While it’s true that all denominations have had to deal with this scourge, the Catholic Church appears to have more than its proportionate share of cases.

Every time the issue seems to be under control, new reports emerge, most recently in Germany.

I take the view that most priests and men in religious orders are good people who wish to follow Christ and serve their fellow man.

If you begin to look at things from that premise, it’s easier to see how it might be managed.

I say “managed”, rather than “resolved”, because the nature of humanity is that sin and evil will always exist.

I’m concerned that some people are actually pleased to see the Church embroiled in controversy; it suits their own agenda to see the Church defensive and weakened.

For example, the call by atheist authors Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens for the Pope to arrested for “for crimes against humanity” is just a stunt.

The Pope has a responsibility to:

• Purge the Church of sexual predators;
• Hold to account those Bishops who have turned a blind eye in the past;
• Heal the wounds suffered by victims and families as much as possible;
• Implement reforms that minimise future instances of abuse.

In relation to the final point, there should be an immediate move towards allowing priests to marry.

The parish priest has a social job in a cloistered environment. That’s a contradiction which does not encourage typical men with good “people skills” to commit themselves.

The monastic orders are largely declining, which is a good thing. The very nature of their existence was a perfect cover for predators.

I’m not saying the majority of priests and brothers are perverts, far from it. In simple terms, the environment in which they live and work provides ample cover for those who wish to abuse the privilege of their positions.

I’d like to see a new order of married priests created. Let the individual choose celibacy or otherwise.

There have been subtle moves in this direction through the exemptions given to Anglican and Orthodox priests who have converted to Catholicism.

And, of course, celibacy has not always been a priestly requirement.

In 580AD the policy of Pope Pelagius II was not to bother married priests as long as they did not hand over church property to wives or children.

In the 15th century it’s been claimed that up to 50 percent of priests were married.

Allowing married men to be ordained today would attract a broader range of men to vocations and help address the shortage of priests.

It won’t completely solve the problem of abuse, but normalising the “workplace” will reduce the likelihood of predators sheltering behind the facade of celibacy.

The initiative provides parishes and Catholic school families with practical suggestions for celebrating St Valentine’s Day and encouraging married couples to spend more time together.

The statement claims that St Valentine was executed on February 14, 269AD for going against a decree by Roman ruler Claudius that weddings be suspended because he needed unattached men to serve in his armies.

Archbishop of Adelaide, Philip Wilson, said the campaign was an opportunity to advocate the sacred bond of marriage.

I admit I never knew the origin of Valentine’s Day and the obvious fact of it being a saint’s feast day had also escaped me.

The media statement appears to have simplified things a little though and possibly stretched the facts. Other sources reveal that like many of the early saints, not much is known about Valentine.

According to this Catholic website: The origin of St Valentine, and how many St Valentines there were, remains a mystery.

“St Valentine was a priest, martyred in 269 at Rome and was buried on the Flaminian Way. He is the patron saint of affianced couples, bee keepers, engaged couples, epilepsy, fainting, greetings, happy marriages, love, lovers, plague, travellers and young people. He is represented in pictures with birds and roses.”

The Catholic Encyclopedia muddies the waters further, but perhaps more realistically, in identifying the origin of Valentine’s Day.

“The popular customs associated with St Valentine’s Day undoubtedly had their origin in a conventional belief generally received in England and France during the Middle Ages, that on February 14, ie half way through the second month of the year, the birds began to pair. Thus in Chaucer’s Parliament of Foules we read:

For this was sent on Seynt Valentyne’s day
Whan every foul cometh ther to choose his mate.

“For this reason the day was looked upon as specially consecrated to lovers and as a proper occasion for writing love letters and sending lovers’ tokens. Both the French and English literatures of the 14th and 15th centuries contain allusions to the practice.”

That sounds plausible to me. Many Christian traditions had pagan or cultural origins.

This doesn’t undermine the Archdiocese’s campaign in any way. There’s no harm in focusing on love within marriage as part of the day’s reflection.

The original Mary MacKillop School at Penola.

Penola is 50km from Mount Gambier and we walked around the town today.

Mary’s birthday is one day before mine, albeit 125 years earlier. She was born at Fitzroy in 1842, the suburb in Melbourne of the football club I used to follow.

In 1866, at the invitation of Father Tenison Woods, Mary established the first school in Australia that catered for all children, irrespective of family income or social status.

The original schoolhouse was a renovated stable that catered for more than 50 students. It was replaced in 1867 by what is now known as the Woods MacKillop Schoolhouse (pictured above).

The school adjoins Petticoat Lane, which is a state heritage area.

According to the State Heritage website:

The Petticoat Lane heritage precinct is the oldest part of Penola, with timber and stone cottages dating from 1850 to the First World War. It is also an area with significant open allotments, reflecting important aspects of early life in the town (pictures below).”

Mary founded the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart. They were to live in poverty and dedicate themselves to educating poor children. With Mary its first member and Superior the society was founded at Penola in 1866 with the approval of Bishop Sheil.

He later excommunicated Mary for alleged insubordination, but withdrew the edict shortly before he died.

In 1992, it was determined that prayer to Mary MacKillop was responsible for the recovery of an apparently dying women in 1961.

She was later beatified, the first step towards canonisation.

To be canonised, the postulator of the cause must now prove the existence of a second miracle.

According to Wikipedia, the case of a second former cancer patient is under investigation in Rome, and Pope Benedict XVI has been quoted as saying: “She will be canonised, we’re waiting for the miracle.”

I think it’s great that Australia’s probable first Saint has a strong connection to this area. I prayed at her shrine in St Joseph’s today.

Update: Mary was canonised on October 17, 2010.

Not that there is anything forbidden (I think) about the West Australian Apostolic District of the Anglican Catholic Church in Australia.

I’m just surprised it exists because I had never heard of them before.

According to their web site: “The Traditional Anglican Communion (TAC) is a worldwide association of Continuing Orthodox Anglican Churches, working to promote the Catholic Faith as the Anglican Church has received it and to resist the secularization of that Church.”

I’m vaguely aware of divisions in the Anglican Church about women priests, gay priests, women bishops, etc. Those issues get headlines whenever there’s a synod or controversial ordination.

I’m also aware of the desire among some Anglicans for unification with the Catholic Church. To me that would be a desirable outcome.

The “Traditional Anglicans” point out they are not in communion with the Archbishop of Canterbury, but don’t explain why they won’t receive communion from the Bishop of Rome.

I’m not surprised The Vatican has a web site; it’s just I had never thought about it before and had never visited.

As The Inquisitr reveals, a Latin section was only recently added.

I’ve never studied Latin and I was born just after the Second Vatican Council, so I never experienced a Latin Mass.

I can appreciate the value of Latin. From Roman times to the Industrial Revolution it was the universal language.

It was never really replaced in that role, although the European aristocracy spoke French for several centuries and English today is ubiquitous.

So it’s good to see Latin being preserved as a means of communication in the Church. I can’t understand a word of it, but here is the link.

While browsing the English section of The Vatican’s site I came across the Pope’s message to Burma.

Deeply saddened by news of the tragic aftermath of the recent cyclone, the Holy Father expresses his heartfelt sympathy. With prayers for the victims and their families, he invokes God’s peace upon the dead and divine strength and comfort upon the homeless and all who are suffering. Confident that the international community will respond with generous and effective relief to the needs of your countrymen, His Holiness asks you to convey his solidarity and concern to the civil authorities and to all the beloved people of Myanmar.

The tragic events in Burma have been well publicised, but given the brutality and isolation of the regime I’m afraid it will be soon forgotten.

These schools no longer exist, because of amalgamations, and their histories seem to be poorly acknowledged on the web.

When I started in 1979 the Marist Brothers ran St Paul’s College. The principal was Br Doug Walsh, who was a cousin of the television personality Mike Walsh. The other Marists who taught me were Br Aubrey (maths), Br Chris (Duke of Edinburgh and sport) and Br Ken (English literature at Lourdes).

The brothers who taught me were all decent men. Br Doug used the strap sparingly and Br Aubrey only whacked the stupid and naughty kids, which was fair enough.

We wore ties and blazers in my time at St Paul’s. The college owned, or had access to, sports ovals across Grey Street which today are housing estates. We were on the edge of town and cross-country runs were held into farmland. Today the school is in the middle of a residential area.

We were a boy’s only only school until Year 11. The co-ed tech school was next door, but 90 percent of its students were male. Today the tech school is merged with the high school and St Paul’s has merged with the all-girls’ Brigidine Kildare College.

Originally it was called Catholic Regional College, but now it is called Lavalla College. Follow that link and you will learn little about the history of the original schools, hence this blog.

So when people ask me where I went to school, what do I tell them? It used to be Lourdes College, which in Victoria at least was known for a few years after I finished there in 1984. Later, I found it easier to say St Paul’s College.

Today, in Western Australia, I find it easiest to say that I went to a Marist Brothers school in Traralgon; St Paul’s if they want the specifics. Lourdes and Catholic Regional College were short lived and I know nothing about Lavalla.

It required a big effort to get the family to mass and the twins were a handful.

Traditional denominations in Australia have lost members partly because they haven’t been family friendly.

As congregations grow older it’s hard for parents to take young children to church in an environment where they have few peers.

That’s no reason though to forget or ignore one’s faith.

With Kathleen attending a Catholic secondary school next year it’s likely we’ll become more involved in the local parish.

My hard copy reference was the Good News Bible (1976) I still have from school. The passage I’m interested in is: (v89-90):

"Your word, O Lord will last forever; it is eternal in heaven.
Your faithfulness endures through all the ages; you have set the earth in place, and it remains."

The Jewish Publication Society translation is:

"For ever, O the Lord, Thy word standeth fast in heaven.
"Thy faithfulness is unto all generations; Thou hast established the earth, and it standeth."

Christian versions I saw are similar. Here’s another:

"The Lord exists forever; your word is firmly fixed in heaven.
Your faithfulness endures to all generations; you have established the earth, and it stands fast."

Most other online quotes are in old language. Makes me grateful the Catholic system adopted the Good News Bible. I guess there was no obligation on their part to use the Protestant King James version.

It’s ironic that the Protestant cause was partly founded on making the Bible available in everyday language, but many today prefer to read it in Old English!

As for the passage … God will never abandon us. We should never abandon Him!

I went with her to orientation nights at Bright P-12 College and Marian College over the last two weeks. Bright is 6km from Porepunkah and it’s 25km to Marian in Myrtleford. Kathleen has spent all her primary years at Porepunkah and we live within easy walking distance of the 130-student school.

After careful deliberation we’ve decided that Kathleen will go to Marian. We’re Catholic, and the religious aspect is important, but we also feel the peer group there will be more academically motivated.

Kathleen initially preferred Bright, because most of her friends will be going there, but two other Porepunkah girls are going to Marian and she’s now looking forward to it.

It’s the first in O’Brian’s Aubrey-Maturin series and I’m glad I started here, as it sets the scene for future novels.

Jack Aubrey is a frustrated lieutenant waiting in a Mediterranean port for his first command of the Napoleonic War when he meets out-of-work doctor Stephen Maturin.

They don’t immediately hit it off, as Maturin arrogantly disturbs Aubrey’s toe tapping at a classical concert, however they meet later on better terms and begin a close friendship.

Aubrey gains a captain’s lapel and is appointed to command the sloop Sophie. He recruits Maturin as surgeon and they set off on escort duty before Aubrey turns attention to the more lucrative task of capturing enemy merchant vessels.

This commercial liking for prizes causes some tension with Aubrey’s Irish lieutenant James Dillon, who unknown to the captain, was a colleague of Maturin’s in Wolfe Tone’s ill-fated rebellion of the United Irishmen and a Catholic.

Dillon becomes openly hostile towards Aubrey after the Sophie flees a larger Spanish warship.

The vessels cross paths again later and this time Aubrey takes up the challenge and wins famously against the much larger ship, but Dillon was killed in action.

Aubrey never receives official praise for the victory, mainly because his immediate commander holds a grudge over an affair that Aubrey is having with the commander’s wife.

This book is beautifully written. The detail for this landlubber is superb, without detracting from the pace of the action.

There is great humour, especially in the descriptions of characters and circumstances. People of rank are shown to have the same flaws and foibles as ordinary seamen.

The book ends with Aubrey being cleared at court-martial of any offence in losing the Sophie to a French flotilla. That sets the scene for the next instalment, Post Captain, which I can’t wait to arrive from my supplier.

I’ve written mainly here about Aubrey, because the chronology follows his fortunes, but Maturin is a fascinating character.

Down on his luck, but maintaining high dignity, he speaks many languages, mixes well with all classes, is highly intelligent, aloof but companionable.

He’s described in the book cover as a "secret agent", but apart from some mixing with Spanish civilians he doesn’t show much of the spy in this book. I assume that’s to come in later novels.

O’Brian wrote 20 books in this series before his death in 2000. He also wrote other fiction and two biographies, including that of botanist Joseph Banks, who sailed with Cook to Australia and the South Pacific.

O’Brian rightly deserves praise for realistically capturing the idiom of 18th century English, his thorough research and historical accuracy.