Each month Bishop Manning answers questions from the Catholic Community of Parramatta Diocese, which is published in 'Catholic Outlook', the official diocesan newspaper. To review previous questions and answers from the Bishop visit the archive.

July 2008

Questions bishops are asked

Bishop Kevin Manning, Catholic Outlook, July 2008

Question:
In the June 2008 issue of Catholic Outlook, I read that a Diocesan Archivist had been appointed. What are diocesan archives and why do we have them?

Answer:
The Church places great importance on archives as "places of memory of the Christian community"¹. Successive Popes have issued documents on Church archives as part of the cultural heritage of the Church.

In 1988, Pope John Paul II established a Pontifical Commission for the Conservation of the Historic and Artistic Heritage within the Congregation of the Clergy.

Indeed, formation in the cultural goods of the Church is an element in the training of seminarians.

Archives a necessity
The diocesan archives are not an optional extra. They are mandated by Canon Law, and it is each bishop's responsibility to see to it that the diocesan archives are properly maintained.

While this requirement has always been adhered to, we are moving to a new stage in the development of the diocesan archives with the appointment of a professional archivist, David Povey.

Memory of its life
The Diocese has a responsibility to preserve the memory of its own life as a community in the Church, and that is one of the chief purposes of diocesan archives.

In Europe, where the Church has been active for much longer, diocesan archives typically contain centuries-old vestments and sacred vessels such as chalices and monstrances as well as written documents. Sometimes these sacred vessels are displayed in diocesan museums or treasuries, or loaned to state-owned museums.

Our young Diocese
Even though our Diocese is young - established in 1986 - and not too much dust has gathered on our rows of documents, younger dioceses are not exempt from the obligation to establish archives. In fact, it is imperative that they do so before the memory of their founding days dies out.

In the case of Parramatta, although we are a young Diocese, we were created from an already existing Catholic community so we have the added responsibility of ensuring that the memory of those early days is preserved.

Oldest item
I think I am right in saying that the oldest document concerning Parramatta in our diocesan archives is the grant of land for St Patrick's Church, Parramatta, dated 31 March 1846, and granted to "the Most Reverend John Bede Polding D.D, and an archbishop of the Church of Rome, the Reverend Joseph Charles Sumner of Sydney, and William Hayes, Matthew Hyland, and William Tarlington of Parramatta".

Pastoral purpose
Church and diocesan archives do not simply preserve the memory of something that is dead and gone; rather they transmit the memory and life of a living organism, the Church.

Take, for example, the document I mentioned above, the grant of land for St Patrick's. On one level, I can look at that document and think it is interesting to see something so old in the context of the European settlement of Australia.

At another level, I can look at the document and feel some connection with the people who were part of the first Catholic community at Parramatta. There is an emotional connection with our common Catholic heritage.

At a still deeper level, I become aware that this connection is living and ongoing. My faith can be strengthened by the understanding the document gives me of the commitment of the early Catholics in times of great adversity.

I appreciate that I am part of a living Church. I can experience feelings of solidarity, not only with the past, but with the present universal Church.

The future
As indicated in last month's issue of Catholic Outlook, there is a good deal of work to be done in the coming months before public access to the diocesan archives can be offered.

Not only does the collection need to be attended to, but policies on acquisition, retention and access have to be developed. In addition to organising the diocesan archives, David Povey will offer advice to parishes on establishing and maintaining parish archives.

1 The Pontifical Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church, The Pastoral Function of Church Archives, Circular Letter, 2 February 1997.