that the Spirit

speaks in many tongues, and that the

Truth of Christ is encountered in the

least of our sisters and brothers, and

in the child whom Jesus invites into

the middle of the circle.

To find out more about the Plenary

Council and how you can connect

with our Diocesan initiatives, visit

www.parracatholic.org or contact

our Pastoral Planning Office on

pastoralplanning@parracatholic.org or

(02) 8838 3441.

Richard McMahon is the Director

of Pastoral Planning and

Implementation for the Diocese of

Parramatta.

Our Church is not

impervious to error.

Only God is. Our

Church, like St John

the Baptist, seeks

to lead people to

the One who is The

Way, The Truth,

and The Life.

Participants during the inaugural Diocese

of Parramatta Forum 2019.


37

Pilgrims pose for a photograph during the shortened Epiphany Pilgrimage between

Our Lady of the Way Parish, Emu Plains, to St Finbar’s Parish, Glenbrook.

Image: Epiphany Pilgrimage.

Sorrows and joys celebrated

on Epiphany Pilgrimage

By Mary Brazell

It may have been a fraction of the distance, but the faith, dedication and

enthusiasm of the annual Epiphany Pilgrimage pilgrims were still present.

This year’s Epiphany Pilgrimage,

named for its focus on and celebration

of the Feast of the Epiphany, was

unfortunately cancelled in early January

due to the recent devastating bushfires

in and around the Blue Mountains.

However, organisers Jesse and Briony

Mowbray from St Finbar’s Parish,

Glenbrook, decided to celebrate

the feast day with a smaller day

pilgrimage and a just-as-enthusiastic

pilgrimage group.

“Discerning whether or not to cancel

the pilgrimage was tough because

we knew it would be disappointing

for many people,” Jesse told Catholic

Outlook.

“It was also difficult to know whether

to plan the day pilgrimage. After

mulling it over and a process of

discernment, we just had to take a

step of faith with it.”

The traditional pilgrimage is a sevenday,

110 kilometre journey from

Our Lady of the Way Parish, Emu

Plains, through the bush trails of

the mountains, visiting the various

parishes of the Blue Mountains, and

concluding at the Chapel of the Magi

in Bell.

This year, the pilgrimage wound its

way from Emu Plains to St Finbar’s

Parish, Glenbrook on 5 January.

“In the lead-up, we were slightly

apprehensive as the previous day was

the hottest day of the year, with lots of

smoke coming from the fire grounds

because of a southerly change,”

Briony said.

“But our worries were ultimately

unnecessary and the weather was

great for walking: a comfortable

temperature, no smoke haze in the

morning and only a little coming in

as we neared the end of the walk,

in Glenbrook, and a wonderfully

enthusiastic group of pilgrims.

“It was still a very joyous celebration

of the Christmas season and the

revelation of Christ to all humanity.”

The day pilgrimage started with the

38

pilgrims being welcomed by the parish

community at Emu Plains for Mass.

During Mass, Fr Paul Roberts, parish

priest at Emu Plains, reflected on the

contrasts of the joy of the Christmas

season with the sorrows of the

bushfires and drought conditions,

which was echoed during the walk by

pilgrimage chaplain, Fr Dom Murphy

OP from the parishes of St James,

Forest Lodge, and St Bede, Pyrmont.

The 40 pilgrims from across the

Diocese of Parramatta and from the

wider Sydney metropolitan region

then set off on their journey towards

Glenbrook.

“The spirit of the day was wonderful,”

Briony said.

“There was a real sensitivity to and

awareness of the devastating weeks

of fires that we have had, and prayers

for those affected were at the forefront

of everyone’s minds.

“As we prayed for the prayer

intentions submitted [to us], we found

that many of these were written for

those impacted by the fires.

“But in the midst of such a difficult

time, there was a real sense of joy in

the opportunity to be together and to

celebrate the revelation of God to the

world on the beautiful Feast of the

Epiphany.”

Jesse added, “Walking in the bush is

always a great joy – that experience

of God in creation distinctive to the

Australian context – and this walk was

no different.

“The time of praise and prayer was

very special and the dignity afforded

to the prayer intentions by all those

who participated was incredibly

moving and a source of great joy.”

Epiphany tradition of cutting the

Galette des Rois cake and finding

the small ‘fève’ figurine to declare

the King or Queen is always terrific,”

Jesse said.

In the spirit of ‘Christmas in July’

prevalent throughout the Blue

Mountains, pilgrimage organisers have

decided to celebrate ‘The Epiphany

in July’.

“We are hoping to use this

opportunity to bring Christ to this time

of year in a different way,” Briony said.

“We’ve tentatively set the dates for

the Epiphany in July pilgrimage,

and we’ve actually been quite

overwhelmed by the enthusiasm

about the change of dates – the

cooler weather certainly seems

attractive for many people.”

Although there is a large walking

component to the pilgrimage, Jesse

and Briony want to encourage

everybody to participate in the

pilgrimage – walkers or not.

“It is possible to participate in the

Epiphany Pilgrimage in many ways,”

Jesse said.

“For those who enjoy walking and

are competent bushwalkers, it is

a wonderful experience to be able

to journey on foot through the Blue

Mountains and celebrate with each of

the great parishes that we have up here.

“Every day of the pilgrimage, there are

opportunities to shorten the walk –

either by taking an alternative route or

by jumping on a train. Some pilgrims

might feel that they are comfortable

walking 10km each day, and that

is completely fine and absolutely

possible.

Briony added, “We also want nonwalkers

to feel very welcome. The

time we spend at each parish –

beginning each day with Mass and

ending each day with a time of

prayer, praise, worship and adoration,

and then enjoying a festive meal

together – is really at the heart of the

pilgrimage and everyone is welcome

to participate in these aspects.

“The Epiphany Pilgrimage has always

been about bringing ourselves to

Christ and giving ourselves to Him

once more. It is about praying for

others and bringing their needs before

God for His love, healing and mercy.

“Of course, we do also hope that the

pilgrims get something out of the

experience, that it is an opportunity

for personal faith encounter and a

great celebration of the joy of Christ’s

coming into the world.”

The Epiphany Pilgrimage is planning

a pilgrimage in July. For more

information and to register your

interest, please visit

www.epiphanypilgrimage.org

On reaching St Finbar’s, the pilgrims

participated in praise and worship and

Adoration before celebrating a festive

meal together.

“The festival meal is always a great

celebration and lots of fun. The

Pilgrims during the shortened Epiphany Pilgrimage between Our Lady

of the Way Parish, Emu Plains, to St Finbar’s Parish, Glenbrook.

Image: Epiphany Pilgrimage.

39

Young Sydney newlyweds

blessed by Pope Francis

By Mary Brazell

A young newly married couple from Sydney have had

their union blessed by Pope Francis.

Catholic Youth Parramatta Deanery

Ambassador Henanita Fatu and her

husband Peter Harrop were blessed

by Pope Francis during his weekly

General Audience.

Posting an image of the encounter in

the Vatican on Wednesday 22 January

to Facebook, Peter described the

event as “an amazing experience”.

“God is Good. The Holy Father, Pope

Francis, blessed our Marriage and

told us he is praying for Australia and

those affected by the Bushfires [sic].

We are truly blessed for this amazing

experience,” Peter said.

Speaking to Catholic Outlook upon their

return to Australia, Peter and Henanita

said that the meeting with Pope Francis

left them in shock and awe.

“We were actually lost for words

because we didn’t think it would

actually happen. It was surreal!

“Having him bless our marriage was

the ultimate blessing of all within

our lives because the leader of the

Catholic Church truly cared for the

commitment that we had made with

each other.

“All the events leading up to our

personal encounter were pure bliss. It

was worth waiting three hours outside

in the freezing cold just to get inside.”

They explained that although entry into

the General Audience at the Vatican is

free, it was a much more difficult task

to meet with the Holy Father.

“We always wanted to travel to the

Vatican as one of our first trips as a

married couple,” Peter said. “As the

General Audience is only held on a

Wednesday, we had to plan our trip to

be in Rome for at least one Wednesday

during the two-week honeymoon.

“Tickets to the General Audience are

free, however, to get an invite and sit

in the special Sposi Novelli section

was a much more difficult task, but we

were patient, hopeful and faithful.

“Our [marriage] celebrant, Archbishop

Anthony Fisher OP, Archbishop of

Sydney, had to write a letter to the

Prefect of the Papal Household

outlining that he was marrying us on 4

January 2020 and we were wishing to

attend the Audience on 22 January to

get our marriage blessed.

“The wait was nerve-racking as we

had planned everything out with the

assumption that the Pope would be

available on that Wednesday.

“Thankfully our prayers were

answered when we found out the

Pope was available and the Papal

Household replied back to the

Archbishop, three months after he

sent the initial letter of our intention.”

Peter and Henanita met whilst they

were both studying Secondary

Teaching, Theology and Arts degrees at

the University of Notre Dame, Sydney.

They were married by Archbishop

Fisher at St Mary’s Cathedral on 4

January 2020.

“To have the opportunity to get

married at the Mother Church of

Australia, St Mary’s Cathedral, is

something that we dreamt about,”

they said.

“With this in mind and our

understanding of the Sacrament we

were going to be ministers of, we

really wanted our Nuptial Mass to

emphasise the connection between

the love of a husband and wife and

that of Christ and the Church.

“We are very grateful to have had our

wedding celebrated by the Archbishop

of Sydney, who celebrated with priests

that we are very close to and being

surrounded by our family and friends

was truly a dream come true.”

If given the opportunity to meet

Pope Francis again, both Peter and

Henanita would be honoured.

“This was a very emotional and

amazing experience. I remember

thinking to myself ‘Wow, is this even

real? How is this possible?’ We

would have never imagined ourselves

sharing this special moment with him,

to touch his hands, feel his warm, kind

and loving embrace,” Henanita said.

Peter added, “The feeling of meeting

the Holy Father and the Successor to

Saint Peter is a feeling that we would

never forget.

“To even be in his presence again would

be an absolute blessing and we would

cherish every moment with him.”

40

Henanita Fatu and her husband Peter Harrop have their marriage blessed by Pope

Francis during his weekly General Audience in the Paul VI Hall in the Vatican.

Image: Peter Harrop and Henanita Fatu/Supplied.

41

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New beginnings for

Penola Catholic College

The 2020 school year saw Year 7 to 12 students

return to a great local school with a brand new name.

McCarthy Catholic College is now known as Penola

Catholic College Emu Plains.

“We’re all about really strong learning opportunities

and high expectations for every student,” Tania said.

The only Catholic school in NSW to be part of the

prestigious P-TECH program, Penola Catholic College

students have the opportunity to benefit from

enriching community and business partnerships with

Telstra, PwC and Western Sydney University.

Celebrating the achievements of College alumni is

also a key focus. Well-known graduates include State

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www.penolaemuplains.catholic.edu.au

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE

Clergy and Bishop Vincent attending the

clergy familiarisation day on February 19.

Image: CEDP.

By Anthony Maher

Introducing the New

Draft Curriculum

(Religious Education) for

our Catholic schools.

In 2014, Catholic Education Diocese

of Parramatta (CEDP) embarked upon

the challenging task of writing a new

Religious Education Curriculum (RE).

The primary task in responding to

“the signs of the times,” as Vatican II

teaches, was developing a synodal

process of dialogue and participation.

Over a number of years, countless

stakeholders were engaged: students,

clergy, parents, RE teachers,

theologians and school principals.

All involved, offered good advice and

strong opinion.

Engaging all of our CEDP dialogue

partners was extremely rewarding.

Participants explained that an RE

curriculum is ultimately for the

students and their families, and like

all objectives of Catholic education,

the purpose is to bring about the

flourishing of our young people.

Of central importance in the process

of dialogue and participation over

the past few years was the voice

and questions of our students. The

‘developers’ were continuously

conscious of Pope Francis’ advice,

not to answer questions that our

young people are no longer asking.

The authors of the Draft New

Curriculum aspired in every one of the

newly established 55 learning cycles

(pre-school to Year 12) to be relevant

and inspiring to our students. Indeed,

each learning cycle is based upon a

‘wondering’ question from our young

people, going to the heart of our

Catholic tradition.

The Draft New Curriculum launched

on Valentine’s Day 2020, will now be

subject to a year of discernment by

stakeholders. Stages Two, Three, and

Five will also undergo pilot studies in

our schools in anticipation of a launch

in Term Two, 2021. The rollout of

the curriculum will be accompanied

by a three-year implementation

plan, including resources, teacher

professional learning and formation.

Bishop Vincent, attending the clergy

familiarisation day on February 19

explained that, “the essence of the

new curriculum speaks of the hope

that is within, with a focus upon

educating the head, heart and hands.

It articulates the radical teachings

of Jesus Christ. With Pope Francis,

we strive in CEDP to ensure that

every young person experiences a

joyful, blessed, transformational and

transcendent education.

“I hope the new curriculum, still to be

named, awakens in young people the

desire to make meaning for themselves

and become co-creators of their own

destinies of the world,” he said.

Endorsing the new curriculum, Mr

Greg Whitby (Executive Director,

CEDP), recalled the words of Bishop

Vincent that, “ours are not schools

that provide education for Catholics

only but Catholic education for all.”

The Executive Director moved on to

explain that CEDP is committed to a

transformational model of education

that puts the personal learning growth

of young people at the centre and is a

“dynamic contemporary approach to

learning and teaching”.

Greg went on to say, “Catholic

education is understood as a gateway

to human flourishing, one that liberates

each person to live life to the full, as

Jesus said, ‘I have come that you may

have life and have it to the full’”.

Over the coming years Catholic

Outlook will feature regular articles

on the rollout of the new curriculum,

continuing in the next edition with a

progress report and an explanation of

the rationale and dispositions behind

the curriculum.

Professor Anthony Maher is the

Consultant Theologian for Catholic

Education Diocese of Parramatta.

43

News from Catholic Education

Congratulations

to the Class of

2019

Catholic Education Diocese of

Parramatta students recently

topped the state in six HSC

subjects.

Students from Holy Family Primary Emerton enjoyed a school-wide pancake

breakfast! Image: CEDP.

We are an Easter people

It is such a joy to walk with students in our schools during the Lenten

journey and in celebration of Easter. What does Easter mean for children

and young people today?

Catholic Education Diocese of Parramatta is currently developing a new

religious education curriculum. We asked students to share their questions

about faith with us. These very questions have shaped the way their

classmates will reflect and make meaning of the death and resurrection of

Jesus Christ.

Though we teachers love chocolate eggs, seeing students so deeply

engaged with what it means to believe is the real treat. It’s heartening to

see the way schools get stuck into supporting the Caritas Australia Project

Compassion Appeal during Lent too.

During recent months, this spirit of outreach has also been strong as

schools supported communities suffering as a result of the bushfire crisis.

We particularly remember Geoffrey Keaton, a graduate of several of our

schools who lost his life in the service of others together with another young

RFS hero, Andrew O’Dwyer. May they rest in peace.

“Though HSC success is just one

measure of student achievement,

I particularly want to celebrate the

dedication of these outstanding

students,” Executive Director

Greg Whitby said.

At Emmaus Catholic College

Kemps Creek, Samantha

Moodley was excited to receive

First in Course for Community

and Family Studies. Rooty Hill

resident Samantha, who worked

at McDonalds throughout her

studies, feels all the preparation

she put into her studies paid off.

“My advice to others doing their

HSC is to try your best, but

not at the sacrifice of doing the

things you enjoy,” Samantha

said. “You can have a part time

job and get good results too.’’

Whether it’s HSC success,

early entry to university,

apprenticeships, traineeships or

other post-school options, our

Catholic schools are delivering

great opportunities for young

people.

I wish you and your family a sacred Lent and every blessing of the season as

together we prepare to receive the Good News of Easter Sunday once again.

Gregory B Whitby AM KSG

Executive Director

Catholic Education Diocese of Parramatta

Student Samantha Moodley received

her First in Course Award from NSW

Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Minister

for Education Hon Sarah Mitchell MLC.

Image: CEDP.

44

Welcome to our community!

Catholic Education Diocese of Parramatta welcomed 11 new principals in 2020. Here’s what some of these outstanding

new leaders have to say to families considering joining their communities:

Meet Melissa!

St Monica’s Primary

Richmond’s new Principal

Melissa Beggs has come

to her new role after time

as Assistant Principal at St

Bernadette’s Primary Castle

Hill and St Madeleine’s

Primary Kenthurst.

Meet Bianca!

St Bernadette’s Primary

Castle Hill Principal

Bianca Cooke previously

served the community of

Good Shepherd Primary

Plumpton as Assistant

Principal!

Meet Miriam!

St Canice’s Primary

Katoomba Principal Miriam

Meaney previously served

as Assistant Principal of

Holy Innocents Primary

School Croydon.

Meet Paul!

Delany College Granville’s

new Principal Paul Easton

has recently been working

in education management

as Director of the Brisbane

Learning Exchange and

previously as Director of

Performance for Catholic

Education Diocese of

Parramatta in 2017.

“Know that the teachers

will be working very hard

to understand your child’s

needs and there will be

a partnership between

us,” Melissa said. “We

understand leaving your

child at school is a big trust,

we will take very good care

of them.”

Bianca’s tip for parents of

students starting school is:

“Always remember to ask

questions if you’re unsure

and get involved in the

school. The community

truly makes the school a

wonderful place to learn

and work.”

Her advice is to take the

time to get to know other

parents and their children.

“These people may be

a part of your life for a

lifetime and will share the

milestones along the way

with you,’’ Miriam said.

Paul’s top tips for students

starting high school is to

focus on preparation and

have an open mind.

“Come prepared, come

with a smile and be open to

learning,” said Paul.

Parramatta Catholic Schools

number one in training!

Catholic Education Diocese of Parramatta has been

awarded Small Provider of the Year at the Australian

Training Awards. With 22 secondary schools across

western Sydney, local Catholic schools make a

significant contribution to skilling Sydney’s future

workforce.

Class of 2020

St Agnes Catholic High School Rooty Hill and

St Clare’s Catholic High School Hassall Grove

welcomed their first Year 12 students at the

beginning of the 2020 school year!

“We’re so proud of these students, and the

opportunity we’ve been able to provide for them

to complete their studies at the school,” St Clare’s

Catholic High School Principal Kevin Jones said.

45

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College provides innovative pathways

for students alongside trade training

opportunities. Students are supported

in their learning through professional

mentoring, exciting industry

partnerships, work placements and

recognised qualifications.

CathWest students can grab a coffee on their way to class from the onsite cafe

operated by both students and staff. Image: CEDP.

Penola Catholic College

Emu Plains

The 2020 school year saw Years 7 to 12 students return

to a great local school with a brand new name. McCarthy

Catholic College is now known as Penola Catholic

College Emu Plains.

College Principal Leader Tania Cairns is proud of the

strong reputation the College continues to develop in

the Penrith and Lower Mountains area. “We’re all about

excellent learning opportunities and high expectations for

every student,” Tania said.

Growing opportunities

for Catholic education

With significant population growth across Western Sydney,

Catholic Education Diocese of Parramatta is working hard

to meet the needs of local families. We’re responding to

increased demand for enrolments in many ways including

through several major projects.

This includes planning for Westmead Catholic Community,

including new parish and community services and

additional enrolment opportunities through major

investment in the four outstanding Westmead Catholic

schools. The planning process also continues for Santa

Sophia Catholic College’s permanent home in Box Hill.

46

News from Early Years Education & Care

By Anthony Goonan

Lent at Holy Cross

Lent is a period of 40 days, which begins on Ash

Wednesday and ends on Holy Saturday. Lent is often a time

of repentance, fasting, and preparation for the coming of

Easter. It’s a time of self-examination, reflection, and focus

on one’s relationship with God. Many people choose to

give up something, or to volunteer and give of themselves

in service to others, during these 40 days.

Throughout our network of 32 early years education

and care services, time and space is set aside for our

children to learn about the Catholic and other faiths, with a

particular focus on Lenten themes at this time of year.

At Holy Cross Glenwood Catholic Out of School Hours

Care centre (COSHC), the children participate in a program

to give back to our community running over the period of

Lent.

Clothing items will be collected by the children to donate

to the local St John XXIII Parish, Glenwood-Stanhope

Gardens.

The children are also encouraged to take a few moments

to clear their minds, reflect on their blessings, think of

those less fortunate, and find additional ways to express

gratitude.

A student at Holy Cross Catholic Out of School Hours Care

(COSHC), Glenwood, knits a scarf to donate to their local parish of

St John XXIII Glenwood-Stanhope Gardens. Image: CDPSL.

Only One Said Thank you

Jesus heals 10 Lepers: (Luke 17: 11-19)

Children of ages 3-5 years in our Catholic Early Learnings

Centres (CELCs) across the Diocese of Parramatta are

encouraged to write and share prayers.

With the help of their teachers and educators, the children

are taught the value of sharing their thought, and feelings

in order to build their connections and sense of belonging.

This also helps the children to be thankful and ask God for

help about things that are important to them.

Focusing on the story of Jesus and the 10 lepers (Luke 17:

11-19) the children reflect on the meaning of thank you and

why it is important to give thanks.

Children engage in writing prayers of thanks and explore scripture

about being thankful at a Catholic Early Learning Centre in the

Diocese of Parramatta. Image: CDPSL.

Anthony Goonan is the Chief Executive Officer of Catholic

Diocese of Parramatta Services Limited. The Early Years

Education & Care enterprise within this new agency is

responsible for the Diocese of Parramatta’s network of

pre-school, long day care and out of school hours care

services co-located with our Catholic primary schools.

47

A new decade for SRE

By John Donnelly

Thousands of Catholic volunteers (Catechists) have been preparing for

a new era of Special Religious Education (SRE) in NSW Public Schools.

A child prays at the Holy Family Catholic

Early Learning Centre, Emerton.


Amid calls to modernise the way

lessons are presented to the digital

generation of students in SRE classes,

the Catholic Conference of Religious

Educators in State Schools (CCRESS)

has updated their curriculums and

developed new training modules.

Primary and secondary classes will

be enhanced with digital resources,

learner centred activities and notes

alerting catechists to topics that

require sensitivity to student needs,

family situations and attitudes.

In 2020, the Diocese of Broken Bay

is publishing the third edition of the

highly innovative Walking with Jesus

program with colourful new graphics

and a range of supplementary

resources online. Responding to

student and teacher feedback the

Confraternity of Christian Doctrine

(CCD) team is systematically revising

the entire Kinder to Year 6 program.

Previews of the new material have

had Catechists very excited about

returning to classes.

Doug Mawhinney recently announced

that the Archdiocese of Sydney is also

releasing a new edition of the Christ

our Light and Life SRE curriculum

commencing with the Kindergarten

teachers’ manual and student activity

book. ‘Kindy in colour’ presents

students with 3-5 minute activities

that are partially coloured to guide

students to respond to the main point

of each lesson plan with graphics by

Paul Mooney.

Several dioceses throughout NSW,

including the Diocese of Parramatta,

use Christ our Light and Life as

their approved curriculum in Special

Religious classes in public schools.

A CCRESS team from the

Archdiocese of Sydney and the

Dioceses of Broken Bay, Parramatta

and Newcastle have developed a

digital high school program Pathways

of Discipleship which will be used

for SRE classes this year. Care has

been taken over controversial issues

of morality and social norms, while

the authentic teachings of Jesus and

his Church are presented in modern

formats and with engaging activities.

There is a great deal of anticipation

among Catechists about this new

program as the trial lessons have

been received with such positive

feedback from students and teachers.

In a society as diverse as Australia,

teaching of students in public schools

needs to be age appropriate and

sensitive. Over the past few years,

members of CCRESS have trained

thousands of dedicated Catechists to

be more aware of difference and teach

students our stories and beliefs with

care and respect of individuals. These

workshops and course have also

introduced contemporary learning

strategies and resources designed to

increase the effectiveness of the time

spend in class each week.

Each diocese as a Catholic SRE

provider has responded to the

recommendations of the 2015

Independent Review of SRE and

SEE and worked closely with NSW

Department of Education and other

churches and faith groups to develop

policies, procedures and programs

that give families greater information,

increased transparency and more

effective educational outcomes.

While attendance at SRE classes

has always been popular, we all

anticipate an increase in participation

rates as parent/caregivers consider

the choices available for the spiritual

formation of their children in public

schools.

John Donnelly is a Regional

Catechist Coordinator in the Diocese

of Broken Bay and is a member of

CCRESS.

For more information about this in

the Diocese of Parramatta, please

contact Cecilia Zammit on (02) 8838

3485 or visit the CCD website at

http://parracatholic.org/ccd

48

Kids' Corner

Welcome to the kids’ colouring page which helps children learn about and share the Easter message.

At Easter, we celebrate Jesus Christ’s rising from the dead after His crucifixion.

In the Catholic Church, we celebrate the Triduum which marks the end of the Lenten season, and leads to

the Mass of the Resurrection of the Lord at the Easter Vigil. Though lasting three days this special period is

one continuing liturgy consisting of:

• Mass of the Lord’s Supper (Holy Thursday)

• Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion (Good Friday)

• Mass of the Resurrection of the Lord (Easter)

49

Directory of Services

Houses to Homes

Disability NDIS

Mamre Garden

Services

Blacktown Family

Support

Financial Counselling

Problem Gambling

Project Elizabeth

Blacktown Neighbour

Aid For Blacktown

LGA

Community Visitors

Scheme

Family & Relationship

Services (FARS)

Aboriginal Catholic

Service Emerton

Springwood

Drop-in Centre

(02) 8843 2500 or visit ccss.org.au

A service for pregnant girls or parenting young

women, 16-25 years old, homeless or at

risk of homelessness in the Blacktown LGA.

Accommodation and parenting skills, with

transition to education and long term housing.

A service with people with a disability, it is

part of the Government’s National Disability

Insurance Scheme. Catholic Care provides

Plan Management and Home Support.

Offers employment for people with a

disability by providing garden services in the

community, to individual homes, schools,

parishes. New gardening clients welcome.

A free service for families with children and

young people 0-17, who are experiencing

stress and/or relationship difficulties. includes

Intensive Family Preservation.

A free service offering a range of supports to

help clients manage finances.

A free service offers assistance to individuals

and families affected by problem gambling.

Counselling for people experiencing parenting

issues with children up to tw0 years of

age, also covers still births, miscarriages,

unexpected pregnancies.

A program of social inclusion for seniors.

Provides accompaniment for social activities,

shopping, transport to medical appointments.

New volunteers welcome.

Visit socially isolated residents in aged care

facilities across the diocese. New volunteers

welcome.

Counselling for adults, couples, families,

children.Family Law Court referrals.

Grief and Loss.

Drop-In centre for local community.

CatholicCare services provided for individuals

and groups.

Drop-In centre for local community.

CatholicCare services provided for individuals

and groups.

Chancery Office

www.parracatholic.org

(02) 8838 3400

diocese@parracatholic.org


(02) 8838 3400

bishop@parracatholic.org

Catholic Education

Diocese of Parramatta

(02) 9840 5600

communityliaison@parra.catholic.edu.au

CatholicCare Western Sydney

and the Blue Mountains

(02) 8843 2500

enquiries@ccss.org.au

Institute for Mission

(02) 9296 6369

connect@ifm.org.au

Ministry Centre

Catholic Youth Parramatta

Life, Marriage & Family Office

Office for Worship

Pastoral Planning Office

Social Justice Office

(02) 8838 3460

Confraternity of Christian Doctrine

(02) 8838 3486

ccd@parracatholic.org

Tribunal Office

(02) 8838 3480

tribunal@parracatholic.org

Vocations

(02) 8838 3400

vocations@parracatholic.org

Parramatta Catholic Foundation

(02) 8838 3482

yourfoundation@parracatholic.org

Diocesan Development Fund

(02) 8839 4500

enquiries@parraddf.org.au

Baulkham Hills Family

Day Care Centre

Accredited childcare in Hills area.

Contractors offer car in own home.

Holy Spirit Seminary

(02) 9296 6300

50

Let us pray that nourished by the

wisdom of God, these young men

may grow and become leaders after

the example of Christ who came not

to be served, but to serve and give

his life for others.

– Bishop Vincent Long OFM Conv

Bishop Vincent Long OFM Conv, Bishop of Parramatta (centre) and Fr John Hogan, Rector of Holy Spirit Seminary (centre right) with

seminarians from Holy Spirit Seminary, Harris Park, after Mass for the Commencement of the Academic Year at St Patrick’s Cathedral,

Parramatta held on 16 February 2020. Image: Diocese of Parramatta.

The idea behind any investment is to put your money to work. That’s all very good, but have you ever thought

about what it could do in its spare time?

At the Diocesan Development Fund Parramatta (DDF), we have. When you invest with us you have a chance

to give a little back to the pastoral work of the Church. While your money is earning a financial return very

close to the market rate, a small fraction of your return helps the Bishop to run programs in parishes and

throughout the Diocese.

Like any managed fund, the DDF is able to increase earnings by pooling the resources of its investors. But

there is one important difference; the DDF directs surplus earnings to the Bishop of Parramatta to be used for

the works of the Diocese, such as counseling programs, adult education, youth development, pastoral and

liturgical activities.

To find out more call our friendly staff on (02) 8839 4500 or visit our web site at www.parracatholic.org.au/ddf.

The DDFs services are only available to catholic organisations. Individual investors wishing to support the

works of the church can find out more at cdfcommunityfund.org.au.

Disclosure Statement

The Diocesan Development Fund Catholic Diocese of Parramatta (DDF) (the Fund) is required by law to make the following disclosure. The Fund is not prudentially supervised by

the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority nor has it been examined or approved by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. An investor in the Fund will not

receive the benefit of the financial claims scheme or the depositor protection provisions in the Banking Act 1959 (Cth). Investments in the Fund are intended to be a means for

investors to support the charitable, religious and educational works of the Catholic Diocese of Parramatta and for whom the consideration of profit are not of primary relevance

in the investment decision. The investments that the Fund offers are not subject to the usual protections for investors under the Corporations Act (Cth) or regulation by Australian

Securities and Investments Commission. Investors may be unable to get some or all of their money back when the investor expects or at all and any investment of the Fund are

not comparable to investments with banks, finance companies or fund managers. The Fund’s identification statement may be viewed at https://parracatholic.org or by contacting

the Fund. The Fund does not hold an Australian Financial Services Licence.

CatholicOutlook Magazine Autumn 2020 Edition

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