Thursday 27 January 2011

Good news

It was heartening to read this good news from the Christian Legal Centre.

Any chance of  NHS managers who act unjustly in such cases as this, being suspended or sacked?

Thought not.

Tuesday 18 January 2011

New Mass Translation to be used from September


Perhaps the Bishops do read the Catholic blogs after all!!
As the Mulier Fortis speculated recently, isn't it time we got down to the business of preparing for the new, improved English translation of the Mass? 
Well, we are about to be instructed, no, catechised.

The Catholic Bishops Conference of E+W has announced that the new English translation of the Mass will be introduced into parishes from September. This will allow some time for  “in-depth catechesis on the Eucharist and renewed devotion in the manner of its celebration”, before the expected publication of the new Missal in Advent.
On the Bishops conference website, there is some further information about the introduction of the new translation and .....an interactive DVD

                                             Bishop Roche- with thanks to the Catholic Herald

“The new translation is a great gift to the Church. The Mass is at the heart of what the Church is, it is where we deepen our faith in Christ and are nourished by him so that we can glorify the Lord by our lives.

“In the new translation we find a text that is more faithful to the Latin text and therefore a text which is richer in its theological content and allusions to the scriptures but also a translation which, I believe, will move people’s hearts and minds in prayer.” 
-  Bishop Roche, chairman of the International Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL),

Saturday 15 January 2011

The Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham

From the Holy See's Press Office:

"In accordance with the provisions of the Apostolic Constitution 'Anglicanorum coetibus' of Pope Benedict XVI (4 November 2009) and after careful consultation with the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has today erected a Personal Ordinariate within the territory of England and Wales for those groups of Anglican clergy and faithful who have expressed their desire to enter into full visible communion with the Catholic Church", reads an English-language communique released today. "The Decree of Erection specifies that the Ordinariate will be known as the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham and will be placed under the patronage of Blessed John Henry Newman.
  "A Personal Ordinariate is a canonical structure that provides for corporate reunion in such a way that allows former Anglicans to enter full communion with the Catholic Church while preserving elements of their distinctive Anglican patrimony. With this structure, the Apostolic Constitution 'Anglicanorum coetibus' seeks to balance on the one hand the concern to preserve the worthy Anglican liturgical, spiritual and pastoral traditions and, on the other hand, the concern that these groups and their clergy will be fully integrated into the Catholic Church.
  "For doctrinal reasons the Church does not, in any circumstances, allow the ordination of married men as bishops. However, the Apostolic Constitution does provide, under certain conditions, for the ordination as Catholic priests of former Anglican married clergy. Today at Westminster Cathedral in London, Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster, ordained to the Catholic priesthood three former Anglican bishops: Reverend Andrew Burnham, Reverend Keith Newton, and Reverend John Broadhurst.
  "Also today Pope Benedict XVI has nominated Reverend Keith Newton as the first Ordinary of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham. Together with Reverend Burnham and Reverend Broadhurst, Reverend Newton will oversee the catechetical preparation of the first groups of Anglicans in England and Wales who will be received into the Catholic Church together with their pastors at Easter, and will accompany the clergy preparing for ordination to the Catholic priesthood around Pentecost.

  "The provision of this new structure is consistent with the commitment to ecumenical dialogue, which continues to be a priority for the Catholic Church. The initiative leading to the publication of the Apostolic Constitution and the erection of this Personal Ordinariate came from a number of different groups of Anglicans who have declared that they share the common Catholic faith as it is expressed in the Catechism of the Catholic Church and accept the Petrine ministry as something Christ willed for the Church. For them, the time has now come to express this implicit unity in the visible form of full communion".



The Bishops Conference website has a Statement from Rev. Keith Newton, (pictured above), the first Ordinary, and the Archbishop of Westminster's  homily given today at the Mass for the Ordination to the Sacred Priesthood of the three  former Anglican Bishops, recently received into the Catholic Church.
                             

O Blessed Virgin Mary Mother of God,
and our most gentle Queen and Mother,
Look down in mercy upon England thy dowry
and upon us all who greatly hope and trust in thee.
By thee it was, that Jesus, our Saviour and our Hope,
was given unto the world
And He has given thee to us that we might hope still more. 
Plead  for us thy children whom thou did receive and accept at the foot of the cross,
O sorrowful Mother.
Intercede for our separated brethren that with us in the one true fold,
they may be united to the Chief Shepherd, the Vicar of thy Son.
Pray for us all, dear Mother, that by faith fruitful in good works,
we may all deserve to see and praise God together with Thee in our Heavenly home.
Amen


Our Lady of Walsingham, Pray for us
Blessed John Henry Newman, Pray for us

Friday 14 January 2011

Catholic Schools: for whom?

Christina Odone, who blogs over at the Daily Telegraph, has an interesting and timely post concerning the  disputes between the Diocese of Westminster and the Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School.
The issue in dispute seems to be over the admissions policy of the school:

"The school’s critics are ideologues who see education as a tool for social engineering: teachers should not cater for their brighter charges, but lower their sights to include all students equally; if this means lowering standards, or using simpler texts and dropping more challenging subjects, then so be it – all’s fair in class war. Incredibly, these ideologues are not the beards-and-sandals atheists who stuff the teachers’ unions; they are Catholic educationalists who enjoy top jobs within the Church’s education bureaucracy. Such is their enthusiasm for equality and sameness, they cannot abide the idea of a school intake that is overwhelmingly Catholic; to them, this smacks of exclusion, just as a rosary offends the sacred spirit of multiculturalism.
A school that promotes these divisive practices must be brought to heel. In its first engagement with the enemy, the Diocese of Westminster changed the school’s admissions policy. As a result, the school can no longer give priority to those families active in their parishes."

I don't always agree with  the views expressed by Miss Odone, and not being connected with the school, I have no first hand knowlege that would either support or disclaim what she has said in her article. But if the comments on Miss Odone's article are any indicator, it seems she has articulated the views and feelings of a number of current ' Vaughan' parents: 

"Cristina, very good article that describes the situation exactly as it is. All supporters of this great school must make their feelings known to the Archbishop. He has been very badly advised by the so called Westminster Diocese Education Service. He needs to take a personal interest and reverse these very damaging changes."

"Like many CVMS parents we are dismayed by the actions of the Diocese. Why is Paul Barber not concentrating his efforts on failing Catholic schools?"

 "The curious thing about this dispute is the fact that the Church's own teaching is that it is the parents who are "the primary and principal educators" (the Second Vatican Council's Declaration on Catholic Education) of their children; the role of the Church is to support them in that endeavour. The centrality of parents in this educational role was underlined by Pope John Paul, who wrote that "...it is irreplaceable and inalienable, and therefore incapable of being entirely delegated to others or usurped by others" (Apostolic Exhortation, 'Familiaris Consortio').
The anxieties of the Vaughan Parents' Action Group must be seen in the context of this teaching, which is far more congruent with government policy on parental involvement than the Diocese's decision that parents of current pupils are unsuitable for appointment as Foundation Governors.
 The Vaughan has been an outstandingly successful school since its foundation as a national memorial to Cardinal Vaughan, providing excellent educational opportunities to pupils of all backgrounds from all parts of London. The fact that it is always heavily oversubcribed demonstrates the high level of demand for more schools in the Vaughan mould, rather than for the Vaughan to be made more like other schools."   (my emphasis)

Christina Odone concludes:

 "Michael Gove has made it clear he supports faith schools, and has invited many of them to become Academies, with greater parental involvement and greater autonomy from local authorities. Cardinal Vaughan parents would dearly love to take advantage of these freedoms; the Westminster Diocese, however, is openly hostile to Academies.
The irony of a Catholic education service turning its back on a Secretary of Education who actually supports faith schools is not lost on Michael Gove. He is, as one political source admitted, “exasperated by the Diocese and its heavy-handed attempts to take over Cardinal Vaughan”. As a consummate politician, Gove will not want to take sides in a diocesan dispute, but will wait for Archbishop Nichols to take the matter in hand. On February 2, the Parents’ Action Group at Cardinal Vaughan will hold a prayer vigil to protest against the diocesan interference in the running of their school. The prayer vigil could turn into a deeply embarrassing photo-op.
The Archbishop must act now, before the vigil makes headlines, and before his hitherto sparkling reputation is tarnished."

Faithful Catholic parents, those 'primary and principal educators', with or without connections to the Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School will be watching to see what resolution the Archbishop will bring  to the question of  which Catholic children should be offered placements at this school.
The 'ripple' effect of what he decides could be much wider than the Archdiocese of Westminster.

JPII to be beatified on Divine Mercy Sunday, 2011



"On 1 May, the second Sunday of Easter and Divine Mercy Sunday, Benedict XVI will preside at the rite of beatification for John Paul II in the Vatican.

According to a note released by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, "today 14 January, Benedict XVI, during an audience granted to Cardinal Angelo Amato S.D.B., prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, authorised the dicastery to promulgate the decree of the miracle attributed to the intercession of Venerable Servant of God John Paul II (Karol Wojtyla). This concludes the process which precedes the rite of beatification."

More from VIS

Tuesday 11 January 2011

Archbisop Nichols welcomes members of the new Ordinariate

From the Catholic Herald:

"A Statement from Archbishop Vincent Nichols
President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales
THE ORDINATION TO THE CATHOLIC PRIESTHOOD OF THREE FORMER ANGLICAN BISHOPS AND THE ESTABLISHMENT IN ENGLAND AND WALES OF A PERSONAL ORDINARIATE
On Saturday 15th January, it will be my privilege to ordain John Broadhurst, Andrew Burnham and Keith Newton to priesthood in the Catholic Church. This ceremony will take place in Westminster Cathedral.
On or before this date, I expect the Holy See to announce the establishment of the first Ordinariate for groups of former Anglicans and their clergy who seek full communion in the Catholic Church. The three men ordained on Saturday will be the first priests of this Ordinariate.
This is a unique moment and the Catholic community in England and Wales is privileged to be playing its part in this historic development in the life of the Universal Church.
We offer a warm welcome to these three former bishops of the Church of England. We welcome those who wish to join them in full communion with the Pope in the visible unity of the Catholic Church. We recognise the journey they are making with its painful departures and its uncertainties. We salute their depth of searching prayer and the desire which leads them to seek to live within the community of the Catholic Church under the ministry of the Bishop of Rome. This is the faith we share.
We are deeply grateful for the depth of the relationship which exists here between the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion. This firm, positive and on-going relationship is the context for Saturday’s important initiative. We are grateful, too, for the sensitive leadership of the Archbishop of Canterbury. He graciously acknowledges the integrity of those seeking to join the Ordinariate and has assured them of his prayers. This is the noble spirit of true ecumenism between the followers of Christ.
Pope Benedict has made clear his own intentions: that the Ordinariate can serve the wider cause of visible unity between our two churches by demonstrating in practice the extent to which we have so much to give to each other in our common service of the Lord. With this in mind he describes this step as ‘a prophetic gesture.’
With great trust in the Lord, we look forward to Saturday, to the new phase of Church life it brings and we ask God’s blessing on its future development."

Warm words, and carefully chosen,  from Archbishop Nichols.

The Catholic Herald has also published  a brief and helpful  guide to the Ordinariate,  issued by Fr Marcus Stock, General Secretary of the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales.

Wednesday 5 January 2011

Archbishop Longley appointed to Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelisation

From  VIS:

"- Appointed as members of the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelisation: Cardinal Christoph Schonborn, archbishop of Vienna, Austria; Cardinal Angelo Scola, patriarch of Venice, Italy; Cardinal George Pell, archbishop of Sydney, Australia; Cardinal Josip Bozanic, archbishop of Zagreb, Croatia; Cardinal Marc Ouellet, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops; Cardinal Francisco Robles Ortega, archbishop of Monterrey, Mexico; Cardinal Odilo Pedro Scherer, archbishop of Sao Paulo, Brazil; Cardinal William Joseph Levada, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith; Cardinal Stanislaw Rylko, president of the Pontifical Council for the Laity; Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli, president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications; Archbishop Nikola Eterovic, secretary general of the Synod of Bishops; Coadjutor Archbishop Pierre Marie Carre of Montpellier, France; Archbishop Timothy Michael Dolan of New York, U.S.A.; Archbishop Robert Zollitsch of Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany; Archbishop Bruno Forte of Chieti Vasto, Italy; Archbishop Bernard Longley of Birmingham, England; Archbishop Andre Mutien Leonard of Mechelen-Brussels, Belgium; Bishop Adolfo Gonzalez Montes of Almeria, Spain, and Bishop Vincenzo Paglia of Terni Narni Amelia, Italy."

Europe seems to be well represented amongst the membership of this new Pontifical Council, perhaps it is in Europe that the battle for souls is seen to be the most urgent.

Monday 3 January 2011

Magnus McFarlane Barrow OBE

Congratulations to Mr. Magnus McFarlane Barrow, founder of Marys Meals, on being awarded an OBE in the New Year's Honours List.
It's good to see an OBE bestowed on such a worthy man.
Mary's Meals

Thanks to Independent Catholic News

Back again..

I hadn't intended to take a blog break, but that's what happened during the wonderfully busy last few days.
We celebrated the birth of Our Lord together as a family, such a blessing to have everyone home again.

It is a little late for New Year greetings, I know, but may I wish all readers the peace and joy of Christ now, and throughout 2011.
God bless you all, and thank you for reading my blog!