catholicweekly.com.au 2 NEWS 4, October, 2020 Protect believers, say thousands Phillip Ruddock chairs the federal Government’s Expert Panel into Religious Freedom at Notre Dame’s Broadway campus in 2018. PHOTO: GIOVANNI PORTELLI I n this edition News Reviews Archbishop’s homily World Opinion, comment 1-7 10-11 16-18 13, 19-21 24-25 16 THE DYING, EUTHANASIA AND THE SACRAMENTS 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 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 5153. 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
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Parishes join Rosary pilgrimage THIRTY-ONE PARISHES in the Sydney Archdiocese are host- ing a new pilgrimage through- out October for the patroness of Australia - Our Lady Help of Christians. The 2020 Rosary pilgrim- age, centred on devotion to the rosary and Our Lady Help of Christians, is a point of hope during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. “During COVID a lot of peo- ple have spoken about the great ¾ ¾ David Ryan need to hold onto hope. The rosary is one of those remind- ers - we turn toOur Lady. Wher- ever Our Lady is she brings us to Jesus,” said Steve Buhagiar, a team leader from the Sydney Archdiocese’s LifeMarriage and Family Office. Mr Buhagiar was inspired to organise the pilgrimage after discovering information on an ancient pilgrimage in Boulogne, France - Our Lady of the Grand Return - which was credited with helping to revitalise French Catholics after WWII. “The ar- ticle piqued my interest and prompted me to do something locally,” he told The Catholic Weekly . Coordination of the pilgrim- age will be shared with the Life, Marriage and Family and Syd- ney Catholic Youth teams and theConfraternityof theServants ofMaryHelpof Christians -who are supplying a statue of Our Lady to be a focus for the tour. “So we are taking a very tra- ditional element of our Catholic faith in a pilgrimage andmarry- ing it with the title of Mary Help of Christians,” said Mr Buhagiar who is encouraging all to partic- ipate. “If Our Lady is coming to visit your parish why not regis- ter to be in attendance? Bring your family - or pray along with us online via the Life Marriage Family facebook page.” October is traditionally re- garded as aMarianmonth, with the Feast of Our Lady of the Ro- sary on 7 October. Further information can be found on the Life Marriage and Family Facebook page. FROM PAGE 1 tomake discrimination on the ground of a person’s religious beliefs or activities unlawful. It is supported by the Ro- man Catholic bishops of NSW and the bishops of the Aus- tralasian-Middle East Chris- tian Apostolic Churches. The bishops and other reli- gious, legal, ethics, health and educational organisations as well as individuals have also offered more detailed written submissions in support of the bill. The Dean of the School of Law at the University of Notre Dame Australia Professor Mi- chael Quinlan, who entered a joint submission with the As- sociate Dean of Notre Dame’s School of Law, Sydney, Pro- fessor Keith Thompson, said that the bill “seeks to remedy a long-standing gap in NSW law”. Former Marriage Alliance spokeswoman Sophie York warned in her submission that there “is a real and ev- er-growing problem that peo- ple in Australia are, more and more, using the mechanisms of the legal system to oppress people of religious faith (no- tably Christian faith). “This misuse is a form of lawfare, and it is because there is inadequate protec- tion for people of faith,” she wrote. Director of the Plunkett Centre for Ethics Dr Berna- dette Tobin said that while no law can “in and of itself” pro- tect a human right, laws can have an educative effect. “The whole community, people of religious belief and people of no religious belief, have reason to welcome the passing of this Bill,” Dr Tobin wrote, adding that “at a very minimum” it will serve as a reminder of the fundamental human right to freedom of belief. Ambrose Centre for Re- ligious Liberty founder and chairman Rocco Mimmo said he believed the bill is “worthy of support” as there is an ab- sence of protection for a per- son believing in religion, but recommended the consider- ation of some changes. While the overwhelming majority of submissions sup- ported the bill entirely, or with some alterations, some opposed the bill. They includ- ed advocacy group Sex and Gender Education (SAGE) Australia. “It is a retrograde retrac- tion into Victorian colonial- ism and granting religious people and bodies a ‘get out of jail free card’,” it said. The Rationalist Society of Austral- ia also recommended that the bill be rejected. The Ruddock Religious Freedom Review in 2018 rec- ommended religious belief be included as a protected category in Commonwealth and NSW anti-discrimination law. MONICA DOUMIT P13 NEW