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F PRIME MINISTER
6 December 1996 TRANSCRIEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER
THE HON JOHN HOWARD MP
ADDRESS AT ST PATRICK'S CATHEDRAL
MELBOURNE
E& OE
Thank you very much. Mr John Ralph; to Your Grace, Archbishop George Pell;
to you deans, thank you for the very illuminating and informative guide and
tour of inspection of the almost fully restored and renovated St Patrick's
Cathedral. To Mr Ryan, the Chairman of the appeals committee and to all of
those other very generous citizens of Melbourne and supporters of the appeal,
can I say how impressed I am with the Cathedral. I don't think I've seen
anywhere in the world a more magnificent stained glass window than that,
certainly nowhere else in Austr~ alia, and I can understand the commitment and
dedication of Melbourne's Catholic community but also the broader community
to this project.
I am very happy this morig to announce that the Federal Government will
contribute $ 1 million towards the restoration appcaI. I do believe very strongly
that buildings such as St Patrick's Cathedral, they are of course primarily
spiritual centres, and St Patrick has been at the centre of spiritual life for
Catholics and for the Christian religion generally for almost a century since its
consecration in 1897. It's also been a great cultural centre for Melbourne and
very much part of this city for all the years that it has stood, but buildings such
as St Patrick's are also part of Australia's heritage and as we come to celebrate
the Centenary of Federation, it is important that we make provision in both the
material marking of the Centenary of Federation and also the other ways i
which we mark the history of Australia since Federation in 1901, we do make
provision for the place of church buildings and the place of the Christian
religion in the development of Australia.
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I mean, for instance I have ensured that one of the Commonwealth members of
the cormmittee to celebrate the Centenary of Australia is Archbishop Peter
Hollingworth the Anglican Archbishop of Brisbane and I do think preserving
and restoring some of the richer of our cathedrals it is part of the heritage not
only the religious heritage but also part of the built and monumental heritage of
Australia, and this really is a magnificent cathedral and it speaks volumes for
the loving care and craftsmanship of the people that have been associated with
its restoration, and I was touched when I spoke to Michael, the gentleman
responsible for the restoration of that beautiful Archbishop's chair, and being
here today of course is a re minder of the various tributaries to the Catholic
tradition In Australia.
There is of course that very deep and strong Irish tributary which has played
such a major part not only in shaping and influencing the Catholic Church in
Australia but also shaping and influencing the Australian way of life. There are
few people in Australia who are not in some way touched by the very deep and
rich Irish heritage of this country. And as the years went by I am reminded of
the enormous contribution the other great Catholic tfibutary the people of
Italy who have made a great contribution, an enormous contribution,
particularly the post World War HI story of Catholicism in Australia and also of
Australia generally. And the people of Eastern Europe, from Poland of course,
the birthplace of the present Pope and head of the world wide Catholic Church,
a building like this is a reminder of the various tributaries to the Catholic
experience and the Catholic faith in Australia and the contribution that it has
made. So I am delighted to be here. I am delighted in a material way, as well
as other ways, to associate the Federal Governmnent with this magnificent
restoration. To you Your Grace, I wish you only still fairly recently enthroned your
enthronement occurred about the same time as mine I think! I think it was
separated by a couple of weeks. The process was a little different, and you will
have a tenure of the office perhaps, I think it could, in the normal course of
events be longer than mine, although I'll try hard to match it, but it is a delight
to be your guest-I wish all of the parishioners of St Patrick's the very best of
good fortune. I thank the Catholic community of Melbourne for the way in
which they have contributed so richly to the life of this city and to the life of
Australia and I hope in a small way this contribution helps the appeal and I
hope you will see it as a symbol of the honour that the Australian community
does to the Catholic Church and to the Catholic community for the contribution
that it has made to our nation.
Thank you.