The
Catholic Weekly
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Sydney
12 October 2003
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Faith ‘keeps you going’
Parents, college staff and students fill St Felix de Valois Church for the LaSalle College, Bankstown, year 12 graduation ceremony
By Damir Govorcin
“When you feel pressures are overwhelming, you will be comforted and supported
by your faith. The ability to sustain your faith is the one thing that will keep
you going,” says the NSW Police Commissioner, Ken Moroney.
He told Year 12 students at LaSalle Catholic College, Bankstown: “You have the knowledge, the skills and the benefit of a fine education to make informed decisions about your lives.
“Life is full of role models, but there are no greater role models to emulate than those who have had the carriage of your upbringing, your wellbeing, your spiritual upbringing and your education, those being your parents and your teachers.”
Mr Moroney, a former student at the college, was guest of honour at the Year 12 graduation Mass held at St Felix de Valois Church, Bankstown.
He delivered the occasional address and presented the inaugural college leadership award named after him to college captain Simon Doyle.
The principal celebrant of the evening was the Archbishop of Sydney, Dr George Pell, who was assisted by Fr Thomas Kurunthanam from St Felix de Valois, Bankstown, Fr Peter Neville from St Mary’s, Georges Hall,
Fr Ruberto Castilligo from St Brendan’s, Bankstown, and Fr Martin Maunsell, a former parish priest at St Brendan’s.
In his homily, Dr Pell spoke about the value of perseverance.
“Perseverance is often more important than intelligence,” he said.
“A weak will is a much greater disadvantage than poor intelligence. If you work hard, you can make wonderful contributions through your family and work.”
Simon Doyle said he was “stoked” to receive the commissioner’s award and to have Mr Moroney there to present it was unbelievable.
“I was impressed by the soft manner in which he spoke and the personal experiences he related to us to offer encouragement,” he said.
“He told us that life will present us with many challenges and opportunities, but we will overcome those challenges by falling back on our upbringing, our education and above all our faith.”
Year 12 student John Nowakowski, who received the Paul Keating award for outstanding and sustained voluntary contribution to the college, says he was inspired by the words and presence of Dr Pell.
“The fact that Dr Pell took the time for us made me feel special,” he said.
“As young people living in a busy and stressful world, he reminded us to seek periods of silence, to reflect and see clearly.”
Other award recipients were Matthew Gauci, Mark Lesczcynski, Ibrahim Samaan, Adam Gee, Joseph Dinh, Dean Weight, Luke Gore, Chris Najjar and Adnan Saleh.