The Catholic Weekly 31 May 2020

catholicweekly.com.au 3 31, May, 2020 CATHOLIC HEALTH and aged care providers have wel- comed a new report revealing that more than $450 million could be saved through better funding of palliative care ser- vices and a national strategy on end-of-life care. The KPMG report found that an annual investment of $365 million will bring Aus- tralia’s palliative care system “up to speed”, reducing hospi- talisations and producing bet- ter health outcomes through the earlier use of quality care. It found that if people can be supported with palliative care outside of institutional settings, they can live well and die in a place of their choosing such as at home. Catholic Health Austral- ia Chief Executive Pat Garcia said that despite Australia ranking second in the world for the quality of its palliative care, only half of the people who would benefit are able to access it. “Referrals to palliative care are absent or late, and only 14 per cent of people die at home, even though studies suggest between 50-70 per cent want to,” Mr Garcia said. The report commissioned by Palliative Care Australia calls for a full-time Palliative Care Commissioner and rec- ommends increasing funding by $240 million each year for improving home and commu- nity-based palliative care, $75 million annually into residen- tial aged-care facilities, and $50 million to expand pallia- AUSTRALIANS HAVE turned to prayer during the corona- virus pandemic, with many wanting to spend more time growing their faith once re- strictions are lifted, accord- ing to a new study. The report by McCrindle Research released on Thurs- day said that about a third of Australians increased their prayer and other spiritual ac- tivities during the March and April lockdown, with 26 per cent wanting to retain that aspect of life going forward. In looking at how people have been affected by COV- ID-19, it also showed that many enjoyed and would like to maintain a slower and more sustainable pace of life (49 per cent) with an empha- sis on close relationships. More than half of Aus- tralians (52 per cent) spent more time with their family or household members and want this to continue. “We know historically that in times of global crises these were times when people flocked to seek spiritual an- swers and support and guid- ance from Christian leaders,” Mark McCrindle told The Catholic Weekly . “Times of uncertainty and anxiety get people thinking about their own mortality and to be more open to look- ing at issues of faith. “In this case we saw quite clearly that our own money, expertise and skills couldn’t save us from this little virus.” The embracing of live- streamed Masses and vid- eo conferencing other faith initiatives signals a time of Spendingwill savemoney, improve outcomes sayhealthproviders ¾ ¾ Marilyn Rodrigues ¾ ¾ Marilyn Rodrigues Palliative care boost welcomed tive care support in hospitals. Professor David Kissane, the chair of Palliative Medicine Research at the University of Notre Dame Australia said the report makes a clear argument about “the need for improved health literacy about palliative care”. Villa Maria Catholic Homes chief executive officer Son- ya Smart said an overhaul of the Australian palliative care system was “desperately needed”. “We want people to Experts say report’s recommendations would be a major step forward at every level. experience the best available support at their end of life, and to reduce the need for emergency department pres- entations and deaths during transfers to and fromservices,” she said. “Aged care has a very large role to play in the provision of palliative care. To do this well, we need to be funded appro- priately to provide the highest quality human skill and the right supportive built envi- ronments. The Director of the anti-euthanasia organisation Hope, Branka van der Linden, said there was now no excuse for governments to refuse to invest in palliative care. Palliative Care Australia Chair Professor Meera Agar said that as the country pre- pares for an ageing population and other unexpected stresses to the health care system such as COVID-19, “we must look seriously at reforming our sys- tem to ensure it canmeet peo- ple’s needs into the future”. Prayer on the rise during our lockdown “great opportunities” for evangelisation, Mr McCrin- dle added. Large gatherings [such as the World Youth Days] will be the last to return, but that will result in empowering churchgoers to share their faith in their own communi- ty and among their friends, “which is actually that orig- inal biblical model of disci- pleship,” he said. Daniel Ang, Sydney’s di- rector of Parish 2020, said that the accompaniment and support of spiritual curiosity in others is a great form of pastoral care any Catholic can offer “in an uncertain and anxious age”. Asking questions to sup- port and provoke ongoing reflection as Jesus Christ did is a good way to engage peo- ple’s increased curiosity and spiritual openness, he said. “We can gently enquire ‘So what’s been your story with God?’ or ‘What’s been at the heart of your prayer?’,” he said. “Such questions invite people to share what lies underneath their renewed spiritual awareness. “These brushes with grace can also be stirred into an encounter with Jesus by par- ishes. “By offering experiences of prayer both online and as our churches re-open, and integrating into our works and ministries the testimo- nies of those who have been surprised by God’s work in and outreach to them, we en- courage people to trust their own spiritual experience as a calling to something, or rath- er Someone, more.” Looking for a new Job? www.catholicjobsonline.com.au A RECORD number of people left the Church in the German Archdiocese of Munich and Freising last year, Catholic News Agency website report- ed this week. The Munich statistical of- fice told CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news part- ner, that 10,744 Catholics formally withdrew from the Church in 2019. It noted that this was a fifth higher than in 2018, when 8,995 people left. Statisticians Members deserting world’s wealthiest church said this was the first time annual departures had sur- passed the 10,000 mark. The previous highest figure was 9,010 in 1992. Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the 66-year-old Archbishop of Munich and Freising, an- nounced in February that he would not stand for re-elec- tion as president of the Ger- man bishops’ conference. He cited his age and his desire to spend more time in his arch- diocese, in the Catholic heart- land of Bavaria, which he has led since 2008. In March, Bayerischer Rundfunk, Bavaria’s pub- lic-service broadcaster, re- ported that people gave a variety of reasons for leaving, including a desire to stop paying church tax, the cler- ical abuse scandal and the position of women within the Church. The Church in Germany is largely funded through a tax collected by the government. If an individual is registered as a Catholic then 8-9 per cent of their income tax goes to the Church. The only way they can stop paying the tax is to make an official declaration renounc- ing their membership of the Church. They are no longer allowed to receive the sacra- ments or a Catholic burial. While the number of Catholics abandoning the faith has increased steadily since the 1960s, the Church’s income has risen. In 2018, the Church’s income rose to A$11 billion, while 216,078 people left the Church, according to a report by the German bish- ops’ conference. Last year the German bish- ops announced plans for a two-year “Synodal Way.” They said the process would end with a series of “binding” votes. In June, Pope Francis sent a 28-page letter to German Catholics urging them to fo- cus on evangelisation in the face of a “growing erosion and deterioration of faith.” “Every time an ecclesial community has tried to get out of its problems alone, rely- ing solely on its own strengths, methods and intelligence, it has ended up multiplying and nurturing the evils it wanted to overcome,” he wrote. In September, the Vatican sent a letter to the German bishops declaring that their plans for the synod were “not ecclesiologically valid.” - CNA NEWS