This Australian is on his way home, giving up a post through which he has become well known in Rome.Hon. Tim FischerAustralian Ambassador to the Holy SeeIt's been an uplifting, invigorating posting as the Australian ambassador to the Holy See, the first resident ambassador in Rome to the Holy See. But, "Basta!", enough! Because I've got quite a young family and because I think there should be a turnover and renewal every 3 to 4 years.  It's certainly been good getting to meet some very wonderful and senior people, starting with  the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, but also many who work behind the scenes, below the radar screen, who are the most dedicated and dynamic people and you learn a great deal from them as you move around this great and eternal city of Rome and beyond. So, personally, that's been an absolute delight, plus in winter on Saturdays, the chance to complete writing a book, "Trains, unlimited in the 21st Century" because when my family's not here there's a chance just to get the research and writing done. On the professional front, I'm eschewing three issues: religious freedom, inter-religious dialogue - Christians, Muslims, Bhuddists' relations and the like, it's very important for Australia and its relations with Indonesia, the largest Muslim nation in the world - and the issue of food security and the coming world famine.In his short stay in the "eternal city", the ex-train line director and politician made it a point to make the rounds.Becoming a familiar face in the crowd Vatican events like this ordination of seminarians at the North American College to the diaconate last October.Or the resurrection of this steam train last summer to raise money for Caritas.Taking part in so many events, he says, is one of the benefits of being a resident ambassador in Rome.What's the advantage? It's so much easier to do the job if you are on the ground here in Rome. The Vatican is not an entirely closed ship, but you have to know where to look, which conferences to attend, which contacts to pursue and if you're only flying in four times a year from Dublin, or the Hague, or from Geneva then that becomes very difficult to do in a comprehensive, professional way. It would not be wise for countries to bow out at this time. Yes, the Holy See goes through cycles and at one period of the pontificate of Pope John Paul II, there was a lot on the boil, the coming down of the Berlin Wall, the opening up of Eastern Europe - which Pope John Paul II was directly involved with - the border treaty between Argentina and Chile just over 25 years ago where a border war was about to break out and again Pope John Paul II and the Holy See were very involved. There's a good deal of information, although not much should be made of that, flowing through the hub of Rome, best tapped by having embassies here. Yes, the number of Rome ambassadors will fluctuate. It probably is possible that one or two may drop off during this period of great economic difficulty. But, I think the smarter way would be to look for cost cutting, whilst maintaining the embassy, but perhaps reducing the size of some of the larger embassies is something to expect in these tough times. Closure? Well, I'm not sure that this would be a very wise step but it's for others to make that judgment.Looking back, this day back in 2010 was one of the highlights of his time in Rome. It's the canonization ceremony that included Australia's first saint, the religious sister St. Mary MacKillop.Throughout his stay, the time close to the Pope helped him build up his own Catholic faith.Hon. Tim FischerAustralian Ambassador to the Holy SeeIt's been uplifting personally, as well as professionally. Not so much for the grand ceremonies, but because you get to experience different levels and you get to attend the conferences associated with spirituality and the like, but also to go to a place called Cara Vita church which happens to be where Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart once played in Rome, next to Saint Ignazio. There is a Mass on Sundays in English at 7:00am and a very interesting group of four priest leading that and giving sermons which are way above the average country sermon in a country parish in Australia, for which I'll probably get belted up when I go back to Australia for saying that, but these are people at the peak of their University lecturing careers, at the Gregorian University and elsewhere but they are people who are professional in every way, but leading a small community as parish priests at caravita and that's certainly helped my faith. So, that's it, it's back Down Under to the farm and writing.

This Australian is on his way home, giving up a post through which he has become well known in Rome.Hon. Tim FischerAustralian Ambassador to the Holy SeeIt's been an uplifting, invigorating posting as...leggi tutto