From the President of the Institute
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| Most Rev. Denis J. Hart |
In July 2001 Cardinal Lopez Trujillo formally opened and blessed the newest of the ten campuses worldwide of the John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family at the Thomas Carr Centre in Melbourne. I was proud to be there as Archbishop-Elect of Melbourne and therefore local President of the Institute. Also present were Cardinal Clancy and Archbishop D'Arcy representing the Church throughout Australia, and Archbishop Faulkner and Bishop Mayne from the Bishops' Committee for Family and for Life. There were very many priests and religious, academics from throughout Australia and overseas, and several hundred lay people, to celebrate this night of hope and promise. On that night we read out a telegram from His Holiness, Pope John Paul II, who reminded us of his vision for the Institute.
I believe that the spiritual and material benefits of good married and family life for each person and the social and economic advantages for any community are patent, as are the costs to individuals and communities of the opposite. Human life and love are so precious that they deserve every opportunity. They deserve to be conceived and nurtured within stable marriage and devoted family. Yet we know they are under tremendous pressure today. There is a 'crisis of vocations' to marriage and parenthood, with fewer people choosing to marry or staying together; people having fewer if any children; and those children more and more likely to grow up in broken families. At the same time human life at all stages from conception onwards is commonly treated with disrespect.
The people of our region need to do some hard thinking, honest talking, and positive acting about these things. I believe that the Catholic tradition has a wealth of experience and insight to bring to this task, strengthened especially in recent years by Pope John Paul II's extraordinary contributions.
That is why in 1999 the Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference unanimously petitioned the Holy Father for the establishment of a campus of the Institute in our region. My predecessor, Dr George Pell, volunteered Melbourne to host the campus, and I am proud to continue and expand that sponsorship.
Working in conjunction with the John Paul II Pontifical Institute for Studies on Marriage and the Family around the world and with the University of Notre Dame in Perth, the Melbourne Institute has already begun providing theological and pastoral training for priests and religious, teachers, catechists, pastoral workers, nurses and physicians, and lay people interested in deepening their understanding of the issues touching marriage, family and the culture of life in our world today. The Holy Father has made very clear his desire that the Melbourne Institute should serve not just Australia, but the whole region. This goal is shared not only by myself, but also by the bishops of Australia, and I am delighted that we already have students from all over Australia and several other countries. We began with around twenty students: after only a year and half in operation we have close to a hundred!
The John Paul II Institute in Melbourne makes available to our region for the first time a superb body of expertise on marriage, family and bio-ethics. The Foundation Director of the Institute, Reverend Professor Anthony Fisher OP, is himself inter-nationally recognised as a leading expert in bioethics. His current successor, Monsignor Peter J. Elliott has worked in the Pontifical Council for the Family (1987-1997) and is an international expert in marriage and family issues.Under Monsigor Elliot's leadership the permanent local faculty of the Institute is complemented by visiting lecturers from around the world. In this way, the Melbourne Institute has begun serving our region as an important resource for the Church and the people she serves.
I warmly encourage you to consider studying at the John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family in Melbourne in 2007.
Most Rev. Denis J. Hart, Archbishop of Melbourne
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