An Acculturation Program for recently arrived priests and Religious opened new doors of understanding and acceptance for Fr Kommareddy Rajasekhar Reddy SVD (Fr Raja) and Fr Alfonsus Nahak SVD, bringing an awareness of Australian culture which they say has already had a positive effect on their ministry.

Fr Raja and Fr Alfonsus were part of a broad group of Religious women and men, and diocesan priests who took part in the Winter Acculturation Program at St Joseph’s Centre for Reflective Living, Baulkham Hills, in the Parramatta Diocese.

Fr Brian Vail and Sr Anne Bond RSJ welcomed three Sisters and 17 priests to the program, from countries as diverse as Nigeria, Kenya, South Sudan, Colombia, Indonesia, South Korea and several states of India.

These women and men are ministering in the Dioceses of Parramatta, Armidale and Broken Bay in NSW; Rockhampton and Brisbane in Queensland; Ballarat in Victoria; and Adelaide and Port Pirie in South Australia.

The program began with the participants sharing stories from their countries of origin and their many and varied ministry experiences, and, over the next 10 days, the group was led in exploring different aspects of Australian life and culture.

Aboriginal elder, Mrs Elsie Heiss, shared the story of her people and her personal story, leading to discussion about Aboriginal culture and history. Fr Noel Connolly ssc opened up the topic of the Australian Church and Culture. Sr Megan Brock rsj, Fr Tim Brennan and Mr Tom Bagott addressed the topic of Right Relationships – Megan from the perspective of women in Australia and Tim and Tom from the perspective of key documents from the National Committee for Professional Standards. Sr Geraldine Kearney sgs explored the Psychology of World Views and Fr Greg Homeing ocd led a reflective morning about a spirituality that is needed to undergird their ministry in Australia.
After travelling to St Patrick’s Cathedral, Parramatta, the group met Bishop Vincent Long and then took a guided tour to the city, via the Parramatta River, with Fr Peter Confeggi, who spoke about the history of Australia’s early settlement. Visits to St Patrick’s Church Hill, St Mary’s Cathedral and the Art Gallery of NSW provided a deeper understanding of the early days of Catholicism in Australia.

The group spent Sunday at Mary MacKillop Place, attending Mass and praying at the tomb of Australia’s first saint, before visiting the museum and then speaking with some lay people about their ministry in their parishes and experiences of working with Sisters and Priests from overseas.

Throughout the program, Fr Brian and Sr Anne gave presentations on various topics, including Cultural Understandings and Leadership Styles.

“As in previous years, it was a privilege to journey with these women and men, coming from very different cultures and understandings of Church, as they shared their struggles to understand our Australian culture and Church,” they said.

Fr Raja, who hails from India’s Andhra Pradesh Province and is working as Assistant Priest at St Agatha’s Parish, Pennant Hills, says the Acculturation Course has already had a practical impact on his ministry in Australia.

“The course has helped me to look at the things happening in my life in more openness,” he says. “It created in me more acceptance towards others and towards me.

“It also created in me a great respect towards the local Australian culture and brought a lot of awareness about different aspects of the country such as people, food, politics, media and the Church.

“This understanding of the culture and respect towards the local community has had a real effect on my pastoral approach to people, especially in my visits to colleges, schools, nursing homes and families. I am able to contribute more and receive more in my work.”

Fr Alfonsus, who is from Indonesia, has been in Australia for three years, and is working as assistant priest at St Andrew's Parish, Marayong, in Parramatta Diocese. He says the course was wonderful because of the way it brought together so many priests and Sisters from different countries.

“We were able to share our problems and worries and concerns,” he says. “And the course was longer and more intense than some others and so we were able to learn many things.

“I loved learning about the history of the Church in Australia, which to be honest, I hadn’t known much about before. It was really helpful for me to be grounded into the Australian Church and culture.

“And of course, I realise there are still many, many things to be learnt and improved in terms of the way of living and working. It needs time.”

PHOTOS: Fr Raja is pictured top (seated at left) at Mary MacKillop Place with fellow participants in the Acculturation course.

Group photo of participants from many different nations.

Fr Afonsus is pictured, assisting at Mass during the Acculturation course.