Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne: Archbishop: Homilies: Blessing of the New Outpatient Clinic at St Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne

With great esteem I recognise the presence of Governor John Landy of Victoria, Sister Annette Cunliffe, the Provincial of the Sisters of Charity, members of that Order, Ms Nicole Feely, the Chief Executive Officer of St Vincent's Health, doctors and nurses, administrators and health workers and friends of St Vincent's.

For over one hundred years the Sisters of Charity and their lay collaborators have made a generous and compassionate response to the people of Melbourne on this site. The motto of the Charity Order, "Caritas Christi Urget Nos", highlights for us that it is the vision of Christ which enables us to see the dignity and worth of each person. As a young priest I came to esteem the way in which that vision was put into practice and I was always in admiration at the dignity accorded each patient here at St Vincent's, regardless of whether they came from Fitzroy or Flemington, Toorak or Timbuktu.

The vision of the Sisters of Charity Health Service (now St Vincent's Health) is one in which the Sisters, their collaborators, the Church in Melbourne and the civil authorities have combined successfully for over a century to bring a practical message of care to people with ongoing illnesses.

Today, the opening of the new Outpatients' Clinic is the first stage of the refurbishment of the Daly Wing as a modern ambulatory care centre. For many it represents the culmination of the effort of many years to improve outpatient facilities, to better support clinical care and teaching and to ensure that patients are treated with privacy and dignity.

Indeed, from even a cursory glance this is a magnificent facility and I express my deep gratitude to the Government and people of Victoria and to the initiative of the Sisters of Charity Health Service in bringing this vision to a reality. When people are forced to live and work in substandard conditions with minimised privacy and inconvenience then their dignity does suffer.

St Vincent's Hospital is of vital importance to the Church and to the community in this location and it was essential that the upgrading now provided so successfully be accomplished so that our statement of purpose will not be mere words, but will be evident in the deeds which we perform. For many generations of Melburnians the service of St Vincent's staff has been magnificent, compassionate and has reached out into the community. These new clinics will continue the best of that outreach linked to modern medical facilities, which will enable ongoing care in the community to be promoted.

I do extend my sincere congratulations, while commending to all the vision of seeing others as Christ saw us, so gifted, so worthy of respect, that he chose to die for us. It is that vision and total giving of self, which are our inspiration and the motive behind the compassion so readily shown in this beautiful place. May it be a place of peace and healing, of care and respect, of dignity and trust.

I thank all here present who have contributed to the work of building not merely a set of facilities, but to the human gifts which enrich and ennoble these facilities and make them reach out to other human beings. I add my words of thanks for all that has been done here.