Cardinal Pell: Communities bringing vitality to the Church in Australia
(Vatican Radio) An international symposium celebrating 10 years of the Asia News service
was held Wednesday at the Pontifical Urbaniana University in Rome.The event which
was organized by the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions looked at the importance
of the Asian continent over the last decade. In particular, attention was paid
subjects including the major economic growth which has taken place there in the midst
of poverty, the crucial mission of the Church in Asia, and freedom of religion and
freedom to evangelize. One of the speakers at the symposium was the Archbishop
of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell who addressed those present about the Church in Australia.
He told Vatican Radio’s Marie Duhamel that there are number of vibrant communities
in Australia making a real difference in the life of the Church. Speaking about the
Vietnamese community, he says “they are a powerful and vibrant force in our Catholic
Church, especially in Sydney, Melbourne and I’m enormously grateful for that.” Cardinal
Pell also adds that, “another community that is very strong for us is the Maronite
community from Lebanon. I think their vitality is in some mysterious way connected
with the suffering of their people." Listen