The
Catholic Weekly
Online
Sydney
12 October 2003
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Vatican:
‘Pray for Pope’ call not meant to alarm
Honour
shared by all
Como
jubilee
Church
offers $2.1m
Mercy
day
Compeer
reaches farther out
‘Urgent’
message
Faith
‘keeps you going’
‘Free
people from fear’
Mission
Week program
City
Mission conference
Editorial:
A jubilee prayer
Letters:
Man of stature
Conversation:
Fr John Andersen, parish priest on the banks of the Amazon - Baptism query, then
it was the barrel of a gun
Pluralism,
truth, conscience
Spiritan
leader wants recruits
50
years of service to children in Vic
Day
of the Emperors
Achieving
pregnancy
Sports
stars, ‘Mentals’ back Vinnies Fun Fest
Role
for the didjeridoo
It’s
‘mission accomplished’ for parish evangelisation experiment
Holiday
with a mission
Letters: Man of stature
Bishop Pat Power’s comments on the elevation of Archbishop Pell to cardinal did nothing to enhance the image of the Australian Church or the so-called progressive group within the Church.
Thank God we have in our “cardinal elect” a man of stature and leadership who puts the Church in a positive position.
I would have thought the major concern of Bishop Power would be the lack of vocations for the priesthood or the downturn in numbers attending weekly Mass.
Maybe the auxiliary bishop of Canberra and Goulburn should be promoting the importance of more vocations to the priesthood and the attendance at Mass?
Jeff J Condron
Port Macquarie, NSW
BETTER CITIZENS
Let us thank God for the wisdom of people like Fr Joseph Thanh (Good priest must be one who loves prayer, CW 14/9).
Prayer does make good citizens of the Kingdom of God, and better citizens of this world.
Whatever happened to the slogan that was popular a few years ago, “The family that prays together stays together”?
Mrs Norah Battaglini
Picton, NSW
SENSE OF BELONGING
As past parishioners of St Anne’s Church, Strathfield South, during the time of all four parish priests, we were privileged to join in the celebrations of the Golden Jubilee held on Sunday, September 14, as covered by your illustrated story (Gale force winds couldn’t spoil St Anne’s birthday, CW 28/9).
And what a celebration it was with the theme being Our Parish Family, We Celebrate, We Belong.
This sense of belonging, loving and reverence permeated the whole parish community, both young and old.
This special event certainly highlighted full Church community involvement, expressing faith in God in an open and balanced way, in the liturgy of thanksgiving for the many blessings bestowed on the parish family over the past 50 years.
Congratulations to the parish priest, Fr Ray Weaver, the committee and parishioners for such a magnificent expression of faith.
Malcolm & Joyce Briggs
Burradoo, NSW
HOLY LAY PEOPLE
As a teenager, about 60 years ago, I had a letter published in The Catholic Weekly (different name then) expressing my disappointment that a Catholic publication allowed patterns for two-piece bathing costumes to be promoted in its pages.
Those were the days before the word bikini had assumed a second meaning, not just the name of an atoll.
I still hold the opinion that scanty swimwear can be morally risky.
Opinions aside, I now write on a personal level to say congratulations on the new look Weekly.
Maybe I should have addressed the letter “To whom it may concern” for I am quite sure a whole contingent of folk with varied expertise is responsible.
The layout is most appealing, the emphasis on local personalities is a long overdue feature and I hope the reliance on news from the US continues to decrease.
I have heard this practice has a cost effective element, but it hasn’t impressed or interested me.
Let your reporters be out and about interviewing some of the hundreds of wonderful and undoubtedly holy lay people who are the backbone of the Church.
We can well do with news of faithfilled families to inspire and stimulate us.
My thanks and best wishes for continuing improvement,
Sr Margaret Mary Wilkinson LCM
Randwick, NSW
INVITED GUEST
Reading about Outdoor weddings (Insights CW 24/8) regarding a Catholic wanting to be wed in a gazebo instead of a Catholic church: It is sad that the person is overlooking the fact of the presence of Jesus in the tabernacle as an invited guest to a Catholic wedding, or at least he should be.
N Lynch
Bathurst, NSW
SODOM AND GOMORRAH
Your correspondent K Welby (Natural events, Letters CW 28/9) seems to have misunderstood the impact of the letter of FM Bridges (Sodom and Gomorrah, Letters CW 21/9).
The destruction of the twin cities certainly occurred through natural causes.
However, one cannot argue from effect to cause as that cannot lead to a definite conclusion.
Holy Scripture is the Word of God revealing.
It is, therefore, infallible, immutable and eternal.
It is not an exact historical record, but is a way of life in the moral order on Earth leading to eternal life in heaven.
I have found some 40 references in both the Old and New Testaments referring to the sins of the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah.
The evil of such unnatural human practices is as valid today as was the condemnation in the beginning.
There is no record of the ultimate cause of the destruction of the two cities, as, irrespective of the earthquake, one has to ask the question as to why the earthquake happened at that moment in time.
The ways of God remain unknown, but the overriding factor is faith in the Word of God and the will to follow his ways.
Garnet Blackmore
Killara, NSW