austraLasia #1761
Australian-Pacific province: more than a subtle shift, a reality.
MELBOURNE: 14th February 2007 -- Writing to his confreres, in fact from the Thai Province where he is currently preaching retreats, Fr Frank Moloney, the AUL provincial, has asked confreres in his province to refer, from now on to the 'Australian-Pacific' province rather than the 'Australian' province, suggesting that 'it is always good to reflect in your title what you really are!'. The Salesian presence in this province, geographically, numerically, and for its multi-cultural outreach in ministry is far far more than 'Australian'. In fact in some 80 years of Salesian presence in the Pacific, and on the Australian continent in particular, it is possibly true to say that a confrere has rarely if ever found himself in a community of just one culture - certainly this writer has never been in such a community in 40 or more years of Salesian life, and that is discounting the last three in an obviously multicultural setting.
The Australian-Pacific province has responsibility for three Pacific nations - Australia, Samoa, Fiji, and at any one time there are likely to be Salesians of this province at work in nearby Pacific nations (e.g. PNG where there is currently one in Practical Training) or whose responsibilities have them regularly travelling within the region (retreats, Mission and Development Office). The Rectors in both Samoa and Fiji are Pacific islanders. The novice master in Fiji is a Pacific islander - with four novices from Samoa. Recently Bro. Paselio Tevaga (Samoa) made his final profession in Fiji into the hands of the Vice provincial Fr John Papworth, becoming yet another fine product of a long line of outstanding young men to join the Salesians from the South Pacific zone in particular. There are constant requests from Bishops elsewhere in the Pacific for Salesian presence.
The provincial made his comment in the context of a recognition, strengthened at the recent meeting of EAO provincials and provincial economers in Melbourne, that the Australian-Pacific province has begun to enthusiastically and creatively embrace its participation in the EAO region. For many years AUL was aligned with the then anglophone region, and similar shifts of major cultural proportions have been made by other erstwhile members of that region - USA, UK, Ireland, South Africa, to name some.
The province has recently opened a new and major multicultural venture in the inner Melbourne suburb of Brunswick, already a Salesian Parish which has welcomed Anglo.Irish, Italians, Lebanese, Samoans into its midst - and now in a special way Vietnamese. Fr Them, the VIE provincial, recently concelebrated a Mass welcoming the beginning of a regular Vietnamese Mass under the new parish priest of North Brunswick, Salesian Fr Anthony Quang. Fr Quang has set up a large Vietnamese Centre in Brunswick, an educational centre with English, Maths and Vietnamese classes all well-attended. He is assisted in this venture by other Salesians and a Salesian Sister. It is a work of the Australian-Pacific province. The nearby Parishes of Clifton Hill and Collingwood, both relatively inner-city and multicultural in their own right, have recently been handed over to the Salesians by the Archbishop, thus clearly marking what has been an already long and faithful service, especially with Italian and Chinese immigrants, to those who were once quaintly called 'new Australians'. Clifton Hill, a post novitiate formation centre, also currently hosts young Salesians from Thailand and Vietnam.
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AustraLasia is an email service for the Salesian Family of Asia Pacific. It also functions as an agency for ANS based in Rome. For queries please contact admin@bosconet.aust.com . Use BoscoWiki to be interactive. RSS feeds - subscribe to www.bosconet.aust.com/RSS/rssala.xm A separate service entirely is called F/OSSERVATORE to help us keep abreast of trends in the digital world. To contact austraLasia by voice on Skype, the Skype name is austraLasia.
Australian-Pacific province: more than a subtle shift, a reality.
MELBOURNE: 14th February 2007 -- Writing to his confreres, in fact from the Thai Province where he is currently preaching retreats, Fr Frank Moloney, the AUL provincial, has asked confreres in his province to refer, from now on to the 'Australian-Pacific' province rather than the 'Australian' province, suggesting that 'it is always good to reflect in your title what you really are!'. The Salesian presence in this province, geographically, numerically, and for its multi-cultural outreach in ministry is far far more than 'Australian'. In fact in some 80 years of Salesian presence in the Pacific, and on the Australian continent in particular, it is possibly true to say that a confrere has rarely if ever found himself in a community of just one culture - certainly this writer has never been in such a community in 40 or more years of Salesian life, and that is discounting the last three in an obviously multicultural setting.
The Australian-Pacific province has responsibility for three Pacific nations - Australia, Samoa, Fiji, and at any one time there are likely to be Salesians of this province at work in nearby Pacific nations (e.g. PNG where there is currently one in Practical Training) or whose responsibilities have them regularly travelling within the region (retreats, Mission and Development Office). The Rectors in both Samoa and Fiji are Pacific islanders. The novice master in Fiji is a Pacific islander - with four novices from Samoa. Recently Bro. Paselio Tevaga (Samoa) made his final profession in Fiji into the hands of the Vice provincial Fr John Papworth, becoming yet another fine product of a long line of outstanding young men to join the Salesians from the South Pacific zone in particular. There are constant requests from Bishops elsewhere in the Pacific for Salesian presence.
The provincial made his comment in the context of a recognition, strengthened at the recent meeting of EAO provincials and provincial economers in Melbourne, that the Australian-Pacific province has begun to enthusiastically and creatively embrace its participation in the EAO region. For many years AUL was aligned with the then anglophone region, and similar shifts of major cultural proportions have been made by other erstwhile members of that region - USA, UK, Ireland, South Africa, to name some.
The province has recently opened a new and major multicultural venture in the inner Melbourne suburb of Brunswick, already a Salesian Parish which has welcomed Anglo.Irish, Italians, Lebanese, Samoans into its midst - and now in a special way Vietnamese. Fr Them, the VIE provincial, recently concelebrated a Mass welcoming the beginning of a regular Vietnamese Mass under the new parish priest of North Brunswick, Salesian Fr Anthony Quang. Fr Quang has set up a large Vietnamese Centre in Brunswick, an educational centre with English, Maths and Vietnamese classes all well-attended. He is assisted in this venture by other Salesians and a Salesian Sister. It is a work of the Australian-Pacific province. The nearby Parishes of Clifton Hill and Collingwood, both relatively inner-city and multicultural in their own right, have recently been handed over to the Salesians by the Archbishop, thus clearly marking what has been an already long and faithful service, especially with Italian and Chinese immigrants, to those who were once quaintly called 'new Australians'. Clifton Hill, a post novitiate formation centre, also currently hosts young Salesians from Thailand and Vietnam.
_________________
AustraLasia is an email service for the Salesian Family of Asia Pacific. It also functions as an agency for ANS based in Rome. For queries please contact admin@bosconet.aust.com . Use BoscoWiki to be interactive. RSS feeds - subscribe to www.bosconet.aust.com/RSS/rssala.xm A separate service entirely is called F/OSSERVATORE to help us keep abreast of trends in the digital world. To contact austraLasia by voice on Skype, the Skype name is austraLasia.
