The Catholic Weekly 10 May 2020

catholicweekly.com.au 5 10, May, 2020 Serving the Sydney community since 1892 Our experienced Funeral Directors are committed to providing a personalised and meaningful service for your loved one. Newtown | Chatswood | Parramatta | Miranda 9519 5344 | wnbull.com.au Helping build a brighter future for children and families in crisis. Dunlea Centre 35A Waratah Road Engadine NSW 2233 Phone 02 8508 3900 AUSTRALIA'S ORIGINAL BOYS' TOWN A place for change... www.dunleacentre.org.au Find the career you deserve catholicjobsonline.com.au CATHOLIC JOBS ONLINE For all the latest Catholic Jobs call Katie on (02) 9390 5402 A CANBERRA parishioner has shown that a series of inspiring homilies can save lives in vul- nerable communities all over theworld. Professor Anna Wierzbicka is a world-renowned linguist in the College of Arts and Social Sciences at the Australian Na- tional University. She has developedmessages in the simplest English possible relaying vital information about COVID-19 and to give them hope throughout the pandem- ic. Last month she and her col- leagues received an SOS call from Milan, as experts in min- imal English, to prepare infor- mation not only about the dan- gers of the virus and explaining social distancing, but also to provide psychological and spiritual support to help people through the crisis. In an international video conference held shortly before Easter an Italian researcher in medical humanities, Professor Maria Giulia Marini, said sim- ple and direct messages were urgently needed to get the key information to the most cultur- ally and educationally disad- vantaged. TheparishionerofStJoseph’s in O’Connor agreed that while there is no shortage of informa- tion on COVID-19 around, it is often phrased in terms which are inaccessible tomany. “What I found particular- ly interesting about Profes- sor Marini’s appeal was that it wasn’t just thinking about the physical health and social restrictions information that ¾ ¾ Marilyn Rodrigues World tunes in to parish Canberra professor’s simple messages have won a worldwide audience Prof AnnaWierzbicka and Fr Paul Nulley’s messages have spread globally. PHOTO: FELICITY DE FOMBELLE needs to be imparted, but also the psychological and spiritual needs as well,” said Professor Wierzbicka. The linguist was inspired by thehomiliesof herparishpriest, Fr Paul Nulley, at the beginning of the crisis and just before churches were closed. “They were very helpful and thought provoking and I was thinking of my colleagues and others in the secular world who do not listen to homilies but also have these needs,” she said. “What Fr Paul was telling us is that it’s not just a question of getting through this time, of complying with the restrictions and then all will be as before. “Rather there’s a great op- portunity in this time for us to see things differently, and to try to learn from people more, and to love peoplemore. “I thought some messages along similar lines could be formulated without explicit re- ligious language so they could also help people who are not Christian believers.” Professor Wierzbicka’s daughter Mary Besemeres and granddaughter Elizabeth Little gave her feedback on the first drafts. Then with help from Profes- sor Bert Peeters, ANU, and Pro- fessor Cliff Goddard, Griffith University, she developed ‘Sev- en Essential Messages for the Time of the Coronavirus’. They are formulated in words and phrases which re- search suggests are available in all languages. The messages have been translated into several languag- es and promoted in Europe, the US and – to Professor Wier- zbicka’s “great joy” - have been recorded in at least two Aborig- inal languages, Alyawarr and Warlpiri, inCentral Australia. “It seems evident that in the present crisis effective commu- nication is of the essence,” she said. “Several people have told me howoriginal thesemessages are. “For Catholics and other Christians they are not very original, but when they are for- mulated into very simple and transparent words, then they promote a very strong emotion- al response.” They were very helpful and thought provok- ing and I was thinking of my colleagues and others in the secular world ...” Professor Anna Wierzbicka NEWS