The Catholic Weekly 19 December 2021

catholicweekly.com.au 2 19, December, 2021 A NEW BISHOP FOR SYDNEY BishopMeagher commits himself to ministry, one person at a New bishop sign Bishop Meagher waves to the congregation as he exits St Mary’s Cathedral following his consecration I n this edition News Movies, books Archbishop’s homily Editorial & Letters 1-13 8-9 21 24-25 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Michael Kenny (02) 9390 5348 EDITOR Peter Rosengren (02) 9390 5400 REPORTERS Marilyn Rodrigues (02) 9390 5410 Debbie Cramsie (02) 9390 5396 Adam Wesselinoff (02) 9390 5400 SUBSCRIPTIONS Rita Ng (02) 9390 5411 ADVERTISING AND MARKETING Steve Richards (02) 9390 5404 Katie Clarke (02) 9390 5402 DESIGNERS Renate Cassis Mathew De Sousa Faith in the trajectory of life catch it now at: thiscatholiclife.com.au 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 5214. The Catholic Weekly is published by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney ABN 60 471 267 587 and is printed by Spotpress Pty Ltd, 24-26 Lilian Fowler Place, Marrickville NSW 2204. DOWNLOAD THE OUR FAITH OUR WORKS APP Your one-stop location for Mass and Confession times, spiritual reflections and meditations, podcasts, local Catholic news, the Go Make Disciples mission plan, and much more. To download the app visit ourfaithourworks.org/app or scan the QR Code. Call Katie on (02) 9390 5402 www.catholicjobsonline.com. au Find the career you deserve FROM P1 evening overlaid with layers of joy. Bishop-elect Daniel, popularly known to Catholics across Sydney as ‘Father Dan- ny,’ knelt before Archbishop Fisher in a solemn ceremony of consecration dating back to the very beginnings of the Catholic Church. At the commencement of the evening Archbishop Fish- er welcomed Bishop-elect Meagher’s mother Elizabeth and fellow family members, paying tribute also to Fr Dan- iel’s deceased father Alan, whom the Archbishop said he was sure was proudly watch- ing from heaven. The pride from the pews of the new bishop’s family members, who participated in the readings and presented the offertory gifts, as well as a multitude of past parishioners and Church associates of the new bishop was palpable. It was also an evening charged with meaning. The eighth of December is a major feast in the Catholic Church which, together with Ortho- dox Christians around the world – and making up the overwhelming majority of the world’s Christians – professes the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, conceived sinless because she had been chosen to be the Mother of no less than God Himself. In that sense, the occasion reflected Bishop-elect Dan- iel’s own deep and personal lifelong personal devotion to Mary. Yet the evening was not just for Latin-rite Roman Catholics. Apart from Eastern Catho- lic bishops such as Maronite Bishop Antoine-Charbel Tara- bay, representatives of other churches such as Archbishop Makarios, the primate of the Greek Orthodox Church in Oceania and Coptic Bishop Daniel Adrawos, the leader of Australia’s Egyptian Christians who trace their origins back to the apostle St Mark, showed that whatever the historical divisions Australia’s Christian leaders are drawing closer as they findmore andmore com- mon ground in the things that unite them. The solemnity of the mo- ment was signalled by Mon- signor John-Baptist Itaruma, who read out Pope Francis’s papal bull, a decree by the reigning pontiff, naming Fa- ther Daniel as an auxiliary of the Archdiocese, in both Lat- in and English. The bull was also the formal mandate for Archbishop Fisher and his fel- low bishops to consecrate the Sydney priest, making him a member of the Church’s key body of leaders, the College of Bishops. At the conclusion of the ceremonies, Bishop Meagher signalled the key themes for his ministry, saying he did not want to lapse into bureaucrat- ic functionalism but to bring Jesus to people wherever he found himself. No mere administrator “I fear becoming just an- other administrative hack,” he told a packed St Mary’s Cathedral. Instead, he said, he wanted to “serve people at the grassroots, in our homes, in the ups and downs of daily life, where God is genuinely so close to all of us.” Yet, he said, the focus of his ministry was always to be on Christ rather than himself. “[Jesus] is risen now, and He is glorious. We are all utterly