The Catholic Weekly 3 October 2021

catholicweekly.com.au 7 3, October, 2021 See opportunities in the lockdowns THE ARCHBISHOP of Mel- bourne, Peter Comensoli be- lieves the current extended lockdown in much of eastern Australia represents an un- precedented opportunity for Catholics to draw upon the grace of God, deepen their personal faith and share it with others. Archbishop Comensoli was speaking at an online pres- entation, Reasons for Hope in a Disrupted Church on 21 September, organised by the Arete Centre for Missionary Leadership in Sydney. He told the forum of over 100 mainly students from the centre that the lives of so many Australians have funda- mentally changed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Melbourne has spent more time in lockdown than any other city in the world and this has had a fundamen- tal impact upon our people,” he said. “But we must take courage in that our Church is used to facing disruption in different ways throughout our history.” “Yet through disruption, there can be tremendous grace, that through these per- sonal trials, we can draw clos- er to Christ. We may find Him in this disruption or rather He may find us”. Archbishop Comensoli said the disruption facing the Catholic Church in Australia today, linked to a drift away from the practice of the faith, must also be seen as an opportunity for believers to take up the call to missionary discipleship. “Disruption helps us reflect more deeply on the call to dis- cipleship. It can help stir us into discernment and action, to go out into the deep and bring others too into a clos- er encounter with Christ”, he said. Alongside Archbishop Comensoli at the forum was the Director of the Sydney Centre for Evangelisation, Daniel Ang. He said places of theolog- ical formation such as the Arete Centre, were critical to help Catholics grow in their understanding and love of their faith. “One expression of disrup- tion is that many Catholics have lacked access to the rich- es of their own tradition. This can lead to a form of ‘cultural amnesia’ where the constel- lation of resources, insights and Catholic practices we can draw upon for our spiritual lives now and in the future are unknown”, Mr Ang explained. “Of course, in mining our tradition we can risk being stuck in the past, but it is also true we can be ‘stuck in the present,’ trying to live out our faith without access to the deep and wide sources of faith that are made available to us in the Catholic tradition”. “The Arete Centre aligns with our mission as an Arch- diocese, to make Christ known and to equip Sydney Catholics to live that faith with a renewed sense of con- fidence, knowledge and prac- tical skills”. Applications are open for places in the Arete Centre’s one year Foundations of Mis- sionary Leadership Course for 2022. The program is open to anyone passionate about par- ish renewal, including youth ministers and other leader- ship positions in parishes and ecclesial movements and communities. Download a prospectus on the Arete Centre website: https://aretecentre.org/ made the difficult decision to sell the majority of its farm,” a statement from the Com- munity said on 14 September. “It is anticipated that this sale will generate sufficient capital to meet our commitment to redress, and enough capital injection into the organisation to sustain New Norcia well into the future.” Often referred to as a “little piece of the Mediterranean in the Australian bush,” New Norcia was settled in 1847 as a mission to the local Aborigi- nal people by Bishop Salvado, who died in 1900 and whose body is still interred in the Ab- bey Church. Named after Norcia in Italy, the birthplace of St Benedict, it has had many purposes in- cluding as a mission, a mon- astery and as a provider of education. The renowned Wheatbelt region, known for its high rainfall of about 520 millime- tres a year, quality soil and proximity to Perth, is consid- ered prime farm land. It is watered by about 50 dams, a bore with a solar pump and a watering system which pumps to gravity-fed troughs, in addition to two fertiliser sheds, a machinery shed and a six-stand shearing shed. At its height the monastic numbered 70 men, many of them recruited over genera- tions from Spanish monas- teries but today just six Ben- edictine monks continue to occupy the monastery and can be seen moving quietly amongst the historical build- ings on their way to pray to- gether seven times a day. Tours are operated daily by the Friends of New Nor- cia, who also organise the ac- commodation in the various buildings including the mon- astery retreat. An Art Gallery houses one of the largest collections of moveable religious art in Aus- tralia, both old masters and contemporary pieces are fea- tured by Spanish and Italian Masters as well as Australian artists. Its collection includes a Raphael and numerous 16th and 17th Century works. New Norcia is increasingly respected in Australian cu- linary circles for its quality bakery (built in 1886) offering bread, nutcake and biscotti as well as maintaining olive oil production and locally made wines, port and ale which can be purchased at the commu- nity or from selected outlets. Used primarily over the last century for livestock grazing and cropping and described as an “extremely rare” offer- ing, it is expected to attract strong local and outside in- terest, both from families and corporate investors. sale shakes all the West THE VATICAN Cardinal regrets Vaticanaudit loss Cardinal George Pell has ac- knowledged that he “under- estimated the ingenuity and resilience of the opponents of reform” at the Vatican, Catho- lic news website Cruxnow. com reported. While some of those opponents were simply averse to change, he said, there was also “certainly opposition from people linked to corruption.” Speaking on 23 September at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, the Australi- an prelate said that he now realizes he should have fought harder for a full audit of Vat- ican offices—a measure that he had ordered, but was coun- termanded by the Secretariat of State. He also said that he should have fought the ouster of the Vatican’s own auditor, Libero Milone. Cardinal Pell said that the forthcoming financial-miscon- duct trial at the Vatican should shed more light on the sourc- es of corruption. He voiced the hope that the trial might also explain the transfer of over $7 million in Vatican funds to Australia, which is “still a situation that’s unclear.” Some observers have suggested that the funds were used to promote the prosecution of Cardinal Pell on abuse charg- es—prosecution that even- tually led to his conviction, which was later overturned by Australia’s top court. INDIA Bishops lobby over faith law The Catholic bishops of the southern Indian state of Karnataka have met with the state’s chief minister, Basavaraj Bommai, to urge his opposition to a proposed law against forcible religious conversion. Catholic lead- ers warn that the measure could be used against Church schools and hospitals, on the false pretext that the religious institutions require conversion as a condition for service.. GUINEA Francis moves on new group Pope Francis has appointed a bishop to serve as his special delegate to govern the Memo- res Domini movement, replac- ing the current leadership. The takeover follows a Vatican investigation that began in July 2020. At that time, Vatican officials explained that internal difficulties within the movement had prompted the intervention. Memores Domini is an outgrowth of the Com- munion and Liberation move- ment, whose membership has been divided in responding to the leadership of Pope Francis. Memores Domini is composed of celibate lay members, who live in community. Several members of the group formed a domestic staff for Pope Ben- edict XVI during his pontifi- cate, and continue to serve his household in retirement. The monastic property is considered prime farmland for canola, sheep and wheat. PHOTOS: RAYWHITE Gates keep the public out of the interior life of New Norcia. The monastery and its township are not part of the massive sale. ¾ Michael Kenny The Archdiocese of Sydney’s Daniel Ang, left, and Archbishop Peter Comensoli of Melbourne. Both set out the opportunities for evangelisation in a time of pandemic to students in an online presentation organised by the Arete Centre. PHOTO: CNS, VOV YOUTUBE The Arete Cen- tre aligns with our mission as an Archdiocese to make Christ known and to equip Sydney Catholics to live that faith with a renewed sense of con- fidence, knowledge, practice and skills .” Daniel Ang NEWS