The Catholic Weekly 29 March 2020

catholicweekly.com.au 4 NEWS 29, March, 2020 HOUSE Find the career you deserve SEE OUR LATEST JOBS Call Katie (02) 9390 5402 catholicjobsonline.com. au HAYDEN WILLDING and Raffaela Anastasiou from Rozelle in Sydney’s inner west are among the many couples who are left scrambling to change their wedding plans due to the coronavirus pan- demic. They had dreamed of aMay wedding with around 160 of their family and friends at St Mary’s Cathedral, but those plans were scotched by the Government restrictions on indoor gatherings followed by the 23 March closure of all places of worship. “I was preparing myself mentally for it, but as soon as I heard the Prime Minister’s announcement I just cried,” said Ms Anastasiou. “There was nothing I could do. I called our reception place, called St Mary’s. The cathedral is such a popular place to marry and although they are trying to help me to reschedule there’s nothing available for me until later next year. “I don’t know if the pho- tographer and videographer I want will still be available and I’m trying to get my head around the fact that some- thing I have put so much ef- fort into planning is now not going to go ahead. “I’m in disbelief and I am upset.” The couple, who met through friends, were en- gaged in November 2018 and have been saving and plan- ning for their wedding ever since. Mr Willding said he is now worried about the “tens of thousands” of dollars in de- posits to the reception ven- ue and suppliers that may now be lost. “Our reception Coronavirus has wreaked havoc on the marriage plans of couples everywhere ¾ ¾ Marilyn Rodrigues Couple just one face of weddings collapse HaydenWillding and Raffaela Anastasiou face uncertainty after St Mary’s Cathedral was forced to postpone their wedding. was going to be held at Pier One and they are trying to be helpful but if their business and others fall over there’s not much we can do about it,” he said. “It’s frustrating when these are savings that over the years we’ve built up.” They also don’t know what the situation was with relatives who had already booked their flights and accommodation to TO MANY Catholics, this week’s national closure of churches by the federal gov- ernment, felt unprecedented. In fact, it wasn’t. It was the fifth time in Australia’s history that Catholic churches have been ordered shut by govern- ment decree. Assuming office in the Col- ony of New South Wales in 1788, Governor Arthur Philip outlawed the ‘Romish’ Mass. This decree lasted for the next 15 years. No Catholic priest was welcome, and all convicts were required to attend Angli- can services. When priests arrived amongst the political prison- ers from the 1798 uprising in Ireland, they may have cele- brated Mass secretly. But by 1803 there were over 2,000 attend their wedding, Mr Will- ding added. “It’s very hard at the mo- ment,thoughI’mgladStMary’s offered to help us to change the date, and hopefully everything can be lined up again.” Ms Anastasiou was keep- ing their disappointment in perspective and said her heart went out to the wedding recep- tion providers. “They are copping it 10 times worse than we are at the moment,” she said. “I only have my own wed- Catholics in the colony and Governor Philip King allowed an emancipated priest con- duct the popish rites in public. But when Irish Catholics conducted a second rebellion, this time at Rouse Hill in Syd- ney, a few months later, the Mass was again prohibited. In 1817 Fr Jeremiah O’Flynn arrived, declaring that he was the official Catho- lic chaplain. He proceeded to say Mass unimpeded for the now-6,000 faithful for several months. When no official pa- pers arrived for him, however, Governor Macquarie shipped him out. O’Flynn famously left a consecrated host behind which became the centre of Catholic devotion in Sydney. But the Mass itself was effec- tively excluded – for the third ding to think about, but they have hundreds of them to think about. “I’m not going to let some- thing like this get me down. “Getting married to the love of my life has always been a dream of mine and as much as, of course, I want the wed- ding I had envisioned, at the end of the day, that it’s about the person who is going to be married to me and having my family there. “That’s the most important thing.” time. Australia’s first official Catholic chaplains, Frs John JosephTherry and Philip Con- nolly, in May 1820, resuming celebration of the Mass. In 1919 the Spanish flu infected 40 per cent of Aus- tralia’s population and took 15,000 lives, many of them young adults. Churches were closed. Mass was held out- doors until all public gath- erings were stopped. Public celebration of the Mass was forbidden for the fourth time in our history, if only for a few months. The fifth time that public Mass was forbidden in Aus- tralia was this week past, when the COVID19 pandem- ic led to similar public health measures to those applied a century ago. Closure is fifth time I’m not going to let something like this get me down ... at the end of the day it’s about the person who is going to be mar- ried to me and having my family there.” Hayden Willding Musicians sound a note of warning THE LIVELIHOOD of art- ists across the country are in dire straits due to government measures to limit public gath- erings. For Catholic musicians who practice music in service of the Mass the loss is twofold: the loss of access to the Sac- raments as well as for some, access to income. Martin Hartley, casual or- ganist at Saint Margaret Mary Parish in Merrylands and chorister at Saint Patrick’s Ca- thedral Parramatta, estimated music represented between 30-40 per cent of his income in a typical month. “Musicians get paid by the job so if we don’t play we don’t get paid,” he said. “This represents a signif- icant loss of income and as a sole trader I am not really covered by schemes by the government to assist small businesses.” “The thing is this is not just affecting musicians - it is af- fecting all artists.” For Mr Hartley, a casual performer, the loss is not so severe. Professional musi- cians rely on gigs for their in- come. “I live with my family and I am not supporting any de- pendants. But I have quite a few friends who are profes- sional musicians and music is their only source of income,” he said. “This ordeal could blow over in a matter of weeks or it could be a few months. The thing is we just don’t know. A lot of us have put in extra job applications to places like Coles and Woolworths hop- ing we can pick up something to supplement our loss of in- come.” “The arts have always suf- fered in times of distress but we have always come back. We may just have to look to oth- er lines of employment in the meantime.” saidMr Hartley. ¾ ¾ David Ryan CORONAVIRUS