4th Sunday of Easter
May 11, 2025
Good Shepherd Sunday. He is Risen. Alleluia.
Parish Notes
Saturday: Vigil Mass at 5pm. Sunday: Mass at 10am. Confessions heard
after both Masses.
May Devotions on Sunday at 5pm.
Mass on Wednesday at 10am.
For Information: A number of parishioners have formed a parish synod in
accordance with the bishop’s instructions. There will be three
sessions, and a report will be sent to him at the end of the Easter
season.
Please remember the Cardinals as they meet in conclave to elect a new
Pope. They meet in the Sistine Chapel and are locked in
(conclave=with a key, locked in) so that nobody can influence them in
the choice of the new Pope, as has been done in the past. Even their
mobile phones will be taken from them. Being locked in also helps them
come to a decision—in the past they sometimes took a long time to decide
on a new Pope. For the purposes of the election, the cardinals are
honorary parish priests of the diocese of Rome and it as such they get
to elect the bishop of that diocese. The bishop of the diocese of Rome,
as the successor of Peter, is also the Pope (Papa==Father) of the
universal church.
What is the Vatican? Medieval Italy consisted of a number of smaller
states, including the Papal States, which were under the
jurisdiction of the Pope. In the middle of the nineteenth century, it
was decided to unite Italy into one country, and this included the papal
States. The Pope objected, but the states were taken from him, and Rome
was taken over in September 1870. Pope Pius IX was left stateless and
refused to leave the Vatican precincts. He and his successors became
known as the prisoners of the Vatican. In February 1929, a concordat
was made between the Pope, Pius XI, and Mussolini, whereby the Vatican
was recognised as a fully independent state with its own legal system,
diplomatic sovereignty and postage system, and the Pope as sovereign
head of the State. Its extent is little more than a large farm, but the
principle was acknowledged that the Pope was its sovereign head, equal
in status to any other head of state in the world. When you cross over
the boundary of the Vatican, you go from one sovereign country to
another, from Italy to the Vatican.
Archbishop Anthony Fisher of Sydney has made a podcast on assisted
suicide. He had been a lecturer on medical ethics; a few years ago he
became seriously ill and almost died. He has been there and knows what
he is talking about. Title of Podcast: “The problem with legalising
assisted suicide.” Highly recommended to anyone interested in the
topic, a topic which affects us all.