We begin the issue with an article by Columban Fr Donal McIlraith who battled rivers and mountains to offer Mass in a remote village in Fiji. The Columban spirit continues to shine.
Since our last edition we have lost two much loved priests, Columban Fr Pat Baker and Fr Joseph Yu of the Melbourne Archdiocese. Fr Jim Mulroney writes about Fr Yu being one of the last living links with the first Columban mission in China.
In the reflection, Columban Fr Pat O’Shea likens ‘The Accidental Tourist’ to our Church at some points in its history. He recalls how things have changed with Pope Francis who embodies the open stance taken by the bishops at Vatican II.
Fr Noel Connolly writes about coming to grips with being a ‘Southern’ Church and the need for us to build bridges to the wider Church. As always, Noel leaves us with a lot to think about.
After a long illness, Columban Fr Pat Baker died at the Palliative Care Unit of St Vincent’s Hospital on October 12, 2019. When I invited Pat to be part of the 2018 Columban pilgrimage to China, he said it would have been a wonderful experience but he was on his own personal pilgrimage. Little did I realise just how ill he was. He will be remembered for his courage and commitment to Columban Mission. Rest in peace, Pat.
Columban Fr Dan Harding gives a graphic account of the recent rioting and devastation that has taken place in Chile. He asks us to imagine what it is like with no police and vandals smashing, breaking, burning and bullying anyone or anything they can get their hands on.
Pope Francis sends a message to the World Food Programme: ‘Each human has a right to healthy and sustainable nutrition.’ He says that if we wish to build a future where no-one is left behind we must create a present that radically rejects squandering food.
In his role as Regional Director of Oceania, Columban Fr Trevor Trotter reflects on the new Region’s vision and mission.
On his First Mission Assignment (FMA) in Pakistan, seminarian Elbert Balastro from the Philippines is surprised and heartened by the welcome he has received from people regardless of religion and culture.
A Columban who attended the Synod on the Amazon said that it was a fine example of what the Pope means by a Synod, a body that listens rather than teaches. All up, some 87,000 voices were recorded.
Columban Fr Pat Raleigh recently visited the Columbans in Peru and was shown around Manuel Duato, a school for physically and intellectually challenged children and adolescents. It is the largest special needs school in Peru and the emphasis is on life skills rather than academics.
With grateful thanks to you, our benefactors, who ensure that the mission of God continues to assist those in most need across the world and in our own country.
Janette Mentha
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Related links
- Read more from The Far East, January/February 2020
