The saints were remembered for simple and radical faith in a Spirit of Creation; for commitment to the Earth and its most vulnerable people and creatures.
Parish minister Andrew Collis referred to a conversation with Father Paul Ghanem from the St Francis of Assisi parish in Paddington, who said: “You might not realise how seriously Francis and Clare took their vows of obedience.
“Francis, for instance, didn’t just visit the pope one time (to seek formal recognition for his order) but many times. He annoyed the local bishop time and time again. He wasn’t interested in mere permission to live a life of poverty and chastity. He was passionate about the gospel and about rebuilding the church – for everybody.
“Clare didn’t just write a couple of letters. As Abbess it’s likely she never left the grounds of San Damiano, yet she wrote hundreds of letters to noble men and women, bishops and cardinals. In the end, they wrote as many letters to her.”
Francis and Clare might have started a sect, but instead revitalised Christian communities throughout Europe, then diverse communities on every continent. Their deference to authority was motivated by a desire to bring the whole church with them. Their respect for authority was at the same time a respect for difference, for the rich diversity of the church and creation.
Their sense of loyalty to the church may serve as encouragement for us to resist sectarian arrogance or moralism, so often the condition for violence. It may serve as exhortation to a more inclusive, universal, even cosmic consciousness.
One wise parishioner, Alan Ah-See, suggested that a dog’s obedience, a dog’s loyalty, is often a means of guiding a human companion into wider and more joyful realms.
A saintly obedience or loyalty can be very inspiring.
When we hear, for instance, about thousands of greyhounds discarded and killed by the racing industry – one greyhound dies every day on an Australian racing track; up to 50 per cent of greyhounds sustain one or more injuries in any one race – we are rightly troubled, stirred to protest and reform.
There are approximately 20,000 greyhounds bred for racing in Australia every year. Injury and death are commonplace. Greyhound racing cannot exist without breeding and disposing of large numbers of greyhounds.
In the last 10 years in NSW approximately 90,000 greyhounds were born, yet only 2,550 were alive as companion animals in 2012. Less than 3 per cent of greyhounds born have been saved and are living as pets.
It’s terribly sad to see gentle, sociable and affectionate animals exploited and killed in the name of gambling and greed. Greyhounds thrive on human companionship. Placid, quiet and low-energy, greyhounds make excellent indoor pets. Short bursts of energy and long bouts of lethargy typify the greyhound’s character, making them suitable companions for suburban and inner-city life. This is in stark contrast to the routine, desolate life of existence in a cage or kennel.
Gone Are the Dogs is calling for a stop to greyhound racing in NSW. The campaign indicts taxpayer-funded support for the racing industry, the exportation of dogs, racing industry self-regulation and the falsification of injury and death statistics. It urges a boycott of greyhound racing, and support for greyhound rescue and adoption services www.gonearethedogs.com.
