Jesuit Down Under On The Holy Father

Pope's deep sorrow
JAMES MASSOLA
20/07/2008 1

An excerpt.

The Pope made his apology at a mass at St Mary's Cathedral for seminarians and other young religious people.

One seminarian, who asked not to be named, said the feeling in the church was ''amazing''. ''First the congregation was surprised. Then we were moved to a deep appreciation of the significance of the moment,'' he said. ''YOU could see it in the faces of the other seminarians. Despite the formality of the ceremony, the thing which grabbed us was the deep humanity displayed by the Pope, unseen thus far, and quite without warning.''

Jesuit provincial Mark Raper said he had not been surprised by the apology, despite leading figures in the Pope's entourage warning in recent days that an apology was no certainty. ''He promised to do it. This apology comes right from the top and it catches all the important elements recognition of the betrayal of trust, justice, compassion and the need for prevention, as well as healing,''

Father Raper said. ''He affirmed what the church here has been trying to do in terms of reconciliation and healing. I think it is a powerful statement, affirming for victims, advocates and it is good leadership.''

Father Raper said the church's policy towards victims of sexual abuse supported compensation.

Link (here)

SFU Jesuit And Students At World Youth Day

Radmar Jao, S.J. A Jesuit at the University of San Francisco in the visual and performing arts department. Jao is completing his degree at Loyola University, Chicago, and has worked as an artist facilitator for at-risk youth, a professional actor, and as an assistant to producers at Warner Bros. is in Australia for World Youth Day. You can read Radmar's blog G'day Mates (here) and read his post on the The Holy Father and his marine arrival (here) with lots of pictures.

Jesuit On Missing Indian Pilgrams

Some 39 Indians disappear from World Youth Day in what is likely a visa scam

by Nirmala Carvalho

An excerpt.

“There is no definite news; just what they say on TV and in the news. But it has created a very bad impression about Indians here,” said Fr Cedric Prakash, a Jesuit priest, as he commented the disappearance of 39 Indian pilgrims who were supposed to arrive in Australia today for World Youth Day. Initially 32 vanished yesterday and then today another seven went missing.

Link (here)

More on Fr. Cedric Prakash, S.J. (here)

Polish Jesuits At World Youth Day: Audio Reports

Wiesław Słowik SJ and Józef Polak SJ, Australia: duszpasterstwo polonijne a potrzeba integracji. Rozmowa z rektorem Polskiej Misji Katolickiej w Australii przed wizytą Benedykta XVI z okazji XXIII ŚDM w Sydney; duszpasterstwo Polaków a lokalny Kościół australijski; 8.07.2008

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Wiesław Słowik SJ, Józef Polak SJ, Duszpasterstwo polskie w Australii. Rozmowa z rektorem Polskiej Misji Katolickiej w Australii przed wizytą Benedykta XVI z okazji XXIII ŚDM w Sydney; 8.07.2008

Link (here)

Jesuit Blog To Chronicle World Youth Day

Fordham and World Youth Day 2008 We are a group of students, scholastics, and administrators from Fordham University who are making the pilgrimage to Sydney, Australia for World Youth Day 2008. Along the way, we will participate in Magis 2008. We will update this blog as much as possible. Stay tuned!

Link (here)

A Jesuit Lawyer On World Youth Day

Priest denounces heavy-handed 'annoyance' code
Sian Powell and Michael Pelly

July 03, 2008
WORLD Youth Day organisers and the NSW Government yesterday defended legislation aimed at quelling disruptive protests during the event.

However, Jesuit priest Frank Brennan said the laws were contrary to Catholic teaching on human rights and barristers argued it was a "disproportionate response". World Youth Day 2008 chief operating officer Danny Casey said controversial "annoyance" laws that would be in force in NSW were not unique.

Mr Casey conceded the church had asked for pilgrims to be protected but noted the "annoyance" laws already existed in 15 statutes. "We asked for and we discussed having legislation consistent with other events to ensure the efficient running of the event," he said. The laws include fines of up to $5500 for those who cause "annoyance" at WYD events. Mr Casey said he was concerned an act might interfere with the "efficient running of the event". "If someone decided to stage a protest on the middle of the Harbour Bridge during the pilgrimage walk ... that would probably be annoying," he said. In addition to "declared areas" the regulations - passed by decree last week without any parliamentary debate - cover the sale of goods and outdoor advertising within 500m of more than 550 WYD sites. Goods protected included 17 types of clothing and accessories and 16 items of giftware, such as sunglasses, stickers and key rings. However, the Outdoor Advertising Association said the advertising restrictions - which refer to obscene, offensive or inappropriate material - were aimed at protesters. The association's chief executive officer Helen Willoughby said that the Olympic Games had been concerned only with protecting sponsor revenues. There were no such outdoor advertising controls for last year's APEC meeting in Sydney. The ministerial spokeswoman for World Youth Day, Kristina Keneally, said: "There's nothing in this event that is different from other events." She denied as false reports that police were insisting protesters submit placard messages and the like. The clause in the NSW World Youth Day regulations permitting the penalising of those who caused "annoyance and inconvenience" was already in 15 acts and regulations covering venue management, Ms Keneally said.

Father Brennan, a champion of human rights, quoted a papal encyclical in his criticism of the regulations. "As an Australian Catholic lawyer, I am saddened that the state has seen fit to curtail civil liberties further in this instance than they have for other significant international events hosted in Sydney," he said.

NSW Bar Association president Anna Katzmann SC said the regulations were "totally unnecessary". "It is true that similar powers may be found in other regulations, but two wrongs don't make a right," Ms Katzmann said. "The World Youth Day regulations ... strike at our basic civil rights."

Link (here)