PASPAC E-Newsletter 04

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Australia Papua New Guinea Indonesia Philippines India China Vietnam Korea Japan - New Zealand

PASPAC e-NewsletterOctober 2011

Dear Brothers,

Five months have gone by since the last e-communication to the PASPAC region. Much has

been done in each Province, Vice Province, Regional Vicariate and Mission that forms this

Configuration.

PASPAC Assembly 2011 Calumpang, the Philippines

Currently, the final preparation for the 2011 PASPAC Assembly are underway.

Up until the present time, our Assemblies have been the Leaders meeting with

representatives from each unit in the configuration. This Assembly will be very

different in that it is the first time that the members of each of the three

Commissions, which form the core of our Asia Pacific reconfiguration efforts,

shall meet face to face. These three commissions will be at work during the course of the Assembly

on concrete projects regarding these three areas of our life: Formation, Personnel and Finances. The

prayers of the entire Region are asked that we can successfully meet the needs of our region for the

next two years. With consideration of budgets and personnel placements and re-interpreting our goals

in regional formation, there is a very great deal to do in a very short period of time. Thus far, it is

estimated that there will be thirty-five Passionists attending the Assembly from each of the nations in

which religious work in this part of the world.

Vocation Recruitment: A Korean Perspective

One of the pressing realities we all face is the whole area of Vocational

Recruitment to our way of life and mission. Fr. Daniel Chang, recently

appointed Vocational Animator for the Korean Province offers the

following reflections:I am Brother Daniel Myung-Il Chang, the Vocational

Animator for the Province of the Korean Martyrs. Like other regions

around the world, here in Korea we are facing a new reality in religiouslife in relation to vocational animation. Our society, as time goes by, is becoming slowly more


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The Passionist Nuns Our Lady of Hope Monastery Philippines

The Passionist Nuns have been in the Philippines for almost forty years and

they have recently made a decision to relocate their Monastery to an area more

conducive to their contemplative lives. This small community has struggled with

an older building for a long time and this move will not only give them a new

house, but a quieter and more isolated setting that will, in the words of the brochure recently printed:

This new monastery will be a place of peace and hope, not only for the Nuns, but above all for the

people who come to find rest for their souls. It will continue to be a power house of prayer. I am sure

that all of the members of our PASPAC region welcome this courageous step as we look forward to

the continued support of prayer and

contemplation that we need in our daily

lives and ministries. Im sure that the Nuns

in Marbel would appreciate our continued

interest, support and fraternal joy in this

development.

The Province of the Holy Spirit Australia / New Zealand / Papua New Guinea

As I am sure you are all aware,this past July saw a ProvincialChapter in the Province of theHoly Spirit. I would like to take thisopportunity to offer thanks andcongratulations in the name of allof the members of the PASPAC

region to re-elected Provincial Joachim Rego andhis consultors Brian Gleeson, John Curtis, Keven

Hennessy and Thomas McDonough. Brian Gleesonhas the distinction of being the oldest every electedin our region to a Council, being a young 75 years ofage. The Superior General opened the Chapterreminding the capitulars: Jesus assures us of hispresence and his support:Do not be afraid! He tellshis disciples and he tells us Do not be afraid! ratherwe are to rest in Him and not be overcome by ourconcerns. We also must trust in his presence in this Chapter, confirmed by the words ofyesterdays gospel for Sunday, 3 July: Come to me you who are weary and find lifeburdensome and I will give you rest. (Mt. 11:28)

Architects Vision of the Future Monastery

From Left to Right: Thomas

McDonough, Brian Gleeson, the

Superior General, Joachim Rego, John

Curtis, Kevin Hennessy and Denis

Travers.


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The Regional Vicariate of St. Thomas the Apostle India

There are big changes on the horizon for this regional vicariate, currently under

the Province of the Holy Cross, Chicago, U.S.A. In the not too distant future,

India will join the ranks of the Vice Provinces of the Congregation. During a

recent Assembly (May 2011), moderated by Provincial Donald Webber, the

current Vicar (Antony X. Thararyil) and Council (Paul Cherukoduth and

Sebastian Konnully) were reappointed and preparations were initiated that will ultimately lead to the

establishment of a Vice Province in the

relatively near future.

Also of note is the new Passionist

residence in Bhopal as it comes closer tocompletion. Originally scheduled to be

finished by this time, it should be ready

soon for a blessing and the move of the

Passionist Formation Community to a new,

larger building.

The Mission of Papua New Guinea

Fr. Tom McDonough is normally to be found in Port Moresby, PNG where he serves as the pastor of St. Josephs Parish. He wroterecently:We have had a great parish celebration for our PNG Saint,Blessed Peter Ato Rot, which was a marvelous Mass. (We also had) aspecial celebration for Remembrance Day, a special Mass for BibleMonth, Confirmations for our Catholic College and last weekendConfirmations for 80 of our parish children.

In the meantime, our young aspirants have enteredthe cyber age with SKYPE classes with ourreligious (in Australia), Fr. Tiernan, Fr. Kevin and

Fr. John Auram. We have had joint classes withour International Novitiate in Adelaide, so thestudents up here are getting to know the youngmen in formation down there. We have also hadsome prospective aspirants visit, one for twoweeks (for the) Come and See (program), theothers more casual.

Since our Archdiocese did not organize anythingfor World Youth Day, we decided to organize ourown Pope Benedict said the heart of world youthday is the encounter with Jesus, and we figured we

could do that here in Moresby in union with all thepilgrims in Madrid. A Sunday a week ago we had a

The Vicariate of St. Thomas the Apostle gathered in

Assembly May 2011

Tom McDonough with some of our Young

People in Port Moresby.
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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youth Mass, barb-b-q and an evening of orientation. Each weekday night we had 1 and ahalf hours of catechesis, adoration (and) testimony. On the Friday evening while the Stationswere on in Madrid, we had our own Stations of the Cross with the young people mimingeach Station. Then on Saturday an all night vigil, an YWD Mass Sunday morning, a big feastfor lunch and then everyone back to the Church Sunday night where our parishioners haderected a huge screen and set up the aerials to live stream from the Pope s Mass in Madrid we had a church full of people. It was an extraordinary effort by our kids, helped by thepromise of food every night. But it is not all that safe even for them to be walking home in thedark. Their faith was just so moving to experience.

While the parishioners were sharing the experience of World Youth Dayin Port Moresby, a Passionist native of Papua New Guinea, John Auramwas on the ground in Madrid with the pilgrims gathered for the event. Hewrote: Altogether, my pilgrimage has been a very Spirit-filled experience,an experience of a life-time for me. I cherish every single moment of it,

and I would like to thank you, my brothers of our Holy Spirit Province, forgiving me the chance to take part in such a wonderful and amazing event.I certainly have received a great deal from this beautiful experience. Itwas simply inspiring to see the thousands and thousands of youth bravingthe heart to take part in organized activities planned for each day in thecity of Madrid, and to see how passionate they were about expressingtheir faith. Through hearing about their faith-journeys and sharing my ownfaith with many young people I journeyed with, I would like to recommendWorld Youth Day to any of my brother Passionist brothers who arethinking of going to the next World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in2013. It is truly an experience and a journey you wouldnt want to miss,should you get the chance to go.

The Passionist Nuns in Malang, Indonesia

On Sunday August 7, in the Passionist Monastery of Malang Indonesia, Sister

Yasintha of the Sacred Heart of Jesus professed vows. Fr. Sabinus Lohin,

Provincial Superior of the Passionists in Indonesia, presided at the celebration. Our

entire region welcomes and congratulates Sr. Yasintha for her generosity in

responding to the Lords call. May she walk along with us as we all attempt to

follow in the Lords footsteps.

John Auram C.P.

Sabinus Lohin, Provincial with Sr.

Yasintha of the Sacred Heart of

Jesus and concelebrants.


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Recent Deaths in PASPAC and Beyond

The Province of the Holy Spirit in Australia has had three deaths this year. The passing toeternal life of Charles Corbett has already been mentioned in these e-newsletters. Sincethen two further religious have died in this Province. Namely, Fr. Mark Nugent (1932 11August 2011) and Fr. James Wood (1919 23 May 2011). We offer our prayers for theireternal rest and remembering their generous Passionist lives.

Mark Nugent is remembered for his pastoral skills andeffectiveness as a counselor and friend to countlesspeople over his long and fruitful life. He was particularlyinterested in ministry to the Aboriginal peoples of Australia.His funeral was attended by over one thousand faithful andhis family. He is buried in the monastery plot located inGlen Osmond, South Australia. He died following

unsuccessful heart surgery in Adelaide. Here Mark ispictured at the July Chapter of the Holy Spirit Province,where he served as a teller.

James Wood, a wise and gentle man, served for many years asNovice Master, Missionary in Papua New Guinea, confessor andfaithful Passionist who was an inspiration not only to his Passionistbrothers but to those who came to him for counseling and thesacraments. He lived the last 17 years of his Passionist life inOxley, Queensland, where he was able to be active to the end ofhis life. May he and Fr. Mark rest in peace with the Lord they sofaithfully served during their lives here on earth.

For those who attended the PASPAC Assembly in 2009 inBangalore, India, they will remember the Italian Passionist,Fr. Fernando (Nando) Valsecchi. He was present as amember of the Justice and Peace Commission of theCongregation. Nando died suddenly on 17 June 2011 inItaly. He was originally from northern Italy, being born in1960, and entering the Passionists in 1988, beingprofessed in 1989. He was ordained a priest in 1995 andserved various social apostolates in his home province ofCORM (Province of the Immaculate Heart of Mary). Mayhe rest in peace and may we be thankful for his witnessto the social apostolate and how it can serve as a venue for Passionist mission today.

India The First Silver Jubilarians

The Regional Vicariate of St. Thomas had a very important celebration on 15

May 2011 at Cochin. Frs. Sebastian Konnully and Paul Cherukoduth

celebrated 25 years of vowed Passionist life. They are the first native Indian

Passionists and this event gives an indication of the maturity of the Vicariate

and its readiness to be elevated to the next step of independence from themother Province. They currently serve not only as classmates, but also are the


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Council for the Vicariate, serving the Region Vicar, Fr. Antony Thararyil. Congratulations, Sebastian

and Paul! May you both continue to be the blessings that you are for your brothers in India and

beyond.

Speaking of India reminds us that the Mother Province spoken of is the Province of

the Holy Cross, headquarted in Chicago, U.S.A. Fr. Donald Webber is the currentProvincial of this Province, and he will be joining us in the PASPAC Assembly in

Calumpang in November. Holy Cross Province has played a major role in Asia over

the past 90 and more years. First in China from the 1920 s onward, then in Japan

(1953), Korea (1964) and finally in India since the early 1990s they have

shepherded these entities from their infancy through to their adulthood as a Province and Vice

Provinces. Members of Holy Cross Province have also served in the Philippines as well. With the

elevation of India to the status of Vice Province they will have accomplished what was begun by

members of this Province so many years earlier. With deep appreciation on our part as a region, Dons

attendance will mark the last time a Provincial of Holy Cross Province will attend a PASPAC

Assembly. That is until the next time that Holy Cross Province decides that is called once again to be

of service to the Churches of Asia and the Pacific!

PASPAC International House of Formation: Manila

The word from Manila is good Fr. Rene Ventajar, the local superior andalso director of Students in Loyola Heights, reports that the threeChinese candidates are slowly but surely learning to master the Englishlanguage. While the process is always a bit painful they have theobjective of preparing for their novitiate year due to begin in Februarynext. Please keep these young men in your

prayers as they take the first steps in their Passionist Vocations.

Fr. Rene continues in his report to the PASPAC Assembly:It seemsthat the focus of the whole program is for the PASPAC students tolearn English. It is very important because English is the dominantlanguage of business and learning. Most Philosophical andTheological literature now are written in English. Since ourPASPAC students aim to study for the priesthood and be part of aninternational community they need to learn English. The mostimmediate concern however is for our PASPAC students to be ableto get a minimum score of 4.5 in the IELTS for them to qualify for the Novitiate in Australia.

In speaking of the preparation being madefor the novitiate:The topics that I gave last

year are the following: Human ReligiousExperiences, Introduction to Religious life,the Vows, Introduction to Passionist Lifeand the 4th vow, Passionist Saintsespecially the Life of St. Paul of the Crossand his Charism. I taught them PrayerMethods and we have discussions of eachindividuals vocation story.

It is important that in teaching religious lifeto the Asian students, awareness of the richreligious cultural context of Vietnam or

China is integrated. For instance, the Buddhist monks and monasteries and temples can bea point of comparison of religious life in Roman Catholic Christianity.


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PASPAC International House of Formation: Adelaide

Currently there are three Novices in Adelaide. One of them, ErickNiyiragira began his novitiate in January. Erick is a novice of theAustralian Province. He is accompanied by Nguyen Ngoc Tuan (Joseph)and Trinh Cong Tue (John Baptist) of the Vietnam Mission. Tuan andTue were vested in the habit on April 9, 2011 with members of the localcommunity attending the simple ceremony. The Presider at the ceremony was Fr. TiernanDoherty, local superior of the Glen Osmond community. Being led by Frs. Willy Estraza andTomy Kanjirathinkal through the novitiate experience they are looking forward to profession

next year in late January inEricks case and in April in thecase of Tuan and Tue.

You will recall that a thirdcandidate from Vietnam, Dien

Minh Trinh, due to his lack ofsuccess with the IELTSexamination, was allowed toenter the novitiate of thePhilippine Province. Betweenthe PASPAC novitiate inAdelaide and the novitiate inLagao, the Philippines, there arenine young men who are goingthrough this more intense yearof discernment in the Passionist

life. Please continue to pray for them and encourage them if you meet them.

Over the next year or two these numbers will begin to slowly increase, with more candidatesbeing ready to begin the novitiate experiencefrom Vietnam and China. The Korean Provincehas recently made the decision to send futurenovices to the PASPAC novitiate as well ascandidates that originate in Papua New Guinea.Perhaps other areas of PASPAC will make thesame decision in the future. One of thechallenges facing our upcoming Assembly is todiscern the future as well as the Holy Spirit willallow us. With a thankful heart for this very

tangible sign of the Lords desire to plant thePassionist vocation on Asian and Pacific soil, wecan only give thanks to the Father of All for Hiskindness to us.

In Conclusion With just a few brief words I bring this missive to a close. Following the upcoming

PASPAC Assembly there will be another edition of the e-newsletter informing you of the results then.

Your brother in the Crucified always,

Bro. Laurence M. Finn, C.P.

Executive Secretary - PASPAC

PASPAC E-Newsletter 04

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