The Catholic Weekly 16 August 2020

catholicweekly.com.au 3 16, August, 2020 SAINT MARY’S Cathedral hosted its first ordination of a priest from the Priestly Frater- nity of Saint Peter (FSSP) in al- most a decade last Saturday. Deacon Thomas Sofatzis, a member of the Fraternity that is best known for celebrating the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite according to the Missal promulgated by Pope John XXIII in 1962, was or- dained to the priesthood by Bishop Richard Umbers. The occasion was also Bish- op Umbers’ first ordination of a candidate to the priesthood. In his homily the Bishop congratulated and encour- aged Fr Sofatzis in his new life as a priest. “With the reception of this sacrament into the Order of priesthood, chosen as a help- er of Moses and apostle of Our Lord, you bring to me and to my brethren the gift of a robust piety and a beautiful celebra- tion of the liturgy,” he said. Despite a cold, windy and rainy day – and ongoing re- strictions imposed by a pan- THE JESUIT Refugee Service desperately needs volunteers and aid - both financial and food - as the COVID-19 re- cession forces asylum seek- ers, refugees, temporary visa holders into unemployment and crippling poverty without access to social security safe- ty nets. Families with young chil- dren in Western Sydney are now completely dependent on charities like JRS for ba- sic supplies such as food and medical aid, the organisation said this week. Given the ongoing pan- demic, demand is expected to increase and charities are stretched thin. “This is an emergency sit- uation. The numbers have in- creased so dramatically that it is hard to keep up. Just as an example we are going through 300 kilograms of rice per week and it is still not enough,” JRS director Carolina Gottardo told The Catholic Weekly . “We really need volunteers. We will need to keep this sys- tem operating because of the uncertainty of the pandemic and it’s an enormous amount of work.” Volunteers needed include food packagers, food delivery dispatchers, and phone line operators. Demand for JRS services since the onset of COVID’s rise has already exceeded the entire demand in the previous 2019 year. In tandem with JRS, a re- cent report from the Refugee Council of Australia taken from numbers in a local gov- ernment area in Sydney as a case study, found the unem- ployment rate among asy- lum-seekers and refugees could more than double from 19.3 per cent in the national average to 41.8 per cent. Rebecca Eckard, direc- tor of policy and research at the RCA, said the resulting homelessness alone would cost state and territory gov- ernments over $180 million a year. “Based on these estimates, at least 18,807 refugees and asylum-seekers on tempo- rary visas are projected to lose their jobs in the coronavirus recession,” the report said. Ms Gottardo emphasised One ordained – but for Priestly Fraternity it might have been three ¾ ¾ David Ryan ¾ ¾ David Ryan It’s Deo Gratias for Fr Thomas demic – a select group of friends, family and clergy at- tended. Fr Sofatzis joins a world- wide community of approxi- mately 320 priests in the FSSP - a society founded in 1988 under the pontificate of Saint John Paul II to celebrate the Traditional Latin Mass and administer sacraments in the traditional liturgical form. The FSSP’s regional Superior, Adelaide-based Fr Michael McCaffrey, thanked Archbish- op Anthony Fisher OP for al- lowing the ordination to take place at St Mary’s “It’s very special that we can do it in the Cathedral, thanks to the generosity Archbishop Anthony and Bishop Umbers,” said Fr Michael. Following the ordination, Fr Sofatzis celebrated his first solemn Mass on Sunday 9 August at Maternal Heart of Mary Lewisham, a Latin Mass centre. The Mass was lives- treamed for those who could not attend due to the pandem- ic. Fr Sofatzis is based at the parish along with current cler- gy Fr Duncan Wong FSSP and Fr Damonn Sypher FSSP. In recent years the Frater- nity has experienced steady growth and strong demand. Last Saturday’s ordination would have included two oth- ers – one to the diaconate and one to the priesthood – were it not for travel restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pan- demic. Agency needs volunteers ‘urgently’ that while urgent donations from the community are needed, proactive govern- ment policy must be enacted for the wellbeing of the Aus- tralian community. “Multiple families who can no longer afford rent are living together to save mon- ey in cramped conditions and COVID-19 could easily spread,” said Ms Gottardo. “Children are not eating properly. This is a systemic problem and if the Govern- ment are serious about public health then policy measures need to cover everyone in the community - not just res- idents - because this is endan- gering everyone.” Ms Gottardo cited the re- surgence of COVID-19 in Sin- gapore as an example of how the neglect of marginalised groups in an otherwise-afflu- ent society allowed the virus to spread out of control. “A resurgence of COVID-19 happened in Singapore be- cause migrant workers were neglected in public health,” she said. Ms Gottardo commended the exemplary support JRS has received from Catholic parishes and schools. “JRS is extremely grateful to the community within Catho- lic parishes and schools but considering the increasing volumes we are nonetheless running low on supplies.” For more information on how to volunteer, donate or lobby visit https://jrs.org . au/ Bishop Peter Elliott Celebrating our Lady and the great Feast of her Assumption LIGHT IN A DARK TIME Read online at www.catholicweekly.com.au A resurgence of COVID-19 hap- pened in Singa- pore because migrant workers were neglected in public health. COVID-19 does not discriminate and neither shouldwe. So we need to extend sup- port measures to cover everyone so the riskwill be better controlled for all.” Carolina Gottardo Deacon Sofatzis prostrates himself before the altar. Bishop Richard Umbers presents newly-ordained Fr Sofatzis with the chalice he will use to celebrate the Eucharist. PHOTOS: G PORTELLI You bring to me and my breth- ren the gift of a robust piety and a beautiful cele- bration of the liturgy.” Bishop Richard Umbers NEWS