The Catholic Weekly 28 March 2021

It seems there’s only one place that’s sacred in our city at the moment, and that’s the abortion clinics.” Archbishop Fisher OP SYDNEY ARCHBISHOP An- thony Fisher OP has high- lighted the double standards of current laws which allows protesters to shout outside places of worship while silent prayers in front of abortion clinics are illegal. As pro-abortion dem- onstrators stood outside St Mary’s Cathedral last week- end chanting into mega- phones and disrupting the annual Mass of The Unborn, he noted the irony that any- body praying silently outside an abortion clinic faced pros- ecution. Watched by police, the small yet vocal crowd of about 20-30 people were allowed to interrupt the service which could clearly be heard inside the Cathedral. Archbishop Fisher said during the Mass that he found it “strange” that people can “gather and shout outside our Cathedral but we are not allowed to witness to life out- side an abortion clinic”. “Given certain noise going on outside, it’s perhaps been a good thing to have our own place of peace to contem- plate the beauty of human life and to pray to God for all our needs,” he said. “It’s a strange situation that people are free to stand out- side our Cathedral and make as much noise and be as in- timidating as they like, but if we went near an abortion clinic and prayed in silence, we’d be arrested, fined and even imprisoned? A double standard Archbishop notes the irony of a pro-abortion gathering being allowed to marr the Annual Mass for the Unborn in St Mary’s Cathedral last Sunday ¾ Debbie Cramsie We salute you, Fr Kene Onwukwe A CATHOLIC priest in Syd- ney’s southwest has earned a prized military award for extraordinary service dur- ing last year’s bushfire and pandemic crises. Father Kene Onwukwe, administrator of St An- thony’s Catholic Parish in ¾ Marilyn Rodrigues Austral and a part-time military chaplain, received the 414 Award for military this month. The annual award was established in honour of service and sacrifice of the 414 military chaplains who served the nation’s imperial forces during World War I, and is given to one chaplain each year. Fr Kene said he was “very happy” to receive his award at a ceremony at the Holsworthy Barracks and honoured to be rec- ognised in connection to the efforts of those war- time chaplains. CONTINUED ON PAGE 8 “It seems there’s only one place that’s sacred in our city at the moment, and that’s the abortion clinics. That has to change, by your prayers and your witness for life, our cul- ture can and will become that great civilisation of life and love that we Christians are called to make it.” Held annually on the Feast of the Annunciation - inter- nationally recognised as the Day of the Unborn Child - the event traditionally concludes with a procession from St Mary’s Cathedral to Parlia- ment House however the walk was cancelled due to wet weather. While a day of celebration of the dignity of the unborn, it is also a reminder of the 60,000 lives lost in Australia every year to abortion. Sydney Auxiliary Bishop Richard Umbers, the Austral- ian Catholic Bishop Confer- ence’s Bishop for Life, Family and Public Engagement bless- ed the gathered congregation with the Blessed Sacrament while LifeChoice Australia managing director Rebecca Gosper encouraged Catholics to be faithful in defending life. CONTINUED ON PAGE 3 Protesters opposite St Mary’s Cathedral last week. PHOTO: G PORTELLI $2 28 March 2021 FAREWELL FOR AN ARCHBISHOP P7 A RICH HISTORY OF COUNCILS P12