Seminarian

+ Cardinal George Pell, Archbishop of Sydney
15 Nov 2009

Outsiders who do not know the Catholic Church well are sometimes surprised to discover the number and variety of Catholic subgroups.  Hundreds of religious orders and thousands of lay groups coexist.

New groups are always popping up, while others have run their course. 

One such group is the Neo-Catechumenal Way which has 22 young men preparing to be priests at Pagewood.

One such seminarian, Italian born, has just gone to Alotau in the south east corner of Papua New Guinea.

He is discovering this world, totally different from Italy and Australia, from the back of a ute as he travels along bumpy roads with breath taking scenery on every side.  The children were bare foot, busy with their play and nearly everyone walks.

He sailed to visit the isolated Ferguson Island accompanied by dolphins swimming next to the boat, where Australian Missionaries of the Sacred Heart planted the faith.

Many have worked there for thirty or forty years.  Luca’s letter explains "Now they are seventy or eighty years old but they are like pillars, all children of the Australian Church.  They left home when they were young and they have spent all their lives among the poor living as poor themselves.  They have not only brought the Gospel but also they have lived it.  It is beautiful to see them now.  Many of them are almost deaf and with sight problems (due to the treatment against malaria that they have undergone".

He also described their living conditions "They live in a very simple house made of logs of wood and panels covered with palm leaves, which is just a little bit better than the sheds in which the locals live.  Inside of the house, there is neither drinkable water nor hot water.  Power is available only between 7 and 9 in the evening.  There is no electricity for the rest of the day, no phone and the only means of communication is the radio.  There is no toilet.  The only comfort in the house is the mosquito net on top of the bed.  When the power goes off, the little town gets completely shrouded in darkness and the sound of the generator disappears.  There are neither cars nor streets.  The only noise that is left is that of the animals.  The house also is jammed with little – and not so little – animals."

I share his profound admiration for these fine men and the wonderful nuns who share their work.