The Catholic Leader - 12 November - Issue 5477

5 / 32

5
The Catholic Leader, November 12, 2017
News
BRISBANE Catholics are praying for the
archdiocese’s newest deacons including the first
permanent deacon to be ordained in seven
years.
Damien Everitt and Thomas Zaran-
ski were to be ordained deacons
on November 10, marking their
final stage before ordination to the
priesthood.
The two seminarians who are
in their sixth year at Holy Spirit
Seminary, Queensland, join fellow
Brisbane seminarian Brendan Gormley,
who is studying in Rome, in the transitional
diaconate.
After years of study and discernment, Rosies
general manager Andrew O’Brien (pictured) was
to be ordained a permanent deacon on Saturday,
November 11.
Mr O’Brien will be the first permanent deacon
ordained for the Brisbane archdiocese in seven
years.
Deacon Tim Shanahan was the last permanent
deacon ordained for Brisbane, on July 31, 2010.
Mr O’Brien’s ordination will take the number
of permanent deacons in Brisbane to 16.
While most deacons in the Catholic
Church are transitional, meaning their
ordination is in preparation for the
priesthood, the permanent diaconate
is a growing ministry.
Pope Paul VI asked the Second
Vatican Council to restore the
ministry of permanent deacon as a
sacrament of Holy Orders.
The majority of permanent deacons
are married and will dedicate the rest of
their lives to serving the Church, including pre-
siding at weddings, funerals, baptisms, assisting
at Masses, preaching the Gospel and homilies,
and providing pastoral care in parishes and other
settings.
– Emilie Ng
Full coverage of the transitional di-
aconate ordinations and the
permanent diaconate ordination will
feature in the November 19 edition
Diaconate growing in Brisbane
From page 1
“What the authorities should
do now is to allow the local
residents to go in and find ways
to help them.”
However, Prime Minister
Malcolm Turnbull said the new
facilities were of a “very high
quality” and urged detainees to
move.
The United Nations refugee
agency has slammed Australia’s
treatment of Manus Island
asylum seekers and called for
future processing to be moved
to mainland Australia.
“We urge the Australian
Government to transfer the men
to mainland Australia where
their claims can be properly pro-
cessed,” UNHCR spokesperson
Babar Baloch said in Geneva.
“We urge the governments of
Australia and Papua New Guin-
ea to fully respect their human
rights, including their specific
rights under refugee law.”
The relocation of the asylum
seekers to other facilities on
Manus Island is designed to
allow the United States time to
complete vetting of refugees
as part of a refugee swap deal
that Australia hopes will see it
no longer responsible for the
detention of nearly 1400 asylum
seekers who have been classi-
fied as refugees.
Those not accepted by the
US would likely be resettled in
PNG or in another developing
country, dashing their hopes of
coming to Australia.
Bishop Long described
asylum seekers as among the
most vulnerable members of the
global community, and said the
policy of offshore detention had
cost Australia dearly.
“It is time to find an alterna-
tive and conscionable solu-
tion, including accepting New
Zealand’s offer of resettlement
and bringing the remaining
detainees on Manus Island to
Australia,” he said, referring to
an offer by New Zealand to re-
settle 150 Manus Island asylum
seekers.
“Those who are not refugees
can be held here in secure
detention until they are returned
home. Those refugees accepted
for entry to the US can migrate
when their vetting processes are
complete. The other refugees
need to be able get on with their
lives here in safety.”
By Emilie Ng
PRIMARY teacher Patricia
Crilly can only guess how
many refugees have stared
into the Southern Cross on
their journey to Australia.
The Year 4 teacher and school choir
co-ordinator at St Luke’s Catholic
Parish School, Capalaba, is a refugee
advocate who has tried to understand
the terrifying journey refugees have
made while fleeing their homes.
Mrs Crillly (pictured) said she
received some insight into the plight
of refugees while visiting the Brisbane
Immigration Transit Accomodation
centre in Pinkenba.
“Going to the detention centre was a
big wake-up call for me,” she said.
“I was involved and meeting people
and hearing their stories.
“I stopped going because I just felt so
helpless.”
But the thought of thousands glaring
up at the Southern Cross has always
stayed with the England-born
Catholic.
“I started writing about
the Southern Cross and
all these images came
to me and it wouldn’t
leave me alone,” Mrs
Crilly said.
Her writing
eventually turned
into lyrics for her first
song, Refugee, which
she recorded recently.
The song follows the
journey of a refugee fleeing
their homeland with a baby and
who is “looking up at the stars and not
knowing really where they were but the
spirit of the Southern Cross is there”.
Featuring on the song is St Luke’s
own school choir, Emmaus Choir, and
local Redland Bay musicians John Dil-
lon and Steve Sparrow.
Refugee has already been played on
Byron Shire community radio station
Bay FM and has received support from
Afghan refugee and photographer
Muzafar Ali, who was at the
centre of a 2017 documen-
tary The Staging Post.
Mrs Crilly said
she met Mr Ali at
a screening of The
Staging Post and
shared with him the
idea of showing his
photographs while a
choir performed the
song.
“I gave (Mr Ali) a copy
of my song and I said I would
love to have images,” she said.
“He said I could use all of them.”
The song will also be used by an
Australian nurse who has worked in
refugee camps in Europe and will be
taking a team of teachers and volunteers
to Bangladesh this month.
Mrs Crilly said she would like to
see her song being used by schools and
universities across Australia to educate
people about refugees, and wanted no
profit in the process.
“It’s more about educating and advo-
cating and giving a voice to people who
probably have a voice but not many
people are listening to their voice,” she
said.
“I think art is a wonderful medium
for giving people a different paradigm
shift and making people think differ-
ently.
“It would be lovely to hear hundreds
of children sing the song.”
Mrs Crilly believes the Southern
Cross is a perfect metaphor for the
open arms of Christ.
“The Southern Cross is a beautiful
image because the Cross of Christ is
there as well,” she said.
“That calling and welcoming, there
is a place for you, you do belong on
this earth. Everyone who is born on
to this earth belongs on this earth and
should have a safe place to be.”
Brisbane teacher dedicates first song to refugees in Australia
Singing for justice: Patricia Crilly and musician John Dillon and members of the Emmaus Choir at St Luke’s Parish School, Capalaba, featured on a song dedicated
to refugees who have fled their homelands. Photo: Emilie Ng
Singing for justice
Manus Island
turning into
‘a disaster’