The Catholic Weekly 12 June 2022

catholicweekly.com.au 2 NEWS 12, June, 2022 Call 02 9649 6423 or visit www.catholiccemeteries.com.au Consecrated lawns and chapels Sydney’s only Catholic crematorium Monthly mass for the Repose of Souls Funeral directors available for a Catholic service Bereavement pastoral care Serving the Catholic community for over 150 years Howdoes it happen here? In a country like Australia, people can’t even afford basic power bills to heat their homes A bitter winter Nezar Saad contemplates a power bill. He and his wife now have to make the choice between paying the bill and eating on a regular basis. PHOTO: GIOVANNI PORTELLI I n this edition News Movies, books Archbishop’s homily Editorial & Letters 1-13 8-9 25 28-29 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 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 5238 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. Only men to whom the family is sa- cred will ever have a standard or a sta- tus by which to criticise the State.They alone can appeal to something more holy than the gods of the city.” GK Chesterton QUOTABLE 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. FROM PAGE 1 her 80s who couldn’t afford - heating and was so cold sh e just lay in bed, the only place she could feel warm. “Paying for heating costs wasn’t an issue as she couldn’t even afford to buy a heater. “There really is so much sadness and pain out there at the moment, and it’s at a level of which many of us have nev- er experienced. “It’s a perfect storm of COVID, and then inflation, interest rates, a shortage of affordable housing as well as energy and gas prices in turn leading to an increase in the prices of petrol, food and transportation. “Let’s hope and pray it can be matched by an unprece- dented out pouring of gen- erosity and acts of Christian charity.” Anglicare’s Aaron Malouf said it was experiencing its highest demand for assistance on record. He said the government needed to urgently review the threshold for people want- ing to access help particu- larly with Energy Accounts Payment Assistance (EAPA) vouchers. “Currently, requests for help are at their highest in liv- ing memory,” he said. “Quite simply more people have been coming more often seeking support. “In respect to EAPA vouch- ers, the issue as we see it, is not so much in the increasing vol- ume of people seeking them, but in the lack of change in the eligibility criteria required by the Government for people to qualify for them. The Melkite Charitable Foundation said demand for their services was at the high- est in their 22-year history. Acting president Monica Chahoud said that while their community was incredibly generous, reduced fundingand government support has made their work extremely difficult. “During the past two years our intake of new clients has more than doubled,” she said. “COVID showed us the fine line many families live by, sometimes a small change in circumstance can force fam- ilies into a difficult situation, sometimes needing to choose between paying their elec- tricity bill or paying for food items. “Unfortunately, govern- ment funding put in place to help during COVID will cease at the end of June making our job that much more dif- ficult with interest rates and electricity costs on the rise and food prices at an all-time high.” The Salvation Army said it was experiencing some of the most challenging times seen since the Great Depression and WW1 and WW11. National Public Rela- tions Secretary Major Bruce Harmer said Australians have faced unprecedented economic stress and uncer- tainty due to the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation and ris- ing costs of living as well as fires, drought and most re- cently floods putting even more financial pressure on the most vulnerable. “The increasing cost of util- ities such as electricity will directly impact the most dis- advantaged in our communi- ties,” he said. “Those who live from week to week, who have little or no reserves upon which to draw as utility costs continue to in- crease. “We must stand in the gap for these people and do all we can to help them through this very difficult period.” Unfortunately, government funding put in place to help during COVID will cease at the end of June making our job that much more diffi- cult with interest rates and electricity costs on the rise.”