ARCHDIOCESE OF MELBOURNE RELEASE
Melbourne News Archbishop's Dinner 2012
Friday 9 November 2012
By John Ralph AC
MORE than 500 people attended this year's Archbishop's Dinner at the Flemington Racecourse Function Centre on Friday 5 October. This was the largest attendance at this annual event since it was established fourteen years ago. The dinner is organized each year by the Priests Support and Education Fund to raise funds for the further education of Seminarians and Priests in the Dioceses of Victoria. The Fund was set up by the Knights of the Southern Cross in 1998.
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While the Dinner was established to raise funds for a very worthy cause, it has other specific objectives. One is that by gathering together, members of the Catholic community and their friends show their support for their Bishops and clergy. A second is to provide an opportunity for sharing a spirit of community, a spirit that goes back to the foundation of the Church.
It was an enjoyable and entertaining night for all those present. The guest speaker at the dinner was Mr Bernard Salt, Australia's leading demographer and social commentator. In his presentation, which was both informative and entertaining, he illustrated the changing demographics that have significant implications for the future of Australia. He explained that not only do people have a much longer life expectancy, but there are now many more changes
within their lifetime, compared with their predecessors.
Today on average, people enter the workforce later, and have a longer prospective period in retirement. Mr Salt included a chart showing the substantially increasing numbers of people entering retirement from this year on, as the baby boomers start to retire, which will have major implications for future health and social security funding.
Seminarians, forming the Scola at the Corpus Christi College seminary, sang three sacred songs for the enjoyment of the guests. These songs and others have been recorded on a CD which was available for purchase on the night and is generally for sale. The Dinner raised $70,000 and a cheque for this amount was handed to Archbishop Hart who expressed his appreciation and that of his fellow bishops. In doing so, he commented on the wonderful spirit of the evening.
John Ralph AC is Chairman of the Knights of the Southern Cross Priests Support and Education Fund.
Photos by John Romeo
By John Ralph AC
MORE than 500 people attended this year's Archbishop's Dinner at the Flemington Racecourse Function Centre on Friday 5 October. This was the largest attendance at this annual event since it was established fourteen years ago. The dinner is organized each year by the Priests Support and Education Fund to raise funds for the further education of Seminarians and Priests in the Dioceses of Victoria. The Fund was set up by the Knights of the Southern Cross in 1998.
View Gallery
While the Dinner was established to raise funds for a very worthy cause, it has other specific objectives. One is that by gathering together, members of the Catholic community and their friends show their support for their Bishops and clergy. A second is to provide an opportunity for sharing a spirit of community, a spirit that goes back to the foundation of the Church.
It was an enjoyable and entertaining night for all those present. The guest speaker at the dinner was Mr Bernard Salt, Australia's leading demographer and social commentator. In his presentation, which was both informative and entertaining, he illustrated the changing demographics that have significant implications for the future of Australia. He explained that not only do people have a much longer life expectancy, but there are now many more changes
within their lifetime, compared with their predecessors. Today on average, people enter the workforce later, and have a longer prospective period in retirement. Mr Salt included a chart showing the substantially increasing numbers of people entering retirement from this year on, as the baby boomers start to retire, which will have major implications for future health and social security funding.
Seminarians, forming the Scola at the Corpus Christi College seminary, sang three sacred songs for the enjoyment of the guests. These songs and others have been recorded on a CD which was available for purchase on the night and is generally for sale. The Dinner raised $70,000 and a cheque for this amount was handed to Archbishop Hart who expressed his appreciation and that of his fellow bishops. In doing so, he commented on the wonderful spirit of the evening.
John Ralph AC is Chairman of the Knights of the Southern Cross Priests Support and Education Fund.
Photos by John Romeo
SHARED FROM ARCHDIOCESE OF MELBOURNE
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