THE
P RTAL
December 2017
Page 18
A letter from down under
An Appeal from Mgr Harry Entwistle, Ordinary of the
Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of the Southern Cross
Dear Mgr Keith
Over the past two years, members
of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of
Walsingham have been prayerfully
supportive of the Church of Torres Strait
as it progressed its petition to come
into full Catholic communion as
a Territory of the Ordinariate of
Our Lady of the Southern Cross.
They were disappointed when
Bp Nona announced that he
would abandon this ecumenical
initiative and lead his people
down a different spiritual path.
I am pleased to be able to tell you that
the majority of Church of Torres Strait
parishioners on Duaun Island vowed to pursue
reconciliation with the Holy See and have now been
welcomed into the membership of the Ordinariate
of OLSC. They are now the parish of The Holy Cross
and are linked to the Ordinariate parish of St Clare in
Cairns.
There has been no resident Church of Torres Strait
priest on Dauan for several years but the faithful gather
daily to recite the Office when a priest is not available.
Fr Gordon Barnier of Cairns will visit Duaun every
few weeks to offer the mass and undertake pastoral
duties.
Other Ordinariate priests may also visit until a more
permanent arrangement can be found. Our prayer is
that a Torres Strait Islander will respond to God’s call
and seek ordination.
The journey to Duaun from the Australian Mainland
involves two or three flights and a short sea passage
by inflatable dinghy, so you can imagine that the cost
is very high. Combine this cost with accommodation
and the total is almost $2000, which is equivalent to a
flight from Australia to Europe.
We are also hoping to progress with the ordination
of a former Church of Torres Strait priest who is an
Acolyte in our Cairns parish so that he could assist in
the priestly ministry in both Cairns and Duaun.
JAPAN
The Ordinariate of Our Lady of the
Southern Cross also has a small parish in
Tokyo and one in Hiroshima. Fr Joseph
Paul Yamaoka of Hiroshima recently
attended our Annual Clergy Residential
in Queensland. He is a family man
with dependent children and
needs to be provided with a
salary. The local Catholic Diocese
has provided him with some
ministry and pay him one third
of the average Japanese salary.
He undertakes some ministry in
a nearby US Naval Base, but this
contract will end in October. Slow growth
is occurring in the Japanese parishes, so we
are anxious to do what we can to support him
and Fr Kajiwara in Tokyo in their ministry.
I write to share with you these developments of our
ministry beyond mainland Australia and to ask you
to invite our fellow Ordinariate members in the UK
to pray for our parishioners in the Torres Strait and
Japan, and if possible to offer a gift to help us finance
these Spirit-inspired opportunities to grow God’s
Kingdom and further the unity of Christ’s Church.
Gifts can be made by electronic bank transfer to
Ordinariate OLSC
National Australia Bank,
100 St George’s Tce,
Perth, West Australia
Swift Code NATAAU3306P
BSB number 086 006
A/C number 15003 8987
Or by credit card through PayPal - see the Donate
buttons in the support section of the web page - www.
ordinariate.org.au
With every best wish and with gratitude for your
support
Yours sincerely in Christ
Mgr Harry Entwistle
Ordinary,
Ordinariate of Our Lady of the Southern Cross