Priests honoured

The
Catholic Weekly
Online

Sydney
1 February 2004

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Priests honoured

By Marilyn Rodrigues

SMALL GAINS: Fr John Usher

Fr John Usher, the director of Centacare Sydney, has been created a Member of the Order of Australia – in the Australia Day Honours – for service to the community, particularly children and young people.

“For a number of years I have been endeavouring to get a better outcome for children and young people who’ve got to live away from their families, but at the end of the day you’ve got to keep working on it along with a lot of other people,” says Fr Usher.

“These sorts of awards are an encouragement to people to keep working to help improve systems which are not helpful, to make a contribution to the community and influence government – we believe with the power of Holy Spirit – to make this world a better place.

“In this area you achieve in small gains, but anyone getting an award like this gives the message that it’s still worthwhile to try to improve our world.”

Fr Usher has been the director of Centacare since 1983.

Fr Arthur Bridge, parish priest of St Patrick’s, Blacktown, has been created a Member of the Order of Australia in recognition of his service to musically talented young Australians.

He is the founder and chief executive officer of Arts Musica Australia, a charitable foundation he set up to help young Australian artists.

Fr Bridge is also working with the Australian Chamber Orchestra to establish a commission’s program. He is responsible for the commissioning of more musical works than any other individual in Australia, but says it is only possible because of all the people who have backed his efforts.

“I’m humbled and honoured to have them as associates,” he says. “Without them I couldn’t have done it.”

Fr Bridge was also honoured in 1989, for service to youth affected by drugs and alcohol.

A Melbourne priest, Dr Austin Cooper, has been created a Member of the Order of Australia

for his service to education and scholarship, particularly through the Melbourne College of Divinity, and to the community through his congregation, the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate Australia.

Dr Cooper, former master of the Catholic Theological College, was provincial superior of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate Australia from 1976-83 and rector of its seminary from 1983-89 and 1963-72.

Archimandrite George Branch, a Marian Father, has been awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for service to Melbourne’s Russian Catholic community, particularly through the support services of the Russian Catholic Centre.

He has been instrumental for more than 40 years in helping Russian migrants assimilate into their new country and find housing and employment. He enjoys his ministry, especially witnessing the subsequent generations being born and flourishing in Australia.

Sydney priest Fr Con Keogh receives a Medal of the Order of Australia for service to the community, particularly through rehabilitation support for people with a mental illness as the co-founder of Grow, which he helped to establish in Sydney in 1957; it is now represented worldwide.