2014 Annual Report

Our Global Mission

As Columban Missionaries we live and share the Gospel of Jesus through: working

with poor and exploited people, seeking justice and dignity for those denied their

rights, developing faith communities in the local church, respect and care for the earth

and the environment.

Our Purpose

During the 2013/2014 financial year (to 31 March 2014) Australia sent an amount of $1,308,873 to the Society's General Council as financial support for Columban missionaries overseas.The Australian Region meets its operating costs from the revenue generated by its fundraising activities. It is the surplus (fundraising revenue less costs in Australia) that is remitted to the General Council.

Fundraising revenue sources include donations, bequests, sales of publications, investment income, remuneration earned by Columban priests and also contributions made by Columbans.The General Council allocates the funds to the overseas Mission Units based on approved budget expenditure. The expenditure includes the living costs for Columban missionaries and funding of their engagement in specific ministries. Living costs also include healthcare and retirement expenses for the aged and incapacitated Columbans.

Your Support

The Society was formally established in 1918 and takes its name from St Columban, Ireland’s sixth century missionary to Europe. The co-founders, Frs Edward Galvin and John Blowick, invited others who embraced their vision and the first Columbans went to China in 1920. At first the vision did not extend beyond China. But Christ’s command was - “Go make disciples of all nations.” The Society responded to the missionary needs of the Church and now works in 19 countries.

Due in large part to the impetus of Vatican II, the Church has become more aware of her mission in and to our world. In this regard, we Columbans take a special interest in social justice, as many of those to whom we have been sent, live in poverty or even misery. We have grown in awareness of our role as stewards of the planet. As missionaries we learn to distinguish between the essentials of our Christian faith and cultural factors that have become intertwined with the faith. A major challenge on entering into dialogue of faith with another people is to understand, appreciate and respect their way of seeing and doing things.

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St Columbans Mission Society

2014 Annual Report

Dear Columban Friends,

2014 is nearly over, the Missionary Society of St Columban in Australia and New Zealand enjoyed another steady year of support from our generous benefactors. Significant events took place which are worth mentioning. The General Council of the Missionary Society convened what is called an IRMU meeting early in March 9-14 in Manila, in the Philippines. An Inter-Regional Mission Unit meeting is comprised of the leadership of the Regions and Mission Units to spend time in planning for the future. Issues such as zonal co-operation were on the agenda - the particular responsibilities that each Region or Mission Unit has in the larger plan of the Society. For example, the ANZ Region has the responsibility of raising money for the missionary countries in which we work and for promoting mission awareness in the Australia/New Zealand Region.

In late November 2013, Fr Arturo Aguilar, the present Vicar General of the Society visited Australia and New Zealand for the first time to become more familiar with our Region. He is an American from Texas in the United States of America with an Hispanic background. The World Youth Day pilgrims who went to Brazil stopped off in Santiago in Chile and spent three or four days visiting Columban parishes in poorer areas, meeting the people and being hosted by them. The trip was well organised by Fr Dan Harding and lay co-workers Mrs Janette Mentha and Ms Assunta Scarpino from the Columban Mission Centre. Fr Harding, the present editor of The Far East has spent 21 years in Chile as a Columban missionary priest. The stop-over was a great success for the pilgrims and provided many insights into the way other people live or sometimes just survive.

Four missionary priests died since the last annual report was tabled. Fr Patrick Hickey had worked in Mindanao in the southern Philippines in the 1960’s; Fr John O’Hara spent his life as a missionary priest in Korea, Fr Peter Doyle had been a diocesan priest in the Queensland diocese of Rockhampton who joined the Columbans after a term in Peru as an associate priest. Fr Leo Donnelly went to Peru in the 1950’s and was well known to readers of The Far East magazine. All four had spent many years in missionary work, may God reward them for their labours.

Fr Patrick McInerney, the Director of the Columban Mission Institute took a well deserved Sabbatical break during the year by making a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in Spain along one of the less well travelled routes from the south through that part of the country which was once held by the Moors and whose influence in many ways like art and architecture still remains. He also studied in Jerusalem.

Fr Trevor Trotter was appointed to Brisbane where he works for three days with the Brisbane Archdiocese. He directs the Diaconate Programme in the Archdiocese as well as being a competent spiritual director. He is also the co-ordinator of The Far East promotion in the Archdiocese where the Columbans have been given permission by Archbishop Coleridge to promote the magazine. He has been assisted in this by Fr Sean Coyle and Fr Bernard Dagge who travelled down from the Philippines and Korea respectively.

Fr Gary Walkerdirector@columban.org.au

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Wishing you every blessing,

Thank you

We thank all Columban friends who so generously supported us during the 2013/14 year.

We also acknowledge the following Archdioceses and parish priests who gave us permission to promote The Far East magazine in their parishes.

* Brisbane Archdiocese* Melbourne Archdiocese

Bequests

St Columbans Mission Society has been able to work with the poor in many countries throughout Asia and South America because generous people had the vision to contribute to our work through a bequest in their will.

We offer our heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of all those who left a gift to the St Columbans Mission Society during the 2013/14 year.

Vocations

Since 1918, hundreds of men have answered God’s call to serve Him and His people as Columban Missionary Priests in foreign lands. Missionary priests are as needed today as ever they were in the past to bring Christ to the nations of the Earth. As Columban Benefactors and friends, you can help promote vocations to the priesthood through your prayers, your support and by actively promoting priestly vocations amongst young people. If you know any young man discerning a vocation to follow Christ as a missionary priest, please contact:

Fr Dan HardingColumban Mission CentreTelephone: (03) 9375 9475Email: dharding@columban.org.au

From the Director

2014 Annual Report

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Columban Mission Centre (CMC) strives to find ways of linking the Columban constituency with global mission. It provides information, ideas and insights relating to Columban work, concerns and advocacy. It seeks prayer, and other forms of support for the work of the Columbans.

2014 Annual Report

Columban Mission Centre

In addition to the publication of Columban flag ships, The Far East magazine and the Columban Art Calendar there was a more concentrated effort in Social media building up to the World Youth Day (WYD) Chile experience in July 2013. The effort resulted in WYD pilgrims and others in Australia, New Zealand and Chile interacting and engaging before the event.

Publications and Communications

A new initiative - WYD Columban Mission Experience Chile 2013

The aim of the WYD Chile initiative was for pilgrims to experience first-hand the mission of the church Ad gentes purpose and to create an awareness of the importance of the New Evangelization, of overseas and cross cultural mission. It was an opportunity for Columbans to promote vocations to the priesthood and religious life.

150 Pilgrims, one Diocesan Bishop, 11 Diocesan priests, two Religious Brothers and one Religious Sister from 11 dioceses in Australia and two in New Zealand were welcomed into their parishes with a Eucharist. They experienced a week of well planned and co-ordinated mission experience with shared meals, workshops, Eucharistic celebrations, guided walks, visits to pastoral centres, dance and cooking lessons, sports, mission activities, times of prayer and silence, shared reflection and tears as the week came to an end.

The Mission Experience would not have been possible without the support and hard work of Chilean priests, lay missionaries, sisters and parishioners in each of the parishes, many of whom took time off work or took their yearly holidays in order to prepare for and participate in the Mission Experience.

Both the small personal experiences and encounters between people and as well as the big groups events helped to lead the pilgrims and the parishioners alike to a deeper understanding of our common faith and humanity.

After the event CMC began developing a marketing strategy to keep in touch with the pilgrims and prepare for the upcoming Youth Festivals and Vocation’s Conferences.

150 World Youth Day (WYD) pilgrims participated in the Mission Experience in Chile.

The Centre for Peace, Ecology and Justice The Centre has run Education and Formation programs across four dioceses, including a formation program for teachers called “Growing a Culture of Peace”, a lecture and tutorials with Religious Education students at ACU, Strathfield, and workshops with teachers, young adults and school students. We produced an online Lenten resource called “The Grace of Earth.” We co-ordinated the Faith Ecology Network’s (FEN) Interfaith Enrichment Day in the Blue Mountains which enabled spiritual reflection and learning about ecosystems there. We also held a film night showing “The Journey of the Universe” for a large multi-ethnic, multi-religious audience who heard responses from teachers from five major world religions.

The Centre for Christian-Muslim RelationsWe foster mutual understanding between Catholics and Muslims through talks, networking, publishing Bridges and attending various Muslim and interfaith events. One highlight was the Abraham Conference, which brings Jews, Christians and Muslims together for discussion. We arranged the keynote speaker, Archbishop Michael Fitzgerald, former President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, to address the theme “Faith & Media”, followed by a youthful panel from all three faiths including our Centre’s Ms Ashleigh Green. Another highlight was the public lecture by Archbishop Fitzgerald, “Interreligious Dialogue in Our Day” which we co-hosted with the Catholic Institute of Sydney. Current world events show the importance of our interfaith efforts.

The Centre for Mission Studies The Centre continues to provide courses online through the Broken Bay Institute and the University of Newcastle and face-to-face at the Catholic Institute of Sydney. We have also given keynote speeches and workshops to many groups such as Mary Aikenhead Ministries, St John of God Health, Calvary Health, the Catholic Education Office at Broken Bay, Lasallian Mission Council and a number of Colloquiums on Pope Francis’ The Joy of the Gospel in several capital and regional cities. We have also led clergy renewal programmes for some dioceses.

Contact Information:

Columban Mission Institute, Locked Bag 2002, STRATHFIELD, NSW, 2135P: (02) 9352 8000 F: (02) 9746 8033 Email: cmi@columban.org.au

2014 Annual Report

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Columban Mission InstituteThe Columban Mission Institute continues to “punch above its weight” in contributing missionary input into the pressing issues of our day.

Gabrielle McMullen with Fr Noel Connolly

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Connecting works for Justice, Peace and Ecological Integrity (JPIC) is central to Columban preaching and action for God’s Life given in Jesus. We search for God’s Kingdom as we promote structures of goodness and oppose life-sapping structural evil. Life is a web, a seamless garment.

JPIC is based at the Columban Mission Institute in Sydney, and importantly, it collaborates with church and secular agencies. Major campaigns 2013-2014 have focused on food, climate change and growing peace.

FOOD is the focus of a network of campaigns – availability of nutritious food, preserving farm land from extractive industries, resisting untested genetic modified ingredients in foods (GMOs) and field trials of GMO wheat, label foods for consumer’s informed choice, questioning foreign investment to gain vertical control of the food chain, slave migrant labour in food growing and processing, trade agreements that allow foreign companies to sue for ‘disadvantage’ over food safety regulations and more. Believers are given reasons to be active in promoting good food regulations and monitoring. Columban JPIC works particularly with MADGE, GE Free Australia, SFFA and AFTINET.

CLIMATE CHANGE is the focus for many JPIC partners: with the Faith and Ecology Network (FEN) held public meetings on mining and gas industries and held a prayer vigil in Martin Place; with the RSM Sister’s eco-centre Rahamin explored alternative farming methods for water conservation and burying carbon; hosted a Chilean Columban speaker; promoted the Climate Commission’s online publication ‘The Angry Summer’; with the ecumenical Eco Mission urged church leaders in promote the ecological vocation of their communities; with ARRCC and Lock the Gate helped put a faith voice in the public arena.

GROWING PEACE is a common international campaign for Columbans working in most nations around the Pacific Ocean Rim. The growing tension between China and the USA is optimised by the building of a naval base on Jeju Island in South Korea. Increased militarisation of Darwin, Alice Springs and Perth bases are part of this strategy. The Columban Society has set up of a dedicated JPIC Office. It coordinates a global campaign for growing peace set among a bundle of JPIC concerns.

Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation Report 2014

JPIC

2014 Annual Report

Overseas Mission - Chile

Columban Missionary priests arrived in Latin America, in both Chile and Peru, in 1952. After the communist victory in China in 1949 and the subsequent expulsion of all missionaries, the Columbans looked around for new missionary commitments to undertake.

They decided to join the great movement of enthusiastic Catholic missionaries heading to Latin America, which had been decreed

Report on Columban Mission - Chilefirstly by Pope Pius XII (1939-58) and enthusiastically followed by his successors Pope John XXIII (1958-63) and Paul VI (1963-78). Pope John XIII asked every single Diocese and Religious Congregation in the North America to do a membership and financial “tithe”, that is, that 10% of all their priests and collections were to be sent to Latin America for the next 10 years. Pope Paul VI asked European Dioceses and Congregations to follow.

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2014 Annual Report

These 20th century Popes had called for thousands of missionary priests to go to Latin America, statistically the most Catholic part of the planet, because they became aware that the old Latin American Catholic Church had become stagnant and was unable to cope with the new changing historical circumstances. This Church had become too connected with the local political and economic establishment. It thus could not cope with its severe priest shortage and the new emerging challenges of rapid urbanization, industrialization and the strong growth of Protestant Pentecostalism and the rapid spread of Marxism.

Columban Mission in Chile (and Peru) for the last 62 years has to be seen first and foremost as a part of this great missionary movement which helped lead the Post Vatican II Latin American Church into Pastoral, Sacramental and Liturgical renewal, with a renewed emphasis on the Word of God, Prayer, small Basic Christian Communities, an Option of the Poor and Marginalized, a Social Justice engagement of empowerment for the poor and a commitment against oppression and discrimination.

All of Chile’s 26 Diocesan Bishops would welcome Columban missionaries to administer their parishes.

Columban Mission as it is today Parish Based - Pastoral, Liturgical, Sacramental, JPIC Ministry.

Since 1952, almost all Columban Missionary work is parish based. During those 62 years, we have worked in over 30 distinct parishes, being the founders of more than half of these parishes. Even though Columbans have been offered various parishes located in middle class areas, every single parish that we have accepted are located on the peripheries of the large cities and in poor rural areas, that are marginalized areas of shanty towns and public housing estates, dominated by drug and alcohol abuse, criminal gangs, domestic violence, mental and physical health problems, poor educational opportunities, unemployment, suicides, struggle and despair.

In our parish work, Columbans work in partnership with the members of Parish Pastoral Councils, Catechists, Religious Sisters, Permanent Deacons, Seminarians and Columban Lay Missionaries. Our missionary task is to evangelize the people of the area where the parish is located and to be of service to them in any way we can.

Columbans never stay in one parish for many years. Our missionary strategy is to arrive, at the request of the local Bishop, in one of the large new housing estates and shanty towns somewhere on the outskirts of the city, where there is little or no formal Church presence. We then go about developing Christian communities and forming local lay leaders and catechists. Eventually we cooperate with the local faithful in building churches and chapels. Soon after, we hand this new parish over to the Bishop and Diocesan clergy, and move to another new areas to start the whole process over again.

At the current time, we have 4 parishes in Santiago - San Matías, Santo Tomas, San Columbano and Nuestra Señora del Rosario. We also have the parish of Sagrada Familia in the city of Valparaiso (120kms from Santiago) and the parish of Sagrado Corazón in the City of Alto Hospicio, 1850kms to the north. Our Columban JPIC Office works with similar Church groups on important issues at the level of Chilean Society and as well as in our parishes on local issues.

The importance of financial support for Columban Mission in Chile

Apart from the different programmes for sacramental, liturgical and pastoral formation of the laity, each parish also offers a variety of services for the people of the area which would not be possible without the financial support of overseas benefactors.

This may include feeding programmes for the aged poor and young malnourished children, homework support and coaching along with computer access for children at night at the parish centre, programmes to support adolescent mothers and fathers, access for short conversations with lawyers without cost about pending legal matter, access to volunteer medical professionals, access to drug and alcohol rehabilitation centres, empowerment and personal development programmes for women, youth activities and support for shanty dwellers on raising the minimum deposit to be able to register for the public housing scheme.

Typical large public housing estate in the parish of San Matias. Between the apartment blocks is a no-man’s land dominated by youth gangs and drug addicts.

Parish feeding programme for the aged poor.

www.columban.org.au ST COLUMBANS MISSION SOCIETY

St Columbans Mission SocietyPO Box 752, Niddrie, Vic 3042(69 Woodland Street, Essendon, Vic 3040)Ph: (03) 9375 9475 Fax: (03) 9379 6040Email: info@columban.org.auwww.columban.org.au

Front & Back Cover: World Youth Day pilgrims in Chile, 2013