The Catholic Leader - 7 May

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The Catholic Leader, May 7, 2017
News
TOWNSVILLE’S sixth bishop has been installed after a
three-year wait for a successor to the late Bishop Michael
Putney.
Bishop Tim Harris, a priest of the Brisbane archdiocese,
was ordained and installed as the new shepherd for Towns-
ville on Wednesday, May 3.
Bishop Harris’ introduction to Townsville included
comforting families and individuals whose homes and busi-
nesses were ravaged by Cyclone Debbie.
Ahead of his episcopal ordination, an excited Bishop Har-
ris told The Catholic Leader he would be “a sign of unity”
and wisdom in a diocese that has waited so long for a leader.
“That’s my job though, to try to be that person in the mid-
dle that draws that wisdom together,” he said.
“But for better or for worse the Pope, the Spirit, has cho-
sen me so I’ve got to be able to rely on that help.
“God helps those whom God has called.”
As Bishop Harris’ episcopal ordination was held after
The Catholic Leader’s print deadline for this weekend, full
coverage of his ordination, including his first address, will
be featured in the May 14 edition of The Catholic Leader.
– Emilie Ng
Townsville has new bishop
New bishop: Bishop Tim Harris
Rosies ‘gravely concerned’ about increasing prevalence of
drug users on the streets in all areas
FROM PAGE 1
For about $40, a hit of ice can last over half a
day.
Users describe the effects as “totally euphoric”
and “feeling like superman” even though users
can become paranoid, aggressive and even
psychotic.
Queensland Police Comissioner Ian Stewart
has publicly drawn the link between ice use and
an increase in domestic violence callouts by
police.
It is now the most commonly used drug
among those entering prison, while ice-related
hospital admissions in Queensland have in-
creased by 20 times in the past six years.
On the Gold Coast, the St Vincent de Paul
Society receives between 100 and 150 calls a
day and, according to the society’s South Coast
diocesan council executive officer Shane Klint-
worth, “a lot of those people are affected by ice
or drug and/or alcohol addiction”.
“Rosies – Friends on the Street is gravely
concerned by the increasing prevalence of drug-
affected persons on the streets as noted across all
of our eleven branches,” Rosies general manager
Andrew O’Brien said.
“Our statistics indicate a growing number of
patrons, including children, seeking friendship
and community provided by Rosies.”
Other “ice corridors” identified in the govern-
ment report were Rockhampton to Aitkenvale,
including Townsville and Emerald, Gympie,
Maryborough and Bundaberg; and Springfield to
Mount Gravatt, including Browns Plains.
One care worker supporting families of ice
addicts told The Catholic Leader the scale of the
problem as “immense, complex and growing”
to the point that agencies had neither the fund-
ing nor resources to deal with the growing ice
scourge and its treatment of addicts.
Fr Dillon said there was a need for family
networks and providing support for parents and
siblings of ice users, as they shouldered the bur-
den as primary carers supporting ice addicts.
“And it can drive a wedge between parents
because of how they hope to address the problem
and help their child break the addiction – some
favour a direct approach, others a more subtle
one.”
Queensland’s Child Safety Minister Shannon
Fentiman said the latest quarterly child protec-
tion data unveiled at the state’s first ice summit
held in Rockhampton on April 27 had helped set
up strategies to combat the problem.
Ms Fentiman said 60 per cent of children who
had a parent using ice were aged under five.
“It’s especially concerning to me that so many
children whose parents were using ice were so
young,” she said.
“The study also showed us that where parents
were using ice, they were also more likely to
have a criminal history (seventy-eight per cent),
a diagnosed mental illness (seventy-three per
cent), they were more likely to have experienced
domestic and family violence in the past year
(sixty-eight per cent) and more likely to be
homeless (nineteen per cent).”
Ms Fentiman said parents in families identi-
fied to be having problems with ice use, but
who wanted to keep their children at home,
would be forced to undergo mandatory drug
testing.
“We have also announced for the first time we
will have drug and alcohol nurses embedded in
our family support services,” she said.
Ice scourge affects parishes
Family
conflict: “It
can drive
a wedge
between
parents
because
of how
they hope
to ad-
dress the
problem
and help
their child
break the
addiction
– some
favour
a direct
approach,
others a
more sub-
tle one.”