News from around the Catholic world for the week ending 8 Oct.
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• Pope Francis thanks Vatican’s outgoing Secretary of State
• Archbishop describes the devastation following earthquakes in the Philippines
• Federal Government vows to fight ACT same-sex marriage legislation
• Hobart’s euthanasia bill is defeated
• Wagga Wagga holds its 13th annual youth expo
• Melbourne’s March for the Babies disrupted by counter-protest
TRANSCRIPT
BOBBIE: Pope Francis has thanked the Vatican’s outgoing Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone at a farewell ceremony this week.
The Holy Father acknowledged the 73-year-old Cardinal for his seven years of service, paying tribute to his Salesian background.
“I would like to thank you also for the courage and patience with which you have faced adversities – and there have been many”, said Pope Francis.
“In this moment I like to think that, even though there have been thorns, Mary Help of Christians has certainly not failed to lend a hand, and will not fail to do so in the future.
“We all hope that you may continue to enjoy the treasures that have characterised your vocation: the presence of Jesus [in the]Eucharist, the help of Our Lady, and the friendship of the Pope. Don Bosco’s three great loves…” he said.
Cardinal Bertone will be replaced by Archbishop Pietro Parolin, formerly apostolic nuncio to Venezuela. Archbishop Parolin was unable to attend the ceremony as he had been admitted to hospital to undergo emergency surgery.
Details on that story at news.va
At least 144 people are confirmed dead and hundreds more injured after the earthquake that shook Cebu and Bohol in the Philippines this week.
The earthquake hit at 8.12am Tuesday local time and measured 7.1 on the Richter Scale. Three aftershocks quickly followed measuring up to 5.9 magnitude. Bridges, roads and buildings have been destroyed in the disaster, among them are several historical churches.
Bishop Leonardo Medroso of Tagbilaran in Bohol toured some of the worst effected areas and described the devastation to Vatican Radio:
BISHOP MEDROSO: It’s very, very bad the damage. The damage is enormous. I just went around this afternoon: you can cry seeing your churches, big churches just turned into rubble. There are some houses destroyed and there are also some people who got killed because of the earthquake, some were buried by a landslide, others were caught up by falling debris.
BOBBIE: The rescue effort continues, although authorities say they are not sure how many people are missing. According to The Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System website, over 5.6 million people live within a 100km radius of the earthquake’s epicenter.
More details on that story at Vatican Radio
The Federal Government has said that it plans to challenge ACT same-sex marriage laws in the high court if they are passed in state parliament this month.
The proposed legislation has been introduced by the Labor Government and is expected to pass with support from Greens MP Shane Rattenbury.
Federal Attorney-General George Brandis says he has advice that the ACT’s Marriage Equality Bill is inconsistent with the Commonwealth Marriage Act, and would therefore be invalid.
Senator Brandis issued a statement saying “Irrespective of anyone’s views on the desirability or otherwise of same-sex marriage, it is clearly in Australia’s interests that there be nationally consistent marriage laws.”
“At the moment, the Commonwealth Marriage Act provides that consistency. The ACT’s proposed law is a threat to that well established position,” he added.
The Commonwealth Marriage Act was amended in 2004 by the Howard Government to stipulate that “Marriage means the union of a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life.” The ACT Government claims the bill has been designed so as not to be inconsistent with the Federal law.
This comes after the NSW State Government’s inquiry into whether states can legislate on the issue. A series of Liberal, National and Independent MP’s in NSW plan to introduce a bill to Parliament to legalise same-sex marriage before the end of this year.
Hobart’s Archbishop Julian Porteous has welcomed the defeat of proposed euthanasia legislation in Tasmania this week.
The Voluntary Assisted Dying private member’s bill was backed by Labor premier Lara Giddings and Greens leader Nick McKim. It was opposed by all Liberal MPs and three Labor members, and was voted down 13-11.
Archbishop Porteous welcomed the defeat with relief and reaffirmed the sanctity of human life.
“Life is a precious gift and every society should do all it can to protect and preserve life from its very beginning at conception to its natural end,” said Archbishop Porteous.
“People in this situation deserve the best compassionate care that can be provided by family, friends, the Church, and relevant professional delivery of palliative care,” he said.
Over in Wagga Wagga, dozens of youth gathered for the diocese’s 13th annual Youth Expo last weekend.
The three-day event kicked off at St Patricks Parish, Albury last Friday and attracted over 60 young people from around the Diocese. It featured talks by Wagga Wagga’s Bishop Gerard Hanna, Albury Parish Priest Fr Joel Wallace, long-time Chaplain Fr Brendan Lee and recently ordained Fr Bradley Rafter.
The Expo had a special focus on Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, coinciding with the recent reopening of St Joseph’s perpetual adoration chapel.
Diocesan Youth Ministry Worker Andrew Flores told Cradio the adoration chapel added a special dimension to the Expo.
“The Chapel has undergone great restoration and is now the region’s first Chapel of Perpetual Adoration,” Andrew said.
“With a strong representation from around and beyond the Diocese, Youth Expo continues to be a highlight on the Diocesan calendar,” he added.
Simon, a young person from Griffith who attended the event told Cradio “it was an inspiring weekend filled with fun, wise words, powerful testimonies and a great atmosphere for young people to engage in friendships and to encounter Jesus”.
The Wagga Wagga Diocese Youth Expo has been running since 2000.
In other news… Melbourne’s annual March for the Babies attracted over 3000 peaceful protestors last Saturday, but was disrupted by a group of counter-protestors.
The March, which is held each year to protest the 2008 Victorian Abortion Law Reform Act, travels through the streets of Melbourne to Parliament House. When a group of aggressive counter-protestors arrived, however, the pro-life group was forced to take a different route.
First time attendee Theresa Chamoun describes the scene.
THERESA: I think there have been counter-protests in the past, but this one was fairly confrontational. There were people popping the balloons, blue and pink balloons of the pro-lifers, destroying signs, burning signs, tearing signs, yelling and swearing, so it was I think more confrontational this time around and it wasn’t sort of anticipated.
BOBBIE: Victoria’s abortion laws are some of the most liberal in the world, allowing for abortions up to full term, although after 24 weeks at least two doctors must agree. If a doctor objects to abortion they must refer the patient to another practitioner or face prosecution.
The reforms have once again been in the spotlight recently with a Melbourne doctor undergoing investigation after refusing to refer for a sex-selective abortion.
With more than 80,000 abortions taking place in Australia each year, the impact on women is something that is often overlooked. Real Choices Australia Executive Director Debbie Garratt shared her insights earlier this week.
DEBBIE: I think it’s kind of a collective grieving. One of the problems, for lack of another word, with abortion is that there is very little recognition of the grief that a woman experiences with that kind of loss.
Often women who’ve had an abortion experience that loss just as they would the loss of any other child, whether through miscarriage or stillbirth; and yet they feel that they perhaps have nowhere to turn. They can’t turn to the pro-life community for fear of being judged, this is their perception, and they can’t turn to the abortion advocate community because they’re not actually supposed to grieve. It’s kind of a loss that sits in no-mans land that goes unacknowledged and there’s no ability to process it.
BOBBIE: And you can hear the full interview with Theresa and Debbie on the Cradio website. That’s it for this week’s headlines, thanks for listening. For more details of those stories or for more Catholic talks, interviews and programs visit cradio.org.au.
Music Credit: Waking Up Instrumental – Dexter Britain
