Friday 10 July 2020
ARCHBISHOP’S OPEN LETTER
INQUIRY INTO THE CHILDREN AND COMMUNITY SERVICES AMENDMENT BILL 2019.
As you may know, our state government has introduced the Child and Community Services Amendment Bill 2019 which seeks to make it mandatory for priests to report any incidence of child sexual abuse including those heard in confessions made during the Sacrament of Reconciliation. This would mean that the seal of confession to protect the penitent would be broken and in actual fact, force priests to betray the trust of penitents. Archbishop Timothy Costelloe has explained that in accordance with Church teachings, all priests have taken a vow to uphold the Seal of Confession to protect
the penitent and the integrity of the Sacrament. Archbishop Timothy Costelloe has clearly stated that the Catholic Church treats child sexual abuse as a serious offence and he is committed to the protection of children. This is clearly evidenced by the measures put in place to safeguard our children from sexual abuse, something which is taken very seriously by the entire Catholic community.
The Archbishop explained in his open letter, the effects of these proposed amendments by the state government contained in Section 124BA in the following way, “In short what this means is that any information disclosed to a priest during the course of Confession which leads the priest to believe that a minor is being sexually abused must be reported to the authorities, irrespective of the wishes of the penitent. Failure to do so will constitute a criminal offence under the proposed amendment”.
We have been encouraged to make submissions to the committee reviewing the bill to express our concerns as a Catholic community in regards to how the amendments would violate the Sacrament of Reconciliation and its detrimental effects to all penitents. Please read Archbishop Timothy’s open letter,which is available at the back of the Church. Submissions can be made as groups of parishioners or as individuals. The link for submissions can be found in the Archbishop’s open letter and the deadline for all submissions is Friday 24th July 2020.
For a comprehensive guide to assist individuals and groups in writing their submissions, please contact:
Kenneth 0413 643 233 email: kenaphua@gmail.com or
Soma 0403 536 805 email: smuthucumaru54@gmail.com .
An oral session is also available to help you in writing your submissions on Saturday 18 July at 9.45am in the Meeting Room adjacent to the quadrangle. We encourage you to make this a priority to protect the Sacrament of Reconciliation and our Catholic faith.
PLANNED GIVING ENVELOPES
Boxes of Planned Giving envelopes are now available in the Church Foyer for collection. They are in alphabetical order. Please pick them up after Mass. We would like to thank you for your generous support to the Parish Planned Giving.
WITH SINCERE THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS
JUSTINA & KEITH FROM BRYTALIFE.
Saint Thomas More, Bateman Parish would like to express our sincere thanks to our generous sponsors, Justina and Keith for kindly donating Brytalife sanitiser products and treatments, together with the dispensers and stands for our church. We truly appreciate their wonderful support to our parish with Brytalife sanitiser products to keep our parishioners safe. For more information on Brytalife, please visit their website: www.brytalife.com
WEDNESDAY FAITH PROGRAM RESUMES ON 22 JULY 2020
Good news for those eagerly awaiting the return of our Wednesday morning sessions! We will resume the program on Wed 22 July at 10am in the parish meeting room 2, as usual. You may recall that when the sessions came to an abrupt pause, we were mid-way through our Lenten program, the video series No Greater Love – A biblical walk through Christ’s Passion. Filmed on location in the Holy Land, and presented by author Edward Sri, this gripping pilgrimage reveals Christ’s amazing love for us.
We have had several requests to continue the series to its completion, so we will present the next episode, titled, The Death of the Messiah. In this session, we will walk with Jesus on the way of the Cross, highlighting the significance of Simon of Cyrene carrying Jesus’ cross and the women of Jerusalem weeping for Jesus. We will also explore the extraordinary events that occur when Jesus dies, including the Roman Centurion’s statement, “Truly this is the Son of God” (Mt 27:54).
All are welcome to the program, even if you have not attended previous sessions. You are invited to come early to prepare a hot drink for yourself before the video begins. In the interests of health and safety, we request that you bring your own cup but tea, coffee etc will be provided. Following the video, we will pause for a short personal reflection, after which those who wish to, may share their thoughts. The session closes at about 11.30am with a prayer.
For further information, please call Carolin (0432 855 605) or Su (0413 560 033)
RCIA NEWS – SATURDAY 25TH JULY AT 6.30PM
As a result of COVID-19 the RCIA Sacramental Programme did not occur at Easter Time. The Sacraments will now be received by our Elect at the 6.30 pm Mass on Saturday 25th July 2020. If this is your Mass of choice, please be aware that this will be a somewhat longer ceremony than the normal Saturday Evening Mass.
Due to the alterations to our 2019/20 Programme and the consequent time limitations our next RCIA Course will commence with an Enquiry Night on 6th May, 2021.
If for a particular reason you wish to be received into the Church before this date please contact one of our Priests or the Church Office and we will endeavour to accommodate you.
SACRAMENT OF THE EUCHARIST – 8TH/9TH & 15TH/16TH AUG
The Sacrament of the Eucharist will be celebrated in Bateman Parish on the weekends of the 8th /9th and the 15th /16th August 2020. All candidates now have their photos displayed in the church.
The Parent Meeting for the children of the parish will be held on Thursday 23rd July at 5.45pm for a 6pm start in the church.
Let us, as a parish community support these children, their families and their teachers by praying for them as they prepare for their First Holy Communion.