The Catholic Weekly 19 July 2020

catholicweekly.com.au 5 19, July, 2020 Call Steve (02) 9390 5404 or Paul (02) 9390 5406 THE MARKET PLACE For all your Business, Trades & Events see PG 22 Your Business Directory Serving the Sydney community since 1892 Our experienced Funeral Directors are committed to providing a personalised and meaningful service for your loved one. Prepaid funerals available. Newtown | Chatswood | Parramatta | Miranda 9519 5344 | wnbull.com.au In brief Ratzinger funeral streamed RETIRED POPE Benedict XVI followed the funer- al of his brother, Georg Ratzinger, via livestream- ing, reported the Ger- man Catholic news agen- cy KNA. Bishop Rudolf Voder- holzer of Regensburg said Pope Benedict, 93, was connected to the Mass taking place for his older brother on 8 July in the Regensburg Cathedral. Mons Georg Ratzinger died on July 1 at age 96. During the Mass, the Re- gensburg bishop recalled the surprise 18-22 June visit Pope Benedict paid to the sickbed of his dying brother. “This sign of humanity touched many people. So all the more do we share in your mourning,” he said in words addressed to the retired pope. - CNS ANNA KROHN P11 saying I was just a show per- son. “Those people are now needing to reach out because the virtual community is where people spend a lot of their time.” Fr Galea said his online ministry, which includes podcasts, educational re- sources, sermons and live music performances, was never conceived to replace churches. “Our aim has always been to supplement what is of- fered already,” he said. “There will always be peo- ple who can’t go to church because they are unwell or isolated. “In no way does the virtu- al reality replace the beauty and tangibility of a commu- nity of faith.” Born in Malta, Fr Galea’s teenage struggles with addic- tion are well documented. Drugs, alcohol and petty crime were all part of his up- bringing, as his life spiralled out of control. “I was suicidal and had nowhere else to turn,” he said. “It was at that time where I was at a crossroads - to end it all or muster the courage to get out of this place I was in.” Fr Galea first acted on his faith when he was 17 years old, finding acceptance in the Christian community. He moved to Bendigo 15 years ago and despite taking more than 300 plane trips in 2019 alone, it will always feel like home. “This community is so in- terested in one another,” Fr Galea said. “There is nothing individ- ualistic about Bendigo and that is the beauty of living in a town like this.” FRG Ministry has grown exponentially in recent months and years, beyond Fr Galea’s wildest expectations. “Today I am at a place I would have never imagined,” he said. “On Sunday, I sit in a chapel in Bendigo in front of a camera with 10,000 people watching and praying with me. “How could anyone have imagined something like that?” A well-travelled priest, Fr Galea points to impov- erished Asian countries as places where his work brings him the greatest satisfaction. “Places like India, Thai- land and Vietnam have such an incredible raw, spiritual thirst,” he said. “I think this pandemic has revealed that this spiritual thirst also exists in Australia. “People are very distract- ed by their busy lives, debt, families and making ends meet. “They haven’t had time to stop and explore that part of themselves until recently.” Fr Galea is a self-con- fessed introvert, but his story has made the big time. A feature film, based on his novel, Breakthrough, is being planned in Hollywood. “I don’t know what the re- sults of the film will be, but I do know testimony is so powerful,” Fr Galea said. “I’m also scared. I don’t want the attention to be on me, I’m an introvert.” The FRG Ministry is a not- for-profit, online organisa- tion, based in Bendigo. To learn more, visit FRG- ministry.com/churchon- line With permission, this article first appeared inThe Bendigo Advertiser www. bendigoadvertiser.com.au Fr Rob Galea performs at the Australian Catholic Youth Festival hosted by the Sydney Archdiocese in 2017. PHOTO: GIOVANNI PORTELLI Places like India, Thailand and Vietnam have such an incredi- ble raw, spiritual thirst ... I think this pan- demic has revealed that this spiritual thirst also exists in Australia.” Fr Rob Galea NEWS