After the fire, opportunities abound in Australia

Kevin Rudd, prime minister of Australia, addressed the national parliament as thousands of homes in the far north lay submerged under murky flood waters and the south was engulfed in a blazing ring of fire.

His government’s response revealed the magnitude of human suffering, as he outlined programs to address everything from providing toothbrushes for immediate use to rebuilding community structures down to trauma counselling and helping people verify their very identities.

Rudd spoke of “the rolling miracle of the Australian volunteer community, of the Church and charitable sector, this great army of people immediately comes and is there, without complaint, without request for anything in particular… An extraordinary testament to the Church and the charitable communities…”

Father Frank Marriott, from the fire-struck city of Bendigo, is calling for a renewed commitment to the biblical call to stewardship. “We have had fires before and have not learned,” he recalled. He said that 80 homes were destroyed in his city and one man died, but as he reflected on the cure of the lepers in the gospel for February 15, he wondered if the fires are the leprosy of modern Australia.

“In the beginning, the touch of Jesus healed the leprosy,” he reflected. “But as stewards of creation, we learned how to cure and prevent the disease. We need to be good stewards of creation for our environment too,” he went on. “We must use our brains to find a way to live with the threat and the terror of fire.”

Australians know that their country will always burn. Its unique flora demands it. Some plants require heat and smoke to release their seeds and its prolific eucalypts need fire to generate new growth. “As stewards of creation we need to figure out ways to live with this,” Father Marriott said. “Actually, we already know how to do things, but without the healing touch of the Lord, we misuse them to satisfy our desires.” He explained, “We need to be sensitive to the touch of the Lord in the fires. We can learn how to live with them too.”

Father Marriott prayed that this tragedy may sensitize us to the touch of the Lord, which is so necessary to begin the process of healing.

Fr. Jim Mulroney submitted this update from the Columban office in Hong Kong.