Relics, Bodies and Grace

This year is the centenary year of the arrival of the Salesians of Don Bosco on Australian shores.The centenary celebrations included a tour of a relic of Don Bosco during the months of July to September.

I often wonder why Catholic saints  never seem to have RIP appended to their titles as we do to other mere mortals who have died. Perhaps it has something to do with the process of canonisation which usually involves the exhuming of the remains and then, if bits can be found, relocating them in  elaborate mausoleums or if fully intact, a glass case for viewing. Whatever, it seems that these heroes of the faith are never allowed to rest in peace.

Back in 2012 another restless  saint,  Francis Xavier, of Jesuit fame graced the Land Downunder.  We did't get all his bits, just his right arm dislocated from the rest of his body as a religious act of reverence for his ability to bless and baptise. One wonders if the same effect would be gained had the poor man been left handed?

The national tour was quite an event  and those who have more time than I do for such things have taken to discussion forums with weird and wonderful insights. Over at Catholica the discussion even explored  a relationship between the relic and  the poplar TV sitcom character, Thing. Perhaps the most unexpected support for this tour came  from  Frank Brennan. His homily at the arrival of the relic in Canberra was certainly "out of left field" .

When this tour happened I was working with the broken bodies of survivors of institutional abuse 

Many of the people I work with lost their childhood in Church run institutions where bodies and souls were beaten, isolated, assaulted and  dis-graced by those who represented  religion and faith.

Many of these Forgotten Australians would give their right arm to have  their childhood back. The damage has been done and many of them are relics of a dark and  evil history which haunts them.

When I look for images of amazing grace, I don't need religious corpses to inspire me. I get my inspiration from the  beauty and grace that shines through the lives of these people who have been betrayed by  the custodians of faith.

"Through the story of sexual abuse and the church's response, I came to the unshakable belief that within the Catholic Church there absolutely must be profound and enduring change on the two subjects of power and sex" 
Bishop Geoffrey Robinson

The 2023 tour of Don Bosco's relic made news across the country. However the history of sexual abuse within the Salesian community has left scars and wounds that are relics of  abuse and neglect.

2023 National Day of Sorrow and Promise