St Patrick's Cathedral Parramatta Cathedral Office: 1 Marist Place Parramatta NSW 2150

Telephone 8839 8400 Web: http://www.stpatscathedral.com.au

Emergency Calls 0417 848 522

Sunday 21 June Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Dear Friends,

I would like to inform you that I will be

leaving St Patrick’s Parish in the next few

weeks. I have also decided to begin the

process of moving from the Diocese of

Parramatta and seeking incardination into another Diocese.

This has not been an easy decision from me, since

Parramatta holds a very dear and intimate place in my life.

This is the place where my family settled after arriving from

Egypt in 1957. We worshipped at St Margaret Mary’s

Church, Merrylands. My brother and I attended St

Margaret Mary’s Primary School, Merrylands and Patrician

Brothers Granville (now Delaney College). I farewelled and

buried Mum and Dad from this Diocese. It does hold many

beautiful and tender memories for me.

What has brought me to this decision is a gradual

deterioration of my faith, trust, respect and confidence in

the leadership of this Diocese. Ever since the Parish stood

up to the Diocese in regard to the ill-conceived St Pat’s

Quarters Project, there has been a move to remove me

from my position as Parish Priest and Dean of St Patrick’s.

The shameful way in which the Diocesan leadership has

dealt with this Parish, trying to accuse the Parish of financial

mismanagement during the 2019 Parish Audit. This process

was flawed and corrupt from its inception. The audit was

never shown to the Parish and yet it was tabled at three

separate Diocesan groups: the Curia, the Diocesan Finance

Committee and the College of Consultors. As a result, the

Bishop instigated a forensic audit of the Parish through the

services of KPMG, at a cost of over $25,000. All this could

have been avoided if they were prepared to sit with myself

and members of the Parish Finance Committee to discuss

the issues, as the forensic report noted issues which the

Parish has been raising with the Chancery, but which have

not been acted on by them. The entire audit process,

flawed from the start, was punitive rather than formative.

After some eight months the Parish has still not seen the

audit.

As a result of the disgusting way in which Fr Warren

Edwards, Parish Priest of Our Lady of the Angels, Rouse Hill,

was treated over the construction of Sancta Sophia College,

which resulted in bullying allegations being made against

him by the Director of CEDP, Greg Whitby, Fr Warren was

placed in a position where his mental and physical health

were greatly affected. He had decided to move to the

Archdiocese of Hobart for a period of five years. This has

resulted in the priests at Katoomba being asked to take on

the pastoral care of Rouse Hill. I was asked to take on the

pastoral care of the parish of Katoomba, as a means of

‘legally’ removing me from this Parish. In responding to

Bishop Vincent regarding the interim period between my

departure and the arrival of the new Dean, I had suggested

that Fr Chris del Rosario be appointed here as acting

Administrator and Dean. Fr Chris is more than capable to

take on this mission for the ensuing months. I had

suggested this since it would be a smooth and least

disruptive measure in this transitional period. No dialogue

was entered into by the Diocesan leadership, even though

we have heard from the Bishop that the ‘new’ Church needs

to exhibit a decision-making process ‘from the bottom up,

and not from the top down’. This sentiment is lost in words

and never seen in actions. The Bishop’s response in a letter

to me (27th May 2020) stated: ‘as to arrangements after

your departure from the Cathedral there are several

scenarios currently under consideration…’ It is typical of

the Diocesan leadership in not involving people who are

more familiar with the pastoral needs of the Parish. It would

have been more pastorally sound to have included

members of this Parish in the conversation of these ‘several

scenarios’.

In all dear friends I am very grateful for your friendship and

acceptance of me since my arrival at St Patrick’s in 2014. I

was slightly overawed in taking on this ministry, but your

hospitality and the manner in which you have immersed

yourselves in the life of this wonderful Parish has been an

incredible source of inspiration for me. I know that I will be

leaving you in very good hands. Fr Chris has proven to be

an exemplary priest with a truly pastoral heart. He remains

a very close and dear friend. Please continue to work with

him and support him during this time of transition and

beyond. The Parish Staff here have been phenomenal.

They have given an enormous amount of their time and

talent – above and beyond what was required – and always

with a joyful heart and disposition. In this difficult moment

From the Dean’s Desk

of change and transition, it is important for all to keep in mind the purpose of the mission here at St Patrick’s Parramatta –

to continue to build the Kingdom of God. We are blessed to have such people in this Parish. I ask that you receive the

priests assigned during this period with the same hospitality and friendship that you have shown me. This also needs to be

extended to Fr Robert Riedling when he arrives later in the year. This is a time for you, the Parishioners to continue to build

on the great foundations that have made this one of the best Parishes in the Diocese. May I remind you of a very important

article from Canon law: Canon 212 para 2 and 3, which state: ‘Christ’s faithful are at liberty to make known their needs,

especially their spiritual needs, and their wishes to the pastors of the Church….and to manifest their views on matters which

concern the good of the Church.’

May I leave you with words from St Paul, which echo very deeply my sentiments at this moment:

I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my

prayers for all of you, because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. I

am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to

completion by the day of Jesus Christ. It is right for me to think this way about all of you,

because you hold me in your heart, for all of you share in God’s grace with me, both in my

imprisonment and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel. For God is my witness, how

I long for all of you with the compassion of Christ Jesus. And this is my prayer, that your

love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight to help you to determine

what is best, so that in the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, having produced

the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise

of God. [Philippians 1:3-11]

Thank you and may the Lord continue to bless you each day with his love and grace.

Fr Bob Bossini, Dean and Parish Priest

Petition to Keep Fr Bob Fr Bob’s contract as Parish Priest and Dean of the Cathedral will expire in September this year. Fr Bob was appointed by Bishop Vincent to go to Katoomba parish as described in the article above. Fr Bob has not committed any crime as rumoured and we hope that the article written above explains his stand. The petition was initiated and continues to be driven by parishioners.

Farewell For Fr Bob While we are aware that there is a petition being circulated in our community requesting an extension on Fr Bob’s contract here at the Cathedral, we also do not wish to see Fr Bob leave the parish on July 5 without a proper farewell, should this petition not be successful in its intention.

To acknowledge the wonderful work that Fr Bob has done in the Cathedral in the last 6 years, there will be a farewell lunch organised in the hall and cloister area on July 4 after the 11am Mass. It is hoped that restrictions will be further eased by then. Please RSVP by calling the parish office on 8839 8411 or email enquiry@stpatscathedral.com.au

Reconciliation We are pleased to announce Reconciliation will be held on Monday - Friday 11.15pm-12.20pm and on Saturday 8.30am and 5.00pm until further notice. Please note that strict social distancing rules will be applied. Confession (during restrictions) will take place in the Cloister Café.

Formation - Repairing Wrongdoing Mark your calendar for our next Formation. The speaker for the event is Fr Chris del Rosario.

Time: 7.30pm - 9.00pm Venue: St Patrick’s Cathedral

We will also be livestreaming to St Patrick’s Facebook page.

Friday 26 June

Planned Giving envelopes will

be distributed shortly. If you

would like to make any chang-

es, please contact the office.

card and you have updated

details, please also contact the

If you would like to make a

donation or pay an

www.stpatscathedral.com.au

From the Diocese Please join with others as we create community online to share and grow faith, every Saturday from 11am - 12pm with Saturday Sessions. Listen to the pre-recorded presentation about a topic of faith before Saturday 11am and then join an online group discussion via Zoom between 11am – 12pm. Register in advance for this meeting to receive the links for the presentation and meeting: https://dioceseofparramatta.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJItd-mrqTwsG9MCcqUO4Akm5Tp3HEjdKeu0 After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about the presentation for this week and a link to join the meeting. 20th June 2020 “Welcome the Stranger” Refugee Week 2020 Patrice Moriarty, Social Justice Coordinator with Hava, Sabeen, Miriam and Georgia from Sydney Alliance and House of Welcome. Hear first-hand the experience and stories of refugees and people seeking asylum in our diocese. Look into why welcome is so important in the practice of our faith and how COVID-19 and its economic impact have affected asylum seekers and refugees and what we can do to welcome and help out. Please contact Lisa Bright on lisa.bright@parracatholic.org if you cannot access the presentation to watch before Saturday 11am, or for further details or questions.

Diocese of Parramatta response to the ABC Report – 17 June 2020 There is a report about the Diocese of Parramatta on the ABC today.

The headlines read “Church in Parramatta asks priests to donate JobKeeper money to the Diocese”.

This statement is untrue to the extent that no JobKeeper money was diverted to the Diocesan funds.

To clarify the position of the Diocese of Parramatta on this issue and to provide context, it is well-known that religious

organisations are entitled to make use of the JobKeeper program.

This is public information and is not something new.

As parishes were forced to shut down for months due to COVID-19, collection plate donations which go towards the clergy

stipend came to an abrupt halt. In some instances, this meant a 100% drop in donations to some parishes.

Some members of the clergy were eligible for JobKeeper. They may or may not choose to avail themselves of the program.

The money they received was used to help offset the loss of those donations.

Given the extremely rapid nature and changing legislation around COVID-19, the Diocese of Parramatta sought

independent advice on this issue to ensure we were adhering to the requirements.

Based on this independent advice, and to ensure we kept within the spirit and intention of JobKeeper, it was decided the

best use of the funds was to direct clergy to keep the payment.

Clergy were free to make a voluntary contribution to the clergy support fund, if they chose to do so.

The Diocese of Parramatta is grateful to the Federal Government for this assistance.

We are mindful of the many in the community who are doing it tough during this crisis.

We are confident that our clergy-recipients of JobKeeper will put the taxpayer-funded money to good use.

Regards,

Joseph Younes, Communication Services, Diocese of Parramatta.

Links:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-17/catholic-church-asks-priests-getting-jobkeeper-to-donate-back/12359600

https://www.ato.gov.au/general/jobkeeper-payment/

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Please Pray For...

Sick: Danny Dingle, Sharon Web (Patti M’s daughter), Michael Gittany.

Perpetuals: Paula Loto’aniu, Peter Van Tilburg, Margaret Angela Roberts, Norm Hector, Sally & Frank Martlew, Sherwood Family, Pat &

Jim Hartman, Royan & Andrews families, Don Andrews, Juliet Noronha, Dr Joseph Malouf, Abel Moses, Jimmy & Anna & Frank Grainda,

Frank Agostino, Bernadette Melhen and Sally Boujandy, Jack Barrett, Ann O’Brien, Ian & Pat Sanders, Bill & Alice Kendall , Allan Kendall,

Maria Patterson & Ellen Bancan, Giuseppina & Giovanni Rechichi, Mary Coady, Mary & Jack White, Vincent & Rebecca Vella, Walter

Townsend, Watson Lee, Ferris Grugeon, McInherny, White, McWilliam and McGuckin families, Mary Abela, Robert Andrews, Sylvester

Family, Rogan Family, Adcock, McMillan families, Love family, Hooper family, Gabrielle Baker, Paula Cowling, McDermott & Starr families,

Repose of the Souls in Purgatory, Deceased Parishioners of St Patrick’s and St Monica’s.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.

Slowly but Surely we are coming back From July 1 there will be no cap for worshippers attending church. However, the 4sq/m rule will still apply.

Prayer Groups including Meditation, Novena to Mary Full of Grace, Formation, First Friday Devotions and Cenacle have all

made a return. If you would like to attend any of these groups, please contact the office. We will resume advertising

these groups from July 1.

Supporting St Pat’s For the last few ‘difficult’ months, the Clergy and Parish Team have endeavoured to keep to the ‘norm’as much as legally possible. Financially, the parish has taken a ‘hit’ as no collections were and still are not being carried out. If you would like to contribute to the well being of the parish, you are most welcome to use the ‘tap ‘n’go’ which is located where you sign in for Mass. To use, simply tap your debit/credit card once to make a $5 donation. If you would like to donate more, tap again. No receipts are given at this point. Our heartfelt thanks for your continued support.

Current Covid-19 Restrictions and how they will affect us. Mass, Weddings and Funerals at St Pat’s ‘The NSW Government have revised restrictions for places of worship to take place from Monday 1 June 2020’. These include: up to 20 people can attend weddings, no limit at funerals and 50 at places of worship, subject to the four square metre rule. Pews in the Cathedral & Chapel have been marked with a sticker to help you maintain the 1.5m social distancing requirement. If you wish to attend Mass you will need to register with MassRegister.com.au just once, to provide your contact details. Once numbers reach 50, you are welcome to join in the celebration of Mass in the Cloister via the sound system. Weekday Mass - If you are attending 12.30pm Mass, the doors are open from 12pm for Angelus and The Rosary. Do hope you can join us.

The Catholic Toolbox, Radio Show and Podcast Host: George Manassa & Akita Sanchez

Time: Tuesdays 8pm-9pm

Network: 1701AM and cradio.org.au

Topic: De-Christianisation of the West

Speaker: Frank Padilla

Date: Tuesday 23 June

The Gift Shop is now open to a maximum of three customers. Only Credit card and eftpos facilities will be accepted for the time being.

Feel free to come in and have a browse around. We stock Religious goods, Ethical products, Sacramental gifts and many more items to celebrate a time in your life or someone special.

Please note varied shop days/hours till further notice. OPEN: Tuesday to Friday 10am – 2pm & Sunday 10am –1pm. CLOSED: Mondays and Saturdays.

St Patrick’s Gift Shop Mobile 0419 153 195