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各位教友: 大家好﹗ 上星期教區的神職人員聚集在一起互相交流、共同學習，這寶貴的機會讓我跟朋友聚舊，並接觸教區的新面孔。一週裏, 我們都圍繞著「一個教會多種文化：多元化的恩賜和挑戰」這個主題，加以研習、分享和反省。 巴拉瑪打教區對比澳洲其它教區，有其迴異和獨特之處，我知道了亦為之動容。論教友人數，我們教區有三十多萬天主教徒，排名全國第五；巴拉瑪打和達爾文教區亦是錄得信徒增長的僅有教區﹔我們和Wagga教區都叮噹馬頭，同樣擁有最高天主教徒人口比率 (32.8%)。我們也是比較年青的教區，教友的年齡中位數是三十三歲，全國排名第四。論海外出生信徒人數，我們僅排在悉尼和柏斯教區之後﹔若單單計算非英語背景、海外出生的信徒，我們只落後於悉尼教區﹔在我們教區，有超過一半的教友 (約55%) 本人或其中一個父母在海外出生。這些數據都實實在在反映了巴拉瑪打教區的多元文化特性。 大家都可以想像，巴拉瑪打教區的未來將要面對很多挑戰，各堂區現已甚有創意和各有姿彩地去表達其多元性，從禮儀、教友的參與和堂區的日常運作都可見一班。我確實認為澳洲天主教會的現況，已先行顯現了普世教會的未來面貌。從我的角度來說，這未來將會令人非常振奮。 我們身處的聖莫尼加堂區，可算是澳洲教會的縮影, 面對的問題也不例外。作為司鐸，我們要對多元文化抱持開放態度，為這挑戰洪流作好準備，我相信這也是平信徒需要面對的。其實澳洲這片多元文化土地，正好讓天主教會落實其「普世教會」的理念，這亦引領了平信徒如何見證和實踐其信仰。 我為能親身體驗這興奮的時刻而欣慰非常﹗ 現轉換一下話題。我希望藉此機會多謝大家對興建堂區中心的支持，「認購磚頭」計劃的表格已全數派出，只要集齊籌款表格，便可落實設計，真渴望能盡快一睹你們的心意。再一次多謝大家﹗ 主佑！ 莫靖龍神父 (此乃莫神父致教友書信之意譯，書信內容以英文為準) |
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Dear Parishioners: Hello everybody! Last week, the clergy of the diocese had the chance to gather together for our study week. It was a good chance to meet friends and new faces in the clergy all around our diocese. The theme for this week of study, sharing and reflection was: One Church many cultures: The gift and challenge of diversity. I was personally impressed to see what makes our diocese different and unique in regards to other dioceses in the country. Talking about numbers, our diocese is the 5th largest diocese in the country with 319,228 Catholics, it is the only diocese that presented an increase in its catholic population together with Darwin and is the most catholic diocese with 32.8% of the population. (Wagga has the same proportion of Catholics). We are also a reasonable young diocese with a median age of the population of about 33 years, this puts us as the 4th youngest Catholic diocese. In terms of overseas-born, Parramatta is third after Sydney and Perth; in terms of overseas-born from non-English speaking countries, Parramatta is the second after Sydney. Approximately 55% of Parramatta Catholics are born overseas or have at least one parent born overseas. This makes our diocese one of the most religious diverse areas in Australia. As you can see, our diocese faces many challenges ahead, Parishes around the diocese are being very creative in finding ways to express the diversity of their communities in their liturgies, their devotions and the life of the Parish in general. I honestly believe this will be the face of the Church in the future (a future that for Australia is now a present reality), and for me looks like a very exciting future. Of course we have the challenge also in our community. We are a parish that truly represents the face of the Australian Church. Just as there is a challenge for priests to be open to this new reality of multicultures within a parish and are invited to prepare themselves for this challenge, I also believe the challenge is also for Catholics in general. The face of a universal Church is very concrete in this land and this shapes the way we see our faith and also how we express it. It is an exciting time to be around! On a different note, I want to thank you all for your generous response to help us with the pavers, all the forms went out last week, now we are just waiting for the forms to come back so we can plan for the delivery of the pavers in time. I am looking forward to see how the pavers will look in the final design. Thank you all. Peace in Jesus Fernando Montano MG |