Clare Condon SGS

Can the rest of the world learn any lessons from the tragedy of Fukushima? Surely there are some lessons for Australia, writes Clare Condon SGS.

BY Clare Condon SGS*

Recently, I returned to Australia from visiting our Good Samaritan Sisters in Nara, Japan. For a brief time I shared their life and mission in this ancient and beautiful city. As I listened to the sisters speak of their experiences and hopes, I was profoundly affected by their responses and concerns for their fellow citizens whose lives were devastated by last year’s horrific earthquake and tsunami in the northern regions of Japan.

The sisters’ responses to this tragic disaster include belonging to the National Catholic Advocacy Group, knitting scarves for the winter months, participating in local prayer and support groups, and opening their home to survivors for respite.

During my stay in Japan an historic event occurred: the 54^th and last of the country’s nuclear energy reactors was shut down. It’s just over 12 months since the magnitude-nine earthquake and resulting tsunami struck, causing a meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. This raised the serious alarm of Japan’s vulnerability, with 54 nuclear power plants standing in a dangerous earthquake zone.

Interestingly, it took only 12 months to close down 54 plants and to replace them with more environmentally and economically viable options. This brisk action as a result of the demands of the Japanese people proves the old adage, “where there’s a will there’s a way”. Yet, as is often the case, the will only emerges after some tragic and horrendous event. The will also needs the knowledge in order to act.

Why is it that so often we do not know the facts about nuclear energy? We can be kept literally in the dark – kept from the facts by governments, vested interests, and even the media, which can be controlled by vested interests, rather than acting with the freedom of the truth which is their vocation.

While in Japan I was given a booklet produced by the National Christian Council of Japan and the Japanese Catholic Council for Justice and Peace. This booklet, entitled “Nuclear Power is NOT the solution to global warming!! It is the worst choice for Earth’s life environment”, contains some disturbing information.

Did you know that one nuclear power plant with an output of one million kWh (kilowatt hours) burns three kilograms of uranium each day, producing the energy equal to four Hiroshima bombs, and the same amount of fissile product, known as death ash – a deadly poison that we humans have not yet found a safe method for disposal?

Did you know that only one-third of the generated heat is used to generate electricity and the remaining two-thirds is waste? A single, one million kWh nuclear reactor uses 70 tons of seawater per second for cooling. This water goes back into the ocean with radiation and chemical substances.

Can the rest of the world learn any lessons from the tragedy of Fukushima? Surely there are some lessons for Australia!

Australia holds the largest deposits in the world of uranium. It is the third largest exporter of uranium; Japan is the third largest importer of Australian uranium. In December, the Australian Federal Labor Government overturned a decades-old ban on selling uranium to nations that are not signatories to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. What moral responsibility do we have as a nation?

There are moral lessons here for all involved in mining, smelting, conversion, fuel processing and nuclear power generation. So often the public discourse is about the economic and environmental costs of nuclear over coal generation. According to the booklet from the National Christian Council of Japan and the Japanese Catholic Council for Justice and Peace: “…nuclear power generation is itself accelerating global warming, and constantly producing radioactive waste, or death ash, which has ruinous effect on all life environments on Earth”. Surely greater research and scientific analysis is required before nuclear power can be regarded as a safe option into the future?

The activities of the Japanese power company, TEPCO, have raised questions of corruption and manipulation and become a great scandal in Japan. Perhaps it is timely that we all take note of the Great St Gregory, pope and doctor of the Church, who said: “It is better that scandals arise than that truth should be silenced”.

Here is a lesson for both the Church and wider society. We should never be afraid of the truth.

*Clare Condon SGS is the Congregational Leader of the Sisters of the Good Samaritan of the Order of St Benedict.

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Bernardina Sontrop SGS

As the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (May 20-27) approaches, Good Samaritan Sister, Bernardina Sontrop, asks “Does ecumenism matter”?

BY Bernardina Sontrop SGS*

For seven years I had the privilege of being the Pastoral Mission Co-ordinator for the Catholic community at the Seaford Ecumenical Mission in South Australia. My understanding, experience and appreciation of ecumenism makes me want to shout from the rooftop: “Yes, ecumenism does matter!” There is so much more we Christians can do when we work together to bring the Gospel of Jesus alive in our words and deeds.

There are many different understandings and interpretations of the meaning of ecumenism. Our understanding is influenced by the church to which we belong as well as our experience in ecumenical activities. The primary focus of ecumenism centres on people witnessing together to work towards the unity for which Jesus prayed, “that they may all be one” (John 17: 21).

In mainstream Christian traditions today, particularly for member churches of the National Council of Churches in Australia, ecumenism is about exploring relationships with one another and coming together in dialogue and practical co-operation.

One very interesting and little known endeavour, hidden away in the southern vales of Adelaide, is SEM, the Seaford Ecumenical Mission.

In 1989 as the southern suburbs expanded, members from various Christian denominations in the local area came together at the invitation of the State Government and the Heads of Churches New Towns’ Committee to explore how best they could work together to serve the well-being – spiritually, physically, emotionally and socially – of the people of Seaford and beyond.

The Anglican, Catholic, Church of Christ and the Uniting Churches and, some-time later, the Lutheran Church, joined with the State Government Noarlunga Health Services to plan and build the integrated building which locals know as the Seaford Ecumenical Mission.

On Sunday August 4, 1996, the dream that began in the minds of a small group of dedicated Christians, became a reality in the blessing and dedication of the new facility.

To proclaim the Gospel of Jesus and honour and grow in its own tradition, each Christian community gathers its own members at SEM for Sunday worship and provides opportunities for worship, pastoral care, community, faith formation and pastoral outreach.

SEM is also the hub where people work together in a variety of pastoral outreach activities. Though not all denominations share the same beliefs and practices, all share a common life experience that they can bring to prayer.

Regular ecumenical activities focus on a variety of common religious and life experiences. Tuesday mornings find ministers and members of the pastoral teams gathered in prayer, reflection and sharing on the readings from the common lectionary used by all SEM churches. Faith is linked to life through ecumenical services celebrating national and local events in song, scripture, prayer and reflection. These services celebrate in a meaningful way what the Christian communities hold in common and invite us to pray together for the community and wider world.

A small chapel provides a sacred space for denominational and ecumenical prayer groups, scripture and ecumenical study programs to explore matters of faith and how they are understood and experienced in each of the member traditions.

SEM provides an avenue for volunteers from all walks of life, SEM partner churches, community and government programs such as the Centrelink Work for the Dole program, to work together to make a difference in the lives of those who use its services, giving practical expression to the command of Jesus to love and care for each other.

A café staffed by a paid co-ordinator with church and community volunteers, is a popular gathering place for meeting friends. At the Tuesday Night Café, led by volunteers, patrons enjoy a home-cooked meal and social interaction for a nominal donation.

Most days of the week SEM churches and volunteers host a variety of social activities, including the ecumenical Friday night Kids’ Club and Youth Group, the Wednesday morning Music for Pleasure Group, the Monday craft group, holiday fun days and Sunday afternoon concerts.

An op shop, established with a government grant, gathers an enthusiastic crew of church and community volunteers who welcome patrons and sell recycled goods, raising funds to support the combined activities of the SEM community.

Volunteers take great pride in maintaining the beautiful SEM community garden, a place of quiet reflection for visitors. A community vegie garden offers a welcome space and meaningful activity for people at risk of isolation in the community.

As this brief snapshot reveals, SEM helps to build relationships in an increasingly secular world, bringing Christian people together to reflect on and share their faith. Not only does this coming together enrich an understanding of different Christian faiths, but as people reflect and share together, their understanding of their own personal and communal faith is enriched and tolerance and acceptance of people of different Christian faiths grows.

At SEM, the pastoral outreach achievable by individuals and small Christian communities working separately expands enormously when there is an opportunity to work together and share facilities, resources and people skills. Many people who might be lost in the community have an opportunity to come together and with dignity find the help they seek.

At SEM, working together enables the churches to provide spiritual, social and material support for young people in the community.

As we approach the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (May 20-27) we might well ask ourselves, “Does Ecumenism matter?” For partner churches in the Seaford Ecumenical Mission and the wider community it certainly does.

Why not join a local group during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, and experience something of the richness that prayer and dialogue with Christians from other denominations can bring to your own faith and prayer?

* Good Samaritan Sister, Bernardina Sontrop, has many years experience in education and pastoral ministry. Last year she was elected to the Council of the Superior of her Congregation. Before this appointment, she was Pastoral Mission Co-ordinator at St Benedict’s Pastoral Mission, Mango Hill-North Lakes, a rapidly growing housing development on the northern outskirts of Brisbane.

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L-R: Sisters Sonia Wagner, Helen Mills, Elizabeth Wiemers, Carmel Wauchope and Mary Howard at Santa Teresa Mission

Vatican II was not just a ground-breaking achievement, but an ongoing summons to mission at the heart of the world in which we live, writes Sonia Wagner SGS.

BY Sonia Wagner SGS*

“To live is to change. To be perfect is to have changed often.” (John Henry Newman)

In 1962 as we prepared for the opening of Vatican Council II, there was an air of excitement and heightened expectation in the Brisbane Church. What would this ecumenical and pastoral event mean? I was in my final year of high school and we were fortunate to receive regular updates and information about the Council. I recall asking the Franciscan priest who came to speak to us about the Council: “What is the chance of unity – say, between the Anglican and Catholic churches – as a result of this Council?” The answer was swift, somewhat deflating but, of course, accurate – “Buckley’s!”

Fifty years later, I was at the Santa Teresa Mission outside Alice Springs in the Northern Territory celebrating the silver jubilee of Good Samaritan Sister, Elizabeth Wiemers, with the community at Sunday Eucharist. During those days I experienced and pondered changes in the Church and religious life – changes that I could never have imagined back in 1962.

The Church going into Vatican II was ostensibly in good health. Whereas previous councils had responded to schism or attack, the focus of this Council was to be radically different. John XXIII, a revolutionary Pope with a simple, deep spirituality and relentless optimism, ushered in a spiritual renewal – “aggiornamento” – that would throw open the doors and windows of the Church.

Called a “pastoral” Council, it was assumed that all Church doctrine and dogma was accepted. The call was directed to all the People of God to live and apply the Church’s teaching in a rapidly changing modern world. Vatican II was then, not just a ground-breaking achievement, but an ongoing summons to mission at the heart of the world in which we live.

In many ways we have moved beyond the Vatican Council. So, the task is not retrieval of a past vision or working hard to recover what has been lost. We are facing challenges and situations that the Council Fathers could never have anticipated. There are, however, resources in the documents that can help us read today’s signs and situations.

The documents of Vatican II provide us with inspiringly balanced, scriptural and Christocentric views of the Church. One powerful and appealing image of Church is that of the People of God on pilgrimage echoing the words from the Letter to the Hebrews 13:14, “We have not here a lasting city, but we seek one that is to come”.

The image shift from a militant to a pilgrim Church brings with it revolutionary connotations. Rather than joining a battle march, pilgrims set out to discover the world. They are invited to a shared journey, a shared quest. Learning takes place as they travel along an ever-changing path. The relationship with other travellers is the bond of a common past and an as-yet-to-happen future. Glory replaces triumph as a descriptor of the end point of the journey.

“The Church, to which we are all called in Christ Jesus, and in which by the grace of God we acquire holiness, will receive its perfection only in the glory of heaven, when will come the time of the renewal of all things (Acts 3:21). The Church on earth is endowed already with a sanctity that is real though imperfect” (Lumen Gentium, 48). Such an honest admission of sin, weakness and incompleteness was unprecedented. Pointing beyond itself, the Church is ever on mission, always on pilgrimage, never for its own sake and always looking forward in hope.

In the spirit of the prophet Isaiah, we are reminded:

“No need to remember past events.
No need to think about what was done before.
Look, I am doing something new,
Now it emerges; can you not see it?
… The people I have shaped for myself will broadcast my praises” (Isaiah 43:18-25).

Tradition, treasuring our heritage, seeing ourselves as part of the communion of saints, remains highly significant for the Catholic Church as pilgrim. However, that does not cancel out all change. As Monica Hellwig reminds us, “Tradition implies change in continuity with the past”.

Blessed John Henry Newman referred to as “the invisible thinker of the Second Vatican Council” has spoken eloquently of the change process and the relationship to time.

“[A great idea] in time enters upon strange territory; points of controversy alter their bearing; parties rise and fall around it; dangers and hopes appear in new relations; and the old principles appear in new forms. It changes with them in order to remain the same. In a higher world it is otherwise, but here below to live is to change, and to be perfect is to have changed often (“Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine”, 40).

Vatican II echoes these thoughts of Newman, locating authentic change, not merely in external realities but rather in the minds and hearts of the People of God.

“The Tradition which comes from the Apostles makes progress in the Church with the assistance of the Holy Spirit: the understanding of the things and words handed down grows, through the contemplation and study of believers, who ponder these things in their heart (cf Luke 2:19; 51) and through their interior understanding of the spiritual realities which they experience. The Church, we may say, as the ages pass, tends continually towards the fullness of divine truth, till the words of God are consummated in her” (Dei Verbum, 8).

The People of God on pilgrimage make up the Body of Christ, the Church. It is significant that the Council defined People of God to include the laity alongside the clergy and religious equally. Laity before this ran the risk of being overlooked as a passive body. The Council affirms that all must share in the discernment of God’s will. Consultation and collaboration should be the right and the obligation of all the pilgrim People of God.

At the heart of the Council’s theology of the laity is a focus on our common Baptism, the sacrament that configures all believers, including the ordained, as disciples of Christ. St Augustine knew this truth when he said:

“When I am frightened by what I am for you, then I am consoled by what I am with you. For you I am the Bishop, with you I am a Christian. The first is an office, the second a grace; the first a danger, the second salvation” (St Augustine of Hippo, Sermon, 340, 1).

Moving the diversely gifted People of God to apostolic activity and bearing witness to Christ while always ‘on the way’ as a Pilgrim Church towards a heavenly kingdom are key exhortations that emerge from the Council. Much of the work of the Church should be around discovering, freeing up and empowering of gifts, among the People of God, for the world; gifts as opposed to offices, roles or something into which one is educated. A new appreciation for the diversity of gifts and ministries described by St Paul in 1 Corinthians 12:12-27 is called for.

Pope John knew well the evil that is present in this less than perfect world. Nevertheless, he was strongly convinced that we must not exaggerate that evil and give in to a gloomy, judgemental pessimism. He urged Christians to “read the signs of the times”, and while not closing our eyes naively or foolishly to injustices and suffering, to be equally prepared to identify the signs of grace that abound in our world. Vatican II urged us to live in vulnerable and open mission to the world and always to be prepared to engage generously and constructively.

The Church has the responsibility of reading the signs of the times in the light of the Gospel so that it may carry out its task (Gaudium et Spes, 4) The Gospel call of the pilgrim Church calls us away from being simply a follower or being told the right path. It leads us to be a participant, actively involved, making choices, listening, doing, reading the signs of the times and the place and reflecting and learning as we go.

As Vatican II’s Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation reminds us, “sacred tradition, sacred Scripture and the teaching authority of the Church… are so linked and joined together that one cannot stand without the others…” (Dei Verbum, 10). What ultimately holds them all together is the Holy Spirit; what immediately holds them all together is the sensus fidelium, the sense of the faith that the People of God share among themselves: “The body of the faithful as a whole, anointed as they are by the Holy One (cf 1 John 2:20, 27) cannot err in matters of belief” (Lumen Gentium,12).

The Church will come close to truly taking up the challenge and invitation of being a Pilgrim Church if it fully and radically embraces at every level its reason for being, namely, a People of God, on the way, universally called, richly gifted, at the service of the world.

*Good Samaritan Sister, Sonia Wagner ministers in the Catholic Parish of Whyalla, South Australia, and is Co-ordinator of Adult Faith Formation for the Diocese of Port Pirie.

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Monsignor Tony Doherty

To what extent are we willing to carry the pain of others? In a Church which claims to be a supporting community of believers, how do we give hope, in some genuine fashion, to someone whose life is fast unravelling, asks Tony Doherty.

BY Tony Doherty*

At first blush, the concept seemed frankly medieval. An idea left behind centuries ago. Not just pre-Vatican II but pre-Lutheran. Quaint theology but tinged with medieval superstition, with more than a whiff of magic and money.

The idea – a pilgrim setting out to walk the famous Camino de Santiago carrying on her back an unusual cargo – a load of other people’s sins (for a small monetary consideration). This followed the best traditions of medieval believers who paid others to carry their sins to such sacred sites as Santiago, and so buy forgiveness. Not surrogate parenting, but surrogate reconciliation.

An Australian writer, director and actor, Ailsa Piper took on a 1,300 kilometre pilgrimage walking continually for about 45 days through storms and cold, across the rough and the smooth (this woman is no slouch) to the Spanish city of Santiago de Compostella.

Before leaving home, Ailsa published the quirky invitation: “I will walk off your sins. Pilgrim seeks sinners for mutually beneficial arrangement. Proven track record. Tireless. Reliable. Seven deadlies a speciality”.

In our so cool and sophisticated, post-modern culture could such an arcane invitation work? “…yes, people gave me their sins. From the first day, there were confessions, even some from strangers who’d heard of the quest.”

Hang about! Confession of ‘sin’ has been replaced has it not by more contemporary and non-judgemental counselling procedures – or have I been out having lunch somewhere?

But confessions they were – genuine admissions of sin from half-believers, once-upon-a-time believers, even acknowledged atheists. Always heartfelt, often unnervingly disclosive. “I have slept with my best friend’s husband. Not once but four times.” The ‘penitents’ left the impression they were just aching to deal with previously undealt with material.

Taking the project quite seriously, the writer-pilgrim would read the load of sins she was carrying religiously each morning, like some monastic chapter of faults. Her own struggles and sins became part of the daily examination. The honesty and integrity of the author’s description of this process is expressed with uncommon sensitivity and indeed sacredness. At some quite deep level it made totally good sense.

The book, Sinning Across Spain (Victory Books, Melbourne, 2012), tells the story in graceful and stylish voice which at times becomes quite lyrical.

The ‘Camino’ is in the news these days, thanks to Emilio Estevez’s splendid film The Way, the story of a father who, faced with the death of his son killed while attempting the pilgrimage, decides to do the walk carrying his box of ashes to Santiago and eventually the sea. The Piper story and the Estevez film contain a fascinating common thread – carrying a heavy load on the journey: the ashes of a son’s life and the wounds of other people’s lives.

Unburdening oneself of some personal load is an ancient practice on the Camino. At the highest point of the path to Santiago, on top of one of the most challenging hills, there stands a large iron cross. For centuries pilgrims have carried stones, more frequently not much more than we would call ‘gibbers’, often wrapped in paper on which is written a prayer or perhaps a promise. The stones would represent some guilty memory, some emotional wound, perhaps unhealed grief. It might represent a relationship sorely in need of repair or a renewed commitment to the future.

More enthusiastic pilgrims will bring several stones representing the struggles of those left behind at home. Some might choose instead of a stone a symbolic item which better represents what they want to leave behind. The genesis of the Piper invitation, to carry somebody else’s load of sin, probably finds its inspiration in this ancient practice.

Does it make sense? You’d better ask a weary pilgrim struggling up the hill with their heavy swag.

If I may intrude a personal story. Several years ago while walking the Camino I was at the ‘iron cross’ and there on top of the centuries-high pile of stones were two pink baby’s shoes tied together by their laces. I couldn’t get them out of my mind. What did their presence mean? No explanatory note. A pile of symbolic items as untidy as a garage sale. Left there undoubtedly as silent witness of some family tragedy. Hemingway was once famously challenged to write a short story in six words. His story: “For Sale. Baby shoes. Never used.”

So here’s the twist. To what extent are we willing to carry the pain of others? In a Church which claims to be a supporting community of believers, how do we give hope, in some genuine fashion, to someone whose life is fast unravelling?

For Catholics, facing with horror the shocking events of child abuse and sexual manipulation, how do we stop from drowning ourselves? One familiar response is denial. “It can’t be happening.” “Just a few rotten apples.” Another response is angrily scapegoating whatever easy target comes to mind, or the rather shamefully pulling the blankets over our heads and pretending it will go away.

Ailsa Piper’s strategy might hold a valuable clue. Are we strong enough to carry the pain of others – say, the victims of this terrible abuse? Or an even more unspeakable possibility – to carry a little of the disgrace of those seen as responsible.

Sinning across Spain asks the question: how really connected are we? It is a powerful and tantalising question.

* Monsignor Tony Doherty, a priest of the Sydney Archdiocese, is pastor of two Sydney parishes, Dover Heights and Rose Bay. His lifetime search is to find an appropriate language of faith for contemporary adults. He also admits to being a little addicted to walking pilgrimages.

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Val Deakin SGS (Credit: Jessica Rock)

For as long as she can remember, Good Samaritan Sister, Val Deakin, has had a keen interest in Aboriginal people and culture.

BY Jessica Rock, Midwest Times*

For as long as she can remember, Sister Val Deakin has had a keen interest in Aboriginal people and culture.

Residing in Geraldton, [Western Australia] for the past six and a half years, she continues her passion by working with Aboriginal people in the Mid West region.

During this time she has been instrumental in establishing the Yanayi Aboriginal Catholic Centre at the Centre of Parish Life and Mission.

A Sister of the Good Samaritan, she maintains a busy and varied schedule. This includes Greenough Regional Prison visits, organising National Reconciliation Week events, special services to commemorate the dead and group baptisms.

With a career spanning more than 40 years, Sister Val said she was always learning about Aboriginal culture.

“I’ve learnt more about what not to do and learnt to be comfortable to just sit and wait for things to happen,” she said.

“I definitely don’t have the answers to the unique problems Aboriginal people face, but I remain positive and believe we should keep striving.

“We have to ask the Aboriginal people, because for things to change for the better, the Aboriginals have got to be a part of it.

“The problems were created by humans, so there must be human solutions.”

Sister Val said the problems could be traced back to the deep spiritual connection Aboriginal people have with “the land”.

“For Aboriginals, the land provides physical and spiritual nourishment and holds stories, rituals and ceremonies,” she said.

“Take them away from the land where they were born, from one land to another and they are a lost people.”

Sister Val was born in Melbourne at Mia Mia Hospital and said her interest in Aboriginal culture began from the moment she was born, with Mia Mia translating from Aboriginal language as ‘place of dwelling’ or shelter.

Her older brother, who attended a seminary and later became a priest and anthropologist, had a huge influence during her childhood.

“My brother worked with Aboriginal communities and I remember him bringing home books, full of colour and stories about Aboriginal culture,” she said. “I cherished those books, and the stories my brother returned with after his travels to remote outback communities.

“Everything about Aboriginal people was new to me, I had never even seen an Aboriginal before.”

At the age of 18, Sister Val entered a convent and trained as a teacher while maintaining her desire to be “involved and connected with the first people of the land”.

She then moved to Crystal Brook, SA, and worked as a teacher at an orphanage [editor's note: where more than half the children were Aboriginal].

Wanting to combine teaching with welfare, she studied to complete a Bachelor of Social Science.

In the early 80s she was asked to come to WA, where she was part of the foundation Catholic community in Mt Magnet. She said she always dreamt of working with Aboriginal people in Aboriginal communities, but it was during this time she began to question the likelihood of her dream being realised.

“I started to think maybe it won’t happen and I should start opening up to the possibility of something else,” she said.

“Later that year, I was invited to take up a position to work with Aboriginal people and spent the first 12 months in my new position visiting different communities.

“I decided to isolate my work to WA, went to the Kimberley region and undertook relevant training before finally ending up at Wiluna.”

Living in a donga, she spent the next four and a half years spending time with Aboriginal people. A second donga was set up to be used by people in the community, where they could watch Aboriginal television shows, have a cup of tea and talk or meet to paint and create wood carvings.

After her time at Wiluna, Sister Val travelled to Daly River, Northern Territory, where she spent the next 12 years. During this time she worked as an adult educator, assistant principal and as part of a church community.

A call from Bishop Justin Bianchini saw her relocate to Geraldton more than six years ago. She said she spent her first few years here just getting to know people and would go to the mall, sit down on a bench and talk to people.

“It was important for me to first be a presence in the local community and let things take their own course,” she said.

“For Aboriginal people it’s all about relationships and it has taken time for people to know I’m fair dinkum.”

* Jessica Rock is a journalist with the Midwest Times. This article was first published in the Midwest Times, April 12, 2012. This material is West Australian Newspapers Copyright © and must not be reproduced without permission. Credit: The West Australian ©

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Aunty Joan Hendriks

Respected Indigenous elder and former pupil of Brisbane’s Lourdes Hill College, Aunty Joan Hendriks, has been awarded the Australian Catholic University’s (ACU) highest honour, Doctor of the University.

A Ngugi woman of one of the three clan groups of the Quandamooka People of Moreton Bay, Aunty Joan received the award earlier this month (May 4) for her contribution as an Indigenous elder and educator in the field of Aboriginal education, reconciliation and justice for Indigenous Australian peoples.

Speaking to The Good Oil this week, Aunty Joan said she was “gob-smacked” when she discovered she was receiving the ACU award. “I was just blown out of my tree,” she said.

Aunty Joan attended school at Saints Peter and Pauls, Bulimba and Lourdes Hill College, Hawthorne, where 60 years later she is now the respected Elder in Residence.

She graduated with an Associate Diploma in Aboriginal and Islander Welfare Studies from TAFE in 1986. In 1998 she gained a Diploma of Adult Vocational Education from Griffith University, and in 2008 she graduated from ACU with a Master of Arts (Theology).

Aunty Joan has assisted with education programs in Indigenous adult vocational education for more than 23 years. As an Elder in the Murri Court at Cleveland she has greatly contributed to their understanding of issues and concerns within the Indigenous community.

Aunty Joan committed 10 years, from 1996 to 2005, to a key reconciliation program with Churches Together Aboriginal Partnership. In this role she influenced attitudes to create awareness of and preserve Indigenous culture, influence government policy, and work against discrimination to promote reconciliation and justice within the community.

Such significant contributions have not gone unnoticed. Aunty Joan has received numerous awards including ACU’s Honorary Fellowship award, the Indigenous Higher Education Consultative Council National Elder of the Year Award, and the Australian Government Centenary Medal.

Recently, Lourdes Hill College honoured Aunty Joan with its first International Women’s Day Woman of the Year award for her involvement in cultural awareness as Elder in Residence. She also received the Queensland Catholic Education Commission Inaugural Aunty Joan Hendriks Spirit of Catholic Education Reconciliation Award.

“Family is central to a life in search of holistic well-being of body, mind and spirit,” said Aunty Joan.

“My belief in heritage and a sense of belonging in the community has been the driving force in my search for meaning, and in more recent years, I have been committed to bridging the gap between Christian traditions and Aboriginal Creation spirituality.”

Aunty Joan received her honorary doctorate during ACU’s Brisbane graduation ceremony on May 4 at the Brisbane Exhibition and Convention Centre.

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Governor-General, Quentin Bryce

A number of high profile Australian women from different walks of life are among the many generous people demonstrating their support for the Good Sams Foundation this year.

Last month Australia’s Governor-General, Her Excellency, Quentin Bryce, a long-time supporter of the Foundation and currently its Patron in Chief, was the principal guest speaker at the Foundation’s annual breakfast in Brisbane.

With her characteristic grace and poise, the Governor-General entertained and inspired her audience, speaking warmly of her association with the Good Samaritan Sisters and the vital work of the Foundation, particularly its programs for women and children escaping domestic violence. (Download the text of the Governor-General’s address here).

According to Foundation Business Manager, Sarah Fraser-O’Brien, the event exceeded all expectations, raising over $15,000 for two of the Foundation’s major projects, the Transitional Housing Program in Brisbane and The Good Samaritan Inn in Melbourne.

Justice Margaret White

“The breakfast was a sell-out with 180 guests, most of whom had no prior relationship with the Good Sams before the morning,” explained Sarah.

“Those present left [the event] understanding and appreciating our history and important work in the community.”

Meanwhile, this week (May 17), Her Honour, Justice Margaret White of the Queensland Court of Appeal, will be guest speaker at a fundraising lunch in Brisbane for the Foundation.

Targeting the legal fraternity, this event has been organised to coincide with the eightieth anniversary of the historic judgement of the House of Lords, Donoghue v Stevenson, which established the modern concept of negligence in English law.

In her address, Justice White will focus on the relevance of biblical principles (including the story of the Good Samaritan) to the law of negligence in contemporary Australia, and the local roots of the leading judge in the case, Brisbane-born, Lord Atkin.

Ita Buttrose

Later in June, legendary media editor, author and businesswoman, Ita Buttrose AO OBE, will be ‘MC’ and guest speaker at “Runways for Refuge”, the inaugural fashion parade for the Good Sams Foundation.

Sarah Fraser-O’Brien said the event will raise vital funds for the Foundation’s projects supporting women and children in crisis.

“Through the transitional housing projects and education courses, we aim to break the cycle of domestic violence by providing refuge, education and hope,” she said.

This event has been generously sponsored by a number of Brisbane fashion houses: Veuve Clicquot, Lady Lamington, Viviens Models, Frock Shop and the Emporium Hotel.

Another event on the Foundation’s calendar is a free, Family Fun Day on May 27 at John Scott Park in the Brisbane suburb of Samford.

“There will be plenty of free entertainment, colour and excitement,” said Sarah.

“Our objective is to celebrate the importance of harmony at home, celebrate young families and engage the community by providing many interactive activities.

“It’s also a forum where important resources and information can be made available. We are hoping to build awareness of the Good Sams Foundation and the Queensland Government’s Act as 1 campaign,” she said.

Now in its third year, Queensland’s Act as 1 campaign aims to challenge attitudes and behaviours that allow domestic and family violence to occur by urging everyday people to take action

If you’d like to know more about the Good Sams Foundation or get involved in its activities, contact Sarah Fraser O’Brien on Ph: (07) 3350 4032, E-mail: sfraserobrien@goodsamsfoundation.org.au or visit www.goodsamsfoundation.org.au

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St Scholastica's Year 10 catechist assistants Anuna, Constance and Anna

When Year 10 students from St Scholastica’s College, Glebe were asked earlier this year to assist a group of catechists at a nearby State primary school, college staff thought a few students might volunteer. Much to their surprise, about 40 girls expressed interest.

Speaking to The Good Oil recently, Alice Priest, a teacher and chaplain at the college, said the students expressed such a strong interest that six teams were formed to work with the group of catechists, mostly retired women and university students, from St James’ Parish in Glebe.

While Alice recognises the girls at St Scholastica’s are “certainly not Holy Joes”, she believes there is a strong culture of openness to religious education within the college community, “and so generally the whole cohort is supportive of each other making a choice like this”.

“It is a way for the girls to express the values of the college,” said Alice.

“They’re in Year 10, so I think they do like the idea of having that extra responsibility and going off site, all that kind of thing. But what was presented to them was the opportunity to grow in their own faith.”

So how does the initiative work?

Each Thursday morning over a five-week period, a team of girls visits Ultimo Primary School where they are paired with a catechist. During the half-hour lesson the girls work with a catechist in a Kinder, Year 1-2, Year 3-4 or Year 5-6 class. In the first week the girls spend time observing and by the last week they have the opportunity to lead the lesson.

“It’s been a really interesting experience,” said Alice.

“All the girls who’ve taken part in it so far have really got a lot out of it.”

Alice has also noticed that the Ultimo students have made a strong connection with the St Scholastica’s girls, mostly because they are closer in age and wear a school uniform.

“The students themselves do provide those kids at Ultimo with a witness [to their faith] that they don’t get anywhere else in their life,” she said.

The first team of St Scholastica’s students – Anuna Flaherty, Claudia Gilchrist, Danielle Chu, Constance Kikitis and Anna Linfield-Kent – completed their five-week experience at the end of first term, and from all reports, it was very positive.

“[The girls] would say they’ve got a new appreciation for the opportunities that they have in their own school experience and religious education classes,” said Alice.

For Danielle Chu, who worked with Year 1-2, the experience was just as important for her as it was for the students.

“It was a warm experience which made me think about our influence on children who are only beginning their Christian journey,” said Danielle.

“My most memorable moment was leading the Year 1-2 class in a hymn, ‘Jesus will always be our friend’. Everyone enthusiastically sang it. I think they’ll remember that too.”

Anuna Flaherty found the experience “extremely enjoyable” but not without its challenges.

“Working with the kids and helping them learn more about Caritas and how they can incorporate prayer into their daily routine was challenging at first, but once I got to know the students it was exciting and I became more motivated to create a relationship with the students and teach them about God and prayer,” said Anuna.

“I would definitely love to do more programs like this in future.”

The second team of girls from St Scholastica’s recently began their five-week experience at Ultimo Primary School. Based on the experiences so far, it seems this faith mentoring initiative promises to be a formative experience for all concerned.

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Evan Ellis

If you grabbed a handful of people off the street and asked them what they knew about fair trade, coffee and chocolate would feature prominently in their answers. This is a good starting place, says Evan Ellis

BY Evan Ellis*

I reckon if you grabbed a handful of people off the street and asked them what they knew about fair trade, coffee and chocolate would feature prominently in their answers. This is a good starting place (coffee and chocolate usually is), however the story of fair trade is a lot bigger than individual products.

It’s an ideal as well as a certification process; that trade (the process of buying, selling, or exchanging commodities) can and should be fair (free from bias, dishonesty, or injustice).

While awarding fair trade stickers to products that maintain high ethical and environmental standards is new, biblical literature is rich in injunctions to trade fairly. Take the perennial challenge of weighted scales (Lev 19:35-36, Deut 25:13, Prov 11:1, 16:11, 20:10, Hos 12:7, Mic 6:11).

Swindling an extra shekel or denarii with crooked scales was not only an affront to the wholesaler, but to God. “The Lord detests differing weights, and dishonest scales do not please him” (Prov 20:23).

At first glance this seems as fair as it is irrelevant. After all, when’s the last time any of us have dusted off the old trick-scales on the way to market; tough bargaining at a garage sale maybe, but dodgy scales?

The problem is that in the global economy the scales are weighted.

International trade laws overwhelmingly favour the rich and powerful, whether they are nations, corporations or individuals. They are certainly not the result of collegial bureaucrats with an overwhelming desire to share the world’s resources and wealth evenly.

In Australia, by and large, we benefit from this set up. We benefit when we buy cheap consumer goods that save on cost by paying their workers a miserly wage. We benefit when we enter into regional trade agreements with weaker states (such as the proposed Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations or PACER) and are unfair in our terms. And we benefit when we use our wealth, channelled through our aid program, as a bargaining chip for favourable access to new markets.

However, it doesn’t have to be this way.

While nations (or individuals) can be pretty egregious in the name of national (or self) interest, the Latin root of the word ‘interest’ is derived from inter (between, among) and esse (to be, being). This hints that if our interest (or being) was tailored with a keen awareness and respect for the interest of our neighbours (who we are between, among) it would most likely be a tremendous force for good.

Fair Trade takes this idea and runs with it. It maintains that it is possible for communities and nations to live alongside and trade with each other; that it doesn’t have to be a zero sum game. Cocoa farmers in West Africa or cotton producers in Peru have as much right to turn a buck as we do. With a little support and a curbing of a winner-takes-all approach that pervades business, this is possible.

The underlying caveat with Fair Trade though, is that profit can’t be the only aim. If it is, then logic dictates that paying just wages will only inflate the selling price. However, this is exactly the point Pope Benedict made explicit in his letter, Charity in Truth (Caritas in Veritate).

“Profit is useful if it serves as a means toward an end. Once profit becomes the exclusive goal, if it is produced by improper means and without the common good as its ultimate end, it risks destroying wealth and creating poverty.” (Caritas in Veritate #21).

Or, for those more mathematically inclined: common good > profit = fair trade.

What Fair Trade is attempting is nothing less than a bold judo throw in the economic sphere, whereby trade, which is no stranger to profit by “improper means”, becomes a powerful tool for development and sustainability.

While the Fair Trade system may be imperfect and not without its critics, it remains an initiative to be explored, developed and widely celebrated.

Coffee and chocolate anyone?

Fair Trade Fortnight is held in Australia from May 5-20, 2012. Find out more and take action.

* Evan Ellis completed a degree in communications at Sydney University. He worked at Caritas Australia for four years as the World Youth Day Co-ordinator, Special Projects Officer and Communications Officer. He was the Social Justice Co-ordinator for the Parramatta Diocese and is now completing a Masters in International Studies at Sydney’s University of Technology, majoring in China and Mandarin.

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Shannon Smith, Co-ordinator, Good Samaritan Inn, Melbourne

Now in its sixteenth year of operation, The Good Samaritan Inn in Melbourne continues to provide vital crisis accommodation and care for women and children escaping domestic violence and homelessness. But in the last year, staff at The Inn have been working on a new initiative with schools that they hope will reduce the need for safe havens like theirs.

“Ironically, we are working to put ourselves out of business; we’re working to make sure that places like this aren’t needed,” said Shannon Smith, Co-ordinator of The Inn.

“That will never happen, unfortunately… But you’ve got to be doing something. You can’t sit back and say ‘Oh well, we can’t help them all’. I think we can, and it’s been proven that with a little bit of awareness comes a lot of attitude change.”

In 2011, Shannon and her manager, Good Samaritan Sister, Michelle Reid, began to forge links with a number of local schools and discuss the possibility of violence prevention programs in their communities. Backed by broader research, it’s Shannon’s and Michelle’s belief that young people are the most important population to target with violence prevention efforts.

“Schools are now significant sites of violence prevention and respectful relationships education, both in Australia and internationally,” said Shannon.

By the beginning of this year, three schools – Santa Maria College Northcote, St Monica’s College Epping and Parade College Bundoora and Preston – had agreed to participate in The Inn’s program.

Still in its infancy, the program, called “We Can Do It”, aims to foster non-violent, respectful and equitable relationships within the school environment, targeting students, teachers, parents and the broader community.

Because the three schools involved have different needs, each program will be customised accordingly. However, the underlying program strategy is to raise awareness of violence in all its forms – from the overt expressions to the subtle and yet insidious.

“And then it’s changing behaviours and attitudes, and also getting information out there to kids who may be struggling, who may be experiencing tiny facets of these issues, empowering them with information to know that they’re not alone and that there are options out there for them,” explained Shannon.

So far the response from schools has been positive. “They’ve been so supportive; they’re really interested,” said Shannon.

According to Cathy O’Brien, Senior Teacher of Wellbeing and Counsellor-Psychologist at St Monica’s College Epping, her school agreed to participate in the program because of their commitment to develop and sustain positive relationships among students, teachers and parents.

“While generally we believe that our community demonstrates the ability to relate well within the various groups, we have been concerned about some aspects of relationships that have been revealing themselves over the past few years. In particular, we are concerned about the sexualisation of young people in society and how our young people are learning to relate to each other,” she said.

“The messages which are given through the media about body image, about sexuality and self-worth may be unrealistic, place emphasis on the superficial and visible attributes of people rather than inherent worth, and be disconnected from any moral framework. These messages are available to all young people with very few alternative messages.”

For Cathy, schools are important meeting places for young people. “Therefore, there is great potential to explore with our students the kind of lives they want for themselves, the society they wish to be part of.

“While this already occurs in a variety of ways at the College, the [Inn’s] project places a particular focus on this aspect of personal development and may provide the opportunity to bring together curriculum, programs and activities in a more co-ordinated way.”

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