The Catholic Weekly 5 July 2020

catholicweekly.com.au 2 NEWS 5, July, 2020 Call 02 9649 6423 or visit www.catholiccemeteries.com.au Consecrated lawns and chapels Sydney’s only Catholic crematorium Monthly mass for the Repose of Souls Funeral directors available for a Catholic service Bereavement pastoral care Serving the Catholic community for over 150 years FROM PAGE 1 “A consolidated national of- fice will provide greater clar- ity and shine a light on the areas that still need to be ad- dressed.” Fr Tony Percy, vicar gen- eral of the Archdiocese of Canberra-Goulburn said the concerns about the Church seeking non-transparency in the area of safeguarding and professional standards were “complete nonsense”. “The Catholic Church in Australia is spending just over $36 million per annum on professional standards and child protection matters,” he wrote in an opinion article published by both The Voice archdiocesan website and The Catholic Weekly. “The figure includes Catho- lic education, religious or- ders, diocesan professional standards offices, state pro- fessional standard offices and bodies set up by the Australi- an Catholic Bishops Confer- ence (ACBC) ... It is but one of New auditor to combine roles Charting the future:ArchbishopMark Coleridge of Brisbane, centre,Archbishop Christopher Prowse of Can- berra-Goulburn, left, andArchbishopAnthony Fisher OP, at rear, in Rome in 2019. PHOTO: CNSPAUL HARING I n this edition News Streaming Archbishop’s homily World Opinion, comment 1-7 8-9 14-16 11,17-19 20-21 11 THE ACTIVIST DOUBLE STANDARD EDITOR Peter Rosengren (02) 9390 5400 REPORTERS Marilyn Rodrigues (02) 9390 5410 David Ryan (02) 9390 5408 SUBSCRIPTIONS Rita Ng (02) 9390 5411 ADVERTISING AND MARKETING Steve Richards (02) 9390 5404 Paul Desmond (02) 9390 5406 DESIGNERS Renate Cassis Mathew De Sousa Our story begins in 1839 with the Australasian Chronicle, continuing with the Freeman’s Journal in 1850. Level 13, Polding Centre, 133 Liverpool Street, Sydney, NSW 2000. Phone (02) 9390 5400 | Vol 73, No 5140. The Catholic Weekly is published by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney ABN 60 471 267 587 and is printed by ACM Australian Community Media, 159 Bells Line of Road, North Richmond NSW, 2754. LEAVE A GIFT Archdiocese of Sydney Catholic CHARITIES Order your FREE Wills and Bequests Guide today 1800 753 959 or [email protected] myWill SUPPORTINGTHE MINISTRIES OF THE CATHOLIC ARCHDIOCESE OF SYDNEY Leaving a gift in a CARDINAL GEORGE Pell said there is no excuse for financial corruption in the Church and his time in prison prompted him to reflect on how appro- priate skills and planning are necessary alongwithprayer for the promotion of the faith. “The Church is not a busi- ness,” he said. “The Church is supernatural … [but] to say that the Church is not a business provides no justification for us to be ineffi- cient, much less corrupt.” Jesus Christ was “very clear” on the subject of riches, the cardinal added. “I remember Pell condemns corruption being disconcerted, it may have been a decade or so ago, when I read that our Lord condemned the love of riches more than he condemned hy- pocrisy.” The cardinal made his com- ments in a video message for the Global Institute of Church Management at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome. He is the founding pa- tron of the US-based non-prof- it institute. Cardinal Pell was appoint- ed by Pope Francis to be his first Secretary of the Economy in 2014, but broke off his work of overseeing and reforming Vatican finances to face abuse charges in Australia. He said he enjoyed his work with money but it is “a tainted thing” and “needs to be con- trolled andmanaged”. He revealed he made use of his 405 days in jail to pray and also followa self-imposed daily regime. “I [prayed] because it was my duty, it was congruent, and personally helpful,” he said. “But alongside that, I had a set of practical steps to take.” “My life was very regular. I was woken every morning at 7.15 and I didn’t go back to bed, I stayed up,” the cardinal said. “I made certain that I took exercise every day, I looked after my diet; I was probably healthier when I came out of jail than when I went in.” “All these ordered, system- atic facts helped me. “Similarly, when we come to look at Church enterprises, the way we serve the people, it isn’t sufficient to be regularly praying, persons of strong fer- vour. “We have to be able to put our vision into action.” three national entities which Church leaders are sensibly integrating into a single pro- fessional standards body.” Fr Percy said it is “clearly pref- erable” for the Church and other institutions to receive training and resources and to be audited for compliance with child safe standards and working with children checks from outside sources.